Kakashi and Naruto headed back to the village. The only thing on Kakashi's mind was the night terror Naruto was having and what it means. The only thing on Naruto's mind was apologizing and taking back the horrible thing he had said.
The two teams and the two parents were working once more when Naruto and Kakashi returned. Ino was the first to notice when she heard footsteps. "Naruto?"
Kushina looked up when she heard Ino. Naruto was walking toward her. "Naruto. I didn't mean to slap you like that. It was out of place and wrong. I had no ri-" Naruto hugged her.
"I'm so glad you're alive. I'm so glad you and Dad are alive. I'm so glad you're alive. I'm so glad." Naruto couldn't stop repeating those words because no matter how many times he said them, they were never the less true.
After Kushina got over her initial shock at the hug she was defiantly not expecting, she hugged him back. "I'm glad we're alive too ya know. I got to meet my son all grown up. That was the one thing I was most sad about was that I wasn't going to be able to see you grow up, but now here you are, taller than me."
Naruto let out a small laugh at that last comment as he hugged his mother tighter because he realized something: Mother's hugs were way better than any kind of hug he's ever had, as few as those were. A mother's hug was filled with so much love and comfort, and security. It felt like home.
As team ten and team Gai watched on, it was only in this moment that they realized how good they had it. They didn't know what it was like to not have parents and since they've been around their whole lives they had taken them for granted. But seeing Naruto hug his mother for the first time like this, never knowing her nor his father his entire life, each of them made a mental note to hug their parents the next time they see them.
Naruto had exhausted himself that day. He skipped dinner and headed straight to bed. This gave Kakashi a chance to pull aside Kushina, Minato and the others he has asked for the previous time he spoke in private to, once again, speak in private.
"The night the Kyuubi attacked?" Minato clarified.
"Yes." Kakashi nodded. "Through the eyes of the Kyuubi."
"Minato has the other half sealed inside him, why isn't he having such a dream too?" Kushina asked.
"Perhaps because Minato has learned to control his half while Naruto hasn't… Or perhaps because we're the only ones to know about that." Kakashi suggested.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Iruka asked.
"Well, if it is true and Naruto's being targeted to make the Hokage look bad, why wouldn't they just go straight to the Hokage if they knew he had part of the Kyuubi sealed within him too?" Kakashi inquired.
"You think it isn't the Kyuubi doing it but someone doing it to him?" Minato asked.
"That's exactly what I think. Earlier Naruto also told me he's been angry and agitated lately for no reason. Usually the Kyuubi starts to leak through because Naruto's angry. What if now Naruto's only angry because the Kyuubi is leaking through? That would explain the dreams of the Kyuubi's memories and the spurts of anger for no reason. The seal is slowly breaking and the Kyuubi's hate that's leaking through is affecting Naruto's mind." Kakashi explained.
"Speculating that it's most likely Danzo, how is he doing it?" Gai asked.
"I haven't figured that out yet." Kakashi replied in a tired voice.
"Is it wise to leave Naruto alone right now then?" Yamato asked.
"There aren't many people I trust at the moment so I sent Pakkun to watch him for the time being." Kakashi assured.
"Good call." Kurenai said. "But now to our big problem, if we don't know what's causing the seal to break, how do we fix it before it is too late?"
"We could always… Relocate Naruto?" Gai suggested.
"How do you think that's going to sit with Naruto?" Iruka said what the rest were thinking.
"We could send him on a mission." Gai added.
"That could buy us some time, but missions aren't forever and if we keep him away too long he'll surely start to get suspicious." Kakashi pointed out. Sighs erupted from everyone in the room.
As Naruto slept, Pakkun sat next to Naruto's bed. Kakashi had explained to Pakkun the situation and so far, nothing out of the ordinary was happening. More and more people were entering the tent to go to bed and an occasional bug would fly through the entrance of the tent. Pakkun was beginning to get bored but never let his guard down for a moment.
"You should have been there." Ino was saying to those who weren't there to witness the day's events. "The way Naruto was with his mom, it almost made me want to cry and go hug my parents."
Ten Ten nodded in agreement. "It really made me realize how much we actually take our parents or any of our loved ones for granted. Even though they may annoy us or get on our nerves, they've always been there for us and they've always loved us."
Lee was crying in the dramatic manner he did. "Naruto-Kun grew up all alone and didn't even complain about it once. Not even when he saw us happy with our families."
Sakura listened to the words they were saying and felt a knot of guilt building in her chest. She felt not only the times she'd despised her parents, but all the times she complained about them to Naruto. He just sat there and listened. Never got mad at her for complaining about what he didn't have, what he desperately wanted more than anything. Naruto was a better person than the rest of them combined, she realized, a stronger person than the rest of them combined. And that was that last good day until Naruto's slow downfall.