The Prince and the Serpent

The Unwilling Bride

The Grand Merchant, Choji Akimichi, looked kindly down at his daughter despite his long-suffering demeanor. Clearly this was not the first time ChoCho had done something like this. Tense silence followed ChoCho's outcry but Choji waited patiently, seemingly oblivious to the discomfort in the room.

"Are you going to introduce me to your friends?" He prompted after it became evident that ChoCho was not going to continue. Boruto panicked internally. They had disguises but none of them had discussed now identities. They may not look like themselves but their names would give them away.

"Yes, papa. This is Mitsuki and his traveling companions." ChoCho said quickly as she introduced Mitsuki, then waved noncommittally in Boruto and Sarada's general direction. "I found them lost and starving in the sea of grass. I told them we could provide them with provisions, a bath, and a place to rest for the night." Boruto couldn't help but blink. He hadn't thought ChoCho capable of quick thinking. Then something else she said sank in.

Bath? Boruto glanced down at himself. He wasn't starved, thanks to Mitsuki, but he looked the part. They all did. Their clothes were reduced to little more than dusty, blood-stained rags. They looked absolutely pitiful. The promise of clean, warm water made Boruto painfully aware of the greasy state of his hair. He hadn't had a proper bath since the hot springs almost two weeks ago.

"That's my girl!" Choji thundered, "So selfless! Always putting others before herself! Of course we will help them! Do not let it ever be said that the Akimichis are not generous!" Boruto stared. He had always known Choji to be a kind and generous man, but not clueless. "We have plenty of room but the young men will have to share a room, I'm afraid." Choji said with a kind smile. Boruto had never been so happy to hear anything in his life.

"That suits us perfectly Choj- Lord Akimichi." Boruto corrected himself quickly. Sarada glared at him out of the side of her eye and subtly stomped on his foot. He looked away sheepishly. He had momentarily forgotten that he was in disguise and therefore not on a first-name basis with all the lords of the land. It was bad that he had even spoken in the first place. Choji was off-put but it was only for a moment.

"Well put, my boy!" Choji thundered again. Boruto internally sighed with relief and vowed silence from that moment on. "I will show you to your rooms and I will have the servants draw you all baths." Choji said as he lead them to two adjacent rooms, just off the main room. They were simply furnished. There was a cot on either side against the canvas walls and a single lamp. "I hope that this will serve your needs. I will send a servant to notify you when they are ready and to bring you some new clothes. You will find the baths through there." He said as he gestured to the rooms' private entrances.

Boruto rolled his eyes. Why ChoCho had insisted on using the tent's main entrance was beyond him but it fit her.

"Thank you, Lord Akimichi. This is more than enough for us." Sarada answered for them with a shallow bow. Boruto nodded his agreement, remembering his impromptu vow of silence.

"Then I will leave you to it. Feel free to come by and have a drink with me later." Choji said in his usual friendly way. "Come ChoCho, let us allow our guests to rest." Boruto breathed a sigh of relief as Choji steered his visibly disappointed daughter back towards the main entrance. Boruto dropped the canvas door to give him and Mitsuki some privacy and turned to face the room.

The cots were small but it beat sleeping on the ground. They could probably pull the two cots together for the night. It wasn't perfect but it would serve his purpose for the night. He liked the idea of reminding Mitsuki who his lover was. Mitsuki steped close and wrapped his arms around Boruto's middle, holding him close with a sigh of contentment. Boruto attempted to resist his sudden need to melt into Mitsuki's embrace.