FORTUNE'S FOOL

When the strong beam of the mid morning sun finally woke her she peeled the book pages from her face. Sakura yawned and stretched like a cat, awkwardly long and skinny due to puberty, kicking the purple blankets this way and that. She emerged from her room, into the living room to find Hidan and some girls passed out on one couch, Zetsu and Kisame hilarious cuddling on another. Konan and Yahiko must've been sleeping in their room. She thought of pulling the blinds but decided against it, the longer they were passed out, not drawing attention to herself, the better.

She went over to the window, pulling the navy blue curtains just a bit, the sun shining on Konoha. The city sure is beautiful. She stared at the birds the flocked together, and let the heavy curtains block the light out again, even though the lack of light made her feel like she was living in a cave.

Padding into the kitchen she began washing whatever pile of dishes there were quickly, then went about straightening up whatever need to be straightened up around the space, it was the least she could do. Make yourself useful but make yourself scarce, just enough so that she was contributing something for that room. She preferred it to the streets or bus bench, thank you very much.

Unfortunately both Konan and Yahiko woke rumpled and the former slightly disgruntled.

"Good Morning" he smiled to her and she just nodded, nursing what looked like a headache.

"Thanks for that, Sakura" Konan said, touching the tip of one of her braids. She tried not to startle and shrugged,

"No problem"

Konan put on the coffee machine then they went into the living room, and after a couple camera clicks they probably kicked the overnight visitor awake (even though he was practically always there). The girls shrieked and after being told to 'get the fuck out' they bolted out the door.

"Ah, always the buzzkill, Konan" she heard Kisame groan and then they all flocked to the kitchen, pawing through whatever scraps could be made into breakfast. Konan went about making something and Sakura became a little suspicious after a rather decent meal was made. She would never turn down the instances anyone made her breakfast but they always made her weary. It's wasn't because she was fed but because they were always too fucked up or out so she always had to do it herself and that required her stealing.

Sakura ended up nibbling on some partially burnt toast and orange juice.

"You sure are getting older" Konan casually said. "You've been here like what, three years?" A tingling sensation quietly overcame Sakura's toes and up her legs. Yahiko hummed thoughtfully and nodded his head, "Yep, that would make you...fifteen, right?" he asked and she nodded slowly but uncertain. She knew exactly what type of conversation was coming but like a slow moving trainwreck she couldn't look away nor move.

"We've been really nice to you, Sakura. I care for you, I do, believe me,...but it's about time that we got something in return for that room and our kindness." Konan murmured fiddling with the fork in her hand.

Yuhiko then smiled friendly and tapped her forearms lightly,

"You could get more money, I know you steal like some kind of dog,...we have girls that could help you out. You won't have to leave and you can stay with us, you should really think about it. Sex is nothing special, anyway."

Sakura gave a somewhat passive defiant sidelong look at him over her glass, the tingling fear slowly eroding away to give surface to a slow burning anger.

"I'll think about it." Clearly that wasn't something he wanted to hear because his bright smile faltered into a line. He nodded quickly and clapped his hands, "it's time to go", he said to Konan and Kisame.

Without so much as a goodbye they got up and left Sakura sitting amongst a mess. She kept taking slow controlled sips of her orange juice, all the while staring down the front door, hoping one day it would burn.

Sakura's relationship with Konan and Yahiko was complicated. She had been forgotten at the mall, not intentionally of course at the age of twelve,... but that's what happens when Daddy is a hedonistic drunk and Mommy is a hypocritical liar and both are cheaters.

Sakura had fallen asleep on a bench waiting for her mother to come out of a dressing room and when she blinked, poof, she was gone. They had escaped amongst the whirl of people leaving Sakura stranded and confused. She hadn't seen them since, Sakura remembers them and wonders if they think about her, as far as she knew they weren't looking for her. When she looked back on it, she shouldn't have been so surprised.

Some blond haired man had approached her and befriended her and had snatched her right up, effortlessly underneath the noses of shoppers. They plopped her in front of Yahiko and Konan and the man got yelled at because -you idiot she's not what we were talking about. Sakura had managed to runaway.

But of course, they found her again a couple of days later at night at the park bench and they took pity on her. That's when a strange tentative relationship formed because Konan and Yahiko had chosen to bring her back. There was little conversation and they ignored her and she ignored them. During the day and evening she would be out and about, stealing to survive and trying to figure a way back home.

At night she would return and sleep on the couch. They left the window unlocked for her. She gave up looking for a way back because she hadn't heard anything on the news from her hometown that she had been looked for. She could leave, she could do it, she was in the city and it was full of opportunity. But of course things aren't that easy and that's when Sakura unwillingly became immersed in Yahiko and Konan's world.

As time passed they began a strange relationship. They began to talk to her more, and Konan let her read her books and sometimes she would braid her hair. Yahiko was all happy manipulative smiles and jokes.

As the influence of drugs and violence became a bigger presence and as more strangers hung around, Sakura become targets for them. Sometimes Yahiko himself would try to pull something when he was really fucked up. They would try to feel her up and when Kisame moved out she took his room and locked herself inside.

Konan and Yahiko would drop hints of what they wanted her to do and she tried to ignore them. She began washing dishes and cleaning a little and staying out as long as possible but it was something she could no longer ignore.

Sakura would prefer stealing to prostitution any day and even though she feared Konan and Yahiko at times she hated them. She hated Hidan and how they watched her, she hated how they would try to come into her room at night. She hated them for using her, taking her away from her parents and life, no matter how big of a mess it would've been...she would've made it out some way.

She hated them because now she was stuck and she didn't know how to get herself out. She had no ID and had had no education in the past couple of years. She had no friends that she could truly turn to, either.

Squawking birds drew her from her thoughts and she ground her teeth. She sighed once her eyes fell on the mess on the table, she had to leave.

OoOoO

At first he wasn't really sure he even had his eyes open. It was pitch black and he couldn't see his own hands waving in front of his face. A small groan escaped him and when he sat up he realized he was on a bed. When did I get home? What even happened? There was just barely enough light for his eyes to adjust to whatever was around the edges. His legs weren't working and when he realized he was looking into a mirror, he knew he was not in his own room.

Naruto stumbled to get up, stubbed his toe and almost tripped. He swore loudly. That's when the door swung open and the yellow light made him groan and shield his eye. Deidara stood and Naruto couldn't see his face.

"Hey what happ-"

"Come with me"

"-ened?"

Without a second of doubt Naruto trailed after him like a lost puppy. He followed into the kitchen and Naruto was confused when Deidara stood waiting for him and a red headed man stood watching him. His face was cold and apathetic, he almost looked like a mannequin. He was gestured to sit down and Naruto did so, hesitantly and in jerky movements.

Deidara no longer looked friendly, almost like another person altogether underneath the harsh light and that's when the skittishness kicked in (Naruto would never admit to that).

"W-what happened?" He clenched his teeth at his weak voice and he knew in some way or another he was setup and tricked. "What do you want from me?"

Deidara lit a cigarette and took a slow long drag, "You surprised me, you were out for a whole day. We're not in Suna, anymore Naruto...you should know that."

"We're in Konoha and I brought you here because I need your help."

"Konoha? Konoha?!"

"Why? I didn't want to come to Konoha! This is kidnap! What do you even want from me!" Naruto was about to stand up and bolt because something was very very wrong when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder and pushed him down. His eyes slowly traveled skywards until he came face to face with the apathetic man. His hand put heavy pressure on his shoulder and Naruto couldn't help how his shoulders shot up to his neck.

"Oh, that's Sasori, say hello. He doesn't bite I swear. I need your help, you see I need messengers...of sorts, well more like my friend needs them. For now, you're going to stay with us and we're going to go meet our friend soon, relax, no biggie, really. His name is Yahiko and he's super friendly".

Naruto was stupidly brave sometimes but right now he was scared out of his wits. Why would they kidnap him, he was just a kid. His tongue was suddenly too big for his mouth and dry like the cold winter air. He swallowed and when he tried to open his mouth he couldn't, panic starting to poison him.

"Come on, it's time to go. It's not a big deal, either. He's right across the hall." Deidara smiled like it was funny and Naruto was forced up shakily. It didn't take much to get to their destination, in fact, Deidara opened the front door and walked three steps across the run down hall and banged his fist on the door. There was complete silence and then the door swung open to reveal a purple haired woman with tattoos covering the visible parts of her body, which was most of it.

"Oh, you're back" her eyes darted across the small space and made contact with Naruto's wide ones. The woman nodded for them to enter and Deidara put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, guiding them into the kitchen and then waiting. The apartment was surprisingly smoky and there was music coming from somewhere deeper in the apartment.

The woman left and when she came back she was accompanied by a ginger haired man with piercings all over his face and amber eyes, he unlike all the rest didn't look intimidating. In fact he was smiling.

"Hello, you must be..."

"Naruto" Deidara supplied and Naruto tried to lean back as much as possible from all of them, the counter corner digging into his side. He had a stubborn frown on his face to cover the fear and he looked the man straight in the eye.

"Hello Naruto, I'm Yahiko, how old are you by chance?"

"...fifteen"

"Okay, I'm sure Deidara must have told you by now but I need help with something, I need you to be one of my messengers. Its nothing big, just small packages."

"Why" Yahiko almost looked surprised at him and he smirked, "because I said so and I'm trying to help you" he said like he was talking to a toddler.

"How are you helping me, you kidnapped me. I don't want to be here. Take me home."

Yahiko looked to Deidara and then put a hand on his shoulder, they seemed be doing that entirely too much. "The reason we picked you Naruto, is because you seemed stuck, I mean, where's mom? Dad? You seem to be on your own and that's not fun. You were stuck in Suna and Konoha is a city of opportunity!...It must have been lonely to come home to no one at night. That place was no home, why go back when you can have your freedom? We're not cruel people, we're going to give you a share, it sure beats having to steal like some kind of dirty dog. We've got a lot of people your age that we've helped out and now they're loyal to us."

"...it's not- it's not entirely legal,...is it?"

"Whether it's legal or not is not important, what is important is that what you do what you're told."

"...And I can go home afterwards?"

"You can't go home anymore, we can't risk it, surely you understand?" It was then that Yahiko put his hand on his hip and 'casually' lifted part of his shirt to reveal a gun sitting inside its holster. He carefully took it out and examined it. Naruto stopped breathing when the gun came up and gently nudged the skin on his forehead. His eyes had gone impossibly wide and Yahiko was still smiling.

"You can leave, but then we'd have to kill you. You can run away, but you won't get far. It's your choice. Where else do you have to go anyway? We're providing you with an opportunity, Naruto. Take it. Do something for yourself." The gun playfully nudged the tip of his nose and withdrew and Naruto still wasn't moving. A finger came up to gently massage to skin where to gun pressed.

"For now, you will stay with Deidara and Sasori, don't worry they're practically teddy bears."Yahiko winked at him and gently ran his fingers through his tousled blond hair.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow...You know, you're practically like twins." Yahiko looked to Deidara and withdrew his hands. As he did Naruto glanced behind him to see a door further down the hall close shut. The next thing he realized was that he was being guided out of the apartment and back across the hall.

When the door to the apartment closed Naruto was brought back to the real world. But was this the real world? He almost expected to blink and be on Suna streets again. His stomach did flops and he thought he was going to vomit. He could almost laugh at his own fucked up luck. The universe must be laughing at him, surely. Because surely this couldn't be his life, he was not the typical kid for his age but surely even this was a stretch. Because even though the little voice in his head was shouting runaway runaway runaway and the feeling to get out was overpowering, this surely, was not happening.

"You'll be staying in the room you woke up in." The statement had a finality that dawned an unnamed realization on him.

"How did you find me" it came out more as a commanding whisper, his eyes tracing the pattern on the kitchen tiles.

He heard Deidara grunt, "not that hard to find a kid like you. We watched you for a couple of days, wasn't hard. You're rather oblivious, un."

Naruto was surprised and almost jumped when he was nudged and a glass of water was offered. He stared at the man wearily and Deidara thrust it into his face again.

"How did you get me here?"

"I put something in your lemonade"

"How do I know there isn't something in this?"

"You're here un, aren't you?"

He stared down at the glass of water. His fingers looked fat and distorted through it and he sipped it. He hadn't known how thirsty he was until the water was spilling out of the corners of his mouth. His mouth set into a grimace once he finished it.

When he looked to Deidara they were headed towards the door. "Clean up after yourself. We're going across the hall. There's no point in trying to escape." They close the door on Naruto's lost expression and he heard a click, they locked the door.

He waited a solid minute, rooted in his spot until he went to try to open the door. The knob rattled but didn't open. How is this even possible. He began pulling on it with all his strength when he felt vibrations coming from across the hall. He kicked and growled in frustration before he left it alone.

The only thing racing through his mind was some kind of escape, his brain was good at that even if he wasn't good at much else. He went from window to window, trying to open them. Some had bolts on them, some were glued shut and even though some opened they had a strange unbreakable mesh.

Naruto tried using the tools, knives he found but none of them worked. It was then that Deidara and Sasori came in, and Naruto thought he was surely dead. Instead they laughed at him and barked at him to put it all away. 'There's no point anyway, you're not the first one to try that.'

After that Naruto fled to the room and tried to calm his hummingbird heart. When he looked to the clock he realized it was 2 a.m. Naruto laid in the bed, the thoughts of escape entertaining him until his eyes became droopy. He listened for sounds of them out and about, but heard nothing. Use the front door, duh. Naruto opened the door but a sliver and peeped out, Deidara was asleep on the couch and Sasori was sitting in an armchair not asleep. Naruto thought he was but when they locked eyes and his cold eyes narrowed he gasped and shut the door, locking it.

Ok, maybe that's not going to work.

He wrung his hands nervously and laid back down again, his palm over his heart. The room was still dark and he curled up in the bed on his side. He thought of his once beautiful mother. Where was she? What was she doing? Was she lying in a ditch somewhere? Even though he sometimes questioned whether she cared he couldn't help but wonder,

...would she even notice he was gone?

OoOoO

All the energy was zapped out of him, every time he cried it did that to him. When he woke he realized it was almost noon and he was drooling. The fatigue transcended more than just physically and into his bones. The room was revealed and it was sparse at best. There was one mirror in front of the bed and a night stand with nothing in it. In the closet there was blankets and nothing else but one lonely hook. Breathing in deep breaths, Naruto opened the door prepared to face Deidara and Sasori only to find the apartment empty, their bedrooms were locked but there was no one inside. He checked from room to room, and hummed to himself. The only place he hadn't checked for escape was the bedroom.

It still felt like at any point someone would jump out, point and say "Ha! you actually fell for it! You should've seen your face!"

Upon rattling and pushing the windows he found that one of them opened. A rush of sudden freedom hit him and when he looked down it once again came floating down in tattered shreds all around him. The window opened so that part of the street was seen, but it was mostly an alleyway and the city skyline in the distance. It was the jump to the ground that was...disheartening. Naruto hadn't realized he was on the third story and that there was a pointed skinny metal fence surrounding the entire building. He climbed onto the window sill and looked down at any way to climb down.

The world wobbled on its axis and it felt like a small gust was all that was needed to knock him down. He clutched the bricks, I can't do it, I'm going to die. Climbing down and getting as far as he could he retreated into the apartment, lungs burning-he couldn't get enough air and he bolted to the front door. He wasn't really an expert on picking locks but he anything was better than nothing. After several attempts he quit and banged his fist against, kicked, and pushed against it. He began shouting in frustration and that's when the emotions cleared a bit,-fist mid air ready to punch the door-on that cold kitchen floor with the chipped tiles. What was he going to do when he escaped? How was he going to get home? Yes he stole, but that was food and small stuff. Suna was three cities away. How was he going to manage that, it was a struggle to survive within his own city. You can run away, but we will find you echoed in his mind.

Naruto stopped and stared at the battered door with all its mysterious scratches and scrapes. He growled and sat on the ground before he realized they left him with some cereal. It was more than what his mother left him when he saw her, he thought. After eating his breakfast and cleaning up, he realized he was back to square one, he was alone. The rest of the afternoon Naruto spent exploring the apartment, master escape plans whirling around in the cradle of his skull, overcrowded and trying to find a way out.

He was getting nowhere.

OoOoO

Naruto had been taking a nap when there was banging at his door, he jumped and the first thought was that he was in trouble. After a couple of hesitant moments he opened it to find Deidara, for the first time that day,

"Come on, it's time."

They traveled across the hall to Yahiko's and were greeted by the same woman. Yahiko greeted Naruto with the same smile and chuckled,

"It's good to see you haven't run away yet." The man gestured besides him to someone at his side, "Naruto, this is Gaara, he's also your age. He's going to be teaching you the ropes, he will be going with you on your first run." Gaara stepped out from the hallway shadows to appraise Naruto. The boy was pale with a blood red tattoo on his forehead that matched the tousled hair on his head. He had sea green colored eyes that were hard and cold which surprised Naruto the most.

"Gaara, you know what to do, you have the package. Go, don't mess up, you two" Yahiko smiled and winked, serious and Naruto couldn't get around the thought that he was so screwed.