Title: Shugo Tenshi
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha is lonely and depressed. He tries to find peace in death but his attempt to take his own life is stopped by a boy with blonde hair. Just who is this mysterious boy? Why is he so familiar to Sasuke?

I don't really own Naruto but a girl can dream, right?

Prologue:
One year earlier

The cold autumn wind swept over the trees and picked up the fallen leaves from the grass, carrying them away in a whirl of colour and chill. The wind dropped suddenly, as did the leaves - spiralling down before landing in the still, shallow water of the lake. Floating. The high bridge which over-looked the water was rusty-red in colour. Sasuke shivered from the cold and pulled the thin material of his jacket around him tighter in an attempt to protect himself from the cold. He wasn't sure why he was trying to stay warm; any minute now he intended to jump from the very bridge he was standing on. Just like the leaves he would fall down, down, down into the freezing cold lake below. Soon, instead of his own arms wrapped around himself and shielding him from the cold, he would be embraced in Death's arms.

If someone had told him a year ago he would be stood here waiting for the right moment to jump - would there even be a right moment? - he would've considered them insane. A year ago he had everything to live for and a successful life ahead of him. Family, friends and a world-renowned business he would eventually inherit. He had it all.

Sasuke's fingers gripped the bar tighter, knuckles turning white from the effort. He wanted this. He wanted to end it all. So why was he so scared? Taking a deep, calming breath he stepped carefully over the railing and stared down into the shallow water. He held onto the bar with all his strength; if he was to fall there was no chance that he would survive...

But wasn't that what he wanted in the first place?

"What are you waiting for?"

Sasuke turned around so fast he almost lost his footing. A small boy with wide, innocent eyes and a mop of blonde hair stood next to him. He was leaning out over the water curiously without even holding onto the railing. His nose scrunched up. "Don't you think it'll be cold?"

Regaining his senses, Sasuke snorted. It came out as a squeak. He rolled his eyes at the younger-looking boy. Where had he come from? Didn't he realise how dangerous it was to be there? Bitterly, he replied, "It doesn't matter how cold it is. I'll be dead the moment I hit the water."

The blonde boy gave him a twisted smile, blue eyes sparkling with amusement. "Then what are you waiting for?"

Sasuke frowned at the question. What was he waiting for? The right moment? Did such a moment even exist? Instead of voicing these thoughts to the boy he said snarkily, "I can't jump with some little kid watching me. How old are you anyway?"

For a few moments the boy said nothing, just looked puzzled as though the question was a difficult one. Sasuke half-expected him to start counting on his fingers. Finally, he replied. "I'm fifteen years old! How old are you?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Fifteen?" He repeated dubiously, shaking his head in disbelief; the boy looked no older than twelve. "Does it matter how old I am? Soon enough I'll be a dead man."

The boy pouted, jutting out his cherry-red lips in an adorable way. "OK, so what if I'm short for my age? I'm fifteen. Believe it!" His slender shoulders shrugged forward at the question. "I told you how old I am. It's only fair that you tell me!"

Sasuke sighed. "If I tell you how old I am will you leave me alone so I can jump?"

The blonde put a finger to his lips in mock-though. "Hm... Nope! Only if you tell me your name, too!"

"Fine. My name is Sasuke Uchiha and I'm twenty years old," Sasuke answered. It would've been easy to lie but what was the point? "Are you going now?"

Chest puffed out importantly, the boy asked, "Don't you want to know my name?"

Sasuke shook his head and said, "No. Not really."

"Well... I'll tell you anyway! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" He exclaimed, thrusting his hand out towards Sasuke.

Eyeing the outstretched hand warily, Sasuke pointedly ignored the gesture. "We know each other's names and ages. Are you going now or would you like to paint my nails and watch a movie first?"

The blonde boy - who Sasuke now knew to be called Naruto - grinned and shook his head. "You don't really want me to go. Besides, if you were really going to jump you would've done it by now."

Sasuke scoffed. "You're just a silly little kid. What would you know?"

Naruto answered cryptically. "I know a lot more than you think." In that moment there was something about his face which made him seem older, more mature. Sasuke blinked and it was gone, replaced with childish innocence and naivety.

"Whatever," Sasuke muttered with a roll of his eyes. He couldn't help but wonder what the child was doing out here, so far away from the town. It was getting late, too. After a few moments of comfortable silence he found himself asking, "Where are your parents?"

Naruto frowned slightly at the question. "Parents?"

Sasuke explained in a slow voice, as though he was talking to a very young child who didn't understand. "You know... The people at home who look after you?"

"I... I don't really have a home anymore.." Naruto said sadly, blue eyes sparkling with emotion.

Sasuke found himself feeling sorry for the boy, who was apparently homeless and without parents. At least Sasuke had a home, of sorts, even if his parents were now dead. If he chose to jump he wouldn't just be condemning himself but Naruto, too. There was noone else around to take pity on the orphaned child but him. A tiny voice in the back of his mind told him he was just making excuses, trying to find a reason to live no matter how small. That's the thing about being human - your mind is never fully ready to die.

Naruto, who had been watching Sasuke's expressions with interest, gave a very small smile. "Are you going to jump?" He asked. Sasuke got the impression that the blonde already knew the answer, had known from the very beginning that it wasn't Sasuke's time to die. Taking Sasuke's silence as an answer, Naruto spoke again. "I didn't think you would." With one last glance down at the water below them, he climbed over the railing and began walking away.

"Hey! Kid!"

Sasuke shuffled around carefully, gripping the bar tightly as he hoisted himself back over to the other side. He looked one way and then the other but found that the bridge was empty and Naruto was nowhere in sight. Sasuke's lips moved, forming words without any conscious thought behind them. "Who are you, Naruto Uzumaki?"

Something told him that this wouldn't be the last he saw of the blonde boy.

He was right.