Hikari Sunaku

Hikari Sunaku is the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure. She was made the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast, Shukaku, just after her birth. Raised as a guardian and protector of the village, Hikari has been a prized possession of the village for her entire life. She represents equal parts defender and savior of the village.

Background
The first-born child of the Second Kazekage, Hikari was a weak baby. She was born two months early, and it was unlikely she would survive to see her first birthday. Desperate for a way to save his beloved child, Hiroji Sunaku made a deal with the One-Tailed Beast. In exchange for saving his daughter’s life, Hiroji gave the beast full claim to her, as well as the full force of protection of the village, and their resources to further his knowledge. Finding something within Hikari that he wanted to know more about, Shukaku accepted, and the One-Tail Jinchuriki was formed.

As Hikari grew, so too did Shukaku’s power and control over her. The village was, understandably, concerned with the raw power and strength the toddler Hikari was already displaying. In an attempt to assure the village that Shukaku would mean no harm, Hikari’s mother, Tamika Sunaku, arranged for a group of similar-aged children to join Hikari in her solitude. Through this, Hiroji and Tamika hoped that the child would develop a loyalty and connection to the people of the village.

Due to this meddling, Hikari developed a deep love for the village and all it stood for. A curious and excitable toddler grew into a proud and confident child. While she was never a social child, she was never given the time to embrace being alone. This idea of “never alone” extended through her childhood in the form of guardians, as well as two children strategically positioned to be her ‘best friends’ – Shouto Hiyama and Yume Oda.

Being that she was both the child of the Kazekage, but also in many ways the property of Sunagakure, Hikari was never allowed outside the village walls without an extensive guard, and certainly never outside the desert boundaries. Because of this, her childhood was rather sheltered in exposure to the ways of other nations. It wasn’t until war struck that she saw a world outside the desert.

It was unfortunate that Hikari’s first exposure to the world outside the village came bound in chains. At 13, Hikari was far from a threatening figure for the five Kumogakure Shinobi. Taken from her home, the young teen’s only saving grace was her close relationship with Shukaku. It was the beast that kept her sane, even as the chains around her wrists and neck suppressed her access to the Tailed Beast’s chakra. Just when all seemed lost, a savior by the name of Viper arrived, breaking her free and returning her home.

The war left her changed. Gone was the curious and expressive child. Instead, Sunagakure was greeted with a cold, yet deathly loyal defender and warrior. In the final battle, despite all insistence otherwise, she stepped out onto the battlefield. With Shukaku fueling her actions, she burst forward, making it known why one should never mess with a Jinchuriki.

The years after the war passed in much the same way, with Hikari once again sheltered within the desert. Unlike before, however, the village elders could no longer deny the necessity for Hikari to be trained in the way of the Shinobi. She rose quickly through the ranks, though it wasn’t until she reached the rank of Jonin that she was allowed outside the village without an extensive escort.

Five years after the war, the Second Kazekage passed peacefully in his sleep, his wife following within the week. Left without both parents at the age of 19, Hikari took up the role of Third Kazekage. It was a rough start, with many in the village questioning the intelligence of giving the young Jinchuriki such a powerful position in the village. Yet, none could deny the lengths she was willing to go to in defense of her people.

Two years after taking up the mantle of Kazekage, a creature of the sands threatened the safety of the village. Offended that the desert serpent threatened to destroy her people, Hikari wiped out the creature single-handedly. From that moment on, she was hailed as a true hero of the village.

Personality
To those that don’t know her, Hikari comes across as the loyal and cold leader she was raised to be. Strict yet fair, she has a strong sense of morality when it comes to dealing with her own people. To the outside world, she is the strong and fearless Kage, willing to stand against any threat to her people, regardless of where it came from. She has a desire for peace among humans at any cost, and will do whatever it takes to find that peace. Her strength and honor comes without cost to her people, as dishonor towards one is dishonor towards Suna as a whole. Stealing is among the top crimes in her mind, as to steal from your neighbors is an act of betrayal.

Outside just her village, Hikari holds a special fondness for her remaining childhood friend, Shouto Hiyama, as well as her godson, Helios Draco. She sees them as a representation of everything that truly matters in life, and would do anything to see them happy, healthy, and safe. Her loyalty to the village began as simply loyalty to her friends, and that feeling has lasted even now that she has more responsibility to her name.

Hikari views her entire village as a sort of extended family. For better or worse, they are irreversibly tied to her, and she would do whatever it takes to protect them. The desert is her home, and the people within it are hers – whether they want to be or not. She has a tendency to welcome strays and wanderers into the village, though she is not naïve enough to believe they always mean no harm. In fact, she is almost obsessive in her need to watch and protect her village from threats both within and without. Her devout need to protect her people have led to many jutsu innovations, including the small metallic Tarantula Hawk Wasps that can be seen swarming through the village streets.

Shukaku
Nobody really paused to consider what a life within the sand would do for the young girl’s relationship with the beast within. Shukaku and Hikari quickly found commonality in her love of the sand, and her understanding of it on a fundamental level. For her, the desert was everything. In truth, nobody expected Hikari to be able to tame the wild creature, and if she were asked, she would claim that Shukaku cannot be tamed, but rather they have come to understand one another. As a small child, she considered Shukaku to be her friend, and could even be heard talking to him as such.

This was, of course, a good thing for Sunagakure. Not understanding just what sort of relationship the two have, or that Hikari is not opposed to allowing Shukaku to provide his own form of ‘assistance’ when the situation called for it, the elders are mostly satisfied with her doing as she wishes, believing that her “ironclad” control over the beast shows a strong resolve and capability of defending the village.

Even so, Hikari is always cautious of the beast. Sandstorms pose a particular challenge for her, as it is the time when Shukaku is at his strongest, and challenges Hikari’s control. Even on a normal day, Hikari often suffers from insomnia, the beast finding strength while she sleeps by sharing her dreams.

Appearance
Hikari has deep red hair, and vibrant green eyes. Standing at 5’6”, she is of average height and slim build. Years of training have left her in good physical condition, a fact she is proud of even if she does not show it outwardly. Few scars cover her skin, evidence of the lifestyle she has chosen to live, though she bares far less than the average Shinobi her age – attributed to the increased healing she has due to the Tailed Beast’s chakra. Most notably, she has a single scar running vertically down the left side of her face.

One of her most recognizable features, outside of her scar, is her seal. Running along the full length of her right side is the seal denoting her status as a Jinchuriki. The seal takes the appearance of an abstract design, vaguely reminiscent of the cursed seal markings across Shukaku’s body. When she enters her Tailed Beast Cloak form, the seal markings spread across her skin, covering her body fully in the markings.

When Hikari enters battle, and uses her Magnet Release Chakra, dark near-black circles expand to surround her eyes. If she chooses to further her power by channeling Tailed Beast Chakra, the markings expand to cover the upper half of her face as though wearing a mask.

Hikari’s normal way of dressing is considered by many to be inappropriate for a Kage. She often disregards that, as she prefers practicality and comfort over the stuffy outfit most consider befitting the Kage. Typically, she wears form-fitting pants, held up by a double-wrapped belt low on her hips. Her top is a cropped leather armoring, fitted to her body, that leaves the majority of her abdomen open. This openly shows off her seal, which she wears proudly. Around her forearms and shins, she wears protective armor formed out of her iron sand particles. At her back, a large scroll case made of metal contains a significant volume of iron sand. Additionally, she carries a weapon sheath not much larger than a dagger, complete with dagger hilt and all, filled with iron sand as well.

Ninjutsu
Hikari has an extraordinary skill in ninjutsu. She has trained alongside Shukaku since she was a small child, developing her own style of fighting inspired by the way Shukaku controls the sand. With Shukaku's influence, she developed the technique known as Iron Sand. Moving the metal fragments as though they were sand itself, she performs impressive jutsu with little to no thought. With the addition of Yang Release to her skill set, she has shown vast creativity in bringing her metal creations to life.

Due to Shukaku's influence, she is also able to manipulate sand itself. This ability is especially useful when she is in the Land of Wind, as the desert around her becomes weapon and shield all in one. She must channel small bits of Shukaku's Chakra to do so, though familiarity and years of use have made this required drain minimal.

Cursed Sealing
Through the use of Tailed Beast Chakra, Hikari has branched into the study and learning of the mysterious art of Curse Sealing. While she does not have much interest in controlling others through use of seals, she spends her evenings and nights in theoretical research. Her theoretical knowledge of the curse sealing is vast, but she doesn't express it. Her sealing knowledge is only used in defense and protection of others - a preventative measure she takes upon herself to limit what she can do, and the control Shukaku has over her.

Jinchuriki Transformation
Because of the deep connection between Hikari and Shukaku, Hikari is able to fully access the Tailed Beast's Chakra. While she can achieve a full transfomation, she avoids it at all costs. At most, she will utilize the Tailed Beast Chakra Mode when feeling particularly threatened. Despite being considered the 'weakest' of the Tailed Beast Chakra Modes due to the fact Shukaku only has one tail, she has learned to utilize this mode to its fullest advantage, including a full control over sand techniques and sealing arts while in the form.

While other Jinchuriki only use Chakra to transform into the Tailed Beast form, Hikari can do so using sand. She can transform parts of her body into a human-sized version of Shukaku by layering sand onto her own body. The more she transforms in that way, the more her speed and strength improve. However, this comes at a cost, as the more she transforms, the more she begins to be influenced by Shukaku.