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.

"Yes", Iruka confessed, staring back.

A moment of silence passed, and a heavy atmosphere fell upon them. Kakashi's eye traveled along the brown-haired man's face resting upon his lips. Which were pursed in sign of his nervousness. Kakashi could physically feel his heartbeat fasten and his throat knotted. The emotion was now undeniable to both of them yet unspeakable. Kakashi took his first drag and blew the smoke toward the man's face.

Caught in the smoke, the other coughed at the bitter smell that filled his lungs. Iruka swatted at the smoke to make it disappear and noticed Kakashi striding back towards the direction of his house.

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Gaara, rubbed the raw skin on his face as he adjusted his neck to stretch his muscles. Making his way back to the shack, he noticed that many of the servants had been gone, probably off to finish their work, as it was well into the afternoon. However, those who still remained in the cabin glared at his arrival, some even whispered in spite to see the blatant partiality the young master showed him. His new clothes were enough proof of this. Gaara wasn't surprised by how loose the mouths here were. The prison was a good enough example that groups of uneducated men with no other way to spend their time, would gossip at every chance they found. Gaara paid no attention to this as he quietly made his way to the back, and even overlooked the glob of spit that nearly landed on his shoes in front of him.

At his bunk bed, he slid open a drawer that was nothing more than 24 inches in length and width. Proceeding to take off his button shirt, pants and folded them, along with two more pairs of attire to fit into the tight space. In a plastic bag, he retrieved his original garments and slid them on, which although were worn down, felt less cramped. He also knew that if he wore the new clothes given to him, Zabuza would ask too many questions to which we wouldn't have any answers himself. Plus, it would keep the big red target off his back. Making his way back out the door he found Zabuza, pacing back and forth in front of the building. Upon noticing him, he quickly spoke, "Come boy, we've got work to do".

A simple "Yes sir", was said as they walked down to the nearest pasture, of grazing cows.

.....

"Now listen carefully, I am not fond of repeating my words twice. These cows here total 50 and are one of three other herds, but this is the only one you need to take care of. Now every day at seven in the morning they are to be released from the gated area onto these pastures, since you were gone for a good portion of today, we had other men do it, but continuing on this will be your first task. We let'm graze for nine hours and at four they are herded back into their pens. Ya hear me?" He asked.

"Yes sir"

"Alright moving on", Zabuza, now paced toward a barn filled with swines.

"Now your job here, is to provide these animals with clean food and water three times a day, once, after releasing the cows, second at midday, and lastly just before you bring the cattle back. In addition to this once a week you must clean the pens, make sure that all the grime is shoveled away. Understood", Zabuza asked again.

"Yes sir"

"Good", Zabuza and Gaara spent the next 30 minutes together as he explained other smaller tasks and odd jobs given to him, while Gaara tried to memorize the order and schedule repeating them internally. In the end, Zabuza asked, "Any questions".

"The horses", Gaara started, as he stared at a stable, searching for a particular horse.

"What about 'em?", He asked.

"Will I be able to work with them?", Gaara asked again, to which he received laughter.

It was one of those laughs that happen just when someone says something so ridiculous. But he didn't say anything ridiculous, he was serious. In his mind, he wondered, that if he was just able to ride Duchess just once, perhaps, the blonde would look at him more favorably. A silly thought for a man like him, but a continuous one nonetheless.

"No kid, the horses here are taken care of by skilled men, Judge's orders.", Zabuza stated.

"I'm not afraid, I even had some training back in prison", Gaara said rather offended.

"You overestimate your abilities, training these horses are done by our most experience holsters, and as far as I can see you'r still wet behind the ears", Zabuza firmly responded.

Gaara clicked his tongue in annoyance, yet he couldn't argue with the man, what he said was law. Eventually, he was left to his own devices, as Zabuza, took his leave for the day.

....

Marking the start of his work. It took him several hours to get the hang of it all, as the pigs refused to cooperate, and their shrieks were awfully loud. It was like nothing he ever heard before, and he had heard his fair share of terrified screams during his time with the gang.

The cows weren't all that bad though. They seemed to understand their place, like everyone else here. Listen to the orders and do not make trouble. Something Gaara never learned in his childhood. He was too busy just trying to survive, day by day, listening to rules would prove a disadvantage for him.

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Nightfall came, and Naruto found himself climbing down the second story of his house. Holding on for dear life to the ridges of the building, like a scared wet cat. This was definitely not how the novels described it, they made it seem much cooler. Yet, he didn't know what compelled him to go back to the gated area, where he spoke to Gaara the night before. Perhaps it was the guilt that ate at him that entire day, as he stared out of his bedroom window searching for him. It was his fault he got hurt, imposing on him with his own selfish curiosity.

When he was near enough to the ground, he jumped down, quite ungracefully stumbling as he touched the ground and falling on his buttocks. 'Ow'

Dusting himself off and scurrying to the fenced area where his horse was. He definitely did not want to stay there for long, he had already tried his luck once and it did not end well.

When the fence came into view, he saw no sign of the redhead. The area was illuminated by the moon and the only movement Naruto could see was that of his own horse. His heart felt like it was stung, of course, Gaara wouldn't be there, why would he risk his own freedom for that. Or perhaps he had grown infuriated by him. Naruto couldn't bring himself to fathom any of these possibilities, making up other possible conclusions. He was left alone with his thoughts as the night stretched out, and the cool breeze chilled his body.

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The bunkhouse shower was anything but the definition of a shower. The tiles were chipped off from every corner, the wallpaper appeared shredded with age, even the shower head didn't spray much "water". Yet, Gaara felt relieved at the sense of being cleaned. The cold water made him gasp for air upon contact, using his hand to wash his hair and body. A tiny soap bar and shampoo bottle were handed to him by Zabuza, as well as some of the night garments that he no longer used. The action made him wonder whether this was custom for a newcomer or were simply the actions of someone who wanted to help. Gaara realized the answer didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was gaining his freedom. Five years he thought. Five long years here in his own personalized prison. He hesitated at the thought because he couldn't imagine himself lasting five years without being sent back to the actual prison first. Not with the blonde around. Today was hard enough for him, where his mind would stray away, and attempted to persuade him to seek the boy. Even before his shower, he contemplated sneaking away to look for the blonde and apologize.

He couldn't stay here he thought. It wouldn't take long for his resolve to break and another incident to occur. He needed to escape.

Escape.

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Not me struggling with this chapter~