Chapter 4

I heard yelling from downstairs; though, this time it was only the T.V. and not Ibiki or Iruka. Ibiki wasn't home tonight and Kakashi was over again. They had invited me down for dinner but I'd already eaten and didn't want to impose since they couldn't be alone together very often. I could see in their eyes that they were thankful so I had returned to my room to get my dirty laundry together.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!?!!"

Shit. That's Ibikis' voice. I looked at the clock realizing that I had been asleep for the last two hours. He must have caught Iruka and Kakashi together somehow. Listening carefully I heard more voices floating up the stairway.

"Ibiki! I – I – please… don't… I –" Iruka was begging again. I ran down the stairs, bursting through the doors of the kitchen just in time to see Ibikis' hands surrounding Irukas' neck and Kakashi lying on the floor. Ibiki must have pushed him since Kakashis' head was bleeding and there was matching blood on the corner of the table.

"Naruto! Did you know about this?" Ibikis' eyes were on me causing my heart to jump into my throat. I looked at my father and saw the panic on his face. He shook his eyes frantically from side to side.

"No Ibiki, I've been sleeping for the last couple hours." Either way I knew I was gonna get hurt but hopefully it wouldn't be too bad.

"Bullshit you little lying bitch! Don't you try to cover for this piece of shit!" so much for self preservation.

"No honestly I –" the hard punch to my left cheek efficiently shut me up. That's gonna bruise tomorrow.

"Shut up! Now that your boyfriend," he spat out the word like it was a disease, "isn't here to save you nobody will care how you look." He was glaring at me as if he was wishing I would just die where I stood without his effort.

"Don't you talk about him that way." I hated this man with all my being. Irukas' eyes widened at my words, he must have heard the growl of anger that was beginning to take me over.

He threw Iruka against the fridge and lunged toward me. I ran in the opposite direction heading for the living room. Something hard hit the back of my head – he must have thrown the vase that was on the table near the kitchen door. The blow caused me to trip over the vacuum cord, slamming me to the floor.

I tried to get back up but Ibiki grabbed my ankles and flipped me onto my back. He thrust his right foot into my neck, cutting off my air supply.

"You know better then to talk to me like that asshole." He leaned close to my face, the stench of stale alcohol strong. "You want to learn how to respect me? I'll be more then happy to give you a refresher course." His disgusting grin showed me that he would do it regardless of my answer.

"No, sir, I remember sir." I spat out the words while I gasped for air.

"Wrong answer maggot. I think you do need a refresher course." He removed his foot from my neck and started kicking me. Both of his feet struck into my ribs, first one then the other, shattering muscle and bone. As he kicked me I began losing consciousness because of the pain; I could hear Iruka yelling in the background somewhere, but I couldn't tell what he was saying. All I could think about was how Itachi had not even been gone two full weeks and I was already getting beaten again.

I barely heard a sharp scream erupt from somewhere close by as Ibikis' foot came into contact with the side of my head. A cloud of unconsciousness swept over me as I realized that scream had come from me.

The doorbell rang. Irukas' voice was close to me.

"Sasuke is here to take you to work, please get up." The worried voice of my father startled me – where am I? "I'll tell him you're in the shower if you hurry."

I groaned in pain as I opened my eyes and tried to move. "Okay," I grumbled. He helped me stand slowly, the pain of my ribs throbbing.

"I'll wrap those ribs after you shower; be careful please, I don't want you to get worse. And be quiet Ibiki is sleeping."

I could see the fear and sorrow in his eyes as we walked toward the stairs. As I got to the top I heard Iruka telling Sasuke I was just getting in the shower.

The hot water had felt so good against my violet skin; my entire left side was swollen and bruised, imprints still obvious from where Ibikis' shoes had made contact. My face had been slightly discolored from the kick to the head, but my foundation fixed that easily.

Irukas' hands were gentle as he wrapped the bandages around my rib cage. It hurt to breath; it hurt to move, but the pressure helped some. I could almost hear Sasuke's impatient fingers thrumming on the table downstairs. Good thing dad cleaned Kakashis' blood off it.

"So, what happened last night before I came downstairs anyway?" I was curious why Ibiki had been so angry.

"He walked in on Kakashi and I packing my stuff. We were planning on taking only what was necessary to storage, having you pack today and leaving tomorrow." He was actually planning on going? He'd been talking about it for the last year but he'd never put any effort into actually going.

"Are we still leaving?"

"Not right now. The only way I could get him off you was to promise I'd stay with him and leave Kakashi. Thank god Kakashi understands." I could feel the sadness in his voice.

"Are you actually leaving Kakashi?" that would be the worse thing he could do.

"Just for right now until I have the strength to try and leave again. Next time I'll give you a warning." I could tell from the look in his eyes the he would never be strong enough to leave Ibiki. There was to much at stake.

"Don't leave Kaka–" he cut me off with a sad smile.

"Naruto, I will not put my love life above your safety. You are my son and the most important person in my life. Now get your stuff together, Sasuke is getting annoyed." He walked from the room, leaving me with my thoughts. Itachi…

"Sorry it took so long Sas, I couldn't find my keys."

"You don't need your keys dobe, I'm driving." He glared at me with pure impatience.

"I do for after work when I get home." God my ribs hurt so bad.

"Okay fine, come on let's go."

Work was uneventful as always; it wasn't until I got home that things got interesting.

About ten minutes after I walked in the front door my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon Naru. I made it safely as promised; I'm officially in the United States."

"Nice timing love, I just walked into the house." Forgetting the pain in my ribs I inhaled deeply causing me to wince.

"What's wrong Naru?" the concern in his voice was obvious.

"Nothing, my ribs are just a little sore. No big deal, I promise." I wish he wouldn't worry.

"Ibiki?" the disgust in his voice was strong.

"Yes. But like I said, no big deal."

"Naru, I have to go. Tell me as soon as he touches you again. I'll call again soon." Something must be happening – he seemed rushed.

"'Bye Love," I spoke into a dead line.

"Naruto?" Irukas' voice ripped at my senses. I groaned heavily and rolled over, opening my eyes to see my father walking toward me from the doorway.

"Yeah?" my voice was thick with sleep.

"We're leaving Naruto. You have two days to pack and we'll go while he's at work."

"'Kay." I couldn't quite comprehend what he was saying though I heard every word.

"Go back to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."