The Outlaw

Chapter 8

Both Iruka and Naruto sat on the porch with seldom faces waiting for Kakashi to return from wherever he was at. Naruto's head leaned against the railing beam and his expression was almost nonexistent, while his eyes held hints of guilt to what had transpired. His cerulean eyes slowly lifted as he met his older brother's gaze as he walked towards the front door.  But before, anything could be said he did a double-take, turned, and walked in the opposite direction as the house. Naruto stood up, but had no intention of following his brother anymore; he acknowledged that it'd be best to let him cool down. A warm hand comforted his back, as Iruka softly spoke, "You know he did it because he wants to protect you". 

It seemed that's what everyone wants to do as if I can't do that myself, Naruto thought, not bothering to reply. 

His family's treatment was suffocating as if they didn't trust him to do anything due to his frail figure.

"I'll go talk to him", Iruka continued. Naruto turned with a wary expression as if to non-verbally oppose this statement. But Iruka didn't catch on, he stepped down the porch stairs and proceeded to walk in Kakashi's direction, while his frilly shirt swayed in the wind.

.......

Iruka had now been a couple of meters away when Kakashi said, " Go away, Naruto".

To which he replied, "I'm not Naruto". 

Kakashi's back jolted at the sound of his voice, stopping to turn around. Where Iruka gave him a small smile walking to his side.

"You know this argument has nothing to do with you", Kakashi stated.

"Argument? I'm not here to hassle with you, I came to finish my walk with you", he said matter of factly. 

Kakashi turned away as heat formed in his face at the confession. 

"You won't enjoy it, it's not as beautiful as the river, and the animals are loud and....", Kakashi was interrupted.

"I don't care, I want to finish our walk", Iruka persisted. 

With that said both continued their trek along with the 500-acre ranch most of it spent in silence and the other part talking about their past. The farther away from the main house they got, the terrain became much more uneven and difficult to cross. Iruka would find himself tripping, or slipping on a rock, accidentally grabbing onto Kakashi's shoulder for support. The noise of the farm animals was distant, and the edge of the plowed land was now in view. Any further than this would lead them into the wooded area that surprisingly still belonged to them according to Kakashi. 

The grey-haired man pulled out another cigarette from his waist pocket, not bothering to offer Iruka one, remembering a time where his mother had taught him pretty people only do pretty things. 

"You know Naruto's almost eighteen, he won't be a child any longer", Iruka tested the waters with this statement. Kakashi, nodded in agreement as he lit his cig with his silver-plated lighter.

" I think it is important to let him be able to make his own choices", Iruka said, receiving a skeptical eyebrow raise by the other.

"Which means that you need to listen to him as an equal", Iruka finished. 

Kakashi sighed "Like I said, what happened has nothing to do with you".

"But it does! if something like this happens again you could get hurt", he exasperated. The brunette had been so startled by the fight. He almost couldn't believe his eyes, the normally nonchalant man, both calm and collected; was thrown out the door, by a simple mishap.

"Were you scared?" asked Kakashi, staring down at the comparably smaller man. He couldn't find it in himself to explain his own fear. The fear that the outlaw could easily take away what was his. His little brother was much too naive to differentiate a foe from a friend making him an easy target for the criminal. Or if the outlaw would set his eyes, on someone like Iruka, as beautiful as he was, he definitively didn't believe this to be a long shot.