Gaara's POV
I don't have much chakra left. What do I do? Shukaku is growing more and more impatient.
Shukaku: You can't do it, useless human child.
Shut up!
Shukaku: He's soaring in the sky, mocking your lacking skills. You're too slow. Your team of cowards is hiding beneath the ground. I am all you have left. Let me out!
No.
Shukaku: That's it! I am not going to die because of your stubbornness. I said LET ME OUT!
Aah! Stop! What are you trying to do?
Shukaku: Get out of this cage.
You can't.
Shukaku: Hmpf! You're too weak to hold the seal.
No! I crouched in my cocoon, holding my head in my hands. What excruciating pain! It felt like Shukaku was trying to rip me open from the inside. If Shukaku gets out, everything's over.
I had started sweating red foam. My hands were growing claws.
Gaara-kun, help!
S-Sakura?
Gaara-kun, I am drowning in blood!
I desperately wanted to help, but I couldn't do anything except lose consciousness while Shukaku was taking over my body.
….
Baki's POV
"Gaara-sama!" Oh, no! The beast is out! "Everyone, take cover! Stay out of its way."
One-tail's tail wiggled around trying to squeeze that ant of an enemy in the sky. Deidara was flying around laughing like a mad man.
One-tail raised his left paw and slapped Deidara into the nearest building. The man spat blood. Before he could get up, Shukaku started sending sand arrows towards him. Deidara laughed and hid behind his bird.
"Art is an explosion!" Deidara said before throwing bombs the size of apples tied to white clay feathers that run like the wind towards the beast's nape.
"He's aiming for the weak spot. How does our enemy know us so well?"
Shukaku turned around just in time to take the hit in his chest. He scrunched his nose and grunted in annoyance and pain.
Gaara-sama's head and upper body were exposed on the beast's back. The boy sleeps whenever the beast takes control of his body. Deidara climbed on top of the bird and went straight for the red-head. Shukaku ended up in a defensive position.
"We have to wake Gaara-sama! Gaara-sama! Gaara-sama, wake up!" I shouted with my hands curved on either side of my mouth to help sound travel faster.
Everybody started screaming Gaara-sama's name. None of us like Shukaku, but in our position, we must side with him. The enemy is stronger than we have expected. All the shouting encouraged Shukaku to fight. Deidara lost both feet because he was flying aimlessly, looking behind to check on the enemy and the bird flew right into one of the big nets that the Sunan army had previously set as a trap. Shukaku took advantage and tried to crush him. I think Deidara realized he wasn't going to get out of Suna alive, so he retorted to using his last trick. Using his only hand left, he ripped his shirt open to reveal a red sigil on his chest. Oh, no! Something big is coming!
"Everybody, run away! He's going to explode!"
I heard screaming coming from every direction. Shukaku covered his eyes with his forepaw as the light coming from Deidara explosding his own body and bird blinded him. For a second everything turned white. Then, we heard a loud "Boom!" and afterwards, our eardrums gave in. We were pushed away from the enemy with the force of a tsunami. I was lucky enough not to hit my head on any of the rocks. I looked around after silence settled and noticed the mess Deidara had left behind. Shukaku went back into his cage inside Kazekage-sama after giving a loud howl. Gaara-sama's body fell limply to the ground. There was nothing left of the enemy. Nothing. Not blood, not bones, not clothes. The explosion was so big, nothing 10 feet from the epicenter survived. The nucleus was wiped clean, leaving a crater behind.
…
Sakura's POV
I got lost in the maze of tunnels, but I felt relieved as I couldn't sense Sasuke's chakra or anyone else's for that matter. It's better like this. Maybe Gaara-kun caught him. I wonder if Gaara-kun's bracelet still works regardless of how further down I go. Will it still have signal? It didn't seem to have any issues back when Gaara and I were living countries apart. It should work just fine. Gaara-kun, I pray you win this battle!
Then I got that feeling, like someone was following me. I looked around scared. Do you know the first thing they taught us at the Academy? If you ever feel as if you are being followed, it means you are being followed. I started running away along the corridor. I was far below the ground. There was no one I could run to for help. I hid my chakra signature. I will have to thank Gaara-kun for teaching me how to do it. It's a technique only secret services can use. It isn't common knowledge.
I can't keep running. I will hide and hope Sasuke keeps following the path so I have time to go back up. I hid in a tight hole by the left side of the tunnel. I hugged my knees to my chest to fit inside. I transformed the bracelet and the pendant around my neck into a thin sheet of sand that covered the mouth of the hole almost completely. It became so difficult to breathe! I lowered my heart rate and secretly thanked Tsunade-sama for teaching me how to do it.
Not long after, I heard footsteps. The louder they got, the shallower my breath grew.
A second pair of footsteps followed. Someone screamed. What is going on? Something heavy fell right next to me. My head hurt from the lack of proper Oxygen. Something cold seeped through the sand into my small cave. Blood! I covered my nose. The smell was very strong. I could hear the clink of a sword. Sasuke must be dragging it along the stone floor because it's making a terribly loud sound. At first, blood stained my feet and my right side. Then, it formed a puddle by my feet. Sasuke wasn't going away. As long as he stalls, I can't get out. I'll get killed! When the blood level reached my knees, I felt like puking. Sasuke started yelling:
"Get out! I know you are here. You won't escape this time!"
Blood reached the base of my neck. Sasuke was hitting the walls with his sword in a rage.
"GET OUT!"
I can't tell you the profanities he let out. I was terrified.
Gaara-kun, help me! I am drowning in blood!
I didn't hear his tender voice, but Shukaku's rasp one.
He's gone, girl!
No way. Gaara-kun, please answer me!
Shut up!
I have to go out and check on Gaara-kun. But how? Sasuke is destroying everything. Why don't I have Gaara-kun's teleportation jutsu? This blood…it won't stop flowing.
I heard battle sounds. Sasuke was fighting more men. I recognized Temari's voice at the end, when the fighting subsided.
Temari: "He's unconscious. Tie him up and take him away. I am going to check on my brothers."
"Yes, Temari-sama."
Sounds of shoes hitting the floor sounded lower and lower. I got out of my hiding place, but not fast enough to catch them up. I only saw 2 men dressing Sasuke in a straightjacket before I tried running to the exit. As I was running in my dress soaked, arms and legs red, I thought: I am too far away from surface. It will take forever to get out using the path that had led me here. It will be faster if I go through the ceiling. I infused my feet with chakra to climb the wall and I dug a hole through the ceiling with my hands. There was sand and dirt underneath my finger nails. I hope I get to Gaara-kun on time.
There were 3 ceilings that I had to dig through before I finally saw the sun of Suna. I took a deep breath. Silence everywhere. I ran to where I had last seen Gaara-kun. The dress clung to my legs. It was very unpleasant. I am sure I smell like a sour, but it's not important right now. I don't see Shukaku. That's good! Unless the Akatsuki have already captured him. Oh, no! Please let it not be true!
When I reached the battlefield, I stopped. Men were carrying injured ninja on stretcher. There were craters in the ground. Medics were coming and going, screaming orders. Soldiers were looking for their colleagues under remnants of a building. There was no sign of the enemy, but at the same time there was no sign of Gaara-kun.
"Excuse me." I tried, but the person ignored me. "Excuse…"
"Move! Make way!" the medics shouted.
Luckily, I saw Yuki-san talking to someone.
"Yuki-san, where is Gaara-kun?"
"At the hospital."
"Is he..?"
"Yes, the kazekage is alive."
"Thank God!"
I ran back to the hospital, but it was too crowded, so I exited the building and spied from outside, looking through the windows and find Gaara-kun's room.
"Sakura-sama."
I looked down from the tree I was in.
"Yes?"
"Temari-sama needs you. Please follow me. It's urgent."
"But I haven't found Gaara-kun."
The soldier left and I decided to follow him to the other side of the village. I had never been there. It looked like a different hospital, only this one wasn't crowded. It was clear. I saw Temari-san standing with her left side facing me. Her arms were crossed over her chest. She was angry.
"Sakura! Something's wrong. Our doctors can't find an antidote for Kankurou. He was poisoned."
"Oh, God. Let me have a look."
I didn't dare ask about her other brother because I feared the answer. I hope in my heart that he is still alive.
...
Notes: Thank you so much for your ongoing feedback and support! It looks like parallel stories mixed in a single chapter were a good idea. This chapter is full of unconscious people. War is officially over. Yay! Sasuke is in custody. What happened to Gaara? What is your opinion about this chapter? Also, I am sorry for the long wait. I was busy delivering wedding invitations. How is everyone doing?