Last Time:

"Sounds good," Sasuke said. He looked pass Sakura and saw the front door of the front door of the house open to see Naruto exiting in his workout clothes. Sakura saw Sasuke was distracted and turned to see Naruto adjusting his shoes before checking his phone. "It is Tuesday, isn't it?"

Sakura nodded. They watched as Naruto put his headphones on and made his way down the steps. They both waved as Naruto went by and saw him jog down the driveway and begin his nightly jog.

"I really hope that things between Hinata and Naruto get better now that they're dating," Sakura said, a solemn tone to her voice.

"Yeah," Sasuke sighed and looked at Sakura, "me too."

Opposites Attract: Chapter 6 – "The Ins and Outs"

Naruto let out a soft moan as he continued to stretch, his muscles burning from the hike up the seemingly endless staircase that led to Hokage Park. Despite running up them on an almost nightly basis, some nights were tougher than others. He used a bench to help stretch his claves and while in the middle of his stretches, he heard someone begin to walk towards him.

He looked up and smiled at the sight of Hinata pulling her headphones down around her neck and pulling the towel from her waistband. He watched as she wiped away the sweat from her face and neck before she smiled at him.

"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting, Naruto-kun," Hinata apologized as she draped her towel around her neck while Naruto continued to finish his stretching. "Father was going on and on about Outsutsuki Pharmaceuticals. It turns out that they want my father to look over their finances and manage their investments for them. He's supposed to be meeting with them later this week and he wants me to come along and observe."

"Really?" Naruto questioned and saw Hinata nod. "Outsutsuki Pharmaceuticals is growing pretty quickly aren't they? I guess they would enlist the help of someone like Hiashi to maintain their finances and investments."

"You know about them?" Hinata questioned and saw Naruto nod. "I don't know much about them but Father already gathered a lot of information into a binder and left it in my room. I have about four days to go through everything and learn about the Outsutsuki and Outsutsuki Pharmaceuticals before the meeting."

"Sounds tough," Naruto commented and saw Hinata hang her head. He chuckled before placing his index finger beneath Hinata's chin and making her face him. "But that's for later, isn't it?"

Hinata blushed and nodded sheepishly. Without saying another word, they both leaned in and kissed one another. It was gentle, the two of them being sure not to let it get it out of hand because from not too far away, two of Naruto's escorts and one of Hinata's lingered. They stayed like this for a little while until Naruto pulled away. Hinata wore a slight look of disappointment and Naruto chuckled.

"You're too cute, Hinata," Naruto said as he leaned back against the bench and looked at her. "You know, I started looking at universities the other day and according to my teachers, my grades are decent enough to where I can get into some pretty decent places."

"Have you picked anywhere yet?" Hinata questioned.

"Considering that I want to go to study business, I have some options," Naruto said. "Grandpa Jiraiya was saying that the Land of Tea and Honey has a university with a really good business program. He said he received his bachelors from one of the universities out there before going to Oto City and getting his masters over there."

"The Land of Tea and Honey? All the way in Demon Country?" Hinata said and saw Naruto nod. She felt a knot beginning to form in her stomach at the thought of Naruto following in his grandfather's footsteps and traveling that far for school.

"Of course, I don't plan to go that far for school," Naruto said with a tone of reassurance. "That place is entirely way too far. Especially with Konoha City University just two hours away."

"KCU?" Hinata repeated and saw Naruto nod. "Will you be able to get in?" Hinata asks and saw the hurt expression on Naruto's face. She immediately put her hands up in defense and laughed nervously. "That's not what I mean. I mean with your reputation with being kicked out of Konoha City Academy. A lot of their students are graduates from KCA and very few outsiders get in."

"Considering I'm still considered a legacy, I shouldn't have too much trouble getting in," Naruto answered. "And if I have to take the entrance exam – which is highly likely according to Sasuke – I'm going to have to study a lot. Otou-san helps when he can but with him helping Grandpa Jiraiya with the company, he doesn't have much time. Then Okaa-chan is terrible at studying dattebayo. I'd ask Grandma Tsunade but she's always busy with running the hospital and whatnot."

"I can help you," Hinata recommended and saw Naruto look at her. "I know the format of the entrance exam seeing as Neji-nii-san had to take the exam last year per Father's request. Despite Neji-nii-san being a student at KCA, Father wanted him to take it so he wouldn't just be handed his acceptance into KCU. The material only changes a little every year but I can definitely help you."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Naruto questioned. "We barely have any time to do stuff like this in the first place and if we're going to study together, we can't necessarily study through letters."

Hinata thought for a moment. "It does seem impossible when you take a better look at the situation," she said with a heavy sigh. She fidgeted with her fingers for a moment before looking at Naruto. "I can't come out and say I'm helping you study, he wouldn't go for it. And he wouldn't believe me if I told him I was helping Sasuke-kun study considering he's at the top of his class. I'm sure he already received his scholarship too."

Naruto sucked his teeth as he tapped his fingers against the back of the bench. "And Hiashi already keeps you on a pretty tight schedule with barely any holes in it. And with your figure skating competition coming up in a few weeks, most of your free time is going to go towards practice."

The two of them let out their own sighs of defeat before giving small smiles to one another. Though they had some stolen moments, there was very little room to make more possible.

"Your school's Fall Festival is coming up soon, isn't it?" Naruto questioned to change the topic. "Sasuke was telling me about it and told me his class decided on a Butler Café."

Hinata nodded. "My class is partnered up with two other classes and we're putting on a play. We're supposed to be making the final decision on the play tomorrow in class but it looks like Romeo and Juliet might win."

"Romeo and Juliet huh?" Naruto repeated as he saw Hinata nod. "Do you know if you're going to be on stage or work behind the scene?"

Hinata didn't respond. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and avoided all eye contact with Naruto. It didn't take long for Naruto to understand the silence and he wore a slightly agitated smile.

"You're going to have to end up playing Juliet, aren't you?" Naruto questioned.

Hinata nodded.

Naruto wore a smile on his face. "Hey, Hinata. Do you think your dad would notice if you disappeared for a couple of days? I'm sure they'll have a stand-in ready so you don't have to kiss someone who isn't your boyfriend, right?"

Hinata looked at Naruto for a moment before giggling. Naruto sighed and watched as Hinata went through her giggling fit. When she was just about done, she wiped a stray tear from her eye and smiled sweetly at him.

"Hinata."

Hinata and Naruto both turned to see Neji had come into view. He quietly tapped his watch, a solemn look at his face. Hinata nodded before looking at Naruto with a small smile on her lips.

"I'll see you on Thursday?" Hinata ask as the two of them stood from the bench. She felt Naruto take ahold of her hands and she laced her fingers with his and closed her eyes as he gently pressed his forehead against hers.

"You'll see me on Thursday," Naruto reassured her before kissing her forehead. He smiled at her before letting go of her hands. He watched as she took a few steps back from him. He waved and she waved back before Hinata met with Neji at the top of the steps and began to descend with them. Once Hinata was out of view, Naruto sighed and walked towards the set of steps on the other side of the park.

"I've never seen you look this down before after having spent time with Hinata," Hatake Kakashi commented as he walked on Naruto's right.

"I already told you a hundred times before that Naruto's in love with Hinata," Mitarashi Anko reminded him and snickered when Naruto's cheeks began to turn pink. She nudged him before put her arm around his shoulder and holding him in a headlock. "Now there's no need to be shy, Naruto. Since Hinata will be the future Lady of Whirlwind, it's only natural for you to have such strong feelings for her. After all, you've loved her since you were kids."

"You told her?" Naruto said as he looked at Kakashi who looked elsewhere. "Honestly Kakashi-nii you're the worst!"

"He tells me everything," Anko told Naruto as she let go of him and looked at Kakashi. "Isn't that right, Kakashi?"

Kakashi nodded as he put his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Everything huh?" Naruto questioned and saw Anko nod while Kakashi stiffened. "Did he tell you about the time when you were in high school and he used –!"

Kakashi quickly covered Naruto's mouth. "Now that's quite enough talking isn't it Young Master? Come now, if we don't run back then Lady Kushina will be angry that we're running late and start to worry."

"Kakashi?" Anko watched as Kakashi whispered something in Naruto's ear before running ahead. She watched as Naruto flared up and immediately began to run after Kakashi, the two of them leaving her behind. "Hey!"

Whirlwind Yakuza Complex – Main House

As Naruto, Kakashi, and Anko made it to the end of the driveway, they could see two Konoha Police Department cars parked in front. The three of them looked at one another before making their way up the driveway and into the house to see Jiraiya, Tsunade, Minato, Kushina, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, and Uchiha Obito standing together in the foyer. The lot of them looked up as they entered.

"Naru-chan, Kakashi-kun, Anko-kun, welcome home," Kushina said with a forced smile on her face, the worry still clear on her brows.

"Okaa-chan?" Naruto noted the façade his mother attempted to put on. "What is it? What happened?"

Itachi, Shisui, and Obito looked at one another before turning their attention to Minato. He sat there in silence for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh and folding his arms across his chest. He looked to the three Uchiha before looking at Naruto.

"It looks like there's a street drug going around called Heaven's Gate," Minato began. "It seems to be more popular amongst university students and very few high school students; either way, it appears that the target audience is young adults. Have you heard of it?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "I'd only heard rumors about it. Most of the stories aren't necessarily great since the person who takes them usually trips pretty bad."

"Right," Minato nodded. "They're saying it's like ecstasy and acid had a baby and that baby is on a lot of steroids," Minato explained. "Shisui-san, would you tell what you told us?"

"Of course, Master Minato," Shisui nodded before looking at Naruto. "The drug had been circulating for a while now but there were no incidents of someone being seriously injured or killed or even hurting anyone else. That was until earlier tonight when we got a call to The Loft Apartments over on Seventeenth Street in the First Ward. We had received several calls from tenants complaining about one of the neighbors being in the hallway and banging on all the doors and yelling. After the first call, Itachi and I were dispatched to go and try to calm down this rowdy tenant," Shisui drifted off, an uncomfortable look filling his eyes.

"When we arrived, the suspect in question was clawing at their face and screaming about how there were ants crawling beneath his skin," Itachi picked up and shifted where he stood. "He had scratched himself all over until he bled and he had been banging against the walls and doors so much that his knuckles were down to the bone by the time we arrived. He screamed some more about monsters and needing relief and then," Itachi stopped. He looked down at the ground.

Obito sighed. "He jumped out the ninth story window."

Naruto was silent. That uncomfortable silence hung over the room for a little while before Minato cleared his throat, everyone turning to him.

"When Obito-san arrived, he and a few other officers entered the apartment and saw powder in the man's living room on the coffee table," Minato said. "Now the Heaven's Gate that had circulated originally was silver but the powder they found was gold or had gold flakes in it, there's still a lot we don't know about it."

"We already know that it's impossible to stop the buying and selling of illicit drugs," Kushina spoke up, "but the least we could do is help keep people from hurting themselves and others. That's something we decided a long time ago when Phoenix was practically running Konoha into the ground when your father and I were teenagers. So far, we've been able to regulate things and keep everything at a steady flow and make sure there was never too much of anything but just enough. However, with whatever this gold powder is, we can't take any chances with it."

"But that was one incident, wasn't it?" Naruto questioned as he looked at the Uchiha. "After one incident, you can't necessarily determine that the powder was at fault, right?"

"That was just the first incident tonight," Shisui answered. "There were at least four more incidents just like the one at The Loft Apartments across the city. All the victims having some track of that gold powder on them. We're still waiting on toxicology reports on them all and a report on what's in the gold powder."

Naruto sighed. He shoved his hands in his pockets before looking at Minato. "I'll see if I hear anything about the gold powder from anyone at school the next couple of days. Then on Saturday night I'll head over to The Garage over in the Thirteenth Ward and talk to Haku and see if he knows anything."

"I'm counting on you, Naruto-kun," Minato said with a smile.

To Be Continued…