Disclaimer: Eh, see first chap.

Ghost of Love: Chapter Nineteen

Sakura gently disentangled her fingers from her hair, the soft pink strands falling about her face in graceful disarray. She hesitated, gaze flicking from the scroll in Orochimaru's hand, up to the molten honey-gold of his eyes. Her breath was snatched from her throat by the heavy, predatory gleam that lay within them- the image of a snake sinking its white fangs into the soft, furry throat of a rabbit flashed through her mind.

"…perhaps," she rasped, in answer to his previous question. Her cheeks coloured slightly at the huskiness of her voice and she cleared her throat, embarrassed. "Does that scroll contain any useful information on the Matsumori clan," she continued, pulling her focus away from him and back to the scrap of parchment he held.

Orochimaru pushed away from the wall, like a snake uncoiling its sinuous length, and moved toward the pink-haired chuunin with languid grace. With a sinful, mocking smirk on his pale lips he murmured, "…perhaps."

Sakura shivered and backed away, trapped by his hypnotic gaze, and feeling distinctly like prey. The hard edge of the wooden shelf behind her dug into her thighs as he continued his painfully slow hunting of her. A brief flash of thought 'catch me already,' almost broke the heady haze of desire that had descended over her- but not quite. Eventually he ceased his ever-so-leisurely stalking of her, when he deemed that he was close enough. Sakura distinctly disagreed with his definition of 'close enough' – it was both much too far away and entirely too close. However, her analysis of his proximity was cut short when he reached out and drew his fingertips through the messy strands of coral-hued hair that framed her face.

Gentle fingers ghosted over her cheek, her jaw, her neck, tracing her collarbone with exquisite delicacy and aching slowness. Finally, his hand came to rest on her chest, splayed so that thumb and forefinger lay on either side of her throat, a burning, electrifying brand that seared her to her bones. The Matsumori chakra hummed and swelled, trying to fight its way to the surface to join what already lay within the snake sannin. His customary smirk faltered momentarily, a wondering hint softening its cruel edges. Slowly he pulled away, as though in a trance, hunger-leaden eyes lifting, boring into the sea-green of the kunoichi's.

The uneasy desire that clouded her gaze was enough to shake him free of his daze and his features snapped back into place; smug grin and wicked eyes. He did not move away, still much too close for Sakura's comfort, and continued as though nothing had happened; "Would you like to see," he indicated the scroll with an elegantly arched brow.

Sakura let out the breath she had been holding, shakily, trying not to let him see just how much he had affected her, and nodded, taking the scroll from his hand. Orochimaru pulled away, leaving his pink-haired student some space in which to concentrate- it had hardly escaped his notice how his proximity changed her respiration rate, the dilation of her pupils and the colour of her smooth cheeks. Even before this little experiment, he had known, and used it very much to his advantage.

Sakura carefully unrolled the aged, faded parchment and scanned it for anything pertinent. She quickly found what she was looking for:

'It has been discovered that another kekkei genkai exists; the Seiregan. It appears to be unique to the Matsumori clan and gives them the ability to see the aura of chakra around a being, whether animal or human. Practical applications for this trait are limited- mostly it appears to be used for detecting spies who mask the level of their chakra in order to go unnoticed. Perhaps a precursor to the Byakugan, or even an inferior descendent of that most powerful of kekkei genkai? Further studies must be conducted, but I fear the patience of the clan is wearing thin. They are wary of strangers, even simple scholars like me, and are notorious in these parts for their casual cruelty and disregard for human life. I must proceed with the utmost caution.'

Sakura frowned, glancing up to find Orochimaru watching her with a vaguely bored look on his aristocratic face.

"Do you always read so slowly, my dear?"

The chuunin bristled, "I read it through several times, because this piece of useless garbage has virtually nothing of interest in it! Don't you have anything else? Surely, among all these scrolls down here, there has to be more information about this - what was it? – Seiregan!"

The snake sannin shrugged languidly, "Not that I've been able to find, but, please- by all means waste your time searching fruitlessly through these archives."

"Archives? This "library" is a mess! I don't know how you managed to find the scroll in the first place," Sakura fumed.

Another smirk and another shrug, "If it bothers you so much, feel free to tidy the place up."

Sakura took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled slowly, closing her eyes against the infuriating sight of Orochimaru leaning against the wall, laughing at her behind those mesmerising gold eyes. Getting angry is pointless, he'll just find it amusing, she reminded herself. She gently placed the scroll down amongst the sea of others on the shelf behind her and walked slowly, determinedly, past the rogue-nin. She heard him sigh in exaggerated disappointment as she passed and was gratified to know that at least she'd spoiled his fun.

AN: Not sure what I think of this one, but at least I'm finally getting somewhere with this, although there's still a lot to go!

Thankyou Twinkletoast (adorable name, btw), Riptiderobin21 and IKillAtFirstSight for your reviews, they were very encouraging, thank you so much for your input =D