Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto.

I always knew I was different.

It was never, ever how the other little kids felt. You know, the, "I'm invincible! I'm so much better than you!" and stuff like that. No, I was way past those kinds of childish fantasies at a very early age. My life was one filled with hardships, troubles and I could never have survived as long as I did still clinging to something as foolish as that.

At first, I was confused why no one else saw the way I did. Didn't they know what it was like to go hungry? Why were they so confused when I told them how hard it was to get a decent place to sleep at night? I had always been forced to learn quickly (or die), and soon discovered that they actually had homes; that they had soft beds to sleep in at night, that they had good food to eat every day. To me, it sounded like they were spoiled—however I learned that this was the norm for most kids, and that I was the odd one out.

I was different.

Also, most kids actually enjoyed their birthdays; they didn't loathe their birthday's with the same passion I did. In fact, they even got presents! It was a time to be happy, not run away from drunken mobs and hope you would last till morning (thankfully that was the only time the drunk mobs got bold enough to actually try anything, what with the ANBU that usually followed me around). Everything about this pointed to one thing:

I was different. And not in a good way.

So I kept my head down. Tried not to stir up to much trouble, to give people a reason to avoid me, because that was obviously what they wanted to do. Really, I had enough on my plate, and I didn't need much more. Though you know… there never is much rest for the martyr.

I examined my appearance in the mirror. Six odd scars showed obnoxiously on my cheeks, giving me a mischievous look that made most people label me as a trouble-maker. Bright blonde hair, paired with unnatural blue eyes that would make anyone stand out in any crowd. Oh yes, I didn't need anything to make me any more noticeable than I already was.

I knew Lady Luck was cackling madly at me when I turned around, exposing my bare back to the mirror. Exposing the two hawk-like wings folded gracefully on my back.

Yes, just my luck.

I, Uzumaki Naruto, am an angel.

It happened when I was born.

You know the story, and I sure don't want to have to explain it again. The Kyuubi attacked, bad-ass Yondaime sealed the nine-tailed fox into some poor kid (me, by the way), and he died. Leaving said kid (me) with a terrible burden no newborn should have to deal with. At least, that's the story everyone else knows. Technically it's true.

See, there was a little problem with the sealing. When I was born, I wasn't exactly the strongest child; in fact, I should've been in the hospital, and most likely would've stayed there for weeks before I was even allowed out. However the Yondaime had no other choice, and just hoped for the best. The best wasn't enough; it was obvious I would not last the sealing.

However the Shinigami gave it's word to the Yondaime, and a Shinigami never goes back on its word. If I died, the Kyuubi would be let back out, and then it'd be back to square one. The Shinigami could heal, of course, but a normal human—especially a child would never be able to take the Shinigami's power. So the Shinigami made me into something he could save: an angel. Of course, the Shinigami knew that it would be a little problematic if he brought back a child to the Underworld, so he devised a plan that allowed me to get the full angel attributes in stages.

The first stage was the easiest, or perhaps the hardest; learning exactly what I was. It first happened when I was six…

I quickly peeked out from behind the building, feeling semi-exposed. I cursed my bad luck. To be caught outside, alone, at night, especially today! Hadn't I learned my lesson the first time this had happened? I knew I could worry about my stupidity later, but for now I had to focus on simply getting home without getting the attention of all the drunks in the bar.

Why did the bar have to be on the only street that didn't have any other escape routes?

"C'mon." I muttered to myself. "Just run, real quick, they won't notice you!" As experienced as I was for a child, it still didn't change the fact that I was a child. A stupid, snotty, loud-mouthed little child.

I whipped around the building and ran in a dead sprint, trying to be so quick they wouldn't notice me. Unfortunately some of them were ninja, and they're especially dangerous when they're drunk. They don't have any self-control; they don't have a problem with beating up a defenseless little kid, or the brain to think of the consequences if they did.

"Where do you think you're going, little brat?" I heard a shout, and felt rather than saw the kunai that embedded itself into my foot. Curse my lack of shoes!

I shrieked with pain as the kunai did what it was supposed to do—hold me in place so I couldn't run. Then I realized the one who had thrown the kunai—and his cronies—were all advancing on me. Gritting my teeth, I yanked the kunai out and tossed it aside, not wasting a moment before I took off again. However the wound in my foot got in the way; all I could manage was a slow, limping run. When I heard the people behind me laughing, I knew they were just playing with me.

I took an alley to the left, hoping that none of the drunks knew the back-streets of Konoha like I did. My prayers were answered, because I couldn't hear the shouts anymore. Weaving a bit more just to make sure I'd lost them, I finally arrived at the back-door of the apartment building.

And that was when all hell broke loose.

Now I know that they were just giving me false hope until the last moment, making me believe that I had actually escaped unscathed. My child self hadn't known that, so preoccupied with escaping. The ploy had worked, and I had had to deal with the consequences.

It was all a blur, and I can't quite remember it all… a kick coming towards my face, raising a hand to block it, feeling blows over the rest of my body not quite sure where it was coming from spitting blood feel the world darken…

The last thing I remember was a burst of golden light, and someone screaming.

"—the hell are we supposed to do? Shrimp nearly gets himself killed—"

"David! Watch your language!"

"Why do we have to be the ones to take care of him? I swear, Jiji is so soft hearted sometimes!"

"Don't you remember? He gave his word! Don't insult Shinigami-sama like that!"

"You just worship him because he's your father, and if he disappears you'll be the new Shinigami!"

"David, I would never—"

"Nnn…"

Both the voices froze abruptly.

"Is he awake?"

"Now look what you've done! You're shouting woke him up!"

"My shouting? My shouting? You're the one who was ragging on me, Mary, and I swear to God I will—"

"David Aenaisaigo! You little rat! You're a disgrace of an angel!"

"Sh-Shut up…" I moaned quietly, not quite able to take their shouting any longer.

"See? He wants you to shut up."

"He didn't specify which one of us! I'll bet it was you, David, you nasty, evil little delinquent! The reason you got assigned to him was because you're on community service! If you hadn't given that Fountain of Youth to the mortal you wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Quiet!" I roared, shooting up furiously. "Can't you two ever shut up? You're giving me a migraine!"

"See? It was both of you. I'm starting to like this kid."

"Shut up, Ezekiel."

I was greeted by the sight of three people, each dressed in the same glaring white color with gold accents. However, each outfit had some small differences: The one called 'David' wore a white hood, and his sleeves were cut jaggedly up to his shoulders. He wore black boots, which had gold spangles. The only woman of the group, the one called 'Mary', wore her dress simply and elegantly, everything cut cleanly and no ragged edges. Her dress was long and flowing, and had only one sleeve, which displayed her porcelain skin and elegant shoulders. The final man, 'Ezekiel', wore his clothing simply and without embellishments. However I actually favored his clothing the most, because it didn't hurt my eyes to look at.

They were all gorgeous.

David had almost white blonde hair and electric blue eyes, which had a mischievous sparkle in them. He had powerful, muscled arms and a bright white smile that seemed to light up the room. Everything about him screamed, 'rebel'.

Mary had porcelain skin, and everything she did had elegance and grace in it. Her bronze hair was twisted up into a simple bun on the back of her head, and I was slightly shocked to see two quizzical, golden eyes staring out at me.

Ezekiel was probably the most interesting person I'd ever seen; he had black, curly hair that turned his head into a mop, and two lazy purple eyes that looked extremely sleepy. He had the same deathly white skin as the other two.

The most interesting thing about them, however, was probably the giant wings on their backs.

David's wings were white, though they had a subtle but unmistakable golden tinge. They were enormous compared to him (now I noticed that he was significantly shorter than the other two), and twitched every once in a while, almost demonstrating his energy.

Mary's wings were pure white, a white so pure it outshone the freshly fallen snow. The wings sat perfectly still, almost politely.

Ezekiel's wings were the most interesting wings out of all of them; they were pure black, with a gentle silver sheen surrounding them. His wings were the biggest, even bigger than David's; they framed him mysteriously, and always seemed to be moving, but not like the seemingly random movement of David's wings. The movements were precise and subtle.

Ezekiel noticed me staring at his wings, and extended one almost lazily so I could get a better look. I had to admit—they were the most beautiful things I'd ever seen.

"Show-and-tell's over, Zeke. I want to get this done with." It was David, who grinned at my stunned look.

"Show some respect to Ezekiel, David!"

"Really, Mary, it's fine."

"No, Ezekiel, it's not fine! This delinquent—"

"She gave me the puppy dog look! You couldn't resist that look! Well, maybe Ezekiel, since he's—"

"Another word and you'll know why I'm the right hand man of Shinigami-sama."

"Who are you? Why are you here? Who sent you?" I interrupted, tired of their ceaseless bickering.

"I'm sure you already know who we are." Ezekiel rumbled. "It's what we are is the question."

"We're angels." Mary cut in.

I blinked. "Angels…? Um, like people with wings? Immortal? Stuff like that?"

"Yes, I suppose, if that's what you would describe us as. We also happen to be Shinigami-sama's workers. We do the errands that Shinigami-sama is too lazy—too busy to do." Ezekiel quickly corrected his slip up, and David snickered into his hand.

"Oh… so am I dead?" I asked bluntly. After all, what else would they be here for?

"No, Naruto-kun. Look behind you."

I turned my head slowly, and gasped at what I saw. It looked so out of place, I had to reach out and touch them to make sure they were there.

I had wings.

I had wings.

"H-How…?" I stuttered, watching the two hawk-like wings with shock.

"You don't physically have them—not right now, anyway. Uzumaki Naruto, you are an angel."

That's when my brain went into overload and I fainted.

"Well, he took it better than I thought he would." Mary remarked, watching as I slowly woke back up.

"How can you just accuse someone of being an angel?" I groaned, slowly rising to my feet.

"I'm not accusing you, I'm telling you that you're an angel." Ezekiel corrected.

"You're insane! Angels are immortal, and loved, and, you know… beautiful and stuff like that! There's no way I'm an angel!"

Ezekiel and Mary exchanged a look, and David just frowned deeply. "Don't sell yourself short, kid." David was the one who said this, surprisingly. His voice was soft, and his eyes were clear, and almost… understanding. They were perhaps the nicest eyes I'd ever seen.

"When the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi into you, Naruto—"

Mary was interrupted by my choking noise. "W-What?"

"Oh, you don't know?" David shrugged. "See, no mere mortal can kill the Kyuubi (though the Yondaime could give him a run for his money), so he sealed the Kyuubi into a child. That child, was you."

"W-Wha…?" I managed to get out, feeling the world closing in around me.

"He needed a little shrimp, so the chakra coils could adapt to Kyuubi's potent chakra. You were available, I guess." David finished his explanation.

"Anyway, you were real close to death and wouldn't last the sealing, so Shinigami-sama decided to heal you. However, no mere mortal can withstand Shinigami-sama's chakra, so he had to turn you into something… a little more than mortal. You'll turn into an angel in stages, though, so you don't get too overwhelmed by all of this." The words that Mary was speaking were soft and far away, but I was still able to comprehend what was being said.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you are an angel." Was the last thing I heard before blacking out for the last time.

At first, I had been disbelieving. Me, an angel? However, the angels were always there when I slept or got knocked out, and eventually I came to terms with my surprising immortality. Things started happening that hadn't happened before; I had unbeatable luck, I was… how do you put it? I looked a lot nicer than I originally did, and my blood had almost imperceptible golden flecks in it.

However, with the addition of my wings, it was going to be so much harder to hide it.

Life's a bitch.

Okay, hey, it's me! Silver Writing Bug! Back from the dead, it seems. Heh heh. Anyway, in case you were wondering, yes, I did rewrite the first chapter. And delete the second chapter. Why? Because the writing doesn't fit each other, and it flows all funky. Anyway, I hope that this version is better than the other version!

Silver Writing Bug