The first place Boruto went upon waking up was Mitsuki's house. After talking with Sakura yesterday, he was beginning to develop an idea of how he could complete the mission without potentially getting punched in the face. And he would need Mitsuki's help.
"Boruto? You're here early."
"Remember what we talked about last night?"
Mitsuki smiled. "Ah, it's about that."
"The sooner we put it into action, the sooner that creep will go back home."
"Do you really think it will work," asked Mitsuki, closing the door to his studio apartment behind him. "If I recall correctly, Hebi said that you can't get punched."
"You're actually using the name you gave that weirdo?"
"Why not?"
Boruto sighed. "Oh well. Mitsuki, you can transform into a little girl, right?"
One cloud of smoke later, a small girl with pigtails was standing where Mitsuki had been.
"Perfect." Boruto gave him a thumbs up. "Sarada won't punch me in front of a little kid who just dropped their ice cream."
"I wonder about that," said Mitsuki, transforming back into his normal self.
Suddenly, one of Mitsuki's snakes came slithering up. "It seems like Sarada is at that new famous sweet's shop with Cho-Cho," he said, holding the snake up to his ear.
"There's a place to buy shinobi cards right next to that shop! If everything goes according to plan… It'll be mission complete in no time."
Mitsuki smiled. "I wonder about that."
"That again? Come on Mitsuki, have more faith in my plan!"
"Do you think Hebi will let it be over that easily? I have a feeling that isn't what Hebi wants," replied Mitsuki, letting the snake slither into the collar of his kimono.
"I at least have to try." Boruto slumped his shoulders. "I don't want to be the cause of a war, especially not over a dumb mission like this."
"I'm willing to go along with whatever you say… But be careful. We have an opponent who can do anything on our hands."
"I know," he said, clenching his fists. "That's why I have to put an end to this today… Don't forget to smile when she exits the store."
"Roger."
With that, they both set off towards Sarada's location, Mitsuki running ahead in the form of a six-year-old girl to buy some ice cream and spy on Sarada.
Upon arrival, Mitsuki headed into the shop while Boruto lay in wait.
A few moments later, little girl Mitsuki strolled out of the shop, ice cream in hand. He signaled Boruto with a toothy grin, then hopped up onto a bench and began swinging his legs back and forth, licking his ice cream.
The second Sarada set foot onto the sidewalk, Boruto sprang into action. "Hey, old man! Got any card packs?"
"Ah, Boruto." Cho-Cho was the first to notice him. "Buying cards again?"
"Heh, I bet he still won't be able to get the one he wants," laughed Sarada.
Boruto's eye twitched. This is why I don't want to complete that dumb mission. Nevertheless, he took out his wallet, pretending to be surprised that it was empty.
"S-sarada," he stuttered, holding his empty wallet, "could you lend me a couple ryo?"
"Huh? Why would I lend you money for your pointless card game?"
Boruto narrowed his eyes. It was now or never. He took a step closer and faced her, retorting back. "It's not pointless, it's a really good game. You'd know if you played it."
"Why should I play it," she said, accepting his challenge and stepping closer. "I don't have time to waste on pointless card games, I have to train to become the hokage."
"Hmm? I bet you just want to spend all your money on sweets." He smirked, taking another step closer. "Cho-Cho is fine because her Jutsu relies on her consuming calories, but don't you need to be super-fast to do Chidori properly? I'd watch it if I were you."
Sarada narrowed her eyes. "Huh? What about you, Mr. I only eat fast-food burgers."
"Like you can talk," he replied, "I eat my mom's home cooked food every night. Doesn't your mom only cook once a week?" It was a low enough blow to make her lose it.
Just as Sarada took another step forward and put up her fist, little girl Mitsuki bumped into her leg with enough force to make her fall forward. Please, let this work, Boruto prayed as his eyes began to shut. But just before he left his fate up to fate itself, a kunai flying towards Sarada's head entered the crease of his vision.
What the…
Battle instincts taking over, Boruto no longer cared about the mission. From her position, Sarada couldn't dodge.
Reacting as quickly as he could, he put one hand on the back of her head and pulled her chin into his shoulder, knowing full well the momentum would topple both of them over. He squeezed his eyes shut as he fell backwards, bracing for impact.
The second he hit the ground, pain rocketed from his lower back all the way up to his head, leaving him dazed on the concrete.
"Sarada!" Cho-Cho crouched down.
Sarada was frozen, her eyes blinking in confusion at the sideways street. It wasn't until Boruto groaned from underneath of her that she scrambled off of him.
"You're heavy, you know that," he moaned, heartbeat pounding against his skull.
She adjusted her glasses. "You didn't have to pull me out of the way, I could have dodged…"
"Sure," he let out a faint laugh, despite knowing she couldn't have dodged it when she was already off balance and didn't see it coming. Was that… Hebi?
"There's no one suspicious here… Where did that come from?" Cho-Cho looked around.
Boruto slowly tried to sit up, but his head immediately began to throb harder. He reached behind it and felt hot sticky blood against his hand. "Darn it…"
With that, he passed out.
. . .
The author was sitting in Kaminari Burger, quietly skimming the text as it generated on the screen. Now that Boruto had verbalized his willingness to complete the mission, there was no longer a need to type every event as it occurred.
Peering into certain character's thoughts, as long as they were in close enough range to them, was another bonus that came with the chosen character accepting a mission. They were fully aware of Boruto's plan, and while it was rather lame, it made them laugh.
But just as his plan was about to be enacted, the author noticed something odd. He wasn't carrying it out.
Putting down their soda and pulling the laptop closer, their eyes rapidly scanned every word.Milliseconds later, the text stopped generating. Fantastic, they said with an eye roll, abandoning their soda on the table and rushing towards the place where Boruto had passed out. Someone else is here.
. . .
Boruto opened his eyes to a white celling. He blinked away the haze from his vision to find Mitsuki sitting on a chair.
"Oh? Boruto. You're awake."
"Mitsuki?" As he sat up, a shiny wrapping caught his eye. "This is…"
"Sarada bought them for you. She was here until just a few minutes ago."
Boruto picked up the package. "Ha. I guess the plan failed after all."
"I figured Hebi wouldn't want it to end like that. They've been waiting eight years after all."
"So that Kunai was…"
Mitsuki nodded. "There were no traces of anyone throwing it. And it vanished shortly after it passed by you both."
Boruto sat up carefully, noting the bandages around his head. He didn't feel any pain… Did Hebi heal me?
Disregarding the thought, he responded to Mitsuki. "I thought Hebi didn't want to stand out... Throwing a kunai in a public place like that doesn't make sense. What if someone else had gotten hit?"
"No one else seemed to be phased by it," Mitsuki replied. "I don't think they were able to see it."
Boruto frowned. He looked back down at the pack of cards in his hands. This mission… will I be able to complete it? If I have to take it seriously… Fingers gripping the edge of the wrapper, he pulled down and opened the cards. The pinkish bluish silver coating on top indicated an SSR.
Breath hitching in his throat, Boruto closed his eyes. If by some miracle, Hebi gives me Sasuke-san… I'll consider it. Cracking one eye open, he pulled the cards out of the package. "No way…"
Mitsuki craned his neck to see over the edge. His yellow eyes widened.
"I GOT SASUKE-SAN!"
Jumping out of bed excitedly, Boruto dashed towards the door. "Mitsuki! You said Sarada was here until a little bit ago, right?"
Mitsuki nodded his head with a smile. "Mmm." He knew it was no use telling Boruto to rest.
Still clothed in the standard hospital uniform, Boruto raced down the hall. He spotted Sarada just outside the entrance and nearly smacked into the glass door. "Sarada!"
Blinking a few times, Sarada turned around. "Boruto? You just passed out! You should be—"
"Look! I got Sasuke-san!" He shoved the card in her face, too close for her to even make out the picture.
"Ahh, is that right? I guess I pulled a—"
"Thank you!"
Before she could even comprehend what was going on, her arms were pinned to her sides and his chin was on his shoulder. By the time she comprehended it, he was dashing back into the hospital to show Shikadai.
Blinking a few times and wondering if someone had just used genjutsu on her, Sarada rubbed her eyes. Boruto… HUGGED ME?!
She stared through the glass in disbelief, and back at her hands, and then back at the glass. First, he demanded money from her and insulted her family. Then he saved her from getting stabbed. Then he hugged her for something she didn't understand. What is with him lately? Cheeks tinging pink, she pushed her glasses up and turned away.
Well that turned out better than expected, thought the author, this time watching from a nearby bench in human form. I even left the cards up to the luck of the draw… But the question still remains. Who threw that kunai?
