Chapter 2:

"Where have you been?" Sarada asked when they returned. "I've started a list of plausible suspects. The most obvious is a magician over that way. I saw him take items from people to do a trick but magicians are known for their sleight of hand. He could have taken other things without them noticing."

"We didn't see anything suspicious, really. There was a guy that hammered nails up his nose."

"Ew! Gross! Don't tell me that," Sarada complained.

"But if people are as squeamish as you, he could be taking stuff when they're not looking."

"He has a point, Sarada," said Mitsuki.

A shout from the small crowd alerted the Genin to trouble. "My wallet's gone!" People started to look around for anyone acting suspiciously but everyone was doing the same exact thing: looking around for the thief. The Genin went over to ask questions but the man only got more agitated. If he knew when he had it last, it wouldn't be missing, was his reasoning.

Boruto and his friends knew they needed to work quickly to catch this person. If it could happen during their watch, the culprit must have been skilled.

They started by interviewing the victims to see if there was a pattern. Every person discovered missing items at different times of the day and in different places. Some only discovered something was missing when they went to make a purchase or give a tip to one of the visiting performers. Others found out after they returned home and noticed things were missing. There was no discrepancy. Age and gender didn't make a difference. However, none of the performing acts had reported anything missing.

"Which can only mean it has to be one of them," announced Boruto.

"Or, like the headman said, someone taking advantage of them being here and making us think that," said Sarada.

"Just because no one reported it, doesn't mean nothing happened to them," said Mitsuki. "Maybe some of the performers are victims but maybe in different ways."

"Such as?"

"If nothing was taken from them, maybe something was given," offered Mitsuki. "And if something was taken, it might not have been money. A missing prop or something. Even food."

"I don't think it could have been any of the performers," Boruto said, folding his arms. "Not on stage, at least. Not with everyone looking at them. They must be doing this when they're on break and moving through the crowds."

"Or in plain sight," said Sarada. "I still think the magician's our best bet."

"Then let's go confront him."

"Easy, Boruto. I'm saying he's our most likely suspect but that doesn't mean he did it."

"If he has the means and knowhow to do something, what more do you want?"

"Just because he can doesn't mean it did," she told him. "You can use jutsu to hurt people just because you can but you don't. The magician might be able to do this but that doesn't mean he's guilty."

"We'd need more proof in any case," said Mitsuki.

"We should question him, then."

The magician was on break and not at his post, so the Genin decided to ask those neighboring his area of operation. The contortionist was willing to perform for the crowd and answer their questions at the same time.

"The magician? Yeah, he's swell. Very charming, but he's got an ego, for sure." She bent her body to place both feet on her head which rested in her hands on the stage. "He tends to get more tips than I do. I've tried working with him in the past with his acts but always got the lion's share of the tips I say we both earned."

"How's that?" asked Sarada, wondering how the thin woman's tight bodysuit managed to stay on without ripping.

"Well, when we worked together, he was a gentleman. It was fun. I got more applause as his assistant than as a solo act. But we'd perform the trick together. The tips would all go in the jar. At the end of the day, we'd split them. He'd get seventy percent and I'd get forty."

"That doesn't seem right," said Boruto. "You both did the trick." It also seemed the woman's math was off, but he didn't bother pointing that out.

"To be honest, I did the trick and he stood there to make some fancy hand gestures."

"Still, you should've split it fifty-fifty."

"That is what I said." The woman bent her body in a different direction. "He disagreed, saying it was his act and my natural ability. I decided not to work with him again unless he agrees to split the tips fairly."

"Do you believe he's stealing your audience?" Mitsuki asked. "You said he gets more than you do, whether or not you work together."

"Not stealing, no. Magic is just more popular," she answered. "Always has been."

Boruto wondered if the woman could have been stealing to make up for what she felt she was owed but, considering her tight outfit, he doubted she was responsible. There was nowhere for her to put anything unnoticed.

They interviewed a dog act next. A man sat on a wooden crate with several small dogs putting their paws on his knees, demanding attention. One chewed on the side of the crate while another nipped at Mitsuki's long sleeve, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Everyone loves animals," said the man. "I get lots of tips. Next to the magician, I'm probably the most popular act here."

"Do you think any of the other acts resent you or the magician?" asked Sarada.

"I doubt it," he answered. After a little more thought, he changed it. "Well, actually, maybe. No one's said anything to me about it. But we survive on the tips we get from people. That's how we eat. And I've got all these mouths to feed. I know I get more tips because of them and most of that money goes towards feeding them. I always figured the other acts understood that."

One of the small dogs jumped on Boruto's leg, trying to reach the bag on the belt, which it thought had treats in it. While Boruto was looking at the dog, another one went around the other side and tried to pull the bag off his belt. The man whistled and the two animals went to his side.

"Sorry about them. Dogs are still animals, even when trained. Some of these guys are still young and energetic."

Boruto was now wondering if these dogs were responsible for taking things from people. Either because they believed it had food in it or were trained to retrieve items for their master. The short interaction alone convinced Boruto it wouldn't have been too hard for the dogs to distract people with their cuteness while another dog, or possibly the human, took their valuables.

On their way to interview another act, someone shouted about a thief and they rushed to investigate only to find the person standing there looking frightened and angry and no one acting suspiciously. The magician was still on break and the victim wasn't near the empty stand. The victim also said that they hadn't seen who had done it.

"It could be the magician or the dog show guy," said Boruto. "Both have means to do it."

"But that's not proof, like I said before," argued Sarada. "Means does not equate to guilt. We need evidence."

"The magician has a huge ego and thinks he deserve more. The guy with the dogs has to feed all of them. He needs more money to do that since all they have to live off of are tips."

Mitsuki was looking elsewhere when he said, "Maybe it's someone who wants us to think that."

"Then it is the contortionist lady getting even. Maybe she's doing it during her breaks and dressing up in something less revealing."

Mitsuki looked back but didn't say anything.

"It could be any act if they all feel any kind of resentment," said Sarada. "We need more."

Someone cried out nearby, upset that some jewelry was missing. The Genin looked around but no one was rushing through the crowd to escape and no one was hastily hiding something in their clothing. Once again, the thief managed to get away.

"This is ridiculous," Boruto complained. "How do we keep missing them?"

"It will be alright, Boruto," Mitsuki assured. "We can handle this."

"Yeah, I know. It just pisses me off, you know?"

Boruto and Mitsuki went over to stand near the shops, peering in windows and watching the crowd mill about. Sarada had gone to wander the crowd, baiting the thief with a fake wallet, but so far there were no takers.

Boruto couldn't believe how easy it was for the thief to get away each time. Sarada had told him that the thief might not have struck when the person yelled out, discovering the theft later. He agreed with that possibility, but the fact that it kept happening on their watch was vexing. If Sarada's fake wallet plan didn't work, he was going to send his clones in to check every inch of the area.

"I know Sarada said it'd be an unlawful search, but why not ask people to turn out their pockets just to prove they're innocent?" Boruto sighed. "I get it. An invasion of privacy. That's why they asked us to come and help."

Boruto looked back at Mitsuki who was looking elsewhere and this time Boruto paid closer attention.

Mitsuki was looking at a woman peering in a shop window beside them. Mitsuki's arm stretched out across the gap between them and into her bag. Boruto watched horrorstruck as Mitsuki's hand pulled a wallet from the woman's bag and moved slowly back towards them.

"Mitsuki, what are you doing?"

Mitsuki looked at Boruto. "Huh?"

"Thief!"

Mitsuki heard the shout and looked in that direction. People were pointing at him with angry expressions. The woman at the shop window screamed the same thing. Mitsuki's head whipped in different directions, realizing everyone was looking at him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Mitsuki gave the people a questioning look. More people were asking heated questions which made Mitsuki even more confused.

"Give that back right now, you little thief!"

"What?" Mitsuki didn't understand what was happening. When he looked down at his hand, he looked shocked to discover a wallet in his grasp. He looked back at the gathering crowd, shaking his head.

"So you're the pickpocket!" A man grabbed Mitsuki by his shirt and pulled him onto his toes. "We'll teach you to steal from us!"

Mitsuki's wide eyes pled for them to stop. He looked as if he had been transported to this spot from somewhere else seconds ago. He didn't seem to understand what was happening around him.

"Stop!" Boruto rushed in to defend his friend. "Leave him alone!"

"Move aside, brat!"

"What's going on here?" Sarada had shown up, hearing the commotion. She called for everyone's attention. "We're shinobi from the Hidden Leaf. We're here to help catch the thief. You're saying you saw them?"

"Saw and caught them." The man held up Mitsuki. "Right here."

Sarada didn't believe him. "That can't be right. He's with us. He's helping us find the thief. It couldn't be him."

"Saw it with my own eyes! He had his hand in that woman's purse! Pulled that wallet right out of there."

"That's right! He had the wallet in his hand!"

"Yeah, we all saw it!"

Sarada looked at Mitsuki, questioningly. Mitsuki didn't confirm or deny it. He still looked completely lost. "But Mitsuki would never…"

"He a friend of yours, too?" asked someone in the crowd, pointing at Boruto. "He was there. Saw the whole thing."

Sarada turned to Boruto. "Boruto, did you see him do this?"

He hated being put on the spot like this. It was impossible to answer. He knew in his heart Mitsuki would never do such a thing and yet he saw it happen. He watched Mitsuki take that wallet.

"I…"

"You saw him take it, didn't you?" pressured a woman.

"I…"

"Did he or did he not take it?"

"I…"

"Did he take that wallet he's holding right now from that woman's purse? Yes or no?"

"I… He… Y- yes." Boruto couldn't believe what he just said. "But I'm sure there's a perfectly-"

"He confessed! You heard! This boy here is the thief!"

"Now wait just a minute!" Sarada yelled over the rallying crowd. "He couldn't be the thief. We-"

"It's in his hand, your friend just ratted him out and we all saw it happen before our eyes. What more do you want?"

"But he-"

The headman heard the commotion and came over to find out what was happening. The crowd filled him in on what happened and demanded Mitsuki be dealt with.

"Mr. Headman, please," Sarada tried to reason with him. "You just hired us. You know he couldn't have done this."

"We saw him do it!"

"Yeah! We all saw!"

The headman looked at the crowd quickly turning into a mob and tried to quell their anger. "Then… I suppose I have no choice but to lock him up in our prison."

The crowd gave a cheer while the Genin looked petrified.

"But Mitsuki couldn't-"

"You can't do this!" Boruto shouted. "There's no way I'll let you!"

"What are you doing protecting him?" asked a man. "You just said you saw him do it. You can't contradict yourself!"

"Yeah, either he's guilty or he's not! And we know he is!"

Boruto spun around to yell at the people. "Just because we saw it doesn't mean it's what really happened."

"The hell kinda sense does that make?!"

"But Mitsuki-"

"We got all the proof we need!"

"Yeah! Lock his ass up!"

"No, you can't!" Boruto shouted. "I know Mitsuki wouldn't-"

Sarada put a hand on Boruto's shoulder to shut him up. "Boruto… Maybe we should just let them do it."

"What?! No way!"

"Boruto, do you not see what's happening here?" Sarada eyed the crowd pressing in on them. "I know Mitsuki's not guilty of this crime, but they all think he is. It might be best if we let them have their way."

"And let them think they're right? It's confirming his guilt, Sarada!"

"Or getting him away from an angry mob who won't take no for an answer."

"But-"

"It's for his own protection. Let's not escalate the situation." She whispered in his ear, "Once the thefts start up again, they'll realize they have the wrong guy and let him out. This is only temporary to keep Mitsuki from being beaten in the street. Please see reason, Boruto."

Boruto looked from Sarada to the gathered mob and to Mitsuki still clutched in the man's fist. If they didn't do something, a lot of people were going to get hurt. Mitsuki would be beaten by the crowd out of a sense of justice and the crowd of civilians would be beaten by the Genin in order to defend their friend. Chances were that after the dust cleared, the Genin would be in trouble for attacking innocent civilians, even if they were an angry and dangerous mob.

He didn't want to because he felt it would be leading the people to believe they were right when they weren't, but if it would protect Mitsuki from further harm, it might have been worth it.

Mitsuki was led away to a cell as the crowd cheered and taunted him. More painful than the decision was having to look at the pleading eyes of his friend Mitsuki. Eyes asking Boruto why this was happening. Why Boruto was allowing this to happen.

Boruto felt he was a bad friend for not doing more to fight against this. He wasn't sure if he had made the right decision and doubted Mitsuki would believe that he had.

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