Team Aeternum

[Alternate Universe] A single promise between the Yondaime and Jiraiya of the Sannin changes the course of history. A new team is formed, shaking the foundation of Heaven, Hell and everything in between. Join the lives of Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru Nara and Shino Aburame as they travel the road in becoming legendary.

Chapter 1: Legends

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Enjoy

A sight to behold for the five year old boy: two other boys his age across the river in the park, each of them separate from one another as they fed the fish in the river. With nobody else in the park, it really made the scene stand out since the park is normally filled with the chatter of families spending their time together, but now it was quiet except for the songs that played from the birds in the trees above.

The two boys before him continued to toss pieces of bread towards the water, gathering the attention of dozens of hungry fish, without as much as a single glance towards one another.

A gentle push moved the boy forward, yet as he turned around he found nobody to be there. He must have made some noise, for when he turned around the two other boys were looking at him. They then turned and noticed one another for the first time. The trio of kids fed the fish in silence until one by one they left the park as time passed.

The next day

The three boys were present again, and surprisingly, alone once more. The park was empty again, save for the three young boys, each in the same spot as before. This time, however, they acknowledged one another. The blonde gave a small wave to the other two, while the one wearing sunglasses gave a small nod of his head and the one with the small ponytail did nothing, but nonetheless noticed them.

The rest of their time in the park was spent in silence once more.

The following day

Today was different. The three boys were present once again, but their locations were somewhat different. The blonde was now seated on the red little bridge that connected both sides of the park across the river. He was looking at the water below, the bread absent from his hands. He turned to each side and gave a small wave similar to the one he had given the day before.

In future years, the other two boys will not be able to describe what exactly drove them to move towards the red bridge and offer their bread to the blonde. Not a push, or a shove, but a hidden force that got their feet moving towards him.

His smile was full and wide, as if it were his first gift in his life. He was at a loss of words, yet a whisper in his ear told him to speak his name.

"T-Thank you...! My name is Naruto!" The blonde said with excitement.

The other two looked at the blonde and then at each other before nodding.

"I'm Shikamaru." The boy with the ponytail introduced himself with a smile.

"My name is Shino." The boy with the sunglasses supplied quietly from his end.

The trio of boys spent the rest of their time in the park talking to one another as they fed the fish.

It was only several hours later when a voice was heard coming their way. "Oi Shikamaru, time to go." The voice belonged to a man named Shikaku Nara. The head of the Nara clan and Shikamaru's father knelt down in front of his son and ruffled his head before noticing the two boys next to him.

"Oh, are these your friends Shikamaru?" Shikaku asked with interest.

"H-Hai… This is Naruto and Shino." The young Nara explained as he pointed to the boys respectively.

Shikaku put a hand on his chin as he thought, and then looked at Shino. "You wouldn't happen to be Shibi Aburame's son, would you?"

Shino nodded. "That is correct."

Shikaku nodded with a grin. "Then please say hello to your father for me, Shino-kun. And you must be Naruto Uzumaki, right?"

The blonde looked surprise, but nonetheless replied. "H-How did you know?"

Instead of humoring the boy any further, Shikaku picked up his son on his shoulders before giving the two boys a grin.

"We'll come back tomorrow, okay?" He told his son and perhaps the two other boys as well before walking away.

Shikamaru waved goodbye and smiled when his two new friends waved back.

xxOxx

Days turned into weeks, where the trio of new friends made every effort to see one another in the park every day. In the beginning, all they did was talk, how most kids would.

"I swear! It must have been like... this big!" Naruto explained to his friends as he held his arms as far apart as possible.

"Wow! And it just flew away?" Shikamaru asked in awe.

"Sounds impressive!" Shino commented, his voice holding the tone of wonder.

Yeah like that.

Stories of "bird people" aside, the trio would spend their days at the park looking at clouds (Shikamaru's suggestion), looking for bugs (Shino's favorite) and playing ninja (Naruto's pick). It wasn't until the third week when they began to notice the feathers that seemed to coat the park every now and then.

There were two kinds of them from what the trio could tell. Shino held one in his hand, its ebony color contrasting with his pale hand. The black feather was thicker and was straight at the tip.

Naruto held the other; the complete opposite of the ebony feather that Shino was holding. A silken white in color, light in weight and curved at the end.

What was special about these feathers was the sheer amount the trio found. The park was littered with them, every few feet one or two could be found.

The park was not the only place with these feathers, the trio found out as they began finding them near their respective homes. The discovery had the trio looking at the sky more often and also provoked the habit of collecting the feathers.

"Bird people..." The trio muttered nervously as they looked up at the sky.

xxOxx

After a month of and a half since they first met, Shikamaru approached them uneasily. He seemed to be mulling something over in his head for a moment before shrugging it off.

He still looked nervous, however. "H-Hey guys, my mom wants to get to know you guys and... uh... do you guys want to have a sleepover at my house tomorrow night? I-If you don't want to, that's fine too, I guess..." The young Nara mumbled; finding the ground more interesting than before.

"Count me in!" Naruto raised his fist with excitement several seconds after the question was asked.

"I will have to ask, but I'll try my best to be there." Shino reassured his friend with a smile.

"O-Okay...!" Shikamaru laughed slightly as he scratched his head.

The trio laughed together in excitement for the day to come.

The next day: afternoon

"Oh calm down, Shika-kun. I'm sure they're already on their way." Yoshino Nara, Shikamaru's mother, reassured her nervous son as she cut several vegetables.

"Maybe... But what if they got lost?" Shikamaru replied, masking his nervous tone with disinterest.

Yoshino smiled. "You worry too much for a five year old, you know that Shika-kun? Instead of worrying, mind helping me make dinner?" Yoshino asked as she stirred the contents of the pot in front of her.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Remember the last time I "helped", mom?" The young Nara questioned his mother, only to get a snort of a laugh as a reply.

"Right, right. Anyways, I think this sleepover is way past overdue, don't you think?" Yoshino smiled as she began to boil water.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I guess so, but weren't you the one who wanted to meet them in the first place?" He said sarcastically as he teetered the chair he was sitting on back and forth.

"Now now, Shika-kun. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't know your friends?" Yoshino smiled as she continued to cook without a hitch.

There was a knock on the door, making Shikamaru run towards it.

He came back a second later and said in a serious tone: "Please don't embarrass me, mom." He then ran off again.

Yoshino frowned slightly before she pouted. "Hmmph! I'm a cool mom..." She muttered bitterly.

Shikamaru hurried to the door and opened it, revealing his two friends. "Hey guys. Had trouble finding my house?" Shikamaru asked as he let his friends inside.

"I... I almost got lost, but I saw Shino and I came with him and his dad." Naruto laughed sheepishly as he removed his sandals.

"My father walked me - us over here." Shino corrected himself as he waved at his father outside before closing the door and removed his sandals as well.

"Oh, okay. I'm glad you guys were able to come over." Shikamaru began as he motioned them to follow. "My mom is making dinner in the kitchen and my dad is on a mission right now." He explained as he led them towards his room, sneaking around the kitchen.

"Didn't your mom want to meet us, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked his friend as they ducked behind furniture.

"It would be rude if we do not present ourselves." Shino added.

Shikamaru stopped, sighed and turned around before walking towards the kitchen, where his mother just finished making dinner.

Shikamaru cleared his throat to get her attention. "Mom, my friends are here." He said simply as he motioned to them.

Yoshino spun on her heels quickly with a smile, catching them off guard.

"Um... H-Hello ma'am my name is-" Naruto began but got cut off.

"Naruto, right?" Yoshino kneeled down to be face to face with the blonde boy. She smiled cheerily as she ruffled his already wild hair.

"U-Uh yeah!" Naruto flushed with embarrassment.

Yoshino turned to the young Aburame. "And you must be Shino, correct?" She asked sweetly, ruffled his hair as well.

"...C-Correct..." Shino stammered at the attention.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru was as red as a tomato as he smacked his face with his hand. 'I thought we had a deal mom!'

Yoshino stood up and clapped her hands together. "Dinner is ready! I hope you three are hungry!"

Naruto shook off his surprise enough to nod his head.

Shino smiled for a second before he composed himself and nodded as well.

Shikamaru sighed.

xxOxx

"...and thanks to that simple move, my squad and I managed to defuse a civil war within the Land of Tea!" Yoshino stated as she recalled a mission she had several years back; engrossing the kids into the story.

"Wow! You were such a cool ninja!" Naruto said in awe of the woman before him.

Shino nodded with excitement. "I agree with Naruto."

Yoshino nodded with a proud little smirk. "Yeah... I was, wasn't I?" She chided.

Shikamaru laughed but rolled his eyes. "Don't let it go to your head, mom."

Naruto and Shino had trouble holding back a laugh as Yoshino pinched her son's cheeks as she muttered something about disrespectful children.

Yoshino continued to entertain the trio with stories from when she was a ninja, ranging from her escort missions to her retrieval missions; nothing too violent or the like, just vivid enough to entertain them all while simultaneously feeding her malnourished ego.

"Thank you for the food, ma'am!" Naruto bowed with gratitude, receiving a pat on the head from the older Nara.

"Thank you for the meal, Nara-san." Shino thanked her, earning a pat on the head as well.

Yoshino looked at her son expectantly.

"What?" Shikamaru asked bluntly.

"Shika-kun, you're so mean!" Yoshino scolded her son with fake tears.

xxOxx

After dinner, Yoshino began to clean the dishes, but only after she instructed the trio to take a bath and get ready for bed. After all said was done, the trio, now changed into their pajamas, were moved to Shikamaru's room where several futons were taken out as their beds. With a quick "Goodnight!" Yoshino left the trio to rest.

Except the trio couldn't sleep. Each had their own reason to not be able to rest, some the same yet some entirely different. It was about half an hour till Naruto spoke up.

"You guys still awake?"

"Yeah."

"Yes."

"Your mom is really cool, Shikamaru." Naruto repeated for the umpteenth time that night.

"Don't let her hear you say that, Naruto. Her head is big enough as it is." Shikamaru sighed as he looked out the window in his room.

"Being a ninja sounds really cool, y'know?" Naruto said as he put his hands behind his head.

"I agree. Your mother made it seem extremely satisfying." Shino commented as he stared at the ceiling.

"It would be cool if we became ninja too." Shikamaru offered offhandedly.

"In a team?" Shino added.

"Doing cool missions like your mom?" Naruto pitched in too.

"..."

"..."

"..."

There was a pause in their conversation, letting the silence take over for a moment.

"That would be awesome." The trio answered simultaneously before laughing together.

"Do you guys want to go outside?"

"Wouldn't your mom get angry?" Naruto asked his friend.

"Only if she finds out. Besides, there's something I want to show you guys." Shikamaru opened the window from his room and climbed out, forcing the other two to follow suit.

"What is it that you wanted to show us, Shikamaru?" Shino asked as he and Naruto followed the Nara along the clan grounds towards the forest.

The Nara compound is one of the biggest in the entire village, connecting itself with the forest outside the village walls. Intrusion is not a threat due to the superstition of the "Nara spirits of protection"; roaming beings that protect the land from threats.

"It's right over here, c'mon!" Shikamaru pointed at the forest in front of them.

Through the thick trees, the trio found a clearing - devoid of trees around them. It was at that moment when Naruto and Shino noticed the night sky for the first time that night. Joining the moon, were hundreds of thousands of stars, planets and distant nebulas covering the entire sky.

"Whoa!" Naruto let out a gasp in amazement.

"I'm not sure why, but this is the only place where you get to see all of this. My dad showed me this last year, and now I'm showing you guys. Pretty cool, right?"

The trio took a seat on the floor and stargazed for what seemed like an eternity, until a certain thought - no, a whisper - came to them simultaneously.

"A team..." They all whispered together.

The treetops above them shook as several large beings flew overhead, leaving a trail of white and black feathers to slowly float to the ground.

"They were here!" Naruto raised a finger to the feathers in surprise.

"..."

"..."

The trio ran back to the house as fast as their little legs could carry them.

One week later

"He should live around here..." Yoshino explained as she walked both her son and Naruto to the Aburame clan ground. As odd as it were, Shibi Aburame, Shino's father, has wanted to meet his son's friends.

"It makes sense for a parent to want to meet their child's friends." Yoshino explain as she gave Shikamaru permission to attend the sleepover at the Aburame household.

Yoshino already knew of the Aburame as she had served several missions with them and was impressed by their performance. Their social behavior on the other hand...it could use some work in her opinion. Nevertheless, she already knew what to expect and could find trust in an Aburame; so when she knocked on the door of the main house and was met with the clan head, she had to stifle a laugh when her introduction caught the man off guard.

"Greetings, Aburame-san. I am Yoshino Nara, Shikamaru's mother. It is a pleasure to meet you." Yoshino introduced herself as she bowed slightly.

Shibi recoiled a bit but nonetheless bowed back. "Greetings, Nara-san. My apologies for not introducing myself beforehand." Shibi scratched the side of his face. As the adults talked, Shino led his friends inside his home.

"Your house is huge, Shino!" Naruto exclaimed as he and Shikamaru followed their friend to his room.

"Is it?" Shino asked with confusion.

"Yeah, this place is huge!" Shikamaru confirmed as they passed the library.

"I guess I never noticed it before." Shino commented as they entered his room and set their bags down.

Meanwhile with the adults, Yoshino and Shibi were finishing a conversation.

"...so all I did was tell them some stories of my past missions to pass the time. Do that, and you'll be fine." Yoshino explained with an amused grin. When the kids had left to drop off their bags, Shibi approached her with a question as to how she entertained the kids before.

Shibi nodded as he scratched his chin. "I thank you for the advice, Nara-san." He seemed to be pondering on just what missions to choose from.

"In that case, I'll be leaving. Shika-kun! I'm leaving!" Yoshino called out to her son and heard a faint "Yeah, yeah." in return. She pouted as she took her leave.

Once Yoshino had departed, the trio made their way to Shino's father to officially introduce themselves. They found him, ironically, in the kitchen preparing dinner for them. He turned to look at them and kneeled before them in a similar fashion that Yoshino had.

Shikamaru put himself on the spotlight as he bowed slightly. "My name is Nara Shikamaru, nice to meet you sir."

Shibi nodded and patted the Nara's back. "Pleasure meeting you, Shikamaru-kun."

Naruto soon replicated what Shikamaru had done and introduced himself. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" The blonde said quickly, officially introducing himself to the clan head.

"Pleasure in making your official acquaintance, Naruto-kun." Shibi said simply as he patted Naruto's back.

Shibi stood up. "My name is Aburame Shibi, and I must say that my son has quite the luck in making friends like you two." The older Aburame joked slightly at his son's expense, but got a giggle from the two young boys.

"T-Thank you father..." Shino stammered; his cheeks pink from embarrassment.

His father gave a short laugh. "Dinner is almost ready, so please sit down at the dinner table." He motioned them to the room across the kitchen before returning to his cooking duty.

xxOxx

The trio had a sense of deja vu during dinner with the Aburame clan head, for their dinner was ignored as they were distracted by a story.

"So what did you do then?!" Naruto asked with worry.

"The shrapnel was in too deep, and removing it would have severed an artery. The enemy was approaching quickly, but the message had to be delivered in order to halt the executions."

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

Shibi paused before he looked up at the ceiling for a second. "We got the message across and saved the accused." Shibi answered flatly.

"So the client survived? Did you save him?" Shino asked from his spot on the table.

"In a way, yes. Those accused were his family, after all. His family was able to carry on his ideals of freedom." Shibi recalled.

"So he didn't get a chance see them again?" Naruto asked, slightly getting the picture.

"No he did not. But he made it possible for us to deliver the message in time to save his family."

The trio stayed quiet as they absorbed their first story without a happy ending.

Shibi frowned. "Now boys, the client hired us not to protect him, but to save his family. While the mission did not end completely blood free as we had hoped, the task was completed by his own volition. He did not wish to slow our squad down and told us to go on ahead without him. While his family was indeed saddened to hear about his death, they honored his courage." Shibi explained with a small smile.

The trio cheered up and smiled too, a new found moral in their point of view.

After dinner, the trio showered and settled down in Shino's room, all the while thinking about the story they heard earlier.

"When I become a ninja, I'll make sure nobody dies!" Naruto said with confidence as he shook a fist in the air from his position in Shino's room.

"Is that even possible?" Shikamaru asked with wonder.

"There's got to be a way, right?" Naruto asked, slightly less confident than before.

Shino thought for a second. "What is the best way to counter death?"

Naruto closed his eyes in concentration. "I don't know... medicine?"

"Huh. Medicine." Shikamaru stated. "Like a medic?"

"Yeah! Yeah! A medic!" Naruto realized with excitement.

After that realization, silence began to overtake the room before Shikamaru broke it with a question.

"Shino?" He called out to his friend across the room.

"Yes, Shikamaru?"

"Feel free to ignore my question, but where's your mom? I didn't see her today." The young Nara asked with caution.

"..." Naruto stayed quiet.

"My... My mother passed away when I was born." Shino said almost neutrally, but stammered.

"I'm... Sorry about that. I-I uh, didn't know..." Shikamaru gave an awkward apology.

"It is fine, do not worry about it." Shino replied normally.

Minutes passed by awkwardly in the silent room.

Naruto, in an attempt to break the silence, spoke his mind.

"Your dad is really cool, Shino." Naruto reassured his friend.

Shino agreed with a nod. "I know."

The moon was full, shining brightly now.

"Do you think they're there again?" Shikamaru pondered with his eyes closed.

"Them?" Naruto asked as he sat up simultaneously with the others to look out the window.

"Only one way to find out." Shino unlocked the window and let it open.

As soon as he did, however, the sound of flapping wings was heard before a large gust of wind knocked the trio away as it closed the window shut. The trio looked surprised, but quickly gathered on the window in time to see dozens of feathers float to the ground.

"Again..." The trio muttered before they climbed out and began to collect the feathers.

Five days later

"Ack! What time is it?!" Naruto panicked as he noticed the sun setting in the distance.

"Do you need to be home soon?" Shino asked as he packed up his bugs from the ground.

"K-Kinda..." The blonde blanched.

"..." Shikamaru looked pensive for a moment as the blonde began to walk away, waving goodbye towards them.

"Hey Shino." He called out to his friend. "Naruto doesn't talk about his home, right?"

The Aburame frowned. "No, he does not."

"Our parents wanted to meet each of us, shouldn't his want to do the same?"

"He does not talk about his parents either." Shino added.

"Do you think everything is okay?" Shikamaru frowned.

Just then, the all familiar sound of wings flapping was heard, followed by hundreds of leaves and feathers fell from the tree above.

Taking it as a cue of action, the boys yelled as they ran after Naruto. "Let's go!"

xxOxx

'Where did he go?'

'Where does he live?'

The young boys thought as they ran to who knows where, until they saw something on the ground.

A feather.

They approached it and saw another, and another.

A trail!

They followed the trail of feathers across the village until it stopped at a corner of a street. Taking cover behind a closed stand, the boys peered ahead and saw Naruto, hands in his pocket, looking at the ground he sat in.

He was crying.

The sun had set, and the village dimmed a light blue from the moon taking over.

The boys tried to move towards Naruto, but something - someone - kept them still.

"Shino... I can't move..." Shikamaru struggled but he could tell his friend was in the same situation.

'What's going on?!' Shikamaru screamed internally.

xxOxx

Naruto, unaware that his friends were watching, let the tears stream down his face as he was denied entrance to the orphanage again.

"What are you doing here, you good-for-nothing brat? I thought I made it clear that I didn't want you back here again!" The "caretaker" of the orphanage snarled as she slammed the door in his face.

'They kick me out during the day and then get mad at me for trying to come back?' Naruto thought with anger but soon got watered down by sadness.

"What did I do wrong?" He let out a sob, but caught himself halfway. He tried to calm himself, but could not as his lungs demanded oxygen and the gasp he took denied him the strength to hold back his emotions. He cried for reasons he wasn't sure of.

He was alone.

Just...alone.

The thought came to him often. No family of his own or a home. He thought of his friends, their parents and the sickening feelings he would get around them.

Envy. 'I wish I had parents like they did...'

Hatred. 'Stop gloating about them!'

Loneliness. 'Why not me...?'

It pained Naruto's chest when his friends would leave after the day was over, for they would go to a loving home and he... he wouldn't... he couldn't.

But Naruto was young, he did not understand his emotions; his fear, his anger at the orphanage or the anger he felt towards his friends, because they were lucky; so lucky to have a home and a family to call their own.

Yet they didn't appreciate it.

"Shikaku-san, Yoshino-san... Shibi-san..." Their friendliness was not lost on him, however, as they managed to expel the pain in his chest when they would smile at him and talked to him as if his existence mattered to someone.

He was lost and alone once the sun begins to set, when he and his friends have to separate.

'Life is cruel...' Naruto thought of the line he had heard someone say in the past. He let out a sob once more, instead of trying to contain it anymore.

"Everything will be okay."

"!" Naruto got startled as a voice whispered in his ear from behind. He turned but saw no one.

The words echoed through his head until they escaped from his lips.

"Everything... will be... okay." Naruto repeated out loud slowly, as if he were testing every letter to make sure they would form words he has never spoken yet. The words connected with him, lifting his spirits with every breath he took.

He dried his tears with his hands and felt himself calm down. "Everything will be okay." He repeated one last time as he picked himself off of the ground.

The sound of a door opening nearby broke him out of his reassurance as the men - three drunken men to be precise, stumbled out of the nearby bar and made their way to the blonde.

"...or not." Naruto rolled his eyes as he backed away.

"Th-There he is...! The demon brat...!" One of the men nearly vomited as they approached the boy.

The blonde winced as he could smell the alcohol from his position.

"Get h-him!" The tall bald one yelled as he tumbled over to Naruto. Before he could get ahold of him, however, a rock made its appearance known by striking the side of the man's head, nearly knocking him over. Not from the force of the rock, mind you, but by how intoxicated the man was.

"Leave him alone!" Shikamaru yelled as he tossed another rock. Shikamaru and Shino had been "freed" from whatever had held them down and wasted no time to help their friend.

The man groaned. "That h-hurt!" He growled before pointing at the two kids. "The demon got friends... Get th-them and I'll get this one!" The man slurred.

The other two men, slightly more coordinated than the first, ran at the boys, not giving them enough time to collect more rocks. With nothing to throw, Shikamaru and Shino attempted to get away, but were picked up by the hair and dangled in front of the men's faces as if taunting them.

"Your turn, bastard!" The bald man growled as he picked up Naruto by the neck.

Naruto panicked and did the only thing he could think of.

*crunch!*

"Ah! The bastard bit me!" The man cursed as he held his bleeding finger, releasing the blonde.

Naruto used this time to run towards the men holding his friends and did the same thing to their legs.

*crunch!* "Ah fuck!"

*crunch!* "Shit!"

The two men cursed as they dropped the boys. The trio ran away, trying to hide from the men in an empty alleyway.

"What... What are you guys doing here?!" Naruto gasped out with barely any breath to call his own. He then spat out the foreign blood out if his mouth.

"We came to check... on you... We were worried!" Shikamaru managed to mutter in between breaths.

"We're... not alone..." Shino whispered.

And they were not, as the three men walked towards the alley, two of them walking with difficulty.

"We know you're here brats! Come on out!" They yelled angrily.

"Guys try to find a way out. They're after me, I'll hold them off!" Naruto ordered with determination and fear.

"We won't leave you here, Naruto." Shino shook his head as he gripped a bottle he found on the ground.

"That's right. We're not leaving." Shikamaru added as he gripped a brick.

"...wh-what are you guys doing...?!" The blonde stammered with disbelief.

"We're your friends, Naruto." They said simultaneously as they turned to face him.

The angry men spotted them at the end of the alleyway and began to close in.

"I'd like to see what you can do when you don't have any teeth, demon!" One of them snarled as he brandished a knife and directed it towards them.

Hope seemed lost until a figure fell from above and landed in between the trio and the men.

"Using a knife on children...? What the hell is the matter with you?!" The figure, a man, growled with disgust.

"What's it to you? These bastards attacked us!" The bald man lied as he brandished his own knife as well.

"If you really want to attack someone..." The stranger began before spreading his arms wide "...then come at me!" The stranger taunted.

The men didn't seem to complain as they charged at him.

The stranger laughed as he charged as well, meeting up with them halfway. Using his speed, the stranger delivered a powerful knee to the underside of one of the drunkard's chin, sending him flying. The remaining men attempted to slash the stranger but failed as he caught their hands from their wrists.

"People like you disgust me." The stranger muttered angrily. The stranger kicked one of the men in the leg, causing him to fall on his knees while the other man got head butted.

With one final kick, the stranger smashed the men's heads to the ground, knocking them unconscious.

The stranger turned to the trio and knelt down, checking them for injuries. "Are you kids okay?" He noticed the blood on Naruto's mouth. "Did you get hurt?" He asked as he took out a little red bottle from a pouch.

"I-I'm fine, It isn't my blood..." Naruto whimpered.

The stranger nodded before standing up. "What are you kids doing out here at night? It isn't safe." He looked around, his hands on his waist. "Where do you kids live?"

The trio walked out of the alley and looked around as well. Shikamaru and Shino were unfamiliar with this part of the village; their only lead was the trail of feathers. Their heads were still spinning from the encounter, now they understood the danger they were in just a few moments ago. The adrenaline left their bodies and they felt weak.

The stranger knelt down once again with a small smile. "Everything is okay now, don't worry, nothing is going to happen. I can tell you three don't feel so good, my home is nearby. We can go there until you three get your bearings, okay?"

The trio frowned, not entirely trusting the stranger before them.

"You can trust me, okay?" The stranger said with a kind smile before he ruffled their hair.

The trio looked at each other and gave a weak nod before following him.

The stranger did not lie when he said his home was nearby, as they only walked for about three minutes before they arrived at the front door.

"Home sweet home." The stranger sighed as he opened the door with a key.

"My girlfriend may be asleep so try to be quiet, okay?" The stranger whispered as he walked inside the dark house followed by the trio.

"The switch is somewhere - oof! Around... here..." The stranger muttered as he tried to find the light switch, occasionally bumping into furniture. His hand traced the wall, roaming for the pesky switch.

"Here it is!" He flicked the switch.

"Keima-kun..." An angry woman growled with from the chair next to the light switch.

The stranger, now revealed to go by the name Keima, gave an audible gulp before he flicked the switch once again, making the room go dark.

The room stayed in an uncomfortable silence for several seconds before Keima tried to defuse the situation.

"Rei... calm down... It's not what you think..." Keima warned but got no reply. "R-Rei...?" He asked nervously as he flicked the switch once again.

Rei was now standing directly in front of Keima. Her stare was flat; careful and calculating. She crossed her arms before leaning her head towards his.

"Coming home late... urging somebody to be quiet... Who is she...? Keima-kun?" Her tone was neutral, unnaturally neutral for the words she was saying.

The trio looked at the couple before them and had a sudden urge to help out the stranger that helped them. Tonight was the night that the "bro-code" would be established upon them.

Naruto coughed. "Uh... Excuse me?"

Rei got surprised from the voice. "Oh?" She looked behind Keima and saw the trio of boys. Her eyes softened and her tone took one of a worried mother. "And who are you?"

'Talk about a complete change.' The males in the room thought with a roll of their eyes.

"My name is Naruto, and uh..." Naruto pointed at Keima. "...he saved us from trouble..." The blonde explained.

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" She asked, now worried instead of mad.

"Some drunks were attacking these boys when I was on my way here. They were cornered in an alleyway, I had to help." Keima explained as he began to relax. He threw the blonde some thankful glances as well.

"Did you get hurt?" Rei asked the boys and relaxed when they shook their heads. She then turned to her boyfriend. "Did you get hurt?"

Keima smirked. "As if." He said smugly.

Rei rolled her eyes but approached the trio. "Do your parents know you are out this late?"

The realization hit Shikamaru hard. "My mom is going to kill me!" He groaned as he slapped his forehead.

Shino shook his head, but showed a different beetle on his fingertip. "My father is probably already on his way here. Perhaps he'll inform your mother, Shikamaru."

Naruto looked at the floor. "Well, I don't have to worry about that! I... I don't have any parents..." This surprised both Keima and Rei. "I live in the orphanage nearby, but they... kicked me out."

"Kicked you out?" The couple asked together. "Why?"

Shikamaru and Shino were also curious.

Naruto gave them a shrug in return, as it was a question he had asked himself plenty of times before.

"I... I don't know. They do it every day and only let me back in if they feel like it... They haven't "felt" like it in two weeks..." Naruto shook as he tried to keep himself stable. After taking a breath, he smiled.

"But it's okay. I think I've been doing... well on my... own." He held back the feeling of letting go, but his eyes showed the pain.

Keima bit his lip.

Rei looked troubled.

His friends were a combination of angry and sad.

"A-Anyways... Can I get something to drink please? I'm a little bit thirsty." Naruto scratched the back of his head as he laughed, shaking everyone from their stupor.

"O-Of course! Let me get you a glass of water for you!" Rei shook herself as she hurried to the kitchen.

"I'll go try to find your parents. Aburame and Nara, right?" Keima asked the boys, who then nodded. "I'll explain everything so you won't get in trouble." He smiled before running off.

The trio was alone now.

"Are you guys stupid?!" Naruto asked.

"What are you talking about Naruto?" Shikamaru was confused.

"Why... Why didn't you guys run away...? Why did you guys stay...?"

"Why would we run away?" Shino countered.

"You're our friend. Our best friend. We wouldn't just leave you there." Shikamaru stated with a grin.

"...Do... Do you guys mean it?" The blonde asked in disbelief.

"Of course we mean it." They replied simultaneously.

xxOxx

"Thank you so much! Oh, Shika-kun you had me so worried!" Yoshino cried as she hugged her son. "Thank you... what was your name again?" Yoshino asked the man that informed her of her son's whereabouts.

"I'm Keima Kizaki - oof!"

"And my name is Rei Isigro, his girlfriend." Rei cut in, claiming her property, per se.

Yoshino smiled nervously as she stepped back some. She understood though, as she could easily recall the... possessive... phase she had on her husband several years ago.

'She'll get over it soon.' Yoshino thought with a smile.

That smile disappeared when Rei ruffled Shikamaru's hair and said: "You behave now, okay Shika-kun?"

The smile turned into an all-out snarl when Shikamaru replied.

"Yes ma'am!" Shikamaru replied with a laugh.

Yoshino narrowed her eyes on the woman and took Shikamaru in her arms defensively. "Now Shika-kun, best come with your mother, okay honey?"

"Mom? What are you - oof!" Yoshino cut her son off with a tight hug. "S-See you guys later!" Shikamaru waved at his friends as he was dragged away.

"...eh..." Rei laughed nervously.

"Thank you, Kizaki-san for taking care of my son. Hopefully we will meet again under better circumstances." Shibi bowed in appreciation.

"Don't mention it, Aburame-san. I was glad to help." Keima bowed back.

Shibi looked at his son then at Naruto. "Will you be okay, Naruto-kun? Would you like to come with us tonight?"

Naruto was about to say "Yes!" but was stopped by a whisper, the same one as before, telling him to say no. He didn't know why, but he listened to it.

"Thank you, Shibi-san, but I think I'll be fine for tonight." Naruto bowed with respect and saw Shino nod at him.

'Did Shino hear the same thing?' Naruto thought with a surprise as he waved goodbye.

Naruto turned and saw Keima speaking with Rei about something until they stopped suddenly. Naruto recognized the signs and immediately scanned the skies for "bird people" but was too late as a plethora of feathers rained down from above.

The couple stayed quiet for several seconds before they turned around to face the blonde. They both smiled.

"Naruto-kun... Would you like to stay with us?" Rei asked hopefully.

"How about it, Naruto?" Keima added.

Naruto was surprised and yet had a feeling that same whisper had spoken to the couple before him, but was that a bad thing?

The "bird people" had always been there with him and his friends, and nothing bad happened yet. In fact, they were there when something good happened like at the park and the sleepovers as well. Naruto didn't know and didn't understand what was going on or what was going to happen, but so far everything involving the "bird people" had been a good thing.

"What do you say?"

Why not now?

"S-Sure!"

Prologue End

A/N: Hello there! TheRedGhillie (finally) here with a new story up and running!

For those of you who have kept up with me, I know what you must be thinking:

"A new story?! What about the other two?!"

Well, you see... About a year ago, my computer had its memory wiped, deleting all of my files and chapters I had done. When that happened, I lost my will to write for Oblivious entirely. For those that are fans of Oblivious, I'm sorry but there will be no update for a while, and I apologize for that.

For those who are new, thank you for reading my story! More updates are coming I promise!

Please leave a review and tell me what you think!

Before I go, I'm going to explain some things, okay?

Okay.

As the name suggests, this story will have plenty to do with Heaven and Hell in some ways that you may or may not expect. This story will have a lot to do with the following topics:

The supernatural.

Angels and Demons.

Kami and Maou (Devil King)

One thing to know, the team - Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino - will NOT be godlike. They will train and be strong, but they will get their butts kicked from time to time.

This story will be somewhat canon, meaning that some events will be present from the manga/anime.

While some parts may be canon, A LOT won't be. I'm trying for something totally new in the world of Naruto and I hope you guys and gals enjoy it.

There will be at least two (2) time skips in the next two chapters. Next chapter there will be a six (6) year time skip, making the trio eleven (11).

Maybe you guys noticed that I blatantly ignored describing characters. Like I said above, there will be a fairly large time skip (6 years), nobody stays the same for six years so I didn't see the point. In the next chapter I'll describe everyone.

Okay here's the bombshell:

Naruto's OC parents: Keima Kizaki and Rei Isigro.

I did consider getting canon characters to adopt Naruto, but I felt that these characters would benefit the story the most. For those of you that do not enjoy OC's, while they may not seem to be a big factor in the beginning, they will become key figures later on, so hopefully you will get used to them with time. I will do my very best to flesh them out as much as possible.

Thank you for reading and as always, have a good day.

-TheRedGhillie

Words: 7,152

Date Published: 4/11/14