disclaimer: no, i do not own naruto.

important note! okay, in this story, i have made Sakura younger than the rest of the gang. this is an AU story and it fits my plot. if you have a problem with that, then i guess this isn't the fic for youuuu.

note(s): ANYWAY. yes, i know i shouldn't be starting a new chapter fic, but ugh, this wouldn't leave me alone! so, here it is. this story is gonna be long and it will be eventual SasuSaku. this story is romance, but it's also crime and angst too. well, i hope you guys enjoy and please, please review! thanks.

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fly, fly away
visionary dreams

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Sakura liked to consider herself pretty lucky.

She was twenty-one, she lived in her own apartment with her roommate just two miles away from her University, and she had left everything in her past—where it should be.

But right now, she was just a little ticked off. The girl sat in her red Honda, tapping her silver glitter nails on her steering wheel, and running a hand through her long pink hair. She was stuck in five o'clock traffic as she made her way home from her last class that Thursday, and her road rage was growing with each day it seemed. People were just stupid.

Sakura puffed out her cheeks, turning up her radio, letting a classic rock song soothe her nerves, and brighten instantly as the cars in front of her started moving. She quickly made her way home after that, and once she parked and locked her car doors, she happily made her way up to room B420.

She was greeted with the sight of her roommate, Karin, upside down on their plush black leather couch.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a laugh, setting her hot pink tote and keys on the marble counter.

"Whatever I want," her friend winked before hopping up, and Sakura raised an eyebrow as she started to rub her head.

"The blood was rushing to my head," Karin answered her silent question with a cheeky grin.

"Right," Sakura nodded, going over to the fridge and grabbing a water bottle out, uncapping and taking a swing. She was always so thirsty after long days.

"Not because you're slow or anything," she said smartly once she swallowed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, and heading towards her bedroom.

"Oh, shut it, Saku-chan!" Karin called back and Sakura's eyebrow twitched. She hated that nickname and Karin knew it.

But Sakura had to smile a little as she made her way to her queen size bed. She and Karin had met when Sakura was eighteen and she was her dorm roommate during their first year of college. At first, they had got on each other nerves bad. They were both completely different people at opposite ends of the world. Sakura was angry at the world and was still adjusting to her new-found independence. Karin, however, was wild, sarcastic, and just didn't give a damn. She was everything Sakura wasn't but down the road Karin ended up being there when nobody else was, and they both came to an understanding of each other. Eventually though, they turned twenty and they were tired of living in the cramped up dorms, so Karin found the apartment they lived in now for cheap and it was also so close to their school.

Sakura shook her head as to rid her thoughts, taking off her black flats and plugging up her phone to its charger. Setting it on her nightstand, she was about to get up and change into her pajamas, deciding a date with her bed was needed, before she heard Karin shout loudly, "Haruno Sakura! You are not staying in bed all night! We are going out!"

Sakura could already feel a migraine come on and chastened herself for letting Karin know her so well. Before she could even unbutton her pants and slide into some shorts, Karin busted in her room with a loud, "SAKURA!" and Sakura jumped, banging her shoulder on the wall.

"Damnnit," she cursed, rubbing her shoulder, narrowing her apple green eyes at Karin, "Thanks," she said dryly, rolling her eyes as Karin made her way into her closet.

"Oh hush, Saku-chan," she waved a hand carelessly, brushing off her comment, "We're going to the club tonight, B.T.W," she said over her shoulder and smirking when Sakura blanched.

"Why can't we just get dinner?" The pink haired girl shrugged, not really fond of the idea of a bunch people in a crowded area; sweating and grinding on each other, intoxicated out of their wits.

"No," Karin deadpanned, grabbing a black pencil skirt and a dressy red shirt off of their hangers and flinging them on the bed, "You're wearing that!" She pointed to the clothes on Sakura's bed as she already starting shaking her head. "No if, ands, or buts, miss!" she exclaimed with a sassy smirk.

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but after knowing how persistent Karin was after three years, she closed it and shook her head once more. Walking out in the hall to the hallway closet, she grabbed a fluffy towel and headed towards the bathroom for a shower. "Order pizza!" Sakura yelled before shutting the door behind her and locking it.

She heard a muffled, "10-4!" and rolled her eyes amusingly, turning on the hot water.

About forty-five minutes later, the pizza was there and Sakura was in her purple bathrobe, wringing out of her pink hair with her towel.

"Ugh finally!" She exclaimed, bending over at the waist, wrapping all her hair in the towel before straightening up and twisting the towel to hold her hair as she grabbed a plate.

"Move fatass," she said, knocking Karin's hip with her own, and Karin responded with the finger, her mouth full with extra cheesy pizza with pineapples-Sakura's favorite.

As Sakura got her customary two slices and bread-sticks, she made her way into the living room, sitting down next to Karin.

"What club are we going too?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, taking a bite.

Karin swallowed before answering, "Live," she winked, "Lots of pretty boys." Sakura couldn't stop the groan if she tried.

However, three hours go by quick, and before they knew it, its ten o'clock and they're both ready, running around the house looking for Karin's keys and looking pretty.

"Ugh, where are they!" Karin exclaimed, hopping around on one foot, as she tried to put her red heel on her other foot.

Sakura couldn't help but shake her head at Karin, and pouted slightly as she looked at her friend. Karin was a knock out, but in a sophisticated, smart girl way. Tonight she wore a tight black dress with red heels; her red hair was down and her black glasses set atop her nose.

"Finally!" Sakura heard a muffled shout from the other side of their apartment, and smiled slightly as Karin rushed back to the living room where Sakura was, panting.

"Okay," Karin smiled, straightening herself up, twirling her keys around in her fingers, "Let's go!" she giggled, rushing her and Sakura out the house, and locking the door behind them. As they made their way down the stairs to the parking lot, Sakura couldn't help but feel a sense of dread looking over at a excited Karin and knew later she was going to wish she'd taken her own car. About twenty minutes later, the two young women found themselves outside a crowded, loud club in the middle of downtown Konoha.

"C'mon!" Karin exclaimed happily, linking her arm through Sakura's, smirking as she and her pink friend past everyone else in line and the bouncer allowed the two in. "It's 'cuz we're fine," Karin winked, pointing behind her towards the bouncer as they walked in. It was overly crowded for a Thursday, and Sakura grimaced, watching the strobe lights and the crowd of people grinding on each other; this wasn't her scene at all.

"I want some jack and coke," Karin stated, dragging Sakura over the bar, and ordering just that before flirting with the cute bartender. Sakura, however, couldn't help but feel a sense of uneasiness in the bottom of her stomach. Not because of nerves of being out, because she had been to a club more times then she'd like to count—thanks to Karin—but it was a different one. An uneasiness that felt like something bad was going to happen.

Feeling herself get goose bumps in the overly hot club, Sakura licked her lips, and took a sip of Karin's drink. She rubbed the back of her neck as she felt her hair stick up, and looked around, feeling completely ridiculous. It felt like someone was watching her.

But hell, Sakura, she thought, talking to herself in her head, you're in a club. Of course people might be watching you.

And much as she tried to convince herself that for the rest of the night, the feeling of dread still settled in her stomach way past one o'clock. Checking in on Karin at the bar once more, Sakura was almost worried to leave her friend to go get her wallet out of the car outside. And it was even Karin she was worried about, it was her.

Chiding herself for watching too many horror movies before bed, Sakura let Karin know where she was going, and left outside the club. All she wanted was to retrieve her wallet, go back inside to get Karin to leave, and head towards waffle house. That was it.

However, life was built around irony and Sakura didn't get her waffles that night.

As she made her way to the parking lot across the street, Sakura wrapped her arms around herself, feeling goose bumps once more but blaming them on the chill of the early morning wind. It was dark outside and the street light across the street was out, and Sakura looked around nervously. There was no one around in the early morning and the only sounds she could hear were the music coming from the club behind her. For some reason, she just felt nervous and scared. Exhaling deeply, she rolled her eyes at how stupid she was acting, and pulled out Karin's keys to unlock the car car.

She didn't get that far though. In a blink of an eye it seemed, someone roughly grabbed her from behind, and she felt the cool, sharp blade of a knife pressed into her throat.

She screamed.