Disclaimer: Not mine.
Ghost of Love: Chapter Eighteen
Sakura quickly finished up her shower and grabbed something to eat from the dining hall before heading towards the southern side of the compound. This area was off limits to everyone but Orochimaru and Kabuto, supposedly because it contained the Otokage's living quarters, jutsu development laboratory and the entrance to the catacombs. The pink-haired kunoichi had never attempted to venture into the southern-most part of the compound before- mostly because she had never actively sought to find Orochimaru. Not that I want to find him now, she grimaced. I just need to get into the catacombs and see if I can uncover some sort of information on the Matsumori clan.
As it turned out, the entrance to the south was guarded only by a simple door – made solidly of metal, as most were in this place – which Sakura found quite unsettling. Orochimaru had always seemed justifiably paranoid, so this lack of fortification made her wonder. It has to be booby-trapped in some way, surely. Unless he believes he has such absolute control over his ninja that he assumes they wouldn't even attempt anything? He definitely has a big enough ego… and I guess it's possible they're that terrified of him.
To be on the safe side, Sakura quickly performed a trap detection jutsu and, finding nothing out of the ordinary, proceeded to slowly push open the door. The metal was cool under her hand and she drew back swiftly as it swung open on well-oiled hinges, coming to rest against the inside wall with a dull thud. The hallway beyond was dark and forbidding, just barely illuminated by flickering wall sconces rather than the bright, artificial lights that served the common areas of the compound. Sakura shivered apprehensively and took a small step towards the open door, hands clenched tightly into fists in at her sides. She eased through the doorway, skin prickling, ears straining for the tiniest of sounds that might indicate a trap being triggered. When nothing happened she took another, slightly more confident, step and then another, until she was sure there was nothing to fear. Sighing quietly with profound relief at Orochimaru's apparent overconfidence, the leaf chuunin let her arms fall to her sides, ignoring their trembling.
Once the door was shut securely behind her – it wouldn't do for anyone to notice that it was open – Sakura began moving cautiously down the cool, silent hallway. It was odd; the rest of the compound was all shades of grey, from the concrete floor, roof and walls, to the metal doors. This area, on the other hand, was apparently carved out of rock and, along with the flickering flames from the wall sconces, this leant it an almost warm atmosphere- at least visually. Apart from the shadows, Sakura mused. You'd think he'd have better lighting in his own rooms. I guess he just likes the dark, then?
There were several rooms off this one long hallway and Sakura checked all of them, peering cautiously around corners and doorways. There was a jutsu lab – fortunately not currently housing any unfortunate test subjects – a large room with a desk covered in scrolls and jars full of preserved specimens, and what appeared to be a bedroom – well, it was a room with a bed, anyway. Somehow, I just don't see Orochimaru sleeping in there – does he even sleep? I bet that room's Kabuto's.
Eventually the leaf chuunin came to the end of the hall and was faced with another door, much the same as all the others in the Sound compound. She hesitated, as she had done before all the previous doors in this place, wondering what she would find on the other side and hoping against hope that this one, like the rest, would not be guarded against intruders. Pushing down the now-familiar apprehension, Sakura turned the handle and swung the door inwards. Total blackness. There was not a hint of light beyond this door, other than the faint glow from the hallway's torches, which just barely allowed her to perceive stairs leading down. Maybe there are more lights further in…? Only one way to find out, I guess. With her heart thumping loudly in her ears, Sakura took a cautious step. Nothing. That's good. At least this door's apparently not booby-trapped, either.
Slowly but surely the pink-haired kunoichi made her way down the stairs, until eventually she reached the bottom. The hallway light only barely touched down here, but it was enough for her to make out yet another door. This time she didn't hesitate – and once again the door opened without issue.
Though she couldn't see a thing, Sakura got a feeling of - space - from the room inside as she stepped forward. She reached out to the side and felt along the carved-stone wall, praying - to any deity that might listen - for a light switch. Surely they don't use actual fire torches down here, not with all the scrolls? Assuming this is actually the jutsu library I'm looking for, she frowned. It better be, after all this!
Her finger brushed something plastic and she grinned with triumph as light flooded the room. Yes! I was right, these are the catacombs!
Spread out before her were rows upon rows of shelves, supporting a truly staggering number of scrolls. Sakura's fingers itched to get researching and she dashed forward to the nearest shelf, scanning the various parchments as she tried to quickly figure out what sort of system they were sorted by. Anti-Gravity Jutsu, Fish Gill Jutsu, West Wind Jutsu – these don't seem to be in any sort of order at all! How the hell does he find anything down here?
Minutes passed as Sakura attempted to contain the frustrated rant that desperately wanted to explode from her throat, while continuing to try and make sense of the crazy, disorganized piles of justu scrolls. Finally she gave in to her rising frustration with a half-strangled screech, "Argh! What the hell?"
"Problem, my dear?"
Sakura froze, hands in mid hair-tug, and slowly turned around. Orochimaru leaned casually against the wall, looking infuriatingly smug. A scroll dangled from his fingertips and he lifted it elegantly, glancing between it and her with utter innocence. "You wouldn't be looking for this, now would you?"
A/N: Ugh, silly, silly chapter. It just wouldn't cooperate at all! Thus I find it unworthy and an abomination I really wish I didn't have to inflict on you guys :( but, it's a necessary addition to the story and it wasn't getting any better with each time I rewrote it, so... Here it is, in all its unholy glory. XD Thankyou to ReginaSlytherin and Lucy for your reviews of the last chapter :) you're awesome!
And to answer ReginaSlytherin- when I first wrote this last year, it wasn't an actual visible glow, but then I went back (before I ever actually posted it on here) and decided to add something extra that would make the story just that little bit more interesting. Seemed like a good idea at the time, lol, though it means extra work for lazy ol' me XD So you definitely must have picked up on that fact. Very perceptive!