Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, FFX, or FFX-2.

Naruto began to awake after being unconscious for so long. This time for real, not in his own mind. However, the ninja had to once again suffer through the splitting headaches that came as a result of entering his own mind. While Naruto was 'recovering' he was also reaching out with his senses. The blond kept his eyes closed, so if anyone was watching him they would think he was still asleep. Once Naruto had confirmed that there was no one else nearby, he sat up to inspect the room.

It wasn't anything like what he was expecting. The shinobi thought this world would either be slow in technology, or far ahead in it. However the room looked completely normal. A bed in the corner that he was currently sitting on. Which was fine, if a little lumpy. Better than a futon at least. He never could get used to those completely. When he slept on them he always woke up with strains and he felt really stiff. There was also a dresser near the door, and both were made out of a strange type of wood. Probably to withstand the heat more efficiently. That was another thing, the ninja expected that any house or building in this desert would be unbearably hot. This room was strangely cool however. He knew that he was still in the desert, the vessel could see it through a window across the room from him. It was closed, but because he was kept in a room with a window the people most likely thought he would not hurt them. Or perhaps they thought he couldn't hurt them? When Naruto finished inspecting the room as best he could at the moment, he heard footsteps coming closer.

The shinobi quickly got under the covers again, hoping to fool whoever opened the door so perhaps he could overhear more information. He would like to know more about these people before he tried to talk to them or ask them questions. The blond heard the door open and evened out his breathing to fake sleep more believably. He heard three sets of footsteps, and from the sounds of it one was considerably larger than the others. Naruto listened to the conversation that was bound to happen.

"Awww, he still isn't awake yet! How much longer are we going to have to wait!" Whined one of the people that sounded like a young girl. Or perhaps someone a bit older and more childish, like he used to be. Naruto frowned a little at what he heard. These people most likely didn't speak his language either. How would he get a teacher if nobody understood what he was saying? Or if he didn't understand them?

"Please be patient Rikku, for all we know he could have been out there for days. We are lucky he is even still alive." Said another of them, this one sounding like an older man. He seemed to talk to the girl as a father would to a daughter, or at least in a fatherly tone. So those two were either closely related, or very close to each other. They may just spend a lot of time together, he reasoned it was better not to make assumptions so early on in his 'investigation.'

"But he looks interesting and I want to talk to him! Nothing ever happens around here! But his sleeping is cutting down on 'Gippal time'! Can't we just shake him or something?" The girl said. About everything she said was a few decibels too loud. She sounded very annoyed.

"Just leave him be Rikku. Listen to Cid. Let's just leave and hope he's awake in the next hour or two." The last person said. He sounded a bit older than the girl. Probably a boyfriend or a brother. Most likely brother with how annoyed they both sounded.

The three people began to leave, while the two younger ones starting shouting things at each other that the blond probably didn't want to understand. When they shut the door, Naruto again, sat up, and decided to sneak about for a bit. It couldn't hurt to find more information himself, right?

The shinobi waited a few minutes, hoping that the people were far away before he opened the door. When he finally did, he realized that he was still in the desert. How could the people live like this? Anyway, the blond found out that he was only situated in a small hut, which there was only four or five of. About a two-minute walk away was the biggest tower he had ever seen! It looked even larger than the Hokage tower! (Which it probably was.) The tower was grand, and it seemed to be made out of metal, not wood or bricks. Naruto slowly began the short trek towards the structure, hoping he wouldn't be seen because there was nowhere to hide on the way there. It was just sand.

Fortunately, he managed to make it to the building without incident. It looked even bigger close up. When he got back enough sense to stop gawking, the shinobi decided to wake Kyuubi so he could see too. However, Foxy-sama was sleeping and for reasons unknown to Naruto, he could never be woken up. He would always have to wake up on his own. There were even a few fights where Naruto wanted to use Kyuubi's power and the fox was in la-la land. He had to wait for the beating he got to wake the Kyuubi up. And wouldn't you know it, when he awoke he said, "Kit, why is my room shaking?" At least the furball realized in time what was going on. Naruto had a much higher respect for the average kunai after that. Man do those hurt...

Anyway, Naruto finally decided to enter the tower after his little trip down memory lane. However as soon as he entered the blond had to hide in one of the many dark corners. Why the hell were so many people living in the desert? Surely there are better places. Although the people most likely lived here for a long time, even they must have found it hard to adjust to the extreme heat. All the people wore little clothing. And the ones that did have clothing were either moving around just fine (those people's garments seemed different than others, he was going to have to check on that) or were panting in the shade, obviously tired.

Naruto began to creep along and up the walls. He eventually came to an overhang in the wall and climbed onto it, hoping to rest and observe. He still felt very tired, having just gotten up and having trouble with the heat. It really got to you after a while. The blond peered over the edge of the overhang, and seeing nobody nearby, hopped onto it and gazed down.

It was quite fascinating for him, really. Everyone he knew from Konoha usually had something to do or a person to hate. Mostly me, he thought with disdain. Everyone here were leading fairly normal lives, with the exception of their home being in a desert. There were a few young children playing tag in the center of everything, without a care in the world. A couple of the women were talking at one of the many tables lined up in the shade. However Naruto noticed they were also wearing skimpy clothing. He blushed a little at this and resumed his observations. There was a girl and boy in another corner chatting and kissing every now and then. He smiled a little at this, wondering what it was like to have someone love you. The boy was one of the only people with large, baggy cloths on. He looked about seventeen and had on a type of suit which was mostly red in color, with something large strapped to his back. This reminded him of the sand siblings. Was there some kind of fad with people in deserts carrying large objects around on their backs? The blond will probably never know.

The girl was quite beautiful, if he had to say. She looked to be about fourteen or fifteen. She was also wearing skimpy clothing, although she was more modest than some of the women. She most likely lived here her whole life, or at least close to it. She was wearing a shirt and some shorts, although, once again, they were small. She had blond hair and was jumping around quite wildly. When the ninja looked closer, he noticed her eyes were strange. They were green with a kind of whirlpool pattern in them. In fact, all of the peoples eyes were like that. Most likely a genetic trait of this race. They sort of reminded him of his last name, Uzumaki. Funny, I shouldn't be comparing people's eyes with my name. The blond thought with a small smile. He watched as the girl skipped off to do... whatever it is girls do. He really had no idea, and no intention to find out. So he contented himself with watching the rest of the people.

It really was beautiful. Not the actual place, he believed Konoha looked much nicer. What was beautiful was how people acted. Everyone seemed so much nicer and closer. In a ninja village there were always lies, rumors, gossip, spies, and suspicion. Everyone was so cautious of everyone else. Here however, people appeared much closer. It was nice, and a relaxing change from Konoha, Sasuke and the desert. Naruto leaned down on the railing and started to drift off.

I could stay like this forever... He thought with a small smile. He was not so lucky however.

"Hey you! What are you doing? And how did you get up here?"

Uh oh, he thought. Busted!