Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, A:TLA, or When Waves Meet the Sand.
Prologue
A dry wind pushed around the sand of the vast desert. The scratchy grains scraped up against a silhouette who was approaching a second one.
"So this is it," a raspy came from a hunched and cloaked figure, "the key to the Cave of Wonders, and the power within."
A young silver haired man nodded, and held out a hand covered in a fingerless glove. In it, a gleam of gold revealed half of a scarab beetle.
"You have the other half I presume?" The silver haired man's question was answered when a similar metal half fell from behind a piece of cloth covering where the first man's mouth would be.
"Put them together Kabuto," he ordered. Kabuto bent down and picked up the second half of the golden beetle. He brought the two halves close together. They pulled to each and connected with a snap, before shuddering while emitting sparks and glowing, before tearing out of Kabuto's gloved hands and flying away.
"After it," the hunched figure rasped. The figure moved forward, with surprising speed, faster than that of an average human being. Kabuto followed close behind with ease.
The glowing insect led the pair through the deepening night, to a sand dune where the beetle split into two halves once more, landing in a fashion that appeared that resembled eyes.
The ground began shake as the dune took on a cat-shaped head. The twin halves of the scarab glowed as the giant feline head's eyes.
"Who disturbs my slumber?" it roared in a deep voice.
"Go," Kabuto was told. He nodded, hands shaking slightly and approached the glaring head.
"Yakushi Kabuto," he answered. The head eyed him, as if evaluating his worth.
"Know this. Only one may enter here, one whose worth lies far within. A diamond in the rough."
The statement made Kabuto's eyes flick nervously to his companion. The only response was the raising of what looked to be a tail, in a threatening manner. The white protrusion was segmented with a deadly white that seemed to be pointed where Kabuto's heart was.
Kabuto looked away then, back toward the sand head. Its glowing eyes reflected off of Kabuto's glasses. The silver haired man inhaled deeply, and exhaled before walking into the feline's open mouth.
A warm breeze pushed against his face before being replaced by a cold wind against his back, as if the head was breathing.
Kabuto's glass covered eyes peered through the sand cave's open mouth. The sand glowed gold as the torches lighting the way down the stairs cast its luminescence over the loose grains.
Carefully he stepped into the cave, his body stiffening. When no flaming arrows shot at him, no trapdoors opened under his feet, when nothing happened, Kabuto relaxed. The moment the tension left his body, a roar tore through the air and he noticed the cave imploding.
Cursing he attempted to jump back out of the cave. He succeeded until he felt the sand collapse on his leg, slowing his movements. Then it began to solidify around his leg, and pull him into the dune.
"Pull me out," he yelled toward the lone figure he had traveled with.
The hunched figure watched as the silver haired man struggled and called out to him.
"Why should I reward you, when you have failed?" before turning and walking out of Kabuto's sight.
Kabuto watched as the figure moved away. The expressions on his face showed anger, then horror, before finally settling on resignation.
Despite what he had decided, Kabuto continued to struggle, trying to free himself. The sand continued to pull him in and he swore he could almost hear maniac laughter.
The sand began to pull faster and self-preservation and panic set in. Kabuto fought his fate, but soon the sand closed over his head, leaving only the two halves of the scarab, whose glow faded, leaving them dull.
The figure from before approached the pieces and picked them up with its tail.
"A diamond in the rough, then," it said looking at the scarab, "Where to find one of those.
A/N: So review please! The next chapter should be up soon, since I'm on break. I have ChibiLover123's permission for this story. If you want to read the original, I highly recommend it. In the next chapter, Gaara may seem OOC, but that's because Shukaku wasn't sealed into him at birth. I have different plans for the one tail.