Full Summary:

Sakura had lived the life of a teenaged-girl to perfection. That was, of course, before she met him – a mysterious stranger she met from cyber world who had it all in one: humour, manners (for the most part) and so hotly secretive… it was all fun and exciting until that one night, when he proposed to play a little game of his own.

She agreed without any hesitation.

And before she knew it, she was being watched… followed…

Suddenly, he was everywhere, and there were no places left to hide in.

Little did Sakura know, she was being drawn into a never ending game of hide and go kill - an online game made too deadly real.

... in which the cost of losing was the life of her own.

Sneak Peek
(an excerpt from the story)

To be able to play any sort of a board game, logically, you'll need two main things: the player and the representing token, also known as: the game piece.

A game piece is, according to the dictionary, the object the player controls to be able to carry through and play the game.

The player, in the process, enjoys the game, if it goes well to his liking.

But why wouldn't it… when the token, a mere nonliving thing, did not have the ability to object?

The player, therefore, was in control.

The game piece only follows.

In this little game that I was involuntarily playing in,

He was the player…

…And I was his game piece.

Instant Message

Death has just signed in

Prologue

Positioned furtively beneath the shadowed corner of the blind alley, I stood watching, wholly still and silent—like an unseen predator, waiting sinisterly for its prey.

But I wasn't in waiting for any prey at the current moment; in fact, the prey had actually been the one to come to us. The garrulous rat thought he was running away, when actually he'd been running straight to our little mouse trap- a dead-ended path where we had been expecting him.

The pathetic creature became too talkative. I knew from the start he was unreliable, but I did not have any more pawns at that moment, so I had no choice but to let the man do the…dealings.

He turned out unsuccessful in doing so, and if his failure wasn't dealt with quickly, it will soon develop as a threat to us. That was why we were here, dealing with the failure.

"Please. NO!" he screamed, wincing as he struggled to get up, only be kicked back down the concrete floor. "Just stop!"

I smirked, clearly amused by his futile pleas. Surely he wasn't brainless enough to think we'd simply let him off, when he already knew much more than necessary.

"This is your fault. You brought this up on yourself." one replied.

Then, another snickered unsympathetically, "And besides, this is way too much fun. I ain't stopping just 'cause you're begging, old man!"

And with that, they went on with it again.

…except for a young lad who didn't seem as amused as the others—he wore an apathetic frown, neither repulsed nor enjoying himself, landing an occasional hit every now and then. While the rest of them swallowed the shallow entertainment brought upon by the old man, this lad showed no emotion.

I twitched at his defiant worthlessness—it wasn't his area of interest, but I was paying him, and they were acquaintances. The least he could do was be a little useful. But I had to admit, the boy was interesting (more so than all the others); his utter lack of empathy, his quiet but clear obsession... I smiled, seeing the potential before my very eyes.

In any case, I stayed out of the fun—finding it only troublesome to go and join them—and simply satisfied myself with watching from afar, a smile of spiteful amusement forming on my lips as I watched them teach the rat its lesson.

Maybe next time he'll learn to keep his mouth shut; but then again, I highly doubt he'll receive a chance of a "next time"; it won't be long until his lungs stop breathing, and his heart stops beating…

Yes… it won't be long now… until we're finished with him…

His life was in my hands. I can choose to let him live, or otherwise end his life. I had that kind of power; the power between life and death.

I merely watched, pleased where this was going; by now, blood was involved, smearing over the ground, its sickening yet pleasurable aroma reaching my nose.

It was then that I took notice of a slight movement, so faint I barely detected it. Simply by my keen instincts, my eyes landed on the dumpster located only a few several feet straight in front of where I presently stood. I eyed it.

The others seemed not to have noticed the presence that clearly was out of place. Was it nothing more than a mere animal? A cat, maybe?

Or a squirrel?

It took a few seconds before I decided to set aside the matter, though not entirely dismissing it- I still kept in mind about that presence, whether it was just an animal or not- and redirected my focus back on the scene before me.

"I'll be quiet, I promise! Just stop!" he begged in vain.

But it was an empty plea, one of which was completely ignored. The only reason he was alive until this second was because I had allowed them to have a little fun. Eventually, the fun had to end.

"Oh shut up." piped in a voice, a scowl following shortly afterwards, "That's exactly what your problem is. You're too loud. Too much of a coward." he smirked, "I've had about enough of you."

He slashed his knife smoothly across the man's neck, and within the same second the body lay limp and fell to the ground. A typical puddle of blood formed around the lifeless corpse that now lay immobile; the young lad that had stood aside throughout the procedure twitched.

A gasp.

But it was not mine, nor any of theirs, nor the lad's, but of the person who hid behind the dumpster's shadow.

I knew it.

Right at that moment, a figure emerged out of the shadows, and bolted for the alley's exit.

"Aw, shit! She saw us!"

She saw. She had witnessed everything, or at least right from that moment of my suspicion. That old man's noise must've been louder than I assumed, drawing a lass into this isolated alley. I could only stare after her retreating back.

"Get her!"

"No." I spoke for the first time, bringing their chase to an abrupt stop. I appeared slightly out of my hiding spot, though still concealed by the shadow's penumbra, revealing little of my appearance.

Confusion and shock was evident in her eyes as she turned and stared back at me.

That was her major mistake, and she had no idea. I studied her, taking in her features. Hair, face, eyes, body, height, age… I took note of every part.

I'd been right, after all; it was a cat, metaphorically speaking; or maybe only a kitten- considering it was nothing more but a young girl. She had curiosity like one too- a cat, I mean- much too nosy for her own good.

"Let her be." I stated.

"She's going to grass!"

Oh, would she?

I smirked forebodingly at her, sending a silent message only between us; and the sudden dread in her eyes was enough response, as she went on running.

Would she tell anyone? Really?

Even if she was daring enough to spy on us—when a normal person would've made a run for it- she won't have enough guts to step up and grass... especially judging how she suddenly fled away in fright.

"No need to rush…"

I said as I stared upon the little girl, who scurried away, eluding like a terrified cat. True, felines were fast, but it wouldn't take much effort to catch it.

She might be just a little more to handle, but her silence was all I was interested in. I only had to be patient, to sit and wait—and watch in silence. She wouldn't know, but my men would be there camouflaged among the grass, watching her every move, ensuring her silence.

Then, when the time is right, I'll slither my way to the helpless quarry, catching it… and perhaps killing it.

I smiled darkly.

"…she won't be telling anyone."

...But off to my right, the still and motionless sight of the young lad caught my attention. The boy only stared, with empty eyes and attention now rapt, as though he'd found something finally worth his sick and quiet interest.

I smirked, knowing the girl would be well taken care of.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own its characters.
This plot, however, is a product of my own imagination

Memo: It's Keelah, author of Firelight Horrors, back for my third fic, with a new screen name! There's no story behind it. I ripped it off a beluga whale from the Van Aquarium. Original, eh?

So, have fun reading. :) Please review! Your feedbacks and comments are a great encouragement!