Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by… uh… who now? Someone both brilliant and now very wealthy. I am neither.

Ghost of Love: Chapter Four

"This, my lord, is Sakura Haruno. She was – or she appeared to be - a friend of Sasuke's during the chuunin exams. They were on the same team."

"An old friend of Sasuke? How sweet. Let me guess; you've come here to rescue him?" Orochimaru drawled, his voice dripping with saccharine sarcasm as he focused upon the pink-haired kunoichi.

Sakura shifted slightly, trying to readjust to having near-full command of her body once again. She became vaguely aware of icy chakra rising from her skin in waves, almost like it was evaporating under the influence of the warmer air. She hesitated, readying herself to fight it for control again, when she realised that she was here now. This was where she had been aiming to be. Rather than trying to reign in the power she should be letting it expand and using it to her full advantage.

That decided, Sakura's brain finally kicked into gear and she blinked sharply, shaking off the disconcertion of having her enemy glow at her. Finally she answered Orochimaru's mocking question. "Yes."

Orochimaru chuckled; a rasping, amused sound. "Oh my dear, you really should make an effort to learn something of subtlety. Do you actually think telling me your intentions is going to do you any good?"

Sakura shrugged carelessly, and set her feet into motion, walking boldly, shakily towards the smug snake sannin. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the blurry figure that was Kabuto make to stop her but he was stilled by some minute signal from Orochimaru. The dark-haired rogue ninja watched her approach with something akin to amused anticipation. "What on earth do you think you're doing, little fool," he breathed.

What am I doing? He's right, I am a fool. Sakura impatiently shunted these useless thoughts aside, latching onto her earlier conviction with desperate fingers. If I don't act now, I won't get another chance. I have to use this advantage while I still have it. Sakura came to a dead stop a foot away from Orochimaru. She swayed unsteadily, blinking fiercely against the intense sharpness his image burned into her retinas. He looked at her with expectant, condescending eyes, as though waiting for her to do something amusing. There was no doubt that he would be able to sense the overabundance of chakra flooding her system, yet he hadn't even moved an inch. Smug bastard.

"…well? Make your move, little one," he purred mockingly, golden eyes narrowed with vague impatience.

Sakura hissed an enraged breath, clenching her hands into chakra fuelled fists. Without wasting another moment, the coral-maned kunoichi launched herself at the Sound Village's false 'kage', anticipating the incredibly satisfying sensation of crushing his bones into a sludgy powder beneath her hands. Instead her fist smashed straight through the chair he had been seated upon, shattering the poor furnishing into a thousand tiny splinters.

Damn it! How did I miss him from here?

"Over here, little one," a scornful voice called from the other side of the room.

Sakura spun to face him as quickly as she could, reeling when her body refused to move the way she insisted it should. She sent a jolt of chakra into her feet, leaping towards the smirking snake sannin once again. And once more her attack passed straight through the air where he had been standing, her fist making a metre round crater in the solid concrete wall. With a frustrated huff, Sakura turned and located him again, fury rushing through her when she spied him leaning casually against the opposite wall. He chuckled that rasping, genuinely amused sound, obviously finding her anger rather entertaining.

"Oh, don't let my amusement put you off. Please, continue."

And so she did, powering up again, scarcely noticing how the floor began to crack in a halo around her feet and small, loose bits of cement collected in the swirling, evaporating corona of power around her form. With an inarticulate cry, Sakura sprang towards Orochimaru again, hope dying from her chest as she felt the wall give way under the power of her attack. Why can't I hit him? Has the Matsumori chakra slowed me down that much?

Just one more strike, I have to keep trying!

Again, Sakura plunged headlong towards Orochimaru, triumph alighting in her heart as she saw his eyes widen with surprise.

Until he neatly sidestepped her attack and snagged her wrist as it soared through the air where he had been standing. His fingers clamped around the delicate bones of her arm with surprising gentleness, although it seemed likely to Sakura that he quite simply didn't care if she got free of him, so didn't bother expending much effort on keeping her trapped. The pink-haired kunoichi stood stock still for a moment, a little bemused. This didn't last more than a couple of seconds, though, and she began to struggle to free herself. The fingers tightened, holding her still with much more force now.

"Girl! What are you hoping to accomplish by this inept attempt on my life?" Orochimaru hissed, annoyance lending his voice a hard edge.

Sakura flinched and pulled back, twisting in his grasp. "I'm s-saving Sasuke!"

Orochimaru snorted delicately and his hand tightened even further, green-gold eyes narrowing at the sizzle and crack of wild chakra that writhed beneath his fingers. "You really are a naïve little fool, aren't you? Your frienddoesn't want to be saved!"

Sakura flinched at the condescension in his tone and tried to ignore the ringing truth in his words. "You're… wrong," she choked out, twisting her hand and yanking herself free at last. "Sasuke's confused… that's. all." Her words were punctuated with ineffectual punches and kicks which missed their mark by a shamefully wide margin as Orochimaru dodged effortlessly around her clumsy strikes.

"Hmm… the leaf village really has lowered it's standards if you are what they now consider a shinobi."

Sakura's cheeks burned and her eyes glowed with tears as she tried valiantly to direct her borrowed chakra. The power swelled and overflowed in all directions, refusing to be dominated by her rapidly failing will. A sob caught in her throat as her fist made another impressive crater in the concrete floor of Orochimaru's hideout where he had just been standing. The low, rasping chuckle of the snake sannin grated against her bones and she spun to face him again.

"I must say, your chakra is rather impressive. But your control is truly nonexistent. What do they teach you in that village these days?"

"Argh! They teach us how not to become corrupt power-hungry monsters!" Sakura snarled, fists clenched at her sides as she practically vibrated with overwhelming frustration. If only I could actuallyhithim I'd do some serious damage to the bastard!

Orochimaru sighed dramatically and gave a helpless shrug. "And here I was beginning to think you might make a fairly decent corrupt power-hungry monster. Oh well."

Sakura gasped as a fist suddenly collided with her shoulder, sending her flying into the wall. She cried out at the impact and slid to the ground in an exhausted, broken heap, barely able to lift her heavy head to watch as Orochimaru approached at a sinfully relaxed pace. He knelt gracefully by her battered body and placed one gentle hand on her head. "I can't have you destroying the place, now can I?"

"Wha… oh." Sleep overcame the exhausted kunoichi in an instant and her green eyes closed with minimal resistance.

"Much better."

AN: Rewritten 17/12/2010 more details added. Hey guys, thanks for your reviews and comments so far XD I absolutely love reading them, so keep them coming *hands out candy canes* you rock!