The biting chill caressed her exposed skin, making the teen shiver in her thin off-the-shoulder teal top. Goosebumps rose on her arms and bare legs even though she was running. The bluette was running late this evening due to the extra shift she took at work. She quickly glanced at her watch as she waited to cross the street. She was nearly seven minutes late. Ino and Temari would not be pleased. Those two were all about being punctual for these kinds of things.

The girl cast her glance to the sky and sighed inwardly. It was going to rain in about an hour. She silently cursed herself for not wearing a jacket. Well, the news had stated that it was supposed to be clear and humid tonight, but they were wrong. The weather, for the past month, had been really off. If the forecast called for sunny weather then it would usually rain or cloud over, if it was to storm then the skies would be blue and clear. It was all highly annoying, but Hinata had a thing for guessing the weather. All she had to do was look outside and she could guess it spot on.

So then why did she forget to wear a jacket?

Simple, she was running late and left it at work.

The traffic light ahead signaled for the pedestrians to cross and Hinata followed the crowd in a hurry. A part of her wondered why she was even bothering to hurry to her destination. Realistically, she didn't even want to arrive or meet up with the others to do this again. However, the bluette knew she had no other options. Each of them had their own reasons for doing this and she was in far too deep to just back out now. The others were counting on her. She couldn't let them down. She couldn't let herself quit.

Though she really wanted to, but quitting would be harder than joining. That much she knew. Just four months ago a girl had wanted to quit. The price: a black-eye, a missing canine, swollen jaw, and bruises all along her body.

It had been one of the worst things Hinata had ever seen and done. But these rules were in place for a reason; to keep them moderately safe and quiet about what they were doing. They seemed so simple;

having sex

2. Don't tell anyone

3. The penalty for wanting out is a group beating and silence

4. Cash only

5. Every Friday. No exceptions

To think that nearly four months ago all of it had just been a game. Hinata couldn't understand as to how and why it escalated into this. Every Friday, she felt like a wretched creature that was going to be thrown into the depths of hell. Every day she tried to summon the courage to get out, but when she finally arrived on Friday all that confidence went straight out the metaphorical window. She was pathetic, that much she knew.

The street lights started to dim, the crowd had already dwindled to a few stragglers and couples on their way to some pubs downtown. Hinata stuck closer to the shadows, not liking the quiet void that was beginning to surround her. Her heeled sandals resounded off the concrete as she moved: the sound echoing in her ears. Her paranoia began to rise the further she walked. She cast a few worried glances behind her as she tried to hurry her pace; feeling like someone was watching her. She turned around and kept her eyes forward, relieved to see that she was almost at the corner.

In the distance she could make out the slight silhouettes of her friends. The easiest to spot were Temari and Sakura, being that the former was the tallest and the latter had pink hair. Hinata could make out Ino next, but dread filled her as she spotted her last friend on the ground.

Forgetting that she would be scolded for being late, Hinata broke out into a quick sprint. The others turned their heads as she neared. The bluette could feel her heart plummet into her stomach when she finally understood what was going on. She slowed to a stop next to Sakura and stared down at Tenten's crumpled form on the ground. The brunette was holding her stomach, a trickle of blood escaping the left side of her mouth. Her whole outfit was wrinkled and covered in filth from the street and undersides of shoes.

Hinata didn't need to ask as to what happened. The answer was obvious. Tenten had expressed to her for awhile about leaving the group. The girl had found a stable job and was working on going back to school and her mother's health had drastically improved. The girl didn't need to do this anymore. Hinata envied her best friend, but was happy for her nonetheless. However, seeing her friend now, the bluette wished Tenten's life had stayed how it used to be.

Hinata paused and berated herself for even thinking such a horrible thing. It was cruel, but Hinata knew that Tenten knew that this would happen. It was the strictest rules of the five that they had. Ino looked over at Hinata and indicated to Tenten coldly, "You know what has to be done."

Hinata walked closer to Tenten. The girl's lavender tinted eyes met her friends brown ones, making her want to cry, but Tenten only silently pleaded for her to get it over with. That's right, Hinata thought, Tenten's mother is going to be released from the hospital tomorrow.

Hinata held back tears as she lifted her foot hesitantly. This wasn't something she ever wanted to do, but she had to. The others were watching her, they were following protocol, what they all had originally agreed on. The bluette sent her foot into the brunette's stomach, hitting her arms in the process. She silently apologized to Tenten, Tenten's mother who would see the bruises, and to herself for being weak and doing something like this.

After a few more kicks, Temari and Sakura deemed the penalty complete. They forced Tenten to swear to not tell anyone about what they were doing less she wanted there to be an accident. The beaten girl only nodded, yelping when Ino pulled her hair and pushed her back onto the cold ground.

"Let's go, girls." Ino stated after flipping her long blonde hair at Tenten. They all started to follow her, Hinata the only one to turn and glance back at her friend. Tenten didn't look at her as she stood and limped in the opposite direction. It hurt to know that she had caused the girl some of that pain.

Hinata forced herself to face forward as the four of them walked through the streets. She knew that all had lingering mixed feelings about what had transpired. Ino wasn't always the nicest person, but she was close to each of them. In fact, next to Tenten, Ino is Hinata's best friend. She was loud and dramatic, but caring.

She shifted her eyes to Sakura, the pinkette. The girl was the same age as Ino and her, considerably intelligent, and very strong. She was headstrong, stubborn, emotional, loyal, and quick to use her fists. However, she could be highly sentimental and caring. Hinata then looked at Temari, the oldest girl there. She had blonde hair like Ino's only darker. She's prudent, blunt, and has more of a tough demeanor, but she's not all bad! She can be very supportive and, next to Sakura, had the strongest punch in the group. However, she never really bonded with Tenten due to some past incident between the two.

Hinata stared at her shoes as she self-examined herself. She was shy and not as loud as the rest, and lacks confidence. What did she bring to her friends? A portrait of calm? Weather warnings? She briefly thought back to how they met one another and shook her head. This wasn't their fault.

If any cars were to drive down that barren street at this time of night they would see four girls. Two blondes, one a pinkette, and the last a bluette all dressed up for a night out. They would assume they were headed to some club downtown or pub, though they all were underage, for some fun and dancing. They would glance at them a few times but then reach the end of the street. None of the girls deluded themselves to what they were doing. They wore clothes that they knew that-if needed-they could run in. For Ino that meant strappy stilettos, though no one knew how she could run in those, boots, strappy sandals, and low heels.

They each had their own sense of style, but these outings called for more skin and coordination. Ino would play the sultry blonde in thigh length dresses, Temari was more of the biker girl in mini-skirts or ripped jeans, Sakura was meant to be bold but subtle so she would wear summer dresses or cute skirts, and Hinata was just that quiet girl in shorts who showed off her shoulders once in awhile. Tenten had been the traditional tomboy, but that didn't matter anymore. The group had one less member and this would surely cause some issues, but that only meant that they would have to change their styles.

This process was actually very complicated and preplanned. They all usually stuck with the styles they originally had, but sometimes they would switch it up just to boost their clients. They experimented and discovered what did work and what didn't work. It was a long process of trial and error that had been discussed at lengths.

"Hey, why were you late?" Sakura asked, looking back at Hinata. The silence and tension had grown thicker the further they walked. This was the outlet, a shift in conversation. Hinata knew Sakura didn't mean her any harm, but she still felt nervous.

"I'm sorry. I had to fill in for Haku. His mother was in the hospital again." Sakura inquired if the boy's mother was alright.

"I'm not sure, but her condition is slowly worsening." Hinata stated sadly, she really liked Haku. She had mistaken him for a girl at first, but after the misunderstanding and apologies they grew to be really good coworkers. The others had briefly met him and apparently his mother was a regular at the Yamanaka flower shop. In fact, Ino had almost grown up with the boy.

"I'll make sure to stop by the hospital tomorrow," Ino commented before going silent again.

For the remaining time no one tried to force conversation. They were still stiff about Tenten and the news on Haku's ailing mother hadn't lightened the mood at all. The atmosphere seemed to understand and the sky only grew darker, the temperature slowly dropping as the minutes ticked on. They made the final turn and crossed through an alley way. They paused at the rugged desolate fence for only a fraction of a second before scaling over it.

They had officially made it to Shukuba, the pleasure district. Hinata took one last glance back at the fence, the border between the downtown district and the bad district. Shukuba was the district that parents warned their children about, yet most adults visited. This district is, basically, the dirtiest and the most dangerous parts of Konoha. However, it was also the perfect place to make some dough.

They walked through the dim streets, staying close to the shadows so as not to draw too much attention. Hinata shivered, feeling nervous. She didn't feel right, this whole thing felt wrong and her nerves were frayed. Her paranoia was growing to the point that it was tangible. She nearly tripped over a piece of rubbish on the sidewalk, but recovered.

"Be careful," Temari scolded sharply. Hinata only nodded and continued on, reminding herself as to why she was here in the first place. She chanted it for the rest of their walk before they paused at a corner in a part of the lower section of Shukuba. Waiting for them across the street were a few cars, the windows nearly rolled all the way up.

The girls walked towards the cars and silently dispersed. Sakura and Ino heading towards a black Sedan, Temari to a red Ferrari, and Hinata shyly walked over to a black Lotus. The bluette carefully slid into the passenger side and turned to the man sitting beside her, keeping her head down. She felt sick to her stomach and wanted to run away. She hated this, all of it! The men had families and were supposed to be respectable, but they weren't. They were dirty with smoke-scented breath, their lusty eyes, and hands. They held the money and expected everything to fall into place. How many times had Hinata seen this one? She knew his wife just gave birth to a healthy baby girl, but was he there with her now? No, he was sitting in a smoke-hazed car with an eighteen year old girl. It was sickening!

He reached a hand out and slowly pushed her hair so that her neck was visible. She shivered at the touch, nearly jumping out of her seat when he roughly pulled her closer. She winced slightly when his grip tightened on her arm, but turned towards him anyway. She pretended to be elsewhere, like this man wasn't slowly pressing himself into her, and that her back wasn't in pain from being at a strange angle. It wasn't working. She was overly aware of her surroundings.

The man was saying something to her, some useless words of assurance, but she had blocked him out for the moment. The only thing that ever comforted her about this was the fact that there wasn't sex involved. Instead just touching, but they could choose just how far it went. For Hinata this was what kept her sane throughout the process, the thought that she could choose. However, others tend to forget that there are things such as limits.

Hinata gasped and tried to push the man away when she felt a hand slid down her shorts. "S-s-stop," she stuttered. The man glanced down at her, quirking a perfect brow, "Come on, don't be a tease. I've been waiting for this a long time."

Something heavy twisted in the girl's stomach at his words. She could feel her anxiety claw up her throat and tears start to prickle her eyes, but she tried to keep herself from going hysterical. She knew that she would have to say something, but a part of her was terrified. What if he forced himself on her? Would he kill her if she refused or when he was satisfied?

"I-I-I'm n-not going t-to have s-sex with you." She inwardly flinched at her soft spoken stutter, but the anxiety didn't die down. She was tense and coiled like a snake ready to spring if she sensed danger. The man only sighed as he pulled back and lit a cigarette. He inhaled the cancer stick and blew out as he looked at the bluette with hazy eyes.

The girl felt almost cruel about rejecting him like that, but kept to herself. She glanced over at him but quickly looked away. He was angry. He slammed a fist onto the steering wheel before looking over at her, "How much, huh?"

Hinata's eyes widened and she could only mumble out a surprised, "huh?" before the man pulled out his wallet and took out a rather large stack of bills. He shoved them into her purse and then smirked coyly, "five-thousand, even."

Hinata gaped at him, frozen in spot. Her brain was trying to process what just happened. Thinking this meant "ok" the man proceeded to pull her to him, roughly sliding his hands under her shirt. Hinata didn't mean to but she gasped at the sensation before trying to pull away. He held tight to her, only letting go when she hit him square in the nose. He reeled back in pain and Hinata felt her head snap to the side. After a few seconds she finally registered that she had just been slapped in the face. She could feel the hot tears gather in her eyes as the pain became prominent.

With shaking fingers, Hinata fumbled to open the car door. Her fingers slid around the latch and pulled up as she leaned her shoulder to push out. As if on reflex she grabbed her purse and hurried to step out of the car.

"Where do you think you're going, bitch?" The man's voice was nasally. His hand lashed out and grabbed onto the girl's long locks in an attempt to pull her back, but it only caused Hinata to trip and slam her head against the door. She winced in pain and her hands attempted to pry his off.

A car door slammed open followed by the sound of clicking heels against the ground, "Get the fuck off of her!" Ino punched the man's hands until he let go of Hinata's hair, taking a few strands with him in the process.

By then Temari and Sakura had also noticed the commotion and were hurrying towards them as Ino yanked Hinata to her feet and pulled her away from the car. Hinata held onto her friend like she was a lifeline, her whole frame quaking. Tears poured out of her eyes and she wanted to just throw up and sleep for eternity.

The sound of cars driving away seemed distant as did her friends' yells. After what felt like hours Ino softly began to run a hand through Hinata's hair as a sign of comfort.

"What the fuck just happened?" Temari exclaimed. She wasn't angry at Hinata, but the girl still felt like the anger was directed at her.

"Come on, we should all head back." Sakura calmly said. She was tired and the whole situation had turned rather sour. The worst part was that a group of people were coming towards them, and Sakura had a bad feeling.

Hinata also noticed and tried to compose herself, but she couldn't stop herself from shaking. The four quickly started back the way they came, picking up their pace when the group behind them picked up theirs. It was almost half a block later when Temari angrily turned around and cracked her knuckles, "What the fuck you want?"

The group walked a few more steps closer before they started to circle them. "So, how much do you fine ladies make?"

"Excuse me?" Ino asked, deciding to play dumb.

"Don't act cute, blondie. I know what you were doing." One of them, possibly the leader, stated. He tone was superior and Hinata had to grab Ino to keep her from yelling at the guy. "In fact, I now know all of your faces. Prostitution is illegal, you all could go to jail for it."

"What do you want?" Sakura asked, her green eyes narrowing. The others started to get it too, the implications he was making.

"Come now, no need to be cold. Just a little deal, no biggie," he waved his hand to emphasize his point. Temari growled low in her throat in response, "How about this? Leave us the fuck alone and you can keep your balls intact."

"Ohhh, scary~" the group started to laugh with him. They obviously did not know Temari or Sakura. One of the guys tried to grab Ino from behind, but Hinata noticed and pulled Ino away. That's when all hell broke loose.

The group of about six or so guys all jumped in, trying to grab them. Temari elbowed one in the face before kicking him in the stomach while Sakura punched one of them in the face. Hinata and Ino also engaged in some minor fighting, just before thug one grabbed Ino's hair. The blonde cried out in pain as he pulled out a knife. The others froze, unsure as to what they should do. It was then that Ino amazed them by lifting one heeled foot and kicked back before elbowing the guy to get away. The four girls quickly ran down the street, not caring if they were noticed anymore.

They were about two blocks from the fence when some of the thugs cut them off; the girls quickly ducked into an alley to hide for the moment. "Fucking hell," Temari cursed as she tried to rack her brain for any ideas.

"We should split up," Sakura suggested.

"Are you stupid? Don't you know that's how people die in the movies?" Ino exclaimed in both a mix of fear and annoyance.

Sakua rolled her eyes, "There are other ways out of here. Another two blocks over is the main street where a crowd of people are. However, the two that go that way will draw most of the group. The other way is to continue down this alley into the lower sections of the downtown area."

"Sounds good enough to me, now who wants to take what?" Temari asked, "Personally, I think I can outrun them two blocks."'

"I'll go with you that way." Sakura volunteered, which left Hinata and Ino to navigate the alley.

The two didn't complain, knowing that Temari and Sakura were more of the sporty type. They had a better chance of getting to the main street than they did. The group separated into pairs and set off, listening for footfalls. Hinata took a glance back and spotted two of the thugs running after them. She silently prayed that Sakura and Temari would be alright.

Ino hurriedly dragged Hinata as they raced down the long alley. Heavy footsteps pounded behind them, starting to gain on them. They had just put some distance between them when Ino's heel snapped off, sending her to her knees. She cursed as it bled, but stood up only to wince when she tried to run.

"Shit, my ankle." Hinata slung Ino's arm over her shoulder and helped her to hobble down the alley until backing them into a small niche. They ducked behind the trashcans and tried to catch their breath. Ino was ready to start crying from both the pain and situation.

"Don't w-worry, i-it's going t-to be fine," Hinata hugged her knees to herself, not even believing herself.

Ino apparently didn't either, "How, I can't run on this stupid ankle!"

Hinata looked up at the sky and could tell it was going to rain in a few minutes. She turned her eyes to her worried friend. Normally Ino would be calm and collected, but this wasn't a normal situation. Ino wasn't capable of running and that disadvantage is what scared the blonde.

The two tensed as the footsteps came closer. "I-Ino, hand me your shoe." Hinata ordered. Ino gave her a questioning look but slid off her undamaged stiletto and handed it to her friend.

Hinata felt her nerves tremble at the thought of what she was planning to do, but knew that she was the only one with two working feet. Ino wobbled to her feet, knowing that she wasn't going to like whatever stupid plan was going through her friend's head. "This isn't something stupid like you charging them so I can run away, right?"

Hinata gave her friend a sheepish look. Bulls-eye, Ino had hit the mark and she was none too pleased. The bluette was no superhero and even engaging in any sort of violence wasn't like her. However, Ino appreciated the sentiment.

Before Ino could protest against the ridiculous plan Hinata jumped out of the niche and started swinging the shoe around, hoping to hit something. The unsuspecting thug was nailed in the face and then the arm. His companion rushed to try and help him, grabbing the girl's hand. The bluette used her other hand and ended up punching the man. His grip weakened and she ended up pushing him into a trashcan.

Hinata felt her breathing become abnormal and frantic and she paused to look at the damage. A part of her wanted to apologize, but she knew she had to get away from them. The only problem was that Ino's pace would be quick to catch up to and the two thugs were getting back on to their feet. Hinata tightened her grip on the shoe, adrenaline starting to course through her. She would have to keep them busy for at least another two minutes.

Easier said than done.

The bluette no longer had the element of surprise and the alleyway was pretty narrow, which was both good and bad. Good because that meant that only one of them would be able to reach her at a time, but bad because she wouldn't be able to move as much. The two stalked towards her, one threatening her while the other wiped some blood away from his forehead, stared at it, and then glared at her.

Well, Hinata had a feeling that she was in deep shit. Even more so for, at that moment, the gates of heaven decided to open up and unleash a downpour of rain. Hinata wanted to curse herself for always being right about this kind of thing, but the sudden fist near her face was currently occupying her attention. She felt herself fall backwards, narrowly avoiding the punch, but wasn't fast enough to block against the leg that swung out at her. She hit the ground hard and winced as pain exploded in her back and stomach.

She looked up in time to see a foot coming her way. She narrowly avoided it by turning her head. She quickly kicked his other leg, succeeding in making him fall back. His companion tried to get around him, but ended up being taken down too. Hinata got to her feet and backed up a few steps, her mind screaming that she should get the hell out of there. However, she knew that she still had to buy time.

The two had finally settled themselves and the second thug was in front this time. He was more cautious than the other and took steadied steps forward, ready to spring. Hinata took another step back, not liking this one bit. After what felt like several tense eons, the guy sprung at her with a yell. Hinata continued to back up, trying to dodge each kick and punch. He got to the side of her, which made the bluette turn sideways to get away, but this was a terrible idea. Her back was now met with a brick wall and the two thugs were standing comfortably in front of her.

The two closed in, one cracking his knuckles while they glared her down. With all of this happening Hinata felt utterly defenseless and vulnerable. How in great Kami was she going to get out of this? All she had was a shoe! However, the thought of dying threw her into a state of panic. It must have been the adrenaline because Hinata was sure that she never would have fought like this. She was squirming and swinging the shoe around like some sword, even managing to stab one of the guys in the eye. When her arm was finally grabbed she began to kick out at anything she could reach, even finding herself being pushed up the wall. When her feet were finally back on solid ground she lunged forward and blindly lashed out at anything, even hitting the wall in the process.

Once both forms were crumpled to the ground Hinata turned on her heels and began to sprint through the rain, tears pouring down her face. There was no other instinct stronger than the one telling her to get her butt in gear and get as far away from there as she possibly could.

Her heart was beating so erratically, Hinata was surprised that it hadn't burst out of her chest yet. She was still running, not yet aware that she was utterly lost in some unknown area, but the thought of stopping was terrifying. If she stopped then all the prior events to this point would resurface and Hinata didn't want to deal with them. She didn't want to believe that this was karma for what happened to Tenten or any of the trouble that she had caused no matter if directly or not.

However, she was eventually made to stop once she realized that she was at the old railway. Hinata collapsed to her knees, letting the rocks and wood engrave themselves into her legs. The rain was only making her feel worse by the second. She felt pathetic and weak and tired. Nothing like this was supposed to happen because nothing like this ever did before. Of course she knew that what she had been doing went against everything she was ever taught, but what was she supposed to do?

Hinata knew she didn't deserve this, no one did, but a part of her felt disgusted with herself. When had she sunk so low? The rain that had been beating against her head subsided and she slowly looked up, raising the stiletto as a reflex. Her lavender tinted eyes met piercing teal ones.

Hinata felt highly uncomfortable with his presence. She could feel him study her and even though she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to stand up. If anything, she enjoyed the fact that his umbrella was shielding her from most of the rain. "U-ummm, m-may I help you?" she asked nervously.

He merely blinked, his eyes drawn to something on her face before looking away, "Go home."

Well, this was awkward. She looked at the ground and let out some half crying string of words that translated in to, "I don't have one to return to."

The auburn haired man sighed at this, closing his eyes, "If interested, I know a place that has a room available."

"W-where is i-it?"

"A few blocks from here." He stated monotonously. He took a step away, letting the rain fall back onto Hinata. After a few steps he paused but didn't turn around. Hinata got to her feet and started following him. She wasn't exactly sure where he was leading her, but it seemed far better than staying out in the rain.

AN: Okay, so this is a trial to see what you, the readers, think so far. I have the next two chapters all typed up, but I've never really written something like this before so please be patient with me. Also, I do not own Naruto and never will, but I may toy with Kishimoto's characters for my own amusement.