Hiiiiii! Okay, thanx and hugs go to Surrain for reviewing all the chapters of the fic so far...I gave him/her (sorry, not telling) an Itachi picture in return...so you see? If you review, you shall get rewarded. Handsomely. Just give me your e-mail, all you anonymous ones, (don't bother, all you people who signed in, I can find out for myself) and I shall send a little something. That is, IF you review. If you don't, you get squat. If yougoback and review all the chapters you didn't bother to review due to laziness, Iwill forgive you and give youmore gifts.

Chapter...17, is it? Closing In for the Kill

Sakura raked the fine-toothed comb through her locks, yanking it violently through her hair. Taking out her frustration required something she could take it out on, and since her hair was providing ample resistance, she gladly assaulted it full-force, drinking in the

pain with a fierce pleasure. She had a vague suspicion that her Neji's blond bastard of a servant was already hot on her trail—he'd fixed her with a mildly disgusting stare the first time they met, she could remember that well—and she was willing to bet her life that he'd informed her husband of her involvement with drugs. Damn him…damn him to hell.

A murderous rage seized her senses, all directed at the he-bitch. Granted, now wasn't the time to reflect on he-bitchiness—she admitted she did act somewhat like a bitch herself when she'd stabbed Neji in the back—but it made her feel somewhat better, so she cursed him until she was remotely satisfied. He was the cause of her ruin, he was the one who had poisoned Neji's mind with his lies and truths (she cursed him for revealing all about her antics with drugs) and she wasn't one to let up on the offer of revenge so easily. Her nails found their way up to her forehead, digging into the skin and drawing three bloody slash marks down her face. Sakura savored the pain. He'd soon be feeling the same thing, she mused, he'd soon be feeling the same thing only magnified to one hundred times.

A sudden soft knock at her door snapped her from her thoughts. Wiping the red liquid that flowed from her wounds she'd inflicted upon herself, she padded to the door and peered with a growing sense of dread through the peephole. Seeing no telltale sight of blond spiky locks, she sighed with relief and opened the door, seeing four cloaked figures. The sight rather unnerved her—the auras they were radiating were anything but friendly—but she swallowed her fear and ushered them inside, closing the door. She was vaguely sure they were more of the opium dealers she associated with; she was expecting a delivery, and they must've tracked her down when they discovered she wasn't at her house. Sitting on the bed, she withdrew a sheaf of bills and handed them to the figures.

"My opium, please."

The figure on the right took the money while the middle one fumbled in his cloak. Sakura held out her hands expectantly, waiting for the packet of powder to be dropped into her palms. Contrary to her belief and much to her shock and horror, the figure withdrew a knife and pointed the tip straight at the petrified girl. With his free hand, he began to lower his hood, and simultaneously, the other four did the same, revealing the faces of Sasuke, Kabuto, Neji, and Naruto. The blond one smirked triumphantly as Sasuke jabbed the knife at Sakura's horrified face, forcing her backwards into a wall. The girl's hands started shaking, a mask of utter fear frozen upon her features.

"Got you trapped like the rat that you are with nowhere to run, my pretty." Naruto stated victoriously. Sakura screamed softly, her hands fumbling behind her back.

"Now if you cooperate, Sasuke here won't find the need to jam this knife into your soft little neck."

With a final, feral battle cry, the girl extracted a small, hand revolver from behind her back and fired two shots at the blond. Naruto inhaled sharply as one just grazed his ear, the other shattering the mirror behind him. Sakura turned and made a flying leap towards the window, shielding her face with her arms as she crashed through the glass with an awesome explosion. She fell, twisting and turning in the air before landing in the foliage below. Kabuto and Neji dashed to the window, wincing as an audible crack was heard. Seconds later, the girl limped out of the bushes and made straight for the nearest car, a sleek red convertible, getting inside and starting the ignition. The four watched helplessly as the vehicle careened off into the night, almost slamming into a fire hydrant before swerving off into the night.

Neji slammed his fist into the wall, making a rather large dent in the plaster, his eyes smouldering with fury.

"Damn! She got away…" Naruto walked over the Hyuuga, kneading his shoulders reassuringly.

"It's okay; she has a broken leg now, by the sound of it, and that will hinder her flight most effectively." He smiled at Neji and winked.

"We'll get her soon enough." Whirling, he sank down on the bed, a look of extreme fatigue on his features. Naruto suddenly looked weary, his haggard features contorting as if he'd just aged ten years, though it was gone the next second.

"We can track her well enough; Kabuto planted a device in the shape of lipstick in her makeup kit she keeps with her at all times. All we have to do is follow her." Naruto looked completely determined to bring the girl to justice.

"And this time, she is not getting away."

Piling into the back of Sasuke's overtaxed sedan, the four slammed the doors shut, Sasuke groaning as Kabuto took the wheel. With a sputter and a roar, the car sprung to life and weaved onto the highway, following the coordinates of the tracking device. Sasuke's fingers were but mere blurs as they whizzed back and forth over the keyboard of his laptop, his eyes creased in intense concentration. Naruto uttered sharp coordinates out to the silver-haired man, nails raking onto the leather of the seats as Kabuto made yet another hair-raising left turn, sending many irked drivers into fits of rage.

"We're catching up to her!" And indeed, the crimson hue of the convertible loomed ahead.

Sakura's head turned as she looked in her rearview mirror. Emerald-green eyes widened and her good foot came crashing down on the accelerator, sending the car spiraling crazily down a nearby alley. Kabuto followed, knuckles pearl-white as he gripped the wheel. The convertible spun a full three-sixty and came to a stop at the edge of a lake. Jumping out, Sakura ran and dove into the frigid waters without hesitation, Sasuke, Neji, Naruto, and Kabuto fast on her heals. She was a good swimmer and pulled ahead of the four, but they weren't idle in their ways of keeping fit; the quartet easily caught up and kept pace with the girl.

It was literally a wild goose-chase now. Sakura caught the briefest glimpse of Naruto's victorious smirk before he disappeared, gliding underwater, easily matching her stroke for stroke. The girl screamed as she was pulled underwater, the shriek echoing around the lake before it was muffled as the waters closed over her head. She thrashed underwater like an outraged bird struggling to get free, ignoring the shootingpain in her right legas Naruto tried again and again to subdue her. The blond silently yelled as one spiked shoe collided with his chest, momentarily stunned. That was all Sakura needed. Adrenaline spurring her on and dulling her pain, the girl gained a new burst of energy and swam towards the surface, kicking with all her might to gain ground.

Neji came from behind and swooped down on the Haruno, but she slipped out of his grasp and shot forward, utter fear now fueling her flight. Reaching the riverbank, she clamored out onto the muddy shore, stumbling and tripping over her soiled shoes. Flipping them off haphazardly, Sakura fumbled in her belt for her gun. She whirled around to witness Naruto and the others running full speed towards her. A look of sheer fury twisted her features as she aimed the gun at Naruto.

This is for stealing the only light of my life, you bastard. She thought, and fired four shots straight into Naruto's torso.

The blond screamed and went down, crumpling on the bank, clutching his chest in agony. With a triumphant shriek, Sakura turned and raced barefoot towards the rickety building in the distance. Kabuto gave chase while Neji and Sasuke immediately knelt beside the blond, their eyes creased in shock and worry. After a few minutes, Naruto looked up, and much to their consternation, a wan yet slightly foxy grin was pasted on his face, all pain aside.

"It's okay….she missed my heart…I can….I can still run." Heaving himself to his feet with a superhuman effort, Naruto immediately took off running, blatantly oblivious to the pleas and protests of the Uchiha and the Hyuuga.

"She'll pay….she will definitely pay." Layers of sheer hate and determination glazed both obsidian and opalescent eyes. Clenching their fists, Sasuke and Neji raced off towards the blond, inwardly marveling at the speed at which the blond propelled himself along despite being injured.

Neji witnessed Kabuto making a final leap towards Sakura's retreating form. The girl shrieked as she was tackled, and they wrestled before she broke free once more, panting heavily, winded but still determined to get away. With a curse, Kabuto rose and joined the other three in the desperate chase for the fleeing girl. Sakura came to the building and slammed through the door, taking the flights of stairs five at a time. Seconds later, Naruto, Neji, Kabuto, and Sasuke burst in, pursing the frightened girl. Running catlike up the same stairs, they chased her up thirty-two flights before they stopped, thoroughly winded, on the rooftop of the building. Naruto grinned victoriously. There was nowhere to go; she was trapped like a rat on the building, and the only way out was down.

Sakura turned and surveyed her surroundings with huge, frightened eyes. They were blocking the exit; she looked down and gasped as she witnessed the great height. Fear turned to black, looming despair; she saw the four grim faces before her, and observed no mercy in the cold, cold eyes. She reached once again for her gun, horrified to find out that she used the last rounds on the blond. Whipping her head from side to side, a slow change came over the girl. Her features went from despair to sadness, to just plain fatigue. She smiled wanly at the group before her, dropping her gun with a hopeless aura about her.

"I do suppose you think you've captured me, correct?" Sasuke moved forward.

"Sakura, there is nowhere to run. We have you cornered." To his consternation, she shook her head.

"No…no, there is a way….I can be free of you." With a glint in her eye, the girl turned. Realizing her intentions, all four simultaneously exploded towards the Haruno. Neji screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Sakura! Sakura, you mustn't!" For a moment, the girl turned, emerald eyes overflowing with sadness yet joy.

"Neji….Neji, you do care for me….thank you." She turned back, the words just a whisper on the wind.

"I love you…"

It happened in what seemed like slow motion. With a final, parting glance at the shocked countenance of the Hyuuga, Sakura turned and leapt, her body seemingly hanging suspended in the air before plunging down to the depths below. Neji stopped at the edge and looked down, his hair flying wildly in his face before a yellow blur shot past him and off the edge as well. Sasuke, Neji, and Kabuto screamed to the heavens, their hands scrabbling in vain for Naruto's plummeting form. So loudly were they screaming that they didn't hear the words the blond spoke before he jumped.

"I swear to you I won't die."

Rocketing downwards, Naruto steepled his body as if in a dive, falling so fast, he shrieked through the air towards Sakura's form. He felt himself gaining ground; just how much was the crucial part here, for if he couldn't get to Sakura in time, he wouldn't have time to adjust his position in the air, therefore making the fall fatal for both of them.

Somewhere in his subconscious, his mind calculated wildly as the ground loomed towards him at an alarmingly fast rate. Sakura was plummeting horizontally, meaning her body was catching air resistance, slowing her fall by mere seconds. He was at his terminal velocity, his body stiff as a rail, easily slicing through the air resistance as he fell vertically. Jumping off a higher height bought him more time, though how much was the crucial unknown variable.

He finally caught up with her when they were about level with the tenth storey. Stretching his arm to its limits and beyond, he managed to snag her belt, pulling the utterly stunned girl into his arms. He almost felt like laughing as he witnessed the utterly shocked-beyond-belief expression on her countenance, but now wasn't a time for laughing; he had lives to save and seconds to do it. Twisting his body in midair, he managed to position himself so he was falling feet first. As the ground loomed up before him, Naruto screwed his eyes shut, tightened his grasp on Sakura's shocked body, and braced himself for the impact. It was as if the ground lifted up and met his feet as he collided with the concrete.

He could feel the bones in both of his legs dissolving into tiny fragments of sharp shrapnel. Pain beyond any pain he'd ever experienced before skyrocketed through his legs, earning a single agonized shriek from his mouth. Collapsing on his knees, he fell to the ground, Sakura's comatose body rolling from his arms as he fainted dead away, oblivious to the chaos around him, just thankful he was able to save the girl. Though he didn't know why, he thought as he slowly slipped away. He supposed it was due to the fact that he absolutely detested suicide, no matter how much he hated the person committing it…but…his last coherent thought was that Neji, Sasuke and Kabuto were all going to kill him anyway, even though he survived the fall…a smile graced his lips as the last shreds of consciousness slipped from his mind. It was rather funny, really….he'd just survived falling off a thirty-two storey building, yet was going to die at the hands of his comrades….

So you're asking why the hell didn't I kill off Sakura after all she's done to Naruto and Co? I have my reasons...you'll find out later, but she'll definitely come to one sticky end. Besides, sudden death off of a building would be too quick a way for her to go. I wanna prolong her death, and prolong it well. And yes, Naruto did survive...you can, you know, if you land on your feet, just that you won't be able to walk for a few dozen decades or so...