Shoot

Well, they didn't exactly completely ignore one another, because Yuzuru was very hard to ignore but they didn't touch on the subject ever again.

They didn't sleep together either since that would probably make things even more confusing.

He did the world championships and went back to Canada for a while. They didn't speak much, with the occasional text dropping and remembering her to eat properly and have her medicine.

Yuzu was always on her mind, but it was very subdued and a result of all the emotions bottled in the same place.

But every time he came back to Japan it was a struggle to resist the temptation of asking him to stay the night, even if she just wanted to be around him.

During Summer, he was in the Oriental country more often, for ice shows and other sponsor agreements. Sakura had to be strong, knowing he was in Sendai all the time, probably skating most of the free hours of the day and spending the rest of them at home.

She imagined a very boring routine for him and somehow, it always worked. Yuzuru was such an explosive force that having a routine, no matter how boring, helped balance things out.

Not seeing him was easier, but knowing he was so close made it that her brain was constantly reminding her of that fact.

She felt as if she was back at the time of her recovery, her brain all fuzzy and barely allowed to think.

Sakura survived that time after all, even if it meant traveling to Sendai just to wave at him from the distance and pretend that he was this entity that she was allowed to know but not to touch.

The important thing was that it worked out, Yuzuru went back to Canada and she successfully survived his presence.

🌸

The next time she saw him was a whole different story.

Sakura had gotten into the habit of being in most of the shoots of Sekkisei. She usually had the time and it allowed her to control things that she usually wouldn't be able to do from her office.

In most shoots, she would be a silent participant, carefully observing and only adding her thoughts when it was important. Still, the one person she hadn't done that with was him.

Even though she wanted badly to avoid attending his shoots, just as she avoided him in general, everyone was getting a bit suspicious. The news that she and Yuzuru were old acquaintances had traveled through the office on the very first day they signed the skater and were running around ever since.

If she didn't act soon, suspicion would only increase and make her life even harder than it already was.

That's exactly how she found herself on a trip to Canada, with a few other members of her team, with the excuse of seeing new horizons.

It wasn't often that Yuzuru did a shoot somewhere other than Sendai, but the very packed schedule he had recently made that almost impossible to happen. If he couldn't go to Japan, Kosé would go to him.

Sakura found it funny to see the surprised reaction on his face when he first spotted her. To be fair, he hid it well, but she knew him best.

Yuzuru smiled from the distance before greeting her in Japanese, to the surprise of the Canadian team already present and ready to shoot. It wasn't often that one of the team leaders showed up almost unannounced.

"Honda-san."

"Hanyu-san, I hope everything is to your liking."

"Of course, you always treat me very well."

"I'm glad to hear that. I hope you don't mind if I watch today?"

"Not at all. I wouldn't do that after you came from so far."

Sakura could almost see the tiny smirk on his lips as he answered her. He was enjoying seeing her here and attempting to look serious.

"Very well then, Good luck. If you need anything, I will be back there."

"Of course, Sa-ch...hum...Honda-san."

She chuckled at his almost slip and just moved on, heading to the end of the room to see the whole thing from the back.

The team greeted her with small smiles and little words, and she answered as politely but curtly as possible.

To be fair, she found the whole thing more hilarious than expected. There was something about knowing his usual personality and trying to understand what the team wanted him to look like.

Sakura wasn't here to judge whatever they had come up with, but it was still funny in her eyes the way that they made him act in front of the camera.

He was a sweet, smiley boy, innocent-looking and almost childlike, with perfect skin.

It didn't matter that much to Sekkisei, the brand endorsement was more about his name than it was about any commercial they could do.

The contrast was still striking but maybe it was the fact that she knew how he looked in bed. That was the thought that sent her into a whole chain of dangerous thoughts.

Damn, she missed him.

It was certainly only the sexual frustration, not anything else...

It had been too long.

Sakura only thought that she needed to find someone quick, otherwise, these thoughts of him would never disappear.

But would they even disappear either way? The girl suspected that was very unlikely given just how much power he had over her.

Still, she had to move on.

Yuzuru wasn't hers.