Blonding

Chapter 35 : Masked Man

The front doors of the Kage's Tower creaked open with a sense of finality, the rusty hinges moaning under the motion.

The interior of the building was completely devoid of people – the only things occupying the entry room were ceremonial paintings and other strange art sculptures that sat on pedestals lining the walls. Several long, winding vines grew in the corners, the plants stretching out across the walls and along the baseboards. A front desk, dusty from apparent lack of use sat in the corner, a stack of browning papers held in place by an old, rusty kunai on its surface. A certain musty smell wafted through the air, and from where Boruto could see light peeking in past drawn shutters down the halls that stretched out from the room they were currently standing in, dust particles drifted through the air like clouds.

"This place is creepy," he said as the door hissed shut behind them, the feeling of dread that reverberated through the air when the latch caught sending chills down his spine.

"It does not look like anyone has been here for a long time," Hiashi agreed, activating his Byakugan and looking up, obviously scanning the upper floors of the facility.

Boruto heard Hoheto gulp beside him. The boy was barely the same age as he was, and it was quite apparent that he was scared out of his mind. To his surprise, Boruto wasn't feeling much, other than mild anxiety in regards to what was bound to happen next. But he knew his didn't have much to worry about. His father was a decent diplomat, considering he had been brokering treaties and battling his way through politics for the past five years. On top of that, he could fight – Boruto knew that for certain now. He'd seen it himself. He even had his grandfather – the Fourth – at his beck and call, should he need him.

Boruto paused, shaking his head with a frown. No. It was unwise to treat a trump card such as the Fourth's sudden appearance in battle as anything more than a gift. Hell, he might not come at all.

Still, he felt safe… secure.

Nothing bad could happen when his dad was around… right?

Hoheto, on the other hand, was not quite in the same boat as he was. Although the boy was extraordinarily talented, he was among a group of people that he wasn't certain he could trust completely – not to the same degree as father and son, at least. Hell, Boruto had held him at knifepoint. That had to be at least somewhat unnerving - even now, the next day.

He took a step to his right and leaned his shoulder into the other boy's, as if to say, 'I've got your back.' When Hoheto jumped and turned to look at him, Boruto said nothing – opting to instead follow his father as he made his way down the hallways towards a set of long, spiraling stairs that ran along the far wall.

Naruto began to take the stairs one by one, each creaking in protest as he moved. The other three shinobi followed close behind, as the tower eased by them, the cobwebbed chandelier above them waving in the dark – almost like it was inviting them forward.

Finally, the stairs gave way to a doorway. Instead of taking precautions to determine the other side of the door was uninhabited like the rest of the Tower, Naruto simply just walked forward and swung the door open, stepping through immediately afterward as if he had places to be. Hesitantly, the others followed behind him in a line, taking a look at their surroundings as they walked.

The room was long and wide, with doors scattered down both sides. The wallpaper was coming undone near the baseboards, the paint faded and chipped. The doors themselves were all shut tightly, the knobs all rusty and decrepit. The wooden flooring underneath them reeked like mildew, and as they walked across the surface, it felt like it would give way at any moment and send them tumbling back down to the bottom floor.