Fish-e: Hello everyone! I'm sorry I sort of dropped of the face of the earth for awhile, but I'm back!

Liz: And she's back with a new story, and updates on her old ones!

Patty: And cookies for those who review!

Fish-e: Onward!

ooOOoo

Akatsuki Temari: Free as the Wind

There was a loud crash from the kitchen as bottles tumbled to the floor. She pulled her little brother's hands, urging them to continue up the stairs quickly as their mother had told them to do. There was another crash, this one louder and swiftly followed with yells.

Temari practically dragged her brothers up the stairs.

Once up the staircase she pulled them into her room, then her closet, and into the little crawl space that only she, her mother, and now her brothers knew about. She sat with her back against the wall, Gaara on her lap, and Kankuro beside them.

Looking down at them she saw Kankuro staring at the door, his miniature puppet at the ready; and a brave expression was plastered across his face, and she would have believed that he was fearless had he not been shaking like mad. Turning her head she saw Gaara staring up at her, confusion and fear written all over his small face. He was young but he knew what was going on downstairs, and the sand he had control over was beginning to form a small circle around them all. Temari assumed that it would probably shoot up into a protective barrier if their father found them, though she prayed that he wouldn't.

Suddenly, a loud crash erupted from the lower floor and the yelling stopped. It was swiftly followed by an even louder bang. Temari recognized the first as the sound of breaking glass and the second as the sound of a door being slammed shut. She could only think of two possible explanations: One, that their father had ran out of alcohol and had stormed out of the house to get more, or option two. That their father had become bored with their mother (or knocked her out), broken one of his many bottles, and was going to try to find the three siblings.

Temari knew that the more likely of the two was the second option, but she really didn't like to think of that possibility. That's when the final noise became clear. The eerie sound of feet against sand stone. It was the sound that all members of the Village Hidden in the Sand had grown accustomed to; it was the sound that greeted them when they got home, the sound that they heard every single day. It was the sound that was made whenever someone dragged their feet across the hard sandstone that had been used to build the entire village.

But now that sound had become twisted and distorted. It was uneven as they lumbered closer, as if the walker had a limp. Or was simply too drunk to walk straight, Temari thought to herself. But the steps still continued, getting closer and closer as they pounded up the stairs. The sound was so close now that Temari knew that it was just outside the closet. Her suspicion was proven as the three siblings heard the familiar sound of the closet door squeaking open. They went rigid as the sound of feet stepped into the closet, and stopped, directly in front of the little hide away. Then they realized another nearly terrifying fact; the door was slowly being opened.

Gaara's sand shot up, Kankuro's puppet grew tense, and Temari's grip on her brother's grew tighter.

"Children?"

The sand siblings relaxed, the voice was not that of their malevolent father. It was their mother's.

This was the point when Gaara threw open the not-so-secret door and proceeded to tackle their mother with a hug. And by the look on Kankuro's face, he wanted to as well. And his wish was proven when his mother grabbed him by the scruff of his PJ's and dragged him into a bear hug along with Gaara and herself.

Temari would have also joined into the hug-fest too, had she not noticed the two large cuts on her mother. One down her left thigh and another on her forehead. Each with fragments of glass embedded inside them. And Temari probably would have said something about it had her mother not given her a look that almost telepathically said 'we'll talk later'.

The sibling's mother stood. Holding Gaara on her left hip and Kankuro on her right, she stepped out of the closet, out of Temari's room and into the hall. With Temari right behind her as always. Then, setting the young boys down on the smooth sand stone floors, she told them both to go pack a bag. Saying they were going to take a bit of a trip, and only to pack essentials. Temari knew two things that would be going into her brothers bags: Kankuro's newest puppet, and Gaara's teddy bear; Mr. Snuggles.

Their mother stood, and with a wave of her hand, the two boys raced down the hall to their rooms, Gaara with his thumb still in his mouth. But as soon as the boys were out of earshot, Temari took the opportunity to make her curiosity known.

"Mom, what exactly happened down there?" she asked, looking at her mother's wounds.

But her mother looked away.

"Mom?"

"I- well I told your father that I wanted a divorce, and that I was going to try to get custody of you kids, and that the court date's tomorrow." said their mother.

Temari was speechless. No matter how much she wanted to get away from her father, the idea of them separating had never occurred to her. But her mother still hadn't exactly answered her question.

"And then?" Temari asked.

"And he got angry-you know how he is when he's had a few drinks," More like a dozen, Temari thought, but she let her mother continue. "And he may have broken a bottle or two."

"On you." Temari interrupted, she was practically burning with anger.

"Yes, on me," her mother continued. "Then, when he ran out of beer, he left for the store to buy more, but he'll be back soon. So I suggest you go and pack your things dear, then we're heading over to your uncle's house."

Temari nodded. She ran back into her room and grabbed a bag. When she stopped and turned.

"Mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"What's going to happen to us now?"

"Well, now, we're going to live safely, we're going to be free, like the wind." And with that, she turned down the hall to pack her own bag, leaving those words in Temari's head.

Words that would change her life forever.

ooOOoo

Fish-e: Well?

Patty: Do I have to give them my cookies?

Liz: If they review yes.

Patty: Awww…

Fish-e: Ahem?

Liz: Oh, right! Patty, you want to say it this time?

Patty: My cookies!

Liz: Ok then, Fish-egirl doesn't own us or Naruto. If she did, Kisame would be in her basement, in a giant fish bowl or kiddy pool. Plus she would like to thank Amethyst Skulkyrie Cain for bettaing this story, and being so patient with her, cause this story was supposed to be up in august 2011 but only got put up in January 2012 because she's a lazy ass.

Fish-e: Hey!