Rules of Seduction - A Shikatema AU

Chapter 1

A/N: Hiiii, I actually wrote this for AO3 and Fanfic and decided to have a copy here in Wattpad and upload this in one go. I hope you'll love this one! :D

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She runs her fingers through her multi-layered floral kimono, it's silk. The texture is worth more than what she ate for the past few days. Expensive. Her face is covered with thick white Oshiroi with reddish and pink colored shades that drew on her facial feature. She followed the girl in front of her, the clicking sound from their zoris was brash in a silent and empty room of the Minka.

All the girls that she's with were excited and happy, they were so vibrant. She's not. From an ordinary maiden's perspective, this is the greatest time of their life, the becoming of a woman. They were nurtured in an environment wherein a girl is only considered successful if she's sold to a wealthy Lord, and bears his child. Disgusting, she speaks to her mind.

There were 5 maidens lined up in the garden, including her. The fresh wind brushes her face, it's been a while since she felt peace with these winds. They were kneeling on a platform with a thin curtain covering their side. One will stand up and walk in front where they will be presented to the Lords. They practiced it until they perfected the elegant and refined movements.

The first maiden was sold to Lord Aburame, the Lord of Mushi. Curiosity struck her so she peeked at them, she saw the girl immediately clings her arms to the Lord, she's beyond happy. Her eyes were expressed as innocent and naïve, she looked at him like a begging puppy. She felt sick.

"Temari"

An old woman in her mid-fifties called her, it's her queue to walk in front. Her pace was graceful and her hand placements were executed as per instructed. She stands straight, her head tilts up, and looks anywhere other than the Lords in front. She suddenly heard murmurs and turn her gaze to the 2 Lords.

"She's striking! If you're not gonna get her I'm gonna buy her"

"Shut up Kiba!"

She saw a man with dark brown hair with red marks on his face and little fangs. On his side was a man with black hair styled in a ponytail with a deadpan expression.

The man in a ponytail walked slowly in front of her, right in front of the platform. She looked away but she could see that the man observed her from head to toe, as if he's checking her quality. Like a slice of meat in a market. He positions his hands under his chin, in a thinking pose without removing his gaze.

"Any scars?" He looked at the old woman with a cocked brow.

"No, Lord Nara. She has no flaws, she's almost perfect as per my gauge, but I should remind you about her brassy attitude"

"Perfect! Then she's sold to me"

She immediately narrows her eyes at him, he did not see it as he turned away once he declared she's sold. They were called Tobenaitori or tori.

Tobenaitori or tori – is a term where a maiden is being sold to the Lords. The young maiden will be one of their properties and the Lords can do whatever they pleased. The maidens were mostly from middle- and lower-class families, some were captured by the higher ops, and some were orphaned. Each Lord can acquire more than one Tori, it was one of the gauges if a Lord is well-off. The wealthiest Lords can own more than ten Tori, they classify them as their properties. Sometimes, these maidens were called flightless birds.

"Well done, Shikamaru, but I'd really like to buy that one" Kiba said with a grin on his face

"Tch—Kiba you already have 4 Tori, how many do you want to collect?" He sarcastically said while reaching for the tobacco in his pocket.