Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own any of the Naruto characters.

Wings of Aegis

Chapter 1 Angel of the Church

The forest was eerily still. It was almost as if he had stepped right into a painting of an ancient forest. The thick-barked pine trees stood proudly, rooted fast to the rich earth, embellished with emerald mosses and cream-colored mushrooms. High above, the thick tree trunks branched out into gnarled limbs supporting a dense, verdant canopy that cast dancing shadows upon the fauna down below.

Konoha's forest was undeniably beautiful. Like a guardian angel, it sheltered the thriving village of Konohagakure and kept it hidden from the power-hungry eyes of distant countries. The forest did not save the village from being infiltrated, however, and that was why Sasuke had been sent with his team to eliminate a group of enemy shinobi.

During the fight, he had been separated from the rest of his team. After felling three of the enemy's number, he had sustained an injury that had forced him to flee into the forest. He knew the woods by heart, and had no trouble eluding his pursuers, but he had been seriously wounded by an ambush. He had been too preoccupied with the fight between himself and his opponent at the time to catch the shinobi that had come up on his left with a kunai aimed at his heart. Sasuke had managed to avoid a fatal blow, but had landed himself a deep slash across his abdomen for his carelessness.

It should never have happened, and now he was paying for it.

He was deep in the forest, too far from the village to make it back in time to preserve himself. He needed to take shelter and rest, but the closest building to his position was an old abandoned shrine that the Hokage had forbidden anyone to approach. As much as he did not want to go against official orders, he felt a desperation clawing at his mind that urged him on towards the shrine.

Without his sanction, his body turned itself in the direction of the shrine and struggled to move forward. Somehow, he managed it. Sasuke had spent most of his chakra stemming the torrent of blood spilling from his stomach. Being untrained in the art of healing, he had relied on his massive store of chakra to form a clot that clogged the wound. The concentration of chakra was most likely killing the cells around his wound, but it was preferable to the alternative.

After a half hour of dragging his body through the woods by sheer willpower, the shrine came into view.

It was an old stone building nestled between two of the oldest trees in the forest. A small, circular lake fed by an underground stream shone in the faint sunlight that slipped through the forest canopy. Vines had taken over the black stone structure, and moss filled every crevice in the chipped granite. The once intricate carvings on the face of the shrine had faded and withered into indistinct mounds. One side of a large wooden door hung limply on its hinges: the other side had fallen to the ground, where it had been taken over by undergrowth. There was a stone pathway leading to the entrance of the shrine, but it was so riddled with ferns and moss the organized placement of the stones looked to be nothing more than a random string of rocks littering the forest floor.

It was a sad place, yet it was strangely alive, as if it were merely sleeping. It made Sasuke feel cautious, and he approached the shrine with a wary eye, even though he was in no condition to defend himself.

The inside of the shrine had faired no better than the outside. Parts of the roof had fallen in, destroying the furnishings, but allowing light to enter. Dust clogged the air, and giant spider webs found homes between benches and in the corners of the room. His eyes found the altar, decorated with an ornate cloth and small offerings of candles and statuettes. He limped over to the altar and heedlessly swept the offerings off the table. No one visited the shrine anymore, so he assumed the artifacts were now long forgotten. He tore the tablecloth into strips and flung off his shirt, ignoring the pain that flared as his shirt brushed the wound. He tied the makeshift bandage around his wound and gradually lessened the clot of chakra he had previously used to seal it.

Sasuke eased himself into one of the benches, for once uncaring of the filth around him, and assessed his situation.

His team was far away by now- he had wandered deep into the heart of the forest- and his pack was missing. All in all, he was in deep trouble. Even if he survived the massive amount of blood loss, he had no provisions, and if the wound got infected, he was done for. If help didn't come soon, he was in serious trouble. It didn't help that he had found refuge in a place no one would look for him. If he managed to recover some of his strength, he would have to move.

Sasuke reclined farther into the bench and stared up at the ceiling. He would make it somehow, he had to. Death was not an option.

Sasuke started when he saw something red flash in the deep darkness behind the altar. He could do nothing more than stare warily at the spot where he had seen the flicker of red, and wait for whatever it was to reveal itself. There was always the possibility that he had imagined it, but the ancient shrine seemed to have a life of its own.

The dust that remained on the altar stirred and formed a cloud in the air, swirling in a streak of light, as if something had breathed over the altar. It was then Sasuke knew he wasn't seeing things that weren't there. Imaginations couldn't breathe.

"I rather liked that tablecloth, you know, it was embroidered with my image." The voice came from whatever was cloaked in the shadow of the altar. It was soft and breathy, much like a child's voice.

"Identify yourself," Sasuke demanded, pleased that he managed to sound menacing despite his state.

A hand stretched out from the dark and fixed what remained of the tablecloth upon the altar. It ran along the border of the cloth lovingly, where a procession of foxes danced along the frayed edge of the fabric. "Don't you have any manners?" The voice seemed to tease. "Always introduce yourself first. Being a shinobi does not give you the right to be a rude bastard."

Sasuke grit his teeth and bit back a retort. Pain was eating away at his patience and making him irritable. "Uchiha Sasuke of team seven, led by Hatake Kakashi. Now, identify yourself." The voice chuckled softly.

"My, you're an impatient one. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I am the nine-tailed demon fox of Konohagakure, the guardian of these forests. I was hoping Konoha had finally kept its promise to me and sent you, but when I noticed you could channel your chakra, I was afraid they had sent you to get rid of me. It's clear to me now that you merely stumbled upon this place seeking refuge. I can help you, if you want." The voice sounded hopeful.

"I'd appreciate it if you could get me a proper bandage," he snapped. Was this Naruto person trying to talk him to death? Already he felt a headache coming on. And what was that about the demon fox? Sasuke tried to think through the pain, but his mind was clouded.

"Can do," Naruto said, laughter lacing his words. Clearly Sasuke's pain amused him. Either that or the way he was insulting him. "Wait there for a moment."

Does he actually expect me to leave?

Naruto returned in the span of a heartbeat, and finally moved from the shadow behind the altar. Sasuke was surprised to see the face of a young boy staring back at him, framed by a shock of vibrant blonde hair. He had unnatural crimson eyes framed by thick, blonde lashes. The boy was decidedly feminine, and could almost be described as beautiful.

Sasuke kept his face blank and followed the boy with his eyes as he approached. His movements were light and springy, almost exuberant. Excitement shone on his face, but for what, Sasuke couldn't fathom. He had already pinned the kid as an idiot. The bandages Sasuke had been promised were wrapped around his right arm.

"Don't move," Naruto chirped as he wound an arm around Sasuke's waist and hoisted him off the bench. He carefully removed the dusty bandage and placed his free hand over the wound. Sasuke hissed.

"What the hell are you doing?" He snarled, trying to twist away from the smaller boy's grasp. The boy had an unusually strong grip, and in his current state, Sasuke was rendered immobile.

"I told you not to move, bastard," Naruto snapped, pressing his palm harder against the wound, earning another hiss from Sasuke. "I'm going to heal you."

Sasuke felt a foreign chakra probe the edges of his wound and resisted the urge to repel it. The strange chakra seeped into his skin and began reviving the skin cells that had been destroyed by either the kunai to his gut or the measures he had taken to seal his wound.

"What are the bandages for?" Sasuke wheezed as he felt his skin begin to close. It was a strange sensation, and he needed to be distracted from it. He felt like ants were crawling beneath his skin.

"I dunno," Naruto said, his nose scrunched up in concentration. "You asked for them." Sasuke glared at the blonde, but his head was bent in concentration, so he missed the sharp look.

Naruto finished applying his chakra and gently eased Sasuke back into the bench. He laid the now useless bandages into Sasuke's lap and grinned widely down at Sasuke, who frowned at the idiotic look he was receiving. It was mildly irritating.

Naruto squatted down and braced his elbows on his knees so he could rest his chin on his palms. "So while you're here, we might as well talk a bit, right? To pass the time?" Sasuke glared at the boy in response, but the blonde seemed impervious to his obvious exasperation.

"I don't 'chat'," he said finally, his eyes still narrowed at the boy in front of him. Sasuke propped his elbows up on the back of the seat and sunk deeper into the wooden bench.

"Well, then you're going to have to learn how to, because I saved your ass and now you have to give me something in return." Naruto said, his mood shifting to anger in the blink of the eye.

"I don't have to do anything," Sasuke retorted, shutting his eyes and leaning back into the bench. He planned on tuning out the annoying little pest. If he had his eyes open, he would have seen Naruto quirk an eyebrow and smile mischievously.

"Wanna bet?" The boy challenged.

"Not particularly," Sasuke replied flatly. "I would win."

Before Sasuke could utter another word, the blonde boy had jumped on his stomach- effectively winding him- and used the spare bandages to bind his wrists. "Now, let me rephrase my request," the boy said, smiling dangerously. "You will tell me everything I want to know, deal? In return, I'll refrain from eating your guts, or whatever it is the villagers think I do."

"Fine. What do you want to know?" Sasuke's voice hadn't lost the disinterested tone, but his eyes showed a newfound curiosity towards the blonde. Maybe he wasn't so dumb, after all.

"Who is the Hokage now?" The blonde asked, squirming on Sasuke's lap in an attempt to get comfortable. Sasuke was all bone and muscle, making for a very uncomfortable seat.

"Tsunde is the current Hokage. The Third passed away last week from a stroke. Get off me."

Naruto looked mildly surprised at the news. He pointedly ignored Sasuke's demand. "Tsunde, eh? I never thought the drunk hag would ever get off her lazy ass long enough to do anything, let alone run a county. Does she still suck at gambling? She owes me a shitload of money. Anyway, next question: is there a war going on? There's been a lot of activity in the forest recently."

"Yes. The Sand country has decided to move against the Fire country, and Sound isn't far behind."

"Damn," Naruto swore, his nose scrunching up in thought once more. "So I guess you guys will be needing me again, huh?"

"Konoha doesn't need idiots in their army. It would just result in more casualties," Sasuke replied flatly, with a small smirk.

"Eh? Shut up bastard! What do you know anyway? You willingly walked into this place!"

"So." It was more of a statement, less of a question, coming from Sasuke.

"You really don't know who I am?" Naruto said incredulously. He gave Sasuke an are-you-stupid kind of look, and Sasuke's eyes narrowed in agitation.

He never put up with being insulted.

Sasuke brought his knee up and caught Naruto in the tailbone, simultaneously releasing enough chakra in his wrists to destroy the bandages-turned-restraints. Naruto went down with a pained howl and Sasuke immediately followed, pinning him to the ground. "So what if I don't know?" He hissed in the other boy's ear. "You're too weak to interest me, anyway."

Naruto made a sound deep in his throat that resemble a growl, and his lips pulled back over his teeth in a vicious snarl, revealing sharp canines. "Get off me, teme," he growled.

"Make me," the black-eyed boy challenged. Naruto's crimson eyes narrowed in anger, and he opened his mouth to respond, but then something caught his attention, and his expression changed to wariness. "What?" Sasuke demanded.

"You were followed, you bastard. Why didn't you tell me you were expecting company?" Sasuke allowed Naruto to roll out from under him and get to his feet. The blonde boy then hoisted Sasuke up without his permission, earning a slap on the hand. "Ouch, bastard," he muttered under his breath.

"Can you tell if they're our allies?" Sasuke asked, ignoring the insult.

"Yeah, just gimme a sec. You got blood all over the place, and it's kinda interfering with my nose." Naruto sniffed for emphasis.

"Your nose?"

"Yeah. Each country has a distinct smell to their people. The Fire country people smell like earth, and the Sound smell like fresh-cut grass. Now shut up so I can focus."

Sasuke was amazed that Naruto's sense of smell was that keen. He knew one other ninja that had a sense of smell that good, but it was a rare trait that he had thought was exclusive to the Inuzuka clan.

"Bad news," the boy said after a brief silence. "The Sound is tracking your ass."

End Chapter One.

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