Last Time:
"Here's just a little bit of a warning: be careful," Karui warned. "Yeah, sure, you had an issue with Watanabe Baji but that was child's play compared to the shit people like us have to deal with on a regular basis. Plus, anyone who's that calm after having murdered someone is someone you should be cautious of."
"Huh?" Hinata watched as Karui gave her a sweet smile before skating away. Hinata stood there confused and stunned before looking up to where Naruto now walked, his phone to his ear and his usual grin on his face. He looked down at her and waved and she waved back.
Opposites Attract: Chapter 32 – "Welcome to the Inner Circle"
Naruto let out a heavy sigh as he stared down at the text messages between him and Hinata over the last few days. Her responses were minimalistic and came hours after he would send a message which was unnatural for her. He chalked it up to her being nervous about the competition, but he couldn't help but feel that it was something more.
"Naruto-kun?" Kushina noticed the expression on her son's face. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," he answered as he tucked his phone into the inner pocket of his blazer. "Hinata and I haven't been talking as much as we usually do, but I guess she's distracted? I don't know. I don't want to press her if she's focused on her competition."
"Why don't you go and talk to her after we're done here?" Minato recommended as he continued to rub his wife's knee through the slit in her dress. "She's staying at the same hotel as us, isn't she? Just go by her room and talk to her to clear the air. Sitting here and brooding about it isn't going to change anything."
"Yeah, she's staying at the same hotel as us, but when I asked for her room number she didn't respond," Naruto answered. "She must be resting, right?"
"Look, we'll just make a call to the hotel and get Hinata's room number for you after we're done here, okay?" Kushina suggested.
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good."
"Good," Minato breathed as he looked out the window and watched as the car came to a stop outside the entrance of Thunder and Lightning Hotel & Casino. He looked to Naruto who seemed to stare out the window and towards the entrance where people moved in and out of the building and others lingered while talking to each other. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Naruto confirmed. "I guess I'm just a little nervous about my first meeting."
"There's no need to be," Kushina reassured him just before their door was opened. She watched as Minato climbed out ahead of her and she took his hand and climbed out with Naruto following behind them.
Minato looked to the car in front of them and watched as Iruka, Anko, Obito, and Rin climbed out while the car behind them had Sasuke, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato. Yamato, Kakashi, and Iruka handed off their keys to three separate valets before Obito, Kakashi, Rin, Anko, and Iruka took the lead while Sakura, Sasuke, Sai, and Yamato covered the rear with Minato, Kushina, and Naruto walking between them.
Standing at the entrance was a young woman with dark skin and silver hair. She was a curvy woman and clearly had no problem displaying it as she stood there in a form fitting black dressed matched with a pair of black stilettos heels. She smiled at the sight of the Whirlwind.
"Mabui," Minato greeted her as they approached and watched as she and Kushina kissed one another's cheeks, "you look well. I'm happy to see that A hasn't run you into the ground yet."
"Yet," Mabui said with an exasperated sigh. "On behalf of Lord A, I wanted to thank you for making the trip out here. I know the meeting was a last-minute thing and a bit of an inconvenience for everyone but nonetheless, thank you for coming anyway."
"Well knowing A, had we decided to skip, then he would've just showed up on our doorstep and held the meeting in our living room," Minato reminded and saw Mabui nod in agreement. He chuckled before looking to Naruto, "I'm not sure if you recognize him but you remember my son Naruto, don't you? I believe the last time you saw him he was still an infant?"
Mabui looked to Naruto, "Of course I recognize him. He's your spitting image after all. It's a pleasure to see you again Young Master. I'm Ito Mabui. You can call me Mabui."
"It's a pleasure to see you again as well, Mabui," Naruto greeted her with a firm handshake.
"Are we the first to arrive?" Kushina questioned.
Mabui nodded, "Yes, Lady Kushina. If you'll please follow me inside; I'll take you to where you all will be having your meeting."
Mabui led the lot of them inside once they were through the lobby and passed through a set of extravagantly decorated set of double doors, they were on the main casino floor. There were hundreds of guests trying their luck from Black Jack tables to the slot machines and as always, some had better luck than others.
Naruto looked around and was taken in by the deep red, brilliant gold, and almost blinding white that decorated the place. And as he looked around, he recognized several of the workers as members of Whirlwind; which wasn't all that surprising considering that Thunder and Lightning was underneath The Sannin Group. As they reached the elevator, Mabui pressed the button before focusing on her earpiece.
"I really hope this stays cordial," Kushina said with a sigh as Minato put his hand on her hip. "Oh, I meant to ask you this earlier: do you know if Ohnoki retired yet? He's getting up there in years, isn't he?"
"He hasn't retired yet," Minato answered. "He just announced his granddaughter Kurotsuchi as his successor last week."
"Really?" Kushina questioned, astonished. "Not Kitsuchi? Well, I'm sure that was an interesting conversation."
"I can only imagine," Minato agreed and watched as the elevator doors opened. They all stepped on except for Mabui.
"My apologies," Mabui said before stepping onto the elevator and typing in a code on the keypad beside the floor numbers before sliding its cover back down, "Lady Mei has just arrived and I need to go and greet her and her entourage. Samui will greet you in the lobby upstairs."
"Very well, thank you Mabui," Kushina said and smiled at her just before the doors closed. "Now that I think about it, we should have brought Zabuza and Haku-chan with us."
"And piss off Lady Mei?" Minato questioned. "Please, she's probably already irritated because we're having this meeting in the first place; there's no need to bring Zabuza around her right now."
Anko chuckled, "You have to admit that it'd be funny though, right? I mean, everyone knows that Lady Mei had the biggest lady boner for Zabuza but when she found out he preferred dicks over chicks, oh boy was she pissed."
"Come on," Minato looked at Anko and saw her put an innocent smile on her face. "The last thing I want to do is pick a fight with anybody tonight because none of us want to be here in the first place. So, like I said before we headed over here, we're going to keep it cordial and play nice. We'll answer whatever questions they want and then we'll head home."
"Yes sir, Master Minato, sir," all their guards said in unison just before the elevator stopped and the doors slid open.
Standing in the lobby was a young-looking woman with blonde hair who wore a form fitting dress of her own paired with black heels. She was in the middle of having a conversation with a young man about Naruto's age who had dark skin and silver hair much like Mabui. When she caught sight of Whirlwind entering the lobby, she tucked her phone away into her bra and smiled at them.
"Welcome," she greeted them with a bow.
"Samui," Minato greeted her.
She waved her hand towards a set of double doors and made her way towards them along with Whirlwind. She pushed the doors open and stood to the side to allow them in, "There's still plenty of time before the meeting so please, make yourselves comfortable. As you can see, the bar is fully stocked with a more than capable mixologist to fix you whatever you like. And we have a full buffet with the top Hibachi Chef in the country at your disposal so please, help yourselves."
To their right of the entrance was a spiral staircase that led to an upstairs balcony. Below was the fully stocked bar where the bartender was in the middle of attempting to chat up Karui, but she focused her attention towards her phone and didn't seem to hear a word he was saying to her. Against the wall opposite of the entrance were floor to ceiling mirrors and overlooked the brilliant skyline of the City of Kumo. Opposite that was a lounge area with a larger than average L-Shaped couch with a firepit/coffee table in the center of it. And to the left was a buffet that would send anyone of the Akimichi Clan into a frenzy.
"You all get yourselves something to eat, relax," Minato urged as he looked at their security detail.
"Yes, please, relax," Darui requested as he began to make his descent down the spiral staircase. "There's still plenty of time before the meeting so please, have something to eat and drink and get comfortable."
"Darui?" You really have grown since the last time we saw you," Kushina commented as Darui made is way over to them and hugged her before shaking hands with Minato. "How old are you now?"
"Twenty-five," Darui answered and chuckled at Kushina's expression. "Trust me Lady Kushina, it doesn't look like you've aged a day since the last time I saw you though I can't exactly say the same for Lord Minato."
"Funny," Minato scoffed before he noticed Darui looked to Naruto. "it's been a while since you've seen Naruto, he's seventeen now, turning eighteen in October and graduating in April."
"Please," Kushina groaned, "I feel old enough."
"Graduating, wow," Darui breathed as he looked Naruto up and down. "I remember when you used to chase me around when you were barely learning how to walk. Well if I remember correctly, you started running before you started walking."
"That sounds about right," Naruto chuckled before shaking hands with Darui and then hugging. "It's good to see you again, Darui-nii."
"You too," Darui let him go and patted his shoulder before looking to Minato. "My father is in the middle of a phone call with my uncle's manager, so they'll be down shortly."
"I'm guessing B is still causing as much trouble as always?" Kushina questioned.
Darui scoffed and nodded, "You know he is."
"Naruto," Karui sang from the bar as she waved him over, "come and join me."
Naruto looked to his father for a brief moment before getting his silent permission and heading towards the bar. Naruto took a reluctant seat beside her and watched as the bartender finally gave up and went back to focusing on polishing already polished glasses.
"Karui," Naruto greeted her.
"Naruto," Karui greeted him. "You still look pretty dapper in your suit, but I guess all you Whirlwind men know where to go to get a perfectly tailored suit. So, how have you been since our last conversation? You seem kind of nervous? This is your first meeting, isn't it? It can be a bit nerve racking the first time but once you realize that it's really just a massive dick swinging competition, you get over it."
"I've been decent," Naruto answered, "and yes, I am nervous, but I am managing, I guess? I just have a lot on my mind right now that isn't necessarily this stupid meeting."
"Turst me, no one us thinking about this meeting," Karui assured him as she spun around in her seat and watched as Terumi Mei entered with her entourage. She flashed a quick smile before grabbing her drink and taking a sip, "Honestly, Lady Mei brought her own personal army too? Though I didn't expect her to bring Yugito, Yagura, and Utakata. Anyway, what's been on your mind? Tell Big Sister Karui what's on your mind."
"I'm two years older than you," Naruto reminded her, annoyed. He couldn't help it. Every time he spoke with Karui, it was a fight between the two of them because of her insistence to get underneath his skin and his inability to let her have her way.
"Minor detail," Karui argued. "So, what's going on? Is it Hinata? It's definitely Hinata, isn't it?" She seemed a bit off at the rehearsal the other day, but I guess that's only natural. I mean, I would be a little freaked out too if I was in her shoes."
Naruto looked at her. "What makes you say that?"
"Ah, so you two haven't talked yet," Karui noted. "Well, I may or may not have let a slight comment slip after you came and visited Hinata at the arena back in Konoha. I don't know, something along the lines of how I thought it was interesting that you were still so calm after you killed Baji. I guess she felt some kind of way about it and is distancing herself from you."
Naruto couldn't explain the feeling that welled up inside of him at that moment. He felt an uncomfortable knot form in his stomach while his ears began to burn, and his jaw tightened. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and felt his heart begin to race at the sound of Karui's confession.
Karui noticed Naruto's mood change and immediately turned her attention back to her phone. She would occasionally glance towards him before ultimately getting up from her seat and running away to hide upstairs. From across the room, Minato watched Naruto's silent mood shift. He quickly excused himself from his conversation with Darui and Mei and went to Naruto's side.
"Hey," Minato stood in front of Naruto and took his face in his hands, "hey, hey. Naruto-kun, look at me. I need you to look at me, right now."
Naruto felt himself place a grip so tight on his slacks that his knuckles turned white before making eye contact with his father.
"Good," Minato cooed. "All right, now I want you to do what I do, okay? Breathe in, and then breathe out. Deep breaths in, long exhale out until you feel your heart slow down, all right? With me."
Minato took a deep breath in and then a long exhale out. Naruto mimicked him, but his breathing was shaky. He continued to try. They did this for a little bit until Minato put a hand against Naruto's chest and felt Naruto's heart had slowed.
"Good," Minato cooed again. "That's good, very good. All right, I'm going to need you to relax now, okay? I need you to think happy thoughts. Think of Kurama who is at home lying on your bed because he misses you. And think of Mr. Teuchi down at Ichiraku Ramen and his daughter Ayame. Think of that massive bowl of miso pork ramen with extra fish cakes that Mr. Teuchi always makes you when you show up that's only half price because he loves you like a grandson."
Naruto continued his breathing before nodding. "Yeah…yeah. I'm sorry…I don't know what's wrong."
"It's all right," Minato assured. "We'll talk about it later. Just tell me what happened. What did Karui say to you?"
Naruto swallowed hard before rubbing and gripping the back of his neck. "Karui…Karui she told Hinata that I killed Baji. That's why she's been acting weird the last couple of days because of what Karui said. She knows."
"Hey." Minato made Naruto look at him. "Deep breath in. Long exhale out."
Naruto did as his father said but it was beginning to become less and less effective. "Otou-san," his voice broke.
"I know," Minato breathed. "I know. I know you're angry and I know you've having trouble controlling it, but I need you to be strong for me, okay? Deep breath in. Long exhale out. There you go, that's it. Good. Good. I'll tell you what, if you don't feel like you can sit here for this meeting, then let me know now and I'll have Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan take you back to the hotel. You don't have to be here if you don't want to be. Deep breath in. Long exhale out. Good, you're getting the hang of it."
Naruto shook his head. "No. No, I'll stay. I'll stay."
"Are you sure?" Minato removed his hand from Naruto's face and tapped the bar. "Two things of whiskey, neat. Quickly."
"I'm sure," Naruto assured and watched as the bartender poured two glasses of whiskey. Minato took them both and held one out for Naruto. Naruto hesitated but took the glass and tossed it back. He coughed, and Minato rubbed his back. "I'll stay."
"All right." Minato downed his whiskey as well before taking Naruto's glass and putting it on the counter. The bartender topped them off and Minato dropped a few bills onto the counter before hanging Naruto's glass back to him. "Sip on this, it'll loosen you up a bit but not enough that you can't focus on the meeting."
Naruto nodded and sipped the whiskey this time. They heard heavy steps and they looked towards the staircase to see A beginning to descent with B just behind them. And hiding behind B was Karui who made a beeline for the entrance and ducking out into the lobby. A wore the usual agitated expression and B's face shifted when he saw Naruto at the bar.
"Well, well, well," B called as he squeezed pass A and hurried down the rest of the steps. I'll be damned; if it isn't Uzumaki Naruto as I live and breathe. I was wondering when you were finally going to start showing up to these things. How ya been?"
"Uncle B." Naruto managed to push aside his answer as he and B hugged one another. Naruto laughed as B lifted him off the ground before plopping him back down and making a mess of his hair. "Hey, hey," Naruto whined as he put down his drink and fixed his hair using the bar mirror. "Do you have any idea how long it takes for me to make my hair look like this?"
"My bad," B apologized before shaking hands with Minato. "Minato, you look well. How are things at TSG? I heard you're prospecting some land over in Kiri? A new resort?"
"I've been well, thank you for noticing. And things at TSG are going well, I can't really complain; and I certainly can't divulge any information on the next property we're looking to develop." Minato grinned. "I see you're going well for yourself too. Your last album didn't have any trouble locking in its spot as number one."
B, also known by his stage name Killer Bee, wore a proud grin. "It didn't. We're actually in talks for my next tour right now. Once we get the dates and everything set up, I'll be sure to send a couple of tickets and passes your way, Naruto."
"That'd be great." Naruto finished fixing his hair and picked up his drink again. He took a sip as A approached and saw the way he seemed to inspect Naruto. He found himself standing with his back straight than usual and that bothered him.
"Minato," A grunted.
"A," Minato responded.
That's all A said before wandering off towards the door. He patted Darui's back before kissing Kushina's cheeks. Mei immediately suck herself to A's side and rubbed on his bicep while she pressed her body up against him.
"Honestly," B groaned, "that woman will flirt with anything with a dick and a pulse."
"And it probably doesn't always need to have a pulse," Minato joked. B busted out in a loud laughter while Naruto struggled to contain himself. Minato casually sipped his whiskey as though he hasn't said a word.
"Minato-kun," Kushina called.
Minato smiled at Naruto and gave him an affectionate pat on his cheek before heading over to Kushina.
"B," A called.
B looked over towards his brother and saw A wave him over. B groaned and rolled his eyes before patting Naruto's back. "We'll talk some more after the meeting, Nephew."
"Sure," Naruto agreed and watched as B walked away and joined the rest of them. He sat back on a stool at the bar and continued to sip his whiskey until his glass is empty. When the bartender came over to top him off, Naruto covered his glass. "Ginger ale?"
"Coming right up," the bartender confirmed.
As Naruto waited, he reached into his inner pocket and removed his cellphone. There weren't any new messages and knowing what he knew now, he knew a text message might've been futile. He let out a heavy sigh as he dialed Hinata's number and brought his phone to his ear.
The bartender placed a glass of ginger ale down in front of Naruto on a new coaster before taking about his emptied glass of whiskey. Naruto smiled at him. The phone rung once. No answer. Hinata always answered on the first ring but it rang a second time. Still no answer. He sipped on the ginger ale and the phone rang a third time. And a fourth time. He was sure it was going to go to voicemail when she answered.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata's voice came through and Naruto had become the calmest he'd been all night.
"Hey," he smiled as he responded. "I know you're probably rehearsing right now but I just needed to hear your voice."
"I see," she spoke softly. "Is everything okay?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, everything's okay. What about you? Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"For the most part," she said.
"Good." Naruto took another sip of his ginger ale. He sighed. "Can I see you tonight?"
There was silence from her end. From his end, the noise of people chattering replaced his waiting for an answer. Even though her silence should've put him on edge, he was still calm.
"I don't know if that's a good idea," she said. "I have to get up early tomorrow morning and I need to make sure I get enough sleep."
"I need to talk to you," he breathed, "in person. It's important."
"Naruto-kun," Hinata sighed.
Naruto pursed his lips together. He looked himself in the mirror of the bar and saw himself. Bright blue eyes, medium length blonde hair, and whisker marks. All things he recognized and all things that hadn't changed since he put a bullet through Baji's brain. He sighed and looked at his drink. "I know that you know."
More silence. The doors opened again and Kamizuru Ohnoki entered with his entourage. On either side of his took his son Kitsuchi and granddaughter Kurotsuchi. More muttered greetings and guards being released to enjoy the buffet and the bar.
"Please," Naruto pleaded quietly. "I need to see you and I need to talk to you. Tell me that you'll see me tonight?"
Hinata sighed. "I don't know."
"Hinata, please," Naruto felt the knot from earlier beginning to form again. "We need to talk about this and I swear I will tell you everything you want to know. I will answer any questions you have."
Sasuke came and sat beside Naruto at the bar. He put a place down in front of him and handed him and held out a set of chopsticks. He took them and sat them down on a napkin. He couldn't eat until Hinata agreed to see him. He needed to hear her say she would.
"Hinata? Are you still there?" Naruto asked.
"I'm here," she answered. "You promise to tell me everything?"
"And anything," Naruto added.
"Okay," she agreed and the knot in Naruto's stomach loosened. "I'm in room 217."
"I'll see you tonight then," Naruto smiled.
"I'll see you tonight," Hinata confirmed before hanging up.
Naruto tucked his phone away into his pocket before breaking his chopsticks and beginning to eat.
"Everything okay?" Sasuke questioned.
Naruto shrugged. "Hopefully."
"Everyone," A called with an unintentionally thunderous clap of his hands, "we'll be beginning in thirty minutes. In the meantime, get something to eat and have something to drink."
That thirty minutes came and went in what felt like seconds. A didn't even have to call for everyone's attention before they began. All the leaders and their successors found comfortable spots around the fireplace/coffee table while their guards stayed posted around very portions of the room. Despite how relaxed they all seemed, everyone had an eye on each other.
Minato and Kushina sat directly across from A, B, and Darui. Naruto was beside Minato and behind them sitting on the steps that led into the lounge area were Sasuke and Sakura. Next to Naruto sat Gaara on his own. To Kushina's left, Mei sat on her own as well. And next to her sat Ohnoki with Kurotsuchi on his right.
"Well," Minato spoke first, "let's get started, shall we?"
To Be Continued…