Last Time:

"Well they were certainly impressive," Sasuke said as he sat with Sakura at one of the clothed table that were littered around the dancefloor. He looked to her and saw the distant look in her eyes as she stared somewhere across the room. "Hey."

"Huh?" Sakura looked at him, some life returning to her eyes. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"Are you okay?" he questioned as he moved seats so that he was sitting right beside her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sakura answered just before looking back through the crowd. "I just thought I recognized someone?"

Opposites Attract: Chapter 11 – "The 25th Annual Hyuuga Enterprise Charitarian Masquerade Ball" (Part 2 of 3)

"Hinata?" Naruto called as he let Hinata continue to lead him down the nearly vacant hallway that had just a few stragglers. He recognized the hallway as one that he and some kids used to run through seeing as they weren't allowed to disturb the grown-ups. Because of that, they learned how to navigate the whole palace-like venue's "not-so-main" rooms and corridors like the back of their hands and spend the whole party in their own world away from the adults.

It wasn't until a few moments later when Hinata finally stopped in front of one of the many doors and entered it, pulling Naruto in with her and shutting the door behind her and turning the lock. Naruto recognized it as one of the smoke-rooms and a "Gentlemen's Lounge." The name made it self-explanatory and was the reason Naruto blushed a bit when he turned to look at Hinata. Before he could even say anything, Hinata pushed his mask out of the way and pressed her lips against his.

Though he was slightly caught off guard, he responded to the kiss. It was passionate and longing, each second sending a jolt of electricity between each of them and causing places to heat up just like before at Take Two. During their kiss, Naruto managed to remove Hinata's mask as well place it on a nearby surface. Once it was out of the way, Naruto pulled Hinata closer and Hinata placed her hands on either side of Naruto's face. Their breathing became heavier and without saying a word, their tongues found their way to one another and swirled around each other.

Naruto easily guided Hinata towards a nearby wall and pressed her back against it. Naruto put an arm against the wall while his right hand groped her bottom through her dress. Hinata placed a hand on his chest while the other rubbed against the erection hardening beneath his slacks. Naruto groaned in the back of his throat when Hinata gave his crotch a gentle squeeze, Hinata being able to feel him pulse beneath her hand.

Naruto was the one to break the kiss, the two of them seeing the others face clearly for the first time that night. Both of them were flustered and breathing heavily but the looks in their eyes were the same and they were sure the other heard the loud pounding in their chest.

"Hinata," Naruto breathed and felt Hinata run her thumb across his cheek that had been covered in make-up and exposed his trademark whiskers. He chuckled. "Now people are really going to know who I am," he joked and Hinata giggled.

She admired him for a moment before pulling him down and placing a gentler kiss on his lips. It was sweet and warm and Naruto happily complied with Hinata's silent demands. They stood like that kissing one another for a little while before Hinata pulled away with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Satisfied?" Naruto questioned and saw Hinata shake her head. He raised an eye brow before looking down and seeing Hinata's hand was back on his crotch. He stared at that for a moment before looking at her, a slightly confused and worried expression on his face. "Here?"

Hinata nodded.

Naruto swallowed hard. It wasn't exactly what he had imagined when it came to losing his virginity but he couldn't deny that he possibility didn't have the will to stop himself had Hinata given him permission, and she did just that.

"I'm sorry, I know it's sudden but," Hinata began, her cheeks becoming redder, "I can't wait anymore. Please, Naruto-kun."

"I can't believe I'm about to ask this," Naruto muttered before putting a hand on Hinata's cheek. "Are you sure about this?"

"You don't want to?" Hinata questioned nearly on the verge of tears.

"Of course, I do!" Naruto shouted a little too loud. He cleared his throat and looked away slightly embarrassed. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that this isn't really the best place, you know? Your father is going to notice if you're gone too long and I'm sure he already knows that you're with me. I just don't want to run the risk of us getting interrupted, you know? When we do finally get the chance, the perfect chance, then I want us to be able to take our time."

Hinata looked at Naruto for a moment before looking down. "I guess I see what you mean."

"Right?" Naruto said with a smile though he was mentally beating himself up. "Come on," Naruto picked up Hinata's mask and held it to her. "I'll let you go out ahead of me into the ballroom and I'll head towards the lounge."

Hinata nodded and put her mask back on her face. Once it was back on and Naruto had pulled his back down onto his face and adjusted it, she smiled at him. She placed a gentle kiss on his now exposed whiskers before heading out of the room. When the door clicked shut, Naruto hit his head against the wall repeated.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," he repeated several times as he beat his head. After kicking himself for a little while longer, he straightened himself out and exited the room. He navigated his way through secluded hallways until he made it back to the lounge he'd been in earlier. He casually snuck back into the crowd of guest who hung around in the lounge.

In the ballroom, Hinata took a seat at an empty table and was quickly joined by Toneri whom she had ditched not too long ago.

"That was bold of you, don't you think?" Toneri commented with a smile and poorly hidden agitated tone. "You do understand the severity of disrespecting me like that is, right?"

"Speaking of business during this party is strictly forbidden sir," Hinata said with a perfect smile and her agitated tone perfectly hidden but the aggression clear. "Seeing as you and your family are still fairly new to things here in Konoha and it's many unspoken rules, I'll pretend I didn't hear that threat just now. I'm going to recommend you try again."

Toneri sucked his teeth but by the stern look in Hinata's eyes mixed with her sweet and innocent smile, he couldn't help but feel terrified of her. He cleared his throat and covered all agitation. "I'm glad I was able to find you after you were escorted away by that other gentlemen."

Hinata nodded in approval at Toneri's second attempt. "My apologies for that. I thought I recognized him but I was mistaken. Where were we in our conversation early? I seem to have forgotten."

"It looks like Toneri found his way back to Lady Hinata," Tenten commented as she caught a glimpse of the two of them sitting together as she and Neji danced around with the crowd. "He's pretty persistent, don't you think?"

"Just a bit," Neji commented.

As the song came to an end, all the couples separate from one another and bowed respectfully toward each other. Once they all stood, Neji walked off the dancefloor with Tenten behind him. She watched as he paused and looked around the room then adjusting the radio in his ear. She adjusted the own radio in her ear and heard the array of updates that flooded in from the various security guards – both disguised and obvious – on the happenings in each room.

"It sounds like he showed up in the lounge," Tenten commented and saw Neji nod with a look of relief coming over his face. "I guess he still remembers how to maneuver through the hallways without getting lost. I'm impressed."

"You and I both," Neji added before continuing to listen.

Back in the vestibule, Naruto had made his way out of the lounge and was going to go explore some more when he saw Sasuke standing by himself. He made his way over and quickly scanned the room before looking back at him.

"Where's Sakura-chan?" Naruto questioned.

"Bathroom," Sasuke nodded his head towards a nearby bathroom and saw Naruto nod. "I have to say, I'm impressed you still remember all your ballroom dance training."

Naruto scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Okaa-chan still has me taking lessons every once in a while. She says it's important that I stay current and don't slack off or I'll end up embarrassing myself."

"Sounds like a good enough reason," Sasuke shrugged. He looked at Naruto for a bit before tilting his head to the side. "What happened?"

"What're you talking about?" Naruto questioned and watched as Sasuke tapped his own left cheek. Naruto blushed a bit and scratched his exposed whiskers as he looked away. "Nothing really."

"Okay," Sasuke said as he took a sip from his glass. He swirled the liquid around and looked down at it. "You better be careful. Master Hiashi is very terrifying when he's angry."

"Nothing happened," Naruto argued and saw Sasuke nod. Naruto rolled his eyes and was about to walk away when he heard someone clear their throat. He looked behind him and noticed how Sasuke immediately straightened up and bowed. "Sasuke?" Naruto was clearly confused so he didn't understand why Sasuke elbowed him in the stomach and pulled him down to bow by his collar.

She giggled. "It's quite alright gentlemen, there's no need to bow. If you do that then it just becomes more obvious on who I am."

Sasuke stood and ignored Naruto's glaring. "My apologies. Do you mind?"

"Go ahead," she said.

Sasuke looked to Naruto. "This is Hyuuga Hiyori, Master Hiashi's wife," Sasuke explained and watched how quickly Naruto straightened up.

"P-pleasure to meet you," Naruto stuttered as he took Hiyori's hand and kissed the top of it. He stood up straight, clearly embarrassed.

Hiyori smiled. "The pleasure is all mine. I've just been dying to meet my precious Hinata's boyfriend. It's just a shame that I couldn't see the two of you together up close. But you two certainly did cause quite the scene with that waltz of yours earlier. Are you classically trained?"

"Uh, yes," Naruto said with a stiff nod. "My mother wanted to make sure I knew how to ballroom dance for occasions like this."

"I see. Your mother is a smart woman," Hiyori commented. "Now that I see you up close, I can see why my daughter fell for someone like you. You're certainly the better choice when it comes to a competition between you and Mr. Outsutsuki. I don't want to think about what my grandchildren would look like if she were to marry that paperboy."

Sasuke and Naruto tried their best not to laugh at Hiyori's comment. Hiyori noticed and smiled.

"But truly, this is the happiest I've seen my daughter in a while," Hiyori admitted. "She's always done what her father has told her to do and made sure she lived up to his ridiculously high expectations. And though I'm not entirely sure what it is about you that's made Hinata finally show some defiance towards him, I'm glad it was you who inspired her."

"Lady Hiyori," Naruto began but watched as Hiyori seemed to puff her cheeks outward much like Hinata has done before when she's not satisfied with something.

"That's no good," she complained. "Call me 'Okaa-san.' With the way things are going, I'm sure you and Hinata are going to end up together so why not go ahead and start calling me 'Okaa-san' now instead of later?"

Sasuke laughed as Naruto turned completely red. Hiyori giggled as well before taking ahold of Naruto's hands and smiling up at him.

"But truly, thank you for what you've done for my daughter," Hiyori said as she gave his hands a firm squeeze. "She's starting to live her life by her own accord because of you and I couldn't begin to ask for anything more for her."

Naruto smiled. "You're welcome."

Hiyori nodded before letting go of his hands and patting Sasuke's cheek. "I just wanted to come and speak with you. Enjoy the rest of the party gentlemen. And Sasuke-kun, don't forget that you're supposed to play the piano in a little bit. Hinata should be on her way to warm up in a little bit."

"I remember," Sasuke said as he placed a quick kiss on Hiyori's cheek before she walked away and went mingling with the other guest.

"Her mom is nicer than I expected," Naruto commented and saw Sasuke nod.

"That's Lady Hiyori," Sasuke said. "But when she's angry, she's scarier than Master Hiashi is on an average day. And she's a bit of a monster. Do you see what she's doing now?"

Naruto looked to where Hiyori had gone and saw she had easily struck up a conversation with a group of guests. Naruto looked to Sasuke. "She's talking with people."

"She's doing more than that," Sasuke commented. "She's technically working the room. Lady Hiyori already knows who every is even though their mask are on. And on top of that, she knows who each person dislikes and who each person wants to outdo. So, what she does is, she casually mentions either overhearing a specific someone mention how much they're going to bid or pretending to wonder what a specific someone is going to do. Basically, she'll make up convenient lies to encourage people to donate more than they originally intended."

"That's impressive," Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded before he felt someone place a tight grip on his arm. He looked to his side and saw Sakura standing beside her and saw just how badly she was trembling. "Sakura?" Sasuke quickly caught her before she fell over. "Hey, Sakura, what's wrong? What happened? Talk to me baby."

"Ba…" she struggled to speak.

"Ba?" Naruto repeated as quickly moved to Sakura's side.

"Baji," she managed.

"Baji?" Naruto repeated and saw Sakura nod. "Sakura-chan, Baji isn't here. He's four hours away locked away in a prison cell. He can't get to you."

Sasuke watched as Sakura violently shook her head. He looked to Naruto, both of them confused by Sakura's assumption that Baji was there at the most exclusive party in the entire city.

"Can you take Sakura to one of the private rooms while I go find our parents?" Naruto ask Sasuke and watched him nod. With that, Naruto quickly went off in search of his parents.

"Come on," Sasuke said as he half-carried Sakura up a flight of stairs and took her towards one of the many empty rooms. Once inside, he helped Sakura remove her mask and held her sit on one of the plush couches that sat in the room. He knelt in front of her and took ahold of her clammy hands. "Sakura, what happened?"

Sakura shook her head with her eyes shut tight.

"Hey, look at me," Sasuke demanded and watched as Sakura opened her eyes to look at him. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened, okay? Now tell me, where did you see Baji?"

Sakura stared at Sasuke for a bit before swallowing her and coughing. She sniffled and wiped her eyes before managing to speak. "I thought I saw him earlier in the ballroom but I wasn't entirely sure so I didn't say anything. But when I was in the bathroom, I was fixing my make-up and he came in."

"Are you sure?" Sasuke questioned and saw Sakura nod. "Alright, tell me what he was wearing and I'll get security to be on the lookout for him."

Over in the dining room, Naruto finally located his parents, the two of them having claimed their family's table and were in the middle of chatting with other guests when he approached. He cleared his throat and watched as Minato turned and looked to him.

"Naruto-kun? What is it?" Minato questioned.

"I need to talk to you two," Naruto said as he shot a quick glance at the guests who had gathered around Minato and Kushina.

"Just a second," Kushina said before she looked to the small crowd. "We're sorry about this but do you mind giving us a moment alone with our son?" The guests muttered amongst themselves before abiding and walking away.

"What's going on?" Minato questioned.

"Sakura-chan said she saw Baji," Naruto explained outright and saw the look of shock in both their eyes. "She came out of the bathroom that's out in the vestibule shaking and barely able to stand. Sasuke took her upstairs into one of the private rooms to get her away from the crowd but I don't know where he could be if he is here. I mean, he's supposed to be four hours away and locked up in a cell, right?"

Kushina and Minato exchanged a look that Naruto caught. He looked back and forth between the two of them before he processed it.

"You knew he was out?" Naruto questioned.

Kushina sighed. "We've been suspicious of the guard staff at Baji's prison for a little while now but we couldn't confirm any of our suspicions without an investigation. But an investigation would be impossible to conduct if half the guards are under our belt and the other half isn't. But last night, we received word that Baji had disappeared from his cell and that no one could find him on the prison grounds."

To Be Continued…