Sunlight pierced through the stained glass windows that lined the left side of the hallway, casting a kaleidoscopic mural of colors onto the white tile floor beneath her feet. The floor was almost completely silent, locked to all but a select few, and the air had a heavy weight to it, stagnant and deep. It was a hall of endless history, where kings had been crowned and heroes immortalized. It was the room in which the world was ruled.

Gabriel placed a hand against the cold surface of the wooden door, her fingers consciously tracing the grooves in the ancient piece. Slowly she took a deep breath, pushing everything deep down that threatened to rise to the surface like a crashing wave, before betting the breath escape her lips slowly. Gabriel knew what she was stepping into, any sign of weakness and she would be eaten alive.

Glancing downward to take one final look at herself, Gabriel brushed off a little bit of dust she imagined she saw on the fine white material of her simple dress. Flipping her golden blonde hair which had been elaborately braided earlier that day back over her shoulder, Gabriel looked forward with serious emerald green eyes before pushing open the door.

Her wings unfolded with the sound of a thunderclap as soon as she stepped into the room, almost as if announcing her presence as one of the Four Great Seraphs. Each wing was beautiful, a flawless aerodynamic piece of art that glowed amongst the purest white in the universe and seemed to only further the opinion that God's gifts to the angels was the appearance of perfection. Sparking to life like a star above Gabriel's head was her halo, a golden ethereal ring that burned the eyes of anyone with impure thoughts or soul.

The pure amount of holy light coursing through the walls of the large auditorium sized chamber and radiating off of the single object in the center would have been enough to blind a lesser being. Ten large stone chairs were arranged in a circular formation, each equally distant from the glowing book in the center of the room that seemed to hum gently. A small sad smile appeared reflexively on Gabriel's face as soon as her eyes landed onto the book chronically the final words of her father. The smile soon disappeared as she glanced at the other occupants in the room, half of which were standing and shouting at each other over the book itself, as if trying to purposefully add to the disrespect. Uncharacteristically, Gabriel felt her hands tighten into loose fists and it was only by taking another deep breath did she manage to unclench her fingers once more. More than half of her brothers were at each other's throats, the anger looking strange on their beautiful angelic faces as light weapons threatened to burn to life at any moment.

The loudest of the group was Raphael who also happened to be the largest of the Seraphim, densely packed muscle covering every inch of his body as his ten white wings flared to life behind him. Long brown hair tied back into a ponytail, Raphael's face was contorted with rage although his eyes were hidden behind the pitch black sunglasses he wore and had one of his giant hands wrapped around the collar of his brother, Sandalphon who seemed just an enraged. Sandalphon was tall just like Raphael, both angels standing at around six foot four, but was not quite as muscular, having always been a more benevolent angel in comparison. That did not stop the platinum blonde angel to glare at his brother with glowing red eyes, his own ten white wings erupting from his back in retaliation.

"You asshole!" Growled Sandalphon, his hands clenching into white knuckled fists. The instant before he was about to swing, Gabriel had seen enough.

Eyes clenched shut, Gabriel's voice pierced through the room. "Stop it!" That silenced everyone.

Eighteen eyes glanced over to where she was standing and Gabriel suddenly found herself at the center of attention. "What's happening?"

One of the youngest Seraphs and perhaps the most feminine looking of the almost all male group, Sariel was the first to respond. "Raphael and Sandalphon are having an argument. Can't you tell?" The purple haired angel commented rather sarcastically as he lounged lazily across the armrests of his stone chair, a little smirk on his face that went away when Gabriel leveled a glare at him.

Sitting up and swallowing from the strangely terrifying look from the usually nice angel, Sariel lifted his hands to display his innocence. "Raphael wants to up the training levels of the exorcist schools in the Church and lower the recruitment age."

"What? Why?" Gabriel gasped, her eyes whipping around to land on her younger brothers who all flinched. Even Raphael and Sandalphon separated, silent as they both tried not to look at their sister's ashamed face.

Remiel, one of the youngest angels with wavy blonde hair, was the first to recover, though, slamming a fist against his palm in anger. "These Devils are getting stronger and stronger!" His voice softened a little, trying to get a little sympathy from his only older sister. "Their Evil Pieces have too much power Gabriel, they're planning for war against us! It's obvious!"

"The Devils are not trying to start a war with us. They still have strife amongst their people since the Devil Civil War." Commented another voice nonchalantly. Shaggy green hair covered his eyes and the way he slouched on his chair only seem to add to the lazy look one of the youngest but also brightest of the angels had mastered.

"Shut up Raguel!" Raphael snapped back but only received a yawn from his younger brother.

Gabriel crossed her arms, her emerald green eyes practically glowing in frustration. "We can't have child soldiers Raphael! That goes against Father's teachings!"

"Father's teachings are going to be wiped out at this rate if we don't do something soon…" Commented another voice.

Gabriel whipped around to see who said it and her eyes widened in surprise. "Uriel...you don't honestly believe that do you?"

One of the eldest and strongest Seraphim, Uriel appeared as a young man in his early twenties with jaw length purple hair and blue eyes that glowed with heavenly power. Hands folded in front of him, Uriel let out a sigh. "The Devils have found a way to replenish their numbers since the end of the Devil Civil War, now with other species that are also incredibly powerful. They can even recruit and reanimate humans that were given powers by Father himself, the Sacred Gears." Uriel's voice was cool and silky, with a light cadence that was almost as persuasive as Michael's own. "The Fallen Angels grow larger every day, even if they are the smallest faction, by tempting our pure brethren with offers of lust and wealth."

Cold blue met emerald green and Gabriel visibly flinched. "Father is gone Gabriel. We can no longer produce angels. It may take decades, centuries or millennia but soon, there will be no more Heavenly Host."

Gabriel took a step back, a hand on her chest where her heart beat in shock. "Raphael...Remiel...Sariel...Uriel…" It took all the woman had to avoid letting her eyes water. "Have you no faith? No faith that Father had a plan to help us one day?"

Uriel rubbed his forehead to dull its throbbing. "Father is gone Gabriel. We are all that is left. We must make decisions for ourselves."

"What of the Brave Saints?" Sandalphon asked, a hand to his chin.

All eyes turned to look at Raguel who sighed, somehow leaning back even further into his chair. "Nowhere near ready. The magical complexity required to reanimate another species and combine their genetic code with our own is incredibly difficult." The green haired genius shook his head in disbelief. "As much as I hate to admit, the Devil's strongest resource is in their greatest mind. Ajuka Beelzebub is a genius of the highest caliber."

Gabriel covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes cast downward in disbelief. "So we have no chance? No options? We have to resort to harming children and forcing them to fight instead of enjoying their childhood?"

The room was silent for a minute, the gravity of the choice sinking into every single heavenly soul in the room. Had they really fallen this far, was the collective thought that passed through every single mind.

One man stood up, having been silent almost the entire debate. He could have been Gabriel's twin, as they both shared the same shade of golden blonde hair and their green eyes both sparkled like deep unexplored forests, although her's always made her look happy while his were curved in such a way that he looked perpetually sad. Garbed in ceremonial golden robes rather than the white casual wear that his siblings wore, that only accentuated the other thing that separated him from the rest of them and marked him as leader. The twelve golden wings that sprouted from his back and seemed to glow in the orange afternoon sun.

Michael clapped his hands together softly and his voice washed over the group like a gentle wave, soothing their worries. "We will save this debate for another day. Sunset approaches and it is time for us to rest and return with fresh minds and ideas."

Glancing out the window, Gabriel was surprised to see her older brother was right. Despite getting there around noon, an orange sunset was painted against the horizon. Michael was met with nine nods as his siblings slowly walked out of the room, only now realizing how emotionally draining their debate had been. Gabriel, perhaps the most tired out of the group, brushed off her dress once more before carefully changing direction on the balls of her white sandaled feet.

"Gabriel, please stay for a moment."

She stopped in her tracks, her eyes closing briefly as she took in a deep breath. Slowly she turned back around and walked over to her eldest brother, who had turned his chair to face out toward one of the large windows to catch as much of the sunset as possible. A small smile crossed Gabriel's face. She had always been closest to Michael as he was the closest to her in terms of age as well as the only member of the remaining Seraphim that was older than her. The eldest children of God, they were called, and because of that they held a majority of the responsibility to see that his legacy lived on.

Walking past the nine other stone thrones, she stopped besides the one at the head and placed a hand on the shoulder of the slim individual sitting in it. "Yes Michael?"

He didn't look up at her, his eyes focused on the setting sun and the hundreds of millions of people living their lives in the Heavenly City beneath them. "Do you think Father would be disappointed in me?"

Gabriel shook her head softly. "No, he would see that you are trying your hardest. That is all that he would ask for." Her face hardened for a moment before she let out a sigh. "The rest of us must try harder as well if we want to protect his message."

Seeing her brother nod, Gabriel smiled before turning around and walking out of the room. The moment before the door closed behind her, she heard her brother's melodic voice carry through the room barely above a whisper. "Thank you Gabriel."

For the first time since his childhood, Naruto Uzumaki felt alone.

Every muscle in his body ached and every cell burned like he had been set on fire a hundred times over. His clothes were torn and cut, the results of the dozens of battles he had partaken in, and simply seemed to dissolve into the aether he floated in, leaving him shirtless. New scars littered his muscular arms and chest, joining old scars and the swirling ink design on his stomach. He looked like a god of war, a hero and warrior who had defended his home at any cost. What a cost it was. Naruto tried to lift a hand but he was simply out of energy, his last ditch attempt to save his world having cost him much.

He and Sasuke were to do battle with a Goddess. They both knew this but for some reason, neither were frightened. There was simply no time to be scared, no time to doubt their skills and fear of letting the people who relied on them down. There was no time to wonder if they had trained enough, learned enough, said goodbye or if they could even survive this attempt. If they hesitated, they would died and so would everyone they loved.

Hagoromo-Ojisan had really hooked the two of them up with some crazy powers and Naruto knew they stood a chance, even against the almost incomprehensible power that stood against them. Engaging Kaguya Otsutsuki in hand to hand combat, Naruto glowed like the blazing midday Sun whereas Sasuke had become the cool steady Moon, their combined power slowly eclipsing the woman's solo strength. Naruto had never seen anything like that woman's ninjutsu, or whatever it was before it was ninjutsu, as she teleported them from dimension to dimension, warping reality as she pleased to gain home court advantage every time the two boys adapted. She was faster than anyone he had ever faced, to the point she disappeared every time she moved. Her close quarters combat was only amplified by her deadly bone techniques, that had taken the life of Obito Uchiha, an enemy turned friend who may have been like an uncle to him in another life. She truly was a goddess of battle, a rabbit demon who would swallow their world after she tried to destroy them in battle.

Naruto had been confident but as the battle extended, it appeared that Kaguya's near endless bag of tricks gave her the upper hand after all. The "Sexy Reverse Harem Technique" had failed him, the young reincarnation of Asura Otsutsuki knew he had to end it there and then.

It had taken so much chakra but Naruto remembered there being no other option. Everything he knew, everything he had built upon throughout his entire life, every gift he had been given and lesson he had been taught culminated in that moment. The first technique he could really could really call his own signature was the Kage Bunshin, a technique that had been with him ever since that fateful night in the forest on the day he became a ninja. With a motion that had long since become instinctual, Naruto summoned eight clones that were all cloaked in Six Paths Chakra as well. Then came the first legacy Naruto ever received from his father and an eternal memory of Ero-Sennin, the Rasengan. Nine orbs of wild, almost uncontrollable chakra burst to life in his and his clones' hands, humming softly like the calm before the storm. Naruto remembered closing his eyes and focusing on replicating a feat that even stumped his genius father but had long since become second nature. Finally, Naruto remembered using the gifts from the friends he had made and the legacy of the Shinobi no Kami to let loose the power of the Tailed Beasts.

Naruto would never forget the look on Kaguya's face as he floated in front of her, holding the equivalent of nine nuclear bombs in the palms of his hands. The explosion that followed couldn't even be described in words as the massive amounts of power released literally shook the foundations of the dimension they were in and destabilized the Mother of Chakra to the very core. Outpoured the nine tailed beasts who quickly rushed into the only host that remained around them, Naruto. Invigorated by the almost tenfold increase to his chakra, Naruto remembered blitzing the still wounded Goddess and grabbing her by the neck before she could even react. Sasuke, despite still being somewhat in awe himself, teleported in using the power of his unique Rinnegan and simultaneously the two placed their markings onto Kaguya.

And then it all went wrong. A black blur launched out at the two boys the second they touched the Goddess of Chakra and latched onto Naruto's arm, biting the golden clad boy with enough force that Naruto felt like his arm was about to rip right off. The seal had activated but the damage had been done, Naruto was separated from Sasuke who simply didn't have the chakra to teleport over to him. Kaguya's head snapped forward and the second Naruto locked eyes with those pure white orbs of death, the massive killing intent that washed over him almost locked him in his place. Debris had started to fly from the surface of the woman's core dimension and gather around the black hole that had begun to form around Kaguya's body as the technique began. The Ancestor of Chakra knew she was going to be sealed but wasn't intent on dying alone a second time. Her white kimono billowed and a truth-seeking ball flew from the woman's sleeve, striking Naruto in the stomach so hard, it knocked the air out of him and shot him backwards so hard he was sure he heard a sonic boom. With a final look back at his strongest enemy, Naruto remembered her Rinne-Sharingan glowing a dark crimson before a portal appeared around him, a segmented cut into reality that seemed to close just as the last of the debris formed a final moon around Kaguya. That was all it took. A last-second suicide attack that sent Naruto rocketing through spacetime with no destination.

And so he floated, a dying hero in the gap between worlds. Practically motionless, Naruto smiled a sad smile. He did as he had intended, he saved the world and honored the legacy of his father and godfather. Hopefully now that Kaguya was sealed along with Black Zetsu, the world would be at peace just as Naruto had always wished. The shinobi nations were united and would hopefully defend their new peace. Madara had been sent to the afterlife for a final time and Obito would hopefully rest with Rin happily. Naruto had done his job, there was no doubt he was the savior of his world. That smile slowly slipped away. He had saved the world but at what cost… He was alone, a man who had decorated for his own birthday party but didn't get to enjoy it. Even the Tailed Beasts were silent, the last of their energy having been expended during the final battle plus the mental strain of being ripped from host to host multiple times in one day. Besides, Naruto knew it was only their chakra and his naturally powerful life force that was keeping him alive right now.

Slowly, Naruto strained himself to open his eyes and reflexively he let out a silent gasp. He was in a world of kaleidoscopic color that seemed to go on forever in every direction. Royal purple, midnight blue, emerald green, blazing crimson swirls of color and energy surrounded him like a blanket, cosmic art of the highest caliber that only a select few got to see.

If he had the energy, Naruto would have chuckled and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He wasn't much of an art person but even he had to admit this was pretty cool. His body seemed to move along with the gentle currents of energy, floating casually from side to side like a leaf would on a river. He wasn't sure how long he laid there, time was hard to tell in a place like that, when suddenly he heard a rushing sound. Turning his head a fraction of an inch, Naruto noticed the space around him bending, twisting, like a whirlpool toward a golden ball of blindingly bright light. How ironic. Naruto closed his eyes, he wasn't sure where this whirlpool would lead him but at least he hoped he survived. Optimism, it was good to have when your life was constantly full of shitty events. Gradually gaining speed, Naruto rode the whirlpool before plunging into the golden ball of light and suddenly finding himself in the midst of a free fall.

Gabriel frowned in annoyance as she carefully tried to squirm her way through the seas of people in the lakeside marketplace. While she always tried to be a nice person, thousands of people all trying to maneuver in the relatively small fresh produce area of the farmer's market was enough to even begin to grate on her nerves. Not to mention how angry her brothers had her today. The only female Seraph glanced down at the basket hanging from the crook of her arm, checking to see if she had everything for tonight's stew when she felt a small tug on her arm.

"Ms. Gabriel?" A high pitched voice from behind her said, barely audible above the chatter of the crowd. Gabriel turned around to look at the little european girl standing behind her, blonde hair tied into braids and blue eyes glancing downward in embarrassment at her inward facing feet. The little girl turned around quickly to look at two adults who looked a lot like her, likely her parents or guardians, who gave her a nod of encouragement.

Gabriel smiled as she saw this, one of her few genuine smiles of the day. "Oh hello darling." Gabriel kneeled down a little so she was eye height with the girl. "How can I help you?"

"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you and I don't want to be a hassle but can I please get an autograph please...sorry." The girl managed to mumble out, her face practically scarlet as she patted down her pockets rapidly before finding a small notebook in her back pocket along with a black marker.

Gabriel had to suppress a giggle at the number of times the girl said 'sorry' and 'please'. "No problem at all." Taking the pad and pen, the Seraph made eye contact with the girl. "May I ask you your name?"

"Jessica." Was the girl's answer with a happy nod.

Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, Gabriel put pen against paper. "To Jessica…" She quickly wrote a kind message before closing the notebook and handing it back. "There you go."

Eyes wide as saucers, Jessica hugged the book to her chest. "Thank you so much Ms. Gabriel!" Instinctively the little girl lunged forward and wrapped Gabriel up in a hug before the seraph could react. "You're so pretty and amazing. I'm gonna be just like you!"

"You're going to grow up to be so strong and beautiful, Jessica." Gabriel said with a smile, giving the girl a small hug back.

It was then she noticed it. At first it was faint, a small streak in the sky looking as if it originated from the sun that slowly began to grow and grow until it was a blazing golden comet. Gabriel's emerald eyes squinted a little bit before widening as she realized it was coming straight for this sector of heaven.

Frantically, Gabriel lifted Jessica back onto her feet before giving her a light push toward the two adults form earlier. "Go back to your parents and follow the angels out. Stay safe!"

Jessica, having turned around to see the accelerating object as well, nodded frighteningly before chasing after her parents who had been trying to wait for her despite the rushing crowd of people heading toward the exits. Gabriel looked toward the sky once more, although now finding a few fellow angels that partook in the voluntary police force had begun to take action.

"Everyone evacuate calmly and orderly! Don't push or shove!" Came their collective amplified voices, shepherding the thousands of people out of the exposed marketplace.

Gabriel let out a small sigh of relief, at least she didn't have to worry about the civilians now. Her twelve white wings exploded from her back, unfurling to their full glory in a fraction of a second as she took the to the sky herself to face this glowing projectile. None of the other Seraphs were likely nearby, as the meeting had ended over an hour ago and most had long since returned home. The average angel wouldn't be able to help in this situation, their magical power was too weak to be able to handle a...whatever this thing was. The object was growing closer and closer, having long since passed the artificial clouds that floated in the area above Heaven and was now mere seconds away from impact. Gabriel had seconds left. She had to do something now. High above the city herself, Gabriel's hands glowed with yellow light as a magical circle appeared above the area. It was massive, easily over three hundred meters across and was enough to cover the entire evacuating civilian population as well as a majority of the market place.

The object flew by, smashing into the lake besides Gabriel and the people with an earth shattering shockwave that threatened to send the twelve winged seraph flying backwards. The light barrier she had quickly constructed bent and cracked, but remained intact, saving the people from the blast that would have likely resulted in a few injuries even despite their distance. The hurricane force gust of wind subsided after a moment and Gabriel let her barrier dissolve, ignoring the loud cheers and clapping of the people below her who she had saved. Instead, Gabriel was focused on floating downward with control, fixing the strap of her white dress as she carefully lowered herself into the dried up lake.

A man laid in the center, a glowing cloak of golden energy around him that must have saved him from his reentry slowly dissolving away to leave him exposed. He was shirtless, burned and injured, although the angel couldn't tell if they were prior wounds or from his descent. He had the body of a warrior, with developed muscles that reminded the angelic girl of only the most well-trained soldiers in Heaven. Gabriel slowly lowered herself into the mud on the bottom of the lake, not caring if her white clothing was getting dirty, as she carefully moved over to the man. At first, she thought he was dead as not many people could survive a fall from outer space but once Gabriel was a mere five steps away, the man's deep blue eyes shot open. The sudden movement was enough to shock the angel, who almost fell back into the mud in surprise.

Slowly, as if every slight movement was going to kill him, the man turned to look at her with a slightly amused and dazed expression. "I thought they said angels didn't exist. You're as beautiful as they say."

Gabriel stepped back in surprise, a hand over her chest in shock. "That shouldn't be possible. Angels can understand every language ever…Why can't I understand you?"

The man didn't respond, his eyes having closed with that same amused expression on his face as if this was all rather funny to him. Gabriel watched in shock as his chest stopped rising, a hand rested fondly over his stomach. Frozen she stood for a few seconds before angrily, the seraph strode over to the man and knelt beside him in the mud, her hands once more aglow with white light. "Don't give up on me…"

The magic she had learned as a child came back to her, memories of sitting beside her father as he watched her struggle her hardest to revive a recently deceased puppy she had found. The magic none of her brothers had wanted to learn and had fallen upon her as the only girl in their family. Gabriel didn't know how long she was there for but out of the corner of her eye, she could see a crowd had started to form around the edge of the dried up lake. She could hear their whispers to one enough and could see everyone once in awhile, someone would point at either her or the "alien". They didn't matter at the moment, as all of her attention was focused on this spiky haired blonde man in front of her. Finally, after more than half of her magic was gone and she was almost positive this was a lost cause, Gabriel finally felt a small thump beneath her hands. Then the man's chest rose again, and again, and again.

He let out a groan before opening his eyes one more time to look at her with no hidden surprise. "Healing powers…" The man let out a hearty chuckle, a hard wheezing sort of laugh but not lacking in mirth in any way. "I guess you're my guardian angel then…"

Gabriel wasn't sure what he said but couldn't help her cheeks from getting a little heated. The man's eyes closed again and this time, Gabriel leapt to her feet to grab the attention of the hundreds of angels who had begun to surround the crater with light spears at the ready. Her hands clenched into white knuckled fists and with a loud voice that carried throughout all of Heaven, she shouted an order that would save the man's life a second time. "Put your weapons down! We need a Medic! Get this man to the hospital!"

AN: Hey guys, welcome to my newest story and perhaps my favorite story I've ever written. This story was inspired by "A Simple Teenage Shop Owner" by AngryOwl and "What is Expected of Me?" by AzureFlameXIIIGod so check both of those stories out if you haven't already.

This story will be strictly Naruto/Gabriel (sorry but it's kind of the point of the story) and there will be lemons soon. I promise! So please review, favorite and follow! I'll see you in during the Holidays!