Stripped Bare

Hello everyone. Thank you so much for all the support you have all given this fic. I really appreciate each and every review you guys take the time to write!

Unfortunately, this may be the last update for a while since I have been talked into writing for a Halloween themed Kaka/Saku contest, but don’t worry, that too will be posted when I am finished so at least expect that some time next month.

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Stripped Bare- Chapter 15

Sakura couldn’t believe she had heard right.

“Gone?” she whispered, suddenly feeling as if her heart had leapt up into her throat and was fluttering about wildly like a bird trying to escape its cage. “What do you mean gone?”

“She’s not in the building,” Tora said gravely. “And nobody knows where she is.”

“Her bed hasn’t been slept in,” Misaki sniffled through her tears. “Hana, I think she’s been kidnapped!”

As she spoke, she broke down again, fresh sobs wracking her small frame. All the other women remained silent, their faces pinched with worry.

Sakura’s mind was reeling as she tried to figure out how this could have happened. She remembered seeing Miyabi last night after the club had closed. Nobody had been around except those currently present in the room. She assumed Tsurenai and Dajaku had been in their own rooms or downstairs in his office, but she had been so tired that she hadn’t been focused on anything except going straight to bed.

Tora placed a hand on Misaki’s shoulder but the comforting gesture did little to quell her tide of tears.

“When was the last time any of you saw her?” Sakura asked, trying to think straight and see if, perhaps, there was a logical explanation for all of this.

“She was reading on the couch after the club closed,” Jitsu offered after thinking for a moment. “She said she didn’t feel like she could sleep, like she felt restless. I didn’t think anything of it at the time.”

Several of the girl’s exchanged glances. Miyabi was usually completely cool and composed and for her to be on edge was indeed unusual. Sakura’s calculating mind was already working to fit pieces of the cryptic puzzle together in hopes of discovering where the missing woman could be, but she had little to go on She wished she had been more observant last night as opposed to making a beeline for bed.

“Anyone else?” she asked. “Did anyone see her perhaps talking with someone suspicious or acting strange?”

Tora and Misaki shook their heads but Kitsune seemed to remember something.

“There was one thing,” she spoke hesitantly. “But it’s probably nothing.”

“Just tell me everything you can,” Sakura encouraged.

“Well, I saw her come out of one of the end booths and she actually looked a little rattled, like just standing was difficult. It turns out her customer had been a real master in the bedroom and she hadn’t recovered yet.”

“Did you see the man she had been with?” Sakura asked, her heart thumping a little more rapidly in her chest.

“No,” Kitsu said, sounding almost disappointed. “I wanted to track him down to see if he’d take me for a spin or at least come back on another night, but Miyabi figured he was already gone.”

“She didn’t say what he looked like, did she?” the kunoichi asked, feeling the almost tangible sensation of their only lead slipping through her fingers.

“Now that you mention it, she did,” the redhead pondered. “She mentioned he had strange colored eyes.”

“What?” Sakura questioned a little too sharply before realizing her mistake and forcing herself to calm down.

If the other women found her reaction strange, they didn’t show it, even though Sakura wouldn’t be surprised if they could hear her heart pounding loudly in her chest as if she had just run at top speed through half of Fire country.

“His eyes,” Kistune continued softly. “I think she said they were yellow.”

It was as if something cold and heavy had just taken up residence in the pit of Sakura’s stomach as the dreadful realization sunk in. Yellow was their man. She was now completely sure of it. He had gotten to Miyabi and now she had vanished. It was all she could do to keep from uttering her next thought aloud.

Shit.

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Sakura was on stage again, dancing sensuously but this time, the hooker heels were missing as was the heavy make up and thigh high stockings. She was completely nude and natural, and gloriously radiant. A spotlight was on her, illuminating glistening skin as she tossed her long, wavy hair.

The club was the same, the stage was the same, and his seat was the same, in the back at the bar, watching her with one dark eye, but that eye was the only eye on her. There was nobody else in the building. No other dancers, or patrons or bartenders. Even Dajaku was missing. It was just her and him and the music. And she was dancing just for him.

Her movements were fluid, almost like liquid, one step blending into the next. Every roll of her hips made Kakashi’s mouth a little dryer as she danced, elegant and forbidden as an ethereal nymph or goddess he had been blessed to stumble across.

At first she danced as if she were oblivious to his presence, swaying her body and grinding against the cool metal of her pole just for the sake of her own pleasure. But then, glimmering eyes met his from across the room and she smiled, not one full of seduction and predatory heat, but one of gentle warmth. It was a smile he had seen her give him thousands of times ever since she had been a young girl of twelve, and over the years it had only grown more beautiful.

She continued to dance, her eyes never leaving his as she moved. She was teasing him now, giving him the barest of glimpses between her toned thighs, but never enough for him to get a good look.

Suddenly, he was walking towards her, drawn to her by some invisible force. His feet moved of their own accord and it almost felt as if he were floating, caught in a magnetic pull that he was powerless to fight.

She only continued to smile at him and dance as he neared, dropping to all fours and crawling towards him, pert breasts swaying as she made her way to the edge of the stage. He was at the platform now, and it was so high that it came up to his chest, literally putting Sakura on a pedestal.

She swung her legs over the edge, bare feet dangling and her hips sitting at eye level. She looked down at him, those beautiful jade orbs now as hazy as they had been yesterday, clouded with hot lust and burning need.

“Kakashi,” she whispered, her voice velvety, warm and sweet like melted chocolate.

He was helpless to do anything but obey, a spider caught in her web and he felt his breath catch when she began to part her thighs, spreading them wide to reveal to him the treasure nestled there.

She reached down, tangling both hands in his hair and guiding his head towards her, showing him exactly what she wanted and Kakashi couldn’t think of anything he would rather do than to serve the woman commanding him.

He pulled his mask down just before her hands pushed him into her center, hips tilting to offer more of herself to the mouth that longed to taste her.

Her bare thighs were hot as they pressed against his shoulders and Kakashi let his tongue slide from his lips, intending to delve inside her and drink up the sweetness of her most precious place.

Suddenly, a tinny, annoyingly cheerful melody cut through the air, a sound that was completely unrelated to the low, thrumming bass of the club’s music.

Kakashi pulled back from his long awaited prize and looked up at her?

“What the hell is that?”

Sakura said nothing, her smile in place even as she began to fade away, becoming translucent and diaphanous before disappearing completely.

The Copy nin opened a bleary eye to discover that he was not in the empty building of Wet Dreams, but in bed with an erection he could hammer nails with and his cell phone singing its merry little tune into the blackness of his motel room. Why couldn’t phones actually sound like phones instead of pocket sized orchestras? He fumbled for it irritably, checking the light up display to discover it was almost noon and that Sakura was calling him.

He jabbed at the button to accept the call and rolled onto his back with the phone pressed to his ear.

“Hello?” he rasped, his voice still hoarse and heavy with sleep.

“Kakashi?” came her voice, trembling enough for him to notice even over the phone.

“Sakura?” he said with concern, his exhaustion immediately melting away. “What is it? Are you alright?”

“I’m outside your motel,” she said, her voice wavering unsteadily as if she were on the verge of tears. “Can you let me in? It’s an emergency.”

XXXXX

Upon opening the security gate, his annoyance at being roused after only a few hours of sleep vanished. Even the inconvenience of having to tuck his erection into his waistband so it didn’t jut out and form strange shapes in his sweat pants seemed trivial compared to the distressed look on her face.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked, allowing her to step inside the hallway so he could close the gate behind him.

“I think we better go to your room,” she sniffled softly.

He nodded and let her lead the way.

“I have a lot to tell you as well,” he said.

XXXXX

Kakashi sat quietly, turning over in his mind what Sakura had just told him. Another dancer had gone missing and they had proof that she had had contact with the yellow-eyed man. The strange thing was that he hadn’t abducted her on the spot. It would have been easy for him to teleport her outside the club with a simple jutsu and make a clean getaway, but he hadn’t. So how exactly had he gotten her out of the building without any witnesses?

Sakura had spoken in a choked whisper, obviously on the verge of tears. Shinobi were trained to remain emotionally detached on missions in order to prevent feelings from clouding their judgment at crucial moments, but it was obvious Sakura had formed a strong bond with the girls she was living with. He couldn’t really blame her for it, knowing himself how difficult it was to bury powerful emotions, especially those of someone as kind and vivacious as Sakura. He understood the grief that must be filling her heart, for one of her new friends had disappeared on her watch. He felt a sharp stab of guilt at the fact that it had been his watch too.

“Did you see Miyabi at all last night? Was she acting strange in any way?” Sakura asked quietly. She had curled up in his chair, her feet perched on the edge of the seat with her knees drawn up and her hands clasped around them. In truth, she looked absolutely miserable; weak and vulnerable without any of the strength and confidence she normally possessed. The more he looked at her, the worse he felt for being so caught up in staring at her last night that he has been oblivious to everything else.

Kakashi shook his head and sat on the foot of his bed, feet on the floor and elbows resting on his knees. Miyabi could have been walking around on her hands and he wouldn’t have noticed. He couldn’t believe he had screwed up this bad. What the hell was the matter with him?

“Oh,” Sakura said solemnly, seeming to curl up into an even tighter ball. She watched him glumly, the partially opened blinds behind her casting stripes of light over Kakashi’s face and T-shirt clad torso, entrapping him in a cage of sunlight and shadow. “I didn’t see anything either. I was giving lapdances all night but didn’t get any clues from any of them.”

“That doesn’t matter anymore,” Kakashi sighed, scrubbing a hand wearily over his mask covered face. “Yellow is our man. I’m sure of it.”

Green eyes shifted from where they were staring forlornly at the dirty carpet to his face, silently asking how he could be so sure.

“I saw him last night,” Kakashi said. “He was outside the club in the alley. He got in an argument with some street punks and flared chakra powerful enough to scare them away.”

Sakura suddenly sat up stick straight as if an electric current had passed through her.

“Chakra? Then that means…”

“He’s a shinobi,” Kakashi finished. “And an extremely powerful one at that. These kids knew nothing about life energy and yet they felt it and were frightened by it. This guy is powerful Sakura, and I can tell that without even having seen him seriously fight.”

“A shinobi…” Sakura breathed, wide eyed. “Jounin rank?”

“At least,” he replied. “This guy could probably easily qualify for ANBU, but I’m not really sure what I’m up against. I don’t know what element he specializes in or even what village he’s from, but he sure has a thing for women…in a bad way. He talks about them like they’re objects.”

“So did he say he was behind the kidnappings?” Sakura asked, leaning forward eagerly in her chair, suddenly full of energy now that their first concrete lead was before them.

“Not exactly. He danced around most of my questions.”

“Well why didn’t you press a little harder?” Sakura asked with aggravation, leaning so far forward that she was in danger of toppling out of her chair.

“It’s not like I was in a position to do that. There were lots of witnesses just around the corner considering the line to get into the club was a long one. I asked what I could but he never answered me directly. But…”

“But?” Sakura prompted when he didn’t immediately continue.

“He recognized me. He called me by my name.”

Sakura stared at him quizzically for a moment before shaking her head in disbelief.

“What? How could he—”

“The Bingo book,” Kakashi answered. “He recognized me from my picture even with my disguise. That means he has to be pretty well acquainted with those pictures.”

“A bounty hunter?” Sakura wondered, no longer curled into a ball, but sitting straight with feet on the floor, her body laced with tension.

“That’s what I thought too but somehow I don’t think so. My gut tells me it’s something else, besides, he didn’t say anything about recognizing you.”

“But I’m not in any of the Bingo books,” Sakura remarked.

Kakashi shrugged.

“Perhaps that’s why, but I have a hard time believing he wouldn’t know the Hokage’s own apprentice if he’s up to date on events in the shinobi world.”

They sat in silence for a moment, thinking over their situation before Sakura spoke softly.

“You think you could beat him in a fight?”

Kakashi looked at her wearily with mismatched eyes, having forgone the eye patch since it was just the two of them talking.

“I don’t know Sakura. I really don’t know.”

She sighed, slumping back into her chair.

“So now what?” she asked.

“Well, I tried tailing him last night when he ran off on me, but I didn’t have any luck. He seemed cocky, arrogant, like he didn’t think I could catch him. He’s not afraid of me. I’m pretty sure he’ll be back.”

Sakura nodded absently, her eyes seeming to look through him and far away as her mind worked furiously to try and process all that she’d just learned.

“So what about Miyabi? Do you think your dogs can track her?”

Kakashi thought a moment.

“It’s worth a shot. I just need an article of her clothing so they can pick up her scent.”

He hadn’t even finished the sentence before Sakura began rooting around in her pocket before producing something small and black and…lacy.

Kakashi raised a silvery eyebrow.

“Are those what I think they are?”

“Yes. I wasn’t sure if anything else she had worn hadn’t already been worn by someone else. We share a lot of clothes at the club.”

“I see,” Kakashi mused as she placed the scrap of silky lace in his palm. “So you bring me her underwear.”

A mischievous smirk formed on his features, the first light hearted expression since they had started their conversation

“Are they dirty?”

Sakura glowered at him.

“Don’t go getting any ideas you pervert. If I catch you sniffing them, I will personally break your nose.”

Kakashi held up his hands innocently in a gesture that said he would never think of doing such a thing and he was hurt that she’d even think it, although the smirk on his lips made that a little hard to believe.

She seemed unconvinced by his antics, but her scowl faded quickly to be replaced by a much sadder expression.

“I’ll do everything I can to find her,” he promised gently, wanting to touch her shoulder comfortingly but feeling that doing so while holding a pair of dirty panties wouldn’t really convey what he wanted to say.

“I know you will,” she said softly, forcing a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

He pocketed the lacy garment and his mind drifted to when Sakura had shed her own underwear the night before. He felt like a creep for picturing her naked when she was obviously upset, but he couldn’t help it. He had officially seen her naked and had definitely liked what he saw, so much in fact that he had let another kidnapping happen right under his nose.

“Sakura,” he began, his voice taking on a somber tone. “About last night…”

The kunoichi’s glare turned into a sheepish smile as she absently played with a lock of smooth pink hair.

“Yeah about that,” she said softly. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner that I was going to take Tsurenai’s place. Dajaku thought that maybe if I was the main attraction, our culprit wouldn’t be able to resist me, but I guess he was pretty wrong about that wasn’t he?”

She had obviously misinterpreted what he meant about ‘last night’, but hell, there were a million things he could have meant, like seducing her on his bed and coming incredibly close to completely ravishing her. He was thankful that she hadn’t taken it that way, or even the way he had planned. He wanted to tell her that he should take at least some of the blame for Miyabi’s disappearance because he was too busy ogling her, so she would acknowledge she wasn’t always the only one at fault and perhaps not take it so hard. But she already seemed so upset over recent developments, that he didn’t want her to shift some of that anger onto him. Besides, he wasn’t ready to confess just how caught up he had been in watching her dance and how much he had desired her. He didn’t want her to be mad at him, and though he knew it was selfish of him, he quickly diverted the conversation to follow Sakura’s interpretation.

“Well, it was a bit of a surprise,” Kakashi admitted. “A warning would have been nice.”

“Sorry,” Sakura said, a blush starting to tinge her cheeks. “I could see you watching me from the back of the room and I wondered how you were taking it.”

Kakashi settled back on the bed, resting on his elbows as he regarded her. In all honesty, seeing her had made him want to drag her to the bathroom and jump her bones, but instead he casually answered, “You did well. You had a lot of confidence in front of all those people. I see you took my teachings to heart.”

Sakura smiled shyly and blushed a little more. It was amusing and rather endearing to see this woman, who was normally so strong and so proud, blush.

“Well, it’s nice to be admired once in a while. I certainly don’t get this kind of attention back home.”

Kakashi silently wondered what she would think if he told her he had been admiring her for the entire length of this mission.

“I’m going to tell him I won’t do it again though,” she continued. “It compromises too many things and if he gets mad over the lost money, he can just shove his selfish complaints up his ass.”

“I think that’s for the best as well,” he said, simultaneously overjoyed and sad that her beautiful, naked body would not be on full display ever again.

A moment of silence passed, and then another, stretching out until the air bore a heavy weight of all the things they wanted to say to each other, but couldn’t.

“Well,” Sakura said, standing abruptly when the awkward silence became too much for her, “I should get going. I left the club with Juu, saying I wanted to pick some stuff up at the market and told him that I needed to run off to check something alone. Thank goodness he isn’t the brightest man or he never would have let me go without him. I said I would meet him by the bookstore.”

Kakashi’s eyes shifted to the window where the light streaming in had dimmed slightly as the sun dipped behind gray clouds. The adult bookstore could be seen down below, its neon sign off at the moment.

“That bookstore?” he asked, nodding towards the window.

Sakura nodded, moving to peek out in between the blinds and found that Juu wasn’t waiting for her just yet.

Kakashi moved to stand beside her, staring into the ally below. The world was once again painted in various gray tones as dark clouds took over the sky. It looked like there would be rain tonight.

He could feel tension crackling between them, a strained silence of unspoken words. He knew he had to address the issue they had carefully tip toed around. He had to talk about their massage session gone horribly wrong, and tell her it didn’t mean anything.

“Sakura, about what happened here yesterday,” he said, drawing a deep breath and steeling himself for her reaction. “It should have never happened and I’m sorry that I took advantage of you. My behavior was extremely inappropriate.”

Sakura didn’t even turn to look at him but kept staring out into the street, making it very hard for her partner to read her expression. The sky outside was darker than normal, with the promise of impending rain, and she hoped it wasn’t an omen that their mission progress would turn stormy as well.

“I knew you’d say that,” she said softly.

“Sakura, I—”

“Let me guess,” she said, now turning her attention to him, her lips curved in a soft smile but her eyes devoid of any humor. “It could have happened with any woman, right?”

Was it his imagination, or did she almost look…sad?

“Well I suppose I could have lost control with any woman I was this comfortable with,” Kakashi lied, knowing no woman had ever tempted him the way she had.

Sakura eyes him critically, as if sensing his fib and trying to decide whether she should call him on it or not. But instead she smirked, eyes growing devious as if a wicked idea had just come to her.

“So, you’ve seen me totally naked and touched me all over, but I haven’t seen or touched anything of yours. That’s a little unfair, don’t you think?”

Kakashi blinked at her. Of all the things she could have said, he certainly wasn’t expecting that.

“You saw my face,” he reminded her, not sure if he liked where this was going.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

“Yeah for about five minutes, and once was to heal you. You see my naked chest for hours every night. That’s not exactly a fair trade.”

Kakashi knew he should have sent her on her way while he had the chance, but he was just too damn curious to know what she was up to. If he had been a cat, his inquisitive streak might have killed him.

“So what do you suggest?” he asked, knowing he was treading dangerous ground.

Sakura smiled innocently, but her eyes gleamed brightly. She was a crafty little thing and he should have known better than to fall into her trap.

“Kiss me,” she said.

For a moment, there was only silence as he tried to process the two little words that had passed her lips.

“No,” he finally answered, his bland tone disguising the fact that he was more than a little surprised by her request and silently thanking the gods above that he had half the mind to refuse her.

Sakura pouted, immediately tapping into her reserve of new founds skills used to get what she wanted from men.

“Aw, come on. Just a little one?” she pleaded, making her eyes big and round like a doe’s, knowing this tactic would be far more effective on her sensei than sultry glances. Considering he was the one that had taught her how to be sexy, feigned innocence would probably have much better results.

“No,” Kakashi said again, even though those big, green eyes were making a strange ache rise in his chest.

Sakura was determined. She wanted this kiss, wanted to feel what it was like to have those lips of his actively pressing against hers instead of the passive touch of the kiss she had stolen while he was sleeping. He wanted it, she knew he did because she could see it in his eyes, but he was a stubborn man. Unfortunately for him, Sakura Haruno was not adverse to playing a little dirty.

“Why?” she asked, pushing out her pouty bottom lip a little further. “Don’t you want me?”

“A teacher is not supposed to want his student,” Kakashi remarked with a sigh, turning away from her and walking back towards the chair she had just abandoned. He sank into it wearily, as if resisting Sakura was physically draining, and he supposed that in a way it was, because, deep down, he desperately wanted to taste those rosy lips.

Kakashi had walked right into her trap with his response and she tried not to let a victorious smirk show on her lips.

“Then why were you all over me yesterday?”

She could tell her sensei cringed, even though he was facing away from her, and this time she did smirk before forcing her face back into a wounded pout. She walked towards him silently, hand falling to his shoulder before walking around until she was standing in front of him. She leaned down until they were eye level, her nose almost bumping his.

“You can’t do all those things with a girl and not kiss her, Kakashi.”

The Copy nin said nothing, keeping his face impassive even as he realized his student had backed him into a corner. He remained motionless as the hand not on his shoulder came up to his face, nimble fingers curling into the edge of his mask and pulling it down slowly, giving him plenty of time to stop her if he wanted. But it was as if he were paralyzed by those big green eyes, the jade orbs fixed on his face as the mask pooled around his neck. She took in all that she had revealed. And then she was leaning further into him, bringing her other hand to rest on his shoulder as well as her lips brushed over his.

Sakura noted he was rigid and unmoving as opposed to his usually relaxed posture. She was certainly affecting him despite his cool demeanor, but he made no move to participate as she deepened the kiss, pressing smooth lips more fully against his and let her eyes drift closed.

Kakashi did his best not to let out a pleasured gasp when she stole his breath away, knowing that the slightest sign of encouragement might prompt her to kiss him even deeper. If that tongue of hers sought entrance to his mouth, Kakashi knew he would instantly lose this battle of wills and submit to her completely. Chances were he would take things a step further as his lust raged out of control. He couldn’t help but wonder if Sakura had any idea what she was getting herself into.

Sakura, on the other hand, knew exactly what she wanted from him. Her mind had been continually drifting back to yesterday’s heated encounter and she found herself desiring more. Why was it so wrong to want what felt good? After all, out here, far away from Konoha, he wasn’t so much her teacher as he was her partner.

He was just as Sakura remembered, warm and soft and tasting of something rich and dark. That familiar sensation sizzled along her nerve endings once more, even though their kiss was surprisingly chaste. He wasn’t exactly kissing her back but he was allowing her to press her lips to his, which for now, she supposed was enough.

After a long moment, she finally pulled away and Kakashi allowed himself to breathe again, not even aware that he had been starving his lungs of oxygen. A smile was on her lips, beautiful and real, not one of those seductive looks he had taught her to give.

“Thank you, Kakashi,” she whispered softly. “I believe this makes us even.”

The older shinobi just stared at her mutely as her taste lingered enticingly on his lips. His body was left hot and tingly despite the briefness of their kiss. Yet the fact remained, he had just kissed his student and it frightened him a little to discover just how much he had liked it.

Sakura was hoping he would react in some way, although she wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted from him. Perhaps she hoped he would pull her back towards him and plunder her mouth with all the passion and need she knew resided in him somewhere. He had shown her that side last night while on his bed, but today, he seemed to have his lust firmly locked away behind the bars of his iron will. He just looked at her and Sakura began to feel that this was all she was going to get out of him for now. At least she had gotten another look at his face and kissed him, this time with his consent.

“This mission has influenced you horribly,” he said at last when he finally felt like he could speak without his voice trembling, pulling his mask back into place as he did so. “You never would have attempted something as scandalous as kissing me before all of this happened.”

Sakura knew he was right. For one, she never would have had the courage to attempt something so bold, and two, she had never thought of him as attractive until they were sent to Fuzen Machi together. But she had, and the best part was she had quite literally seduced him into giving her another glimpse of his face. He had showed it to her, not because of extenuating circumstances, but because her womanly wiles had convinced him to. The day a woman managed to seduce the experienced Kakashi Hatake was a day to mark on the calendar.

She was about to reply when she glanced over his head to see Juu standing in front of the bookstore, looking around dumbly. It was best not to leave him there too long. Though he was a kind man, the fact he was surrounded by porn in video, audio, book, and picture form meant that he could wander inside and get distracted at any moment. She wouldn’t mind a little more time with Kakashi, but she didn’t want some crafty clerk talking Juu out of all of his hard earned money.

“I gotta go,” Sakura said, straightening and flipping long pinks strands over her shoulder. “Call me if anything comes up with Miyabi. I’m really worried about her.”

Kakashi nodded, patting his pocket where the scrap of ladies underwear resided. Her exit would once again be abrupt and, once again, he supposed it was for the better.

She made her way to the door and looked over her shoulder one last time.

“Thanks Kakashi. You made me feel a little better for a while.”

He gave her one of those happy eye creases in response, and then she was gone, down the hallway and through the iron door that led back onto the street, leaving Kakashi touching his lips hesitantly, feeling the moisture of her kiss still residing there, and wondering why she was making it so hard for him to behave himself.

Sakura was in far better spirits now than when she had come. Miyabi was still missing but Kakashi was on the case now and that was far better than just waiting around without having taken any action.

She prayed that Yellow hadn’t used a teleportation jutsu to whisk her away somewhere. If so, her scent would be impossible to trace, even for Kakashi’s ninja dogs.

She wondered how successful she would be in interrogating the man. Would he be as easy to fool as all the rest? Would he be just as susceptible to her charm? Sakura didn’t think so.

And then a thought came to her. He was an extremely high level shinobi who could sense chakra and knew what hand signs were. What if her illusion didn’t work on him? Last time he had refused her lapdances, wanting sex or nothing at all, but what if just pretending to do it wasn’t enough?

Hastily, she grabbed her phone and punched out a text message, cursing at how slow she was in finding the corresponding number to the letter she needed.

If he is an elite ninja, will my jutsu still work?

She waited for his reply, shifting her weight from one foot to the other anxiously as she pressed herself against the dull gray wall of his building. Finally, her phone beeped, signaling he had answered.

Maybe not. Trying it would be risky.

Sakura’s heart sank in her chest. So what did that mean? She typed out another message.

So do I have to do it with him for real?

A few seconds of waiting never felt so long.

Probably.

She read the message and snapped her phone shut, taking deep breaths to keep the frustrated tears at bay. After everything she had done to keep herself from losing her virginity to a stranger, it seemed as it would still happen after all. Her inexperience would be painfully obvious and she wondered if that might blow her cover.

Her previous effervescent mood spawned by seducing Kakashi into a kiss promptly evaporated, replaced by an invisible raincloud over her as dark as the ones that hung in the sky for real.

She trudged back to the bookstore to meet Juu while turning the new information over in her mind, hoping she could find a way out of this situation. She found none.

XXXXX

Kakashi knew his answer to her text was not the one she had hoped for, but he honestly thought their mysterious culprit was most likely powerful enough to differentiate a jutsu from the real act of having sex. He didn’t like it any more than she did, but there was just too much at stake to hope they were lucky enough to fool him.

He hadn’t thought about the issue at the time, so it was a good thing Sakura had the foresight to plan ahead, but the thought of her losing her innocence to such a creep made Kakashi unconsciously ball his hands into angry fists. She deserved better than that.

But, that was a problem that would have to be dealt with later. Right now he had the more important task of tracking down Miyabi. Perhaps he could find the girl and her kidnapper before a situation arose where Sakura would have to use her body to get answers.

Shutting the blinds completely in favor of turning on a light, Kakashi raised his thumb to his lips, biting hard enough to break the skin before making a few quick hand signs. He knelt to press his palm to the ground and with a poof of white smoke, a small, droopy eyed dog appeared before him, a blue vest across his back and a Konoha hitai-ate spanning his fuzzy forehead.

“It’s been a while, Kakashi,” Pakkun said, nodding his head in greeting.

His nose wiggled as he sniffed the air while his eyes took in the sight of the small and dingy motel room. The clean smell of earth, water and trees that surrounded Konoha had been replaced with smoke and grime and all other things dirty.

“Where has your mission brought you this time?” the dog asked, figuring Kakashi was a long way from home.

“Fuzen Machi,” the man answered. “A girl has gone missing and I need you to find her as quickly as possible.”

He reached into his pocket and withdrew the dainty scrap of material that held Miyabi’s scent while the dog watched on with questioning eyes.

“Is that what I think it—”

“Yes,” Kakashi sighed before the pug had even finished his question.

“May I inquire how you managed to obtain women’s underwear?”

“Sakura,” he said bluntly, a little annoyed that both she and the dog had wasted no time in accusing him of being a dirty old man.

“Sakura? I see,” Pakkun smiled. “I thought I smelled something familiar. We still use the same shampoo.”

“Charming,” Kakashi said, growing a little impatient. “Now if you don’t mind, can we get on with this? There’s a possibility it could rain and any chance we have of tracking down this girl will be washed away.”

Pakkun grumbled that he should have just said so in the first place as Kakashi dangled the undergarment in front of the dog’s nose.

After a brief hesitation, and what Kakashi could have sworn was a blush blooming over the pug’s furry cheeks, he inhaled deeply, memorizing the feminine scent completely.

“Alright, I’ll summon the other dogs and see what we can find,” Pakkun said, still slightly incredulous that he had actually been instructed to sniff a woman’s panties. “We’ll report as soon as we find something.”

“Good,” Kakashi said, stuffing the lacy lingerie back in his pocket. “And one more thing. Try and be discreet. The fact that I’m a ninja isn’t supposed to be blaringly obvious.”

Pakkun rolled his eyes.

“Kakashi, we all wear vests and hitae-ate marking us as such. It will be a little hard to cover up.”

“I know,” the Copy nin said. “But do your best.”

The dog gave a canine equivalent to a shrug and was just about to teleport away when he lifted his head and gave a long, thorough sniff.

“One more question. Why does your bed smell like Sakura?”

Kakashi stiffened slightly, hoping the dog hadn’t noticed his rigid body posture.

“Because she was laying on it,” he said shortly.

“What were you doing to her?” Pakkun pressed, his teeth flashing as his lips curled into a smile.

“Nothing,” Kakashi snorted. “I just gave her a massage because she was sore and stressed.”

The pug chuckled.

“It must have been one hell of a massage, because it smells like you got her pretty riled up—”

“That’s enough,” Kakashi said curtly, not wanting to be reminded about how hot and bothered he had gotten Sakura. He didn’t appreciate his summoned friend figuring it out so easily and he certainly didn’t want to talk about it. “You have a job to do. Get to it.”

“Yes, yes,” Pakkun relented. “But when you see Sakura, tell her I said hello.”

And before Kakashi could retaliate to the dog’s smug tone, he was gone in a poof of smoke.

The shinobi sighed as he gathered his clothes in preparation to change and go out for the day. He may have dogs tracking Miyabi, but he had a target of his own to hunt down, and the first step was learning the name of that man with yellow eyes.

XXXXX

It had been easier than Sakura expected to convince Juu that her prolonged absence was simply a matter of her errand taking longer than she thought it would. He accepted the excuse with a nod and led her back toward Wet Dreams. Sakura followed, feeling less talkative than normal after the shocking revelation that her days as a virgin could very well be numbered.

All throughout her teen years she had stubbornly held out hope that Sasuke would eventually come to return the love she felt for him, even when he had left Konoha in favor of training with Orochimaru. However, once he had come back, she began to see that Sasuke’s opinion of her would never change. She was no longer weak or a crybaby, but in his eyes, she would forever be annoying.

Even with this knowledge, she had been unable to move on, her heart still pining for a man she could never have and as a result, she had never let anyone else in. She was too busy with hospital duties and still too full of love for the Uchiha to ever start a relationship with anyone else, and now she was going to pay for it by losing her innocence to a stranger for the sake of a mission.

She walked in a daze, unusually oblivious to her surroundings and soon she was back inside the club. Juu went off to clean whatever needed cleaning and Sakura was about to cross the room’s darkened interior towards the dressing room when Dajaku called to her from his office.

“Hana, I need to talk to you, now.”

By his tone alone, Sakura could tell he was not at all happy, and when she turned around to find him standing in the doorway with arms crossed and a dark expression on his face, she realized just how unhappy.

What was his problem? Counting his money wasn’t entertaining anymore?

Sakura was in no mood for Dajaku’s griping, but she walked into his office anyway since she had a piece of her mind to give him as well.

He shut the door a little too firmly behind him and took his seat, practically glaring at the woman before him.

“I’m sure you’re aware Miyabi has gone missing,” he practically snarled.

Sakura stood unfazed.

“I am.”

The kunoichi’s calm reply seemed to only make him angrier.

“What the hell did I hire you two for if my dancers are going to keep disappearing right out from under your noses?”

His voice began to rise but then he seemed to remember that Sakura’s identity was supposed to remain a secret and forced himself to calm down.

“Dajaku,” she said, her voice calm and quiet in comparison to his. “Last night, I was unable to do my job properly because you insisted I take Tsurenai’s place. I told you he would never target a dancer getting so much attention and because I was giving lapdances all night, I never had the chance to monitor then men in the club.”

“That’s why you have your partner isn’t it?” Dajaku countered, seeming to forget that he hadn’t even thought to hire a second ninja for this job.

“He is only one man,” Sakura replied. “We will be more efficient if we are both looking for the kidnapper. That is why I won’t be doing Tsurenai’s act anymore. I’m going back to being just another dancer so I can observe the club better.”

Apparently he hadn’t been expecting this and seemed taken aback.

“You can’t!” he said, his silvery eyes wide. “With Miyabi gone, I’ll need something new to keep customers coming in and you were so popular last night that—”

“I will not be used in your money making schemes,” Sakura said, green eyes glaring down at him. “You hired us to do a job and I will not have you inhibiting my ability to complete it.”

“But—” he began piteously, but then seemed to think better of it when she narrowed her eyes angrily, just daring him to say something she would make sure he’d regret.

The way Sakura was currently towering over his sitting form was clearly making him uncomfortable. He smoothed a hand over his intricate comb-over, and settled back in his chair.

“Fine, but you better catch this man soon.”

Sakura was about to tell him that their target was a powerful shinobi and things would not be so simple, but thought better of it. The less their client knew, the better.

“We will do our best,” she said instead and Dajaku sighed before waving his hand towards the door, signaling she could leave. Apparently he had nothing left to say so he settled for picking up an expensive looking calculator and began punching in numbers, probably calculating profit loss.

Sakura left Dajaku to his devices and emerged back into the club’s empty room, the smell of stale cigarettes still tainting the air.

As usual, her encounter with Dajaku had left her angry and frustrated. Talking to him was like beating her head against a brick wall. But just like the wall, though incredibly stubborn, he always crumbled under her strength in the end.

She stomped up the stairs of the main stage, making her way inside the dressing room which was much cooler now that it was lit by a single overhead light rather than the dozens of hot bulbs around the makeup mirrors.

Kiss or no kiss from Kakashi, this day was shaping up to be a horrible one. Although he had taken her mind off of it for a while, she was still horribly worried about Miyabi and not knowing where she was or if she was safe put her on edge. That edge was sharpened by the fact that Dajaku seemed most upset about the loss of his profits rather than the woman’s actual wellbeing.

Once this mission was over, she wondered if Kakashi would let her get away with punching their client in the face just once, although she doubted it.

The door to the second floor opened and closed as Tsurenai emerged onto the stairs. They were narrow enough that passing another person on them was a tight squeeze and Sakura really didn’t feel like getting that close to the diva at the moment so she waited at the foot of the stairs, allowing her to pass.

She descended like a regal queen, her turquoise eyes cool and hard as she looked down at Sakura like she was some substandard subject. It was hard to feel like her equal when Tsurenai was lavishly dressed in a formfitting shirt that revealed entirely too much cleavage and was probably silk, though a great deal more tasteful than Dajaku’s gaudy clothes. Sakura on the other hand was still dressed in her grungy clothes complete with holes and threadbare patches. It was like comparing rags to riches.

“Hello Tsurenai,” Sakura said as she passed her, keeping her voice bland and holding no trace of the dislike she felt for the vain and arrogant woman.

Tsurenai said nothing but brushed past her, an act that hardly surprised the kunoichi, and though she almost preferred to be ignored by her, Sakura had a question she had to ask.

“You didn’t happen to see Miyabi last night did you?” she asked, turning to look at the dancer’s back.

Tsurenai paused in her steps before turning around slowly, and if Sakura had to name the expression on her face, she would have thought it to be almost…smug.

“I didn’t see a thing,” she smiled, although the wicked expression seemed to cloud her face rather than light it up. “I wasn’t even downstairs since I took the night off.”

Her words made Sakura think. Now that she mentioned it, she didn’t remember seeing Tsurenai at all last night, although she had been a little distracted with everything going on.

“Why is that?” Sakura asked, unable to resist jabbing her a little even though she knew it was immature and unprofessional. “Can’t stand dancing if you’re not in the spotlight?”

The cruel smile was immediately wiped from her face and her aquamarine eyes grew colder, glittering dangerously under heavily mascarad lashes.

“I refuse to share the stage with an amateur like you,” she said haughtily. “Dajaku was out of his goddamned mind for thinking you could ever replace me, even for a night.”

Sakura wanted to roll her eyes. Calling this woman a diva was an understatement.

“Well princess, you’ll be happy to know that you have your position back full time. I told Dajaku I didn’t want to be the main attraction anymore.”

Tsurenai looked at her strangely for a moment, as if she couldn’t comprehend why anyone would want to give that up, but then her lips quirked into that condescending smile again as she took a few steps back toward the pink haired woman.

“What’s the matter? Couldn’t handle it?”

Sakura gritted her teeth. What did Tsurenai want to prove anyway? That she was a better dancer? That she was sexier and better liked by the men? Fine, Sakura would admit that. It wouldn’t be a surprise to learn the audience preferred her raunchy and tasteless dancers to her own more discreet way of stripping. However, it wasn’t in the kunoichi’s nature to let such a remark just roll off her back.

“No,” Sakura said coolly as she squared her shoulders in a subtle message that said she wasn’t intimidated by Tsurenai in the least. “I just don’t relish the thought of being advertised as the club’s number one whore.”

The diva’s confident smile faltered a moment, but even when she quickly slid her mask of perfection back into place, anger burned in aquamarine eyes.

“Well, if you’re looking to be second best, you’re more than welcome to take it, especially since dear little Miyabi has gone missing.”

Her voice was full of mock concern and Sakura visibly stiffened, cold rage filling her at Tsurenai’s insinuation that not only did she not care that the elegant brunette had gone missing, but she actually seemed pleased with the recent turn of events.

“Do you know anything about what happened?” she said, fighting to keep her temper in check just in case the purple haired woman had any light to shed on the mystery. “Do you remember seeing her with anyone suspicious?”

Tsurenai laughed lightly, as if the whole situation was rather amusing.

“Is little Hana going to play detective?” she sneered. “That’s precious. I don’t know who she was with but my guess is she’ll end up like all the other girls who have disappeared from here, gone without a trace.”

Her voice had taken on a sing song quality, making light of a very serious situation and Sakura found it absolutely infuriating.

“If you ask me, she had it coming,” she continued loftily. “The little bitch should have been more careful about who—”

The sentence was never finished because she was interrupted but Sakura’s hand striking her in a forceful slap across her cheek, the sound seeming thunderous in the empty dressing room.

Tsurenai gasped, bringing a hand to her stinging skin, eyes wide with disbelief before they narrowed into angry slits.

“You bitch!” she hissed hatefully. “I have to perform tonight! What if this bruises?”

The superficial woman probably would have been horrified by the bruises and scars Sakura had seen in her lifetime and the kunoichi was glad she hadn’t been so reckless as to put her full strength into that slap. Even though the arrogant woman had made her see red, she had enough sense not to hit her hard enough to fracture those high cheekbones the diva seemed to value so much.

“I’m sure your audience will be looking other places besides you face,” Sakura seethed quietly, still enraged over how she had talked about Miyabi.

The two women glared at each other hatefully, Tsurenai still pressing a hand to her injured cheek.

“I won’t forget this,” she spat viciously.

“You’d be an idiot if you did,” Sakura replied with equal rage. She knew full well she had just made life at the club harder for herself, because Tsurenai would no doubt go out of her way to make every day miserable from this point on. Well if she wanted to fight, she had better bring it on with everything she had because the little diva had just picked a fight with one of Konoha’s most powerful kunoichi.

Sakura waited for her rival to retaliate but, to her surprise, the woman turned and stomped away, no longer quite as elegant and graceful in her spike heels. Sakura let out the breath she had been holding and slumped a little. She couldn’t be sure that Tsurenai was completely unrelated to the kidnappings. Tsurenai had been a little jealous of her after all, but it was obvious she wasn’t going to get a word out of her that could be helpful in completing her mission. Besides, she already knew who their target was. It was just a matter of finding him now, though Sakura doubted the purple haired woman would aid her in that aspect either.

She turned to go back up the stairs, her heart feeling a little heavier now that all her worries about Miyabi had returned, although surprisingly, there was a slight spring in her step.

She wondered if she was a bad person for getting so much pleasure out of slapping Tsurenai upside the head.

XXXXX

It was mid afternoon when the first fat raindrops began to fall, splashing onto the paved streets and making the oily roads slick and shiny.

Kakashi turned his head towards the sky and breathed deeply. The smell of rain was heavy, telling him the storm would only get worse.

He had been searching all over Fuzen Machi, asking around about a yellow eyed man who might have a pretty, young girl with him, but his efforts were proving to be as fruitless as the night before. If anybody had seen anything, they didn’t want to talk about it, and Kakashi had no real evidence that anyone he questioned was actually withholding information, otherwise he would have resorted to more…resourceful ways of getting what he required.

He was currently standing on one of the city’s taller buildings, overlooking the modern metropolis and trying to put himself in the mind of the kidnapper. With Rock to the North, Sand to the South and rogue territory to the East, where would the kidnapper go? Everything to the West was just sparse villages and ocean so he didn’t think the culprit would go that way, but it was hard to be sure. It would help if Kakashi knew what village he was from or who he was working for. The more Kakashi thought about the situation, the more questions arose. He simply didn’t know enough about the target and his intentions.

Just then a puff of smoke beside him interrupted his thoughts and he found Pakkun staring up at him with large, dark eyes. The canine looked slightly wet and bedraggled and Kakashi imagined he himself probably looked similar after standing in the rain.

“Any luck?” he asked, even though he could probably guess from his summon’s weary expression what the answer would be.

The pug shook his head.

“We couldn’t sniff out a trail. Her scent lingers around the club but doesn’t seem to leave the area. We would have kept searching but now that the rain has started, it’s probable that any lead there was has been washed away.”

The Copy nin nodded stoically. Sakura would not be happy with the news.

“Very well. Tell the others to call off the hunt. We’ll have to hope the kidnapper leads us to her location when we find him.”

Pakkun dipped his head in understanding before poofing away and the burst of smoke he left quickly dissipated by the rain.

Kakashi sighed thoughtfully. This guy was certainly hard to track. He hadn’t even found out his name. Their method of waiting for a lucky strike was not exactly the ideal strategy but so far, they had had little choice. Even with a definite target, they still hadn’t been able to do more than wait around and he knew it had to be frustrating Sakura as much as it did him to be unable to take the offensive.

He slumped a little at the thought of his partner. She wouldn’t be happy to hear the news but he had to tell her eventually. He ducked under the overhang that covered the entrance to the stairs that led back down into the building and pulled out his phone. His dexterous fingers typed out the message he didn’t want to tell her in person.

Search called off because of rain. Still no luck. I’m sorry.

XXXXX

Sakura supposed her performance that night was a little substandard, but honestly, she couldn’t bring herself to care. Her eyes kept drifting over to the empty pole where Miyabi would have been, where she would have been dancing gracefully in a hypnotizing display of long limbs and sensuous movements. She wondered if she would ever return to dance here again.

Tsurenai was back in the spotlight, and as Sakura had predicted, she had covered the subtle bruising on her face with makeup and the kunoichi figured she was the only one who noticed her foundation was a little heavier on one side.

Though the medic was no longer the star performer, it seemed she had accumulated quite a few loyal fans who crowded around her platform, cheering wildly enough so that when the time for Tsurenai’s solo came, the crowd of slobbering men around the main stage seemed a little less dense, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by the diva if the poisonous look she shot Sakura as she walked past was any indication.

Sakura remained unconcerned, dancing to the best of her ability as she desperately scanned the shifting crowds for the man responsible for Miyabi’s disappearance. She could see Kakashi milling about the room, no longer remaining stationary at the bar but actively searching for their culprit as well. She didn’t even accept any offers for private dances, much to both Dajaku’s and her many adoring fan’s dismay, but she was resolute in doing all she could to hunt down the kidnapper and save her friend.

However, after hours in the dimly lit room full of smoke and sweat and throbbing base, they were no closer in their search, even when the last of the patrons were ushered out, Kakashi with them, and Wet Dreams closed its doors for the night.

There was a heaviness that settled over all the dancers as they prepared for bed, for the grim reality that they were still very much in danger was all too clear. They were all worried about Miyabi, and scared that they could be next, for in a world where all you had were the handful of people you lived with, losing one was devastating.

Tsurenai retired early, claiming she was fatigued and Sakura couldn’t help but wonder if she was planning some sort of counter attack to get revenge for what Sakura had done to her earlier. In the kunoichi’s opinion, the diva and her petty resentment were the least of her worries. She was feeling empty, hollow and completely discouraged. Why couldn’t she be of more use? Why couldn’t she help these girls? Kakashi’s earlier text message did little to sooth, considering he and his tracking dogs had been equally unsuccessful. Even now, the rain that had halted their search still poured down outside, drumming on the roof and windows in a steady torrent that showed no sign of letting up. It was weather fitting for her current mood; gloomy and dark.

She climbed into bed, Misaki following suit not long after, and desperately tried to fall asleep, to escape the pain and frustration for a while, but rest did not come and she lay awake while staring at the wooden boards of the bunk above her.

Her mind kept running around and around, searching for an answer to the accumulating vortex of questions and unknowns, but all she succeeded in doing was tiring herself mentally. Yet sleep still eluded her.

The recent development that their target was in fact a high level shinobi was a shocking one, but the worst part was Kakashi’s assessment that her usual jutsu would not work. She would have to do it for real. Her hands fisted in the sheets at the thought of her first time being with someone she didn’t know, someone that more likely than not, would handle her roughly, using her body merely to satisfy his own needs and treating her like the whore she was making herself out to be. It was enough to make her throat tighten and her eyes sting with tears that threatened to fall. But she had sworn off useless crying long ago, hardened by watching the first and only man she had cared so deeply for walk out of her life without a second thought.

Surely Yellow would notice her inexperience, and then what? Would her cover be blown? Or perhaps he would be adept enough to identify her chakra signature right away, no matter how well she kept it hidden, and see her for what she really was. Considering he was kidnapping women at the club and she, a high level kunoichi, suddenly appeared there soon after, it would be odd for him not to suspect her of being a hired shinobi sent to track him down.

The more she thought about her predicament, the closer she came to breaking down. She didn’t want to lose her virginity to a stranger. She wanted it to be with someone she knew and loved and trusted, but she should have come to suspect that life seldom went how one wanted it to. She needed to talk to someone, and though Misaki was in the bunk above her, she knew she couldn’t confess her fears to the petite blonde. They all assumed she was a seasoned seductress by now and telling them the truth meant telling them everything. There was only one person she could really talk about everything to.

She needed Kakashi and she needed him now.

Impulsively, she threw off her covers and began to pull on heavier clothes over her panties and T-shirt.

“Hana?”

Misaki’s voice rang out in the dark. Sakura assumed the girl had been having a hard time sleeping as well.

“Hey,” she said gently, offering a smile even though she knew she couldn’t see it.

“Where are you going?”

Sakura paused, wondering how much she should say. It was too late for a clone and she didn’t really have the energy to put into maintaining one anyway.

“I just need to be alone for awhile,” she said, fibbing just a little and waited for the younger girl’s pleas for her not to go.

To her surprise, Misaki answered, “Ok, just promise me you’ll be careful.”

Apparently Misaki understood that everyone needed to grieve in their own way, and Sakura suddenly felt guilty for deceiving her friend. She wasn’t sure if the blonde assumed she was going downstairs or actually leaving the building but decided not to worry about it either way. She was going to see Kakashi now. She had to.

“I’ll be careful,” she assured, pulling on her heaviest sweatshirt and slipping into sneakers ratty with enough holes that her feet would probably get just as wet with them as they would without.

Nothing else was said as she crept out the door, silently passing through the common room and feeling a strange pain in her chest as she saw the couch where Miyabi would always sit in read in poised silence.

The light in Dajaku’s office was off and Sakura assumed that he too had gone to bed earlier than usual. With all the skill she had acquired through ninja training, she silently turned the lock of the main doors and tiptoed outside into the rain before closing the door behind her, using her chakra to infiltrate the keyhole and turn the inner mechanism back into its locked position.

Neon lights still glowed, reflecting off the wet ground in distorted patches of bright color. The rain drowned out all other sound, but she could see several lights on in surrounding buildings. The rain couldn’t quell Fuzen’s bustling night life completely, but it seemed nobody was crazy enough to be out in the downpour but her.

She hurried through the empty streets, towards Kakashi’s motel, praying that he would be there. In retrospect, she probably should have called him first to make sure he was home but it was a little late for that, considering she hadn’t even brought her phone with her.

She trusted him completely, relying on him as a child and now, working together with him as an equal on this mission. He had taught her everything she knew regarding her life as a seductress, well…almost everything. The other girls and, of course, Kitsune’s erotica had filled out the foundation he had laid for her. Now, the kunoichi was wondering if he would be willing to teach her one more very important lesson.

The thought formed in her mind so quickly that she didn’t have time to dismiss it and before she could ponder on it much more, she was at Kakashi’s motel but, without her phone, she had no way to contact him.

Rather than stand out in the rain and get wetter than she already was, she easily unlocked the rusty security gate and let herself into the drab hallway of concrete and peeling paint, knowing her way by now to the room that was Kakashi’s.

She raised her hand to knock on the door, knowing for sure now that she was out of her goddamned mind for considering asking the question she was about to ask, but there seemed to be no other way out of this than to ask him for his help. If she had to lose it to someone, it might as well be Kakashi, for while she didn’t love him, she trusted him and knew he cared for her as a fried and former student. Besides, he had more than proven he could make her feel good and she had been craving more of his touch ever since his first lesson in seduction all those months ago. She had never expected to be offering all of herself to him though. Even now, she couldn’t believe she was going to ask this of him.

She knocked three times, firmly and a little urgently and waited for a reply, chewing her bottom lip nervously as she listened for any noise from within that would tell her he was there.

Nothing.

Sakura knocked again, louder and more insistent this time and after a long and almost unbearable pause, the door opened and there was Kakashi standing before her, looking quite comfortable in a form fitting T-shirt and sweats. His eye patch was missing but his mask was in its usual place, covering everything below the bridge of his nose.

“Sakura?” he asked, clearly perplexed as to why she had come to him in the wee hours of the morning, soaked to the bone and without any prior warning.

He held a kunai in his hand, apparently expecting someone a little less friendly to be at his door, but his mismatched eyes held worry as he took in her drenched form huddled on his doorstep.

“Hi,” Sakura said a little sheepishly, realizing she must look like hell. She found herself wishing she looked more presentable while simultaneously wondering why she cared. This was Kakashi after all. He had seen her at her best and her worst and she was currently far from her worst, although she wasn’t as pretty and primped as she had been a few hours earlier at the club. “Um…I need to talk to you.”

Kakashi stood aside to let her enter but still looked at her curiously, even as he shut the door behind her.

“Are you alright?” he asked as he watched Sakura try to stand in the middle of his floor so as not to drip all over everything. “You’re absolutely soaked.”

Her clothes hung off of her, making her look even more petite than she actually was and for a moment, she seemed very vulnerable as big green eyes looked up at him.

“I’ve been thinking,” she began hesitantly if she were afraid to say the words. “I…well I mean…you said in your text, that I would probably have to sleep with that guy for real right?”

Kakashi’s shoulder’s rounded a little at her words, making his slouch even more pronounced.

“Yes, I’m afraid so. We can’t risk him seeing through your illusion. I’m sorry Sakura.”

His voice was soft and sincere, his worried expression softening into something that was closer to sympathetic and almost sad. He obviously didn’t want her to have to do it either.

“Here,” he offered kindly, walking to the rickety dresser behind her to pull out a pair of sweats and a T-shirt for her in faded shades of gray. “Let’s get you out of those wet clothes.”

She took the clothes he offered, but made no move toward the bathroom to change.

“But I’m not experienced at all and it will show,” she continued. “He can’t be so dumb as to not notice that I’m a total amateur.”

She was forcing her voice to stay strong when it threatened to waver. The fact that all their time here could prove useless just because she had chosen to save herself for someone special was enough to make her scream with frustration. If she had been more like Ino, fearlessly exploring the sexual realm back in Konoha, this wouldn’t even be an issue.

“Yes,” Kakashi said, nodding his head at her words. “It is indeed a dilemma. Can’t you talk to the girls and get some tips?”

“They think I’m already a pro at having sex,” she sighed. “Telling them otherwise would give my identity away so I can’t go to them.”

Kakashi nodded once again, crossing his arms and leaning back against the dresser. He stared at a spot on the carpet at his feet and seemed to be thinking deeply about their problem, but Sakura already had a solution in mind, even if she couldn’t believe she was even considering it.

When she had thrown off the covers and decided to come here, this had not been her intention, but on her way over, the idea had formed and the more she thought about it, the more it seemed to be the only practical answer. She did not want to lose her virginity to a stranger and she couldn’t let her inexperience show when the time came to do the deed.

Summoning her courage, she stood a little straighter, oblivious to the water that was still dripping from her hair and garments.

“Kakashi,” she said, as resolutely as possibly, meeting his gaze as he looked up from the floor. “Can…I mean…will you…”

He looked at her expectantly as Sakura took a deep breath and tried again, forcing herself to speak the words that seemed so alien, and yet brought the brought the promise of something new and wonderful.

“Kakashi, I want you to sleep with me.”

XXXXX

:Holds up hands in defense:

Please don’t hurt me. I know you probably want to read the next chapter and just know I’ll have it up as soon as I can. At least you didn’t have to wait until Christmas for this one right?