Author's Notes:Yay, not a five month wait this time, ammirite? You know, it's funny - I began this story last year as an attempt at a Father's Day entry (though still didn't quite make that date either...) and now it's nearly a year later and I'm STILL not done with it. It's not even supposed to be that long of a story!

I'm hoping to get a lot more done this Summer in regards to fanfictions. Too many ideas are floating around that I just need to be done with.

Anyway, here's chapter 3 - from here, we get the story from Hiashi's perspective, and then from Tsunade's. I hope you all enjoy it, as the plot is finally getting in gear. It shouldn't be that long of a wait until chapter 4 either, and either 5 or 6 will see the end of this story with luck. I hope. Well, it never does end up that way, huh?

A very special thanks to Roja of both and the Narutoforums fame, who Beta'd for this story even though she didn't have to, and spotted a tremendous amount of my silly errors. ^^; I usually don't do so terrible with that. And I call myself a grammar nazi. For shame. Roja, you are a credit to this story, and without your help, this would be another heap of garbage!

By the way, the chapter title actually makes 2 direct references to the chapter, but a third, subtle, but really punny reference if you can tell. Aha...ah, I'm terrible.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would have made NaruHina 180% cannon by now. With TWO sex scenes. And a morning afterglow to go with it. But that hasn't happened...yet. So no, I do not own Naruto.


"Polar Opposites"

She had always been part of scouting missions, and he preferred it that way. This way, he would

not have to worry about her so much. The first time her life had ever truly been in danger was
during her first Chuunin exam, when Neji placed her in a state of cardiac arrest.

He still remembered the agonizing night he spent in the hospital at her bedside, all manner of
life-support attached to his daughter. Never before in his life had he held more regrets at once.
Would she live? Would she die? Hiashi had always been aware of how strict he was. But for the
first time in his parental life, he felt truly remorseful for it.

He must have aged ten years that night. Eyes not once leaving his daughter, the suspense between
each fraction of a second which the cardiograph lay silent. His hands, holding on to his precious
child's hand - for what he realized that night was the first time he had held her hand in years.

He stayed by her side all night. Waiting. Watching. He hadn't felt that helpless since the day his
brother sacrificed himself for him. With all the powers of Konoha's strongest bloodline at his
disposal, virtual nobility as the only thing that could come close to describing his status in
Konoha, none of it served him at all in Hinata's recovery.

He had hoped it would be the last he heard of her being in danger, and the last time he would
relive that feeling of helplessness. How wrong he was, upon returning to his village one day to
find it entirely in ruin, and to find that Hinata had been injured by the enemy in a desperate
moment. He was relieved - even proud - to hear her life was in no danger, and that she was
recovering from her wounds. Even moreso, that he could continue building upon his relationship
with his daughter.

Yet that helpless feeling lingered in his memory. He hated it. And now, he was forced to endure
it, made to wait for help for saving his eldest daughter's life. Help he shouldn't need, but was
insisted upon by the Hokage herself, much to his dismay.

"For every minute I have to stand here, it's another mile my daughter is being dragged further
away," the Hyuuga clan leader said irritatedly, tightening his headband in frustration. "It took
me less than five minutes to ready myself, and I could have already been halfway to where the
enemy was last spotted!"

Tsunade's fist slammed firmly upon her desk, the entire room trembling from the Herculean
frustration of the Hokage. "I understand you're concerned, Hiashi - it's understandable..." She
narrowed her eyes. "But no matter what the circumstances, we cannot afford to send you off to
engage the enemy without backup."

Hiashi looked at the Hokage's desk, right at her hand. Cracked and splintered - he figured it must
have taken some willpower not to split it in two. Though he had more he wanted to say, he didn't
wish to invoke the wrath of the village leader any more than he already had. Reluctantly, the
Hyuuga clan leader complied.

The door burst open suddenly, the knob slamming hard into the wall. In a blur of orange, a
frenzied Naruto jolted up to Tsunade's desk, taking only a few moments to catch his breath before
shouting in a panic. "What happened? What happened to Hinata, where is she?"

Hiashi glanced over at the doorway, Neji's head poking in the room. "I'm sorry. I know you told me
not to brief him on the matter until he got here, but time was of the essence. That, and...well,
he was like this even before I told him what the problem was."

Tsunade held her hand up, signaling for the boy to calm himself to no avail. "That's fine, Neji -
thank you for finding him."

"Well?" Naruto's frantic yelling continued, his face wracked with worry. "Tell me where she is!
Please!"

"Naruto, would you calm down?"

"Indeed. For every second you spend trying to get the Hokage to humor you, you're wasting precious
time."

"You calm down too!" Tsunade pointed at Hiashi, the man feeling a small bit of humiliation for
being scolded. "I'm going to go over the details of your mission as brief as I can. Lord Hiashi
and you are two of the fastest shinobi in the village, so please trust me when I say we have a bit
of time to play it safe."

"Wait, him?" Hiashi sneered at Naruto. "With all due respect, it's a foolish idea at best. I know
the boy is strong, but there is no way he will be able to keep up with mine and Koh's pacing."

A vein pulsed in Naruto's forehead, as the fact that Hiashi was in the room finally set root in
his brain. "I'm more worried about you being able to keep up. 'With all due respect', of course,
I'd leave you in my dust."

Veins appeared on the side of Hiashi's head, to accompany the one already throbbing on his
forehead. "So arrogant. And my daughter is going to pay for that arrogance again. You're just
going to let that happen? Why are you even HERE?"

"Say that again! I care about Hinata a hundred times more than you ever did, so stop acting like
father-of-the year now of all times to save face!"

The cracks on Tsunade's desk splintered, and grew larger. It wasn't until her desk finally snapped
in two and crashed to the floor that the two stopped their argument, remembering who they were in
the room with.

"HINATA WOULD BE DAMNED ASHAMED OF YOU BOTH IF SHE SAW YOU RIGHT NOW! I don't know WHAT the issue
between the two of you is, but it sure as hell isn't as important as that girl's life, now IS
IT?" Her voice snapped through the air like a whip, causing their spines to tingle. Hiashi had
never seen the Hokage so quick to anger at anything before. "I expect far more out of a veteran
jonin, and the hero of Konoha. We've already lost enough time arguing amongst ourselves here, so
if you're ready to save her life, I suggest you listen up."

She gave a brief moment of pause, making sure she had their attention this time. "In depth,
Shino's six-man scouting party returned last night from a skirmish around the Southwestern border
of the Fire Country. Four jonin ranked Hidden Cloud shinobi were confirmed to be part of the
attack, and they managed to render Shino unable to fight."

She reached down for the files that had converged in the center of her smashed desks, handing it
to Naruto - who Hiashi promptly swiped it from and opened. Inside were pictures and information on
the four who had attacked Shino's group, and had taken Hinata captive. "Former Joint Shinobi
Commander Darui is among them? So these can't be nin who decided suddenly to betray the Cloud
either. This may very well be a deliberate act by the Raikage to obtain the Byakugan...which makes
this all the more dire."

"I know." said Tsunade. "If you two and Koh fail to return...there might be conflict between us
and the Cloud again."

Hiashi scoffed. "You speak as if you're ready to forgive them for this even if we succeed."

Tsunade shook her head. "Not even a bit. I fully intend to talk this over with the Raikage."

"Hey, lemme se-"

Hiashi closed the folder and tossed it back to Tsunade, not paying the boy so much as a dirty
look. "I've seen all I needed to see. I'm already aware of all of these men, and their
capabilities - some I have even seen firsthand in the war. Do we have any idea where they might
be?"

Tsunade handed the folder back to Naruto. "Border patrol hasn't spotted them yet, but we're
tightening our overlook of the Grass, Rock, and Cloud country borders to cover all ground. The
fastest way for them to return to the Cloud Village is directly North, so we've discouraged a
swift journey by spreading our patrols to the central region. Therefore, you have time to head
them off in the passes to the North, where we've intentionally loosened our watch."

Naruto's eyebrow rose inquisitively. "Intentionally? Wouldn't it be best to cover all means out of
the country entirely?"

Tsunade turned around in her chair, away from the mess in front of her. "The idea is to deceive
them into taking a predictable route. None of our border men are capable of confronting the group
head on, but shinobi of their caliber won't risk so much as being spotted while they're in enemy
territory."

Hiashi frowned. It was too much of a gamble, that they'd act so predictably. He wanted to voice
this opinion of his, especially since it was his own child on the line. Still, arguing with the
Hokage at this point would warrant a vicious response, with the Uzumaki in the room especially.

The Cloud was involved, however. Could he truly afford not to speak his mind? They'd nearly taken
his daughter once before, several years ago. Though he saved her then, a dear price was still
paid, in the form of his brother's blood. Even if they were allies on the battlefield the year
before, Hiashi felt all along that it was an alliance out of sheer convenience. This rang true to
him.

"Suppose we engage them. Will we still be upholding our end of the treaty, till this matter can be
further investigated?" He did not want any mistakes, this time. He wouldn't allow any room for
them to cast blame on the victim to stave off blame.

"...uphold nothing." She spoke almost regretfully. Even he could tell she was being cautious in
saying this. "I'd rather things not come to bloodshed if we can help it. But Hinata's safety and
the Byakugan's secrets are the number one priority of this mission."

Naruto threw his hands to the side. "I'm a hundred percent for getting her back, Granny! But I'm
not about to kill anyone to do it either - Hinata wouldn't want me to, anyway! So I'm gonna give
you my word right now, we'll get her back safely, and we're not going to kill them either!"

Tsunade shook her head. "Naruto, I know you'll probably try to keep that promise. But just
remember what I said about the priorities on this mission."

Hiashi tried hard not to speak his mind this time, lest the Hokage's frustration be risen further.
Still, a thousand things floated in his mind as Naruto made that promise to Tsunade. Such a
pacifist outlook when the boy's own girlfriend was in danger - he was right to be wary of the two
of them dating after all. As Naruto nodded begrudgingly at Tsunade's words, Hiashi was glad she at
least had the mind to tell him to be realistic about this.

"Now get going, both of you. This mission depends entirely on your being in the right place at the
right time - don't let the chance pass you up!"

Both Hiashi and Naruto nodded, turning towards the door and headed out. Naruto stopped before
leaving the room, looking back at Hiashi once more, eyes peering into him as if he was trying to
tell him something. His expression was easy enough for the Hyuuga to read - Naruto didn't seem to
be enjoying this any more than he was.

As the boy went out of sight, the older man's thoughts returned to the ever burning question;
would he be able to tolerate Naruto, if it meant to save his precious child?

No. It wasn't the time to concern himself with trivial things. He just had to make sure the
mission was carried out properly. That's all he had to do.

That was all he had to do...


She watched the streets below, waiting for any sign of Shizune to return. Chewing a strand of her
blond hair nervously, Tsunade noticed the two she'd just sent off blur towards the village gates.
Mountains of paperwork in the past, thousands of missions assigned and completed over the past
five, nearly six years with this title, and she had never once seen two people more unwilling to
work together.

Perhaps she should have looked into their synergy before attempting to send them out. No, this
seemed more personal than anything. It was easy to conclude from how swiftly they snapped at one
another that the two had almost no chances to speak their minds to one another, but that didn't
make a lot of sense either.

After all, it was common knowledge around the village that Naruto and Hinata were a couple. After
all, the village hero doesn't date a member of Konoha's most prestigious family without word
spreading like wildfire. Perhaps the two men just wanted to save face in front of Hinata, or even
Hanabi for that matter. Both of them were so stubborn. Almost identical in that regard.

Though she could have done without the childish exchange between a nearly fifty year old man and a
young adult boy on a day like today.

Looking back over at the mess of splintered cedar wood that once made up her desk, she felt the
onset of another headache. This entire abduction mess aside, there was still a hill of documents
needing to be looked over, and at least a dozen missions to assign in the next two hours alone.
She needed a drink. That's all there was to it. Rules against drinking on the job be damned, she
just wanted Shizune to return with that glorious sake.

"Judgin' by the sorry state your desk is in, you must have taken a few verses out of my book,
Hokage." A deep, gruff voice sounded from the corner of the room, Tsunade's eyes nervously
glancing over to see a dark skinned man dressed in a white, open robe leaning against her wall,
his only arm crossed over his chest and reaching for his side. "I know you already sent word out
that you wanted to see me, so don't act all surprised that I'm here."

She would have protested the man letting himself in, had she not already informed the village
watch that she was expecting him. "Lord Raikage. Brash and bold as ever, I see." She was tempted
to shoot a bemused smirk at him, had circumstances been a bit less...dire.

The Raikage scoffed and rose from the wall. He was awfully relaxed, for a man who had invited
himself into her office, completely unannounced. "Came in about the time I saw that Hyuuga leave.
Thought it would be better that way."

She nodded, half impressed by his feat of stealth and speed. She knew from firsthand experience
that Ei was one of the world's fastest shinobi, but to make it into her office entirely undetected
- he obviously understood just how serious things were. "A good idea on your part. And I can tell
you're already aware of the situation we're having with your men. Or are you here for something
else? A cup of tea, and maybe I should break out the Hanafuda deck while I'm at it?"

The Raikage didn't answer immediately, walking up to stand next to Tsunade, and staring out at the
streets of Konoha. "You know I don't like playing games - s'pecially not with no-luck suckers.
Feels like cheating. And about that other thing..." His eyes didn't leave the glass, and he looked
deep in thought to her. It was as if he was trying to find a 'nice' way to give his answer -
something she knew first hand the man would have difficulties with.

"If you're about to feed me a pack of lies, Ei, please just keep it to yourself."

"No, no, that's not it. You heard about the political problem we've got going on in the Lightning
Country, right?"

Tsunade nodded. "Shortly after the war last year, the feudal lord of the Land of Lightning chose
to retire. Just two months ago, he was finally succeeded by Fudaki Haikijuma. But I don't see what
his rise to power has to do with your ninja coming in to our lands and kidnapping a scout."

"Yeah. Neither did I, honestly. I'm gonna be blunt with you here, Hokage." Blunt. Like that was
any surprise to her. Lord Ei was almost defined by how blunt he was. "Lord Haikijuma reviewed the
Cloud's track record, and didn't like how many failures he'd seen. There is another Hidden Village
on the rise in that country - smaller, and fewer ninja, but they're beginning to gain popularity
in the region. The man wants to cut funding to our village, and funnel it into this new blood
instead. So just a few days back, he came to me, and told me to acquire a Byakugan for the Cloud -
to prove our use."

"That's outrageous!" She didn't even notice her voice raising, but it was apparently enough for
even Ei to face her with a bewildered look of shock. "Conspiracy at best! What kind of man is this
guy? Is he not even aware of the ceasefire agreements between the five major villages made after
the war? What he's doing could very well spark another major conflict!"

"Tsunade-"

"I can't believe the former feudal lord - why would he appoint such a man?"

"And I agree!" The Raikage was oddly calm, despite all that was going on, as well as his usual
demeanor. "Just believe me, alright? I said the same thing to him, but he didn't seem to care. He
told me that if I refused this mission, his decision to redirect funding would be final."

Tsunade bit her lip. "So what are you coming here to tell me then, huh? Do you think it'll all
just be water under the bridge, passed off with a mere 'they had no choice, they had to carry out
their mission'? Lord Raikage, this isn't some skirmish that could result from all of this. We're
talking about full blown international conflicts! Other villages would act the moment intelligence
received word that you broke the treaty."

"Then it's BEST..." His voice suddenly rose over hers. "...that we keep this between the Cloud and
Konoha."

Tsunade couldn't believe her ears. "Are you...are you suggesting that we forget what happened? Of
all the wild ideas you've had, Lord Raikage, that has to be the worst I've ever heard! We're not
going to be able to just forget this and move on. If your village so much as sheds one drop of
that girl's blood, blood will be asked for in return. There's nothing that will hide all of this."

The Raikage snorted. "You talk like I don't already know that. But let's say the shoe is on the
other damned foot - what if your shinobi kill MY men? Even if we're in your territory, there'd be
no evidence to suggest we were actively breaking the treaty, and I could just as easily deny
anything and turn the tables against Konoha. Neither of us is in a desirable situation, Hokage.
You don't think I like this crap, do you?"

Tsunade looked down and let out a heavy sigh. "Then...what the hell do we do about this?" He was
absolutely right. This situation was a mess from both sides, both in favor of and against
themselves in every way.

Ei returned to looking out the window. "You know. This is a pretty good village you've got here."
She looked back up at the muscle bound man. "First time I ever gave it a serious look, even though
it isn't the first time I've been here. You've got some good shinobi in this place, too. If I was
the leader of this village, I wouldn't be asking the leader of another village what I should do
about it. I'd just have a bit of faith in my ninja."

"Wait...Ei, you aren't suggesting...?"

The Raikage shrugged. "Our end is only tasked to go after the Byakugan. If you guys somehow manage
to thwart that...who is even to say how things would go? If it's gonna be an unavoidable conflict,
Tsunade, might as well hope for success from your side, while I cross my fingers for my own. The
aftermath of failing a mission is less devestating here than if we outright refuse to do it."

"And you're fine with this?"

Ei was silent for a few moments. "Naturally, as the leader of the Hidden Cloud Village...no, I'm
not. But even if we fail this one, as long as we aren't cut off immediately, perhaps there's
something else our village can do to impress this stuck up Damiyo."

She almost laughed at his hardheaded response. If anything, this had to be the first time two
village leaders had ever discussed a conflict between their ninja so comfortably. She couldn't
help but feel like this was more of a begrudging rivalry, rather than the start of an
international incident. It baffled her, yet at the same time, it felt right.

She could only nod at the Raikage's words. He was right, but she wouldn't praise him for it. He
was still the enemy in all of this, after all - though an enemy she didn't mind having around for
this. And as her eyes joined him in watching the streets of Konoha - the bustling civilians, the
children running amok, the off-duty ninja talking to their friends and family - it all made her
think that if she and the Raikage could appreciate this scene in spite of their argument mere
moments before, there just might be hope for Naruto and Hiashi to cease their fighting.

However, this was soon shadowed by a sudden realization. A realization that she felt would come
back to haunt her, as she told the Raikage;

"Dammit...I gave Hiashi permission to use deadly force if needed."

END CHAPTER