Water was thrown onto the young man, beads of the liquid dripping down the pale skin of his body and sliding through the threads of his black hair. He sat there on the ground, this treatment like daily routine to him by now. Sticks and rocks were also thrown at him from people in the crowd, but he couldn't really feel the pain of them hitting his flesh anymore.

"Why don't you just leave our land?!"

Another rock hit him on the side of his white face, the area where he was struck already bruising a nasty-looking dark color.

"No one wants you here anyway!"

More water was dumped on him and he coughed violently when it slipped down his dry throat the wrong way.

"You'd be better off dead so why bother living anymore!"

Insult after insult flew at him, but the young man had stopped listening to them. He was used to this by now, but the crowd did something they had never done before. The group of people ganged up on him and started to beat him with either their fists and feet or whatever was in their hands at the moment.

"Please stop it!" a voice shouted from behind the mob.

"But Lady Hinata-"

"I said stop it! Such violence is completely unnecessary! What did he ever do to you?!"

None of the people in the mass really had anything worthy enough to answer her with and they did not want any repercussions for disobeying their lady later. They slowly drifted away from the boy who was clutching himself on the ground.

All except for one man who whispered to him, "You had better be grateful to Lady Hinata for saving you, heathen. But you won't be so lucky next time."

The man walked away after kicking some dirt on the boy's pain wracked body. The young woman who rescued him from the angry mob rushed up to the bloody and bruised boy.

"Are you okay, Shino?" Hinata asked.

Red eyes looked up at her, little to no emotion showing through at all.

"Lady Hinata, I've told you to stop trying to save me every time this happens," the young man now identified as Shino said.

Hinata's pupil-less eyes looked down at the young man sadly. Hinata was the youngest of seven daughters of the lord that ruled over most of the land they lived on and disobeying him or any of his brethren for that matter was punishable by law. Which was the main reason why the crowd backed off. Otherwise, they would have continued to thrash Shino until satisfied.

"I just want to help you. They have no right to treat you like that!"

"I don't want any help…"

Shino sat up from the ground, pain from a cut on his wrist he didn't remember getting making him wince slightly.

"At least let me dress your wounds, Shino," Lady Hinata pleaded, "You can't do that by yourself."

Closing his eyes with a sigh, Shino said, "Alright, Lady Hinata."

Hinata helped Shino up from the dirt, brushing some of the dust off his clothes before walking towards the direction of his home.

"Shino, I've told you time and time again to just call me Hinata," Hinata said, looping the boy's arm around her shoulders for support if he needed it.

"Just because I'm hated by just about everyone in this town doesn't mean I can't be polite," Shino replied.

"Okay I guess. I can't make you change your mind," the young Lady said, furrowing her eyebrows at the boy.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, the townspeople staring at them as they walked by. Most of them thought that there was no point for their young Lady to even bother with someone like the young man, but they knew their place and never once made an attempt to prevent her from doing what she wanted.

The pair stopped in front of a shabby-looking house at the end of the street. It was one of the worst looking houses in the entire land, but to Shino, it was the only home he had ever known.

"You know, I could convince Father to let you come stay at the palace with us," Lady Hinata said after walking into the house and sitting Shino down on a rather neat looking bed.

"I've said this before, M'Lady. I'll be fine by myself," Shino said, removing his shirt.

"I know that, but I wish you would accept my offer," she continued, walking to the bed with bandages and other medical supplies that she had gotten from a cabinet tucked in her arms.

Shino's mind wandered as Lady Hinata began to treat the wounds on his back, arms, and chest. He remembered the first time he had actually met Lady Hinata because it was the first time she had saved his skin. Today wasn't first day he had been treated like he was nothing, but this was the first time the usual crowd of angry people had decided to beat him up. But the day he had met Lady Hinata was also the day he almost died.

Two years ago

He was running from two outraged men, Shino's presence the only thing fueling their fury. Shino ran down alleyway after alleyway, trying to lose the men at all costs. He eventually fell down to the earth when he tripped over a broken bottle.

"It's about time something stopped him," one of the men said.

The other man stood above Shino with a knife he had pulled out of his pocket, its blade glittering in the moonlight.

"Turn him over on his back and hold him down," the man with the knife ordered, the other man following his orders after he said them.

Shino struggled and fought a little bit, but the man managed to pin his arms to the ground while the one with the knife sat on his legs. The boy still tried to release himself from their grip, but he stilled when the man on his legs started waving the knife in his face.

"Now now. There's no point fighting the inevitable so just say still," the man said, sliding the edge of the blade along Shino's cheekbone.

"What do you want?" Shino asked, trying to make it seem like he wasn't scared.

The one who had Shino's arms held down laughed and asked, "Are you really that stupid?"

His partner also chuckled a little before saying, "He apparently is, my friend. What we want is for you to die. It's what the whole town wants so why not just let them have what they want?"

And with that said, the man used the knife to cut a thin line under one of Shino's red eyes. Shino showed no sign of pain, hoping that showing no emotion would discourage his attackers, but it only urged them to continue.

"Oh so you don't show any pain, eh? Well, we'll have you screaming for your life before the night is done," the man on his legs said.

They sustained their assault for hours without ceasing once, their attack more akin to torture than anything else. The pattern of injuries and the harm they inflicted ranged from small cuts to stab wounds and punching him in the face to just flat out beating him.

Three hours into the attack and Shino had thirteen small cuts, twenty-seven puncture wounds, numerous bruises all over his body, and a broken arm, but he never once showed that he was in any type of pain. But he was starting to slip into an unconscious state from blood loss and it didn't seem like his aggressors were anywhere near finished with him. They had come here to kill him and they would strive very hard to succeed.

That's when a female voice yelled out into the alleyway.

"What are you doing to him?! Leave him alone!"

The men turned around to look at the woman who shouted at them and ran away after they saw who it was, neither of the men willing to even try to explain why they were there in the first place.

The raven-haired woman rushed to the bleeding mass on the ground, gasping when she saw it was a young boy.

"Oh my god…Are you all right, sir?" the woman asked, panic-stricken and unsure about what to do or say.

Shino never got the chance to answer because a few seconds later, he passed out, making the woman even more panicky than he realized at the time. Shino awoke about a week later in his house, bandages covering him left and right and pain attacking every cell in his body. He was surprised to see the woman from that night in his home and even more surprised by her outburst of tears when she saw he had woken up at last.

"I'm so glad you're okay," the woman said through her tears.

Shino didn't have the energy to speak so he just stayed in his bed, waiting for her to calm down.

"I'm sorry. I should introduce myself," the woman said after she had finally controlled her tears, "I am Hinata."

Upon hearing her name, Shino felt like he had been a burden to someone as important as her and attempted to apologize.

"Please try not to speak. You've been asleep for a while now and it would be better if you saved your energy. Oh yes and I already know who you are so please just rest for now."

Shino nodded in response and pressed his body down onto the bed, watching Lady Hinata get him water and some food. They spent the next few days together in his house, mostly because Lady Hinata wouldn't even think about leaving until she thought he was better. She said he had almost died in the alleyway and she also said that some of his injuries had caused him to contract a fever while he was sleeping. She also thanked God because she thought that He kept Shino alive, but back then, Shino didn't really think God cared about him at all.

Present time

"Shino….Shino….Shino!"

Shino jumped a little, Lady Hinata's yelling snapping him out of his thoughts.

"I'm sorry Lady Hinata-"

"I know. You were thinking. I wanted to let you know that I have finished treating your wounds."

Looking down at himself, Shino saw that she was right. He wasn't as heavily injured as he thought he was, most of the bandages covering a few places on his arms, back, and chest and there was also one covering the cut on his wrist.

"Thank you, Lady Hinata," Shino said, bowing his head slightly.

"Please. There's no need to thank me. I'm just glad you're okay," Hinata replied, a warm smile on her face.

Shino gave her a small smile in return and put his shirt back on. A smile was a rare thing on his face these days and he didn't give them out freely like some people would.

"I'm sorry, Shino, but I have to go back home now," Hinata said.

"Okay."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow then," Hinata said cheerfully before going out the door.

Shino sat quietly for a few minutes before lying back down on the bed with his legs hanging off the side.

An image of Shino on his bed was visible on a pool of water. A man and a younger boy stood side by side near the edge of the pool, looking down at the vision reflected on the water's surface.

"Are you sure you want this case? It will be a challenge," the man warned.

"Of course I do. I've stayed here in Heaven without going back to their world long enough. Besides, I really think I can help him," the boy reassured.

"Well, it is your choice to make so I won't stop you. But you must remember the rules."

"I will. Don't worry about me."

The boy disappeared, leaving the man standing by the water pool.

"I hope you can help him. His future as it stands now is grim," the man whispered before disappearing.

Shino groggily opened his red eyes to the darkness in his house. The moon and stars were shining in the blackened sky outside, making Shino wonder how long he had slept. He got off his bed, a bruise on the side of his abdomen suddenly hurting him.

A light shot into his room, making Shino fall over backwards and land on the floor. The light weakened and revealed a tan boy with bright blonde hair and dazzling cobalt eyes. He was wearing a stunning sleeveless white robe, but the pure white wings on his back were the feature that stuck out the most.

The room returned to darkness and the boy's wings faded away. He smiled happily at Shino as he floated to the ground. When his bare feet finally found purchase on the ground, he stepped towards Shino and kneeled down to the floor with his head facing downward.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Master Shino," the blonde said.

"Huh? What?" Shino asked bewilderedly.

Looking up at Shino, the boy continued, "I am an angel sent down from Heaven to help you, Master Shino. I will be your servant until my presence is no longer deemed necessary in your life."

The blonde's smile was still on his face while Shino's face had an expression that was a mixture of confusion, shock, and surprise.

"But I-"

"Oh silly me. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Naruto and I am prepared to do anything you ask of me."

"Whoa! Wait a minute! I don't understand what's going on!" Shino yelled out, his hands clutching the ground.

"Shino-sama…doesn't understand?" Naruto asked, a puzzled look on his face.

They both just sat there, one boy suffering from confusion while the other was shocked beyond belief.

"Okay…so," Shino began, "why are you here again?"

"I am here to make you happy and to be your servant, Shino-sama," Naruto said with a joyful smile on his face.

Shino simply stared at the supposed blonde angel, not knowing what to think or say or do. They say angels are the blessing of God, but when one enters your life unexpectedly, how will it affect the existence you've come to know? Will you be eternally blessed for the rest of your life or will you receive more trouble than you bargined for?

Edit 5/12/2014; Removed author notes.