The Kazekage & Shukaku

"Speaking"

'Talking'

"Gaara, we need to talk!"

Shivers were running down Gaara's spine. This voice brought back many unpleasant memories.

"What do you want?"

"Talk to me with respect, and look me in the eyes when I talk to you!"

"I'm sorry, lord Kazekage. I didn't mean to insult you."

Gaara turned around and looked into the eyes of the man he hated most. He looked into the eyes of his father.

"Why do you want to talk to me, lord Kazekage."

"Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't talk to you, but this matter is important.

Baki told me that you were acting strangely in the morning. Given what you are, I decided to take this matter into my own hand."

"I'm not losing control over the one-tailed beast if that is what you want to know."

"Baki already told me it didn't feel like you were losing control. He said that it seemed like you have gained better control over it."

"If you want to imply that I have better control over the one-tailed, then I have to disappoint you."

"What a pity. But tell me, what brought to say does things to Kankuro about being just a normal human and that it would hurt you if your older brother looked at you that way?"

"I told him the truth. It hurts me when every person looks at me like I'm a monster. I tried to hide my feelings for a long time. But I have reached a point where I can no longer hide these feelings."

"Hmmm. Interesting, so you think you are not a monster."

"I am not a monster."

"You very much are a monster. You are Suna's greatest weapon, but also, you are our biggest threat."

"Stop talking about me like I'm some kind of weapon you throw at your problems, hoping that both disappear!"

Tears started to stream down Gaara's face.

"Think about all the people you killed. Not only ninjas but also civilians. They have every right to think of you as a monster."

"I never wanted to kill anyone..."

"Don't lie to yourself, Gaara! You are a bloodthirsty psychopath. All you want to do is to kill as many people as possible. You don't care if they are innocent or not."

Suddenly Gaara heard a voice in his mind.

'Kill them! Kill them all! Let them feel your pain!"

"NOOOO! All I ever wanted was a family! But you, Temari, and Kankuro always pushed me away when I tried to get close to you. You are the reason why I became like this!"

"You will never have a family! Monsters are bound to be alone, forever."

"Leave! Leave my room now!!!"

The Kazekage left the Gaara's room. Right after he left, Gaara shut the door.

"Lord Kazekage, wasn't that too harsh to Gaara? His seal isn't complete."

"It was to test if he could control the one-tailed even under that amount of emotion. Besides, any feeling of pity for this monster is misplaced. Or do you have to be remembered for what he did?"

With these words, the Kazekage left Baki alone with Kankuro and Temari.

All three of them heard the conversation between Gaara and the Kazekage. All of them were shocked when they heard what Gaara said.

Especially Temari felt guilty for what she did. Baki, on the other hand, was questioning himself.

'I'm his sensei. I'm supposed to know how he feels and help him. How could I fail so miserably with Gaara?'

Kankuro wasn't feeling guilty at all. He was shocked

'I have never seen Gaara crying. I didn't even know if he could do that.'

Meanwhile, Gaara was lying on his bed, curled up into a ball, and crying.

'Even if I'm not the real Gaara, I still feel the same way the original feels. Rasa is a complete idiot. He thinks of me as the greatest threat to the village. At the same time, he provokes to see if I can control Shukaku. I could have killed someone if I lost it.'

After half an hour, Gaara calmed down again. Now he had another problem. He didn't know what to do. He would have loved to sleep. The only problem is that he can't sleep because Shukaku would take control otherwise.

Training his kekkei genkai was also impossible because he hadn't enough chakra. So there were only two options. Meditating or physical training.

Meditating was dangerous because there was a possibility of meeting Shukaku, and Gaara wasn't sure if Shukaku would kill him if they met.

'So physical training it is. I will do as many push-ups as I can without chakra. If I can't do any more push-ups, I will do as many sit-ups as I can. If I can't do any more sit-ups, I will do as many squads as I can. I will repeat this procedure till I can't lift a thinger anymore.'

With this plan in mind, he started his workout.

The first three cycles were okay. After that, it felt like hell. To say that Gaara was, compared to other Naruto characters, physically weak was an understatement.

From his memories, he could see that Gaara hadn't trained his body for a long time. And why should he? His sand would protect him from damage, so he didn't have to be strong enough to dodge or tank a hit.

That this assumption was wrong would show in the future.

After two and a half hours of training, he was lying on the ground, unable to move his body.

'I have never felt this good and bad at the same time. Is this how you feel after you go to the gym?'

After solid twenty minutes of lying on the ground, he was able to get up from the ground and sit down on the bed.

'Now to the most dangerous part. I will have to rest somehow to recover from this physical torture. If I can't sleep, then I'll have to meditate.'

Gaara closed his eyes and calmed down his breathing. After a few minutes of sitting still, he felt a burning sensation on his back.

He opened his eyes and found himself in a prison, whose ground was covered with water. In front of Gaara was a cell with rusty metal bars.

Suddenly a huge shadow jumped from the back of the cell against the bars and attacked Gaara with his claw. Gaara was only able to dodge by the skin of his teeth.

"YOU DARE TO COME HERE WITHOUT MY PERMISSION? I WILL RIP YOU INTO PIECES!"

Gaara was so scared that he couldn't talk for a moment. Before Shukaku could attack again, Gaara found the confidence to speak.

"Before you attack again, hear me out."

"WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY?"

"First, you can't kill me."

"WHY?"

"When I die, you die as well. Of course, you won't stay dead for long, but it will still be annoying."

"And second, I am only here to rest."

"You are correct boy. Killing you would be annoying for me. I will have to wait till I can take over your body permanently. But that doesn't mean you can stay here and bother me!"

"Don't worry, I'm not here to bother you. I came here to rest."

"Hmmmph!"

Shukaku turned around and went so far back that Gaara couldn't see him any longer.

Now that he was alone, Gaara could focus on his surroundings. The first thing he noticed, was the huge amount of malicious chakra in the air.

'It seems like due to the incomplete seal Shukaku is leaking his chakra out of his cage. This in turn affects me in such a way that I turn mad under negative emotions.

Is it so difficult for Suna to find a ninja who is competent enough to seal a tailed beast? They are in an alliance with Konoha! Is it that difficult to ask them for help?'

For the next hours, Gaara sat on the ground and tried to let his chakra circulate through his chakra network. Maybe he could improve his chakra control.

After a few hours of meditating, he decided it was time to return. When he opened his eyes he was back in his room. He felt like he was reborn. No muscle ache and full chakra reserves.

t was in the middle of the night outside.

'It's time to start with a training routine.'