House of Flowers

In the year of the dragon in southern Japan there was a small okiya known as the Senju okiya. It was an unspectacular rundown okiya in the countryside where farmers with a little extra spending money or the occasional visiting outsider would stop by to cure their boredom. In this poor okiya lived a child who did not belong…a child who unbeknownst to all was a flower amongst weeds.

"Wake up, or you'll be late!" Naruto frantically shook the sleeping body of the black haired girl beside him.

The girl crinkled her nose as if a dragonfly had landed on her and then swiftly turned over. She let out a delicate sigh and fell back into her deep slumber.

Naruto groaned. He shook the girls shoulders roughly. "C'mon Hina, if you're late again mother will yell at me for not waking you up on time!"

"Go away." Hinata grumbled. She let out another quiet snore and resumed her peaceful slumber.

"If you don't wake up right now I'll tell mother about how you sneak sweet sugar ice after dinner!"

"Gah, okay!" Hinata shot up. Her usually silky straight black hair stuck up in random directions and a trail of drool was running down the left side of her pink lips. "What time is it?" Hinata yawned. She rubbed the sleep out of her pale lilac eyes.

"It's almost five in the morning, I've been trying to wake you up for ten minutes already!"

"T-ten minutes?!" Hinata wailed. "I'm going to be late!" Hinata jumped up from her sleeping cot and hurriedly began to undress. She quickly put on the standard white striped blue yukata that every maiko was required to wear.

"N-Naruto-nii, don't just stand there p-please help me with this!" Hinata attempted to run her hands through her hair to fix its ragged state but her fingers couldn't even go through it without getting caught up in the tangled strands.

Naruto sighed, he grabbed a wooden comb from the box of supplies and began to knead it through Hinata's long black tresses.

"You're hopeless, no matter how many times I tell you not to stay up you always do and as result we always end up in this situation." Naruto set the comb down and fetched a bowl of water so that Hinata could wash her face. Hinata's face was her most precious commodity is what mother always said so Naruto always made sure to take good care of it.

"I know, I-I'm sorry!" Hinata dipped her face in the freezing cold water. When she came back up the tips of her black bangs were wet and had twined together.

"You know mother hates it when your hair gets wet like that. She thinks you look like a drowned rat." Naruto complained worriedly.

"I f-forgot! I'm sorry I make e-everything so hard for you Naruto-nii!" Hinata slipped on her over coat and then her indoor house slippers. She would put on her straw geta once she was outside.

"It's fine. It's my job to take care of you after all." Naruto replied solemnly. "Let's get going, since it snowed last night the ground is going to be slippery, we'll have to walk extra slow."

"Y-yeah, okay."

Naruto and Hinata practically jogged through the snowy streets. It was hard, the disguised patches of slippery ice were hard to navigate around.

"Careful, Hina!" Naruto called out as Hinata almost stepped onto an iced over puddle on the ground.

Hinata yelled out as if a snake had slithered across her feet and jumped back. She lost her footing and fell right into the puddle of snowy water.

"Oh no! M-my yukata is soaked wet now!" Hinata cried. "My sensei i-is going to y-yell at m-me again!"

"No she isn't." Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and guided her to a spot hidden behind a bridge pillar. He looked around to see if anyone was nearby and then took off his own tattered yukata. "Let's trade, it's not as fancy as your yukata but if you wear yours and get yelled at by your sensei, mother will be angry with you."

Hinata nodded shyly. She took off her own wet yukata and handed it to Naruto. They were both now only wearing the under layer of their yukata which was a thin white fabric that reached the middle of their thighs. Naruto first helped Hinata get dressed into her "new" yukata then he slipped on his own. As soon as he did he heard a voice call out in their direction.

"Hey, you! Take your yukata back off, I was enjoying the view!" A boy with hooded black eyes and a leering smile yelled from across the street. A fish stall owners son.

Hinata blushed a dark crimson red. She crossed her arms over her chest to hide herself despite already being dressed.

Naruto frowned at the heckling. He didn't like when others made Hinata feel uncomfortable. "She's not interested in you!" He yelled back at the boy.

"I wasn't talking to her I was talking to you! Show me that body of yours again, baby!" The boy called back. He had the nerve to lick his lips in an attempt to be charming.

Naruto's face burned red with embarrassment. "I'm a boy!"

"You're a boy?" The boy screamed terrified. He immediately dropped his flirtatious attitude and ran away, completely embarrassed.

Naruto laughed, "What an idiot. Why would he ever think I was a girl when someone as pretty as Hinata-chan is standing right beside me?"

"I-I'm not that s-surprised. S-sometimes I forget you're a boy too. T-to be honest you're r-really pretty for a boy, it's strange."

Naruto sputtered out a nervous laugh, he rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "That's not really a good thing though. Anyways let's hurry, we were late before but now we're really late!"

Hinata nodded. She took a hold of Naruto's hand and together they continued their journey through the slippery streets.

"Where have you been? Mother has been calling for you for the last ten minutes!" A graying old woman said urgently, she hobbled over to Naruto and whacked the back of his legs with her wooden cane.

"I was escorting Hinata-chan to her morning practice!" Naruto cried out. It wasn't due to the pain but from the shock at suddenly being hit. He was more than used to pain, he'd gotten hit plenty of times since he'd been sold to the senju okiya back when he was three years old but he'd never get used to the shock of actually being struck. It was always so random and over the littlest of things.

"I'm sorry for angering you, Auntie Chiyo." Naruto bowed to the old woman. His forehead and elbows touched the ground in the perfect commoners bow.

"What good will that bow do me? Mother is waiting, hurry and go before she comes down stairs and canes you herself!"

"Yes ma'am!" Naruto scurried up the wooden steps, down the hall and stopped when he was in front of mother's room. He fixed his hair and dusted off his yukata then hesitantly knocked.

Mother wasn't really Naruto or Hinata's actual mother. Her name was Tsunade and she was the owner of the okiya. She had no actual children except for a pet pig named Tonton who she occasionally referred to as her "one and only love" and "adopted son." All business was taken care of by her. She owned everything within the okiya, including all of the geishas and maiko's whom resided within it. Auntie Chiyo had once told him that mother had once been a famous geisha in the past but after it was discovered that she had a drinking problem all of the men who had once coveted her attention lost complete interest. Naruto didn't really believe the story but he had neither the authority nor the guts to demand the truth.

"Come in." The gruff voice of his mother wafted through the thin paper of the sliding door.

Naruto gathered his nerve and slid the door open.

"You're finally here you stupid insolent child, you know I hate to be kept waiting. What were you doing that was so important?" Tsunade was sitting at her desk. She was cradling her precious baby pig in her arm and was holding a pipe with her other hand. If Tsunade wasn't smoking then she was drinking. It was either or and never neither. She sucked a puff out of the pipe and blew it out; it billowed around her face as she stared Naruto down. Her sharp honey colored eyes were full of misplaced anger. Naruto often wondered why she was always so angry all the time.

"I was escorting Hinata-chan to her practice, I just arrived. Auntie Chiyo told me you were calling for me so I came here as soon as she did." Naruto explained nervously. He kept his eyes on the gigantic pile of paperwork on Tsunade's desk. He knew mother didn't like it when he looked her in the eyes.

"You just got here?" Tsunade repeated tersely. She chewed on the end of her long pipe, her yellow teeth contrasted against the smooth surface of the wooden pipe was a sad sight. In moments like these Naruto couldn't envision her as a famous geisha. Geishas were supposed to be beautiful. They were supposed to be the epitome of a man's deepest desires, perfect in every single way. He couldn't imagine a man ever coveting mother's yellow teeth.

"It's ten past six, it takes exactly one hour to get to the practice dojo. You should've been here exactly ten minutes ago. Were you late again?"

"Yes mother I'm sorry!" Naruto dropped to his knees. There was no use in lying. Mother would see right though him. "I tried to wake Hinata-chan up but it's not easy! She's a heavy sleeper, even if i pinch her she'll just swat my hand away and pretend its a bug biting her in her sleep! It's all my fault!"

"Enough with the excuses!" Tsunade bellowed. "This is the third time this week, my patience is running thin. Hinata must practice; she's the future star geisha of this okiya. I have great expectations for her! How will she be able to achieve those expectations if she misses ten minutes of practice every wretched day just because you can't do your job and get her to practice on time!"

"Please forgive me mother, I'll make sure Hinata-chan wakes up on time from now on!"

"You better, I didn't buy you from those dirty fish merchant parents of yours just so you could do your job incorrectly."

Naruto touched his head to the floor and bowed again. It was always like this. He couldn't recall a time when mother was ever happy with him.

"Get up and stop sniveling I called you here for a special reason."

Naruto nervously rose from his low bow and waited for Tsunade to continue.

"Hinata has caught the eye of a high profile merchant. He has promised me a large sum of money for her mizuage-"

"But, mother, Hinata-chan's only twelve!" Naruto didn't know exactly what a mizuage was all he knew for certain was that once a maiko went off to their mizuage they were never the same. After Karin's mizuage she was bedridden for three whole days and mother kept giving her 'poisons' so that 'no seeds could take root within her.' You can't seriously be considering-"

"Shut up! Do you think I'm unaware of Hinata's age? I don't intend to give her to any man in that way until she's fifteen. Never interrupt me again like that! I'll whip you until your back is bloody if you ever do again!"

"Sorry, mother." Naruto bowed. He was always bowing. Sometimes he thought to himself that it'd me much easier if he ignored Tsunade and just stood bowed at all times. It'd save him a hell of a lot of time.

"Anyways," Tsunade stroked Tonton's head as she spoke," It's expected; my darling tulip has a face as pale as the snow and eyes to match. It was only a matter of time before a patron took an interest in her. I want you to dress Hinata extra beautiful for the rest of the week that means waking up on time so you can dress her properly and do her hair! She has to look good while that merchant is still in town. If we're lucky he'll fall in love with her and come back in a few years for her mizuage!"

"I-is that all, mother?" Naruto's voice cracked slightly, he was terrified of saying something wrong again.

"Yes, now get out of my sight, I don't want to see your face for the rest of the day."

"Yes, mother."

"How was practice, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked later on when he arrived to pick Hinata up. He had left the okiya a whole thirty minutes early just so he wouldn't be late. If he arrived late then mother would surely whip him. She had made that very clear.

"I-it was the same as always." Hinata whined. Her black hair had been combed into a painful looking top do. Naruto looked at it nervously, had the teacher done it? Probably, he hadn't fixed Hinata's hair up properly that morning. He'd probably get a scolding from mother because of it later. The yukata he had lent her had also been replaced with a new one.

"Here." Hinata handed Naruto her bag, which contained her shamisen and fans. Naruto could see remnants of blood on her fingertips. He knew what that meant; Hinata had been forced to play her shamisen all day. She had told him about it before. The teacher would dip the student's fingers into a bucket of ice and then they would be forced to play their shamisen with frozen fingers. It was supposed to teach the maiko's how to play even if they couldn't feel the sensation of touch. Naruto thought it was cruel.

"I-I'm tired of going to classes. I just w-want to graduate from being a maiko and become a geisha already!" Hinata pouted.

Before someone becomes a geisha they must first train. A geisha is someone who has mastered many talents, the top three being the art of dance, entertainment, and seduction. The period in which a child trains to become a geisha they are called maiko's, they are apprentice geishas, young and inexperienced. These maiko's are usually children; children who come from poverty and are sold off to okiya's by their parents who can no longer afford to feed them. The lucky ones who are deemed beautiful enough can be sold into successful okiya's while the less attractive children if lucky enough are sold into poor okiya's with bad reputations. The children who are deemed too ugly for even the rundown okiya's have an even worse fate, they are sold into whorehouses.

"I know just a little longer and then you can be what you've always dreamed of, you can finally be a geisha." Naruto was accustomed to Hinata's constant whining. He didn't mind it; out of everyone in the okiya he liked Hinata the most. She was like a sister. Even though he was her personal maid she was never mean. She was pure hearted. Mother had bought her when she was only a baby. Rumor had it that Hinata's birth mother was a geisha from a famous hanamachi. Her mother couldn't afford the restrictions of having a child while working as a geisha so she had sold Hinata. It was a common situation; geishas didn't want children because men didn't want a woman who had a dirty reputation. Whatever that meant Naruto wasn't sure.

"I-I can't wait." Hinata got that starry eyed look in her pale eyes that always appeared when she was talking about her dream. "I-I want to be the best geisha in all of the hanamachi! I w-want to be so good that the okiya owners in K-konoha adopt me and make me their star geisha!" Konoha was the hanamachi where all of the top notch geishas lived and entertained. It was where samurais, daimyos, shoguns, and even the emperor went whenever they desired the company of a geisha. To live there one had to be better than good they had to be the best. They had heard about the hanamachi once when they found an ad in a magazine thrown on the floor on one of their walks to practice. The photo of Konoha had been in brilliant color and featured a photo of a beautiful geisha beckoning visitors to come visit.

Naruto giggled. He admired Hinata's ability to dream big. It kept him optimistic for the future, "you're so beautiful that those Konoha okiya owners would be fools to not adopt you. I'm sure you can make your dream come true."

"You're so nice Naruto-nii! O-once I become famous and move to Konoha I'll take you with m-me. You can live in my new okiya with me. You won't ever have to get a w-whipping from mother again!"

Naruto's eyes gleamed with delight. He closed his eyes and envisioned himself free of mothers grasp. Just Hinata and him living far away in the best hanamachi in the word. It'd be paradise. As he and Hinata trudged through the chilly streets the thought of the future warmed up Naruto's cold body.

Naruto hummed as he carefully undid Hinata's tight bun. He combed her hair out and plaited it into a loose braid that fell to the middle of her back.

"All done."

Hinata touched the long braid. Her fingers glided over the plait. "Thank y-you Naruto-nii! It's amazing you can do this, I can't even put my hair up p-properly!"

Naruto smiled. "It's no problem, it is my job after all! You never have to worry about doing your own hair since you'll be a geisha soon."

Hinata smiled. "You're right."

"Naruto!" Auntie Chiyo's shrill voice called from down the stairs. Naruto bolted up.

"I'll be right back Hinata-chan!"

Hinata nodded and turned back to the mirror. Through the mirror she glanced worriedly at Naruto's retreating back.

Naruto ran down the steps and bowed when he reached the bottom. "Yes, Auntie?"

"An unbooked client requested Karin's company today, I need you to help get her ready."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Me? I-I but I'm not allowed to, isn't it Hinata-chan's job to get Karin-san ready?" Since Hinata was an apprentice geisha it was part of her training to help ready a fully debuted geisha, which was why Naruto never had to help ready Karin.

"Shut up! Hinata's fingers are sore from practice; mother doesn't want her to lift a finger for the rest of the day. She can't have her future star geisha ruin her fingers before she can even debut. You will dress Karin today in place of Hinata."

"B-but-"

"Stop talking and go! Her appointment is in thirty minutes!"

Naruto bowed and ran back up the stairs. He stopped in front Karin's door. His heart was hammering in his chest. He hated this feeling. Out of everyone in the okiya Karin terrified him the most. He clutched his chest and took a deep breath.

"I can do this." Naruto chanted underneath his breath and then knocked on the door.

It slid open.

Naruto stared down at his feet. He didn't dare look up.

"What are you doing here? Leave before I lose my temper." Karin sneered.

"Mother ordered me to assist you today. Hinata-chan's fingers are sore from practice." Naruto said with his eyes still glued to his feet.

Karin clicked her tongue. "Hurry up and get in."

Naruto bowed and entered Karin's room. Karin's room was usually completely off limits to him. He wasn't allowed in unless Karin herself gave him permission, which was almost never. On the rare occasions that he was given access into Karin's room he was always blown away by the immaculate beauty of everything Karin owned. Karin's room was nothing like Hinata's room or any of the other rooms in the okiya. Karin's futon was twice the size of aunties. It looked so much more comfortable than his own straw futon that just looking at it made Naruto want to lay his head upon it just so he could feel how soft it was. Across the futon there was a long mirror hung on the wall. A mirror was a luxurious item; they cost an entire month of fish and rice. Mother never cared for them since she thought they were a waste of money but she had made an exception and bought one for Karin as a present when she had gone through her mizuage. Naruto's favorite thing in Karin's room wasn't her huge futon or mirror it was her vanity. It was full of beautiful things. There were jewels and perfumes that Naruto couldn't even dream of ever owning. All the trinkets and perfumes on Karin's vanity had been gifts from men who had paid for her company. All of her gifts were symbols of adoration and love. The people who had given them to her all loved her, it was something that Naruto would never be able to experience. Every time he was inside Karin's room he was tempted to touch all of her beautiful presents.

"Don't just stand there looking dumb. Help me tie my kimono!" Karin barked.

Naruto snapped out of his daze and ran to assist Karin.

"All done Karin-san." Naruto bowed when he had finished.

Karin didn't respond, she was too busy applying rouge to her cheeks. He had been avoiding looking at her the entire time but he couldn't help himself. With all of her geisha attire on Karin looked gorgeous. He was always transfixed whenever Karin's transformation was complete. She didn't even look like the same person. Her midnight blue kimono, done up red hair, painted white face, and delicate brown eyes...everything about her was mesmerizing. She looked like what Naruto imagined an empress would look like.

He wanted to be her. Naruto looked down at his lap. He picked at the edge of his raggedy yukata. He had had to give Hinata back her yukata so he was now wearing one that he had worn last year. It was a size too small and the fabric was faded and old. It was laughable compared to the gleaming silk of Karin's shimmering blue kimono. Naruto reached out, his mind was in a trance. Why had he been born if all he could ever be was a slave to an okiya? He would give anything to be a person with status. He was tired of living in the shadows. All he did was work, and work, and work. Karin would never know this loneliness that he did, she would forever live a life of pampered luxury for the rest of her career. He wanted a taste of that life, to feel loved-to wear beautiful things... before he realized what he was doing Naruto had unconsciously latched onto the shiny fabric of Karin's kimono.

Karin screeched. "What are you doing, you ugly dog!" She grabbed her fan and slapped the back of Naruto's hands. "Don't you ever touch me or the things that belong to me without my permission!"

Naruto crumpled to the ground and bowed. He felt tears pinprick at the side of his eyes. The back of his hands where Karin had hit him stung. He could already feel two red welts forming.

"I'm sorry, Karin-san. I'll do as you say."

"Whatever, get out. Your ugly face is annoying me."

Naruto nodded.

Life was cruel.

Naruto shivered as a strong gust of wind blew through the okiya garden courtyard. His small feet were frozen solid. The tattered straw zori he was wearing didn't provide any protection from the mounds of icy snow on the ground. He sighed. He hated winter. Mother always made him clear the snow from the courtyard so that the pathway to the okiya gate entrance was walk able.

If a geisha comes home from an appointment in the middle of the night and slips on the snow she might break her leg and what use would she be to me then? If you break your leg I'd still be able to sell you off to a whorehouse so from now on you'll be the one to plow the snow, got it?

That is what mother had said to him three years ago when he was seven. Back then Sumire had still been a geisha at their okiya. In those days mother's okiya had two working geisha, money had been coming into the okiya in a steady flow but mother had been too cheap to hire workers to tend to the yard, which meant that the duty fell into Naruto's little hands.

"Finally done." Naruto set the wooden shovel down in the shed. He rubbed his hands together in an attempt to bring his frozen hands back to life. They were numb and his fingertips were bright red. The night air was frigid; it made him want to bundle up into a ball and sleep. He knew that was impossible, he wouldn't be able to sleep until he was completely done with all of his chores. After he was done here he'd have to go prepare dinner and after that he'd have to help Hinata bathe and get her ready for bed. Once he was done with that he'd have to clean the okiya and prepare the ingredients for tomorrow's breakfast. And after everyone was asleep and all his chores were completed he'd finally be able to close his eyes and if he was lucky drift off into a dream.

"You missed a spot."

Naruto let out a startled gasp. The foreign voice pulled him out of his mental wonderings. He whirled around in the direction of where the voice had come from.

"W-who are you?" Naruto blinked up at the stranger. He had never seen this man before. He was wearing the clothes of a street vendor. His brown hair looked almost black in the dark light of the moon. His skin was tan and there were strange red triangular markings on his cheeks.

"The names Kiba and I've come to see your big sister."

"Big sister?" Naruto questioned timidly. He didn't have any sisters. What was this strange man talking about, had he come to the wrong okiya?

"Yeah, Karin. Is she here?"

"Karin-san is with a client tonight." Naruto lowered his eyes. He finally realized who this man was. He had only seen him during the times when his chores spilled into the early morning hours. This was the man that Karin would sometimes sneak into her bedroom when mother and auntie were sleeping.

"Oh that sucks. She told me she'd be free tonight." Kiba ticked his tongue. His dark brown eyes looked up at the okiya to the window of Karin's bedroom. Naruto could tell that Kiba didn't believe him.

"An unscheduled client requested Karin-san's company tonight. She didn't want to go but mother made her. She really isn't home right now, Kiba-san."

"Oh, I see." Kiba rubbed the back of his neck. Naruto looked away. He didn't know why but he felt like he had ruined something for Kiba. Whatever it was that Kiba wanted of Karin it must've been really important.

"I should get going now, once again I'm sorry about this." Naruto bowed and turned to leave but Kiba suddenly grabbed the sleeve of his yukata.

"Hey, are you a maiko? Karin never told me about you. You're pretty cute for a kid. What's your name?"

Heat rushed to Naruto's cheeks. Kiba's compliment disarmed the usual barrier he held up at all times. A mans compliment was strangely powerful, was this how geishas felt all the time when men puffed them up with words of adoration?

"It's Naruto."

"Naruto? That's a unique name, you're not from here are you?"

Naruto shook his head no. Tsunade always called his parents 'filthy fish merchants' so he assumed he was from a town by a sea.

"Thought so, you look like a foreigner." Kiba twiddled a strand of Naruto's blond hair. "You're a cute girl, Naruto-chan."

"I'm a boy!" Naruto touched his hair self-consciously. Had it grown too long? Wasn't it obvious that he was a boy? Why did people keep mistaking him for a girl! Just like that boy from earlier who had rudely told him to take his clothes off!

"No way, you're really a guy?" Kiba laughed. "So if I part your legs I'll find-"

"Yes!" Naruto blushed crimson red. Was Kiba intentionally trying to embarrass him? Why was he talking about such intimate things with him?

"So if you're a boy and you look like this then that means you're an omega right?"

"A what?" Naruto took a step back. He didn't like how nervous Kiba was making him.

"You're a boy and yet you have delicate features and hips like a girls, that means you're an omega. I've never seen one before. My dad told me omegas only lived in palaces and shit like that."

Naruto was completely lost now. It was like Kiba was speaking another language.

"You look confused. Don't worry your mother will probably teach you all about it when you're older." Kiba closed the gap between them and kneeled down onto his knees so that he was face level with Naruto. "Hey, how old are you?"

"Ten." Naruto answered shyly. Kiba was making him nervous again.

"Ten!" Kiba recited in disbelief, he looked at Naruto for a prolonged second as if he were debating something. "That's a bit too young for me but...since your big sister isn't here you'll just have to do."

"Huh?" Naruto cocked his head to the side.

"Naruto, do you want to play a game with me?" Kiba grinned.

Naruto didn't have time for games. He still had to go make dinner, if he was late mother would be furious.

"I can't." Naruto twiddled a piece of his hair. He felt somewhat bad for turning Kiba-san's request down.

"Awe, come on. This game is super fun, it's exclusive only for adults but I'm willing to play it with you since you're so cute."

Naruto was intrigued but his fear of igniting mother's wrath far outweighed his personal curiosity.

"I really can't. I have to go."

"Don't go." Kiba wrapped his tan fingers underneath Naruto's little chin and pulled Naruto's face forward until their lips were inches apart. "This game will make you feel really good, you'll regret it if you leave." Kiba licked the soft skin of Naruto's cold lips.

Naruto screamed. He pushed Kiba's face away. What had just happened? It felt as if he had just been under a spell. He touched his lips. They felt different. Kind of tingly. Gross.

"What the fuck was that?!" A familiar voice belted out.

Naruto suddenly felt a sharp pain spread through the back of his head. His knees buckled underneath the intense pain. He craned his head to the side and saw Karin's angry brown eyes glaring down at him. She had a chunk of his hair twined in her hands. She pulled again when they made eye contact.

"What were you doing kissing my boyfriend!" Karin hissed.

"I-I- didn't do anything!" Naruto whimpered when Karin's grip grew tighter.

"Baby, it was him, that little bitch seduced me!" Kiba yelled.

Karin snapped her murderous eyes back to Naruto. "I thought I told you to never touch my things without my permission!"

"I'm sorry Karin-san! I didn't do anything, it was all him! He told me he wanted to play a game with me, I don't know what he was talking about!" Naruto cried.

"What's all that racket? Who's out there!" Auntie Chiyo called out from the okiya door. Her cloudy old eyes disallowed her from seeing the figures standing in the okiya courtyard.

Karin's eyes widened. She let go of Naruto's hair and ran to Kiba.

"Go, comeback later tonight when auntie and mother are asleep!"

"But I want to be with you, this is madness always sneaking around like I'm a thief. Aren't you this okiya's only geisha, you should be able to spend your free time however you want!" Kiba protested.

"I know but you know how my mother can be!" Karin kissed Kiba quickly, passionately. "We'll talk about this later, now go!"

Kiba kissed Karin once more and then left right down the path Naruto had been shoveling earlier, leaving behind the chaos he had started.

"I'll only ask once more or I'll let the dogs out if you don't answer! Who's out there!"

Karin looked longingly at the gate entrance Kiba had just walked out of. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and then suddenly grabbed Naruto's arm. She dug her hand into her kimono breast pocket and then shoved something into Naruto's hands. Naruto looked down and saw a shiny diamond bracelet.

Karin didn't give him time to admire the shiny jewels. She pulled his arm roughly and dragged him to the okiya entrance where auntie was standing.

"Oh it was you, Karin." Auntie let her guard down when Karin came into her range of sight.

"Auntie go call mother we have a thief living amongst us!" Karin hurled Naruto onto the ground. Naruto cried out. He didn't know what was happening.

"What do you mean?" Auntie Chiyo looked down and saw Naruto.

"I caught him trying to runaway with a man! He was going to run off with this man and live off the diamond bracelet I received as a gift last week!"

Auntie's face turned bright red.

"You insolent child!" Auntie Chiyo raised her cane and whacked Naruto's arm. "How dare you disobey this okiya!"

Naruto dropped to his knees and clutched his arms to his chest to shield himself from the cane. "I didn't try to runaway, she's lying!" Naruto yelled in pain. His small arms were useless in shielding against the merciless cane. He heard his arm bone snap. The unbearable pain instantly ripped a loud scream out of his throat.

"What's all the yelling about!" Tsunade yelled as she came down the stairs. "I'm trying to nap!"

"Mother, I just caught Naruto trying to run off with a man! He stole my bracelet and was trying to leave!"

"He what!" Tsunade's hands clutched into a fist.

"I didn't, I swear mother! Karin-san's the one who has a boyfriend! I don't have anyone to runaway with! I'd never do anything like that!" Naruto sobbed as he clutched his broken arm to his chest.

"All lies!" Karin said quickly, "he'll say anything to get you on his side!"

"N-no Naruto-nii isn't lying!" Hinata spoke up from where she had been watching. Her pale eyes were full of tears. "I s-saw everything, Naruto-nii was cleaning the snow and then a strange man showed up. Karin-san showed up shortly after and I saw her kiss the guy and motion for him to leave!"

Tsunade turned to Karin.

"Who is he, Karin?"

"You can't seriously believe her mother?" Karin laughed nervously, "she's obviously lying in order to save her pathetic slave."

"I said who is he!" Tsunade bellowed. She hit the wall and it dented easily, as if she had just banged her fist into a bowl of cooked rice.

"His name is Kiba." Karin dropped her charade.

Tsunade growled. "What have I taught you!"

"But I love him!" Karin wailed.

"You are a geisha! A geisha doesn't have the freedom to love, you stupid girl! What would've I done if you ended up pregnant, huh? Hinata still has five years until her debut I need you to bring in money until then!"

"But it's not fair! I'm the one making all the money; I'm the one who pays for everything here! I'm the only geisha in this wretched okiya, I deserve to have happiness!"

Tsunade grabbed Karin's chin and squeezed her lips together. "Stop spouting such nonsense. This okiya is mine; I bought you and raised you. I'm the one who paid for your training classes, for the kimono's you wear everyday, for the make-up on your face. I own you therefore the money you make is mine." Tsunade pushed Karin away. "Once you repay the debt you owe me you may love who you please. Until then if I ever see that boy around here again I'll have him arrested for trespassing, do you understand?"

Karin began to cry. It was the first time Naruto had ever seen Karin cry. The foreign sight of the fat tears in her usually mean eyes was shocking. He couldn't look away.

"I understand."

"And you," Tsunade pulled Naruto off the ground by his ear. "You're raking up quite a debt, it'll cost triple the amount of how much I paid for you to hire a doctor to fix this broken arm of yours!"

"I'm sorry mother! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

That was all Naruto could say because he was sorry. He was truly sorry for existing; it'd be much easier if he had just never had been born into this chaotic life of an okiya slave.

The next day the okiya was strangely quiet. There was a stillness in it that was odd. Things were still running in regular routine but there was something that had changed. Naruto couldn't put his finger on what that was but he could definitely feel it. When he had gone to wake Hinata up that morning she had already been awake, ready, and dressed.

When they made the hour long walk to practice Naruto noticed that Hinata hadn't said a single word to him.

The day wore on but the strangeness remained. Auntie was meaner than usual, Hinata didn't say anything to him, Karin glared at him every time he took a breath...the only thing that stayed the same were the multitude of chores he had to do.

"What gives, are you mad at me?" Naruto asked while he was getting Hinata ready for bed. He was exhausted of pretending that he didn't notice Hinata ignoring him.

Hinata's eyes widened. She turned her head and pretended she hadn't heard.

"Hinata-chan, I know you heard me."

"I-I don't think you and I should talk anymore, Naruto-nii." Hinata confessed in a small voice.

Naruto felt his heart lurch. "What, why!?"

Hinata began to cry. "When mother took you to the d-doctor last night to bandage your arm Karin c-came to my room. I thought she was going to hurt me because of how I told m-mother about what she had done but she didn't l-lay a single finger on me. K-Karin-san told me something about you. S-she told me that y-you're an omega, she also told me that I s-shouldn't be friends with a boy like you!"

'Omega'…that was the second time Naruto had heard the strange word. He didn't even know what it meant.

"Karin-san said that b-boys like you are bad company to keep. She said t-that once I debut and others find out that I w-was friends with an omega they'll stop talking to me. I-I can't risk my dream for you."

"But I thought I was a part of your dream! Remember me and you were gonna get out of here together, to Konoha!"

"I-I know what I said! I-I'm sorry but e-even though Karin-san can be mean she i-is a successful geisha. S-she knows what men like. I-if being friends with you m-means that men will hate me I can't risk it. S-she said even if a person like y-you touches me men would think I'm disgusting."

"Hinata do you realize what you're even saying. We've been friends forever. You're like my sister!" Naruto's voice trembled as he tried to keep his tears at bay.

"P-please don't ever speak to me again. I-I have asked mother to find me a new personal maid. I-I'm sorry Naruto-nii but we can longer be friends."

Naruto let his tears fall freely. It was fitting that the only person he had considered his family would leave him. He was only ten and yet he was sure that there wasn't anyone on earth who'd be able to bear the weight of his loneliness.

"You wanted to talk to me mother?" Naruto entered Tsunade's study. He bowed.

"Yes, close the door."

Naruto did as told, like a machine. No emotions, only obeying.

"Sit." Tsunade motioned to the pillow in front of her desk. Naruto was caught off guard. Mother never asked him to sit before. She usually just barked orders and then rudely asked him to "get out of her sight."

Naruto cautiously sat down on the cushion. He chanced a look at Tsunade's face just to see if he could read what mood she was in. He quickly flitted his eyes away; she had been staring directly at him. He was a little relieved by the fact that mother had Tonton in her lap. It meant that if she were going to whip him he'd have a chance to shield himself during the time it took mother to put Tonton down.

"I didn't think I'd have to worry about men so early with you." Tsunade sighed; it was an angry sigh, full of irritation and annoyance. Naruto completely understood, if he were Tsunade he'd be annoyed with himself too. He was a waste of space. "But the incident the other day has made me realize that I was wrong."

Naruto was confused. What did mother mean. Was she referring to what happened with Kiba?

"You aren't an ordinary boy, you have an ability that other normal boys don't have. You are an omega which means you have the ability to get pregnant."

"W-what?" Naruto felt as if he had just been punched in the gut. "Are you lying!? Mother this is a cruel lie even for you!"

"Shut up, I didn't give you permission to speak!" Tsunade banged her fist on the table. Tonton squealed and clambered out of Tsunade's arms.

"It's the truth. You're nothing but a useless omega. But listen to me-" Tsunade reached across her desk and gripped Naruto's face tightly. "You are my property, when I bought you your filthy slut of a mother didn't tell me you were an omega. I bought you thinking you were just another boy who would grow up and do the handy work around my okiya. I would've never bought you if I knew you were an omega! You're just like a girl except with a dick between her legs-useless to me." Tsunade dropped her grip. Naruto rubbed his jaw; there'd be a bruise tomorrow. Tears trickled out of his eyes as Tsunade's cruel words sunk in.

"If you didn't have those scars on your face I could've used you and made you a geisha. You're a waste of space but I've already invested far too much money on you just to sell you off now." Tsunade growled.

The scars on Naruto's face had been made by Tsunade herself one day when Naruto was five and had accidentally spilled ink on one of Karin's kimonos and yet Tsunade always commented about how ugly they were. "Sorry for having these scars, mother." Naruto touched the puckered skin of his cheeks self-consciously.

"I'm getting angry just looking at you, get out of my sight!"

Naruto bowed then got up. His head was reeling with so much new information and questions but all he could do was comply with what Tsunade had ordered him to do. He didn't have the luxury to ask questions.

"Oh and Naruto," Tsunade called.

"Yes, mother?" Naruto murmured.

"If you ever come home pregnant I'll kill the fetus. I don't have money to support another useless child in this okiya."

Naruto couldn't even produce a verbal response. He nodded solemnly.

He left a mere ghost of the ten-year-old boy he had been before he had walked into mother's office.

One month later.

"Five pounds of rice please." Naruto handed the stall merchant the usual fare. The man was old and graying, his eyes were like aunties, clouded over with a thick white film. His hands shook as he took Naruto's money.

"A young maiko like you shouldn't be carrying such a heavy load like this all by herself. Next time bring your maid with you." The old man advised as he filled a brown sack with rice and handed it to Naruto.

"I'm not a maiko, I'm a maid, sir." Naruto answered politely. "I work for the Senju okiya run by Tsunade-sama."

The old mans eyes widened a tiny fraction. He drew closer and scanned his eyes over Naruto's face.

"You're that boy, the one who looks like a girl!" The old man snatched the bag of rice out of Naruto's small hands and threw his money at him. The coins landed on the ground. The people bustling by on the sidewalk snapped their attention to the commotion of the yelling old man. "My son paid for an evening with that red haired geisha who works at your okiya and she told him all about you! You're an omega. I refuse to do business with someone like you, never come here again!"

The crowd of people gasped when they heard the old man say omega. They looked at the little girl the man was yelling at. Was the child truly a boy then? A fevered discussion erupted through the crowd.

That's an omega?

I've never seen one before?

She looks like a normal little girl to me?

Right, but I heard that despite their gender all omegas have feminine features.

What's an omega doing here?

I thought they were supposed to be rich, this ones dressed like a field worker.

Naruto tried to tune out the crowds words but they were so loud. They spoke as if he weren't a human with emotions. He was just a thing to them. Naruto's eyes welled up with tears. He couldn't believe this was happening. Omega, why did that ugly word have to change people's views of him so easily?

"I don't need some snooty omegas money. You all think you're so much better than us but you're not! Now get outta here and never come again!" The old man yelled so hard drool dribbled out of the side of his lips. So much hatred was in his white eyes that it stung Naruto just to look into them.

Naruto busted into tears. He ran through the gathered crowd, down the town streets until he made it to a secluded bridge. A cluster of sakura trees hid the bridge. During the spring the bridge was usually crowded but no one came during the winter. The sakura trees were bare and the river flowing beneath the bridge was frozen over solid. There was no beauty here in the winter. Naruto looked over the ledge of the bridge. He could end all of his loneliness right now. All he had to do was stand on the ledge and jump down into the frozen river. He'd die instantly upon impact. He wiped his tears away with a shaky hand. He had decided that he was going to jump. No more crying, no more whippings, no more of Karin's mean glares, no more broken promises, no more of mothers orders, no more of aunties cane, no more pain, no more loneliness. No more anything.

"Are you going to jump?" A voice abruptly called. The voice was like the sound of a shamisen being plucked in the dead of night, unwelcomed but still beautiful to the ears.

Naruto glanced around to find the owner of the melodic voice. He finally spotted him. It was a boy. He was undoubtedly older but still possessed young features. He was dressed like a lord. His formal haori and hakama were black and ironed out to the point that there wasn't a single crease in them. There was an odd fan crest on the back of his haori. The top of the fan was red and the bottom was white. It was a symbol that represented something, Naruto was sure of it but he didn't know what it was. The boy looked almost doll like. Spotless, not a single hair was out of place. Naruto could tell just by the boy's appearance that he wasn't from around here.

"Hey, are you hard of hearing? I asked if you were going to jump?"

Naruto hurriedly wiped away the tears gathered on his cheeks. "Go away and leave me alone! I want to die."

The boy looked truly distraught over what Naruto had just said. He jogged the rest of the way up the bridge and bent down in front of Naruto, the expensive looking fabric of his hakama were now soaked wet from the snow. "I was just joking, I didn't think you were serious! You shouldn't say something like that. Why would you ever want to die?"

"Because no one likes me! I'd be much better off dead!"

"That isn't true." The boy countered.

"Yes it is! You wouldn't understand!"

"Really? Hey, look at me."

Naruto raised his head; with the new close proximity he could see things that hadn't been noticeable before. The boys face was pale like the snow and his hair was ash black. His eyes were the most surprising thing about him, they were bright red with a tiny black pupil in the middle. His eyes looked like two rubies shining back at him. The boy wasn't as young as he had thought up close he looked older. He was probably the same age as Karin, Naruto theorized.

The boy took a white satin cloth out of his pocket and stretched his hand out so he could wipe a tear rolling down Naruto's plump cheek. "No one should be eager to die, especially a little boy like you."

"You could tell I'm a boy?" Naruto sputtered, completely shocked.

"Of course I can." The boy smiled, it was a small smile. A tiny drag of his lips upwards but it was the most beautiful smile Naruto had ever seen. "Hey, why are you still crying?" The boy exclaimed when a new batch of tears began to drop from Naruto's blue eyes.

"I'm a boy and yet I look like this! It's all because I'm an omega! You're the first stranger who hasn't confused me for a girl!" Naruto screamed so hard that his face grew hot.

The boy was visibly taken aback. "An omega, here?" The boy said more to himself rather than to Naruto, it sounded like a thought that had escaped pass his lips.

"Now that you know what I am you can hate me like everyone else does! I don't even know what the hell an omega is but everyone seems to hate me because of it so leave! Go on! Run away like the rest of them!"

The boy laughed, it was melodious just like his voice. "Are you being serious? Why would I ever hate you for something like that?"

Naruto froze. Wasn't it already obvious why? "Because everyone else does?"

"Being an omega isn't something to be hated for. You should be proud."

"Why the hell would I be proud about it? Everyone hates me because of it!"

"They're probably just jealous of you."

Naruto was dumbfounded. How could anyone ever be jealous of him? He was a slave for an okiya, he received whippings daily, and he was an orphan with only a money hungry okiya owner to call his "mother." Not even a dog would covet the life he led. "No one in their right mind would be jealous of me!"

"In a poor hanamachi like this there's no doubt in my mind that people are mean to you because they're jealous of you. You're special. Being an omega can mean only one thing. You have the blood of nobility running in your veins. An omega can only be produced by parents who are blue blooded."

"My parents were fish merchants! They sold me to an okiya so they could live comfortably in their shack of a home. They abandoned me for a little sack of money! I'm not a noble! This all sounds like an elaborate joke please stop lying to me!"

The boy laughed, again it was smooth and effortless. "I have no reason to lie. You are special, those merchants who sold you were most likely not your real parents."

Naruto reeled as the boy's words settled in. He felt sick. Who were his real parents then and why did they give him away in the first place! It hurt to know that he had not only been given up once but twice. Was he just not lovable?

"Hey, you're crying again? Why?"

"Because I'm sad! What do you expect me to be after hearing something like that! I don't want to live! Everyone I've cared for has left me!"

"My nursemaid once told me that if you're feeling lonely then you should channel your loneliness into something that makes you happy."

"That's impossible!" Naruto yelled. "How can I do that when just existing makes people hate me?"

"It isn't impossible, I would know that better than anyone else."

Naruto paused. His curiosity was piked. "How?"

"You really don't know who I am?"

Naruto shook his head no. He only knew that this boy looked like he had money and that he also had weird red eyes. Was he supposed to know who he was?

"My name is Sasuke. I belong to the Uchiha family. My father is the highest shogun in all of the emperor's court. I've never met anyone who hasn't known who I am." Sasuke said perplexed.

"A shoguns son?" Naruto had heard of shoguns before. Years ago, back when Sumire still lived in the okiya, she and Karin had come home drunk. They had barreled into the okiya with stars in their eyes because they had heard a rumor that a shogun was coming to the hanamachi for business. Mother had been so delighted with the rumor. A shogun was the second highest ranking a man could ever achieve, right underneath the emperor. A man like that who had such a high social standing and money never came to their little hanamachi. After that day Mother had made Sumire and Karin dress in their best kimonos for a solid week just in case the shogun so happened to see them. He never came, it had turned out to be only a rumor after all.

"How could a shoguns son even know about loneliness? When people like you come to a hanamachi people gather at your feet just to see you!"

"That may be true for a shogun but for me it isn't like that at all. You see I'm the second son of the Uchiha family so I'm basically just a back up in case something happens to my brother. I hold no worthy title, only a well-known family name. I'm useless to my father he only cares about my brother and my mother never speaks to me, she's too busy doting on my precious little sister to care about what I do. I have no one. Loneliness is something that I understand very well. Whenever the loneliness becomes unbearable I just try to remember things that make me happy, you should try the same thing."

Naruto's anger slowly receded. He couldn't help but feel bad for Sasuke.

"How do I begin then?" Naruto asked shyly. "To channel my loneliness into happiness sounds impossible."

"First think of all the things that make you happy-"

"But I don't have anything like that!"

"It's okay if it's only one thing. It doesn't matter what it is or how trivial it is, as long as it makes you happy then you can use it."

Naruto scrunched his eyes closed and tried to recall something that made him happy. In the past he would've easily named Hinata as his sole source of happiness but now that wasn't the case. There was nothing that made him happy, not a single thing...

"Did you think of anything?"

Naruto opened his eyes. He found himself wanting to smile as Sasuke's red eyes stared intently at him.

"Yeah, I did." Naruto grinned. Sasuke's odd colored eyes and overall presence made him weirdly happy.

"Good, now think of that thing and only of that thing."

Naruto nodded and focused only on Sasuke's eyes. He casted all other thoughts out of his mind.

"Keep thinking of it until all you can think about is that thing. Think about how grateful you are that that thing exists, appreciate that it makes you happy. It exists only for you. You should slowly feel happiness replace all the loneliness," There was a sudden sharp gust of wind; it brought to attention a scent Naruto hadn't noticed before. It was an enticing scent that made Naruto feel warm inside.

"Sasuke-san, that actually works!" Naruto exclaimed jubilantly. He didn't know if it was the sudden scent or Sasuke's technique that had made him happy but he was grateful for Sasuke's existence. If anything just for teaching him this technique. He suddenly got sad when he realized that Sasuke wouldn't always be here to be his source of "happiness." Sasuke wasn't from here.

"Why did you come to this hanamachi, Sasuke-san?" Naruto hoped Sasuke's answer was that he moved here and now he'd be living in this little hanamachi for the rest of his life but he knew that was hoping for the impossible.

"I'm here because this is where my brother is. He's conducting business on behalf of our father. When we go to different towns he tends to forget about me so I usually just drift around until he comes looking for me. To be honest with you I hate having to tag along with him, he has an annoying habit of collecting beautiful things from every town we stop in." Sasuke sighed as if he were getting a burden off his chest. "He'd probably try to collect you if he saw you." Sasuke suddenly drew closer. "Your kimono is that of a okiya worker, what okiya do you belong to? My brother has probably been to it."

"Senju okiya." Naruto replied quickly. The smell radiating off Sasuke smelled just like the enticing smell he had gotten a whiff of a minute ago. It was flooding Naruto's senses, why did it make him feel so lightheaded? Warm.

"Senju okiya? Never heard of it." Sasuke was so close. Naruto could see the black lashes of his eyes and the striking vivid red color surrounding his pupils. He felt his face get hot; he had never seen anyone as pretty as Sasuke before and he doubted he ever would again. He didn't know if Sasuke realized he had just inadvertently called him beautiful but he'd pretend that he did. Having someone as pretty as Sasuke think he was beautiful was doing wonders for Naruto's nonexistent self-esteem.

"Are you a maiko?"

Naruto quickly shook his head no.

"A shame, you'd look pretty in a formal kimono when you're older."

Naruto's stomach flipped at the compliment, this one had actually been direct! "You like geishas?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Of course I do, who doesn't like geishas? They're elegant, they entertain you and bring you happiness and look beautiful while doing it. They take the loneliness away."

Naruto briefly felt a pang in his heart. Sasuke had just looked like the loneliest boy in all of Japan. The face Sasuke had just made when he had spoke of taking the loneliness away reminded him of his own loneliness. He wanted to take that loneliness away for Sasuke; he wanted to be his source of happiness.

"Sasuke-sama, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!" A man dressed in a navy blue suit called from the end of the bridge. "It's ten past noon. We have to go. Your brother has finally sent word and has requested to see you exactly at noon today. We are late!"

"I'll be there in a minute, Kisame!" Sasuke yelled back.

Naruto began to panic. Sasuke was going to leave! Sasuke belonged to a completely different world than him; he'd probably never see him again.

"Here, thank you for letting me use it." Naruto offered up the satin cloth Sasuke had given him to wipe his tears. Their departure was inevitable; Naruto was trying to accept it.

"You can keep it. A crybaby like you will need it more than I do." Sasuke laughed and folded Naruto's small fingers over the cloth.

Naruto took it and clutched it tightly to his chest. He looked down at the cloth as if it were a diamond ring. The letters S.U. were stitched on the corner of the soft fabric. He ran his thumb across the gold thread.

"Thank you, no one has ever given me a gift before. I'll cherish this forever."

"Really?" Sasuke asked surprised. "Well then I'm happy to be your first. Here you can have this too." Sasuke set a heavy silk satchel into the palm of Naruto's hand.

"What is this?" Naruto squeezed the bag to see if he could get a feel for its internal contents. He instantly realized what was inside. "Is this-I can't accept this!"

"Keep it. It's yours. I want you to have it." Sasuke caressed the edge of Naruto's worn out yukata sleeve. "Buy yourself something nice, you deserve it."

"Sasuke-sama we have to get going!" Kisame called out from down the bridge again.

"My brother will get angry if I'm too late." Sasuke frowned, "Well, I guess this is goodbye, it was nice meeting you."

Naruto nodded. He felt like crying.

"No more crying okay, crybaby."

"Yes!" Naruto sucked up the tears that were threatening to spill out.

Naruto watched forlornly as Sasuke walked down the bridge, back to his gleaming world of riches and splendor and loneliness.

After he was sure Sasuke was gone Naruto ran back through town. He paid no attention to the people on the streets staring him down as if he were insane, they didn't exist or matter. Earlier that morning he had lived without a purpose. But now he had something-someone to live for.

Naruto's breath escaped him in short pants. His legs felt like burning sticks, they were going numb from how hard he was running but he didn't stop. He ran until he reached his desired destination. The temple in the center of the hanamachi.

He took the satchel of money Sasuke had given him and poured it down the temple well. The money could've easily bought him a train ticket out of town, it could've funded him for a solid month on the road and allowed him to book lodgings as he traveled or he could've given the money to mother and paid off a portion of his debt but instead he gave it all away as an offering to the gods. He rung the bell over the well once and then clasped his hands together. With all of his might he prayed that somehow he could become what Sasuke loved-a geisha and that one day he'd be able to see Sasuke again and relieve him of his loneliness. After praying for an hour Naruto ran back to his okiya. He'd return to his life of loneliness all in the hopes that the gods would hear his prayers and that one day they'd make his dream come true.