A/N: I don't own Naruto, obviously. The plot is based of Memoirs of a Geisha, but it's not the exact same.

"Mom!" Sakura shouted, tears streaming down her face as she reached towards her mother. "Mom, help!"

Her mother never looked at her once. Her face was stuffed in her hands as she sobbed wildly. The pink haired girl was deeply confused. Her mother obviously did not want Sakura to be gone, yet she did nothing to save her. She watched in horror as a tall, scary man with scars across his face handed a small sack of money to her parents. Sakura understood what was happening now.

She was being sold.

Why hadn't her parents told her before? Sakura knew that they were in a bit of financial trouble, but she had no idea that it was to the point where they were willing to sell their one and only child. It hurt Sakura deeply that her parents hadn't even let her know. If they had told her, she would have willingly gone with the strange man. But they didn't tell her.

Sakura looked at her parents one last time. She and her mother made eye contact for a split second, and in that moment, Sakura felt loved. Even though she was being sold, she was willing to help her parents live a happy life, even if that meant giving up her life for it. There was a sadness in her mother's eyes that showed she did not want to give up Sakura. Although she wanted to hate her parents, she could not bring herself to do so. They had spent their entire lives and finances to Sakura, so that she could live a happy life.

The young girl was thrown into a car, most likely to never see her family again. She sat in the back, tears no longer flowing due to the fact that had cried so much. Sakura closed her eyes; she tired herself out because of the crying and screaming. All she wanted to do was sleep. Sleep and wake up to find out that this was all a bad dream.

A bright light shone in her eyes, a rude awakening if you asked her. She barely had time to register what was going on around her because she was literally pulled out of the car. Sakura let out a painful shriek due to the immense pain in her left arm.

"She's noisy, I don't like her already."

Sakura looked to see who her captor was and was deeply surprised that it was a woman. She had undeniably beautiful, platinum blonde hair and brown eyes. She had a purple jewel encrusted in the middle of her forehead, a strange fashion statement in Sakura's humble opinion. The woman also had abnormally huge breasts. It made Sakura feel even more insecure about her own chest.

Sakura looked at the house behind the strange woman. It was different form how Sakura imagined it. The house in the background was made of a dark wood and fresh rice paper windows and doors. It looked bigger than Sakura's old village.

The woman turned to the scary man and smiled, "Thanks, Ibiki. Shizune is upstairs waiting to discuss the paperwork."

The man named Ibiki nodded and entered the home. The woman then turned her attention back to Sakura. "And what is your name?"

"Haruno Sakura."

"Your name suits you quite well, saves me a lot of trouble," she smiled, "I am Tsunade, your new mother."

Sakura bowed before her, "It's nice to meet you, mother."

Tsunade gave the pinkette a small smile, 'Maybe she's not as bad as I thought,'

"Shall we go inside?" asked Tsunade, "There are some people you need to meet."

The busty woman did not wait for Sakura to answer. Tsunade grabbed her hand and dragged her into the mansion. Inside, it was even more exotic than the out. The walls were decorated with dozens of girls dressed in elegant kimonos. Tsunade was in all of the photos, smiling. Sakura walked past many rooms, she could not see the inside of the rooms, only the silhouettes of girls. Tsunade came to a sudden stop; in front of Tsunade was another blonde girl. Her hair was short and parted to where only one of her blue eyes could be seen. She was clad in a simple violet yukata with an apple green obi wrapped snugly around her waist. The girl seemed to be the same age as Sakura. She hoped that maybe they could become friends.

"Ino," began Tsunade, "This is Sakura."

"Hello, Sakura. It's nice to meet you." She smiled, "I'm Ino."

"I want you to give her a tour of the house. Mother has a lot of work to do today."

"Yes, thank you, Mother." Ino bowed. Tsunade disappeared up the staircase. The platinum blonde turned to Sakura with a big smile. She grabbed onto Sakura's hands and pulled her around. "So what's your story?"

"Story?" she repeated, "I was sold by my family."

Ino made a sour face, "Sorry to hear that. I was in a similar situation. My mother unexpectedly had a baby. Money was scarce, so they had to sell me in order to feed the family."

Sakura felt her stomach churn at the thought of other girls who were like her. "It's sad when you think about how much money runs our lives."

"Yeah…Well this is the kitchen." Ino opened a door to reveal a steamy room full of older women, cooking rapidly. The smell of sweet red bean dumplings poured out which made Sakura's stomach rumble with hunger. It must've been quite loud because Ino began to giggle. "Hungry?"

Humbly, Sakura nodded. Ino went into the kitchen stealthily and quickly walked back out, a stick on dango in her hands. "Let's go look around."

The house was much larger than Sakura imagined. The first floor had the kitchen, the boarding rooms, and a small bathing room. The second floor was mainly for Tsunade and her business. The attic was just for storage.

Sakura followed Ino into one of the boarding rooms. Thin white futons were laid on the floor. "So, what exactly is this place?" Sakura asked, "An orphanage for girls?"

Ino stared at Sakura blankly, after a few seconds of intense staring she burst into laughter. Sakura stood at the doorway dumbly and confused, she felt her cheeks go red with embarrassment. She tried to understand what Ino was laughing at, but couldn't think of any reason.

When the laughter ceased, Ino playfully pushed Sakura into the room. She landed onto one of the futons with a soft thud. The platinum blonde turned to Sakura and frowned, "Are you serious?"

"I really don't know what this place is," Sakura said, a bit hurt.

"This is an okiya*," Ino answered with a soft tone, her eyes refusing to meet with Sakura's.

Sakura felt her stomach drop. If she was in an okiya, that meant she would eventually become a geisha. This was a dream come true! Sakura had always seen geisha when they passed through her village. They were so beautiful and everyone adored them, which is exactly what the pinkette longed for. She let out a sigh, thinking that maybe being sold wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Sakura sprawled across the futon and chatted with Ino for the remainder of the day. She was glad that Ino was here, a girl her age could easily become her friend.

After much talking, Sakura's mouth went horribly dry. "I'm going to get a drink of water," she told Ino. She grunted in response as Sakura left the room.

As soon as she was in the hallway, Sakura bumped into another girl and both landed on the floor. Sakura rubbed her throbbing bottom and looked at the girl. She too had pink hair, but hers was very bright, almost red instead of pink. She wore black rimmed glasses and was overdressed. The girl looked to Sakura and scowled, "You little bitch, watch where you're going!"

Sakura's brow furrowed, "What? You bumped into me!"

The girl was about to say something but froze, "Oh no," she whispered. Sakura looked at the girl's chest and saw a big brown stain, most likely from dripping dango sauce. "Mother will kill me…"

'Cha! That's what she deserves for yelling at me!' Sakura thought with amusement. The girl quickly looked around and ran past Sakura into a room. Sakura stood up and went into the kitchen to retrieve her much needed refreshment.

Ino came into the kitchen where Sakura resided, "Hey, dinner's ready."

"Good timing, I'm starving." Sakura smiled, Ino nodded in agreement and went to the room where the futons once were. The futons were gone and in their place were two big wooden tables and food spilling from them. Sakura felt drool forming as she looked at the delicious meal. She inhaled the scent of grilled pork and chopped vegetables.

Everyone was at the table except Mother. Sakura wondered why but shrugged it off, too hungry to care. She along with Ino sat down on the floor.

"Thanks for the meal!" the girls cried in unison and began digging in.

At the table there was Ino, a woman with short black hair who Sakura assumed was Shizune, the rude girl from earlier, and a girl with blue hair tied in a bun.

"You must be Sakura," the raven haired woman greeted, "I'm Shizune, but you can call me Aunty."

'Woah, I guessed right.' Sakura thought.

The girl who's hair was in a bun smiled, "I'm Konan, nice to meet you, Sakura-chan."

Shizune and Konan looked at the rude girl with piercing eyes, but she continued eating, acting as though they weren't even there. Konan visibly nudged the girl's side.

"What?" She spat coldly.

"You're being rude," Konan scolded, "Introduce yourself."

She huffed, "Fine. I'm Karin."

Sakura glared at her, "Sakura. Nice to meet you." She lied, disliking the girl already.

"Whatever," Karin snorted and began to eat her meal again.

After a few moments of silence, Tsunade came downstairs and slammed the door open. Her face was red with rage and she began to yell, "Sakura! Look at what you've done!"

In her hands was the soiled kimono Karin had been wearing earlier. Sakura heard a gasp come from Konan's direction. "M-My finest kimono!" Konan cried.

Tsunade snatched Sakura's hand and pulled her up. Sakura let out a shrill shriek of pain and felt tears forming. She looked into Tsunade's eyes and wished she hadn't because she felt she just saw the devil. "You need to be reprimanded. Now."

The busty woman began to lead Sakura out the door, her mind was spinning. Why was this happening? To her of all people? It was Karin's fault! Yet she was the one being punished, Sakura assumed that Karin must have lied to Tsunade. Anger bubbled in the pit of her stomach, she latched her free hand onto Tsunade's sleeve.

"Wait!"

Tsunade paused and turned around, "What is it, Shizune?"

"I'll punish her, Tsunade-sama, go enjoy your meal while it's still hot." Shizune said her voice firm.

"Fine," she threw Sakura's hand and pushed past the two. Sakura looked at Shizune with fearful eyes, glad that she had come to save her.

"Thank you for stopping her," she began, but Shizune silenced her by grabbing her hand. She led Sakura outside to the front yard of the house.

"Lay down." Shizune ordered, pointed towards the grass.

Without question, Sakura did so. She wondered why Shizune would make her do such a strange thing. She heard Shizune sit down in the grass and looked at her with a frown.

"I'm sorry Sakura," she pulled own a long, hay like thread and began to whip at Sakura's exposed calves.

Sakura let out a yelp. Shizune repeatedly whipped at the poor girl's legs until they bled. Tears poured out as the lashings continued. Sakura hated Karin. She hated her for lying to Tsunade because this should not be happening. Shizune did the unthinkable and whispered in Sakura's ear, "I'll beat you hard so mother won't beat you harder,"

Sakura couldn't decided whether she was supposed to be thankful or not.

To make Sakura feel better about last night, Ino decided to show Sakura around Konoha. The town itself wasn't very big, but it was still growing. Sakura did feel better and completely forgot about last night's beatings. She was glad that Ino was nice enough to do something like that and surprised that Ino had managed to convince Mother to let them out.

"There's someone I want you to meet, he's so dreamy!" Ino cooed.

"What does he look like?" Sakura asked, trying to picture what this dream boat looked like.

"It has to be a surprise!" she teased.

Ino grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her to a mansion. In the yard were two boys, happily playing.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino called out, waving her hand. The gate to the mansion was open and Ino dragged Sakura inside. "I want you to meet my new friend, Sakura-chan."

Sakura's jaw almost dropped at the sight of Sasuke. He had inky black hair and equally dark eyes that contrasted beautifully against his pale skin. There was a mysterious aura about him that made her knees go to jelly. Dreamy was an understatement.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he greeted with a smile, "Nice to meet you."

"And I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" a tanned boy jumped out of nowhere. He had blonde hair and three whisker-like scars on both of his cheeks. "Pleasure to meet you, Sakura-chan!"

"Nice to meet you both," she smiled. "Who's house is this?"

"Mine." Sasuke answered, "My parents work with his. They're government officials."

"How nice," Sakura commented, feeling a bit envious that both boys were from wealthy families. She wished that she had that luxury so she could still be with her family.

"What about you?" Naruto asked. "Where do you live?"

She froze and uncomfortably answered, "I live with Ino." She hoped that Naruto would understand what that meant. When his carefree expression shifted to a serious one, she knew he did and was glad.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He apologized quickly, "if I had known-"

"Shut up," Sasuke interrupted, "You're making the situation worse, dobe."

"Ino!" another voice called, Ino turned around waved.

"I'll be over there in a minute!" she looked at Sakura, "Old friend, I'll be back."

The three stood there for a moment, "So Sakura-chan, do you have a boyfriend?" Naruto asked with a blush.

"I got here yesterday," she replied. "So, no."

"Well, maybe y-you and I c-could go out for ramen some time!"

Sakura chuckled, "Yeah and maybe Sasuke could come too!"

Naruto almost fell to the ground in tears, "No way! Sasuke is too boring for that stuff. He cramps my style."

The raven haired boy snorted, "Really? Funny how you were the one asking if I wanted to play ninjas with you."

His tan face went red. "W-Well that's because…because I felt bad for you!"

"Whatever, you're a horrible liar." Sasuke smirked. Sakura chuckled at the two. Sasuke could read Naruto like an open book.

"Anyways!" Naruto said, turning his attention to the pinkette, "Will we be seeing you again, Sakura-chan?"

"Sure. When's the next time you want to meet?"

"Tonight," Sasuke said.

"Eh?" Naruto and Sakura cried in unison.

"I'm not sure if I can tonight." She emphasized on tonight, because Sakura knew Mother wouldn't let her out especially at night.

"Fine, we'll just ask someone else who's more willing," he said with an icy glare.

She widened her eyes, Sasuke sure wouldn't take "no" for an answer. When he wanted something, he knew how to get it. "Alright." She said, "I'll have to sneak out though." Sakura wanted Sasuke to like her; she didn't want him to think she was a loser if she said no.

With the faint sound of her name being called, Sakura knew it was time to head back. "I have to go now, I'll see you two later tonight."

"Be here at 10 pm." Sasuke said with a smirk, "That's when all the fun begins."

"Yeah, this will be fun, dattebayo!"

"Bye!" she waved, "It was nice meeting you two."

"Likewise." Sasuke smiled.

She blushed and ran off to Ino. Sakura was feeling giddy about tonight. Maybe she could make some new friends besides Ino! Not that there was anything wrong with Ino, it's just that she'd go insane if that was her only friend. Ino held onto Sakura's and began walking back home with her.

"Isn't he handsome?" Ino sighed, "I think I'm in love!"

"He is cool!" Sakura agreed, "Naruto seems nice too."

"He's okay, Naruto gets annoying after a while."

Feeling a bit defensive, Sakura replied, "Everyone has their moments."

"Yeah, well he has his too often." She said, sticking her tongue out.

Sakura rolled her eyes deciding that she should switch the topic, "You know, I didn't stain Konan's kimono."

Ino perked up with interest, "I know that already, but who did?"

"Karin." Sakura spat with disgust. "She was wearing it and she bumped into me, I guess she was eating dango because there was sauce on it."

Ino stopped walking and pulled Sakura into a tight hug, "I'm sorry you had to go through all that."

"Thanks." Sakura pulled away and smiled, "We should get going, it's getting pretty dark."

"Yeah."

The two girls ran home, their hands linked tightly together. When they got home, they were tired and breathless. Today had been a good day for Sakura. She met two new friends, and developed a small crush on the attractive Sasuke. But it was just a crush. Sakura wasn't going to fall for him that easily. She only thought he was attractive and cool.

Sakura went to the boarding room and began setting up the futon. She lay on the futon and began thinking of her parents. The girl curled into a ball and hugged her knees. It's only been two days since she last saw her parents but it felt like it's been years. The past two days have been a mixture between heaven and hell. Shizune's beating and Karin's lies were the hell. Meeting Ino, Sasuke, and Naruto was heaven. But still, she longed for her mother to brush her hair and tell her how much she loved her. She wanted her father to hold her tight and assure her that everything would be alright. Tears started to fall from her eyes as she remember her mother's tear stained face crying out her name.

"Sakura…" Ino knelt down beside her and wrapped her arms around her. "Don't cry."

"I'm s-sorry it's just," she said between sobs, "I miss them so much."

"I know," the platinum blonde said.

"H-How can you live?" Sakura asked.

"I can't." Ino said, tears threatening to fall from her own eyes but she held her ground. "It's hard, but I know that one day I'll see them. So I have to keep living."

Taking in a deep breath, Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up. "Thanks, Ino."

"For what?"

"For being there." She said, sniffling.

"No problem. Now let's go eat." Ino said as she ruffled Sakura's hair playfully. Sakura giggled and followed her to the kitchen.

A/N: This was kind of a long chapter for me, 9 pages long. _ Anyways, I hope you enjoyed a bit of what happened before Sakura met Kakashi. If you spot any mistakes, please let me know! I don't have a beta so yeah...