A.N.: Thanks for the reviews people. I'm really sorry for keeping you guys waiting. It's been a long time since I last updated this story. Sorry again guys. Here I give you another chapter.


Recap:

He was late.

He saw Sakura and Ino's parents waving at their daughters. He could only stare at the flight which took off.

"…I'm sorry."


For him it still seemed like yesterday when he was driving at top speed to the airport, just to meet her, and say…

"…I'm sorry."

A week after that incident, he had to leave for London with that knucklehead of a best friend. When they reached London, Naruto had forced him to tell the secret because of which Sakura had left so suddenly. It was very clear that Sakura somehow found out about the challenge. Of course after hearing the full story, Naruto lashed out at Sasuke, being the hot tempered brat as he was. For the first time ever, Sasuke didn't retort. He didn't even flinch at the curses that Naruto threw at him without a second thought. He kept silent, because he knew he deserved it. After Naruto was done lecturing his best friend, he came back to his senses and realized that he has spoken a little 'too much'. He got ready to get his ass kicked. But Sasuke didn't even touch him. He just stared out of the window.

"I won't hit you Naruto."

The blue eyed teenager had never seen his best friend like this before. The expression on his face clearly said only one word. LOST. Naruto's eyes softened on seeing Sasuke's face. He may have won the challenge, but lost to the girl who once deeply loved him but for sure hated him now.

For at least 2 years, Sasuke could never understand why he felt so lost whenever he thought about Sakura and how he betrayed her. It was guilt. Yes he knew that. But to this extent? No, that was something unusual. It took him another one year to realize that it wasn't just guilt. There was something more. Something that made his heart speed up like a racing car. Something that made him smile whenever he remembered her kisses. His fingers would automatically trace the spots where she used to kiss him. His forehead, nose, cheeks, neck. Lips. There was something that made him look at her picture and trace his fingers on her smile, whenever he remembered her. Something was definitely there that made him crave for her. Something that made him want to see her again, to hold her in his arms, apologize to her, to tell her that he was a fool to accept such a challenge and use her. He wanted to tell her that he missed her, he missed her smile, her voice, her touches, her kisses. Still he couldn't comprehend what this something was.

Naruto clearly saw how Sasuke's behaviour changed. He would suddenly turn gloomy, or smile without any reason. Even laugh sometimes. Sometimes he would even say "Forgive me" or "I'm sorry" in his sleep. And one day he crossed his limit. One evening when Naruto came back after his jogging, he saw Sasuke sitting on the couch and eating…

"What the…!? Strawberry pastry?"

"Hmmm. Sweet." Exclaimed Sasuke.

Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine. He began sweating like crazy. And that was not because of the jogging. He immediately ran to his room, took out his cell phone and dialed a number.

Ring ring

Ring ring

Rin-

"Hell-"

"ITACHI YOUR BROTHER IS GOING CRAZY! H-H-HE IS FREAKING ME OUT! HE'S DOING THESE CRAZY TH-TH-THINGS! I'M TELLING YOU H-H-HE HAS GONE INSANE!"

On the other side, Itachi had to pull the phone away from his ear and pinch the bridge of his nose in irritation. "For God's sake Naruto, at least for once try to talk in a more civilized way, in low volume. Now tell me what is Sasuke doing?"

"HE GOES CR-"

"No. Shouting. Naruto."

"Ok ok. Calm down Naruto. Ok ok. Phew! Well, he goes crazy sometimes. He would suddenly turn gloomy, or start smiling without any reason. And even laugh sometimes. He even mumbles "Forgive me" or "I'm sorry" in his sleep. But he crossed his limit today. He was eating a strawberry pastry today."

Itachi raised an eyebrow at this. "So? What's the big deal?"

"Wh-wh-what's the big deal? Sasuke's your brother for God's sake and he's acting totally out of character. You know him since the day he was born. The whole world knows that he loathes sweets. Heck he doesn't even take a pinch of sugar in his coffee and today he was eating a fucking strawberry pastry and even said 'sweet' . And here you are, asking me what's the big deal? Aren't you even worried about him? You of all people should be more worried about him than anyone else."

"Are you done talking? Or is there something more you want to tell me?"

"What the? What kind of a brother are you? You-"

"You see Naruto, I'm kind of busy right now." Itachi turned and looked at his girlfriend sitting on the couch, who was now working on her laptop. Both of them were really 'busy' when Naruto decided to call. His girlfriend, Asako had now her specs on and she seemed to be more interested in her laptop than her boyfriend.

"What can be more important than your on-the-verge-of-going-crazy brother?"

"An on-the-verge-of-going-angry girlfriend." At this Asako glared at him. "Let's keep this talk for later kiddo."

"But what about Sasuke? And what about his..his...behaviour?"

"Well, that's normal."

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Not for Sasuke I mean. For kids your age. Well, I'll talk to you later."

"Wait-"

beep beep beep

"THAT JERK!"

Itachi put his phone away and went back to his girlfriend on the couch. "I'm sorry baby. Someone really needed my help."

"I know very well how you helped that kid, Itachi. I know how Naruto is. It will take him months to figure out what you said meant. And at least a year for Sasuke to realize that he has actually fallen in love with his now ex-girlfriend. And when he does, he will definitely go crazy and will try to find her in every way possible. I would love to see his face then."

"Hn. Me too."

" Don't mind me saying this, but your brother is way more dense and stupid than Naruto is. Any normal person would have fallen for that girl during that one year. But he decided to fall for her after she left."

"Hmm. You know everyone so well." saying so Itachi kissed Asako's neck.

Asako sighed and said, "You know what, you're one hell of a jerk."

"What?" Itachi instantly pulled away and looked at his girlfriend.

"mm hm. Sometimes you seem like a really caring brother, but sometimes you act like a complete asshole."

Itachi looked amused. "How so?"

"Everyone knows how much you love and care about your brother. No one can prove otherwise. You help him in everything. Even finding a girlfriend. But at the same time you go up to his girlfriend and give her a video showing how your brother is using her. Hence causing the girl to leave the country unannounced."

Itachi looked at her, surprised. "Who said I gave her the video?"

"Weren't it you who just a few minutes ago said that I knew everyone very well? And that includes you too Itachi. You only told me that someone had given Sasuke's girlfriend a video, showing Sasuke's real motive behind their relationship. It was more than obvious for me that that someone was none other than you." Asako pointed at Itachi and smirked.

"Actually I sneaked into her room and kept the CD on her bed."

"Have you done a course on sneaking into a girl's bedroom?"

Itachi chuckled at this. "Kind of. Please remind me, how many times did I sneak into your room?"

"20 in the middle of the night and 5 in the broad daylight." both of them chuckled at this and Itachi kissed his girlfriend on the lips. They both separated and Itachi said to her, "You remember each and every detail about anything related to anyone. Perfect for a top business woman."

Asako sighed and said, "Business was never my first choice. A teacher is what I wanted to become but couldn't do it. You know how much I love kids. I loved spending time with them. But dad would have never allowed it. For him the job of a teacher was nothing. He would have never allowed me to become a teacher because he thought it was something that would ruin our status. He always said, "You have to become a greater name in business than I ever was. You shouldn't be the one to get salary, but the one who gives the salary." He made it very clear since the very first day that my ultimate goal should be to takeover his company after he retires, which I never wanted to do. I love him very much, that was why I had to crush my dreams and follow his orders. Sometimes I envy that girl whom Sasuke was dating. What was her name again?"

"Sakura Haruno."

"Sakura Haruno. Lucky girl. An only child and that too a daughter, just like me. But has a father who is so much better than mine. He saw what his daughter wanted to do and never forced her into business. He allowed her to live her life like she desired and become whatever she wanted to."

Itachi looked at his girlfriend, who he would be engaged to in less than ten days, and smiled. He then brought her closer and kissed her forehead. "But I'm glad you chose business. Because that's the reason why we met and are together now."

Asako smiled and kissed him on the lips, "And will soon be married."

Itachi smiled and hugged her. "This nature of your's is what I love the most."

"I love you Itachi."

"Hmm."

They kissed again and stayed like that for a while. Asako then pulled away and looked at him and said, "Sometimes I wonder, why a genius like you took nearly a year to figure out that Sakura was the girl your brother was dating, to win the challenge you gave him."

Itachi sighed and looked away from his girlfriend. He then put his head on her lap and looked at her in the eyes. She smiled and caressed his cheeks while playing with his hair. "Everytime I've given Sasuke a challenge, I've wanted him to learn and grow. And he did. Challenging Sasuke was my way of teaching him things that he would never learn when someone would literally teach it to him. He took challenges more seriously than his school work. When I came to know that he was dating girls just to pass his time and treating them like a tissue paper, I was very disappointed in him. I wanted him to learn to respect them. That was why I gave him that challenge in the first place. During those previous challenges, I noticed that those jobs kind of became a hobby for him. He loved doing them even after the challenge was over. I thought that by the end of this new challenge, he would learn to respect girls and even fall for one. But I guess he knew what I wanted and for some reason decided to do otherwise. I noticed that something in him has changed. Maybe because he was growing and was no longer the happy kid I knew or maybe due to his school environment. But something about him has definitely changed. He no longer saw challenges as a way to learn, but as something that he HAS to win at any cost. I guess that is why he did this. He made sure that I should never find out who he was dating, until 2 months before the challenge ended, all thanks to Naruto. I was more than happy when I found out that the girl was Sakura. I knew that she would change his way of seeing things and in some way or other she will make my brother fall in love with her."

"And she did. It's your brother who hasn't yet realized it yet."

"True. Sometimes I wish I should have never given him that challenge."

Itachi sighed and continued, " Just two weeks before the challenge ended, I found out he was just trying to win the challenge and saw Sakura as a source or path that would bring him victory. It was clear that he had no feelings for her, not even pity. That is why I made that video and gave it to Sakura. She deserved to know the truth and Sasuke needed to learn a lesson. But what happened later was something that I hadn't expected. I never imagined that she would leave unannounced and that Sasuke would run after her like crazy." Itachi said and chuckled.

"I'm glad you did that. Even if Sakura is hurt right now, she knows the truth and is no longer in the dark. That is all that matters. All thanks to you." Asako then kissed her boyfriend.

"You know, sometimes I feel that I am really lucky to have you as my girlfriend."

"Hmmm, really?"

"Mm hm."

"Elaborate."

"Well that's because I don't have to hide anything from you. Or maybe, I just can't hide anything from you. You know when I lie or even try to lie or hide something, you know whatever I said to someone else is true or not or whatever I did without telling you. Are you some kind of a lie detector or a mind reader like Professor X from the X-Men series? Maybe you are, Professor X. Just a lot more beautiful, hotter, sexier and a woman with lots of hair on your head and who is really amazing on the couch, bed, office table, kitchen counter and even in the shower."

Asako kept looking at him with a smile on her face and played with his hair. "What are you suggesting?"

"What I am suggesting is that we should finish what we were busy doing just 20 minutes ago." Itachi took her hand and kissed it.

"Well well, someone's in the mood I see. What if I disagree?"

"You won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know."

Asako laughed at this and said, "You really are a cocky bastard." She bent down to kiss her lover on the lips. Itachi kissed her back and after few seconds pulled back and said "You taste sweet."

"Really? What kind of sweet?"

"Sweeter than honey. Let me taste you even more." said Itachi and resumed kissing her with the intention of finishing 'it' this time, without any interruptions.

Meanwhile somewhere else...

Naruto watched every activity of Sasuke while hiding behind the pillar near the kitchen. He needed to know what Sasuke was up to. He saw him staring at the leftover pink cream of the pastry he had been eating. He stared at it like it was the most interesting thing in the world. After 10 minutes of staring Sasuke picked the plate and said, "Pink, just like your hair." He then licked the cream, without leaving any trace of it on the plate. "Sweet, just like your lips".

Shivers ran down Naruto's body. He was more than horrified after witnessing that scene. He quickly ran away from there. He hurriedly climbed the stairs, tumbling many times in the process, went inside his room and locked the door. He quickly took out his phone and dialed the only person he could call at the moment.


Clothes were scattered all over the place near the couch they were lying on.

Ring ring

Ring ring

Itachi was lying naked on top of his future wife and was busy kissing her on the couch. He pulled away from her and looked at his phone.

"Oh not again!"

"Is it Naruto again?"

"Yeah. But I'm not letting him interrupt me this time." Itachi cancelled the call and switched off his phone. He looked satisfied now. "Now no one's gonna disturb us. So where were we?"

Asako laughed and pulled him closer to her and began kissing him.

While on the other side of the phone...

"What The Hell! You can't just cut my call like that Itachi! You're the only one I can depend on right now! What am I gonna do now?"

"Naruto, are you in there?"

It was Sasuke. Naruto freaked out on hearing Sasuke's voice and screamed like a little girl. "THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE?"

"Naruto?"

"Ye-yeah I'm in here."

"Open the door."

"Er-err you see Sasuke I-"

"Just open it."

Naruto gulped and opened the door with shivering hands.

"When did you return?"

"Ju-ju-just a f-f-few minutes ago."

Sasuke stared at him for a few seconds and said, "Are you trying to imitate Hinata?"

"N-no. Not at a-all hehe."

"Then stop stammering you idiot."Sasuke said, looking clearly annoyed. "Anyways Naruto, I came here to tell you something." Sasuke moved closer to Naruto.

"What is it?"

Sasuke grabbed Naruto's collar and pulled him closer. "Listen you dumbass, I know what you've seen and heard today, and I don't give a shit about what you think. But, if a single word about it goes out of this house, anything can happen to you Naruto. I hope you understand what I'm trying to tell you." Naruto gulped and nodded his head. "Good." Sasuke let him go and turned around to leave. He than stopped at the doorway and turned his head to look at his best friend, "Not. A. Word. Naruto. Remember, not a single word."

After this incident Naruto started keeping distance from his friend. But he sure kept a note of Sasuke's daily activities and anything that he found unusual about him, he would report it to Itachi. Few days later, they went back to Japan to attend Itachi and Asako's engagement. Sasuke wanted to leave the place as soon as possible but had to stay because of three reasons. First, it was his only brother's engagement. Second, his arrogant father wouldn't let him and neither would his mother. And the main reason was that he was more than confident that Sakura was going to attend the engagement, since both their fathers were good friends and there was no chance that his father wouldn't invite the Harunos. Whenever there was a party or some kind of a event organized by any of the two families, the other was sure to be invited.

But this time, he could only see Mr. Haruno and his wife, without their daughter. He had to eavesdrop on them to know the reason behind Sakura's absence. He was very disappointed to know that due to some really important projects, she couldn't make it. His hopes of meeting her again were all crushed by this. All she did was congratulate Itachi and his fiance through video chat and apologized for being unable to attend their engagement.

Itachi was deeply observing his younger brother throughout the function. He couldn't help but snicker time to time on seeing Sasuke's face, who looked like a lost kid on the verge of crying. Asako couldn't help but notice her fiance's activities. All she did was jab him sharply with her elbow in his stomach.

"I know how you feel right now honey. But can you please stop doing it in front of the guests? They must be thinking that you are probably going crazy." She whispered to him.

"I just can't help it Asako. If you had seen Sasuke's face when he heard that Sakura couldn't make it, you would have laughed out loud." Itachi whispered back. "You haven't missed the chance yet. Just look at him now, over there."

Asako followed his gaze and saw Sasuke glaring at the poor bartender who was making him a drink while cowering in fear. When he gave the drink to Sasuke, he snatched it from him and finished it in one big gulp, scaring the bartender even more. Asako couldn't help but snicker along with her soon to be husband.

Two days after the engagement, Sasuke and Naruto went back to London with Sasuke carrying a long face.


Another year passed by, after which Itachi and Asako got married. At the wedding, the same thing happened with Sasuke that had happened in the engagement. He was again waiting for Sakura to show up which never happened. He once again carried that 'lost child' expression throughout the reception and this time glared at anyone who crossed his path, even the newly married couple. But the new husband and wife could care less about it, instead they laughed wholeheartedly on seeing his face.

Few hours later, Sasuke was yet again sitting at the bar and gulping down drinks. Asako had been observing him for at least an hour. She felt pity on seeing his condition and decided to help him. She went to the bar and sat beside her brother-in-law. "Missing someone?"

"Why would you care?"

"Well, because I'm your sister-in-law."

"Hn."

"Is this 'hn' a special trait in your family?"

"Hn."

"Shouldn't have asked." Both chuckled at this. Asako sighed and said, "You miss her, don't you?"

"Who are you talking about?" Sasuke said and proceeded to take another gulp of his drink.

"I'm talking about Sakura." On hearing her name, Sasuke paused for a few seconds before gulping the drink.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Sasuke kept the empty glass aside and then stared at the ground. "I know Naruto has been feeding both you and your husband about my recent activities. I can't help it. I don't know what makes me do it but I just like doing those things. Even if it looks like its crazy, I still do it. I just don't know why. Even Naruto thinks that I've gone crazy. What is happening to me?"

"I know this is the alcohol speaking because saying such a long paragraph is a really a tough job for a guy like you."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke glared at his new sister-in-law.

"Oh nothing, never mind that. Anyways, what do you think is happening to you?"

"How would I know? Isn't that why I asked you so?"

"You do know it. You just don't want to admit it." Asako smiled and said. Sasuke could only stare at her. "What do you think makes you miss her so much and do everything that she loved doing?" He didn't answer. "It's love Sasuke, it's love. You've fallen in love with her."

"Don't be ridiculous. I don't love her."

"Then explain what you're feeling." Sasuke couldn't answer her. "You see? Nothing. That is because you know it is love that you feel for her. You love her. That is why you always look at her photos in phone. You even eat her favorite sweets when you actually hate sweets. What do you think is making you change so much? You even kept looking for her at my engagement and even today at my wedding. Do you think I didn't see how heart broken you were when you found out she didn't come? You may never admit it but your face says it all. You miss her very much. And that is because you love her. What more proof do you need?"

Sasuke didn't even utter a word. He got lost in his memories. All of Sakura's memories came running to him. Her kisses, her touches, her smiles, her laughs, everything. And even those memories of the time when she had left him and he began missing her and would crave for her. How he would stare at her photo on his phone and wish she was there with him, to hug him and kiss him. How he would start missing her whenever he saw something pink. How he started eating sweets just because they reminded him of her. How he would crave to hear 'I love you' from her mouth. And how much he wanted to reply back to her, this time with every bit of feelings present in him.

"Just take you time and think about it Sasuke. What else can it be?" Asako patted his shoulder and got up to seek her husband.

"Asako."

Asako stopped and turned to look at Sasuke. "Yes?"

"Thank you." Sasuke said with a sincere smile on his face.

Asako could only look at him and smile. "You don't have to thank me Sasuke. I'm just glad that I could help you. And I'm more than happy, to know that you've finally realized that you've fallen in love with Sakura." Asako went back to him and hugged him. "I'm really happy for you Sasuke."

Sasuke hugged her back and said, "And I'm happy for the both of you. Congratulations on your wedding."

"Thank you." Asako laughed and said. She then pulled away from him and started walking towards her husband.

"So, how did it go?" Itachi kissed his wife on the lips and asked.

"More than good. Remember what I told you a year ago?"

"About Sasuke realizing that he loves Sakura?"

"Yes. And today, a year after I predicted that, he's finally realized that he loves her."

"Hn. Good for him. How about I show you how much I love you?" Asako laughed at this and kissed her husband. Itachi picked her up bridal style and proceeded towards their room.

On the other side, Sasuke was looking at the newly married couple with a genuine smile on his face. He turned around and took his phone out. He opened the gallery and looked at Sakura's photo. "I finally know it now Sakura. I just know it." He put his phone back in his pocket and stared at the sky.

"I've fallen for you Sakura. I love you. I really do."


TBC

Finally! Sasuke has finally realized that he loves his now ex-girlfriend Sakura.

Sorry I kept you guys waiting for so long. I started writing this chapter after I had updated this story the last time. But I couldn't understand what I should write. I did't know how I should make Sasuke realize that he loves Sakura. I also wanted to give Itachi's fiance a defined role in this story and not just a name. And yes, in this story Itachi's girlfriend's name is Asako. Well that's because I started writing this story and named his girlfriend Asako before Itachi's novel came out saying that his girlfriend's name was Izumi Uchiha. So just in this story his girlfriend's name is Asako.

It took me several months to think of how and what to write in this chapter. And finally, I've completed this chapter. Please do review your thoughts about this new chapter.