Stripped Bare

Woo! I bring you the fruits of my Spring Break! Keep in mind I could have been doing something fun like lounging by the pool or playing video games but I devoted myself to finish this for all those who were patiently waiting. I you all find it worth it! :)

Mandatory disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and this fic is rated M.

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Stripped Bare-Chapter 8

Getting out of bed that morning required an extreme amount of willpower on Sakura’s part. There was nothing pressing she had to do until show time and if she had been in the comfort of her own home, it would have been one of those rare days when she stayed nestled in her warm sheets and slept the day away.

Instead, she slipped the cell phone Kakashi had given her from under her pillow and peeked at the time. She wanted to groan when she the saw the numbers 10:47 glowing back at her. Was it really so late? One late night and her sleep schedule was already wacky. It would take some getting used to after all the early morning hospital shifts she had been working in Konoha.

She slipped from her bed and could hear Misaki breathing evenly in the bunk above her, obviously still asleep. Miyabi’s bed was neatly made and there was no trace of her anywhere.

She showered quickly and dressed in some thread bare jeans and a long sleeved shirt that was a little too small. Both pieces of clothing were Jitu’s who was the closest to her size. Even though she had supposedly gone out with Dajaku yesterday to run some errands, she had returned without any new clothes. Jitsu didn’t seem surprised when Sakura confessed she still didn’t have much to wear. Apparently it was completely in character for their manager to refuse to pitch in and buy his girls an outfit or two. Sakura was expected to buy her own clothing with the money she earned and at the time, she hadn’t had a dime on her. The kunoichi was quite grateful the timid girl had a few extra things lying around that Sakura could wear for the time being.

Twisting her long wet hair up into a bun, she went out into the common room to find her missing roommate curled up on the couch, still in her pajamas and her nose deep in a book.

“Good morning,” Sakura said amicably, plopping down onto a ratty cushion beside her. “Is everyone still asleep?”

“I’m not sure, I haven’t seen anyone else,” Miyabi said briefly, looking up from her book. “But Misaki always sleeps the latest so don’t expect to see her awake any time soon.”

Sakura smiled at the thought of the energetic girl being more of a night owl than a morning person. It seemed like she was pure sunshine all the time but she supposed even she had moments where she was tired and groggy.

“Do you know where Dajaku is?” Sakura asked, wanting to get a look at the list of names so she could possibly text some of them to Kakashi before everyone woke up and she had too many eyes on her to do anything in secret.

“If he’s awake, he’s probably downstairs in his office,” she replied, tucking a long black strand of hair behind her ear.

Sakura thanked her and turned to leave.

“Oh, and breakfast will be in an hour or so but if you’re hungry before then, don’t feel like you have to wait,” Miyabi added before returning to her book, immediately engrossed in what was written on the pages.

Sakura shook her head in amusement as she descended the stairs. That girl was worse than she was with her medical journals.

She entered the club and saw that the office door was cracked open and the light was on, but as she got closer she could hear voices. One was obviously Dajaku’s and the other sounded like Tsurenai. She would have loved to know what they were talking about in hushed whispers but unfortunately, the office’s window of one sided glass made it impossible for her to sneak up on them so she calmly walked up to the door, hearing their voices stop abruptly as soon as they caught sight of her.

She rapped on the door softly, pretended she was oblivious to the conversation they had been having and waited for the club owner to tell her to come in.

“Good morning Hana,” he said with a smile that exposed his teeth that sparkled a little too brightly. They seemed almost unnaturally white under the fluorescent lights and Sakura guessed he had probably had them bleached.

“Good morning Dajaku, Tsurenai,” she said, nodding in each of their directions. The diva didn’t say anything but merely gave her a smile that seemed a little forced. She looked stunning as usual, dressed in a pale pink sweater that clung in all the right places and snug pair of what looked to be designer jeans. Where she found a market that sold such things in this town, Sakura had no idea.

“Miyabi told me breakfast is in an hour if you’re interested,” the kunoichi said hopefully, making it sound like she was more interested in winning the dancer’s approval than her real goal of finding out every detail about her.

“I’m sorry, I was just leaving,” Tsurenai said in a voice that was anything but apologetic as she turned on a stiletto heel and left the office.

Sakura looked after her a moment through the glass, shaking her head in confusion. It seemed she refused to get close to anyone, especially her.

“What’s her problem?”

“It’s just as well that she left,” Dajaku said, wearily. “She was starting to bore me with complaints.”

From the tones of their voices, Sakura suspected that complaints had not been their topic of discussion but kept that fact to herself.

“I assume you came for this?” the balding man said, reaching into a desk drawer and extracting a list of names.

Sakura nodded and reached out for the sheet. Her eyes roved over the names and she was actually surprised to find a few she recognized, most low class missing nin from other villages that had their names in a Bingo Book or two. However, the rewards on their heads were too small to make killing them worth while for most.

“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll get these to my partner right away.”

“You did very well last night,” he said, fixing her with approving eyes that shamelessly looked her up and down. “I had no idea you kunoichi were skilled in…other areas besides killing.”

Sakura bristled at the comment but held her tongue. She was good at plenty of things besides killing. In fact, murder was one of the things she liked the least about her profession, but of course a shallow minded man like Dajaku wouldn’t understand that. On the other hand, she wouldn’t mind surgically removing his eyeballs from his head. She had had more than enough of the way he was looking at her as if trying to remember how her naked chest had looked the night before.

“Thank you,” she said tightly in response to his complimented, ready to march out the door without another word but Dajaku changed the topic again, interlacing his fingers atop his desk in the picture of perfect composure.

“There’s something I would like to talk to you about, Hurano-san, and it includes the tips you made last night.”

Sakura’s eyes narrowed at the polite surname which almost certainly meant he wanted something, and at the mention of money, she could practically sense the greed radiating off of him.

“Since you are in fact a hired kunoichi and not an actual dancer, I see no need for you to keep the normal percentage of wages that the other girls do,” he continued, silvery eyes glimmering like the coins he craved. “Therefore, I think it would be appropriate to turn over eighty percent of the profits instead of the mere sixty and keep just enough to get yourself the minimal provisions you need.”

Sakura couldn’t believe this man had the gall to say such a thing. It was her money she had earned by strutting around exposed; not his and it was bad enough that he demanded over half to begin with, but to take nearly all of it on the assumption that she didn’t need much to get by was infuriating.

“No, I’m afraid I can’t do that,” she said coolly, her green eyes focusing unwaveringly on the man until he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “You see, we hadn’t planned on the lodging here being so expensive and since you refuse to provide us with a dime until we solve your case, I’ll be needing this money to pay not only for my partner’s room, but for food for the both of us and clothing as well along with any additional resources my partner might need to aid him in completing this mission successfully.”

“But you see, you—” Dajaku began, no doubt about to oil his way into having the upper hand, but Sakura cut him off.

“I am undercover here as one of your dancers, therefore, I need to go to all lengths to fit in. I am not here to make you money and in fact, it is you who is paying me and you are lucky I don’t decide to keep all of my earnings as compensation for making me take off my clothes every night.”

Her tone was stern but held a dangerous tone and she was pleased to see him extract a silken handkerchief and mop at his balding head as he began to sweat nervously.

“But—”

“If you argue with me on this, I will keep the money, every last ryo— and if you have a problem with that, you will forcibly have to take it from me.”

Dajaku was not an idiot. He knew damn well that laying a finger on her would be impossible for someone as weak as him.

She could see he was frustrated, but would say no more on the issue. She was tempted to threaten to keep all her money anyways and distribute it among the girls just so they could buy some decent clothes. It was so unfair that they have to run around in rags while he wore silk shirts and gaudy rings on every finger. However, it wasn’t wise to cause waves so soon after her arrival. She would get Dajaku to change his policies before she returned home, that much was for certain, but for now, she needed to get some of these names to Kakashi quickly.

She made it back to her room without seeing anyone, not even Miyabi who had left her haven on the couch. Misaki was still snoring softy from her bunk so Sakura took the advantage to grab her cell phone and sneak into one of the bathrooms, which was fortunately unoccupied.

After fumbling with the buttons for a minute, she figured out how to send texts and wrote a brief message.

Hav list. Txt 2 u?

A short moment later, her phone beeped, signifying Kakashi’s response. She was annoyed to note his message was quite a bit longer and yet he had sent it much quicker than it had taken her to write hers. Apparently he was better at this whole technology thing than she was.

No. Bag & throw in trash. Mak sur its in dumpster out back b4 4pm.

Kakashi always seemed to have a plan for everything. Well, at least she didn’t have to text him the long list. It would have taken her forever and she doubted she could hide out in the bathroom that long without looking suspicious.

Flipping her cell phone shut, she flushed the toilet and washed her hands in case anyone was listening outside the door. She managed to creep back to her room and stash the phone back under her pillow without anyone noticing and headed back downstairs, list safely in her pocket. Now all she had to do was find time to get it out to the trash dumpster behind the club.

She opened the door to the first floor stairs and nearly smacked into Kitsune.

“Hana, I was just looking for you,” the redhead said with a smile. “Come here, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

Sakura was about to protest but found herself being dragged along after the leggy woman who was easily taking the steps two at a time. While Sakura’s legs were muscular and lean, she was still on the shorter side and had to lengthen her strides to keep up with the taller dancer.

She found herself in front of the doors that led to the lap dancing rooms and saw that they were all open. A mop and a bucket full of sudsy water lay outside one of the doors which led her to believe they were being cleaned. She wondered how often that happened, for while the club wasn’t filthy, it wasn’t exactly sparkling either.

She could sense someone moving inside the last room and craned her neck a little trying to see. She was surprised to find the two booths on the end were quite a bit bigger and actually had beds inside…which obviously meant that they were used for other things besides just lap dancing. Did these girls actually do that sort of thing here? Dajaku had not mentioned anything about her sleeping with anyone, but then again, he was the kind of man who would spring a surprise like that on her. Sneaky bastard.

“Juu! Hey Juu,” Kitsune called. “I brought the new girl for you to meet.”

A large man emerged from the room with an armload of sheets and gave Sakura a toothy smile. His skin was dark and leathery, as if he had spent a great deal of time in the sun, but Sakura didn’t see how that was possible in these parts considering all the rain. Everything about him was oversized from his broad shoulders to the giant hand he held out to shake, making Sakura’s own look like that of a porcelain doll.

“Hello there,” he said, his voice gruff but his eyes brimming with kindness. “Kitsune was right when she said the new one was a looker. You looked good last night but up close, you’re even prettier.”

The kunoichi was instantly on guard, trying to gage whether this man was hitting on her or not but his words seemed to be an honest compliment. Besides, she didn’t think Kitsune would have introduced her if he was scum. Judging by the mop and bucket, she guessed he worked here and had the unpleasant task of cleaning up.

“Sakura, this is Juu,” Kitsune said. “He’s our janitor by day but at night, he’s our body guard who stands outside these rooms. If you ever find one of your clients is giving you trouble, just call for him and he’ll take care of everything.”

Ah, so that explained how he had seen her dance last night. It figured Dajaku would try and cut corners by having one man do two jobs. She doubting he was getting paid as much as he should. He seemed strong and surprisingly nice, but as far as brains went, her first impression of him decreed that thinking wasn’t exactly his area of expertise, making him a perfect hire for the man who wanted to spend as little as possible on anything that wasn’t for himself.

“That’s right,” Juu agreed, his eyes crinkling kindly. “Just shout and I’ll be in there to rough up anyone who so much as looks at you wrong.”

“Well, thank you,” Sakura said with a genuine smile. “That’s very kind.”

Even though he had a lot of bulk and several ugly scars proving he’d been through some fights, his chakra was quite weak, rivaling on that of a civilian’s and she doubted he was even a Genin ranked shinobi. Ninjas of whatever level were more expensive than hired thugs so it was only natural Dajaku had gone for the cheapest choice. But even so, Juu seemed quite nice, although she couldn’t trust him completely considering her mission required her to be wary of everyone until given a good reason not to be. Looks could be deceiving after all and though she doubted the large man was so skilled an acting he was merely pretending to be dumb and strong, she wasn’t going to let her guard down just yet.

“I don’t envy your job,” Sakura said as she eyed the armful of sheets that she suspected were on their way to be laundered. She couldn’t be sure but she thought she saw something that looked like an off white stain on the dingy sheets but decided she’d rather not know for sure.

Juu followed her gaze to the dirty bedding and took a moment longer than normal to formulate a reply. It seemed he indeed was a little slower than most.

“Well, it isn’t so bad once you get used to it,” the large man said with a goofy smile. “But I wouldn’t mind getting paid with a night with one of you girls instead of cash.”

Sakura’s warm smile faltered at his words. Did he really just…

“Well, we have some things to do. We gotta get going Juu. See you later!” Kitsune cut in abruptly, snagging Sakura by the arm and steering her back towards the dressing rooms, leaving the janitor waving after them, his toothy and foolish smile still in place.

“He’s a nice guy,” Kitsune said as she led the way backup the stairs. “A bit perverted and definitely a little slow, but nice. I wanted you to meet him before you start giving lap dances so you know who to call if you run into trouble.”

Sakura’s stomach lurched a little as a hundred little butterflies took flight inside at the mention of lap dances.

“Thanks, that was considerate of you,” she said, truly grateful but not wanting to think about what she would have to do in the very near future.

“Just decline his advances. He’s harmless enough,” Kitsune advised. “That is, unless you actually want to—”

“No,” Sakura interjected a little too quickly. “I don’t think that will be a problem.”

Kitsune laughed lightly as she walked towards the last room on the right.

“Yeah, that’s what we all say. Poor Juu. Maybe one day a girl will actually show him a good time. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a virgin.”

Sakura resisted the urge to wince. The red headed woman said “virgin” like it was a bad thing, and perhaps, in this profession it was. She had been holding out for Sasuke for so long that nearly a decade had flown by without her engaging in any serious sexual conquests.

Speaking of Sasuke, she wondered how he would have been looking at her last night if he had been assigned as her partner for this mission. Would he be eyeing darkly, lustfully, as many other men had? Would he be willing to rethink his opinion of her as an annoying girl? Would he maybe…finally think of her as a woman and want to kiss her? Touch her? Rid her at last of her innocence that seemed to be nothing but a burden on this mission? The thought made her cheeks warm in a way that wasn’t entirely unpleasant as she imagined those dark, cool eyes brimming with fire after one look at her dancing sensually around a pole.

However, knowing Sasuke, she could be completely naked and sitting in his lap and he would still look at her with that same cold expression of quiet disdain.

“Hey, are you listening?” Kitsune asked with an exasperated sigh, snapping her out of her thoughts of Konoha’s only remaining Uchiha.

“Huh? I was…I mean…” she stammered guilty; making it obvious her mind had been elsewhere and she hadn’t heard a word the redhead had been saying.

“I asked if you wanted some breakfast. From the way you were spacing out, I would say you could use a decent meal.”

“Uh yeah, breakfast would be great,” Sakura said sheepishly, following her into the makeshift kitchen. Miyabi was already seated at the bench, a bowl of cereal in front of her and her book open before her. It seemed she was so wrapped up in what she was reading that she only remembered periodically to take a bite.

“Is instant oatmeal ok?” Kitsune asked as she went to the wardrobe-turned cupboard.

Sakura replied that it was and sat down across from Miyabi, resting her elbows on the table’s splintery surface and cupping her chin in her hands. It probably wasn’t even noon yet and already she had had an eventful day. She had been worried about simply grinding back and forth on a strange man’s lap but now the thought that she might have to be even more intimate was quite unnerving. Were these girls seriously ok with doing something like that on a nightly basis?

“So…those beds downstairs,” she began awkwardly, not sure how to word her question. “They’re not for sleeping in are they?”

“No,” Miyabi replied even though Sakura had been asking the woman behind her.

“I didn’t think so…” she trailed off dejectedly before adding, “I’ve never…slept with a man for money before.”

She neglected to mention that she hadn’t slept with a man at all.

“I would be surprised if you had,” Kitsune spoke up. “It’s not something we enjoy doing and only a few of us here offer that service. The money is really good though and if you decide you want to give it a try I can give you some pointers.”

“Uh thanks…maybe later,” Sakura stammered, silently thinking there was no way she was going to start using the booths unless she absolutely had to.

A steaming bowl of oatmeal was set in front of her as Kitsune took a seat next to her. Although the meal was simple, it smelled delicious but she supposed all food looked better on an empty stomach.

“So,” Kitsune said as she lifted a spoonful of oatmeal to her lips and blew on it gently. “You say you haven’t slept with anyone for money, but you have slept with someone right?”

Her violet eyes were sparkling and eager, as if she couldn’t wait to share juicy sex stories. In that moment, Sakura thought she looked uncannily like her best friend and was sure Ino and the redhead would get along just fine.

Sakura’s felt herself grow warm and she knew it wasn’t from the hot food. If Kitsune wanted to swap naughty stories in a bizarre session of girl to girl bonding, she was going to find herself sorely disappointed.

XXXXX

Kakashi was leaning casually up against the brick wall in the back ally behind Wet Dreams with a copy of Icha Icha Tactics to pass the time. He hoped the angry gray clouds above would continue to do nothing more than hang ominously above him because if they decided to split open, that would be the end of his reading session unless he wanted his novel to get soggy.

The jounin seemed relaxed enough but he had done well keeping himself carefully hidden in the dark alcove and thanks to his black jacket, black pants, black cap to cover his hair and black gloves to go with his traditional black mask and eye patch, nobody would notice him unless he wanted to be noticed or unless a relatively high level shinobi came wandering by. If the latter turned out to be the case, it suited Kakashi just fine because that at least gave him someone to interrogate. It was better than just waiting around.

As soon as Sakura delivered the list, he planned to research each and every one of the names on it, but in actuality, they could all come up as dead ends. He knew it was unrealistic to think they could nab the culprit so easily but being on a case without a single lead was a little discouraging. Oh well, he supposed if nothing else, he was getting a lot of reading done.

Kakashi nearly scoffed aloud at that thought, knowing full well he wasn’t flipping the pages as fast as he normally would due to the fact that his mind kept drifting to think about a certain woman who wasn’t in any of his books. He had been truly impressed with Sakura’s performance last night, and while it was obvious she was an amateur, there was a certain grace and fluidity she possessed that made her appealing. In fact, even in the moments when she had displayed her insecurities and flaws, it had only served to enhance her charm in a way that Kakashi wouldn’t have been able to teach if they had had a whole year to prepare for this mission. It was true some things simply couldn’t be taught so he should consider himself fortunate that his partner had a knack for being cute.

However, cute was probably not going to get them the answers they needed out of tight lipped men. He could only hope her skill as a smoldering seductress would improve as time went on but at least she was getting the attention of men rather than having their eyes pass right over her, although he was loathe to admit that was a good thing.

His need to protect his student was irrational. How the hell were they going to complete this mission if he took it upon himself to shield her from every eye that looked upon her with impure intentions? He wished once again that someone else had been assigned with him on this mission, but wishing was of course futile.

And besides, as much as he wanted to deny it, he had rather enjoyed the sight of Sakura pole dancing.

And he had enjoyed the absence of her top even more.

And there he was, back at the topic he had been trying so hard to avoid all morning but he found that even his beloved books weren’t distracting his mind of those pert little globes that had jiggled so temptingly with her every move. Sure they weren’t half as big as some of the others on display, but there was just something about them that made him want to explore them at his leisure.

Kakashi snapped his book shut and rubbed his temples in irritation. Hormones, it was just the hormones. It was only expected that he get riled up after not being with a woman for a while. There were so many brothels and bars in this town that it would be easy to snag himself a woman to satiate his lust with, although, he could very well be risking contracting a venereal disease in doing so. For now he told himself he would just have to do his best to haul his dirty mind out of the gutter and take this mission with a grain of salt. Yes, he would be seeing quite a bit more of Sakura’s tits before they returned to Konoha. Yes they were nice, exquisite even, but no, he was not going to think perverted thoughts about his student. Well ok, maybe he would think just a few dirty thoughts, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to act on them. This was Sakura after all, bright, smart, strangely innocent Sakura who was only putting on a show when it came to being naughty because honestly, Sakura wouldn’t know naughty if it hit her in the face and he sincerely hoped it wouldn’t on this particular assignment.

Just then, he heard the exchange of voices and heavy footsteps. One of those voices was decidedly Sakura’s and he smirked to himself as he discreetly checked the time on his cell phone. He had told Sakura to have the list out here by four but knowing her slightly obsessive personality, he had guessed she would get it done as soon as possible and it looked like he had been right.

Pink hair came into sight from around the corner, contrasting starkly with everything else that was various shades of gray. She held a bag of trash and was followed a moment later by a dark, hulking man carrying an even bigger load, his bag packed so full that it looked like it was on the verge of ripping.

Sakura tossed her bag lightly into the open dumpster and stepped aside so her companion could do the same. Kakashi remembered seeing the brute in the club last night and he assumed he was a supervisor or bouncer, punishing all the men who didn’t play by the rules during lap dances. He could immediately tell he wasn’t a shinobi but he still retreated a little further into the shadows.

“Thanks Juu,” Sakura said, dusting off her hands. “But I could have handled the trash alone.”

“But it’s not your job to take out the trash, it’s mine.” The larger man replied, straightening his stained and faded T-shirt that had probably been black at one time but now was an unremarkable shade of gray, just like everything else.

“I know, but I just wanted a chance to get out of there and get some fresh air. I was feeling a little cramped.”

Juu looked around with an expression of honest confusion as if he were searching for where the fresh air actually was. Sakura regretted her choice of words. Despite the constant rain, it seemed that the air was never really clear here, but tinged with smoke and chemicals that came with an industrial city.

“Never mind,” Sakura sighed, knowing it was useless to try and explain. “I think I’m going to stay out here for a minute, so you can go back inside.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want anything to happen to you out here.” Juu said, his broad forehead creasing in a frown.

“I’ll be fine a promise. Go back inside,” Sakura said, making shooing motions with her hands for him to leave.

Reluctantly, the oversized man ambled back around the corner and a moment later, she heard a door swing shut, signally he had gone inside.

Sakura exhaled heavily before turning her head to look into the darkened corner beyond the dumpster.

“And just how long did you plan to hang out in this back alley Kakashi-sensei?”

The Copy nin emerged from the darkness with a chuckle, knowing she would detect him easily.

“I knew you’d be along shortly so I wasn’t planning on making a day of this,” he said, his lips quirking into a smile under his mask as his student eyed him skeptically.

“You said to have this here by four and that’s hours from now. What if I hadn’t delivered it until then?”

“But you didn’t,” Kakashi said, his tone clearly amused.

Sakura on the other hand was a little exasperated.

“Yeah but what if—”

“Sakura, I know you too well to think you would wait until minutes before the deadline. I estimated the time you would get here and wasn’t too far off.”

The kunoichi crossed her arms in a pose that said she was clearly unimpressed.

“I could have been unavoidably detained.”

“But you weren’t.”

Sakura rolled her eyes at her partner’s annoyingly accurate retort. ‘What ifs’ didn’t seem to matter to him at the moment so she might as well deliver what she needed and get back inside before her hair started frizzing.”

“The list is in the smaller bag,” she informed him. “It’s in a separate Ziploc so that should save you from sifting through all of it.”

She was about to leave when she suddenly remembered something she had wanted to give him.

“Here,” she said, reaching into her pocket and extracting a wad of bills. “Even if you can’t find a nicer place to stay, this will at least get you some decent food, assuming this town even provides that.”

Kakashi eyed the clump of dirty bills, knowing full well she had earned them during last night’s performance.

It was nice of her to offer but he wasn’t one for accepting charity. He was known for taking off and leaving his friends with the bill from time to time but this was a different matter. She had earned that money and from the looks of her outfit, she needed the cash more than he did.

“Sakura, I can’t accept that,” he said gently, making no move to take the money from her outstretched hand. “It’s your money you worked for.”

“It’s not just mine. It’s funding for this mission,” she argued. “Just take it.”

“Sakura, I shouldn’t—”

The kunoichi was clearly growing irritated with him.

“Look, we’re partners aren’t we? This money belongs to both of us. Take. It.”

Kakashi still looked hesitant so she added in a gentler voice, “Please, I want you to have it.”

The taller man sighed and took the money as if the whole thing was more trouble than it was worth.

Sakura smiled, partly because she had won the fight.

“Well, I had better go. Let me know if you find out anything from that list.”

Kakashi nodded but made no move towards the dumpster. Instead, he was eyeing her thoughtfully, making her suddenly feel a little self conscious. She was still dressed in Jitsu’s ratty jeans and she wondered why she should care what Kakashi thought of her outfit. Nonetheless, she found that she was.

“What?” she finally blurted out when she couldn’t take the intensity of his gaze anymore, shifting her feet uncomfortably.

A lazy smile formed on his lips beneath his mask as he met her green eyes with his solitary black one.

“I was just remembering how good you look in pink.”

Sakura’s lips parted in a gasp as she realized just what particular pink outfit he was talking about, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment as she tried to resist the urge to punch him. He would just dodge it anyhow.

“If you utter a word about any of my performances back in Konoha, you’ll be very sorry,” she growled, her hands clenching into fists at her sides.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Kakashi said, and although his reply seemed flippant, the look in his eye told her he was sincere and she relaxed a little, knowing she shouldn’t get so worked up by his teasing. It was just that he was so damned good at pushing all the right buttons. She supposed he got some sort of amusement at riling her up. If she didn’t react so easily, he would probably just stop.

“Yeah well, hopefully I can wear something else tonight,” she grumbled. “You may like pink but I hate it.”

She turned on her heel, heading back the way she had come but Kakashi called out to her quietly before he even had the chance to quell his own words.

“Sakura,” he said and she slowed and finally turned to look over her shoulder. “You did well last night. I was impressed with your performance so keep up the good work.”

Those words may not have meant quite so much coming from any other sensei who was generous with their compliments, but coming from Kakashi who tended to be a bit more sparing with his words of encouragement, Sakura felt her heart swell a little with what she guessed to be pride and had to carefully school her features to keep them from forming a large and undoubtedly silly grin.

“Really?” she ventured, her smile bright and hopeful and Kakashi found himself smiling in response although he doubted she could see it under his mask.

“Really. Although I must say you gave me a little scare when you tripped that first time.”

Sakura groaned, pressing her palm to her forehead dramatically.

“Just so you know, high heels were created by the devil,” she said, dropping her hand and giving him a pointed glance. “They should teach you how to walk in those things at the academy. Mastering that has got to be harder than some of their beginning jutsus.”

Kakashi chuckled but said no more and the silence between them stretched until it started to become awkward.

“Well,” she said at last. “I’ll see you tonight?”

The Copy nin nodded. “I’ll see you tonight.”

But instead of leaving, she’s seemed to hesitate a moment longer as if she had something else to say, and Kakashi was on the verge of telling her to spit it out before she finally turned and disappeared behind the corner and back into the building.

He stared after her only a moment before getting back to the task on hand. Using a kunai, he easily slit the plastic bag she said had contained the list and with minimal rummaging, he found what he was looking for among empty instant oatmeal packets and old coffee grounds. It was a good thing she had put it in its own plastic bag.

He wiped it off the best he could before pocketing it leaving the alley, walking casually back to his hotel room. On the way, he couldn’t help but wonder what made him say those things to Sakura that could be either flattering or infuriated but more often than not, laced with innuendo. Their relationship had been slowly evolving towards a friendship since they had reformed Team Seven upon Sasuke’s return, but now that it was just the two of them, he found himself saying things to her he wouldn’t usually say and probably weren’t entirely appropriate. But if she wanted him to stop, she made no indication besides quietly blushing which he personally found adorable. She was pretty when she was composed but seeing her flustered was intriguing too. He was probably overstepping his boundaries just a little but hell, boundaries had been thrown into the wind the second they were assigned a mission what required him seeing his student half naked. Perhaps that’s why his mind kept picturing her scantily clad body. The boundaries that normally separated the business from the personal had become more blurred than they had ever been on any other mission he had had with Sakura. If that was the case he would have to be careful in how he conducted himself. Being her friend was fine, finding her attractive was fine, but finding himself wanting to steal her away from all the eyes on her and keeping her naked body all to himself was most certainly not proper behavior between two shinobi on a mission.

However, he had been surprised with himself when he had zoned out in the middle of their conversation, thinking how pretty she looked today even if she was devoid of all the make up she had been wearing last night and she was wearing what seemed to be clothes on the verge of becoming rags. When she had been his student at the age of twelve, he had noted that she had a pretty face and exotic features, but now, he realized she had grown to be quite striking without the help of hairspray or mascara. He supposed that was simply another side effect of viewing her as a woman instead of a girl.

Those tight pants she had been wearing hadn’t been so bad though. After all, there had been a hole high up on her left thigh about two inches in diameter that displayed the pale curve of her ass rather nicely.

Kakashi shook his head in irritation. She really needed to get some clothes that fit and that weren’t falling apart for both their sakes. Perhaps he would pass by some of the less expensive clothing shops if he had any time left after researching the names on his list. From the looks of it, Dajaku’s girls only wore their nicest clothing when they made a show of taking it off and there was something just wrong about that. He hadn’t asked how much Sakura had made in tips last night but hopefully it had been enough to buy her something decent and if not, perhaps he could scrounge up a thing or two with the cash he had given her that didn’t leave her ass exposed to the breeze.

The moment he thought it, he instantly debated whether that was such a bad thing, and that in itself proved that Kakashi had a problem on his hands.

XXXXX

Sakura walked back up the stairs to her room, a strange mixture of annoyance and elation stirring within her. His words of praise made her feel giddy because during most of Team Seven’s practices, it was Naruto and Sasuke getting all the attention, leaving Sakura to feel like she was trailing behind them once more. However, her team leader also had a way of getting under her skin and he had been doing it more so since the start of their mission. It was probably because he had nobody else around to annoy so she was forced to bare the brunt of his pestering. And yet, she couldn’t help but feel like the dynamic between them had changed, leaving her to feel around tentatively until she could figure out exactly where these new lines between them were drawn. She didn’t exactly mind the shift in their relationship, for in this strange place, it was nice to have the attention of a familiar male who wasn’t solely out for a piece of her ass, but then, at the end of the day, he was still her teacher wasn’t he? And she couldn’t help shake the feeling that this was not how a teacher and student should act.

Her thoughts were interrupted by quiet sniffles coming from the room across from hers. It sounded like someone was crying.

Concerned, Sakura knocked softly on the door and there was a moment of silence before a shaky voice told her to come in.

The kunoichi entered to find Jitsu sitting cross legged on her bed, hugging her pillow to her chest which by now looked to be slightly soggy with her tears. Her eyes were red but her face lacked the puffiness that Sakura always seemed to get whenever she cried. Even in her tears, Jitsu was still beautiful while Sakura thought that when it was herself who was crying, she often emerged looking strikingly similar to a troll. Life was so unfair sometimes.

“Jitsu. What’s the matter?” she asked softly, immediately taking a seat by the weeping girl and slinging a comforting arm around her shoulders. She could feel the girl tense at her touch but gradually began to relax as she ran a hand soothingly up and down her back, giving her time to gather her words if she chose to answer at all.

One glance around the room told her that Jitsu lived in it alone. There were two bunk beds just like in hers but the only bed that looked recently slept in was Jitsu’s, although, there seemed to be an awful lot of stuff in here for just one girl, at least compared with the meager possessions of the others. However, a picture on the only shelf in the room which was hardly more than a crude wooden board nailed to the wall portrayed two smiling girls all done up and obviously ready to dance. One of the girls was Jitsu, and while Sakura didn’t know who the other one was, she found her strangely familiar, knowing she had seen that bright smile somewhere before.

“I-I’m sorry,” the brown haired girl finally managed through her tears. “I didn’t mean to bother you.”

“Don’t be silly,” Sakura said, more concerned about her wellbeing than anything else at the moment. “Is everything alright?”

One glance at the poor girl made it obvious that things were far from “alright” but Sakura wasn’t about to pressure her into telling her something if she really didn’t want to.

“I-it’s just t-that I…I’m…”

Jitsu wiped at her runny nose with the back of her hand.

“Hana, I’m so scared!”

Sakura wasn’t exactly prepared for the sniffling girl to launch herself at her, wrapping her arms around her tightly as if she was hanging on for dear life. Her tears had started anew and she could feel them soaking into her shirt, not that it mattered much considering it wasn’t her shirt to begin with.

Gently, the kunoichi returned the embrace, rubbing her back soothingly as she did her best to ease the girl’s pain.

“Why are you scared,” she said gently, combing her fingers through loose strands of mousy brown hair.

“B-because someone else i-is going to disappear. I just know it!” Jitsu cried, sobbing harder into Sakura’s already soggy chest.

The pink haired woman tried to calm her even though she knew she was probably right.

“Jitsu, you don’t know for sure that—”

“He was never caught, the kidnapper was never caught…” she sniffled miserably. “But Dajaku hasn’t done much to catch him. It’s only a matter of time before he comes again.”

Sakura desperately wanted to tell the trembling woman that her boss had done more than she imagined, her presence in the club being the very proof, but of course, she couldn’t say a word about it and tried to conjure up other reassuring phrases when Jitsu continued through her tears.

“They took Aiya, they took her away even though I told her I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She was my best friend and I couldn’t even protect her.”

Aiya…why did that name sound so familiar. Sakura lifted her gaze to stare at the picture once more until the answer came to her. The girl smiling next to Jitsu was the same dancer she had seen in the picture on Dajaku’s desk upon her arrival. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. This room was so full of stuff because half of it was probably Aiya’s. The girls had been room mates and had obviously been very close and Jitsu still hadn’t gotten over the loss. Sakura couldn’t blame her for she too knew what it was like to have someone important to you disappear from your life. Her heart had ached for months at the mere thought of Sasuke who had left her unconscious and alone after her pitiful attempts to stop him from leaving. Hell, it ached right up to the day that he came back to Konoha, and now that he was home, her chest constricted for different reasons. Every look she gave him was full of warmth and affection but the ones he returned were always cold. Apparently absence did not always make the heart grow fonder, at least not in Sasuke’s case.

But all that had little to do with the girl sobbing in her arms.

“It’s not too late to catch the kidnapper,” she assured softly. “And maybe we’ll find all the girls who were kidnapped, including Aiya and we can bring them all back here and—”

The brunette who had been sniffling had suddenly gone very quiet and still and Sakura half hoped that her words had cheered her up but when the smaller girl raised her head, she was surprised to see anger in her hazel eyes.

“Hana, you don’t have to make up stories like I’m a little kid,” she whispered fiercely and Sakura was reminded of the same passion she had shown when she stated that she clearly refused to give lap dances to any of Wet Dream’s customers. “I know Aiya isn’t coming back and I’ve accepted that even though it hurts. I’d rather you give me a shoulder to cry on than feed me false hopes.”

The kunoichi was taken aback. Her words held such strength despite her vulnerable, tear-stained face. She had always pegged Jitsu as being the quiet though slightly juvenile one but it appeared that nobody was allowed to stay innocent in their profession, both shinobi and strippers had it ripped away as their eyes were opened to the true cruelty of the world.

“Jitsu, I’m sorry,” Sakura whispered truthfully. “I shouldn’t have made everything out to be ok when clearly it’s not.”

The brown haired girl sighed, untangling herself from Sakura’s arms to sit on the edge of the bed. She looked frail and weak but Sakura now knew she harbored an inner strength.

“It’s fine,” she sighed. “You didn’t know the situation. But I know by now the way the world works. Too many bad things have happened for me to believe in fairy tales anymore.”

Sakura had to swallow the lump in her throat. Somehow her words struck a little too close to home. Her fairy tale had been Sasuke, and even now she wasn’t sure if she had given up on him and yet this girl was already crushed and broken at an age where she should still be full of hopes and dreams.

“Bad things…” Sakura echoed absently. Lord knew she had encountered plenty of those.

“Yeah,” Jitsu said, mistaking her response for the need for clarification. “I was born to have bad luck. My mother died giving birth to me so right then I should have known nothing would ever be easy.”

“Oh Jitsu, I’m so sorry.”

Jitsu shrugged again, her hands folded quietly in her lap. Her eyes were cast down to the floor but she continued talking.

“My father was a gambler, had been for as long as I could remember. Only problem was, he wasn’t very good at it.”

Sakura refrained from shaking her head sadly. She knew people like that too. It was a wonder how her ample chested shishou had avoided her own debt collectors for so long.

“We were in debt our whole lives and had to move a lot because of it,” Jitsu continued. “I was his only child and I supposed he loved me to some extent. He was just never really the type to show it.”

A moment of silence passed between them and Sakura was just beginning to wonder whether the girl meant to go on when she opened her mouth again.

“Dad racked up debt everywhere he went, even though he knew he couldn’t pay what he already owed. It was only a matter of time before somebody he had lost to found him. I was six years old when he was murdered. After that, I had nothing.”

Sakura said nothing, for she couldn’t find the words. All of these girls had pasts that were so tragic. She wondered how they managed to get up every day.

“The group of men who killed him took me as compensation. They…did things to me, and made me do things to them. I was six…six! What kind of monster wants to do something like that to a child?!”

She was shaking again, her eyes shiny and brimming with tears but her fists were clenched in anger.

“I hate men. I hate all of them, even Dajaku sometimes but I guess I should be grateful for the roof over my head. But things are different now. I am in control of who touches me and I refuse to let any of them lay their hands on me. Someday I’m going to leave here when I have the money and I don’t care if it takes me forever to earn it. I will not give lap dances to those pigs…to those…”

Her voice was trembling too much for her to finish and at last she closed her eyes and let the tears spill down her cheeks. Sakura was truly at a loss. What the hell did you say in response to something like that? That not all men were bad? Visions of her smiling friends, of Naruto, Sai, Sasuke…of Kakashi lifting a hand in a lazy greeting, of Kakashi slouching against the nearest tree with his book in hand, of Kakashi fighting tooth and nail to defend her when she was a much less experienced fighter…Kakashi right after a shower, silver hair still damp and his scarred torso exposed for her to see.

Sakura blinked in surprise, abruptly clearing away the thoughts that were not at all appropriate at a time like this, or ever for that matter. The point was, not all men were bad and she had the pleasure of knowing quite a few that proved that, but what could she say to this girl who had never experienced a man looking at her with a friendly smile?

Overcome with sadness for her, Sakura leaned over and scooped her into a tight embrace, earning a soft squeak of surprise from the unprepared girl.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Sakura said fiercely. “Not you, not anyone. I promise.”

And though Jitsu probably thought it was just an empty promise made by a girl who had no more power to protect than she herself did, she had no idea just how much Sakura meant each and every word.

XXXXX

The club was crowded just as it had been the night before, the air thrumming with the base beat of the music as Sakura rubbed up against her pole sensuously, feeling the cool metal against her back.

Today’s outfit wasn’t quite so horrendous considering her tiny tube top and G-string were simple black. Her tube top, while it seemed to cover more, actually wasn’t much better considering it was only a few inches wide and consisted of crisscrossing strings across her back and between her breasts. She figured it didn’t really matter how much of her chest was covered considering she would be revealing it all after the next few songs, but she was still was modest enough to feel uncomfortable in such revealing clothes.

After her chat with Jitsu, things had gone on as normal, the girl putting on her usual shy smile and acting as if nothing had taken place, but as Sakura stole a glance over at the brown haired girl grinding against the floor as if she lived for it, she remembered how she had said she hated undressing and writhing for men night after night. She supposed all the girls here did except for maybe Tsurenai and Kitsune. Unfortunately, if Jitsu hoped to ever save enough to get away from this place and start a new life for herself, it was what she would have to do. But from the act she was putting on, Sakura guessed she probably had every guy in the room fooled into thinking that with a little cash, they could get her to do anything for them.

Sakura hooked a high heeled shoe around her pole and pulled herself up, risking splaying her legs wide in the splits, knowing the pole would cover what was really important. The act earned her many more approving stares from eyes that weren’t already glued to her and she got even more when she wrapped her legs tight around the pole and let go with her hands, hanging suspended for a moment until her hands touched the ground and she was able to dismount in a graceful handstand.

It was only her second night dancing and already her skills had noticeably improved, although she was still quite shy when compared to the other girls, but the men that watched her hungrily seemed to find her coy smiles and timidness just as alluring, for tonight the money was coming in even faster than before.

She swiveled her hips in small figure eights that gradually gained size, unsure whether she was pleased or disgusted with the way their dark eyes followed her movements. She tangled her fingers her in loose pink strands which she wore long and straight, courtesy of Kitsune and her flat iron and noted that a grizzly and gruff man in the front row who looked like he ate whole chickens for breakfast licked his lips at her provocatively.

Unnerved, Sakura turned away and gracefully dropped to her knees, crawling along the opposite edge of the platform and allowing the men that could reach to slip money into her G-string. Her eyes scanned the faces before her, trying to see if there were any she recognized from the night before when they landed on a man snapping a crisp bill in front of her, a man wearing a cap over his hair and a scarf over his face.

Kakashi.

It was the first time she had spotted him this evening and he was obviously trying to get her attention while being discreet. The way he snapped the bill brought her attention to the paper and she could see there was something written on it in his sloppy chicken scratch but she couldn’t quite make it out.

Mustering her courage, Sakura crawled towards him and rose up on her knees at the very edge of the stage, meeting his gaze evenly with what she hoped was a sultry smile. She wanted to make it look like she was just doing a little extra flirting in payment for the large sum of money he was offering her. She needed to read what was on that bill, but it was too messy for her to decipher from that distance.

In an uncharacteristically bold move, she cupped her breasts in both hands and pressed them together, deepening her cleavage as she leaned forward to make it clear exactly where she wanted him to deposit the bill.

Kakashi reached towards her, slowly tucking the bill between her breasts and angling it so she could read it easily before the majority of it disappeared into her top.

Third to your left, gray jacket.

Sakura’s eyes immediately lifted to scan the crowd and easily found the man Kakashi had mentioned. One glance at him told her he was a shinobi, although a less informed person who knew nothing about the ninja profession would not have been able to pick him out. His body structure was lean but well defined and the canvas pouch at his hip probably held kunai or shuriken or maybe even a scroll or two. He was currently staring at Misaki like a tiger on the prowl but he seemed to be wandering the floor, looking at each girl in turn as if he were perusing the merchandise at a market. She immediately disliked the vibe she got from him and could see why Kakashi had picked him out. It looked like some questioning was in order.

She gave Kakashi a flirtatious glance and resumed crawling along the edge. It seemed several men wanted the same attention she had given Kakashi but they were sorely disappointed when she rose from the floor and returned to her pole without making a bill depository out of her cleavage for anyone else.

She climbed high on her pole, pretending to put herself on display but really the high vantage point allowed her to keep tabs on her target who was now eyeing Miyabi’s graceful body like she was a prime cut of meat. As the set of songs ended, all eyes turned to the main platform, waiting for Tsurenai to begin her solo. Sakura slipped into the crowd towards the man she was looking for and found him watching the stage expectantly with everyone else.

Steeling herself, she took at deep breath and approached him, very much aware that if he accepted her offer, she would have to give her first lap dance, well, her first lap dance that wasn’t a practice run on her teacher.

Everyone seemed so focused the second the music started blaring and Tsurenai appeared, that only a few wandering hands found their way to her body as she pushed through the crowd but Sakura was too busy to worry about it at the moment.

“He there,” she said, flashing a sultry smile and making sure to rub up against him just a little. “Looking for dance?”

The man glanced at her, annoyed that she was interrupting him when he was clearly watching the lavender haired dancer on stage but quickly did a double take when he saw that she was a dancer herself.

“We could go somewhere more private, come on, what do you say?” Sakura practically purred in his ear, hoping her pitch was close to the breathy, seductive tone Kakashi had suggested she use.

“Well…I…” the man faltered as he looked back at the stage, clearly torn between which girl to pursue.

“If you try holding out for her, you could be here all night,” Sakura said, trying to make herself heard over the music. “But me, I’m right here…”

Hesitantly, she let her hand brush low on his abdomen, making the muscles tense beneath her touch. They were rock solid and defined, no doubt toned by shinobi training.

Her encouragement seemed to work because he finally relented, flashing her a lopsided smile that had a predatory edge to it and followed her as she beckoned him over to the private rooms.

Juu was on duty, standing with his arms folded in front of the doors. He looked quite intimidating but looked at Sakura kindly.

“Starting early tonight,” he noted, considering that the other girls were still dancing.

Sakura shrugged before smiling coyly at her victim.

“I couldn’t resist.”

XXXXX

Kakashi watched the pink haired woman pull their potential subject after her towards the rooms in the back, trying not feel like he should intervene somehow and protect her. This was the very thing she had been assigned to do on this mission and it would be silly to slow their progress of finding the person behind the disappearances.

And yet, he couldn’t help but feel a stab of regret in his chest. Regret that his student had to subject herself to such things?

Bullshit. You’re regretting that it isn’t you in there.

The thought ran through his mind before he even had a chance to stop it and it was crazy enough that it actually made him pause a moment.

He was jealous of the man getting a private dance from Sakura? Why would he think that way? It was completely unprofessional behavior.

And yet, he was well aware that a great many unprofessional thoughts had been manifesting themselves ever since this mission started.

He couldn’t help but remember the way her surprisingly lush body felt against him as he coaxed her to grind on his lap and how those perky breasts felt as they brushed over his cheek, separated only by his mask and her T-shirt. She had looked fabulous in that tiny little tube top and he imagined she would look even better out of it Was she going to do the same thing to that man in there as she had done to him? Was she going to press those same flushed breasts against him only this time without any fabric covering them?

Of course she was. He had taught her too well for her to do things any different. She needed answers from this man and had been instructed to go to any length to get them, including pressing his face into her naked chest.

Perhaps she would even allow him to touch back, to caress those delightful curves in a way Kakashi never dared…

The Copy nin tried to brush the thought away. What she did in there was really none of his business as long as she got results and he was wasting time and energy worrying about it when he could be searching the club for the next prospective culprit, especially since he had come up with nothing but dead ends after spending all day researching the men on the list.

He resigned himself to a seat at the bar, ordering just a beer since he wanted his senses to remain sharp. However, even though he was supposed to be examining the faces of the men around him, his eyes kept drifting back to the door Sakura had entered.

Dammit, she made it so hard to concentrate and she wasn’t even in the room! And where the hell had she learned a move like what she pulled on stage, leaning towards him with her breasts pushed together like that? Kakashi was well aware that the girls dancing at the club were undoubtedly better teachers at seducing men than he was, considering they had been doing it for a while, but he had never dreamed Sakura would be so bold as to borrow a move like that. It made him wonder what else she would be willing to try.

Kakashi shook his head at his own foolishness as he sipped at his beer, wondering just when he had become such a stupid old man.

XXXXX

Juu stepped aside and allowed her to enter the first room on the left and Sakura locked the door behind her before gesturing for the man to sit in the single chair. The kunoichi tried to slow her racing heart as butterflies danced in her stomach. After her encounter with Jitsu earlier that day she had had found herself conversing with Misaki back in their room and the blonde had given her several helpful tips concerning lap dancing as well as a rundown on the basic procedures. Sakura was extremely grateful for it now because there had been many details that Kakashi hadn’t covered, things like securing payment for example.

“First things first,” she said, keeping her tone low and seductive. “How are you going to pay me?”

The man fished in his pocket and withdrew a thick wad of cash that probably contained a sum of money larger than her last A-rank mission. He peeled off several bills of larger denominations and waved them at her.

“I assume this will cover it?”

Well, whatever work he did, shinobi related or not, it certainly paid well.

Sakura took the money and slipped it under the thin strap of her thong with her other tips before getting down to business; trying to remember what Kakashi and Misaki had told her, both from the mission and business perspective.

“Ok, here’s the rules. You can look, but you can’t touch. If you want something…specific you can ask for it for an extra fee but I have every right to say no. If your hands start to wander to places they shouldn’t, I’ll call in security and have you thrown out, but if you play nice, we should get along just fine.”

“Fair enough,” the man nodded, signaling he understood.

Well, now that the preliminaries were out of the way, she had no choice but to begin and she sincerely hoped that she didn’t mess this up.

She stood before him, legs spread slightly as she began to run her hands over her body, arching into her touch as if it was the best feeling she had ever experienced. She quickly synced her rhythm with the music that was playing inside the booth as well as out in the main club although it wasn’t quite so deafening in the small room.

“So, you come here often?” she began, keeping the conversation light like her blonde mentor had instructed if she got nervous, which she most definitely was.

His eyes shamelessly followed her every movement as he leaned back, clearly getting comfortable as he watched her touch herself. When her hands slid over the swell of her hips he licked his lips again, gaze fixing on the scrap of black fabric hiding the apex of her thighs.

“I stop by whenever I’m in town,” he answered, his voice deep and gravelly.

“Is that so?” she asked, her hands caressing her own thighs as she fought to keep a blush from forming on her cheeks even though the intensity of his gaze was making her quite self conscious. “What brings you here this time?”

“Work,” he said shortly, shifting a little as his pants no doubt became a little tighter.

It figured getting a straight answer from him wouldn’t be that easy.

Sakura studied her subject as he studied her. His eyes and hair were dark and he had sharp, angular features. He certainly wasn’t handsome but he wasn’t ugly either. His teeth were slightly yellow and his build lean and thin and the clothing he wore was nondescript and easily forgettable. He was the sort of person you could look right at but not remember, a great asset if you were hoping to commit some crimes.

Hesitantly, she rubbed her hands up her body to cup her breasts, squeezing the lightly and letting her head fall to the side in a pleasured sigh even though she was too nervous to feel much of anything.

The man shifted in his chair again as he gave a deep growl of approval.

“That’s fucking sexy.”

Sakura swished her hips in response, trying to gage when a good time would be to pop the next question without it seeming like she was grilling him. She pushed her breasts together creating cleavage that was visible through the crisscrosses of her top and was about to open her mouth when he beat her to it.

“Lose the shirt.”

She should have known that would be the first thing he wanted gone.

Knowing he was about to be temporarily distracted, she took the chance to strike.

“So, what kind of job would earn a big wad of cash like that? Maybe I could sign up for that kind of work,” she murmured as she inched her top down teasingly. His eyes remained riveted to her chest as the black cloth hovered millimeters away from exposing rosy areola. When it became apparent she wasn’t going to get on with it until she got an answer he responded.

“Shinobi missions.”

Bingo.

“I see,” Sakura said, acting as if she was only mildly interested as she pushed her top all the way down, letting it bunch around her navel. Rounded breasts bounced free and she was pretty sure she could have grown another head and wouldn’t have looked away from her slightly hardened nipples.

“So, do you belong to a ninja village then?” she purred, advancing on him now that he was obviously less than clear headed.

“No, I freelance,” he breathed as she bent over to draw his knees together before turning around and straddling him, pressing her bare back to his chest. She could feel the solid lump in his pants bump against her sensitive core and this time, couldn’t stop the blazing heat from invading her face, especially when he shifted in his seat to rub against her.

“Freelancing?” she said, trying to keep her seductive voice from rising to a squeak as she felt the hot bulge run back and forth over her mound. She couldn’t really shift because her rear was even more vulnerable considering only a string protected her modesty so she tried to remain calm as she began to grind in slow, wide circles.

“Ooh, baby that feels nice,” he groaned, his hands coming to rest on her thighs but making no move to touch her anywhere else.

Sakura let out a breathy sigh of her own although hers was completely fabricated.

“I bet freelancing brings all kinds of interesting jobs,” she murmured, bracing her hands on his knees as she began to rub a little faster.

“Yeah,” he panted, the hands on her thighs urging her to grind against him harder.

She complied but apparently started moving against him a little too roughly for she heard a grunt pass his lips that sounded more pained than pleasured. She quickly assumed a gentler pace and told herself to get a grip.

“Sorry, I got carried away,” she breathed, hoping she hadn’t turned him off completely but it appeared he was still plenty interested because he chuckled in her ear, “Baby, you can get carried away anytime.”

Instead of worrying about what that meant exactly, she struggled to think of a tactic that would extract the information she needed to know.

His breath puffing on her shoulder was warm and stale and smelled slightly of booze and despite the friction against such a sensitive part of her body, she found herself completely unaroused, although Misaki had warned her she might get turned on. She remembered how she had felt with Kakashi, all warm and tingly, though she had been thoroughly embarrassed and wondered if it had just been a fluke.

“What’s your current mission?” she asked, risking being forward in hoped that he was too preoccupied to realize how nosy she was being.

“It’s supposed to be top secret,” he groaned heatedly, pressing her onto his erection even harder.

Well, if that’s how he was going to play then it was time to switch tactics.

She stood up and turned around, one knee resting on the edge of the chair between his parted thighs while her hands braced themselves on his shoulders. Her breasts which he had found so interesting before were now dangling enticingly in front of his face.

“Are all shinobi this mysterious?” she purred as if she found it to be incredibly attractive instead of an annoying setback. She bit her lip and gazed at him from beneath sooty lashes just as Kakashi had instructed, although it was clear it wasn’t her face he was looking at.

“I guess,” he responded dumbly, panting heavily now. His hands had crept up onto her hips, right below the top that was still bunched around her waist but Sakura decided to let it slide considering she wanted to lower his guard as much as she could.

She could feel his ragged breath on her breasts now, a stark contrast against the room’s cool air but even then, jittery nerves and careful focus on her task prevented her from feeling any sort of pleasure at all, or perhaps it was the fact that he was panting like a dog that had just run a mile.

“You act as if you have something to hide. It makes a girl curious, you know.”

Her tone was playful, as if she didn’t understand the implications of revealing a top secret mission, but in reality she knew exactly what she was doing.

She let one breast drag over his scruffy cheek, just as she had done with Kakashi and tried to focus more on the mechanics of the task more than the fact that she was using her body in such a way. She couldn’t afford to feel shame and disgust right now so she pushed everything else from her mind except the task of loosening his tongue.

As she leaned forward to press her beasts more fully against his face, the knee between his legs slid upwards, accidentally bumping his groin but it seemed to have quite a favorable reaction considering he actually arched in his seat The kunoichi was quick to use this new knowledge to her advantage and began to grind her knee against him rhythmically, as she dragged silky breasts across his skin that was starting to dampen with perspiration.

“You’re good at this,” he groaned against her, his grip on her hips tightening as he flexed his pelvis against her knee.

This had been going so smooth that Sakura could hardly believe it. The man seemed to be putty in her hands, a sensation that was wholly unfamiliar to her, but she tried to use her new power as best she could.

“Does it make you want to steal me away,” she whispered, watching closely for any reactions to her obviously loaded question. “I bet you’d love a whole collection of girls just like me.”

“Naw, one is enough,” he growled against her breasts. “And there’s no need to steal you when I can have you right here.”

Sakura started in surprise as she felt something hot and moist encircle one of her nipples. The bastard actually had the nerve to start sucking on her breast! The sensation sent a stab of pleasure into her belly which both excited an alarmed her for his action had shifted the balance of power. She was supposed to be in complete control of the situation and she wasn’t anymore.

Abruptly, she pulled away, her breast leaving his mouth with a wet pop and she had to fight down the knee jerk reaction to rearrange his face with a chakra laden punch. Struggling to collect her composure and refrain from blowing her cover, she looked at him evenly.

“I said no touching,” she said, the seductive tone gone and replaced with a frosty edge that barely concealed her anger. “Do you want me to throw you out?”

The man looked slightly taken aback, dark eyes widening before he muttered sheepishly that he didn’t.

She had the power back and the ball was in her court. Perhaps she could use this to her advantage.

“Tell you what,” she said, resting her forearms on her shoulders. “I’ll let you stay one more song without causing a fuss but you have to tell me about your mission. You’ve gone and piqued my interest since you told me it’s a secret.”

The second the words were past her lips, she was afraid she had been too forward for he looked at her warily as if he was considering leaving of his own accord. In a desperate attempt to keep him seated, she pushed her knee forward once again, rubbing it provocatively against the tent in his pants which hadn’t waned at all despite her threat.

Just when she thought he would turn her down his lips split in an amused smile, showcasing twin rows of yellowed teeth.

“You play dirty,” he chuckled, hands finding their way to her hips once more. “I like it. You would make a hell of a spy.”

Sakura was rather proud that she didn’t tense up at his words, considering there was far more truth in them than the speaker realized.

“Well…I am dirty,” she said with only a moment’s awkward pause. Bedroom talk was completely foreign to her and she felt silly saying it.

“I’m in town to bump off a shinobi who double crossed his client. It seems he went and pissed off the wrong people,” said in between grunts and groans as Sakura continued to work her knee between his legs.

“Really, how exciting,” she smiled as if it were thrilling although inside her heart was sinking. She had become pretty adept at reading people and he was giving every indication that he was telling the truth.

“It could be worse I guess,” he panted, arching into her touch. “The moron isn’t a high level shinobi so once I find him, he should be easy to knock off.”

“Really?” Sakura said, feigning interest. “Who did he double cross?”

“Some big shot in Rock,” he grunted. “I guess he took the funds given for the mission and took off with them. It was a fair chunk of change from what I heard. Serves the guy right to…ah fuck, that feels good.”

Sakura had pressed her knee hard against him, grinding in tiny circles and apparently it was something he appreciated. However, she was no longer really interested in what her customer had to say. He obviously had nothing to do with the kidnappings here.

As if on cue the song ended and Sakura pulled away, tugging her top back into position quickly.

“Well…see ya round,” she said awkwardly, not exactly sure what she should do now that the lap dance was over.

“You can bet if I’m back in town I’ll come looking for ya. You’re one of the best I’ve had in a while Pinky.”

Sakura turned and left before she followed her compulsion to deck him for calling her such an atrocious and unoriginal nickname. She supposed she had better get used to it though for he was undoubtedly only the first in a long line of losers she would have to interrogate. All things considered though, she thought her first lap dance had gone rather well. Hell, it could have gone a whole lot worse.

She emerged into the club’s main room, leaving Mr. Tall, Dark and Dumb to get his act together on his own and found herself in the midst of a mob of men vying for Tsurenai’s attention. The purple haired star was clearly loving it, taking her time in selecting her next dance partner who was probably willing to pay a small fortune for a little of her time.

At last she selected a slender man with blondish hair although it could have been light brown but under the flashing lights, it was hard to tell. Other men around her groaned in disappointment as they realized they had once again been rejected as the winner trailed after her, shooting smug looks at his fellow club patrons. He breezed by Sakura and she was surprised when he glanced over his shoulder at her, giving her an appraising look with eyes that were an unnatural yellow green.

Sakura watched them both disappear behind a door and silently wondered as she made her way back to the stage just how much money that man had offered up to get picked by the club’s star dancer. She was willing to bet it would have paid the rent on her apartment for a year.

XXXXX

Kakashi watched Sakura leave the booth alone, her pink hair making her easy to spot amidst the small crowd that had gathered in the back after Tsurenai had finished her set. Her long tresses didn’t look quite as sleek as they had going in and he couldn’t help but wonder if the man inside had run his fingers through it as she had danced for him, although he couldn’t really imagine Sakura allowing that sort of thing.

He noticed that her top was slightly crooked and his jaw clenched unconsciously at he thought of her rubbing tightened nipples against his cheek just like she had done to him. It wasn’t fair for her to have to do such a thing for the sake of a mission but then again, to take up the life of a shinobi was to live a life full of unfairness.

His eyes followed her form through the crowd from his seat at the bar as she made her way back to the stage, no doubt to resume dancing and he took a long swig from his second beer, even though he told himself he would stop after one. He hadn’t managed to find anyone else worth sending to Sakura yet but the night was still young and chances were some creep would show up and start looking at the girls that was a little too strange even for a strip club. But then, he would have to send them to Sakura to deal with. It seemed that in this situation, even if they won, they lost.

Kakashi took another long drag from his beer. The night was still young, but it was shaping up to be a long one.

XXXXX

Yay! Done with yet another chapter! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Please drop me a line. I love hearing from all of you!

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