Haruno Sakura was a lot of things, but she wasn't a fangirl.

Yes, perhaps she had been at one point. Her friend Uchiha Sasuke had had many in high school and until sophomore year, she would have qualified as one. She'd felt she had an advantage, being best friends with his best friend, and that maybe her crush had a chance.

Then disaster struck: she didn't have a crush anymore. She'd gotten to know the real Sasuke and it had gone from attraction to his mysterious personality and uncannily good looks to actual love.

And when she realized that it was real, that she was wholly and irrevocably in love with him, she'd stopped obsessing, stopped pushing herself on him. She decided to just be friends with him and she'd told him that—she'd promised that she wouldn't treat him like an object anymore and that she cared for him really and truly as a person. He'd responded in his typical noncommittal fashion, but their relationship had improved from that point on and now she considered him one of her closest friends.

Haruno Sakura wasn't a fangirl anymore—she was his friend, even if she loved him as more—so she really, really hated girls who fancied Sasuke as a prize to be obtained and not as a person. She felt she was justified, having been one herself; she knew how that mindset worked and it was toxic. It wasn't real.

It was just a shame that she shared a class with Sasuke at Tokyo University and she had to endure jealous glares and spiteful words from girls who clearly hadn't grown up at all since high school. To make it worse, it was her third year in at university!

"Sasuke-kun," she murmured softly as the organic chemistry professor droned on, "you need to sit somewhere else next time. I think I'm going to get jumped after class."

Sasuke grunted, equally softly. "Better you than me."

As Sasuke was studying to become a biochemist, he shared more than one class with her, but their schedules were different because of his clan duties and various other factors, so it ended up that although he was also in Advanced Biochemistry and Calculus II, they didn't attend them together.

At first she'd been glad that she was in a class with Sasuke, both because he was her friend and because of her secret love for him. However, after realizing that Sasuke and fangirls were a package deal, even in STEM careers, she quickly began to regret the decision.

"…and for next time, make sure you've read chapters 20-30 and have answered all of the example problems. There's a worksheet in the student portal due before next class. Also, if you check your syllabus, you will find there's a test on the *xth, so study hard. This will be the only reminder I give you. Dismissed."

Sakura sighed and began to pack up her things. Organic chemistry might well turn out the be the hardest class she'd ever take for her Bachelor's. Although her GPA was still 4.0 after even after six semesters, she worried that it might go down 0.1 after this class. It was incredibly difficult, and although she knew med school would be even harder than anything else in her schooling career, she regretted that she hadn't paced herself early on and would now be taking only excessively difficult classes every semester from here on out. She'd wanted to get all the easy classes out of the way, but she shouldn't have. The student advisor hadn't recommended it, but Sakura was stubborn.

She regretted that a little, too.

By the time she had adjusted her backpack and was looking towards Sasuke, she realized that he was already halfway out the door. Frowning, she hurried to catch up to him, trying to ignore the vicious glares she was getting.

"Slut can't go anywhere without trailing after him like a puppy," hissed one of the particularly worse fans, a purple-haired girl name Hakabi Ami.

Another girl, one of Ami's veritable henchmen, whispered loudly, "I wonder how much she pays to be that close to him all the time."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched as she caught up to Sasuke and fell in step with him, away from the envious and rude gossip. You'll get suspended if you beat the shit out of them, you'll get suspended if you beat the shit out of them, was a constant mantra in her mind.

"I'm never going to be in the same class as you again," she informed her friend coolly as they stepped out into the courtyard. It was particularly gray out and it felt like it had been consistently overcast for months now. She knew that it was possibly true because, as they say, April showers bring May flowers, but it was getting irritating. Sakura was impatient for some sun.

Sasuke snorted. "It's not my fault they're like vultures."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "It so is. Just get a girlfriend already, will you? Then I won't have to put up with this crap and she can deal with it."

Inwardly, Sakura was wincing at saying things that so viciously tore at her heart, but she had come to terms with the fact that Sasuke would never feel for her the way she felt about him. If nothing else, at least she could be his friend. It had to be enough—it was enough.

That was what she told herself. Often. Repeatedly.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she missed the flash of a scowl that passed over Sasuke's normally stoic face. By the time she looked back at him, it was gone.

"If there was someone I could stand that long, maybe I'd consider it," he said emotionlessly. Despite herself, Sakura felt a wave of relief. Even if it was just for a little while longer, she was still the only girl other than his mother in his life.

She made sure not to let that relief show on her face, but she gladly changed the topic.

"When is Naruto supposed to get here?" she wondered aloud. They had reached the cafeteria, where they always met up with their blond best friend after class was over on Thursdays before heading to the café down the street for coffee.

"Incoming," was all Sasuke said, and then there was the telltale commotion as the boy arrived.

"Sakura-chan! Asshole!" came the loud exclamation that had the entire cafeteria turning to look in their direction with varying expression of distaste.

Sakura's eye twitched in irritation. "Dummy," she muttered as Naruto rushed up to them.

"Hey," Sasuke said, echoing her annoyance. "Think you could be any louder next time?"

Naruto gave a thumbs up and winked. "I can try!"

"That was sarcasm, idiot."

"I know, asshole!"

"Then maybe take the hint."

"Hey, at least I know how to express myself!"

"Yeah, and the whole world knows it when you do."

"Listen, dickhead—"

"Naruto, stop!" Sakura said loudly. "And you!" she turned to Sasuke. "Stop antagonizing him! Can we please just get along for five minutes?"

"The asshole started it."

"The idiot can't even comprehend a simple request. How it is my fault?"

"You—!"

Sakura could only sigh in exasperation, but she was fighting down a smile.

They would always be her boys.

The time she spent with Naruto and Sasuke would never be a quiet affair, Sakura mused as the trio made their way down the busy sidewalk towards Henge Café. The boys' bantering was like a comforting buzz in the background as she walked in front of them towards their destination and she wondered vaguely if her life might possibly always be this comfortable. Sure, she and her dad sometimes struggled to make ends meet with the enormous debt accrued from hospital bills, and it was hard with the death of her mom five years ago—sometimes it still felt like yesterday—but with her mom's spirit guiding her and her dad's loving devotion to her and her future, Sakura felt like things might actually turn out okay.

They walked into the cafe and the owner, Haruo, greeted them.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" called the older man. His son, Eiji, waved shyly at her and grinned brightly at the boys.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Eiji said with light pink dusting his cheeks. Sakura knew that Eiji had a crush on her, but even if she wasn't in love with Sasuke, there would be no chance; Eiji was only sixteen and she preferred men her same age… even though technically she'd never dated at all. Sasuke had had that effect on her.

"Eiji-kun," Sakura said with a nod and a smile.

"Oi, Eiji!" Naruto said cheerfully. "Have you seen Hinata-chan recently? She said she comes here sometimes, but I've never seen her…"

Ken looked thoughtful for a moment. "No, I don't think I've seen her, but I have high school, too. She's the one with the really pretty white eyes, right?"

"Yep!" Naruto said, oblivious to the secretive glance Sakura and Haruo shared. It was no secret that Hyuuga Hinata was head-over-heels in love with Naruto and would probably frequent Henge if only to have a chance to see him.

Apparently, though, the timid girl hadn't quite mustered the courage to do so just yet.

Sakura liked to think that Naruto and Hinata would make an adorable couple if only they were pushed in the right direction a little. Unfortunately, she didn't know Hinata very well and it would be embarrassing and probably futile to try to convince her to approach Naruto with her feelings when they weren't familiar like that.

Sasuke, ever the curt one, suddenly said, "I'll have the jasmine green tea and two tomato onigiri."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "As usual," she muttered in his direction, elbowing him lightly. Sasuke ignored her and handed Eiji his credit card as payment. Then Naruto was up.

He glanced at the menu posted above the counter and frowned. "You guys still haven't added ramen to the menu…"

"Naruto-kun," Haruo said, sighing good-naturedly, "There's not really much demand for ramen with Ichiraku's trailer just down the street. I can't hope to compete with Teuchi-san's recipe."

Before Naruto could object and make a further fuss, Sakura elbowed him in the ribs, too, just with a bit (read: a lot) more force. He didn't take subtle hints. "We go there almost every Monday for lunch, Naruto. Your body could use something with actual nutrients."

The blond grumbled, running a hand through his hair. "Fine, fine." And then, like magic, he was cheerful again. "Oolong iced tea, sweetened, and four sticks of takoyaki!"

"You can't eat that much, dobe," Sasuke said, but it lacked any real heat.

Naruto, for once, ignored him, passing over the yen in exact change. Eiji turned to Sakura and she made it quick like Sasuke.

"Water and just one salted salmon onigiri, please." She, too, handed Eiji exact change in cash. In all honesty, Sasuke was the only one of them out of the three to have enough money to actually afford a credit card. Naruto would go into life-long debt within a week, and Sakura couldn't get one without her dad as the guarantor since she didn't work. Of course, with their already near-inescapable debt, until Sakura started making good money from being a doctor and helped him pay it off, she couldn't get one herself.

Haruo promised the food out in five minutes and with a quick farewell, the three went to sit in their usual booth in the back corner of the café. The place was a small but light and cheerful place; paper lanterns hung from the ceilings to illuminate the many chabudai tables and the place had large potted plants everywhere. The tatami mats at the traditional café for flooring and faux-bamboo walls made it feel homey even though most people didn't live traditionally anymore.

As the boys argued back and forth constantly, Sakura's mind wandered to her current endeavor to volunteer at a few hospitals in the surrounding area. She had applied to the main hospital in Tokyo even though it was a bit of a walk from home, but she doubted that she'd get in without having finished premed school. There were a couple other hospitals that she had a better chance of getting into, but so far she hadn't heard back from them. She greatly hoped to start getting actual experience in medicine and she had to admit she was a little disappointed.

Soon, she was sucked out of her thoughts and back into conversation with Naruto and Sasuke. When the food arrived, there was a momentary pause and then conversation continued. Naruto brought up that his foster father, Umino Iruka, had landed a job at Konoha, Inc. and Sakura was overjoyed. Iruka and Kakashi had been friends for a long time and that was how she'd met Naruto in the first place—they hadn't gotten along at first, mainly because they were children and Naruto was a boy and Sakura was a girl. However, come secondary school, they'd put their differences aside and become very close. Sakura wasn't exactly sure how Naruto had become such good friends with Sasuke, but they were now an inseparable trio.

"Hey, Sakura," Sasuke said during a lull. "Do you need any help studying?"

It took a moment to comprehend the question—out of all of them, she was the most book-smart and the least likely to need any kind of help with academics—and then another was spent staring at him dumbly when she realized he was actually offering to spend time with her outside of necessity.

It wasn't like she and Sasuke didn't spend time together, but it was usually for a purpose that neither could avoid or that Sakura proposed herself. Or, for times that were purely for fun, Naruto was usually involved. Therefore it was more than a little surprising that he was actually wanting to see her of his own volition, even if it was only for schoolwork.

That he knew she didn't need help with. Strange.

"Well…" she said uncertainly. She wanted to scream 'Yes! Yes!' but it wouldn't do to be that obvious. Stuffing down her excitement—she wasn't exactly happy that she was reacting so strongly to this weird but totally awesome offer—she pretended to think.

"We could probably use a review," Sasuke went on.

Sakura stared at him, unable to get over the 'we' that was definitely an 'I' in Sasuke-speak, because he would never voluntarily admit weakness even though she knew just from sitting next to him as he receive his grades that O-chem was not going to leave his 3.9 intact. She at least had a chance at keeping her GPA. "I'm not sure what you mean by 'we.'" It came out with much more snark than she'd anticipated given she actually wanted to accept more than anything.

She was immediately worried that she'd shot down any chance of Sasuke spending time with her alone again when he raised an eyebrow questioningly… challengingly?

"Sure. A review never hurt anyone," she said, trying to dial down the sass because she wanted this.

"Meet up tomorrow? My place?"

"Okay." Sakura didn't trust her traitorous voice to say anything else lest she give away how baffled—and happy—she was that this was happening.

"Oi, asshole!" Naruto protested. "You can't hog Sakura-chan all to yourself!"

"Shut up, moron. It's just for school."

A part of Sakura wilted at that. Just for school. Of course. However, she showed no reaction to his comment outwardly.

Just then, her cellphone went off. "Hey, Dad!" Sakura said cheerfully upon seeing the caller ID and answering.

"Sakura-chan," came Kakashi's voice. "When will you be home? I have a surprise for you."

Sakura immediately lit up. "I was just with Sasuke and Naruto at Henge. I can be home in fifteen or so?"

"Perfect," Kakashi replied. "See you then."

"Love you, Daddy."

"Love you too, Sakura-chan."

Sakura hung up and turned to her friends. "I have to get home now," she told them. "My dad has a surprise for me!"

"Okay, Sakura-chan! You'd better call me and tell me what it is!"

"Of course, Naruto."

"Later, Sakura."

"Bye, Sasuke, Naruto." Waving at her friends, she grabbed her backpack from the floor beside the booth and stood up. She also waved goodbye to Haruo and Eiji before heading out into the busy street.

It was a short walk back to her apartment where she and Kakashi lived, having downsized after her mom's illness and death. It was a quick walk up to the second story and she was glad to be greeted when she walked in.

"I'm home!" she called, removing her shoes in the foyer before walking further into the home.

It was a very comfortable, lived-in apartment. The walls were full of pictures of her, Rin, and Kakashi as a family, from the moment Sakura had been brought into the family as a newborn to now, although her mom wasn't in the newer photos. To make up for it, there were many pictures of her parents before she had been adopted. There were a few bonsai trees scattered around the small living room, which attached directly to the kitchen and dining room. A bedroom for her dad and then her own bedroom across the way, down the hall. They'd gotten lucky and there were two bathrooms—it would have been awkward to share one with her own father.

"Welcome back, Sakura-chan," Kakashi called back. "I hope you're not too full; I have a reservation for Akimichi Bistro downtown."

Sakura's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Akimichi? But that's so expensive…!"

"It's a special occasion, Sakura-chan," Kakashi said, smiling. For once, he wasn't wearing the usual scarf that he used to cover the bottom half of his face. "Remember how I told you Konoha was merged with Uchiha Corp.?"

Sakura nodded, not understanding.

"Apparently, the new CEO decided that I deserved a promotion. I'm now the department head of marketing."

There was a moment of silence, and then—

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Congratulations, Daddy!" She ran up to him and he caught her small form in a tight hug.

"With my new raise, we won't have to rely on loans so much for school anymore and I can telecommute more often. We'll be able to go on that vacation to Hawaii this summer, too."

Sakura felt tears sting her eyes. Kakashi worked so hard for Konoha and even though she had nothing against Tsunade, the previous CEO, she was very happy that whoever this new person was had recognized Kakashi's hard work and had seen fit to give him something he had earned a long time ago. He had wanted—and deserved—this job for more than a decade.

"I'm so happy!" Sakura said joyfully as she and her father let go of each other. "But I don't think I have anything nice enough for Akimichi."

"The reservation isn't until eight." Kakashi smiled and handed her his rarely-used credit card. "Buy something nice, alright?"

Now, the tears spilled. "Thank you so much, Daddy. I have to call Ino right away. She'll know exactly where to go."

Kakashi smiled and ruffled her hair. "Have fun, but don't be late. 7:30 should give us enough time to get there."

Sakura checked the clock on her phone. "Oh, that's like two hours. If I hurry, I can definitely get it done!" She turned to him again. "Thank you so much, and congratulations again!"

Kakashi only smiled and waved her away. "Go get ready."

Sakura smiled, wiped her eyes, and ran to her bedroom, already dialing her best female friend, Yamanaka Ino.

"Ino-pig, you'll never guess what happened today…"

"Hatake has been promoted just as you ordered," Ume said, bowing after entering his office. "And the three others were let go, also as ordered, including Senju Tsunade."

Madara glanced up from his paperwork. "Good. And the raise was…?"

"3,000,000 yen."

He nodded. "That should be enough. Very well. And the reservation?"

"It was as you predicted; Akimichi Bistro at eight. I have already reserved a table for you in the adjacent area."

"Well done, Takahashi-san. You are dismissed."

Ume hesitated and Madara rolled his eyes.

"I understand you are not comfortable with your part in this," he said exasperatedly. "Must I give you a photocopy of your pay stub? It's been raised 50,100,000 yen, as you requested."

The woman straightened and nodded. "Thank you, Uchiha-sama."

Madara simply waved towards the door and Ume thankfully excused herself at last.

Everything was falling into place perfectly. Soon, after Hatake had grown comfortable in his position—Madara estimated about a month—and he had reintroduced himself into Sakura's life, it would be a simple matter of luring her in. If she refused… well, her dear 'Daddy,' who had just gotten his dream job, would soon find himself entirely jobless. And, with any luck, they would have already starting spending as though the promotion would be permanent… There was nothing like financial distress to motivate someone into agreeing to anything you wanted.

She might be unhappy with the situation at first, he was aware, but he would make her his queen; she would want for nothing. She would get over his brat of a great-nephew and she would come to love him in time. Sakura would see that life was him was perfect and then—then everything would be right in the world.

Because the truth was that everything in this world had a price tag. Ume could be bought into cooperation even when it was for something that she found morally reprehensible with a simple raise. Kakashi could now buy his way to happiness and contentment with the new, much larger paycheck he was receiving. And Sakura... Well, she was too good of a person to be bought with money.

But she could be bought with the promise of her friends' and family's happiness and that was a price he was more than willing to pay. Everyone had something they wanted and as a man who had more money than he could ever hope to spend in his lifetime, it was a simple matter of pulling the strings to get what he wanted. He wanted for nothing except Haruno Sakura.

Soon he would have her at last, and not too much later, their children. His world would be complete. He could finally be content.

And maybe, just maybe… truly happy.

Made a whoopsie last chapter. I said Madara and the Uchiha clan live in Aoyama, when it's really Gaienmae that I wanted. Fixed now, but just to clear up any confusion.