Boruto slowly crept towards the academy at the end of the road. He knew that he couldn't be seen, but he decided to be careful, anyways. The encounter from a few minutes ago had confused him. Wasn't his dad a hero of the village? That's what he had grown up thinking. Was his father scorned by the village when he was young? Why? What could his father have done that would elicit such an extreme reaction from that man?
Boruto frowned, determined. He had to find out what it was that was so bad about his dad. He quickened his pace, running towards the three-story building in front of him. As he had assumed, no one was outside when he arrived at the front door. Nothing had changed in the almost two decades separating his father's time and his own. Boruto stopped, coming to a stark realization. He was viewing Konoha as it was almost twenty years in the past. The thought excited him. Boruto had never really paid attention in class, and so he didn't know much when it came to the village's history. All he knew was that the time he was in had to be a few years before the Fourth Great Shinobi War. His dad must have been about twelve or thirteen in this memory.
He was so focused on his thoughts, he didn't notice the young boy walking towards the door. When he noticed the boy, he jumped in surprise. The boy had ebony hair, tied back in a ponytail. The boy's hands rested in his pockets. He had a bored expression on his face, as if the simple act of walking was a waste of time.
"Shikadai?" Boruto asked, but then remembered that this was the past. The person in front of him must have been Shikadai's father, Shikamaru, as a boy. He watched as Shikamaru walked into the building, and then followed him in.
The classroom that Boruto followed Shikamaru into was very different from his classroom. The exterior may not have been that different from the academy during his time, but the interior was. The floor was wooden, and the walls were a bluish-grey. The seats were arranged as they were in the future, but they were wooden instead of metal. The teacher was currently out of the classroom, which was in chaos. Different groups of students stood around the classroom, chatting idly. Boruto looked in the back and noticed a lone head lying of the desk. From the blonde, spiky hair, he could tell that it was his father.
He walked over to the young Naruto, wishing that he could talk to him. Just then, the teacher walked through the door, calling the classroom to order. Boruto knew who it was from his dad's pictures. It was Naruto's teacher, Iruka-sensei.
"We will now start the final exam. When your name is called, proceed to the testing room. The final test will be on the clone jutsu."
Boruto smiled to himself. His father's specialty was shadow clones. Surely, Naruto couldn't fail. However, a voice disrupted his thoughts.
Ugh! That's my worst technique! Great! I'm never gonna pass!
Boruto was surprised. He had heard a voice in his head, but it wasn't his own. He turned and looked at his father, who was frowning, and Boruto realized that he had heard his father's thoughts. He figured that it had to be because he was viewing his father's memories.
Boruto stood next to his father, as the time for Naruto's turn grew closer. When Iruka finally called out Naruto's name, his father stood up and walked towards the door. Boruto followed, interested in what would happen next.
The testing room was smaller than the classroom. Two academy instructors, on of them Iruka, sat at the front of the room, and Naruto sat down in front of them.
Alright, get it together Naruto! You can do this! Believe it! Boruto heard in his head. Then, his father finally broke the silence.
"Clone Jutsu!"
A poof of smoke appeared next to Boruto's father. When it dissipated, a rather pathetic-looking clone lay face-down on the ground. Boruto sighed in defeat, while Iruka's eye began to twitch.
"You fail," Iruka said. Then, the man next to Iruka spoke up.
"Iruka, he's off and his moves weren't bad, but he did hang in there and replicate. This is his third try so you know he really wants to become a ninja," the man said to Iruka. "We could cut him a break and pass him." Boruto looked at his father, whose face wore a look of hope. Then, Iruka spoke.
"Mizuki-sensei, the other students created at least three effective replications. But Naruto could only create one, and look at it." Boruto watched as the hope on his father's face began to drain away. It's pitiful. I can't pass him."
After that, Boruto had lost sight of his father. He finally found Naruto sitting on the swing outside of the academy during the graduation ceremony. It was obvious that Naruto was depressed, but Boruto couldn't comfort him.
After the ceremony was over, Naruto disappeared again, so Boruto decided to look for him.
Boruto first checked the main road in the village, but Naruto was not there. Next he tried Ichiraku's, but he had no luck there, either. Boruto couldn't figure out where he had gone. Where else could his father have gone. Then he remembered. Didn't his father live in an apartment as a boy? With that thought in mind, Boruto spent the next hour going from apartment to apartment, until he finally found Naruto's apartment.
The first time Boruto laid eyes on the apartment, he cringed. By just looking at the door, he could tell that it was poorly maintained. He passed through the door, and found Naruto lying in bed, curled up. Instant ramen packages lay around the room, and a recently-made milk spill sat souring in the kitchen.
When he turned back to Naruto, he felt a pain in his gut. His father was laying there, broken by his latest failure, and Boruto could do nothing to help him.
"Is someone there?" Naruto asked. He sat up and faced the kitchen, looking right at Boruto. However, Boruto knew that his father was unable to see him.
Just then, a knock came at Naruto's window, and Mizuki's head popped into view.
"Oh, hey Mizuki-sensei," Naruto said. "What are you doing here?"
Mizuki smiled at Naruto and said, "I just wanted to talk to you. How about we go get some ramen, and then we talk?"
Naruto instantly perked up at the suggestion.
"Alright! As long as you're buying!"
Mizuki chuckled. "It's my treat, Naruto."
Naruto climbed out the window, and the two headed off in the direction of Ichiraku's shop. Boruto sighed. At least his dad was doing better. He didn't know what to do, what with Naruto off with Mizuki, so he decided to pay the Hokage a visit.
When he arrived at the Hokage's office, it was busier than usual. He made his way through the building until he was right outside of the Hokage's office. Weirdly, there was a large amount of noise coming from the room. Boruto, wanting to find out what was going on, entered the office.
The first thing he saw was a small group of shinobi around the Hokage. Then, he realized that they were all yelling.
"What should we do, Hokage-sama?"
"If we don't do something, the village will be in danger!"
"I knew we shouldn't have..."
Boruto was barely able to discern the individual questions and remarks. Suddenly, one voice was very clear.
"Silence!" the Hokage ordered, and the entire room obeyed. The Hokage then cleared his throat.
"We must find the scroll. Iruka, Mizuki, gather as many chunin and jonin as you can possibly find, and send them to the northern gate. I will meet them there."
Boruto tried to process all of this information. An important scroll was missing, and the shinobi were gathering at the northern gate? Who would take the scroll? A spy? A traitor? Worse?
However, the Hokage said one more thing that turned Boruto's head spin.
"Naruto must not be allowed to escape with that scroll."
Sorry this took so long guys, I really am. Anyways, I wanted to ask this question so that, when I finish this, I have enough responses to choose. The question is: When I finish this, which of these would you like me to do next?
1. A Tokyo Ghoul fanfiction
2. A Bleach fanfiction
3. A story that I have written
Please either post a review or pm me with your choice. That's it for now guys. I should be getting the next chapter out soon, guys. Thank you so much for sticking with me for the last few weeks, even though I haven't updated for a while.