"I have two kids?!"

The journey to Ichiraku Ramen had been… expeditious, to say the least. Once they'd been excused from the Hokage's office, Naruto had decided to take Tsunade's order of keeping Boruto in his care in the literal sense. He curled his fingers around Boruto's wrist, applying such a force to the compression that numbness had begun settling in Boruto's hand.

You had a better chance of escaping shackles than you did this wrist-spraining hold.

As they ran through large crowds of villagers and jumped across rooftops to shorten the distance, the grip had never loosened. At one point, Boruto had completely lost his footing and was quite literally being dragged by his father. Not even a breathless Sakura screaming profanities and threatening Naruto of bodily harm if he didn't slow down had managed to get him to lower his pace. Though it did certainly succeed in getting scowls from nearby passengers.

Once they'd eventually made it to the ramen stand, and a strike from Sakura to Naruto's head later, the three seated onto consecutive stools, with Naruto sitting to Boruto's left and Sakura to his right. Naruto had insisted that he pay for their meals, and proceeded to order two regular-sized bowls of ramen for the two, and a large bowl for himself.

"Yup, her name's Himawari."

Naruto's pupils were entirely visible now. "That. Is. So. Cool!" he said, bouncing on his seat at every word. He grabbed a hold of Boruto's head and pushed it down so that it was no longer obscuring his view of the pink-haired kunoichi. "Sakura, did you hear that?! I have a daughter!"

"Yes, Naruto, I heard," said Sakura, tapping her finger against the surface of the stand.

"And I have a son!"

"I'm aware." The tapping increased in frequency.

"And I'm the Hokage!"

The tapping reduced to one violent collision of her fist against the surface, denting it slightly. "Idiot, stop repeating everything! I was there with you the entire time!"

"Um, mind letting go of my head now?"

Three bowls of ramen were eventually placed in front of them. After an unnecessarily lengthy whiff of the broth, Naruto voiced his satisfaction with a content sigh. He began dressing his chopsticks with the soaked noodles, then transported it to his mouth, slurping loud and until each strip was entirely consumed. He showed little concern for spillages or for the disgusted looks from his companions.

"So Naruto, who's the kid you brought along with ya?" asked Teuchi, owner of Ichiraku Ramen, as he dried off his hands with a towel before draping it over his shoulder. He then rested both his palms against the edge of the stand and shifted his weight onto them. "I ain't never seen him before. Your cousin, I'm guessin'?"

"Not quite!" Naruto said through a mouthful of ramen. He roped his arm around Boruto's neck and hauled him towards his chest, ruffling his hair with the other arm. "He's my son!"

Teuchi released his grips on the stand and took a few steps back in response. "Eh?!"

Sakura shook her head and raised a hand. "It's a long story." She gave him a look that made it seem as though she had zero desire in explaining it, either.

"Um, right. Uh… well, congratulations! Ah, h-have a bowl on the house!"

Naruto shot his head up fast and with little concern for whiplash. "R-really?! Wow! Alright!" Now no longer savoring every mouthful, he began emptying out the contents of the bowl down his throat as quickly as possible, providing just enough space to allow air through. "Gosh, I should have kids more often!"

Sakura's chopsticks stopped halfway to her mouth, before eventually being lowered back down to her bowl.

Boruto took a bite of the ramen every so often, slurping with less enthusiasm compared to his father. There was one thing, or rather, one person who'd kept distracting his thoughts. It was the reason why he was so disinterested in engaging in a conversation with the two. It was the reason why he showed so little resistance when being dragged around by the arm across the village by his dad. He couldn't stop thinking about it. He couldn't stop thinking about the looks in everyone's eyes when he spoke his name. He couldn't stop thinking about where he was. He couldn't stop thinking about if he was okay.

"Hey guys… where's Uncle Sasuke?" asked Boruto, eyeing the two carefully to gauge their reaction.

And there it was again, just like before. The sudden demeanor changes. The stiffening postures. The wide eyes. The lowering heads. The pained looks of defeat and failure. Boruto recognized that something was very wrong, and that no one was being entirely honest about the situation.

"…Well?" he followed impatiently.

Naruto swirled the contents of his bowl with his chopsticks. "Did… did I not tell you in the future?" he asked without looking at him. Boruto shook his head and hummed a noise expressing 'no.' A brief moment of silence later, Naruto raised his head, and in his best efforts attempted a smile that mimicked his others. "Aaaahhh, it's nothin'. Don't worry about it! It's really not importa—"

Boruto cut him off with a strong grasp of his wrist, rivaling the one Naruto gave him prior. "Tell me."

The two locked in a stare, both pairs of blue eyes expressing entirely different emotions. Eventually, the pair infused with concern and anxiety had heavy lids fall over them. Naruto turned his head and lowered it in defeat. "He… he left the village."

"…That's… it? Uncle Sasuke does that all the time."

"It's probably a little different to that," said Sakura. She appeared particularly more troubled than Naruto did. Her emerald eyes lacked the spark that was usually present; they were lifeless and seemed as though were staring directly into a void. "He's… classified as a missing-nin right now."

Boruto froze. He's… he's a missing-nin? That wasn't something he'd been expecting at all. "But… why?"

"Because… of power. He wants more power."

"More power? What for? From where?"

If there was a question that could've further permeated the room with worry, then that was it.

"Orochimaru."

That name… Boruto stared up at the ceiling and thought hard. Why does it sound so familiar? Was he an opponent? No… I don't think that's it. I'm sure I would've remembered if that were the case. Damn it Boruto, think…

"It would be nice if you could show my parent some respect, too. He's called Orochimaru."

Oh!

Boruto fired out an index finger. "Hey, I've heard of him! He's my teammate Mitsuki's parent!"

Both Naruto and Sakura dropped their chopsticks into their bowls and slowly turned their heads to face him.

"What?" asked Boruto as he watched the two spare concerned glances at each other, before turning to look back at him. The sparks seemingly reignited in their eyes, and for what felt like almost forever, there appeared to be some semblance of life within them.

"Orochimaru has a kid?!" the two yelled in unison, prompting Boruto to wince slightly and lean back in response. If the atmosphere wasn't so strained, he may have even contemplated letting a laugh escape him at the absurd faces they were pulling. Whoever this Orochimaru was, the prospect of him having a child invoked a much more dumbstruck response than when he'd revealed himself to be Naruto's future son, for whatever reason.

"Is, um, Orochimaru… y'know, the mom or the dad?" asked Sakura, unsure if she even wanted it answered.

"Hm? That doesn't really matter right now. You forgot to answer my previous question by the way, Dad. Why does he want power—or more of it, exactly?"

Naruto shook his head as if to brush off the disturbing thoughts, substituting them for ones entirely different, but equally as disturbing. "Uh right, anyway. Have you… heard of the massacre of the Uchiha clan?"

"A little bit. It was never really covered in class, but something about the whole clan being wiped out by someone, right?"

"Not just someone." Naruto's shoulders and chest raised as he breathed in heavily, made much more pronounced due to his stiff posture. "His brother. Sasuke's brother."

"H-… his… brother?" It felt as if something was lodged in his throat as Boruto tried to speak.

"His brother… killed everyone." Boruto's mouth lowered as if the weight of his jaw grew heavier. "His mom. His dad. Aunts… uncles… cousins… you name it. Not a single one left of his clan 'cept those two. Sasuke's gone to get more power so that… well, so that he's the only one left. If… if you get what I mean. He wants to avenge his clan."

Boruto couldn't formulate a response. He couldn't. Not through words, nor through action. All he could do was stare with eyes involuntarily widened.

It made so much sense now. Why Uncle Sasuke always seemed so distant. Why he always maintained a stoic demeanor and no-nonsense attitude. Why he always came across as someone who was trying to… recover. Everyone he had ever loved was taken from him. And by someone who he must've also loved and had a deep respect for, no less. Boruto was no stranger to the feeling of losing a parent—or rather, the feeling of almost having lost a parent. He thought he'd lost his dad forever during the events of the Chūnin Exams, and that alone was enough to invoke an unbearable feeling of anguish and heartache. He couldn't fathom losing Mom, too. And Himawari. And the rest of his friends and family.

But Uncle Sasuke did. He had to. It was a cruel, blunt reality for him. A nightmare that could never be woken from. A scar permanently engraved onto him. Could you really blame the guy for losing his cool and going AWOL?

"But… he comes back… right?" asked Naruto, disrupting Boruto from his reverie. "He… he gets his revenge and he comes back to the village, doesn't he? Like, in the future?"

Just like before when he'd asked Boruto if he becomes the Hokage in the future, Naruto eyed him with an expression dominated by anxiety and concern. But this time, hope was now incorporated into it.

Boruto arranged his hand into a thumbs-up stance, and his mouth formed a smile such that every tooth was now on display. The two studied him, taking a moment to interpret his wordless response. Naruto eventually straightened out his back from its slouching position, as if a giant load had been taken off his shoulders. The creases between his brows softened as if were ironed out, and he subconsciously found himself mirroring the smile on Boruto's face. The tension in Sakura's face had eased too, and even she found herself delivering a warm smile of her own. The three resumed eating their meals in a comfortable silence.

"Hey, is there a reason why Sasuke leaves the village and then later comes back?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not really sure. He hasn't ever really told me why. Something about looking for stuff only he can find," said Boruto. Naruto shook his head.

Boruto then raised a hand to his chin. "As for why he comes back… hmmm… well, it is his home, I guess. And I know he really cares about Konoha and wants to protect it. Sometimes he trains with his daughter, too." The two dropped their chopsticks into their bowls, again. "Oh, that's right! He's also my sensei, so I train with him a lot whenever he's around. Um, no offense, Dad."

Sakura rotated her body so that she completely faced him. "Did… you just say… Sasuke… has a daughter?" she warily asked, not even bothering to spare another concerned glance at Naruto. No, she wanted an answer this time, and only one person could give it to her right now.

"Huh? Yeah. Didn't I say that before? I could've sworn I did. Well, anyway, Sarada Uchiha, also a teammate. Wants to be Hokage just like you, Dad. Y'know, I almost sorta miss her. Wonder what she's doing right no—"

She cut him off by resting a hand on his shoulder and leaning in slightly, invading his proximity. "Who does he have a daughter with?"

"Hm? You. Duh."

Suddenly, the reaction to Orchimaru's kid hadn't seemed all that bad. Certainly not compared to this, anyway. He wonderedhow long they were going to keep staring at him like that, far too use to the lengthy stares and dropped jaws by now to allow discomfort to settle again. The two appeared to be having trouble coming into terms with this, surprisingly more than anything he'd already revealed prior. Particularly…

"W-wow, Sakura. I'm… I'm really happy for you," Naruto said quietly. The pained look that swept across his face as he lowered his eyes back down to his bowl hadn't gone unnoticed to Boruto, provoking him to furrow his brow a little. "I… I know that's what you've always really wanted."

Sakura was too overwhelmed by her thoughts to be able to give any sort of acknowledgement. Her unmoving silence was beginning to be a concern. It was almost as if she was experiencing a number of conflicting emotions, and somehow they were all canceling each other out, leaving just an expressionless vessel. As if her spirit wasn't there in the room with them.

"Hey guys, I'm… I'm gonna call it an early night. I… need some time to myself right now," she said as she stood, her voice without tone or passion. She adjusting her clothes slightly, and turned to make an exit. The clatter of her shoes as it struck the earth beneath them lowered gradually in volume until it was no longer present.

Silence settled again. But certainly not one that was comfortable. Now an entirely different thought distracted Boruto's mind, and would undoubtedly bother him for the entirety of his stay here if he hadn't acknowledged it as soon as possible.

"Hey, Dad?" he said as he turned to face the sulking individual. "What the hell are you doing?"

Naruto went still, then looked up at him. "Huh? What d'you mean?"

"That!" Boruto yelled, jabbing a finger in his direction. He abruptly pushed off of his seat and stood up. "Those damn puppy eyes of yours!"

Naruto maneuvered his gaze away from Boruto's, now staring off somewhere into the distance. "I… I-I don't know what you're t—"

"From the moment I saw you all the way up until now you've been drooling all over Aunt Sakura! Why? I don't get it! What about Mom?" Boruto said without pause for breath. Naruto's eyes widened momentarily, then lowered back down. "Have you completely forgotten about her? Oh. That's right. It's because every single time I bring her up, you keep changing the subject somehow! Why? What for?"

Boruto waved his hand in front of him, gesturing him to give a response. And the lack of it only prompted a tighter jaw. "Well? Say something!"

Still nothing.

Boruto pulled his lips back into a snarl. Fine then, stupid old man. He turned to face the sheets obscuring the entrance and pushed them aside with unnecessary force.

"H-hey, wait," Naruto said, chasing after him, "Boruto! Where are you going?!"

"Mom's house to check up on her," he answered. "You hear that? Mom's house. Mom's. Not Aunt Sakura's." Naruto took a step forward to intervene, but stayed put at the raised hand. "And don't bother following me. Not until you drop this weird ass, one-sided obsession you have for her."

"B-but, you can't just leave! Granny Tsunade said you're supposed to be in my care!"

"I can look after myself, Dad. I don't need you holding my hand wherever I go. Or dragging me by the wrist. I'm like, 90% sure something's wrong with it, by the way. Anyway, feel free to stop by when you do eventually start paying attention to what's in front of you. Bye."

Boruto concentrated his chakra to his feet and burst off from the ground, landing onto a nearby building. He began sprinting, hoping that maybe, against his wishes, his dad would follow.

When Boruto said he was heading to Mom's house, he may or may not have neglected the fact that he had absolutely no idea where it actually was. So he walked; he walked as the skies transitioned for orange to blue, hoping that he'd eventually bump into somebody, anybody that he recognized, and could direct him towards the correct path. Until then, he busied his thoughts with his dad and how much of a stupid, stupid old man he is. Constantly chasing after a girl so much inferior to Mom in every way. Strength, beauty, you name it. Mom has her beat. So what gives?

But... then again, Mom's so… well… so un-Mom-like. She doesn't exactly come across as strong with the way she keeps losing her consciousness all the time. And she can't exactly show off that pretty face of hers if she keeps covering it up with her hands like that. Perhaps he was a little too harsh on his dad. Boruto shook his head as if to remove the apologetic thoughts from them. No, this was good. It will at least help him to consider his feelings for her sooner, he concluded. He hoped. Until then, he and his mom had some work to do.

"We meet again, Boruto."

Boruto jumped at the unexpected voice. All those times he'd been told by Aburame Sensei, his former academy teacher, to stay alert and maintain focus at all times, and yet here he was, so consumed by his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed the person he'd strolled right past, leaning against the tree. He wore a large sea-green jacket, of which the hood of was over his head. This, along with the dark sunglasses and high upturned collar all almost compl—

Wait a minute, wasn't he that guy from before? With Mom and Uncle Kiba? The heck was he doing just standing like that, this late?

"Hey it's... you… from before…" Boruto said, watching sunglasses man with caution as he took a step forward.

"You seemed to have remembered my comrades right away, Boruto. Everyone except for me, of course. You see, I was hoping to find out the cause for this. Perhaps my engagements in the future do not allow me to commit enough time into seeing you. Or perhaps my bonds with your mother and father aren't as strong as I had assumed was, and that we don't see each other often in the future, resulting in you not recognizing me due to little interaction. Or perhaps—"

That... that weird way that he talks, it's so... familiar...

Boruto snapped his fingers in realization. "Hey! You're Aburame Sensei!"

"I see. So you finally have remembered. You should never forget a person's face, Boruto, especially that of your teacher's. Why? Because it could possibly hurt their feelings."

"Well how's anyone suppose to recognize you if you've got your face hidden away like that?!" Boruto frantically shook his head, a comforting thought slowly dawning on him. "Never mind all that. Do you know where Mom's place is?"

"Though, perhaps it is my fault. I must not have been captivating enough in my role as your teacher to have engraved myself into your thoughts, so I only have myself to blame. An excellent teacher, for example, would have had his students engaging in a number of fun activities. Perhaps my methods weren't as effective, since—"

Wh… what the heck is talking about now? Boruto compressed the bridge of his nose with one hand and placed the other on his hip. His attention plummeted fast and his eyes wondered over to his surroundings, sorta like it did when he still attended Aburame Sensei's classes. He stared ahead at the large field to his left, absently scanning the wide setting, and eventually caught sight of a figure lying down against the grass beside a large, towering tree. It was difficult; he had to exert a ridiculous amount of effort into narrowing his eyes, but he could just about make out the person's pineapple hairdo sticking out of the green blades.

Wait a second. Pineapple hairdo?

…Shidakai?

He turned on his heels and marched towards the field.

"—and I was clearly not successful in that regard. It was unfair to have burdened you with guilt when it is I who had failed you as your teacher. So Boruto, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for—"

Shino looked up, only just noticing the absence of his future student.

"…I'm glad no one is here to witness me cry."

"Your parents at it again, huh?" Boruto asked as he neared, hopeful that he hadn't just spoken to someone who was asleep.

Shikadai gave a half-hearted smile, no longer concerned about the approaching footsteps. "Just can't escape this conversation, can I?"

Boruto chuckled as he sat beside him, holding his folded knees in place with his arms. Shikadai sat up and reclined against the large tree, recollecting everything that'd happened earlier with his parents.

"...And it backfired completely. They both just stormed out the place, and I have no idea where either of them are right now. Safe to say they forgot that I don't have anywhere to go."

Boruto placed a hand on Shikadai's shoulder and gave it a gentle tug. "Well, lucky I found you then. I'm heading to Mom's place; you can tag along."

"Thanks."

"One problem, though."

"Oh?"

"I don't know where it is."

Shikadai snorted. "Well, you're completely useless." Boruto clutched his heart in mock hurt.

"Y'know, you don't have it that bad. At least your stupid old man isn't chasing after some other girl."

"Aunt Sakura?"

Boruto quickly turned his head round to face him. "Yeah! How did you know?"

"Didn't he try to kiss her when we were at the Hokage's office?"

Boruto held his neck with both his hands and made an exaggerated gagging sound. "Don't remind me."

The two fell into a fit of laughter until tears moistened their eyes and pain was induced in their stomachs. It was a welcoming noise neither had heard in quite a while.

Shikadai breathed heavily to maintain his composure, still clutching his sides as the pain eased. "Hey Boruto?"

"Yeah?"

"You... you think we'll ever get back to our time?"

"…I don't know," Boruto said pressing his eye with a thumb, brushing away the wetness that distorted his vision. "I miss my little sister."

"I miss Inojin and Chōchō."

"Me too. I wonder what Mitsuki's doing right now."

"Probably looking everywhere for you."

"I guess so. Promise you won't tell anyone?"

Shikadai raised both his hands as if to surrender. "I couldn't even if I wanted to. But sure."

"I sorta miss Sarada."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Just a little bit."

"Damn, Boruto. Didn't think things were this rough for you if you were willing to admit even that."

"Tell me about it."

Shikadai tugged on the blades of grass. "I just hope future Mom hasn't left future Dad already. I should've been there to talk her out of it, or something. This whole thing just couldn't have happened at a worse-er time."

"You think our future's still there?"

"I... don't know." Shikadai released the blades in his hold, letting the wind carry them away.

Boruto stared absently at them, eyeing an individual blade of grass as it spun in the air, finding himself slowly falling into a trance. The blade began to elongate in length and thicken in width, gradually transitioning into a cylindrical shape, until it resembled... a scroll?

He then brought their attention to another scroll balancing vertically on his hand, then threw it straight into the circulating flames, dissipating instantly on contact.

Boruto stood to his feet and flailed his arms around in excitement. "That's it, Shikadai! Don't you remember?"

"Boruto, I'm pretty sure I would've said something by now if I did."

"The guy at the train, right before he disappeared! He threw something into the flames, remember?"

Shikadai brought a hand to chin. "I… don't quite remember something like that…"

"In his hands, he was holding onto some sort of—"

"Scroll?"

Boruto snapped his fingers. "Yeah!"

"Uh… Boruto…"

"Yeah?"

"I didn't say that."

The two turned their heads leisurely to the unusually familiar voice. Shikadai jumped to his feet, desperately trying to fight off the light-headed feeling from the sudden movement. Both drew kunais from their pouches, refusing to fall victim to patience this time.

They were not alone.

The figure looked sinister, draped in entirely black attire, with the only signs of color being the slight tear on his sleeve exposing his ghostly pale skin, and the lower half of his face, devoid completely of any facial hair. His impassive eyes were concealed by the hood of his cloak, difficult to see, but unquestionably driven by cold intentions.

Standing before them, was the mysterious, hooded man.