This is the sequel to 'Home Sweet Home'. It also ties in a little with Aideko's (Aideko-nee san to me, hehe) story 'How Deep is Your Ocean?' If you read her story you'll know where I got the idea.

Thank you to all of my reviewers!! You're all wonderful! Thanks especially to allicat and Korhil Tohru for asking me to continue it. And to hale: I hope you listened to the song! Well, enjoy!

Hinata crawled into bed, in a slightly sore state. She had not had a mission assigned to her in a while and Neji had tried to help cease her boredom by training with her. He pushed her to the limit of course and now the young kunoichi was paying for it.

Not that I'm ungrateful, she thought kindly, smiling at herself in the mirror across her room.

She was wearing a pair of flannel pajama pants and an old t-shirt Naruto had unceremoniously tossed to her one morning after rifling through his closet, saying: "Use it as a rag to clean or something. It doesn't fit me anymore."

Hinata couldn't bear to use any of Naruto's clothes—old or new for such lowliness as a rag. She had folded it neatly and stowed it in one of her drawers for her own sleepwear.

She was rather embarrassed to admit she hadn't washed it.

How ridiculous, she thought to herself with a faint line of pink tracing her pale face.

She switched off her bedside lamp and was just about to throw the covers over her head and give in to her exhaustion when the door creaked open.

"Naruto-kun?" She asked hesitantly. The shadows cast by the moon and her still halfway open door hid his face.

Why is Naruto-kun in here so late? And what's this…aura? Her mind and heart quickened. This doesn't feel like Naruto-kun. He'd knock.

"Naruto-kun?" She asked again, trying to sound a little stronger, attempting to swallow down her rising panic.

This time her questioning was met with a feral snarl of laughter. Two red eyes opened and gazed through the shadows at her.

"N-No…you're not Naruto-kun, are you?" Hinata asked, shocked at the conversational tone in her voice.

Naruto…or whomever this being who looked like Naruto…stepped into the Hyuuga's room and took in the girl lying on her bed, her light violet eyes wide with surprise and what was possibly fear, her hand still clasped a corner of her blanket.

"I'm not the brat, I'm the Kyuubi, Hyuuga bitch," he growled at her and Hinata's open mouth closed into a hard line, which made slight anger flare inside the demon. His whisker-markings became even bolder; his red eyes became a bloodier crimson.

"You're not afraid?" He asked her, still not moving from his place beside her bed. "I did come here intending to kill you, Hinata-chan." The last part he hissed with distaste knowing it was the name in which the brat, his host, referred to her as.

"Did you?" She murmured and he blinked in heightened annoyance. She was acting much differently than he expected. He was wondering when she was going to scream out "Naruto-kun!" and hope that her loved one would save her. "I see…" She said and slid her legs out from underneath her blanket, tucking them up underneath her as if they were sitting down to sip tea. "Then you must have finally overpowered Naruto-kun, then, Kyuubi-san?"

The nine tailed demon fox bared his teeth at her, still half-trapped inside his host. "Hyuuga bitch! Did you hear me? I'm going to kill you!"

She looked up at him, blinked once. Twice. "I heard you perfectly well the first time, Kyuubi-san."

The Kyuubi shook with barely controlled rage. What was this? He wanted fear!! Fear! He couldn't even smell it on her! She wasn't even afraid! He had expected this Hyuuga Hinata to cower and plead that he let her beloved Naruto-kun go. This wasn't going to his liking. "You don't care that you're going to die?" He suddenly asked her, changing his harsh tone to a slight purring. He lifted his hand—Naruto's hand—and traced a long-nailed finger down the side of her face. She shuddered slightly but otherwise didn't move. Not even to wipe the blood from the slight cut he had created.

"I don't," she answered as soon as his hand left her face.

"Eh?" He grunted.

"I said I don't. I don't care if I die." She said, sounding strong and hard and cold.

The Kyuubi was more than a little surprised. This was not the Hinata he had expected from being stuck in the brat all this time. "You're not what I thought you were. The person I thought you were was the person that made me overpower the brat."

She blinked but didn't dare question him.

"The boy was sitting in his bed tonight all worried over how life would be for you two." He grinned maliciously, at both her horrified expression and remembering his host's thoughts. " 'How are things going to be for me and Hinata? What can I do to save her if I can't keep the Kyuubi at bay one day? What will she do? Can we live together? Can I grow close to her like this? Won't she be the first person in danger if something bad happens?' Too bad he was right." The Kyuubi finished with laughter and licked his lips in satisfaction as the girl stared into vacant space, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"This is…this is my fault, isn't it, Kyuubi-san?" The Kyuubi soon felt another pull of frustration when he realized the Hyuuga was still unafraid of him, just depressed she had caused it. "Naruto-kun was so worried…and insecure…I did this. Konoha…Naruto-kun…." She trailed off.

Looking up at the Kyuubi—who was getting more pissed by the minute—she smiled slightly. "I'm sorry."

"Eh?" He grunted in confusion for the second time. "What are you sorry about, Hyuuga bitch? If you're talking to the boy, he can't hear you--."

"He can." She interrupted quietly. "He can hear me. But I was talking to you, Kyuubi-san."

The red eyes narrowed, and his mouth parted in puzzlement.

"I'm sorry," she continued. "That you—after having escaped your imprisonment for sixteen years—that your first death will be me. For I, having done this to my village, am worth nothing. You're kill will be for naught, for there are a dozen me's. A dozen better me's in the village that you could kill."

The demon blinked and stared at her intensely. "You're sorry for me because of that?"

Hinata suddenly smirked. "Well, that and the fact you're going to have a pretty tough time with Konoha's ninja." What? Her eyes and her face? Her whole personality had changed. Her eyes were bright and light and happy even as she spoke. "Especially if Tsunade-sama gets her hands on you. No offense, Kyuubi-san, but you'll be going to the afterlife faster than you can say 'rasengan.' Or if Neji-nii san ever finds out you killed me. He's very protective. So is my father. Watch out for him, too. Tenten-san's pretty scary with weapons--!"

The Kyuubi had grabbed her by the throat and was shaking her vigorously. Anything to get her stop talking! Once she had started, he felt the brat's presence and he was trying to get control again. He wouldn't let her!

"Hyuuga bitch!" He shouted at her in his bone-chilling voice, over and over again.

"Heh."

The Kyuubi paused for a moment and surveyed the blood dripped down her face from the previous scratch and from her mouth. The blood dripped from her own feral grin. His red eyes widened as he seethed. He could feel the boy pushing him out, gaining control.

"Kyuubi-san…no baka…" She whispered, keeping the smile on her face as the image of the wild Naruto swam in front of her. Maybe I really will die…She said, shocking herself with how calmly she was handling all of this. It's too bad. I wanted to get to know Naruto better. Neji-nii san better. Everyone. I wanted to get to know everyone…She thought sadly of how quiet she had been all those years. All the things she could have said or asked her fellow ninja friends. If only to become closer or get to know them better.

"What a fool I've been…" She said, still quieter. The red eyes faded to blue and the nails grew back to their normal length, the hand finally dropped her back onto her bed as the blond boy in front of her fell to his knees.

Hinata took a breath, her dizziness slowly retreating. She leapt off her bed and put an arm around Naruto's shoulders, trying to support him.

He got up with her and sat down on the edge of her bed, his back leaning against the wall.

She watched in agitation as his eyes opened, revealing their normal oceanic blue. "Hinata-chan?"

She smiled. "Naruto-kun…oh, thank goodness…" She sighed in relief.

He blinked. "Are you wearing my shirt?"

She blushed furiously and swept the blanket from underneath him, wrapping it around herself in mortification. "What? N-No, of course not."

He smiled weakly. "Well, if you aren't. You should be. It looks cute on you."

Hinata's blush intensified, but she was happier than embarrassed.

"Hinata…are you alright? I mean--."

"Let's go get ramen."

"Eh? I didn't catch that…it sounded like you said--."

"Ramen. Let's go get some."

The blond boy opened and closed his mouth for a moment as he stared at her determined gaze. Finally he seemed to speak. "What? Now? It's gotta be--."

"Around midnight. Or 2 in the morning at least," she said, suddenly throwing off her covers and slipping her shoes on. "There must be a convenience store open with the instant kind."

Naruto slowly stood up and walked over to her cautiously. Was she going mad? Had the Kyuubi affected her mind in some way? With some weird chakra move Naruto didn't know about? "Hinata-chan…"

She suddenly whirled around at him, her dark hair flying in a wild fan. "Naruto-kun, I'm not insane. Just happy. Very happy. And hungry."

"Well, you did almost get killed." He said, sounding sarcastic, but the relieved smile on his face told Hinata he had given in.

"Should we try Ichiraku just in case?" She asked with her brilliant smile and couldn't help but kiss her lightly on the nose, gently wiping away the blood from her face.

"Sure. It's a date."

Phew. Sorry if that's too long for you guys. Or if it's confusing. I wanted to show how close they had gotten after living with each other, and how Hinata might be one of Naruto's more "important person" now and how that might be on the Kyuubi. The end might seem a little rushed, but I wanted it to show how happy Hinata was that she was still alive, and how she could spend time with Naruto and her friends and get to know them more.

Thanks! PS. 'Sadness into Kindness' or 'Kanashimi wo Yasashisa ni' by little by little was the third opening theme of Naruto.