Chapter 6
A Monster

The early hours of morning arrived.

A strange commotion in the village streets suddenly burst through the calm atmosphere. Phases of monstrous snarling and barks alarmed all those around the bustling village center. The sound was difficult to ignore. Even those within the Kazekage's estate could hear the noise, the councillors and their attendants peering outside to catch a glimpse of the racket. Growing annoyed by the sounds of people running on their feet to see what was outside, Kankuro approached the window of their living room to see what was gravitating everyone's attention. He was hardly an hour out of bed, his face-paint not yet applied and sleep still clinging to his tired eyes as he rubbed them.

This better be good, Kankuro tsked, I lost a few extra hours of sleep thanks to this crap.

A sight suddenly caught his eye. "What the-?! What the hell is that?" He turned to the hall at his back. "Did either of you see this? Something's attacking our shinobi in the village plaza!" He turned back to the window, his attention locked on the distant figure. "No wonder the councillors are all panicked."

Curious from his brother's words, Gaara made his way towards him from across the rug-covered floor. Narrowing his eyes, he peered into the village streets from their view. The brothers scanned for what was causing the commotion, but all they saw were villagers cowering and running away while the few courageous ninja tried to counter the unknown force with no success. Then a white silhouette was seen - large and monstrous. Upon seeing it, their eyes widened. Barging through the crowds of Suna-nin and destroying shops was a large white wolf. Standing larger than a horse with strong and agile limbs, it leapt over the shinobi who were trying to tame it. Throwing rope and kunai towards the beast, the brave ninja aimed for its sharply clawed paws that tore through the earth below with each lunge. But the wolf's keen yellow eyes saw them coming towards it. Viciously, it lashed out at them, knocking them out into the crowd of on-lookers – unrelenting. The wolf was in a frenzy, blinded by pure rage.

"A wolf?" Kankuro asked himself, bewildered. "This is really weird… what's going on? There's no wolves in this desert... none!"

"Strange." Gaara agreed.

Wolves were never seen in their desert lands - only the odd jackal and wild dog dared to roam the sand-ridden hell they called home. Wolves were known to the forests of the Land of Rivers to the east, but they never came so close to the village. Perplexed by the sight, he remained silent and glared at the wolf from a distance in unnerved suspicion. The only time he ever witnessed a wolf in the village was when he met Nomasaki's feral gaze months ago. Were the two wolves connected? His mind suddenly jolted - remembering the story Nomasaki told him of her foreign clan. They are, he realized. Abruptly, he started for the door.

"Hey-," Kankuro called after, confused. "Where are you going-?!"

The chaos was louder as they approached the front of the crowd.

Close behind with his puppet scroll strapped to his back, Kankuro followed Gaara as they weaved through the mass of onlookers in the plaza. Reaching the front, they saw the large beast knock away countless opponents with ease. Its snarls filled the air with each strike upon its foe, and the ninja it flung slammed into barrels of flour and carts full of merchant goods. Many of them were rendered unconscious. The puppet corps was standing idly by, waiting for the opportune time to strike on command – as accordingly, Kankuro wanted to lend a hand. But when to attack the beast was a tactic they had to think of on the fly.

"Quick! Out of the way!"

"Kankuro-sama," One of the puppeteers signalled. "We'll launch our attack momentarily. Wait for the signal."

Kankuro nodded, getting his scroll ready. "Got it."

"The ANBU uncovered the bodies of those who were guarding the gates early this morning." The puppeteer said, glaring towards the beast. "There was blood everywhere... I never seen anything like it. Our superiors think this monster might be the cause."

"Are you serious?" Kankuro questioned. "In that case, we should put this thing down. Don't you think?"

The puppeteer shook their head. "Our orders are to capture - not kill. Council's orders."

Gaara eavesdropped without them noticing, watching the beast fend off foe after foe. He remembered sensing a presence entering the village the night before as he left his post, but the presence was as silent and still as still water. If it were the wolf that entered, it would have been heard first before being seen. No doubt in his mind the one who entered had the necessary skill to be hiding amongst the shadows of night and remain as silent as they carried out their work. And there was more than one, if any, He reminded himself - and the lack of blood on the wolf's white muzzle only convinced him more. He found himself scanning the crowd around him for the foreigner with the purple eyes - but she was nowhere to be seen. If the wolf was connected to Nomasaki and her clan, she would have shown. Why isn't she here? Her absence was an alarming sign that something was terribly wrong about the situation.

With great strength, the wolf lashed out at more of the advancing Suna-nin, knocking them away within the blink of an eye while its growls ripped through the very air around them. Threateningly, as its muzzle flared, the wolf glared at the crowd before it. Barring its pearl white fangs as it snarled, it awaited its next brave challenger. Snarling under its breath, the beast scanned the faces and chakra of the frightened villagers and shinobi surrounding it - and found Gaara. Shukaku stirred and awoken in Gaara's core, growing excited from seeing such a monstrous creature. Not now, He pushed back, Stay silent. But Shukaku pushed further. Even Gaara had to admit facing the beast would make for an interesting conflict. I'll restrain it, He decided, Nothing more. Meeting its carnivorous gaze, he stepped forward and accepted its vicious challenge - and Shukaku grew pleased with its gnawing stirs for the prospect of battle.

"Wait, Gaara!" Kankuro called out, grabbing his arm. "You know you're only just learning how to control Shukaku! If you push yourself -,"

"I'm fine." Gaara said, narrowing his eyes at the growling wolf waiting for him to enter the fray. The beast was taunting him. Shukaku stirred again, enticed. Even just the mere mention of the tanuki provoked a motion, it seemed. "I can handle this. Trust me."

Gaara shrugged his shoulder draped in burgundy fabric and mesh out from his brother's hand and moved on. Biting his tongue, Kankuro's gaze remained on him – his eyes visibly concerned. Understanding, he watched him approach the beast that awaited its next foe as its licked its muzzle in anticipation. Somehow, Gaara managed to convince him that he did have it under control - but for how long was a question better asked sooner or later. Kankuro would not let it go past him. Gritting his teeth, Kankuro looked on and wondered what could have possessed him to want to challenge such a strange monster. Alone, Gaara stood dwarfed before the great wolf with his arms crossed against his chest as murmurs sweeping throughout the crowd of terrified onlookers.

"He's going to fight the wolf?"

"Is he mad?!"

"That wolf's no match for Gaara!"

"I don't know. The wolf's pretty strong…"

With narrowed eyes, Gaara glared at the wolf - calm, collected, and ready to fight – placing Shukaku's gnaws of his psyche on the backburner. Suddenly, the wolf lunged out at him with its fangs and claws, diving directly towards him in a ghostly wave of white. The beast was inexplicably fast and strong in strength, its body causing destruction wherever it went. Quickly, he dodged the wolf's attack, and with a movement of his arm, a stream of sand flew from the gourd on his back and swam along the winds towards the beast with powerful agility. Surprising the crowd as they cowered from its shadow, the wolf evaded his sand - lunging towards him again in fierce strength.

With quick thinking, Gaara moved his arm in front of him, sending a stream of sand in its direction. Shocking the wolf, the sand knocked it away with surmountable force – sending it into a wooden cart, shattering it into a thousand pieces. Once the wolf was far enough away, Gaara placed his palms onto the ground below – resisting the urge to crush its limbs with his Sand Coffin jutsu. Shukaku whispered in his ears but he paid the tanuki no mind. Before the wolf could gather itself from its fall, sand grabbed its limbs and swirled around its paws - restraining the beast to the hot earth at their feet. Rearing its head towards him, the beast gave a vicious snarl from its closed jaws – its eyes boring through Gaara as he stood uninjured and unconquered.

"Puppet corps!" The main puppeteer signalled. "Ready your strings! And...NOW!"

Snapping as the plumes of blue chakra strings wrapped around every patch of white fur, the wolf was finally caught. Foaming from its sealed mouth, the beast writhed and growled as it tried to escape from its prison. Pausing beside him to look at the wolf more closer, Kankuro looked to his younger brother. He did maintain control - that he was convinced - but something about the way he stared at the wolf seemed to beg his curiosity.

"Gaara?" Kankuro asked.

"It wasn't the wolf that did it." He answered. "There's no blood on its jaws... This isn't the enemy we should be hunting."

Kankuro's glanced narrowed. "Who do you think done it, then? There was no trace of invaders detected by the Sealing Corps or border patrol." His memory jolted, turning to his brother. "Wait - you were on border duty last night with that outsider, right? Did you see anything?"

Gaara nodded. "An assassin attacked and... -," I hurt her and Shukaku had a brief escape. "We didn't see or encounter any more after that one. The headband of the one who attacked was belonging to the Land of Claws, Ishigakure."

"Ishigakure? Why would they be intruding our borders? They're days away and our village hasn't bothered with them since the First War."

Gaara bit his tongue before he could say more. Giving in, his expression grew suspicious as he looked into the wolf's eerie yellow eyes. "The village the outsider came from was invaded by Ishigakure. They might have been after her."

Kankuro flinched. "The outsider?" Growing frustrated, he smirked and eyed the beast. "Damn it all. The one time we let a foreigner in and they cause trouble already... The elders will be pissed, not to mention they'll be pissed with you - since you brought the damn outsider here in the first place."

Gaara ignored the jab. "She's not here. If she were, that wolf would never have caused such an uproar." Examining the wolf's feral and threatening expression, he glanced at the white beast and pondered many things. She's gone, He thought, They took her - whoever it was. Ishigakure had something to do with it, no mistaking it.

The wolf's jaws snarled, its nostrils flaring. "Where…"

Jarring them, Kankuro and Gaara's eyes widened, looking at the beast in astonishment. "It can speak?" Kankuro spat.

The wolf's growl grew louder. "Where is she…? Where… is she?! WHERE IS SHE!?" Its large ghost-white body thrashed about, trying to resist the powerful grasp from the sand and puppet strings that fastened it to the ground. Glaring at the Suna-nin that surrounded it, the wolf's muzzle curled in disgust. "What did you do to her?! Where did you hide her?! I can sense her chakra radiating within this village! Where did you hide her, you bastards!?"

"What on earth… is it talking about?!" Kankuro stammered, shocked at its verbal spurts. "It can't be...? That outsider -!?"

Gaara's ringed-eyes narrowed, understanding the wolf's speech-laden growls. The wolf was searching for Nomasaki after all - just as he suspected. What else would cause a large brute wolf to arrive in Suna, where the largest canids are the desert jackals? It all began to make sense. The odd feeling he felt last night when he sensed the presence, the slain Sunagakure ninja by the gates, the monstrous wolf – it all pointed to the foreigner.

"Nomasaki," He nodded, his eyes looking at the beast in stoic understanding. "From the Yamamori clan, of Yamagakure."

Surprised, Kankuro turned to him. "You mean that new genin? You mean to tell me it's looking for her?"

"I... think it's her guardian," Gaara said, his eyes locked on the beast before them. "She said his name was 'Hanone' -,"

"What did you wretched Suna-nin do to her?!" The wolf snarled through its barred fangs. "Where's Nomasaki?! Tell me or I'll rip you all apart!" The wolf's claws dug further into the earth below, trying desperately to break free. "I know she's here! I can sense the fibers of her chakra within this village... and my senses never lie! Explain yourself, you bastard sand-ninja! Tell me where she is!"

"Come on, where is she? We've been waiting all morning!"

The annoyed groan caught Gaara's attention. As he turned to the direction of the voice, he seen two genin conversing with each other within the crowd that stood by. Standing outside the dwindling crowd he saw a bandage-clad boy wearing a dark coloured jacket and a girl wearing a green quipao dress – both of them confused and taken aback by something. He swore he recognized them from somewhere, and then he remembered their faces briefly from the assembly. They were Nomasaki's teammates - Team Hashira.

"Beats me," Meiyumi answered. "She's never late for a mission! This is our first C-Rank, too. Maybe he was feeling nervous?"

"Not sure. She was pretty excited about the assignment when Hashira-sensei told us."

"Hmm..." Meiyumi pondered, curious. "She only had guard duty last night. What could be taking her so long?"

Something in her words made Shinto become frozen. In only moments his fists tightened at his sides and a hot anger sweltered over his expression. "No... There's no way...!" He fumed. "That damned jinchuriki... She had guard duty last night.. with him -!" His words came to a halt as he suddenly realized who stood across from him on the village street. Standing before the great wolf bound by sand and strings, Gaara was within his sights. With eyes fraught with rage, Shinto bolted towards him with his fist cocked behind him. "You bastard!"

A loud crack filled the air as his fist made contact with Gaara's sand shield. Shocked by his sudden lunge, Gaara met Shinto's anger-filled eyes with an expression of pure bewilderment. Surrounding him like a cocoon was his automatic shield of sand, separating the distance between him and Shinto's strike. Gnashing his teeth, Shinto pushed his fist forward against the grains, his bloodied knuckles desperately trying to break through Gaara's defences. Coming to his brother's aid, Kankuro unleashed the Crow from its scroll and prepared it for battle. As sharp as an arrow, the Crow swooped in and grasped Shinto from behind - binding him from striking against Gaara further.

"Back off, you brat!" Kankuro spat. "You know you can't win against his sand... or do I need to remind you who you're dealing with?"

"Shinto!" Meiyumi yelled, rushing towards him. "What do you think you're doing?! Stop it!"

"It's his fault!" Shinto shot back, stumbling in his steps angrily as he was released from the puppet's grasp. "She was on guard duty with him last night! He had to have killed her! Either him or that Shukaku done it!"

Suddenly, the sand pushed him back across the street, his feet skidding along the sand-ridden ground. The words pierced Gaara like a rusted blade, twisting at his guilt for the monster he once was. While the sand returned to his gourd, he calmed his stance and shot him a glare from his ringed-eyes. "I didn't kill her," He objected, his voice serious and dark. "Nomasaki left her post last night and went home and that's I know. I didn't have any part in this -,"

"You lying bastard!" Picking up his stance, Shinto held his fists clenched at his sides. "Then where is she?! Tell us!"

Gaara jolted. He did not know how to answer.

All he knew was that they went their separate ways after their shared guard duty, nothing more. His eyes growing concerned as he gathered his thoughts, he pondered for a moment while his gaze averted to the ground. The snarls of the restrained wolf before them were filling the air, breaking the scarce silence in between. There was only one possibility of why she was missing, and why the village was infiltrated by enemies who killed their patrolling shinobi. The worst-case scenario. Ishigakure - the village hidden amongst the stones.

Kankuro withdrew the Crow to his side, eyeing his brother calmly. "Do you know where she is, Gaara?"

"I think… she may have been taken…" He began, his tone and expression calm, in contrast to the thrashing wolf across from his stance. "…by the ninja who attacked last night."

Shinto was suddenly lost for words, unnerved by the possibility. "T-Taken? You can't be serious -!"

Sensing his chakra before him, the restrained beast could tell Gaara was not lying - he was telling the truth, and the constant and stable feel of his chakra proved it. As the wolf narrowed its yellow eyes at him, it sensed something lurking within him - Shukaku's chakra lingering on his skin. "And what do you say to that, you sand-bastard?" The beast snarled. "You could be lying... Why shouldn't I just devour you while I still have the chance?"

Stepping closer to the restrained wolf, Gaara gazed towards it with a stern expression - peering straight into its monstrous yellow eyes.

"…I'll help you save her."

As they reached the shadows of the forest canopy, Nomasaki could feel her bones aching inside.

The brutal desert heat scorched her skin and thawed her, just like it did only a few months ago. The Land of Rivers detour was their next trek before reaching Ishigakure: the village of the so-called 'barbarians' – a village that prided itself in remaining both neutral and hostile to other lands. With a long history of fighting the Yamamori clan of Yama for centuries, the odds of her survival were not in her favour. Deep down, she knew her time was done – cut rapidly short by her ill-decision to walk home alone. Tiredly, she walked on with her kidnappers through the brush - her legs ready to give out at any second. Her hands were tightly tied behind her back with rope, making jutsu or escape impossible.

Weakly, she stumbled on her knees, scrapping them against the cooling earth as she fell.

"Get up!" The squad leader barked, pulling on her rope. "Useless bitch...!"

Her eyes narrowing in reluctance, she refused to comply. Noticing her silent rebellion, the enemy scoffed at her with a disgruntled expression. Glaring at him in return, she could feel her fangs grow inside of her mouth – rage boiling in her blood. After a shared glare, she suddenly felt a strong and brute force strike her back - pressing her into the dirt as she winced in pain.

"If you want to be buried so bad, go ahead!" He spat, his foot pressing her harder against the ground as she cried out. "Join your ancestors! You rotten wolf-!"

"Hey, now! Quit it!" Another Ishigakure ninja intervened. "We need her alive! Did you forget that? That was our mission, we need the last Yamamori alive!"

Wincing, she glared up at the ninja who stood on her. Her eyes defeated, yet still retaining some determination. "I'm not the last one." She spoke under her breath, her voice unheard from her enemies. "I'm not."

Slowly, as if to purposely cause her more pain, their foot lifted off her back. Panting quietly, Nomasaki stood back up on her feet - staggering in exhaustion. Continuing on their death-march, they were slowly approaching the border of the Land of Claws – a wasteland of dried earth, volcanic ash, and discontent – and its village, Ishigakure. She could feel her forgotten homeland in the winds to the northwest of where they stood - aching in her chest from the memories as the strong rays of sunlight reflected upon the Sand ninja headband on her forehead. Covered in scratches and dirt from her captors wrangling her, she weakly kept on - grasping persistently to her survival instincts that were screaming at her to fight back. They have been travelling nonstop for almost an entire day, and she knew she could not keep going any longer.

Exhaustion and dehydration clouded her mind and body.

As she stepped upon the forest floor, she could feel a presence watching her closely. Paying no mind, she tried to push away the feeling. To her, it felt almost as if a Third Eye was watching her. Unbeknownst to her, the Third Eye Jutsu was observing her painful journey from the cover of the forest canopy – scanning the area carefully with a hint of bloodlust and calculating an opportunity for ambush. Suddenly, she froze in her tracks as she felt a strong and familiar presence approaching - and it was arriving fast. Her dried eyes widening in shock and sadness, they glistened from the feel of the feral and musky presence.

A beast.

"Hey! Move it!" The Ishi ninja spit through his teeth, pulling on her rope to move her forward. "I said move it! Or did you want another beat down?!"

Jolting the Ishi ninja, there was a rustling in the bushes followed by a deep beast-like growl - rumbling the canopy in feral rage. The squad of Ishi ninja paused, alerted from the snarls. "What was that?"

All of the sudden, a great white flash swept past them – lunging forward with fangs and claws. Panicked, the Ishi ninja dropped the rope binding Nomasaki to their capture – swinging kunai in the direction of the ghostly figure. As the flash passed by her violently, she clung onto it – closing her eyes in fear of it going straight through her - taken away by it into the shrouded forest. When the squad leader noticed their hostage was gone, his teeth clenched in frustration.

"What the hell was that?" He glared at the forest edge. "Some kind of… monster?"

Followed by the white flash was a stream of sand - heading towards the four Ishi ninja in great speed. After they evaded the sudden attack, they saw a figure appear from the forest's shadow - glaring at them. "That's as far as you go." Gaara spoke. As the sand returned inside his gourd, his ringed-eyes narrowed at them. Kankuro relayed his departure to Baki as he requested - but that meant going into battle alone. Clenching his fists with anger and control, he could feel Shukaku stir and rise inside of him, excited by the upcoming battle. I have to control myself, He reminded, I can't let the monster escape - not this time.

"Heh," The squad leader smirked, meeting his glare. "You're just a kid."

Swiftly, two of the Ishi ninja darted towards him with kunai. "Finish him! We need the girl alive!"

Behind the shadowed towering trees, Nomasaki slowly opened her eyes.

Noticing that she was no longer in motion, she suddenly felt the familiar chakra wrap itself around her again. It felt like home. Startled, she realized that she was buried into the cover of coarse white fur, its scent musky and fraught with animal. Her heart felt as it it could burst in relief. Surprised and crying, her violet eyes opened up to the sight of the large white wolf she called her guardian - Hanone.

"Hanone!" She cried, her eyes glistening – grasping his mane and burying her face into his snow-white fur. "You're alive!"

"Nomasaki, are you hurt?" Hanone asked, urgently.

Looking up to him, she shook her head. As her fingers grazed the white fur that sprouted through her hands, she suddenly felt something sharp and pointed protruding. Moving the blanket of white away, her wet eyes widened at the sight of a kunai lodged into his skin. There were four that she could see, all of their hilts near hidden by his fur but the red that painted them was fresh and bright.

"Hanone, you're injured -!" Swallowing her rising sobs and fright, she edged her fingers closer to his impaled wounds. "Here," She said, gingerly reaching for the weapons. "I'll help you -,"

With a ghastly bark from his massive fang-ridden jaws, the wolf snapped as his protégée pulled out the kunai that impaled him. The weapons were lodged deeply into his thick skin, with faint sprays of crimson releasing from each one pulled. As the fourth and final one hit the forest floor, Nomasaki took out a healing ointment from her shuriken holster on her thigh. Carefully, she covered the faint wounds that dotted the wolf's skin, brushing over the white fur to conceal them when she was finished.

"How did... How did you escape?"

"Those bastards..." He grumbled through his jaws. "They hunted me for days... It took me four nights to get them off my trail, and four nights to devour them all."

His words frightened her. "They hunted you -?"

"Yamagakure is destroyed. All who survived fled to other lands... those foul armored men burnt everything in their wake... It's a village of ash, now." He stood up from the forest floor, glancing to her. "Come quickly, we must leave before things take a turn for the worst!"

Her exhausted mind was startled by his words, but then she remembered what was happening. If Hanone had not found her when she did, she would have been at the border to the Land of Claws by that time - and she would have been dead. Suddenly, she sensed a familiar and dense chakra on the winds as the tree leaves above swayed sharply. Alerting her, she whipped her head towards the clearing of the thicket that surrounded them.

Standing across from her bulking kidnappers, there he stood - arms crossed and glaring towards them while his sand flayed restlessly.

"Wait - Gaara -!" She stammered, taken aback by the sight. "Why is he -?"

Hanone turned back to the battlefield in the distance, a subtle snarl escaping his jaws while he sensed the tailed-beast evoke its ghastly presence on the winds. Turning back to her, he noticed her eyes were full of fear. They were taking in the strength of the battle before her, filled to the brim with images of sand and fire - the fire chilling through her like a nightmare.

Unrelenting, the Ishi ninja charged forward.

By the movement of his arm, Gaara used his sand to knock them away - effortlessly. Once they were in his grasp, he closed his fists – ending their lives as blood spurted from the sand's grasp.

"Sand Coffin!"

After the attack, he could feel Shukaku gnaw at his psyche - slowly and incessantly, excited by the sight of blood on the forest floor.

"Crush them... Crush them ALL...!" Shukaku gnawed. "The seal is weak enough... You know you want to...!"

Suddenly, the forest battlefield was engulfed in flames from an encompassing fire-release jutsu. Using his sand to protect himself, Gaara was shielded from the attack – protected and unscathed. Once the fire died, he used his sand to attack the Ishi ninja who cast the jutsu - knocking him far into the forest, bleeding. Realizing he could not win the battle, the third Ishi ninja fled - back to Ishigakure without the hostage and the guilt of a failed mission - and then there was one left…

"You're pretty strong for a kid," The squad leader smirked. "So this is what Suna has been hiding from us!" Solidifying his stance, the enemy sneered. "Gaara of the Sand Waterfall... is that right?"

With narrowed turquoise eyes, Gaara glared at him - tensely. "It doesn't matter," He warned. "Your botched mission ends here!"

Shukaku was stirring stronger than before, its presence striking pain in his muscles and psyche. His muscle tinged with a burning pain, subtly boiling the blood beneath his skin. He felt the burn trace its way all the way from his seal to his temple, pulsing in his ear. Gritting his teeth, he pushed it back into his psyche as he sent forth a stream of sand towards the enemy.

"All this blood..." Shukaku echoed. "The blood... Let me make you feel alive...!"

The burn grew harsh, his teeth gnashing as he countered the enemy's oncoming attacks with his sand. He could feel his body grow weak, his mind growing fuzzy as he tried to focus on his target before him. Damn it all, he thought - Shukaku was being persistent. And the blood was exciting him, too.

"Well then," The Ishi ninja began. "I'll keep this short... and burn you alive!" He formed hand-signs with incredible speed – forcefully slamming his palm onto the earth below him.

Suddenly, the very ground below shook with intense magnitude in a wave-like motion while the flames burst forth like geysers of red fire. Standing his ground, Gaara formed a hand-sign himself - ready to end the battle with his Sand Tsumani, ignoring the tailed-beast's pleas for possession. Just before he could use his jutsu, his heartbeat suddenly pounded through him - freezing him, ringing through his very eardrums ominously.

He knew the dreadful feeling well.

"No…! Not now…!" He thought aloud, clenching his teeth.

Suddenly, a great wave of pain thundered throughout his body. Falling to his knees, he writhed in agony. The change was taking hold. Burning throughout his veins, the tailed-beast's chakra suddenly burst forth. Flowing from his seal, he felt as if every fiber of his body were on fire, spreading to his neck and jaw and prickling every nerve. His Sand Armor that painted his face suddenly cracked in large crevices, splitting his face as he wailed in pain.

Slowly, the sand from his gourd began to spread onto the right side of his body and began to take shape into something truly grotesque.

The feared sand-spirit of the desert.

Frightened, Nomasaki witnessed the horrid transformation from the cover of the trees and their shadows.

The feel of the chakra was unlike anything she had ever felt. It was even more frightening to her, its full power ripe on the brisk winds of the forest. Hearing his yells of pain only made it worse. The sands appeared to be cracking through his body, distorting his shape into a sand-ridden mass of ferocity. She could feel the chills sneak through her spine, her instincts screaming at her to flee on sight.

"W-What is happening to him?" She asked, trembling. "What's going on?!"

With his narrowed beastly eyes observing the sight, Hanone watched – confirming his suspicions. The boy was indeed a jinchuriki, he could sense it on his skin upon first sight. And he had a dangerous lack of control. So that is the source of his vile chakra - Shukaku, He thought, How foul. Turning towards Nomasaki who crouched fearfully behind the thicket, his jaws released a sharp growl. "Nomasaki, we have to leave - now!"

She could not bring herself to look away.

As he writhed in pain on his knees, the tailed-beast's form had begun to emerge on his body.

Crying out, a massive stream of sand spewed from his body, covering him in its concealment. Solidifying, the sand morphed into the first stage of Shukaku possession. Its purple-seal inscriptions swirling around its arm and tail that clung to its host as if like a parasite. As the transformation was complete, the jinchuriki turned towards the adversary – its horrifying expression locked onto them in a menacing nature, all signs of Gaara's control eroded from his mind.

As she watched on in visible horror from his appearance and strength, Nomasaki remembered the words he said to her on the night they first met.

"I'm a jinchuriki... I possess Shukaku, the one-tail. I was considered a monster by my villagers, a terror..."

Fearfully, her fingers trembled as her hand was held towards her throat - her wolfish instincts telling her to run as far away as she can. But she could not bring herself to leave him. She was frozen where she sat amongst the shadows. Hanone's words fell on deaf ears.

"Gaara..." She murmured, frightened.

Notes: Nomasaki's wolf-summon, Hanone, carries some meaning to his name.

Hanone (歯の根) can be directly translated to "root of a tooth" in Japanese, which is related to him being a wolf/canid. Hanone's appearance and size in the story was inspired by the wolves of Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke (1998), particularly Moro the wolf-god.