~ Author's Note ~

Chapter Four: The Other Side of the Wall

This chapter was suppose to be Boruto in the village, but I had to get Hanabi and Hiashi out of the way and this set up Boruto's disguise and how everyone in the village will see him. I think we all saw this coming though, there's no way in hell that if given the chance to get out and see the village that he's never see before, that he wouldn't take it. With everyone gone who'd pretty much be able to keep him in the mansion gone, Boruto's free to explore. We all know that this won't end up staying calm forever, some shit is really gonna go down. Next chapter is Boruto in the city and seeing the sights.

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My foot tapped impatiently against that hardwood floor. Today is the day, Grandfather and the Hyūga Elder's will be heading out. Aunt Hanabi will be attending this mysterious meeting in Suna too because she is the next in line to lead the clan. Most clans give the title to heir (or heiress, depending on gender) to their oldest child, so by that logic Mom should be the one to be the next clan leader.

For some reason she isn't and I've never had the guts to ask her or Grandfather about it. Maybe I'm just uneasy about what might be revealed if I do, what if it's something that changes my feelings towards Grandfather Hiashi and Aunt Hanabi. That brings up another question. Is it better to be left in a state of the unknown to preserves your feelings or to find the truth even if it makes you hate those close to you?

Never mind, it's probably something better left unmentioned. Grandfather, Aunt Hanabi, and Mom all seem to have a good relationship with one another so who am I to go around and dredge up bad blood between them? If nothing's broken, why try and fix it. That usually ends in disaster by making everything a thousand times worse than it was before the meddling.

Just as I step down the last step on the staircase, I see Aunt Hanabi heading towards the front door of the mansion. She stops when she sees me n the stairs, grinning ear to ear. Her brown hair is tied back in a medium ponytail, with one strand of hair falling across her face and over her nose. Her eyes flicker with amusement as she reaches a hand up, dropping her dainty fingers in my untamable blond hair.

"Enjoy having the joint to yourself, Squirt" she teases, ruffling my hair, probably making it even unrulier than it normally is. Catching her wrist, I lightly tug it (and her fingers) from the depths of my hair and hold it away from me, scowling at her.

"Ay! Watch the hair, this isn't just natural y'know, 'ttebasa!"

She pulls her arm away. "Is little Bolt mad that Aunt 'Nabi messed up his hair.. Aw, so sad."

I narrowed my eyes. "You think you're so funny..." I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

Aunt Hanabi rubs my head again, gently this time. "Well, I try. Man, I just realized something. I won't be able to tease you for an entire week! Where else am I suppose to get my kicks?"

I smirk. "You could always, and I know this sounds crazy so just hear me out, actually pay attention to the meetings. I mean you will be the head of the clan eventually and I don't want to be screwed because you didn't learn anything. My life is clearly the most important thing to be concerned about."

She fake scoffs. "Little shit..." she mumbles under her breath and I laugh outright.

Getting Aunt Hanabi to swear isn't an easy task, but I've managed to get those occasional slips multiple times in the past. Mom doesn't want anyone here swearing around me, so everybody watches their tongue. No one wants to face an angry mother bear so they all concede to keeping their mouths clean, well, mostly. She points her finger at me.

"Not a word about this to your mother..."

Crossing my arms behind my head, I close my eyes. Annoyed by the assumption that I ever would say anything. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nothing at all, I think I know the routine by now."

"Lady Hanabi," a female voice drew our attention. Standing in the hallway leading to the Commons Center was another Hyūga member, Aunt Hanabi's caretaker who use to watch over her as a young child. Now that she's old enough to take care of herself, Natsu is now only the maid of the Compound and is sent to fetch the clan leaders for stuff like this.

She smiles brightly at Natsu. "Thanks Natsu. How have you been? I haven't seen you for awhile."

Natsu shifts nervously. "I have been well ma'am. Keeping this old mansion cleaned up is not as easy as in my younger years. I'm still managing though, and what about you Lady Hanabi."

"You don't have to call me Lady when my father's not around. You practically raised me, having you call me lady is making me feel old."

She walked into this one. "Yeah, but you are old."

"If I was any other woman you'd be dead you little worm! Like Sakura for example, you ever call her old, she'll kill you with her meaty monster fists of fury. Leave a crater six feet deep and six feet wide, with your dead body in the center!"

Natsu blinks twice at our antics. "Sorry, that hasn't been my intention Hanabi. However, I am glad to see how well you've been doing since the time when I used to keep an eye on you."

Aunt Hanabi is just about to say something when Grandfather strides in with an air of authoritative command taking hold. All of us clam up like we have nothing else to say. I think he's in a bad mood today, his right eye's twitching with his annoyance. Something must've happened.

"Hanabi, lets go. We have much ground to cover and the Hyūga Elder's are already complaining about the travel. The sooner we get there the sooner I can get as far from them as humanly possible."

"Alright Father," Aunt Hanabi looks over at me. "Take care of yourself while we're gone Squirt." With that, she turned and followed after Grandfather. The sound of the door being shut is all I need to hear. Natsu waves to me as she passes, getting back to her work I guess. Going to the door, I watch as Grandfather, Aunt Hanabi, and the Elder's begin their journey.

. . . .

A few hours after their departure, I climb the stairs and start digging through my closet for the stupid cloak that Mom had hand sown for me. It was a black cloak with an off-red color on the inside. The cloak had a giant opening at the end of the sleeve that could hide my entire hand, down to my fingertips, if I wanted it to. On each of the sleeves was one long off-red straight line that only stopped at the sleeves end.

Quickly pulling it over my shoulders, I adjust it so it hangs comfortably. Sure it'll be hot as hell with this on out in Konoha's summer heat, but I can't afford not to wear it. No one can find out about my little grand outing, especially not Mom. One more thing, something to hide my hair and most of my face. A light bulb goes off in my head and I find myself in Mom's bedroom.

Carefully rifling through her dresser drawers, I find it stuffed at the bottom, back in the depths of the wood. A long forgotten item from a long time ago. I reach one hand in, my hand clutching the soft, almost cottony material red scarf. It was a memento of her feelings, a gift never to be given for one reason of another, a handmade scarf Mother had knitted—before Aunt Hanabi's kidnapping—for the man she loved.

When I'd seen the scarf the first time, Mom told me she had knitted it out of true love. She told me that she never had the courage to give it to him, that he had many admirers by then and she didn't feel like she could compete with those beautiful women. So she'd knitted the scarf and never brought it with her, she'd left it here at the house and then went on her mission to save her sister.

The scarf in my hand sagged against the gravity, but it was a bright, vibrant red. An heirloom of sorts that's been around for almost as long as me. I was about a year old when she'd knitted it. No one ever wore it during the winter, it was something sacred even though it wasn't declared by anyone. This would be used for the first time for something so... corrupt.

Here I was, tainting the purity of this wonderful scarf my mother made from the love in her heart for something as vain as going behind Mom's back to see the village. I bit my lip so hard that I was sure it would draw blood.

After putting Mom's room back together, so no one would even tell that an eleven year old has been digging around for a scarf, I find myself staring at my reflection in a full length mirror. My long cloak cascading down, hanging above the start of my shoes. With one end of the scarf in hand, I begin slowly wrapping it, first going around my head to try to contain my wild blond hair, then after pushing my bangs beneath the scarf that covered my entire forehead, I begin wrapping the rest of the scarf around my chin, over my cheeks to hide the whiskers, and the last over the bridge of my nose, just under my eyes.

I tuck the loose end of the scarf beneath one of the wrapped layers to keep it held firmly in place. I see myself in the corner of my eye as reflected from the mirror, I look stupid like this, but the scarf will be hidden beneath the cloak's hood. Flipping the hood, it shrouds my face in complete darkness. The only thing that really can be seen among the blackness are my brilliant blue eyes.

No trace of the scarf is visible to anyone who happens to see me.

A sudden burst of clarity rushes through me, the reality of this situation or something. What happens after this? I mean there has to be a reason Mom's never let me go outside the Compound. What if this is a bad idea, what if it's better to just stay here and pretend that there's nothing out there like I thought when I was a kid. Then the rebellious part of me pointed out the stupidity in that.

Yeah right, idiot. What could possibly be so bad that Mom wouldn't tell you about. We're still here in the damn village right? Obviously, so whatever she's trying to keep us from finding out is already in Konoha and besides, with this disguise we'll be completely unrecognizable.

That's how I found myself in the climbing the wall in the back of the Compound in a black cloak that could serve as kite, a scarf wrapped around my head, and sweat running down my face and into my eyes as the temperature was sixty-one million degrees. As soon as I set foot on the wall, I nearly fall face first in the dirt so stunned at the sight that greets me on the other side.