"Sasuke-sama you must choose one!" an elderly man said, a small five-year-old at his feet moaned.

The little boy slowly made his way down the hall, cages lined the walls. His new white shoes were covered in the dirt and blood that leaked from the cages.

Sasuke stopped at one cage and pressed his small head to the bars, he squinted his eyes.

A woman in the back corner sat at a spinning wheel, it looked like the same one his mother used at home.

Sasuke peered around, a small girl sat on a pile of blankets, playing with a rag doll.

He pointed her out.

"I want her."

In an instant the woman at the spinning wheel had jumped up and had seized the little girl under the arms.

"You can't take Sakura, she's only four!" the woman screamed huddling in the back of the cage, the girl wrapped in her arms.

Guards ran into the cell, two held the woman down while another administered a sedative to the older woman.

The woman gave one more heart-broken sob before her body gave up to the chemical now coursing through her veins.

The little girl untangled herself and was roughly grabbed from behind.

"Momma!" she screamed her small arms stretching out toward the woman.

Once the guard set her down two more grabbed her hands and pulled her none-to-gently from the cage.

"Sakura this is Sasuke, he's your new master. Be nice to him or he'll hurt you." One guard told her.

Under the candle light Sasuke could see that she had a deep red hair color, and her mint green eyes would have complimented her small face, had they weren't filled with remorse.

A necklace on the girl's neck caught his attention.

"What's that?" he asked slowly keeping his hands to himself.

The guards started grabbing for the necklace.

In a second the girl had gone on the defensive, she swept the legs out from underneath the largest guard and had swiftly broken the noses of the two others.

"Don't touch me." She growled tucking the necklace under her ratty brown shirt.

"You can keep it if you show it to Sasuke-sama." The elder spoke up, suddenly afraid of the young girl.

Sakura edged toward Sasuke and pulled the necklace out. It was a set of wings one as white as ivory the other as dark as onyx.

Sasuke nodded and the guards –after regaining their footing- grabbed the little girl and started dragging her down the hall.

"We'll take her to the baths for you." They explained rounding the corner.

When they reached the door a guard seized her by the hair and relentlessly bashed her head into the walls until her skull cracked and blood ran into her already filthy hair.

They threw Sakura into the room and she rolled until she hit the corner of a desk.

A woman helped her to her feet, and wordlessly dragged her into and empty room.

"I'm Shizune, I'm going to fix you up." The woman said filling a tub with steaming water.

She sat Sakura into a chair and wiped her face down with a damp rag.

Shizune handed her a towel and instructed her to wrap the towel around herself after removing her clothing.

Sakura did as she was told and she came out from behind the screen cautiously.

Shizune motioned for her to get into the tub.

After pouring steaming water over the younger girls head Shizune poured sweet smelling soaps over her head as well.

After rubbing it in Sakura's head was dunked again. She came up sputtering and spun around to yell at the woman.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, her curiosity getting the better of her when she saw the shock on Shizune's face.

"Y-your hair, its pink!" the woman stammered.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I know it is." She said crossing her arms over her chest.

Shizune smiled slightly at the girls lip. She re-cleaned Sakura's hair and ordered her to rise from the tub.

The once clear blue water was now colored with brown and red, Sakura looked away embarrassed. But Shizune smiled and ignored it.

"It's ok to talk, I just couldn't talk to you out there." Shizune said looking down at the white cloth she was mending.

Sakura smiled, understanding the woman better.

Shizune sighed and handed Sakura the white fabric.

"Go change into this." Shizune said reaching for the sodden and stained towel.

Sakura handed it to her and dashed behind the screen to change. The white fabric turned out to be an elegant dress. Sakura pulled it over her damp hair. She reached around to tie the ribbons to secure the dress. She couldn't reach them.

Sakura stepped out from behind the screen and spun in front of Shizune, reluctant top ask for help.

Shizune tied them off with a flourish and steered Sakura toward the vanity table that stood beside the tub.

Shizune twisted Sakura's hair into curlers and blow-dried it.

After a few minutes of idle chatting Shizune uncurled her hair and brushed through it gently. She took a dark green ribbon and pulled Sakura's curled hair into an elegant bun.

Shizune smiled and hugged Sakura carefully and after returning to her stoic professional behavior dragged Sakura down the hall-way toward yet another door.