This is a story set in ancient China; there are some parts of AU in this, which will be revealed when the story goes on. :)

The prologue is written in second person, however the main story is mostly 3rd person point of view. Always remember that when "You" is used in second person POV, it indicates Naruto. I hope this does not find you confusing.

I enjoy writing this story a lot; I will never give up on it no matter how long the updates may take... Please bare with me that sometimes it might take a while for a new chapter, but it always be there. I will always try my best as a writer, and Duchessa, my beta-reader, will always help me out. Thank you for your support and I hope you like this story. :)

P.S: this chapter is edited

Things you need to know:

"You" in the story = Naruto

"these are" = dialogues

[and this is] = flashbacks

* * * = Change of scene/explanation

Terms to know:

Niang – An old way to say "mama" in Chinese, of course Iruka-niang doesn't make any sense if translated, but to skip the confusions, I do it that way.

Huo – Means "Fire". So basically, it's the Country of Fire.

Gege – older brother

Jiejie – older sister

Qing Lou – A place where ancient time prostitutes lived and were sold – basically a brothel, you see those places a lot, and there are famous ones with some especially beautiful women being held as famous hosts.

Background knowledge:

1. Faeries in China are not like the ones in America with the little wings and flower habitats. They're beautiful women or men that lives in "Avalon" – like place and are powerful. I suggest to go read Faeries Landing to understand it better.

Please enjoy.

Obey My Command

In this world, present, future, past, everything's controlled by many of what we call vices. Status, wealth, beauty, body, vanity, bloodline, race. We're limited with these bindings and burdens on our shoulders, unable to move forward. I command you, You command me. You are above me, I am above you.

So obey my command.

* = * =* line cut * = * = *

Power over power. Everyone controlled and was controlled by another.

* = * =* line cut * = * = *

Four major empires, each ruled by a bloodline, passed down from generations to generations. The wealthiest and most powerful of all time was the Huo, ruled by the Uchihas. The Empire had two chosen sons to succeed the throne; presently the current emperor seemed to favor the elder son, which was the common choice among Emperors.

Ministers, lords, soldiers, commanders, all fight for power and the ear of the Emperor. No one could be trusted; they hid behind smiles, flattery and bribes, lies and knives hidden, ready to stab you when you turn your back to them.

People tried, to no avail, to preserve their souls. Power, status, money, lust.

To err is human, to forgive is divine.

Then there must be no gods in this world.

* = * =* line cut * = * = *

You looked up to the sky. They're the color of your eyes, clear azure-blue that shone with your spirit. Your hair glittered under the bright sunshine; it had always been messy, but also beautiful. You didn't respond to Iruka's shouts for dinner though you would always run over to the ramen he cooks for you. But now you felt a bit out of place, trying to remember your "cursed birth" never failed to make your head hurt.

"Cursed child" was what they used to call you. But you have proven to them that you're worthy of their respect. "Naruto, stand proud and smile, because not everyone is able to in this harsh world." You remembered that smile on Iruka-niang's face. You liked to call him niang, because to you his gentle pat on the head and encouraging smile gave you a taste of what you craved, and with it you grew up to be what you are now. You remember how smiles hid many things. It's complex; you didn't like to think about it, of what's behind smiles.

"Naruto. If you don't come here this instant, you're not getting dinner." A final warning. It was the wake up call to your little space out, you turned around and looked towards the house. It's a house built of wood, built thanks to Kakashi-pervert's efforts. It's plain and simple, almost what people would call ugly, but you liked it, it was home.

"Coming!"

You ran across the field, feeling the grass rustle as it tickled your bare feet, your clothes a bit dirty from the games you played with Choji and Kiba, two of your very few friends. They're richer than you; they owned bigger houses, real parents, good food and good clothing. Moments ago you felt so close to them, now you watched them walk away as the sun sets and melt into the clear river water, painting it shades of orange and red. As their shadows grew longer, you turned, you ran, you fell, and you got up, your cheap clothes dirtied.

Shaking those unpleasant things off your heads, you went into your house with the smell of your favorite food in the world: ramen. You like that it was simple, the taste of it made you feel at home. The house was almost bare. The furnishings were simple and made of wood. Two beds, a bathroom outside, a bathtub, cooking stove made of stone and a table with two chairs. Now there was also dinner. You picked up the chopsticks, gave Iruka-niang a big grin, "Thank you!" You started slurping on your noodles, making loud noises. Iruka-niang shook his head and smiled at your childish manners, and started his own too. You snarled at him when he pushed the plate of vegetables towards you, he glared right back. Chastised, you reluctantly picked up some veggies. You grumbled, but then recalled Kiba saying, "If you don't start eating healthy things Naruto, you're gonna be a midget all your life. " You had yelled back that one day you would outgrow him. So you ate your veggies at last, and grimaced at the taste as it went down your throat.

"I'm going to town tomorrow, if you're coming along, don't run around and get lost like you did last time. You're only nine Naruto, who knows what could happen to you?"

"C'mon. I'm still here aren't I?" You slurped more of your ramen. Iruka-niang was great, but he worried too much sometimes. You'd do fine on your own. You had stolen before, you'd pick up things from the streets before, you'd took things from the restaurant's leftovers before. That was all before you met Iruka, and you had survive just fine. You even had narrow escapes from knives and hits and screams. "Cursed child!"

[You were bought here by a fox that was larger than humans. He carried you in his mouth with a blanket, you were a quiet baby. The fox had red eyes and nine tails, and he had a chilling aura.]

[He dropped you gently on the ground in the busy streets. A young man named Minato Namikaze picked you up and raised you as his own for a while. His death was sudden and unexplained. He was a good person, and very intelligent, his hair and eye color much like yours. They said you were cursed and had absorbed his soul.]

[You grew up knowing nothing. You didn't remember Minato's face or anyone else's. You didn't have parents. But you grew up fine, crawling on the streets, getting leftover foods, occasional shelters, and learning to steal.]

[Then Iruka gave you a home. A sanctuary. The warmth of a family.]

Iruka smiled at you like you're a little child who's never going to grow up, and shook his head. You grinned right back at him, eating and eating.

You liked going to the main town. The streets were busy and there were large carriages, you liked the horses that carried them, their neatly combed hair. The carriages' wheels made funny noises; they're made of fine red wood, and the sun made it shine, and you squinted every time. You didn't like the people that were inside though. They were all high and mighty, when they stepped out of the carriage they look at you as they would dirty animals living on the streets. But you're not. Not anymore, you have a home.

Iruka-niang held your hand so tightly it almost hurt, and your other hand held on to your apple covered with sugar (a traditional sweet, called Hu-lu-tang). It was a cheap sweet for most but it's a treat for you. Walking past by the busy stores, you smell some bitter medicines that you had to take when you were sick. You hated it. It was bitter and more disgusting then anything you've ever ate before. You wrinkled your nose and kept on walking, increasing your pace until you've passed the store.

You watched as the funny sounds of the carriage finally stopped. Then the servants opened the door and carefully helped their masters out. There was a girl about your age, and a boy that seemed a little older; they both had silvery-white eyes, very pure, they reminded you of snow. The girl had short, dark blue hair, soft looking and decorated with jewelries, and wore expensive-looking robes. The boy had the same eyes, but his hair was darker, and you thought he looked kind of scary. He looked like one of those serious, intimidating guys, even when he's not that much older than you. It was his tense expression, you thought.

"Lady Hinata."

You looked at the girl named Hinata. She seemed timid and shy. She had pale skin, but in contrast she had ruddy cheeks, due to her blush.

"Neji-gege.." She said, her voice barely a whisper, as if too afraid to raise her tone any higher.

You then looked to the lean boy. His long dark hair reached his back, neat and clean-cut. He spoke with quiet affection and care to the girl, somehow reminding you of how Iruka looks at you.

They walked towards your direction. Iruka quickly grabbed you out of their way and bowed, but you didn't follow. You watched the girl intently, and she flushed when noticing your stare. You smiled and said with your usual light, friendly voice, "Hello."

What you got was a punch. A punch that almost hit you but didn't. The boy's fist made a small contact on your face, but did not make an impact. You stared into the boy's pale eyes and the wall that cracked behind you. His eyes were cold and spiteful. He looked down at you. You had the urge to punch him back, but then you felt Iruka-niang's hand held you tighter. You loosened your fist, and purposely talked so that spits would fly,

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen." You said confidently, smiling.

Iruka had dark lines over his face. Surely Neji had never been addressed with such manner of speech from a lowly peasant. Iruka felt a wave of despair rising inside him, torn between running away and getting on his knees to apologize. However Hinata's flushed expression made more of a mess of his already rattled thoughts.

Iruka would never thought that one day in the world a woman would fall for this little guy, but it happened well and soon enough - in fact, he thought it's a bit too soon.

The mess ended with Iruka-niang bowing and apologizing, and Neji and your eyes locked on with death stares exchanged. You two left with Hinata staring as you went.

Iruka-niang was livid. He scolded you, exclaiming, "Haven't I told you to show respect to those of higher status?" You wanted to cover your ears and not listen, but then you watched as Iruka-niang sighed, his face tired from worry. You didn't like that, so you said "okay, I will". You affectionately held his arm and wrapped your arms around him; Iruka-niang finally gave in and smiled, patting your head gently.

"Can I go find Sakura jiejie?"

She was a girl you met last time you went to town. She brought you home when you got lost and a worried sick Iruka-niang had thanked her profusely. Her name was Sakura, she was a little older than you, and she was nice with pretty green eyes and cherry blossom pink hair. She held your hand as you two walked, and you liked her warmth and her smile. She had scolded you a little for not following Iruka-niang closely, though when she had found out that you were an adopted orphan, her face was mixed with sympathy and something else you couldn't quite tell, and you didn't like it. She said sorry and you didn't quite understand what she was sorry for. But other than that, you thought she was perfect.

Iruka didn't mind her, and her being Naruto's friend, but he didn't approve the place Naruto had to go to find her. Sakura was a kind girl, but she had been sold to the Qing Lou (brothel), like many girls her age. A prostitute, though at the moment only a servant due to her not being old enough. The place she worked was one of the most well known brothels of all time. Its location in the capital city of the wealthiest country only flourished its business. The women there were known to be amongst the most beautiful, and their boss the most famous of all, the Never-Aging-Gambler Tsunade. The saying goes that along with her beauty, she had a steel-hard temper and inhuman strength. She named this place, with what some would call arrogance, Faeries Landing: where the heavenly, immortal and beautiful faeries landed.

Iruka felt Naruto stare at him, waiting for his permission. He thought long and hard. After all, brothels are safer for boys, and if Naruto just visit the servant section to find Sakura, surely he would see nothing untoward.

"Alright, alright. I'll do the rest of shopping, but look, do not wander anywhere when she's not around, you understand? Find her, talk to her, and I'll be waiting for you at the entrance to the market place."

You jumped up with joy and gave Iruka-niang a big hug. "Thank you!"

He watched you run off in the busy crowd. Iruka smiled, and turned around.

You know exactly where to find her. The place was always crowded with men. Men of all kinds, nobles that dressed in nice clothes, peasants who couldn't probably afford more than a drink, and those who just wants to hear music. You had seen some of them, their eyes scared you a lot, the way they looked at the women. It's a huge building, even in the busy streets. It had a large backyard for views of the night sky. Everyone knew where it is, so you wondered why Iruka-niang was so worried.

"Hey, stop right there. You're too young for entry."

The boy in the front of the building stopped you from getting in. Wearing green clothing that was unusually tight, he had thick eyebrows and goggly eyes. You didn't like the tone he spoke to you with, like since he's older, therefore he's superior.

"Bushybrows." You decided upon that nickname.

"The name is Lee!" The boy jumped boisterously.

"I have to go see Sakura jiejie, bushy brows." You said, sticking out your tongue.

Lee felt a surge of anger rushing through. What's this little boy have to do with Sakura, anyways?

"And I'm not a little guy, bushy brows."

You liked seeing this guy's face change so dramatically, it was interesting. He was throwing a big fit and men were watching from afar. However it did not help the fact that you wanted to go inside.

A girl with long, light yellow hair heard the rampage taking place at the door. Ino turned and saw Lee as she carried the teacups back into the kitchen. She arched her eyebrows high. What was Lee doing? The customers were going to leave. She did not want to go over there. She had something much more important to attend to, however before she gets yelled by Tsunade, against her will, she ran to the entrance.

"Lee, what in the world were you doing?

You've met this girl the last time you saw Sakura. You remember her name was Ino, a girl that was nice but mean at the same time. You pointed to Lee, "Ino jiejie, this person here won't let me see Sakura jiejie." You pouted.

"What, are you trying to find her again?" Ino smiled at your stubbornness regarding Sakura. "Just let him in Lee, he's a little guy. And don't you do that again! The customers are going to leave, idiot."

And you watched as bushy brows finally gave up and let you in. He murmured, "But we don't let people get in for free like that…" However Ino glared at him, and you smiled and said thank you to them both.

"Look Naruto," Ino said quietly while you both walked into the back hallway especially for employees. She walked in a sneaky way and you couldn't help but mimic her. "The Emperor's sons are here. When we go upstairs, don't make any noise at all, or Sakura is going to get mad at you, got that?" Ino pointed her finger at you. She was serious. But what's that got to do with him seeing Sakura jiejie? "Now that I mention it, why did I even bring you in?"

You didn't pay much attention to her muttering to herself. You had things going on in your little head: the Emperor's sons. You heard enough talks about them, how amazing they were, how intelligent, handsome, talented, how they resembled their beautiful mother, and so on so forth. Rumors also said that they both had a way with women, they could easily get anything they want. You didn't quite understand what that meant, but it would be cool to brag to your friends if you see the future Emperor up close.

In the guest rooms there was always a small back room. This room is used for the guards, so that they could hide and watch inconspicuously in the dark. This is a measure of protection, for many assassinations are attempted in places where people would lower their guards. The ones who could afford such luxuries were often important to the government, so these rooms were common. However at a peaceful time like this, there were no guards in the dark room – just excited girls with their fantasies of love.

"Hey girls, are they in the room yet?"

"They were here long time ago!" A brown haired girl said excitedly, but was shushed by the girls around her.

"Oh, the heavens, Lord Sasuke's face is just breathtaking..." Another voice said, a little shaky.

And there you see Sakura, with the crowd of girls. She saw you in surprise.

"Naruto? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

You smiled and whispered back like everyone else is, "Hey Sakura jiejie." Ino winked at Sakura.

Sakura shook her head and rolled her eyes, but then she smiled and said, "Alright then, do what you want." Her attention was back to the little window that you see through with. You went over too as Ino squealed disturbingly with the rest of them; now you really wanted to see just what these future emperors were like.

Struggling to look from behind all the girls, your eyes spotted the figures of two men and couple of women sitting around them; some played music, some were dancing, some by their sides pouring them wine into the golden cups. You tried to push through the girls and failed. You felt a little down, a little left out. Sakura noticed that instantly, she sighed and smiled and pulled you over, giving you a better view.

Then you saw the two "refined" sons - dark haired and dark eyed, the two of them resembled each other very much. Handsome? You would be lying if you said your heart didn't a skip a beat after seeing their faces. Their eyes were as dark as the night sky in winter; a night with no light source and no misty clouds in the way, and they clearly shone with confidence. Their features were arranged artfully, skin like finely carved ivory. Strong jawbones and smooth black hair, they were beautiful human beings.

They gave you the aura and pressure of someone strong and powerful. You gulped a little. The women accompanying them of course were first class, only the best for the emperor's sons. The younger women that sat beside the younger boy all had their hair down, as if taking extra care to show the length of their hair. Their eyes were fixed at the two men, or the man and the boy to be exact. The boy seemed to be about your age, probably a little older. Everyone looked at them with passionate craze. You looked up to Sakura jiejie, her eyes were like that too. Madly in love, fervent like the flowers blooming madly in the spring. You heard everyone giggle and gasp at each movement those two make, they were very graceful and elegant, their privileged upbringing clearly displayed. You thought maybe you didn't like those two after all. You and they were too much of polar opposites; they having everything you don't have and wanted.

You stared at them with a burning envy. You really, really, didn't like them. They looked like spoiled boys who probably had never done anything hard in their lives. Especially the younger one, what was his name again, Sasuke? His expression was arrogant, as if he thought everything was inferior to him. You felt your face heat from anger and jealousy. You turned your face around and again noticed the girls. Their fingers were twirling around their long hair.

"One day I hope to be his bride…"

Sakura's words stabbed you a little, though you weren't sure exactly what being a bride entails, the fascination on her face and the blush gave you quite a bit of a hint.

"Yeah right, big forehead." Ino said sarcastically, her voice nasty. "Like he would even notice you with me around."

"Please you two. Don't be ridiculous, we all know who's the most gorgeous one here."

"I hope you didn't mean yourself."

"…"

They started fighting and yelling; it's getting a little loud. Cat fights. The things women do. All of them started to get on each other and went away from the window. Which gave you more space to see, and you didn't exactly mind that. You noticed that if you look into the boys eyes, and look deep, it looked very empty. Gazing to those black eyes, you began to ponder. He has everything he want, what else could he desire?

"WHO'S UP IN THAT ROOM?"

A yell, no, more like a ripped and scratched scream came from downstairs. You saw the girls panicked over the feminine but deep voice. Everything was happening too fast, the girls started running down the hallways. You tried to leave too but Ino and Sakura stopped you.

"You're going to get in trouble if she sees you now! Hide somewhere in the room okay? Do NOT let her find you, and afterwards we will get you out of here."

The door slammed shut.

You wondered what's so scary about the woman that made those girls ran like a monster was hunting them down, and now you're a little scared too. What if that woman finds you? You imagined her with big ugly teeth that could bite your neck off. The room became dark and you gulped a little, feeling nervous. The silent darkness was a contrast to the laughing and singing from the other room. Curled up in a ball in a corner, you tried to hide yourself as much as possible and melt into the darkness.

Footsteps and yelling reached the room and the door slammed open. The light from the door didn't hit you. You held your breath as the woman looked around, and just when you thought you were safe, someone's hand pulled you up and you were scared as hell.

"AHA. There's my little rat problem."

She pulled you up as easily she would a stick. You didn't know whether it was because you were that thin and light or if it's just the woman's monster strength.

"I'M REALLY SORRY."

You yelled out of fear and instinct, not caring how loud you were, you just know that the room was filled with your voice and it echoed over and over. You now noticed that the woman in front of you was actually quite pretty, she was what men called a beauty. Smooth light yellow hair, much like the flowers blooming over the hills in spring, with warm amber eyes, neat eyebrows and a diamond shape tattoo or whatever it was in between. You noticed that she has really big breasts and blushed. She raised her eyebrow at you and you saw that she was very, very, angry. You could tell she was going to scream right back, but before she could she was interrupted by a cold yet childish voice.

"Whoever is over there, I have had enough with your racket."

You froze. The woman raised her eyebrow even higher.

"Tch."

Seemed like it's one thing or another.