This story is based on "The Highwayman" be Alfred Noyes. I realized that MoonVeil has also written a story based on this poem with the same couple, but I didn't read hers until after I had already written this oneshot. No plagiarism is intended. If you have never read the poem or heard the song based on it (by Loreena McKinnit), I would urge you to do so. They are both very good. n.n

Warning: Character deaths

Disclaimer: Naruto is property of Kishimoto-san. "The Highwayman" belongs to Alfred Noyes.

"Look for me by moonlight,

Watch for me by moonlight,

I'll come to thee by moonlight,

Though hell should bar the way."

-The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes

This was wrong. Sakura knew with every beat of her divided heart that she was betraying her beloved Konoha. But in spite of that, she still found herself drawing her curtain to the side and opening the window. A cool breeze wafted through the opening, richly scented with the fresh smell of pine and the heady fragrance of the rosebush outside her window. The pink-haired medic nin settled down to wait, gazing across the moonlit rooftops.

Her mind wandered to thoughts of her dark-haired lover. The very first time she had seen him, she had been fifteen and frightened out of her mind by him. Their paths had crossed numerous times since then. She still wasn't a match for him—she doubted anyone could rival his mixture of raw skill and intelligence—but at least in their more recent fights her strikes were only inches away from him rather than feet. Even now, she wasn't entirely certain how their relationship had changed from enemies to…something more. One day, as she and Naruto were fighting him, an abstract portion of her mind had noticed the sinuous grace with which he moved, the beauty of his aristocratic features and intense eyes. But her distant appreciation of how handsome he was didn't explain how, in their next encounter, she had ended up in his arms. He had deliberately ensured that his shark-like partner had kept Kakashi and Naruto busy, she knew that much. One minute, she had been fighting tooth and nail against him, the next he had pinned her against a tree trunk and was devouring her mouth with his. The kiss had lasted mere seconds, then he was gone and Naruto was there demanding to know if she was all right.

Sakura had done her best to put the incident out of her mind, but then he did it again the next time they fought. A few months later, he was waiting in her kitchen when she came home from her shift at the Konoha hospital. She hadn't bothered to ask how he had gotten past the various traps she had set throughout the small house.

"What are you doing here?" she had demanded instead.

Crimson eyes had glittered in the moonlight as he advanced toward her. Instinctively, she had retreated from him, but all the action served to do was awaken his predatory instinct.

"I should think it was obvious, Sakura," he said, soft voice caressing the syllables of her name.

She held back a shiver, planting hands on her hips.

"What makes you think I'm interested?" she bit out.

A thin smile curved his lips as he purred, "You never pushed me away."

"You never gave me a chance!" she shot back, emerald eyes blazing with anger.

As soon as the words left her lips, she knew it had been the wrong thing to say. His crimson eyes narrowed, burning with intensity. She stared wordlessly as he stalked toward her, paralyzed by something other than terror. He halted mere inches away, holding her gaze. His head lowered with excruciating slowness. Her eyelids fluttered closed when she felt his breath against her lips. It took all her inner strength to keep from laying her hands on his lean shoulders or, even worse, from closing the inch remaining between them herself. She was drowning in him, his nearness wiping away coherent thought.

"I'm giving you a chance now, Sakura," he whispered.

The medic opened her eyes, emerald stare dazed.

"Push me away now and I will not bother you again," he said.

Awareness quickly returned to her and a light entered her gaze. He caught the hand she had begun to raise.

"You, not your Jinchuuriki friend," he specified.

Sakura's eyes dropped to where his long fingers were gently massaging the wrist he held. Those same fingers could so easily break her arm or cast a genjutsu that would break her mind. He released her then waited several heartbeats. When she stood motionless, he had lowered his head and laid a blistering claim on her lips.

Kami, it made her heart race just remembering it.

Some sixth sense dragged the medic nin from her thoughts. She lifted her head as a figure momentarily blocked the moonlight from her room. Sakura rose from her bed, heart lifting at the sight of him, yet at the same time sinking at the hopelessness of their relationship.

"Itachi," she said.

.oOo.oOo.

She was beautiful. But even more than that, she was skilled, and intelligent, and stubbornly protective of her precious people.

And she was his.

Crimson eyes gleamed with masculine satisfaction as he took the petite medic nin in his arms. As soon as her hands touched his cloak, she gasped and pulled away. He smiled into the protecting darkness.

"Sit down," she demanded.

The powerful missing-nin complied and, an instant later, dim light flooded the room. She moved to stand between his legs, briskly unbuttoning his Akatsuki cloak. Sakura pushed it off his shoulders. She then paused to study his torso, looking for the source of the blood she had felt when embracing him.

"Dare I hope you will ravish me?" he asked dryly.

Had it been Naruto to say that, he knew that the blonde would have been reeling from a vicious blow to the head. Because it was him, she only shook her head in amusement. Itachi relaxed ever so slightly as he felt her cool fingers against the sting of the cut in his side. Her healing chakra soothed any remaining pain from the wound. A minute later, she began to withdraw from him. He quickly caught her wrists, turning her hands over to inspect her palms. They were stained with his own blood, but the sight and metallic smell of it made his eyes gleam. He released her wrists to run his long fingers over her calloused skin. It always amazed him that, as small and delicate as they were, Sakura's hands were capable of smashing rocks and tearing trees from the ground. She pulled away from him, going into the bathroom to wash her hands clean. Itachi trailed after her. He leaned against the doorframe and watched the pink-tinted water—almost the same shade as her hair—vanish down the drain.

"Kisame and I are going after a Jinchuuriki tomorrow, the Gobi container," he spoke into the silence after she had shut off the water.

Sakura stilled in the process of drying her hands. He knew how hard this was for her. She did not want to see him hurt, but at the same time she could not wish him success. Every Bijuu they captured was one closer to the day when Akatsuki would come after Naruto with all its considerable might. Itachi laid his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her, taking the towel from her to set it aside. The kiss he brushed against her lips was the softest they had ever shared—a mere brush of his lips against hers. She had not even known the missing-nin could be so tender. When Sakura looked up at him, it was with her heart in her emerald eyes. He released her and stepped carefully away.

"I will return in two days," he said, "Watch for me."

He was gone before she could answer, but she went to the window to watch his lean figure follow the moonlit path across the rooftops and out of Konoha.

In the shadows across from Sakura's house, Sai watched with narrowed onyx eyes. It had taken only an off-hand statement from his girlfriend Ino about Sakura acting like a woman in love to rouse his suspicions. He knew she wasn't seeing anyone in the village. But he had never suspected that the hag would betray them. Maybe Danzou had been correct when he said that Sai could not trust anyone but himself. Right or not, the Hokage had to be informed.

.oOo.oOo.

The moment Sakura stepped through her front door, still clothed in her white medic's uniform, she knew something was wrong. She reached over and flipped the light on. Her heart froze in her chest at the sight which met her eyes. Tsunade, Sai, and a full squad of ANBU stood in her living room. The former ROOT member had assumed that horrible fake smile which he had used when he had first joined Team Kakashi.

"Sai, what is going on?" she asked. When he just continued to smile at her, her gaze moved to the Hokage, "Tsunade-shishou?"

Sai stepped forward without hesitation and punched her in the jaw. She staggered backward, too stunned to be angry. Two ANBU members grabbed her arms to keep her upright.

"That is Hokage-sama to you, traitor. You've lost any right to call her your master," Sai said.

Sakura's emerald eyes looked to her sensei, but Tsunade would not meet her gaze.

"Is it true, Sakura?" the busty blonde asked.

The medic nin rallied her anger.

"Does it matter? You've apparently already found me guilty," she bit out.

Shikamaru was suddenly there, binding chakra cuffs around the wrists Itachi had cradled so gently only a few days earlier. He wrapped an explosion tag around the metal links, dark eyes conflicted. He too would not quite meet her gaze.

"If you try to warn him, in any way, these will go off," he said. The genius then added under his breath, "How troublesome. The Hokage wants him alive. Think of what his capture would mean for Naruto, Sakura-san."

She knew he meant well, but he also did not fool her. His words had been carefully chosen to make sure he gained the outcome he desired. Best to let him think he had won. Sakura lowered her head, watching through her eyelashes as an ANBU member threw open her window. Shikamaru pressed her down onto the bed, then they all vanished. She knew they had not gone far. No doubt they, along with more of their fellows, lay in wait outside her home.

Emerald eyes lifted to the moonlit rooftops which Itachi would travel. He was to come to her tonight and, if she knew him at all, he would come to her injured. He seemed fascinated by watching her heal. All ninja could take away life, but he had once told her that she was the only person he knew who had the power to give both life and death in her hands. Uchiha Itachi, prodigy of his clan, he may be, but the combined might of ANBU would tear him apart.

On the other hand was Naruto, a young man who was her brother in all but blood. If Itachi went free, she might as well kill the Kyuubi container herself. Akatsuki would come after him…and they would murder him for the demon inside of him. Naruto had promised her that he would never let them take him. He had yet to fail fulfilling one of his vows—save for his promise to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, but they had both failed that one. Either way, she stood a horrible chance of losing one of the two men she loved the most. A tear of mingled sorrow and frustration rolled down her pale cheek.

How long she sat in agonized indecision, she would never know. It felt like years had passed, but could have been no more than a few hours. Suddenly, an inner sense warned her of her lover's approach.

This was the moment of decision.

She straightened, straining her eyes for a glimpse of his lean figure. She could just barely make him out in the distance, but he was rapidly coming closer. She fancied she could even see the crimson of his beautiful, intense eyes. She could clearly see, however, the way he was favoring his left leg. Kami only know what had happened to him, but it proved that ANBU would be able to take him. Emerald eyes widened as a last breath of air scented with roses entered her lungs. She gathered her chakra and pulled apart the metal cuffs as though they were made of butter.

Itachi moved toward Sakura's home with just a portion of his usual grace. He was lucky the Gobi had only managed to sink its teeth into his leg, not rip it from his torso as it intended, but hours of travel had left the muscles stiff and painful. He had more important concerns than his wounds, however, for tonight he planned to ask Sakura to come away with him. He held out little hope that she would. The petite medic nin was far too loyal to Konoha. He was willing to swallow his pride and ask out of hope that, just maybe, she would surprise him. He needed her, and not just for her unrivaled medical skills.

It was as close as he would come to admitting he was in love with her.

He could make out her house in the distance and his steps quickened with anticipation. Without warning, the house exploded into flames. He froze, gaze fixed on the inferno. Was it an attempt by ANBU to capture him, but then why set off an explosion that would warn him away? The masked special forces of Konoha appeared like wraiths out of the night, answering one of his questions at least. However, they would have to know about him and Sakura to know he was coming tonight. His crimson eyes lingered on the flames. Surely they hadn't…no, Tsunade wouldn't allow harm to come to her precious disciple. More likely Sakura was being held in maximum security. He would have to come back for her.

The dark-haired Uchiha turned and fled, his ANBU pursuers only yards behind him. The outer wall was in sight when Shikamaru and several more squads of ANBU surrounded him. Itachi stopped, preparing to fight his way free. The Nara genius abruptly let out a curse.

"It's a genjutsu!" he said.

Meanwhile, in the woods outside the village, Itachi met up with his shark-like partner. The huge nin's white eyes surveyed his limping companion.

"I told you to get that leg looked at, Itachi-san. Did your kunoichi turn you away?" he rumbled.

"Ambush," the Uchiha said shortly.

"The kunoichi?" Kisame asked, baring his sharp teeth.

"No, she would not betray me. It had to be someone else," Itachi said.

Kisame relaxed his hold on Sameheda, inwardly disappointed. He wouldn't have minded tearing the pretty little medic apart had she betrayed his partner. He studied Itachi for a moment, noting the nearly imperceptible slump to his shoulders.

"Is your kunoichi safe?" the shark-nin asked grudgingly.

Itachi's crimson eyes narrowed as he said darkly, "She had better be."

All of Konoha would regret it if any harm came to Sakura.

.oOo.oOo.

The two Akatsuki camped there in the woods. They didn't light a fire, for the ANBU forces were no doubt scouring the forest for the Uchiha. Kisame settled his large bulk against a tree truck, laying his gigantic sword beside him. He watched his smaller partner lower himself to the ground, letting out a soft hiss as he bent his injured leg. Itachi rolled up his pant leg, crimson eyes dispassionately studying the tooth marks in his skin. Infection was starting to set into the cuts.

The dark-haired Uchiha lifted a hand, gathering green chakra to it then gingerly sent the healing energy to close the bites. Kisame watched with interest, for he had not known Itachi had any training in the medical field. Crimson eyes lifted for a moment.

"I had Sakura show me a few of her jutsus," he stated.

The shark-nin grunted. It made sense. His partner had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and, with a skilled medic at hand, of course he would have asked her to teach him a few things. After a moment, Itachi lifted his hand. The marks still marred his skin, but at least they had closed and the angry red of infection had lifted. He rolled his pants back down and lay back on the soft grass. An instant later, his tense form relaxed and Kisame knew his partner was asleep. Those wounds must have been bothering the Uchiha more than he let on for him to go to sleep so easily. The shark-nin readied himself for a night of vigilance.

As dawn began to tint the sky in shades of gold and pink, Itachi stirred. He sat up, brushing loose locks of dark hair away from his face. His black gaze was disoriented for just a moment, then it sharpened to crimson. Kisame gave the man a toothy grin.

"Feel better, Itachi-san?" he asked.

"I'm going to the nearest civilian village," Itachi said.

Suiting action to words, he gathered his chakra and leapt to a tree branch. Kisame's white eyes narrowed when his partner wobbled before gaining his balance and continuing on. Itachi had been pushing himself too hard for too long and it was starting to show.

"I'll go catch some fish for breakfast," he muttered to himself.

Itachi entered the village on foot like any normal civilian would. His Akatsuki cloak had been reversed to hide the distinctive red clouds and his scarred headband had been removed. The Sharingan lay dormant for once to further help him blend into the civilian population. He wove through the streets, noticing the small groups gathered on street corners, talking in hushed voices. His eyes narrowed, crimson glinting in their depths, then he lowered his head as an ANBU member walked by him. He stepped into a store and gathered what he needed from the shelves before falling into line. Two women in front of him were conversing quietly. He listened in more out of habit than out of any real desire to hear what they were saying.

-"can't believe the Godaime's student would do that," one woman said, her tone rife with censure.

The other one, a girl in her early twenties, sighed, "I think it's quite romantic—sacrificing your life for the one you love."

The older woman laughed, "You would think that, Shurei."

"Excuse me, ladies, but what are you talking about?" Itachi asked.

The two women angled their bodies to face him, their expressions at first annoyed at the interruption. When they took in his handsome features, though, they quickly adopted pleased expressions. Shurei, the younger woman, even dared to bat her eyelashes at him.

"You haven't heard? Haruno Sakura, the Hokage's student, fell in love with the murderer Uchiha Itachi. She killed herself last night to keep the other ninja from capturing her lover," the young woman explained.

The supplies Itachi had gathered crashed to the floor from suddenly numb hands. He stared at the two women, face draining of color. He turned and ran from the store.

'She can't be dead,' he thought.

Across the street, a young man lifted his head as Itachi stumbled into the street. He stiffened when he recognized the Akatsuki member, his onyx eyes bleeding to red. He tossed a few coins onto the table to pay for his meal, grabbed the sheathed chokuto which had been propped beside him, and followed the running man.

The trees merged into a continuous stream of brown and green as Itachi pushed himself beyond his limits. For the first time in his life, he had no plan. The one thought in his mind was of seeing Sakura alive and well. He didn't slow when he hit the gates of Konoha, stirring consternation in the two chuunin who guarded it. He leapt from roof to roof, feet barely touching the shingles before he pushed off. Glass shattered as he launched himself through the window and into the Hokage's office. In a heartbeat, his long-fingered hand was wrapped around Tsunade's throat.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

The Hokage shoved him back into the wall using her superhuman strength. Her amber eyes were reddened with weeping.

"She's dead, Uchiha! Because of you…she's dead," Tsunade said.

She became the first person to ever see an expression of mingled shock and horror upon the stoic Uchiha's face. She would have preferred to never have witnessed the stoic man's breakdown, though, if it meant the young woman who was like a daughter to her would still be alive.

"In all of Shikamaru's calculations, she chose Konoha over you. She was never supposed to…" the Hokage trailed off, vision blurring with a fresh onset of tears.

"She's human, not a game piece," he hissed.

For a moment, as his red eyes fixed on her, Tsunade was certain that she was going to die. Then, his aristocratic features convulsed, as if he were fighting the urge to cry. He turned and fled back through the window. The busty blonde stepped to the hole, shoes crunching on the shattered glass. She was about to summon the ANBU to go after him when a red blur intercepted the missing-nin's flight.

Naruto slammed into Itachi and drove him into the ground. The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki had his heart-sister's killer in his sights and he was not about to let Itachi escape him. Their battle raged all over Konoha, ending at last outside the gates. Naruto, surrounded by the Kyuubi's red chakra, stood facing a bloody Itachi. The Akatsuki member was weakened from battling two Jinchuuriki in three days, as well as by the pain of losing Sakura. Naruto, on the other hand, was strengthened by the demon inside of him and by blind rage.

"I'll kill you!" he snarled.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, trying to summon enough chakra to activate the Mangekyou stage of the Sharingan.

"My foolish little brother will hate you for it," he responded roughly.

He gasped suddenly as a blade sliced through his chest. His crimson eyes widened as his head dropped to regard the foreign object.

"Not if I am the one to kill you," a hard voice came from behind him.

The chirping of birds filled the air as the blade was wreathed in lightning. Itachi collapsed to his knees then, sliding off the blade, fell to the ground, revealing Sasuke behind him. A glint of blue returned to Naruto's feral eyes at the sight of his long-lost best friend, but he wasn't done with Itachi yet. Clawed hands grasped hold of the Akatsuki cloak, jerked him off the ground.

"You were using her!" Naruto growled.

Crimson faded to an onyx that was unearthly clear. A trickle of blood seeped from the dying Uchiha heir's mouth as he labored to draw breath.

"Started…to get you and…foolish little brother. Didn't turn out…that way," Itachi gasped out. He lifted a rapidly-weakening hand to grasp the blond's shirt, dragging in one last breath so he could clearly say, "I love Sakura."

His lean body went limp, the intense gaze that had captivated so many turning black and unfocused. Naruto let out a howl of pure rage as he shook the missing-nin's body.

"I don't believe you!" he shouted to the man, uncaring that he was beyond hearing.

Another tail started to form from the Kyuubi's chakra, but it was halted by Sasuke's hand on his shoulder. Naruto released Itachi's body with a last look of disdain and stood to face the last Uchiha, the Kyuubi's red chakra fading back into his body. Sasuke's dispassionate gaze was fixed on his elder brother.

"If she was nothing more than a tool, he would never have come to Konoha today," he stated.

He had heard the rumors, but hadn't believed them until he had seen the stricken look on Itachi's face as he had left the store.

"I will present myself to the Hokage and ask that she allow me back into the village," he added.

Naruto's expression was vulnerable as he asked weakly, "Because of him?"

Sasuke was tempted to brush off the question with a simple 'hn,' but the look on the Jinchuuriki's face stopped him. He sighed in resignation.

"No. Because you and Sakura never gave up on me," he said.

.oOo.oOo.

Two years later…

Naruto, the Hokage now since Tsunade had resigned soon after her student's suicide, stood beside Sasuke at the memorial stone. The blond knelt to trace his fingertips over one name in particular. He had fought hard to see her name engraved here, honored among Konoha's heroes, rather than defamed as a traitor.

"Sakura," he whispered, "You know, sometimes I feel like she's still here, like she'll be waiting for me if I just turn the right corner."

"They'll always be with us, I think," Sasuke responded.

Naruto nodded and stood. In his mind's eye, he could envision the pink-haired medic nin stretching delicate hands into the moonlight to welcome her dark-haired lover home.

Hope you enjoyed this. Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought!