Drifted Apart ✅

11. "Guilt"

"Sarada! ", Naruto called out as he jumped on a tree.

"Lord Eighth? ", Sarada asked, shocked. Everyone stopped and looked at Naruto who was coming towards them with Gaara and Konohamaru behind him. "I thought you'll be sending Shinobis. ", she added.

"I was going to send them but then I got to know that this mission is more dangerous than we expected. ", Naruto replied.

"Yeah, Sumire has been kidnapped as well. "

"Anyways, let me explain the mission. ", Naruto spoke. "Boruto is doing all this for a reason. And I'm really ashamed that I didn't know it earlier. ", he added looking guilty. He feels like he's the worst father ever who didn't even know that his son was suffering from hell. His eyes only saw the movie not behind the scenes. He let the people blame Boruto without even investigating if the things he's seeing are actually true.

I'll never be good enough for my children, he always thought.

"What reason? ", Mitsuki asked with hopes in his eyes. The time he saw Boruto killing Sakura, he couldn't believe his eyes. But deep down, he knew, he knew that Boruto could never do such a thing. His eyes always became teary whenever he thought about that incident. He wanted to know more about it so he went to his parent's laboratory to investigate somehow but couldn't find anything related to it.

My sun cannot do such a thing, can he?, he always wondered.

"That's the thing, we don't know it yet. We have to find the cave where Sumire is. That'll lead us to many more things, almost everything. ", Konohamaru spoke. Konohamaru, being the sensie and big brother of Boruto, couldn't understand him. His heart now feels like someone is digging a dagger in it. It hurts him so much to know that he couldn't help the teen who was his student, who called him big brother.

"Do you know where the cave is? ", Himawari asked with teary eyes. It's the first time in these past four years that she talked to Naruto with no rudeness in her voice. She always knew that Boruto, her big brother, could never do such a thing. After Naruto ordered the Jounins to put Boruto in the cell, Himawari stopped talking to him. She wanted her brother back. She wanted to play with him. She wanted Boruto to teach her new things. She wanted Boruto to see her become a Shinobi, a talented Shinobi.

I know you're not a criminal... big brother., she always said in her heart.

On the other hand, Kawaki's heart felt lighter too. He might have hated Boruto, but he was his brother. He was caught in illusions about Boruto wanting to rule the world but he got over it. Hearing Sumire's and Sarada's words, he doesn't hate Boruto anymore. He remembered the first night he had meal with his new family, with Uzumaki family. The way he and Boruto fought everytime, the way they both glared at each other, the way they protected each other, the way they were friendly enemies. They were... they are brothers.

"Yes. "

***

"Zaki, we need to talk. ", Boruto spoke with demand in his voice. Zaki grinned and stood up leaving her toys aside.

"What is it? ", she asked with honey and sugar in her voice.

"You need to free the Uchihas and I'll let you take over my whole soul. ", Boruto glared daggers at her.

"Really?! ", her eyes sparkled. "C'mon, let's go. ", she added.

"Free Sarada's soul first. "

"You won't agree without that, would you? ", the cuteness from her voice vanished. "Fine. ", she sighed.

"Let's go. "

***

"How long will it take for us to reach there? ", Chocho asked. This is the first time she's not eating during a mission or complaining that she's tired. Of course, without Boruto her ship is incomplete.

She still remembers how she scolded Sarada after she helped Sumire confess.

"Are you out of your mind?! Why did you do that?! ", I scolded while Sarada sat in front of ne with a pout.

"Well, it just happened to fast... "

"Gosh! What am I going to do with you?! ", I slapped her forehead.

"Hey! ", Sarada groaned.

"What did Boruto say? ", I asked sitting beside her and opened the packet of my chips.

"Um, I ran away. I didn't get to hear the reply. ", she answered sheepishly. This time, I slapped my forehead.

She remember how she got so happy to know that Boruto rejected Sumire.

"Oi, Boruto. I heard Sumire confessed to you? ", I asked with my mouth full of chips.

"Ye-yeah. ", he looked down. Is he guilty?

"What did you say? "

"Well... I don't have those feelings for her. I always saw her as my friend so... "

"Who do you have those feeling for, huh? ", I smirked knowing the answer damn well. Everybody sees that Boruto and Sarada likes each other but THEY ARW JUST DUMYS!

"F-for no one! ", he turned red. I sighed.

"For how long will you deny your feelings for her? ", I asked.

"I'm not denying any kind of feelings for Sarada! ", he turned even more red. This is getting funny now.

"Did I take her name? ", I spoke with my left eye brow raised. He's really a bolt.

"Bye! ", he ran away while I laughed hard.

She remember how she found Sumire crying in a park.

"Sumire?! ", I asked, shocked. I never expected her to cry. Were her feelings really that strong? "Sumire, what happened? ", I added, knowing the answer. Now I feel guilty for being happy.

"It's. it's nothing. ", she wiped her tears and sniffed.

"You're crying so bad and it's nothing? Great. Tell me! "

"Well, I-I confessed to Boruto and he said that he sees me only as his friend. ", she replied. "I know... I know that love cannot be forced but still, it hurts like hell. ", she sobbed and I hugged her as fast as I could. I never knew that her feelings were that strong.

That was the day when Chocho's and Sumire's friendship started.

"Chubs, you crying? ", Inojin whispered to Chocho.

"Huh? Oh, no. ", she quickly wiped her tears away. "I didn't notice that I wasn't blinking, heh", she added with a sheepish smile.

"To be honest, you're really a bad liar. ", Inojin rolled his eyes.

"I just can't help it. ", she whispered. "I really want my both friends back. ", she added.

"So do we, Chubs. We will get them back. Me and Shikadai have planned that we'll beat the shit outta Boruto when he'll come back. ", that made Chocho chuckle. "How dare he do that without telling us? "

"Attention, everyone. ", Naruto spoke and everyone stood straight.

"We're here. "

Hope you like this chapter.

Take care!