Hey Guys! So Chapter 11? Yeah 11 is right XD

Sorry it's a bit later in the week but who'd have thought 3 essays would be dumped on me?

I honestly did not expect this story to go as far as it has and I am just so thankful for all the reviews and likes and favorites. You have no idea what they mean to me.

The special shout out of the week goes to Kejmur! Thanks for the review!

I'm going to try and keep each chapter steady in between 3 and 4 thousand words from now on because I feel like it's better than just having 1 to 2 thousand. I can't be amazing like some of the writers on here who spit out a 10-thousand-word long chapter every week.

I wish I could that would be awesome XP

Sorry I've been in a crack-y mood this week and all the crack stories I've been reading have gone to my head so if you see something odd… just ignore it. Or laugh, whatever.

Anyway guys here it is hope you enjoy sorry for any mistakes, my search for a Beta has yielded no results thus far. They are truly illusive creatures.

I DO NOT OWN ANY NARUTO CHARACTERS—except Osamu-chan!

He's mine (=^.^=)


Into Shifting Sands

Opening the door and stepping inside I saw what I expected to. Dad was sitting at his desk and Shikamaru-san was standing beside him lazily slouched over and looking tired as always. What I didn't expect to see was the tall man in desert robes standing in front of my father's desk.

"Hello, Osamu."

I just gaped.

"Gaara-san!"

Turns out that Gaara was here on business but decided to escort his sister and nephew back to Suna when it was done at the end of the week.

Shikadai was talking to his dad about why they were going to visit and if Shikamaru was going to be joining them on their visit. I turned my attention back to the red haired Kazekage and my father.

"So you guys are leaving in two days?"

The two Kage shared a look before Gaara answered, "Tomorrow, actually." He began, "Our business was concluded early and the sooner I get back to Sunagakure the better."

"How long will they be gone?"

Gaara smiled slightly, "Only for a week. Shikadai cannot miss that much school."

"Ah, I see. Well, it was nice to-"

"Osamu!"

My gaze snapped to the left where the voice came from, only to jump away from the Nara who was way too close to my face. "Shikadai… personal space!"

He leaned away from me a bit before very bluntly saying "Come with me!"

"What?"

He sighed, looking like he wanted nothing more than to grab my shoulders and shake me back and forth. "Come to Suna with me."

I could see the three men glance at each other with varying looks of amusement and confusion. I glared at them before turning my attention back to my only friend. I don't really want to go to Suna… but maybe…

"Why?"

Shikadai looked startled for a minute. "Why what? He asked

"Why me? Why not ask Boruto or one of your other friends?" I f he answered this the way I thought he would then I guess going wouldn't hurt to go… besides spending time with Gaara would be nice.

The younger Nara sighed again—I make him do that a lot… must be an Uzumaki thing—before giving the dullest and most irritated look he has ever given me.

"I swear sometimes you're dumber than your brother."

"Oi!"

"You're my friend. Okay?" He smirked at me, "and I'm the only friend you've got so just sat yes already."

Rolling my eyes, I glanced back at my father who was looking at me more in concern now than the amusement he had been a moment before.

"Dad?"

He seemed to snap out of whatever thought he was having, actually turning his attention to me, "Yeah?"

"Can I go?"

He grinned a little before looking at Gaara who nodded, also smiling "Yes, Osamu, you can go."

"Great!" Shikadai grabbed my arm and began pulling me out of the room. "Thanks, Hokage-sama, Dad, Uncle!"

We were almost out of the door before I heard one last remark from my Dad.

"But you have to tell your mother!"

And as the door slammed shut behind us my shoulders sagged.


Naruto sat in his office, two of his closest friends on either side of him. There was a pensive look on his as he recalled the conversation the two young boys just had.

"Shikadai… is Osamu's only friend?" he asked quietly.

Shikamaru gave him a curious look while Gaara just sat quietly in his chair.

"Yeah I caught that too." The older Nara admitted. "I'm sure it's not as bad as it sounded."

Naruto slumped a bit in his chair, "But what if it is? I know he's not the most outgoing kid… oh kami, what if they're being mean to him and that's why!" The very notion seemed to upset the Hokage because he sprung up from his chair and started pacing.

"Naruto, you need to calm down. I'm sure Osamu isn't getting bullied by other kids."

"But what if he is!?" His shoulder slumped. "I just… don't want him to go through what I did. Not having many friends as a kid."

Gaara watched the whole conversation quietly before standing and making his way to the door. He turned as he gripped the handle, ready to pull the door open and stared his best friend down.

"Osamu is a bright child, even if he does not have many friends now… I'm sure he will have strong bonds in the future." He pulled open the door. "He is his father's son, after all."

The Hokage and his assistant watched the Kazekage depart from the office. Shikamaru turned to his friend, "What he said."

Naruto laughed before sitting down and getting back to work. His worries abated… if only for a while.


When Hinata woke up this morning she made her family breakfast, kissed them on the cheek as they left to do their daily activities, and then proceeded to clean the house and relax.

She loves the life she has and wouldn't ask for anything different, but she can't help but miss the thrill of going on missions and spending time with her old team mates. They all had lives of their own now and sometimes they all got a bit too busy to see each other.

Kiba was head of tracking and was dating a nice girl named Tamaki. They were happy in their house filled with cats and dogs. Shino was teaching at the academy and she wasn't sure if he had a lover or not.

Kurenai was happy with her daughter Mirai but refused to get into another relationship after the death of her husband Asuma all those years ago.

Did she wish her children were a little less reckless and accident prone; of course, but there's really nothing she can do about it. The life of a ninja is a hard one and she couldn't very well wrap them up and keep them home for the rest of their lives.

She was just glad they wouldn't be leaving the village for a few more years. Hinata had never felt more love for D-Rank missions in all her years.

Yes, Hinata was perfectly content with the way her life was going and despite some minor things she wanted it to stay just the way it was.

So when her youngest son came through the door telling her about a trip he was taking to Suna with the Nara family you can guess how she reacted.

"Pardon?"


Oh, crap. I knew Kaa-chan wouldn't take this well at all. She's going to get emotional and then I'll feel guilty and then Shikadai will get mad…

Damn him for ditching me and heading to his house. What ever happened to having your comrades back?

"Osamu… who told you that you can go to Suna?"

She's using her mom voice. Ah hell. Sorry Dad but you're getting thrown under the bus this time.

"Dad did." I said quickly. "But Shikadai wanted me to go so he wouldn't have to be bored the whole time they were there and Boruto is… well he's Boruto, so you can guess why he asked me.

I watched as Kaa-chan slumped down onto the couch and put her face in her hands. This is actually creepy in a Déjà vu kind of way. Wasn't Dad in this exact same position once? Please don't let this be another heart to heart chat.

"What's wrong, Kaa-chan?"

She smiled softly at me before sighing and patting the seat next to her.

Yup, serious Déjà vu.

"You all seem to be growing up so fast." She began, "Especially you, Osamu, you never seem to be home anymore. First the Academy, then the Estate, and now you're going to Suna. That's three days away!"

"Kaa-chan… I'll only be gone for a week, ya know?"

She laughed.

"It seems, that whenever you set a time to your departures, that you're always gone longer than you anticipated."

Okay this isn't quite going the way I thought it was going.

"If you really want this, Osamu, then I won't stand in your way. But, please, be careful." She gave me a pleading look. "You get into far more trouble than someone your age should."

I grinned at her and felt, in that moment, all the more like my father's child then I ever have before.

"I'll try, Kaa-chan. But I'm pretty sure Uzumaki are lousy with bad luck."

It made her laugh and that's all I could ask for. Seeing the smile light up her face again.

"We'll see you when you get back."


The congregation of people who came to see us off was quite large, if I do say so myself. It included Dad (or a clone, I'm not entirely sure), Kaa-chan, Shikadai's parents, my siblings, Hanabi-obasan, and Kakashi.

Grandfather would have come but he was attending a council meeting in Hanabi-obasan's place so she could be here.

After all the goodbyes and tear (mostly Kaa-chan) we headed off into the forest surrounding the village. Kakashi had slipped me a scroll, with quiet instructions to read it privately, when he hugged me goodbye. I wasn't sure what it was but I was curious to find out.

We set of at a moderate pace, I knew it was because Shikadai and I weren't at all ready for high spend travel through the trees. Even if I had learned tree and water walking from Hanabi-obasan, and I'm sure Shikadai learned it form his clan, our chakra control was not good enough for that.

It was only the four of us... well, besides the three Suna ANBU I could sense. They were there to 'protect' their Kazekage, as if Gaara wasn't badass enough as it is.

The Kage in question turned to me with amusement shining in his eyes. Did I say that part out loud? … Oops.

Doesn't mean it's not true, though.

"So, Osamu, have you ever been out of the village?"

I turned to the young Nara next to me, shaking my head no. "Dad had to many potential enemies that could hurt us."

He looked confused, "But we've been in an era of peace for a while."

He doesn't understand that the world is an ugly place. Konoha gives off so much peace that it's hard to think of how things used to be in the world. I wouldn't be aware of it either if it wasn't for the other me.

I really am lucky to have the knowledge that I do.

"It doesn't mean that the world is safe. Just because we're at peace doesn't mean there aren't bad people in the world."

"He's right, Shika-chan."

We both looked at the Nara Matriarch who was still looking in front pf her. "The world can be a cruel place with very cruel people." She glanced at me and our eyes connected briefly. "But it can also be very beautiful."

After that we continued on in relative silence. Despite how slow we were going—well slow for the adults—I wasn't worried about bandits or anything attacking us.

They would be stupid to do it with shinobi like Temari-san and Gaara here. The ANBU could most likely hold their own as well.

When Shikadai and I got tired later that night I thought the adults were going to have us stop and make camp, but instead they picked us up and put us on their backs before taking off into the trees at breakneck speed.

"Why didn't we do this earlier?" Shikadai asked around a yawn as he buried his head in his mother's shoulder.

"We wanted you two to get a feeling of what it's like on missions with civilians."

Shikadai grunted before his soft snores filled the air.

Gaara nodded his head in agreement while he shifted his hold on me. I still don't like being held but tiredness won out this time and I slumped against his back. I wanted to stay awake, to talk to Gaara or just enjoy the view, but my eyes slowly slid shut and I joined my lazy friend in the realm of dreams.

The next time I opened my eyes my shirt was sticking to my back because of sweat. Glancing around I noticed we were in the middle of what looked like a sea of gold.

I'm giving it justice for a bunch of sand though.

"How long was I asleep for?"

Gaara's head slightly turned to hear me better. "Through the night. We should be in Sunagakure by tomorrow."

I could see Temari-san carrying a still sleeping Shikadai up ahead of us. The ANBU were doing a pretty good job of hiding as well… considering we were surrounded by sand.

The heat was draining and I'm sure if it wasn't for Gaara telling me what clothes I should bring I would already have a sunburn. It was making me drowsy though and I could feel myself falling back asleep. Hopefully the next time I wake up we'll have reached our destination.


Gaara smiled slightly as he felt the youngest Uzumaki's head drop back onto his shoulder. The kid should get as much sleep as he could because Suna has many surprises waiting for him. That goes for Shikadai as well… the poor boy won't find much time to be lazy in the harsh desert.

Temari glanced back at her brother, noticing his smile and feeling one of her own forming. She hiked her kid up further on her back, laughing at his grumbled protest to being moved, before taking off in a faster sprint.

If they went fast enough they might just reach Suna by nightfall.


Thankfully when I woke up next I was in a bed. Not to say that Gaara's back was uncomfortable but beds are much preferred.

"Hey Osamu, you finally awake?"

I turned my head to see my only sort-of-friend glancing at me from where he was sitting. Well he was more lazing than sitting if I'm being honest. I'll need to master my laziness if I'm ever to defeat him…

Where the hell did that come from?

I must still be tired.

"That's rich coming from you, Nara. How long have you been up?"

He snorted before sinking deeper into the chair. "I've only been awake for an hour or so." I got off the bed and made my way over to the bathroom to wash my face, mumbling a "My point exactly." At him.

"Shut it Uzumaki." Shikadai suddenly righted himself and made his way over to me. "We have to meet with Uncle so you'll need to be quick."

Damn… I wanted to look at that scroll that Kakashi gave me. But instead of arguing I just agreed and we made our way to the Kazekage tower.

When we arrived I was shocked slightly by how different it was from Konoha's tower. Instead of people bustling around and talking animatedly with each other everyone seemed to know their place and where they were needed.

I mean people were still talking to each other but only briefly as they got back to their tasks.

We didn't dawdle as we made our way to Gaara's office, not wanting to get caught up in the bustle of the paper pusher ninja. They probably wouldn't appreciate it.

Shikadai knocked on the door when we finally got there and we heard Gaara call out "Enter." His office wasn't that much different then Dad's… big desk, computer, mountains of paperwork…

I guess it's the bane of every Kage's existence.

"Hello boys." Gaara said as we entered the room. There was another man there standing beside the Kazekage. He was dressed in a common desert robe and headgear with half of it covering his face. I wasn't sure if the two red marks on his cheeks were tattoos or scars.

"This is Baki." Gaara continued, "He's going to be going over a few things with you."

Shikadai and I shared a look. "What kinds of things, Uncle?"

Instead of answering Gaara just smirked before dismissing us. We followed Baki down onto the street and all I could see when I looked at him was the man who cut down Gekko Hayate at my Dad's first Chunin Exams. I know it's not fair because there were circumstances and he's probably repented… but it's hard not to see the past.

"What is it kid?"

.

.

.

"What?"

He glanced back at me before looking back forward. "You keep giving me this intense look."

I really need to stop doing that. "It's nothing, just… curious as to what you'll have us doing."

Baki chuckled, coming to a stop outside of a seemingly building. "We're not going to be doing anything today as I have other matters to attend to." He turned to look at me and the youngest Nara, "Tomorrow, you will be here at six a.m. I do not accept tardiness… That goes for you Nara."

Shikadai made an odd squawking noise before grumbling to himself about how 'toroublesome' this whole situation was.

Baki turned back to me, "Go back to your hotel and get some rest. It gets cold in the desert at night." With that he disappeared into the building.

"So… want to go get lunch?"

I shook my head at my friend, as we made our way back to the hotel.

We did end up stopping for Ikayaki, though.

That night as Shikadai was sleeping I decided to finally see what was in the scroll Kakashi gave me. Taking out of my bag I snuck into the bathroom and closed the door silently behind me. Opening the scroll there were two parts a letter and another scroll.

I guess the letter first then.

Osamu,

I hope you're opening this scroll in private as it has very sensitive information that could possibly lead to another war.

Say what now!?

I wasn't sure if this was going to go to you or your brother but as Boruto has shown no interest in sealing and you have the choice was obvious. I never gave it to your father because I felt like he didn't need it,

Not to say that you do, but it will make your life easier and I feel like you would enjoy the challenge. You're going to have to calibrate it to your chakra nature because Minato-sensei was wind natured and we're not sure what yours is yet.

Good luck and have fun.

Kakashi

Okay now I'm curious. He said Minato didn't he? Wait… no way… it couldn't be. Quickly unsealing the scroll, I pulled out a little book and…

A kunai.

A tri-pronged kunai.

Holy Shit.

"Hirashin"


Bet you didn't see that one coming!

Okay, okay before everyone throws a fit!

It is going to take Osamu a loooonnnnngg time to master this particular skill. He will not be all powerful or God-like and he will have his weaknesses. But this is going to be relevant to the plot in a shocking way so stay tuned.

Did anybody else catch my Gaara is Crowley "Hello Boys"?

I crack myself up. XP

Sorry for the late-ish update College is killing me and writers block punched me in the face.

Anyway don't forget to leave a Review and tell me what you think! Only a few more chapters till the climax so be prepared.

Till Next Time!

Ja 'Ne!