Iruka and Kakashi arrived at the apartment to an unsettling scene. It was still sunlight outside but within the apartment, it was completely dark, like something was sucking all the light from the world. Kakashi had a bad feeling and removed his hitai-ate, using his Sharingan, he surveyed the scene. He located the source of the darkness and determined it was coming from Naruto's room. They proceeded with caution, walking carefully through the darkness. When they reached Naruto's room the door refused to open. Kakashi used brute force and destroyed it completely. He couldn't quite place why he felt such a desperate fear, but he was having déjà vu. He remembered an absence of light from the day he found his father and didn't want this to be true. Naruto was making progress, wasn't he?
Iruka rushed towards the bed. He knew this room, even if he could see anything. He felt in front of him until he could grasp Naruto's shoulder. He started shaking him, begging him to wake up. "Please Naruto, come back to us." Iruka sobbed, desperately trying to wake the boy. As a last resort he charged chakra into his hands and zapped Naruto, forming the release sign, hoping with everything that he had that this was some kind of genjutsu.
To Iruka's surprise, it worked. The darkness began receding, coiling back into Naruto's mind. It was an unsettling sight, watching the darkness fill his mind. Naruto started blinking his eyes, very confused about the scene that greeted him as he awoke. It took him a moment to realise why Iruka and Kakashi both looked paler than usual. Naruto felt a wave of panic wash over him. They were both looking incredibly concerned and Naruto couldn't control his reaction. His heart started racing and his body trembled. The tears started forming and there was no hiding them. He tried to calm his voice as he spoke to them, but it really was no use. "T-T-The darkness... I'm s-s-sorry... I can't c-c-control it..." Naruto shuddered as he tried to explain. It wasn't making any sense, but it never did. He couldn't explain why the darkness did that or what it meant.
Kakashi gave Iruka a knowing look and signalled towards the dining room. Iruka nodded and watched as the jounin exited the room. "Naruto, its okay. If you cant talk about this right now you don't have to. We are here for you when you are ready." Iruka squeezed his shoulder gently. "We bought ramen from Ichiraku, want to come eat with us?" Iruka willed his voice to project hope. Naruto was at a loss for words but nodded. He was a little stiff as he moved off the bed, feeling the aftereffects of the darkness, dizziness and weakness.
They ate in silence. Naruto managed to eat more than he had in months. Sharing a meal with two of his precious people somehow gave him courage. "Iruka-Sensei... Kakashi-Sensei, can I talk to you guys about the darkness?" Naruto couldn't bring himself to look up from his food. He felt courageous but he was still terrified of being rejected, ignored or thought of as less. When he finally found the strength to raise his eyes, he found his two teachers looking at him with love in their eyes.
Naruto took a deep breath before he continued. "It's hard to explain but sometimes the darkness in my mind leaks. Normally there is no one around to witness it. It engulfs the whole apartment when it happens but since I'm alone, no one has ever known about it before. It seems to happen more often when I'm trying to work though my thoughts. I think it happened today because I started talking to you Iruka-Sensei. I've never been very good at talking about this or asking for help, so I think the darkness tries to get out in other ways. I'm sorry if I scared you. It's probably the least dangerous thing that goes on with me, but I should let you know that if you ever find me in Kurama's chakra I shouldn't be disturbed."
Iruka and Kakashi shared a puzzled look. "Why is that Naruto?" Iruka dared to ask, relieved Naruto wanted to share this information. "If I'm surrounded by Kurama, it means I'm really bad and he is holding me together. If that connection is broken, I probably won't survive. He has always done his best to keep me safe." Naruto felt weird saying it out loud, but it was for the best. If they broke his connection when Kurama was helping he didn't think he could save himself.
They both nodded, genuinely thankful that Naruto was opening up. Iruka looked outside and noticed the sun was beginning its descent beyond the horizon. "Fancy a walk Naruto? Your leg seems to have healed up fairly well." Iruka asked, thinking some fresh air would be nice after the events of the day. Naruto's face lit up just a little bit. "So I'm not on house arrest?" Naruto queried, he had thought this was some kind of punishment situation where he couldn't leave.
Iruka sighed before responding "Naruto, you are not in trouble in any way shape or form. You have had a hard life and responded to that trauma. We don't want to lose you and we want to show you that life is worth living. You are not under arrest." Kakashi saw an opportunity to interject, "That being said Naruto, we would rather you not run off without either taking one of us with you or at least letting us know where you are going and how long for. We have almost lost you so many times that none of us can bare the thought of not knowing where you are. We care about you far too much."
Naruto nodded, he understood where they were coming from after all he had almost died right before their eyes just the other day. "Let's go for a walk then. I could use some fresh air."
The three strolled around the mountain paths of Konoha until they reached the Hokage monument. Naruto's leg was mostly healed thanks to Kurama, but he still had a slight limp. Iruka and Kakashi were nervous taking him back to the monument but agreed in the end. It was the only place he wanted to go.
Naruto spent the first ten minutes of the walk starting to say something before quickly closing his mouth. He was feeling very conflicted. It had felt good talking with Iruka and Kakashi, but he didn't want to overshare, and he still felt like he needed to hide things about himself. This pattern didn't go unnoticed and Kakashi decided to break the silence once Lord fourth came into view.
"You remind me so much of my Sensei Naruto, he was truly a remarkable shinobi. When he was named Hokage, I felt a little piece of my shrivelled heart breathe. He was a light in the darkness and one of the reasons I lived long enough to become your sensei." Kakashi missed Minato and hoped the former Hokage could forgive him for failing to protect Naruto more.
Naruto looked like he was about to cry. "It feels so weird to talk about him out loud. Kurama told me who my parents were when I was 10. Just after that horrible incident happened. He told me that I was the child of two truly strong shinobi and shouldn't be letting people treat me like that. It was about that time that I removed the seal and got to meet them both. It wasn't an easy reunion. They were both so sad about everything that had happened and couldn't bare to see me so miserable. I tried to tell them that I was gonna be okay, but they knew I was lying. Ironically, they both thanked Kurama for taking care of me." Naruto shook his head, trying to dislodge the sadness that was holding onto his heart. His parents were heroes and he was scum.
"I'm sorry that we didn't talk to you about them ourselves, but it was forbidden. I don't really understand lord Thirds reasoning behind keep your parents identity a secret, but we can try to find out if that would bring you some closure." Iruka suggested, looking to Kakashi for confirmation. The jounin nodded. Naruto nodded at the idea. "It won't really change anything, but I would like to know." Naruto spoke softly as he continued walking past his father and began descending the other side.
Once they reached the base of the mountain, they found Jiraiya waiting for them. "Hey kiddo," he greeted Naruto fondly before engulfing him in a bear hug, "how you feeling?"
"Hey Pervy Sage. I'm doing better, I guess. Where you off to this time?" Naruto questioned, having a feeling that this was a send-off. Jiraiya looked surprised and quickly released the embrace. "Its quite unnerving how much you can tell just by looking at someone kid." Jiraiya's face showed nothing but pride as he responded. "I'm being sent on an S-Rank mission to the land of wind. I'll end up in Sunagakure in two weeks time."
Naruto looked a little sad upon hearing this news. Jiraiya was quick to continue. "The good news is, I will meet you there. Team Kakashi are being sent on a mission to Suna to share medical ninjutsu and exchange medicinal herbs with the Kazekage's medical unit. You guys will be leaving in 3 days. Iruka is also being sent to help train ninja instructors due to the recent changes in the school structure in the Sand Village. Isn't that exciting kid?"
Naruto couldn't help but feel a little excited as Pervy Sage told him about the mission. He immediately thought of seeing Gaara again. It took only moments for that excitement to become dread. Gaara had always seen right through his mask, there would be no hiding from him. In the end, Naruto decided that the despair would not ruin this for him, he really wanted to see Gaara and if anyone could understand the true depth of his pain, it would be his friend.
Naruto mustered up all the energy he could find from his still depleted body before responding. It wasn't an over-the-top response that he normally gave when wearing his mask, but his words had life in them for a change. "I'm going to get to see my friend." The quiet strength in his voice made his teachers smile. It radiated hope.