"...ru…."

"...uto….."

"Na…To…"

"Naru…."

"NARUTO!"

The Hokage heard a familiar voice getting louder and louder, as his eyelids slowly opened. "Sakura?" He said weakly as he the vision of the pink haired kunoichi got clearer.

"You're damn right it's me! Can you hear me? You were about to pass out…." Naruto could feel his head throbbing, but even so, he stood up replying with a simple "I'm fine."

"It's been almost an entire day Naruto. You need to get some sleep." The kunoichi said.

"I believe I've already said I can't do that you know. Not until I see him"

Naruto stared emotionlessly into the ground.

The kunoichi sighed deeply before raising her fist and hitting him in the head, just like she used to back in the day.

"Idiot!" She yelled, the smoke still rising from his head. "What was that for Sakura!?" The Hokage cried.

"I come all the way here to bring you good news, and that's the kind of look I get?!"

"Good news? Tell me Sakura!" The Hokage stood up and walked over to his teammate. Hinata had stood up from her seat as well, meanwhile, Himawari was sound asleep.

"It seems that Boruto will regain consciousness very shortly. And his fever has dropped down to a normal temperature. His burns have started healing as well, so he should be good to go in a day or two." The medical ninja stated.

Naruto and Hinata felt a burden lift from their shoulders. "Thank goodness.." the Hyuuga sighed. Naruto smiled too. "Mama?" A weak voice was heard in the background. The adults turned around and saw Himawari with a huge bedhead and messy clothing.

"Alright… I suppose we'll head home, get cleaned up and get some food. You must be hungry too Naruto-Kun." Hinata said walking over to her tired daughter, who yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"I wish I could, but I need to get back to work and-" Naruto stopped as he could see Sakura's dark aura awaken in the background. Just the look she was giving was already telling what she wanted to say: "NO-THE-HELL-YOU'RE-NOT"

"Alright alright. I'll come home after I finish up some things here!" He said frightened. Sakura looked pleased as she nodded, and waved the two girls goodbye. The Hokage turned around, about to go to the vending machine to buy a drink, when suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey...We need to talk." It was Sakura. Naruto didn't like the look she was giving. It was like she had just told someone somebody died. Naruto instantly went into serious Hokage mode. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"...Let's go to my office." The head medical ninja said. Naruto nodded quickly as he followed her into her office.

She closed the door behind her and turned to Naruto with a serious expression. "It's about Boruto…" She started. The burden on Naruto's shoulders returned. "What? I thought you said he would be fine? Is he okay?" Naruto asked as the worried father he was.

"Hold up with the questions already! I didn't get to finish explaining. Sure as he is now he'll be fine, and he'll wake up shortly… but…" "But what? Tell me Sakura!"

The kunoichi stared into the floor and closed her eyes before replying. "It's just… something seems… odd." Sakura said. "How odd?" Naruto asked confused. "He…. he shrank." She said.

"His body is 10, 2 cm smaller. "(For those of you who are confused how much that is… just google it.)

"You mean…. that the jutsu cast on him hasn't finished its effect yet?" Sakura nodded. "His chakra network didn't shrink though.. if this keeps going there's just gonna be too much chakra for his body to handle.. sure Boruto has always had a little more chakra than others, but only a jinjuriki or those of greater status would be able to handle that much chakra."

"Then that means…" Naruto said as his head slowly sunk deeper down. Sakura nodded. Naruto's facial expression turned angry. It was clear that he was frustrated. He punched the wall behind him, creating a small crater. He was shaking lightly.

"Naruto I-" Sakura was about to say something, but then she felt something familiar. Naruto obviously felt it too."That chakra… it can't be..Can it?" Sakura is.

"He's close…" Naruto commented. Sakura opened the door and sprinted down to the lobby, Naruto following closely.

"It can't be…. Sasuke…" Sakura said, seeing a familiar face standing in the entryway.

Boruto's POV:

'Huh? Where am I?' He thought. It was dark. Really dark.

The little boy looked at his hands. 'Were they always this tiny? Oh, I can't remember.'

"Hello?" His voice echoed into the dark empty room. "A-anyone here?" He said, which also ended up echoed into infinity.

He gulped. Was his voice always this squeaky?

"Mom? Dad? Hima?" He asked nervously, as he started walking around. "Wh-where are you?" His voice kept sounding into the nothingness, and the little boy had never felt more alone in his life.

'What's this?' He thought as he saw something lying in the distance. 'It's shiny…' He started running towards the only noticeable object in whatever dark space he was in.

"This is…" He thought as he was close enough to see what it was. He picked the item up. "A headband? And it's for Konoha too…" He thought staring at the headband.

"Very well observed little boy." A deep voice said. Boruto was so startled by the sudden appearance that he fell over. "Wh-who are you?" He stumbled.

"You mean you don't remember me? Well, I suppose you wouldn't…" A man appeared in front of Boruto, but it was too dark to clearly see his face.

Little Boruto could feel his body shaking of fear. "Wha...What do you mean?" He asked with a shivering voice.

"That doesn't matter. All you need to know is that I'm very close to reaching my goal. I. Will. Destroy. This. Village." The voice said.

"I-I I won't let you!" The boy yelled.

"..Pathetic… Keeping you in this dream is meaningless. We have nothing to talk about. Goodbye."

"!. WAIT YOU..-YOU!" But too late. The man disappeared and the room began to light up.

Next thing the boy knew, he was waking up. A familiar white ceiling seeling met his eyes. "He had a headache, but it wasn't that bad. He decided to sit up. 'What happened?" He asked himself, as he recalled everything that happened in his dream.

'Dad! I need to go find dad!' The boy thought as he sat up. He was wearing the traditional light blue hospital gown, and he was plugged up to an IV stand. He could hear a heart rate monitor beeping in the background.

He flinched as he pulled out the IV plug and tried to stand up. He was still dizzy, but he managed. 'Why do I feel so short?' The boy thought as he headed towards the door.

'I have to...reach!' He thought standing on his tippy-toes while trying to pull down the door handle. 'Just a little..further!...' The little boy was having troubles. Normally all the doors were open, so he usually didn't have to deal with big obstacles like this.

'Yes!' He thought as he managed to pull down the door handle, which resulted in the door opening. "I dwid it wou know!" He yelled proud of himself.

'Whoa! What happened to my voice?' "Hwello? Bwy cwan't I talk?" 'Ahhh! This is so frustrating!'

The little boy shook his head and started running down the hallways. 'Daddy! I have to find Daddy!' He kept thinking to himself.

He was running around on bare feet, checking ward afterward. 'Why are hospitals so big!? They're so confusing! How does Aunt Sakura know her way around this maze!?' He was so confused. The little boy realized he was lost.

'Ok now… calm down… what does mommy always tell me to do if I'm lost? Right! Look for signs!' Boruto looked up at the walls and around the corners, finding nothing but signs with difficult words he couldn't read.

'This is getting nowhere! How am I supposed to know what "Emergency department", or
"Cardiology" means!?'

'Ok ok… calm down. You'll be fine. You'll be fine…' He was starting to panic a little. He could feel the tears wanting to press their way out. Boruto didn't like being alone.

"Hey. What is a kid like you doing here?" The little boy felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and was greeted by a friendly female nurse."I-I'm nwot a lwitte kwid!" He said obviously trying to hold back the tears.

"Sure sure you're a big boy. Mind telling me what you're doing walking around alone in a place like this?" She asked looking closely at him. It was obvious that she was trying to remember, but she couldn't seem to remember just what.

"Whi….Whi'm looking fwor Daddy."

"Aha. Mind telling me who your dad is?" "Nawuto Wuzumaki." The boy said a little confused. "AHA! So You are the Hokage's kid… Boruto was it?" She asked as she smiled. the boy nodded.

"Cmon. I'll follow you back to your room-" "Nwo! I have two fwind Daddy!" He said stubbornly.

"Oh? And why's that? Do you not want to be alone" She looked confused at the boy, who looked determined to say something. "Nwo! Whi'm a bwig boy! I cwan bwe alone! I have sometwing whi need two twell him!"

"Oohhhhh? And what's that?" She asked with a cheeky smile. Boruto quickly covered his mouth with both hands, and replied persistently with a: "Swecret".

She sighed and took his hand, and despite his weird glance she kept dragging him in the opposite. "I'm sorry. But doctor Sakura has commanded that you rest. I hope you understand."

"Bwut!" "No buts!" She smiled at the boy, who gave an unreasonable childish frown back as he stuck his tongue out.

Before he knew it he was back in his room, and the nurse re-plugged the IV drip into his arm. "Stay here. I'll send someone in a sec." She said as she closed the door. "Hmph! How Wude!" The boy exclaimed as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes childishly.

He stared out through the big hospital window and stared at the village. Or the Hokage monument to be more precise. He had this strange feeling… Like something was off... Like something was about to happen, and he had the feeling he had forgotten something...

But he just couldn't recall. He laid down in an instant and pulled the sheet over his nose. He had an empty feeling inside his tummy… and he was sure it wasn't just because of the fact he hadn't eaten in almost two days.

It knocked on the door. The little boy sat up and stared curiously at the door. A familiar face popped in through the door opening. "Awnt Whanabi!" The brunette Hyuuga's head smiled at the boy. "How're you doing squirt?" She asked gently.

The boy smiled back. "Awnt Whanabi! Swometing weally weird happen." He said. "Oh? You know you can always tell me!" She said energetically. The boy nodded. He started telling his Aunt about his weird dream and the empty feeling he had inside of himself.

Naruto's POV:

"Is that really you…. Sasuke...Kun?" Sakura's voice was both shocked and relieved. Sasuke was just like she remembered. He was looking at them with his "this is my every emotion" face, which was very neutral.

He was carrying something or more accurately, someone. "You two have a lot to explain." He stated as he walked towards the two of them. Sakura's motherly instincts instantly kicked in as she recognized the person he was carrying.

"Sarada!" She ran over and accepted the little girl from the taller male. "Oh god… her fever is even worse than Boruto's.." She said as she turned to her "doctor mode" and ran off with the girl into a treatment room, yelling orders at the people around.

Naruto and Sasuke's eyes finally had time to meet. "Long time no see." The Hokage smiled. The other shinobi nodded in agreement. "I assume you're probably a little confused… guess I have a lot of explaining to do huh?"

Naruto already knew the answer from the look Sasuke was giving him. "Not here. Let's talk in my office." The Hokage commanded.

The two of them then headed towards the Hokage, but right as they were about to start talking, it knocked on the door. "Hokage-sama? It's me, Hanabi!" Naruto looked at Sasuke who nodded before saying: "Come in!"

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, I'm just here to drop off our last mission report and-" She stopped as her eyes caught sight of another face. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you had company." She said clearly disturbed by Sasuke's presence as she walked in and threw her paper into one of the many stacks that were all over the office.

"I understand that Boruto's in the hospital? Mind telling me what that's about?" She asked. "I suppose I could tell you. I was just about to tell Sasuke as well." Naruto stated. Naruto explained the entire situation to the two Jounin.

Neither seemed that surprised since it sounded so much like something Boruto would do, but both were shocked when Naruto told them the truth. "That's… Kinda hard to believe." Hanabi stared at Naruto with her professional look.

"Have you found any clues on how to undo the jutsu?" The Hokage shook his head in denial. "I see…" It knocked on the door. "Lord seventh?"

"Come in," Naruto commanded. A standard messenger shinobi stepped inside the room. "I have a message for you from the Hospital lord Hokage." The shinobi stated.

Naruto's eyes widened. He had almost forgotten. It had all happened so quickly… and now that Sasuke was back he just… Well, no time to cry over spilled milk. "Report." He ordered.

"Yes, sir! It seems that Boruto-sama has regained consciousness. The hospital would like for someone to show up and keep watch over him since he already managed to escape from his room once." He reported.

"That kid…. he never changes." Naruto smiled. "I'll do it," Hanabi commented. "Really? are you sure you're not to busy?" Naruto asked. She shook her head. "I have the rest of the day off anyway. I like nothing more than hanging out with that kid! He's always so enjoyable to be together with." She commented smiling.

Before Naruto could even answer the Jounin was already heading out the door. Naruto sighed happily and leaned back into his office chair. " She never changes either. She didn't even hear me out. Oh well." The Hokage smiled.

Hey guys. Umm... been a while huh? I'm really sorry. :b. I had a writer's block, and I have strong pains in my knees. I haven't really been writing for a while, but I don't want to let you guys down! I'll give you the 12 chapters I promised, cause I always keep my promises. I hope you're doing okay? Ehmmm... Like I said I'm sorry for not updating. (Please forgive me?), I'll try to release the next chapter quicker. If I get 1 more review I'll continue for sure! Your guys' reviews help out a lot! (So please keep them coming :) I'll see you again in hopefully not to late.