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Sasori opened his mouth to speak but quickly pursed his lips when the elevator doors opened and Minato stepped off. They all bowed respectfully and made way for Minato as he made his way to Naruto who he careful looked over before letting out a sigh of relief.
"Seems like your injuries aren't too bad," Minato said as he wiped some blood from the corner of Naruto's mouth.
"I have to go to Konoha Central Hospital," Naruto demanded as he began to stand.
"Central Hospital?" Minato repeated as he stood with Naruto. "Why would you need to go there? Your injuries aren't bad enough to need that serious of medical attention. Naruto-kun, slow down a second."
"Hinata's there!" Naruto shouted.
Opposites Attract: Chapter 16 – "The lengths at which one will go…" (Part 2 of 5)
"Minato-kun? Naruto-kun?" Tsunade stood there with a look of confusion as she stood at the emergency room front desk with a clipboard in hand, a couple of Hyuuga sitting with stressed expressions on their face. "Naruto-kun, what happened to you?" Tsunade took Naruto's face into her hands as he came up to her, a distraught expression no his face. "Kitsune?"
"Hinata, is she here? Is she okay, where is she?" Naruto questioned quickly.
"Senju-sensei!"
Tsunade looked beyond Naruto and Minato and watched as Hyuuga Hiyori and Hiashi run into the emergency waiting room, panicked expressions on their faces and completely unaware of Minato.
"Senju-sensei, my daughter. Is my daughter okay?" Hiyori questioned as she approached Tsunade and took ahold of her arm. Tears were already threatening her face, some mascara staining her cheeks to show she had been crying earlier. "Please, tell me."
"Lady Hiyori, please, try and remain calm," Tsunade advised as she took ahold of Hiyori. "Lady Hinata will be just fine. She suffered a few cuts and bruises and a broken collarbone but nothing that's serious or will inhibit her going forward. Right now, she's resting."
"And Neji?" Hiashi questioned.
"His injuries are a little more severe but not life threatening and he's not in critical condition. He has some cuts and bruises but he bruised his spin and broke his hip by protecting Hinata during the crash," Tsunade explained, Hiyori putting her hands over her mouth in shock and Hiashi sucking his teeth. "The damage to his spine isn't going to cause any problems going forward but he may experience some discomfort. Rehab may be necessary but we can discuss that later once he's woken up."
"Hiashi-kun," Minato spoke and saw Hiashi look at him, a confused expression on his face.
"Namikaze-san?" Hiashi looked at him for a moment before seeing Naruto. Anger immediately came onto his expression and in the blink of an eye, Hiashi had Naruto by his collar and had him pinned against the counter. "You bastard!"
"Hiashi-kun!" Hiyori screamed as she tried to pull Hiashi off Naruto.
"I should've known something was going on between the two of you when I saw you dance at the Charitarian Ball," Hiashi snarled as he tightened his grip around Naruto's collar. "I told my daughter to stay away from you because she's not going to get anywhere in life is she's hung up on someone like you!"
"Someone like me?" Naruto repeated. "With all due respect Master Hiashi, I understand your concern with mine and Hinata's relationship but I love her. You don't think I know I'm not good enough for her? That I may be a terrible influence on her? That she may get hurt because of me? Trust me, I know the possibilities that come with me being around her and I tried, I really did. But I'm in love with your daughter and she loves me so despite your constant rules and warnings against me, she isn't going to listen."
"Hiashi-kun!" Hiyori screamed again.
Before Hiashi could hit Naruto, Minato grabbed ahold of the back of Hiashi's collar and pulled him back. He pinned Hiashi up against a wall with his hand against his chest, the two of them glaring at one another. Minato angry for Hiashi's blatant disrespect towards his son and Hiashi angry about Hinata's secret relationship.
"Hiashi-kun," Minato spoke with a smile despite the rage in his eyes, "I would appreciate it if you kept your hands off my son for the foreseeable future. Otherwise, our relationship is going to become quite complicated."
"L-Lady Hiyori?" Hyuuga Natsu, Hanabi's personal caretaker, approached with her head down, a bandage on her cheek and some more on her arms and around her neck.
"Natsu!" Hiyori's voice was harsher than usual. "Explain to me how exactly did someone not only get the upper hand on you all but also managed to kidnap Hanabi-chan?"
"My deepest apologies Lady Hiyori," Natsu fell to her knees and apologized with her forehead pressed against the ground. "Everything happened to quickly that before we realized anything, it was too late. Whoever it was had blown out our tires and caused Kou-san to lose control of the car. We hit something and flipped a couple of times and when I regained consciousness, Lady Hanabi was already gone."
Hiyori gritted her teeth. Her anger was quickly replaced with sadness as she fell to her knees and sobbed into her hands. Hiashi quickly went to her and held her, his hand rubbing against her back as he planted gentle kisses onto her head while she sobbed. He looked towards the waiting room, his eyes landing on Hyuuga Kou, Hinata's personal caretaker.
"Um, Lady Tsunade?" one of the receptionist behind the desk spoke quietly, the amount of drama and tension in the room enough to cause anyone to do their best to retreat from it.
"What is it?" Tsunade looked to her and saw that the receptionist was holding the phone. "Is it for me?"
"No, it's for Master Hyuuga," the receptionist said as she looked to Hiashi. "They claim to know something about Hyuuga Hanabi's disappearance and want to speak with Hiashi about what needs to be done to return her."
"What?" Hiyori stood first and took the phone from the nurse. "Hello? This is Hyuuga Hiyori! Please, if this is the person who took my daughter, we'll give you anything you want. Just please, return my daughter to me!"
Naruto's stomach churned.
"Hiyori-chan," Hiashi joined her and took the phone. "This is Hyuuga Hiashi. You heard my wife, whatever you want, we'll hand it over without any hesitation. Just please, I beg of you, don't hurt my daughter."
There was a moment of silence before Hiashi held the phone away from his ear. He wore a confused expression before looking at the receptionist.
"Um, do you mind putting it on speaker please?" Hiashi requested and watched the receptionist nod and take the phone back. He looked at Minato. "He said he wants you to hear what he's going to say next."
Minato coolly walked over to the counter and leaned against. He waved his hand to the receptionist who pressed a button and put the phone back on the receiver.
"You're on speaker," Minato said seeing as the receptionists seemed too nervous to say a word.
"Ah, much better," Baji's voice came through and Naruto clenched his fist. "I had a feeling you'd already be at the hospital since I gave a heads up to the Young Master."
"Young Master?" Hiashi repeated as he looked to Minato who wore an unclear expression.
"Hyuuga Hiashi, you there?" Baji called.
"I'm here," Hiashi answered as he wrapped his arm around Hiyori's waist. "What did you have to say?"
"Well for starters, I just wanted to let you know that your daughter is safe and sound," Baji spoke cheerfully. "And I swear not to touch a hair on her head, unless you all need encouragement to do what I ask. Other than that, so long as you obey, Hanabi will return to you safe and sound and the only scratches you'll find are those she sustained during the accident."
"We'll do anything, just tell us what you want," Hiashi said.
"Namikaze Minato," Baji began, "I want you to go before the press and make an announcement. I'm sure you already know what I want you to say."
"Are you insane?" Minato questioned as he laced his fingers together. He still maintained a smile but there was something lingering in the back of his eyes that he was trying his hardest to keep at bay but was struggling to do so. "Do you have any idea the repercussion hundreds of people will face?"
"I'm aware," Baji answered. "Hyuuga Hiashi-san, Namikaze Minato-san has something he'd like to reveal to you. What he's about to tell you is going to sound very shocking but I'm going to need you to remember everything he said because if he doesn't do as I ask, then I'm going to need you to be the one who goes out and release this information."
"Minato, what's going on?" Hiashi questioned. "Do you know this bastard who took my daughter?"
"Name calling really isn't something you should be doing in your current situation," Baji sang. "Minato, tell Hiashi who you are and what you are or I may just have to leave a mark on Hanabi that's going to make her remember me. Much like my Little Princess remembers me."
"Don't touch her!" Naruto shouted.
"Naruto!" Minato shouted and Naruto bit his lip so hard he drew blood.
"I'm waiting," Baji said.
Minato sighed as he stood upright and turned to face Hiyori and Hiashi. "I'm Namikaze Minato, and I was Head of the Senju Yakuza from the age of thirteen to twenty-six. When I turned twenty-six, Kushina – who I had just recently married – and I formed the Whirlwind Yakuza and we now run the largest yakuza on this side of this continent."
"Huh?" Hiashi stood straight. "You're serious?"
"Now I know this may be hard for you so I'll give you twenty-four hours to make the statement," Baji said and the line clicked dead.
"That gives us twenty-four hours to find Hanabi," Minato said immediately.
"Find Hanabi? Are you forgetting just how large this city is exactly?" Hiashi questioned. "He could be anywhere and we could search high and low for days on end and we would still never find her! Just go and make the announcement!"
"Hiashi-san, I understand that you're frantic and want to make sure your daughter is returned to you safely but that announcement is just the beginning," Minato explained. "I make the announcement and then what? It'll be demand after demand after demand with him until he's run out of things to ask for and then maybe, if he feels like it, he'll give you Hanabi back. Watanabe Baji is the type to try and drag things out as long as he possibly can to get everything he wants. So, right now, the best thing we can do for Hanabi is to look for her and find her in the next twenty-four hours."
"That is my daughter!" Hiashi shouted. "I'm not going to sit around while you try and play games with the asshole who took her!"
"Hiashi-kun!" Hiyori shouted and Hiashi gritted his teeth. She turned to Minato, her eyes narrowed while she looked at Minato as though he was beneath her. "I can only imagine what's at stake for you if you make an announcement like that so I'm trusting you and Whirlwind to find my daughter and bring her home to me. Do you understand? But if you fail to do so, I will drag your entire existence through the mud and I will make it my personal mission to not only destroy you and your family, but I will destroy that bastard who thinks he can just take my daughter and get off scotch free."
"We'll find her," Minato said. He looked to Tsunade. "I want you to keep Naruto here with you until we've found Hanabi. I don't need him running around and getting himself hurt any more than he already is."
"That's not happening," Naruto argued as he stepped forward. "I promised Hanabi that I would protect her and I have every intention of upholding that promise. I'm going to help you search for her whether you like it or not."
"Excuse me?" Minato glared at Naruto. "I already told you before to stay away from this entire Watanabe Baji situation. What happened in the garage couldn't be help but there's no way in hell I'm letting you put yourself in harm's way intentionally like that. Especially after what he did to Lady Hinata and Neji. You're staying."
"With all due respect," Naruto returned his father's glare, something dark brewing behind his eyes, "I'm going."
Tsunade looked back and forth between the two of them before letting out a heavy sigh. "Minato-kun, go ahead and make your calls and begin the search. Naruto-kun, you should probably go see Hinata before you head out to help with the search."
"Okaa-san." Minato looked to Tsunade.
Tsunade looked to Minato with a sweet smile on her face that caused Minato to flinch. "I am your mother and you will do what I say. Go. I'll call in a favor as well and that should make Baji choke and stay in one spot long enough for us to find him."
Minato sucked his teeth. He looked at Naruto for a second before putting his hand on the back of his neck and pulling him into a hug. Minato held him tight, his fingers in his son's hair. "Don't do anything to reckless."
"You too," Naruto said as he hugged his father. He felt Minato press his forehead against his own, the two of them sharing a silent moment. Minato pat Naruto's cheek before quickly leaving the hospital, his phone in hand before he even let out the double doors.
"Come with me this way," Tsunade said to Hiashi, Hiyori, and Naruto. "I'm not sure if Hinata is awake yet but you can see her."
Naruto looked at Hiashi who didn't bother to meet his gaze and quickly turned his back to him. Hiyori sighed and held out her hand and after Naruto hesitated for one second too long, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along. The three of them followed Tsunade through a few doors and down a few short hallways before finally bringing them to where Hinata was. In the room next to hers was Neji's and Tenten was sitting on the side of his bed and talking to him with tears running down her face and an expression of relief on her face.
"Try to be quiet as to not wake her," Tsunade warned as she carefully slid the door open and allowed the three of them to enter. She sighed and pulled her cellphone out of her pocket before scrolling through her contacts and finding a restricted number. She dialed and the person on the other end answered quickly, "Ah yes, this is Senju Tsunade. I need to speak with him. Tell him it's an emergency."
In Hinata's hospital room, Hiyori quickly went to Hinata's side and carefully touched her face. Tears ran down her face as she put her forehead against Hinata's and thanked the gods for Hinata's safety.
Naruto was relieved to see Hinata was alive and her injuries were minimal but he only imagined all she was going to deal with once she woke up. He looked to Hiashi and was unsure of his expression but he was sure he wasn't going to stay long enough to figure it out.
"When Hinata wakes up, can you tell her I'm sorry that this happened?" Naruto ask quietly.
"Of course," Hiyori said as she wiped away her tears and looked to Naruto. "I'm begging you, do whatever it takes to bring Hanabi home to us."
"I promise," Naruto answered.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata muttered quietly.
They all looked towards her and saw Hinata's eyes fluttered open. She looked around, a bit of confusion covering her face since she never thought she'd see Naruto in the same room as her father. She tried to sit up but after taking in a sharp breath, Hiyori helped her lie back down.
"Okaa-chan," Hinata looked to Hiyori. "Where am I? What happened to Neji-nii? And Hanabi? Kou-kun and Natsu-chan?"
"Shh," Hiyori brushed some of Hinata's hair out of her face, "it's okay. Neji is in the room next door and he's just fine. Kou and Natsu too."
"And Hanabi-chan? Where is she? I…I heard her screaming before everything went dark. Is she okay?" Hinata questioned quickly.
Hiashi sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "The accident wasn't exactly an accident, Hinata," Hiashi explained. "Someone kidnapped Hanabi and now they're holding her for ransom. A couple million dollars. We're working with the bank to get everything in cash and hand it off to them. They've given us twenty-four hours."
"Ransom?" Hinata repeated. She looked at Naruto. "Naruto-kun? What're you doing here?"
"I got into a little fight of my own and was waiting to be seen when they brought you in," Naruto lied. "I got worried and came to see how you were doing."
Hiyori looked at Naruto and Hiashi, the guilt clear on both their faces. She let out a heavy sigh and looked at Hinata. "Don't worry, we're handling the situation."
"Well," Naruto cleared his throat and walked over to Hinata's bedside, "I should probably get going but I'm glad you seem to be doing well. And don't worry about Hanabi, okay? She'll be home soon."
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata felt the way Naruto squeeze her hand and she knew immediately something wasn't right. She pursed her lips together and before she could say anything, Naruto was gone. She clenched her fist around her blanket while tears filled her eyes. "Hanabi-chan."
"It's okay," Hiyori cooed as she carefully hugged Hinata. "She'll be home soon."
Naruto squeezed Tsunade's hand before making his way to the waiting room. He saw the way the Hyuuga's sat amongst themselves, expressions of worry and disappointment prevalent. He wasn't entirely sure what to say to the lot of them but he did share a look with Natsu and Kou, the two of them holding a look in their eyes that caused Naruto's stomach to twist into knots. The promise Naruto made with them was unspoken yet clear, so he nodded, and they nodded, and he walked outside. At the bottom of the steps, he saw Sasuke sitting there on his motorcycle with a spare helmet in hand.
"You look like shit," Sasuke said as Naruto made his way down the steps.
"How'd you know I'd be here?" Naruto questioned as he approached and took the spare helmet.
"Shisui text me and told me that Hinata had got into an accident while on the way to school and that they'd brought her here," Sasuke explained. "I was actually here to see Hinata but I caught Master Minato as he was on his way out and he explained everything to me. How is she? Have you seen her?"
"She's awake, has a broken collarbone but Oba-chan says that she'll be okay," Naruto answered. "Go to the Seventeenth Ward. There's no way Baji is going to stay in The Whirlpool. Those three wards can be searched in just a few hours with the amount of people we have so he's not going to stay in his obvious hiding spot."
"Roger that Young Master," Sasuke said as he put on his helmet and started his bike. "Safety first."
"We're on a motorcycle," Naruto argued as he put on his helmet.
"Hey, at least your head won't be crushed," Sasuke joked before pulling away from the hospital.
To Be Continued…