Desert Rose
Chapter 1 Sands of Hate - Search for the Desert Rose
Within my heart I could hear it beating. A requiem to a battle-torn heart breaks into a dirge of perpetual sorrow to those that must sing its forbidden cords. Those who sing its resonating tones know only of pain and suffering, never to rest until death do they part. Lady Death plucks at the strings of Fate's harp, her menacing tunes mimicking her eyes drawn to the tormented hearts of men. She heeds and fears neither evil or good, and one by one we all fall to the grey hearted destruction of her song. Only passionate hate for the mortal kind echoes in her voice. One day she will take her scythe and cut each string of Fate's harp, relieving the world of its pains and woes. But that may never come to pass, for she would never give what many corrupted men have longed for after centuries of prayer. Yet some are like the rose of the desert, trapped among the twisting sands yet still beautiful and untouched by corruption. It is those that will lead mankind into a new generation of inner tranquility. Many seek this desert rose, someone who will guide them to the light so that they may not falter as their ancestors have. I am Sabaku of the Desert, and I will find my desert rose, even if I must journey to the ends of the earth to find it.
In the dead of night a shadow passes on unnoticed, unthought of. It passes on the wings of the wind, the sand beneath it is only guidance to its destination. Moving onward it finds a settlement in the middle of a barren desert, deep in the Land of Earth west of the Land of Fire. Having found this settlement it enters its oldest landmark, a small building of which's only interesting feature is the flight of stairs going downward into the earth. The shadow flew down the simple flight of stairs, spiraling deeper into the earth. Only then was its presence known, for the earth holds no secrets that the shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Sand are unaware of.
The shadow stopped for a moment, hiding itself in plain sight from those that guarded the labyrinth that it had just entered. The shadow was a man, dressed in a grey cloak with blood red garments. The mask he wore was plain, flat, and white, only eyes to peer through. His most interested feature was the large, stone gourd of sand he carried on his back. He hid on the ceiling for a while, using his chakra at the bottom of his feet to sustain his weight. It was not long before the shinobi below him saw him hanging above them, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. That moment was now.
In a flash the sand that filled the gourd emptied itself and began to tear each shinobi apart. They cried in terror as each of their allies were torn to ribbons by the sheer force of the moving sand. Could it be possible that this man of the night has the power to manipulate the desert sand itself? No.
it was much more than that. Something demonic lingered about in the gaze of the man that wore that gourd on his back.
"Why do you run?" he asked to the fleeing shinobi. "There has not been... enough blood!"
As the last of them fled or perish under the might of the sand, the sand began to recollect itself in the gourd once more. No remorse was felt by the man, only a hatred that could not be satisfied. He fell from the ceiling and landed perfectly onto the floor. Walking onward, he did not even take the time to glance at the dead or wounded that he left behind.
As he continued, more shinobi got in his way. And the more shinobi came, the more men Lady Death led to the afterlife. Soon there was no one left in the entire labyrinth, only the man and his prize. Blasting through a door that stood locked and barred, the man walked into the final room. In it was another man, a shinobi of rank higher than that of a jonin. It was the Kazekage, shinobi leader of the Village Hidden in the Sand. In his white and blue robes he attacked the intruder, sending waves of kunai at him. But the sand would not allow it, repelling each and every kunai as it came at him. Soon there were no kunai left to assail with, and the sand soon grabbed hold of Kazekage's entire body.
"Come on, old man." the man laughed. "I thought you would put up a better fight than this, you and your pathetic ninjas! Or is it that you know you cannot fight me?"
"I do not wish to fight you, Sabaku!" cried out the Kazekage. "You could have been Kazekage, just like your grandfather before you."
"It is my grandfather who gave me this curse!" he exclaimed. "It is thanks to that fool that I can never sleep, for fear that this demon may devour my very mind! It is because of him, everyone feared me! Is that what he wanted, for me to be feared among my peers?"
"But Gaara had no choice! The curse must be passed down or all would be lost to the demon! I too had to endure the pain."
"Not like I have!" shouted Sabaku as he removed his mask. The pupils of his eyes were the color of blood, just as his hair was. The bags under his eyes showed signs of sleeplessness and must inner torment. Surely, this man must have suffered. By this time the sand had completely enveloped the Kazkage and it was only a matter of time before it was too late.
"Good bye, father." was Sabaku final words to him before he exclaimed, "Sand Coffin!"