A/N - Continue young ones.

I think you'll like it.

It has a completely different feel to my usual stories.

DISCLAIMER - I do not own Naruto

Song used for this chapter - Tristam x Karma Fields - Build The Cities (Empire Of Sound)

Shipped off.

That's what her idea of a lesson was.

If she thought for a second I was struck by the thought of no longer having to be within that suffocating mansion with all it's space and silence only overridden for the times she bothered to scream about something, she was in every sense of the word wrong.

The need for escape had tunnel visioned me my entire life. It was the only set point I could focus on that helped me from going completely insane. But while she always attempted to preach that I had hardly any brain cells left to bother using, only I could affirm I wasn't stupid enough to try making it on my own.

Yet.

My mother's overwhelming need to cripple me incapable of ever dreaming living without her and her money set my success low. Maybe she felt the need to be needed after every man in her life ran as far away from her as they could once the years started to pile. Who knows. But anyone in their right mind would have done the same thing, which made it only natural for me to think the same way.

But she sabotaged my chances whenever she could.

I was forbidden to work, and if I choose to anyway I was forced to do so within the company to 'gain experience of what would be expected of me in the future'. But of course, I had to do so without pay. I did manage to make a healthy stack of money during my time in high school, and while selling drugs to snobby prep school brats was a cute idea for a booming profit, I had limits as an adult.

Being twenty years old selling drugs to kids put a bad taste even in my mouth, and I seriously didn't turn down much when it came to making money.

So she succeeded so far in keeping me starved out, but as I said before. I wasn't stupid.

The times I worked for the company, I interned for the accounting office. And while I didn't have much schooling to accomplish anything significant, I learned a lot during my time with them. Well, the important values anyway.

Like, in ever sense of the word, stealing from my mother's profit.

I said I wasn't stupid, but I never said anything about being desperate. The only reason I hadn't been caught on to so far was because while I seemed like a total prick towards my mother, I had an affinity of hiding true colors to those I first meet. To them, with my smooth smiles and relaxed demeanor, I was the company tyrant they never dreamed of having. They invested in me for the future, thinking when all was said and done and I had co-company ownership I would take care of them.

And prick or not, I promised myself I would.

After an entire lifetime of being alone, I understood the importance of making connections. There faith was well placed, and my gratitude wouldn't be forgotten.

Still, the trickling funds that grew from slowly stealing from the company wasn't enough to completely live on my own. While I could leave today and make it, I didn't want to struggle. I wanted to be planted on my own feet.

Maybe a side effect of growing up being privileged my entire life.

Either way, being sent off wasn't the worst case scenario for me, even if she did mention in cutting my monthly funds in half. It was an experience I needed after being trapped in this place I refused to call a home this entire time.

The issue was the place she decided to ship me off to.

Northridge.

There was no real way to explain that place without the word 'prison' coming to mind.

Growing up I heard of it vaguely here and there. As my friends, if I could even describe them as such, disappeared slowly one by one the only reply I ever gotten on where they had gone was Northridge. The families that lived around us, mutual interest only being the amount of money dwelling within their pockets, slipped from time to time during social gatherings of a place that seemed like a god blessing sanctuary.

And for a while, I thought it was. And hoped, even dreamed, of going as well.

It was only when I grew up that I realized how much of a fucked up place it was.

Northridge was in fact a boarding school that went through first to twelfth grade, but it was their higher education option that was skin crawling. Despite the fact that families of wealth could drop off their children one day and not have to see them again for another twelve years being scary enough, on top of that they offered college level courses specifically set for running a business and 'striding further towards growing wealth'.

My 'friends' had been sent off when I was young, so long ago that my memories blurred their faces. It made me sick to my stomach realizing I literally never saw them again, and this was well over a decade later. I may have complained about my mother's watchful eyes and how I was grateful for the longest time they were never set on me, but to be figuratively forgotten as if I were nothing at all in the first place?

Something about it just... made me believe I would have started thinking I was pathetic as well...

Going there now didn't seem as big of deal. I grew up understanding that nothing within that damned mansion would change. Still...

I set my jaw as I sat in the plane, mindlessly watching the clouds.

"It's beautiful up here, isn't it?" The girl beside me whispered with a small smile.

I glanced at her before glancing back out the window, "Compared to what's down there dwelling on those dead rocks? Yeah... I guess so."

As expected my response cut off any other chance of conversation.

I spent the rest of the flight forcing every thought that clawed from the past away from me.

X

"Sakura from the Haruno family..." The man mused at his desk as he looked over paperwork. His eyes scanned from left to right for a few more moments before his eyebrows raised in surprise, "You were recently in an accident?"

I blinked, surprised as well, "You're the first person to call it that besides me. Yes, it was a car accident."

"Well I don't think people intentionally slam into vehicles," he muttered, causing me to snort with slight amusement. At the noise a small almost undetectable smile slipped his lips, but just as quickly disappeared. Glancing up, he asked quietly, "The man that you hit, is he alright?"

My stomach churned with guilt, something I didn't feel often. Eyes falling, I nodded, "Luckily I took most of the damage."

"It's good that he's alright, but I wouldn't call it lucky that you got the worse end of it."

My eyes snapped back to him, completely confused at the indescribable feeling I had in my chest. Frowning, I asked, "Who are you?"

The man glanced up from the papers in his hands again with a curious gaze as me, but I simply stared in reply. Placing the papers down, he smiled and introduced, "My name is Asume. I'm the Dean, one of four. I look after the college academics for Northridge. The other three have authority over elementary, middle school, and high school levels."

"Oh," I replied, not knowing what else to comment. I wasn't sure what else I was expecting from his answer, but his vibe just threw me off enough to ask. It wasn't everyday people were actually concerned about my well being, the feeling was shockingly...

I refused to admit anything further.

He rubbed his chin before digging in his pockets and pulling out a pack of cigarettes. Grabbing one from the nicely filled pack, he placed it between his lips before glancing and holding up the box to me.

I didn't hesitate taking one and lit the end with the lighter he also offered after sparking his.

The man just sat there casually, smoking in the office looking as bored as ever.

It was official. I liked him.

"Alright, so here's the deal kid." I didn't even bother arguing that I was twenty as he paused to take another drag of his cigarette. "Your mother filled out the paperwork to place you into the highest tier classes and dorm room the school has to offer. Needless to say, she dropped a pretty penny to make it happen."

My face twisted in confusion, "Wait. What?"

He gave me a small smile, "A lot of you that come in late to the program always have the same reaction. What's so surprising?"

I shifted uncomfortably, not knowing how to describe my mother's treatment towards me all my life time. Shaking my head, I offered pathetically, "I expected a lot less."

"Well not to blow your mood, but I'm sure it has something to do with the social standings and the message being sent to those around you that you come of a family with plenty of money. I mean there's rich, and then there's super rich."

A smile pulled my lips, of course that was the reason. Even now I wasn't surprised. But I respected the man even more for not holding back the punch of reality. Snorting, I shook my head, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Asume smiled slightly, "Things never change, huh?"

"It's better than the unexpected I guess," I replied with a shrug.

Shifting towards the drawer, he pulled out two pair of keys, what looked like an ID card with my donated picture already plastered on it, a very high quality looking black titanium credit card, and a matching black titanium watch. He slid them over to me one by one as I sat in my chair, glancing at them curiously.

"The keys are self explanatory, you get two sets, one a spare for your dorm. More like pent house suite, fucking rich kids." He mumbled the last bit, causing a laugh out of me. "This is, of course, your student ID. It gives you access to the basics whenever you see a swipe or scan entrance. But this is college level, don't expect to use them on the other side of the campus where the lower grades reside. And this incredibly sleek looking card is your source of income funneled by the school. Not everyone have one these, usually they are basic meal plan cards. But this right here is a gift from the school caused by your mothers recent, uh... investment. You can swipe this anywhere on campus and the college town near by and it'll all be completely covered. Courtesy of us."

I gave the card a glance before turning my attention to the watch, "And what's that for?"

"You're smart enough to figure it out eventually, so I'll just tell you," Asume replied, stamping out his burnt out cigarette before turning his attention to me with a sigh. "So before entering here you were giving this small sheet to fill out, right? There was a question on what would you rather wear; a ring, a watch, a necklace, a bracelet, or a pin. Well, obviously you selected the watch. It's a gift from the school to show our prestigious community you came to find education at. Everyone gets one, but of different levels and quality; like gold, white gold, and platinum. Titanium is the highest tier... Now, that's what I'm obligated to say. But in reality it's a fucking tracking device."

I blinked, completely caught off guard.

"The tracker is fried once you graduate, but it's activated the moment you join the school until the moment you are permitted to leave."

"Is that even legal to do?" I asked in disbelief.

"It wouldn't be if rights weren't signed off allowing the school to do so. It seems like the suffocating need to control everyone, but it's more so that this campus is incredibly huge with thousands of students attending. We've have incidence, more so in the lower grading levels, where students have ran away. It's a boarding school, we are responsible for everyone here. So if we end up losing children, can you imagine how much money these already rich parents would sue us for?"

I frowned, muttering, "I mean it makes sense..."

I didn't finish my train of thought, feeling incredibly sorry for the kids who wanted to escape in the first place.

Just thinking about them brought up memories, of a girl crying in a corner begging to escape escape aswell.

"It's a terrible method, but it's effective. So that being said, the only times you take this off Sakura is for obvious reasons like showering or swimming. If you lose it that's a very heavy fine mailed to your mother and a penalty strike against you. And trust me, you don't want to see me for penalties."

I took the watch, giving it a closer inspection. It felt solid and smooth to the touch, just by a glance it was impossible to deny how expensive it looked.

Eyes wandering up to him, I muttered, "So I just wear it at all times?"

"Yup. Besides that, you're good to go. I have an escort waiting for you outside. Oh, and welcome to Northridge."

Like I said.

It was hard to describe this place without the word prison coming to mind.

It gets better. I promise. The setting up is always a little boring.

But I always jump right into it. So keep going!