This chapter contains violence that may not be suitable for some readers.

Boruto was struggling even more than he had been before. He watched in horror as Orochimaru neared her, his fingers spread and ready to pop her eyes out of the sockets. His throat felt as raw as sandpaper, his wrists as though someone had smashed them with hammers and cut them with saws. But it didn't matter. He had to get to her. He had to get to her before he did.

The gag finally fell off of his mouth after all of his efforts of struggling. "SARADA!" He screamed her name yanking even harder at the chains. Orochimaru's fingers were just about to reach her face when he heard the scream.

"Oh? You can speak now, can you?" He paused for just a moment, yellow peeking out through narrowed snake-like slits for eyes as he glared over his shoulder. "Hm. I should have paralyzed you, but I suppose I have no choice now but to let you scream."

"Sarada! Listen to me! He can't use jutsu! He can't use it unless he touches my hair! You can beat him! You have to beat him!"

Sarada lifted her head, albeit very slightly.

Boruto's chest wracked with guilt as he saw her defeated gaze, elbows and knees impaled by shuriken, eyelids red and puffy from crying. But even in that state... If she could yank out a shuriken and use it to fight, he knew she could at least protect herself.

Orochimaru hissed as he spun back around. Just as Sarada seemed as though she had gained a small will to fight back, Orochimaru dug his fingers into her eye socket.

Her screams filled the room as she cried out in pain, bile escaping her mouth and splattering onto the floor.

Boruto's eyes widened in horror. He pushed off the ground with all his might, his heart wrenching, wishing his hands would just fall off so he could get to her. But his wrists were already broken, and they weren't coming out of the cuffs. It was no use. Tears spilled over his cheeks as he watched her raise her head despite her pain, her teeth clenched, one eye missing.

All he could do was duck his head as Orochimaru stole the second eye, a stinging sensation spiraling through his chest, teeth grinding against each other so hard he thought they would break. But just as he felt as though his emotions were going to kill him, he heard a clanking sound.

His head twisted around only to find the handcuffs on the ground, a black chameleon with a scratched up tail nodding at him from the ground.

"...Shikadai..."

Shikadai curled two toes in and punched his palm with the make-shift fist.

Boruto gave him a firm nod.

Standing to his feet, he held his wrists up to his hair. A magic yellow glow surrounded them and set them straight again, mending all of the raw cuts and torn skin. Orochimaru was cackling, Sarada's eyes in his hand. "Now I have fulfilled my ro-"

Something shiny blinded Orochimaru for a mere second. Just as he turned to see a chameleon adjusting a mirror, five rasengans plowed into his back. Boruto slammed his real body into Orochimaru's side, pushing him out the window.

"Die."

Orochimaru's eyes bulged as he fell from the tower, passing each Akatsuki member as he went. His pale face contorted with anger and rage. "You'll be sorry that you decided to kill me!"

But Boruto's eyes replied with nothing but cold, hard, resentment. He watched until Orochimaru hit the ground, several bones cracking as they twisted into odd angles.

The Akatsuki members looked up at Boruto. And one by one, they slowly climbed down and away from the tower, fear in their eyes as they went.

The second Boruto looked away from the scene, tears filled his vision. He made his way over to Sarada, kneeling down next to her, his face crumpling in grief.

He gently pulled the shuriken from her body, collected her into his arms, and touched his forehead to hers. He already knew what would happen if he cried against her, but why did it have to come to this?

The moment tears dropped from his eyes and onto hers, a bright light filled her wounds, spiraling through his hair and surrounding them. Light shined out of her cuts, filling them as the bleeding ceased.

The hollow crevices slowly grew round again, dark irises blinking up at him. But he couldn't stop the tears from spilling over his face and onto hers. He couldn't manage a smile. All he could do was recede back, curling himself into a ball as she sat up.

"I'm sorry," he whimpered, his hands curling around his head as he tucked his head into his knees. "I'm so sorry..."

His heart felt like a led weight. His body felt like a bag of bricks. He promised to protect her. And she ended up in more pain that she had likely ever experienced, all because he sucked her into this cruddy game. All because he wanted attention.

He should have just stayed in his room. He couldn't let himself get close to anyone anymore. Once this was all over, he would never ask for anyone's attention ever again.

Suddenly, warm fingers brushed against the back of his hand. She gently pulled his arms away from his head and pried them open to make room for herself, leaning forward and holding him in a tight hug. "Hey... It's ok..."

Tears fell silently out of his eyes as he looked at the wall behind her. What on earth had he done to deserve this? He had done nothing. She nearly drowned because of him. He had let her get captured by guards after promising to protect her. He watched as Orochimaru took out her eyes.

But Sarada only held him tighter, not speaking a word.

Slowly, he uncurled himself from a ball and into her shoulder, his arms coming to rest on her back as he trembled. He was scared. He was scared of himself. Scared of his confidence to speak without being able to live up to his promises. Scared of his ability to hate someone enough to the point of killing them.

"It's ok," she whispered, rubbing circles with her fingertips through his hair.

The fabric of her vest curled into his hand, his sobs stifling to silence. Maybe he really was a monster, even without his karma. Even without Momoshiki.

But even though he had hurt her beyond belief... Even though he had broken his promise in every way possible... She was holding him. She was comforting him. And he was the one crying.

He sat there in silence for a few minutes. Slowing his breath. Relishing in the warmth of her arms, the way it felt to be surrounded, comforted, to be tucked against her. To know that she was okay.

He finally pulled away and wiped his eyes against his jacket sleeve, simultaneously hiding his face. "I'm sorry..."

Her gentle touch to his arm brought his eyes peeking out from behind his sleeve to look into hers. The weight of her hand nudged him out of hiding. "It's alright. I'm ok." She brushed the tears away from his right eye with the heel of her palm. "But you still don't look like you are..."

Averting his gaze like a child, he wanted nothing more than to lean into her hand and fall into her comfort again, to just hold her there and not move onto the next level for a long time. But as a man... Nothing could be more pathetic.

He had a duty to fulfil. A duty to end this wretched game and take her back to Konoha where she belonged.

After all he had done to her, he didn't feel like he deserved to kiss her, especially not as the person he was now. But he was determined. Determined to become stronger, at least a fraction of what she was.

"I... I'm going to meet my parents," he said, standing to his feet. "If this doesn't end the level, I don't know what will."

Sarada looked up at him, her face firm and understanding as he helped her up. "Alright. I'll stay here..."

Just as he was about to jump out the window, he felt the warmth of her hand wrapping around his fingers. "...Boruto..."

Her worry faded to embarrassment as she ducked her head. Puffy eyes softening, he tilted his head to the side. "...Hm?"

Before he knew what was going on, Sarada leaned in and gently touched her lips to his cheek.

He froze. Did she really just...

Shifting from blinking up at him to down at the floor, she balled the fabric of her jacket up in her free hand. "That was... Um... For good luck. So you don't get captured on the way to the castle or anything..." She finally looked up at him for more than a millisecond under her long black eyelashes. "Just... Be careful."

His gaze softened, hand twitching to rise to her face, but he curled it into a fist instead and offered her a smile. "I'll be careful."

Gently squeezing her hand, he jumped out the window.

. . .

Boruto ran from the foot of the tower all the way to the castle entrance, arms trailing behind him, heart feeling a good bit lighter. But as he climbed the stone stairs that stretched across the gate, a voice called out to him.

"Halt!"

His hands flew up in surrender. "Wait," he said, noting the fear under the metal helmets of the three guards, "I'm not here to fight you. I want to see my father..."

"...We are under orders to take you to the dungeons the moment we see you."

Boruto looked off to the side. "...I understand." At the very least, he could enter the castle quietly and then knock them out afterwards.

Allowing the guards to cuff him, he walked all the way to the towering wooden doors. Looking over the balcony was none other than his father, staring far off into the distance. With a gentle smile, he felt a tingling sensation in his cheek. Looks like you actually gave me good luck, Sarada...

When he stopped, the guards tried to shove him forward, but he imbued chakra into his feet to stick himself to the ground. "Excuse me for a moment... Dad!"

The king looked down. And his eyes widened.

The guards looked at Boruto. And then they looked at the king. Immediately dropping their weapons, they backed away. "We... We're so sorry! We misunderstood the situation!"

"It's alright," said Boruto sheepishly. "I didn't exactly make the best first impression..."

"How... How can you use magic," asked one of the guards as the other uncuffed him.

"I was raised by the sorcerer," said Boruto, remembering the story. "He taught it to me."

"Why... Why did you attack your own people?"

He rotated his free wrists. "Because you were targeting the girl behind me... And I'd rather die than let anything happen to her." Better be safe than sorry. Now she would at least be taken off the wanted list.

"I see... Then it was you who defeated all the guards and went to rescue her."

"Went to rescue her?"

Just as Boruto was about to ask, Naruto and Hinata rushed out to greet him. They paused, taking in his facial features.

He could only smile in return, albeit, it was a pitiful smile. He no longer felt proud to be their son. But nevertheless, they wrapped their arms around him, relief filling their faces.

Being surrounded by his parents' scent and warmth made the tension leak out of his body. He leaned into their hug, relishing the comfort it provided. But he couldn't help but notice the story hadn't ended.

The guards turned away, allowing the family to have their happy reunion. Hinata slowly released Boruto, noticing his saddened expression. She tilted her head, her gaze asking him what was wrong.

He smiled. Even though this version of his mother hadn't been with him for the majority of her life, she was still sensitive to his emotions.

"Wait-"

A voice called behind him. Boruto immediately spun around.

"I told you, don't take me towards the castle! It's too-"

His eyes widened as Sarada approached, riding atop Shikamaru's back.

"Sarada?"

"Heh..." She averted her gaze and blushed. "Yo..."

"What are you doing here?"

"...Shikadai told me to follow you... But then this horse just started running of its own accord and wouldn't let me down," said Sarada, angrily digging her heels into his side.

The guards eyes widened. "Sir... Is this the girl you mentioned before?"

Boruto smiled, the tears clearing from his eyes. "Yeah, that's her."

What happened next was a mystery to Boruto. His father approached the horse, offered his hand, and helped Sarada down with a smile. Then, he led her over to where Boruto and Hinata were standing. Once the four of them were assembled, his parents wrapped them both in a bear hug, Naruto's arms around his wife, Hinata's arms around them both, and Boruto's arms squished in between Sarada's back and Naruto's stomach.

But as they stood, they slowly relaxed into each other and became comfortable. His heartache and guilt seemed to wash away like a gentle rain. Just as he was about to fix his arms and pull her closer, the world around him turned an emerald green color, taking them away with the change.

Sarada stayed tucked into his chest as they looked around the empty space for Shikadai, only to find him just as confused as they were.

"Congratulations. You have completed level four."

. . .

And what a long level it was. Sorry. It was my favorite. I wanted to start from the beginning. One level left until the story ends!