Spotlight

It was all a blur.

She didn’t recall gathering her items, cheeks flushed a heavy pink, and bolting out the door. She didn’t recall making the trek back to her room, or her body reverberating at a low tremble, or opening the bedroom window to invite the coolness of the night against her sweaty skin.

An immediate rush of cold air greeted the wet surface of her forehead and neck, the chill of the breeze shocking her body. Goosebumps formed yet the woman remained stationed at the window hoping the nippiness of the air would numb her back to baseline. A soft ruffle of leaves spoke to her in the distance reminding her to ground herself.

Sakura brought two fingers to her lips, a featherlight touch, as her mind wandered back to Sasuke’s and her eyelids shut. While their lips never touched, she could practically feel them on hers he was so close. A sharp pang of loss- of longing- punched her in the gut.

What a story it would have made, to share her first kiss with Uchiha Sasuke.

Haruno Sakura wasn’t an easy woman and she wasn’t going to share her first anything with just anyone. But then, Sasuke looked at her that way with his long black lashes. He held her pinned between the floor and his body, and he closed the space between them. He had power over her in every way and she could feel herself melting on his tongue, ready to give all of herself over to him.

Her heart thumped against her ribcage as she came to the conclusion she so wanted to avoid, the conclusion she feared.

Sakura stopped in her tracks and frantically dug into her pant pocket to fish out her phone. She walked in circles as the phone rang and listened for her best friend's voice to break through. Soon enough, a groggy voice answered.

“I think I’m in love with Sasuke.”
_________

Sasuke sat on the floor of the studio with a hand cradling the side of his head in an irritated silence.

And just when I had the perfect moment, these two bozos appear out of no where.

Sasuke glared at Naruto and Ten-Ten who sat sheepishly near the door and wrapped their arms around their legs, guilty faces peering back.

"You guys didn't see anything.” The idol was stern, not a question but a command.

Naruto’s jaw dropped to the floor and Sasuke’s glare intensified in reaction to the blonde’s response which was a physical manifestation of how he had always had a big, loud mouth.

"Didn't see anything?! You obviously like her, Teme, just tell her already!" He hopped up from his seat on the floor with a finger pointed at Sasuke accusingly.

Sasuke returned the accusatory finger, ”What do you think I was trying to do?!" He snapped involuntarily. The man noticed how Naruto and Ten-Ten’s necks whipped to face each other to garnish each other’s reaction. A knowing grin formed despite the lacking exchange of words, what he said was already incriminating.

Slowly, Sasuke’s finger fell back to his side as both grins now faced his direction.

"So... you do like her.”

It was a statement he could’t disagree with but he refused to set himself up for further interrogation, so he stood with his arms crossed over his chest looking away.

The intruders snickered to themselves and straightened quickly when the idol shot an icy look their way. Ten-Ten scurried out the door and just before Naruto followed suit, he looked back at Sasuke, “Go to bed, don’t forget that early, tomorrow morning you have a meeting for your drama.”

Sasuke simply nodded to appease him and watched as the blonde shut the door behind him, leaving the idol to dwell on his reflection in the large mirror.

Moments later, the man made his way up the grand staircase with his bed in mind. The master of the house settled in the middle of the king’s sized mattress, its sweeping area feeling isolating without her warmth. Lying there on his side, he glanced over at the bright red numbers of his clock seemingly floating in the darkness.

He was restless. Intrusive images of Sakura's innocent face flashed in the darkness of his mind. Her wide, emerald eyes were a window into an endless spring he yearned to experience. Her laugh was a harmony he wanted to produce. And her body, her body was a temple to praise, to relish in every inch of her skin. He wanted to move with and contort her body in a different sort of dance, but same passion.

Whatever she was doing to him, he wanted more.

The man tossed and turned and tossed again and he knew he needed to do something.

I need to talk this over with Them, he decided.
__________
Her cellphone danced against the surface of the nightstand, demanding Sakura’s attention. The maid shifted under her covers and inched her body toward the edge of the bed to reach for the phone, the caller ID showing her best friend’s name.

Ino, why are you calling me this early on my day off? Her thumb hovered over the 'decline' button before she resolved to choose the other instead.

"Contemplating whether to take my call or not, I presume." Ino said flatly.

"It's my day off, I'm allowed to sleep in." Sakura yawned and pulled the covers up to her neck.
“This is true, but I wanted to let you know I'm coming over to visit today!”

Sakura felt rather mischievous this morning and she let out a playful groan, “I don't feel like babysitting you all day today. I worked too hard this week.” She feigned exasperation. In truth, she was excited to have her friend over and needed her insight on how she should proceed with her feelings for Sasuke.

"You call making googly eyes at your lover all day hard work?"

"I do not make googly eyes at Sasuke! And he isn't my lover!”

Ino’s came through clearly through the receiver and Sakura couldn’t help but grin.

“That’s not what he told me,” She sang, “I heard you have been making eyes at the din ner table ever since Sasuke started joining you all for dinner.”

“He? He who?!” Sakura's eyes were wide open, her mind zipping across who “he” could be, and knowing Ino it was probably someone she flirted with to get some inside scoop. “Neji, Lee?” She was practically begging to know.

“No, and no.”

“It’s Sai, isn’t it? When did you get his number, and how long have you two been talking for?!" A part of her felt betrayed that her best friend kept this a secret from her, and that out of all single men she chose Sai. Ever since her arrival, her relationship with Sai had been rocky due to a few backhanded comments he made about her looks which invoked a fist to his face.

"What? What did you say? I think our connection is poor!" Her voice rose and the call ended suddenly.

The pinkette scoffed and shook her head unbelievingly at Ino’s antics. While she was rather annoyed with Ino’s choice in men, she was thrilled to see her. Her eyes drifted toward the time which indicated it was early morning and reluctantly, she rose from bed in hopes of a productive and restful day.

First on her list was laundry. After loading her clothes into the washer, she sat in a stool up against the wall watching a rainbow of colored fabric spin in circles. She watched, then rotated her clothes into the dryer, and subsequently loaded a new batch of dirty clothes into the washer to repeat the process. The monotony of the chore persuading her mind to wander back to the training room, back to Sasuke’s weight on her, and back to those words she spoke to Ino.

“I think I’m in love with Sasuke.”

Her heart fluttered and she instinctively covered her face with her hands bashfully despite her being alone. She sunk deeper into the stool wondering what she should do about it. What could she do about it? He was an idol, and she was just… her. It was impossible that Sasuke could ever share similar feelings because is she is simply simple.

Sasuke’s colleagues in the entertainment business were beautiful and multi-talented, and she was a nobody.

Just a simple girl.

Of course, it was a goal of her’s to be someone- someone she could be proud of. But that is a goal for herself, not a benchmark to be worthy of someone else's love.

While she contemplated, she realized she hadn't seen the idol today, or Naruto for that matter. After folding two loads of laundry she ran into Hinata in the hall.

“Sakura-chan, you didn’t eat lunch with us today.” The statement nearly formed into a question out of her curiosity for where she was instead. She glanced down at the basket of clothing and added, “Chore day?"

Her head of pink hair swung gently as she nodded, ”I wasn't really hungry when I woke up so I just decided to start personal chores. By the way, is Sasuke here today?"

Hinata's eyes brightened at the idol’s name, "He's out at a meeting with Naruto. Why?"

Sakura stared off to the side at nothing in particular after recognizing Hinata probing her. “N-No particular reason. Just curious why he hasn't tried to pull something on me,” she adjusted the laundry basket on her hip, “Well, I’ll see you later then.” And with that, Sakura rushed off to her room to kill time until Ino arrived.

Over the next half hour, Sakura stored away her fresh laundry, showered, and changed into a green sweater and white pants. With a few hours to spend before Ino arrived, the maid was in search for some entertainment. Her body was too sore to spend the next hour dancing, but she wasn’t content staying still. She considered spending time socializing with the rest of the staff in the living room, but the thought of having to expend social energy and then hang out with Ino- a recipe for exhaustion.

A walk sounded lovely, but she would have to pass through the living room to get there and she would surely be roped into the social gravity. So, she settled to wander around the house quietly and stretch her legs a bit. She'd been everywhere except for the upstairs, which was a purposeful tactic and excuse to investigate the mysterious elevator and wherever it disappeared to.

That was the most compelling part of those double doors; apparently, nobody knows what is up there except for the Uchihas- even Naruto, who is a childhood friend, doesn’t know. She stood now in front of the silver doors and felt her nerves settling in as she stared at the single button off to the side.

What if it makes a sound? I’ll be caught. This might be what gets me fired.

Sakura remembered Shikamaru’s words from their tour when they first met: "It's strictly prohibited.”

Quietly, she devised an escape plan just in case things went sideways. She raised a finger to the button and allowed it to linger for a few seconds while she gathered her courage. To her relief, the doors slid sideways without a sound.

Sakura entered the elevator with uncertainty but she was too far now to turn back. Just a quick look and she would be gone.

The ceiling of the elevator was glass and the sun shone directly above her where there must have been a skylight at the top of the shaft. Sakura squinted her eyes as she examined the unique design of the contraption before pressing the button with an arrow pointing up.

As the elevator moved up shaft panic struck her. What if she discovered some sort of dark past? What if she found a weird kink room? Or maybe this is where they stored the bodies of nosey workers, like her, who went to explore the one forbidden place in the house? The latter seemed like something Sasuke would do.

After five seconds of what seemed like five centuries of agonizing anticipation, then, came the startling ding. What Sakura found inside, though, was completely different than what Sakura had imagined.

There were no dead bodies, whips, chains, or torture chambers, but instead quite the opposite.

Stepping out into the room Sakura was engulfed by warm sunshine and the sweet smell of fruit and flora. The room was much smaller than the others in the mansion which gave it a cozy feel. Bookshelves filled with large books and small trinkets on display line the walls to her left and right while a single armchair sat in a corner accompanied by a vintage floor lamp with three lightbulbs cascading above the chair. A copious amount of plants, some with and some without flowers, were tucked in various places according to the sunlight required for their care.

Her footsteps were soft and soundless as she passed over a maroon carpet with an intricate design woven within it. As she walked by in wonder, her fingers grazed the wooden shelf while her eyes scanned the various titles of fiction and non-fiction novels and biographies. An ornate globe sat next to the bookshelf which she spun with the tips of her fingers. The continents spun in a similar fashion to her laundry, the colors swirling by in a blur and slowing to a still. When it stopped Sakura noticed push-pins pressed into certain countries- A way to track travel, no doubt. She leaned in close to read the small print of each country name.

One push-pin read Suna and another push-pin nearby read ding.

Sakura’s brows furrowed. Hm?

Her heart skipped a beat.

Ding, was the sound made by the elevator.

With fear rampant in her eyes, she spun on her heel quickly and nearly lost balance. The light above the elevator door flashed, a herald of another presence soon approaching.

You’re so fired, Sakura!

Her breathing became shallow while she scanned the room in a frenzy for a hiding spot. In the corner of the room, she spotted the armchair she noticed on her arrival and near it, some boxes. Hastily, she made for the corner and tucked herself behind the chair and quickly adjusted the boxes to allow herself a peephole. If she was going to snoop, she was going to commit to the end.

The air was tense with anticipation as Sakura sat on the ground with her legs hugged to her chest waiting for another ding. Her heart pounded, the palms of her hands begun to sweat from where they held her knees to her torso.

How do I always get myself in these situations?!

Finally, with a chime and flicker of the light, it arrived. Before the doors opened, she slapped her hand over her mouth and breathed steady, quiet breaths to prevent her from alerting her presence immediately.

For a moment there was silence and Sakura wondered if she was just imagining things. She peeked behind the opposite side of the chair and swiftly ducked back when she saw the person’s leg take its first step. The sound of their shoes reverberated in contrast with the serene still of the room, startling the woman. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for invisibility, at least just for now while her job was at stake.

The figure’s movements stopped to where Sakura guessed was somewhere opposite the room, quite possibly near the globe she admired just minutes prior. Cautiously, the maid shifted her position to peer out of the makeshift peephole she made between stacked boxes. If this room was reserved for Uchihas, it must have been Sasuke who returned, but equally so it may be another curious hospitality member using their day off to snoop. Should that be the case, Sakura gave them props- that saying “great minds think alike,” seemed relatable and relevant.

As she peered through, her eyes squinted, the sunlight from the back window made it difficult to identify the culprit and turned them into nothing more than a dark silhouette. Despite this, the maid studied as the person’s long fingers dragged along the wooden length of a desk beneath the back window- a desk she failed to notice until now. Their fingers lingered as if to savor memories embedded within the piece of furniture, piquing her curiosity.

She watched intently as the figure retrieved a small rectangular object and swiped at the dust littering the surface. Specks of dust took flight and danced in the rays of sun protruding through the window while the figure stood holding the object, to which Sakura could only guess they were taking a moment to look at it. Her heartbeat reached a faster tempo, expecting the figure to turnaround and hopefully move closer to reveal their identity, but Sakura didn’t need to see them to know who they were.

“Father… Itachi…”

It was his voice which gave it away. The maid nearly gasped, a mix of surprise and interest. Her mind raced feeling morally wrong for overstepping her boundaries in such a private moment, but it was also her chance to learn more about the young Uchiha and understand him better. Sakura had never heard any news of his father or of Itachi in her time being Sasuke’s fan and well… she just didn’t have many options afforded to her. She reminded herself that she was in hiding and this was a moment she would never have again. Shaking her head slightly, she focused back in.

So it’s a picture frame… She continued to watch closely, unable to make out the photographs in the idol’s hand.

Sasuke set it down on the edge of the desk and took a few steps backwards and kneeled to the ground. After mumbling something Sakura couldn’t quite catch, he bent forward placing his forehead to the floor in a respectful bow. The maid’s eyebrows furrowed as she watched as he made his way back to seated position sitting formally atop his shins with his feet tucked underneath him. Sakura knew what this meant because it was a motion she knew very well.

“Father, Itachi,” Sasuke started in a honey coated tone new to Sakura’s ears, “It’s been a while…” he paused and Sakura wondered how long it took for that layer of dust to accumulate. With how thick the layer was, she guessed it had been multiple years.

“I hope that I haven't disappointed you. I hope you have been watching over me and if you have, then you probably already know what I'm going to say to you." He chuckled nervously, took a deep breath, and then continued.

"There's this new girl Naruto hired and things around here have been.... eventful." He smiled to himself and paused for a heartbeat, as if curating his next words with care. "She’s headstrong, witty, determined and a talented dancer. She's also very pretty, her hair the color of cherry blossoms. Her looks and attitude are refreshing… like the springtime.” His voice was as airy as an fresh April morning, temperate with blue skies. But like any perfect day, a storm followed. The silence afterwards turned solemn.

“And I fucked up with her- really bad.” His throat constricted and his hands balled into fists in his lap in an attempt to grasp at his last remaining morsels of calm. “I disrespected her. Her words cut me and I didn’t know why, but I do know I deserved it. I deserved every insult she spat at me, but I didn't understand why she was so upset up about it at first, so I…” A frown was made itself present on Sasuke's lips and his teeth sank into his lower lip for support. "I went through her room and found out some things about her that I shouldn't have."

"I hope that you've met Sakura's mother; please become good friends and take good care of her. And please reassure her that I will take care of Sakura.”
The arriving sunset set the room a pink-orange hue, the harsh light retiring and a soft glow taking place instead. Sakura could see the idol’s facial features now, visibly upset. He sat gathering his composure before he spoke again.

"I feel like I've failed her. I was-," He stuttered, a lump formed in his throat, making it hard for him to speak without his voice wavering like a fool. "I was pretending to be somebody that I’m not in order to fit the 'idol image.'" A single tear trailed down his cheek and plopped onto his hand, "I was her support through difficult times and she was one of the millions of people who supported me through my own hardships. She is alive today in part because of me- or who she thought me to be- and I disappointed her.“

"My heart broke knowing she nearly ended her life at a young age. " Sasuke admitted with his neck craned downward like a wilting flower.

"Lately, I've been feeling different about her and last night I realized that she’s just as important to me as I once was to her. Even if she doesn’t accept me anymore or reciprocate my feelings, I will make sure that she's loved and cherished by at least one person in this world.” He drew in a breath to steady himself, straighten his posture and held his head high.

"I hope you will approve of me loving Sakura.”

With one last bow, Sasuke rose and patted down his pant legs effectively adding more dust into the air. He rubbed his sleeve across his eyes to dry them of residual wetness and lingered around the room a bit longer to regain his composure before exiting. Eventually he collected himself and the pink shade of his face faded considerably.

Sasuke pressed the 'down' button and looked over his shoulder once more to view his father and brother’s faces. A smile crossed his lips and his eyes softened showing something between sorrow and hope. Soon after, he entered the elevator and disappeared behind its doors.

By the time he left, Sakura's back was propped up against the wall behind the recliner chair, holding back whimpers and the urge to run after him. Both hands which covered her mouth dropped into her lap now allowing her to breathe freely, or at least allowed her to gasp for air unrestricted as she sobbed. She was struck with overwhelming emotion and could barely fathom the words he uttered- the words he uttered about her.

Maybe she misheard, or maybe she’s delusional, but the blood she accidentally drew while she chewed her bottom lip said otherwise. This was real, yet it was so unreal.

Sakura never imagined or expected to hear endearing words from a man, let alone Uchiha Sasuke. Although they weren’t directed towards her, she listened intently and accepted them as such, the sentences dictating her emotions. At first she felt embarrassment and irritation, her long-time love for the idol a known fact now at the price of her privacy but those feelings were immediately overridden with great appreciation for him. She smiled to herself and dabbed the corners of her eyes, relishing in the pride she felt in Sasuke for connecting to vulnerable and frankly terrifying emotions.

Her knees were stiff from being locked in bend and she struggled to stand, using the chair to aid her ascent. Her hands went straight to her bottom and patted away any dust or dirt sticking to her and questioned if anyone had ever cleaned this room in their time here. As she regained the feeling in her legs she started towards the elevator.

Abruptly she stopped in her tracks and turned on her heel, cursing herself under her breath for being so stupid. She walked the opposite direction making for the desk and photographs. Sakura sunk down to her knees and touched her forehead to the floor, a familiar movement. She said a short prayer and then bowed her head bashfully.

"Please, take care of my mother. I hope you approve of me. I’ll do my best to look after your son!” Her voice was cheery and ended with one more bow, relishing in the intimacy of meeting his family.

A sigh escaped her lips as she rolled her shoulders backwards to release tension, a somatic culmination of the pent up energy and emotions stored within her muscles. Again, she reached the elevators and looked down at her watch, just remembering her friend who should arrive any time now. As the contraption arrive, she heard the slam of a car door.

Right on time, she thought.

Once she reached the lower level, she stuck her head out and looked around warily for threats to which she found no obvious signs of any. The voices of her co-workers continued to traverse the large empty halls of the manor, a welcomed hint that her presence was not missed nor questioned. After scanning the hall, she stepped out of the elevator with a triumphant smile as the doors behind her shut without a sound. With her hands on her hips, she inhaled deeply and turned to her right when her limbs froze.

She gasped as she noticed Sasuke now standing in the doorway to his room, arms crossed over his chest and an eyebrow cocked.

“How much did you hear?”