A/N - Alright. Finally. It starts getting a bit interesting.

This is where it all starts.

Two more chapters, all you got left.

Here we go.

DISCLAIMER - I do not own Naruto

Song used for this chapter - Adam Pearce & Humble Places - Prism

"Sakura right?"

I nodded as I walked up to the red head with a beanie snug comfortably on. She looked incredibly relaxed as she propped herself against the wall with her hands in her pockets, lazy smile slipping her lips. She stood straight as I came closer, eyes set on my mind for a moment longer than necessary.

It was only when I stopped in front of her that she smiled a little more, "Don't remember me, huh?"

I blinked, confused at her question. Giving her a closer look, I tried to discover what I was missing with no avail. She laughed as she hinted, "32nd street right? Do you still live there?"

My eyes widened in complete surprise, "Tayuya? Are you fucking kidding."

A grin slipped her lips, "Guess I'm not that forgettable."

I laughed in disbelief.

Tayuya, one of the friends who's face blurred as time past.

"Wow, you're the last person I expected to see," I muttered in complete surprise.

She snorted as she turned and began walking down the hall, "Yeah man, I thought the same thing when I saw your name on that piece of paper. I volunteered to be your escort for a reason. We've got some catching up to do."

X

We sat at some random picnic table outside under the shade as various students walked past. I leaned back against the bench with a small frown while Tayuya sat on top of the table lazily resting her elbows on her knees.

Silence settled between us after I explained what happened to get me here.

Eventually Tayuya tugged at her beanie, muttering, "I guess that explains the gnarly stitches."

"Hopefully it scars up cooler than it looks now," I replied jokingly.

She smiled slightly, "What do ya mean man, shit looks cool already."

I laughed along with her before falling silent again. Frowning, I asked quietly, "So you've been here the entire time huh?"

"Yeah... it's to the point where if someone asked where my home town was, I'd say Northridge. Sad, right?" She muttered with a shake of her head. "It's not as terrible as it looks though."

"I can't see how it isn't," I admitted, glancing at her with another frown.

She rolled her eyes, "Don't give me that sad ass look, Sakura. I'm serious, this place is a fucking sanctuary. We had the same bull shit going on at our fucked up houses. The sad part is that you had to deal with it a hell of a lot longer than me. Still, we both understand what a blessing it is to get the fuck out of there."

I shifted, glancing back at the students walking around. Most of them walked in groups, laughing and chattering away. At the college campus section, they looked like any other normal university kids. Still, I couldn't shake off the feeling of how most of them probably grew up here. Parents of money dropping them off and hardly seeing them again afterwards.

"They are as happy as they look, trust me," Tayuya assured, reading my mind. Standing from the table, she slipped her hands back in her pockets while turning to me, "Come on soft ass, let me finish showing you around and then I'll introduce you to the real heroes here."

I snorted, standing as well, "Heroes?"

"Suppliers that make this place just a little happier," she answered as we began to walk again. I strolled next to her as she added, "And also good friends of mine. Do you smoke?"

"Got any pills?" I asked instead with a raise of my non stitched brow.

"Pill popper?" Tayuya said with surprise, "I wouldn't peg you as one."

"Goes down pretty well with some drinks," I replied with a shrug.

A smooth smile pulled her lips, "Been partying hard at home, haven't you?"

"Well who was supposed to keep me out of trouble with you gone?" I joked with a grin.

She rolled her eyes with a small laugh as we kept moving.

Out of all the friends that disappeared, Tayuya was definitely one of my closest growing up. As a kid we'd wander around outside together. We weren't like all the normal children that played hide and seek or adventure to the park. No, we'd go outside to escape the house and wander into the woods to feel a sense of freedom from the suffocating bull shit we had to deal with growing up.

Our households were pretty much identical. But for Tayuya, it was her father that was the tyrant. And he had a heavy hand...

I remember the times we would stay out in the woods all day until the night slowly surrounded us, wishing we didn't have to go back home. She would always sit against a tree in silence while I took broken off branches and hammered away at random tree trunks.

That's when my anger for everything started to gradually consume me. To the point where I wasn't just satisfied with chipping away thick branches against objects. I found myself punching against the bark until I bruised my knuckles. Numb to the pain. The entire time wondering what the hell we did to deserve the shit that was happening to us. We were just kids. Still so fucking young. And still we didn't even get a chance to have any sort of happiness.

I kept punching until blood started to coat my fingers.

It was only then that Tayuya stopped me.

My thoughts snapped back to the present when I felt Tayuya's hand on my shoulder, giving me an easy smile as she watched me, "The hell are you standing there for? Go inside."

Blinking, I took in my surroundings and noticed the apartment door that was already open in front of me. Inside stood a sandy blonde haired girl watching me curiously as I stood there. Plastering on a smile, I stepped in, "How's it going?"

"Pretty good," the girl answered with a yawn, "You're here early Tayuya. What do you need?"

"Pills apparently," Tayuya replied with amusement as we both entered. I gave her a small glare, but she waved me off, "Don't worry, she's cool. My supplier. And Temari doesn't judge."

"If it makes me money and deals with a good time, I am completely unbiased with my opinions," the girl named Temari assured with another yawn, "But seriously, why so early in the morning?"

"It's noon," Tayuya informed with a dull look.

"And yesterday was Friday, so yeah. It's early," Temari argued while leading us further into her apartment.

I gave her place a small look around. It wasn't anything extravagant, but it was spacious. The living room area was a bit dark with the shades drawn. It was so dim I didn't notice the girl laid out on the couch underneath a thick looking blanket. At the sight I paused, wondering if we were being too loud. But before I could be too cautious, a pillow smacked the unknown girl in her peaceful sleeping face.

"Wake up Tenten, we have guest. And one of them need pills."

I blinked in surprise as I whipped my eyes back to Temari. She ruffled her own hair, looking bored as she did so just before walking and disappearing down the hallway. My eyes moved back to Tayuya with a curious glance, but she merely stood there comfortably, looking as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

A groan tumbled out of the now stirring girl's lips, "Why are people here so early?"

"What's up with you guys? Get the hell up," Tayuya complained while walking over.

Just at her voice, Tenten seemed to perk up immediately. Eyes snapping open as she sat up, a smile slapped across her face as she greeted loudly, "Tay! I didn't know it was you."

"How's it going Popper?" Tayuya asked with a smile.

Tenten answered happily, "Better before you decided to ruin my sleep, Stoner. What's up? Finally decided to try some pills?"

"Nah it's for a friend of mine," Tayuya answered before slipping her eyes to me.

I stood there silently, not knowing what else to do as Tenten's eyes wandered to me as well. Blinking, she quickly began to scowl while snapping her gaze back to Tayuya, "What the hell, Tayuya. We have rules for a reason. You can't just go blabbing to everyone what we sell, especially a stuck up titanium."

I blinked, glancing down at my watch.

"Not all titans are bad, Tenten." With a pause, Tayuya pulled up her right hand showing off her titanium ring that I hadn't realized was there before. Smiling slightly, she assured, "So relax. Plus me and her go back to practically diapers. She's with me."

Shifting, I coughed out, "Gay."

Tayuya barked out a surprise laugh, "Shut the fuck up, dude."

Instantly, Tenten's mood swung back to a happy smile, "Oh, that's cute. Well what I mean is she's cute. Look at her with her stitches, looking like a straight bad boy."

I slipped her a crooked smile at the compliment.

"Holy fuck, why are all your friends so fucking attractive? And beyond rich," Tenten breathed out in envy. Just as she bit her lip suggestively, Tayuya ruffed her hair, "Down girl, you don't fuck around with customers. Remember?"

"Ugh, whatever. I'm allowed to break my own rules," she complained before finally kicking the blankets from herself to stand.

And Christ, she was wearing the smallest damn spandex shorts I had ever had the pleasure of witnessing. As she passed by, she gave me a wink before disappearing down the hall as well.

Unashamed, I turned around fully to watch her go.

"Deprived much?" Tayuya accused as she dropped herself on the couch.

"It was a long flight," I joked as I went to sit next to her.

She snorted, "Yeah well, stay away from that one. Unless she's drugged, her mood swings give whip lash. I've seen her break down the strongest jocks at this University."

"Tragic, because her in those shorts are a sure gift from god," I sighed out in loss.

"Well if you're eager to find girls that are easy on the eyes, then tonight is going to give you a step towards the right direction," Tayuya hinted with a grin. "It's still college, Sak. And we get the full experience."

A smile of my own pulled my lips at the suggestion just as Temari and Tenten wandered back. The blonde tossed a decent sized baggy at Tayuya while Tenten skipped towards me and plopped on my lap, shaking a bottle of pills in front of me with a mischievous smile, "That's right, Sak. And we're coming with."

I took the pills, another smile pulling slowly as Tenten dragged her teeth across her bottom lip in underlining promise.

X

Asume wasn't kidding around. When Tayuya finally managed to show me to my room so I could change for this party, I understood now that penthouse suite wasn't a joke. The place was huge with the highest view point available in the building. The windows were crystal clear and covered all of the left side of the living room, giving me far more than a mere glimpse of the campus. From here I could see how much evergreens and forest surrounded us, and for the first time I noticed a mountain lingering just at the horizon, looming over us as the gray skies hazed it with fog.

I stared out the window, taking in the scenery.

"It's nice right?" Tayuya asked as she wandered over, hands in her pockets and beanie still tugged on. She changed her attire before showing me my room, but she didn't change up her obvious skater vibe with her white t-shirt, jeans, and vans. After a pause, she muttered, "Exact opposite of the hell hole we came out of."

"Sun always fucking shining," I mumbled in reply with a frown.

"Like there was reason to be shining that bright in the first place. Like shit was happy and okay," Tayuya finished, shaking her head as she turned away from the window, "But I guess it makes sense. The brighter it is, the darker the shadows are cast."

My thoughts wandered back to the forest, punching at the trees again as my knuckles bruised.

All the while wondering if Tayuya's father used the same technique to bruise her ribs.

"We can pregame here, that way you can meet the gang before we go out," Tayuya called out from the couch, leaving me alone at the window. "Or we can pregame at my crib, seeing as it's right next door."

I shoved back the past as I turned to her, asking curiously, "How many Titaniums are there?"

"Of what I know of? A total of ten Titans by my count," she answered, giving a glance, "Why?"

"I was wondering if they all have penthouses," I explained while walking over, "I mean you have one too. So I was guessing... But this penthouse is so big, where would they even have ten of them at?"

"Most of them do, but some of them downgrade for there own reasons. Like Temari," Tayuya explained, surprising me as I thought about the blond. "She downgraded because of her, uh, after school activities. And honestly she doesn't like the attention either. But her simple living doesn't change that she comes from a hella rich family in the dessert somewhere."

"I didn't have a clue," I admitted as I sat down.

"She's very humble, I guess something that's taught when you've stayed here for awhile," she replied with a shrug, "Either way, what's up? Pregame here or my place?"

"I don't mind if they come here," I answered with my own shrug, "It isn't like they're going to wreck it. Right?"

"I'll be sure they behave," Tayuya joked before pulling out her phone, "Gonna shower and get changed? Your shit should already be up here in your closets."

"Yeah I guess, give me a few."

Standing up with a look around, I failed to see what I could offer her as entertainment as she waited. Glancing up at me, she rolled her eyes and waved me off, "Go ahead man, just don't take forever."

"Alright. If they come before I'm done just let them right in."

It didn't take me long to shower, but it took longer than necessary to find something decent to wear. I hadn't packed a lot, figuring I'd just buy more clothes while I was here. I guess I should have prepared more, but there wasn't much I could do now.

After much digging around, I settled for a pair of jeans that I cuffed at the bottom, black boots, and a simple blue sweater with a tossed on hat. Still, even though my outfit had a sense of simplicity, everything I wore was name brand. It wasn't something I could help, but the bad taste put in everyone's mouth about Titaniums weren't lost to me.

I didn't want to make a bad impression by wearing expensive clothes.

It was only when Tayuya knocked at the door that I stopped nervously looking myself over for the tenth time.

When I opened the door, she strolled in with an amused smile on, "Dude. Stop acting like a female and get out here. Everyone already came through."

I narrowed my eyes, grumbling, "Listen, just because I chose this lifestyle of being gay doesn't mean I'm any less of a female."

"Pretty boy," Tayuya accused, earning her a push on the shoulder as she laughed, "That lavish lifestyle you were living while I was gone has gotten to you. Come on, no one gives a shit what you look like."

Sighing, I followed her out, too embarrassed to even bother arguing with her as I tugged at my hat.

I guess I wasn't sure what I was expecting when it came to meeting Tayuya's friends. Before she left it was just us two, everyone else slowly disappearing one by one. I guess if I were being honest, I expected her to have stayed a loner just like me. Back home I knew people, and people knew me, but I wouldn't call them friends.

Honestly, I didn't make friends. It just seemed pointless considering that I knew deep down no one would give a shit about the actual things that mattered. Being rich wasn't everything to me like it was for everyone else back home, so maybe that's why I just couldn't relate or connect with anyone.

But Tayuya's friends? It was hard to imagine any of them came from wealth.

It was hard to keep up with their names, but I managed to remember most of them. Zaku, if I had heard right, was Tayuya's oldest friend. Something about arriving here at the same exact time to go to the elementary school. After that, a couple of grades later, Temari and Tenten came in. It wasn't until middle school that she met Yahiko, Konan, and Hidan.

Apparently Tayuya was awfully popular, something else that blew my mind. But as I watched them interact together as I sat on the couch, I couldn't help but smile.

She was completely different from the girl I used to know.

Yet I was still the fucked up kid in those woods who didn't have anyone left to stop me as blood slicked my fingers.

"My other friend is swinging by, just so you know. But she's late, that's why we're kinda waiting around," Tenten commented as she plopped down next to me, taking my beer and chugging down half of it. She gave me a sweet smile when I narrowed my eyes as she handed it back, "What? I think I deserve some beer after giving you that free special on those pills."

I shook my head as I took a sip of my nearly empty bottle, "True. So who's this friend?"

"A girl from one of my classes I met earlier this year," she replied while leaning back, watching as everyone else decided to wander to the balcony to smoke. "She's nice, I like her. I figured she'd want to party with us. And speaking of, are we going to pop these pills or what? They can't have all the fun with their drugs."

I grinned, digging in my pocket as I wiggled the bottle, "Get me another beer, and we can swallow a few."

She rolled her eyes, shoving my hat down to my eyes as she complained, "Typical Titan."

I laughed as she walked off, straightening my hat and hair as she went. Just as I finished off the tad bit left of my beer, the doorbell rang. I stood up and strolled over, already feeling loose with a nice buzz. Readying up my smile, I opened the door and greeted, "Hey, how's it..."

My words fell off as I stared down at the girl in front of me who's crystal blue eyes practically froze me from the inside out. Her blond hair was more platinum with strands loosely falling from her messy bun as she stood there biting her lip. Gaze wandering inside, she gave a smile of her own as she started off nervously, "Um, hi. Sorry. My friend Tenten said we were meeting up here or... something?"

I cleared my throat, taking a step back to let her in, "Yeah, uh. She's grabbing me a beer."

"A beer that, quite honestly, you should have been getting for me," Tenten huffed out with a glare as she walked over with two in her hand. Shoving one my grasp, she turned her attention to the girl who I assumed was the friend she mentioned earlier. Smile plastering her face, she snatched her hand before dragging the girl further inside, "Ino! Finally. They were getting so antsy they decided to go ahead and smoke here."

"I'm so sorry, I got held up at work."

I frowned in curiosity as I closed the door. I'm not sure why it was so strange to discover she had a job. Knowing we were all rich kids, I assumed no one would bother with one.

But Tayuya did mention that being here made you humble.

Crystal blue eyes flickered to mine as I was caught staring. Clearing my throat again, I turned my attention to opening my bottle.

"Oh, right, let me introduce you two. Sakura, this is my good friend Ino. Ino, this is apparently Tayuya's good friend, Sakura." Tenten said with a beaming smile, giving us a look back and forth as if waiting for us to instantly become best friends.

But it was hard to immediately bring out my hand to shake Ino's when I noticed her frozen eyes register something as Tayuya's name was brought up. But it was equally hard to stand there awkwardly, so quickly recovering I offered my palm with the smoothest smile I could muster and greeted, "Hey. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," she said quietly, taking my hand in the softest grasp.

"And here I thought you only smiled like that for me," Tenten pouted as I pulled away from Ino, "But I see you throw that panty dropping smile for any girl that comes through."

I nearly choked as a laugh tumbled out from a familiar voice next to me. Turning to see Tayuya and the rest of her gang strolling back in, I watched her give me an amused look as she warned, "Their catching on bro, you better watch out."

I gave a quick glance to Ino, lips parting to accuse the two of them of lying, but her attention was no longer on mine. Instead she was watching Tayuya.

It wasn't until a full second later that Tayuya even bothered giving Ino a glance, but when she did she smiled slightly and muttered, "Hey Ino."

"Hey..."

I watched them both in confusion, wondering if it was just me that noticed the awkward interaction. But it didn't seem like anyone was paying them any attention. Instead Zaku and Hiden approached me with wide easy going grins, their eyes pulled low as if they were too heavy to keep open.

"Sakura! What's up, man? We got another bud if you're trying to smoke with us," Zaku offered in good nature as Hiden waved around the blunt with wiggling eyebrows. I couldn't hold back my laugh as I watched the two of them, knowing they were as high as a kite.

"She's a popper, fellas," Temari informed, looking entirely too sober for someone who I had watched drink. I was also ninety percent sure she was smoking with them.

Both Zaku and Hiden groaned as if they were told I was a vegan or something, but Tenten just wrapped an arm around my waist, "Yes. Finally I have a friend who can keep me company for my bad habits."

I smiled down at Tenten, but couldn't help wandering my eyes back to Tayuya and Ino. They were speaking on the side, but paused as Yahiko had wandered over to them with Konan at his side. He didn't seem to notice as he began chattering away.

Tenten grabbed my attention again with a tug of my sweater, giving me another mischievous grin as she asked, "Now can we pop pills?"

I rolled my eyes with a smile, unable to help comparing her to a child asking for candy. Digging out the bottle from my pocket, I declared, "Yes, it is time."

She squealed with excitement as I laughed. With the pill bottle open, I poured a few into her eager waiting palms before giving myself some. Clanking our beer bottles together in cheers, we tossed the pills in our mouths in one smooth motion. The second I felt them bounce onto my tongue, I swallowed eagerly.

Ready for any trip that didn't venture into my past.

See.

Do you see it.

It's like sprinkles here and there.

Do you see the little easter eggs?