Spotlight

Half and hour came and went and Sakura managed to tidy up and arrange a majority of her belongings. The only items in need of a home was the tattered photo of her mother and the Sasuke merch she wished she had never brought with her in the first place.

Sakura wasn’t stupid- She knew this was risky to bring with her but she was left with no choice. Unfortunately, Ino refused to store them afraid her other friends would make fun of her if they ever found it and Sakura couldn’t bring herself to toss them in the trash. So, that was that.

Jade eyes scanned the room for an appropriate spot to first place her mother’s photo. The woman often worried about the state that the photo was in; It was flimsy, held together by tape, softened by the relentless years of time and teardrops. Slightly faded by the sun which warmed the recollection of her being but could never imitate the warmth of her body, her love, before she was taken.

Sakura’s most precious item. She deserved to be showcased, even if only for her own eyes. Without a picture frame, she had limited options settling to it lean it against a stack of CDs (not Sasuke’s, obviously) on her desk for the meantime.

Finally, she kicked a box of the idol’s merch into the back of the walk-in closet until it was partially concealed. Light sticks, posters, photo cards and all. Call her obsessed, she considered it dedication. At the time, it felt it right to support the man who unknowingly helped her through difficult times in her life in the only way she could. Now, she looks at that box with the dull ache of disappointment and quite possibly with grief. She grieved for the image, the idea of a man she built based on a silk voice and Oscar worthy charisma.

Still, the other part of her held faith. Blind. Stupid. Yet it was there, manifesting as the lurch in her stomach as he approached her in the room. Manifested as wild thoughts which slickened the area between her legs.

The woman stood up with her hands on her hips with a satisfied exhale.

“Now I just have to try on my uniform and start training.”

Sakura exited the closet and shut the door gently behind her revealing a full-body mirror hanging opposite of the door. For a moment she was caught off guard by the image of herself. She grinned, admiring the richness of her cherry blossom hair which fell just above shoulder length. Her pale skin devoid of blemishes albeit the occasional scars and bruises on her legs from dancing which somehow managed to appear natural to her. The way she stood tall in half-baked confidence in herself added an air of power to her.

She was thankful for the convenience of this job and was ready to take on whatever was thrown at her.

Walking across the foyer, Sakura noticed some of the maids, including Hinata, file into a room upstairs quietly. She figured there was a staff meeting and continued towards Naruto's office without another thought.
_______

"Ugh! That girl!” Karin clenched her teeth and punched a pillow she imagined to be Sakura's face.

"Why does she have you all fired up, Karin? She's really nice." Hinata offered in a quiet voice.

“It's ridiculous! She is crazy to stay and challenge Sasuke. He even tried to warn her, I heard part of their conversation.” There red-haired woman continued to nobody in particular.

"Karin, we need the help. You haven’t even met her yet.” Rock Lee said with skepticism, wondering if this had something to do with her so-called “past relationship” with the master.

"It’s obvious that she's a fan! We don't need her drooling over him all day and not doing her job, you know!” Karin crossed her arms as she bit the inside of her cheek. The other workers in the room stared at her with a tired look. "What, are you guys just going to stare and interrogate me?"

"She has a good reason to stay here though. It's more than just a job for her from what I heard." Temari chimed in feeling particularly defensive of the pink maid.

"I honestly don't care if she has a 'good reason.' She bothers the hell out of me.” She glared at Temari. "Well, I'm going to leave if you guys don't have any dirt to share." Karin made her way out the doorway and pulled the door shut.

"What's wrong with her?" Hinata asked nobody in particular.

“I have a feeling that she still has feelings for him, and doesn't want Sakura getting in the way." Said Temari who now sat on a couch near the vacant fireplace.

"Well, how do you guys know that Sakura knows Sasuke? She said that he had never even heard of him until yesterday." Hinata asked naively.

"You didn't see it?" Ten-ten asked a bit surprised. "But you were right there!"

"When Sasuke took off his glasses, it was plain to see that Sakura was..." Rock Lee started and paused for a moment, forgetting the word he was going to use.

"About to die. Faint. Scream." Ten-ten finished.

"I didn't see anything.”

"You didn't see anything, yet, beloved"
____________

"I think you guys forgot to cover this room on the tour." Sakura gaped in wonder as she entered the cozy room. There was a small, black circular platform placed in the middle with red velvet chairs surrounding the circumference. In one corner, there was a red drape attached on metals rings that hung from a pole.

"Oh we did? Well, it doesn't really matter. You won't be spending much time in here, unless you ruin a uniform beyond repair. Which could possibly happen if Sasuke really has enough of you." Naruto joked as he shut the door behind him. "This is what we call ‘the fitting room’ where we store uniforms, Sasuke’s old music video outfits and his tailor’s supplies.”

Sakura laughed at Naruto's joke and wondered if Sasuke carried enough spite to actually do something that dramatic to get her out of his house.

I can’t believe how upset he was that I stood up to him. Spoiled brat. Sakura thought to herself as she positioned herself on one of the chairs.

"Ah good, Temari already set out an outfit for you." Naruto handed a neat stack of black and white clothing to Sakura. "The dressing room is over there; I'll wait for you." Naruto plopped himself down on the chair right next to Sakura. She nodded and headed towards the red curtain which concealed an illuminated box of mirrors.

Inside the dressing room, Sakura had just gotten on the dress, when a voice sounded over a speaker. There was too much static for Sakura to make out the words, but Naruto responded with nonchalance.

“Sakura-chan," He called, "I need to take care of something really quick, alright? I’ll be right back." Sakura replied with a ‘yes.’

In mere seconds, the outfit was complete as Sakura tied a bow behind her back fastening the apron. Just then, a door opened and shut again.

"Done already?” Sakura called out loud as she admired the embroidery of the Uchiha crest on he breast pocket. No reply. Sakura hummed to herself, assuming she heard the sound of another door out in the hallway shutting.

Sakura peeled back the curtain and stepped out with a long sigh that transitioned into a startled choke when she recognized a familiar man sitting in a chair opposite her.

"I don't like the way that looks on you," Sasuke stated with a smirk, "you look hideous."

A smirk. A fucking smirk.

Sakura would have keeled over in excitement if that smirk wasn’t attached to an insult. The maid stood dumbfounded, unsure how to react. Her face flushed pink in embarrassment, cursing herself because she was the reason Sasuke was acting like this in the first place. A knot formed in her throat, a flashback of her bullies crossed her mind yet these words coming from Sasuke seared and scorched a lot more than it did back then.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Sakura hid her true thoughts cooly and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're welcome. But I think this one would look slightly less ugly than that." Sasuke threw a pile of clothes strewn over the platform. Sakura bent down and retrieved the clothing with a pinch of her fingers and held it up to her face.

Oh my god. He can't be serious.

"But," Sakura examined the black and white lacy dress which was obviously a size too small for Sakura’s frame and a pair of thigh high socks to match. “I can’t wear this. It’s too…”

“Slutty? Like that pair of panties you had?" Sakura noticed a glimmer of mischief in the man’s eye. "If you can wear that, this should be nothing." Sakura was about to protest against this before Sasuke cut her off.

"I bet you won't last the whole day wearing that outfit." He challenged quickly.

This is what got Sakura into trouble. Her eyebrows knitted and eyes narrowed in irritation, a “tch” leaving her mouth. The only thing she felt bigger than her forehead was her love in proving others wrong.

"I bet you I would."

Sasuke's eyes expanded in surprise as he watched Sakura disappear behind the red curtain with a scowl. From underneath the curtain, Sasuke could see Sakura's feet struggle with the socks and chuckled whenever she was close to toppling over.

After fumbling, squeezing, and sucking in her breath Sakura pushed through the curtain stopping in front of Sasuke whose legs were crossed comfortably.

She watched as Sasuke raked his eyes over her figure. The dress, a size too small, hugged her tightly around the waist, accentuating her curves while he corset squeezed her breasts which spilled over the neckline ever so slightly. The end of the dress draped uncomfortably short of the underside of her ass, however, just enough to cover it. She swore she could feel a draft even when there were no windows around. Out of the entire outfit, the thigh high socks were the most modest thing on her body and even then they felt dirty upon Sasuke’s gaze.

Sasuke shifted in his seat. For a moment, the pinkette swore she noticed a bulge in his pants form.

"And do you have any heels for me to wear?" Sakura asked sarcastically.

An "Ah~" escaped the idol's lips as if he suddenly remembered something important.

”Of course I do, kitten." He set a pair of black 6-inch heels in front of the woman.

Sakura’s flush spread over her body at the pet-name but her knuckles remained white from clenching them. Carefully, she slipped the shoes on. There was a reason she stuck with short heels. She wished she took Ino’s advice on how to walk in tall heels for this moment here.

Once up and her balance was even, Sakura looked to Sasuke with a victorious expression.

But so did Sasuke.

Sakura scowled, wondering what the man had up his sleeve.

Sasuke pointed to the circular stage in the middle and flicked his wrist, motioning for her to get moving. Sakura let out an annoyed huff and shuffled towards the destination slowly. Sakura would feel embarrassment if she didn’t have her pride on the line.

Finally, she stepped onto the platform and faced a giant mirror located next to Sasuke's side when one of the doors in the room opened.

An unexpected flash blinded Sakura which made her topple backwards until her legs folded when they hit the couch. The blurs of light flashed over and over as she used her arms to shield her eyesight as best she could. When the lights stopped, Sakura rubbed her eyes with balled fists as she heard Sasuke’s voice rise from the darkness.

"So, try back talking me again and these pictures are leaked to every social website ever founded." Sasuke's voice was cold floating farther away from her with every click of his heel.

"Sorry I took so long- Sakura! What the hell? Sasuke! What're you doing here!" It was Naruto.
"Sakura, can you stand? Why are you dressed in that! We need to get you changed-“

“No."

"Sakura, this isn’t appropriate-“ Naruto said hoisting up Sakura up from her forearms.

"Just for the day, Naruto. It's okay, I want to do this." Sakura lied. She couldn’t risk being blackmailed by a man as powerful as Uchiha Sasuke.

"Please be reasonable, whatever Sasuke did to you, I'll make sure nothing is going to happen to you. Just go back and change-"

Sakura slapped away Naruto's hand from her arm and wobbled slowly towards the door.

"I'm fine. Let's go meet the others.”

Sasuke was propped up against the opposite wall with his hands in his pockets. A smirk crossed his face as Sakura wobbled past him like a newborn giraffe. Naruto followed her out shooting a vexed glare at Sasuke.

Waiting in the living room were the other maids and butlers, patiently standing around and sharing small talk. As they spoke, the unstable clicking of Sakura's heels peeled attention, causing the conversation to diminish. The first person to notice was Rock Lee, who immediately shared a shocked expression and exasperated sound which caused a chain reaction in the others. In a matter of seconds, all eyes were on her, mouths hanging open.

Before entering the room, Sakura shot an icy frown over her shoulder to Sasuke, his face saying, "Welcome to hell."