Chapter 12:

Since none of the adults were helping them, Sarada and Mitsuki left the Hokage building with the mystery boy to pursue other options. Normally Mitsuki probably would have let the adults handle things for them but in this situation Mitsuki just couldn't do that, feeling that the situation was different. He knew something was wrong and wouldn't settle down until he had answers.

He looked back at the mystery boy eyeing the shops and ignoring the people, looking up only when one got too close. He seemed to show great interest in a furniture store they passed by but didn't slow his pace.

Sarada gave the boy a worried look. "You still haven't eaten yet, have you?"

He didn't answer her.

"Where would you like to go? We'll get you whatever you want."

"There's no need," he told her. "I'm fine."

Sarada stopped in front of him and he stopped to keep from bumping into her. She gave him a concerned look. "I haven't seen you eat anything since we found you. Not even at my house, and my mom offered you some stuff."

He looked away.

"You gotta eat something. You'll collapse."

He wouldn't look at her.

"If this is about accepting food from strangers, don't worry about it. It's not like-"

The boy suddenly moved closer to her, staring in a different direction.

Shikadai was coming towards them, spotting them on the street. "Sarada, Mitsuki, any luck finding Boruto? Who's this guy?"

"Uh…"

"He won't tell us his name," Mitsuki said honestly.

Shikadai raised his brow at the boy and frowned. "Ok… All that aside, since Boruto's not with you, I take it you didn't find anything out."

"We just found this boy but he doesn't seem to know anything, despite being exactly where Boruto was heading," said Mitsuki.

Sarada scolded him for saying that, thinking the boy would think he was being accused of something. "It's a coincidence. He was face-down when we saw him. He probably got hurt during the fight and didn't see anything."

"Fight?" asked Shikadai. "What fight?"

"It looked like a battle had taken place on the field. It didn't look like that a couple days ago when Boruto and I went there. That's why I think something happened. Boruto and the Hokage are missing along with your father."

"Yeah, but my dad told us he was leaving on business the other day."

After getting more details, the group figured out the timeline.

"So when the Hokage left for his meeting on the same day Boruto went, the Hokage came back with Shikamaru and told you that they were going off on business. That means Boruto was already missing. And if the Hokage and Shikamaru came back to tell you about leaving, then they weren't captured."

"Which means Boruto got himself into some kind of trouble and his old man and mine had to bail him out," Shikadai deduced. "That idiot."

"Which further proves my point about letting the adults handle it," said Sarada. "Clearly, they've got this and we'll only be getting in the way."

"But-"

"If Boruto went there to handle things and got himself into trouble, it's because he tried to take it upon himself," she went on. "If we act on our own, how would it be any different? Let's not make things worse. I'm sure they've got this."

"If Boruto was in trouble, the Hokage would have rushed off the help him, not come all the way back here," said Mitsuki.

Sarada knew Boruto got his impulsiveness from somewhere and could easily imagine the Hokage rushing after Boruto if he was being carried off by an enemy.

"If he came back to the village, things must be more complicated."

"Or he only planned on being away for an hour or two and had to come back to cancel his other appointments," pointed out Shikadai.

Sarada looked at Mitsuki. "It doesn't matter. We already went to the location and we only found one person who's too traumatized to tell us anything, even his name. We won't find anything without the help of tracking shinobi."

"But none of them are willing to help," said Mitsuki. "They're too busy or think it's being handled by the Hokage."

"Which it probably is. I'm just telling you…"

"Why don't we go to his house and ask his mom?" suggested Shikadai. "If the Hokage came back here after his meeting only to leave again, it was probably to tell his family he'd be away from the village for a while so they wouldn't worry. They probably know what's going on and might tell us if we ask."

Sarada and Mitsuki nodded to each other. Getting Hinata's version would certainly help matters and probably ease Mitsuki's mind. They all decided to go there, the nameless boy following closely.

They knocked on the door and Hinata let them inside, being as polite and hospitable as always.

As they took their shoes off by the door, the boy looked slowly around the house. Without removing his sandals, he stepped inside the house, looking at all the family photos lining the walls. While everyone else moved into the other room to talk, he remained glued to one photograph in particular.

A family photo with the entire Uzumaki clan gathered together under a tree, smiling happily at the camera. Naruto hand his arms around his children and wife, his wide smile almost infectious, eyes big and full of joy.

The boy looked at it for a long time in wonder, turning away only when he heard a small noise.

Turning to his right, he saw Himawari staring up at him with curious eyes.

The boy looked from the girl in the photo to the real thing and pointed to the boy in the photo. "Is this your brother?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh. That's Boruto."

"Are you close?"

"Uh-huh."

The boy looked at the photo again and then towards the next room, though he didn't try to peek inside.

Himawari stepped closer to the boy, studying him closely. "Are you one of them?" she asked softly.

The boy turned sharply at her words, feet rooted to the spot. "What?"

"Are you a kitsune?"

The boy relaxed. "No, I'm not."

Himawari looked disappointed. "I thought you were one of Daddy's friends."

The boy saw the look on her face and said gently, "Your father's friends with kitsune?"

"Yeah. But he doesn't tell that to a lot of people."

"It is no minor feat. Not many can say they are friends with kitsune. Spirits in general."

"Because people want to use them or abuse them?"

He looked down at her in surprise. "You've been touched by one, haven't you? Perhaps more than one."

Himawari shrugged, not understanding what he was saying.

The boy looked around the house, as if trying to detect something, only to slowly look down, unable to find it. He looked back at Himawari.

"You're confident a kitsune would have come to help your family."

Himawari looked away, knowing she wasn't supposed to brag about the kitsune. Her father explicitly told her never to reveal the location of the kitsune, even though it was general information that they lived in the mountain most knew based on the myths. It was also supposed to be a family secret of their transformation into foxes because, as her father explained it to her, most people would not understand and might think they were dangerous and try to hurt them.

Because of this, Himawari remained tightlipped about what she knew regarding the kitsune, now that she knew this boy wasn't one of them in disguise.

If this child had been in contact with kitsune, it would explain her sharpness and mistaking him for one. This girl seemed to sense he was different in some way, though her skills weren't refined enough to be able to properly identify just what he was.

Being able to tell he wasn't normal was alarming, but being unable to distinguish him from others left him feeling perplexed and eased.

He bent down in front of her with his hand held out, palm up. "May I see your hand for a moment?"

Himawari obediently gave him her hand, unsure of what he wanted.

The boy held her hand in his, letting his fingers and thumb rest gently atop her hand. Her hands were soft like a child's though slightly rough in areas from play and frequent washing. They smelled faintly of cherry blossom soap and crayon. However, none of these observations were as important to him as something else.

The longer he held her hand, the more he understood.

She was trustworthy.

The boy smiled up and her and opened his fingers, allowing her to take her hand back. He stood without a word and didn't badger her with any more orders or questions. Himawari gave him a quizzical look but didn't ask him anything either.

In the next room, Hinata found herself being bombarded with questions about her son. The children shared what they knew and informed her that they required her to fill in the rest, otherwise they would keep jumping to conclusions. Preferring not to have them jumping to the wrong conclusions and causing trouble, she agreed to tell them what was going on, leaving out some important details.

"So Boruto did get into trouble after all," said Sarada. "I knew it."

"That idiot," said Shikadai. "Trying to stop a war on his own, doing something so stupid. Should have left it alone."

Mitsuki didn't say anything.

"The king was furious and took Boruto to their prison. Naruto's trying to find a way to get him out, but it will take time." Hinata made sure to leave out the parts involving the kitsune and Kai having to be changed back, unaware that Mitsuki already knew that part.

"First, the Hokage's going to have to prove to the king that Boruto isn't a threat and after what he pulled, that alone will take time," said Shikadai. "It also means we really shouldn't get involved. Any move we make could hinder what the Hokage's already put into place. It's best if he handles it."

"What about Boruto?" Mitsuki asked.

"He may be locked up, but at least he's safe," said Shikadai. "They can't do too much with him, being a bargaining chip. They'll need him to be in good condition for the Hokage."

Hinata looked at Shikadai, unsure of how he jumped to that conclusion. "What do you mean, bargaining chip? Who said anything about that?"

"The Hokage went there to speak with the king for a reason. That tells me they were doing business. Whatever it was, it was enough for Boruto to try to stop an impeding war, which means there was some kind of bartering going on."

Hinata should have known Shikamaru's son would be just as sharp as he was at this age.

Mitsuki looked at the table in disappointment. "This means we can't go there to break him out ourselves. It would ruin the exchange the Hokage is doing. And if we do, the king would have reason to go to war with the Leaf."

"See?" said Sarada. "I told you it would make a mess of things. I was right. We should just leave this to the Hokage. He'll know a way to fix this without need for a battle."

Hinata smiled. "He's always been good about building bridges. He'll handle this. And if he gets stuck, Shikamaru's there to help him out. It'll be fine."

The young shinobi at the kitchen table nodded silently, knowing they had to remain in the village and put their faith in Naruto.

The boy peered into the room from the doorway, watching and listening with a calm expression.

Riding the train again, Shikamaru and Naruto caught up on some rest before arriving outside the seaside kingdom. Shikamaru had to be nudged awake and then dragged off the train, half-asleep. He stretched and rubbed the back of his neck, looking around the train station bathed in morning light. Even the traffic was sleepy, the few people around standing still and not talking unless they had to.

"It'll be a half-hour walk before get to the gates of the kingdom," said Shikamaru sleepily. "And that's if we pick up the pace." He yawned and let his eyes droop shut.

Naruto chuckled at Shikamaru's sleepiness, amused. "Must be the cat in you. You're even more tired than I am."

"Sleeping on a train is incredibly uncomfortable. All I could do was take a series of catnaps."

"You know, if you turn into a cat completely, I could carry you while you sleep."

"I haven't figured out how to do that yet." He yawned again. "It's still early. Why don't we just find somewhere to rest and pick it up when we feel more energized?"

Naruto sighed. "Fine. Guess it would be pointless if we show up too tired to think straight. Make it harder to plead our case to the king."

They found a bench on the other side of the station and sat down. Shikamaru fell asleep instantly while Naruto remained awake and wondering about their plan.

He thought about the cat spirit, one of many who abandoned their home to guard their secret. All because one human betrayed their trust. It effected so many; something the child probably didn't consider. Similar to how Boruto failed to consider the outcome of his actions.

Naruto couldn't be too mad at him. He made plenty of mistakes when he was his age. Their first real mission on the unfinished bridge fighting those two shinobi of the Hidden Mist. How Kakashi had lectured him on his entrance, telling a young Naruto that he could have performed a successful sneak attack if he hadn't come barging in the way that he did and alert everyone to his location. He was a good distraction but at that moment, things could have been a lot more successful if he hadn't made sure all eyes were on him. Naruto knew he had screwed up because Kakashi lectured him then and there about it rather than wait to tell him later. Things worked out, of course, but at the time he felt so foolish.

Mistaking herbs for weeds, not mending a fence correctly, catching the wrong escaped animal. There was a long list of mistakes he made, including the time a shinobi tricked him into taking a scroll and lying about what it really was. Everyone assumed the worst when he was actually innocent, believing the adult.

Now that he was an adult, he made fewer of them because of experience, but he still made them. That was why he needed Shikamaru with him. He couldn't do anything completely on his own.

When he saw the look on his son's face, he knew he hadn't intended for this to happen. Whatever Boruto had planned went differently in his head. Naruto understood that completely. He couldn't condone what Boruto did, but he recognized that it was a mistake nonetheless and shouldn't have to suffer for it. His guilt and shame would be enough punishment.

Naruto wondered if he was being too soft on Boruto. He didn't think he was, but given his actions, anyone else would assume the worst of him. The same way it was with that scroll the night he learned the truth about the Nine-Tails.

Keeping that incident in mind, Naruto tried to resolve things differently, no matter the person. He looked at the intention more than the outcome, knowing the person could have been misinformed or simply made a mistake.

Remembering what he was like at that age and how similar he and Boruto were, Naruto began to wonder if this was partly his fault. This was official business that most people would be unaware of, even if they were family. It effected the entire village, but it was none of Boruto's business, which seemed contradictory. If he had spoken to Boruto about this in more detail, perhaps he could have avoided this. Boruto would have felt heard, felt safe and assured things would be handled and that he had nothing to worry about.

Shikamaru slumped forward, landing on Naruto's lap and continued sleeping. Naruto rested his hand on Shikamaru's back, the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed putting him at ease.

He couldn't change what Boruto did any more than he could change what he didn't do, but he could change what came next. He wasn't stuck.

Again, Boruto's breakfast was shoved under the door of his cell and it was the same meal as yesterday. And again, he was given no water and had to share with his cellmate, Yuji.

"Those guards really don't like you," Yuji commented, seeing that he wasn't given anything to drink and how his food was shoved rather than placed under his cell.

Boruto sighed and ate his cold mashed potatoes slowly, the pasty texture making him want to spit it out rather than swallow. He was only given two meals a day so far. Breakfast was always served late, probably after the guards ate theirs and went to their posts.

He looked over at Yuji, realizing that this young man worked under the king and probably knew how things operated around the palace. He could use some of that information to his advantage.

As if reading his mind, Yuji corrected him. "I know of what the guards do, not all of it. I can tell you more about my job than I can theirs or anyone else's. And depending on the level, I could know even less. It's the difference between grunts and seated positions."

Boruto lowered his spoon. "I thought…"

"We may work under the king, but even we don't know the extent of his work and all that he does in a day. Any more than you'd know the details of everyone in your village and their individual jobs. You might know what they do for a living but you might not know what that entails or understand it."

Boruto hadn't thought about that. He knew Inojin's mother worked in a flower shop but that didn't mean he knew what went into such a job. He always figured it was watering plants and selling them all day and that was it. He found out there was more to it than that when touching one gave him a rash and Ino had to lecture him about how some could be dangerous if he didn't know their properties.

"I know ninja are hired help you fight and protect people and steal things if that's what their employer wants, but that's about all I know about you guys," Yuji went on. "I'm sure there's more to it than that."

Boruto was genuinely curious. "What did you do under the king? You knew Kai and he even had you thrown in here for something stupid. So what was your job?"

Yuji chuckled and leaned against the wall of his cell. "It's hard to put into words exactly what I do. I study customs and cultures and use what I learn to help bridge the gap."

Boruto looked to the side for a moment. "Sounds like something my dad would do. Bonds and all that."

"This isn't about making bonds with people. More of understanding them for business purposes," clarified Yuji. "If the king wants something from a specific group, like trade items or cooperation or something like that, someone like me gets sent to make a good impression and establish a connection of some sort."

"So it's not creating bonds but a business transaction?"

"Pretty much. I'm the youngest one doing this stuff and my approach is a bit different, considering I try using my knowledge of other cultures to make things go smoother. If it's customary to invite a guest in and treat them to a meal, you must respect and accept their hospitality, otherwise they might not listen to anything you have to say. They use this time to get to know you and size you up of sorts. If you're rude, they won't want to do business with you. If you are a gracious guest, they're more willing to hear you out. It's all about making a good impression. They want to know that their ways are being respected. They want to be heard, is what I've realized."

Boruto nodded. "So you go places the king doesn't to do business with people and get them to cooperate with what he wants. You represent the king."

"Exactly what I was told when I took the job." Yuji sighed. "But my methods, though effective, took too long, according to the king and my superiors. I'd be asked to go to four different places in an afternoon and not come back until evening and they'd want to know what took so long. When I told them I was invited in and given food, I had to accept it and stayed a while, they told me I should have gotten down to business and rejected their offers. I told them that would have made things harder. They wouldn't listen to me and, if I represented the king, I should be respectful and follow their customs rather than be rude and make them unwilling to listen, thinking I was disrespecting them and wanted to use them."

"Is that why Kai threw you in here?" asked Boruto. "Because he wanted to do things quickly and you said it would make a bad impression?"

Yuji sighed. "Not exactly." He chuckled, shaking his head at the thought. "What I could do was effective but took too long. And even then, it would only go so far. Kai could handle things quickly and got more from his business dealings which pleased the king. Extra profit in half the time propelled Kai ahead, far exceeding expectations and making the rest of us look inferior."

"But he did things under the table," said Boruto, sticking his face through the bars to make sure his words were heard. "He bullied people into submission. He took things and gave it to the king and threatened anyone who protested. He even threatened his own people, saying he'd set them up if they refused on moral ground and, since the king trusted him completely, he could get away with it."

Yuji pointed to the floor of his cell. "And that is why I'm in here."

Boruto sat back, letting that sink in.

It sounded like Yuji was being bullied into something he found morally reprehensible and when he stood up for himself and his beliefs, Kai had him imprisoned.

It reminded Boruto of the incident a few months ago when Kai threatened his men in order to get them to capture a kitsune in the mountain. They were so afraid of what Kai would do to them that one was actually willing to threaten the prince's life. It demonstrated how awful Kai was if threatening an innocent person's life and going against orders wasn't really a choice.

Kai only had the power to do that because of the king. Either he allowed Kai to do whatever he wanted, including imprison people just for talking back, or the king couldn't be bothered to do an investigation and threw people into a cell based on Kai's word alone. If that. The king gave Boruto the impression that he didn't know everything that was going on in his palace unless it involved money.

If Yuji had been thrown in this cell for standing up to Kai and his twisted ways, Boruto felt both proud and sorry for him. If he had been told to kill someone and Yuji refused, then Yuji truly didn't deserve to be in the cell.

Boruto, however, thought he deserved to be in one more than Yuji. Not that he still wasn't thinking about escaping, of course.

Shikamaru inhaled the aroma of sea water, the strong smell of salt stimulating his other senses.

They had to go through the port to reach the main gates of the city where the king's palace was located. It was a wide-open area by the docks with men hauling in their catch from the day before and others just setting sail now, late in the day as it was. Some were tending to their boats tied at the dock and others stood around chatting and pointing out to sea. A large warehouse stood behind the docks where men were hard at work dumping their catch into big crates lined up inside and others were cleaning the fish and sorting out which were good to go to market and which had to be tossed.

Walking by the warehouse filled their nostrils with the thick stench of fish and saltwater, which had Shikamaru drooling. He kept giving longing looks into the warehouse, the smell of fish irresistible to his feline half.

"It doesn't help that my favorite food happens to be marcel, either," he said as he walked by the men sorting fish into other containers.

Naruto had to pull him away from the warehouse, noticing how the smell was pulling Shikamaru towards it.

Inside the gates, it was impossible to keep Shikamaru's cat instincts in check, bombarded with smells and signs for fish from venders and markets lined up along the tiled street. Shikamaru planted both hands on a shop window, eyeing the fish displayed inside with his cat ears exposed and tail swishing slowly behind himself.

"I'm so hungry," he said, staring into the shop. "We haven't had breakfast yet and it's almost noon."

Naruto sighed. "It's not like you're going to concentrate on anything else."

They bought as much food as they could carry, most of it fish, and sat down to enjoy it. Shikamaru tore into his fish as if he hadn't eaten in days and his cat tail disappeared, though his ears remained out. Naruto ate more slowly, still thinking about his approach. When Shikamaru ate his fill and calmed down, he was able to think more like himself and noticed the expression on Naruto's face.

"We'll just be upfront about it," he told Naruto. "Tell the king if he wants Kai back to normal, he'll have to give him to us."

"And if he doesn't?"

"He'll have to if he wants his way."

"Shikamaru, we've both dealt with people in our lives where they don't listen and demand anyway. Even if we tell them it's impossible, they insist we find a way. They don't accept it."

"Like saying fill a bucket full of water but make it not heavy," Shikamaru said. "If it's full, it's going to be heavy. If it's light, we didn't fill it. Guy's not going to be happy no matter what."

Naruto sighed heavily and rested his chin on his hands. "But he's got to listen. If he doesn't, no one's getting anything. He doesn't get Kai and I don't get my son."

Shikamaru patted Naruto on the back. "I know this is troublesome, but we've already gone over our options. Boruto's a factor now, but everything's still the same."

Naruto pouted. "There really isn't another way to do this without causing more trouble. Or going to war."

Shikamaru recapped their situation and options along with the most likely outcomes of each.

"If we break Boruto out, the king will take it out on us and the village. After all, we're aiding the escape of a criminal in their eyes. If we hire another village to do it, the king will still blame us. If Boruto breaks out on his own, the king will blame us and possibly attack the village. We could use a substitute. Trade Boruto for a lookalike or someone transformed into him."

"I'm not going to do that," said Naruto. "I won't make someone take Boruto's place. We are not trading one shinobi for another, no matter who it is."

Shikamaru knew he'd say this. "It wouldn't be wise anyway. Eventually they'd change back. And if we go the route of trading one prisoner for another, making some shinobi from our prison take Boruto's place, that's riddled with problems. The biggest one being that the king's prison wouldn't have sealing, making it easy for the shinobi to escape. Like they'd stay there, trading one prison for another. Then we'd have to deal with that problem."

"And the king's unlikely to trade Boruto for another prisoner, seeing as how he's the perfect hostage. He wouldn't let me take his place since he wants my help." Naruto looked at Shikamaru. "Is there really no other way to do this?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Not without consequences. You're asking for a play with no sacrifice. That's next to impossible to do. Even in shogi. The best we can do is barter."

"How good are our chances of getting him to haggle?"

Shikamaru didn't answer right away. Then he said, "Depends how good you are at talking and how well he's willing to listen."

"That's what I thought."

"It's not like he's going to be in a good mood about this." Shikamaru decided not to bring Boruto up, though he was responsible for the setbacks. "My gut still tells me there's something more to this. Without knowing what that is, it's hard to figure out what moves we should make. But in battles, we're not going to know everything. I'm confident this is the best play to make right now. We'll figure the rest out as we go."

Heaving another sigh, Naruto stood and faced the palace standing above the rest of the city. "Alright. Let's get this over with."