Hey guys, sorry if I've taken a while. I'm rushing around trying to get all my university apps sent out, getting writting together for a portfolio, getting letters of recommendation, getting my history essay done, studying for tests, and trying to figure out stuff in concerns to the musical I'm in. The major play I was in finished in January and now I only have the musical and the one I'm directing - the one of which I would love to strangle my cast... but anyway... Since I'm rather busy with no time write anything other than revising what I need for my fine arts portfolio, I'm giving this chapter to you slightly shorter than the others. Hope you guys don't mind.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Concrete Angel

Chapter Twelve:

The house was quiet and serene, but it was a false impression. Naruto sighed, if only he really did have serene home... or just a home in general. It could be chaotic, frantic, messy, he didn't care. Naruto would give anything to have some place to call 'home'.

Light beamed in through the uncovered windows, shining onto the mess made last night. Beer bottles scattered and broken, cushions of the couches tossed about, furniture overturn, and Naruto had to clean up all of this. Sure Emi usually hated for Naruto to be active in the main living area, for him to be touching her things, but she hated to come home to a mess even more. Before Naruto had started to clean, she would take her anger out on the boy, then make him clean up the rooms she damaged. After a while, Naruto concluded that it would be much easier this way and was rarely bothered by Emi about her own messes again.

Naruto was in the process of returning cushions to their rightful places on the chairs and sofas when a loud slam came from the kitchen causing him to jump and drop the cushion. His eyes widened in fear as he stared at the doorway. That was the front door that slammed closed. He hadn't even heard it open but that didn't matter now. Emi was home and he had no way of getting to the basement without Emi seeing him from the doorway. He stood motionless in the midst of the half cleaned living room, waiting for the inevitable.

"What the fuck are you doing up here!" Emi yelled the moment she came in view of the living room.

Naruto swallowed in fear. He was at a more disadvantage than usual, Emi was sober. He always had such a better chance when she was drunk and now he didn't know what he could do.

"I told you to never come in this room!" She edged closer, her glare and scowl deepening with every step.

Naruto wanted to take a step back, to find somewhere to run or hide behind something but he was stuck. His feet glued to the floor like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. He couldn't even breathe as the sober woman took up her fist and slapped him full across his face.

"You stupid, useless waste of life! I allow you to live in my house but you disobey me all the time!"

This was followed by another slap and a hard shove, causing the blond stumble backwards, just barely catching himself. Still he couldn't move, even though he wanted to run so badly.

"You should be grateful for all I've done for you!"

Another shove into a shelf sent jolts of pain through Naruto's back and head, and the force of which he'd been thrown caused his arm to tug outward from his sling. The little amount of objects that remained on the shelf either jiggled or fell. Naruto had to count himself lucky that most of the dangerous objects had previously been thrown at him, most of which missed.

Just as Naruto stabilized the shelf which threatened to fall, he felt two hands grasp his throat. Emi's grip tightened and tightened until Naruto found it extremely hard to breath and the pain felt as though his throat was going to be crushed. Suddenly all thoughts focused on breathing were lost as Emi beat his head back into the edge of the shelf. Naruto couldn't help but cry out, she was much stronger and accurate now that she was sober. Normally if she were drunk his head wouldn't hit the shelf every time and her grip wouldn't be as tight.

He wanted to pry her hands away, to fight back, but even if he worked up the nerve it would do him no good. For the very next moment he was thrown roughly to the floor, landing on broken glass he'd yet to sweep. Again he was lucky that he hadn't been thrown into the swept pile of glass on the other side of the room. There was far more bigger chunk of glass over there, they would have done greater damage to his side. However, there were a few big pieces of glass which ripped through his already damaged sling.

Naruto tried to collect himself, to move some of the glass, but a foot pushed him over onto his back. It was at this point that Naruto noted Emi's shoes were stilettos. He desperately wished she had chosen a flatter pair of shoes and when the foot stomped down on his ribs, he wished it even more. He groaned as she repeatedly stomped down on his stomach and chest. The only break he got from that was when she kicked his sides, but his instinctive reaction to that was to roll over onto his other side and that got him another stomp on his already bruised front.

Finally, Naruto's instincts kicked in and he tried to push himself away from Emi with his legs. He managed to make it only a few inches before she noticed and began stomping and kicking at his legs. Her heel made brutal contact with his left knee and he thought she'd snapped it in half. He cried out again, but bit his lip quickly for he knew his cries would make her angrier. They always did, drunk or not.

"Shut up!" She screamed, lifting her foot once again and Naruto knew this was going to hurt worse than all the others.

Thankfully, a knock on the door paused Emi's foot in midair. Glaring, she gave the defenseless boy one last stomp, causing him to groan in pain, then marched off to the kitchen unsatisfied.

Naruto held his stomach and rolled over on his side, closing his eyes tightly as though the hard he squeezed them shut the less it would hurt. But it hurt far too much for his pain to surpass it. This was far worse than any other regular beating. He felt as though he could vomit at any minute, but held it in for fear he'd been put through worse 'punishment' for puking on Emi's rug, which she herself destroyed everyday.

He heard the door open and a hesitant Emi bark, "Who the hell are you?"

No response came from whoever stood at the door, or at least no loud response for he couldn't hear a thing. This brought curiosity to the boy, despite his pain. He couldn't help but think that no one ever came to visit, so who could possibly be coming around? Not that he was complaining about this unexpected visitor interrupting Emi's rampage.

"You can't do that!" Emi yelled angrily, proving Naruto's suspicions about a quiet conversation.

He strained to hear a response, but couldn't make anything out. The person Emi was speaking with must have been whispering.

"You... you! Have it your way!" Naruto's eyebrows furrowed at this sentence. Emi not only sounded angry but also defeated and... scared! Who or what could she be afraid of? And who would come to this house to make her afraid, and why?

A loud slamming of the door brought the blond from his questions and footsteps starting back to the living room cautioned Naruto. Even though he was pretty sure Emi sounded scared out of her mind, it could be her returning to finish what she'd started. He didn't dare sit up, let alone move for that could provoke her further. He did, however, angle his head so he could get a clear view of the doorway.

To his shock, the person who entered that very doorway was not Emi. His blue eyes widened and he sat up with a great deal of effort.

"You? What are you doing here?" He questioned the boy standing before him.

The other said nothing, just moved forward with quick steps and stood directly above the blond, offering his hand.

Naruto took it, though stretching his left arm that high was slightly pain inducing. Suprisingly, the hand he took was smooth and soft, and he noted that his short fingernails were painted black.

He was helped to his feet but as soon he was left on his own to stand, he lost his balance on his bruised legs and wavered forward. He was caught instantly in the stiff arms of the visitor, giving him no time to injure himself.

Being so close to this person caused Naruto's breath to hitch. It felt odd, not really uncomfortable but not as comfortable as Sasuke's sofa either. It puzzled the blond to say the least but he did not dwell on this fact.

"Why are you here, Gaara?" Naruto asked once he was steadied. He found that he was able to stand with he gripped ahold of something, like the shelf on the bookcase he'd been previously thrown into time and time again.

"It happens often." Gaara regarded Naruto's new bruises and his bandaged arm -the sling of which was broken now- with his short, knowing statement.

Naruto nodded, lowering his eyes.

"The same things happened to me, only it was from everyone in the town." His simple comment gave Naruto enough motivation to raise his head and look into his emotionless eyes. He bit his lower lip as tears welled up in his blue eyes. He couldn't help it, he'd never met someone who could relate to him so thoroughly. He felt secure in the fact that someone else had experienced what he was going through now, and that someone was standing right in front of him. That someone had come to his home and indirectly delayed his aunt's abuse.

"She's not going to do this anymore."

This statement made Naruto's head look up at the emotionless face of his savior. "What do you mean?" He asked, his voice nasal from his short cry.

"We have connections," A rough, feminine voice broke in and the blond looked to the doorway to see Temari with Kankuro next to her.

"How long have they been there?" Naruto thought.

"Connections that scare her." Temari added.

"And we told her to back off, or else." Kankuro smirked.

This was too much for Naruto to comprehend. They couldn't be serious. Nothing and no one could stop Emi. He couldn't be protected forever and when he was alone with her, she would strike worse than ever... even worse than today.

"No, Gaara. You can't do that. It will hurt me more, you have to understand." The slow flow of his tears picked up their pace as he pleaded with the redhead.

"Oh calm down crybaby." Temari growled, then whipped out her fan with a smug look on her face. "If she goes against what we've said, she gets a taste of her own medicine. Only with a new dose of Sabaku."

"You just don't get it. She won't stop!"

"She will if she's in the hospital." Kankuro received a stern look for that result. "That is if she hurts you after her warning... if she needs a warning that is..."

The blond glanced between the siblings, wondering what hold Gaara had over his older brother and sister to make them so nervous with a mere look. And now that he'd had a little time for things to sink in, he began to question what connections and power the Sabaku's had.

"Where's your room?" Gaara asked nonchalantly, breaking the silence and taking Naruto off guard.

"Uh- in the basement. That door there." The blond pointed to the fractured door he'd become so familiar with in all the years of his life.

Gaara nodded, then turned to his siblings giving them only a look that, to Naruto, didn't differ at all from his usual non-expressive one. But Temari and Kankuro seemed to understand because they nodded back simultaneously and left through the kitchen doorway.

This unnerved Naruto. Why would Gaara want them to leave after asking about his room? However, that very same odd feeling he got whenever near the redhead told Naruto to trust him. So naturally, since the feeling had done him no wrong as of yet, he obeyed when Gaara motioned for them to go down the stairs past the door he'd just opened.