Be Still My Heart

AN: This will be brief!

Mochi Mochi! This is Kyubifire and I just want you all to know, this is a short chapter. I’m trying to update ASAP so those who have read it they get the next chapter. For the record, I can care less for reviews. I only care about how many people actually take the time read this at all. Will continue rant after chapter…

*WARNING* Tsunade bashing…

Ja ne

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Neither one of the students could see much due to the fact the lights were all turned off, but they didn't need to. It was like forces that lead them through the confusing hallways and darkness of the Restricted Area. Every now and then though, they could hear angry growls and hear words that were not meant to be heard or spoken.

Soon, after walking for what seemed like hours, Garra, who was leading, stopped in front of a door with a sunburst emblem upon its otherwise unremarkable wooden surface, a golden disc with rays that spread from top to bottom. There was nothing securing the door, so Naruto approached it, with caution though, but stopped abruptly.

"Well?" Garra asked, breaking the silence. "Can we get in?"

"There's ...there's no doorknob." Naruto whispered." We can't get in."

But the moment Naruto spoke those words, the sunburst began to glow bright as the sun itself, blinding the three for a minute as the door creaked open ever so slowly, allowing them entrance.

Sakura looked suddenly worried and whispered furiously," I so think this is a bad idea! Let's just forget about it and get out of here before we get caught!"

"You can." Naruto said." If it just opens like that, RX must want us to come inside."

Naruto stepped through the door first followed by Garra. Sakura hesitated before she convinced herself to enter as well. The door shut closed behind her when she stood next to her companies. They found themselves in a short corridor and were momentarily disoriented by the bright light at the end. Surely this passage lead outside? Blinking against the light, they walked forward.

The corridor didn't lead outside as they first thought. It opened out into a vast chamber, even bigger than the Head Quarters itself, which in technically terms, was impossible. Weird looking symbols as bright as the sunburst doors shone in the distant ceiling, thousands of feet above, making it seem the sky was above them. A huge cherry blossom tree filled the center of the room, in full spring bloom, its spreading branches shading a serpentine lake. And everywhere else was covered in flowers.

Black flowers.

Sakura bent down to see if this was just some sort of illusion. But it was real enough. She could feel the crisp stalk under her fingers. A black flower, in full bloom. She sniffed it with caution and felt intoxicated by its sweet aroma, but quickly threw it down.

"I've," Sakura paused and coughed," I've never seen anything like this."

Her two friends were just as stunned as she was." Maybe it's a new enverment thing Tsunade’s working on..." Garra suggested.

"Iie. It can't be..." Sakura more of murmured to herself.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt you two," Naruto butt in," But take a look over there."

Sakura and Garra turned and saw what Naruto saw; another door-a latticed gate, rather on the far side of the cavern. It took them about ten minutes to cross the threshold to get to this gate. The gate barred the way to another corridor, one that went into the darkness rather than light. The gate, a simple metal grille, had the emblem of a silver moon upon it, rather than a sun. A crescent moon, with much sharper and longer points than could be considered usual or aesthetically pleasing.

"Okay, can we go now?" Sakura pleaded.

Naruto wasn't listening, he was to busy looking at the gate. The right-hand leaf of the gate had slowly swung open-barely wide enough for them to squeeze through, but it was enough.

"I'm serious!" Sakura protested as she watched the two get through." We should have least left a no-"

"SAKURA IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP AND GET YOUR TINY SCRWANY ASS IN HERE I'M GONNA LEAVE YOU TO THE VULTURES!" Naruto screamed. His voice boomed due to the fact the area was completely disserted of all living things. He was frustrated and angry, he couldn't help but scream at snip at everyone. If it weren't for his hothead, he would have been less bitchy to everyone else.

Sakura followed immediately, and the gate stayed a crack open, as if it knew they would be leaving and needed it to stay open. The corridor was dark, darker than they first saw. They walked on anyways till finally the corridor ended. Somehow, they ended up in an even larger area than the first one they just came from. But unlike the sunshine and fresh, welcoming air, this place made a chill run through their spines.

It was just like an exact replica of the other room, the trees, and the flowers yet-everything was dead. The tree that stood in the middle of the field was warped and decayed, dead limbs hanging shamelessly on the larger branches. The whole field of flowers were dried and crunched noisily under the steps they took. The lake was giving off an odor as foul as death; it was turning their stomachs inside out. The feeling of death was everywhere. Even the Kyuubi and Shukaku were beginning to stir.

Where are we? Kyuubi spoke to Naruto.

' The Restricted Area in HQ.'

Something’s wrong...I sense it in this putrid air.

'You too than? Then Shukaku must be feeling the same way as well...'

Make this visit short kit. My tails are all quivering like mad. Whatever you're doing in here, do it quick. Whatever’s' in here is not happy you and your bands here.

Naruto snapped to attention and yelled," OI! RX COME THE HELL OUT! WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU!"

He stepped forward when there was no reaction. He stepped closer and realized to a certain point, the place was made of glass. Sakura and Garra soon followed, but as soon as the last foot landed, they knew they made a grave mistake. The floor felt strange, unsteady, as if a great power was released. Then there was a terrible crack, and suddenly the three curious kittens fell through glass that seemed to have shattered from underneath them. They didn't even have time to scream when they landed in a cavern of rocks.

Naruto's eyes creaked open (he didn't remember closing them) and was starring up at a ball of fur with two wide eyes. His eyes widened and he screamed, scrambling up from the floor and away from the weird creature floating about.

"SAKURA! GARRA!" He yelled out in panic.

He heard soft groans from the other side of what appeared to be a living room area. Naruto let out a sigh of relief and finally realized where he was. It appeared to be a cave of some sort, but a homey atmosphere to it. There was a coffee table that was low to the floor with four mat-pillows in the middle of the room, a small futon to the side with bundled up blankets over it, a lamp to the side, and a RX starring at him from a corner of the room with a look on his face that could kill somebody if they stared to long.

Naruto sat there, every inch of his body tense and unmoving. There was a still, uncomfortable silence between them. Intense, one trying to subdue the other in a death glare contest. Naruto thought he was about to loose until a certain ball of fluff sneezed. RX snapped out of his death glare and turned to the little white-blue tinted fur ball.

"Squetale, you're catching a cold. I told you to sleep under the blankets like you're suppose to." His voice was so low, it was almost a whisper, and it still held no emotion.

"Uh...what is it?" Naruto asked questioningly.

RX flinched and turned to him slowly. He gave him another look that screamed angry but said quietly." Squetale. A creature I made from my imagination. It appeared to have come to life."

A muffled 'ow' made them aware Sakura and Garra were awake. It took them a good five minutes to realize where they were- Sakura was going hysteric: and soon joined Naruto and Sasuke (who moved to the coffee table during Sakuras hysterically moment) at the table. No one said anything for over an hour, RX just starring and them starring back; the soot ball looking thing circling them from above making cute animal sounds.

Finally, Sakura shifted and that gave off a signaled for someone to say something. When no one spoke, she spoke." So...uh...RX, we found out you weren't human."

Stupid to say, but she had to say something unlike either one of the boys. RX seemed to acknowledge what the girl said because he turned his head towards her.

"RX?" He asked in confusion.

"Your name." Garra said.

"That's not my name." RX snarled, his voice like ice." Don't you ever group me in with those, those things.”

As he spoke, the cavern they had fallen through began to shake violently with small bits of rock breaking off the walls and ceiling. The three knew not to call him RX again (if they ever want to get out of this alive).

"Okay." Garra says smoothly." We didn't mean to call you that. What is your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke" The boy said in a much calmer tone." Sasuke if it’s okay. My father named me it"

'Okay, now we're getting somewhere!' Naruto thought. 'And by father, he must mean Orochimaru.' " Okay Sasuke. Do you mind telling us about yourself?"

"Actually I do have a problem with it." Said Sasuke. "You attack me, lock me in a cage like I'm some kind of animal, take me from my home, question my ears off with complicated things, and through me in dirty rotting cell. Give me one good reason why I should tell you people anything about me?"

Awkward silence. (Cue the drugged bouncing soot ball)

He proves an excellent point...Kyuubi snickered at the back of Naruto's mind.

'Kyuubi, shut up!' Naruto growled.

Sasuke turned his head away, his attitude suddenly changing." Get. Out."

It wasn't a simple demand. He sounded like he was struggling to keep himself composed in front of them. As if he was about to do something he was going to regret and he was giving them a reason to leave.

But Naruto wasn't going to give up so easily.

"Not until I get some goddamned answered.”

"Iie. Just get the hell out." Sasuke says as he gets up and goes to sit in a corner, as he was found in the beginning.

Now Naruto was pissed. His hand began to clench into a fist, preparing to start swinging, but Sakura and Garra sensed this and quickly tried to make the mood less tense and aggravating.

"So, does Squetile talk?" Asked Sakura, her intentions to get Sasuke in a good mood.

"Only to me, now get out! I'm not going to tell you again!"

Garra looked around the room and pointed out," No exit."

"I'll give you one than if it'll get you out." Sasuke said. His eyes began changing rapidly from its midnight black to a burning crimson red.

Naruto, Sakura, and Garra immediately stood, now fully regretting they didn't tell anyone before they walked straight into death itself. Sasuke opened his mouth and spoke only one word in a voice that would make a slow and torturous pain seem like a vacation.

"Shikakushima" (1)

His eyes drifted close for only an instant, but then snapped back open to reveal that his pupils were gone and his eyes only glowed red. Then a spectacular array of aquamarine-colored symbols that linked together to form random chains surrounded his body and flowed through they air in ribbons, leaving the three in an awed feeling.

A warm sensation shot through Naruto’s body so fast, he felt like he was about to explode. It was a feeling of lightness that filled him to the brim with happiness; he almost forgot he was supposed to be trying to get information. Apparently Sakura and Garra felt the same way because all three started to relax. They even fell back to the ground.

Naruto's eyes began to blur as he begun to slip into unconsciousness, his mind beginning to fuzz. As his eyes slipped closed, there was a flash of bright light, than nothing.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Is he alright?"

"Hai."

"Good."

Naruto never expected himself to wake up to a kick in the face except for when he got a boyfriend who was bitching at him for not doing the something the day before. His eyes shot open as intense pain coursed through his back and head and he let out a, "WHAT THE BLOODY..."

His mouth snapped shut and he shrunk into a little scared child at the sight of an enraged Tsunade starring down at him with a look that told him only one thing. She was out for blood.

"H-hai, Lady Tsunade?" Naruto chuckled nervously.

Tsunade folded her arms across her chest and leaned in real close.

"Narrrruuuttttooo..." She seethed furiously. “What did you do?”

“ I er….um…”

“SPIT IT OUT!” Tsunade screamed out angrily “OR SO HELP ME I WON’T GUT YOU LIKE A FISH ON THE VERY SPOT YOU’RE STANDING IN!”

Naruto grinned sheepishly before saying, “I snuck into the forbidden room where you are keeping RX-666” And dang that’s a long name so I’m going to call him RX for short even if he told me it was Sasuke…

Long awkward silence…(A/N: Wait for it…)

“YOU DID WHAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT?!?!?!” Tsunade gabs the front collars of Naruto’s shirt and shakes him wildly, continuing her angry rant. “I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS! YOU NO GOOD SON OF A FUCKING BITCH! I WILL KILL YOU WERE YOU FUCKING STAND! DO YOU HEAR ME UZUMAKI NARUTO! YOU STUPID SHIT FOR BRAINS!!! I’M GOING TO GUT YOU LIKE A FISH!!!”

Shizune walked in at that exact moment and placed a bottle of sake on the table. “Lady Tsunade, you’re going to kill him…”

Tsunade turned to her assistant, eyes aflame. “That’s what I intended.” She seethed.

Naruto wrenched himself free from Tsunade’s death grip and sucked in the much-needed air back into his lungs. “Damn…*wheeze* it you old *wheeze* hag…you could of *cough* killed me!”

“Like I give a youp dang do!” Tsunade barked, pausing to take a big swing of sake from the bottle directly. “You deserve to die after that little stunt you just pulled. Didn’t I tell you not to bother with him?”

“No.”

“…Yakkaimono…” (2) Tsunade took another long chug of sake and slammed the bottle down, belching in an unladylike fashion. “ I have no choice, Uzumaki Naruto, you are hereby suspended ‘till further notice! Or until I can find a much more cruel and demeaning punishment for your actions tonight, understand?!”

“But baaaa- Chan!” Naruto whined. “I just wanted to know- “

“No excuses!” Tsunade cut in. “Iruka raised you waaay better than that!”

“Kuso!” (3) Naruto screamed enraged. “Then what about Garra and Sakura huh?! They’re the ones who went with me!”

“Don’t worry I already had a long talk with them. They’re suspended as well.” Tsunade said matter- of- factly. “And maybe you all need this vaca anyways. Now get out of here before Iruka starts to worry.”

Naruto glaired at her heatedly but got up and began to walk out. “Goodnight you old hag.” He growled.

SMASH!

Naruto barely had time to dodge the sake bottle thrown at his skull. Tsunade leaned back on her chair and let out a heavy sigh. Just what am I going to do with you, Naruto…

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Sasuke P.O.V

I sit here in the dark watching the shadows, my only comfort, move across the room. There is no light. But still, I can see them. Because they are of a deeper black than the darkness that surrounds me.

Touching.

Whispering.

They stretch out lazily across the walls and over the ceiling. I can't call them my walls.

My ceiling.

Because it's not even my room.

Nothing belongs to me.

This room.

This life.

Nothing.

Except the shadows.

They’re all I can trust.

Because shadows can't hurt you.

They can't call you a freak.

Or give you that disgusted look that screams:

Monster . . . demon . . .

No.

Shadows are all I can trust. Because it's there that I can hide.

In the shadows, I can stay safe.

TBC…

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A/N Continuing rant…

(1)Shikakushima came from a really cool show I was watching and I have no idea what it really means, so I made my own definition for it; for this story, it’s a secret langue called ‘Magintai and it stands for ‘sleep’ or ‘unconscious’ whichever you prefer.

(2) Yakkaimono = pain in the neck

(3)Kuso = Damn it or shit

Yes, I told you it was short. Sorry to have to cut it off so fast, but I was really tired and I got practically no sleep last night. So there you go. Oh, and about that fuzzy bouncing ball, if you watched Mizaki’s (?) Spirited Away, you’d know what it looks like. It’s Saske special little friend that talks with him. Don’t ask me why….it was what was in my head at the time…

I will update probably not this week or for a few ‘cause I’ll be busy with homework and stuff. So thanx again!