Like the idiot I am, I didn't realize there was a replace option for chapters. :P

Anyways, I have started up writing this story again. I make no promises, but here is the full Chapter 20 of Concrete Boy!

"Sasuke, why don't you go get something to eat?" The raven shook his head, not taking his eyes off of the blond. He ignored his mother's exasperated sigh, not caring what the consequences of such an action might be. He chose, instead, to study the blond for the millionth time. The blue eyes were closed and the thin chest rose and fell softly in a gentle rhythm. There had not been any changes in the past three days. Naruto had yet to show any signs of withdrawal and he hadn't reacted to anything besides the word 'dobe' in that time either, not even the hospital staff coming to take care of him.

Nonetheless, Sasuke did not want to leave the blond's side. He had an irrational fear that he would come back to an empty room. He had lost the blond once, and he didn't plan on letting it happen again. Sasuke lightly bit the inside of his lip as he watched Naruto breath. His mind drifted back to the first time he had laid eyes on the blond. His first impressions had been that Naruto was a dobe and someone who was hiding something major. Curiosity had driven him to get to know the blond better, even if it was through rivalry instead of friendship.

Somewhere along the line, curiosity had turned into obsession. He had started to notice strange inconsistencies in the blond's tales of injury or absence. Being on the outside of the blond's circle of friends made it easier to observe such was because of curiosity that he had discovered that Naruto was hiding something worse than he could have imagined; abuse by the hands of his foster father. There had been so much that he had done wrong in that situation. Instead of acting rationally, he had acted brashly and gotten Naruto's foster mother killed. Everything was his fault, and he knew it. Naruto would not have ended up in Sand if he had not interfered. Damn curiosity. He had caused all of this. Naruto was in the hospital because he could not keep his mouth shut. This entire mess had been set into motion because of his actions.

"Sasuke Uchiha, get off your sorry bottom and eat something before I have to force it down your throat." The angry sound of his mother's voice saved him from sinking deeper into the trenches of self-loathing. It had been a while since he had heard her like that. It was the tone that he had expected her to use when she first walked into the room four days before. Turning his head, he met his mother's flaming eyes. "I do not care how loathsome you feel. What good are you to him if you are half dead yourself? Go. Eat. He is not going anywhere. Besides, there are two police officers outside the door."

Sasuke hesitated, glancing between the blond and his mother. She crossed her arms over her chest and delicately raised an eyebrow. He swallowed hard; the look in her eyes was worse than any glare from his father. He shuffled past her, daring only to pause briefly in the doorway to glance at the officers before trudging down the hallway in search of food. His stomach grumbled at the thought of nourishment. He had barely eaten anything for the past few days, much to the chagrin of his family.

It took him longer than he expected to find the cafeteria, unfortunately for his empty gut. Eventually, he located the correct floor and proceeded to find something edible. As he made his way out of the cafeteria area, stomach satisfied by a sandwich, Sasuke thought he saw a flash of bubble-gum pink hair. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he continued on his way, heading towards the elevator.

He did not get far before a shrill, frantic voice said his name. "Sasuke!" Gritting his teeth, he turned to face the pink haired nuisance. He inwardly groaned at the sight of the small herd following the girl. "Where is he? How is he? What happened?" She continued to babble on, waving her arms desperately. Sasuke tuned out as much of it as he could and attempted to get her attention. "Sakura…Sakura…" He groaned softly, the girl was not listening. Taking hold of her flailing arms, he growled out her name one last time, effectively getting her attention. "He needs his rest. No visitors."

There was a brief pause and then the herd started to speak all at once. The chubby one was saying something about how their friend needed them. The weird bowl-cut one was shouting that their youthfulness would rejuvenate the boy. The dog boy was barking about him being a sneaky bastard and hiding Naruto. The pink haired one was screeching about her precious friend and how worried she was about him. The only one who wasn't making any noise was the pineapple boy, who was merely standing in the background with his arms crossed.

Sasuke finally got tired of the noise and raised his voice, "Shut up!" The sound of his angry voice echoing down the hospital hall silenced the group almost immediately. "As I am sure that you all watched the news, you know all you need to about what has transpired. He is no condition to receive visitors."

Shikamaru's quiet, worried voice drifted to Sasuke from the back of the group. "That is no surprise. I presume that he is broken beyond recognition, but, Sasuke, at least let us see our friend's face."

"We even waited a few extra days before we came down here! We didn't want to be a bother, but we really would like to see him!" Sakura's voice added.

Sasuke paused, deciding the best course of action. If he told them off, Sakura would continue running her whiny trap and he'd never hear the end of it from his mother. It was most likely in his best interest to let them see the blond. Grudgingly, he nodded, but as their faces lit up, he spoke. "Looking only; no talking and no entering the room." With that, he turned on his heel and headed towards the elevator. The herd followed him, being surprisingly quiet.

Sasuke hated elevator rides with a passion, but going up five floors with the herd of minions was the most nerve-grating experience he had ever gone through. It was silent, but he could feel their needy little eyes on him the entire time. When they finally arrived on the correct floor, he almost breathed a sigh of relief. He controlled himself and led the troupe to Naruto's room, nodding slightly at the officers by the door.

There was a soft, collective gasp as the blond came into view. Naruto was in the same position he had left him; eyes closed and emaciated chest gently pushing the blankets up and down. Sasuke glanced at their horrified faces, taking in the pain he saw. Sakura put her hand over her mouth and her eyes rapidly started to fill with tears. He didn't get the chance to see the continuation of the other's reactions, for a voice echoed down the hallway, alerting him to another annoyance approaching.

"Which room was it again? Naruto? Naruto!?" Sasuke felt the level of his annoyance increase as he turned on his heel to see who was coming now. A frantic Kankuro hurried down the hallway towards the group, followed by Gaara, Temari, and Shukaku, who looked just about as frantic as the painted one did. Sasuke resisted the urge to grasp the bridge of his nose and squeeze in exasperation.

The Sand siblings and their creepy blond counterpart recognized Sasuke, much to his chagrin, and hurried up to him and the teary bunch behind him. He held up a hand to silence them as Kankuro's mouth opened. In a quieter voice than normal, Sasuke informed them of the rules he had set with the Konoha group. "No talking and no entering the room. If you want to babble, go down the hall to the waiting area." He stepped aside to allow them a view into Naruto's room.

The worry on their faces had all but tripled during Sasuke's short speech. As he moved, all four seemed to pale considerably at the sight of their friend. Temari grasped Kankuro's arm in a death grip and her lower lip trembled lightly. Kankuro set his jaw and looked away, as if he was unwilling to take in the sight of his friend lying there so helpless. Gaara and Shukaku looked ready to kill someone. The others didn't look much better; Sakura was crying now, Lee was rubbing her back with a rare depressed look on his face, Chouji was solemn and close to tears, Kiba was trying to hold back his angry tears, and Shikamaru was clearly pained by the experience.

Holding back another sigh of annoyance, Sasuke waved them away from the room, watching as they walked down the hallway to the waiting room in a large pack. Releasing a long, soft sigh, Sasuke slowly crossed the threshold. He didn't want to admit it, but standing outside looking in was easier than walking up to the bed that held the broken blond. His legs trembled, but he steadied them stubbornly and approached the bed. He smoothed an edge corner of the blanket as he stared at the slumbering face before him. Even though Naruto was gaunt and unnaturally pale, he could still see the blond from four years ago. A very soft smile graced his features as he let the memory of when he first had laid his eyes upon the blond come into focus. It had been merely a passing glance, nothing special or extraordinary, but it marked the beginning of an obsession.

Sasuke concentrated on the music filling his ears as his feet pounded the rhythm onto the pavement. Sweat trickled down his back, causing his shirt to stick to his skin. He paused for a moment, interrupting the rhythm as he waited for cars at an intersection. He crossed the street and started to pass a playground, one that he always went past on his morning run. He rarely diverted his attention from his path, but something blond caught his attention. Glancing the direction of the color, Sasuke saw a blond boy around his age on the swing set, moving back and forth slowly. The boy raised his head in that brief moment and pure blue met black. A faint smile of curiosity slipped across Sasuke's face as he turned his gaze away. It had been odd… The blue eyes had searched his own fervently, those blue orbs that spoke of horrible secrets and broken trust.

"He is a resilient boy. He will make it through this, Sasuke." The raven startled out the memory and turned to see that his mother was sitting in a chair beside the bed. A light flush tickled his cheeks. He had forgotten that his mother had stayed behind to watch over the blond while he was gone. He recovered quickly from the embarrassment and nodded slowly. "Yes, he is, but I fear that he will not make it out in one piece."

"Of course he won't, dear." Confusion furrowed his brow and he tilted his head a millimeter. "Wh—" The gentle smile that softened his mother's face surprised him, causing him to pause before he could even finish his question. He watched, confused, as she leaned forward and took his hand in her own. "That is why you, and his friends, will be here to pick up the pieces and put them back together again." For some reason, those words, that sentence smashed through the wall that had been holding back a river of emotions for months. His breath caught in his throat and he met her gaze, letting her see the sudden rush of emotion flowing through him. He felt his eyes stinging and try as he might to stem the liquid, he couldn't stop the tears from falling. He finally gave into his trembling legs and stumbled to his knees in an ungraceful heap. The tears poured down his face and for the first time since he was a toddler, Sasuke Uchiha sobbed.

The force shook his entire body and he could not keep the gasping breaths and whines from escaping his traitorous lips. He felt weak and hated himself for showing it, but he couldn't stop the emotions that had finally burst through the dam that had been building up for the past fourteen months since the blond had left. Gentle hands drew him close, and his brain briefly registered that his mother was kneeling in front of him. She hid his face from the world as she put her arms around his shaking frame. She did not speak, only knelt there in silence, allowing him to sob into her blouse, muffling the pained sounds leaking from his lips.

However, as quickly as the tears had come, they left. Sasuke slowly pulled away from his mother, stood, and held his hand out to her. She placed her soft hand in his and allowed him to help her to a standing position. He inclined his head and excused himself to the bathroom where he promptly rinsed the tears away with cold water. Face dripping, Sasuke looked into the mirror above the sink. His eyebrows rose at his reflection and he gripped the edges of the basin. His normally sharp features were softened by the sorrow and pain swimming through his eyes. His pale cheeks were splotched with red and his eyes were puffy and bloodshot.

An uninvited shudder caused his body to tremble slightly. His arms started to shake and he released the sink to hold up his hands, which were shaking. Clenching them into fists, Sasuke closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Once the shaking calmed, he opened his eyes and stared at his reflection again. This is what the blond has reduced you to. A shaking, emotional mess that has no right to be called an Uchiha. He took another deep breath. I must focus on what is ahead, not my emotions. For now, Naruto's acquaintances need to be dealt with.

After drying his face, Sasuke returned to Naruto's bedside. His mother had returned to her previous position in a chair. She smiled softly at him as he approached. She did not mention what had just occurred, but that was for the best. It was an unspoken rule among Uchihas not to mention such moments of great weakness. Sasuke returned her smile with a upward twitch of his lips as he settled into a chair beside her.

Mikoto spoke softly, "I presume the people you escorted to the doorway were Naruto's friends." Sasuke nodded, "Yes, I sent them down the hall. He is not in any condition for visitors." His mother seemed to pause for a moment and then replied, "I shall go and fill them in on the situation." Before Sasuke could even open his mouth to tell her that was not a good idea, she continued, "Your people skills are greatly lacking and I am positive that they have many questions you have failed to answer." Delicately arching an eyebrow, Mikoto rose and glided out of the room, ignoring her son's almost miffed look.

With his mother gone, Sasuke returned to staring at the sleeping blond. He seemed almost peaceful lying there. "I miss you, dobe." He whispered in a broken voice, letting the last remnant of his emotional flood leak into his voice before locking the gates behind it.

It was a delayed reaction, a minute or two. Though the memory of the following events would always stay with him, Sasuke would never remember how long it actually took for the blond to open his eyes, for once those baby blues appeared, he lost his sense of time. A flicker of what he could only call recognition went through Naruto's eyes. Hope surged and Sasuke found it hard to speak, but forced a word past his lips, "Dobe?" The blond head tilted and cracked lips separated. The recognition was quickly smothered by fear and anger. The pure blue eyes tinted red and Naruto leapt towards Sasuke with a scratchy, feral scream. The bonds holding the blond to the bed strained to hold him back. The cup that had been resting beside a still hand now flew off the bed, knocked to the floor by Naruto's thrashing. It clanged as it connected with the ground. However, instead of bringing the blond out of the attack, it only added to the over all noise of the room.

Sasuke leapt to his feet and pressed the nurse button. He stood there helplessly watching the blond thrash and scream. Time seemed to slow. Naruto's motions appeared to be in slow motion to Sasuke's eyes. The doctor and nurses brushed past him, in what order, he didn't know. Their voices were muffled and Sasuke paid them no mind. He briefly registered the feeling of someone removing him from the room. The curtain was drawn completely around the bed, blocking his view and allowing him to see only silhouettes.

Finally, his sense of time caught up with him and he looked away from the hospital room. He stared down at his slightly trembling hands. Clenching his hands and teeth, Sasuke straightened and stepped to the side, out of the doorway. He turned on his heel, as if he were a soldier, and stood facing the wall opposite Naruto's door. There he waited, guarding the door with a blank expression and stiff posture.

As he stood watch, Sasuke ran the previous minutes in his mind. Naruto was close to breaking. He was going to start down the road of withdrawal soon. There were many unknown factors, but Sasuke knew all too well the effects of Orochimaru's heroin mixture. The withdrawal symptoms took a little longer to appear and when they did, they hit like a train; sudden and hard. They would last for at least four days. Then came the hard part…The amnesia and disorientation. Naruto's case was not the worst he had seen, though the history of abuse had no doubt been exploited by Orochimaru.

Loud voices filled the waiting area down the hall until Mrs. Uchiha spoke, "Excuse me." Her soft, but strong tones caused everyone to pause and turn to her. She smiled gently and continued, "I apologize for interrupting your conversations. I am Mikoto Uchiha." She paused, as if to be polite. "My son is lacking in proper communication skills, something he learned from his father, mind you." Mikoto glanced about the room, taking in the somber faces. "As Naruto's friends, you must have many questions, all of which I will not be able answer. However, I shall try to satisfy your worrying minds as best as I can by telling you the basics. Is that satisfactory?" There were small nods from everyone except Kiba, Gaara, and Shukaku.

Mikoto inclined her hand slightly in response and continued. "I assume you know of his abduction, or rather his adoption by Orochimaru and the basics of the events that followed. It is unclear the specifics of the boy's condition. His mind appears to have fractured. We have hope that Naruto will return to us one day, but for now he is broken and hidden deep within himself. The boy needs time and rest. He will be kept here until his wounds healed, and then he will be released into Uchiha custody."

Kiba opened his mouth to protest, but Mikoto held up a hand and glanced at him with sharp eyes. This caused his jaw to snap shut and his eyes to lower for a moment. Mikoto nodded slightly, "I understand. You, as his friends, feel you should be the ones taking care of him, helping him recover. However, my son has more in common with that boy than you may think. I, and the doctor, feel that they will help each other heal."

She was greeted with silence and bowed heads, except for three; Kiba, Shukaku, and Gaara. She stared back at them as if to say, 'Yes?' Shukaku took that as an invitation to speak. "I don't much care for this situation, but I see the logic behind your opinion. I think, however, that we would like to be a part of this."

Gaara nodded slightly. "We have all failed him in some way. There were areas of his life that we should have noticed. As friends, we have fallen short and we would like to correct that."

"Exactly! Why can't we be a part of this whole process as well?" Kiba protested, his confidence bolstered by the others words. Mikoto considered this for a moment and then nodded. "I would appreciate that, and even though my son will never say this, he would also appreciate such support. Having each of you spend some time with Naruto may help him remember." By now, everyone in the room was looking at Mikoto. "However, it will have to wait until he is partially on the road to recovery. There are many factors that have yet to enter the battle field and the way is still quite rocky, I am afraid. We will all have to be patient." She smiled sadly. "You should all go home and get some rest. I understand many of you have come a long ways to get here, but the best thing you can do for Naruto right now is to take of yourselves. He will need all of us to stay strong."

She went to leave, but paused and spoke. "If you will leave your contact information at the nurses' station for me, I would appreciate it. That way, I will be able to keep you updated on Naruto's progress." She inclined her head and left, striding down the hallway.

A nurse came out of Naruto's room, a grim expression on her face. "Mr. Uchiha?" Sasuke turned towards the voice. "The patient has begun exhibiting signs of withdrawal. He advises that no one is to enter this room until the symptoms have lessened." A raven eyebrow raised slightly and Sasuke glanced around the girl into the room where Naruto was still hidden by the curtain and the medical staffs' silhouettes. He took half a step forward and the nurse moved to fully block the doorway. "I am sorry, sir, but that includes you." He set his jaw and glared down at her. In response, she shook her head, "Doctor's orders, sir."

Sasuke could hear what sounded like someone throwing up followed by more screaming and thrashing. "Please, sir, you need to wait out here." Sasuke set his jaw and took a step back. "Yes, ma'am."

When the doctors left the room after what seemed like hours, but was truly only about ten minutes, Sasuke was still standing outside the room. His face was set in a grim frown and his eyes did not stray from the wall across from him. "His condition is stable and he is resting. " The voice seemed to imply there was more, however.

Sasuke turned towards the voice to see that Dr. Yashamaru was looking at him with an odd expression. The man searched Sasuke's face and then continued, "His body is going through severe withdrawal and I'm afraid that it is having some adverse effects on his fractured mind."

"What are you getting at?" Sasuke replied, annoyed that the doctor was beating around the bush.

Dr. Yashamaru swallowed hard. "He is experiencing memory loss along with the withdrawal symptoms. He appears to have reverted back to a time before he knew you or anyone in this area. He has no idea why he is in the hospital or who Orochimaru is."

Sasuke felt cold seep into his veins and his vision trembled. "This isn't right."

"It shouldn't be permanent and he should regain his memory slowly. He'll be fine." Dr. Yashamaru replied in a consoling tone.
His mind raced and he shook his head rapidly. "No, no, this isn't right. He should have gone through at least four days of withdrawal and then the amnesia! That's the way it always works! This… This is wrong!" Sasuke shouted.

"Sir, I'm not sure what you're talking about. What are you trying to say? You've seen this before? Are you…" Dr. Yashamaru took a step towards Sasuke. "I think you need to sit down."

"No, I don't need to…" He shook his head again, turning to walk past the doctor into Naruto's room.
"Sasuke, dear, what's wrong?" A gentle hand rested against his elbow and he could smell his mother's perfume. He paused for a moment, but continued walking. He pushed the curtains back and studied the sleeping face before him.

"Sir, his case is an odd one. The mixture that his captor used was different than anything we've seen before. Normally, yes, the symptoms manifest in the order you specified. However, his symptoms have all appeared at once. I am not sure if it is a blessing or a curse for the poor boy."

"Sasuke, he will be all right. We will have to keep a close eye on him, though, as we will not be able to predict how this situation will turn out." His mother rubbed his back gently before thanking the doctor, who left the doorway quietly to return to his rounds.

"Why don't we go update his friends, dear? You need to apologize for your behavior earlier, after all."

Sasuke grumbled under his breath quietly, but nodded. With a lingering look at the boy in the hospital bed, he was ushered away from Naruto's room and to a waiting room of anxious people.

Author's note:

No worries! I have taken into consideration your comments and I will not be deleting this story for now. I may even continue to update. I have started on the next chapter, but I have no idea if I'll be able to finish it. I have started on a non-fanfiction version of this story that may or may not be told more by the "replacement" character for Sasuke. I have decided that these stories may have a similar premise, but will arch off to tell different stories. Especially considering Concrete Boy has elements from the anime/manga.

Either way, I'm rambling and I apologize for that. Thank you to those who have stuck with this story even though I've been really crappy about updating. You guys are why I can't seem to leave this story alone. If it was just me, I could probably forget about this story eventually, but you guys just won't let it rest unfinished. THANK YOU! :)