Chapter 5:
"Naruto?" Shikamaru called. "Naruto? Has anyone seen the Hokage?"
He raced up and down each hallway, searching for him. He kept calling his name but never got a response.
Finally, at the end of the hall, he saw the meeting room doors covered in graffiti and heard banging coming from the other side. In black ink was the image of an evil-looking fox and the words 'warning: tailed beast inside' scrawled across both doors in large letters.
A lump formed in Shikamaru's stomach at the sight of it.
"Let me out! Let me out!"
He could hear Naruto calling from inside, but the thick doors muffled his voice.
"Naruto?" Shikamaru started to approach then ducked in cover as the doors were torn from their frames and sailed by his shoulder.
Naruto landed in a heap on the floor, panting. Shikamaru rushed over to check on him.
"I've been calling for minutes. No one heard me. I couldn't open the door. I had no choice. I had to force my way out."
"How did you end up in there?" Shikamaru asked.
"Sai told me I had a meeting in this room."
"A meeting? Here? You have one on the second floor, not the third."
"What?!" Naruto hung his head. "Did he make a mistake and send me to the wrong place?"
"No," Shikamaru said grimly. "I think he did that on purpose."
Naruto looked at him. "What? Why would Sai..?"
He trailed off, seeing the door leaning against the wall with half an image of a fox snarling at him with massive fangs and wicked eyes. Naruto's face fell and the feelings of his childhood came rushing back.
A monster needed to be locked up.
"I think Sai was the one who defaced your monument."
Naruto looked at him. "I don't understand. Why would he do that?"
"The graffiti was done in ink. Sai's the only one I know who can do that and have access to that amount of it. Also, he was the one who alerted us to the burned documents. No one else was there and he came to show it to us. I think he's the one who did it."
"But why? He's one of my closest friends. Why would he do this?"
"I don't know. It's like he's going out of his way to make you miserable. I don't get why."
Sai let himself into Naruto's office and took a look around. "Aw, looks like you're doing very well today with the paperwork. Almost done." Sai ran his hands over the papers.
He knew Shikamaru and Naruto would be back soon. The thought of it made him smirk darkly.
He closed the door to the office and placed an exploding tag over it from the inside. Pleased with himself, Sai moved away to make his escape out the window.
"Ah, Naruto. My dear, sweet Naruto. My friend and teammate. I loathe you so much."
Shikamaru and Naruto returned to the office, still trying to make sense of the situation.
"There's no way Sai would do that. There's got to be a-"
Naruto saw something between the gap in the door when Shikamaru pushed it open. He grabbed his wrist and pulled him away just as an explosion tore apart the office from the inside. The sound acted as an alarm and several ninja showed up to see what happened.
They found Naruto and Shikamaru on the floor, holding each other protectively. The two ignored their barrage of questions and looked into the office.
The tag wasn't very powerful but if they had walked through the door as usual, it would have gone off inches from their heads and done some serious damage. Beyond the door just hanging from its hinges, every single paper had been blown off Naruto's desk and was now falling like snow around the room. Some had caught on fire and continued to burn slowly as they watched.
What made Naruto sick to his stomach was the message left in ink along the wall.
'Beware the tailed beast. Monsters deserve pain.'
Shikamaru looked at Naruto, unsure of what to say.
Naruto picked himself up and took a long look around his damaged office. The burnt papers, the broken glass from the window, the singed floor, broken doors and the hurtful message on the wall.
"Naruto…"
"He wouldn't do this."
Shikamaru stared at Naruto's back.
He turned around to make himself clearer. "Sai would not do this. Not the Sai I know," he said firmly. "Something's wrong with him. Either that or it's not him."
Shikamaru agreed.
Anyone else would have had their faith in their supposed friend shaken but not Naruto. He believed in his friends and the bonds he made. He knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that this was not Sai's doing.
"Find him and figure out what's happening."
"You got it."
Sarada eyed Mitsuki suspiciously.
Ever since they entered the shop earlier, weird things started happening to Boruto. They appeared to be accidents but it had been happening so consistently that it could no longer be considered mere accidents.
Boruto limped down the street, still recovering from having a heavy book fall on his foot and Mitsuki stepping on it as he walked by, repeatedly. He made sure to walk as far away from Mitsuki as possible.
Chocho spotted them and came over to see how Mitsuki was feeling after eating the chocolate a couple hours ago. He wasn't swooning at the sight of her, which made her think the batch she gave him was a dud.
"What happened to you?" she asked as soon as she saw Boruto.
"Don't ask."
"I know what will cheer you up. Some lunch. How about it?"
Boruto didn't decline. "Sure. At least I can get off my feet for a little while."
He chose the burger place again and on his way in, Mitsuki deliberately slammed the door in his face, giving a curt 'sorry' afterward. Everyone noticed but didn't say anything.
"Is he mad at Boruto for some reason?" Chocho whispered to Sarada.
"Don't know."
Boruto ordered his food and brought it back to the table, inhaling the delicious aroma. Before he could sit down to enjoy his meal, Mitsuki flipped the tray over with a flick of his hand and the food splattered all over Boruto's shirt and face.
"Hey!"
"Whoops."
Boruto slammed the empty tray on the edge of the table. "What is your problem?!" he shouted at Mitsuki.
"Faulting me for an accident? How crude of you."
"That was no accident!" Boruto spat. "Neither was the book on my foot, you stepping over me, you tripping me, the doors in my face or the bracelet you slipped into my pocket at the store so I'd look like I was shoplifting!"
"Mitsuki, if you have a problem with Boruto, just tell him," said Sarada. "Don't resort to such childish things. It's pathetic."
"What's pathetic is having a girl like you on our team," he remarked. "You show such little promise compared to others. There's nothing extraordinary about you. Your attitude is tiresome. You think you're so smart but the reality is that you actually don't know all that much at all. You're a know-it-all, plain and simple. Often times you just agree with our halfwit sensei just to make yourself look smarter than you really are. It's truly pathetic."
Sarada slammed her hands on the table between them to lean in his face. "What?!"
"Did I strike a nerve?" Mitsuki asked. "The truth is hard to hear, isn't it?"
"Mitsuki, that isn't fair," said Boruto. "Sure, she doesn't have a lot of our skills, but she's still useful and strong."
"If we ever need to shatter the earth to save a village, she'd be perfect for the job. But skills aren't her strong suit. Stick to opening pickle jars."
"Mitsuki, you jerk!" Sarada snapped at him. "What's gotten into you? Why are you saying this?"
"I figured you'd want the truth, since you asked. I'm just speaking honestly here." He folded his arms smugly. "You're not really of any use to us. You're pretty plain, in more ways than one."
Sarada's face started to turn red from anger. "Mitsuki, you…"
"Come on," he said with a wicked grin. "Your own father couldn't stand to be around you. Why do you think he's never in the village? Why you don't know him? He's clearly avoiding you. You're just that shameful. You're unwanted. An absolute waste."
Sarada froze, the color draining from her face. She couldn't move. She couldn't do anything.
Mitsuki leaned closer, elbows on the table. "Hard to argue with that, isn't it? Clearly you're not that special if you can be abandoned so easily. At such a young age, even he knew you lacked any redeeming qualities."
Boruto grabbed Mitsuki's shirt with both hands, hauling him out of the booth. "Take that back!"
Unfazed, Mitsuki smirked at him. "You know I'm right."
"That was extremely hurtful, Mitsuki. I can't believe you'd say something like that."
"Someone had to."
Boruto raised his fist to punch him.
"Typical. You have no argument, so you resort to violence. Very primitive."
Boruto took a swing at his head but a surge of electricity went through his entire body and he couldn't move. Every muscle in his body tensed and when it was over, his limbs didn't have the strength to support him or keep hold of Mitsuki and he slumped to his knees.
"Just as I thought," said Mitsuki. "If you weren't the son of the Hokage, you'd be nobody. That's the only thing special about you. You are just as pathetic, if not more so."
Mitsuki placed his foot on Boruto's shoulder to nudge him to the floor.
Sensing something, Mitsuki swiftly moved aside as Chocho tried to punch him with an enlarged fist. Keeping one hand on Sarada's shoulder to comfort her friend, she tried using the other one to teach Mitsuki a lesson. Her arm shrank back to normal size but she didn't stop glaring at him.
"I can't believe you, Mitsuki," she told him. "I thought you guys were really close. And to think I thought you had gotten manlier recently."
"I'm surprised you're able to think of something other than food, fatty."
Boruto tried to pull himself up. "You're never like this before. What happened? What changed?"
Mitsuki decided to help Boruto to his feet by grabbing a fistful of hair. He brought Boruto's face close to his and he hissed darkly, "I hate you. I hate you so much."
He threw Boruto to the ground and calmly walked out of the restaurant.
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