What Will Be

Chapter 8

Sasuke burst impatiently through the door. "Oi Orochimaru." The long haired male sighed in exasperation. "As polite as always, Sasuke. Tell me, who is going to pay for that door?"

His former student ignored him, gripping the flower chain delicately. He placed the floral design on the table in front of Orochimaru. "Explain this." The man glanced down at the bracelet, not amused.

"Pray tell, Sasuke, what am I supposed to do with this?" The man scowled. "That has the exact same solution that you used on me on it." The man frowned.

"I've used many different toxins and antidotes on you. Which one are you referring to?" Naruto just barely grit his teeth at these words. Paying his husband no mind, Sasuke glared at his former sensei.

"You know which one. It was the one you used to capture me when I was thirteen. And I want to know why that solution was on Hinata Hyuga's bracelet." Orochimaru blinked slowly. "Ah yes, I remember. But I can't fathom why it would be on the Hyuga clan leader's bracelet."

Sasuke clenched his fists. "Do not lie to me, sensei."

Now it was Orochimaru's turn to glare. "I admit I have kept certain variations and copies of the solution I used on you, but not once has it been tested since you left me to find that brother of yours."

The older raven bowed his head. It had been many years, but the scar of his brother still felt as fresh as the day he died. Orochimaru glanced at him and sighed. "You're free to check my lab if you desire."

Sasuke frowned, walking towards the exit and abruptly leaving. Neji glanced at Gaara, exchanging a nod before the two of them left as well. Now Naruto and Boruto were the only ones left in the room.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow at Naruto, "Is there anything else or can I get back to work?" Naruto's face was dead cold. "If I find out you had anything to do with Hinata and Kiba's abduction, I will make you suffer twenty times more than you made them."

Orochimaru felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up despite him. The jinchuriki of the nine tails could be damn right intimidating when he wanted him to be. "Come on Boruto." Naruto walked out of the room without looking back.

"Coming!" Boruto called out. But his feet didn't budge from their spot. Instead, he turned to Orochimaru, eyes hopeful. The older man hummed thoughtfully. A smile brought itself onto his face. "So you're Naruto and Sasuke's beloved son. I wonder, where's your sister?"

The sanin watched curiously as Boruto opened his mouth. He wondered why the youngest of the Uchiha clan would have any reason to talk to him. He grinned in his mind. Perhaps the same reason his father did.

"Leave my sister out of this." Boruto frowned at the ground, trying to come up with a coherent sentence. "Mitsuki." Orochimaru's eyes widened. "Excuse me?" Boruto shook his head. "Do you know someone by that name?"

Orochimaru's eyes widened as they met Boruto's. What could the pride and joy of the Hokage and Shadow Hokage want with him? More importantly, how does he even know that name? Orochimaru asked the question on his mind.

"I, um. I sort of know him. We're friends... sort of." Boruto replied sheepishly. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "That's impossible. Mitsuki doesn't-" He cut himself off. Mitsuki doesn't know anyone but Log and I. I've made sure of it.

Boruto's eyes widened, crushed. What was he about to say? That Mitsuki does not exist? No no no no. That can't be true. Mitsuki...

The young raven shook his head. "I'm sorry I have to go. Thank you, for the information..." The boy bolted from the room. Orochimaru watched him go with calculating eyes. How in the world does this boy know his name?

A single word rang in his head. Friend. Orochimaru sucked in a breath. "Of course." The only way that boy would know Mitsuki, much less claim to be friends with him, would be if he'd known him in another life.

"To think that the anomaly would be the Hokage's son himself."

~*~

Sasuke scowled, eyeing the bottle he was looking at with contempt. "There has to be something. It can't just be a dead end." Naruto sighed. "I wish, but we've searched through every single lab in the place. There's no trace of Hinata."

Neji sighed. "There has to have been some way that solution got into Hinata's bracelet." Sasuke sighed. "Let's keep searching for now. We can-"

A stiff feeling overcame Boruto, his father's voice fading out in the background. The raven quickly glanced at the adults. They seemed so preoccupied that they hadn't noticed the familiar chakra in the air.

The boy frowned. Best to leave them be. Boruto quietly exited the room, gently shutting the door behind him. Looking by the heated discussion, he would have a whole five minutes to himself before they would notice him gone.

Boruto swiftly followed the source of the chakra. Many twists and turns later, he found her. Sarada was quietly perched on a tree, chakra hidden. But by the way she glanced down at him with relief, it was obvious she had intended for him to sense her.

"Sarada. Why are you here?" The girl jumped down, landing with little more than a soft rustle of grass. She laughed dryly. "What do you mean, you think I'm going to let you have all the fun with Dad and Tou-san?"

Silence filled the air. Sarada sighed, blue eyes turned to the ground. "Sakura-san is gone." Boruto sucked in a breath, eyes wide. "What do you mean?" The girl shook her head. "I mean she's gone. Nothing. I searched the entire village for her."

Boruto bit his lip. "Maybe she went on a mission." Sarada shot a glare at him. "You and I both know that she would never leave us alone in the village without someone looking after us."

The boy grimaced, frustrated. "Why didn't you tell Dad before we left?" Sarada turned her head away. "I should've. But it's so out of character for Sakura-san to leave that I just figured she had gone for groceries or something."

She smiled sheepishly. "Besides, ChoCho and the others had invited me for dinner, and I couldn't refuse." Her eyes darkened, the smile falling off her face. "When I came back and Sakura-san still wasn't there, I started to panic, and then located your chakra."

She bit her lip, frustrated. "I just don't know what to do, or how to feel. First Kiba-san, then Hinata, and now Sakura-san? I'm starting to believe that none of them are coming back and-" Boruto cut her off with a hug.

He sighed. "It's ok. I- I'm sure it'll be fine, yea?" Boruto pulled back, grabbing onto her hand. "Come on, let's talk to Tou-san."