Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A Jinchuuriki's Transformation ❯ A Jinchuuriki's Transformation ( Chapter 1 )

Summary: Gaara's thoughts upon becoming the Kazekage.

 

Author's Notes: In Naruto, jinchuuriki are people who have tailed demons sealed within their bodies. They are generally feared and hated since they also have the power to transform into monsters.

 

 

A Jinchuuriki's Transformation

 

 

The dry desert wind blew gently through his red-brown hair while hot sand swirled around him, as always. The Fifth Kazekage's tired black rimmed eyes looked down at the village - his village, the one he was bound to protect. Though none of the elders, or advisors, or anyone else wanted him as their leader, the inauguration went smoothly and the villagers applauded, albeit tepidly. No one dared challenge his appointment for fear of being crushed under a ton of sand. But he wouldn't do that, not now, not any more. In the past that was something he would have done, taking a human life without any more thought than flicking away a grain of sand on his shirt.

 

He was different now. The all consuming anger and despair that overtook him at times throughout his life were gone. The loneliness he had felt ever since he could remember was ebbing. Now he felt hope, hope that he would change, that others would see the change and accept him wholeheartedly.

 

It was difficult, these past months. How do you show someone, much less an entire village, that you've changed? It wasn't as if you could announce it officially and have everyone believe you at face value after so many years of distrust, and violent bloody deaths.

 

Footsteps cautiously approached from behind him - steady, non-threatening, not an enemy, not another assassination attempt. Not heavy, someone larger than himself, but not fully grown, the smell of wood and clay… it was Kankurou, Gaara deduced.

 

“Kazekage-sama,” the older brother ventured to say, “the advisors are waiting for you.” The sight of his younger sibling standing serenely on top of the roof surveying the village, struck a sympathetic chord within Kankurou. There was something different about Gaara ever since his loss to that loud, brash, annoying Leaf shinobi, Uzumaki Naruto, who handed Gaara the first and only whipping of his life. Although Gaara didn't talk about it, it seemed he had a newfound respect for that boy, bordering on admiration.

 

And there were other changes he and their sister Temari had noticed since then. Gaara would actually greet them, say thank you, even apologize, albeit all done hesitantly. The first few times, they were so flustered, they didn't what to say in response. Now, though it still did not quite feel natural, they were able to react appropriately.

 

Gaara turned to him and nodded. “It's about the alliance with Konoha. I'd like to make it a true alliance.” The corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

 

`Is he trying to smile?' Shocked, but Kankurou quickly composed himself and replied, “It'll be a change for the better.” He smiled back.

 

Even though Kankurou's usual smile was tantamount to a grimace, the jinchuuriki saw in it genuine acknowledgement and acceptance - he was no longer just a demon's vessel.

 

`I am Gaara of the Desert, Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand, and I will protect our people, our village, our country, with my life…''