Sandstorm

Why was it that the walls were always painted taupe? Was it supposed to be soothing? It was so ugly, even worse than the egg-shell white of the hospital. Tsunade much more preferred the warm hues of the cafés and stores out in downtown. Then again, this wasn't exactly downtown. She folded her hands politely, nodding softly as a servant set a cup of tea beside her arm on the mahogany table. The Uzumaki's sat across from her, staring at her hopefully. They wanted their heir. But not in the same way a parent wanted a child. Much in the same sense that a businessman wanted his investment; and it was exactly that.

Clearing her throat as an initiation of conversation, she bowed her head to them. After all, they had once been the most powerful House among the Four Families. And the only one without a specific genetic ability. "Sir, Madame," she started hesitantly, "As you may all ready know, I have not been able to locate your heir." Their frowning stares were completely expected. It wasn't as if she could perform miracles. "He seems rather elusive, and I need more information, I'm afraid. Starting with reasons of adoption, his biological parents perhaps, access to Delphi's log of specific dates in his life, anything that would be helpful in figuring out why and how he thinks."

"Madame Tsunade," began the female Uzumaki. Araika. "You must first assure us that there is no possibility of kidnapping. Subterfuge. Because, if so, providing you with valuable and sensitive information would undermine us and our need for secrecy."

Tsunade blinked, then frowned softly in thought. There hadn't been any reports of others gone missing from Delphi's subsystems, and there hadn't been any outstanding accounts of violence or odd occurrences. There was very little chance of Naruto being kidnapped or forced against his will. She explained it to them in layman's terms. No need to bog them down with Delphi's subsystem data sheets.

This time, it was the man who spoke, known as Sekkun. He was a milder persona compared to his wife, and even smiled as he nodded in understanding. "Very well, our aides will bring up the data. We will watch and research with you, of course." He nodded idly at a man sitting behind a computer monitor at the far end of the conference room. Here, deep in the Uzumaki mansion, there was very little chance of being bugged or spied on. A projector above their heads flickered to life, painting the wall at the far end of the room with a still image of a new born child. The lights dimmed accordingly as the still image began moving. It was an old video log by Delphi.

Off screen, a man could be heard weeping softly, the cause of sorrow evident. A woman lay on a gurney, covered in blood and placental fluids, still, her eyes wide and staring at the sky that wasn't there. A doctor's white clothing passed before camera lens, but it didn't pan out. For the briefest moment, the child could be seen again, a shock of blond hair matted against his head, suckling his thumb. A pair of hands came next, grasping the child with calloused, strong hands and bringing him close to his chest, his face cut off by the camera angle.

"This is a video log recording Naruto's birth. He'd almost been a still-born. They had to perform a C-section, which, unfortunately, killed his mother due to complications." There was no compassion in Sekkun's voice, just soft understanding. He'd gone through a similar experience, except it was the child whom had died, and not Araika. They both went silent for a moment. "Unfortunately, this is the only angle immediately allowed to us. All other data and logs on his birth, his biological parents, and even the doctor, are strictly classified by Delphi. I doubt the Regent himself could get the information necessary if he so wished."

Tsunade set her jaw. She'd seen this scene before, but the people had been different. Too many times she'd had to suffer silently as someone wept over a dead child or a dead mother. She blocked it out, as she always did. A doctor was in the business of death as much as she was in the business of life. She waved at the Uzumaki's again. "Fine, the date of adoption?"

Another still image. "Nothing spectacular. We adopted him when he was seven." Araika this time. The picture displayed a sad looking boy in the midst of a playground, sitting on a swing dejectedly, his legs frozen in the act of drawing in the red mulch covering the ground. His eyes were hidden beneath spikey, unruly hair. "We had tested blood of other children, and found he was the only one capable of chakra manipulation." The woman paused, then frowned slightly. "You must understand, we did this out of need. If we could have been more compassionate, we would have, you understand. But this adoption was a necessity for the Uzumaki House. You understand our apathy relating to the child, do you not?"

Why was a head of a House explaining their rational to her, Tsunade couldn't fathom, but she nodded anyway. She needed to patronize them for now, of course. No time to sit about and idly wonder what Naruto thought about all this. The still image again turned into a video, where children scampered past the boy in play, and two tall figures approached him. The angle changed, revealing the two House heads as they motioned at him to follow. Naruto simply stared up at them, his eyes wide with a sliver of a half forgotten hope. Tsunade bit her lip. The scene continued, with long explanations of the adoption process, and the signing of papers, the endless chattering by the orphanage's staff, and so on.

The scene changed, revealing the new family as they clambered into the long car just outside the door of the orphanage. Naruto was still mistrustful of the entire thing, it seemed, as he kept quiet and clambered into the car, his face twisted in youthful hope that all this wasn't a dream, and an expression akin to unbelief. He didn't want to trust that these two stern people were now his parents. "Your name is now Uzumaki." Sekkun's voice. "And your duty is to the House." That hope wasn't fulfilled. Now she felt that twinge of sympathy in her heart

"You're my parents...right?" Naruto sat expectantly on the leather of the car chair, gripping the seat eagerly. He was wary. "I can call you mom and dad?"

Araika spoke in her normal, curt voice. "No, we don't believe it would be appropriate. And we are your parents only in title. You are an investment. A very important one. Take heart, young one, your life now has purpose." She didn't smile.

The hope in Naruto's eyes fell, leaving him the same boy he'd been on the swing not long ago. "Oh," was all he managed, staring at the carpet below him, his head hung and tipped to the side.

"Now, now, we shall give you good food, comfort, and education. All so that you may one day continue the Uzumaki name. And, know that you are very special. You can control chakra. A key to unleashing the sacred power of our House."

Sekkun. "Yes, that's right. You must stay in the mansion, of course, for if the other Houses discovered that we'd tried to resurrect our dying lineage, they would no longer tolerate us." There was an uncharacteristic bitterness to the man's voice. "They still fear us, it seems."

Tsunade noticed that the boy on the couch, ten years ago, understood immediately what this relationship was. Nothing more than a commodity, stored and protected to benefit a family that could find no other hope than outside themselves. But this was not her business, to bother with the affairs of the Houses. She was a mediator. She was a doctor. But she was only trusted as such due to her neutral disposition. Her emotions would only muddy the waters, so to speak.

The next hour was spent watching key points in Naruto's life, his upbringing, his academics, his behaviors, his attitudes.

And her understanding of this young man grew. However, there was one more point of interest. "Bring up the day of his disappearance."

Both parents hesitated, stared at each other, then sighed simultaneously. It was almost comical, and yet... "We can't. Delphi doesn't record everything in the mansion. And he seems to have been able to somehow slip past Delphi's subsystems. The boy is clever, if anything." Araika didn't seem particularly pleased to be relating this information, but she apparently realized the necessity. "Perhaps it was his own doing that Delphi no longer sees him. Perhaps he'd slipped a virus into her system?"

"No. The code is fine. It's as if he simply disappeared." Tsunade frowned, rubbing her forehead softly, her fingernail scraping against the jewel set in her forehead. "Nngh, this is frustrating," she muttered, then straightened. "Well, I thank you earnestly for the information, Sir and Madame Uzumaki."

"Of course," Sekkun smiled, picking up a folder, and retrieving a video log of their meeting from the man at the monitor. "Anything to have our heir back."

Tsunade smiled politely, then excused herself. She really didn't want to spend anymore time with these two.

---

There was little that could have prepared the young heir as the ground above their heads closed, swallowing them and casting them into darkness. Except, it wasn't quite so dark. He could see just fine, the passage lit by oddly phosphorus stone embedded into the walls. Frowning, he drew a hand over the wall, noticing the faint carvings and intricate decorations of the wall. They seemed to glow beneath his touch, the archaic letters and symbols following his finger with a faint light.

"C'mon, Blondie, I ain't got all day."

He turned towards Sakura, half mesmerized by the walls, half confused. "What is this place?"

A smile tugged her lips as she motioned down the ever descending steps. "You'll have to see it for yourself."

As they walked down, the walls steadily changed, more light cast by far more stones as they walked deeper. Occasionally, doors dotted the passage, leading to heaven knows where. Their steps on the stone rang out as they walked in silence, and Naruto was reminded of the older sections of the mansion. Here and there, there were windows gazing into earth, as if the whole structure had once been above ground, and then collapsed into the earth.

Finally, they came upon a massive double door blocking their way any further. Sakura pressed a hand against it and walked in. "Remember, try and smile. Be polite. And all that other social crap." The door creaked on its iron hinges, and she stepped through, Naruto tailing closely.

The room they'd walked into was enormous, more of a spiral cavern reaching towards an earthen sky. It was a building, no question, with symmetrical walls and the like, and not an actual cavern. However, here and there, stalactites hung from beneath balconies and dripped water down towards the first floor, where a massive spiral with a triangle had been set into the floor in a mosaic. All around them rose the walls of the structure, multi-tiered with separate floors. Shelves full of scrolls and leather bound books hugged the walls. It seemed more like a library than anything else.

"Oy, oy! Check it out. Sakura found us someone new." The voice echoed starkly in the library, punctuated by a yapping dog. Naruto snapped his head down from the coned ceiling to the boy who'd spoken. He had a wolfish smile, his teeth reaching towards the two lines coming down below his eyes. Tattoos? A large dog with whitish fur trotted over to Naruto and sniffed, made a soft grunting sound, then trotted back to his owner. "Haha. Lookit him, with his mouth all open." The boy stepped forward, pulling down his fuzz lined hoody. "Names Kiba," he said curtly, shoving his hand out to Naruto. "And you've all ready met Akamaru. Welcome to our little club."

Naruto took the hand, but took the time to glance around the room. Old furniture had been brought here, apparently, because none of it seemed old enough to actually belong to the room. There were several others sitting on them, reading, playing a game of chess, or just looking at him. Kiba led him around, Sakura tailing him and introducing the others. Ino, he knew, and she gave him a wink, before turning back to the magazine she was scanning.

Nara Shikamaru, two Hyuugas, a sulky looking Uchiha, and another girl named Tenten. Naruto knew three of the off-hand, and had recognized them immediately.

The Uchiha, named Sasuke, was perhaps the most dangerous to Naruto specifically, simply because the Uchiha House had long opposed the Uzumaki. But, unfortunately (or fortunately), Sasuke was the last of his kind. He was the House's head and sole occupant, due to a fatal, contagious eye disease somehow attributed to the unique structure of the Sharigan. Sasuke had been miraculaously immune, but mourned the loss of his family far harder than most would. Without family, his blood was without legacy, and everything rested on him.

The Hyuuga, namely Hinata, made a more comfortable introduction, simply because she seemed timid, almost too shy to shake Naruto's hand when he was introduced. She avoided his stare, and looked down with the characteristic pale, pearly eyes of the House. She was the heir, that much was true, but it seemed her cousin Neji, a stoic young man on any account, would have been far better suited to the task of the leading the most prominent House in Konoha. For now, Naruto couldn't help but think wryly. They nodded at each other.

Tenten was almost boring looking, until she spoke, and her whole face lit up to include the warmth that seemed intrinsic to her. She dragged him down onto the couch and began chatting with him amicably as Kiba rolled his eyes as he walked back to join Shikamaru. "Naruto, eh? Cool name. Where ya from? I'd say you're an Outer like me." Outer simply meant that the person was born in one of the outlying communities that were farther from main city.

The blonde frowned internally, but smiled, feeling the cracked leather of the couch cushion beneath his hands. "Yeah, that's right. From Komatsu." Any name would do.

Tenten smiled again, eyeing him up and down. "You know, you look really familiar. Are you sure I don't know you from somewhere?"

Neji glanced over towards them, and nodded, apparently having listened to their conversation. "Yes, you seem oddly familiar to me as well. Perhaps my clan knows your family?"

Biting his tongue, Naruto frowned, as if in thought. "No, doubt it."

"What did you say your last name was?" Neji again. He was staring at him with an intensity that would not soon be forgotten. Naruto suddenly wished for a blindfold to wrap around the boy's eyes. Or a stick. A pointy stick.

"I didn't," hummed Naruto deftly. This was not something to let slip to the two House heirs.

Tenten dropped the subject, but Neji continued to stare at him. "How can we trust you if you do not tell us your surname? What if you are a spy?"

From her seat near the Uchiha, Sakura let out a snort. "Are you kidding me? This guy got his wallet lifted by Kiba in the middle of the day, in the middle of downtown, staring at the sky like he'd never seen anything like it before."

Kiba grinned sheepishly, then threw Naruto's wallet at the surprised blonde. "Yeaaahhh, forgot about that."

"There ya go," Sakura continued, running a hand through her hair. "If he doesn't want to tell you, he won't. Capisce?" She pointed at the Hyuuga absently. Clearing her throat, the girl carefully steered the conversation away from the subject. "Anyway, I bet your probably wondering what all this is about. You may not realize it, but we've just opened the door up to being discovered. It's a risk we took with everyone here. Admittedly, Sasuke and the Hyuuga clan were decidedly harder to get to, but, eh, we managed." Throwing a grin at Sasuke, she pointed at him. He ignored her completely.

"Why?" Naruto couldn't help but feel utterly at loss again. "What is this place? What are you all doing here?"

"That, Blondie, is for us to know, and for you to find out." Sakura grinned at him, then winked; he couldn't help but blush. She leaned forward in her seat, crossing her legs under her. "Listen, first off, you can never, ever tell anyone we're down here, or what we're doing." She staved off his questions with an upheld hand. "Whoa, whoa, before you ask me all those obvious questions, let me ask you something."

All eyes snapped to him as if on command. He wanted to fidget in his seat all of a sudden, and he almost did, but felt it wouldn't be professional, or something along those lines. "Shoot," he said as casually as he could.

"What do you desire most?" Sasuke had spoken for the first time, and he seemed as interested in this question as the others were.

"Well, explanations for one. Maybe a bowl of ramen," the blonde said, trying to alleviate the suddenly oppressive silence. None of them even blinked. "Oh, come on," he grunted, somewhat upset that his attempt at levity had fallen flat on its face, "What do you mean? We live in a practical paradise. No one goes hungry, no one hurts each other. Nobody wants anything."

Sakura frowned slightly. This was obviously not the answer she had been probing for. "Are you sure that's true, Naruto? Do you really know what goes on under the skin of this 'peaceful' world? You don't, apparently. You've been stupefied by the Regent, just like the rest, and very few know what we know. So," she paused, boring into him with firm, jade eyes. "I'll ask again. What do you want most? With every fiber of your being, or something that has crossed your mind while watching the world go by."

Almost unbidden, a single word flung itself from his lips and fell like a deadweight in the quiet room. "Freedom..." he trailed off, blinked, then frowned. The memory of desperately wishing to be free from the mansion surged to the surface, along with the faint smell of sulfur. "But I have it. Now, anyway."

Slowly, a humorless smile crossed Sasuke's face as he spoke the second time. "Tell me, ahou, what is the purpose of a wall?"

Naruto gave him a look of sheer incomprehension. But he answered. "Well, uh, to keep things in or out, right?"

"And what is the Wall doing, then? Have you ever wondered?"

Slowly, realization dawned on Naruto. "You...want freedom too."

"Everyone forgot what was outside the Wall long time ago, man." This time, it was Kiba who spoke, drawling his words, Akamaru cocking his head up him. He sat slouched beside Shikamaru, arms dangling behind him on the couch, legs crossed at the ankles and stretched full out before him. But despite his lax posture, he stared with the same intensity that everyone else seemed to possess. "And now, we're all just living here, stagnatin' behind millions of tons of concrete and chakra-sealed gates." He looked ready to spit. "The Regent just continues to take advantage of this, and the blind stupidity everyone seems to have fallen into."

"Whoa, whoa," Naruto almost laughed at the sheer absurdity, waving his arms before him. "So, what? You guys are staging a coupe? You want to take over the throne to see what's behind the wall?" He let his hands fall to his lap, suddenly irritated. "What are you guys? Kids who just can't resist the temptation to peek into a room you aren't supposed to go in? This is stupid."

"That's exactly the mentality we want to tear down," Ino spoke, apparently frustrated with Naruto's inability to comprehend their views. "This stupid idea that we're somehow doing ourselves a favor by hiding in here. You know the laws. Maximum two kids per family, no additional building without extensive permits, all these stupid limits on expansion of any kind."

"And what if there's something terrible out there?" The logic behind their arguments suddenly felt all the more hollow. "What if there's a very good reason why no one is allowed out there?"

"Then we should be told." Neji again. "Why keep this secret?"

"All right, all right." Naruto cleared his throat. "Let's say I agree with you guys. And, for the sake of argument, let's say I join you, right?" He held a finger to his forehead. "That makes a total, what, nine idiots against the entire Royal Guard? That's suicide and you know it. We're not even trained."

"Speak for yourself," grunted Sasuke. "And the Royal Guard is not the problem. Consider them a moot point, if you will. We have our ways that we aren't willing to reveal to you unless you swear allegiance."

Naruto sat back in the couch, glancing at Sakura, then at Ino, who both stared back as if silently willing him to join. "No," he said finally, sighing and scratching the back of his head. "This...no, this is stupid." However, in the back of his mind, he couldn't shake their words. Standing, he shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked towards the door. "I won't tell anyone, I swear, because, seriously, I don't think you'll be able to anything."

"Naruto!" Sakura stood and walked over to him, gripping his arm, trying to turn him around. He complied reluctantly, but his eyes were set. "Naruto, think about it at least. Our offer stands."

Spreading his arms out, the heir grunted. "Thanks for putting me up last night and all, but I gotta go. Gotta figure out what I'm doing from here, y'know? This whole thing is just too out there." He turned and walked through the doors, holding his hand up in departure, not bothering to look up. "I'll see you 'round, 'kay?"

The eight others just watched as he walked out and disappeared.

"Well? What now?" Tenten spoke. "We can't just let him walk out, can we?"

Sasuke frowned from where he sat. "Let him go. But we need someone to tail him and make sure he won't start blabbing." He paused. "He seems like the kind that would." His cold eyes pivoted over to Hinata. "What about you? You're the only one not currently busy with anything."

For the first time since the introduction, the girl spoke, looking up. "W-what? Me? Why? Neji would be better for this job, wouldn't he?"

"Yes," Sasuke spoke curtly, "but that's beside the point. Neji is unavailable. Follow the ahou. Report to us. And avoid making contact with him. I'll explain the situation to the Eye."

Apparently frustrated, the Hyuuga heir nodded anyway. "Very well," she sighed, glancing at Neji, whom had turned his gaze towards an open scroll. "But don't expect miracles."

"There's no worry of that," said the Uchiha plainly, frowning.

Hinata could feel soft anger flare at his words, but then dismissed it and stood and left. After all, she could use the stealth training.

---

Far from Delphi's prying eyes, far from human eyes, somewhere hidden and secret, dangerous and dark, a dark shadow passed through the cavernous network of tunnels far below the surface. The shadow didn't stop until he came to a massive metal door, padlocked and heavy, an elaborate scene of death, blood, and monstrous eyes having been stamped onto its dull, unpolished surface. He stepped through, then promptly shut the door. Moving into the cavern, he stopped before the two massive glass tubes in the center of the room, where a single figure stood, surveying the large stone gourd sitting on a pedestal between the cylinders. Something within the gourd rattled.

"So, the sand has begun to move," said the newly arrived shadow to the other. He walked forwards to stand beside the other. "The Bijuu of the Sand has awoken. That is hardly surprising, though. The Key itself has awoken."

"Kyuubi no Yoko? The Kitsune?" The other shadow turned from the sight, setting his piercing white eyes on the man before him. His black coat waved slowly, giving the illusion that the red clouds on the fabric were real; bloody nimbuses floating their way through a black sky. "How was this found out?" Then, he waved a hand. "Hardly important, actually. The Kitsune has somehow escaped then? How fortunate." He moved towards the odd stone vessel, and set a hand on it. The sand inside rattled and vibrated, before a muffled roar shrieked a him, tendrils of silicone smashing themselves against the walls of their prison. The only reason it was kept ineffective was because of the highly effective seal etched into the stone. He knew this. Excitement lit like fire in the back of his mind. "We can set the plan in motion then." He turned towards the other. "Bring him. We will begin the Sealing Ceremony now."

The other shadow nodded at two guards near the hall, and they sped out and off. Then he looked at the gourd again. "This seal will be difficult, especially if Shukaku is not cooperative. In fact, if I were a gambling man, I would say he'll be quite resistant."

"It hardly matters. The seal is perfect. However, I'm more curious about the Kitsune. Our knowledge on the vault was very specific, and even if the Kyuubi had been released by some idiot, then the vault would close them both in." A hand came out of the cloak to rub his chin thoughtfully. "Unless, of course, they performed a seal. Interesting. The Kitsune is no fool, and would have probably been the one to perform it. Few know such powerful sealing techniques." A twisted smirk crossed the man's face in the dark, the green glow from the glass cylinders. "Obviously, he would have made a weak seal, though. He'll try to get out."

"We mustn't let that happen," grumbled the other shadow, muttering slightly to himself after speaking. His eyes flicked towards the door lazily as a young man was dragged in, breathing heavily between his two captors. The shadow swiftly brought his eyes towards the other again. "I have something that may or may not be worth something, Leader. The same night of the earthquake, when the sand became active, the heir of the Uzumaki House vanished without a trace. Supposedly, not even Delphi can find him."

"A tremendous feat in and of itself." The Leader hummed, motioning absently at the tube on the left, which opened and allowed the men to throw their captive inside. The glass walls swiftly shut, trapping the individual inside, his face highlighted by the green glow. He couldn't have been more than nineteen. "The two must be more than coincidence." The cylinder on the left opened, and the Leader picked up the gourd and set it inside. Again, the glass came down with a hiss. "I want you to find the heir, and bring him in. He may very well have the Key sealed within him. It is an opportunity we cannot lose."

"We may use force then?" the shadow seemed neither excited, nor bored. Somewhere in between the two, he managed to seem simply sinister.

"Yes," the Leader sighed, "But use discretion, Itachi. I don't want a mangled corpse. And I want him alive." Waving the man off, the Leader turned towards the cylinder containing the gourd. Performing a rapid succession of hand signs, he paused before the last one, swept by a feeling similar to Naruto's far more innocent experience. Then, he moved his fingers.

The gourd erupted in trillions of grains of sand, their luminescent nature capturing the green glow of their prison. They roared, formless, and furious, before looking for any possible escape. The Leader couldn't help but allow himself a shiver of anticipation as the avalanche of grains found their passage to the boy, trickling through a tube connecting them at their tops before cascading down, trying to drown the human that dared to stand in their way. The boy moaned, muffled behind the glass, finally opening his eyes to stare at the Leader, his dead azure gaze flickering with pain and emotion.

Abruptly, the sand realized there was no way out. It roared again, a howling, reverberating thing that shook the ceiling. So it went to the only place possible. Into the boy. The particles rattled and grabbed at his clothes, tore them off, and tore into his flesh. They pushed themselves into his pores, under his eyelids, down his throat, in his ears. Any and every orifice was clogged, stuffed full of sand. Soon, all of it was gone, just a boy, standing rock solid in the middle of his glass prison, covered in sand. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't breath, and felt as if his insides had turned to stone.

Swiftly, the Leader clasped two hand together, and pushed them to his forehead, just above and to the right of his left eyebrow. "Seal!" he bellowed into the suddenly silent room, echoing and rebounding off the rock walls.

Nothing happened for several long moments. The boy stood as if dead, a statue of sand. Finally, a faintly discernable fissure ran the length of the boy-statue, leaking trickles of silicone. Others spread like a spiderweb from just above the boy's left eyebrow, crackling and shattering the sand entombing him, before finally allowing him to collapse onto the metal floor, gasping raggedly, his hands curling in his shaggy red hair. A faint trickle of blood fell from a kanji on his forehead. Love. Without further ado, he passed out, drooling sand.

The Leader sighed, lowering his hands, fingers shaking with chakra exertion. "Perfect." Then, a soft smirk twitched at the edge of his lips.

"Let's see how Konoha deals with a sandstorm."

----ooo----

First off, I'd like to say that I did not proofread this. I simply don't have the time. And I wanted to submit one last chappie before I went on vacation (Aye!). I also apologize for the endless talking and such. But sometimes, it's necessary to get these sorts of chaps out of the way before we delve into violence, drama, and tinges of romance. For what makes a story better than being informed? Not much. ;P

This chapter is also horrifically long. 11 pages in Word. Blah. Must be some sort of record for me. But anywho, I made a reference in the very first sentence of the this chapter. Yep. Try and figure it out. Hint? It's a movie.

Sandstorm by DJ Skribble. Download it!

-Raz