Round 1

He felt proud. He had cornered her now in their little game and she would soon pay for ever having belittled his manipulative intelligence. She was his ultimate chess opponent and check mate was almost at hand.

His hand slid around the older girl's waist pulling her steadily towards them. She was a year older than him and there was just a little difference of height between them. The serious fifteen year old glanced at her face, nearly devoid of emotion save for a pinkish tint on her cheeks. "you promised me…" he murmured. Her lips twitched slightly as if about to smile, "I know". He pulled her towards him once more with a force that brought their lips together and left them crashing down on the couch. He felt her body beneath him and the feverish warmth that radiated from it. His arm that was still wrapped around her waist pulled tighter around it.

He felt her moist lips on his as she kissed him timidly opposed to his slight aggression. Her hand was against his chest, ready to push him away at any moment, but his arm secured her to him. He wouldn't let go just yet. He could feel her shivering slightly from a suppressed excitement. He let his tongue poke around her mouth pleading for entrance. She hesitated for a moment but an urgent nibble on her lip and she gave in shyly. His tongue snaked in and explored the cave of her mouth. He could sense the heat rising to her cheeks and the sheer knowledge that he could shatter her usually cold composure gave him satisfaction.

She broke the kiss first, cheeks a blaze but he was quick to pull another move. His free hand reached up to the collar of her blouse and yanked it, letting a button free and leaving the skin there unsecure. Soon his mouth was on her neck , kissing it, nibbling it, biting…Her lips were shut tight firmly but finally he reached a spot… There was a small moan from below him and slowly he smirked knowing he found a weak spot. Within seconds he located the spot and began to suck and nibble it torturously. She bit her lip, not wanting to emit any sound as her hand on his chest tightened around the cloth of his vest, and her free hand clutched his hair. Now she was beginning to become aggressive.

He made her unsettled, so she would do the same…

With quick precision she flipped so that it was him beneath and her with the authority. The side of her neck was red where he had tortured the skin, sucking and nibbling it till his mark was left there. She was no longer shy and flustered but now her eyes were slanted ready to make him suffer. Slowly her hand slipped under his shirt and his eyes widened for a millisecond before narrowing as he challenged her. Her smirk grew slightly as she began to trace circles on his skin. Beads of sweat fell down the side of his face as his skin burned. Her soft skin ghosted across his own sending shivers down his spine…and before he could understand his position, a moan escaped his lips and his arms tightened around her holding her down. .. As soon as the sound escaped his lips the ghostly hand paused over his skin and drew away from under his shirt. As he lay there panting slightly , his head turned to the side, she held his gaze with her own, cold and calculating.

Suddenly he felt the pressure of her body against him lessen and she pushed herself off of him. He pushed himself in to a sitting possession, cursing how his plan had back fired and she had used her own charm to unsettle him.

She paused near the door, buttoning her blouse to hide the love bite, "you won the bet but you'll soon see how hard it is to own me…little boy…" and with that she walked out, shutting the door behind her and leaving him to his frustration at losing round one.

Round 2

He narrowed his eyes as he felt himself drawn in by her spell. She sat on a chair, her legs crossed and slung over the arm of the chair, her fingers playing with a wildly wavy lock of pink hair. On her other hand however was a leash and attached to the leash- much to his annoyance- was a collar firmly wound around his neck. She tugged it towards her and he felt his body comply against his wishes. "nifty, isn't it?". He made no answer. "It's not personal you know" she said as her hand gently caressed his face, tracing his lips …once upon a time he might have enjoyed this contact with every fiber of his being but now all he knew was that he despised the witch. The playful expression she had had previously ,left her face, replaced by a stoic attentiveness, "you were the one who challenged me. You can always pull it off" she said…almost in a pleading tone.

Slowly he smirked, "are you …afraid?". Her mouth twitched and a frown settled on her face, "I'm not afraid of you". He decided to goad her even more, "really? What if I do this?". Quickly he stood up and planted his mouth on her neck…He had memorized exactly where that piece of flesh was located and noticed, to his pleasure, that the previous mark he had left there had not fully disappeared.

She gasped in surprise and pushed him away.

When he regained his balance he saw she was standing, breathing heavily and flushed . At once the leash in her hand as well as his collar disintegrated. Puffing, she turned on her heal and walked away in quick strides. He smirked to himself as he watched her retreating back. "Score: one each".

Round 3

He felt sick inside when he saw her hunched figure in the corner of the room. Her head was bent and hand covered her face, but he could hear little sobs and he saw small, crystal tears drip to the floor. Her composure was lost like a cracked mirror. She reached her limits , she couldn't hide anything anymore. The continuous lies that had strung from her mouth, either good or bad, had stopped flowing as if the well they had sprouted from dried up. The cheerful, sadistic, cold eyes of hers were now dull, clouded by an overwhelming sadness. Now she was truly vulnerable.

What should he do now? He could win the challenge…but would he? Would he strike at her with harsh words and temptations now that she was so fragile and frail. Just like an ordinary girl she had a heart…and it was breaking. But could he afford to show mercy to the witch? One who, so often before, had played with his emotions as well as her own, and put up masks that looked so real. Could he trust that what she was feeling was real? Could he trust that she could feel?

He drew closer to her hovering above her. The sobs stopped and she drew herself to her full height, bracing herself for a war about to come. For a long time they looked at each other in the darkness. But as soon as he decided to move he then noticed the steady flow of tears from her eyes. Her face showed no sadness, nor anguish, but the pent up sadness refused to stop and flowed steadily against her will.

Slowly he stepped closer to her and cupped her face in his hands, "shh…it's ok…" he murmured, and with that he kissed her. He kissed her softly this time, and sweetly unlike his previous kisses that were rough and aggressive. It was as if she was made of glass and he was afraid to break her. He held her close, and he could feel her body, cold and hollow almost like her heart. She just closed her eyes as the river of anguish continued to flow.

It felt like he was holding a doll. One with fair skin and hooded eyes and a pretty face…but still just a doll. He stroked her pink hair slowly as her clouded emerald eyes kept staring straight ahead. She lost her will to stand and slowly sunk to the floor. He held her as they both sat on the floor. Her tears had now dried up but she still kept staring ahead. Finally he fell asleep with her in his arms.

When he woke up the next morning, she was pale and her eyes were closed. He shook her slightly but she didn't stir. He just held her close to his body but soon realized she was cold and there was no trace of the old heat that made him shiver. She was totally still and her face was peaceful. Suddenly, without knowing why himself, he began to cry. Her heart had broken.

Sakura the witch had died of sadness.