Twisted

Shikadai and Mitsuki

When Shikadai volunteered to find Boruto, he didn't know what he was getting himself into. But no one could have predicted that his hesitance to return was because of a girl. And that was why Shikadai had a very hard time thinking of an answer to his best friend, and future king's, question.

"What do I do?"

It was precisely because Boruto had never been so seriously hurt in all his life that Shikadai couldn't find the words to comfort him.

When Shikamaru said the only way to get Boruto to go through the crowning ceremony was to knock him out, Shikadai's shoulders slumped so low from dread he seemed like a primate. He'd hoped his father was wrong, but when Boruto didn't show up to the lantern lighting, he agreed that forcing him into the land of the unconscious was their best option.

Before this, Boruto had been nothing but a troublemaker, a spoiled child who was in no position to become king. He stole his own crown and ran away with it. Shikadai didn't think he was stupid enough to keep hiding past the ceremony, and neither did his family, so they let him have his three days of freedom. But when he didn't come back, his father had the feeling it would be like pulling teeth to get him into the castle and thought up millions of punishments for him to endure upon his return.

In fact, shortly after his escapade of stealing the crown and running off, Shikadai asked if it was really okay for someone like Boruto to lead the kingdom. Shikamaru's only reply was, "It's the law. He'll get used to it, one way or another."

Of all the days, this was the day that he should've taken most seriously. The whole kingdom knew it was his birthday, and he always lifted the first lantern into the sky. But as the sun set and he was still missing, Shikadai knew his best friend was really trying to run away for good.

His father left it up to him and Mitsuki to find Boruto. They couldn't ask the vendors where he was, because it would only serve to notify them that the troublemaking prince was still missing. Ino would've ordinarily been forced to search, but a certain someone let her into Sai's pen, and she bucked at anyone who tried to take her out of it. Even Shikamaru.

That was at least a sign that Boruto had been in the kingdom. And for some reason, that sent an odd tension through the air of the adults in the castle, especially the king and queen.

Shikadai didn't bother to ask about these things, because it wasn't his business. He just did as he was told. After wandering the kingdom with his shoulders slouched and his hands deep in his pockets, searching around for a head of blonde hair in all the places he usually hid and finding nothing, he decided to head off into the woods.

And then he saw him. In a boat. In the middle of the lake. With that girl... The girl he'd been with after his escape from Shojoji's tavern.

When he first saw her in Mitsuki's arms, he didn't think she was someone from the kingdom. But now that he she was wearing an ornate red dress, he wondered if she was a princess after all.

Not only that... The softened expression on Boruto's face as he watched her lift a lantern into the sky was a first for Shikadai. Boruto watched her with such contentment, as if she was the only thing in the world, blinking slow. Rather than his typical cheezy grin, the soft smile was enough to tell Shikadai that a miracle occurred. Boruto fell in love. And from the looks of it, he fell hard enough that he was willing to endure harsh punishment to spend a few moments of alone time away from the peering eyes of the castle guards with her.

If only he knew the disparity of their situation, he wouldn't have interrupted and told him to save it for the ball.

Shortly after discovering Boruto's whereabouts, Shikadai sent up a marked lantern as a signal for Mitsuki. Boruto didn't seem like he was going to be paying attention to anything else anyway. He jogged down the edge of the water and ran along the shoreline until he came to a doc with a few boats tethered. Waving off the kind man and flipping him a coin, Shikadai began paddling to the remote area where Boruto was.