The Hidden Stars

15. "The Old Grinning Bolt"

Water dripped from the damp walls of the cave, the place horrifyingly quiet with the only sound of their footsteps' echo.

Sarada's breath shuddered with the familiar,  ex presence of her father. No... not papa- Hidari...

She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that the man she had fought with before was Sasuke. He looked so different, his voice was heavier and he had a distant look in his eyes- he had never looked at his family with such lifeless eyes. And the realization made Sarada feel thorns in her throat.

But. She was not going to cry this time. She had already cried a lot. No more tears now. It was finally time for some action, for revenge.

Fixing her gaze around the cave, she noticed some parts of the cave had crumbled as well. Maybe there had been a fight before.

"Hey, Boruto," She asked as she felt him approach near her. "Can you tell how long they've been gone for?" She asked. She couldn't push away the feeling of her insides twisting- it always happened when something bad was about to come.

It scared her. And she silently wished for her friends, family and the village to be okay.

"Probably for a day or so," He replied, and Sarada could feel his gaze on her. "I had an encounter with them a few days back- Code was here, too," Her head snapped to him, and he flashed her a reassuring smile- convincing her he wasn't hurt.

Feeling the heat creep up to her neck, she looked back and Boruto continued, "They are fully new to their conscious form. It will take a while for them to plan what they want to do with their lives," He explained.

She turned her head towards him and he wasn't looking at her this time. "What do you think they'd do?" She knew the answer, but she wanted him to reply something less dangerous.

And to her disappointment, his answer made her breath catch up in her throat. "For living... they'd devour,"

Sarada gulped. "Devour what?" Her voice held fear.

Boruto turned his body to her, and so did she to face him. She still couldn't get over the fact that she had to lift her face so much to look at him properly.

His gaze was intense, and Sarada saw a muscle tick in his jaw. "They'd devour powerful beings to stay alive, like Otsutsukis- or some other being until they find one,"

Her eyes widened and she felt her heart drop to her stomach. "They haven't come after you, yet. Did they..." Sarada paused, scared to complete the sentence.

Boruto nodded slightly, "Maybe. There are chances they went to Konoha," He replied, then flashed a small smile. "Don't worry too much, Sarada. We have one more thing to do here in the woods. We'd go to Konoha after that,"

But worry didn't leave Sarada's eyes. She was truly scared for her friends and family.

When Boruto grabbed her hands and squeezed them gently, Sarada's heart skipped a beat.

"They'll be alright, trust me," He whispered.

Sarada smiled softly and squeezed his hand back, "I trust you, idiot. I'm just worried,"

"I know. But-"

Sarada felt her ears heating up when she heard a familiar cough. She immediately left his hand and snapped her head to her right to see Mitsuki standing there, and he

had

his

creepy

smile

on.

More like a smirk, to be specific.

"Mitsuki-" Sarada yelped. "Please wear a bell, so we know the next time you're around," She requested, trying to keep her cool.