Crow's feathers - Naruto fanfiction

Chapter 21 Those that are precious

“I found them,” Hinata announced, “they’re three miles up ahead, but… there’s a strange thing in the clearing. I can’t see what it is.”
“Are they wounded?” Shikamaru asked.
Hinata shook her head. “No… I don’t think so… I don’t know. There’s something strange.”
“We have to move in,” Kankuro said, “Gaara and Taryn are there. Those enemy ninja are after the one tailed beast. We need to get there before they draw him out.”
Shikamaru nodded. “We’re moving in. We’ll take the same formation as we did when we left Konoha, only this time, Sakura will go in the front team. We don’t know how urgently they’ll need medical treatment.” Sakura nodded. Shikamaru looked at Kankuro. “Is there anything I need to know?”
“Be careful,” Kankuro answered, “if they manage to draw out Shokaku, even we don’t know what might happen”

“What’s going on inside?” Naruto asked. He glared at Yodan.
Yodan chuckled. “The cage is made out of steel. The sound waves that are floating through it will resonate throughout the whole cage. Inside, it will magnify ten times. It will slowly drive them insane…  thus driving out Shokaku.”
Naruto grew a horrified expression. He knew exactly what would happen. He remembered last time the one tailed beast had come out. Gaara might have a certain tolerance regarding his sister, Shokaku did not. Naruto wasn’t sure why this was, but the one tail seemed to harbor a deep grudge against her. “You can’t do that!” Naruto shouted at Yodan.
Yodan only laughed. “What did you want to do against it? Huh?”
Naruto gritted his teeth and jumped on top of the cage. He started hitting it with his fists and when that didn’t work he used his kunai dagger.
Nothing worked.
The cage didn’t budge.
He couldn’t even scratch it.
Stubbornly he continued hitting the cage.

Taryn pushed her hands against her ears when the sounds inside the cage became louder and higher. She watched Gaara concerned. He had covered his ears as well, but it wasn’t enough to block out the sound. She wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out. He was already losing focus. She saw it in the way his cramped fingers dug into his skin and the tension in his jaw. He sat slightly hunched and was desperately trying to control himself.
The noise inside was a horrible screeching and Gaara tensed. He started trembling and a faint hint of insanity showed in is eyes. Taryn pulled her hands away from her ears and locked them over his in an attempt to block the sound from him.
“Don’t,” Gaara said through is teeth. It wouldn’t help one bit. She would only get hurt. “Don’t,” he said again, but she didn’t seem to hear him over the sound from the cage. It wouldn’t take long now. He could already feel himself weaken. A little longer and Shokaku would break free. And he would be thrilled to find Taryn locked in with him.
Another sound wave hit him and his head started throbbing. He uttered a scream.
Taryn crawled closer to him, as if her very presence could protect him from insanity.
Gaara’s body shook in an attempt to fight of the one tailed beast. He glanced at his sister. Was that blood coming out of her ear?
Before he could give it further thought, he could feel the transformation beginning.
Taryn gasped when she noticed Shokaku surfacing. The one tailed beast shimmered behind the boy’s eyes and then they flashed back to Gaara’s. He was gritting his teeth and shut his eyes in pain. His body tensed again and Taryn felt nails dig into her arm. She cried out.
Shokaku was back.
Gaara was gone.
Taryn ignored her wounds and concentrated on her brother. She had to prevent Shokaku from breaking out completely.
Gaara screamed again and Taryn locked her arms around him. A dark chuckle rose from Gaara’s throat. Taryn felt herself being thrown aside. She hit the wall of the cage. A little pale she watched as Gaara’s face slowly changed form.

“Let them out!” Naruto yelled while hitting the cage with is fists. He jumped to the ground and kneeled. With his hands he started digging a hole to get underneath the cage.
When Yodan noticed what he was doing, he stopped laughing and attacked Naruto.
Naruto jumped out of the way, but had no other chance to get close to that cage again. He had to protect his own life now or he wouldn’t be of use to anyone.