The Terror Within

Inu had proven to be a valuable asset in the week since he joined Karasu and Usagi, his sense of smell was just as sharp as Shiro's eyes. Karasu had insisted that if Inu was adamant about invoking his clan's ancient tradition, that he should help he and Usagi with their training. Inu was eager to help, knowing many techniques that allowed them to better bond with the beasts within them. Usagi was eager as well, since she had been having trouble using the Nine-tail's chakra since they met up with Inu.

"Members of my clan enter a pact with wolf spirits that we called O'okami, binding their souls to ours. Not everyone survives the change it causes in us, but the ones that survive the merge learn to become one with the spirit they play host to, to become a part of it even as it becomes a part of them," he explained to them one day.

"Close your eyes and focus on the being inside of you, but do not call it to you. Go to them, go to their space," he said in a gentle voice as they meditated.

Karasu had already done training like this while on the mountain, though he hadn't entered the dragons' space in some time. It was different for Usagi, she was host to a piece of the Nine-tails. The entity within her was nothing but blind rage and hatred, like an animal that's been tormented into being a brutal savage. She was surprised at how easily she reached its space, almost like it was inviting her. She found a dark corridor with water all over the floor, the water's surface rippling to the rhythm of the loud growls coming from further in.

"Come closer, child," she heard a menacing voice growl.

She followed the corridor, reaching the end and finding a massive grate with chains and seal tags all over it. Usagi noticed a faint red glow behind the bars. She leaned closer to get a better look, barely escaping in time as a massive paw with long, sharp claws slammed into the cage.

"Let. Me. Out." It said angrily as it stepped into the light, its lips twisted into a gruesome smile.

"No!" She screamed defiantly.

"You will have to let me out, or you'll have to come in here. How else do you expect to keep using my power?" It asked with an evil chuckle.

"I will never let you run free," Usagi said, trying to be brave even though her body and voice trembled with fear.

"We will see," the piece of the Nine-tails said as it slammed its paw into the gate again, making Usagi jump.

Usagi opened her eyes, leaving behind the dark being within her. She noticed Karasu and Inu looking at her with worried faces. She realized she was drenched in sweat, and her body still trembled after facing the Nine-tails, even if it was only a fragment of the hateful Biju.

"What?" She asked the boys angrily, uncomfortable with the looks they were giving her.

"We've been trying to wake you for a few minutes, but it was like you were trapped. You cried out a couple times," Karasu said.

"Sorry, he's as unfriendly and menacing as ever," she said, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

The group decided to get rest while they could after Karasu shared what the dragons had told him, that a great war loomed on the horizon, led by a foe feared by all that knew his name. He had learned that the masked man was an agent of Uchiha Madara, not the legendary man himself, but that he was planning on resurrecting the terrible Uchiha shinobi and releasing the Ten-tails to bring about a new world. Usagi had trouble falling asleep, seeing the Nine-tail's eyes glowing in the darkness behind her closed lids. When she finally fell asleep, it was fitful and filled with dark visions conjured by the Biju within her.

Karasu and Inu awoke to a vicious roar within their camp, bolting upright and finding Usagi being controlled by the piece of the Nine-tails sealed within her. Her entire body was covered in the fox's chakra, the red aura seething with anger. Before either boy could react to what they saw, Usagi lashed out with the biju's power. The boys barely dodged the arm of chakra that tore through their camp and destroyed everything it touched, the two exchanging a look before closing in to subdue their friend. Karasu activated his Kokuryutei Sharingan to try entering Usagi's mind and resealing the tailed beast's chakra, but the Biju went right for him with its eyes closed as it sensed the change in Karasu's chakra.

Karasu was forced to activate his dragon fire armor to block the attack, the biju striking with enough force to bury him beneath several feet of stone and earth as it slammed him into the ground. He activated Shiro's sight in his left eye, using the white dragon's all-seeing sight to get past Usagi's closed eyes and project himself into her mind. He found her bound just as the piece of the fox's spirit had been, her body covered in thick chains. His eyes went wide as he realized that he had found Usagi inside the fox's cage while it ran rampant in her mind, trying to tear down every defense she had in order to escape from its living prison. Karasu turned, ready for a fight, when he heard the fox's spirit slamming into the gate behind him.

"I knew I smelled the vile stench of an Uchiha!" It roared angrily as it continued to batter the gate, trying to reach Karasu and Usagi.

"I won't let you have her," Karasu growled, feeling his anger rise as the fox's spirit continued to try forcing its way in to tear them apart.

"And just how do you expect to stop me? I can see from here that you don't possess the Mangekyo," it said with an evil chuckle.

"Like this," Karasu said as he activated both dragon's eyes simultaneously.

The Nine-tail's fragment took a half step back as black and white flames swirled around Karasu and took on the dragons' shape around him. Tendrils of Koku's black fire crept towards Usagi, melting through the chains that held her. The moment Usagi was free, Karasu grabbed her and shot past the Biju fragment. He gently laid her down before turning and launching himself at the spirit, using the Gentle-fist variation that Shiro had taught him to send the fox's spirit back into its cage. As the gate slammed shut behind it, Shiro's white flames sprang out from Karasu and formed a new seal to keep the fox from escaping.

Your use of the Dragon Fist style is getting much better. Shiro said to Karasu through his white flames, a wisp appearing in the shape of the dragon's head.

Karasu exited Usagi's mind, finding her unconscious and free of the fox's malevolent influence as he returned. She stirred slightly, sitting up groggily before bursting into tears. Karasu knew she would remember what happened, the fox always revelled in showing her the destruction it wrought with her body. He remembered the first time she had been taken over while traveling with him, an event that nearly cost them both their lives in their inexperience.

"Is it over?" Inu asked warily, his features somewhat lupine in his half-transformed state.

"For now," Karasu said, laying beside Usagi as her sobs quieted and sleep took her once more. His mind was on the looming war as he fell asleep.