A pact with the sand
Gaara walked down the hallway, ignoring the guards & attendants as he passed them by. He reached his destination & pushed the door open without knocking.
"Ah, Gaara, you're here."
The Kazekage had long since giving upon trying to get Gaara to show respect. The only reason he hadn't punished Gaara was that he was so damn efficient, if uncontrollable.
In front of his desk stood Temari & Kankuro. Both of their eyes widened as Gaara entered the office.
"So it would seem they don't know why we are here either." Gaara noted.
As soon as Gaara became a genin, he had moved out. Where he went, no-one knew but him. Because of this, he hadn't seen either of his siblings in a while & from what he could see, they had gone through some changes, although they were mostly the same.
Temari was still wearing her lilac outfit with the fishnets, but she now had her fan strapped to her back instead of using that troublesome summoning scroll. Kankuro also hadn't undergone any major physical transformation, other than a slight change to his make-up &, more notably, the bandaged package on his back.
"I see you've ditched that feeble hand-made puppet of yours." Gaara said, earning a glare from his brother.
"Still overconfident, I see." Gaara thought.
"If we can get to why we are here." the Kazekage said, impatiently.
Gaara glowered at the Kazekage, but stood between his siblings.
"Good, now the reason I have called you here is that I need to discuss your teams. Or lack thereof. Temari, both your team mates have advanced to chunin level, while you failed the third stage."
Temari cringed as he said this.
"Weakling." Gaara thought.
"And Kankuro, one of your team mates has suffered an irreversible injury & the other is in the psych ward from mental trauma."
Kankuro nodded, he disliked his team mates anyway, they were too confident.
"Finally, your team mates are dead, Gaara."
"They shouldn't have looked at me like that."
"So I have decided that the three of you shall join together in a new team."
"Hai Kazekage-sama!" exclaimed Temari & Kankuro, although neither was able to hide the shocked expression from there faces. Gaara stared hard at the man in front of him.
"Why are you holding me back in a squad of these weaklings?" he demanded.
"Because powerful though you may be, you are not invincible & you cannot complete entire missions by yourself!" said the Kazekage, slamming his hands on his desk.
"Now, I have a mission for you. It's a C-rank, not too difficult, enough for each of you too become used to being in a squad together."
Gaara's eyes narrowed. A C-rank was a waste of his abilities.
"You are to escort a trade caravan from here to Amegakure. The path the caravan is heading on goes straight through bandit territory so you will need to be aware at all times. I will leave the rest of the details with Temari. Gaara you are the leader of this squad. Dismissed."
Gaara turned & left immediately, closing the door behind him.
"Kazekage-sama, why did you designate Gaara, squad leader?" he heard Kankuro ask.
"Because he is the only one who has any chance of maintaining this team. you two are much too hot-headed to be leader. Your confidence gets the better of you, Kankuro, & you leave yourself open for attack! Temari, whilst you have proven to be the most intelligent, you are not nearly as subtle as your younger brother, that is the reason you failed the chunin exams. Your opponent antagonised you & could easily predict your movements. Look, Kankuro, you are an excellent shinobi, your knowledge of poisons and stealth are unparalleled amongst the other genin, making you the third most powerful genin in our ranks. Temari, you are more powerful than some chunin, your superior intellect and mastery of Fūton jutsu makes you the second most powerful genin in our ranks. Both of you graduated the academy years earlier than you should have! But Gaara is the best genin we have ever had. He was so skilled as a ninja, possibly because the Shukaku passed his knowledge onto Gaara. He had no need to join the academy, instead we had him join our ranks immediately."
Gaara left at this. He didn't care enough to listen anymore. He walked down the hallway and disappeared in a whirl of sand, reappearing at his home.
It was an oasis situated in a forbidden part of the desert because of the mysterious disappearances that occurred there.
There were many rumours that this part of the desert was alive & would consume any living creature that got within its reach. But Gaara new different.
Hidden in the sands lived a species of creature unknown to the rest of the world. Gaara had encountered them almost as soon as he had entered their territory. Sand worms.
Flashback
They immediately attacked him, but Gaara didn't give them the chance to get close. The cork of his gourd popped off and his chakra-infused sand poured out and rushed the first of the creatures.
"Sabaku Kyū!" Gaara yelled, as the sand formed around the first and smallest worm, which was still bigger than Gaara, and crushed it.
However, to Gaara's surprise, when the sand fell there was no trace of the creature, only more sand. His surprise then changed to anger as from the sand, the worm reformed.
"I see. These worms are like my sand clones. They can disperse and solidify at will." he thought, as he started running around the worms, heading for the oasis.
As he ran, several worms, burst from the sand, heading straight for him. But his sand leapt up every time to protect him, the worms shattering on impact.
He reached the oasis and ran on the water, where the attacks stopped. When he reached the middle, he turned around and froze.
The worms were lunging at each other, each impact causing them to disperse into a mound of sand, which was steadily growing. The sand then began to form into a giant worm, the remaining ones crashing into its sides.
When the worm was complete, it stretched into the sky and let out a beastial roar, before dropping its gaze to look at Gaara.
"HROOM! YOUR ABILITIES! WERE DO THEY COME FROM?" the great worm demanded.
"My abilities awoke at a young age. I do not know the cause of them." Gaara replied, not at all fazed by the immense creature before him.
The other seemed to consider him for a moment. Gaara prepared himself for an attack but was shocked to see the grand worm bow before him.
"It is an honour to meet the host of the great Shukaku. My kind has forever worshipped him as our god."
"The Shukaku?" Gaara thought to himself, "So that's what this is."
"Please, Jinchūriki-sama, forgive me for attacking you. I was not aware of who you are!"
"That is fine. Tell me, what is your name?" Gaara asked.
"My lord, I am Kousou, high priest & ruler of the sandworms. We have awaited your arrival for many generations. And may I ask your name, Jinchūriki-sama?"
"I am Subaku no Gaara."
Kousou bowed again.
"Gaara-sama, please, make this place your home. I have spent my entire life guarding this place for your arrival."
Gaara was surprised at the grand worm. He surveyed the oasis.
The many fruit-bearing plants and the clean water gave the place a beautiful appearance. Plus the solitude was perfect for him.
"Very well, I accept your offer. But know that I will be travelling often. I will not be inhabiting this place at great lengths of time."
The grand worm nodded.
"Of course, Gaara-sama. Then, if I may, I would like to offer you the contract of the sandworms, so that, should you need us we may assist you?"
Gaara was taken aback. Only a moment a go this titan was attacking him & now it was offering its services! Of course, Gaara's expression was stoic as ever.
"I accept." he said.
Kousou nodded and a tendril of sand pushed out of his body, with a large scroll held within it. He placed it in Gaara's arms, who headed over to dry land so he could stretch the scroll out. When he did, he saw that there was one signature already on the scroll.
"Who is this?" Gaara asked. He didn't like the idea of someone else being able to summon these powerful creatures.
"That is the signature of the previous Jinchūriki of the great Shukaku. He was a sand priest who proved to weak for the great Shukaku's liking. So he tore him apart from within. I hope you prove more worthy."
Gaara disliked the idea of being torn apart from within. He resolved to finding a way to either control the Shukaku, or appease it.
"The signature is to be in blood?" he asked.
"Yes, that way we become linked directly to you."
"I see, then this is impossible."
Kousou's eyes narrowed.
"I do not understand, why is it impossible?" the worm asked.
Without blinking Gaara pulled out a kunai of sand & made to stab himself in the stomach. Immediately, the sand rushed to block the attack.
"How strange," Kousou said, "The great one offered no such protection to the priest. The great one clearly wishes you to live. In that case, if the great one wants to help you, you should sign with the sand."
Gaara nodded and did so. The sand formed on the scroll Subaku no Gaara, but instead of a handprint appearing, like its neighbour had, a tanuki paw was marked on the paper. Kousou seemed pleased.
"Now, as long as you bear the great one inside you, we will be able to assist you."
"Very well. Is that all?"
"Yes, Gaara-sama. I will leave you be for now. Farewell."
Kousou suddenly dispersed, the sand flowing back into the desert.
End Flashback
Now Gaara walked along the grassy land and looked at his hut. It wasn't really a home, in fact, Gaara didn't use it for much anything, it was mostly a storeroom for any food he bought that he couldn't obtain from the oasis. But there were other things inside too. He collected memorabilia from his missions and maintained them. Often it would be the most valuable possession to the person he kills. He thought of it as a last courtesy. From his missions he had obtained objects, such as a dagger bearing a clan crest, a jewel-encrusted pendant, a picture of a woman, all sorts of things.
In some cases, he would also take something he deemed valuable, such as the preserved eyes of a Hyuuga, and a peculiarly, shaped kunai said to once belong to the Yondaime Hokage.
He walked into the kitchen area and opened the pantry, picking out a fig and biting into it, before going to study the contract again.
He stretched it out onto the table and started from the beginning.
To whoever has signed this contract, you are now bound in an unbreakable pact with the sandworms of the Wind Country. The sandworms are a religious species, worshipping the Ichibi no Shukaku as their god of sand, which they see as life.
In deserts, or other areas with a large supply of sand, the sandworms are at their strongest. When solid, they can crush almost any object or mineral with there hundreds of powerful teeth & convert them into sand. This means that in battle the sandworms will almost definitely gain the advantage of home-turf after a time.
The sandworms can control their own density, changing from soft sand to near indestructible rock.
The sand worms are connected to each other through a mental link, as such they coordinate their attacks to great effect. They all share the same chakra affinities for both Fūton & Doton jutsu.
The sandworms have two conditions bestowed upon the person who signs this contract:
1. The person who signs this contract is the Jinchūriki of the Ichibi no Shukaku.
2. The corpses of their opponents & any of their dead comrades will be theirs to take back to the sacred city of the sandworms.
Gaara stopped reading. There really was no point in his constant re-checking of the contract, but he was unsure of whether he would ever summon the worms. There was no denying they were strong, Gaara still doubted he would have survived the battle if he had continued to fight them. It was that they were too strong.
"How am I too prove my existence if I use these creatures? I would probably only use them against a very strong opponent or an army. But in using them, I would not be proving my existence, I would be proving theirs."
Gaara left the hut and sat outside, meditating.
"Would I be doing them a kindness in using them in battle? Their existence is even more in question than mine."
"We've been through this. You fight & love only yourself."
Gaara's eyes snapped open. The sand had surrounded him, just like it had three years ago.
"By doing as you say, I have learnt the pain of loneliness. The sandworms have suffered this loneliness even longer than I have. They are like me."
"They are nothing like you. They have each other. You have no-one. And to answer your other question, yes you should use them."
"But how can I prove my existence like that? Wasn't it you who said that in this sphere I don't exist? That the world will only see the sand? How will that be different if all they see are the sandworms?"
"Because to the rest of the world, neither of you exist. So in using the sandworms, word of them will spread wide. And they will also ask the question "Who controls these magnificent beasts?" in using them you will prove your existence even more so. But a word of warning! Use them too often and they will be spoken of less & proof of your existence will weaken. Use them only as a last resort."
"I understand."
The sand fell around him and collected on his back. As soon as the gourd was complete, Gaara stood to his feet.
"Have a good talk?"
Gaara whipped his head around.
"How did someone reach this place & how did I not sense them?" he thought. But as soon as he saw who the person was, he understood.
"Madara-sensei." Gaara said, bowing on one knee.
"Greetings Gaara. It seems you have developed well since our last meeting." said Madara, approvingly, "It would also seem that you have made a pact with the sandworms, as I suspected you would."
"Madara-sensei, what brings you to this place?"
"The mission you are about to embark on. I have a task for you. Do you accept?"
"Of course, Madara-sensei."
"Good. I thought you would. The path of your mission takes you straight through Fire country. There is someone there I need you to escort to Amegakure."
"Who is it?"
"You will know when you see him."
Madara turned to leave, but Gaara called out.
"Wait, Madara-sensei! You said that one day I would join your new clan, when will that be?" he asked.
"That will not be for some time yet." Madara replied, without turning, "While you are very powerful, Gaara, you lack the experience of the world. Perhaps if you rise to the rank of chunin, you will prove yourself worthy."
"Very well sensei, then I shall become chunin and earn my place in your clan."
* * * * *
Temari & Kankuro were both waiting at the gates with the trade caravan, as Gaara appeared in his usual whirl of sand.
"Lets go." he said, walking without waiting for them to respond.
* * * * *
In Amegakure two figures, a man & a woman, stood by the window of a very tall building. Behind them stood a holographic image of a man in an orange mask.
"So they are on their way here?" the man asked in a stoic voice.
"Yes. I believe they will arrive in about a week & a half."
"I see. And why are you sending the other? I was under the impression he was not ready to join us."
The image of the man in the mask distorted slightly, as if in recognition of his annoyance.
"Of course he isn't ready, he is still just a child! He is only to deliver the other to you. But I believe that he must get an idea of what we hope to achieve. Meeting you two will give him the motivation to become powerful enough to join us."
The woman nodded.
"Very well." she said, "We will do as you say."
The man in the mask nodded before his image disappeared.
The man who had stood with her left the room without another word. She watched as he left and felt a pang of sadness.
"Yahiko." she whispered.