Boruto sat in bed, antagonizing over the events of the day. He looked at the strange mark on his hand. First I don't know what this is, and now some wacko who is capable of ending the world comes and tells me they'll make our lives miserable if I don't… He brought his hands to his head and squeezed his eyes shut. "Don't think about it!"

I don't actually have to do it… do I?

"Onii-chan?"

Boruto's eyes drifted to the door. "Oh, Hima. What's up?"

"You've had a weird look on your face since you got home… Mom wanted me to check on you and make sure you were ok."

He did his best to put on a reassuring front. "I'm alright."

"So what are you trying not to think about?"

"Geh!" Boruto flinched back, the embarrassment showing on his face. "You heard that?"

Himawari nodded with a large smile.

"Hey, Hima," he began, his gaze drifting to his knees. "If you had to lie and hurt your friend's feelings to save the world, would you do it?"

His little sister contemplated the seemingly impossible question, her thin eyebrows knitting together atop her head. "Lying is bad. Even if it's a nice lie. Remember that one time you lied to grandpa and told him that you liked the eggplant casserole he made, because mom told us to be nice to him?"

"And he tried to make it for us every time we visited?" Boruto shivered at the remembrance of the foul taste. "I'll never lie about liking food again,"

Himawari giggled, but as she noticed her brother's grim expression, her gaze turned downward. "I think I would find a way to tell my friend the truth. Then," she said, her eyes brightening, "we would save the world together!"

"Optimistic as ever, huh?"

Her smile faded. "You can't do it without lying?"

"Mmmmmmm…." Boruto thought really hard. "Nope. There's no way."

"Well, I think that if it's your friend, even if you lie, they'll forgive you."

"But what if they're violent and they try to kill you before they forgive you?"

"Then you have to do it without lying!" Himawari pouted up at him. "If you tell the truth, I think they'll be less violent."

Leaning back, Boruto flopped onto his bed. "Do it without lying, huh… I wonder if that's even possible?"

Himawari's face loomed overtop of him. "So? What lie do you have to tell to Sarada?"

Boruto shot up, his arms reflexively going into a guarding position. "W-who said this was about Sarada?"

"You said a violent friend. Mitsuki and Shikadai aren't violent. So it's Sarada, right?"

After the conversation they just had, Boruto felt as though he couldn't lie to Himawari either. "Yeah… But I can't tell you about the mission. It's top-secret."

Himawari's eyes sparked. "Top secret?!"

"Yup! Your big bro is gonna save the world!"

Her excitement turned to a pout. "But I don't want Onii-chan to save the world if he has to lie to Sarada. Sarada's nice, she plays with me sometimes."

"Mmm… I guess there's no choice then, huh?" Ruffling his little sister's hair, he stood to his feet. "I'm just going to have to wing it!" He opened the window and put his feet on the ledge of the balcony. "I'm going out for a bit, Hima. Keep mom occupied while I'm gone."

Himawari saluted her big brother with a quick, "roger," before running through the open door. "Mo-om," she called, racing down the hallway. "Can you tell me a bedtime story tonight?"

"Heh," Boruto smirked, "Himawari's gotten pretty reliable. Now… I just hope Sasuke-san left already…"

. . .

Sakura sighed as she picked up the discarded clothes on her daughter's floor. Sarada was still out training, all up in a huff about a top-secret mission that Boruto had accepted and wouldn't tell her about. She could only hope Boruto wasn't planning on rebelling against his father and causing a disturbance in the village again.

Well, if that happens, at least Hinata is his mom, she thought. You can't get very far when you're being chased by someone with the byakugan.

Just as Sakura was about to leave Sarada's room, she heard a peculiar voice calling her daughter's name from the other side of the window.

Sakura blinked a few times. Boruto?! Since when does he come here this late at night asking for my daughter? From the window?!

Before she could shannarro the curtain open and tell him to beat it and use the front door if he ever wanted to come again, Boruto went on.

"I'm sorry for not telling you the details of the mission earlier… But I promise, I'll complete it. Even if you beat me to a bloody pulp afterwards…"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. Before Boruto could say anything else, she opened the window and dragged him inside by the back of his jacket.

"Sakura oba-san?!"

"What's this about a top-secret mission you are leaving my daughter out of?"

Boruto's eyes darted around the room. "Ah, well, you see… I'm not allowed to tell you."

"And what are you doing that would warrant her beating you to a bloody pulp?"

"That…" He braced for impact as Sakura let go of his collar and threw him on the floor in the middle of the room. "I also can't tell you."

"And how long have you been coming here by the window to talk to my daughter?!"

Boruto squirmed as Sakura pinched him by the ear and lifted him up. "It was just today! And one other time… I promise, I didn't go inside! I just had something urgent, and if I came through the front door—"

"Hmm, I see."

"Please let go!"

With a sigh, Sakura let go of his ear. "Boruto, I can't approve of you going on a top-secret mission by yourself."

"Ah, well you see, I'm not actually going anywhere," said Boruto, nervously putting his hand up to the back of his neck.

"Then who gave you this mission?"

"I can't tell you that…"

"Can't you tell me anything?! Do you want to die?!"

Boruto cowered behind a chair away from Sakura's fist. "I…" It was then that Boruto remembered the author's words. You can ask for advice. "Sakura oba-san, can I ask you for advice?"

Sakura eyed him carefully. Heaving a sigh, she dropped her fist and relented to the Naruto lookalike. "Fine. But let's go downstairs… I'll make you some tea."

Boruto followed Sakura, his eyes scanning the empty walls as he went. Their house had been recently rebuilt, but it still looked the same as ever. He had come here plenty as a kid, but how long had it been since he last came inside? Sarada was never late to a mission, so he never had any excuse to go knock on her door. He had walked home with her once or twice for the sake of a conversation, but other than that…

His eyes fell on a seemingly recent picture of Sakura, Sasuke, and Sarada together. Hmm, Sasuke-san can smile, he mused, picking it up.

"Hey, Sakura oba-san," Boruto started, noticing she had come into the living room with the tea.

"What is it?"

"What was Sasuke-san like as a kid?"

Sakura lightly blushed. "What does that have to do with the mission?"

"Mm, just curious," said Boruto, putting the picture down to join her in the living room. "Although it might help me a little…"

Eyeing Boruto suspiciously, Sakura picked up her tea. "Sasuke-kun was… the exact opposite of your father. Good looking, had the best grades in the class, and practically all of the girls wished they could be on his team."

"Huh, that's a lot different from what my dad always tells me," said Boruto with a laugh.

"But," continued Sakura, her face saddening, "he hardly ever talked to anyone. He considered everyone around him a nuisance."

Boruto frowned. "Him and my dad seem to get along well."

"They do now, but they didn't at all back then. They fought almost constantly… But somewhere along the line, that changed," said Sakura with a gentle smile.

"What happened?"

"Ask Sasuke-kun himself, and maybe he'll tell you. Oh, Boruto! Do you want to hear something funny that happened the day the teachers put us into a team? You have to promise not to tell your father that I told you," she said, snickering with a dangerously evil smile.

Boruto's eyes lit up. "What is it?"

"Naruto actually stole Sasuke-kun's first kiss."

He froze. Then he blinked a few times. "H-huh… WHAT?!"

"It's true. He was crouched on top of a desk glaring at Sasuke-kun when suddenly someone bumped him from behind and knocked them into each other. At the time, I remember being so upset that I thought I could kill Naruto. But looking back on it, it's actually pretty funny, don't you think?"

Boruto narrowed his eyes. "Hmm… They bumped into each other…"

"…Boruto?"

"Ah! Sorry, I was just thinking of how gross that must have been! Was Sasuke-san mad?"

Sakura sipped her tea. "Well. If I recall correctly, Sasuke-kun didn't take part in beating Naruto up afterwards. It was just the girls."

A shiver ran down Boruto's spine. "Dad's lucky he survived that…"

"So," said Sakura, setting her tea gently back down on the table, "what advice did you want from me?"

"Ah… About that," said Boruto, stalling for time with the cup to his lips. "I was just wondering, if you had to take something important from Sasuke-san to save the world, would you do it?"

Sakura eyed Boruto. "Take something from Sasuke… to save the world?"

He gulped.

"Well, sometimes sacrifices need to be made in order to protect the people around us. And if it was Sasuke-kun, I'm sure he would forgive me… But depending on what that is, I don't know if I would have the courage to take it from him."

Boruto sat and thought for a moment. Just as he was about to ask another question, the front door opened.

"I'm home!"

"Ah, Sarada! We have a guest!"

Boruto quickly gulped down his hot tea, leaving his tongue stinging and his throat burning. "See ya later Sakura oba-san."

"Boruto?!" Sarada froze in the doorway.

Sakura took his teacup with a frown. "You're going already?"

"I've gotta get home. I kinda snuck out and had Hima stall mom," he said sheepishly.

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. "Kids these days…"

"Wait! Boruto! Why were you here?!"

But before Sarada could get an answer, Boruto was gone.

. . .

"That idiot exasperates me," Sarada sighed as she helped her mom dry the teacups.

"Boruto? Mmm… I think he's got a lot going on right now. It may be better to believe in him for now and wait."

Sarada pouted. "Sheesh. That moron, going and accepting quests from..." As she tried to finish her sentence, it was as though her lips were glued shut.

"Sarada?"

Sarada sighed. "Sorry mom."

"You seem pretty worried."

"Considering the fate of the world is seemingly resting on his shoulders, yes, I am rather worried."

Sakura smiled. "I know the feeling." She watched as her daughter put the teacups away in the cabinet. "But don't worry, Boruto said you could beat him to a bloody pulp after it was over. So at least that means he'll be alive."

Sarada looked up at her mother.

"You didn't think I knew why you went out to train on your own? It seems like you picked up my desperation along with my strength."

Sarada turned away with a light "hmph," and began walking away. "If he got killed on my watch, I wouldn't feel worthy of becoming the hokage." With that, she walked to her room, the slightest tint of blush dusting her cheeks.

The author willed their soul out of the potted plant in the corner. The motivation for him to complete the quest is naturally building… Maybe I won't have to resort to that after all…