A/N: Just got done watching Maleficent! It was perhaps THE best movie I have ever seen in my life, with just the right blend of humour, romance and action. Really made me feel bad for her given what happened to her during the movie, but I don't want to spoil anything. BUT! By the end a curious little idea had formed; she never really had anyone trulu faithful to hrdue to certain events far beyond her control.

Here it is, and thank you all for your support in this hard time! Its been really hard with my uncle having died; I knew him ever since I was little and the thought of him being gone like that...by his own hand no less...it makes me wonder if I really knew him at all. So once again, thank you for all the support.

I love you guys so, soooo much! *Cries*

I suppose I'm writing this as a result of his death. My uncle never really had many friends you see, and sometimes I wonder if just one would've changed that. It was either continue writing what I'd initially started with this fluffy little fic, or drown my sorrows in alchohol. And as much as a might enjoy the occasional bear, I'd much rather pour out my grief into something productive, that will hopefully make me feel better, rather than get drunk and angry. Now, without further adeu, with an idea weeks in the making...

...here we are!

"I like hearing you laugh. Do it again."

~?

Sage

"What are you doing?"

A soft voice pierced the grove of the moors, uttered by an angel. Were one to gaze upon her they might not think so; the horns curling from her head and the great wings enfolding her back made her look more demon than deity, more evil than she had any right to be. And yet those warm caramel eyes shining from her heartshaped face were the picture of divinity itself, kindness incarnate. There was no evil in this girl, no anger, nor wrath, only childlike curiosity for the boy sitting there, a mortal who had apparently made his home in her world.

"Meditating." came the instant reply, uttered by the one sitting across from her. "Like my sensei taught me."

"Is that something you do often?"

...yes." His eyelids didn't so much as flutter as he spoke.

Compared to the fairy he looked quite mortal; the only anomaly being those strange whiskered cheeks. His drab attirre was battered and worn. his straw-blond hair matted and caked with dirt. He smelled like he hadn't had a bath in months, and while this would've offended a human, Maleficent took no notice. And even if she had, she was far too curious to care in any case. She couldn't remember the last time a human had ventured into the moors, and here one had been living under her nose for the last week!

How curious.

Maleficent blinked owlishly at the sight before her, baffled by this be blond boy standing in her kingdom and...what had he just called it? Meditating? She didn't know what to make of it. Or him? She was perhaps one of the most powerful fae in the moors and yet this creature sitting there in the glad absolutely confounded her. Yes, she was young compared to most of her kind, but even so, she knew what a human was. Just as he had the knowledge that this boy, clad in threadbare rags, a wooden staff laid across his lap, was also human.

She hovered closer, her large wings beating but once and carrying her to him, buffeting them both with the slightest breeze. Yet again, he didn't react, beyond that strange twitching of his mouth. He'd simply appeared a week ago. At first they'd feared he was a thief, come to steal from them, but he hadn't tried to take anything. She'd only become aware of him a few minutes ago, when he'd accidentally knocked down the tree which had been her bed, rudely which she'd slept

"What, is there something on my face?" Despite his closed eyes, he seemed to be aware of her attention. A small smile plucked at her lips. Oh, so he wanted to play, did he?

"Besides those whiskers?"

"HEY! That's...I...you..." genuinely at a loss for words, the boy sighed and finally, finally opened his eyes, and bolted to his feet seconds thereafter. "If you must know, I was born with these! My sensei said they're the mark of a sage."

Sage?

"A sage?" She narrowly resisted the urge to frown in puzzlement. "Whatever is that?" Ah, but her eyes understood what her mind could not. Fascinating. His body seemed to blend with nature itself, when she looked at him through her second sense, those orange-dusted lids and wide golden eyes with slanted pupils strangely fae-like in their colorment...and yet, not. It confouded her to no end. Indeeds, the lad standing there seemed to be no older than herself.

"Look," he continued, "A sage is someone who-

"Are you full grown?" Maleficent asked suddenly, interrupting.

"I-what?"

"Its just...you're the same size as me."

A muscle jumped in the boy's jaw.

"Twelve and a half." he muttered crossly, his whiskered features knotting in consternation. "I'm twelf and a half, alright! I may be young, but I'm following in the footsteps of my master, Jiraiya the Great!" Abruptly his angry expression collapsed to one of impotency, shame flickering in those golden eyes. "Ah, who the hell am I kidding, the only thing Ero-senin was ever good at was wenching."

"But you're just a boy."

"And you're just a girl." came the snarky reply. "Erm...I think.

Maleficent giggled. Then she curtsied, delighting in the gobsmacked expression that filled his visage. Such a silly human, this one.

"My name is Maleficent," she introduced herself primly, trying to sound as regal as possible despite her age. "It is my very good pleasure to meet you then, sir Sage."

"Uzumaki." the boy unfolded his arms, saffron orbs fading back into sapphire.

"Pardon?"

The boy looked as though he was simultaneously torn between laughing and shouting. Perhaps he might even combust. At length, he managed to school his features into a mask of civility once more. A dangerous smile plucked at the corners of his mouth however, leaving her on guard. Whatever was he up to-

Splat.

The fairy blinked in surprise as glob of mod whalloped her in the face.

"HA!" The sage crowed, cackling. "The name's Uzumaki Naruto! Ya'd better remember it-aargh!"

Sputtering, he collapsed as he found himself with his own faceful of mud. Maleficent was no stranger to this game; it was one she'd played many a time before. If Naruto though he'd taken her unawares then he had an all too nasty surprise waiting for him! Even as he clamored to his feet another globule of brown deftly swatted him in the river. He was up again in an instant, choking and swearing. Maleficent's bell-like laughter chimed merrily in his ears, her shadow falling over him as she took flight, her mighty wings spreading outward on either side of her small body.

"I like hearing you laugh." she smiled, looming over him. "Do it again."

"What?" Another laugh, this one courtesy of Naruto himself. "You actually thought that was funny?"

Her smirk widened.

"See?"

That was the first day, a day in which Maelficent of the fae became fast friends with the strange, reclusive boy sage that was Uzumaki Naruto.

A/N: And there you have it! I'm not sure if this is the first crossover in this genre, but its certainly the first I've attempted. Pairing is NarutoxMaleficent! And away I go! I've already got this story quite planned out, so I'll hope you'll stay tuned and share in the adventure in me. Anything's better than thinking of the death of my uncle, so, I've chosen to throw myself into my stories to keep my sorrows at bay. But that's all meaningless if I don't get any feedback or hear your thoughts on how I did!

So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review, Would You Kindly? This sad soul would certainly appreciate it =D

(Preview)

"Well," Naruto choked slightly at the sight of the army arrayed before them. "That's, ah...quite a few guys."

Maleficent smiled then and in some unknowable way that was more intimidating than the darkest glare or deepest growl. The sage very nearly blanched. In these sixteen years that he'd come to know an love her, he'd also come to know that smirk. It was by no means anything good, and it often meant pain for anyone on the other end of it.

"Stand with me." she whispered softly.

Then the ground began to tremble.

R&R! =D