Despite his exhaustion, Boruto couldn't sleep. The turmoil in his heart refused to quiet enough to let him rest and stretched each minute into a year. He tossed and turned until the horizon started to glow with the promise of dawn.
He had just about dozed off at long last when frantic pounding made him jump clear off his bed.
"Boruto! You open this door right now!" Sarada's voice rang out in the thin morning air. What the hell was Sarada doing here at this unholy hour? More pounding made the door shake dangerously on its hinges and his head throb at the temples.
He grabbed his head and moaned, "Oh, no. Go aawaaayyyyy."
"Boruto, if you don't open this door I am breaking it down!"
Shit.
"One!"
Shit, shit, shit! He rolled off his bed and staggered to the door.
"TWO!"
"Alright! Damn...!" Boruto yelled as he flipped the lock and pulled open the door, "What?! What do you want? Why are you here?" Boruto angrily shot his questions rapid-fire in Sarada's face. He was exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally and pissed that she was here at the literal ass-crack of dawn breaking down his door.
"You have to talk to Mitsuki!" She shouted back at point-blank range. The noise made his head throb painfully again, making him shoot a hand back up to steady his abused skull. Despite the pain, he glared at her.
"That is not Mitsuki." He growled low and tried to slam the door in her face. She caught it with her arm and held it open enough to stare back at him.
"He's left the village."
"Why should I care? Let him go if that's what he wants."
"You have to go after him! You have to listen to his side." She was practically begging now, her eyes glassy from unshed tears. Boruto stared at her, feeling his anger ebb slightly. He couldn't stand to see her that way. She was so much stronger than he was. Seeing her like this, fragile and desperate, was just... wrong. He stopped trying to close the door on her face and walked back into his room holding the bridge of his nose. Shit, it was way too early for this. She pushed the door open and followed.
"Please, Boruto. You don't know what happened to him."
"I DO know what happened!" He roared as he rounded on her, "He died and that bastard Orochimaru replaced him!"
"You don't know the whole story!"
"I know enough!"
"Will you please just go to him?! Listen to what he has to say first! If you truly loved him, you'll do that much." Sarada finished almost quietly. The tears that had been threatening were now slowly falling. That was a low blow. He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands because he couldn't look at her crying anymore and he was just so confused and heartbroken and so damn tired.
"What do you want me to do?" He said at last, as angrily as he could but with no real venom.
"Go to him, hear him out but go quickly, before he does something stupid." Boruto sighed deeply as he considered it. Even if this Mitsuki wasn't his, he clearly still meant something to Sarada. Plus, he was still a person. Even if his parent had made him to be a replacement, that wasn't his fault. The whole thing was so fucked up it made his head spin.
But even if all that was true, why was Sarada convinced that only he could fix this? Why didn't she go drag him back if she wanted him back so badly. Something about all this just wasn't fitting.
"What aren't you telling me?" Boruto demanded, sick to death of her habit of playing with him with her damn riddles. Some things never change.
"Just go talk to him, idiot!" And there it was. She hadn't called him an idiot for almost five whole minutes. It was starting to worry him, "It isn't my story to tell." So it was a puzzle and she wasn't going to tell him the answer yet again. Well, fuck.
"Fine!" Boruto caved but he didn't have to like it. Honestly, the things he did for her, "Do you even know where he went? Because, if I'm going to go tearing after him again, I at least need to know where to start." Her eyes were glassy and dripping before but now they positively glittered with tears as she looked at him, hands over her growing smile.
"Thank you, Boruto!" She threw her arms around him, tears splattering onto his shoulder as she squeezed him in a fierce hug. Boruto was stunned. Sarada had hugged him maybe once before. Maybe. He stood stiffly, not sure what to do with his hands as she crushed his rib cage.
"Okay... It's okay, Sarada." He gasped out as he patted her head awkwardly. She tightened her grip.
"Sarada... can't... breath..." He squeaked.
"Oh. OH!" She laughed as she released him at last, "We need you alive if you're going to bring him back."
"Yeah, yeah..." He muttered, "I'll bring back your friend for you." He grumbled as he looked away and scratched the back of his head, hoping it hid his light blush.
"Hey, Boruto...?" He looked back at her, waiting for her to continue. "Please hurry. He... he really loves you, you know?" He didn't answer. He almost said I know but he stopped himself. No matter what his and Sarada's feelings might be, it didn't change that this Mitsuki was not the same one they had lost. He would never forget that. He was bringing him back for Sarada and that was it.
"Just promise me you'll at least listen to what he has to say." Sarada said, reading his thoughts as usual. To that, he gave a stiff nod. She almost hugged him again but she restrained herself. Boruto was grateful. His sides were still throbbing.
*
The sun was hardly up. Boruto yawned heavily as he moved through the trees alone; blissfully alone. Sarada hadn't known for sure where Mitsuki had gone but she thought it was most likely he was returning to the Hidden Sound. Boruto asked how she came to that conclusion but she just avoided his question.
"It's better if you hear it all from him." She had said. Great. She and his dad yesterday. It was so important for him to act but no one wanted to explain any details. Why wouldn't they let him mourn in peace? He should have told her 'no', made her do her own dirty work.
His pace slowed as the sun climbed. Sometime around midday, he stopped all together, resting on a large branch. What was he doing? He blamed his exhaustion and the sheer weirdness of seeing Sarada cry for his hasty agreement to come out here, chasing a being whose very existence was an insult to the memory of the man he loved. It was an admission that his boyfriend was replaceable and nothing could be further from the truth.
What was he supposed to say when he found him? Hi, I still don't accept you or forgive you for existing but still come back anyway? This was getting stupider by the second. This Mitsuki belonged in the Sound Village. Who was he to drag him back?
Boruto sat down, enjoying the warmth of the day and how lazy it made him feel. The breeze cooling his brow and lifting his hair encouraged his thoughts to drift. If he were honest, the looks the clone had given him last night were haunting him. The poor bastard had evidently been given his Mitsuki's memories. He had known that but he hadn't really considered what that would mean. If it was all the same, that would mean this Mitsuki was just as in love with him as his Mitsuki had been. Anger was giving way to pity little by little as he considered it, remembering golden eyes full of shock and heartbreak. Maybe, there wasn't any harm in hearing the guy out. He had promised Sarada he would do at least that much.
Maybe he could tell him what happened that night, exactly how Mitsuki had died. That would be worth something. But no, he wouldn't know. Orochimaru would only have a record of Mitsuki's memories up until the last time he visited his family. There could even be a chance this Mitsuki didn't know he was a clone. If that were the case, Boruto owed it to him to tell him the truth and explain why he just couldn't accept him. Hopefully, that would help to give him some closure.
Boruto looked up at the soft clouds rolling by, his thoughts getting more sluggish as he watched. The forest was peaceful and quiet. It was soothing and even comforting in a way. The whisper of the breeze in the treetops and the almost imperceptible rocking of his branch lulled him to sleep.
