Nobody: This is a One Shot based off the famous song by a group of four famous country singers, The Highwayman. In my opinion, it is a song of life, death, and rebirth in whatever form that comes next. In this one shot, I have crossed it over with four Naruto characters who are the most fitting for the parts of the song. And now, you are about to read the last moments of four men who have honestly lived the fullest of their lives, and lived doing what they love. I only hope you are doing the same. Enjoy!

The Highwaymen

The infamous rogue and terror of the main roads, Sasuke Uchiha, now sat in his dark, dank, rat infested prison cell, awaiting his eventual execution by hanging. He stared up at the only light source in the entire prison, a window that was 15 feet off the ground, barred in, and barely let light shine down into the dreary prison. Sasuke looked down at his attire, scrunching his face in disgust at his current garb, as it wasn't really befitting a man of his stature, and wasn't exactly the outfit he had in mind to be wearing on his dying day. He was currently dressed rags covered and infested with filth and pestilence, a dead man's garb. He looked over to the corner, where a dish of a mealy porridge like substance sat… a pathetic last meal for someone of his stature. He looked back up at the window, thinking back on his past crimes and misdeeds, not really having that much regret.

I was a highwayman. Along the coach roads I did ride…
With sword and pistol by my side.

A strapping highwayman he was, with pride, skill, and grace. He would wear an outfit that fit his ego, with a feathered cap, a black domino mask, a black cape, fine threads, and leather boots. He lived his life without regrets, taking whatever he wanted, and whatever he desired. Any that tried to threaten his life; he'd either cut down with his sword skill, or blow away with his pistol. Although, he mostly sought to fight sword to sword, only resorting to the pistol usually for long ranged fights or in an emergency.

Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade,
Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade.

He had done much in his life; taken vengeance upon a former brother for massacring his family, breaking many young women's hearts, relinquishing whatever valuables he could from those less deserving, and even fighting many worthy opponents in his lifetime, from soldiers to warriors, each more worthy of skill then the last.

Sasuke snapped out of his revere as he was suddenly called by the guards, telling him it was time for his execution. With great pride, he marched to his prison cell entrance, not even bothering to escape his fate. As the two guards escorted him to the place of his last breath, he strode alongside them, his head held high, still refusing to be beaten and dejected. He was a man who lived his life full of pride, and he'll continue to do so.

Sasuke walked out into the late daylight, many people who had come to witness his hanging were booing and cursing at him for his infamous deeds. He didn't care about them, why should he? He at least bothered to live his life his way before he was going to meet his end. Can any of these worthless urchins say the same? Ignoring their prattle, he continued his trek to the scaffold, thinking back on many things along the way. The execution spot was a fair distance away, so he enjoyed the little things he would miss along the way.

The rays of the sun, breeze of the wind, the songs of the birds. It was a beautiful day to die. His only regret was that when he was captured, he left a very fine horse to fend for itself. He loved that horse, and he will miss it so.

He finally reached his position on the scaffold, the noose fitted for him hanging in front of him. Some guy started reading off Sasuke's crimes and whatnot, Sasuke couldn't care less, and so, ignoring the man, he took in a breath of fresh spring air, looking past the sights of the crowd, and he saw the scaffold was positioned out in the woods, newly budding blossoms blooming from the flowers and the trees.

He then changed his sight toward the people. He knew these urchins only came to see him make a spectacle of himself, try to beg for his life, or try to escape, however, Sasuke was planning to disappoint them, as he had resigned to his fate, and whatever it would throw at him, he would take with his head held high.

Finally, he turned his eyes to the final thing he wanted to see, the sunset going on in the distance. It was beautiful, and despite him being a highwayman, he found the experience quite moving and romantic.

As the executioner wrapped the rope around Sasuke's neck, Sasuke kept his eyes on the sunset, his life flashing before his eyes, and suddenly, he felt a quick drop and his body being stopped short by his hanging neck. It was painful, he must have broke his neck, and he could agonizingly feel his air leaving him, but instead of trying to resist his imminent death, he just kept his eyes on the sunset as his life faded from his body.

The bastards hung me in the spring of twenty-five…
But I'm still alive.

Sasuke suddenly awoke to find he was standing in an abysmal darkness, a spotlight shinning down on him, and noticing he was wearing his Highwayman outfit, his gun and pistol in their holsters, he stared in confusion. "What the…?"

_-|(The Highwaymen)|-_

Shikamaru was currently drowning, a yard arm of a mast pinning him deeper and deeper into a watery grave. As Shikamaru's last moments crept ever closer, his life began to flash before his eyes, like a tapestry showing all the events of his life leading to this point.

I was a sailor. I was born upon the tide,
And with the sea I did abide.

He was more than just a sailor, he was captain of his own vessel, a small boat with very little crew members, sailing wherever the tides would take him. He mainly joined this life of passion on the sea because of the clouds. Out in the open sea, the only thing that would disrupt you was nature, and that was pretty decent amount of time to cloud gaze. Having always been a cloud gazer, Shikamaru could tell when clouds would turn out for the worst, and when that happened, he would shift from his lazy attitude, and get to work on keeping his vessel afloat.

I sailed a schooner round the Horn to Mexico
I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow

He could tell the wind was picking up, and it was time for the mainsail to be set up, and so, racing faster than his meager crew, he climbed the mast, and managed to furl the main sail, however, the gust proved so strong, that an old part of the mast had broken off, Shikamaru still clenching that part. When he hit the water, it was so hard, he might have broken his back, and the fact he was stuck on the yard arm didn't help any. His lungs began to fill with salt water, and his vision began to darken, his brain swimming. His last regret though was he never found a woman to love.

And when the yards broke off they said that I got killed
But I'm living still.

Shikamaru awoke to find himself in an abysmal dark abyss, a spot light shinning down him, his body completely dried. He looked around and spotted a man dressed with a feathered cap, a black domino mask, black cape, ancient looking threads, and leather boots, who was now staring at Shikamaru in confusion. "Sigh… troublesome…"

_-|(The Highwaymen)|-_

Sweat and grime coated him as the sun blared down on his back as he struck down again with the sledgehammer. Rock Lee, a young hard working man, pulled off his hard hat to wipe his brow, a smirk on his face. Lee then went back to work on the portion of the steel and cement dam he was working on, driving a stake in deeper into a slot.

I was a dam builder, across the river deep and wide…
where steel and water did collide.

Because of Lee's upbringing, Lee became a man that believed that through hard work and dedication, a man could accomplish anything and everything. As such, he had grown to enjoy work in all its forms, mainly manual labor. Because of this, his body became fit and strong, and health wise, he would probably live to see a hundred or so as long as he was careful enough. He took a moment to look out and observe the great river he was working on, trees on both shores, and water flowing through rapidly. He took in a great gasp of air, enjoying the outdoor experience. This was the life.

He then suddenly heard the break bell going off, and while everyone began to make their way for a lunch break, Lee stayed back a bit to do some extra work before having to take a break. After five minutes of working extra, he then began to make his way off the dam.

A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado…
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below.

Lee was in such a hurry, that his foot stepped onto a wet patch of the dam, and slipped, falling over the edge, hurtling down a few hundred feet until finally his body collided with the wet cement with a sickening crack. A few other workers had saw him fall, and rushed to retrieve his body, saddened by the loss of a good friend.

They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound
But I'm still around… I'll always be around... and around, and around, and
around, and around.

Lee suddenly awoke in a black void with a spotlight shinning down on himself and two others. He looked to himself to see he was okay, and he was wearing his hard hat and work clothes, a sledgehammer by his side.

"Greetings my fellow comrades… it is a pleasure to meet you!" Lee stated with a bow to the other two, drawing looks of confusion from them.

_-|(The Highwaymen)|-_

Naruto Uzumaki sat in the cockpit of a newly developed space jet, ready to take its maiden voyage into the great beyond. Naruto was currently suited in an orange jumpsuit with an oxygen helmet on, an air tank sitting next to him for in the event the cockpits air supply should give out. With this newly developed spacecraft, man should be able to travel the stars at a faster pace, and go farther than they ever had before. Naruto's trip though was just to see how she would fly, and be handled in the vacuum of space. Naruto strapped himself in, checked all the settings, and he was then clear to go. A cliché classic countdown began, and Naruto was both excited and nervous at the same time, feeling a knot in his stomach, and giddy as well. He smirked, and then, when it was time, he started up the proper systems in the proper order. At the call of 'Zero, Lift off,' he engaged the main thrusters, and booming rumble shook his entire being as the craft began to take off. Naruto had been waiting for most of his life for this point in time.

I fly a starship across the Universe divide,
And when I reach the other side…

When Naruto was young, he would dream of reaching past the heavens and touching a star. He dreamed of going beyond the threshold of human limits, of high fiving the sky and kissing the clouds. He dreamed of floating through space, and seeing the world through his own eyes from the point of view of the heavens.

So far, the spacecraft was doing great, and was coming closer and closer to breaching the outer atmosphere.

I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can...
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again…

Naruto had done it, he had breached past the atmosphere, and he was already looking down at Earth. From this vantage point, one couldn't tell of the problems happening on the ground, war, sickness, poverty, corruption, hate, he couldn't see any of it from this high up. All he saw was a beautiful glowing blue orb with occasional cloud overhead, and the sun peering over the edge of it. The sight was breathtaking. He felt like he was something great at this moment in time.

Suddenly, something happened, an alarm began to blare, and Naruto had found that the engines were failing. His space ship began shake, and gravity began to pull the ship back into orbit from a diagonal angle. Naruto desperately attempted to readjust the trajectory, but all systems were failing, and the cockpit began to really heat. Naruto turned his sights back to the beautiful sight before him, and just kept his eyes on that as his craft began to tear apart.

"Totally worth it…" He muttered.

Or I may simply be a single drop of rain,
But I will remain…

Naruto opened his eyes, and found himself in a black expanse of space, a spotlight shining down on himself and three others who were more or less oddly dressed. He was dressed in his jumpsuit, his helmet in the crook of his under arm, the oxygen tank on his back.

"What the…? Where am I?" Naruto asked.

"That was what we were wondering ourselves…" Shikamaru stated.

"Do you think this might be heaven?" Lee asked, excitedly.

"Pfft… doubt it…" Sasuke commented. "I may have died… but I most certain didn't do anything to disserve heaven… and even if it was, it certainly doesn't look like it…"

"Woah wait? You mean to tell me we're all dead?" Naruto asked.

"Considering the last thing I saw was me drowning before ending up here… I would assume that would be the conjecture…" Shikamaru lazily commented.

"Okay… I guess that makes sense…" Naruto commented, thinking back to his last moments.

"Well… if it isn't heaven we're in, then maybe we're here to be judged or something…" Shikamaru decided to comment. "You know, like a place that weighs what you did in life, and determines where you go…"

"Hmph… figures… I go through one prosecution, and now have to endure another… just send me to hell right now…" Sasuke commented, annoyed.

Suddenly, the light began to shine down on the four occupants, getting brighter and brighter.

"Woah, I didn't mean it literally!" Sasuke commented.

"Damn it's bright… how troublesome…" Shikamaru stated, covering his eyes.

"Yosh! I am ready for anything that comes my way!" Lee stated excitedly.

"Well, whatever this is… It's quite a sight…" Naruto commented.

Soon, the light enveloped all four men, taking them to their next stage in life, whatever that may be for these four men.

And I'll be back again, and again, and again, and again, and again…

To be continued… by You!

Here is the challenge now… I want you, the audience to try to finish this story if you wish. In other words, see what you all can do with a Highwayman, a Sailor, a Dam Builder, and a Star Ship captain, and what exactly happens next! Let's see what all of you can do, if you are willing to take up the challenge. Also, don't forget to let me know if you are interested.

My suggestion… I was thinking this could either aim for placing these four characters in a sort of purgatory land of the dead kind of place, where fallen men and women end up, from all corners of time and space… kind of like a heroescape type thing… only with an evil overlord or something, and the four become a sort of the Highwaymen of this world to break the iron grip of the ruler of this land.

Another suggestion, place the personalities in the bodies of the Naruto characters in the Shinobi world… you know… Rock Lee with the mind of Builder and a hard worker already… Sasuke with the mind of a Highwayman… Shikamaru with the knowledge of Sailing… Naruto with the determination of an astronaut…

Or... if you want, you can do another type of a parody of the Highwaymen with different characters in mind...

Whatever you decide to do with this fic, just please take it seriously, do more than what I just wrote, and try and make it good… Until then…

Signed,
Mr. Nobody