Warning: this chapter contains mature themes. If you are uncomfortable with it, by all means, press the back button. Please don't say I didn't warn you.

Chapter 8: The Game

Sakura's lashes fluttered against her ashen cheeks as she gradually opened her eyes and tried to focus on her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was falling down the cliff then…nothing…the rest of it was a complete blank. Placing a weak hand on her head, she massaged her temples to still the throbbing pain in her skull. Like a dreadful hangover, she had no sense of time and place and her body still ached all over, but at least she could move now.

After a few minutes of lying down and gathering her scattered senses, she clumsily propped herself onto one elbow, looked around and assessed the surroundings, an old habit she picked up from her training as a shinobi.

From what she could process, she was in some sort of a shallow cave or a crevice against the hill foundations, the entrance being a narrow passageway like a gaping fish's mouth that had swallowed her alive. It was freezing cold inside and her breath misted as she exhaled. The only source of light was the small fire in the middle, giving the stone formations above her that ominous, gloomy look. She suddenly felt claustrophobic against the intimidating structure of the rocks looming over her head like deadly icicles aimed to pierce her tiny body. Shrugging the feeling off, she squirmed her eyes to gaze outside the cave.

Every now and then, a flash of lighting would illuminate the small cave casting an eerie glow inside the shelter. It was still dark and she could hear the noisy platter of water as it gushed down from the sky with a vengeance. It was still raining profusely outside which could mean that she hadn't slept for too long, it was still the same night.

It's really thundering out there, good thing I'm in here.

She relaxed herself and laid her body back down on the cold cave floor intending to go back to sleep.

Wait… how did I get here?

Suddenly jerking into sitting position, she gave a painful growl as her limbs ached from the abrupt movement. She grabbed her shoulder and started to knead her hurting muscles with a deep sigh. She had never felt this battered before in her life.

"So you're finally awake huh"

She froze as she instantly looked at the direction where the voice came from and saw Kakashi sitting across from her, leaning back into a huge boulder behind him, one hand holding the same orange book he was reading earlier while the other hand played with a kunai, absentmindedly spinning it between his fingers and occasionally throwing it lightly in the air while his eyes remained glued to the book.

Her heart skipped a beat as terror flooded through her body once again suddenly remembering every ugly detail of their past encounter, the bloody battle… the dreadful chase… the deadly fall…

She would have run away again, if her weak body had allowed her to do so, but she had an awful feeling that she won't get too far, that she won't get lucky a second time.

Then again, he wasn't threatening her in any form, with his legs crossed in a languid manner in front of him, casually leaning back and enjoying his hobby.

Actually, he seemed more interested in the book than her.

Sakura's brow creased in confusion.

"What am I doing here?" Knowing he had all the time in the world to kill her while she was unconscious, she couldn't help but feel that she should be dead by now.

"It's raining outside." Kakashi said matter-of-factly, without even lifting his gaze from the book which irritated the quick-tempered kunoichi.

"No! I mean, what am I doing here!" she repeated angrily at his philosophical answer.

"Would you rather stay outside? That could still be arranged, you know." He replied coolly without even looking at her.

Sakura was unused to derisive answers and she was fuming mad with Kakashi's satirical reply. Her eyes thinned as she threw a deadly stare at him. Any other man would have cowered under her wrathful glare for she was known in her village for having a short temper and the skills and talent to back it up. She was a strong, capable woman and many men had bowed on her feet and surrendered to her fury before.

Unfortunately for her, Kakashi was not just any other man, as he completely ignored her hostile eyes and carefully turned the page of his book, the sound of creasing paper annoying her even more.

A deep growling sound came from her throat which sounded much like an angry tiger as she clawed her fingers against the dirt floor.

Again… no response…

Apparently, she wasn't going to get a decent answer from this man

Then again, it was a stupid question to ask.

She sighed against her thoughts.

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Since he was totally ignoring her for the moment, Sakura decided to take this opportunity to survey the man in front of her, creating a mental picture of his appearance. Her sensei taught her that any information about an enemy might prove beneficial under certain circumstances and she was not about to pass out the chance, seeing him in this lazy, unguarded state.

Silver… such an unusual color.

She eyed him intently. Though the lower half of his face was hidden behind the orange book, she had an excellent view of his mismatched eyes, which, at the moment seemed unaware that they were being scrutinized.

Sakura could sense a concealed power behind his sharingan eye, like it could pierce through her body and gaze into her soul, almost like he could read her mind even before she thought about it, which frightened her quite a bit. She forced her eyes away from his red one, suddenly uncomfortable with the thoughts of its uncanny ability.

Her gaze drifted to his well defined arms, no doubt brought about by extensive training and experience. His chiseled muscular torso, currently shirtless, was covered with deep scratches and bloody wounds. A deep painful-looking laceration made by her kodachi marked the center of his chest but even in this injured state, his body emitted a unique masculine strength that she had never seen on any other male before, almost like he wasn't even wounded at all. She decided that he was definitely at the prime of his life and most probably the best ninja in the land as of this moment.

Sakura was still pondering this over and staring at him when Kakashi suddenly lifted his gaze and met her eyes. A smile formed on his lips, hidden behind the book.

"Satisfied?" he asked mockingly.

Involuntarily, Sakura flushed into a shade not far from the color of her hair as she pried her sight away from him immediately. She heard him chuckle behind the cover of his book before he lowered his eyes and started to read again.

Damn you, Kakashi!

Intending to examine her own wounds, she looked down on her own body and finally noticed… …her own lack of clothing. She was down to her black undergarments with nothing but small pieces of fabric covering only the essential parts of her body.

Her eyes widened and gave a high pitched shriek as she covered her breasts with her arms, her mind instantly thinking of the worst possible thing that could happened to a woman.

He…he couldn't have… NO!

Her mind was racing with the most horrible scenarios of what might have happened while she was unconscious. Her almost naked body and his unclothed state left nothing to question and it all pointed to one solid direction.

He made no effort to hide his desire for her body throughout their whole encounter and he made it clear what he wanted from her if she lost.

She just didn't think he would actually do it to her while she was unconscious, when she couldn't even fight and defend her honor.

Her breathing grew more rapid with anxiety as she wrapped her arms tightly around her body. She felt dirty and disgraced.

What would Tsunade-sensei tell me now?

She could almost feel the stinging slap across her face when her sensei finds out that she gave her innocence without so much as a fight, and to the enemy, on top of that.

Tortured by her own thoughts, Sakura almost cried with shame but she held onto her pride, she won't let this brute who has taken her dignity see her tears.

Kakashi looked up and saw her discomfort and he understood immediately why.

He cleared his throat to catch her attention. "Your clothes were wet. I…umm…dried them out for you."

"Wh… what?"

Kakashi motioned his kunai to the fire side where his shirt and her clothes were laid out.

"Wet clothes…" he repeated as if speaking to a child. "you would have caught a cold if you stayed in them."

"But…but…you didn't…" Sakura stuttered out anxiously.

"No, I didn't" cutting her off before she could finish her sentence.

Surprised and confused at the same time, Sakura muttered the first question she could think of, and probably the most stupid one in her life.

"Why not?"

She mentally slapped herself as soon as the words slipped out her mouth.

His answer was in a form of a torturous glare as he slowly lowered his novel and tucked the kunai in his belt, looking directly into her eyes. He examined the barely clad woman in front of him, her cherry ruffled hair framing her face quite beautifully.

Why not indeed?

Emerald eyes shinned brilliantly against the fire light, discomfort evident in them once again as he continued his gaze. She looked like she was about to cry which amused him even more. He could almost see her pink moist lips quiver before she bit on them to stop the trembling. He smiled, remembering the sweet taste of those lips beneath his own, the texture of her soft skin against his mouth.

His breath became shallow as he lowered his eyes even more, past her supple neck and pronounced collar bones, sight falling on the heaving swell of her breasts, rising and falling with every deep breath she takes. The darkness of the fabric against the paleness of her skin accentuated her feminine curves perfectly. Her attempt to cover them from his lascivious eyes only intensified his desire to yank her arms and rip the dainty clothing away and feel those curves against his lips and tongue.

He grinded his teeth together as he gazed at the flatness of her stomach and her long, slender limbs, the temptation to touch the sensitive flesh between them almost driving him insane.

He imagined his hands running up her pale thighs with a tantalizingly slow movement. Would she writhe underneath the weight of his body, finally admitting her defeat, or would she fight him like she had done before? Kakashi hoped it would be both. He gripped the edge of his book tightly, knuckles tuning white. The urge to find out was so intense he didn't think he could contain himself any longer.

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Sakura knew that look in his eyes all too well, frozen on the spot by the fierceness of his gaze. She could feel its warmth as they slowly went lower and lower on her body. A scarlet blush tainted her cheeks as he examined every inch of her uncovered skin. She felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny and she hugged her body tighter, looking at the dead space on the floor. She could not meet his eyes for fear that she would melt under the heat of his gaze.

Time seemed to be moving so slow that it was completely unbearable. She couldn't breathe.

An unfamiliar sensation flowed through her whole body making her dizzy and lightheaded. She closed her eyes, seeking control over the tremors that surged throughout her being but failing miserably.

Command as she will, her body had betrayed her.

And all of that from a single stare?

She almost wished that she was facing the harsh, brute assassin instead of this calm, virile man who was slowly seducing her with his eyes.

She did not dare think what would happen to her if he touches her bare skin… if he kissed her again… if he continued to… to look at her this way any longer.

Her heart throbbed erratically for fear that she would…

she would…

Yield.

"Because… my little wildcat…" his voice was low and husky, cutting out Sakura's train of thought.

"I am not so dishonorable a man… that I would take an unconscious woman… whose name I don't even know." the last phrase barely a whisper.

Sakura finally released a breath she did not realize she held. Nothing had her for this kind of torture, to be torn between the desire of her body and the defiant personality of her mind. The atmosphere in the cavern got so intense that she felt like she was going to faint again. She was breathing rapidly now unable to mask the responses of her body.

Oh, god!

An evil smile crept on Kakashi's lips upon seeing her reaction to his words.

Oh yes, my little cat, you cannot deny me any longer.

He decided to push their game a little bit farther.

"But seeing as you are now fully conscious and… … properly attired…" slowly trailing his eyes lower and lower on her body once again. "I don't see why we can't continue where we left off…"

Sakura was slapped back to reality by the arrogance in his voice. Her eyes widened in response at his haughty remark and she clenched her fists, her violent side finally overcoming the yearning of her body.

"If… if you think that I would just offer myself to you… well you got another think coming, you bastard!" the curses fell easily on her lips. She was screaming mad now, her voice echoing against the rock foundations.

"You won't find me so easy. I will fight you…you… arrogant pig headed fool." She was scarlet with fury and breathing heavily with rage.

"and you will find no pleasure in it."

For one brief second, Kakashi was tempted to prove just how much pleasure he could get out of her and how much more he could give in return. A muscle twitched on his jaw as he grinded his teeth together.

She was pushing his buttons, and she was pushing hard.

"Well I'm glad you have that fiery temper of yours back. It means you're almost healed and ready to claw my eyeballs out!" he said with a small laugh.

"But you can keep your talons to yourself, my lovely cat. I promised myself I won't hurt you anymore tonight... unless needed of course. "

And with that, he lifted up his book and continued on reading… leaving a dumstruck, wide eyed and very confused, kunoichi hanging on a thread.

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Author's note: sorry guys but it might take some time before I upload the next chapter, I got my boards comming and I really need to focus on that one first sniff...sniff I will finish the story...eventually.