I know…Chapter 1 was a little on the short side…even for my taste. But…I didn't want to really get too much into the story on the first go. I've a few ideas for our lovable blond and company brewing in my brain that I want to build up to. So never fear…all my chapters won't be that short. Now…on with the tale…

IDX

A/N: Reposted for a few corrected errors and revisions. Even after you read something several times over...it's still possible to miss the little things.

Last Chapter:

'I need answers…and there's only one place I'm gonna find'em. And as much as I've been putting this off…ugh…man…I really don't wanna talk to him.' Naruto resolved himself to have a one-to-one with his "resident asshole"…and soon.

Chapter 2: Apartment...

Several days later…

He'd just stepped out of his morning shower when he heard a knock at his door.

"Yeah! Hang on…be just a sec!" He glanced over at the clock next to his bed. '8:00…Aw man…who'd be here THIS early in the freakin' mornin'?' He quickly tossed on a pair of boxers and sweatpants and left his towel draped over his shoulders.

:knock knock knock:

'Oh good grief…' "Hold your horses already! I said I was-" :click, creeaaak: "-OH! Hey, Hinata-chan!"

It took her everything she had to try and keep her face from going beet red, much less stay conscious, when he answered the door. The first thing her eyes locked onto was a well toned, muscular chest. He still had a slight sheen to his body from the still-drying water from his shower with a few stray droplets here and there. It wasn't the first time she'd ever seen him shirtless…but it never ceased to take her breath away when she did. As she trailed up the lines in his chest, she caught sight of his lips, then his nose, and straight into those 2 cerulean eyes. Those eyes that she could so easily get lost in if she let herself. Oh, how she loved those eyes.

"O-Ohayho, Naruto-kun. I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to catch you at a bad time. I'll come back later." She bowed and turned to leave.

"Nah…you just caught me getting out of the shower is all. C'mon in." He flashed his famous, trademark grin and stepped aside to give her room. "Go ahead and make yourself comfy while I go back and throw some clothes on."

"O-Okay…if it's not a bother or anything" she said as she slipped past him.

Naruto couldn't help but catch a whiff of lavender as she walked by him. Nor could he help but notice her dress. She was in a pair of slightly snug jeans, a pale blue shirt with a floral design and a loose fitting white jacket that held her clan symbol on the back. Her long, indigo hair was tied in the back into a ponytail, not much unlike how Neji often kept his. He also couldn't help but notice that her jeans were just snug enough around the hips and buns areas to accentuate her form nicely.

'Mmm…she smells good. And that butt…wow. Wait! WHAT! NO! BAD NARUTO! She's just a friend, you baka. Stop thinking bad thoughts! Damn, Ero-sennin."

"Anoooo…so…who woulda thought? The Hyuuga clan practices casual Fridays. Learn somethin' new everyday." He chuckled, earning him a slightly confused look from the Hyuuga-hime.

"What do you mean, Naruto-kun?"

He placed a hand on the back of his head and smiled. "Oh…it's just that I've never seen you dressed like that before. Usually I see you in your shinobi clothes or something a little fancier, or somethin'. Never really seen ya dressed down or anything."

Hearing his comment made her re-examine her attire. It was actually Yamanaka Ino's suggestion that she try the casual look if she wanted to bag a certain hyperactive ninja. She'd said it was "more his style".

(((Flashback)))

Hinata was skimming through the dresses hanging on the rack. She was trying to find something to wear that would catch Naruto's attention and hopefully make him notice her. She'd just pulled one down and was holding it up against herself looking in the mirror when out of nowhere…

"That one's not gonna work, girl."

"EEP!" She nearly jumped out of her skin by the unexpected voice to her right. She'd been so tied up thinking about Naruto, she failed to see Ino and Sakura walk up beside her…both grinning ear to ear. "What-what do you mean? I-I just think i-it's a pretty dress. T-that's all."

Sakura and Ino just looked at each other then back at the ever-reddening Hinata before Sakura spoke what they were both thinking at the time. "Who…are you trying…to kid here. We all know you're trying to find something to turn Naruto's head your way. It's as plain as the red on your face!"

Hinata shot her eyes back to the mirror, which caused her face to redden even more when she saw how much she had already been blushing at being busted. "N-no…really…I…I…"

"Stow it, girl. You ain't fooling anybody here. We know better than that." It was Ino's turn to speak up. Hinata felt a sudden, but gentle pressure on her shoulder as Ino rested her hand there. "Listen, Hinata. Pretty much everybody knows how you feel about Naruto. Well…everyone except the big doofus himself, anyway. That boy is about as thick as a brick and twice as clueless. Hell…just look at how long it took him to stop asking Forehead-Girl out on dates!"

"Inoooo-piiig"

Ino completely ignored Sakura's death glare and continued. "You wanna get Naruto's attention…stay away from this fancy stuff. Save that for later. It's not really his style. He's more into the "down to earth" look, if you know what I mean. Yanno…the "everyday" style. C'mere…follow me. We'll get you into something that'll make him look twice."

(((End Flashback)))

Hinata was starting to regret listening to Ino and Sakura. The jeans made her butt look big and her shirt was entirely too tight. Ino had also suggested a thong with a matching bra, too. She said something about the thong was so it wouldn't show a panty line through her jeans. It took some getting used to, but they weren't entirely uncomfortable. Truth be told, they actually made her feel a little sexy when she first tried them on. Now, though, she wasn't so sure she should have gone with the idea.

"Gotta admit though…" Naruto's voice snapped her out of her self-critiquing. "…It actually looks pretty good on ya. Anyway…have a seat." He said as he motioned to one of the chairs. "If you're thirsty or anything, help yourself to whatever's in the fridge. Don't got much, though. Probably just some soda or somethin'. Haven't been shopping in a while." With that, he turned back to his room and shut the door.

"A-arigato, Naruto-kun." She watched as he walked back to his room. His back was just as beautiful as his chest. With every move she could see his muscles flex just a little. Oh how she wished she could run her fingers across his skin and feel those muscles tense. 'No! Stop that! One thing at a time, Hinata!' After his door closed, she started wandering around his modest apartment. It wasn't big by any standards, but pretty cozy. It had a small kitchen, a fairly decent sized living room, and a single bedroom with a bath.

She'd been inside a few times before, but somehow always felt like a comfortable place. It was a little messy…but for the most part he seemed to keep it fairly clean…especially for someone that lived alone

He had a few pictures hanging on the wall, mostly of his friends. There was one of him, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba. It was a pretty old picture she noted as Kiba had Akamaru perched on top of his head. There was one of Neji, TenTen, Rock Lee and Gai. Gai and Lee were both doing their patented "nice guy" poses causing Neji and TenTen both to sweatdrop. There were a few more here and there around the place, including one she'd never seen before. It was of her, peeking out from around a tree. She figured it was probably from one of the times she watched him training…but she couldn't figure out who took it.

As she stood there staring at the picture, Naruto's voice rang out from behind the door, "So…what brings ya to my humble abode this morning, Hinata-chan?" He'd only just started calling her –chan a few months ago, but it thrilled her to no end. They had been spending more time together after the last search for Sasuke, which had ultimately ended in failure. For weeks after that mission, Naruto had become extremely depressed at failing his friend, and Sakura, again. It wasn't until about 3 weeks or so after that she'd seen him standing out at training ground 10 where he, Sasuke, and Sakura had become genin with a sad look on his face. She'd somehow found the nerve to go over and talk to him. They had started to talk more regularly after that. That was until…that day.

"Ano…I-I came over…I w-wanted to talk about…what happened…w-with the cloud ninja." She'd been told about what happened. About how Naruto and his team had arrived and stopped the ninja that had attacked them, although, she'd gotten the feeling that they'd left something out. Ever since then, Naruto had started to become a little distant at times. He never spoke about it, and he seemed to want to act as if it never happened. She could see that there was something about the incident that bothered him deeply. She'd decided to give him a little space and give him some time to himself. Time she felt he probably needed.

:thump: 'Oh no…so they did tell her. And now she's here to tell me that she never wants to see me again cuz I'm some kinda freak, or monster, or somethin'. Naruto's blood felt like it'd just frozen in his veins. Hinata and him hadn't talked as much as they had been after that day. He felt like she was avoiding him or something. Now he knew for sure…she had been. And it was because of that damned fox his old man cursed him with.

'Bullshit!'

'What?'

'Tell her…'

'What are you…NUTS!? Then she'll REALLY hate me, just like everyone else in the village does!

'She won't, kit. Trust me on this one…tell her.'

'Yeah? And why should I trust you off all…things!? Especially after what you've done to me!'

'…Just do it...'

Hinata was mentally kicking herself. When she said she'd wanted to talk to him about it, she heard what sounded like Naruto dropping something on the floor then a dead silence. She had called out to him a few times with no answer. She was just about to open the front door and leave when she heard Naruto's bedroom door open and heard him call out to her.

"Hinata-chan…don't leave. Please. I-If you want to know…just don't leave." The tone of his voice was low, almost begging. She turned to look at him and saw that he was standing in his bedroom doorway, his left shoulder leaning against the frame and his right arm outstretched with his hand resting on the other side. His head was hung low and his hair was covering over his eyes. He looked like he was barely standing. But what caught her attention the most were tears. He was crying.

"I'm not going anywhere, Naruto-kun. I'm right here." He felt her hands gently touch the sides of his face and lift his head. "I just want to know what happened. I just want to know what's been bothering you. I-I thought if I just gave you some space, you'd go back to the Naruto we all knew. I-I was dumb to think that. Please…tell me what's wrong. I-I want to help if I can. Please?" Tears were starting to form in the corners of her own eyes. She couldn't stand to see him like this. It tore her up inside to see the man she loved with all her heart look as if his whole world was crashing down around him.

Hinata led him over to his couch and sat him down, taking a seat next to him. For a few minutes, all he could do was sob quietly. She could tell he wanted to say something, but she decided to wait until he was ready to talk. After about 5 minutes or so…

"When-when we got there…we saw all those ninja around your team. And…I saw you on the ground. I knew what they were after…or…who they were after, actually. They were going for you. I-I couldn't stand that they'd hurt someone precious to me. Or that they were trying to take her away from me. I…just couldn't let that happen."

'I'm…one of Naruto-kun's…precious people? ...Take me away from him?'

"…You…remember when I told you about Kyuubi…right?"

"Of course I do" It was about 2 months after the 2-team Sasuke retrieval mission that Naruto had asked all of the rookie 9 and team Gai to the training grounds. It was there that Naruto had made his ultimate confession to his friends.

(((Flashback)))

Naruto was standing front and center facing the rest of the Konoha 11 and company. You didn't need to have a Byakugan or Sharingan to pick up on just how nervous the young man was. It was written all over his face.

'Alright, Naruto. It's now or never.' He thought as he tried to steel his nerve. He sucked in a deep breath and began…

"I'm sure you all know about how 19 years ago, Konoha village was attacked by the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kyuubi no Yoko and would have been destroyed if The Fourth hadn't sacrificed his life to beat him."

"Of course, dummy. We all learned that back in the academy. It was part of the history lesson. DUH! Was that why you dragged us out here? To give us a refresher course on something we already knew?? JEEZ!" Ino shot.

Ino's comments made Sakura want to rush over there and pound the Ino-pig into the dirt. She knew exactly where this was going and Ino had no idea how hard this was on Naruto right now. Instead, she resisted that impulse and walked over to stand next to her teammate and friend.

"Can it, Ino-pig! Just hear him out!" She yelled, before her voice quieted. "This is important to him, and right now…he just needs us to listen." Turning to him, "Go on, Naruto-nii-chan"

He silently thanked her before he went on with his story.

"You were lied to. The Fourth Hokage didn't defeat the Kyuubi. It was way too strong for that."

He gave them a moment to let the words sink in.

It was only for an instant, but all of the present jounin, except Kakashi who already had a pretty good feeling about all of this, flinched a little as they caught onto what was going to happen.

It was Shikamaru that spoke the question in all of their heads. "If that's true…then what happened to it? To my knowledge, it hasn't been seen since then. If it's not dead…then where'd it go?"

Naruto sighed, 'Well, here goes, point of no return, and all that jazz…'

"It was sealed away."

"Sealed?" several of them said at once.

Naruto looked up and faced the Hokage Monument, particularly at the Fourth's visage.

"All of my life, I've been shunned and hated by most of the villagers that live here. My childhood…sucked, to put it mildly. I was kicked around, mistreated by the orphanage I stayed at, and almost killed a few times. If it hadn't been for Gramps…I'd probably be dead now. It wasn't until my academy days that I'd made at least a few friends. Shikamaru…Kiba…Choji…to name a couple. But even then, I was still so alone. You guys all had families and stuff…someone to go home to. Something I never had. And I never knew why, at least until the night I finally graduated the academy and became a ninja."

His eyes returned to his friends.

"When the Kyuubi attacked, The Fourth did the only thing he could've done to stop it and save the village. He sealed it into a newborn child using the Reaper Death Seal."

The usually lazy ninja's eyes snapped open as he put 2 and 2 together. "It was you, wasn't it? You were the baby it was sealed inside of. You're the container…of the Kyuubi?"

Naruto was now staring at the ground. All he could do was slowly nod his head.

"Yeah…I am. After that day, I became the jinchuriki of the nine-tails. After that…I became a freak…a monster. That's the reason that everyone hates me so much." He started to cry with his last words, "And…I wouldn't blame any of you if you did the same after this."

"NO!" Naruto's head jerked up at the sudden exclamation. It wasn't so much the shout as much as the voice that came with it. He saw Hinata with tears in her eyes. "You are NO freak! You're NOT a monster! You're Uzumaki Naruto. That's who you've always been, and who you'll always be!"

"Hinata-nee-sama is right, Naruto."

"Neji…?"

"Naruto, back when we fought in the Chunin exams, you told me that fate is something that you decide. You told me that you make your own destiny. It took my defeat at your hands to teach me that, but it was a lesson that I learned well. If it wasn't for you, I would still see life in the same way today. You, Naruto, not the demon inside you."

Kiba walked up to the now weeping blond and put a hand on his shoulder. Akamaru followed close behind and nudged Naruto's hand with his nose. "Look buddy, I think I speak for all of us when I say…who cares!"

Raising his head, Naruto locked eyes with the wild ninja with a confused look. "W-what?"

Kiba chuckled, "It's like Hinata said…you're our friend. And no matter what, friends stick together. Demon or no demon, you're our pal, and a fellow Konoha shinobi. Sure, we might get annoyed with you from time to time 'cuz you're a dolt…but you're our dolt. None of us could ever hate you, bro."

As Naruto looked past him, he saw the smiling faces of all of his friends. Well…almost all of them. One person was looking down at the ground.

"You're wrong, Kiba. You don't speak for everybody." Ino raised her eyes to Naruto, with tears forming in them. "All of us are not his friends."

"Ino…" He knew it. He just knew it. Someone was going to hate him for this. He could feel his heart being crushed in his chest.

Ino just looked at Sakura, who was on the verge of pounding the blonde kunoichi 106 feet under, and nodded, which caused the pink-headed ninja's face to change to a questioning look.

"We're all his…family."

Sakura smiled, and nodded in agreement.

(((End Flashback)))

"When I saw you on the ground, I lost it. Something came over me and I completely lost it. I got so mad that all I wanted to do was kill everyone of those bastards, to make their last moments as painful as possible. And that's exactly what I did. Kyuubi took over and…and…" His sobbing started anew, "…but I didn't just kill them…I slaughtered them. By the time Yamato-taichou had resealed the Kyuubi, there was nothing but blood everywhere. I had literally torn them apart. It's like I said…I-I'm a monster."

"N-No…" She gasped as she put a hand over her mouth. She knew that the cloud-nin had been stopped, but she never knew just exactly how they'd been stopped. 'So…this is why…'

"But…that time was different."

"What…do you mean."

"It's not the first time it's happened, that the Kyuubi has taken over, but…it's the first time I remembered what happened. It's only a little, but I can still feel their blood on my hands. Feeling their...their…" He couldn't bring himself to finish the last part as he just broke down. Hinata leaned closer to him and held him in her arms as he wept.

"Hi-Hinata-chan, I-"

"Shhh…it's alright, Naruto. You did it to protect me…it's alright." She knew her words were probably wholly inadequate, but it was all she could think of at the moment.

"Hinata-chan, I…I don't know what I'd do without you. Seeing you there made me realize that I can't lose you."

Her eyes grew wide as he spoke. "Could…could he be saying…?'

"You've been there for me ever since we went out to get Sasuke back. You've been my best source of comfort since then. But more than that, the time we've spent together had made me start feeling something I couldn't really get until that day. I…I know you more than likely don't feel the same way, and it's ok if you don't, but…I've fallen in love with you, Hinata-chan."

She did the only thing she could think of at the moment. She lifted his head so that she was looked right into those big blue eyes of his.

"N-Naruto-kun…you have no idea…how long I've waited to hear you say that…" A tear ran down her cheek as she leaned in to kiss the man she's loved forever.

Outside, a lone Hyuuga deactivated his byakugan, and continued his walk on down the road. An almost invisible smile curled the lips of Hiashi.

Hinata left Naruto's apartment several hours later. As much as she'd wanted to stay and lay in his arms for the rest of the night, she knew she had to get home before it got too late and her father began to wonder where she was. She still couldn't believe what Naruto had said to her. He said that he loved her. Her dream had finally come true. Uzumaki Naruto…was hers and hers alone. They'd kissed several more times after that first one. The first one had been a little clumsy for the both of them, which made her giggle a little bit at it in afterthought, but each time after that had gotten a little better. She wished, more than anything, that she could still be up there with him…but she was happy in the thought that there would be other days.

Naruto watched her as she walked down the street and lost sight of her as she turned the corner, heading to the Hyuuga grounds across town. She had put him into a state of total shock when she leaned in and kissed him. At first, he didn't really know what she was doing until her lips touched his. It kind of embarrassed him that he didn't really know what he was doing, but he gave it his best shot, anyway. After they'd separated, she threw him for another loop by telling him that she loved him, too. After that, they'd sat and talked…well…mostly she talked. She told him about how she'd loved him almost since the first time she saw him at the academy. How she'd strived to be more like him, to get stronger so that he'd notice her. That most everything she did was for him. It absolutely blew him away that someone would actually want to be with him of all people, even after they knew about his secret.

As he looked out to the skyline and the setting sun, a fox walked up behind him.

"See? What I tell you, kit? This is why you should listen to me a little more often." Kyuubi grinned.

Naruto reached over, grabbed a cushion from the couch and threw it at the annoying beast. "Stuff it, mutt! I…I told her 'cuz I wanted to, okay? So why don't you go somewhere and lick yourself or something."

"Hehehe…I can see we're gonna have a grand ol' time…partner"

AAWWWW…isn't that sweet. Normally, I usually don't go for the NaruHina development so soon but I figured what the hell. After all…there's a bit of unwritten back story there that I've left open to explore later in flashback style if I wanted to…like….4 YEARS worth…so it ain't like this is technically a "rushed" thing between them. And what's with Hiashi? Why's he spying on Hinata and Naruto. Scarier yet, why the hell is he smiling? What does the Hyuuga head have going on in that mind of his? And of course, there's the mystery of Kyuubi. You'll just have to keep reading to find out the answers to these questions and more.

Next Chapter: Trouble is starting to brew for our Leaf Ninja heroes. Forces are beginning to gather, pacts are being made, and plans are being set in motion. Find out who, and a little bit of why in the upcoming chapter: In the Distant Horizon…