Crow's feathers - Naruto fanfiction

Chapter 58 Teammates

Taryn stared at her left hand while waiting outside the infirmary until a medic came free. The Sakegari Blade was still lightly tingling. To use it, she would have to get close to Madara. And she would have to wait for the exact right moment.
The question was, could she pull it off?
‘You put too much trust in me, Itachi.’
She sighed. She had sent Kuro to the blacksmith after being healed. Hiro had gone back to the encampment to report their mission and receive new instructions. She wasn’t sure where Yura had gone. Last time she had seen him he had been fighting. Perhaps he was already dead and his body would show up somewhere on the battlefield.
Taryn swallowed. This whole situation was taking its toll on her. She closed her eyes for a moment and leaned back. In the distance she could still hear the sounds of battle.

“Taryn-sama?”
She opened her eyes and stared at the young medic in front of her. She didn’t know him, but wasn’t surprised that he knew her name.
The young man gestured towards the tent. “I can see you now,” he said eyeing her carefully, “unless you prefer a female medic?”
Taryn stood up and shook her head. “I don’t mind,” she said. She was beyond caring about little things like that. She only had minor injuries anyway.
She sat down on a cod and let the medic heal her wounds.

“What news from the front?” she asked, “how many casualties?”

“One thousand on our side by the last report,” the medic informed her, “that was this morning.” He watched her face for a moment and then continued, “the Kazekage was not among them.”

Taryn let out a sigh and nodded at him in thanks. “How about my other siblings?” she asked, “do you know?”
He shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything about them being brought in, but if you want to know, you should inform at Headquarters. They have a list of all known casualties.”
Headquarters. She would have to go there anyway to receive new instructions. And she needed a new set of kunai. “How about Kakashi Hatake of Konoha?” she asked, “or the Hyuuga clan?”
He shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t know.”
She nodded her head and stood up since he had finished healing her.

“Thank you,” she said.
The medic looked at her hesitantly. “You do know, don’t you? He asked, “that you’re… pregnant.”
“I know,” she stated calmly.

“You shouldn’t be fighting.”

“I know,” she said softly, “but I don’t have much choice.” She hesitated. “is… the baby alright?”
He gave a faint smile and nodded.
Taryn sighed and left the tent. There were still a few hours of daylight left. The encampment was a few miles from here. If she wanted to make it before dark, she would have to leave soon.
She had lost count of the days, but it couldn’t have been that long ago that she had lived a relatively peaceful life. She wanted those days back. And she would do anything to make sure her child would live to see those days.
She brought a hand to her stomach. It wouldn’t be much longer before she would start showing.

“Taryn,” someone said surprised.

Taryn  turned around. “Hello Sakura,” she said softly.
The younger girl walked up to her and stared at her silently for a while.
“How is it going?” Taryn asked.
Sakura sighed. ”There are so many wounded. I wish this war was over.”

“Yeah,” Taryn said. She looked at Sakura’s sad expression. ‘You still love him, don’t you?’ she thought, ‘after everything, you still care about Sasuke.’

She placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder and Sakura looked at her surprised.
Taryn gave a rueful smile and walked away. The sooner she would reach Headquarters the better.

***

“I’ve got it!” Naruto cheered.
After many days of intensive training he was finally able to control the nine tailed fox’ power. Bee grinned at him widely and stuck up his thumbs. “Just believe it bro! Why don’t you give it a go!”
Naruto nodded and fused his own chakra with the nine tail’s to perform a perfect Rasengan. The Kyuubi was still resistant, but no longer had the upper hand. He could control the Fox now instead of the other way around. Still, there were some questions that kept spooking through his mind.
“Hey Bee,” he said, “how long do you think we’re supposed to stay here?”
Bee kept silent for a while. He knew what was going on outside, but he was not allowed to tell Naruto. He was only sent here to help Naruto control the Nine Tails, since he himself had learned to control the Eight Tails long ago. It was the Council’s decision and he didn’t agree with it, but he could understand their reasoning. The last of the tailed beasts had to be kept safe. Though he’d rather be out there on the battlefield, protecting those he cared about.
“Bee?” Naruto asked when he didn’t receive a reaction.
Bee gave him another thumbs up. “We’re staying until they say it’s alright. You’ve got the Fox under control, so don’t stop while you’re on a role.”