A Darker World

Authors note: this story will contain child prostitution. This is not a decision I have made lightly. It is sadly something that is all too common in the world today. Having said that I also must say there will only be one instance portrayed in the story of it actually happening although, it will linger over the characters. At heart this is an action-adventure story and there will be love and caring. If you find the idea is too repugnant, than walk away now and I wouldn't blame you. By around chapter three or four the story becomes a little lighter and unlike the real world, just about everybody gets what they deserve in the end.


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Kaede poured herself another drink and wondered how she ended up here, in charge of a house of prostitution. She had been born in Konohagakure to two ninja parents. By the age of nine she was an orphan and had gone to live with her grandfather on her mother's side. Her grandfather had been a civilian and ran several small businesses within Konoha. At his side, she had received an education in business. Being quick and bright she had learned much.

When she was ten, she had been looking over her grandfather's shoulder as he reviewed an account book. She had quickly added up a column of figures in her head and noticed an error before he had. Never had a merchant been so pleased to find that one of his employees was stealing from him.

In hindsight it was clear that he wanted her to take over the business from him, and given where she was now, she wish she had. Instead she had been fixated on following in her parent's footsteps. Her grandfather had always been kind to her though and had never pressured her to follow his path instead.

Kaede had graduated from the Academy at the top of her class academically, but only had average skills in the other parts of her chosen profession. Her Genin team had operated together for several months before having the dubious honor of being in the first battle of the Third Great War. A grimace devoid of even a hint of humor crossed her face. Battle, it had been a slaughter. One of her teammates had been killed in the initial ambush and her sensei had died covering her and her teammates retreat.

During the war she had honed her skills while pursuing a private vendetta to avenge her fallen comrades. Then, when the war had turned their way, she had been betrayed. The Third Hokage had settled for peace when they could've had absolute victory. She had become so bitter about that decision that her relationship with her one teammate, which had turned romantic, fell apart.

Heartbroken and bitter, she had eventually been recruited by the ANBU. Her skills had never become better than average, but her mind made her very dangerous to her opponents. Time went on until the day the Kyuubi attacked. Even now she could remember her terror. She had been one of the first to see it and like anyone else could do nothing but try to buy time.

In the aftermath of the battle, she had been exhausted and it was then when she met Danzo. Upon a fallen tree the two had talked, and for the first time, she found someone who truly sympathized with her point of view. By the end of their long conversation she had joined his organization, sort of.

She was never officially a member because what he wanted her to do required her to have no apparent ties to him. She quit the ANBU and became a bureaucrat in the village's hierarchy. Here, she moved swiftly up the ranks because of her innate skill with dealing with the minutia of paperwork and a little surreptitious help from Danzo.

Eventually she had been in a position to help Danzo and his organization. It was small things at first. She would see to it that certain ninjas were offered certain missions. Sometimes, she would see to it that a mission was given more time than was needed and so a secondary mission could be carried out without anyone being the wiser. Then Danzo, through one of his intermediaries, requested that she miss place some orphans so they could receive necessary training. Reluctantly, she had done so recognizing the need.

At some point during all of this, her grandfather died and she threw herself into her work even further. Eight years passed like this, and that was when she learned of the pending coup d’état. Perhaps if the Third had not been in charge she would've blown the whistle on it when she learned about it. However, she still held a grudge against the old man, and when asked to make sure that several ninjas would be assigned missions far away from the village, she did so.

The coup was quick and relatively bloodless and that was largely due to her interventions. There were several Jonin that, if they had been in the village, could've turned the coup into a bloodbath for both sides. As it was, less than a dozen people were killed. The Third had been among the casualties, as was most of his family along with some unlucky guards.

Her machinations had been a key factor in the coup success, but so had the Hyuga branch family support. It seems for lending the use of some of their members during the coup, the head of the family was eliminated along with his wife. A mutual beneficial arrangement if there ever had been one.

She finished her drink and poured herself another one remembering that things started to go wrong for her only a few days after Danzo had seized power. She had been called into the Hokage’s office and had been assigned her first mission since she was seventeen. Her orders were to take four children out of the village and stay hidden until receiving further instructions.

Upon learning who her charges were, it was simple enough to figure out Danzo’s reasoning. The first two were the daughters of the recently deceased Hyuga head. Apparently Danzo was willing enough to allow the Hyuga branch family their freedom, but was not willing to throw away the only two that could still activate the seal on its members. The third member of the quartet was Konohamaru Sarutobi. It was feared that, despite his age, he might become a focal point for those unsatisfied with Danzo’s self-promotion. The fourth member was Naruto Uzumaki. He was a double threat. Apparently he was the son of one of the most beloved leaders the village had ever known, he also contained the Kyubi. If he fell into the wrong hands he could become very dangerous.

It had been a distinctly unhappy group that left the village that day. None of them really understood what was going on and most of them had just lost their families. The first few days were the most difficult as they traveled to a safe house located outside of a large village and settled in to wait.

She had never been good with children and all four of them seemed to take a dislike to her which she didn't mind. For a month she watched them passively, not really having any clear direction. In her mind she would play out different scenarios and the fate of each child.

It was clear that Naruto could never become a weapon like so many of his kind. He was too compassionate to the others and seemed to have quite happily stepped into the role of big brother for the group. If they wanted something, he would be the one to ask her. Konohamaru came from a prestigious clan, but she doubted that he would have much longer to live. When someone lost their grandfather and both of their parents it didn't exactly bread loyalty to the perpetrator. The two girls would probably be fine as they were still young enough to forget that their father had been the head of the clan. After all, they only had the potential to activate the seal, but not the knowledge.

On an unusually cold rainy morning, a bird delivered orders that would change her life and that of her charges. She was to find an unsavory house of prostitution that provided its clients with young prostitutes and rent out the four with her in exchange for learning the business. The orders were shocking, but what could she do? It was not her place to question a superior, but for the first time in her life she didn't carry out her orders enthusiastically or to the letter.

It was surprisingly easy to find such a place. Prostitution is legal within the Fire country and poorly regulated. She brokered a deal with the owner easily enough, although, she only offered the older two and on condition that they didn't immediately start taking on clients. For two weeks she learned the business while teaching the older two techniques that were normally used when one was being interrogated. There were many ways one could trick the mind into believing that it wasn't where it was or that pain didn't exist.

Unfortunately, they were young and time was short. The first time they actually took on a client she got drunk for the first time in her life. It wasn't so much she had bonded with her charges, but at that moment, she had not seen the point in what had seemed to be an exercise in cruelty. A week later, orders came that made everything clear.

The situation back in Konoha was not going well. There had been an assassination attempt on Danzo and he was pulling his loyal followers from active duty to be used as bodyguards. In addition to that, many ninjas loyal to the Third had never returned upon learning of the coup. The internal strife was causing some other hidden villages to probe for weaknesses. There needed to be a crackdown on dissent and fast.

A ninja accepted death and thus did not fear it. In the back of a ninja’s mind, though, was the knowledge that if anything ever happened to them, their family would be taken care of. It was a fact so ingrained in the ninja culture that it didn't even have to be spoken. So if Danzo couldn't stop an assassin that didn't care if they lived or died he could go after their families. Killing them would be far too easy and might have the effect of creating martyrs. Jailing the adult, though, and turning their children into prostitutes, was far more devastating.

And that was how and why Kaede, a once proud kunoichi from Konoha, came to be here. She put all of her effort into it. Not so much because she wanted to succeed, but she sought to protect her charges. Her den of inequity would not become a simple roadside whorehouse, where they would be used, abused and then discarded. Instead, it was going to be a high-class place, one that cater to high-class clients or at least rich ones.

With the Ryo she had been given as a nest egg, she bought an old estate and had it fixed up. By the time the repair work was complete, she had received an additional fifteen children whose parents had been among Danzo’s enemies. In theory, she understood what he was doing. A hidden village needed stability above all else and that was something the Third had been failing to provide. The Uchiha massacre had proven that, but being on this end, well, it was hard on her. Perhaps it was belated maternal instincts, but she was determined to do what she could for these children.

Looking back on her actions, she couldn't quite pinpoint when exactly she had made that decision. Certainly, by aiming for high-class clients, she limited how many there would be. The place which she had never given a name to was probably one of the most expensive brothels within the country. It wasn't much of a success at first, but she was able to persuade Danzo to put pressure on the Fire daimyo, to put pressure on other brothels not to have anyone under eighteen. So when other brothels started to be rated and shut down, hers became known as one that had special protection.

Within six months business was booming and she branched out into other services. She invested in a photographer, a small hotel and even a restaurant within the brothel. People came and spent. It became an experience and she capitalized on this. She instituted a system where the more Ryo a particular child brought in the more points they would receive. These points could then be exchanged for anything form candy bars to time off. The system was a success in two aspects. It increased revenues and it gave the children some sense of power.

Time went on, and even though she received a few more children, the internal strife seem to have calmed down. Her place was now bringing in enough Ryo that it was actually having a benefit to Konoha. They were able to undercut other village’s mission’s fees and could be more selective in the ones they accepted. She received a few more children, but some of these were just orphans that showed little potential in becoming ninjas. That fact made her drink more as they weren't even guilty by association, but she said nothing.

Now, after three years, the business ran smoothly and her liver was close to being ruined. Most of the children only took clients three days a week and she even had a Medical Nin on constant standby to keep them healthy. She wouldn't say that they were happy here, but if this assignment had been given to anyone else, she doubted things would've turned out like this. If she wanted to she could work them harder, but she refused to do that. As for oversight, as long as she kept the Ryo flowing to the village nobody asked her questions.

There was a knock at her office door that caused her to jump in her chair. She immediately berated herself before opening a drawer and placing her glass and bottle inside. “Come in.”

The door swung open to reveal a pretty young woman who was one of her employees. Kaede had hired her two years ago to deal with the clients on a day-to-day basis. It had always surprised her that this woman, who seemed so normal, had never raised any qualms about what she had been hired to do.

“There's a situation I need to bring to your attention.”

“Throw him out,” she answered without waiting for an explanation. Her brothel had rules and when someone broke them they were thrown out. Losing a client wasn't exactly a big deal.

“It's not that,” the woman said quietly. “He's requested a certain person.”

Kaede blinked, wondering if the alcohol was clouding her mind already. Most clients either requested a particular person or at least a type. “So?” She allowed irritation to slip into her tone.

“He's requesting Konohamaru and he is offering a very large sum.”

That brought her up short. Konohamaru was still the youngest boy in her care and he was also the only one who had never taken on a client. Naruto had always seen to it that he had enough points to buy Konohamaru out of that particular duty. It required him to work harder than anyone else, and even with his almost inexhaustible energy and amazing healing ability, it wasn't easy on him. There was a time she had wondered why he did it, but she suspected the answer was simple. He was protecting a friend.

There was a part of her that just wanted to say, tell him he's busy today or simply that the kid was off-limits, but she was curious. “Show him in, I'll deal with it.”

She bowed her head in respect and disappeared. A moment later the door opened again, but this time a short man was there.

Kaede eyed him up and down almost amused. Not many of the clients looked like creeps, but this guy looked like he was a sleaze ball. He was not only short, but fat and he carried a cane, although, as he stepped in the room he didn't seem to need it. Still, despite his receding hairline and his sunglasses that doubtlessly hid beety eyes, there was an air about him. This man was used to getting what he wanted. When he spoke, she understood why he carried that air.

“My name is Gato.”

There were not many men that could introduce themselves with one name and be expected to be recognized, but Gato was one of them. Describing him as rich was an understatement. He was easily placed in the top ten wealthiest individuals on the continent and the only one in the group that was completely self-made. There were some who would look up to him, but rumors swirled around him and she tended to believe them. When she had been a bureaucrat, she had read a report that stated he had never hired a ninja from any of the villages, but given the number of dead bodies that seem to pile up around him, it was generally assumed he used rogue ninjas.

Still, her grandfathers training kicked in, and instead of standing to greet him to show they were equals, she leaned back in her chair and gestured for him to take a seat. To do so, he had to pull a chair close to the desk. Even if he had been a tall man, her chair would've placed her higher than him.

As soon as he sat down she spoke setting the agenda for the meeting. “The particular person you're interested in is not for rent.”

Gato smiled, revealing that he did have a charming side. “Mdm. in my experience there are very few things that are not for sale. I checked the registry and you have another little boy named Kouji. He's only two months older than that boy. I understand your concern, but my tastes aren't anything out of the ordinary and I'm sure any waiting period can be waived for a night and one million Ryo.”

She had fully intended to say, ‘well then rent Kouji,’ but the sum that had just been offered was about what this place took in a good month. It was truly staggering and it must've shown on her face, because the man's smile changed. Irritated with her loss of control she said, “That's a very large sum Sir. You could have several others for ten times that length of time if you wished to spend that much.”

“The sole purpose of accumulating wealth is to be able to gain anything you want and I want that boy.”

Kaede wanted to say no. Over time, she had developed a certain respect for Naruto and his dedication to protecting Konohamaru, even allowing for recent revelations, but it was a very large sum. It didn't occur to her that she could pocket it without anyone being the wiser, but instead she thought that with that large of a sum she could close this place for two weeks and give everyone a rest. Wasn't that worth it?

Instead of trying to find a way to get rid of this man she thought about Naruto. How would he react to this news? She couldn't imagine the blonde taking it well, so she would have to find some way to neutralize him. That only left how, and surprisingly it was easy enough. Like many old estate, this one had come with a small prison. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was in the basement. They had never remodeled down there, instead just using the area for storage. Yes, she could easily trick him down there and that only left Konohamaru which would be even easier.

Gato knew he had one. She could read it on his face, but she did have a few parting shots. “Even with that sum, the standard rules would apply and I would need payment upfront.”

“Of course,” Gato said congenially. “I'll tell one of my guards to retrieve that sum from my room.”

He traveled with that much on him, she thought. This man was truly disgusting.