Ashikabi no Naruto

AN/: I've read a few Sekerei-Naruto crossovers and want to try my own hand at them.

Anyways this wont be another of those millennium old Naruto stories. I'm considering doing something a bit different. Naruto will be reborn in this world sort of like he is in a lot of Naruto-FairyTail crossovers. He will still have chakra but since he was reborn as a child he won't be some Uber like insert into the series. He won't be helpless like wimpy and indecisive Minato either though.

•••••

Naruto stared down Madara's defeated body, not feeling the rush of satisfaction he had always expected to feel with this act. It was all over. The elemental nations were safe from this evil. An era of peace would come just as the Elder Sage predicted. He had achieved what they had all wanted. Jiraya, Nagato, Konan, his parents. He had finally done what he promised them.

He didn't understand why he still felt so hollow even as everyone cheered around him. Why were they all being so happy? The war was over but so many were dead. Tsunade and Gaara died in their first confrontation with Madara along with the other kage. Sakura and Shizune were killed by White Zetsu. Kakashi had fallen against Tobi who had then been defeated by a vengeful Gai who killed them both with a suicidal rush opening all eight gates. Neji had died protecting him from a sneak attack. Hinata died protecting her younger sister from a horde of White Zetsu. Sasuke and Killer Bee killed each other when he came after Naruto. Akamaru was killed protecting Kiba from a resurrected shinobi. Team 8's parents had all died when the headquarters were destroyed. Kurenai-Sensei had later been killed protecting some civilians, taking her unborn child with her.

Naruto could go on and on. No one had been spared from the war. The price for his dream, the price for a peaceful world. He found himself questioning if it was really worth it when everyone he knew was dead or suffered.

His introspection was stopped cold as he suddenly felt cold. He looked down and saw a blade running through his chest. As he registered this he looked down further to see a heavily bleeding Madara smirk even as he died. The old man coughed up blood and said, " You really were something else boy. I…acknowledge your power… that's why… I'll do everything in my power to make sure I take you with me!"

Naruto fell to his knees as he coughed up blood. He was dying. He could feel the cold embrace of death. He dimly heard Kurama's voice in his head, " Damn you Madara! I won't let you!" Even as he was dying Naruto felt a smile creep onto his face. A few years ago if anyone had told him Kurama would become one of his closest friends he would have laughed at them. Seeing Kurama work so hard to save him was heart warming in a way.

Madara smirk widened as he said, " I won't let you interfere Kyuubi!" As his eyes morphed into the Eternal Sharringan. Naruto felt the pain in his chest increase as he suddenly felt Kurama's power recede. The last he heard from his partner was a loud roar of frustration.

Madara eyes morphed back into his normal coal black ones as he coughed up more blood. He then said in a weak voice, " I guess this is goodbye then huh Uzumaki Naruto… You were… a worthy… opponent…" With those final words Uchiha Madara died once again.

Naruto could feel his body being jostled around by the no doubt frantic shinobi forces as he felt himself get weaker. It was a testament to his Uzumaki Blood that he was still alive after receiving such a wound. He tried to speak but nothing but blood would come out of his mouth. He could not feel Kurama anymore. No doubt the fox was under whatever spell the Uchiha had placed on him. Uzumaki's last thought before he died was that he was happy Kurama would finally be able to experience freedom after almost a hundred years of captivity.

•••••

Naruto was floating in the dark. He could see nothing but darkness. There was no sound. There was no feeling. There was nothing. There was only existence. He didn't know how long he stayed like that. It felt like an eternity but it could have been longer. Suddenly the darkness started to recede bit by bit. He then felt something after the longest time. He was wet. And hungry. He tried to open his eyes but didn't have the energy to move at all.

Suddenly the wet sensation vanished and he felt something warm. It wrapped around him. He thought he heard someone sat something but he wasn't sure.

•••••

High School student Uzumaki Naruto woke up with a gasp. He wiped the sweat from his face. It had been a while since he had had that dream. The dream of his rebirth in this land called Earth.

He checked his alarm clock and saw it was still a few hours before dawn. A few hours before he had to get up for class. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep again so he got up and looked out the window. The view could be considered stunning but to him it was nothing special. He had always preferred the forestry around Konoha.

Naruto exited his luxury apartment and headed to the roof of the building. He sat down right on the ledge heedless of the many warning signs around him. He looked to the heavens but was unable to see the stars even with his enhanced vision. It wasn't possible to see the stars in a city like Tokyo. He reveled in the feeling of the wind as he thought over his life since he had arrived in the strange world so many years ago.

He had somehow appeared in a back alley as a child of four after his 'death' at Madara's hands. From there he had been found by the security forces of the city known as the police and taken to an orphanage. When asked he had only given his name. Thankfully he was not pressed for more details, as he had been a child.

After a year in the orphanage an old couple that had no children of their own adopted him. They had respected his wishes to keep his family name. He had called them 'mother' and 'father' but truthfully if he had to think of a more accurate way to describe their relationship it would be distant relatives. Of course they had loved him in their own way but he was an adult in a child's body perhaps even more mature then they were. He did not need a parent. The only ones who could claim such were either Minato Namikaze and Uzumaki Kushina or Jiraya and Tsunade all of who were dead.

From there he had entered school and was always the top of the class. He couldn't make friends with such immature children no matter how hard he tried. He was always the awkward one out. By grade school he had discovered he still retained the ability to use chakra. It was both helpful and frustrating. With his physical ability he always stood out from his peers. While he tried to avoid it he could use his clones for learning anything that was difficult to grasp. Even in grade school he had difficulty making friends. Everyone liked him and he was well respected but he had no FRIENDS. He had no one he could relate with. The matters of children seemed so petty to him no matter how much he tried to fit in.

By his first year in high school he had given up on the idea of making friends. He was currently one of the most popular people in high school. Ace player of both basketball and volleyball teams. One of the top ten students in academic ranking. Considered to be one of the best looking boys in school he was told by everyone he had a bright future ahead of him.

At the age of fourteen his 'parents' had died in a car crash. He had been genuinely devastated. They may not have been as close as he would have liked but they had been his caretakers for over a decade in this world. The loss hit him hard. It was also when he truly realized how fragile humans were in this planet. He had been thrown around amongst a few relatives before he finally made a deal with them to let him live on his own with a monthly checkup from them. He had been set up with a trust by his 'parents' and was pretty well of since he had a full scholarship in his high school due to the combination of his physical and academic abilities.

Naruto was snapped out of his memories as he realized the sun was already out. He had to get ready for morning practice.

Naruto waved at a few people he recognized as he entered the school. He easily towered over most of his peers already being six feet tall at his age. He had not been so tall in his 'first life' but he chalked it up to being malnourished in his childhood. In this world he was always fed proper food. Combined with his blond hair and blue eyes and he stood out quite easily amongst the see of black and brown that was common amongst the boys of his country. He had many times been mistaken for a foreigner. That thought had always made him laugh since most never realized just how right they were.

He entered the basketball gym after he changed into his clothes. The coach was there with the entire first-string regulars. The man glared at him and said, " Your late Naruto!"

Naruto just yawned and said, " Sorry coach." Obviously he was not sorry at all. The entire team snickered at their ace's words.

The coach's eye twitched but he said, " Alright maggots go warm up then we'll have a match to start the day!"

Everyone besides Naruto groaned as they heard this. The coach was trying to tire them out so they fell asleep in class and got in trouble. He was a bastard like that. Naruto just warmed up silently and got ready for their match. It was a bench vs. starters match.

Naruto easily dribbled past the two men marking him and dunked in the ball right over the opposing team's Center who happened to be shorter then him. As the game continued the bench lost by thirty points. Naruto supposed they were already at a disadvantage against the starters. With him there was no chance of them winning. He had scored forty points on his own much to everyone's awe. He personally didn't see why they were so impressed. He could probably beat the entire team on his own if he wanted to.

Naruto stared out the window during class. He would only pay attention to answer any question asked to him and to occasionally note something down he didn't know. He sat with a group his classmates during lunch and went to volleyball practice after classes were over.

The practice was the same as ever and honestly was probably even more boring then his basketball practice. That was probably since they got to play a match though. If he was truthful to himself he didn't really enjoy Volleyball or basketball much. There was no thrill in it. In the beginning sports had been a nice distraction but simply due to his physical ability he was able to outclass many athletes even at the national and international level. Now he simply kept playing since it was the reason for his scholarship and a good way to spend his time.

After practice Naruto politely declined his teammates offer for dinner and headed out into the city. The dream from earlier was making him feel melancholy.

Naruto spent most of the night wandering the city. Tokyo was interesting city and always full of life but such things didn't seem to attract him anymore. He was… dead inside…

Suddenly he bumped into someone. Naruto automatically steadied himself and said, " Sorry."

The man he bumped into glared at him and said in a slurry voice, " Oay! Watch where your going punk!"

Naruto frowned a bit not like his attitude but held in his anger and said, " I'll remember for future reference."

The man stared at him hard for a few minutes before he gasped loudly and said, " Aha! I knew I recognized you! Your that Uzumaki punk from Tokyo High!"

Naruto noticed a few people were pointing at them and whispering. The man was creating a scene. Naruto sighed and said, " Do I know you?"

The man laughed and said, " Are you make fun of me teme! Your guys crushed our school in the finals last year! And it was all your fault! How do you plan on compensating us for that disgrace!"

Naruto felt a migraine coming on, as it was indeed us. The man seemed to have friends as he saw boys his age with the same uniform. If he had to guess by looking at them they were all intoxicated. He sighed and said, " Look I'd rather not cause a scene and have to deal with the police. You should leave before you get in trouble."

Indeed the street was emptying as people realized a fight was about to break out. He wouldn't blame them. Had anyone else been about to fight he wouldn't have gotten involved. The drunk boy laughed mockingly and said, " Hear that boys! He's telling us to leave before we get in trouble! Lets remind him of the situation he's in!"

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before he said, " If you attack me… I won't show mercy!"

One of them shouted, " You punk!" Before he charged forward ready to beat Naruto down.

Naruto easily caught his highly telegraphed punch and snapped the wrist before throwing him into someone in the group surrounding him. That seemed to be signal as all his friends charged him with shouts of 'Bastard!' Naruto easily repelled his attackers not even moving from his spot giving them various injuries mostly in the form of broken bones. While he was nowhere near the level he had been when he defeated Madara a few high school yakuza wannabe's was no problem.

Suddenly he heard clapping behind him with a rather slurry voice saying, " That was so manly!"

Naruto spun around in surprise. He hadn't sensed anyone there! He saw perhaps one of the most beautiful women he had seen in either the Elemental Nations or Earth. She had long waist length black hair and coal black eyes. She wore a rather revealing purple dress with showed of her rather impressive cleavage. She probably only lost to Tsunade in that department. Her body from what he could see was very firm like that of a high-class athlete. She had a bottle of sake in her hand and was obviously just as drunk as those boys had been. Naruto smiled unsurely at her startled by her sudden appearance and said, " Thank you… I guess."

The woman giggled and said, " How cute! What's your name?"

Naruto finally pulling himself together smiled at her said, " My name is Uzumaki Naruto. What's you name nee-San?"

The woman squealed in delight and yelled, " So kawai! You even called me nee-San! My name is Kazehana! Nice to meet you!"

Naruto wondered just how drunk she was. She didn't even use her full name. Well he supposed it was better that way. A woman to spend the night with would be a nice change after all this hassle and the dream he had earlier. She would be easier to convince if she was that drunk. He kept smiling at her and said, " Are you alone nee-San?"

He kept calling her that since she seemed to like it. He was right on the money as she seemed to glow again before she deflated and said, " Yeah my scary landlady kicked me out of the house for drinking all her sake. Can you believe that!"

Naruto suppressed a laugh as he felt the urge to say he could. Instead he smiled sympathetically and said, " That was mean of her. Why don't I get you some more then nee-San?"

The woman smiled widely and said, " Really! Your the best Naruto-Kun!" As she actually embraced him. Taking it in a stride he easily lead her to a nearby bar. The bouncer didn't bother checking his ID. Like anyone would expect a giant like him to be a high schooler, especially with a girl like Kazehana on his arm.

As the night continued Kazehana drank quite a lot. She had a surprisingly high alcohol tolerance. She retailed him with many stories about her scary landlady and the other tenants of her apartment building. It seemed like it was a rather strange bunch if not slightly fun.

•••••

Naruto carried a sleeping Kazehana into his apartment well after midnight. Her suddenly falling asleep on him had not been how he had pictured the night ending but he supposed it was all right. She seemed like an all right person if he ignored her apparent alcohol addiction. He wouldn't have really felt good taking advantage of her like that. She wasn't some sleazy like he had imagined. She had spent quite some time going on about true love and something called and Ashikabi. Apparently she had been rejected a while back and was feeling down. He could only imagine the type of person who did that. They had to have been gay or something. Still it was the most fun he had had in many years after his 'parents' deaths.

He quietly tucked her into his bed after removing her shoes and went towards his couch. He chuckled as he lay down on it. Who would have imagined that he would end up on the couch of his own apartment.

Next day when Naruto woke up he went to find Kazehana still sleeping. Sighing he decided to wake her despite the peaceful look on her face. He shook her gently and said, " Hey please wake up Kazehana-san. I have to leave soon so you can't sleep all day…"

The woman groaned in her sleep as she got up rubbing her head. No doubt migraine from all the alcohol she consumed yesterday night. She groaned out, " Ah… where am I?"

Naruto smiled sympathetically and said, " Ah you passed out on me yesterday night while drinking so I brought you to my apartment… I did nothing to you though!" He added quickly. He left out that he had been trying to her drunk in the first place.

Apparently a boy's sudden voice able to fully awaken her as she sat up and said, " Who are you? You look familiar…"

Naruto grinned slyly at her and said, " Ohayo nee-San, nice to meet you again. My name is Uzumaki Naruto in case you remember."

She stared at him uncomprehendingly before her eyes widened in recognition and she yelled, " Your that guy!"

She then gripped her head in pain no doubt her yelling causing a headache. Naruto smiled sympathetically and handed her a cup of coffee and said, " Here this should help a bit."

She accepted it with a muttered thanks and drained it fairly quickly. Naruto brought over a pot and said, " There's more if you want."

She smiled in thanks to him and quickly drained a few cups. After she was done Naruto took it back to his kitchen. He could wash up when he came home. Kazehana then smiled a bit awkwardly and said, " Ah well thanks for… looking after me and not taking advantage of me… you have no idea what it means to me." She finished quite seriously.

Naruto smiled easily at her and said, " No problem nee-san. Just don't go and get drunk like that again or you may not be so lucky next time." He had no idea he didn't actually understand just how important it was to her.

She nodded before a playful look came into her eyes and said, " But oh you're so manly! To rescue a maiden like me from such a fate! I think I'm in love!"

Naruto laughed embarrassed by her words and said, " Ah come on nee-San don't tease me!"

She grinned at him and said, " Who is teasing Naruto-Kun!"

Naruto laughed a bit uneasily and said slowly, " Umm I don't really want to sound rude but… could you please leave soon… I have to go to class soon…"

Kazehana blushed in embarrassment not realizing she had been taking up the Naruto's time. She then mock glared at him and said, " My and I thought you were a gentleman! To say such a rude thing to woman! Fine a lady understands when she's not wanted!" She got up in a huff.

Naruto sweated and said, " Ano I'm sorry nee-San! I didn't mean it like that!"

She giggled and said, " Your to cute Naruto-Kun! I understand your situation, don't worry. I have to get back before my landlady kills me anyways… but before I leave! A prize for the young hero from the princess!" She finished giving him a kiss on the cheek before she winked at him and exited his apartment.

Naruto thought over his interaction with Kazehana as he left for morning practice. That was… certainly one of the strangest girls he had ever met. But that wasn't a bad thing. He had again enjoyed himself with her in the morning even if it had been a bit awkward at some points. It was more then any could claim over the last few years. He eventually dispelled her from his mind though. It wasn't like he was ever going to meet her again. She lived farther up north quite a bit of distance from him. He lived near the Center of the city since it was close to his college.

•••••

Kazehana licked her lips as she jumped roof from roof towards Izumo inn. She muttered," Uzumaki Naruto huh… To think I would meet someone so interesting…" She would definitely meet him again!