Been wanting to get back into writing for a while now, but constantly found myself unable to put any words on 'paper'. The idea for this story came completely out of nowhere, while I was at work. A concept I never thought about writing before, meaning both the crossover matter as well as the Fem Naruto bit. I really liked the idea though and even during work I found myself planning out large parts of the story in my head already.

It is very different from my first story, which sadly is unlikely to be continued at this point. That one I practially forced myself into, just for a desire to write. I kept losing 'connection' with it and never really had a longterm idea for the story. This time, in an unexpected spur of inspiration, I have a pretty solid idea of where to go with it.

Also I'm not quite as concerned with staying loyal to the 'rules of physics' in the cannon in either universe. Giving my own whirl to several things, rather than restricting myself. Naruko's story leading up to the start of this one is a mix of cannon-ish and completely non-cannon events, some will get explained while some might not be.

Few important points to mention: I've amped up the ages a little. Naruko will be 19 years old by the start of the story. She will also have a lot more mature side to her with quite an analytical mindset, without taking away from her more fun-loving / cheeky side.
While she herself isn't overly profound with seals, Naruko did learn enough from Jiraiya on the matter to have seals engraved upon both her arms that are not actually visible on her skin without Naruko actively pumping chakra into them. Mostly storage seals. The Death Reaper Seal will no longer appear on her abdomen either.

The first chapter ended up a bit slower paced than I originally intended, with less active interaction and much more description of things. Hope people will enjoy it nonetheless and I look forward to progress through this story a lot.

Rated M for the occasional bit of language and possible suggestive themes.

Last but not least! Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor Sekirei!

Chapter 1: The end of the Fourth Shinobi War

Numb.

That was the best way to describe her current state as she stared at the pink-haired body laying not far from her, motionless. A scorched, gaping hole in her chest with blood still seeping from the gruesome wound from around the scorch-marks.

She was well aware of the person standing a fair distance away from her and she knew, she just knew, he had that disgustingly smug grin on his face. Despite this however, she could not pull her eyes away from the lifeless body of her team-mate and one of her best friends. Dead, because she had dropped her guard thinking it was finally over. Of course it wasn't. He was still alive after all.

Slowly she looked up from the motionless form of her team-mate to her former team-mate. Eyes narrowing slightly while, other than that, she kept her expression neutral. Struggling to keep a clear, calm mind as the numbness started to be replaced as seething anger and a deep sorrow welled up inside of her. Before her stood none other than the very person she brought down the seemingly invincible Uchiha Madara with. Sasuke.

'How could I have been so stupid... He never had a change of heart. We simply had a common goal, to stop Madara at all costs.' Naruko thought bitterly as glared straight into Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, not at all worried about any Genjutsu he might intend to use. If the arrogant bastard was even considering trying at all. Not that it would work, not anymore.

Shortly after the two of them had finally managed to kill Madara once and for all, when she thought the was was finally over Sasuke had seen his moment to strike. She noticed too late, and instantly knew she would not be able to dodge the Chidori aimed straight for her chest in time. Then it happened, a flash of pink shot into her view as Sakura placed herself between the two in the nick of time. It seemed Sakura had not missed Sasuke's intentions, unlike herself.

"You... Bastard..." were the pinkette's last words as she hacked up an obscene amount of blood. Cocking her right arm to strike at the man she had so long harbored feelings for, intending to at least break his jaw before she would die. Sasuke was quick to overcome his own surprise however and dislodged his hand from Sakura's chest and leaped back. Sakura collapsed almost instantly as her last few ragged breaths left her.

And now there he stood before her, grinning almost gleefully as every so often his right hand would twitch in anticipation. His weariness and battered state seemingly a thing of the past, adrenaline surging through him for what was to come. Yet it was obvious he felt entirely content in dragging out this standoff for as long as it lasted, now that he couldn't catch her off guard anymore.

She felt similar in a way. However for her it wasn't the gleeful anticipation, but outright hatred and disgust for the man before her. Exhaustion seeping out of her as she steeled herself for one last confrontation, one last piece of filth that needed to be eradicated before peace could be possible.

"Why so surprised, Naruko? I told you I was going to be the next Hokage once this war was over. Something that will never happen with you still alive to contest the position. A pity that Sakura decided to get in the way. But then again... She did always have a knack for that." Sasuke said in his cold, emotionless tone. Naruko could clearly sense the undertone of glee hidden in his words however, almost as if he preferred this outcome over the initial one.

Naruko didn't allow herself to respond to the Uchiha's words. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of riling her up. That was simply something she couldn't afford, certain that he would get the best of her now if she lost her cool and charge him in a fit of rage . No, she needed to stay calm and ignore his taunting words. She would stifle the burning rage inside of her, still the sorrow in her heart. Then... Then she would destroy him.

Eight pair of feet, along with a set of animal paws, landed behind Naruko and she could practically feel the mealstrom of emotions rolling off of them all as they stared at the scene. Shock, horror, disbelief, anger, sorrow, disgust. She could feel it all, in no particular order or combination.

"S-Sakura..." Ino murmered, barely finding herself able to say even so much. Though they had often been at odds with each other when they were younger, the two of them had always been best friends. Killed by the very person they squabbled over so much in the past. She couldn't stop the tears from falling as it took all she had to not just break down entirely.

Kiba squinted his eyes shot and turned his head away, fighting back tears as Akamaru whined sadly. Anger soon overtook their grief as both of them began to growl fiercely in the direction of Sasuke, trembling in rage. "Y-you... Bastard!" he roared through his gritted teeth, eyes burning angrily. He was held back only by Naruko's stoic form in front of them. They would not move before she did.

Lee felt an eerie cold inside of him, as if his heart had just been pierced and left a hole there that would never fully heal. Aside from right before the first test of the Chunin Exams, he had never really bothered her with requests for a date or such. But he had always had a crush on the pinkette, since that first time he laid eyes on her. He knew she didn't return his feelings, but he had hoped... That she would look his way eventually. Now she never would. 'Sakura-san... I never got the chance to tell you. I love you.' he said deep in his thoughts, a tear rolling down his right cheek.

With a hand over her mouth, Hinata stifled the sobs that threatened to erupt from her dry throat. Her shoulders shaking as she cried silently. First Neji, who had sacrificed himself for her and Naruko. And now Sakura as well. Not to mention the countless of lives that had been lost during the Fourth Shinobi War. 'How many more must die before this nightmare is finally over?' she asked herself. Looking up at the Uchiha her eyes began to harden and she steeled herself. It would end here, she told herself.

With his right fist, Choji roughly tried to wipe away the tears from his cheeks as he looked at the still form of Sakura. He was shocked when Neji had died, dearly hoping no more of his friends would die in this horrible war. Now one of his former class-mates lay dead on the ground. Killed by another of their class-mates no less. As he struggled to regain his composure he turned his gaze towards the man in front of them all, a steely determination forming.

Shikamaru had his head bowed down and eyes screwed tightly shut, fists clenched at his side. Once again he had to watch a comrade die, completely helpless from the sidelines. War truly was a waking nightmare. So many lives lost, even more so than in all three previous wars combined. After saying a silent prayer for the pinkette he steadied himself, glaring towards the Uchiha with conviction burning in his eyes. He would fight, now and after the war. Fight for a lasting peace, so that no-one would ever have to experience war again.

Tenten bit her lower lip as she fought back her tears. She couldn't believe was had happened, one moment they were all celebrating the victory over Madara and the next moment Sasuke lunged at Naruko with a charged Chidori. Only to be intercepted by Sakura, sacrificing herself much like her own team-mate and crush had done during the early assaults of the Juubi. Just one look at Sasuke, his almost gleeful grin in particular, made her tremble. She just wanted it to end already, all these lives being lost because of those madmen. Her eyes snapped towards their enemy as she felt herself and her comrades next to her fill with determination.

The ever stoic Shino stood rigid in his spot, shoulders trembling slightly as he silently mourned the loss of his comrade. Though he never got really close to any of his comrades, he never considered them as anything less than close friends. His insects buzzed lightly, reacting to his sullen mood. 'Sakura-san... I will always remember your honorable sacrifice, and I hope you will find rest in the afterlife my friend.' When he finished his silent prayer he composed himself, though one could hardly tell he even lost it at first glance, and prepared himself to finally end this.

They had each taken a moment to mourn before eventually turning their gaze towards the Uchiha. They had felt helpless in the absolutely insane battle against Madara, but no more. This time, they would stand right by Naruko to support her against their final enemy.

Cerulean blues stared into the sickly gray of the Eternal Mangekyou's, neither of the two rivals moving even a single muscle other than taking slow and subtle breaths. Naruko had schooled her sharply sculptured features into a calm, neutral expression as she patiently waited for Sasuke to move first. She couldn't afford to move carelessly with those accursed eyes so focused on her.

As she had expected, he hadn't even made the slightest of efforts to place a Genjutsu on her. Either he was every bit as arrogant as she suspected, judging by his attitude, or he had figured it out himself that it simply wouldn't have worked on her anymore. They had always been her weakness, after all. That ended when she and Kurama finally made peace and joined forces. Though at that point, the fighting had long gone past the point where majority of Genjutsu had any use.

Kurama, however, was no more. Another soul that was lost to this endless nightmare. At one point during their confrontation with Madara himself he had succeeded in extracting the Kyuubi from her entirely. She could still remember the hollowness that had become the only thing she remained aware of, while Gaara rushed her away from the front as fast as he could.

The only reason she still drew breath now was because of her father's sacrifice and the help of Kurama's other half that was still sealed within himself. She hadn't quite been able to wrap her head around how that was possible exactly, nor had she had the time to think much on it. She wasn't about to complain, as it was what ended up saving her life and restoring the Shinobi Alliance's fighting chance.

Minato and the Kurama-half sealed inside of him had worked together swiftly to completely transfer the Kyuubi over to Naruko, replacing the half that Madara had extracted from her moments earlier. The second time her father sealed half of the Kyuubi inside her, and the second time it was at the cost of his own 'life'. Not even his reanimated existence could endure through that. At least this time, at the very last moment as his body disintegrated, they had been able to speak a few quick parting words. It had barely been more than an exchange of 'I love you' s but to her, that meant a lot.

As soon as she was able, she got back to her feet and sped back towards the epicenter of the conflict with Kurama filling her in on what had happened exactly. And of his much-to-quickly-formed half-assed idea of a plan. Drawing out his other half back from the Gedo Statue before he it would transform again. No matter what, he gave no details other than saying he had a plan and she was too stupid to understand anyhow.

Oh, but she understood it just fine now. Madara had been falling back into the same cliché mistake so many 'I am mighier than thou' types seemed to make. Being arrogant and toying with his prey a little in their supposed final moments. She happily took advantage of the fact he seemed to not register her continued existence at all and in a flash, she was right next to the accursed Gedo Statue.

Smacking her open palms into the statue as per Kurama's instructions and let him carry out his plan. When he told her to pull on his chakra inside of her as hard as she could, she was expecting another chakra tug-o-war. But it never came. At least, she figured, not for her personally. Both halves of Kurama had taken that job upon themselves.

She didn't exactly know how but the end result made it overly clear to her what the plan had been. The Gedo Statue would have pulled on the Kyuubi's chakra with immense force, most likely more so than they would have been able to overcome. All it ended up extracting from her however, had been Kurama's soul. Thus leaving his chakra inside of her. As his soul was drawn into the statue, the half of the Kyuubi chakra that had already been inside the Statue was drawn out. The absorbed half of Kurama inside must have had the very same idea, being of the same whole.

And then there she stood, once again the 'Kyuubi Jinchūriki'. But not of half it's chakra this time, rather the entirety of it. Completely at her disposal as she could practically feel it harmonize with her own chakra. It was then that it had hit her exactly what had happened. Kurama, the feared Kyuubi no Kitsune, the most powerful of the nine Bijuu who had for such a long time been lost in his rage and hatred for humans, had sacrificed himself. For her.

With tears in her eyes she was forced to jump away, dodging Madara's enraged attack when he finally noticed what was going on. It had given a small form of satisfaction to see his face so twisted in absolute fury at that moment. Apparently, having a Bijuu's chakra forcefully extracted from it was as bad for the Gedo Statue's health as any normal extraction was for a Jinchūriki. Unknowingly, to her at the very least, the sudden extraction of Kurama's chakra had disrupted the Statue's transformation into the Juubi and caused it to fall into a seemingly docile state.

It would be fair to assume it needed the Kyuubi's chakra to fix the damage she and Kurama had dealt to it. Which proved to be far more difficult to obtain now that Kurama's existence itself, was no longer there to latch on to.

That development signaled that the Fourth Shinobi War had at last reached it's climax. With the Gedo Statue temporarily out of the picture all that was left was Madara. And it soon became obvious that there were only two people left who had any capacity of standing up to the absurdly powerful man. Herself and Sasuke.

She had never forgiven his betrayal to Konoha. There were two reasons she kept pursuing him, and neither had anything to do with him becoming a team-mate again. First: She promised Sakura, and she'd be damned if she broke that promise despite her disgust for the man. Second: It was her fault that he gotten away in the first place. She failed to stop him, and it was her responsibility to drag his ass back to serve justice for his actions. Beaten and broken if need be.

Despite her feelings for the Uchiha however, they had worked in perfect unison together as they took on Madara. Their teamwork was better than it ever was and they continuously covered each other from Madara's unrelenting, overwhelming assaults. The battle had been both long and brutal to the absolute extreme. Massively large-scale jutsu were thrown back and forth as if they were nothing. Neither of the three ever tiring out.

Naruko in particular had been entirely impossible to tire out, now having the total of Kurama's chakra at her disposal. During the arduous battle she needed to drastically adept her entire manner of combat as she found herself unable to revert back into her Kyuubi Chakra Mode that she used throughout the war. Without Kurama's consciousness his chakra had become more a secondary chakra system for herself rather than anything else. She had remarkable control over it despite the vastness and potency of the chakra, but either it was not enough or she did in fact need Kurama's conscious aid to 'turn on' her Kyuubi Chakra Mode. She sure as hell didn't have time to figure that out during the fight though!

This of course meant no effortless passing around of Kurama's chakra, which luckily seemed unnecessary for Sasuke. She also was unable to form any more Bijuudama's in this state either, which was a tremendous setback. A setback she continuously negated more and more as the battle progressed with her ingenious ability to adapt, combining both of the chakra's for all manner of jutsu in a very similar fashion as she would with a Bijuudama.

The battle had, undoubtedly, scarred the lands for the rest of existence. The Shinobi Alliance had retreated as a whole several times over the course of the battle as more and more of the landscape was turned into a massive collection of craters. At the center of the far-stretching wastelands ridden with more craters and still burning patches of the black flames, were the possibly three most powerful Shinobi since the Sage still locked in their unrelentingly brutal battle.

After what had felt like several eternities, they had done it. With flawless teamwork and timing they had eventually managed to break Madara's gigantuous Sasanoo and ended it with absolute efficiency, leaving nothing to chance. Sasuke had pierced his heart with his Chidori, clearly a form of killing he enjoyed a lot, while Naruko had slammed a dual-chakra powered Rasengan to the back of Madara's head. Even he would not be getting back up from that.

It was not long after Madara's lifeless body had fallen to the ground that both survivors of the arduous battle gave each other a weak, trembling thumbs up. They stared for several long moments at the dead man before eventually, she turned her back to the last remaining Uchiha. Towards where she felt the chakra signatures of her friends. And it was in that same moment that Sasuke had finally decided to once again show his true colors as the traitor he was put into the Bingo Book for.

And now they were here. Bodies unmoving and eyes still locked on one another's, both of them recalling the path that led them to this apparent inevitability whilst never losing the focus on their opponent. At the end of this, only one would remain standing. That person would be the next Hokage without doubt, be it by popularity of by force. That person would be key figure in leading the Elemental Nations into a new future, one through peaceful co-operation and the other by forceful demand of said co-operation.

As one, they began to mold their chakra into their right hands. Both charging up their respective signature jutsu. Slowly, as if to savor the end, they pumped more and more chakra into their jutsu. Condensing it further and further as they put everything into this one move. This was not going to be a battle. This was one showdown, the true climax of the Fourth Shinobi War. A repeat of the climax of their fight years ago, at the Valley of the End.

Naruko remembered it well. Sasuke's Chidori had overcome her Rasengan and was driven into her chest. But before that, the initial clash of their jutsu, which were laden with their instable, negative-emotions-filled chakra, had caused a tremendously destructive discharge. The blackness that surrounded them for that brief moment felt like it was threatening to distort reality. Something she had never experience before, nor since, that moment. Then again, it wasn't often that two moves of such immense chakra density clashed head-on.

That was years ago. They were both infinitely more powerful right now, there simply was no comparison anymore to the two rivals that duked it out at the Valley of the End and the two titans that stood across one another today. Naruko could only imagine the result of their jutsu colliding to be...utterly cataclysmic.

With that thought firmly in mind she began to pump obscene amounts of Kurama's chakra into the Rasengan, condensing it's form even further while also keeping it stabilized. At the same time she used her own chakra to pour her air element into the ball of chakra, steadily yet at a very rapid pace. She was not going to form her Rasenshuriken, certain that that would more than likely kill them both. Nor was she too certain of her ability to keep it stable without clones or the chakra arms from her Kyuubi Chakra Mode.

'This... Ain't gonna be pretty.' she thought bitterly. In their entire battle with Madara, not once had two jutsu of such magnitude directly collided like they were about to. 'Not pretty at all.'

Never losing her focus on the dual-stream of chakra pumping into her Rasengan, she spoke in a firm commanding tone. "Take Sakura and get the hell out of here!"

"What?! No way, we're done sitting back!" yelled Kiba furiously, his fist raised at the blonde. Akamaru growled in agreement.

"Troublesome blonde... Why do you insist on shouldering everything by yourself?" was Shikamaru's agitated reply.

"Naruko-san, we are all here to support you. You are not alone. Why? Because we are comrades, we fight together." came from Shino, stoic as ever. Though even he seemed peeved at Naruko's demand they leave.

Gritting her teeth angrily, Naruko's right eyebrow twitched at the same time a vein on her forehead began throbbing.

"Naruko-san, you are my eternal rival! Therefor it would be most unyouthful if I would allow you to shoulder this burden on your own any longer!" shouted Lee in his usual loud voice.

"B-but... He killed Sa-"

"I said get the hell out! NOW!" Naruko snapped, cutting Ino and anyone else's complaints off. "Take Sakura and GO!" she yelled once more, ending all debate.

A moment of silence surrounded the eight peers, only for Hinata to be the first one to move. Dashing in to grab a hold of Sakura's body, offering Naruko one slight nod before jumping back to behind the line of her friends. "Please come back alive... Naruko." she whispered quietly before she sped off towards the edge of the crater where the majority of the Alliance still stood.

The remaining seven soon followed, bowing their head slightly at Naruko and offering her a few quiet words before setting off after Hinata.

Sasuke sneered as his former class-mates ran away. They were going to be bothersome in his claim to Hokage after he dealt with the blonde. Bothersome, but ultimately little more than that. They would not be able to stand against him anyhow. His lips soon curled back into a smug grin. "How noble of you, Naruko. Dying all alone for your friends. A Jinchūriki to the very end." he said in a cold, emotionless voice.

Black colored lightning coiled around his right hand, the normal chirping sound of the chidori giving way to much the lower rumbling of a distant lightning storm. His grin spread wide, much like Madara's had at several occasions, as he began to cackle madly. This was it! The ultimate proof of his superiority, one last glorious showdown against the wretch that considered herself his equal!

Naruko completely ignored Sasuke's words, remaining as motionless as they had been since they locked eyes. The sound generated from her rapidly spinning Fuuton: Rasengan joining in the rumbles of the Chidori announcing it's state of completion. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she twitched in her spot, once.

Then they both exploded in motion, in a flash they were in range and thrust their jutsu forward. Chidori colliding with an air element enhanced Rasengan and the result was immediate. The obscene amount of chakra discharging from the collision shredding the ground beneath them violently. Around them the air itself twisted and warped as they were enveloped in a solid, pitch-black sphere of chakra. Their shouts of their respective jutsu echoing far beyond the blackness.

"CHIDORI!" "RASENGAN!"

Then it happened. The last thing Naruko was consciously aware of was her Rasengan shredding into Sasuke's hand before the unstable chakra all around them erupted with the force of multiple natural disasters. All went black as an explosion greater than any before rocked the earth, the shockwave causing the ground to tear at the epicenter as it thundered outward. The force of the explosion reaching far enough to violently knock down many of the Shinobi gathered around the edge of the already massive crater, only few having the chakra left to keep themselves upright. A single lone figure rocketed out from the core of the explosion, body completely shredded and scorched as it tore through the earth for several dozen feet before coming to a stop.

As the near cataclysmic explosion finally subsided after what felt like an eternity, all that was left was the crater where that explosion started. As wide as it was before, but much deeper with a large tear at the center. A scar in the land that would not heal even in a thousand lifetimes.

When the dust cleared, across the entire wastelands of the crater only one body could be made out, the one that had been catapulted out of the epicenter at the moment of the eruption, mangled and scorched as it was. Almost entirely unrecognizable, one thing was clear. The corpse was that of a male.

That's chapter one done. Hope you enjoyed it, please feel free to share your thoughts in a review!