Here we are. 50,128 words, 156 pages, and 25 chapters later. The sequel to my first FanFiction.

Let me stop here and say that, if you have not read the first part of the story, I encourage you to. It is under my profile, and the name is "Light in the Darkness." Feel free to comment/review while you read! =D

To those of you who have waited this long, thank you for your patience. It's been a rather hectic summer semester. Don't expect chapters as quickly as I published originally, though. On top of school and work, I start my field experience, which means the time I would normally spend writing, I will spend at work...unpaid. -.-

Oh the life of a college student.

Any who, without further ado, let the story begin!

I do NOT own Naruto.

There is a lot that can be said about me. There is a lot that can be said about my wife, Hinata Hyūga. To the world, we are known as demons. To our friends, we are known as human. But Hinata and I refer to each other as the light to outshone the loneliness that seclusion brings.

Do I love Hinata? Absolutely. Does she love me? Absolutely. Hinata is the reason I have lived this long. After the death of my "uncle" Jiraiya, or Ero-Sennin, as I liked to call him, Hinata has been the only person to love me, for me. Sure, I have friends that love me, but there is something different about the love that my beloved Hinata gives me. That something runs deeper than any friendship. At our very core, Hinata and I are the same person. Yes, our personalities may differ, but we both have an unwavering desire to better ourselves. To move forward, even if only one step at a time.

The past ten years of our lives have been normal. At least, as normal as two vessels of demons can get. After graduating high school, Hinata and I enrolled in the University of Konoha. Our friends did also, with the exception of Shikamaru and Temari, who went to Yale due to their outstanding grades. Hinata and I graduated with the same degree as Sasuke and Sakura, two of our dearest friends. Seeing as how Hinata, Sasuke, and I were now the heads of our respective companies, we all decided to get a business degree. Sakura, who was engaged to Sasuke during college, decided she would get the same degree as her betrothed in order to help him with the Uchiha corporation.

Here we are now, ten years after high school. I am the owner of the Uzumaki corporation, as well as my wife, who is the head of the Hyūga corporation. With our marriage, the two companies have prospered, but with this new-found prosperity, a question was raised. Many wondered the sanity of having two "demon-holders," as they called us, running the two companies. However, because the previous owners, Jiraiya and Hiashi, named their successor in their will, there was not much that could be done.

"Naruto, are you okay?" A concerned Ino asked from behind the counter of the flower shop she owned.

"Oh, sorry." I replied, nervously laughing, "I was just thinking about how much our lives have changed in the past ten years."

"Ain't that the truth." She said, still staring at me.

"What?"

"You wanted to buy these flowers, didn't you?" Ino asked.

I looked down to see a bouquet of purple roses, Hinata's favorite.

"Oh yeah, sorry." I handed her the bouquet and she began to input the data into the register.

As she was totaling up my purchase, she asked "So, what's the occasion?"

"You should know!"

She stopped totaling and stared at me, confused, "What should I know?"

"It's Valentine's day!"

"How in the world did I not remember that, and you did!?" She replied with genuine shock.

"I guess when you marry Choji, you begin to tend to forget those things." I said with a laugh.

The next thing I felt was a hit on my head. I turned around quickly, "Hey watch what you're doing fat ma-" I realized that Choji was the one who hit me.

"Fat!?" He yelled, eyebrows twitching.

"Oi, Choji, leave the poor guy alone."

Choji looked up at Ino, "I just-"

"Don't worry about it, Choji..." I was looking at Choji, so I didn't expect the slap on the back of my head from Ino.

"What is with you people and hitting me today?!"

As I turned to face Ino, Choji hit me again. I stepped out from between them and glared at them. I was going to say something, but was interrupted by a child running from the back of the store.

"Daddy!" A young girl of three yelled, with arms outstretched.

Holding out his arms, Choji picked up his little girl. "Huruka! My little sweetums!"

I looked at the scene and couldn't help but feel a sense of pain.

"What about mommy?" Ino asked her daughter, feigning hurt. Huruka held out her arms as her mother picked her up and showered her with love.

I couldn't help but imagine Hinata holding a daughter. Hinata has always wanted kids, but we don't have any. We have tried before, but, for some reason, Hinata will not conceive. I pains me to see my beloved when we are around children. Though she tries to hide it, I can see the pain that washes over her as she watches them. I hate being powerless. I have always been the one to take the lead, to solve the problems we had, but there is nothing I can do about this problem. And for that, I am pained. I want children too, but I want them more now, knowing how much happier it would make Hinata.

Choji put a hand on my shoulder, "It'll happen. Just give it time." He said with a smile.

"Heh, I know. I just hate seeing Hinata so hurt. You should see how she reacts when we are around a child. I hate that I can't do anything to help ease that pain."

"Oi, Naruto," I looked up at Ino, "Just take the flowers. Who knows, maybe tonight will be the night." She said.

Out of all of our friends, Hinata and I are the only ones without children. Shikamaru and Temari have kids, Neji and Ten-Ten have two, and Sakura is pregnant with their second. Even Kiba and Shino have children. They both married women who they met in college.

"I sure hope so. I would do anything to take that pain away from her."

Ino looked at me sympathetically and nodded, handing me the flowers. "Just take them, they are free."

"Thanks Ino. I better get going. Hinata worries if I'm out too late."

"Bye Naruto!" Choji yelled after me, "And good luck tonight!" He added with a wink.

I rolled my eyes and ran home to my beloved.

I wonder if Naruto forgot what tonight was... I looked up at the clock, Its nearly 9:00, where is he at?

I stared at the clock, watching the second-hand slowly tick away, willing my love to walk through the door. I looked around the house at the candles I had lit, the aroma of vanilla wafting around the room. The table was prepared, and on each plate was a steak with mashed potatoes and corn.

I may be a good cook, but Naruto outshines me when it comes to grilling. I sure hope he likes it...

I glanced down at the dress I was wearing. It was a simple lavender dress that went to my ankles. Even around Naruto, I am still very conscious of my figure.

Come on Naruto...

There was a knock at the door.

"Hinata!" The blond-haired man yelled.

I glared at him, "Where were you at!? I was worried sick."

I may worry about him, but I won't let it show.

"Sorry, Hinata, I got caught up at work until 8:00, and then I stopped by Ino's shop." Jutting his hand out, Naruto held out a bouquet of purple roses with a box.

I kissed him and sat the box on the counter in the kitchen. Obviously, after college, we had to move, so Naruto and I bought a small house with three bedrooms with the money we were left behind. Because of our upbringing, we wanted to live frugally, so we spent just enough money to buy the house and two vehicles. That was three years ago, and we haven't touched the money yet. Something tells me, though, that the interest built up over the last three years has accrued more than we spent.

We walked over to the table in the dining room and Naruto pulled my chair out for me. After thanking him, I sat down, and he pushed me in. Naruto claims he does this because he loves me, but I think he does it to prove he isn't as perverted as the man he lived with for so long, Jiraiya. Whatever the reason, I still blush.

He treats me like royalty.

Naruto sat down across from me and stared at me. This action usually makes me blush, but I wasn't paying too much attention. In his attempt to make me blush - he says he enjoys it - I got lost in his eyes. I stared at the blue oceans and got lost in thought about my love.

Noticing I wasn't blushing, Naruto tried a different tactic. "You look beautiful, Hinata."

I tried to suppress it, but I gave in as the blush rose up and covered my face.

"There it is!" He laughed quietly.

"I don't know why you like doing that so much, Naruto. I hate my shyness..." Hinata said, staring at the table.

"Hinata, you know I love you, right?"

She looked up at me, a blush fighting its way to the surface. She nodded ever-so-slightly.

"You trust me?"

She nodded again.

"Then trust me when I say that your shyness is part of your appeal."

"I just-"

"Hinata, I wish you would stop beating yourself up like that. I love you. I love everything about you." I paused for a second. "As a matter of fact, you know what?"

She continued to stare at me.

"Do you know what immediately attracted me to you?"

More staring.

"It was that shyness of yours. Yes, you and I are the same person. Deep down, we are both fighters, but our personalities are completely different. It was the shyness that attracted me to you. If you were a hothead like me, we would always be butting heads!"

"Naruto, you are very open about who you are. In fact, you are happy with it."

I looked at her and smiled. "Believe it or not, Hinata, I have doubts, too."

"You're just saying that..."

"I'm not, Hinata. I really mean that." I looked at the table, "Every day, I wonder how in the world you fell in love with the clumsy idiot that I am. I was never really smart. I mean, look how long it took for me to realize that I liked you."

Tears began to fall down her face, so I got up and knelt by her chair.

"Naruto, you don't mean that. You're such a fighter, you are always on top of things."

A familiar pain shot through me as I remembered what I was thinking at the flower shop.

"Hinata, you have no idea how much I hate that I can't give you children."

She quickly looked me in the eye, but didn't say anything.

"You're right, I've always been the one on top of things. When there is an issue, I jump right in and you are there to help me solve it. But, this is one thing I can't 'jump into,' so to speak. I see how you react when we are around children, and it pains me to see you that way."

The tears were falling now, "Naruto, I..." She couldn't continue. She broke down and cried into my shoulder. I just held her.

We were like this for ten minutes before her crying ceased. I lifted her head and looked in her eyes, which red from her tears.

"Hinata, you are everything to me. I love you more than anything or anyone in this world."

It was as if Naruto had read my thoughts. Because it was Valentine's day, I took off of work, in order to prepare for tonight. On the way home, I sat at a park and ate my lunch, enjoying the scenery. But, as I should have known, children were out and about, playing with each other. I couldn't get as far as opening my lunch when the tears threatened to drop. I ran to my car and balled my eyes out.

"Naruto, I love you too." I kissed him and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. We were both standing at this point, so it was a lot easier. "You still are the only one who knows how to cheer me up."

He returned that hug and added, "As are you."

We returned to our respective seats and began to eat. As we ate, a thought came to my mind.

"Naruto, I think we should go to a clinic."

"I know I'm crazy, but you don't gotta take me to there!"

I giggled, "Not a psychiatric clinic, baka, I mean a clinic to see if we are actually able to have children."

"Are you sure you want to do that, Hinata? I hear those tests can be rather...invasive."

I nodded, "I am sure."

He smiled at me and agreed.

With the idea put forth, we finished our dinner.

For those of you who are new to my writing, I usually place a small, funny conversation after my stories. I won't do it this chapter, but I will the next.

Now, a question for you all. How would you feel if, after every 5 chapters, I include a small O-make? (For an example of an O-make, it's those small comedic shorts after some Naruto episodes.) I was thinking of making these O-makes completely random, some relating to the story, and some not. These O-makes will take the place of the chapter, but will, hopefully, slow the pace of the story a little. I am glad with the pace of the story as it is, mind you, but some may not be content with it.

Anyway, let me know what you think! At the very least, expect one chapter a week. Now that I have this one published, I need to make an outline for the next one that will, most likely, finish the story.

Thanks again!

Comment/Review Please!