Naruto Pov:
It's been ten years since Boruto went missing. Ten years to the very day where I couldn't save him.
I breathe in deeply. A single tear slips out. Hinata wipes it away. Her pixie-like touch is incredibly smooth.
"I miss him." I croak pathetically. It sounds so corny. But it's the only truth. Hinata stays silent. She knows the exact feeling. She buttons up my cape for me instead of saying anything, and places a hand on my cheek when she is done.
"I just wish I could've said 'I love you' one last time. Y'know?" I whisper.
"At least you tried." Meiko mutters forlornly.
I grimace. Meiko crouches on the window sill. Exactly where she waited twelve years ago to meet Boruto; her compass point.
The year after his birth, Meiko explained that shifters have a compass point. Not like a mate, but the being that protected their inner virtue and moral. Shifters are immortal. There shifting, without their 'compass' can lead to them becoming volatile and aggressive. For three hundred years Meiko had waited for her perfect compass.
While shifters can, and often do make the transition without compass mates, it's safer with them.
Boruto was her compass buddy. The one person that Meiko would burn the world for to protect. If she had to murder her own Queen to protect Boruto, she would do it.
On the day he needed the most protection she wasn't there. When she found out, my living room looked like a gang of pissed off Fae had gone to war.
"Hey, we're here to celebrate his birthday let's just focus on that." Hinata says softly. I've never heard her raise her voice since Boruto went missing.
"Can we stop by your kitchen?" Meiko asks. She here so much thats she's practically a second daughter at this point.
"Why not? I'll go get Hima and we can all have a before parade snack." I reply. I stretch my hand out to ruffle Meikos' hair but she sidesteps.
"No way old man. I've just had my hair styled. Mess up your own. It can't get much worse." She pats her hair and gives me a once over.
A genuine laugh leaves my throat. I never thought I would laugh on this day. I look back to Hinata. Her rosy lips are pulled into a thin smile but the look in her eyes reeks of loss. I step by her side and wrap my arms around her.
"Let's go eat some cookies. Y'know." I press my lips under her earlobe, eliciting a small smile.
"I dibs the caramel ones." She says quietly. It's not much but it's better than last year. I don't think she said a word last year.
"We'll meet you there old man." Meiko grins, pulling Hinata gently out of the room.
I set off to find Hima.
She doesn't remember Boruto. She was only three months old when he was taken. But every year she shed tears with us and asked for any information regarding her lost brother.
If anyone was going to find Boruto, it was her. She loved the big brother she didn't even remember.
I call forth my Sage eyes. If I looked for Himawari by sight alone it would take weeks.

YOU ARE READING
The Missing Prince
FanfictionAfter winning the war Naruto Uzumaki has been crowned king. In this new era of peace he and his elven wife, Hinata have a child. But all is not peaceful and happy. After just two years the little prince is kidnapped. But what happens when the kidnap...