"You're late."
"Sorry," Boruto sheepishly said, jogging to their meetup spot. "I overslept."
"It's our first mission in a while, and you oversleep?"
"I had to go to the hospital yesterday! Cut me some slack. Where are we going again?"
Sarada sighed. "We're on a guard mission. A famous artist is going around to take pictures of different landscapes in Konoha. We've been tasked with showing him those spots and guiding him around."
"Right. And where are we supposed to meet up with this guy?"
"I think we're meeting in the Hokage's office," replied Mitsuki, jumping off of his perch on the side wall.
"I can't wait to be a tour guide…" Boruto said glumly with his hands behind his head. "Wouldn't a mission like this be more suited to Ino-Shika-Cho?"
"I thought you learned your lesson about the importance of missions," grumbled Sarada. "Just when I was finally starting to think you had some decency… Ino-Shika-Cho are out right now. Be grateful we even get to go anywhere after your mess-up."
Boruto narrowed his eyes. Why does she always have to complain?
"She has a point," Mitsuki smiled.
Point shmoint, Boruto thought, cheeks pinkening as he dragged his heels against the stone. Bugs, frogs, rashes, so be it. I don't want to do this dumb mission anyways... either of them. "Let's go already."
With that, the three made their way to the Hokage's office. Inside was a boy about their height, a camera loosely dangling from his neck.
"Oh good, you're here," said Naruto, standing up behind his desk. "This is Misaki Suzuno. Your mission is to show him all the spots in Konoha that he wants to visit. Konohamaru is out running a bit of an errand for me right now, so you'll be taking this mission on alone. No one is targeting his life, so think of it as showing a tourist around town and have fun. Oh, and by the way, you're all the same age. Do your best to get along!"
The author stood, their shrunken body atop the edge of a potted plant, glaring at Misaki Suzuno suspiciously. He wasn't part of the anime… They aren't supposed to get another quest until next week's episode. Someone else is definitely here. But maybe our goals align… if that's the case, I suppose it won't hurt to watch for a while.
Sarada stepped forward. "Nice to meet you Suzuno. I hope you enjoy your stay in Konoha."
The boy took her hand without looking up, shook it weakly, and dropped it to his side. "Nice to meet you."
"Come on, Suzuno!" Boruto slapped his back, feeling a bit better about the mission now that Konohamaru wasn't going to be babysitting them. "We'll show you all the good spots. What kinds of places do you like?"
Suzuno winced, shielding himself from Boruto with a sketchbook.
The confusion on the sometimes overly friendly Boruto's face was evident. "What's wrong? Was it something I said?"
"He's just shy," Sarada retorted. "Suzuno-kun, where do you want to go first?"
"T-The stone faces…"
"The hokage? If that's the case, I know a great spot to see them from!" Boruto circled around Suzuno and began walking backwards. "There's this spot up on top of the roof that overlooks Konoha too, I'm sure you'll—"
"Boruto." Sarada's commanding tone cut him off. "You're scaring him."
Boruto turned, immediately eyeing Suzuno's hand that loosely held the fabric of Sarada's zip-up vest. He stuck out his bottom lip. "Fine. I guess we can just go to the usual overlook spot."
Mitsuki followed along behind everyone, a placid smile on his face. "Suzuno-kun, do you like drawing?"
He nodded, his fingers relinquishing the edge of Sarada's vest. "I draw a lot at home."
"Where are you from?"
"Amegakure."
The author tensed from the shadows. Amegakure?! The land famous for assassins that use genjutsu? Where it rains almost constantly? Maybe it's just coincidence… The author shrunk themselves and weaved a sign. Bukujutsu. Taking to the air, they began searching for suspicious movement.
"Must be quite the change of scenery, coming here," Boruto remarked, his arms folding behind his head as he walked.
Suzuno ducked his head, his hand reattaching to Sarada's vest.
"Do you like the sun," Mitsuki continued, noticing how blinding the light was overhead.
Another small nod.
"How do you make pictures?"
Suzuno put both hands on his camera. "After I take a picture, I paint it with watercolor. Sometimes I use the rain to make it more interesting."
"I'm sure Inojin would like to see that," commented Sarada, shielding her eyes from the sun. "That being said, it doesn't look like it's going to rain today… Can you still paint without the rain?"
Suzuno nodded.
"Alright, good! We'll take you to all the best spots in Konoha."
Boruto watched as Sarada smiled at the seemingly innocent boy that on closer look, was taller than her. His eyes narrowed as his nose crinkled up. Something about that kid was off.
Once they were finally at the top, Suzuno picked up his camera. He would aim it, hold his breath, take the photo, and breathe again.
"Suzuno-kun is taking this pretty seriously," said Mitsuki, his eyes focused on the back of the hardworking cameraman.
"I wonder what his artwork looks like? Maybe he could even beat Inojin in an art show," Sarada replied.
"Heh," said Boruto, "that all depends on whether or not he enjoys painting and making it his own. Not how well he can paint something he took a picture of."
Sarada narrowed her eyes. "Since when did you know so much about art?"
"Since Himawari beat Inojin in an art show. Inojin kept begging me to get Himawari to train him after that, and I had to tag along with them on their training session." Boruto recalled the memory with the exhaustion of running around after the lost picture.
"Hmmm…" Mitsuki mused. "Himawari must be pretty good at art."
"More than good at it, I think she just has fun drawing… or something like that. Anyways, that seems to be the point," finished Boruto, watching Suzuno carefully.
"I wonder if Suzuno has fun when he draws," Sarada thought aloud.
Boruto glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, his mouth turning downward into a frown. Why doesn't she find this guy suspicious?
But despite his suspicion, he didn't have the time to say anything to Sarada. Suzuno was done taking pictures. He carefully lowered his camera and turned around, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry for the wait. I'm finished."
Sarada returned his smile with one of her own. "It's fine, where would you like to go next?"
"Mmm…"
"If you can't think of anything, there's a cool place outside Shikadai's house," Boruto began, attempting to steer the locations towards places he trusted. "It's got a stone wall with a tree in the middle. Or the waterfall by the training grounds behind Sarada's house. And there's a great view of the village from the roof of the aca—"
"Boruto. Would it kill you to be a little quieter," asked Sarada, glaring at him from behind her glasses.
Boruto looked down and noticed Suzuno was clinging to her vest again. He narrowed his eyes. Fishy. Very fishy. "Fine." With a sigh, he turned around. "So, where are we going?"
"The waterfall…"
Suzuno said the words, but they were too mumbled and soft spoken for anyone to make out.
Sarada, who was the only one that had registered him saying anything at all, decided to question it. "Hm?"
"I like waterfalls," replied Suzuno a bit louder this time, his other hand nervously crumbling the edge of his shirt.
"Ahh, there's probably a lot of them in Amegakure, isn't there." Mitsuki walked up next to him. .
"The trees in the forest on the way might cool you off a little too," Sarada replied, noticing the sweat beads forming on Suzuno's forehead.
Boruto watched, the irked feeling in his chest growing. But he shoved it away and continued walking under the hot sun, sweat beads beginning to form on his own face.
Just as Sarada had mentioned, the cover of the trees provided relief from the burning heat. They walked through the forest and finally came to the scathed wooden boards that were used as targets for shuriken training.
Suzuno paused, his eyes locked on the planks of wood that dangled from the tree branches.
"Ah, did you want to take a picture of those?"
Looking slowly down at his camera, Suzuno nodded his head.
"Hold on."
"What is it now," groaned Sarada as Boruto stepped in front of them.
"They don't even have shuriken in them," he said with a smile. "That's the cool part. Here, watch—"
"Boruto. Don't scare our client." With a sigh, Sarada reached into her bag. "But as much as I want to scold you for taking out shuriken in front of someone who is already frightened, you do have a point. Suzuno-kun," she said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, "would you like me to throw some shuriken into the board?"
Suzuno slowly nodded his head and backed up.
Boruto put his hands behind his head, clicking his tongue. "Ch… You better not miss."
"If you put it like that, I have no choice but to show off," she said with a smirk, crouching low.
Before Suzuno had time to blink, a shuriken hit the board dead center. Four more followed after, hitting around the center shuriken in a perfect square.
"What do you think? Pretty cool, huh?"
Suzuno's eyes widened. He took to his camera, carefully taking pictures.
When he had finished, he slowly turned towards Sarada, his eyes averted, fidgeting with his camera. "U-umm…" The shy boy stuttered as he lowered his camera.
Sarada turned towards him, a gentle smile on her face. "Hmm?"
"Can I take a picture of you throwing them?"
"Huh? Me?"
Suzuno nodded.
"S-sure," she replied, pushing up her glasses. "I guess so."
Boruto's eyes narrowed as the irked feeling grew larger. Why is she so nervous? It's just a picture. And what is this feeling of dread?
Taking a deep breath, Sarada bent forward at the waist. Putting her hand inside the pouch behind her, she paused.
Suzuno held his breath, snapping a picture of her still figure.
Taking the shuriken all the way out of the bag, she held it at arm's length, preparing to sling it forward at a moment's notice. Her concentration and form somehow gave Boruto the chills. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that.
Suzuno snapped another picture. At the sound of the camera shutter clicking, Sarada flicked the shuriken towards the target, landing it so close to the other that Boruto was certain they were touching.
Standing up, she let out a held breath. "How was that?"
Boruto was about to give her a backhanded compliment, but before he could say anything, Suzuno smiled at her. "Really good!"
"I was actually aiming for that, but I figured they would collide. I'm glad they didn't! I'll show you the waterfall next."
Boruto watched as Sarada and Suzuno walked towards the waterfall, seeming to get along quite well. A frown formed on his face. Why did he feel like he was being purposefully left out? He observed from the back, looking for anything wrong with Suzuno. But the only thing he noticed was that his steps and his actions didn't seem to match up.
His feet rolled when he walked, they didn't drag. His shoulders were hunched, but he kept rubbing his neck like it was in pain. And every so often, his fingers would twitch.
Suddenly Mitsuki came up next to him, a placid look on his face. "Seems like Suzuno is getting along pretty well with Sarada."
"Hmph," scoffed Boruto, sticking out his lower lip. "Something about that guy rubs me the wrong way."
"Maybe you're jealous," suggested Mitsuki.
"As if," Boruto replied. "It's something else… Almost like, he's faking his actions for extra attention… And it's annoying."
Mitsuki turned back towards Suzuno. "I wonder… Then again, out of all of us, you would know those feelings best, Boruto."
Boruto could only look on, watching as Sarada showed Suzuno the waterfall.
"This waterfall is where papa said he would train me to use Chidori one day."
"Chidori," replied Suzuno, "what's that?"
"It's this really fast move that uses lightning gathered around your hand. The impact can be lethal, and it leaves you open if you do it wrong. That's why you have to undergo lots of training to get it right. I can't use it yet, but once I can, I'll be one step closer to being hokage."
"Hokage?" Suzuno mused.
Boruto decided to rejoin the conversation. If he didn't want to be ignored, he would have to speak up. "How does being able to use Chidori get you any closer to being hokage," he asked, walking closer.
"Because it means I'm getting stronger," replied Sarada, putting her hands on her hips.
"Just because you're getting stronger doesn't mean you get to be hokage."
"Boruto… Have you ever seen a weak hokage?"
"…No."
"My point exactly."
He sighed. His attempts were getting nowhere. "Let's just hurry up and take pictures of this waterfall. I'm getting hungry."
Sarada smiled down at Suzuno. "Suzuno-kun, take as long as you need. Don't worry about this idiot."
Suzuno smiled. "Ok."
"Hey! Don't call me an idiot."
"I don't think you're an idiot, Boruto," said Mitsuki with a smile.
"There it is," said Boruto, casting his gaze to the tops of the trees. Something about Suzuno's attitude feels unnatural. He seems like he's somehow controlling the conversation, even though he's hardly saying anything… Why can't I pinpoint it?
A flower appeared at Boruto's feet. "Be careful," it said before disappearing.
Boruto stiffened. I knew it. Something's up.
The group of four stepped out into a clearing, the sound of water rushing filling their eardrums. Just before Suzuno raised his camera, he made eye contact with Boruto. But moment their eyes met, Suzuno looked away.
Boruto tilted his head to the side and then shrugged, watching as Suzuno carried out his picture taking routine. But something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Just as he turned his head, his face turned panic stricken with horror.
Five shuriken were sticking out of Sarada's body, her eyes wide as a trail of blood slowly dripped from her mouth.
"…S…Sarada!"
He frantically turned his head back to see Suzuno's arm extended towards Sarada, his camera on the ground, a smile that could only be described as menacing on his face.
Boruto gritted his teeth. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out a kunai and pushed off the ground, launching full speed towards Suzuno with the intent to stab him. But before he could reach his target, two arms snaked around his waist and pulled him back.
"Boruto!"
Boruto blinked. "Huh?" He turned around to see Sarada with her arms crossed. Mitsuki retracted his arms, his expression grim.
"What is going on?"
"You were just…" But when Boruto looked back at Suzuno, the poor kid's knees were shaking, his expression horrified. "I…" Boruto looked over at the kunai in his own hands. Slumping his shoulders, he put it back in his bag, eyes searching for someone that could have used genjutsu on him. Sarada wouldn't have done something like that. Hebi had just warned him to be careful… Was it Suzuno after all?
Boruto eyed the stranger with suspicion. But Sarada stood in his way. "What is going on with you today? First your rude, now you try to kill our client."
"Sarada. Move, he's dangerou—"
"Boruto." Mitsuki cut him off.
Boruto looked over at his friend. He never used that tone of voice unless he was serious. "Mitsuki?"
Sarada stood behind Suzuno and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, just take your pictures. If he tries to do something again, we'll protect you."
Suzuno nodded and used his shaking hands to hold up his camera.
Boruto dragged his feet over to a stump and sat down. I was sure I saw Sarada get stabbed…
Mitsuki came up to him, his eyes more serious than ever. "Boruto. What did you see?"
"Huh?"
"Someone used genjutsu on you just now, didn't they?"
Boruto's eyes widened. "You believe me?"
"Of course. But we don't know for sure that it was our client."
Putting his hand up to his head, Boruto tugged on his bangs. Something was definitely up. "Everything was normal, and then I turned to see Sarada impaled by five shuriken… And Suzuno had his hand out like he had just thrown them…"
Mitsuki scanned the area. "Did you make eye contact with anyone?"
"No one other than Suzuno… I think he was the one who used it. That fear might just be an act."
With a nod, Mitsuki's eyes shifted upward, focusing on the pair by the waterfall. "I think Sarada is thinking the same thing."
"…Huh?"
"Look."
Boruto looked up to see her standing behind Suzuno, helping him hold up the camera. But her eyes were red, sharingan activated.
"There's also the possibility that it could have been Hebi," replied Mitsuki, but as the words came out of his mouth, a little flower appeared at Boruto's feet.
"Wasn't me," said the flower.
"Then who was it?"
"Doing research," replied the flower, "not sure." With that, it disappeared.
"Oi! Get back here. How am I supposed to complete this stupid mission without getting punched?!"
Mitsuki smiled. "It seems to me like you're getting closer to completing it every day."
"Mitsuki!" Boruto's cheeks pinkened. "More importantly, we need to find the target… If it wasn't Hebi, it must have been Suzuno."
"Hmm… You seem to dislike Suzuno a lot. Maybe you really are jealous."
"Wha- I am not! Mitsuki, can't you see how creepy that guy is?"
"Boruto, you're getting defensive."
"No I'm not! AHH! This is annoying. I'm going to go look for suspicious characters."
"Are you sure you want to leave Sarada here with whatever just used genjutsu on you? You did promise to protect her, after all."
Boruto flopped back onto the grass. "I guess not… It'd be a pain if she died… Why did my life have to get so complicated?"
Because a story without a conflict is not a story, mused the author, their soul imbedded into the tree behind Boruto. Now, to find out what is causing this disturbance and stop it before it's too late…
