Naruto's POV

Walking slowly through the desert, we plodded on, heading towards the Land of Fire, and in turn, the Hidden Leaf Village. Passing by the dunes that signaled the view range from the Village Hidden in The Sand, I turned to Kurama.

"You can drop the disguise now, we're out of eyesight." I said, and she frowned, looking at me in confusion.

"Huh?" She asked, before a look of realization crossed her face. "Oh!" She said, before putting up the hand sign to release the disguise jutsu. Once back in her original form, she sighed in relief, rolling her shoulders and flexing her tails. "I've gotten so used to being disguised, I almost forgot I still was." She said, and I nodded understandingly, before she sighed and looked at me. "So, what's the plan? Surely we couldn't just walk into the Hidden Leaf. Even disguised, wouldn't they still notice two strangers waltzing through the front gate?" She asked, and I gave her a calming smile.

"The Hidden Leaf's security isn't that great if you know your way through it." I said, and she looked at me in interest.

"Oh? And I suppose you do? So, what's your big plan?" She asked, and I smirked.

"Simple. The same way Itachi Uchiha did. Being a previous Leaf Shinobi, we'll be able to enter The Hidden Leaf's territory without setting off their barrier jutsu. Once inside the territory, we'd make our way to the front gate, where the guards are stationed. Since no alarms would have gone off, they'll assume we've been cleared for entry. Sure, they might ask us a few questions... Who are we, what are we doing there, and they might just pull out their bingo books, but we won't be in them, at least, not our disguised selves..." Once we're given entry to the village, we're good to go." I said, and Kurama looked at me in surprise.

"Hey... That's not actually that bad. You do have a plan!" She said, before giving me a suspicious look. "Wait a minute... That's the kind of plan that takes quite a bit of thinking. How long have you been planning to return to the village?" She asked, and I shrugged.

"Since before I even brought it up." I said, and she sighed. "But that doesn't matter right now. The point is, we have a plan to get in." I said, and she nodded.

"So, Naruto, I know you said you just wanted to take a look around, but why else do you want to go to the Hidden Leaf so bad?" She asked, and I sighed.

"I may have had a hard time growing up in that village, but the fact is, I still grew up there. They may have hated me, but it was still my home. If we're going to be dropping off the map for a while, I at least want to spend one last day in the village without worrying about any hate." I said, and her gaze seemed to soften.

"Right... I have another question." She said, and I looked at her for a few seconds, before shaking my head slightly.

"Wait, what's with the sudden twenty questions?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood. Kurama just shrugged her shoulders.

"Just generally curious and trying to pass the time while we walk, that's all." She said, before going on. "Anyways, if you were given the chance to have lived your life without me sealed inside of you, would you take that chance?" She asked, looking genuinely curious. Looking at her in surprise for a few seconds, I once again looked ahead of us, before frowning.

"You know, earlier in life, the answer would probably have been yes. Things definitely would have been easier growing up, but nowadays, I've realized something when looking back." I said, and she looked at me curiously. "Looking back, having you sealed inside me did more good than bad. It gave me something to overcome. You, albeit unintentionally, made me stronger the more you tried to break the seal. So, looking back, no, I would not take the chance... Was that the answer you were looking for?" I asked, and she smiled, wrapping a tail around me. After walking for a few hours, the wind began to pick up, and clouds of sand began to fly by us. Covering her muzzle with her shirt, she looked up and sheilded her eyes.

"It looks like that sand storm that Gaara mentioned before is beginning to hit." She said, and I covered my mouth and nose with my shirt as well. Looking up ahead, I could just barely see the cave from before up ahead in the distance.

"Hey, there's the cave from before. If we run, we could get there in a few minutes. Do you think we'd make it?" I asked, and Kurama squinted, before quickly looking around.

"We may be able to, but it'd be safer if we took cover over there." She said, pointing towards an outcrop of sandstone, where there appeared to be a small dip in the ground. Making a quick decision, we ran towards the sandstone outcrop, taking shelter in the small ditch like area. Taking cover behind the outcrop, the wind picked up even more, and visibility was almost zero.

"Wow, that really hit fast." I said, and she nodded, scooting back until her back was against the sandstone.

"Yeah, and it's really going to set us back a bit; Sandstorms like this can last a while." She said, letting out a sigh. Frowning, I reached into my bag.

"Well, we can just think of this as a break. We've been walking for a while, and we wouldn't have made it to the Land of Fire today anyways. And Quite frankly, I could use a break to get something to eat. What about you, are you hungry?" I asked, pulling out two small wrapped loaves of bread. Smiling slightly, she took one and unwrapped it, before taking a bite.

"So, what do we do now?" She asked. Twenty minutes had went by, and the sandstorm only continued to rage on. Sitting next to her with my back against the wall, I shrugged.

"I guess we just relax. There's nothing else we really can do while stuck here like this." I said, and she sighed. Sitting in silence for a few seconds, I turned to Kurama. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, but what did you want to do after we reach the Land of Tofu? I mean, besides what's already been planned, I don't know what to do next, and I don't really want to be the only one deciding what we end up doing." I said, and she frowned, looking thoughtful.

"Well, if that's the case, we could always just travel around. I believe you mentioned getting jobs from people looking for help before. We could always do that. And to be honest, I haven't gotten to see how much everything has changed since I've been sealed, so this would be a great time." She said, and I nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, we could do that. Just traveling around does seem like it could be fun. Plus, it would give us a chance to try the different foods." I said, and she smiled.

"Hey, you still have that scroll with your father's jutsu, don't you?" She asked, and I nodded. "Why don't you take a look at it. We have the time, and it would give you something to do while we wait for this sandstorm to pass." She said, and I frowned, before shaking my head.

"Nah, to be honest, I was planning to wait until I learned Sage Mode. I can't really focus on two things at once, and something tells me both are going to take my full attention." I said, and she nodded.

"Well, mind if I take a look at the scroll then? You might not be interested in it right now, but I wouldn't mind seeing how your father did it." She said, and I hesitated for a few seconds, before reaching into my bag.

"He probably wouldn't like the fact that you were trying to learn his jutsu, but here." I said, handing her the scroll. Taking it, she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah? Well he could get over it. After all, the only reason he knew his precious Rasengan was from studying my Bijuu Bomb." She said, before unraveling the scroll and beginning to study it, letting her eyes scan the paper. After a few minutes, she let out a low whistle. "You know, your father must have had high expectations of you." She said, looking up from the scroll.

"Why? What do you mean?" I asked, and she pointed to the paper.

"This is a high level S rank jutsu. One so complex, that even he must have had a difficult time mastering it, yet he still had enough faith in you that he passed it on to you. He honestly believed that you'd be able to master it as well." She said, and I blinked, before taking out my father's old kunai, absentmindedly fiddling with it.

"Really? He really had that much faith in me?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Yes, really. I have no doubt in my mind that he had great expectations that you would go far." She said, and I sighed slightly.

"Well, I must have let him down. Turns out I didn't really turn out how he expected." I said, and Kurama swatted me hard with her tail.

"Hey! Knock that off! You're just starting off, give it time. You've already managed to learn the Rasengan and Bijuu Bomb, in my opinion, you're doing great. I'm sure he would have been proud of you." She said, and I gave her a weak smile. Pretty soon, the shadow of night began to creep across the desert sand, and the temperature began to drop. "Hey Naruto, why don't you get some sleep? The storm is obviously not going to stop any time soon." She said, and I looked at her in confusion.

"What about you?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"Well, someone's got to keep watch. I'll stay up and wake you when the storm stops or something happens." She said, and I looked at her for a few seconds, before shrugging.

"If you're sure, than ok. But we're still far enough in the desert that we don't really have to worry about anyone bothering us, and plus, the sandstorm would prevent it anyways. Try to get some sleep too if you can." I said, before reaching into my bag and grabbing a spare shirt and balling it up, setting it under my head. Groaning slightly as I tried to get comfortable. "Remind me to buy some blankets and pillows when we get to the village." I said, and she smirked, wrapping her tails around me, before pulling me close to her until I was laying against her front.

"Why would you need all that when you have me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "As for pillows... You've got two right here." She said, letting my head rest against her breasts. Smirking back at her, I rolled my eyes, though I did enjoy the warmth of her fur against me.

"Yeah, what was I thinking?" I asked sarcastically, and she rolled her eyes as well. Getting comfortable, I closed my eyes, and she smiled down at me, before turning her gaze towards the opening of the small outcrop.

After a while, Kurama gently shook my shoulder, and I flinched slightly, before slowly opening my eyes. Looking around, I realized that the sun was up. Not only that, but the sandstorm had stopped. "Time to wake up, Naruto. I told you I'd wake you when the storm stopped. It stopped a little before sun up, but I decided to let you sleep." She said, and I thanked her, before stretching and sitting up. After a few seconds, I turned towards her.

"Well, since the storm has stopped, are you ready to head out again?" I asked, and she nodded. "If we head out now and keep at a steady pace, we should get to about the edge of the Land of Fire by tonight." I said.

"So we won't reach the village until tomorrow..." She said, and I agreed.

"Right. So if you're ready, let's start heading out." I said, and she once again nodded, before following as we once again began heading for the Hidden Leaf village.

Sorry about the long wait, like I've written on my 'Writing Status', I've gotten a new computer after about two years not having one, but I am back writing now.

~spudbud16