Stripped Bare

I hope you’re excited about this update because I have finals next week but I found the time to post this anyway.

Stripped Bare-Chapter 10

The next two nights at the club progressed without incident. Sakura danced for a few men, producing nothing but dead ends, the lists of guys receiving lap dances produced no results, and there was no sign of the allusive man with strange colored eyes. It was bad enough that time was passing without any progress being made on the mission, but the fact that everything was so normal after the event with Kakashi was making the kunoichi crazy.

She hadn’t really spoken to him since, considering she had only received texts from him instructing her to leave the list out by the trash for him to pick up later. She caught glimpses of him at the club but he never approached her and stayed towards the back of the room. After the steamy and completely unexpected encounter between them, her mind had been running in confused and slightly panicked circles for the better part of forty eight hours.

What the hell had come over her? She had never gotten so worked up while dancing with another man. She knew the mission was their first priority but she had focused instead on her own pleasure. She recalled the way his warm, calloused hands felt as they dragged over her skin, and the raspy sound of his voice as he murmured about how wet she was against the shell of her ear. Lord, just the memory of it made her stomach flip flop and she knew she would forever see her former sensei in a different light. He wasn’t just a teacher now, and would never be a fatherly figure to her. He was a man, a sexually charged and dangerously seductive man, and that spelled big trouble for her because she found herself rather intrigued by the thought after her experience. One brush of his thumb over her sensitive clitoris had sent her shivering. What could an experienced man like him do if he really put his mind to it? She had no doubt it would be one of the most blissful encounters she could ever hope to have.

And that was the problem. She was thinking about what it would be like to have sex with Kakashi, and that simply was not ok.

Sure she was curious about what intercourse would be like, and that wonder only grew the more time she spent at the club. Sometimes she would hear impassioned moaning coming from the private booths with beds and wondered what it would be like to have a man take her.

Of course she had no intention of sharing her body with a perfect stranger, but the sounds of their desire only heightened her curiosity. What would sex be like with Kakashi? Would he even want to have sex with her? She was over a decade younger than him after all, and he might think of her as silly and immature.

But the way he had acted when they were alone in that room communicated that he thought she was certainly attractive enough, and he said himself that he couldn’t help but think of her as a woman. Did that mean he found her sexy? Desirable? Or was it just a combination of hormones and the eroticism of the situation that made him act like that? It could be she had grown a little too skilled at seducing men, although she found that hard to believe, and the action of her grinding on his lap had been what worked him into a frenzy, nothing more.

But Sakura had a sneaking suspicion it would take more than that to break down her partner’s iron will and stony self control. If that was the case, then what did Kakashi really think about her? The question was gnawing away at her incessantly and she longed to know the truth, but finding the answer would be very hard considering they hadn’t even exchanged a word since the incident happened. She wondered if he was trying to avoid her. After all, things couldn’t be awkward if they didn’t talk. She had picked up her cell phone to text him half a dozen times to say they definitely needed to talk about it, but then she realized she wouldn’t know the first thing to say and dropped the phone in defeat. She supposed they would have to talk about it eventually. They couldn’t go on about their lives and pretend like it never happened…right?

XXXXX

The morning of the third day, Sakura awoke to the buzzing of her phone under her pillow. Instantly awake, she eagerly read the new message only to discover that she was to fold the list into a paper airplane and send it sailing out the window at the end of the hall between three thirty and four o’clock. Kakashi was really getting creative now, and she wondered just how he expected her to do that without the other girls wondering what the heck she was up to.

For some reason her heart sank a little at the fact that this method meant she wouldn’t even catch a glimpse of Kakashi while exchanging the list, and she pushed the melancholy thought aside, wondering why she should care.

A glance at the clock on her phone told her it was already after noon. This new lifestyle certainly wasn’t conducive to getting up early. Then again, she had laid there in bed for nearly an hour last night, mind turning the problem of her encounter with Kakashi over and over, before she had finally drifted off.

She listened for the breathing of her roommates but heard nothing. It appeared even Misaki had gotten up before her, which was truly pathetic, and yet she felt no motivation to get out of bed. She still had a few hours before she had to deliver the list via paper airplane and her bed was so warm and cozy. It wasn’t like she had anything else to do anyway.

Settling back against the pillows, her mind immediately began to replay the scene from two nights ago, his warm hands on her hips and his sinewy body pressed against hers. Just what would have happened if Juu hadn’t knocked on the door? His fingers had been so very close to dipping under her panties. What if he had touched her there, caressed her slick flesh with bare fingers?

Sakura immediately pushed the inappropriate thought away. Fantasizing about Kakashi was just wrong. Even if his hands were practically magical, that was no excuse to go daydreaming about her former teacher. She berated herself for doing something that was more characteristic of her blonde best friend, who had mentioned numerous times that she had wondered what sex with Asuma-sensei would be like. At the time, Sakura had found Ino’s musing appalling, but now she couldn’t stop herself from wondering the same thing. What would it be like if Kakashi touched her again? What would he do to her? She had no doubt there were probably an endless amount of ways he could make her feel good, most of them things Sakura had never dreamed of. She was still rather innocent after all, but she found herself wanting to know more about what a man and woman could do together.

The book she flipped through at the bookstore had been a tad graphic and a little intimidating with the people in the pictures all twisted and contorted into seemingly impossible positions, but it had piqued her interest even if she didn’t want to admit it.

Listening again to make sure nobody was walking down the hall toward her room, she leaned over and fished around under her bed for one of the erotica novels Kitsune had lent her.

The cover was solid navy blue and quite nondescript. It looked a little worn, obviously because it had been read more than once, and Sakura ran her fingers over the tattered cover. Did she really want to indulge in this? This might only make her daydreaming problem worse.

She considered stowing it back under her bed and forgetting all about it but in the end, curiosity won out she opened the book to the first page of the story.

It turned out that calling it a “story” was a little generous. What little plot she could piece together was cliché and unimaginative, but it was quite obvious that anybody who was bothering to read this book was not doing so for a captivating plot. Sakura quickly found herself drawn into the book anyway, for one of the first scenes was an incredibly graphic though surprisingly tasteful sex scene describing a girl losing her virginity to a mysterious stranger. The man was tall and dark and wonderfully seductive, a complete contrast to the girl who was fair and innocent and seemed at a loss as to how he was making her feel so good as he spread her out on his cool, wine colored sheets and took his time having his way with her.

At first, Sakura nearly snorted aloud at the cheesy dialogue and how easily the heroine was seduced. For a girl who was supposed to be so pure, it certainly didn’t take much for the strange man to get her into his bed. Yet, as she read on, she found herself charmed by the male character and his treatment of his new lover. His touches were gentle and tender but equally strong and domineering, communicating that all she had to do was lay back and relax for him as he made short work of her clothes.

The descriptions of her pale skin and wonderfully responsive body soon had Sakura breathing a little heavier. As she read in graphic detail how he suckled her pert pink nipples until they were swollen and red, she felt a familiar heat begin to pool in her belly. It was by no means the raging inferno she had experienced with Kakashi, but the sensation was still a pleasant one and she wanted more of it. She read on about how their tongues dueled against each other feverishly, and how she gasped delicately when he nipped at her flushed skin.

Absently, her own hand that wasn’t holding the book had started tracing random patterns over her flat belly beneath the sheets as she subconsciously sought stimulation to increase the growing heat inside her.

Both characters were naked now, the younger girl gawking at the wonderful sight of flexing muscles and an impressive, twitching erection that made her press her thighs together nervously.

She admitted that she was afraid he wouldn’t fit, and he murmured words of reassurance and told her there were plenty of ways he could make sure she was ready for him. Sakura’s eyes widened as she turned the page to discover him kissing a fiery trail down her naked belly only to lift a trembling thigh onto his shoulder and begin to lick her where she was most sensitive.

The kunoichi had remembered Ino saying something about the wonders of receiving oral stimulation, but Sakura had blocked it out, dismissing it as way too much information from her oversexed friend. She couldn’t imagine actually letting someone do that to her. It had to be one of the most embarrassing if not slightly disgusting things she had heard of, especially if the guy decided he didn’t like what he saw. But as Sakura read the descriptive sentences describing the mysterious man lapping away at quivering folds, she found herself rubbing her own thighs together in need as the inner heat in her body began to seep lower in her core.

The blonde girl shivered and shook, forgetting her hesitation while moaning incoherently as his hot mouth engulfed her swollen clit and began to suck rhythmically, his other hand keeping her bucking hips pressed firmly to the bed. Her frail fingers clutched desperately at the silken sheets as her body responded to the muscle lapping at her leisurely, while he growled out how good she tasted and smelled and felt.

Suddenly, Sakura was no longer picturing a dark man and a pale woman, but herself sprawled out recklessly with Kakashi above her. She knew it was wrong as her mind superimposed the actions of the two characters onto her teacher’s visage and her own, but at the moment she didn’t care. The picture in her mind of Kakashi licking her gently with her legs hooked haphazardly over his shoulders made the heat inside her flare until it was almost unbearable and a dull and agonizing throb began amongst her own feminine folds.

She wanted to recreate that divine feeling of being completely consumed by passion and so far, only Kakashi had managed awaken that sensation. Picturing his face in her mind helped her body grow hotter and more sensitive, until she could stand it no more and hesitantly slipped a hand under the waistband of her sweats. Her fingers traced over bare skin and she realized she had foregone underwear the night before. That fact seemed convenient now, for the baggy sweat pants gave her hand plenty of room to maneuver.

Masturbation was not something Sakura indulged in. She had tried a couple of times, but her body simply seemed unresponsive to her own touch, and her attempts often ended with her feeling a little silly for thinking that squeezing her own breasts or rubbing her sex uncertainly could produce pleasure.

But this was on an entirely different level. Her body was awake and ready, eager for any stimulation that might quell the growing pressure between her legs.

Her free hand brushed over her smoothly shaven mound, and she could feel the intense heat of her sex radiating against her fingers. She held her breath as a single finger brushed over plump lips that were moist with her desire, causing her to shudder in pleasure. She remembered Kakashi’s finger tracing over the very same place through the fabric of her panties and wondered if he would have touched her like this if given the chance. The muscles lining her canal flexed at the thought of her partner slipping his hand under the red fabric and touching her just as she was touching herself now. The book in her fingers fell away forgotten as her eyes drifted closed. She began to imagine it was Kakashi’s hand teasing over her outer lips, and not her own. Her breath was broken and irregular, her body trembling with anticipation as she let a single digit part her surprisingly slick folds and rub up and down the cleft. She let out a soft whine and arched into her own touch as feminine muscles within instantly rippled at the sensation. The pleasure was warm and wonderful, ebbing and flowing with the caress of her finger, pulsing through her to make her toes tingle and her nipples tighten. Her thighs parted wider, allowing her finger to probe her velvet folds more thoroughly, and she gasped aloud as her free hand joined the first under layers of sheets and clothing and spread her nether lips apart to let her finger slide over every slick crevice.

In her mind, it was Kakashi making her feel so wonderful. He was now right here with her in this room, and she could imagine what it would feel like for his weight to be settled on top of her, his long and calloused fingers tracing her most intimate parts. He would look down at her with his single uncovered eye and whisper seductively that he could feel how wet she was and how much he liked it.

Sakura’s breath hitched at the thought of the Copy Nin’s lust-roughened voice speaking her name. If he were to touch her like this, she had no doubt he would dominate her and take the lead, letting his superior experience and skill take over.

Tentatively, she let her finger drift to the swollen ball of tissue that was calling for attention. She brushed her finger over the slick pearl experimentally, and was rewarded with a burning flash of pleasure down her spine that nearly stole her breath away. She repeated the action and let out a low moan as all her nerve endings flared from the simple touch. Her clit was hot and enflamed beneath her fingertips, and every touch resulted in delicious sensations throughout her whole body.

She began rubbing circles around the sensitive pearl, arching her hips into her own hand as she imagined Kakashi in her mind’s eye, watching her and whispering raspy words of encouragement, to enjoy it, to relax.

Even though the kunoichi had never had an orgasm before, it didn’t take a genius to figure out she was rapidly approaching her peak. Her finger began to rub quicker, harder as she raced toward that place she had never been to, but always wanted to go, and she imagined that Kakashi was urging her to embrace it. The thoughts only made her throbbing sex pulse hotter.

Voices on the other side of the door made Sakura pause, hand stilling inside her pants as she heard the doorknob turn. As quick as she could she grabbed the abandoned erotica novel and hid it under the sheets, rolling onto her side and feigning sleep just as the door opened.

“Hana, are you awake?” Miyabi called softly.

“Hmm?” the kunoichi replied, trying to make her response drowsy and sluggish as if she had just awoken.

“We’re about to eat breakfast if you’re interested. Is everything ok? It’s unlike you to sleep so late,” she said, her smooth voice tinged with concern.

“I’m fine,” Sakura lied. “I just didn’t sleep that great last night. I’ll be out in a minute.”

As soon as she heard the door shut, Sakura let out a breath of relief. She had been afraid Miyabi would come sit on her bed and chat with her like she sometimes did, and upon closer inspection find out just what she had been up to.

She sat up and withdrew the hand that was still trapped in her sweats to find her pointer finger glistening with her own juices. She wiped it quickly on her pants as shame flushed her already burning cheeks. She had been masturbating while thinking about Kakashi, the man who had been her teacher and mentor. It wouldn’t be so bad if she was in the habit of pleasuring herself anyway, but nothing, not even fleeting thoughts of Sasuke had gotten her as hot and bothered as visions of her team leader had. She had promised herself she would forget about their encounter a few nights back, but how the hell was that possible now, when she had nearly experienced her first orgasm just by imagining him touching her?

Overcome by the complexity of the situation, Sakura slumped back onto her bed with a groan, letting her pillow cradle her head. A few days ago she had been eager to see Kakashi but now the thought of meeting him face to face made her gut heavy with dread. She knew she would be too ashamed to look him in the eye after touching herself to thoughts of him, and the emotions only added to the already turbulent thoughts of what had occurred between them a few nights back.

Maybe she would skip both breakfast and paper airplane folding and just stay in bed all day.

XXXXX

Breakfast was uneventful.

If anybody thought her staying in bed all morning was suspicious, they didn’t show it, although she doubted any of them gave it a second thought. If Tora was any indicator, sleepless nights were common considering their current careers and personal morals were constantly in conflict.

Conversation was light and pleasant, mostly because Misaki was gushing about how the weather was unusually warm and patches of blue sky were visible through the usual blanket of grey clouds. They decided if there was ever a day for an outing, today was the day. Apparently many of their girls’ customers last night had been generous with their tips, so grocery shopping was now an option. Sakura was thankful, for it had been several days since she had tasted vegetables or fruit, living instead of cereal, oatmeal and rice.

By the time she showered, dressed, and retrieved the list of men from Dajaku, it was almost three. Visiting her employer in his office took longer than expected since he chose this particular day to ask how the investigations were going. It was embarrassing to state that after all this time, they still had no real leads and were no closer to solving the mystery than when they had first arrived. At least there hadn’t been any other disappearances since they had come to Fuzen Machi, but that was a flimsy case before the silver eyed man who was watching her critically. He had dismissed her without grilling her too much, but Sakura couldn’t help but feel like his faith in the two of them was waning. He might not have minded too much if Sakura had been giving him the percentage of her earnings that he requested. She was becoming quite popular with the club’s patrons after all, but he still seemed to question the large amount of money he was paying the couple, considering they had been working on the mission for over a month with nothing to show for it.

Sakura retreated to the second floor feeling a little distressed and more determined than ever to find the kidnapper, but with no clues and no leads, it was obvious that pure determination and resolve weren’t going to be enough. They needed a breakthrough, and fast, before Dajaku gave up on them completely and sent them away in disgust.

She walked into the living room to find all the girls assembled as if they were getting ready to go out. Apparently they had taken Misaki’s advice about going outdoors.

“Hey honey, we’re getting ready to do a little grocery shopping and maybe eat lunch somewhere if you want to come,” Tora offered, straightening the hem on her shabby knee length skirt before giving her a smile.

Sakura was tempted to take her up on her offer and enjoy the rays of sunshine filtering through the clouds, but she knew if she was going to deliver the list like Kakashi requested, there would be no better time than when none of them were around.
“Thanks,” she replied, “but I think I’m going to stay here. I still don’t feel that great after staying up last night. I think I might take a nap later.”

“Aw, come with us Hana-chan!” Misaki whined, sounding more like a little girl than ever.

“Yes, please come,” Jitsu said quietly, looking lovely in a dark green shirt that was so old and threadbare that it was practically shapeless.

“Sorry, maybe next time ok?” she said, trying not to feel guilty as the big blue eyes looking at her hopefully, suddenly filled with disappointment.

“Suit yourself,” Kitsune shrugged, fixing the strap on her high heeled—but decidedly less porn star looking—sandal than the ones she wore when working. “But when we come back talking about what a great time we had, I don’t want to hear you complaining that you were left out.”

Sakura smiled. “Thank you for the offer everyone but I think it’s best if I just rest today. Have fun though,” she replied, genuinely regretting that she couldn’t go. However, she hadn’t been hired so she could play around and go shopping. She had work to do.

She retreated into her room, pretending to relax until she heard the door to the first floor open and the feminine voices filtered away. She waited another ten minutes to make sure they were gone before withdrawing Dajaku’s list from her pocket and folding it into a paper airplane as instructed.

Quietly, she opened her door and peeked out, finding the hallway deserted. She walked soundlessly to the end of the hall where the only window on the second floor was located, at least the only window she had seen. Tsurenai and Dajaku’s rooms were still a mystery.

The window had bars over it, but they were wide enough that the airplane could easily slip through. She opened the window, wincing as the pane grated along its track. Obviously it didn’t get opened much, considering the weather outside was usually dreary.

She looked out over the city that was slightly less gray today, thanks to the sun peeking through the clouds. The window gave her a view down the alley, but she couldn’t see very far before taller buildings obstructed her view. She could smell soot in the air and she longed for the fresh, warm breezes of Konoha and longed to feel the warmth of the sun again. She felt she’d been deprived of sunshine for ages.

She scanned the rooftops for Kakashi but found no trace of him which didn’t really surprise her. He wouldn’t let himself be seen unless he wanted to and would probably remain concealed until she threw the list to him.

Taking careful aim, she threw the plane through the bars in a graceful arc and watched it glide on the wind currents over one building and then the next until it touched down on the next roof, its tiny form barely visible. She continued to watch, waiting for Kakashi to emerge and pick it up when she heard a voice behind her.

“You sure do some strange things to pass the time.”

Sakura spun around to find Tsurenai leaning casually against the wall, watching her critically. As usual she was dressed to kill in a deep blue shirt with a plunging neckline and stylish black slacks. She even had three inch heels on, and Sakura wondered how she managed to sneak up on her in such footwear. Her kunoichi skills really must be getting rusty.

The purple haired woman had seen her throw the plane so there was no covering that up, and she cursed herself for letting her guard down at such a critical moment.

“Oh, that?” Sakura laughed nervously, thinking quickly to make up a story to explain her odd behavior. “I was just remembering what my dad and I used to do when I was a little girl. We would have contests to see who could throw a paper airplane the farthest.”

“I see,” she replied, her expression unreadable as she quirked one lavender eyebrow elegantly. “And you would rather stay here doing that than go out with everybody else?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” the kunoichi responded, realizing she finally had a chance to talk to the diva one on one and maybe finally get some information out of her. “You hardly ever talk to any of the girls at all. Why is that?”

A humorless smile appeared on the taller woman’s glossy lips as she crossed her arms over her ample chest defensively.

“I don’t have much in common with anyone else here. They don’t understand me and already have their set opinions about me. I believe there would be less conflict if I keep to myself.”

“But everyone here is so kind,” Sakura argued. “I’m sure they’d love to talk to you and get to know you. We all wonder about you and how you can stand to be alone all the time. Living like this with friends is hard enough, but alone would be even more painful.”

“I don’t need a support group or other people’s pity,” Tsurenai replied coolly, pushing off the wall. “I do fine here on my own and I don’t need anyone dragging me down. It would be in your best interest if you stay out of my way.”

Her tone made her last words sound threatening and Sakura narrowed her jade colored eyes, meeting Tsurenai’s aquamarine orbs evenly.

“Or what? I’ll disappear or something, just like the others?”

Tsurenai actually let out a laugh, although it held more scorn than mirth.

“So you’re actually going to try and pin that on me now?” she said with a flip of her long purple tresses. “You’re even more pretentious than I thought.”

The taller woman walked toward her and leaned in as if she were going to tell her a secret, although Sakura knew it wouldn’t be anything of the sort. Even though she had the power to knock people through walls, she couldn’t help but feel slightly intimidated by this woman. She was confident and elegant, but seemed like the type who excelled at underhanded and sneaky retaliation. Even without shinobi training, this woman was dangerous.

“I don’t know where those girls went and honestly, I don’t care. All I need to worry about is putting on the best show that I can and make a little money while I’m doing it. If I had known Dajaku was going to turn this place into an orphanage for misfits and riff raff, I wouldn’t have been so eager to help. Unfortunately, one woman isn’t enough to keep the club going.

“Stay out of my face and I’ll stay out of yours, and stop thinking your do-gooder attitude is going to magically change the lifestyle we lead. We’re strippers, prostitutes even, and you had better get used to the idea because you are the same as the rest of them.”

Sakura’s fist twitched and she had to resist the urge to punch that immaculately painted face of hers, but she managed to rein her temper in. She stood at her full height, her face inches away from the diva’s.

“You seem pretty full of yourself,” she hissed angrily. “What happens if the next girl that goes missing is you?”

Her mouth twisted into a smirk as bright eyes hardened into turquoise slits.

“It won’t be me,” she said with so much confidence that Sakura couldn’t help but believe her. With that, she turned on her stiletto heel and walked away without a glance back.

The kunoichi let out a sigh and collapsed back against the barred window tiredly. So much for getting some information out of her. If anything, she had just turned the tension between them into full blown hostility, eliminating any chance of questioning her further in the future.

Kakashi would not be happy when he heard this.

At the thought of her sensei she turned around, eyes immediately going to where the paper airplane had last been.

All she saw were dirty concrete rooftops, and any trace of the list or the masked man who took it, was gone.

XXXXX

The heavy bass beat pumped low and primal, reverberating through the club and competing with the rhythm of his own beating heart. He watched Sakura’s body sway to the music as if it were second nature for her and felt his pulse accelerate slightly. She was completely comfortable in her skin now, her hesitancy and shyness to exude sexuality was gone, and while on stage, she practically radiated sex. She didn’t come off as sophisticated or predatory like some of the other girls did, but instead had a strange sort of genuine allure. He could tell other men sensed it too, for they were drawn to her like moths to a flame, hungry eyes watching her every move.

It was hard to watch her after knowing what an innocent creature she had been before coming here, but Kakashi couldn’t tear his eye away from her. Her long pink hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and even from his seat in the back he could see her eyes were smoky and dark thanks to heavy makeup. Her attire tonight was a tiny top that laced up both the front and back like a corset, and a pair of tiny shorts that did the same thing on the sides. The looked like they could be made out of leather but he doubted Sakura could have afforded them if they were. She had been giving him a large portion of her tips to cover his living expenses, and though he had tried to deter her, he always ended up walking away with the money thanks to her stubbornness. He appreciated the gesture, but it didn’t seem fair. She was working so hard up there, putting herself on display, only to hand some of it over to Dajaku and more of it to himself. Even so, she appeared to be well fed and had a least a dozen outfits that she rotated through at the club. Thankfully, the little red one she had worn that night had not made another appearance.

It had been four days since his horrible lapse of judgment in the private room, and he hadn’t said a word to her face to face since then. It was no coincidence that he hadn’t had the occasion to speak with her. He was deliberately avoiding her by having her send him the list in ways that ensured they wouldn’t meet. He knew it wasn’t going to make the problem go away and he was just acting like a coward, but he needed more time to compose his thoughts and figure out what to say to her. He was having her throw paper planes out the window for crying out loud, and they both knew that was most definitely not the most efficient or stealthy way of exchanging information.

But Kakashi was at a total loss. Every night since their encounter, his dreams were filled with images of her. Sometimes she was in that amazing red outfit and sometimes she was in nothing at all, his mind piecing together a picture of her naked body from the information he had gained by touching her.

She danced for him, just like she had that night, and sometimes, his dreams progressed past the point where they had been interrupted. He was caressing her through damp panties, making her shiver and moan and then, he was slipping his hand underneath the cloth and into a liquid paradise of tightness and heat. She cried for him, sobbed his name as he pumped his fingers steadily, the image so vivid he swore he could smell her sweat and arousal, even after he woke.

Sometimes, his dream would torture him further by showing him scenes of her stripping off her panties, still clad in her heels, and unzipping his pants. She rode him mercilessly, facing both toward him and away, moaning his name and begging for more. But just when he felt they were both on the brink, he would wake up, panting and sweaty and always with a hard on so painful and persistent that not even the coldest of showers would cure it. He tried to be strong, but gave in when the throbbing became unbearable, pumping his length in his hand and allowing himself to imagine that she was the one doing it for him, until he came in an orgasm far more intense than any he had previously had by touching himself. They were always the most intense when he thought of her.

Once he had even awoken in a sticky mess, his body releasing before he was even conscious. It didn’t take a genius to know that Kakashi had a serious problem. He was madly in lust with his student, everything about her enticing him. Her fantastic body and the way she moved it, her scent, her smile, her laugh, her voice, her fantastically brilliant jade eyes, her soft lips which he longed to taste, all of it flashed through his mind continuously even when he wasn’t at the club, and he knew he was far too distracted to be at the top of his game while researching possible suspects.

But he couldn’t stop, and their time alone in the room had only compounded his problem. He had been drawn to her before, but now he craved her, longed to finish what they had started. Even though he knew it was horribly wrong, he ached to be her first, to give her pleasure like she had never had, but every time the thought arose he pushed it away angrily. He had no business wanting her like that, especially since she had jealousy guarded her virginity all these years, saving it for one foolish man who would probably never see what was in front of him. It seemed so incredibly unjust, but Kakashi tried to hammer the fact into his head that Sakura would never be his, couldn’t be his because not only was he fourteen years her senior, but her teacher and partner and a thousand other reasons that made such an interaction practically forbidden. And yet, he was still thinking about it wasn’t he?

Kakashi was brought back to the present as the song ended, and the focus shifted to the main stage as Tsurenai appeared, leaving the rest of the girls to dance for much smaller audiences. However, Sakura still had a surprising amount of spectators who seemed more interested in watching her than pushing through the crowds to get close to the club’s star dancer.

Since she hadn’t found anybody to interrogate, Sakura continued to dance, rolling her hips in hypnotizing figure eights before climbing her pole easily and wrapping her supple body around it. Kakashi found that when Sakura was dancing, he didn’t even glance at the other girls, although he was probably slightly biased, but the way she moved was so purely sensual that he couldn’t help but be pulled in. If he hadn’t known for a fact that she was against this whole thing from the start, he never would have guessed.

He was so caught up in watching her spiral down the pole, that he didn’t notice who had made his way to the front of her platform, even as she was on her knees crawling along the edge of the stage.

XXXXX

Sakura was surprised by all the eyes that remained on her, even after Tsurenai started to dance. Usually only a handful bothered to pay the other girls any mind after the self-centered dancer got on stage, but recently she had been collecting more and more admirers that seemed to prefer pink over purple.

She spiraled down her pole and sank to the floor gracefully and crawled cat-like to the edge of the stage where men were waving dirty bills at her.

That’s when she saw him: a single face standing out in the crowd. His light colored hair and clean shaven face contrasted with the rest of the dark and grizzly men who stood around the platform, but what really captured her were his eyes that bored directly into hers.

They were a haunting yellow green.

Sakura’s heart skipped a beat as she realized the man they had been searching for had returned, and had sought her out no less. She controlled her features carefully, making sure her surprise didn’t show, and gave him a sultry smile instead. The man smiled back, showing even, white teeth, free of any decay or staining that seemed common among the usual clientele. To her surprise, he subtly crooked a finger at her, beckoning her closer and she knew she couldn’t let this chance to talk with him get away.

Crawling like a tigress on the prowl, she made her way to him, stopping momentarily to let men slip her money, giving them seductive glances in return. Finally she reached him, his face inches from hers, and he held up a bill in a denomination quite a bit larger than what Sakura was expecting.

“You want a dance baby?” she breathed in his ear, leaning in to make herself heard over the music. “I’ll make sure you’re first on the list after the song ends.”

The man chuckled, the sound making the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. Her senses were screaming at her that something was definitely strange about him.

“I was hoping I could buy something a little better than a dance,” the man whispered back, his voice low and smooth. He held an air of sophistication about him that Sakura had not perceived in any of her previous admirers.

Sakura knew what he was insinuating and felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. He wanted to sleep with her? She wasn’t ready for that! Sure she had had several offers from the men here, but she had easily dismissed them. Turning them down had no impact on her mission, but now what was she supposed to do? She finally had the chance to interrogate the man that was setting off new alarm bells with every word he spoke. Something was definitely suspicious about him, but was she ready to lose her virginity to a perfect stranger?

She met his glimmering gaze, his eyes appearing to glow in the dim light.

Even though she knew she was putting herself before a mission, she knew her answer. She simply couldn’t do it.

“I’m sorry honey, but that’s a service I don’t offer,” she whispered, sitting back on her heels and spreading her thighs slightly, hoping she could entice him into a dance anyway. “But I promise if you want some time with me, I’ll make it worth your while.”

The man looked her over, his eyes roving her body shamelessly, and Sakura felt as if he were staring right through her meager clothing and examining every intimate inch of her skin. She swallowed hard and tried not to think about it, concentrating on looking at his face, memorizing his features. He had smooth, unblemished skin and a strong jaw, a sharp nose that was almost bird like, but not unattractive when balanced with a broad forehead that would have made him look like a Neanderthal if it wasn’t for his other features.

“Sorry,” he rasped, his voice like velvet. “But I want you in bed or not at all.”

To her surprise, his hand went to her parted thigh, warm fingers sliding high on her leg and into dangerous territory making her gasp at his touch. He slipped the large amount of money he had been holding into her thong strap and gave her another smile that made her shiver in a way that was slightly disconcerting, before stepping back to fade into the crowd.

Sakura tried to follow him with her eyes but he was soon lost in the mass of bodies, the flickering lights making it even harder to track him. She retreated back to her pole, trying to make it look as natural as possible and climbed to the top, scanning the entire room. She didn’t see him anywhere.

Shit. Shit. Shit!

She was trying to fight down her panic and frustration, knowing that the choice she had made could have just cost them the mission. She had to talk to Kakashi right away if they had any chance of catching that guy.

The kunoichi easily picked her partner out of the crowd, finding him sitting in the same place as always, an unknown drink in his hand. Although she couldn’t be sure, she had a feeling he was watching her since his head was tilted in her direction. She needed to signal to him that they needed to talk now. Why hadn’t they agreed on ways to alert each other?

Then again, there had been one particular movement mentioned, even though Sakura brushed it off at the time. She usually wouldn’t have resorted to this but she didn’t have a whole lot of options at the moment.

With surprising grace and agility she flipped her body upside down, hanging onto the metal rod with just her legs, and shimmied her chest, knowing her small breasts were bouncing with the vibrations and drawing all sorts of attention to herself despite the fact Tsurenai was still dancing.

Across the room, Kakashi sat up a little straighter, his eyes definitely focused on her now.

Grasping the pole with her hands, she swung her legs around until she was right side up again and repeated the action, her gaze locked with his.

She wanted to breathe a sigh of relief when Kakashi casually laid down some bills for his abandoned drink even though it looked mostly untouched, and began to make his way to where she was performing.

Sakura spiraled back down to the floor and walked along the perimeter of the stage, oblivious to the hoots and hollers she received as she showed off her body.

Just as the song was ending, Kakashi pushed through the crowd until he was at the front of her platform.

She tried to play it off as dancing for just another customer as she walked to the edge and brought her feet together, rolling her hips in small circles as her legs spread during her descent until her crotch was practically eye level with the masked man.

“To what do I owe this special attention?” Kakashi rasped, speaking loud enough to be heard over the music but also risking being overheard. He was eyeing her body almost lecherously and Sakura felt her stomach tighten, wondering if his heated gaze was simply part of an act.

She didn’t need to say much for Kakashi to know what she was talking about. One word summed it up.

“Yellow.”

Kakashi’s visible eye widened, and not because Sakura was now grinding provocatively against the floor. For once he was finally thinking about something besides her.

“Where?”

She ran her finger along the floor of the stage in front of her.

“Here three minutes ago,” she replied, edging to the left of Kakashi to allow a man to stuff a bill into her garter.

Kakashi had heard all that he needed to, slipping back into the sea of faces, leaving Sakura to gather money from the men all too eager to empty their pockets for her.

Damn it! Their suspect had been in the club, and he had been too busy ogling his partner to notice. He definitely needed to get a grip before he did something even more detrimental to the mission.

Sakura glanced around and realized that all the other girls now had their tops off. She had been so caught up in speaking with Kakashi and the mystery man that she hadn’t been paying attention to how many songs passed. Apparently, more had played than she realized.

She straightened and walked back to her pole, arching back against it sensuously as one hand found the hidden zipper in the side of her top. Licking her lips as if she had just tasted something delicious, she inched the zipped tab down until her top fell away, leaving her rosy breasts exposed.

Kakashi could hear cheering and glanced over to see that Sakura was now gloriously topless as she twirled effortlessly around her pole. As tempted as he was to watch, he knew now wasn’t the time. He had already searched through the crowd without any results and when he casually told Juu he was looking for his friend who he had been separated from, the large man had said only one of the booths was in use, with Tsurenai of course.

When the couple emerged, Kakashi found that the thoroughly satisfied looking man did not have yellow eyes or light hair. Kakashi melted back into the crowd without giving the purple haired woman a second glance, and therefore missed the way her aquamarine eyes narrowed as she stared after him.

After several more laps of the club and an inspection of the men’s bathroom, Kakashi was fairly certain their culprit had already made his exit.

Wearily, he locked himself in a stall and withdrew his cell phone. He rapidly punched out a text to Sakura, which he knew she would receive after the show.

Didn’t find him. Meet at my room tonight. Don’t care how late.

He pressed “send” and emerged from the bathroom, giving the club a final onceover before heading for the door. Maybe he could walk through the town and get some clues as to who the hell this guy was.

Sakura watched him walk out of the club and into the night as she swiveled her hips in time with the music, trying very hard to feel like she hadn’t failed him by letting a chance to nab their suspect slip by.

XXXXX

I know this one was kind of short and I apologize but a lot happened in here and it seemed like a good place for a chapter break. I am now off to study. Please tell me what you think!