Last Time:
"You know, I'm glad that that side of you only comes out when you're with me," he whispered into her ear and then gave her an innocent grin when her face flushed red. "I'll text you when I get home," he said before giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead and leaving.
"Onee-chan, what was he talking about?" Hanabi called from the upstairs balcony.
"Hanabi!" Hinata turned around and saw her sister leaning over the railing and flashing a grin. "How long were you there?"
"Long enough," Hanabi sang. "What did Naruto-nii whisper to you to make you blush like that? Was it perverted?"
"Hanabi!" Hinata shouted and watched as her sister scurried off. "Geez."
Opposites Attract: Chapter 30 – "Always Remember Your Family"
"'The suit does not make the man,'" Minato muttered as he took a small, black-velvet case from one of the store associates, "'the man makes the suit.' Remember that, okay?" Minato checked the contents of the box before looking up and seeing the look on Naruto's face. He smiled at the familiarity of it and went to stand beside him. "I know. I wore the same look on my face when I got my first tailormade suit."
Naruto was silent. His suit wasn't a little too big or just a bit too small. It was a perfect fit. All the suits he had worn before were hand-me-downs from Minato and there was a time when they were too big and a time when they were almost just right. But now that Naruto was seventeen, they were reaching the point of being too small but he never complained. And even the suits that Jiraiya, Minato, Kushina, or Tsunade bought him on occasion didn't fit him the way this suit did.
"I want you to remember a few things now that you have this," Minato said as he stood in front of Naruto and opened the velvet case he was holding. Inside rest a pair of platinum cufflinks that were circular with the Whirlwind Yakuza emblem etched into the metal. "When you wear this suit," Minato began as he carefully removed the cufflinks and put them on for Naruto, "you should always stand with a straight back. And when you sit, never slouch. Keep your elbows off of the table and if you're sitting down to dinner, bring the food to your mouth, not your mouth to your food."
Naruto gave him a stiff nod.
"And always use your words," Minato added as he straightened up Naruto's jacket before stepping out of the way. "Nodding or shaking your head isn't going to be a sufficient answer anymore. And when you speak, you do not let your voice quake, waver, or falter. Speak from your gut. You are a man in a position of power so you need to act like it."
"Yes sir," Naruto answered.
Minato gave a nod of approval, "Good. As a reminder, this is the suit you're going to be wearing to the summit in Kumo City next weekend. I know it may be a bit premature but I wanted to go over the plan for that as well."
"The plan?" Naruto repeated as he looked at Minato. "All we have to do is go and ease their concerns, right? Is a plan really necessary?"
"For your first summit? Yes, a plan is necessary," Minato answered. "As you already know, they're going to be asking about the whole incident with Baji and Styx and Phoenix. Luckily for us, we didn't have to seek help from anyone outside of Whirlwind so that makes things a bit easier."
"What about the guy who took the blame for everything?" Naruto questioned and noticed the look Minato gave him. It sent a uncomfortable chill down his spine but just as quickly as that terrifying look was in his father's eyes, it was gone.
Minato stood behind Naruto and smoothed out the shoulders and back of his jacket, "Like I said, we didn't have to seek help from anyone outside of Whirlwind so that makes things a bit easier. Phoenix has always been a problem for several of us through the years since their ultimate goal is to make money. Because of their drive to make money, they become a bit of a nuisance fairly quickly but as you can see, they're not difficult to handle."
"So, why the summit? If they're not that much of a threat and are easily handled, why do we need to meet with the others?" Naruto asked.
"We, the Whirlwind Yakuza, focus mainly on protection. We protect those in the City of Konoha and Fire Country against idiots who think they can run around and do what they please. And as you know, we dabble in other businesses but we're mainly known for protection," Minato began. "In the City of Kumo, the Lightning Yakuza serves as prominent arms dealers; they make a decent amount of money every year. And with the amount of weapons they have on hand, they could overthrow their Daimyo with no trouble at all; it's quite impressive if I do say so myself. In the City of Kiri, there is the Marsh Yakuza and they focus mainly on gambling and counterfeiting. Quite the lucrative business; I'm almost a little envious that gambling is legal in Fire Country," Minato sighed and continued to look over Naruto's suit.
Naruto watched as Minato took a step back and Naruto looked back at himself. More now than ever, Naruto was the spitting image of his father.
Minato looked at Naruto through the mirror, "Over in the City of Suna, the Sabaku Yakuza specializes in intelligence and datamining. It makes it easy to blackmail who they want to blackmail and get their hands into whatever they want to get their hands in. To be quite honest, I've bought my fair share of information from them. Sure, we have the Yamanaka and our own little surveillance team but the Sabaku can reach places our people can't. And lastly, there is the City of Iwa and the Mountain Yakuza. Money laundering and transportation. The Mountain Yakuza and Lightning Yakuza have a close relationship; mainly because Lightning uses Mountain to clean their money and filter through businesses in Iwa and Kumo, all over their countries really. And they also provide necessary transportation to whoever needs it. All in all, Mountain chases a buck where they can get it."
"And that's why they're worried about Phoenix stirring up again," Naruto chimed in.
"Exactly," Minato answered. "We all have our ways of making our money and when someone like Phoenix decides to rear its ugly head, it makes the rest of us a bit uneasy."
"I understand," Naruto said. "So, what's the plan?"
Minato smiled at Naruto's focus, "Well for starters, we need to order you a set of suits. This will just be the first one of many."
"How many suits do I need?" Naruto asked.
"At least thirty-one," Minato answered as Naruto's jaw dropped. Minato laughed at his son's reaction and watched as the owners of the shop came out from the back, "It doesn't hurt to have variety. Ah, yes, Hashimoto-san, thank you as always. You really do a beautiful job."
"You're welcome as always Master Namikaze," the elder of the group said. "And did I hear you say thirty-one suits?"
Minato chuckled at the gleam in the elder's eyes, "Yes. But now that I think about it, he's still growing so we'll settle for twelve. Four black, three grey, three brown, and two navy blue. You know the fabric we like."
"Of course," the elder Hashimoto nodded in agreement. "Would you like us to throw this one into a garment bag for you?"
"No," Naruto answered quietly. "No, I think I'll wear it a little bit longer. Thank you though."
"It definitely suites you Young Master," one of the younger tailors complimented.
Naruto smiled, "Thank you."
"Also, we're going to need about six more pairs of loafers and plenty of socks," Minato said as he reached into his pocket and removed his wallet. "Here," he removed a credit card and handed it off to the other young tailor, "throw in about twenty pairs of socks please. Majority of them black – about twelve – and then four grey, four blue, and two brown."
"Yes sir," the second young tailor acknowledged before wandering towards the register up front.
"How's Hinata-chan, by the way?" Minato questioned. "She has her competition starting Friday night, doesn't she?"
Naruto nodded, "Yeah. She's practicing down at the arena now with some of the other participants. She said she has to practice her jumps for her Short Program and Free Skate but she also has an Exhibition piece she's performing."
"I'm going to pretend I know what all of that means," Minato admitted and he grinned as Naruto laughed. "Either way, it sounds like a lot. Is she going to be okay?"
"She'll be fine," Naruto answered with a smile of admiration crawling onto his face. "She's resilient."
"Oh," Minato hinted Naruto's smitten behavior, "you really do love her, don't you?"
"Otou-san." Naruto blushed a bit.
Minato chuckled, "It's okay. I knew I was in love with your mother the minute I laid eyes on her. I still remember the day like it was yesterday too. We were in the Abandoned District over in the Northwestern region of the Thirteenth Ward. Back then we called it The Terminal."
"Wait, you used to race?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, you didn't know that?" Minato asked as the young tailor returned and handed back his credit card. He slipped the card back into his wallet before double checking the receipt and giving a nod of approval, "Looks good, thank you. And if you could have those delivered before the day is out?"
"Of course," the young tailor smiled. "And we'll call you once your items have been delivered and received."
"Thank you." Minato shook the young tailors hand before looking at Naruto and watching him step down from the platform. Minato looked him over one last time before seeing the elder Hashimoto came out from the back with a bag in hand.
"Your clothes Young Master," the elder Hashimoto explained before holding out the bag.
"Ah, thank you." Naruto took the bag from the elder Hashimoto and bowed towards the three of them with Minato. They exchanged smiles before Naruto followed Minato out. "So, what's this about you used to race?"
Minato chuckled as they stepped outside. He patted Kakashi's arm as they approached their town car before climbing into the back. Naruto joined his father and smiled at Kakashi before he shut the door and made his way to the driver's side and climbed in.
"Kakashi-nii, did you know that Otou-san used to race?" Naruto asked as Kakashi started the car.
"Of course I knew," Kakashi answered. He pulled away from the curb, "Senpai, did you not tell Naruto about that?"
"I was about to," Minato answered before looking over at Naruto. "But yes, I used to race. That's how I got the nickname 'The Yellow Flash' because I was unbeatable and undefeated for the entirety of my street racing career. My motorcycle was beautiful; it was a canary yellow and it was pristine and polished so it always shined."
"He used to spend hours in Master Jiraiya's garage working on his bike," Kakashi reminisced. "Most days he spent hours cooped up in there and would forget to eat. That's when Lady Tsunade would start to lecture him and scold him."
"Why do you remember all of that?" Minato questioned. "Also, we're going to Rustic."
"Got it," Kakashi acknowledged.
"Rustic? What's that?" Naruto questioned.
"Now that you're officially taking on more responsibility in Whirlwind, then you need to know about every nook and cranny of this city," Minato explained. "Do you know the barbershop/hair salon on 8th and 32nd?"
"Yeah?" Naruto answered.
"Well, that is a Whirlwind owned business. At least, the basement is," Minato said and saw the confused look on Naruto's face. He chuckled, "You'll see when we get there. Text your mother and tell her we're going to lunch there. I'll see if I can get ahold of Jiraiya and Tsunade. Jiraiya should be free; hopefully Tsunade can leave work. Say, Kakashi, is Anko with Kushina?"
"She is," Kakashi answered.
"Good, we'll have a family lunch then," Minato said. "Naruto-kun, see if you can get in touch with Yahiko-chan too. He might be asleep though since he has to open the bar later tonight. Oh, and Sakura-chan too. I think she said she was spending the day with Sasuke-kun but I'm sure she can spare a little time for lunch."
"Sure," Naruto nodded before beginning to make calls.
The drive to the barbershop/hair salon on 8th and 32nd was about fifteen minutes and when they arrived, Kushina was walking towards the door with Anko at her side. They were laughing and talking when Anko looked up and noticed Kakashi in the driver's seat. Luckily, Kakashi managed to find a spot just in front of the barbershop and quickly paralleled parked before climbing out and opening the back door.
"Well, well, well," Kushina gushed as Naruto stepped out of the car and adjusted his suit jacket, "I see you're enjoying your new suit."
"I love it," Naruto said as he hugged Kushina before hugging Anko and giving her a quick kiss on her cheek.
"Seriously Young Master," Anko teased as she felt Naruto's jacket, "if you weren't already dating Lady Hinata then I would snatch you up for myself."
"Are you forgetting that we're married?" Kakashi questioned as he locked the car and approached his wife. "And need I remind you that we have a three-year-old together?"
"Oh, hi Kakashi-kun," Anko greeted him with a sweet smile.
Minato chuckled and rolled his eyes before kissing Kushina. He chuckled some more when Kushina wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a sweet giggle. She pulled away and he smiled at her, "Hello Beautiful."
"Hi Handsome," Kushina greeted. "Have I told you that I love you yet today?"
"I don't think," Minato answered.
"Well, I love you," Kushina said.
Minato smiled, "I love you too. Now come on, let's go eat. I'm starving."
"Why aren't we that cute?" Anko whined as she looked up at Minato, her chest pressing up against his abdomen and poking out from her shirt just a bit at the top.
"I think we're pretty cute," Kakashi argued before kissing Anko's forehead and getting the door. He let Kushina and Anko in first before Naruto followed and Minato letting Kakashi in ahead of him.
Naruto had only been in this building a handful of times and it still shocked him how large the place was. It was three stories from the ground up, the fourth floor serving as an employee lounge. The first floor served as check-in and customer lounge, a few patrons waiting for their appointments. Naruto recognized all of them as Whirlwind members, all of them smiling and nodding at him as he passed.
To the right of this lounge, there was an adjoining room that connected them to the nail salon next door. He looked up and on the second floor was the washing and shampoo stations, dozens of stylists chatting up with their customers. And on the third floor was where the stylist finished off their customers and hoped they liked it.
"Naruto-kun, are you going to stand there and gawk all day or are you coming?" Minato called.
Naruto stopped his surveying of the building and saw the others waiting for him. He quickly caught up with them and saw a set of double doors that rested beneath the first flight of stairs. He wore a confused look by watched as Minato did a special knock. There was a brief pause before the doors were pulled open.
"Welcome," Kidoumaru greeted them with a warm smile. He was a pair of slacks with black loafers and a white collared shirt. He wore a black vest and a red bow tie while his hair was much more tamed than it had been just a few weeks ago.
"Hey," Naruto called as he recognized the teen.
"Oh, Young Master," Kidoumaru greeted him. "I was wondering when I would be able to see you again. I never got the chance to thank you for trusting us and letting us escape with you when we did. You have no idea how thankful we are."
"Um," Naruto began to stammer but remembered what Minato had said. He cleared his throat, "You're welcome. I'm glad you seem to be doing better now."
"Much better," Kidoumaru confirmed. "Please, come in," he urged as he stepped aside and let them all enter the foyer. He closed the door before them and held his hand out towards wide, two tier staircases, "Enjoy your meal."
"We will," Kushina declared before linking her arm with Minato's and heading down the steps. The two of them led the rest of them down the two flights of steps.
Naruto could hear chatter and faint music being played. The walls were covered in signatures and polaroid photos. All of which were scattered and arranged in no particular order. They were almost to the bottom before Naruto spotted a photo of a young Minato and Kushina.
"Naruto?" Kakashi noticed Naruto had stopped. Kakashi joined him and recognized the photo, "Ah, that was taken right after they got engaged."
"Really?" Naruto looked at Kakashi.
Kakashi nodded. "Yup. This is where Minato proposed to Kushina. And where Master Jiraiya proposed to Tsunade. Their photo should be," Kakashi scanned the wall before tapping the photo of Jiraiya and Tsunade, "here."
"Did you propose to Anko here?" Naruto teased.
"I will answer that when you're older," Kakashi responded and Naruto gagged. Kakashi laughed before patting Naruto's back and walking down the rest of the way with him. Kakashi greeted the doormen before leading Naruto through a second pair of double doors that led into the underground bar and restaurant of Rustic.
"How did I never know about this place?" Naruto asked as he took around the room and immediately recognized most of the patrons as members of Whirlwind. In a booth in the corner sat Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izuna, Senju Hashirama, and Senju Tobirama. They chatted away animatedly, several empty glasses at their table with half-full glasses in their hands.
At another table sat Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chouza, and Yamanaka Inoichi. And at another sat Sai and his elder brother Shin. On stage was a live band playing mellow jazz that fit the aesthetic of the space. Kakashi led Naruto to one of the larger tables in the room and they joined the others.
"Where did you two go?" Minato questioned as he dropped his cufflinks into his vest's pocket and began to roll up his sleeves.
"He saw your guys' photo on the wall," Kakashi answered as he took a seat beside Anko.
"Oh, that's still up?" Kushina asked as Naruto took a seat. "How long has it been since we took that photo? Almost twenty years?"
"Let's see," Minato thought aloud. "Nineteen years. I proposed to you on your eighteenth birthday and you had Naruto when you were nineteen. Also, Naruto, don't get Hinata knocked up at nineteen. Hiashi will quite literally try to kill you and I don't know if I'm going to be able to protect you."
"Hinata and I aren't even doing that kind of thing," Naruto muttered.
Kushina snickered while Minato laughed. Anko giggled and Kakashi kept his eyes fixated on the menu in his hands. Naruto blushed.
"I'm sorry," Minato apologized. "Well, when you and Hinata finally decide to become more intimate, just make sure you use a condom. And two condoms together don't mean it'll be twice as effective. That's how we ended up with you."
"What?" Naruto asked.
"Hm?" Minato opened a menu and began to browse through it.
Shortly after they arrived, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Sakura joined them. Sakura took a seat beside Naruto and showered him with compliments on his new suit. She even snapped a few pictures and sent them off to Hinata before snapping a few pictures of the two of them together. And not too long after them, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagisa came in and joined them.
"It looks like you brought the whole clan with you," Momochi Zabuza commented as he approached their table with Haku at his side. "You know I like it when you give me at least a little bit of a heads up before you bring this many people with you."
"My apologies," Minato declared with a smile. "How are the two of you? How are things running around here since you took over?"
"We're good," Haku answered with a sweet smile. He waved to Naruto and Sakura before looking back at Minato and Kushina. "And surprisingly, the transition from Master Tobirama to us was actually pretty smooth. As you can see, he's taking advantage of his free drink privileges."
Zabuza sighed, "I can't wait until I hand this place off to the next owner. I'm going to be just as bad as Master Tobirama. No, maybe even worse."
"Don't go trying to hand this place off just yet," Haku urged as he hit Zabuza's chest. "We just got it and we need to enjoy it while we have it."
"Of course, of course," Zabuza answered with a nonchalant wave of his hand.
Haku fumed a bit which caused Kushina and Minato to laugh. Zabuza came around the table and talked with Anko and Kakashi a bit. Anko mainly gushed about Kosuke and flashed a couple of pictures. Zabuza teased the two of them about giving Kosuke a sibling and Anko laughed while Kakashi groaned.
Haku went around the table and talked to Sakura and Naruto. Haku asked Sakura about Sasuke first and listened to her gush for a little bit before asking Naruto about Hinata. Naruto was a bit embarrassed as he spoke and tried not to gush too much. Haku teased the two of them about being head over heels but then proceeded to warn against having children at their age. Naruto laughed yet Sakura didn't.
"Sakura-chan?" Haku noticed Sakura's sudden mood change.
"Huh? Oh, sorry," Sakura apologized quickly. "I zoned out for a second."
Sakura cleared her throat and redirected her attention to her phone. Haku and Naruto exchanged a look before sharing confused shrugs. Haku squeezed Naruto's shoulder before grabbing Zabuza's hand and leading him away from Kakashi and Anko.
"What was that about?" Naruto whispered.
"We'll talk about it later," Sakura warned.
For the duration of their lunch, they laughed, talked, ate, and drank together. On occasion during their meal, Minato would be greeted by a member of Whirlwind who had either just walked in or was on their way out. These same members would also compliment Naruto on his suit and mention the likeness between him and Minato before walking away. This was usually followed by Jiraiya reminiscing on Minato in his youth and coming to terms with his age. Tsunade would tease Jiraiya about his age and white hair while Jiraiya didn't even dare to comment on Tsunade's age.
"Konan, you're not drinking?" Kushina commented as she took note of the upside-down wine glass in front of her plate.
"Oh," Konan glanced at Yahiko before looking at Kushina, "no. Not today. Not for a while actually."
"Not for a while?" Kushina repeated before the realization hit her. She lit up, "Really?"
"Ladies and gentlemen," Yahiko picked up his wine glass, "Konan is having a baby and I'm the daddy!"
Konan rolled her eyes as those who heard his declaration cheered and congratulated them. She was slightly frantic though when Kushina was on the verge of tears, "Lady Kushina, please. There's really no need for you to be crying."
"I'm sorry," Kushina apologized as she sniffled. "I'm just so happy for the two of you."
"Thank you," Yahiko said with a grin. "Naga-chan already agreed to be the godfather and Naruto agreed to babysit whenever we needed him too."
"I don't remember this conversation," Naruto argued.
"Of course you do," Yahiko brushed it off. "It was like," Yahiko mumbled before taking a sip of his beer.
Naruto eyed him for a minute and shrugged, "So you're just not going to finish that statement?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Yahiko declared.
Naruto rolled his eyes and the others laughed. Kushina began to pester Kakashi and Anko about giving Kosuke a little brother or sister before turning on Naruto and Sakura. She told Naruto that if necessary, she would buy condoms for him and then told Sakura that first thing tomorrow morning they were going to Tsunade for birth control.
"Wait, was she not on birth control before?" Minato asked.
Sakura began to blush, "Can we not talk about our nonexistent sex lives."
"Keep telling yourself that we believe that," Kushina said before taking a sip of her Bellini. "Mm, but seriously, I'm too young to be a grandmother."
"What do you consider Kosuke then?" Anko and Kakashi asked simultaneously.
"Let me rephrase that: I'm too young to have more than one grandchild," Kushina corrected her and saw Anko and Kakashi give nods of approval. She chuckled and rolled her eyes before looking over at Kakashi, "Speaking of grandchildren, we should probably spend the day with Kosuke soon, don't you think?"
Once lunch was over, Jiraiya and Minato argued over who would pay. In the middle of their arguing, Yahiko slipped his credit card to the waitress who managed to get away just as Jiraiya and Minato came to the agreement of splitting the bill.
"You know," Minato slipped his card back into his wallet, "we're not too far from the arena."
"Oh, you're right." Naruto slipped his phone into his inner jacket pocket. "Do you mind if I go see Hinata? Or did you want to go over the plan for the summit?"
"We'll discuss it after dinner tonight," Minato assured him. "Plus, I know you're probably dying to go see her and what kind of parent would I be if I denied you that right?"
Naruto chuckled and rolled his eyes before standing up. He came around the table and hugged Minato and then Kushina. He kissed Anko's cheek, bumped fist with Kakashi, hugged Tsunade, shook hands with Jiraiya, did a special handshake with Nagato, bumped fist with Yahiko, and lastly hugged Konan. He came back around to Sakura and pulled her chair out for her as she got up.
"You're going too?" Kushina asked.
"Sasuke-kun just text me and told me he's about to finish with his appointment," Sakura said as she waved her phone. "We're going to go see a movie over in the Youth District but I'll be home before dinner."
"Oh? Sasuke-kun was upstairs all this time?" Kushina asked and saw Sakura nod. "Honestly Sakura-chan, you could've invited him down for lunch."
"He was going to come but then his stylist spotted him as we were coming in and practically dragged him upstairs," Sakura explained. Sakura made her trip around the table before getting back to Naruto and linking her arm with his.
"See you tonight," Naruto called before heading back into the stairwell with Sakura. "By the way, what were you so uptight about earlier? You're not pregnant, are you?" Naruto joked but then realized Sakura wasn't laughing. He felt the way she squeezed his arm and the realization hit him. He stopped and looked at her, "Are you serious?"
"I don't know," Sakura answered as she rubbed her face. "About three weeks ago, Sasuke-kun and I ran out of condoms and we couldn't wait. Now my period is a week late and I'm starting to freak out."
"Did you take a test yet?" Naruto asked.
Sakura shook her head, "I just realized this morning that my period was late and I haven't had time to go get a test. I haven't even told Sasuke-kun yet. I'm freaking out, okay?"
"Okay, I get it," Naruto reached into his pocket and removed his wallet. "Here," he pulled out twenty dollars, "use this."
"Naruto-nii, you don't have to," Sakura argued.
"Take it," Naruto urged as he placed the money in her hands. "First, you need to tell Sasuke that you think you might be pregnant and then you both need to go to the closes convenient store and buy a pregnancy test."
Sakura looked at the money for a moment before looking up at him, "I'll pay you back when we get home."
Naruto shook his head, "Don't worry about it." They made their way up the rest of the steps and back into the lobby where Sasuke was waiting. Naruto winched a bit when Sakura seemed to dig her nails into his arm at the sight of Sasuke's stylist flirting with him as she played with his bangs. "Sakura-chan, I just got this suit," he reminded her.
Sakura released her grip and gleefully skipped over to where Sasuke was waiting for her. She linked her arms with her and gave him a sweet smile before eyeing the stylist. The stylist eyed Sakura up and down before wearing a smug look on her face.
"So, Sasuke-kun," the stylist leaned forward a bit, her deep v-neck exposing more than it already was, "make sure you come back and see me in two weeks okay? You went too long without seeing me this time and we don't want that beautiful hair of yours to start suffering, do we?"
"I'll be back in two weeks," Sasuke assured her. He smiled at Sakura, "How was lunch?"
"It was fine," Sakura answered abruptly before grabbing Sasuke's hand. "Let's go."
Before Sasuke could argue, Sakura was dragging him out of the shop. Naruto laughed and waved as Sasuke waved back while trying to keep up with Sakura and keep from falling over. Naruto made his way outside and waved to Sakura as Sasuke pulled away from the curb.
Naruto managed to hop into the first cab he saw. He heard his phone buzz as the driver made his way to the arena and when he pulled it out, he saw Hinata had finally responded to the pictures Sakura sent. He chuckled at the heart-eyed emojis.
The twenty-minute ride was short. He made his way into the arena and saw that they were already putting up posters and signs for the competition. One of the workers was in the process of putting up the last banner and he saw that it was Hinata's. They had positioned her in the middle of all the other skaters and Naruto gave a nod of approval, "Good."
He followed the signs for the practice area and when he made it, he saw Hinata sitting on the side and talking with a few of the other skaters while employees smoothed out the ice. He pulled out his phone and called. He watched as Hinata took notice of her phone and excused herself from the others who seemed to tease her.
"Hi Naruto-kun," Hinata answered as she stopped a few feet away from the others.
"Hey," Naruto responded. "How's rehearsal?"
"Exhausting," Hinata sighed. "Luckily we're on our one-hour break since they have to smooth out the ice. How was lunch?"
"It was good," Naruto answered. "You said you're on your one-hour break, right? How much time do you have left?"
"About forty-five minutes," Hinata answered. "Usually these one-hour breaks can turn into an hour and a half or two hours depending on how fast the ice heals. Why do you ask?"
"Look up," Naruto advised and saw the look of momentary confusion before she looked up. He waved and he chuckled when Hinata blushed, "Do you think you'd want to spend your break with me?"
"I'll be up in a minute," Hinata said before hanging up and throwing on her sweater.
He watched as she put all her things together before hurrying up to where he was waiting. When she came out onto the area where Naruto had ended up, he chuckled as Hinata hugged him and buried her face in his chest. He hugged her back and kissed the top of her head several times before looking down at her.
"I like your suit," Hinata said as she looked up at him.
Naruto smiled, "Thank you."
Hinata blushed as she continued to look up at him. Naruto simply looked back at her before realizing what she wanted. He complied and leaned down. He gently pressed his lips against hers and heard Hinata giggle a bit.
Down where Hinata had just been, the other skaters whistled and cheered Hinata on. Naruto couldn't help but laugh while Hinata hid her face from embarrassment.
To Be Continued…