Chapter 8:

Come mid-morning, the prison door opened and two meals were shoved beneath the cell bars below the door. Boruto looked at the food slapped carelessly onto the plastic tray with a spoon lodged in the thick mound in disgust. Pulling the spoon from the gray wad was like pulling a popsicle stick from glue, making him reluctant to eat it.

"Anything to wash this down with?" Boruto asked the guard who responded by throwing a cup of water between the bars, soaking the boy. Boruto growled as water dripped from his hair and face.

"You got something to say, assassin?" the guard asked him.

Boruto kept his mouth shut. He knew his attempt to prevent war would have been misunderstood. It really did look like an assassination attempt, though he never intended to hurt anyone, just scare them.

The young man in the cell beside his looked politely up at the guard, saying, "Sir, thanks for the food, but may I, too, ask for some water?"

The guard huffed and placed a cup between the bars of the man's cell.

"Thank you."

The guard grunted and left the prison, the heavy doors creaking shut and locking behind him.

The young man slid the water over to Boruto's cell. "Here. I've been here a while, so he's more used to me."

Boruto took the cup and set it beside himself. "It's not because I'm new. It's because of what I've done."

The young man pulled his hand back between the bars and placed it on his raised knee. "He called you 'assassin', but guards tend to exaggerate at times. You're just a boy."

Boruto cringed at the term. "I'm a shinobi, too, you know."

"And that makes you an assassin? I know shinobi are hired to do all kinds of things, but I doubt you're an assassin, as he says."

Boruto pulled the spoon loose from his food, a long strand forming between utensil and tray like melted cheese. "You don't know what I've done."

"If you wanted me to know, you would have told me," said the man. "I'm comfortable telling you about me, but I have been down here a while by myself. Lonely, talking to myself these past few months. I'm fine running my mouth about anything. You're probably different. I'm not going to pry if you don't want me to. We are roommates now and should probably get along."

Boruto tasted the food stuck to his spoon and discovered it was cold mashed potatoes. Since he didn't know when he'd eat again and needed to keep up his strength for whatever he decided to do, he ate them.

If he had been home, he would have been finished with breakfast by now. A hot meal of his mother's miso soup and grilled fish and white rice he'd pour soy sauce on like a mound of shaved ice.

His father saw what happened to him and had probably informed her all about it.

It was never his intention to make her worry. Just like it wasn't his intention to be in this cell.

"I messed up," Boruto said to the mashed potatoes. "I tried to help and I messed up."

The man beside him nodded. "It happens to everyone."

"This was a big screw-up."

"You're human. Lots of people make big mistakes. I had the best of intentions and ended up in this cell."

"But all you did was advise someone."

"Someone who didn't want it," said the man. "I was out of turn."

"Still," said Boruto. "This is an extreme reaction. Throwing you in a cell like this."

"Eh," he said. "That's what you get when the king's pet is given more power than he should."

Boruto picked up his empty cup and poured half the water from the man's cup into it and slid the man's through the bars of the cell.

"My name's Boruto, by the way."

"Yuji," said the man.

Sarada and her mother ate breakfast together, talking about their successful bonding day. Sarada wasn't sure about it at first, her mother planning on spoiling their feminine side by going to the spa and shopping for new outfits just for fun. Sarada didn't want to be accused of being too girly by pampering herself, though she actually did enjoy it.

It turned out to be a lot of fun, just the two of them. It was a nice day to relax and not worry about training or work of any kind. Sarada couldn't wait to tell Chocho all about it, since Chocho was always whining about how they should go to the spa more often.

She hadn't thought about Boruto once that day until she saw Mitsuki walking around the village by himself. Since he was usually with Baruto, this was a bit odd but Sarada tried to put it out of her mind.

"So nice to do girl things for a change, right, Sarada?"

She smiled at her mother. "Yeah, that was a lot of fun."

Sakura smiled back. "Don't worry, I won't keep you from your friends. I'm sure you're eager to tell them all about it."

"Chocho's going to be so jealous."

"Maybe you'll get to go back with her."

"Only if she's paying. That stuff's expensive."

Sakura giggled. "Well, aren't you glad we went early so we were the first ones seen? Got the works, had a nice lunch, did some shopping…"

There was a knock on the door and Sarada stood up to answer it. "Probably Chocho. I said I had something to tell her today."

Sakura nodded and started to clear the table. "Just don't be late for dinner. I'm trying a new tempura recipe."

Sarada forced a grin onto her face in answer, knowing her mother's experimental recipes weren't always the best. The last time she tried to put a healthy spin on something saturated in oil, she could hardly bite into it, substituting something unknown for oil. Whatever it was, her mother insisted it was a healthy alternative.

She got her shoes on, expecting it to be Chocho who would want to do something immediately, and opened the door.

Mitsuki was standing in front of her without a smile.

"Mitsuki? What are you doing here? Is there a mission or something?"

"Have you seen Boruto?" he asked.

"Uh… No."

"I haven't seen him since the other day. I looked all day yesterday but couldn't find him. I went to his house but he didn't seem to be home."

Sarada immediately remembered what Boruto was saying the other day and growled. "That idiot. I bet he tried to handle something himself."

"Like preventing a possible war with a king from the seaside kingdom we visited during that one mission?"

"How do you know about that?"

Mitsuki smiled. "I was with Boruto when he was spying on the Hokage's meeting."

She frowned. "Uh-huh. Why am I not surprised?"

"Boruto may be at that location right now. We should go there. I'll show you where it is," offered Mitsuki.

Sarada shook her head as she closed her front door to make sure her mother didn't overhear them. "We should go to the Hokage's office and tell him about this."

"I'm pretty sure he's aware," said Mitsuki. "Boruto went there the other day to convince him to do things differently. And their next meeting was supposed to be yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Sarada growled and stomped her foot on the ground. "He lied to me! Ooh, and he didn't think I'd find out, eh? Well, joke's on him."

"But you wouldn't have known unless I told you."

"I would have found out somehow," Sarada snapped. "If the Hokage knows Boruto's intentions, then he must know what happened to him. Let's head to the office and ask him. Better than us running around. This is the most direct way."

Mitsuki followed wordlessly, thinking that if the Hokage did know, Boruto wouldn't be missing. To him, it made more sense to go to where Boruto was heading, even if he was no longer there, because they might find something leading to his whereabouts and condition.

When they arrived, the Hokage's office was closed and the room empty.

"This isn't good. If the Hokage's not here, something must have happened," said Sarada.

They left to look for more clues, just in case she was mistaken and Naruto was just at a meeting. They ran into Shikadai who informed them that his father told him yesterday that he would be doing some business with the Hokage and wouldn't be around for a while.

"That settles it," said Sarada. "Boruto got himself into some kind of trouble and the Hokage and Shikamaru went to bail him out. This is so typical."

"Then we should go to where the meeting was held because that's where Boruto undoubtedly went," said Mitsuki. "We might find something there."

"But if the Hokage and Shikamaru left the village, they must be handling it," she reasoned. "The whole reason Boruto's in trouble is because he didn't trust the Hokage to handle it. Better not make the same mistake. We should just stay here and wait for them to come back."

Mitsuki didn't want to do that. It made the most sense, but he didn't like the idea of Boruto being out of the village and in some sort of danger. Boruto could have been trapped and the Hokage was unable to locate him. The Hokage could have been in trouble, too, though that seems unlikely.

"What if Boruto got trapped somewhere and the Hokage isn't back because he had to leave to settle things with the king in his kingdom?" asked Mitsuki. "Them not being here could be unrelated."

Shikadai agreed. "If it involved Boruto, my dad would have mentioned it. It's possible that Boruto went there, got in trouble, and the Hokage didn't notice because he didn't know he was there and was busy tending to official business."

"Let's assume that and go there to check it out."

Sarada shook her head. "We can't assume that. Taking it upon ourselves is no different from what Boruto was doing. What makes you think we won't run into some kind of trouble ourselves? We should stay here and have them work it out."

"What if it's like Mitsuki says?"

"I'm not going to risk making everything worse," said Sarada. "What if everything's being handled and we show up and that messes up everything? We shouldn't get involved."

"We're just going to look around the area," said Mitsuki. "Check to make sure Boruto isn't trapped somewhere, waiting for help."

"There can't be any harm in looking, can there?"

Sarada bit her lip. "My gut's telling me we shouldn't."

"And mine says it wouldn't hurt to check," said Shikadai. "We're not going to do anything but look, ok?"

"If you think it's best to stay here, then you can," Mitsuki told Sarada. "We'll go."

It did make sense to keep someone behind who was in the loop but Sarada didn't want to be left behind just in case they did make things worse. She felt she needed to be there to keep them from doing something foolish or crazy.

Adjusting her glasses, Sarada said, "Mitsuki and I will go, and Shikadai will stay."

"Huh?" he asked, looking offended. "Why me? You're the one who doesn't want to go."

"I have to keep someone from doing something dumb and Mitsuki insists on going. We need someone in the loop to stay behind in case something happens. They can get help. So, by that logic, you should stay behind."

Shikadai groaned. "Your way of rationalizing is so troublesome."

She smirked. "Well, I could stay behind. And if I happen upon your mom and she asks where you are, I'll do the responsible thing and tell her. If she has any issues, I'm sure the two of you can work it out."

His eye twitched and he groaned louder. "Fine, I'll stay. This whole thing's turning out to be a real pain."

Naruto waited, staring in the direction Ryosuke had left not too long ago.

After deciding to help them, Ryosuke disappeared into the spirit realm to track down the spirit who gave Boruto the rice in the first place. With any luck, they would know how and be able to reverse it. Naruto anticipated such an event taking only a day to resolve.

Shikamaru was a bit more skeptical. "Even if this guy could reverse it, would he want to? And in the event he won't or can't, this will take longer than a day."

Naruto understood such a possibility but didn't want to decide that prematurely.

Time operated differently in the spirit realm, but Naruto didn't expect Ryosuke to take this long to get back. Perhaps he was having a hard time locating the spirit.

Shikamaru could barely hold his head up anymore and fell asleep where he was in the grass, waking up only went he felt a tugging sensation on his ear. The young kitsune had come to investigate the newcomer and were currently climbing over him and biting his ear.

With a kitsune hanging from his left ear, Shikamaru lifting his head to see Naruto still sitting and staring off into space. "You need your rest," Shikamaru advised him. "He'll come back when he can and if he sends us on a quest like he did Boruto, you'll need your strength."

Naruto sighed. "I just don't feel tired right now. And I usually am."

Shikamaru sighed. "Stress will do that. Try to put it out of your mind- Ow! My ear is not a chew-toy!"

The young pups giggled and zoomed around him.

To distract the young, a few of the older kitsune told them to follow for some hunting training. The small foxes ran off excitedly and Shikamaru collapsed once again.

Naruto moved away from where he was and curled up beside Shikamaru, sharing their body heat. "I know, you're right," he mumbled and rested beside his friend.

Having their fur touching like this was oddly comforting and Shikamaru didn't complain. Feeling like he could relax again, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

For all of four minutes.

Ryosuke came bursting through the portal and landed in front of them.

Naruto bolted upright, knocking Shikamaru aside as he ran to his friend. Shikamaru sighed and sat up, knowing he wouldn't be able to get any sleep.

Naruto looked up expectantly at Ryosuke without a word, eyes wide and unblinking.

"I found the one who gave Boruto the rice from the spirit realm," said Ryosuke. "I told him what happened."

"And?"

He sighed heavily. "He said what the human did was foolish and would do nothing."

Naruto hung his head, feeling everything drain out of him at once, even his air.

"Did he say anything else?" asked Shikamaru. "Did he mention any way this could be reversed without his involvement?"

Ryosuke nodded. "As a collector of knowledge, this particular spirit knows many things. He advised that the cure be sought in this world."

"How?"

Naruto looked up, a thought popping into his head. "There are creatures besides you in this world. He means we need to find them."

Ryosuke nodded. "He said there was a group that should be able to assist you in ways we cannot. He even mentioned their last known location. However, this information is some fifty years old and might have changed since then."

"It's something," said Naruto. "Let's go."

"Uh…" Shikamaru put his paw on Naruto's back. "How are we supposed to do that? I thought you said that most spirits don't appear before humans. Knowing the location means nothing if we can't get them to come out."

Ryosuke chuckled. "Easily fixed. In fact, the answer is already before you."

Shikamaru blinked. "Wait. Are you telling me…"

Naruto smiled. "Right now, we are kitsune. We just have to stay like this."

Shikamaru's face fell. "Uh… there are so many issues with this, I don't know what to mention first."

"What sort of issues?"

Shikamaru glared at him. "Thumbs, or lack thereof. The high probability of us having to come into contact with humans at some point. Unfamiliarity with-"

"That's fine," said Naruto. "Remember what happened to me years ago? The curse back then allowed me to switch back and forth between forms. We'll just do that again, if this isn't that already."

"So we'll be hybrids…" Shikamaru sighed. "I don't know about this…"

"It's easily modified," assured Naruto. "Once we're able to change back and forth, we can talk to anyone we want and not have to worry. Plus, this gives us protection. Since a lot of spirit things can't affect another, if one tries to hurt us with a spell or something, it won't work."

"In theory," said Shikamaru. "You and Ryosuke both said that there were exceptions."

"And you won't be a true kitsune, capable of growing tails," Ryosuke informed them. "You will only be of the lowest rank, having one tail, no matter the curse or your personal power."

"That's fine," said Naruto. "You trained me when I only had one tail, so it saves me time from having to learn something new."

Ryosuke looked from him to Shikamaru. "This applies mainly to you, Naruto. There is a difference between fox and kitsune and whenever you are transformed, it is always as a kitsune. Everyone else becomes a fox."

Shikamaru. "You mean to tell me that one other time I was transformed, it was as a fox and not a kitsune? And this time?"

Ryosuke cocked his head slightly as a way to shrug. "I say this because from what I understand, our abilities should not bestow such power to a human without there being something more. I've noticed this. For some reason, even if he is meant to be transformed into a fox, it is always as a kitsune. I don't know why Naruto is the exception, but he is a special case, it seems."

Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged looks. They chuckled nervously and looked away, suspecting the Nine-Tails might have been a factor somehow. They had no proof, but it would also explain why, when trying to turn Gaara into a kitsune, he became a raccoon instead.

It seemed Naruto's condition didn't need to be modified, but Shikamaru would have to decide if he wanted the kitsune to try anyway, do something else to protect him or leave him as a human.

"They might not show up if I'm a human, even if you're a kitsune," Shikamaru deduced. "But is there a way to have it be something I can alter by choice? Be human when I want and animal when I have to be?"

"Of course. Some of the animal tendencies might transfer over, though, no matter the form. Be aware of that."

"Like with Gaara back then. Ah, fine." Even if he wasn't a kitsune, the rules applied for humans, not animals. This should allow Shikamaru to meet with these creatures and not ward them off.

Ryosuke gave them the information he had been given and sent one of his kitsune with them to assist while he remained behind. If they ran into trouble, the kitsune should be able to help.

Naruto placed his head on Ryosuke's neck in a kind of hug. "Thank you."

"Best of luck to you, my friend. Come back, should anything happen."

"We kind of have to in order to reverse this," Naruto said with a chuckle, gesturing to his form. "It feels good to be like this again."

Ryosuke smiled at him. "I'm glad." He nodded in the direction of the exit. "Take care on your journey, Naruto."

"I will. And thanks again."

As they made it down the mountain and Shikamaru's condition was modified, Naruto couldn't help snickering at his friend trying to maintain either form without actually being a hybrid.

Shikamaru walked with a grimace on his face and his arms folded in a sulking gesture. "There was no other animal I could change from? Seriously?"

"It's not that much of a demotion, is it?" Naruto asked with a snicker.

Shikamaru turned his head, the fluffy cat ears on top of his head casting long shadows in the moonlight. "I was a fox." He'd honestly take that over this.