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Chapter 8: Fears and Confessions


Sakura's POV

I cried so much to the point that I felt numb and empty inside.

When I saw Sasuke and Hinata together, my heart was in so much pain that I thought I wouldn't be able to take it. As the night went on, my tears had dried up and even my eyes grew tired from all the pain.

As I drifted off to sleep, my mind was filled with images of Sasuke and Hinata living their much too ideal life. It was like I couldn't stop myself from tormenting my own broken heart with thoughts of the man I loved wholeheartedly with a woman who wasn't me.

Perhaps I wanted to push myself to my limits so I could give Sasuke up once and for all.

Work went by like normal and I forced myself to smile more than the day before. I appeared happy in the outside, as if nothing was wrong at all. Nobody knew that I was almost completely destroyed in the inside.

At least, that was what I thought.

In the evening before I head back to the apartment, Tsunade asked me to visit her in her office. As I walked, I tried to think of the possible things she might wish to tell me but failed to find anything I had done wrong.

With a much confused self, I knocked the door to her office and entered when I was told.

Tsunade smiled as she asked me to take a seat on the chair in front of her desk, which had piles of unfinished paperwork on it. Unlike how serious she usually was during work, she was relaxed and much less intimidating as she spoke.

"I asked you to come here today because I have an offer for you."

Still not understanding what Tsunade meant, I stared at her as I patiently waited for her to continue.

"Even though I had only known you for a few days, I am very amazed by your high potential. I am wondering if you're interested in working with me as my apprentice even after the end of this internship."

I ungracefully dropped my jaw when I heard Tsunade's words. For someone as talented as her to compliment me and even wanted me to continue learning from her made me truly speechless.

Tsunade laughed at my reaction and I quickly regained my composure to thank her properly. We shared a few moments of laughter and I blushed slightly in embarrassment.

Before I stepped out of the door, Tsunade called out to me and said something I didn't expect she would say.

"You're a gifted and kind-hearted girl, Sakura. You deserve to be happy."

There was something behind her gentle tone that showed me that she knew I had been faking smiles all day long. Her words brought feelings back to my dead heart and I swore I could have burst into tears.

However, instead of that, I smiled sincerely for the first time all day and thanked her once again.

"Thank you, Shishou."

From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Tsunade smiling once again at her newly made nickname.


Sasuke's POV

I was too naïve to think that things were settled as long as I made myself clear to Hinata.

The next day, I walked passed my father's study room when I heard him arguing with Itachi. To say I was surprised was definitely an understatement. Itachi had always been the more obedient son and for as long as I could remember, he had never talked back to our parents.

Knowing better than to go in between their argument, I decided to stay outside and listen to what had infuriated both of them.

"Like I said, your plan won't work, father."

"You're in no position to tell me what to do, Itachi."

"I have the rights to interfere because this concern's my brother's future."

I became even more curious when I was mentioned. I took a step closer to the door but not close enough to alert my father and Itachi of my presence.

"I had told you countless times. Our company is not doing well and we need Hyuuga Corporation to rise up again."

Things began to make sense upon hearing my father's words. I finally understood why he was so eager to get me and Hinata together. I should have known that something had happened lately.

"I have found another way to help the company. There is no need to pull Sasuke into this." Itachi sounded agitated, which was definitely unlike his usual self.

"And just how confident are you about your plan, Itachi?"

I wasn't sure how I should feel about everything. I was confused whether or not I should be angry at my father and Itachi for not telling me the whole truth.

I knew perfectly well that Itachi had the tendency to shoulder all the responsibilities on his own and wouldn't allow me to share the burden with him.

Well, I was going to show him that I no longer need to be under his protection all the time. After all, I didn't want him to suffer all on his own.

I stayed out of sight when I heard Itachi approaching the door. I waited until he disappeared to the direction of his room before I stepped out from hiding.

After heaving a sigh, I walked towards Itachi's room, determined to find out everything that was going on.

I had always hated how Itachi could read my mind as if he was reading a book. But that time, it became a blessing in disguise because it made everything easier for the both of us. From the look on my face, Itachi knew I had overheard his conversation with father.

He closed the door once I had stepped inside his room and I was ready to hear what my older brother had to say.

"How bad are things at the company right now?"

I wasted no time and went straight to the point. Itachi smiled as he sighed, knowing too well that I wasn't the type to beat about the bush.

"To make things simple, we met some pretty bad financial problems." Itachi sat down on his desk with arms crossed in front of him. Contrary to the seriousness of his answer, his smile never left his face. "I am confident my plan will work so you don't have to worry."

"What is this plan of yours?" I had no plans of leaving until Itachi allowed me to help him out. As much as he enjoyed doing things on his own, I wasn't going to let that happen all the time.

"To start of, the Hyuuga Corporation isn't the only powerhouse that can save our company from the trouble we are in right now." Itachi stared at the distance as he spoke, all traces of amusement gone and was replaced with pure seriousness.

"You're saying that you have found another company that can help us?" Even though I wasn't very involved with business and all that, I knew very well about the Hyuuga Corporation's standing in the country. I was sort of surprised there was another company which could measure up to the Hyuuga Corporation.

Itachi nodded before answering, "It's a corporation called Sunagakure. Their headquarters are located far from here so we never had the chance to work with them. But for the past few years, their corporation has risen sharply and is now one of the top corporations in Japan."

"They have agreed to help us?"

"I have contacted one of their executive members and they said they are very interested with the proposal I came up with. I am meeting up with them tomorrow." Itachi sounded confident and seemed glad with how things had turned out so far. I had a good feeling about it as well and if it really turned out like how we wanted, we could all forget about the ridiculous engagement plans.

"Can I go with you?" Even though I was asking a question, I made it clear that I wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"You already know the answer to that." Itachi flicked my forehead and chuckled at the way I winced in pain. It was just like how things always were back when I was a kid.

And to be honest, I didn't want that to ever change.


Sakura's POV

"I'm fine, Ino. Stop yelling, will you?"

Ino had been spamming me with calls ever since I reached the apartment. I didn't answer at first because I wasn't exactly in the mood to talk. And if it was with Ino, Sasuke would definitely be brought up.

He was that one person I didn't wish to talk about.

But I became irritated after what seemed to be the tenth time Ino called and I finally picked up. The first thing Ino did was yelling at me for worrying her and I began to regret not turning off my phone instead.

I apologized when I could sense that Ino was genuinely worried and as usual, I ended up telling her what happened. There was a mixture of shock and confusion in Ino's voice, which was perfectly understandable.

My loud blonde best friend just kept on referring Sasuke and Hinata as 'the world's most impossible couple'.

"You're getting upset over nothing, Sakura. Those two getting together is as impossible as me dating Shino."

"Shino is a nice person, Ino."

"I know. But can you imagine me calling him 'honey'?"

I shuddered at the thought and decided to drop that topic. Ino went back to saying that I should ask Sasuke about it if it had affected me a lot.

"I have no rights to question him."

"You're killing me, Sakura. You're so hardheaded that I could break concrete with that giant forehead of yours."

I rolled my eyes at Ino's words and didn't bother voicing out a respond. I told Ino I had to hang up when I heard a knock on the door.

"I'll call you again next time."

I placed my phone on the table of the living room before checking who it could be at 7 PM at night. I looked through the door's peep hole and much to my surprise and dismay; it was no other than Sasuke.

I hesitated at first, knowing that I wasn't completely ready to face him. I wasn't sure how I should act, what I should say and whether or not I should smile as if nothing happened.

But there was no point in running away so I opened the door when another knock was heard.

There he was, the person who had been on my mind for the longest of time, standing in front of me with his unreadable expression which I was way too familiar with. The two of us stood still, not a word was spoken as we stared into each other's eyes.

My heart ached when I realized the person in front of me was not mine and might never be in the future. I looked away, no longer able to stand the wave of pain from yesterday returning to haunt me again.

"What brings you here?" I unconsciously sounded annoyed and I knew very well that Sasuke had noticed it. Perhaps I was angry because he kept on giving me hope that there might be a future for the two of us, where in fact there was absolutely none.

And maybe I was mad at myself for still loving him so much after I was slapped hard by reality.

"I wanted to see you."

There he went again, saying such words in that low yet gentle voice of his. I bit my lower lip as I tried not to show the strong feelings consuming my heart. I couldn't bring myself to look at Sasuke and had my eyes fixated on the ground instead.

When I wasn't saying anything, Sasuke spoke again and somehow sounded unsure.

"I'm really sorry for what I did two days ago, Sakura. I actually wanted to visit you yesterday but I had something to attend to."

At the mention of how busy he was yesterday, my eyes started to sting again and my heart was clenched much too painfully.

"I told you I'm fine. And whatever you were doing yesterday was none of my business." After muttering that under my breath, I quickly turned away and wanted to close the door to separate us, not wanting to let Sasuke see the state I was in.

I couldn't see Sasuke's face but I knew my words were like daggers to his heart. Before I could reach for the doorknob, Sasuke grabbed onto my wrist tightly with no plans of letting me go.

Before I could protest, Sasuke pulled me into the apartment and closed the door behind us. He then placed his hands onto the wall, trapping me against the door. His dark eyes reflected annoyance and a hint of pain as well. I tried to look away but Sasuke moved my chin to make me face him again.

"What's wrong with you?" His words came out like a whisper, sending a shiver down my body. I really didn't know what to say and could only stand still under Sasuke's penetrating gaze. I didn't want to appear ridiculous by saying that I was upset because I saw him with Hinata.

After all, I had no rights to be jealous.

"Sakura." The way Sasuke breathed out my name made me jump a little and I felt small underneath his broad shoulders. I couldn't help but admire his defined jaws and collarbone. I hated how I was still so mesmerized by him even at the worst possible timings.

"Tell me what's wrong." Sasuke asked me the same question again, with more intimidation in his tone. My breath was taken away when he moved his face closer to me and I knew my face was heating up at the sudden closeness.

"Nothing is wrong." I sounded as convincing as someone who said the sun was blue. I almost chocked on my own words and I couldn't even answer while looking at Sasuke in the eyes.

And Sasuke knew me too well to believe my pathetic lie.

"You know it's pointless to try and lie to me, Sakura."

Not knowing what to say or what to do, I pushed Sasuke away and got off from the door. I moved passed him and had my back facing him as I spoke.

"Just go, Sasuke. It's not appropriate to get so close to another woman when you already have someone else."

My throat felt tight as I said those words and I could no longer control the tears from blurring my vision. My cheeks felt cold as tears fell from my eyes and it took all the strength I had in me to contain my sobs.

I was taken by surprise when Sasuke suddenly embraced me from behind, holding me tightly against his toned chest. My feelings became even more messed up as I felt Sasuke's warmth enveloping me, making me felt safe and loved.

I really didn't know whether I could really love him or not anymore.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sakura. But believe me, the only woman I want is you and nobody else."

Sasuke's words made me tear up even more and my heartbeat went crazy over his voice I had grown to love so much. Sasuke rested his head on my shoulder and his grip around me became even tighter. I could sense his possessiveness towards me but it only made me even more conflicted.

"This is not going to work." I spoke in between sobs as I tried to escape from Sasuke's hug. But it made him hold onto me even closer towards him, not giving me any chance to go.

"I'm going to make this work. I need you." Sasuke sounded so sincere that for a moment, it felt like I didn't deserve to be showered with such genuine feelings.

I became speechless in the middle of an utterly confusing situation and I shut my eyes, letting tears fall from my tired eyes.

"I love you, Sakura."

At that moment, I knew I could never ignore my love for Sasuke.


Sasuke's POV

I didn't want her to leave me.

My heart ached whenever I felt Sakura's tear fall onto my arms. I still didn't really understand what made her so upset and I had a feeling it wasn't because I kissed her two days ago. But seeing her so broken, I just wanted to comfort her and stopped asking about it for the time being.

There was silence between us after I confessed my feelings for Sakura and the only thing I could hear was her soft sobs. I had never seen Sakura so fragile and it was painful to see her that way. I rested my head on top of Sakura's head, closed my eyes and took in Sakura's scent I had grown familiar with.

"I love you too, Sasuke."

Sakura's voice was so soft I thought I was imagining it. I turned her around and looked straight into her eyes, wanting to make sure I heard right.

I could still see hesitation and fear in Sakura's green orbs but I knew it wasn't because she was unsure of her feelings for me. I was aware of her worries and I understood why she was scared to express her love.

The path ahead of us wasn't going to be easy but the most important thing was that the love we felt for each other was real.

I caressed Sakura's cheek as I pulled her into a kiss on the lips. It was simple but nevertheless very loving and both of us could feel the strong emotions surging between us.

No matter what would happen in the future, I wasn't going to let her go.


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