Twisted

A Troublemaking Prince

Boruto leaped from roof to roof, adrenaline pumping through his legs as wind buffeted his short bangs. "Are you guys coming or what?"

"What a pain." Shikadai dashed along behind him. "Remind me why we're doing this again?"

"Because Boruto doesn't want to be king," Mitsuki answered, "and we both made the mistake of looking into his eyes."

Boruto sprinted alongside his friends until he came to the roof of his illustrious home, right above the crown room.

"Boruto, your crowning ceremony is in three days," Shikadai sighed. "Can't you just wait until then?"

"Hehe... If I steal it now, I'll make my dad look like an idiot when the crowning ceremony happens. He'll go to pull the crown off the pillow and have to be all like 'oh no! I lost it.'"

"What is your issue with your dad? He's a good king."

"Yeah. And he's a cruddy dad," said Boruto, suddenly grumpy. "I'd rather be a cool knight like Uncle Sasuke than manage this dumb kingdom."

"Well... This is one way to make sure no one thinks you're responsible enough."

"Come on," he said, securing the rope around his waist and shoulders with a few good tugs. "Lower me down."

Shikadai and Mitsuki crouched to avoid being seen and inched him as smoothly as they could down through his custom-cut hole in the roof. They'd been planning this for weeks. Or rather, Boruto had been planning, and Shikadai and Mitsuki were dragged along for the ride.

Just as Boruto delicately lifted the crown that was soon to be his from the satin pillow, Konohamaru sneezed.

"Jeez, can't you at least cover your mouth, Uncle Konohamaru?"

"Sorry... Huh? Boruto?!"

But by the time Konohamaru thought to look behind him, the only sight of Boruto was his brown boots slipping back onto the roof, the golden crown long gone from it's dent in the satin pillow.

"Boruto!!"

Boruto tugged at the knot and tore the rope away from his vest, taking off into a sprint across the stone rooftop. "Come on guys! Let's go!"

Shikadai chased after him, a nonchalant look on his face despite his sour mood. "Did you really have to insult him? We could've gotten away clean."

"Don't sweat the small stuff! I can just get us all out of trouble by grinning, remember?"

"I don't believe your magic smile will work in this scenario, Prince Boruto."

Boruto leapt and slid down the shingled rooftop of a flower shop below. "It'll at least soften the punishment!"

When he landed on the cobblestone, a few girls looked up and squealed his name with delight. Boruto flashed them a grin and pumped his legs forward, feeling the thrill of the wind in his hair, his two best friends at his side. Nothing was better than pulling pranks on his dad, and this was his best one yet.

"Keep pranking the kingdom and your selection for queens might narrow," Shikadai warned, dropping in beside him.

Boruto scoffed. "You can't seriously be saying that. Shikadai, I could have any girl in the kingdom. Have you ever seen anyone not fall for me? Magic eyes, magic smile, remember?"

Just before Shikadai could get the warning out of his mouth, the ever confident Prince smacked into a weathervane and tumbled down onto a red and white overhang below, finally landing in a cart of cabbages.

"Hey! My cabbages!"

Boruto smiled sheepishly, and as a result, was quickly forgiven by the old man. He usually hated when he got let off the hook for being royalty, and he rarely used his eyes on civilians. But in times like these, he couldn't complain.