Chapter 1 - New Beginnings
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only the plotline for this fanfiction.
It was a bright, sunny day as the young ninja emerged from his home in the village of Sunagakure. Gaara's red hair swayed gently in the warm wind that washed over the village's outer walls. As he looked out over the many buildings, he couldn't help but smile at the fact that he was alive. After so many near-death experiences, he thought he would just be finished with life. But something told him to keep going. There was some out there that wanted him to live. That wanted him to survive.
When he was done outside, he walked back into his office in the Kazekage's mansion. There, he took his seat behind the large, sand-colored desk. Papers were stacked in neat piles in both far corners. One was incoming mission requests. The other was for missions that had recently been completed. It seemed the young man had a long day of paperwork ahead of him. This was one of those times where he sort of wished he could hire an assistant to take care of this for him. Either way, he began the paperwork.
It took him near to five hours until he was finished. Now that he was done, it was time for a short break before he had some important business around the village. He stood up and walked around his desk to the door. Opening it, he almost didn't see the man on the other side. Fortunately, he did and brought up a small shield of sand to stop the man in his tracks. It was Kankuro, Gaara's older brother. "Kankuro, what do you need?" He asked, lowering the sand.
Kankuro looked up from the small stack of papers in his hands to look Gaara in the face. "I was told to bring these to you. They are the mission reports from Lady Tsunade of Konohagakure. She says that they are having a festival and we were invited to go. We are to RSVP immediately."
"Does it say what the festival is for?" Gaara asked, wondering whether she would just be throwing a party for the hell of it. He smiled, knowing only the Hokage would do something like that.
"It says that…Lord Jiraiya is back…" Kankuro raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't he the Sannin that was killed by Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki?"
"Yes, he was. But it sounds like someone brought him. We have to go to this festival. They may be happy to have him back and whatnot, but you never know whether this could be a trap. We are the only ones who could figure out what is going on." Kankuro nodded in agreement. "Send a response saying that we will be there and that we require the festival's date and time." Kankuro nodded yet again, and went off to send a reply.
Gaara then left the Kazekage's mansion and began to wander about the village. He greeted everyone he saw, and even struck up a conversation with some of them. By the time he noticed his short break was over, he had managed to travel all the way to the village's entrance. He laughed at how that happened, and then began walking to his first destination.
After some time, Gaara arrived at his old home. He had lived in this house for near to twelve years, since his father had wanted to keep him as far away as possible. He had become so attached to this place in that span of time, and yet, there were so many horrible memories tied to this house. The death of his mother. The death of his uncle. It had always been so painful to return here, but now, those memories had faded away. They were nothing now.
Entering the home, Gaara placed a bouquet of flowers just inside the front door. He then wandered around the small house until he had been in all the rooms. Until he had taken in all of the familiar sights, the lingering scents. He would never forget a place like this.
The Kazekage exited his former home, and then walked towards the marketplace. Before he could reach it, though, Temari came along. Temari was Gaara's older sister. She was carrying something in her arms, something that Gaara could not see. As they approached each other, he could tell that whatever it was, Temari had wrapped it up neatly in a small cloth. "What is that?" Gaara asked his older sister.
Temari smiled as her brother questioned. "It's my new pet. I found the little guy outside the village. It looked like he needed help." She moved the cloth just enough to reveal a small weasel inside. "I couldn't just leave him out there."
Gaara scratched his head, wondering what was going on around here. "Well, we have been summoned by Lady Tsunade for a festival in a short time, and we will be going. It is to celebrate the return of Lord Jiraiya, who died in the fight against Pain, leader of the Akatsuki.
Temari's eyes widened just enough to where the weasel cried out slightly due to her astonishment and sudden aural change. She was happy and relieved to know that Jiraiya was back, but just as suspicious as Gaara had been earlier. "I am going to guess that we are going because you want to find out how he was brought back, correct?"
Gaara nodded. "Yes. Sannin may be the strong ninja of a generation, but that does not mean they can just rise from the dead. Someone brought him back. And whether it is for good or bad deeds, we must find out. We cannot let something like this just slip through our fingers."
"Of course. When is the festival?" Temari asked, covering up the weasel again. She did not want to receive any unnecessary stares from the villagers.
"I have had Kankuro send out a request for the date and time. While we wait for a response, you should help your new pet. From what I saw, it doesn't look like he has much time left." Gaara informed her with a grim expression on his face, despite the news of a festival he had just given her.
"Yes, I know." Temari replied. "So, where are you headed right now? Maybe I can walk with you, since I don't have anything to do at the moment."
"I am going to the markets to see if they require assistance with anything." Gaara answered her question as the two of them began walking, headed in the direction the young Kazekage had previously been moving in.
"Ah, you mean because of the fight last week? Yes, I am sure that they will need help. I was just over there earlier and most of them are still repairing their stands." She said, cradling the weasel and singing to it in a quiet tone. "They will likely appreciate your help."
"And that is why I am going to see them. I am the Kazekage. And unlike our father, I care about our village very much." He spoke of their late father in a condescending tone.
"That man never cared about a thing, Gaara. All he wanted to do was control you for his own greedy ways." She smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "But he was unable to do so. You overcame the trials he put you through. You fought the pain. It is what made you who you are today. Well, that and Naruto Uzumaki's determination to save his friends."
"Yes, Naruto. He is a very good friend to have. And I am glad for it." The thought of Naruto was enough to make Gaara smile and push out the bad thoughts of his horrible father.
As the arrived now in the markets, Gaara could tell the fight last week had caused enough damage to put everyone out of business for a long enough time that they would lose too much money. That was why Gaara had donated a large amount of money to each of the shopkeepers just yesterday to keep them going. And now, here he was, asking if they needed help fixing up their shops or stands.
As Gaara went from stand to stand, doing as much as he possibly could to assist everyone, he noticed that a small creature was following him around. He knew it could not be the weasel Temari had found, because she had wandered off to the hospital. No, this was something different. Something awfully familiar about it. As if he'd seen this creature before. Each time he moved from one stand to the next, the creature would move along just behind him, hiding in each available spot. Gaara had only managed to catch a few glimpses of the creature. It was too fast, yet the boy soon realized he had a way to sneak up behind it.
Making some hand signs, he placed a hand over his left eye and created one just behind the creature. He noticed that the markings were familiar, as well as the aura. Could it be…?
Gaara cancelled the jutsu and lowered his hand. He pretended as if he were headed to the next stand, but instead sneaked down a nearby alley. The creature lost sight of Gaara, and began wandering around the street outside. Gaara got a good, long look at it. It was definitely the creature from the folklore. They called it a Tanuki, or raccoon dog. He now knew where he recognized the markings from. Shukaku had been a Tanuki. That was, until he had been extracted by Akatsuki. But why was this new Tanuki following him around?
Deciding that it was time to get some answers, Gaara jumped out from the shadows of the alley and tackled the small creature. He wrestled with it for a couple seconds, until he could finally get it to succumb. Holding it to the ground, he began to get some stares. But he didn't seem to mind. He only wanted to know what was going on. That was, of course, until he noticed that the Tanuki was badly injured. Great. I just beat up an injured animal. He thought to himself, knowing how this must look. He lifted the animal into his arms, and then began walking away from the crowd. "If you can understand me at all, could you tell me why you're following me around? I don't really like being watched."
The Tanuki placed a paw on its chest, then to Gaara's chest, as if it really did understand him. "You and me? What, are you trying to say we are connected the same way that Shukaku and I were connected?" The Tanuki nodded in response, and that left Gaara to think all the way to the hospital.