Tell them, I was still alive when you saw me.

Time seemed to stop. There was no sound, no movement. Then slowly it started to filter back. Her breath sounded loud to her ears, and the thumping of her heart so strong she thought it would explode within her chest. Then came the thundering 'tick-tock' of the clock followed by the chirping of the birds in the tree outside her open window, all of it overwhelming to her ears when suddenly the rest of the world rushed back and hit her.

The noises from the street were consuming, the air suffocating as she fell to her knees, her eyes filling with tears and her breath caught in her throat. Absentmindedly, she noted her body was trembling as her head started to pound. But not once did her eyes move from the sight of the black cloak innocently folded on top of her bed.

-----

The moon was high illuminating the forest with its silver sheen. The swooping of owl wings through the air permeated the quiet followed by a shrill little shriek and the snapping of bones as they watched the tawny owl fly back up to its perch and devour its prey.

Silently they made their way through the forest, blending in with shrubbery and trees despite the bright red patterns on their cloaks. They could hear the animals moving around them, the wind rustling the trees, but all this they ignored as they made their way to their destination.

Stopping suddenly, the older of the two cocked his head in question and looked down in puzzlement at his partner before turning his head back to the scene before him. For there in the middle of the clearing, standing in the light of the moon, stood without a doubt a woman, her cloak clinging to her body as its cowl hood hid her face and hair only allowing the slightest outline of her features.

Turning her head she nodded slightly, the moon causing the intricate silver brooch that clasped her cloak together to shine brightly. Acknowledging the two members of the Akatsuki, she did not move from her place. In fact, she seemed not to care.

Puzzled and annoyed at her lack of reaction the larger man hefted his sword from his back and swung it around to rest in front of him. They were near Konoha and he could see from the woman's stance that she was a Kunoichi, so why wasn't she running from him? Was she that stupid? Huffing in annoyance he blurted out, "Hoy! Girlie, don't you know who we are?!"

His partner narrowed his eyes as he watched the woman give no indication that she had heard the question. She was motionless as not even the gentle breeze seemed to touch her. "It is dangerous for a lone Kunoichi to be out," he stated quietly his words carrying clearly.

Still she said nothing. Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew a slew of leaves into their faces, ruffling their cloaks. The men's eyes widened slightly in surprise as the wind opened the woman's cloak to show a glimpse of pale, naked flesh and bare feet before it whipped her hood down and revealed her face.

"You're on the Kyuubi's team."

"Hoshigaki-san, Uchiha-san." The pink haired young woman greeted causing eyebrows to rise at such a formal and polite greeting. Looking at her, Itachi noticed that her stance was ramrod straight, her weight slightly more on one foot then the other, her fingers slightly curled, and her head held high. It was the stance of a noble.

"You are far from Konoha this night, Haruno-san," he replied in kind ignoring the obvious gestures Kisame was making regarding her state of undress.

Nodding her head in agreement she turned her body away from them, closing her eyes and cocking her head. "You should leave," she replied simply, ignoring the indignant look that appeared on the blue skinned swordsman.

"I'm not taking any orders from some pink haired girl!" Kisame snapped annoyed that this slip of a girl would dare give him an order. His face blank and devoid of emotions, Itachi watched as she turned her head into the wind and hummed. When her eyes opened he was caught by the utter emptiness he saw inside them.

"They are coming, and you should not be here when they come," she warned again.

"HEH! Who is coming, what crack are you on?" Kisame interrogated quietened by the hand on his shoulder as he looked at the Uchiha standing next to him.

"Listen."

"Heh, I don't hear anything."

"Exactly."

And they were right. The animals had stopped making noise, burrowing deep into their dens, sliding into the nooks and crannies of the wood, scurrying across the streams. The clearing was empty as every living creature had gone or was deep in hiding.

"Leave if you want to live."

The quiet statement without emotion, embellishment, or pleading caught their attention quicker than a kunai.

"You are leaving," Itachi said equally uncaring as he looked at this pink haired girl totally opposite to everything she had been before—loud, emotional, quick to temper, physical. It was as if she was someone else as she simply nodded her head once more.

"Hoy! You're leaving the Kyuubi brat all alone."

As suddenly as it came it was gone: a flash of pain at the mention of Naruto. But in front of two Akatsuki it was seen.

"They do not know."

She did not respond, only turned her head and hummed with her eyes closed. Exchanging a glance the two criminals acknowledged the extremely faint sound of horse hooves in the air.

"You should leave if you wish to live."

It was added on as a half-hearted suggestion. Looking over her features Itachi came to a very simple conclusion.

"Do you have any message you wish conveyed?" He offered watching out of the corner of his eye as Kisame came to the same realization.

"Tell them...I was still alive when you saw me."

Nodding his head he watched as her eyes looked over the clearing committing it to memory as she pulled up the hood of her cloak.

Far behind her they saw a haze of fog, eerily illuminated by the moon, quickly cover the ground racing towards them while the sound of hoof beats grew louder.

"Leave. Now."

This time they did not disobey, but quickly doubled-checked that their chakra was masked and disappeared into the trees. Hiding in the cover of the trees they watched as shapes appeared in the rolling fog. Suddenly racing out of the fog came a group of armored soldiers, their strong battle stallions surging strongly beneath them.

Coming to a halt, the horses breathed deeply with their shining armour glinting in the moonlight as they stamped their hooves impatiently and snorted into the wind. Their riders did not move, their old-fashioned armor glinting even brighter as Itachi noticed that their cloaks were clasped by the same broach as Haruno's.

The darkness rolled off of them in waves, their faces unseen and hidden by the shadows as they sat up straight on their mounts. The weapons on their backs and by their sides looked cruelly forged, well kept, and without doubt routinely used.

One solider stepped forward from the back handing the girl a set of reigns, dissolving without a sound back into the fog.

Without hesitation Sakura mounted the tall ebony stallion with ease, her cloak opening to show her naked body once more as her hood fell back. Arranging her cloak and clasping it with a pin handed to her by the solider that seemed to lead them she took a look around.

Kisame held his breath as her eyes seemingly pierced the trees and met theirs, the night itself echoing her words.

"Tell them...I was still alive when you saw me."

They watched as she turned her face up to the moon, one single crystalline tear falling down her cheek as she looked at its beauty.

Abruptly they turned their mounts and with a clattering of hooves rode back into the fog, disappearing as the beating hooves faded until they too were gone.

Slowly the sounds of animals returned and the leaves rustled in the wind as the two Akatsuki members jumped to the ground.

Exchanging a glance Kisame asked, "Think we'll ever see her again?"

"Perhaps," Itachi replied once more setting off for their destination.

The woods are lovely dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

And miles to go before I sleep.

--'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' by Robert Frost

0o0o0o0

Dia Duit,

For those of you who follow The Unexpected Stories, I will hopefully have an update within a week or two. I have got a couple of weeks of teaching at the moment so I am being kept very busy, this is a story I have had in my head for a bit but like with the Unexpected I am not sure what direction it will take just yet.

I intend to update every month until UKOC is finished as it is my main priority so please let me know what you think even if it's just the prologue as I am going to try a different style and persona for Sakura.

Once again thanks to BoxingBunny for giving up her time to catch my mistakes – if there are still some it's my fault.

Lots of love

The Rose and the Dagger x x x