Saturday, August 11th, 2012.
Hey everyone! School is back in session! (It feels like I never left, really. Or just had a longer break than usual. Nothing's really knew. Guess that's 8th grade for ya.)
I think I might start updating on Saturdays or Sundays, the weekends. I might not even be able to get on the computers on Wednesdays anymore.
Anyway, these next few chaps are almost filler-like, but I think this is important.
The next chapter is about Karin and her explaining what happens in the future to the Third and becoming a Konoha citizen. (Spoiler? Well, she can't stay in Konoha without being one and she can't go back to Grass either...)
You can skip it if you want, but then again, that means you'll have to wait 2 weeks. Whatever.
I better get back to writing more chapters. I'm almost done with Chap 15! This is 11! I better hurry up.
Since 3 birthdays passed this week, Tsunade on the 8th (my first day of school), Nawaki on the 9th (aww, one after the other! Cute!) and Yamato on the 10th, yesterday, they'll all do the disclaimer.
Yamato: Epic Otaku Cherry...
Nawaki: Doesn't own Naruto.
Tsunade: If she did, I'd be pregnant with Jiraiya's child or something close. The least she would have done is let us go on a date.
ATTENTION: I don't want to update until I get another review for my 3-shot! There's only 2! (I'm grateful, but still...) I think it's my best work yet! Come on, people!
Now read, damnit! And review this, too!
Chapter 11: Gaara's Past
Temari POV
I asked Anko to lead me to a secure place where no one can listen in, and I told Sai not to tell Danzo anything. Not that I needed to, but for show. You know.
We sat down.
"Alright. First: have you heard of the Bijuu?" I asked. Hokage-sama gasped.
"How do-"
"Please just answer the question. A nod would be sufficient." Everyone nodded. Good.
"Good. But I'll just go into a brief history of them, okay? Is that alright, Hokage-sama?"
"As long as these are only for our ears. Anyone who leaks can face imprisonment and punishments for treason." He spoke. The others gulped, but nodded their agreement.
"It all started during the time of the Sage of Six Paths, aka the Rikudo Sennin, and I know you all know who he is. The world was being attacked by a large beast, called the 10-tails, the Jyuubi. The Rikudo Sennin set off to get rid of it, but couldn't defeat it completely. So, in the end, he sealed its body in the moon and split it's chakra into 9 parts into animals, creating the other tailed beasts.
"There were nine animals, with tails 1-9 respectively. Of course each animal became huge due to the overwhelming chakra. Number one became the spirit of a priest, sealed into a Tanuki, the animal also known as a raccoon dog(1). Not raccoon. This tanuki had the ability to control sand; its name was Shukaku.
"Number 2 was sealed into a sort of cat; I believe a tiger or something. I can't recall its name. Yes, each Bijuu has its own name, but many only know Shukaku's and 4-tail's and 9's.
"3 was a turtle/lobster. Shell of a turtle, 3 tails of a lobster. 4 became the Ape King, Son Goku. 5 was a sort of horse thing. 6 a slug. 7 a beetle with 7 wings and 8 an octopus/ox. Finally 9 was the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kurama. I know you all know of the 9-tailed fox. The Bijuu became manifestations of hatred and evil, but can be…tamed for lack of better vocabulary. They can be civil and have a mind of their own.
"Because of their power, hidden villages have been trying to gain a monopoly on them, for war power. Obviously, that didn't work.
"Jinchuuriki are the holders of the Bijuu. The Bijuu are usually sealed into a young infant so they can't wreak havoc. "
"But why a baby?" asked Sai. I knew he knew why, but he had to act clueless.
"Bijuu cannot be sealed successfully into a human with a fully developed conscious. They'll die for sure. Therefore a baby is chosen." I didn't mention the only survivors past infancy were Uzumakis. I couldn't say there were any survivors at all.
"Often, these Jinchuuriki are feared and treated like a pariah by the villagers, since they believe they are the beast and will let the beast free. However, there are Jinchuuriki who are/were viewed as heroes that proved themselves in their villages. It's possible and it's usually what some their Kage intended, but it doesn't always work out." I was staring straight into Naruto's eyes, the whole time.
"But what does this have to do with your brother?" asked Shikamaru. Man, I missed him...
Shut up, Inner. Now's not the time.
"Right. My brother….he is Shukaku's, the One-Tails, Jinchuuriki. That's the main reason he can control sand."
"Main?" asked Kakashi. "But what about his sanity; being a Jinchuuriki doesn't make you insane."
"You're right; it doesn't. And I'll get to the sand thing later. Remember when I said that the Bijuu became manifestations of hate or something? Shukaku drove my brother bat-shit crazy. But to explain that, I'll need to start at the very beginning.
"My father is the Kazekage, with not very admirable elders and council members, to say the least. My village leaders are power-hungry and they wanted to become the strongest ninja village, so they found the spirit of Shukaku that was sealed away. The Kazekage's wife, and my mother, Karura, was pregnant with Gaara at the time. He was still forming in her stomach, so he was past being just a pool of chemicals at that point. My father decided to seal Shukaku into Gaara while he was still in my mom. It worked. My mom didn't want to do it really; people say she hated the Sand Village.
"But she didn't hate the village. She didn't like the way it was run but she didn't hate it. She liked the good people there. She was a good person and hated conflict, but she'd never do anything to sabotage anyone.
"Gaara was born prematurely, and Karura died holding her newborn son. It's likely given birth to Gaara who had Shukaku in her caused her death, and it wasn't uncommon to die in childbirth. It would have been a miracle if she had lived. I was 3, and Kankuro was 2.
"With Karura gone, Yashamaru, her younger brother and our uncle, along with the Kazekage left to raise Gaara. The Kazekage didn't raise Gaara well, he gave him toys and things to keep him busy and in control. Gaara always had the ability to control sand, but the sand always automatically protected him. I may be the only one who figured it out besides my father, but the reason the sand does that is because our mom's spirit resides in the sand, always protecting Gaara.
"Unfortunately, Gaara was led to believe that he was a monster and killed his mother. Kankuro and I were usually kept away from Gaara, so the only person to give him any love was Yashamaru. And whenever he tried to play with other little kids, he accidently hurt them. And when assassination attempts were made, he unintentionally killed them all without a scratch to himself. By the age of 6, the whole village viewed Gaara as a killing machine and hated him.
"Gaara was very inept in bonds and pain because of his isolation. His own father was the one who ordered the assassination attempts anyway, which made him even more confused about family. He couldn't feel physical pain because the sand always protected and stopped him, not to mention, his sand armor if he ever even got to it. He even tried to knick himself with a kunai just to know what physical pain felt like, but the sand and the sand armor would stop him every time he tried. He's never seen his own blood before.
"Anyway, Gaara grew to love Yashamaru like family and grasp what love was. But then Yashamaru was ordered to kill Gaara by the Kazekage. Not having much of a choice, he disguised himself and made the attempt at night. When he was incapacitated, but still conscious, Gaara took his mask off. He was hurt; Yashamaru tried to kill him. Yashamaru told Gaara that he hated him for killing his older sister, Gaara's mother, remember? He told him that nobody loved him. It was the last straw; Gaara lost it and killed Yashamaru, also carving the love symbol on his forehead that you see now.
"I think I'm the only one who realized out that Yashamaru never really hated Gaara, but said those things in hopes of him becoming stronger to protect himself from his father and others that tried to kill him. He let Gaara kill him in repentance for following the Kazekage's order to (try) to kill Gaara because he was the one Gaara was closest to. But I don't think he realized how twisted Gaara would become from the experience. He became a merciless killer at age 6. So his plan to gain power quickly from hate and protect him from getting hurt backfired. It's not a common tactic, but it's efficient but if it backfires…you'll have a sociopath that can't be stopped on your hands." Much like Sasuke and Itachi...
"Those black rings around Gaara's eyes- he was born with them. Jinchuuriki are often born with or grow to have a small feature of the Jinchuuriki they hold if the Bijuu was sealed in them at infancy, or in their mother's womb. Shukaku's a tanuki and tanuki have black rings around their eyes; therefore Gaara got rings. Offhanded fact, yes I know. Anyway, the other reason for Gaara's insanity is that Shukaku takes control of Gaara and takes away the last of his sanity when Gaara sleeps. So, to keep control, Gaara doesn't sleep. Period. Ever. Seriously. I'm his sister, I've tried watching him before. The no-sleep thing pretty much made sure those rings would never go away, like they could have in the first place.
"The Kazekage to this day still tries to kill Gaara, but fails. And that's the story."
I was still looking at Naruto, who realized that I knew what he was. He looked to Hokage-sama; I'm guessing for approval to tell. After a minute, he nodded.
Naruto took a breath, and raised his hand. "Guys, I have something to say. It's important, and the reason I think I'm the only one who can beat Gaara."
"I'm…" he continued, everyone's attention on him. "Kurama's, the Nine-Tailed Fox's Jinchuuriki. That's why everyone always hated me. You guys can hate me too, now. I took that risk when I told you and I'll tell Bushy Brows, too. I don't want him out of the loop."
"I knew it." Sakura said, acting like she had been suspecting it for so long. "And judging by their faces, Temari and some of the sensei knew too."
"I-I thought something like that, too." Hinata said. "But I don't hate you Naruto, I never did and never will."
At that, Naruto smiled, thankful that no one hates him.
Sasuke was angry with jealousy, knowing him. He snarled, "But how does that make you able to beat Gaara and not me?" He was so jealous; he didn't seem to care that others could see it. Sakura said that he's already the jealous type, but the Curse Mark makes him even MORE jealous than he would normally be. It feeds on dark emotions. Geez, this guy can be the personification of Envy, of the 7 Deadly Sins!
Naruto turned to him, serious. "I can beat him because I can understand him. Sometimes there are only people that only certain people can defeat. You may be fighting Gaara in the Finals, but you can't beat him. If you understood him, you could. You don't. Gaara and I both were treated as a pariah because we Jinchuuriki. Difference is; he was treated worse, and I didn't turn out the way he did. It's frightening, really. I'm shaking." He was shaking. His eyes full of fear and terror, but determination and compassion behind them.
"I could've turned out just like him, but I didn't. Gaara didn't have someone like I had Iruka-sensei, or you Sasuke when we were little. Gaara had his own FATHER send assassins after him. His sister and brother were kept from him. He was led to believe that he killed his mother and that his uncle hated him, that he was never loved and was bred as a weapon. I could've turned out the same way, but I didn't and I'm grateful. Old Man Hokage and you guys were there and saved me from that. You all should know what I mean when I say I can beat him because I get him. Besides, it seems Kurama had a change of heart and is willing to lend me chakra if needed; chakra that doesn't drive me crazy and he promised not to take control. He says he owes someone. Believe or not, I guess he is pretty civil. He always wanted to show Shukaku's that he's the strongest Bijuu for a reason. Apparently Shukaku's really arrogant. I'm cautious cuz just a month ago he was all cool with destroying my body and others around me. Wary, but I'll trust him this time."
I noticed Sasuke calmed down, contemplating something.
I groaned. "I remember the only time he came out. He has the most obnoxious voice and way of speaking. Seriously. I don't think he needs his natural waves of insanity to drive anyone nuts. And I agree that Naruto's the only one who can truly beat Gaara. You may do pretty damn well Uchiha, but you're just not the one to do it. It's not your fight. I'm sure you understand to respect and honor someone's 'fated' opponent. You have your own to beat right? Would you appreciate Naruto trying to kill your brother instead? No? So let Naruto have a go, but do your best fighting Gaara. You'll need it."
He scowled when I mentioned his bro, and opened his mouth. Naruto interrupted. "You may be strong, but you can't beat him. You grew up with a loving mother and a father who favored your brother. Your brother seemed to love you, but you were still treated well and respected as an proud Uchiha. Not a montser. You don't understand Sasuke. Like Tenten said, everyone goes through pain, some worse than your own, but I understand his and can save and beat Gaara."
"Wait a minute. How'd you know I wanted to kill Itachi?" Sasuke asked me, suspicious.
I laughed. "Dude, think about it! Someone suddenly kills his whole family out of practically no where leaving only his little bro. What do you think that little bro's going to do? Especially being an Uchiha and knowing what Uchihas are like? Sit around and drink tea with biscuits?"
He accepted the answer but was still glaring at me.
I turned back to Naruto. "Please save him, Naruto. My little bro needs it. I'm rooting for you."
Kiba nodded. "So am I; I sorta feel sorry for the guy. And I don't hate you, Naruto. Sorry for the way I treated 'ya."
Kakashi smiled under his mask. "None of us hate you, and I'm sure some are sorry for the way the treated you. But we should probably get going. BTW, anyone who leaks face punishment. Temari, Naruto, you may tell Lee everything."
I nodded my thanks, then stood up to leave. "Now, I got to get to Kankuro before he annoys somebody important again. Bye, and good luck."
With that, I left.
(1): Yes, there's such thing. There's also a Japanese folk story about the Tanuki (which is basically a raccoon dog) and it is often represented as a Tanuki statue with a gourd of sake, smiling, with a straw hat. It is said to bring good luck, if I remember right. You guys know Kim from Soul Eater? She's a TANUKI witch. A healer, too. (Check out the manga, too, people.)
Temari actually found out all the names of the Bijuu and stuff from Itachi and the memories he sent the girls (I know I didn't include it, but Itachi sent memories of events and information that others had, like those of Karin or Naruto that he can get, so everyone knows the whole story. Does that make sense?) and a bit from Naruto and Gaara. But she can't tell them that, can she?
Well...
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