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So, this chapter is crappy. I acknowledge that. I hope you can forgive me.

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5

-Reactions and Consequences-

Inhaling sharply, Sakura went stiff with shock. Was this…was this really happening? Was Uchiha Sasuke, the love of her life, actually kissing her right now?

He pulled away after a moment, frowning.

"Yeah, you'd better go." He began to walk towards the door to open it for her.

"No, no, no, Uchiha Sasuke! You do not just kiss a girl and then just tell her to leave!" she said angrily. She wasn't sure if anger was the right reaction in this situation—inside she was shrieking in delight and fireworks were going off in her head—but she had no idea how else to respond.

He turned around, crossing his arms, and looked at her stonily. She flinched at the coldness in his eyes and she cursed her tear ducts, which had decided to make her eyes very watery. She wasnotupset by this. She was not. Not at all.

"Fine," she said, resisting the urge to wipe her eyes and blinking rapidly to disperse the tears gathering there. "Can I at least know what that was all about? As your friend, I think I deserve an explanation."

She ignored the fact that her voice wobbled when she said 'friend.'

"I just wanted to know."

"If I have feelings for you?" she clarified. "Why? Why is this so important to you?" She couldn't help that her tone was demanding and perhaps a little hysterical, but this whole thing was destroying her nervous system. Her stress levels were through the roof and having her carefully buried feelings dredged up like this was excruciatingly painful.

He sighed and something about him seemed to melt.

When he spoke, his tone was laced with exasperation, but there was also something very vulnerable about his expression. "It's not like it matters anymore, but I might have…I might be…"

She leaned forward unthinkingly, her heart racing.

Sasuke scowled. "I might have had a little crush on you, okay?"

Sakura was stunned. This was more shocking than the kiss and all this surprise in such a short period of time could not be, in any way, good for her health.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Hn."

She hesitated, shifting from one foot to the other. "Uh…was that…past tense?"

He glared at her. "I just kissed you. What do you think?"

She felt like she was going to choke with how tight her throat was. "This isn't some sick joke, is it?"

Sasuke's patience ran out. "Can we just drop it already? It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"I just don't-"

"Kami, Sakura-"

"-think it's very funny-"

"-just drop it-"

"because I really-"

"-It's not a big-"

"-have been in love with you this whole time-"

"deal and—What?"

The garbled conversation came to a sudden halt. She had just poured out her heart—admittedly in a very rushed and inarticulate sort of way—and now the ball was in Sasuke's court.

"Can you repeat that?" he asked slowly.

Sakura cleared her throat and tried to sound as confident as possible. "I never stopped having feelings for you, Sasuke."

A single black brow rose incredulously. Then, "You're ridiculous."

She huffed lightly, but inside she was deeply wounded. Sakura quickly blinked back the tears that immediately welled up. "Yeah, well, that's how it is." She averted her gaze the ceiling, mortified.

"I was going to ask you to that dance. Do you remember?"

Sakura's breath caught in her throat.

The day that Sakura had told Sasuke that she just wanted to be friends with him and she would stop pursuing him because she no longer had feelings for him like that, that she genuinely cared for him as a person and this fangirling thing wasn't really her, it had been a week before the winter dance that their upper high school had every year. She had wanted so badly to go with Sasuke, but she'd realized that it was never going to happen and she would rather be able to go with him as a friend rather than as someone who would be hanging on his arm, begging for a dance like a dog would a bone.

Finally, she managed an incredulous laugh. "You're joking."

"Actually, I'm not."

Blinking back her tears suddenly became a counterintuitive effort because instead of dispersing them, it pushed them from her eyes down her cheeks. "R-really?"

He nodded.

"Then, this whole time…?"

He nodded again jerkily.

She laughed and it was caught somewhere before a sob and a gasp. The tears started trickling faster and she made a futile effort to wipe her eyes—it didn't matter because he was watching her closely, but she had hoped to keep some kind of composure through this whole thing.

"Would you not get so emotional over this?" he grumbled uncomfortably.

She laughed for real this time, but it was accompanied by sniffling. "I just—I just can't believe it. Why did you wait so long? Are you sure this isn't a-"

"It's not a joke," he nearly growled. "Kami, why can't you believe me?" He ran a hand through his hair in irritation.

"Why did you wait so long?" she asked, almost begging. If he had felt this way the entire time, why keep it under wraps for three years?

"Like a fool, I actually believed you," he said, a little coldly. "I just had to find out though, because it wasn't going away."

Sakura was now doing some kind of mixture between laughing and crying. "I-I can't b-believe this," she said. She was doing her best to contain herself, but she was so relieved and happy and joyful and terrified all at once that it was something of an overload.

"Would you stop that?" he said, motioning to her crying. She shook her head and awkwardly, he wrapped his arms around this. "If you're really in love with me like you said, you should be happy." It almost sounded like he was complaining.

"I am happy," she mumbled into his chest. Tentatively, she hugged him back. "I just…kind of can't believe it."

"So you said," he replied dryly.

When she had suitably calmed herself down, he released her and she wiped her face a final time. "So…"

He caught the unspoken question. "You're my girlfriend now."

"Wow, romantic," she teased, still sniffling a little. He scowled at her and she laughed. "Okay."

They stood there awkwardly for just a little longer before suddenly Mikoto popped her head in.

"Dinner's ready! Sakura, are you stay-" she exclaimed cheerfully before noticing Sasuke's disconcerted expression and Sakura's red, tear-streaked face. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, okaa-san," Sasuke replied, pulling Sakura close him. Sakura herself beamed happily.

"Everything's perfect, Mikoto-san."

Mikoto glanced from Sasuke to Sakura and back again before a knowing look appeared in her eyes and she smiled.

"Good. Now, come. Your father's home, so it's time for dinner." She turned to Sasuke and whispered conspiratorially, "I'm on your side, so don't worry about his reaction."

Sasuke stiffened, as though he hadn't really considered that issue, and Sakura realized that she'd forgotten just how uncanny a mother's intuition could be sometimes.

Sakura dropped her backpack to the ground again and Sasuke threaded his fingers through her hand. Together, they walked out of his bedroom and to the dining room.

Sakura could only hope that Fugaku didn't throw too big of a fit.

In the end, Fugaku gave a noncommittal "hmm" and managed to look distinctly unhappy, but otherwise dinner went fine. Sakura suspected that the warning glances Mikoto shot him were sufficient to keep him quiet for the time being, although there was certain to be backlash later. However, Sasuke assured her that his father wouldn't be able to change his mind.

It didn't matter though. She was now Uchiha Sasuke's girlfriend and nothing could be going more perfectly!

It was why she had a bubbly bounce in her step as she made her way towards the giant skyscraper that was Uchiha Corp.'s main office. She had done a little research on the company last night after Sasuke walked her home—and of course called Ino to tell her the news—because she wanted to make sure that she knew her facts.

Much to her surprise, she realized she had to have been blind to not know that Madara was the owner of the company. It wasn't like it was a well-kept secret.

Upon searching for Uchiha Corp.'s webpage, she'd also come across many articles about Uchiha Madara, the man who had so generously offered her the position that she was now preparing for. Out of curiosity she read one and then, fascinated, she read more and more.

Uchiha Madara had been born to the clan head of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Masashi, and his wife, Uchiha Kayuya. He had become the youngest clan head in the last two hundred years when his parents were killed in a car crash, taking the title at only twenty-one years old. He had a younger brother, Izuna, but there wasn't much information on him other than an article about his unfortunate blindness and the affect it had had on Madara's performance with the company. Madara had been raised for the takeover of Uchiha Corp. and there was lots of praise for his efforts, although she had found an particularly critical article citing that "Uchiha is a ruthless businessman with little sympathy for the millions of lives he affects every day." In the comments, however, many had accused the author, Nichura Yamika, of being a 'woman scorned.'

That had led her to come across the magazine headliners she'd previously anticipated about Madara being one of the most eligible bachelors of the year. The most recent, where he was number one, he had told the journalist that he had someone in mind but was not ready to take the next step yet. The article had only been published a month ago and Sakura had felt somewhat sorry for him—maybe that was the woman who had stood him up at Akimichi's?

Newly-acquired information whirling through her head and a newfound respect for the man who had in effect hired her, Sakura entered the lobby of the Uchiha Corp. building and walked up to the front desk, where a woman with a smile on her face greeted her.

"Hello, how may I help you?" she asked, not unkindly, but she clearly thought Sakura had wandered into the wrong building.

"I was told to ask for Takahashi Ume-san," Sakura said politely, ignoring the slight condescension in the receptionist's tone. "My name is Haruno Sakura."

The woman's brown eyes widened momentarily before she quickly nodded. "I'll page her down, just take a seat over there, please."

Taking a seat on one of the many couches in the main lobby, Sakura mused on the receptionist's expression when she'd mentioned Takahashi Ume. Obviously, her name-dropping had surprised the older woman and Sakura wondered if Ume was a very important figure in Uchiha Corp. It seemed as though her name held a lot of weight from the receptionist's response.

Not five minutes later did a tall woman with short red hair and cedar green eyes exit the elevator. Surprisingly, she recognized Sakura right away, even though there were a few other people lounging around the lobby.

"Haruno-san," Ume said politely as she bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sakura stood immediately and bowed back. "The pleasure's all mine, Takahashi-san," she replied with a warm smile. Ume smiled at her in return, but it seemed a little brittle.

"Now that we're introduced, let's get you started." Ume led her to the elevators and pressed the up button after swiping her badge over the scanner on the wall. "You'll be working on the fourth floor, where the hospital is. The hospital is entire fourth floor, so your badge won't be cleared for any other floors except for the forty-fifth."

Sakura nodded as they boarded the elevator. "Why would I be cleared on the forty-fifth, then?"

Ume gave her a secretive smile. "Madara-sama is rather fond of you. How do you think you got the job so quickly?"

Sakura blushed. "Well, I guess I am the same age as Sasuke—his second cousin?" she questioned when Ume cocked her head questioningly.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun," Ume murmured, but it didn't seem directed at Sakura. However, her attention was soon back on the pinkette when she spoke again.

"I've always heard that he's invested in Sasuke's future, so maybe that somehow goes for his friends, too?" Sakura laughed, still blushing. "Madara-sama is so kind. It's almost surprising, really."

The sudden dark look on Ume's face made Sakura wonder if she'd said something wrong, but before she could question the older woman, the elevator dinged and they had arrived on the fourth floor.

Ume exited first, Sakura quickly followed after the woman's brisk pace. All of the nurses and physicians bowed slightly upon seeing Ume walk through their halls and again, Sakura questioned just how important the redhead was.

"Where is Shizune?" Ume questioned the front desk once they had arrived.

The nurse at the station looked up and her eyes widened. "Oh, Takahashi-sama," she said quickly. "Shizune-san is with a patient. She should be out any minute though."

Ume nodded and then turned back to Sakura. Her face showed no trace of the earlier darkness. "After Shizune gets you acquainted with the hospital, don't leave immediately. I'll come get you."

Sakura nodded, a bit confused but willing to trust Ume. She seemed like a good person, if not a little brusque. She assumed it was because she didn't have a badge to let her onto the elevator. That didn't seem right to her somehow, but she ignored the feeling.

"You'll get your badge when you come next Friday. The woman on the first floor will give it to you when you arrive." At the sight of a dark-haired woman coming down from the hallway opposite them, Ume waved her hand. "Shizune-san, come here."

The woman who approached look stern and serious, but not necessarily unfriendly. "What is it you need, Takahashi-sama?"

Damn, Sakura thought. Everyone was calling her Takahashi-sama. Had she accidentally offended the woman by calling her '-san?' Sakura hoped not, but it seemed she had made a huge social blunder. Ume showed no sign of it, but that didn't mean she hadn't screwed up.

Ume interrupted her thoughts. "Shizune-san, this is Haruno Sakura. She's the new volunteer." At this, Sakura smiled at her and bowed. Shizune's eyes lit up in recognition. "Haruno-san, this is Katou Shizune. She will be your supervisor."

"Nice to meet you, Haruno-san. You can just call me Shizune, everyone does." Shizune's smile was warm and friendly and Sakura decided immediately that she would like this woman.

"Then you can call me Sakura," she replied. For some reason, such a bold thing didn't feel uncomfortable for her.

"Alright, Sakura-san. Let's get to work." Shizune glanced at Ume for permission to leave.

Ume nodded. "Remember Sakura, call for me before you leave."

Sakura nodded and, waving, followed Shizune to learn what she would be doing for the indefinite future.

It turned out that Sakura was a natural and the three hours it took to get used to what she would be doing were easy and fast. Shizune was a good teacher and explained things thoroughly before letting Sakura try things for herself. She would only be doing things closer to janitorial work than anything, but Shizune promised her that if she worked hard and long enough that they would give her more responsibility. It was more than Sakura could have ever hoped for.

As Ume had asked her to, Sakura had Shizune page her when before she left. It was then that she asked Shizune what exactly Ume did for the company.

"Oh, she's Uchiha-sama's personal assistant," Shizune told her. "If you know Uchiha-sama personally, then it's no surprise he got you in so quickly."

Sakura wanted to hit herself on the head. Takahashi- sama. How could she have missed it?

Promptly, Ume arrived and she waved Sakura over to the elevator. She pressed the button for the forty-fifth floor and suddenly, Sakura was very confused.

"Why…?" she asked.

"Madara-sama wants to see you," Ume replied. "You're a personal…investment, so to speak." It did not escape Sakura that Ume sounded slightly uncomfortable saying this, but she didn't think it would be wise to press. However, it did confirm that Madara cared for her like he cared for Sasuke and that kind of benevolence made her grin stupidly inwardly. It was pretty nice to have such a powerful man invested in her future. Networking was one of the easiest ways to get into good jobs and although she didn't want to take advantage of Madara's influence or presence in her life, she couldn't deny that it was exciting for all these possibilities to be opening up for her.

They arrived on their floor, only stopped once by someone going onto a higher level and then getting off before they did. Sakura made sure to send Sasuke a text that he could come by soon to pick her up because they were going on a date after this.

A date with Sasuke! Internally, she was squealing in happiness.

Ume led her through a hallway towards the far end of the building before stopping in front of a heavy oaken door and knocking lightly.

"Come in," came Madara's voice.

Suddenly, Sakura felt a little nervous. How should she react to him? How could she possibly thank him for his kindness?

Ume opened the door and motioned for Sakura to enter. Almost shuffling her feet, Sakura tentatively entered the large office, where Madara sat behind a computer at his desk.

"Ah, Sakura-san," he greeted cordially as she entered. Silently, Ume closed the door behind them and Sakura felt her senses prickle almost uncomfortably at being alone with him. She felt acutely discomfited, but she told herself it was because she had no way to repay this man for his benevolence. "I hope everything went well?"

She smiled, his gentle tone placating her nerves a bit. "Yes, Madara-sama. It went very well. I wanted to say thank you so much for this opportunity. I won't disappoint you."

He chuckled, leaning back in his chair and motioning for her to take a seat in one of the plush chairs across from him. "I doubt you will," he replied. "You have a lot of potential."

"Thank you. I really don't know how I can repay you for all this. You've been so kind to me."

There was a sudden gleam in his eyes that made her acutely uncomfortable. It was dark and foreboding and looked out of place coupled with his kind expression. "I don't require payment for doing you a favor," he told her. "A good deed begets a good deed."

Still, it didn't feel right to just be taking from him like this. He said it was a favor, so that still meant she was indebted to him, right? And she didn't want to leave any loose strings. "I know there's not much I can hope to offer you, but really. I'd feel bad if I couldn't do anything for you in return."

Madara seemed to muse on this for a moment before smirking. "If you're so insistent, would you allow me to take you out to dinner?"

Sakura reddened immediately. Was he actually offering to take her on a date? That didn't seem right at all—she was much too young for him. Maybe it was platonic? "Do you mean…like friends?" she asked almost timidly.

His smirk widened. "No, not exactly."

Sakura swallowed. She was about to reject a very powerful person and that could turn out to be a very bad thing. Madara was too nice to punish her for not feeling that way about him though, right? She had no idea how he'd developed these feelings in the first place, or perhaps he thought that he could get easy sex out of her? It didn't seem like that was the case, but she couldn't banish the thought from her mind. Suddenly, she felt dirty, like she'd prostituted herself.

"Well…I'm kind of dating Sasuke now…" she said, unable to make eye contact. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees and she shivered. "But…as friends it would be great!" she quickly amended, glancing at him to assess the damage she'd just caused.

However, his expression was nowhere near thunderous or angry, not even slightly offended, which confused her because she couldn't be imagining how cold the room just got for that moment. "Very well, Sakura-san. As friends." He smiled, a placating expression on his face. "It's quite alright. Never hurts to try though, hm? Especially for a beautiful young lady such as yourself."

She tried to smile, but found herself too full of questions. "You didn't offer me this position because of…that, did you?"

His expression was genuinely confused. "No, of course not. Sasuke has told me much about your goals and I only wanted to aid you."

Mollified, Sakura gave him a genuine smile. "Oh, okay. I just didn't want there to be any misconceptions, you know? Still, thank you so much."

He nodded. "You're very welcome. Now, what time would be good for you?" When he saw the uncertain look on her face, he amended, "As friends, of course."

Sakura was surprised that he was still interested in taking her out to dinner when she'd already told him that she wasn't interested in him romantically, but she supposed she did owe him that much at least. "Well, after six on most days I'm free."

"Next Friday then?" he asked. "Seven o'clock?"

She nodded. "That would be fine. Where will we be going?"

"It's a surprise," he said, mischief twinkling in his black eyes, and Sakura got the distinct feeling he hadn't given up whatever attraction he had for her. However, she had made it clear she wasn't interested in him that way and there was nothing else she could do except to cancel the event altogether, which would be very unwise in her position.

Pushing her suspicions aside, she said playfully, "Well, if I end up over- or underdressed, I blame you."

"And I'll take full responsibility," he responded in an equally playful tone. "So, I'll pick you up at seven on Friday?"

She nodded. "Yes. I'd better get going, though, Madara-sama," she told him. "Sasuke-kun's going be picking me up soon."

She thought she caught a flash of something dark in his eyes, but it was gone too quickly to tell. "Very well, then, Sakura-san. I'll see you then."

She grinned at him and waved. "Alright. See you then!"

She showed herself out. She'd have to tell Sasuke about the dinner just so there weren't any misunderstandings. She knew there wouldn't be—there was no way she would be unfaithful to him after pining for him for so many years.

Ume showed up soon to let her down, but told her that she would not be accompanying her out the door. That was fine with Sakura, so she said goodbye to her and impatiently waited for the elevator to reach her floor. After several stops for more passengers, she arrived.

Sasuke was waiting for her at the door. "Hello, Sasuke-kun!" she greeted happily.

"How'd it go?" he asked, taking her hand as they exited the building.

"It went great. Shizune-san showed me all this stuff…"

Ume blanched upon entering Madara's office. Things had clearly not gone well.

He sat behind his desk with a truly horrifying glower on his face, his fingers laced in front of him as he fumed.

"Put the motions in for Hatake to be dismissed," he said lowly, his voice frigid.

Ume stiffened. Things had clearly gone very badly. "Yes, sir." When Madara was this furious, the more respect she showed the better it was for her job.

"Pull every string you have to. By Friday of next week, I want her suspended from Tokyo University and I want Hatake to know he is on very thin ice. Call Hyuuga Hiashi and have the entire family's bank accounts frozen on Wednesday night. I want an eviction notice delivered to them Thursday and make sure that any inquiries for a new apartment under the name of Hatake Kakashi are denied. Close off every single avenue for her to escape."

Ume was trembling from the sheer force of Madara's rage in the room. She was terrified for the Haruno girl and it was unfortunate because the pinkette had seemed sweet and kind. Still, she said nothing.

"As you wish, Madara-sama."

Shit just got real.

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