A/N: Brace yourselves, this chapter will be intense ;)
"Sakura Haruno," a woman who would have been Sarada's mother greeted him with a cheery smile. Except this one had more dark circles under her eyelids. She tried to appear carefree, but there was a permanent air of exhaustion about her that Boruto noticed.
"Kakashi Hatake," said the jonin with silver, perhaps greying, hair.
"Shikadai Nara," said Shikadai as he extended his hand. It was the same old Shikadai from Boruto's world, except he looked more tired, more worried.
"Pleased to meet you," Sakura said. "Sarada has told me so much about you."
"Heh," Boruto grinned. "Like how cool I am, right?"
"Oh please," Sarada snorted while rolling her eyes at him. "Nonsense."
"Boruto, I want to hear more from you: who you are, where you came from, what you just did," Sakura continued with curiosity. "I heard you two had it pretty easy breaking out of the Department of Torture and Interrogation."
"Well, the escape had its difficult bits," Boruto said while scratching his head. "It took us a great deal of effort to avoid all the guards. Being a temporary errand boy at the Hokage's office helped though – I was able to steal information about the design of the place and figure out how to navigate my way through everything."
Okay that was partially true; he did take a long, hard glance at a map of the Department of Torture and Interrogation in someone's office. But Boruto held back from all things concerning him meeting Sasuke Uchiha. He couldn't spit it out.
"Well done!" Sakura said with a congratulatory tone. "That's no small feat."
Boruto couldn't tell whether she was satisfied with his response or not. She was certainly good at looking satiated and Boruto couldn't detect a whiff of suspicion, but if Kakashi previously reacted with reservation, there's no reason to assume Sakura wouldn't be any different internally.
"I… I'm just glad I'm reunited with my friends," said Boruto, deciding to nudge the conversation in another direction.
Sakura nodded genially; still no hint of doubt.
"Well, we're about to have dinner here. It's pretty late but you don't want to leave your stomach empty," she said.
"And," she continued. "You can tell me your side of the story."
They all seemed pretty impressed when Boruto gave a detailed narration about passing the job audition (he had deliberately left out the part with Sasuke being disguised as the assistant.) They were even more impressed when they heard about how he earned favours with other jonin to make his life easier and eavesdropped successfully on important conversations about Sarada.
"Well, what can I say, you would have been a perfect spy!" Kakashi sighed. "And boy, we needed one in the Hokage's office."
Not, Boruto chuckled internally.
"Too late now," Boruto said, slightly apologetic. "They're probably searching for me. I'm probably already on some sort of wanted list."
"True," Kakashi agreed as he shook his head. "A pity."
"I've heard – from previous spies that managed to mingle their way into the Hokage's office – that he personally scrutinizes all interviewees," Sakura interjected. "Did he this time?"
"Uh…" Boruto hesitated. "Not that I'm aware of."
You lie, a voice buzzed inside his head. You lie, you lie, you lie.
"Alright," Sakura nodded, appearing convinced. Boruto suspected she really wasn't.
"How's the environment within the office?" Sarada asked, curious.
"Well… uh… it's actually pretty dull. A lot of people just sit in their desks and I get errands from time to time. It's weirdly normal," Boruto commented. "Not much different from dad's office back in my world. Okay, save the fact that you sometimes deliver reports about labour camps and people being purged."
Ouch, that sounded unnecessarily callous.
"Sorry," he added. "I didn't mean to sound insensitive."
"Oh Boruto," Sarada rolled her eyes and inquired, "So, did anyone threaten to kill you? You know, because you're well… quite stupid at times."
"Hey!" Boruto protested. "Actually, yes. Angry superiors and all that. Doesn't matter anymore because I'll never have to go back to that shithole anymore!"
Sarada laughed.
Sakura and Kakashi shot a brief glance at each other.
"Sarada," Boruto whispered in her ear as they left the dinner table. "Meet me outside. Near the hot springs. Midnight. Tell Mitsuki to come too."
"Got it," Sarada nodded back. "What-"
"You'll find out later."
Hanabi Hyuuga was pacing up and down outside the Hokage's office, impatient for her turn.
She had heard that Sarada was released.
She was not happy with it.
"Come in," Sasuke ordered.
Not waiting for him to finish, Hanabi stormed into the room.
"What is the meaning of this? Why did you free Sarada?" She demanded angrily. Normally, being in the presence of the Hokage would have intimidated her – or anyone, for the matter. But this time, for now at least, her indignant emotions overwhelmed all other senses.
"My reasoning behind this decision is none of your concern, Hanabi," Sasuke replied coolly, unfazed.
"Do you know how much effort it took for me to capture her?" Hanabi tried very hard to stop her voice from rising. "More than that, she was with a boy that is clearly documented as a rebel spy. This should concern you."
"I know what I'm doing, but thank you for your insight," Sasuke said, with a hint of wryness.
"They're going to steal important intel – what if they-"
"Calm down Hanabi, I've got this covered," Sasuke interrupted her. "But if you insist on knowing why…"
"Yes..?" Hanabi pressed eagerly.
"She's my daughter from another dimension."
"What?" Hanabi's jaws dropped. "What is – have you gone mad?"
"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out, witnessing her Sharingan. No one else in our world has my eyes," Sasuke explained; his eyes turned blood red and bore themselves into Hanabi. She drew back. "How should I put this…our world has seen three intruders that do not belong here. My sources tell me they could be a threat."
"Wait – I don't get this. With all due respect, Hokage-sama, this is bizarre. Then-"
"Not all of them want to be here. You've seen Boruto haven't you? The blond errand boy with blue eyes?" Sasuke continued.
"Why yes, you sent him to my house."
"He's also from there."
"I see," Hanabi nodded. "He looks… familiar."
"There's no need to be so vague," Sasuke chided rather sternly. "He's Naruto's son. I knew that from the moment I saw him. He belongs elsewhere and if he wants to go back, it's all fine by me."
"That was what I meant," Hanabi said. "Does his presence make you, in any way, uncomfortable?"
"It certainly… brings back memories, but that doesn't matter. You're getting awfully curious," Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he spoke.
"Well, one can always ask-"
"You've asked too much. Now, seeing as you're already here, let's discuss some clan affairs, shall we? Your father is an ailing man… he won't last forever," Sasuke remarked. "And I must say, I hope you will maintain his co-operative attitude. It's been a pleasure working with the Hyuuga clan."
There was a gloomy quality about the man in front of her that penetrated his surroundings. Now that Hanabi's previously pent up rage was dissipating, she felt fear creeping through her. One word bad from him could end her. One good word could raise her further through the ranks of the regime. She had misspoken. She needed to pick her words more carefully in the future.
"Likewise, Hokage-sama."
Boruto was outside at midnight, near empty pools of steaming water.
There were no tourists there at this hour.
"Boruto!" Sarada whispered as she approached him. "What did you want to tell me?"
"Just wait a moment, I'll tell you when Mitsuki comes," he winked back at her.
She rolled her eyes: "It's late and I'm not waiting forever."
"He's here!" Boruto pointed to an emergent figure of Mitsuki.
"Well, what information do you have for us?" Mitsuki smiled his usual smile.
Boruto giddily whipped out the secret scroll: "Guys! We're going home!"
"Boruto?!" Sarada gasped incredulously. "Where – how – why haven't you told me this before?"
"You haven't told her before?" Mitsuki blurted out in confusion.
"You told Mitsuki? And not me?" Sarada said, her voice betraying a sign of displeasure.
"I couldn't find the right moment," Boruto admitted as he hung his head. "Sorry. But that doesn't matter anymore because we're going home!"
He grinned.
Mitsuki nodded in return.
Sarada hesitated and asked, "Now?"
"Yup!" Boruto declared buoyantly.
"I… I can't Boruto."
Sarada's words struck like thunder.
"What do you mean?!" Boruto's cheery, amiable features gave way to horror and shock.
No. They've come too far to stop.
"We can't Boruto. We can't just leave them behind. Not if we give a damn about what's right."
"Sarada, this world has nothing to do with us. We don't belong here. Besides, there's nothing we can do anyway."
"All of this," Sarada said as she gestured her hands. "All of this is just wrong. You know its wrong. We're the only ones who stand a chance of fixing it!"
"And how?! Sarada, how do you propose we solve all these problems? This world is terrible, I know and that's why we should have no part in it. It's not our problem! None of this is. I messed up and got us here. I'm going to take us home."
"Are you even listening to yourself?! 'Not our problem.' Are you still the Boruto I know?!" Sarada's temper was slowly heightening.
"Sarada –" He tried approaching her.
"The Boruto I know would never walk away from injustice, would never look at evil straight in the eye and shrug!" She pushed him away.
"For the last time, there's nothing we can do!"
"The prophecy-"
"I know about the prophecy. It means nothing – just a bunch of obscure words that could have meant anything! Are you really going to-"
"-How can you say that?!"
"I have evidence on my side," Boruto shrugged.
"Jerk!"
"Look, you're being irrational-"
"Stop! The resistance, they're devising something-"
"Sarada. Hate to break it but they've been failing. They've been failing for almost twenty years. There's no reason to believe they'd have any success this time round! Staying here would be like binding yourself to a sinking ship."
"Have you no shame?! We're shinobi and we never walk away from something that's difficult, especially if it's the right thing to do."
"Yeah and we endure – but we do that back in our world-"
"It doesn't matter what world we're in Boruto! These people, they need us. Sakura… she needs me by her side," Sarada bit her lip as she said these words. "She's been through too much…"
"She's not even your mother! She's… her and all the others, they're not real!" Boruto explained frantically.
"What do you even mean by this?! Boruto, these are very real people you're denigrating. Full of emotion, full of life and every bit as real as you and me."
"That's not what I meant! I-"
"Enough Boruto-"
"If you stay then so what? You don't even know what to do!"
In all his wild gesticulations, a letter fell from Boruto's pockets.
Sasuke's parchment.
"Hang on let me- Sarada – thanks for- what-"
Sarada had rushed to pick it up and rebuffed Boruto's request for it to be handed over.
"Well, what have we got?" She asked coldly. "Are you trying to hide something from me?"
Boruto panicked and defended himself: "He found out okay? He found out the day I got there! I… you have to listen to me Sarada, I had no choice!"
Sarada trembled as her eyes perused through the words on the parchment.
Inside the inn, Sakura gazed at the small scroll in the middle of her palm. Shikadai gave it to her shortly after dinner, claiming that Karin entrusted it to him and urged him to share it with Hi no Ishi. According to him, Sasuke had attacked Orochimaru's lair, obliterating everyone in it, everyone except for Karin.
She open the scroll and dropped it on the floor, gaping, stunned. It read:
On the Location of the Nine Tailed-Beasts.
"… So that's why… This explains a lot…" Sarada muttered.
Silence.
"I-"
"That's why everything was so easy. He wanted us to leave all along."
"Sarada, I… It was the only way for me to get the scroll-"
"So you lied about the scroll too?"
"That's not really what I meant – okay, I did. I didn't really know how to explain things to you."
"You don't know! He knew where I lived, he knew who I was. He came into my room and forced everything out of me. If we don't leave this world he'll kill us-"
"Did he give you the scroll too?"
Sarada's glared at him.
"… Yes."
"You're playing straight into his hands."
"I don't give a damn," Boruto declared resolutely, trying to mask his feeling of shame.
"Don't you get it Boruto? He wants you to leave, he wants us to leave!"
"So what? I want to leave too! Not my world, not my problem."
"You – how could you?!" Sarada said as she felt herself boiling with rage. "You're behaving like a guilty collaborator! Like an accomplice of this regime!"
"I make my own decisions! I-"
"You're siding with the regime on-"
"I side with no one!" Boruto yelled back, interjecting Sarada.
"I can't believe this! I can't believe you!" Sarada screamed, tears welling up in her eyes. "Your apathy disgusts me."
Boruto took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself – it was to little avail.
Mitsuki still stood there, glancing tersely between the two of them. He was about to speak when Sarada started talking again.
"You know what, you sicken me. I'm leaving," she huffed as she started walking away.
Boruto grabbed her by her arm and she smacked him in return.
"Hands off me," she glowered at him with murderous intent. "Mitsuki? You coming with me?"
Mitsuki didn't know how to respond. She took Mitsuki's hand before he could do anything and began dragging him away from Boruto.
"Guys, please! We need to leave," Boruto pleaded as he followed them.
Screw this, a voice inside him asserted. I'm going to take them back whether they like it or not.
"Sarada, Mitsuki, I'm sorry," he muttered.
He opened the forbidden scroll and its glow engulfed their surroundings. The world around them warped itself as Sarada and Mitsuki fixated their gaze on his, a gaze of shock, a gaze of utter disbelief.
Ominous incantations prowled their way into Boruto's ear, puncturing his entire body.
Time froze.
Boruto was back in the Hokage's office. It was late at night; the place was filled with dead, desolate silence. Even his father had left at this hour.
Sarada and Mitsuki's bodies lay near him. They were evidently still unconscious.
Boruto sighed with relief. They were home. None of the commotion, none of the strife in that alien world mattered anymore.
His parents, Himawari, their parents, their friends and everyone else would have missed them.
They can now put everything behind them.
Then, out of the blue, the other figures wavered and vanished with a puff.
Shadow clones, Boruto mentally cursed. Damn.
A/N: BAM.
And so this chapter ends :D
This scene had been playing in my head for a while (I had to make a consicous effort to expel it during my exams.) On the bright side, I'm nearly done with my exams and will be able to resume regular writing sometime next week!
Please leave your thoughts about this chapter in the comments. Anything, literally. What you felt about Boruto and Sarada's confrontation, speculations about the awkwardness of Mitsuki just standing there and watching the two, the implications of Sakura's new scroll, Sasuke's motives, what will happen afterwards...
I look forward to reading them!
Also, I'm thinking of getting a beta to edit my previous chapters for grammatical mistakes etc. Feel free to PM me if you want to be of any help :)