Stripped Bare

Oh my gosh! I can’t believe this story has gotten over 1000 reviews! I can’t tell you how honored I am that you guys like this story enough to give me feedback with pertinent stuff to say. I really appreciate it everyone and I hope you will continue to enjoy this story and relay to me all your reactions to it.

This will probably be my last update before school starts but I’m really going to try to keep this story updated relatively consistently.

Many thanks to my lovely beta Cynchick who has been with me on this and most of my other stories since the beginning. She’s the reason for the absence, or at least lesser amount, of typos in this story.

As always, I don’t own Naruto and this story is very M rated.

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Stripped Bare-Chapter 14

Pounding music, flashing lights, the smell of sweat and alcohol. The whole club scene was getting a little monotonous in Kakashi’s opinion and he was fairly certain that upon returning to Konoha, he wouldn’t be spending much of his time inside any of the local bars any time soon. Genma was going to be disappointed to lose his wingman for a while, but his drinking buddy was smooth enough to score without Kakashi’s help most of the time anyway.

The first group of dancers were nearly finished with their set, and he figured Sakura would be out at the start of the next song. He swirled the ice around in his glass and gazed into the amber liquid.

Sakura…just her name brought such an overwhelming jumble of emotions that he was tempted to shove it all away and not deal with any of it, but even if he attempted to shut it out, the guilt continued to gnaw at him like a tiny, ravenous creature. He had touched her in a way no teacher should touch his student, even after he swore to himself numerous times that he would never touch her again, but despite it all, it had gone way too far this time. He supposed he should be thankful Sakura interrupted him and ran off because who knew what foolish thing he would have done, and yet, the fact that she hadn’t stopped him sooner made unwanted thoughts bubble in the back of his mind.

She had liked it, for no woman could fake those kind of moans, and he wasn’t even sure if Sakura would know how to anyway, but that wasn’t surprising considering her lack of experience. She had liked it because she didn’t know any better, because she had never had anything else. If she had, she would have known she deserved better than to be felt up by her teacher who couldn’t keep his hands to himself. And yet, the way she had moaned for him, whimpered his name, made him hope that she would seek him out for more, even though if she did, he had to somehow find the strength to turn her down. He would not touch her again. He couldn’t.

He was in over his head with her and he couldn’t understand why. No woman had pulled him in like this, not even the experienced ones with all their practiced charm, but maybe that was why he was drawn to his student. She was so wonderfully different, so naïve despite all the battles she had fought and blood she had shed. There had been wonderment in her voice, a sense of awe that only the most inexperienced women had during sex. He had been with enough of them to recognize it but never had he been so turned on by it, knowing that he was the first to touch them, and never had he hated himself more for it.

She was not his and never would be, and frankly, he was surprised he was thinking about staking a claim at all. Kakashi Hatake was not one to get tied down and never had been, but in all his mixed up emotions, jealousy was among them, burning a little brighter every time she stripped in front of all these strangers. He wanted to cover her and steal her away so the view of her body was his alone. He wasn’t sure when he had started feeling this, because he had been refusing to examine all emotions regarding his student, afraid of what he might find, but now his jealousy had become too big to ignore and honestly, he was at a loss. Nothing he felt made sense anymore and when his usually sharp mind couldn’t tackle it, he was inclined to sweep it all into the far recesses of his mind. It usually worked with other women, because he forgot about them easily and never saw them again. He wouldn’t be so lucky with Sakura. There would be no escaping her, even when they returned home.

The music ended and a new beat started and with it, came the second set of dancers. Kakashi scanned the raised platforms for pink hair but found nothing but blonde, brunette and red.

Where was she? Had she decided to take the night off? Was she sick? Or had the reality of what she had done with him earlier that afternoon finally caught up with her? He wouldn’t blame her for needing a night to herself. If their yellow eyed target did happen to show up, Kakashi could always back him into a corner and do some interrogating of his own, although his methods wouldn’t be nearly as subtle or pleasurable as his partner’s. He just found it odd that she hadn’t even sent him a text before hand to let him know. He hadn’t heard from her since she ran out of his room in a panic and he sincerely hoped she had made it back ok.

He was considering hunting down Dajaku and seeing if he knew anything, but if he wasn’t in his office, finding him in the crowd wouldn’t be easy. Kakashi tugged down his mask just low enough to drain the contents in his glass in one long swallow before pushing the fabric back in place and laying down his payment on the bar. He stood in preparation to hunt down the owner when the second set of songs came to an end and the flashing lights momentarily stopped, dimming the club’s interior even further. A voice rang out from somewhere, although there was no clear source, and Kakashi instantly recognized it as Dajaku’s.

“Good evening gentlemen,” the voice said in a low octave that was probably meant to be mysterious. “You are all very lucky, for in a few moments, you will witness Wet Dreams’ newest star, a delicate and exotic maiden whose only wish is to make all your fantasies come true.”

His cheesy introduction would have been better suited to a carnival side show, but it still made Kakashi pause. No, he couldn’t possibly mean…

“Please welcome to the stage in her debut as tonight’s main attraction, our very own pink princess, Hana!”

A spot light illuminated the main platform, focusing in on the wings as one long leg deliberately emerged. The limb was shapely and well muscled, adorned in fishnet thigh highs that were a shocking shade of bubble gum. The stiletto on her foot had an impressive heel of at least five inches in a similar pink shade, but the garter on her thigh was black lace and drew attention to the few inches of alluring bare skin.

Kakashi’s mouth went dry at the sight. He knew that leg. In fact, he had touched every inch of it only a few hours prior. Why the hell hadn’t she told him about this?

All eyes were riveted to that leg as the rest emerged, and there she was, Sakura Haruno dressed head to toe in various shades of pink. The hot pink thong she wore looked more like some sort of synthetic leather than fabric, and matching the bra top she wore lifted her breasts in a way Kakashi hadn’t thought possible, accentuating them and pushing them up so far that he thought they might spill out of the patent leather cups. Pink fabric looped through three silver rings spaced over her stomach, attaching the top to the bottom and three more from the point where the bra cups met to a black choker at her throat. The whole affect was a sort of dominatrix meets cotton candy princess look, but she made it look good, damned good, with her long pink hair pulled into twin pigtails high on her head, a style he had never seen her wear before.

She practically radiated sexuality as she took the stage, the spotlight following her every move. Music had started and she was walking to the beat, slowly, deliberately, sensually, the sway in her hips exaggerated as she placed one high heeled foot in front of the other, walking with all the grace and poise she had developed as a kunoichi and as a dancer.

Men that had been waiting at the stage expecting Tsurenai did not seem disappointed, but nearly drooled over the new star, whistling and staring at her with eyes practically bugging out of their heads. Sakura, who had been so shy her first day on stage, seemed to feed off it now, shooting sultry smiles at the men who were practically hypnotized.

She made her way to the center pole and faced it, back to the audience, legs spread in a wide stance as she gripped the pole with both hands. She began to move her hips in wide, slow circles, letting her back arch with the movement. Her ass was round and firm, bisected only by the pink strap of her thong that slid between her cheeks. Kakashi found himself transfixed, jut as captivated as the rest of the men in the room, but for a different reason. He had been watching her every night since she came to this club, and never had she looked more at home on the stage. If he hadn’t known for a fact that she was a virgin, he never would have believed it, because right now, there was nothing virginal about her. Every movement of her body was for the sole sake of seduction, executed so flawlessly that it was almost as if she had been doing this for years. Although Kakashi was no stranger to the ways of seduction, he had a sneaking suspicion that if she ever pulled this act on him, Sakura just might get whatever she wanted, and the thought of falling prey so easily to a woman was unnerving, but the thought of falling prey to Sakura was a little more exciting.

She turned around, back to the pole now and feet together, her hands reaching up to hang onto the pole as she slid down, knees bending and spreading to the sides until she was completely opened up in a squat that showed off the little scrap of pink that was keeping her decent.

Already money was being offered but Sakura seemed unconcerned with it as she rocked her hips back and forth as she slid back up and turned around to lift herself onto the pole, climbing to the top to twist into effortless an erotic poses that showed off her barely clothed body from every angle. She spiraled down the pole, using centrifugal force to spin around and around like an ice skater, until one high heel touched the floor and she began the process all over again, working the crowd into a frenzy.

Kakashi’s stomach knotted in a combination of anxiety and lust. She was a different person up there, oozing sex from every pore and he doubted anyone from Konoha who saw her now would even recognize her. To make things worse, he could see traces of the lusty creature she had been earlier, shivering for him on his bed, all wanton moans and slick heat. He ran his tongue over dry lips beneath his mask, trying to make sense of it all. Why the hell was she doing a solo act? He had no doubt that Dajaku was the mastermind behind it, but why had she accepted? Exchanging information now would be next to impossible thanks to all the attention she was getting, and having such a high profile position increased the chances that some wandering ninja just might recognize her as Konoha’s medic prodigy.

And yet, there was no denying that the sight of her dancing before him under the glow of the spotlight was far more intoxicating than the alcohol he had just consumed. If Yellow hadn’t wanted her before, he’d have to be crazy not to want her now.

The way she moved was certainly erotic and very sensual, but it didn’t come off as trashy in Kakashi’s opinion. Every time he watched Tsurenai, he was reminded of a hooker laying on the act a little too thick, like a woman faking orgasms with too much enthusiasm, not that the women he bedded ever had to fake, but her act lost some of its appeal when it came off too much like, well…an act.

Sakura on the other hand was sexy as hell, and it seemed she had no problem with spreading her thighs and giving the audience gratuitous panty shots, at least not anymore now that she had become more comfortable with her role as dancer, but she never touched herself, or tugged her panties to the side in an overly raunchy display. He thought that keeping the most tantalizing bits hidden by just a scrap of fabric was more alluring than showing them off blatantly.

Sakura was swiveling her hips again, only a few tips sticking out of her garter belt. She didn’t go around and collect the rest of the money being offered in a silent rebellion against Dajaku. The less money she earned, the less he made and that was just fine with her. After all her tips from all the other nights, it wasn’t like she really needed the money anyway.

Knowing the crowd would start to grow impatient soon, she reached behind her neck and unclasped the choker she was wearing, letting it fall from her body and dangle from the three silver rings attached to it. She ran her fingers over her stomach, subtly freeing the last ring from her thong thanks to the modern invention called Velcro. It really made stripping so easy. With out anything else attached to her bra top, she reached behind her and undid the clasp and then leaned forward, letting gravity pull the top off her arms until it thunked to the floor, taking all the metal rings with it.

Men applauded and cheered and offered fresh bills as she brought her hands up to her collar bone, elbows close to her sides in a gesture that pressed her naked breasts together to form ample cleavage while she gazed over the crowd with an innocent expression as if she didn’t know what all the fuss was about.

Kakashi longed to feel those wonderful mounds himself, to feel the weight of them in his hands, to test their firmness with gentle squeezes. Almost as soon as the thought was formed he clamped down on it in a desperate attempt to squelsh it. Sakura may be a sexual creature, but he would never be able to find out just how sexual. His explorations today made him only want to find out more but he forbade himself to even contemplate it, knowing all the problems it would cause. It was just so damn hard when he had to watch when she was on stage like that. Fate was most certainly tempting him but he had to be strong and resist.

Sakura turned on one pink heel and faced the pole, going into a handstand and wrapping her legs around the cool metal and lifting her torso upwards until she was right side up, hanging onto the pole with her thighs. She earned more whistles as she grabbed on with her hands and stretched out one leg as she corkscrewed back to the floor.

The mask of a seductress was firmly in place but inside she was quivering with nervousness, her stomach tying itself into knots as she saw that tall, slender form watching her from the back of the room. The time had come for her to bare it all and she had no choice but to do it in front of him. She licked glossy lips in a nervous gesture that most of her audience probably perceived as sexy and walked with false confidence around her pole until it was between the crowd and herself. It wouldn’t offer much cover, but she could at least pretend it was hiding her body from the sea of staring eyes, although there was only one eye in particular she really cared about.

She drew her legs together and made sure the pole hid her femininity, at least from Kakashi’s viewpoint. Slowly, teasingly, agonizingly, she brought her hands to the waistband of her panties and began to edge them down over her hips.

Kakashi’s eye widened as he saw her inching her underwear lower. Was she seriously going to shed all of her clothing up there? Kakashi didn’t know if he could take it. After he had jerked off that afternoon, his orgasm tearing through him with unusual violence that only extreme pent up frustration caused, he had spent the rest of the day investigating the names on the list and trying his hardest not to think about Sakura at all. He had failed of course, but he had been able to convince himself that somewhere inside him was the will power to be alone with her for more than five minutes without pinning her up against the nearest wall and finishing what he had started. But if she was going to peel those panties off right in front of him, the image would be burned in his mind forever and it would be another point against him in this arduous battle of keeping his hormones under control.

He couldn’t quite tell if she was teasing or really intent on taking them off. The pole covering her made it a little hard to see, but his imagination kicked into gear, working to fill in the blanks and nothing he could do would stop his mind from piecing together what her body that had felt so heavenly to the touch, really looked like.

Once her viewers figured out what she was going to do, they quieted a little, waiting in anticipation for all the goods to be revealed. More than once, Sakura hitched the pink material back up the few inches she had pushed it down, teasing her audience, but also stalling. She supposed this shouldn’t be so hard. She walked around topless every night now, and the one man who she was most concerned about getting naked for had already touched her sacred place quite thoroughly, but her fingers trembled all the same as she slid her pink panties ever lower until they were over her hips and fell down her legs to the floor.

She held onto the pole in front of her and began to sway her hips back and forth, giving lingering glimpses of softly curving hips, but never the prize between them. Men whistled and waved their fisted bills more frantically, trying to entice her out from behind the pole, but she wasn’t ready to leave her safe haven yet, not when she was naked save for her shoes and fishnets.

Kakashi’s breath hitched as he saw pink material slide down her thighs and pool at her feet, although what the garment had been covering was still elusive, carefully hidden behind the slender pole. She was naked up on that stage, bared for all to see, and while he was transfixed by the sight of his naked ex-student, he was also gripped by a desire to shield her from everyone else. Countless eyes were gazing at her unclothed body, eyes that had no business seeing her this way, and he itched to steal her away where nobody could look at her but him.

Swallowing hard, Sakura carefully stepped out of her underwear, not wanting to hook them on her stiletto heels, and effortlessly hoisted herself onto the pole. She kept the metal clamped between her thighs and her knees tucked in close to her body, hiding her unclothed center from view.

She smiled seductively from her high post. She figured they were probably expecting her to open her legs wide at any moment and hang suspended from the pole, showing off every crevice of her vagina to anyone who cared to look. Unfortunately for them, she was not Tsurenai.

She slid down slowly, straightening out one leg and arching her back as she released one hand from the pole and stretched it over her head, spiraling down elegantly in a way that showed off pert breasts, but still hid her sex, that is, until she reached the bottom and had to stand on her own feet. There was no hiding it anymore.

While it wasn’t at all the lewd show the normal star put on, her audience seemed to appreciate her naked body anyway, dissolving into a rowdy uproar when she stood and faced the crowd, legs still pressed together but unable to hide the apex of her thighs and the trim tuft of cotton candy colored hair right above her opening.

Kakashi’s uncovered eye was probably bugging out of his head, but there wasn’t much he could do to stop it. There she was, dressed only in sinfully sexy thigh highs and heels and pigtails of all hair styles. Even as he told himself to look away, he stared on like a hungry wolf looking at a sheep through a pane of glass. He wanted her, his mouth watered for her, but he knew he couldn’t have her. As she swiveled her hips again, his eyes locked onto the place between her legs, trying to get a peak at what she was keeping so carefully hidden. His fingers had touched her there only hours earlier, rubbing the sweet little ball of flesh marking her entrance and had slipped between those smooth, hairless lips and penetrated her, feeling her flex around his digit in a way that only a woman could. But now that beautiful place was out in the open in front of every one and Kakashi had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from growling. Sure, he supposed it would come to this eventually. Strippers had to strip after all. He just didn’t see why she didn’t bother warning him sooner.

Sakura walked the perimeter of the stage, proud and tall, hips swaying with every step on her high heels. Countless hands smoothed over her calves and lower thighs, tucking money into her garter and copping a feel of her muscled legs as payment.

She tried to focus on her true objective, eyes skimming over the audience for the man that had turned her down before. The man that had wanted sex or nothing at all, but now the spotlight on her blinded her and all she could see past the first few rows of people were dark figures that constantly shifted and moved. She would have to leave finding him up to Kakashi, or hope that the target came to her.

Unfortunately, Kakashi’s was not searching the crowd. He was unable to look anywhere but at her. She wasn’t using the pole much anymore, perhaps afraid that she would reveal more than she wanted and instead had taken to walking the stage, her hands trailing her sides and her stomach. Once she even dropped to her knees and crawled and Kakashi was sure he had a caught a flash of the sweet pink flesh between her legs, although it was extremely brief. The way she was dancing was far sexier than anything Tsurenai ever did. She was a tease, getting naked but then showing nothing, or almost nothing. He was glad she wasn’t spreading herself open for these strangers, but at the same time, watching her dance made him want to sling her over his shoulder and take her back to his room where he could open her up as wide as he wanted and explore her at his leisure with his fingers, tongue and cock.

A new song began, probably the last in her set before her solo show was over and she spent the rest of the night giving lap dances to her numerous new fans. The beat was slow and sensual and Sakura immediately fell in sync with the groove. She walked to the pole, her body in profile as she took it with both hands and began to undulate slowly. Her body moved in a slow ripple and every now and then she would roll her hips or toss her head. The position kept her covered where she needed it but still put on a show that she figured would satisfy Dajaku and all his customers. So close was she to the pole that sometimes her hairless lips would touch it, the cool metal sliding along her flushed skin. It felt good, and she supposed that if she were Tsurenai, she would shamelessly hump up against the pole right on stage. As it was, she tried to adjust her thighs so the contact didn’t happen. She wasn’t so bold as to do anything more than pretend to grind against the pole, not actually do it.

Even if it was just an act, Kakashi was still secretly thinking that the pole she was wrapped around was the luckiest damn pole in the world. He was captivated by the way her muscles flexed as she ground against the metal and imagined her muscles would work similarly if she were to sit naked in his lap and grind against him. Even from his stance in the back, he could see her nipples were hard and could see the wonderful expression on her face, eyes closed, lips parted, although her face was too relaxed to be in real pleasure. He had seen what she really looked like, face contorted beautifully as she panted irregularly.

So captivated was he that he didn’t see Miyabi walk to the back of the club, her long fingers interwoven with a man’s. He didn’t see them enter one of the booths far to the right at the beginning of her set of songs or notice when they emerged towards the end, him walking out first, cool and collected, melting into the crowd as if nothing had happened, and Miyabi come out minutes later, looking extremely shaken and, for the lack of better words, like she had just received the fucking of a life time. She had lost her normally graceful gait, walking unsteadily on her heels and clinging to the doorframe a moment as if to catch her breath, breasts naked and her chocolate colored thong looking like she had just tugged it on haphazardly.

“Jeez girl, are you ok?” Kitsune asked, seeing her after emerging from giving a lapdance, her very satisfied customer grinning like an idiot as he walked away.

Miyabi nodded, brushing a long and slightly bedraggled piece of black hair out of her eyes.

“I’m fine. I just got more than I bargained for with that last one.”

Kitsune’s violet eyes glittered mischievously.

“Had a few tricks did he?”

Miyabi smiled demurely.

“Damn, you’re glowing. He must have really given it to you good,” Kitsune observed with a little envy.

“Yes. He was fantastic. He really surprised me.”

“Where is he?” the redhead asked, eagerly scanning the crowd. “I want him next.”

Miyabi looked into the sea of faces, but couldn’t find the familiar one she was looking for.

“He might be gone already. I’m not sure.”

Kitsune pouted.

“Well, point him out next time you see him. I want a piece.”

Miyabi nodded, still trying to catch her breath.

“Sure. He’s easy to spot because he had this real strange thing about him.”

“What’s that?” the redhead asked, letting her eyes drift to check out a man that was particularly well muscled and actually rather handsome.

“His eyes,” Miyabi answered. “They were a color I’d never seen before. They were yellow.”

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As soon as Sakura’s act was finished, Juu escorted her over to the booths, and it was a good thing he did. Half the crowd seemed to follow, all vying for a piece of her attention, some of them waving stacks of cash at her that could have paid off an A-ranked mission.

She was overwhelmed by all the attention and tried to sort out the impossible task of picking who looked to be the sleaziest and most suspicious of them all. As far as she was concerned, they were all scum in her book.

Kakashi watched as a swarm of people gathered around his partner, blocking her from his view. He could see Juu making sure none of her admirers got too close unless they were chosen by her specifically for some one on one time. Kakashi couldn’t see her face but he imagined her seductress act was still in place as she beckoned the winner into a booth with her. What would happen then? Would she grind on his lap without a shred of clothing on? Would she push him down on the bed, hovering over him and whispering dirty words until she caught him in her jutsu? Once again his mind wondered just how much touching she allowed and his hands involuntarily balled into fists at the thought of strange hands cupping those breasts, of unknown lips brushing her skin.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, telling himself to get a grip. He knew from the start what this mission would require and it made no sense for him to get all bent out of shape over her doing what was needed. He was starting to act like a jealous boyfriend.

The thought made him pause. Him? Acting like his ex-student’s boyfriend? He hadn’t been anyone’s boyfriend in…in a long time. He certainly had no claim to Sakura and even though he tried to convince himself he was just being silly, a persistent thought wormed through his brain, whispering just how nice it would be if Sakura was his and his alone. Then that body, that laugh, that smile, even that little pulsing vein she got on her larger than normal forehead when she was angry would be all his and he wouldn’t have to share her with anyone else who wanted a piece.

The Copy Nin growled to himself in exasperation, stalking off to the bathroom. He needed to get his head on straight and cut the crap. He was being unusually sentimental tonight with wistful thoughts of having Sakura to himself. Of course his unusually mushy sentiment couldn’t mask his lust, the steel strong erection in his pants proved that, but he had never been a one-woman man, preferring one night stands with no strings, commitments or complications. Life was just simpler that way. And now here he was with visions running through his head of being with his student, not just being with her in bed, but really being with her and it was utterly ridiculous. Her little striptease must have possessed magical powers to get him this mixed up, although he had to admit, seeing her in that pink outfit that was gradually shed piece by piece had left his mind completely blown.

He walked into the bathroom and stood before the sink, tugging down his mask and lifting his eye patch so he could splash cold water on his face. He looked unusually haggard and supposed it was the toll that came with constantly warring with himself. He wanted her bad but knew he couldn’t have her, and yet he kept getting into situations that only heightened his lust. He normally wasn’t a foolish man, but for all his intelligence, he couldn’t figure out how to pull his head back together again.

He left the bathroom, so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice Miyabi stumble to the woman’s bathroom, looking unusually pale and far too clumsy to be feeling normal. The door shut without Kakashi ever noticing, and instead he made his way to the club’s main door, deciding that some fresh air was better medicine at this point than alcohol.

There was a line of people outside who were waiting to get in, momentarily painted shades of pink as the sign reading “Girls” above them flashed on and off. A big, burly bouncer whom his name Kakashi didn’t remember guarded the door imposingly. Dajaku had given all his employees explicit instructions to let Kakashi come and go as he pleased, claiming he was an old friend, so getting back inside wouldn’t be a problem.

He walked around to the back alley where the dumpsters were, hoping for a little piece of mind and was slightly disappointed to find several men leaning against the brick walls and smoking casually. Another who didn’t seem to belong to their group was talking on a cellphone in tones so low Kakashi couldn’t pick up what he was saying over the mumbled conversations the others were having.

“Did you see that babe tonight that did the solo act?” one of the smokers was saying.

“Yeah, she was one sexy little thing. Did you see how the carpet matched the drapes? I’ve never seen a natural pinky before,” his buddy replied, letting out a long plume of smoke as he spoke.

“I bet she’s pink in other places too,” another one chuckled darkly. “If I had the cash to afford her, I’d make sure to find out.”

They all laughed at his joke, nodding in agreement, one of them finishing his cigarette and flicking the butt of it away, only to have it hit the man on the phone in the leg, the lit end leaving a burn mark on the fabric.

The man, whose face had been hidden by shadows, finished his conversation and shut the phone with a snap, turning to face the three men smoking.

“These pants were expensive,” he growled. “Which one of you is responsible for buying me a new pair?”

The careless man seemed unconcerned, crossing his arms over his chest and shrugging.

“Hey man, it a tough city. Shit happens. If you could afford the first pair, I’m sure you could buy a second.”

The man with the fresh burn on his pants didn’t seem to like that answer. He moved forward into the sliver of green light from the club’s neon sign that wasn’t blocked out by the wall of the building.

Kakashi’s uncovered eye narrowed. That face, handsome but unmemorable, it was familiar.

“I guess you and your friends really are as dumb as you look if you’re trying to pick a fight with me,” he said threateningly.

He lifted his head to stare at his opponents and Kakashi’s breath caught in his throat as the weak neon lights reflected off gleaming yellow eyes.

“I’d say you’re the dumb one, considering you’re outnumbered,” one of the smokers replied, grinding out the last of his cigarette under his heavy boot.

“Is that so,” the yellow eyed man said, a sadistic grin appearing on his lips.

Suddenly, the air was filled with a sort of thrumming tension. It started out weak and then grew stronger, a steady pulse that pushed against the skin and made the air feel heavy.

“Hey, what the hell?” one of the men said, clearly not understanding the force originating from the man they had thoroughly pissed off, but Kakashi recognized it immediately. It was chakra, extremely strong chakra.

“You still wanna fight or are you going to pay up nice and easy?” Yellow said, taking a step forward towards the man who had burned his pants.

The man shrank back but didn’t answer and the chakra around them increased, pounding in waves, the energy so strong that the air practically crackled with it.

This man was undoubtedly a shinobi and a strong one at that, so strong that Kakashi guessed he would have trouble going up against him in a fight. He could easily make ANBU with power like that, but he wore no symbol of any ninja village. Just who was this man?

“Hey, what’s your problem, you freak?” one of the guys said angrily, his eyes wide and voice tinged with fear as he realized he had no chance of winning a fight against this man.

“Just pay the guy already,” his friend said, his voice high with panic.

Apparently, he valued his life more than his pride, because he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and threw a wad of money at that shinobi’s feet before edging out of the ally and breaking into a full run along with his friends.

Kakashi watched in silence as the man stooped to pick up the crinkled bills, the overwhelming chakra in the air dissipating.

“What is the world coming to when young people in Fuzen don’t even recognize shinobi anymore?” he mused, his anger seeming to have evaporated along with his pulsating energy. “Those punks had no idea what they were getting themselves into.”

The man’s posture seemed to relax as he tucked the money into his pants pocket, apparently not finding Kakashi a threat. The Copy Nin knew that he would have no better chance than this to question the man, especially since he didn’t appear hostile at the moment, although that would probably change very soon.

“I have a few questions I’d like to ask you,” he said quietly, taking a step closer to the mysterious man.

To his surprise, the man chuckled softly.

“I could say the same thing to you, Kakashi Hatake,”

The eye not hidden by the eye patch widened slightly, his hand instinctively going to the kunai hidden in his heavy jacket.

The yellow eyed man saw the movement and drew his own kunai from an unknown pocket, spinning it around on his finger lazily, the metal glinting under pink and green lights.

“Don’t look so surprised,” he said with amusement. “That disguise of yours can’t fool me. You’re an easy man to recognize considering you’ve been in the bingo books since you were, what, sixteen? Seventeen? That’s quite an accomplishment.”

“Why are you here?” Kakashi said sternly, ignoring the mysterious man’s almost jovial remarks.

The man only smirked knowingly.

“Why, the same reason as you I imagine. Even the great Copy Ninja needs a little pussy now and then, although, you’re a long way home and I doubt you came all the way here just to fuck.”

Kakashi stood tensely, every muscle wound tight in preparation to fight if he had to. This man was incredibly powerful and his intentions were cryptic. He had to be on his guard.

“Just answer my question without the bullshit,” he said, even voice sounding almost calm despite all the tension.

The strange man actually laughed, catching the kunai in his hand mid spin and pointed it at his interrogator.

“You are quite an impatient man Hatake-san, hardly befitting of a famous ninja,”

Kakashi’s eye narrowed and the yellow eyed man grinned.

“Alright, I’ll tell you,” he said, leaning in as if he were about to divulge a big secret. “I came to screw and I did. I few weeks back I tried to get that new girl with the pink hair in the sack but she turned me down. When I showed up tonight, I find she’s turned into some sort of star and has far too many people all trying to get into her panties, so I picked someone else, pretty face, legs that go on forever and the sweetest tits I’ve ever seen.”

Kakashi stiffened at the mention of Sakura but said nothing.

“And then,” the man said, grin spreading wider. “I fucked her brains out. I made her scream for me when she came. I wouldn’t be surprised if the bitch has trouble walking tomorrow after—”

His sentence was cut off with the clang of metal as kunai clashed. Kakashi had rushed forward, intending to lodge the weapon in his shoulder and perhaps help him get to the point and come clean about what he was really doing with the girls at the club.

The ninja seemed amused, clucking his tongue at him.

“Temper, temper. Don’t go getting all pissy on me. I didn’t do anything to her she didn’t enjoy. Besides, they’re whores. It’s their job to lie in bed with their legs over their heads.”

Metal ground against metal as Kakashi rasped out, “What about the ones that go missing? What do you know about them?”

The man laughed again, warm and carefree, his gleaming yellow eyes staring into his opponent's single black orb. They were dangerous and a little wild but held a sharp sort of intelligence in them, a deadly combination.

“So the truth comes out. Kakashi Hatake has come to Fuzen Machi to solve a little mystery.”

They broke apart, poised to strike again.

“Sorry,” he chuckled. “But I can’t help you play detective.”

He placed his kunai between his teeth, freeing up his hands to make the signs for a teleportation jutsu and in the blink of an eye, he was gone, with just a puff of smoke marking where he had stood.

Kakashi stilled, searching the area for signs of chakra, but there was nothing. Even if he had masked it he would have felt a flicker to mark that he was near by, but there was nothing. He had let him get away.

“Damn it,” he growled angrily, pocketing his weapon. In a stroke of luck he had finally come face to face with the man they had been searching for and he had let him get away. However, the way he had danced around his questions and the lack of surprise he had shown when asked about the missing dancers made him more suspicious than ever. Kakashi was willing to bet money that he had found their man, only now their target knew they were looking for him which was only going to make their job harder. Fantastic.

Kakashi sprang effortlessly to the rooftops and scanned the cityscape of bright lights in darkness. He couldn’t have gone too far and if there was any chance of finding him tonight, he had to move now.

He took off over the rooftops, eyes searching the streets below and senses tuned to picking up any sign of the chakra that had scared away the street punks.

Sakura would just have to take care of herself tonight.

XXXXX

The hours until closing passed in a blur. One face blended into the next until she couldn’t remember them all, not that any of them had anything interesting to say that benefitted the mission in any way, although she remembered the guy that had roughly grabbed her ass during a lapdance, because she had had Juu throw him out, not at all in the mood to take crap from anyone tonight.

She had so many people crowded around the booths, begging for attention, that she didn’t even have a chance to glance out into the rest of the club or get back up on stage for another set of dances. She didn’t even use her jutsu on anyone, not that she needed to, for it seemed that giving a lap dance totally naked could loosen up a man’s tongue quite a bit.

One man she had performed for had reminded her a little bit like Kakashi. He was probably about the same age and the same wiry thin body type, and even though he didn’t have a mask covering his face or an eye patch, he had the same odd shade of silvery hair though her customer’s was a little shorter and less unruly.

His hands had run gently up and down her thighs as she ground on him, his breath coming out in shaking and irregular exhalations against the back of her neck.

With her back to him, it was easy to pretend that it was in fact Kakashi she was dancing for. Her mind drifted back to the way his hands had expertly massaged her thighs, his touches leaving trails of fire. She imagined it was Kakashi’s breath on her neck, warm and slightly harsh and she felt something deep within her stir.

When the fabric of his pants brushed over her clit she let out a soft moan, her body becoming more sensitized as her arousal grew at the thoughts of having her ex-sensei beneath her.

“Are you getting hot, baby?” he rasped against her neck, his voice too high to be Kakashi’s.

His hands slid to her hips and gently pressed her down as he arched his hips up, pressing his hardened erection against her unclothed sex. The contact made her shudder and another soft moan left her throat.

“Mmm, yeah. Moan just like that. It’s so hot.”

His hands began to creep down her hips and along her inner thighs, dangerously close to her heated center.

“You better keep your hands to yourself, baby,” she panted, not so far gone as to let a stranger touch her there. He may have reminded her of Kakashi in a lot of ways, but the fact was, he was not.

“Oh come on, let me make you feel good too. I wanna see how wet you are,” he rasped against her neck, fingers dancing along her inner thighs.

“If you don’t follow the rules, I’ll throw you out,” she said firmly and his hands grudgingly came to rest on her hips again, pushing her down as he arched up again, sending a stab of heat through her with ever grind until they were both panting hard.

If they had continued, there was a chance that Sakura just might have come as she closed her eyes and pretended it was Kakashi she was dry humping, that it was his groans filling the small room, but his set of songs ended and she sent him on his way, and as she watched him leave, she wondered what kind of crazy person she was to fantasize about giving her teacher a lapdance and get incredibly turned on by it. The man’s pants were proof of it, considering he had a large wet spot on his dark pants from where her juices had coated him as he guided her in a slow grind over his erection.

XXXXX

By the time the club was closed, Sakura was exhausted, and even though she felt dirty, she couldn’t bring herself to take another shower, deciding that sleep was far more important at the moment. She hadn’t seen Kakashi as the last lingering patrons were herded out the door, which was strange considering he usually stayed until the bitter end.

She couldn’t help but wonder if it had anything to do with her solo act. She hadn’t been able to see his face up close from his usual position in the back, but she knew he had been looking at her and her fingers itched to find her cellphone and text him, asking him what he thought of it all and apologizing for springing a surprise like that on him. By the time she had washing off all her makeup and changed into a lose T-shirt, texting seemed like too much effort, especially since she would have to do it in secret. Instead, she was the first one into bed, having no trouble winding down after a long night and within moments of her head hitting the pillow, she was sound asleep.

XXXXX

“Damn it,” Kakashi growled angrily as he scanned yet another backstreet of Fuzen Machi without finding the man he searched for. He had already been around every strip club, bar and place where questionable business deals went down and nobody had seen a trace of a man with yellow eyes. He kept all his senses alert, hoping to pick up even a glimmer of the powerful chakra signature he had felt earlier, but there was absolutely nothing.

Tonight had resulted in quite a development. By sheer dumb luck he had stumbled upon his target, but his power had taken him by surprise and Kakashi had let him escape. They had always kept in mind the possibility that their target could be a shinobi, but Kakashi had never considered that he could be a man so skilled that his powers as a ninja rivaled his own. They weren’t dealing with the typical beefed up thug who could handle a B-ranked mission at best. This man was elite, and a little crazy, which made him even more dangerous. And Kakashi had let him get away.

Why, of all nights did he have to come now? He knew he had been horribly distracted at the club, staring so intensely at his naked partner that he had been completely oblivious to the crowds around him. Hell, their target could have taken the stool next to him at the bar and he probably wouldn’t have noticed. He cursed himself for finding Sakura’s ass more interesting than his mission and realized that if he didn’t get himself under control, his lecherous tendencies could cost them their assignment, assuming it hadn’t already

And then there was the fact that the mysterious man had seen right through his disguise and known exactly who he was. Sure, Kakashi had been a famous assassin back in his time but he hadn’t taken many missions of that extremity since he left ANBU. The man had to be quite knowledgeable about the shinobi in the bingo books to recognize his face, so what did that make him? A bounty hunter? Perhaps. He knew that Kakashi was here, but what about Sakura? There was no price on her head, but if the man knew they were working together she could be in jeopardy as well.

Kakashi ground his teeth in frustration. It seemed that tonight’s events had created more questions than they had answered. He still didn’t know for a fact that the man was even involved with the missing dancers, but the insistent feeling in his gut told him that they had found their man, even if he couldn’t prove it, and Kakashi wasn’t about to ignore his instincts that had seldom failed him in the past.

He bounded over the rooftops, scanning for places his target could hide. Fuzen Machi was a big city. He could search until dawn and probably not find the man he was looking for, but he had to try, he had to do all he could before he faced Sakura and told her that he had been too busy watching her dance in all her feminine glory and beauty to realize their target had been right under his nose.

XXXXX

Sakura was slow to awaken the next morning, her mind clinging to the realm of unconsciousness for as long as possible. Her eyelids still felt heavy when she attempted to open them so for a moment, she just laid in bed, enjoying the darkness of her windowless room. There was no sound of breath but her own. Miyabi and even Misaki must already be up, and if the bouncy blonde had risen before her, she figured the morning must have already passed and it was now afternoon.

Even that knowledge couldn’t persuade her to immediately jump out of bed. Sleepiness stubbornly stuck to her, making her limbs feel heavy and her mind fuzzy.

Finally she was able to swing one leg out of bed, wincing as the cold air permeated her groggy senses and made her a little more aware. For sleeping so much, she sure didn’t feel very rested. Perhaps she had dreamed through the night, her mind running wild even if her body was still, but if she had dreamed, she didn’t remember.

She emerged into the hallway, squinting at the bright light that streamed through the window, and though the sun was indeed high in the sky, she guessed it wasn’t much later than eleven o’clock.

Whispering murmurs reached her ears and she turned to find people gathered in the common room. She schlepped towards them unceremoniously, running fingers through wild pink strands in a futile attempt to untangle and smooth her bed head.

The second she entered in the room, she immediately picked up on the somber mood and the residual sleepiness in her was instantly gone. The air was heavy as all the girls grew silent when she entered, dull eyes looking at her blankly. There were no smiles, no greetings of “good morning” like there usually was. Something was wrong.

“Hey guys, what’s the matter?” she asked, immediately forgetting about the state of her hair.

Misaki had been facing away from her, face buried in Tora’s chest. The way her body trembled slightly gave away the fact she was crying.

No one spoke as the small blonde untangled herself from the taller woman who had been rubbing her back soothingly. Her normally bright eyes were now glassy with tears and the wet tracks down her cheeks were evidence of the tears that had already fallen. Sakura had never seen her cry, and the sight of the normally happy girl in tears was heartbreaking.

“Misaki?” Sakura said gently.

“I-it’s Miyabi,” she sniffed softly, her voice trembling just as much as the rest of her. “She’s gone.”

XXXXX

And that concludes another chapter! Hopefully I’ll be able to juggle school and work and my video game addiction well enough to find time to add another installment before Christmas comes around. Until then, drop me a line. I love hearing from all of you!

~J-Pop