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The mission ended. Boruto activated his karma, protecting everyone from an attack. But the worried looks and glances the rest of his team gave him afterwards told him that he should stick close to Kawaki or be alone altogether.
It was getting late, and Konoha was still a ways away. Instead of a short break, the team opted to camp out in the woods for the night. But as they lay next to a burning fire, Boruto refused to let his heavy eyelids droop closed.
He relished in the scent of smoke and grass. Loud snaps lifted burning embers aloft into the starry sky. Crickets and cicadas sung out their night-time symphony. The air was crisp and cool against his worn down face. And finally, he heard the snoring of his adopted brother by his feet.
Making sure to be as quiet as possible, Boruto snuck out of his sleeping bag and took to the trees, leaping from tree branch to tree branch and erasing his chakra signature.
. . .
Sarada's consciousness returned with a snap from a bad dream, only to see the sight of Boruto's head disappearing amongst the trees. Her heart sank in her chest. He was doing it again. Distancing himself from everyone. From their team. From her.
Every time it happened, he always avoided her the most. His blue eyes reflected nothing but sorrow and fear. Despite longing to reach out a hand, there wasn't anything she could do.
He was becoming one of the monsters everyone feared.
Sarada's dream involved the terror she felt when Momoshiki showed up in the arena after the Chunin exams, creating a giant projectile and laughing as he injured people as if it were a game. Her father and the seventh protected the village, but Boruto protected her.
She remembered staring up at Momoshiki's seemingly immortal form, wondering how on earth they were going to defend themselves against the creature, and all of a sudden, Boruto's back was in her line of sight. Palms open towards her, he had used his last remaining chakra on a shadow clone to help shield her.
But in her dream... Boruto himself became Momoshiki, laughing and annihilating the village from the sky.
She knew Boruto wasn't like that. She had faith he wouldn't turn into that. When he used his karma for the first time, he protected Konohamaru from burning alive. He protected their team from Kawaki's attack. And when he turned into Borushiki, he protected her again, from Boro.
But... During the fight with Boro, she flashed back to the terror of the Momoshiki incident. A giant projectile. A defenseless creature. Only this time, Boruto wasn't guarding her. He was the monster. Just like in her dream.
When she learned the truth of it all, her heart nearly broke. There was nothing she could do for him. Her childhood friend who's goal was to be like her father and protect her was turning into her worst nightmare.
A tear dripped silently over her eye as she slowly brought her hand up to clutch the aching in her heart, as if it would somehow magically go away.
"Go after him."
Sarada's entire body jumped at least a meter back. The voice was Kawaki's.
"You saw him leave, didn't you? Go after him. You're the only one that can get to him when he's like that... You, and his dad."
"But I'm not--"
"He only gets that way because he's scared he's going to hurt you, you know." Mitsuki sat up.
"...Huh?" Momentary confusion flooded her brain along with the adrenaline that was coursing through her body. "That's ridiculous, he's scared of hurting the whole village. Or someone he cares about. Not just--"
"Yeah yeah," said Kawaki, waiving his hand dismissively. "That's what he says. I see the way you two communicate with a single glance... He can't do that with anyone else."
"That's just because we've known each other for a while," she protested, blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"But you didn't get to talk to him after that fight with Boro... Boruto could hardly move. The seventh was down and out for the count. Mitsuki was smashed into the dirt. I was flung away. But it wasn't until the big guy grabbed you like a ragdoll that he snapped."
"That's not true, I--"
"He told me. The last thing he remembered was kicking Boro's arm to save you. He thought you were going to die. And then he thought he was going to die... But then when he regained consciousness, we were all ok, and Boro was dead."
"But that could have been because I was the last remaining team member, it doesn't mean--"
"That's not all," Kawaki mused. "He usually takes a spot next to you when we're on missions like this. But the second his karma activates without his will, he puts me in between you and him."
"Oh come on, that's just insulting!"
"It's true."
"Mitsuki!!" Sarada squeezed her eyes shut. "Don't take his side!"
"Hey, Sarada. Aren't you the one who usually goes to him when he's sad anyways? You were the one that went up to his room to check on him after he got depressed during his birthday."
"W-why are you bringing that up now?"
"And you went up to him when he was depressed about not catching that eternal carp. And the time when Kagura died. And after he threw himself into the sea, you hugged hi--"
"You were just as sad, Mitsuki!"
"Hugging?" Kawaki chuckled. "You guys hugged?"
Sarada was beyond red now. "Fine! I'll go. But it's not because I like him like that!! He just... is an idiot sometimes!"
Both Kawaki and Mitsuki attempted to hide their chuckles as Sarada stood up and huffed in the direction she saw Boruto go.
"Do you think I should tell her where he is?" muttered Kawaki to Mitsuki.
Mitsuki shook his head. "Even if Boruto erased his chakra signature and went to another dimension to be alone, I think Sarada would figure out a way to find him."
. . .
Boruto sat atop the tallest tree he could find, looking up at the moon. The moon where the monster possessing him had once lived.
Your blue eyes will take everything from you. That was the prophecy that had been bestowed upon him.
What it meant, he didn't know. Did it have something to do with the mysterious power in his right eye? Or perhaps...
Your eyes are bluer than the seventh's!
He looked away from the moon and towards the ground, a bit of warmth rising into his face. Why did she say that? Why did she notice?
Besides, it was creepy that she was looking at his dad that closely anyway...
He pouted and kicked his feet. And then his head lowered down. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about childish crushes... She really could die. If his eyes were somehow going to take everything from him... What if that included her? Or Mitsuki, or Kawaki, or his dad? Or even, his master? What if it was the whole village?
If I just fell from this tree... He shook his head. Mom and Himawari would be devastated. But... Living my life knowing I might lose it to a monster scares me more than death.
He leaned back against the tree trunk and looked up at the full moon. His eyes gazed the different constellations, attempting to make them out.
There was a time where Sarada had been obsessed with them, and he tried to remember their names. But for some reason, they just wouldn't stick in his head. She would point and tell him, and he would point back. But their pointing was always confused. And he could have sworn she changed the name of one of them from Orion to Taurus.
At the time, they had been kids. No more than eight-year-old's. But the memory still stuck in his head.
She went from a sweet and somewhat snobby little girl to a full on honors student, ignoring him and berating him the second he tried to have fun. But now... Now they were teammates. Now he was thankful he could read her mind with a glimpse of her eyes, or predict what she wanted to do by the way she smirked.
But if he was becoming a monster who was faster than her chidori, who could obliterate an enemy they had to use all of their chakra to defeat, who destroyed a good chunk of the village and injured several civilians...
He didn't deserve to be by her side anymore.
Don't think like that, he told himself. But as the sleepless nights dragged on, he found himself thinking that more and more.
Heaving in a deep breath, he looked up towards the sky and let go of the tree. "Sorry, Sarada..."
"Sorry for what?"
Her voice nearly caused his planned death too soon. But before he could fall, a hand attached to his wrist and pulled him back up.
"I finally found you, stupid Boruto."
"How? W-Why were you looking for me in the first place?" He stuttered, staring up into her piercing gaze.
She turned her attention to the endless expanse of stars beyond them. "I figured you'd be up in some high place. You are an idiot, after all."
"What's that supposed to mean..."
A comfortable silence filled the air. "Why'd you leave? Everyone was worried about you."
"...I thought they were asleep..."
"That doesn't answer the question."
Her words were harsh, but her voice was soft. She came here because she was concerned for him. That much he could tell. And the part about the others... didn't seem to be a lie.
Heaving in a deep breath, he followed her gaze to the moon. "Are you scared of me?"
There was a brief tension in the air. She crouched and sat down on the branch, her hands gripping it loosely. "Hey Boruto... Do you remember the constellations?"
"...Yeah." Sometimes it scared him, how in sync they really were.
"You were always bad at naming them," she giggled lightly.
And then there was another pause.
He began to wonder if she was dodging the question he had asked. Perhaps she really was scared of him. Maybe she was even scared to be here like this, sitting next to him.
But she only continued on her talk about the stars. "Most of the constellations have stories behind them, you know."
"...They do?"
"They're based on antient Greek Mythology," she said, pointing into the sky "That one over there is Perseus... "
He followed the direction of her index finger, trying not to think about the way her eyes seemed to reflect the night sky, but feeling a faint blush dust his cheeks despite his wishes.
"He was on his way home from an adventure when he saw a beautiful girl about to be eaten by a sea monster. Being the strong and dashing hero that he was, he saved her and asked for her hand in marriage."
"...Did they get married?"
"I think they did, but that's not the point."
"Then what's the point..? I don't really get it."
"Boruto," she said softly, eyes remaining on the constellation. "For as long as I can remember, you've always protected me. You helped me make friends. You've saved my life several times. You might be an idiot, but you're usually a reliable idiot."
The blush widened across his nose, and he ducked his head down. But as he fiddled with his fingers, he came to the realization. She was talking about him as he was. Not what he had become.
"When Momoshiki took over your body, I was scared... You were moving faster than my eyes could follow without my sharingan, and your strength surpassed papa's. But I was more scared that I had lost you... That I might have to fight you. What scares me the most is that Momoshiki will take over you completely... And we'll all lose you."
His vision began to blur.
"I know papa might be prepared to end your life if that happens, but I'm not prepared to accept that. I'll do anything to prevent that from happening... How can I be the Hokage if I can't protect you?"
A tear slipped over the edge of his eye. But he managed to open his mouth to speak. "Sometimes, as Hokage, you have to be prepared to do what's right to protect the village... Or at least, that's what dad says." He eyed her hand, but turned his gaze to the stars. "Sarada, I'm more than prepared to die. I thought I was going to die a long time ago... I just want it to end before I hurt someone."
"Please don't say that." Her voice was strained.
Boruto gripped the rough tree bark under the palms of his hands. "But it's the truth... I could transform into that psychopath at any point in time."
"But you haven't."
"It doesn't change the fact that I could," he said, closing his eyes as another tear drop dripped onto his leg. "He could use me to create the divine tree and then I would be the cause of the destruction of the entire human race... Sarada, you don't know how scary that is."
"But--" She cut herself off.
Boruto looked over to see her bent forward, her glasses catching the tears that dripped from her eyes.
"Sarada..."
"It's frustrating." Her hands gripped the tree branch. "I can't do anything... I'm... So weak. You don't even trust yourself to be around me when you're like this."
Boruto's eyebrow twitched as a strange pain spiraled through his chest. He closed his eyes and swallowed it back. "It's not that I don't trust you," he said gently, his gaze on his knees. "It's that I'm scared of hurting you."
"That's the point! You don't think I'm strong enough to protect myself from--"
"That's not it." He could feel the bitterness radiating off of her like heat. It was embarrassing to admit. But as embarrassing as it was... She deserved the right to know. "The reason why I hide away isn't because I think you're weak. It's because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you."
She fell silent, his words doing nothing to console her.
"Momoshiki is a monster that robbed your dad of his rinnegan. I...I put a kunai through his eye, Sarada. If he... If your family wasn't so forgiving, I wouldn't be able to live with myself for that. But if I hurt you?"
He looked over at her, watching as she bit her bottom lip.
"If I hurt you, I would go insane. You mentioned that I protected you. There's a reason for that. It's because every time you get hurt, something inside of me snaps. And I'm afraid. Afraid that watching you get hurt will be the trigger to something much worse."
He noticed the tree bark starting to bend under her fingers. If she squeezed it any harder, it would snap and she would fall. He gently reached out and covered her hand with his, and her death grip slowly loosened.
"I know it's frustrating," he practically whispered, gazing into her tearstained eyes. "But you have to believe me, Sarada..."
"I believe you," she whimpered. "I never doubted you, Boruto. You're not a liar. I just... I wish there was something. Something I could do..."
He fought back a wave of emotion, overtaking him and telling him to comfort her. But like a persistent itch, it kept coming back, stronger and stronger until he couldn't hold it back anymore. Taking hold of her wrist, he pulled her closer, enveloping her in a tight hug.
She was resistant. Confused, as she should be. But she slowly moved her hands up. Her eyes began to water. And as she hooked her fingers into his jacket, she let out the tears she had been trying so desperately to hold back.
. . .
"Hey Boruto," she mumbled into his collar after her muffled whimpers turned to silence.
"Hmm?"
"Promise me you won't try to end it yourself. Promise me you'll do your best to live."
He slowly pulled away from her with a pained smile and looked back and forth between her teary eyes, his hands still resting on her shoulders. "...I promise."
Something about his softened melancholy tone told Sarada that there was more to his words than he let on. But she didn't know what it was. And she knew he wasn't going to tell her. Her lip quivered.
He let out a slight chuckle. "Come on, idiot Sarada. Stop crying."
"I'm not crying." She turned her head to the side and hid her face. It was embarrassing to cry in front of him. He was the one who should have been crying, and yet...
"Hey."
Without thinking, she turned to him at the sound of his voice. And as she came to face him fully, there was a soft tap placed directly over the spot where Konoha's symbol would have been if she was wearing her headband. The center of her forehead.
She blinked twice. Blush slowly crept onto her cheeks. H-h-huh? Did he just--
A gentle bitter-sweet smile graced his face. "I promised, so let's go back and get some sleep. We have to travel most of the day tomorrow, ya know."
One small nod later, she followed him out of the tree and back to the camp.
But even though Sarada was tired, she stayed tucked under the blankets, biting the edges of her lips as her hand covered her forehead. Her heart wouldn't shut up. Her brain was full of images of that smile, replaying the moment over and over again. The warmth of being held in his arms as she cried. The subtle promise that seemed so fragile. The brief touch of the pads of his fingers to her forehead.
As the sun slowly rose over the horizon, she sat up, coming to the realization. She did, in fact, like Uzumaki Boruto. And she was going to do everything in her power to prevent the worst case scenario from taking place.