Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to update! I was unsure of how to end the chapter since the next chapter will be… oops! Almost let it slip ; P

Recommended song: Face Down – The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of its characters. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

-The Council-

-8-

The night's sky darkened considerably and left over sheets of paper blew in the wind, rustling of the ground it scrapped along. Discarded, used tin cans also blew along the now empty streets, leaving behind a louder, hollow sound as the uneven edges knocked against all they came in contact with. Every now and then, a speeding car would pass along the dimly lit roads, accompanied with the harsh beats which leaked through the thin metal coats of the vehicle.

From around the corner, five men stumbled and fell one after the other, trying to beat the confusing paths which threatened their directional senses. They laughed and yelled obscene thoughts, many involving unresolved promises to the nearby workers of the night; who were dressed in scant clothing and returning their lustful thoughts.

The carried on stumbling down the path, attempting to sing and dance in beat. They turned the corner only to run into more creatures of the night, who were giggling, while balancing a small white stick in their mouth.

"Genntlemenn…" one tried to purr, coming out as more of a slur. "Lookin' for some company?"

"Yeah! Buy one, get one half price!" Another laughed, wobbling into her friend who was trying to balance on her three inch heels.

"Oh? Then, how much for all three?" Kentaro, a rather rebellious member of the council, who likes to scheme evil deeds, yelled in reply. The other three men shook their head in disgust at the trash he was chatting up. Especially since they owned high ranking brothels. Why bother with the streets?

"Settle down Kentaro…" Osamu said dragging the clearly, drunken middle aged man away from the girls who were now trying to pout and loo cute.

"Didn't you guys see the size of her-!"

"Kentaro, they are probably old enough to be your mother…" Kensho added for good measure, as he, rather sensibly, walked down the street on his own.

"MILF!" He yelled back down the street to the now pissed off prostitutes. After all, no woman wanted to be referred to as old.

"Kentaro!" Joe laughed, silencing the man.

"I'd like to smack that thing!" He continued to slur positioning his hands in front, whilst making vulgar imitations of the prostitutes butt.

Osamu grunted in response, not really agreeing with them; he was too busy concentrating on his footing making sure nothing on his feet would later stain his new carpets. "I'd bet you would wanna smack it too!"

"No, Kentaro I would not like to 'smack it'" Osamu said as he fought against Kentaro for control of his footing.

"Yeah, I bet you're already smackin' somethin'!" He laughed loudly, being joined by the smaller, smart man Joe and receiving a slight chuckle from Katashi, a tall, muscular man who was not to be messed with. Kensho had too much dignity to do much more than smile.

"What are-watch where you're going!- you talkin' about?" Osamu said gruffly whilst struggling with the mid-height man whose eyes kept rolling back into his head.

"Oh come on!" He answered over exaggerated, just as they turned to walk down Osamu's street. They continued to walk, or stumble, past the white picket fences, which looked silver under the moon's soft rays of light. "That pink haired bitch ain't being treated like a princess is she?!"

"…princess?"

"What you been doin' to 'er?"

"Hopefully…" Kensho interrupted with a warning glance at both Osamu and Kentaro. "You have kept her virginity in tact…"

"What!? Why?" Osamu argued, forgetting about the drunk on his arm. He fell to the floor in a laughing mess while Joe struggled to get him back on his feet. "I gave her the clothes on her back! I gave her food and shelter! It is in my rights!"

"She was adopted for one reason!" Kensho said back firmly, not breaking his eye contact. "Not for your own personal use! Do what you will to her, just make sure she remains a virgin!"

"Don't worry Osa-laddie!" Kentaro hollered, his face still implanted into the firm concrete path. "… there are other methods…!"

"Stupid dumb fucking drunk!" He cursed picking the man back up. Katashi and Kensho walked in front now while the others dawdled behind with the drunkard.

"Hey Osamu…" Joe said with a wicked grin as he tried to gain his trust. Joe was the newbie of the council, and so, he took it upon himself to always be a helping hand, be it through work or advice. The later was in which it was his time to shine. "A woman has another hole you can penetrate ya know…" His sickly grin started to spread not on top his own face, but onto Osamu's as he understood what his work colleagues were trying to tell him.

They made it to the front door where he attempted to balance Kentaro on his side while he fiddled with his keys, hoping to unlock the door. Once he was successful, he stumbled into the house and rested his drunken friend against the wall, where he attempted to sleep whilst standing up.

"Coffee?" Kensho asked, wanting directions to his caffeine machine.

"It's in the kitchen on the far bench" He said pointing towards a door further than the stairs.

"P-I-N-K-Y!" Kentaro laughed in sing song.

oOo

She felt repulsed. It was the same routine every time. They would come in, use her as a punch bag, and then leave her bloody and bruised on the floor. That very same chant made her was to punch the man in his face and then personally remove his right to have children. Pinky; his personal dubbed nickname for her.

She had tried, oh how she tried, to avoid these nights. She even succeeded once, saying she had to revise at a nightly study group, but it only worked that once. She even tried to have a shower with the door locked while they came in, only, she never expected them to wait for her and hurry her up with threats. She had no way of escaping, since she wasn't allowed to have friends to stay at.

The pounding of feet up the stairs sent shivers up her spine and she mentally toughened herself up, ready for some physical abuse to her skin. It seemed like an eternity until they finally came to her door and burst through in a stumble and sneered her way.

She stood there in her long pyjama pants and a thick sweater, her own personal way of avoiding anything more than a beating. First, in came Osamu who stood near her wardrobe, waiting for the other's inspection. Kentaro managed to stumble over to her left side while Joe encircled her right.

"Hey P-I-N-K-Y!" Kentaro chuckled breathing into her face. She scrunched up her nose from the smell of alcohol leaking from his throat. "Lets take a look shall we?"

He lifted up her thick jumper and began to inspect her stomach. Little bruises remained from where Osamu had punished her for having Tenten and Naruto over. He moved to her back and grunted angrily. He moved to her front and grabbed her face, turning it from side to side.

"Do you do anything to her?" Kentaro slurred.

Osamu didn't get a chance to answer, and Sakura barely got to blink, before he turned around and punched her with much force in her stomach. She felt the air knock out of her and she fell forwards onto her knees, struggling to breath. Endless coughing emerged from her tiny throat and short gasps were too big a chore to take.

"Kentaro? You really took it out of her this time…" Joe said smirking down at the girl who struggled to breath, clutching her sides.

"Yeah, no shit…" Osamu laughed looking down pitifully at his 'daughter'.

"She can handle more, can't you sweetheart?" He said in a sickly sweet voice causing the others to laugh.

Sakura whimpered in response as she regained her breath but was attempting to fill her lungs.

"Don't take all the fun!" Joe joined in, grabbing her ponytail and forcing the elastic band, which held her hair up, out of her silky smooth hair.

He grabbed a fist full of hair and pulled her upwards from the roots, making her squirm and whimper under his hold. He brought his knee up into the same spot making her lose her strength and fall again. He clenched his fist tighter, forcing her to put strength into her legs to stand up. His fist collided with her left cheek and he let go of her hair, letting her fall with an ungraceful thud on the floor.

Joe snickered evilly and Kentaro leered over her fallen form. Osamu shook his head and watched the scene play out. The scene was sickening, even to him, as her body was thrown around and bruised. He was used to it by now, but they had never taken this much out of her.

Sakura, too, had compared this scene to the countless times before. They were really taking it out on her body this time. The first time, a kind gentle member of the council was sickened by the scene and walked away, out of the house. She was grateful he didn't do anything to her and had, even he slightest amount of decency.

Luck must have been on her side tonight, however, since the one member she hated the most hadn't turned up. He seemed pretty useless, until he noticed Sakura and began to… toy with her. First, it had been meaningless flirting, to which was always halted thanks to Osamu or another council member who had had enough. It steadily moved on and whenever he was in the same room, alone as her, he would make a move, only to be interrupted by another council member who would most likely punch him and send him away.

"Get up bitch!" Joe snarled leaning over her form.

She shakily put her arms out in front of her and pushed with what little strength she had. She made it into a sitting position before her legs were dragged backwards, so she was further in the centre of the room. This caused her arms to give way and her face to slam into the hard, wooden floors once more.

"May I?" Joe asked with a smirk as he faced Osamu. He didn't know if he should agree at first, but it wasn't anything he deserved to have and he didn't class this as important. Sakura managed to lean up again and look behind her to see what they were talking about. She watched as Joe crouched down behind her and tugged at her baggy pants until they were by her ankles. He removed them and threw them on the bed, not once breaking they eye contact he held with the now terrified Sakura.

Feeling lower and even more pathetic in that moment, Sakura attempted to crawl away from the monster behind her only to have her thighs caught in a vice grip, and forced backwards into an aroused groin. Panic began to rise within her as he slowly opened up his zip and rubbed against her, making her cringe and claw at the floorboards with her nails.

One by one, the edges of her nails began to snap, and dig into the flesh that surrounded the rest of the hardened solid. Blood seeped off her fingertips from the loose pieces of firm residue and long, deep scratches were left in the floorboards.

The same vile laughter rang through her room making tears seep out of her eyes. She had remained strong up until this point, where they would push her for all they could get.

Joe pulled down the material which covered his upper legs and hooked his hands around Sakura's thighs, pulling her forcefully onto his manhood. The pain wasn't where she imagined as she felt the long, thick flesh enter the space between the cheeks of her butt.

A piercing scream echoed the house, pouring from Sakura's mouth as it felt like she was being ripped apart from the inside. Her fingers gripped at anything the floor had to offer and her back arched backwards painfully.

"Idiot! The neighbours will complain!" Osamu yelled as he power walked in Sakura's direction and swung his foot around into her face, sending her sprawling across the floor.

Darkness flooded Sakura's vision as she was forced to the side unconscious. She fell into a tangled heap and Joe lost his contact with her. Her hair was flung over her delicate features which were now bruised and swollen. She lay lifeless as Osamu marched over to Joe.

"Don't pull that shit again! It's too risky…"

"What the fuck happened!" A louder, more demanding voice boomed from the opened doorway.

They all turned to see Katashi standing with his arms crossed, looking down angrily at the pinkette who was out cold, and then up to the three men.

"No-hic-thin'!" Kentaro grinned scratching his head. Osamu and Joe, who had now pulled his pants back up but had failed to tie them, were looking at each other wearily.

"Bull shit! The whole fucking neighbour hood heard that!" He boomed walking into the room. "Kensho wants to speak about this…" He added using his thumb to show them the direction of the door.

They all walked out of the door leaving Katashi to look down at the teenage girl who lay broken across the floor. He tutted and then kicked her over so she was facing the ceiling, where he noticed just how far they had went with the damage. Her cheek was badly swollen with a long gash across the inflamed skin, from the connection with Osamu's boot. He kicked her back over not caring if he hurt the girl more and stomped out of the room letting the door bang harshly. The wall seemed to wobble under the force and then remained silent.

oOo

"I warned you! Didn't I tell you?!" The hysterical girl cried as she crouched beside her friend, whose eyes had not left a concentrated spot on the floor.

The night had come in fast and the older girls surrounding them had fallen asleep in their thin, grey blankets. The taller of the two girls, with dark brown, tatty hair moved her hand over her friends. They were crouched down beside an empty bed, as quiet snores and murmurs escaped from the lips of their sleeping room mates.

"A-Are you okay?" She asked in between sobs, crying for her friend's sake.

The pinkette was still staring at the spot on the floor. She didn't want to explain what had happened to her friend. She didn't want to upset the girl even more; the girl who sat crying for her, because her dried out eyes couldn't produce any of their own.

Strange bumps and cuts laced the cherry-headed girl's arms and legs. Her friend didn't even want to know how bad she looked under her old fashioned night gown. Only, the cuts and bruises weren't the only sign of foul play.

"Sakura… your… your beautiful hair!" The girl continued to pour her heart out in quiet, breathy sobs whilst her friend never looked up once. She unconsciously lifted a hand to run her fingers through the short, clumpy, uneven lengths of her hair. Her eyes hooded in sorrow before she tilted her head so what little amounts of hair she did have covered hr bright green orbs.

"I-It's fine! Don't worry about me!" Her voice crackled with fake happiness.

The true scar which would haunt her for eternity was hidden beneath her night clothes. But it wasn't her place to complain. Every girl under that roof had the same proof of belonging.

oOo

A sharp intake of breath was heard as the young girl opened her eyes fully. Excruciating pain washed over her body, making such a simple task as breathing become a difficult process. Her vision was blurred and she wondered how her head could feel so light, yet so heavy at the same time.

She pushed up on her arms and crawled over to her bedside table, where in the draw sat some comforting pain relief tablets. She made it her hobby to carefully stock up on medicine and fist aid necessities.

After slipping the small white pill between her lips, she swallowed hard and further stood up so she was resting on her knees. After a few more shaky breaths, she managed to put her weight into her feet and push up in a slight wobble. She fought off the massive headache which intruded into her skull and moved slowly towards the bathroom. She switched on the light and wasn't surprised by how she looked.

A huge gash adorned her cheek with a large swelling beneath it. It was the only damage done to her face, to which she was thankful, but even for it being the only one, it was quite a sight. Only someone without brain cells would miss the huge cute, which had ran down her cheek. She hunted in her small cabinet and emerged with a large basket full of bottles, fabric strips and rolls of bandage tape.

She sighed and set to work cleaning and covering up her wounds. When she lifted her top, she was surprised to find that the bruising didn't seem as bad as it fell; not that it wasn't bad in the first place. She rubbed them with a soothing cream which smelt like lavender and wrapped a bandage around her torso, to hide the hideous marks.

When she was satisfied, she sympathetically rubbed her butt, furrowing her eyebrows. They had never, ever went that far. She trembled at the memory and forced it to the back of her head, not wanting to dwell on it any longer.

She walked back into her bedroom and carefully sat, with a wince, on the soft covers. She tucked herself safely under the protection of her sheets before falling into a dreamy state. Before falling into a deep sleep, continuous words echoed through her head:

"Alright… well next time you get injured… come to me… I'll help you out…"

'Sorry Tem… I don't want to involve my friends in this… I've already made that mistake once… and the consequences were too great…'

oOo

Across the street, another house stood still with silence, the sand from the pretty displays gently rolled over stones and in decorative swirls. A light shone different colours through the gap in the curtain, illuminating the room with strange atmosphere.

Inside this house, a blonde girl was sitting with her legs crossed, balancing on the seat of one of the dark red sofas. She was almost off the end and in between her legs sat a bucket of popcorn, which her hand unconsciously dipped in, retrieving fists full of the yellow balls so she could stuff them in her mouth. Some spilled over her mouth and fell back into the bucket, to which she picked up again, repeating the process.

Beside her sat an angry looking guy with painted cheeks. He was much more concerned with the fact the fiery blonde was contaminating the rest of the popcorn stock, to even care about the film. He looked up at his older sister and then down to the bucket, as small balls fell back into plastic tub. His face showed clear disgust, when all in the same time, confusion. The blonde hadn't blinked for a while, not wanting to miss any action.

Why couldn't he have a normal sister? Normal sister would be watching chick flicks, crying over the soppy plot twists and endings, while eating a bowl of ice-cream or a chocolate bar. Their toes would be freshly manicured and have soft sponges in between the gaps, to separate each little pinky from the next. They would be wearing tiny little pyjama shorts with a vest and have their faces caked with unknown green substances which smelt like a foot.

But no, he had Temari. In a way he was thankful she didn't watch many chick flicks and wouldn't be seen dead walking around in tiny shorts and vests, with fluffy lambs sewed into the material next to the words 'ewe are cute'. An image of a green Temari who smelt like peppermint foot lotion popped up into his mind making him wish she would do something like that, but he dismissed the image seconds later. Right now, he was appalled with the popcorn situation.

"Temari?" He said with clenched teeth.

"Uh?" She grunted, not blinking, adjusting (or even listening) to acknowledge her brother's existence.

"You're drooling in the popcorn!" He seethed narrowing his eyes towards her.

In another sofa, not too far away, a red head rolled his dark kohl-lined eyes and looked away from the inevitable scene about to play out. He adjusted his weight on his numbing arm, which supported his head on the arm of the sofa, before focusing his attention on the TV once more.

The screen suddenly flashed a bright red colour, which caught the room's attention. The ginger-haired woman was being dragged backwards by her foot as she clawed the ground screaming and wailing. The shadowy figure which held onto her leg continued to drag her behind him with a darkening chuckle.

The girl grabbed on to the doorframe with all her might, halting the assaulter, who dropped her legs with a heavy thump. From no where, he pulled out a razor sharp axe and leered over the shaking girl who cried beneath him. He lifted his hand up and began to chop at the girls head, all the while, screams echoed the house and blood spewed from her headless corpse.

As the axe had dropped, Temari and Kankuro had violently jumped and gawped at the scene. Gaara, as per usual, remained expressionless. Shrieks of laughter echoed their own house earning Kankuro and Gaara's attention.

Temari had now sat back in her comfy seat and began to howl at the TV whilst pointing to it. "HAHA! Did you- did you- HAHA –see that?! Still-still screaming! HAHA! No head! That's-that's… impossible! HAHA"

Kankuro's expression was priceless and almost uncertain; a mixture of shock, horror and wonder crossed his face. How could she laugh at that?!

A sole eyebrow was raise and his lips contorted upwards in disbelief. His eyes were scrunched up and he was leaning in the opposite direction of his sister. It was too unnatural.

Gaara raise his unnoticeable eyebrow slightly, not breaking his blank gaze at his psyched sister.

"W-What did you…" She continued to laugh between breaths, "…say Kanky?"

"You're drooling your popcorn in the bucket!" He hissed, getting back on subject.

She turned around with murder written in her eyes, "It is as you say, my bucket!"

"Save some for us!" He said reaching out to grab the bucket.

"No way! You mean you! You fat greedy pig!"

The fighting squabble continued making Gaara sigh and stand up to walk up the stairs, now uninterested in the film. He flung his door open and closed it with a hand of sand, after he collapsed on his bed. The film had been quite entertaining, but not nearly as entertaining as others. Therefore, it did not have his full attention.

He sighed again and thought about school the next day. He would be travelling form lesson to lesson with Naruto again; that hyperactive blonde sure took a lot out of him. All he would talk about was what he had done with his friends or the newest flavour of ramen, the first, surprisingly, being more annoying.

Gaara never had anyone but his siblings, and even then, he had only been reunited with them a few years earlier, thanks to his fucked up father. Friends? No. He had never had these friends and hearing someone talk non stop about how great they are did not help.

Jealous? Maybe.

Annoyed? Definitely.

Longing? … Possibly. No wait… of course not!

But every time he thought of such needy words of desperation, his thoughts wondered onto the pink-haired beauty. Her eyes were so wide and perfect; it made him want to search them to find out who she was. They drew his attention from large distances apart, captivating him with ease. Her hair was so mysterious, he wanted to run his fingers through it and smell the lingering scent that was Sakura Haruno. Her skin, looked good enough to eat, setting his demon side's senses to sharpen and focus on every inch of her.

'You want her…'

'What? No, I don't…'

'You cannot deny me… nor the change in you senses…'

'Stop it… you don't deserve her… don't drag me into your wants…'

'Deserve? Haha, this game is not about deserving or earning. It's about taking! You take what you want before another steals it first… that's the rules. If you don't want another man to touch her, take her for yourself…'

'Shut up! I can't! I won't!'

Gaara looked up to realise he had been clutching his head tighter than he normally did. He released his feral grip with a sigh and leaned up to survey the room. Once he was satisfied that everything was in order, he lay back down and began to meditate deeply.

oOo

The next morning proved to be a challenge for Sakura. The pain in hr muscles had tensed and ached over the night until it felt like she was paralysed the following morning. Sleep was out of the question seen as though every time she fell into a deep slumber, her pain haunted her and more dreams came of her shady past.

She winced and struggled to lean up, trying to break her uncomfortable posture. Once her bandages were checked and her cut cheek was cleaned up, she grabbed a strange bottle of tanned liquid and began to paste it evenly on her skin, making sure to smooth out any bumps. Once she was satisfied, and her skin tone ran evenly into her fairer skinned neck.

She stood back from the mirror until she could calculate the distance from which she couldn't tell something was wrong. She took two steps back and she looked perfectly normal, with no signs of bruising or cuts. She sighed; today would be hard, and people would most certainly wonder why she was avoiding them. Also, it was probable that her bruising would deepen throughout the day and may become more obvious.

After she hunted through her drawers, she came across her uniform. Once dressed she grabbed her boots and shoved them roughly on her feet before heading out of the door, grabbing her bags in the process.

On the way to school, she noticed beer cans and sticky yellow patches which stained the usually perfect, grey pathways and grimaced. Not only did they abuse her, they abused the surroundings with their lack of manners and brains.

"Hey! You were quick!" Tenten chimed skipping into the centre of the path so she fell into sync with her friend. Small victory was won on Sakura's part for moving over in time so Tenten chose her none bruised side. She wouldn't suspect a thing.

As they walked Sakura felt the creeping pain flowing all over her body and cursed herself; she had forgotten to take pain killers. She groaned and rubbed her head, wondering if she could sneak into the nurse's office and steal some, or simply ask for some.

"What's wrong? Do you have a headache?" Tenten questioned leaning into her friend for closer inspection. When Sakura opened her eyes to see her in close proximity she squeaked in shock and flinched backwards.

"Erm…" What did she say? Headache? "Oh! Yeah! It's really bad! Do you… have any pain relief tablets?" She queried. Close call; good job she had rubbed her head in annoyance and changed the story to fit her.

"Sorry… I don't have anything… hmm, maybe Kiba will have some?"

"Really?!"

"Yeah! Akamaru gets bad stomach pains since he chews on everything… he always keeps spares…"

Sakura almost fell to the floor; at least she was cheered up from the humour side of things. "Erm… I don't want to take dog tablet Tenten!" She laughed and winced from the pain in her ribs. This did not go unnoticed.

"You… sure you're okay?" Tenten said now with a little more worry evident on her soft features.

"Yeah! I'm fine!" She pulled off a fake smile and began to put her usual spring into her step, trying to fool her worried friend. "Come on! We'll be late if you dawdle like that!" She laughed.

oOo

Sakura was now walking along her corridor, wanting to find the nurse's office since none of her friends had any tablets for her. She sighed at her luck, or rather her stupidity, before she rounded a corner and collided with someone. She would have automatically assumed it was Gaara because of their past collisions, only she felt the figure move backwards from the collision and squeak.

"Watch where the hell-! Sakura?" Temari asked losing all anger in her.

Sakura's cover seemed to have been blown in that instant. From the collision, she had stepped back in pain and felt the air leave her lungs, making her cough and gasp for air. She looked up to try and smile, so Temari didn't worry but it only made matters worse. Temari's eyes widened and she moved closer, swiping the hair Sakura had styled into her grazed face so she could see the damage.

"Sakura?" She grabbed the pinkette's wrist and began to drag her through what felt like a maze of corridors. They finally arrived at an office with a lighted sign; the words 'nurse' in green across the clean white background.

Temari inspected the room before she opened the door fully and dragged Sakura in, placing her on the bed and looking her in the eye sternly.

"What happened?"

"I was just coughing!" Sakura whined, now with her reclaimed breath.

"The cut?" Temari questioned crossing her arms angrily.

"Oh! Well, I tripped over the stool this morning and I banged my face into the bench…" She said with a smile, as she lightly raised a soft fist to tap her head, mocking herself. Temari narrowed her eyes, unsure if she should believe the girl's excuse.

"I told you to see me if you got hurt again…" She said with a little more disappointment than anger.

"Tem… I'm a klutz! I'm used to injuring myself…" She smiled tilting her head to the side.

"No excuses! When you're injured… see me!" The blonde girl turned her head to the side not wanting to see Sakura plead with her eyes or further disagree with her.

"Thanks Tem!"

"Tem again…" she sighed losing all tension.

Sakura laughed before continuing. "Since we're here… I could use some sort of pain relief!" She said standing up and searching the drawers around them. Temari aided her, knowing where to look for the supplies and held out a little packet for Sakura to take. Sakura raised an eyebrow at the girl who smirked. She had clearly done this before.

To Be Continued…

Thanks for the reviews guys! Hey! The last chapter has had the most reviews submitted thus far! Woop! Go you guys! I'm glad that more people, who haven't reviewed before, have begun to! So keep them up! I always reply to you guys! Unless you're anonymous… then I can't… obviously…

Anonymous Reviews Accepted Too! No Excuses!

Next Chapter: A month later after Sakura's move… what has the gang been up to? Has anything changed?