Boruto groaned, banging his head on a tree next to him. It was his very first mission, and he was already screwing it up.

Sakura walked up to him, handing him a flask of water. Sighing, she gently patted him on the back. "Honestly, I don't know what you were expecting. A mission is usually time consuming and tiring. Have you really not been on one before?"

Boruto choked out a laugh, muttering, "Not for lack of trying, for sure." The pinkette wasn't sure what he meant by that, and so she just stayed silent, awkwardly taking the flask back after the blonde took a swig.

Giving up on attempting to bash his own skull in, the younger boy glanced over at his dad, who was currently struggling to set up a tent. "Seriously dobe? 18 and you still can't set up a decent tent? What exactly have you been up to all these years?"

And of course, the couple was having a lover's spat once again. Boruto noticed that they tended to argue a lot about pointless things. "EH? Teme! For your information, I was saving your sorry butt from an old pervert! Besides, it's harder than it looks." Naruto whined.

Rolling his eyes, the brunette shoved at Naruto's shoulder. "Scoot over dobe. Ill set up the stupid tent." Pouting, the teen complied, taking a step back and watching as Sasuke got to work. Within a matter of seconds, the tent was set up, much to Naruto's relief.

"Ah finally! Say, where did Kakashi-sensei go?" The older blonde inquired, flipping his head from side to side. Sakura shrugged, sitting next to her tent holding a small apple in her hand. "He probably went off to find some food."

"Yes, yes. Hello students! Did you miss me?" A white haired shinobi emerged from out of the trees, holding a small basket of fruit. Grinning, Naruto's eyes sparkled. "Is that for us?" Kakashi merely gave him a closed eye smile before lifting the basket up out of his reach.

"Nope!" He said cheerfully. "But you can get some yourself. There are some fruit trees a couple of meters to the North." Upon hearing his words, Naruto clenched his hands, visibly ticked off. "OI! What's the point of waving all that food in our face if you aren't gonna share any?" Scowling, Naruto waved his fist at his former sensei.

"Honestly I'm not even sure why you are surprised at this point." A mildly annoyed Sasuke emerged from out of the tent, having just finished setting up the sleeping bags. The albino feigned hurt, bringing his hand up to his heart. "Why Sasuke, my beloved student, I am hurt you think of me this way!"

Scoffing, Naruto turned away from Kakashi, snatching up his backpack. "Well, good thing I brought ramen then!" Sasuke tched loudly, muttering, "Why do I even bother with these idiots?" Boruto stood in the middle of the small clearing, not sure what to do. It was obvious Team 7 had their own sort of dynamic, and they didn't need him at all. Still, he wanted to make himself useful somehow.

Turning to Kakashi, he treaded carefully, asking, "I-Is there um, anything I can do to help?" Kakashi just gave him that one eyed stare, face not betraying any of his emotions. With a terrified gulp, Boruto reminded himself that this Kakashi didn't know him, and as such was likely suspicious of him.

Said man just gave him that same blank gaze, before lazily turning back to his book. Embarrassed, Boruto looked towards the ground. "You can go make sure Sasuke doesn't kill Naruto." The blondes head snapped towards the older, his mouth hanging open slightly.

Coming to his senses, the boy smiled sheepishly. "How would I do that?" Kakashi shrugged. "Hell if I know. I've tried and failed too many times to bother attempting."

"Er, ok." Boruto warily looked at the two teens, currently bickering over who gets the last fruit in Sasuke's hand. "I swear to Kami dobe, I picked these myself, you can go get your own." Naruto pouted. "Oh come on teme! I'm hungry, can you spare one measly apple for your best friend?"

Slightly terrified for his life (nothing good ever came out of getting between Naruto and Sasuke), Boruto hesitantly walked forward, staring at Sasuke with a terrified look. Noticing him, the raven's eyes narrowed, before widening in shock as Naruto snatched the last apple from his hand.

Outraged, the Uchiha growled, before taking off after the loud blonde. A small bead of sweat dripped down Boruto's forehead. He had a suspicious inkling that his assigned job just got a hell of a lot harder.

The moon left a soft glow on the outline of a tall tree, a young blonde perched on top of it, watchful eyes darting back and forth. Beneath him, a looming figure leaned on the side of the tree, glancing between Boruto and the tent next to him with tired eyes.

Deciding that Boruto was less of a threat than sharing a tent with Naruto, he pressed the sole of his shoe to the tree, gathering chakra and steadily walking up. Upon approaching Boruto, the raven hastily climbed atop the branch he was balancing on, plopping down next to the younger.

"Uh, hi." Sasuke gave him a slight nod, acknowledging his greeting before turning away, looking over the forest they were in. Choosing to not interrupt the silence, Boruto complied, following Sasuke's gaze to the starry night.

A couple moments passed by with nothing but the steady sound of the wind, whistling past the trees. "I'm assuming that by now, both you and Naruto are aware of my… feelings for him." Surprised the broody young man was the one who interrupted the silence, Boruto let in a sharp intake of breath.

"Well, not really. I mean, I told dad that you loved him but I'm not sure he completely believes it. You know how thick his head can be at times." Taken aback, Sasuke's coal black eyes widened perceptibly, before glossing over in a blank gaze.

Come to think of it, back then, in the bedroom… Sasuke narrowed his gaze, whipping his head towards the blonde next to him with piercing eyes. "Why do you keep referring to Naruto as your father?"

"...Oh." Boruto's mind whirred, trying to come up with an excuse with his strange behavior, but all he managed to do was reprimand himself over and over again. Shit, shit, shit. Great going Boruto, the one thing you weren't supposed to do, you managed to do.

The blonde looked over at Sasuke with an exasperated gaze. Should I give him the potion that Kurama gave me? But I'm sure if I do he'll get mad at me. Then he'll be even more distant from Naruto and I, and I can't let that happen. Groaning, the younger blonde dropped his head into his hands.

"I haven't got all night you know." Sasuke grunted out, mildly annoyed at his reaction. In reality, Sasuke was silently hoping Boruto would take longer to answer, so he would have an excuse to stay out and away from the other blonde of whom he is very much in love with.

But that didn't mean he wasn't curious. He did want to know what was up with this stranger that they met less than a year ago calling Naruto 'father'. Besides, it was most likely just a subconscious decision caused by him being closest to Naruto after waking up with no memories or recollection of his life.

Yet as the silence stretched on, and the blonde next to him seemed more and more anxious, Sasuke began to doubt. What exactly, was this newcomer hiding from them, and does he need to dispose of his before he hurts the rest of his team?

Ya, know, I'm starting to wonder how many people are actually reading these chapters. Do you guys enjoy the story? Do you like the way it's headed? Should I try to steer it back to canon? Cmon, gimme some feedback!