Boruto hurried across the grassy flats. He was moving as fast as he could without running outright. The protective mask he wore over his mouth and nose was cumbersome and limiting his breathing. The goggles covering his eyes were scratched and lead to him stumbling more than once but he pressed on.
The last two nights had been miserable. The first was just as buggy and wet as their first unfortunate night out in the swamps. However this time, Boruto didn't have the comfort of Mitsuki beside him so he hadn't slept a wink. The second was less buggy as they were further inland but it was just as miserable and lonely. If he shed tears in the darkness, Sarada was kind enough to pretend she couldn't hear them. It was only sheer exhaustion that finally forced him to drop off in the early hours of the morning. At dawn, Boruto felt more exhausted than ever. His body felt heavy and dark bags had formed under his eyes. His motions were automatic and fueled by pure will alone.
As they pressed on through the early morning hours, the smell of the air slowly changed from water and grass to rotten eggs. The change was subtle at first but it gained in strength until Boruto's temples throbbed and his eyes burned. At that point, Sarada had pulled some masks and goggles from her bags. He had wondered what was in the bags that she refused to leave behind but he hadn't cared enough to ask. She pressed a mask and a pair of goggles into his hands with a curt order to put them on immediately. To his credit, he obeyed without question.
According to the map, they were on the edge of the general location of the water key and still they had seen no sign of Mitsuki. At mid-morning, movement caught Boruto's eye. He turned instinctively and saw a gathering of several large ravens. Typically, the sight of scavengers gathering at the site of carrion was not unusual, except this was the first sign of life they had seen since the sea of grass began.
Boruto wasn't sure what was driving him to do it but the next thing he knew, he was running towards the birds with his heart in his throat. He both dreaded and needed to see what was there. Sarada started to call after him but gave up and followed. The birds scattered as they arrived and the scene that met their eyes was a grisly one. The grass was broken and flattened completely in places over a wide area. The vegetation still standing was painted red with blood.
The blood was everywhere. It stood in dark pools mixed with the flattened grass. Splatter patterns spread in all directions and large pieces of flesh with short hair lay congealing in the sunlight. A couple of the bolder ravens sat on the biggest lumps, ripping pieces off with their red-stained beaks. Boruto stared at the carnage before him trying to comprehend the gory sight.
"What happened here?" Sarada asked airily, expressing out loud his as well as her own awe and disbelief. Whatever had happened, it had been recent. The pools of blood were only half dry and the flesh was still wet. The grass rippled around them in a sudden breeze, making the land feel surreal. Then the movement of something else in the breeze caught his eye. It looked like a torn piece of leather clothing and it was laying on the edge of one of the pools of blood.
Boruto moved to examine it closer, then another tattered piece of cloth made Boruto's core go cold. Tangled in the grass and fluttering in the gust, half soaked with bright red blood, was a piece of black cloth with gold trim. Boruto untangled the cloth and held it in his shaking hands. It was a piece of Mitsuki's sleeve. Sarada peered over his shoulder and gasped she recognized the fabric as well.
"Mitsuki was here." She stated the obvious. Boruto's fingers closed around the scrap of fabric.
"He was attacked." Boruto stated, his anger and worry making his voice shake. He glanced around the scene again and spotted a bloody trail leading off to the south. "He's hurt! We have to hurry!" He cried as he moved to follow the trail.
"Boruto! Wait!" He heard Sarada yell after him. He was going to ignore her in favor of rushing after Mitsuki but a hand on his shoulder held him back. "Boruto! Will you stop and think for once?!" Sarada yelled as she dug in her heels, forcing him to stop. He turned and glared at her as best he could through the scratched goggles, "Look around you and I mean really look. That is the only scrap of Mitsuki's clothing but there are shreds of leather everywhere!" She yelled her frustration as she gestured around at the ghastly scene, disturbing another raven in the process.
Now that she said it, Boruto noticed that there were many pieces of the leather clothing scattered and intermixed with the blood and flesh. Boruto knew there was something to that but his anxiety was making thinking difficult.
"What's your point?" Boruto asked when he had been silent for too long. What did the details of the fight matter? All that did matter was that Mitsuki had been here and he was probably hurt. They had to find him soon.
"My point is that it is clear that Mitsuki was doing the attacking!" Sarada yelled at him but the effect of her fury was somewhat muted by her protective gear. Boruto blinked at her as her words sank in.
"What does it matter if Mitsuki did this? If he did, then he had a reason to! I know it!" He was yelling at her but he wasn't sure why. She gave him a knowing look but he turned away. The gruesome scene met his eyes again and he suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe. There was a reason for this. He knew there was. Mitsuki wouldn't just kill someone like this without reason. He didn't attack randomly. He trusted Mitsuki. He just had to find him and everything would be explained.
"Where's the body...?" Sarada's muffled voice interrupted Boruto's internal panic.
"What?" He asked.
"Clearly, Mitsuki tore whoever it was apart. Nothing could have survived this but I can't find the body." She elaborated.
"Well, they must have because they left a trail." Boruto said with heavy irritation as he pointed to the red and trampled grass leading south.
"Something's not right-" Sarada started again but Boruto'd had enough.
"I don't care, Sarada!" He roared as much as he could from behind his own bulky mask. "The point is Mitsuki was here and it wasn't long ago. I don't know why he would do this but I do know that it will all be explained when we find him!" His body shook with his emotions and his eyes swam with tears but he ignored everything and turned to follow the trail. Sarada swore her frustrations colorfully behind him but soon hurried to keep up.
They followed the trail in relative silence with Boruto in the lead. Every now and then, Boruto could make out some muttering coming from Sarada but he ignored her as best he could and focused on the path in front of them. The traces of blood were growing lighter as the victim's blood slowed from a steady stream to a trickle. Abruptly, the blood trail stopped all together but there was still no sign of a body. Instead, the trail continued leading south in the form of clean broken and flattened grass.
In the distance, Boruto could see that the terrain was steadily becoming rockier but the trail still remained clear. By midday, Boruto and Sarada found themselves surrounded by large silver-grey boulders. Boruto slowed his pace. Something didn't feel right. Boruto wasn't sure if it was the stillness of the air or the unusual clarity of the trail but something was putting him on edge. He gripped the handles of his blades for comfort as he slowed his pace further. They were close now. He could feel it but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong.
Suddenly, the ground beneath him shifted and what looked like hundreds of thick orange and brown snakes leapt from the earth.
"Sarada!" Boruto yelled in warning as the never-ending pythons streamed from the earth, reaching for Boruto and curling around his body. Boruto jerked backwards, drawing and swinging his blades in large arcs. Snakes fell away in large numbers but more surged forward to take their places. By the time he had mostly freed himself, most of his already ruined shirt was gone and with it, Mitsuki's little snake. Panic seized Boruto as he looked frantically around for his little friend while he struggled to beat back wave after wave of snakes.
A tiny flash of snow white caught Boruto's eye. In the center of the main body of the twisting snakes was the little white snake. It was tangled and twisting in the shredded remains of his shirt. It thrashed violently, trying to free itself from both the tattered cloth and the much larger snakes that had sunk their teeth into every inch of its exposed flesh.
"No!" Boruto cried. He doubled his efforts, hacking his way into the virtual hydra to free his little friend. Hands on his shoulders pulled him from the writhing body and flung him roughly clear of the grasping snakes. He stumbled, lost his footing completely and fell hard on his hip and side. His blades glanced off each other, showering white sparks that immediately erupted into balls of flame that singed his face. Boruto blinked through his goggles, then realization hit.
"Sarada! NO!" He was too late. It happened in slow motion. Sarada was standing tall. Her hands were in the air in front of her face as she began casting a fire spell. The snakes were latching onto her legs and body, tearing at her clothing with their tiny razor-like teeth. Between her hands, fire sparked to life, then roared out of control as the gas around them ignited. Then there was nothing but light.
The explosion was massive. The impact left Boruto dazed with his ears ringing. As soon as some semblance of awareness came back to him, he struggled to his feet. The world swam before his eyes as he tried to orient himself. The blast had torn through the land for at least a hundred yards in all directions. The grass had been reduced to ashes along with the snakes from whatever the fuck they had stumbled upon. Boruto could only guess that the steady coastal breeze was what had kept the entire grassland from going up in flames.
Fires openly burned in random places, fueled by the gases seeping from the black soil. Boruto struggled through the war zone, looking for Sarada. His heart clenched painfully as he passed the blackened remains of his little snake friend, tangled with the remains of the other snakes. He left it behind and struggled on, limping and holding his singed left arm with his right and still mostly deaf from the incessant ringing in his ears.
At last, he found her. She was laying on her back at least twenty feet away from where she had cast the spell. Her hair and clothes were singed and her skin was blackened with soot. Her goggles and mask were miraculously still in place as she lay still on the smoldering earth.
"Sarada!" Boruto cried as he struggled to her side. He dropped to his knees and checked her body for injuries. Except for mild burns and her unconscious state, there didn't seem to be anything obviously serious. Being a fire mage seemed to have granted her at least a little protection against the fiery explosion.
"Hey! Sarada. Wake up." Boruto said as he tapped her cheek firmly with his fingertips. She didn't move. He took her shoulders and shook her lightly. Her own snow-white snake rolled limply from her tunic, clearly dead. The sight sent another stab of pain through his heart but he stayed focused on Sarada. "Come on, Sarada. Wake up." Boruto pleaded. Sarada's head rolled sideways and Boruto's heart stopped. A trickle of blood was flowing from her ear.
Boruto fought the panic that was rising inside as he pulled off her goggles. Her eyes were half closed and glazed. He went to remove her mask to check for breathing but he hesitated. He glanced around at the small fires still burning close by. He decided they should keep the gas down as long as they burned. He removed her mask and listened for breath but he still couldn't hear well enough to be able to tell if she was breathing. He had never felt so helpless before. He couldn't stop the tears that were falling from his eyes as ripped off his own mask and goggles before cradling her in his arms.
"Please, Sarada! Please, don't die." Boruto begged as he rocked her unresponsive form back and forth, "I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I- I promise I'll listen from now on. Just please! Please wake up." He allowed his tears to flow freely as he tightened his hold on his sister. He hated himself. One by one, everyone he cared about was being taken away and he had no one to blame but himself.
"Damn it!" He screamed the curse at the sky as the tears came faster. It was his fault she had gotten into this, his fault he had lost Mitsuki and it was his fault that he had gotten cursed in the first place.
Sarada's body gave a sudden and almighty lurch and she gasped deeply, the return of life breaking Boruto from his cursing and self loathing.
"Sarada?" Boruto asked, hardly believing what he was seeing. He held her steady as she clutched her chest and stomach. She coughed and wheezed raggedly but her breathing was slowly becoming more steady.
"M- mask..." She was finally able to gasp out. Boruto wanted to laugh out loud with relief and he did as he handed her the equipment. She punched him weakly in the shoulder in retaliation as she pulled them on, making him laugh harder. Finally, she turned her black eyes on him.
"What are you doing?!" She yelled as much as her raspy voice would allow. Boruto didn't have an answer for that. Was she serious? "Why aren't you wearing your mask? Idiot!" Oh. He had forgotten he'd taken it off. He couldn't help it. He laughed long and loud as he slipped on his own mask and goggles, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes as he did. "I fail to see what is so funny." Sarada grumped as she struggled to get to her feet. Boruto stood with her, providing shaky support by holding her elbow and upper arm.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Boruto asked as she tried and failed to walk.
"I'm fine, Boruto." She said as she took another, stronger step.
"Well, you're bleeding." Boruto said as he pointed to his own ears. Sarada brought her hand to her ears and examined her fingers which had come away red. She thought for a moment as she rubbed the tacky fluid between her fingers.
"I've got a headache but I can still hear so I guess I'll be fine." She said, wiping the remaining blood from her ears and neck. She steadied herself and shook her head clear. She took another couple of steps, becoming steadier as she did. "I guess I can't use my magic here." She muttered to herself as she walked to retrieve her hat. It had been knocked clear but had survived the explosion. She picked it up and beat it against her side, clearing the ashes and soot.
"Yeah. We're lucky the whole thing didn't explode." Boruto commented. Sarada nodded soberly. She looked around at the destruction again and spotted the body of her little white snake. She bumped it with the toe of her boot and it quickly disintegrated into black ashes.
"That complicates things." She said with a sigh, "Are you hurt at all?"
"I have a few burns and a few snake bites but I don't think they were venomous." She nodded then turned towards the south again.
"Then we should hurry to catch up with Mitsuki. Without those snakes, he has no way to track us."