Marrying Up

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! I REPEAT— I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

A/N: This was inspired by Atelier Annie (WHICH I DON'T OWN EITHER, HO!). It's a cute game. Her parents have made up names.

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Hana Haruno sighed, standing over her eighteen year old daughter's bed. Her daughter's name was Sakura, and she was still asleep at three in the afternoon. "Sakura," Mrs. Haruno placed a hand on her daughter's forehead, shaking her roughly, "Wake up!" She was a beautiful woman, with dark pink hair and dark green eyes.

Sakura let out a grumble, and only twitched in her sleep as a response.

"Sakura!" Her mother snapped irritably. She'd had enough of her daughter's behavior, and Sakura was eighteen now. It was time for her to get up and dive into reality.

"What?" Sakura grumbled, stirring under the covers of her bed. "Ten more minutes, Mom."

Sakura's mother opened the curtains, letting a flood of sunlight into the previously dark room. "Wake up, Sakura! It's moving day!"

Sakura sat straight up, her chopped-at-the-shoulders pink hair sticking out in frizzy strands, "Huh?" She rubbed her emerald eyes, her sky blue nightgown flailing with the movement, "We're moving?"

"Not us," Her mother gave a bright grin, "You. Your Godmother is taking up a position as the head doctor on an island resort that's being newly built. Since you're eighteen, we thought this would be a good opportunity to move up in the world. You should get packing, you only have an hour. The truck's outside, and your father will help load it up." Her mother turned on her heel and calmly walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Sakura sat in stunned silence for a moment, before bolting out of bed, "What?" She noticed a large pile of empty cardboard boxes sitting along one of her walls and scowled. Her mother had prepared for this.

She darted forward, realizing she didn't have much time. She took a box, scribbling 'Shoes' on it with a black Sharpie. She tossed in white hospital shoes, sandals, boots, and tennis shoes. She stuffed her socks in there as well, and then sealed the box.

Taking another box, she managed to shove all of her shirts inside and then labeled it accordingly. In the next one she shoved all of her pants, skirts, and undershirts. In the fourth box, she shoved her underwear in the corner and then placed her coats and swimsuits on top.

She placed books, DVDs, and the little DVD player her father had gotten her for Christmas one year in another box. She added in her jewelry box that her best friend Ino had gotten her. She tossed her bed sheets and blankets on top. She grabbed the little things too—her alarm clock, and umbrella, her stuffed animals, and everything else into the little nooks and crannies.

"Sakura, honey, are you alright in there?" Sakura's father spoke from outside the door.

She didn't respond, narrowing her eyes at the door until in slowly opened revealing a man with nearly white blonde hair and emerald green eyes.

Her father gave a sheepish smile, "Well, I know you're mad, but let's be real. If we had given you a few days warning, you'd have procrastinated until now anyway."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but quickly clamped it shut again. She watched him pick up one of the boxes, and begrudgingly picked one up as well. Sakura followed him outside to find a rusty pick-up truck with people inside.

Four guys.

Four hot guys.

Sakura pointed an accusing finger and shouted, "Dad, who the hell are they?" The men turned to meet her gaze.

"Oh, these are some other individuals who are headed to help with the resort," Her father gave a bright smile, "They agreed to give you a ride." He placed the boxes in the back, "Good luck, Sweetie!"

Sakura turned bright red, "Dad!"

"If you're done," A deep voice drawled, "Let's go." Sakura turned to face a young man who had hopped out of the truck in order to let her in. Sakura turned bright red. Damn, he was handsome.

He had shaggy, jet black hair that was jelled in the back; much like a bird would've preened its feathers. His eyes were a deep, dark, mysterious obsidian. His complexion was gorgeous. He was tall and lean, with a slightly muscular build, but it wasn't overly dramatized.

Sakura gave a bright smile, and then stuck her hand out, "My name is Sakura Haruno, pleased to meet you."

The young man snorted, "Did I ask? No."

Sakura was taken aback for a moment. Then, she narrowed her emerald eyes and scowled, "What's your problem? I was only being polite, you arrogant prick! Where do you get off riding around in that piece of crap pick-up truck, all the while convinced you're all that and a bag of—of—Doritos!"

The young man didn't respond, only staring at her with an expressionless face. However, his eyes seemed to cloud over in deep surprise and confusion.

"Doritos?" A loud voice chirped from the truck.

"They're Jesus chips," Sakura responded offhandedly, sliding inside the truck. Once everyone was in, Sakura noted that she was squished between the rude young man and the owner of the loud voice that had chirped at her earlier.

The owner of the voice was a sweetheart. In fact, if he had been the type of man Sakura was interested in, she would even date him. Maybe. His hyper personality made her feel quite relaxed, at least. He had blonde hair and tanned skin, with little whisker like marks on his cheek. His eyes were a bright cerulean, much like the pictures she'd seen of a tropical ocean. He was tall and muscular, healthier looking and broader than the man on the other side of Sakura.

"I'm Naruto!" The blonde gave a bright smile, "The bastard over there is Sasuke. The person driving is Kakashi, and riding shotgun is Sai."

"Dickless," Sai muttered from the front, "Just shut up already. You're not a tour guide."

Sakura snorted at Sai's affectionate nickname for Naruto. Sasuke shot me a disgusted look, but she made a point of ignoring him. After all, he wasn't worth her time. In a rusty truck like this, he must've been a simple common man.

Not that she had anything against common men. Not at all. They just weren't the type of person she was interested in marrying. It sounds superficial, but she's seen the hard times her parents have gone through. She's heard stories about families being homeless, but deeming everything okay because they were in love. All the while, they and their children were starving.

No, Sakura was willing to give up love if it meant her future child—and yes, she did want one someday—would never want for anything.

At least, that's what she told herself. Would she really be able to give up love for something as material as money? She liked to think so. Sakura liked to imagine herself sitting in one of those beautifully made wooden chairs on the left side of a marble countertop, where a bowl of cherries was tastefully placed. She'd sip her lemonade, and a little pink haired, green eyes toddler would run up to her with a grin plastered on her face (If she had a son, he would look like her father, of course.). She would pick up her child, and walk them to the fully stocked pantry, where she would pull out whatever her adorable baby would want to eat. That feeling, of knowing that you wouldn't need to fear for the bill that would be coming, or hide from the man in the suit who might take your home away—That feeling of motherly accomplishment had to be far greater than anything love could hope to accomplish.

"Hey," A voice brought her out of her thoughts, "Hey, Ugly! Stop daydreaming! Kakashi asked you a question." It was Sai that spoke. He was a chalky pale, paler than even Sasuke. His eyes were an ink colored black, and his hair was in a simple bowl cut, though tastefully styled. He was skinny, perhaps overly so.

Sakura sighed. Sai had been calling her Ugly for the entire ride. It was quite rude. Sakura wasn't ugly, in fact she was beautiful. Of course, no one in the car would admit it—That is, except for Naruto who couldn't stop emphasizing the fact. She's managed to tame her lovely pink tresses into a messy bun, and had finally rubbed the sleep out of her emerald eyes. She hadn't had time to change, though. She was still in her navy pajama shorts along with a white tank top.

Introductions at the island would be fairly awkward. Oh well.

"Could you repeat that, Kakashi?" Sakura chirped brightly, looking out the window, crossing over an irritated Sasuke, with the exuberance of an excited child. This was her first time anywhere near the ocean. Her emerald eyes shined brightly.

The Uchiha took the time to notice the beautiful slope of her face, the way her perfectly pink lips arched, the way her eyes sparkled, her darling button nose—She was beautiful. Sai must be blind.

"Yo," Sakura's bittersweet smile brought him back to reality, "If you must stare, invest in a pair of sunglasses, so you won't be quite as blatantly obvious."

A woman had never dared to speak to him in such a manner. It was refreshing, really. He'd never been so mesmerized in his life.

Kakashi cleared his throat, "Well, Sakura, what are you going to the Island for?" He was about thirty years old. He wore a mask over his mouth and left eye. The visible eye was a charcoal gray. His hair was silver, though not from old age. It seemed natural.

"Oh, my parents sent me to live with my Godmother Tsunade. Apparently, I'm lazy and she needs help with the hospital," Sakura responded bluntly, sitting up in her seat.

Kakashi nearly crashed the truck in his shock. His visible eye was wide, and he shouted in a panicked tone, "The Tsunade?"

Sakura, in shock from the sudden swerve, managed to mutter, "I g-guess…"

They were all silent for a moment, and Kakashi's death grip on the steering wheel seemed to relax, "So, Sakura, have any plans for the future?"

"Oh," Sakura responded, stifling a yawn as she leaned on Naruto's shoulder, about to doze off, "I'm going to marry up."

"Well," Sasuke whispered, once she had fallen asleep, "At least she's honest."

"Did Tsunade even tell her about the agreement? It doesn't sound like she knows," Naruto focused his gaze on the strands of pink hair visible out of his peripheral vision, "If she did, she wouldn't have admitted her intentions so willingly."

"Who cares? Ugly may be honest, but she's a lazy gold digger," Sai muttered, gazing out the window at the scenery. They were almost at the harbor.

"Shh!" Kakashi muttered, "She's waking up."

There were a few grumbles from Sakura as she opened her eyes, "Are we there yet?"

"Yup," Kakashi's eye crinkled in a smile, "So let's get your things and hop on this boat, shall we?"

…

A/N: You'll hear more about the agreement later in the story. Naturally, there are more participants. I realize that Sakura is a gold digger, but it's for her future child. Think of the future children!

I know I should be updating my other stuff more, but I couldn't stop myself from writing this...

This update's Sakucentric Spotlight is...

Fear of Falling by Orange Sherbet

In which Sakura has a fear of men, Sasori is a molester, Chuck E Cheese is a house of evil, Gaara is WAY too possessive over that bathroom stall, Sakura faints far too often to be healthy, Itachi thinks she's a crack whore, The boys all act gay, and Tsunade is the most evil therapist in the history of the planet. At least, as far as I know. It had me laughing all the time, and it's great if you're not in a bad mood. Or any mood, really. Just read it.

If there's someone you absolutely need to see in this, or risk death or serious injuries, let me know!

Hit the pretty review button!

~Gin