Ok! Let's continue while the ideas are around! I'm sorry for breaking people's hearts in the last chapter. Thank you so much for everyone who's following, it fills me with joy when I get an email saying you guys are favouriting and following my fanfic. Also I don't I've explained how I came up with the main title 'Helpless Night'. For those of you who don't know there is a song by a Japanese artist named CRYSTAL (who also did one of the ending songs for the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime) and the song is called Helpless Night. It's such a lovely song, and I can imagine it being the opening theme to this lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF THE CHARACERS.

Chapter 8 – The Next Step

Sasuke placed the mug on the coffee table and sat next to Sakura, her eyes were red from all the crying. After a few hours, she had managed to calm down.

"I see… and then he just left?"

Sakura nodded, she had told Sasuke about telling Itachi the news and what he said. Her voice was quiet and groggy. "I don't get it… I thought what we had… was the real thing… it doesn't make any sense… was it really all just a lie?"

"I think it's time to end this."

She shut her eyes, telling her head to stop replaying that moment. She then felt Sasuke's hand on hers and looked up to see him looking concerned.

"Sakura… you need to get some sleep… you need to rest; you're too exhausted to think clearly."

She stayed quiet and stood up slowly. "You're right, I'll go to bed." She started walking towards her bedroom.

"Sakura…" She stopped and turned around. "If you want I can check up on you in the morning… if that's alright with you".

For some reason, even though she still remembered what Sasuke did, Sakura didn't seem to care anymore. She nodded "Ok… if you want…" she mumbled as she turned back and went into her room and shut the door. Sasuke smiled as he picked up his jacket. He knew his father would disapprove their relationship and find a way to end it, but he never expected his brother to be so cruel.

Just as he was about to open the door to leave he heard a whimper. He could hear Sakura crying in her room.

She'll probably cry herself to sleep tonight…

That thought sent a sharp pain in Sasuke's chest. He didn't like the thought. At first he thought it was best to stay, but he didn't want to make his move just yet. The sharp pain hit him again, and he quickly made his exit.

The next morning…

It was 6am and Sasuke knocked on the Sakura's door. He didn't think he'd be back so early, but he couldn't sleep for a reason he was unaware of. The door slowly opened, Sakura looked terrible; red eyes, bags under her eyes, wearing a dressing gown.

"Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Only an hour or 2" She slowly walked back in her apartment and sat down on the sofa. Sasuke followed her in. He watched her sitting and looking lost and stood opposite her by the coffee table.

"Come on Sakura, why don't you go take a shower, I'll make some tea if you want".

Sakura looked at him strangely. Sasuke frowned "What?"

"Nothing… I just wasn't expecting you to be… well kind…"

Sasuke chuckled. "Sorry, don't mean to freak you out.". Sakura shook her head "Don't worry. But won't your girlfriend be jealous?"

"You mean Karin? Nah we're just friends… well acquaintances… actually she's with someone else".

That was a surprise, she thought they actually made a good couple… sort of. "Oh… sorry to hear that".

The room was quiet for a moment until Sakura spoke. "I'm gonna take a shower" and with that she walked off. She turned on the water and waited for it to warm up, and took off her dressing gown.

Meanwhile in the kitchen Sasuke poured some tea, he then heard the door open to see Sakura walked through the room in just a t-shirt and underwear. His eyes widened. Sakura looked through her washing, but suddenly turned around and remembered she wasn't alone. She looked down.

"Oh god! I'm so sorry, I forgot you were- ". Sasuke walked up to her. "It's ok." He looked down too, but suddenly recognised the t-shirt she was wearing. She noticed him looking at her.

"What is it?"

"That T-shirt…"

She looked down and realised she had put on Itachi's t-shirt out of habit. She started fidgeting with the bottom of it. "Sorry… force of habit…I guess…"

Sasuke stepped closer to her and held her hands. "Let me help you get rid of it". He took hold of the bottom of the t-shirt and slowly lifted it up. Sakura was about to lift her arms up to let him but suddenly pressed her hands against his chest.

"No…"

Sasuke pulled her body into his and breathed against her neck. He held her by the waist and whispered. "Sakura… I couldn't stop thinking about you last night. I didn't want to leave you alone here but I didn't want to hurt you like my brother…"

"It's time to stop pretending"

Itachi' words echoed in her mind again. Sasuke pressed his forehead against Sakura's. He pecked her on the lips "I want you". Sasuke kissed her again and she instinctively followed. She closed her eyes and saw Itachi.

"You disappoint me Sakura, I thought you were smarter than this"

Sakura broke the kiss but Sasuke started kissing her neck. "Sasuke?". The only reply she got was a murmur. "Mmhm?"

"This isn't romantic…at all". Sasuke moved back and saw Sakura looking mad and confused. She turned around with her hands in her hair and start laughing. He was not expecting that reaction.

"What's so funny?"

She stopped at turned back to look at him. "I can't believe how stupid I am. God! I'm such a fucking idiot!"

"What are you talking about baby?"

Now she looked mad. "You thought that you could waltz in here, be all buddy-buddy with me and kiss me and think everything will be ok?... you thought I forgot about that night?"

"Hehe Come on Sakura, that was months ago, and I barely knew Karin, I was drunk and an idi-"

"I wasn't talking about that night. I meant the night you walked in on my date with Itachi…"

"BECAUSE SHE'S MINE!"

"The things you said…"

"She was practically all over me. Dancing for me. Man she was gagging for it. She was wearing a little black dress. Such a little slut…"

She grabbed him by the collar tightly and back him against the kitchen counter. "You are gonna tell me everything you know!"

Sasuke grabbed her wrists. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

"DON'T FUCKING PLAY DUMB WITH ME YOU ASSHOLE!". Sasuke's eyes widened, she was serious. "Itachi dumps me out of the blue and then within minutes you swoop in being all concerned for me and now being all over me? This isn't a coincidence! Tell me what's going on! NOW!"

Sasuke didn't say a word, he just looked at her in disbelief. She had figured something was up, not even he knows how his father convinced Itachi to end it"

"I am not a little slut…" She started pushing more towards the door "nor am I a pushover…" she opened the door. "because that's what happens when you get fucked over Sasuke…" she pushed him out "you stop becoming a pushover!" she shut the door.

She locked the door and walked into her bedroom and bathroom and turned off the water. At first she thought she was going crazy and just talked big, but after seeing Sasuke's reaction, something was definitely up. Even though Itachi's words hurt her greatly and she believes what he said is true, him dumping her and Sasuke suddenly showing up doesn't make sense, in fact, none of it does, but all she knew was it was painful to bare.

2 weeks later…

Sakura walked around the campus thinking, she had distanced herself from her friends and she hadn't been able to concentrate on her studies. She had just finished a meeting with her teacher Kakashi-sensei.

"You still have till the end of the month to decide if you want to study abroad, but of course the sooner we know the better. It's completely up to you. I know thinking about it is having an effect on your studies now but don't take it too seriously. Just take your time".

She didn't want to say what the real distraction was. It was all she could think about. The moment Itachi dumped her, the things he said, they continued being replayed in her head over and over, it was driving her crazy.

A few days ago Sakura tried to go to Akatsuki University to find one of Itachi's friends, but as soon as she saw one of them she hesitated, afraid that maybe they were in on it too. She quickly walked away and hadn't returned since.

Damn you, anxiety!

Her anxiety and depression was getting worse, even her friend Ino commented how pale she looked and how much weight she had lost, but she didn't notice any changes, although thinking about it she hadn't been eating a lot lately. How could she? Sakura never liked eating when she was upset, it made her feel like she was eating her feelings.

She decided to go and treat herself to a hot chocolate, anything to distract herself. She sat in a small café for about an hour, only able to take a sip from her drink. Her mind was running a mile a minute, she just wanted to get away from it. Just to rest…

"Miss?"

Sakura opened her eyes and looked up; not even aware she had her eyes closed. The waitress took her hand off her shoulder "Um I'm sorry miss but… we're about to close". Sakura looked at her phone to see it was 8pm and it was dark outside. "Oh, sorry I'll just pay for this." As she watched the waitress take her unfinished hot chocolate away, she noticed a folded piece of paper in front of her. She took it long with her stuff and left the café. On her way home she opened the paper and read what was inside.

"Come back tomorrow at 6am. I know the truth about Itachi Uchiha.

S.U.

P.S. Tell no one."

Sakura frowned. At first she thought it was the waitress who gave her the note, but she saw the initials S.U. maybe it meant Sasuke Uchiha, but it didn't seem like something he'd say or even do, if it was him, he would have just shaken her awake and told her. Things were getting weirder and weirder.

The next morning…

Sakura walked towards the café, with the note in her hand. Even with the initials, she had no idea who she was about to meet. She opened the door and was greeted by a different waitress, she was hoping the same girl from last night wasn't in, she didn't want to make the poor girl think she was weird.

"Hey"

She turned to the side to see a man sat by the window, he was the only customer. He had short, black curly hair and his smile was enough to show people how care free he was.

"Sakura Haruno right?"

Sakura approached him and nodded. He saw her holding the note. "Good, you got my note. Oh, cough, sorry, you probably don't remember me, I'm Shisui Uchiha, I'm Itachi and Sasuke's cousin."

Ohhhhhhh! S.U! Shisui Uchiha! Wait, remember?

Relief filled her chest, she was so worried it was going to be Sasuke, but she was still surprised. "I'm sorry, have we met before?"

"Hahaha, yeah, didn't think you'd remember me." He scratched the back of his head "We only met a few years ago when you came over to study with little Sasuke, Itachi and I were heading out anyway so it was a quick hi and bye hahaha".

His carefree attitude was actually quite nice, for some reason it made Sakura feel at ease. Shisui gestured her to sit down and ordered a drink for her. After sitting down and having a few sips of their coffee, Sakura placed Shisui's note on the table.

"So what's this truth about Itachi?"

Shisui was quiet for a moment, but it seemed he was doing so to collect his words. He took a deep breath.

"First, you need to know about Itachi's father Fugaku…"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. His father?

"Fugaku is the head of not only the Uchiha clan but a company that's close with the police force, that alone should help you understand how powerful the man is. Because Itachi is the eldest son, Fugaku has pretty much planned his whole life for him. Which schools he went to, which clubs he joined, what he would do after graduation from both high school and college and who'd be by his side".

"By his side?"

Shisui sighed, not knowing how the girl would react. "As in… who would be his wife."

Sakura froze. It was starting to make sense now; why Itachi suddenly ended the relationship. But something still bothered her.

"Apparently this 'arranged marriage' was planned when Itachi was just a kid. Not even Sasuke knows."

Now Sakura was more confused. Sasuke didn't know about the arranged marriage yet he turned up 'by coincidence' to her place later that same night.

He watched the girl before him stir her coffee, looking sad, confused and lost. He was worried she was going to cry at any moment, and seeing a girl cry always made him uncomfortable.

"Ummm how… how do you know all this?"

He looked down for a moment, looked around and straightened himself up and looked back at her. "Itachi told me"

Sakura looked at him for a moment and then simply nodded and looked back down at her coffee. Shisui looked at the time on his phone, he had stayed too long. He picked up his coat and stood up.

"I'm sorry, I need to go…I can't stay too long…"

Sakura stood up too. "Wait, there's still so many things I don't know. Like, why now does his father decide to tell him about the arranged marriage and why is Itachi just simply agreeing to all this and…"

"Foolish little girl"

Why did he say those things?"

Shisui looked at her, feeling sorry for the poor girl being left in the dark.

"Look Sakura, I'm not really allowed to say this but I think you should know… after he broke up with you, Itachi came to my place… I've never seen him in such a mess. He's told me a lot about you, he really cares about you".

Sakura looked out the window and blinked a few times; trying not to cry.

"You mean cared. After what he said to me, how can I ever believe him, or you or any of this?"

They were both silent, then noticing the streets were starting to get busy. Shisui escorted Sakura out with him, like a gentleman, must be Uchiha thing. Just before Shisui was about to turn around to leave, he spoke.

"Sakura, do you know why people lie?"

She frowned. "Why?"

"It's to protect someone, whether it's themselves or someone else…I've known Itachi for a long time, but next time I see him, I'm gonna kick his ass, because whatever reason he has for lying, it's no excuse for hurting you Sakura. From what I've heard, you're a good person."

He handed Sakura a business card "Any problems, call me. Look after yourself."

Sakura nodded and walked away. It was certainly a lot to take in. Suddenly she felt someone brush passed her. "Be careful. It's best you stay away from the Uchiha and know nothing."

She stopped and saw the person who walked passed her and disappeared into the crowd was Shisui. Now she was a frightened. There was so much she didn't know and it was so frustrating. Whether Itachi still cared for her or not was irrelevant, she just wanted to find out the truth. She knew it would be a big risk, but she had to hear it from him directly.

During the entire way to Itachi's apartment, Sakura's anxiety was through the roof. Her heart was beating quicker; making her sweat and breathing quicker. She did her best to calm herself and prepare for what she wanted to ask Itachi and to even say to him first. Once again her mind was torturing her by replaying that night.

She was just a few yards away, just a turn to the left, cross the street and she'd –. She stopped, hid herself behind the nearby building and peeked, looking at the view before her.

Outside the apartment building was Itachi, shaking hands with a beautiful, long brown haired woman. There was also an older man who looked like Itachi, they were smiling and talking.

To Sakura, everything stopped, the world, her heart, her breathing. She watched as they got into the fancy car and drove away.

All her plans to speak to him, her questions, her suspicions, her beliefs, it was all gone. At that moment as she walked slowly back home, one thing came to mind. Something which she would hope help her get through this difficult time. She took out her phone, a piece of paper and Shisui's card from her pocket, and started dialling. She looked at the business card while waiting.

"Hey, it's me… umm… about the offer… how long wou-… ok… no that's perfect… I'll do it. I'll study abroad in England."

She scrunched the business card into a ball. 5 years huh? That's a long time…

Meanwhile Itachi looked out the window until he heard his father cough; getting him to be social with their guest.

"I apologize Izumi-san, I hope you don't think I'm ignoring you."

Izumi shook her head "Oh no, I was admiring the view was well, I didn't think they'd be trees in the streets of Tokyo. Do you know what kind those are?"

Itachi looked out. "…They're cherry blossoms"

"Really? They must be so beautiful when they bloom"

Itachi mumbled "Yeah", watching the trees go by.


I don't usually do previews but next chapter will be a time skip! Don't worry there will be some flashbacks about what happened in-between. This is yet another heart breaking chapter but I hope you guys like it and continue following the story. Look forward to the next chapter and let me know what you think in the meantime. See you soon!