Naruto remained in his room until it was time to leave in the morning. Iruka and Kakashi both decided that Naruto needed space, despite their instinct to bust in. They had their suspicions confirmed as the nine-tails chakra leaked from his door throughout the night. They recalled Naruto's warning of not disrupting him when Kurama was trying to help.
Naruto emerged after the party had finished their breakfast. Kakashi ushered Sakura and Sai out the door as Iruka hung back and waited for Naruto, thrusting an apple and banana into his hands. Naruto looked like he was about to say something before shaking his head and heading out the door. Iruka sighed and followed.
The pair walked behind the rest of the party in silence. Naruto didn't look up from the ground and Iruka began wondering if he would need to start the conversation but he wasn't really sure how to. He couldn't start with "I understand..." because he didn't, not truly and saying that would be an insult to Naruto's pain. "It's alright..." also didn't feel right in this situation. It was far from alright but Iruka didn't want to convey disappointment or anger, he simply wanted to let Naruto know that he was still here and would continue to walk on this journey with him no matter how many times they reach obstacles. With a deep breath, he started: "Naruto, I'm not going anywhere. Let me in when you are ready but I will be right here, always..." Iruka spoke with such softness but also certainty that it made Naruto stop and look at him. Iruka noted the tears in his eyes and gently placed a hand on his back.
"Iruka... sensei..." Naruto felt his emotions surge as his mentor looked at him, he was a restless ocean with a storm brewing. Iruka encouraged him to keep walking to help move some of that looming energy. "I didn't mean to stop fighting yesterday. It just happened. It was like I lost control of myself." Naruto mumbled as they walked.
"Naruto, we know this journey is going to be hard. You've got years of abuse to work through and we have years of apologising to do. We weren't there for you when you needed us, but we are here now. I know how hard it is to break a pattern and we don't blame you for what happened yesterday. It was too much too fast. We see that now. We won't leave you to fight on your own until you are ready, not while we have other options anyway. And that's not a reflection on your ability because we know how strong you truly are, it's a reflection on where you are in your journey of healing, nothing more. Okay?" Iruka asked, praying that Naruto wouldn't see this development as pity or a lack of trust but as another way of supporting him through this.
"I understand. I can't trust myself at the moment. I'm trying but it's not enough..." Naruto replied, clearly feeling defeated. Iruka gave him an encouraging nudge as they entered the desert. "Hey, not long now and you will see Gaara. Lets just take things one step at a time. When you feel like talking more about this or anything that happened last night, let me know. I'm always gonna be here for you Naruto."
In a few short hours, they would arrive in Sunagakure and Naruto was feeling a mix of excited, defeat, anxiety and dread. He wanted to see Gaara more than anything but what if he didn't understand? What if seeing him like this was too painful given his history? What if Naruto wanted to stop trying again? He didn't want to let more people in to be disappointed if he failed. What if Gaara didn't have time for him since he was just a lowly genin and he was the Kazekage? What if Naruto wasn't strong enough to face his friend, broken bits and all?
Gaara had been pacing ever since he received word from the Hokage that Naruto would be visiting. The mission statement he received was clearly a diversion from something else but he didn't care. His friend was coming to see his home, to see him. He hoped Naruto was excited but he couldn't shake this feeling of dread that was forming in the pit of his stomach. He could almost hear Shukaku laughing as his anxiety ate away at him.
"Stop that Shukaku. If you don't have anything constructive to add, I don't want to hear from you." Gaara said out loud but the tailed beast continued to laugh. Eventually he answer "I have never seen you so worked up before, hahahaha, how cute, hahahaha!" Shukaku's laughter was driving him nuts but he could see his point. He was normally calm and composed but something about Naruto's visit had him on edge. He knew part of it was excitement but this other part felt like a familiar weight. "They should be arriving tonight, I'm sure everything is fine with Naruto and I'm just letting my anxiety get the better of me." Gaara wasn't sure why he was saying this out loud but it calmed his nerves. 'I'm going to see my friend.' He thought with a smile as he exited the Kazekage tower and entered the streets of his village, fully intending to wait at the gate for his friends arrival.