Chapter one

Naruto Uzimaki sat silently on top of the stone Hokage monument, watching the village below him. He sighed as he stretched his wings out, feeling the wind gently ruffling his feathers. You see Naruto had been born different from other children, he'd been born with angel wings. They were as small as Naruto was but as he grew so did they. They now stretched out a good five feet, and Naruto figured they would grow even more since he was done growing yet.

He loved the village below him, they had given him a home when he'd had no other place to go. But Naruto was starting to wonder where he had come from, were there others like him. Surely there were, he couldn't be the only one who had wings like his. For his first five years, Naruto had grown up in an orphanage in the Land of Sound. He had never known who his parents were, or what they even looked like. He never understood that his wings were different and when he showed them to another child, he was called a freak of nature and from that moment on, every child had avoided him. Well, until they had started beating up on him, and then he'd been kicked out of the orphanage because they couldn't afford to keep freaks there.

Unable to find someone to take him in in the sound, he left his village. Flying at night whenever he didn't think anyone could see him. When he got tired he would make a fire and curl his wings around himself and go to sleep. Having the freedom to fly whenever he wanted was okay at first but then loneliness and longing for a family would kick in and Naruto would stare forlornly at the small fire until the tears came and he would cry himself to sleep.

He ended up spending months out in the wilderness by himself until one day when he was flying. He heard shouting and he looked down and saw someone on the ground raise a bow and arrow. Knowing their intentions were to kill him, Naruto tried to fly higher but the bow had went straight through his wing. The pain causing Naruto to cry out, as he started his descent from the sky. He curled his wings around himself hoping to absorb some of the impact as he slammed into the ground. He cried out as he felt bones break despite the protection his wings had provided. He felt blood drip down his feathers and he wanted to weep, he didn't understand why people couldn't just leave him be, he never bothered anyone.

As he lay on the ground whimpering in pain, Naruto heard the sound of voices coming his way. He had the feeling they wouldn't be coming to help him, so he slowly pulled himself to his feet and started limping away hoping to find a bush or something to hide under until they went away. Naruto tucked his uninjured wing away, whimpering as the wing slowly disappeared into his back, leaving no sign that any kind of feather had been there. His injured wing hung limply at his side as he was unable to reach the arrow that had pierced the thin membrane and had stuck. Naruto could feel the blood drip down his feathers and he wanted nothing more than to clean the blood off. wrapping the injured wing around himself Naruto sat down at the base of a tree that was hidden out of sight.

Leaning his head back against the tree Naruto wondered if he would ever find a place he would fit in. would he always be on the outside looking in, always longing for affection and never getting any? The truth was Naruto wasn't sure he could keep on the way he was, someone would hunt him down and kill him eventually. What kind of five year had those kind of thoughts Naruto wondered bitterly, what kind of five year old was forced to look after himself. Forced to live a life no one deserved to live, Naruto felt older than his years.

He had just started to drift off to sleep, when the sound of footsteps and voices woke him up. Opening his eyes, he was startled to see a silver haired masked ninja kneeling beside him. Naruto jerked when the man reached out touched the wing, Naruto tightened it around himself more. Unsure of what this man's intentions were.

"You're hurt" the man spoke softly, almost as if trying not to scare him. Naruto still wasn't sure he could be trusted, how many times had someone tried to gain his trust before turning around and hurting him.

"I promise I'm not going to hurt you." the man said "I just want to help you."

"Why?" Naruto croaked, the obvious kindness in the man's uncovered eye making him want to cry.

"No one has ever wanted to help me" Naruto whimpered softly "I'm a freak so I don't deserve help."

"You're not a freak" the man said as he reached out and gently plucked the arrow from Naruto's wing. Naruto yelped in pain at the sudden burst of agony. Once the arrow was out, Naruto stretched out the wing before attempting to fold it back into his body.

Suddenly Naruto found himself being carried away from the tree, and Naruto struggled against the arms that held him.

"Hush" the man says softly "I'm taking you back to my village, they can help you there."

"Who are you?" Naruto asked curiously, wondering why he got the feeling that he could trust this man with the strange hair.

"I am Kakashi Hatake" Kakashi replied "and I am a ninja of the leaf village. Where do you come from."

"I came from the Sound village but I haven't lived there for a little while now." Naruto replies, still feeling afraid of the situation at hand. No one had ever offered him a home, and now it looked like there was a chance he was going to get one.

"Do you think people will think I am a freak?" Naruto asks.

"I'm sure some will, but I can assure you I don't think you are. You are special and that's not a bad thing."

"Will people try to hurt me?" Naruto voiced his biggest concern. He had lived through enough hurt for a lifetime. He wasn't to stay in a place that only offered more pain.

"I can promise you they won't when I'm around." Kakashi replied, wondering if he was doing the right thing after all this child could be a spy. Kakashi quickly dismissed that thought, there was an innocence about this child that told him he was no spy.

"The first thing I'm going to do is take you to the doctor, you have injuries that need to be looked at and then, I'm taking you to a place where you can get some rest."

That was seven years ago, Naruto had had a hard time adjusting at first, but eventually he felt comfortable with the people around him. Of course he'd quickly made an enemy, Sasuke Uchiha, who had quickly discovered that Naruto had hidden wings. The two boys had gotten into an argument that had quickly escalated to a fight, Naruto had hit Sasuke first and the two had gone at it for several minutes, before Kakashi had broken them up. Having his guardian tell Naruto he couldn't start fights just because they had discovered his secret and spread it around Konoha had been no excuse to start a fight. Naruto hadn't stuck around to hear the words Kakashi had spoken to Sasuke instead, he had run away and had flown up to the Hokage monument where he now sat. feeling hurt Naruto wondered how it was that Kakashi could just sit there and defend Sasuke while berating Naruto for feeling like a freak because Sasuke had shouted his secret to the village.

"Naruto, I saw you last night" Sasuke comes over to where Naruto is sitting at the base of a tree right outside of the academy.

"So, I'm sure a lot of people did, its not all that uncommon to run into someone you to go school with outside of school. I don't live here you know." Naruto replied but he had grown cold, he had the feeling he knew exactly what Sasuke was talking about.

"You're a winged freak" Sasuke shouted causing heads to turn and look at him. Naruto felt his face warm and he looked down. He couldn't help who he was anymore than Sasuke could help being an orphan with an insane brother.

"I'm not a freak" Naruto said as calmly as he could. He didn't want to upset Kakashi by getting into a fight. But make no mistake if Sasuke persisted, he would shut his mouth for him.

"Only freaks have wings and can fly" Sasuke insists getting into Naruto's face.

"Last time I am telling you, I am not a freak and if you don't shut up, I will make you shut up." Naruto hissed the warning in his tone clear. Sasuke smirked and looked down at Naruto.

"I don't think you're going to do anything, you're too much of a chicken." he taunted and Naruto closed his eyes for a second before opening them and taking throwing a fist right into Sasuke's jaw.

Sasuke grinning before tackling Naruto and slamming his fist into Naruto's face over and over. Naruto just kept throwing punches even though he was missing most of them.

"Naruto, that's enough" the voice of his guardian calls out as Kakashi pulls Sasuke off of him. "You know better than to fight and at school no less."

"He started..."Naruto started but shut up when Kakashi shot him a look. He looked down at the ground, Kakashi was right of course, even if he hadn't started the fight, he shouldn't have tried to finish it, at least not at school.

"Sasuke, now is not the time to practice your skills." Kakashi said as Iruka came up and stood beside Kakashi. Naruto figured he had called Kakashi as soon as he had seen the two of them fighting.

"Naruto you need to apologize for hitting Sasuke." Kakashi said. Naruto stared at him in shock, he wasn't apologizing for something he didn't start.

"No," Naruto told him "Sasuke started it and I'm not going to apologize for defending myself. I shouldn't have too."

"if you don't want to be grounded then I suggest you apologize now." Kakashi said firmly.

"I guess it's time for me to move on then" Naruto said "I don't have to keep getting treated like I'm a freak."

"You're treated like a freak because you are a freak" Sasuke laughed causing Naruto to turn and glare at him.

"You're not going to apologize?" Kakashi asked and Naruto shook his head. There was no reason too, it wasn't like Sasuke was going to apologize either, and Naruto was sure that Kakashi wasn't going to make him apologize.

"No extra ninja lessons for two weeks or until you apologize to Sasuke." Kakashi said and Naruto rolled his eyes, and Kakashi catching it glared at him.

"Do you want to make it a month?" Kakashi asked.

"Do you want me to find another place to live" Naruto countered.

"You're starting to make me angry, Naruto it's not that hard to apologize." Kakashi growled.

"I'm not apologizing for something I didn't start." Naruto said "and if you want to punish me for that fine, I don't care."

"You're going to care when you're staying at home instead of getting extra training." Kakashi said.

"Why is it that when I find something I enjoy, someone always takes it away. It's not fair, you of all people know better, you were the one that found me after all."

"So you are a freak and an orphan" Sasuke muttered. Naruto glared at him, his anger starting to rise. He couldn't believe he was supposed to apologize to Sasuke but Sasuke was the one that had started it. He should be the one saying he was sorry. Turning and glaring at Kakashi, Naruto turned and fled down the street running as fast as he could. He didn't want to be somewhere that he wasn't wanted. Upon seeing the Hokage monument, Naruto pulled his wings from their hiding place, before spreading them and flying up to the top of the mountain. Sitting down, Naruto threw his legs over the side. He sat on the side of the mountain until the sun went down and he started getting chilled from the dark. He wasn't ready to go home yet and face Kakashi, he was sure he would be in even more trouble for running away.

As he stared out at the village, Naruto wondered if he would ever find a place he truly belonged. It didn't seem like it, the loneliness ate at him on a daily basis. He never really done anything to make friends, he wasn't really sure how he was supposed to do that. He would stay in and read and study Kakashi's scrolls, and at night, at Naruto would finally stretch his wings and fly. Kakashi had told him not to go flying during the day, but since Sasuke had blared out his secret, Naruto figured it didn't matter much anymore. The village knew he was a freak. Nothing was going to change their opinions of him, no matter how much he tried or how hard he worked. He would just have to find another place to live, he couldn't stay in this village much longer.

"There you are Naruto" his teachers kind voice said from behind him, Naruto turned to see Iruka approaching him. Iruka was the second person Naruto had met when he'd first entered the village. He was a good friend of Kakashi's and had quickly become someone who Naruto could talk to when Kakashi was unavailable. "I hope you're not thinking of leaving. Kakashi and I would miss you."

"Everyone knows I'm a freak now, so why stay. We all know that freaks are not welcome." Naruto told Iruka.

"I don't know who convinced you that you are a freak but that's just not true" Iruka said as he looked at Naruto's wings. "You're special and different and that's not a bad thing, it means you have a different kind of responsibility than we do. Don't let what some idiot tells you get you down. Sasuke is alone and unless a miracle happens that's the way things are going to stay. He's jealous of you plain and simple, don't let him get to you. Maybe he's the way he is because he wants to be your friend, he just doesn't know how to go about it."

Naruto snorted before replying.

"He sure has a funny way of showing it," Naruto mutters before stretching his wings. He truly loved this village he loved his ninja training and he didn't want to leave. He just didn't like Sasuke Uchiha.

"Some people have trouble making friends" Iruka smiled as he reached and touched the feathers on Naruto's wings.

"Do you think there are others like me out there?" Naruto asks the question that had been burning on his mind more and more lately.

"There could be" Iruka admitted knowing that eventually Naruto was going to leave to find out the answers he so desperately needed to know. "There is only one way to find out the answer to that question and that's to go look for them."

"I don't really want to leave, this village has become my home." Naruto sighs "I don't know what to do."

"Home is not just a place, home is the people you surround yourself with. People that will wait for your return no matter how long it is." Iruka said watching as Naruto folded his wings back into each other.

"I'm glad I met you" Naruto said softly knowing that Iruka was right, if he wanted answers to his questions he was going to have to go out and search for them. After his ninja training of course, nothing was going to stop him from training, not even Sasuke Uchiha.

TBC? Or is it too weird? Thanks for reading and reviewing. Liz P.S. I have the next chapter already written if you want more let me know. I have switched this story over from my Darkangel19881 account, so it's still the same author just different account.