Boruto cracked his eye open. The other itched beyond belief behind the empty lids, the stinging pain still buried deep within the back of his head. His forehead was throbbing, and the world was spinning. His throat was dry, rotten fish taste creeping up his esophagus. But that wasn't why he woke up crying.

He curled himself into a ball atop the bed, his body facing away from her, and tangled his fingers around his messy locks of hair, tugging it down over his face. He was the most despicable human being alive.

Even with staying up all night. Even with an empty stomach that should have made him feel like a carcass that could be tossed about in the wind. Even though he had tied himself up and thrown himself in a cell. Even though he ran into the woods, stumbling over sticks and trees in the dark and tied himself tight to a tree. Even without an eye.

Momoshiki was deplorable. And all the while, he pretended to be a passive aggressive version of him. Whispering sweet nothings into her ear one second and squeezing her injuries the next. Saying her name. Telling her he loved her.

Pulling his eye out only seemed to make his aggression worse.

He managed to take over one last time when he thought she was going to die by his hands, just before Momoshiki could go all the way. Throwing himself against the headboard as hard as he could, he succeeded in giving the monster enough injury to cause both of them to pass out.

He could feel her shaky breaths behind him, trembling even in her sleep. He painfully removed himself from the bed, bringing the blanket up over her shoulders without turning around. Even if Sarada asked him to... He couldn't be by her side. Even if it meant the story would never end, he was going to make sure he didn't lay another hand on her.

He pulled his shirt over his head and sauntered towards the kitchen.

Shikadai toddled down the hall, but his head lowered when he came into contact with Boruto. "Boruto, as much as you want to-"

"Don't try to stop me."

"But if you do that you'll never-"

"I don't care anymore, Shikadai..."

His tone of voice. His stone-cold eyes. The fact that he wasn't raging or dragging his feet despite his weakened state. He thought about it calmly. He had considered his options. And he found this to be the best one.

Just as he was about to reach the kitchen, he heard a foreign sound. A gunshot.

The ottoman rushed into the kitchen, dancing around at Boruto's feet.

"Master," called the cup from atop it. "Someone's in the castle! He's got a gun..."

"Let him come."

"I think he's after the girl! Why... Why do you have a knife?"

Shikadai rushed into the room. "Boruto! There's someone else in this story... I forgot to mention him, I was too preoccupied with Momoshiki... Put the knife down."

"It's just Kawaki… He's taking Sarada. He's in love with her."

"And you don't care?"

"Shikadai, I…" He cut himself off. Shikadai would only try to convince him otherwise. This needed to end. For both their sakes. Maybe the way to end the game wasn't completing the level. He raised the knife to his chest.

"Boruto! Listen to me. In games, there's always a reset point. What if this doesn't end it? What if this makes you go back? What if you have to relive this until she says it?!"

"She isn't going to say it, Shikadai!"

"But this won't solve anything! Just put the knife down and listen to me…"

He squeezed the knife. And then he slowly loosened his grip.

As much as he wanted to argue, his best friend was always right… If this truly was a game, there was a possibility it could re-set. And that would be far worse than just living out his time in the castle and letting Kawaki have Sarada.

"I'm still letting Kawaki take her. At least let me do that."

"You might trust Kawaki," said Shikadai, working his way up onto the counter, "but I wouldn't trust his character… He's a power-hungry egoist who doesn't think about anyone but himself. He mentioned wanting several kids with her. And you're the only one that can put an end to this story. You think she wants to live out an eternity with Kawaki and never see her family again?"

Boruto hated this level more than life itself. "What am I supposed to do?" He turned towards his friend, tears spilling over his face. "There's nothing left. She won't say it. Not now, not ever. Not after I—" He bit his lip. "Not after he did that."

"Boruto listen to me." Shikadai's eyes were firm and set, filled with determination. "I will tie to you as many trees as you want. But right now, she doesn't need to be anywhere near Kawaki. She needs you to save her. And if you want to leave her alone after that, it's fine by me. I'll get her to say it somehow. You don't have to go near her again. But… You have to trust me. It'll only make this story worse if you don't stop Kawaki now… She'll be even more hurt if you let her go."

As much as he wanted to put an end to his own life, the thought of someone else hurting her, especially now, made him seethe with an unkempt amount of anger.

"Fine… Where is he," growled Boruto, taking the knife, albeit for a different purpose.

"They're on their way upstairs as we speak. Run."

Boruto walked. He jogged. And then he took off into a sprint. Adrenaline was the only thing fueling him as he ran, palms spanking the walls as he threw his momentum around the corners, throbbing in his head subsiding. Or perhaps he was just getting better at ignoring it.

Finally, he found a buff Kawaki and short Metal just outside her bedroom door.

"Kawaki," Boruto hissed, jumping up and kicking him. It felt good to fight, good to fuel his depression into anger.

"Who the heck is Kawaki? You'll pay for knocking me out earlier, beast." Kawaki used the side of his gun to shield himself from Boruto's kick. "What a hideous face... And a unique horn. I think I'll add it to my collection."

He flipped backwards away from the gun and crouched. "Why are you here..."

"Why? You have my girl."

Adrenaline skyrocketed through him, taking his focus away from every single ailment he had. She wasn't anyone's.

Crouching low, he prepared to launch himself at Kawaki. But with a gun barrel pointed at his head, he knew he was at a disadvantage.

Running as he dodged to make sure Kawaki couldn't aim, he threw the knife. Only being able to see through one eye threw his depth perception off, but the knife still plunged into Kawaki's thigh.

Kawaki reeled in pain. He aimed the gun at Boruto's head and fired three shots. While the sound was deafening, the bullets missed their mark and instead caused drywall to scatter about the floor.

"Lefou, go in and get the girl. Take her out of here."

"Yes sir!"

Boruto snarled. He lunged at Kawaki, attempting to reclaim his knife. But Kawaki was much stronger than he remembered.

He easily grabbed Boruto by his hair and threw him into the wall, bestowing a long black crack upon the previously smooth white surface.

Crap. Come on Boruto, move. But his limbs wouldn't listen to him. His hazy vision was met with the barrel of a gun, a few inches away from his head… And he wondered if this was finally the end. Maybe the level was supposed to end with his death. Maybe that was her way out.

"I don't know what you did to her," said Kawaki, his finger on the trigger, "but I'm going to make sure right here and now that you don't have the chance to mess with her again."

Boruto closed his eyes. Shikadai said they couldn't trust Kawaki… But Kawaki was strong. And he had a gun. At the very least... Kawaki could protect her from him. Even if the game reset… Maybe the best thing to do was get her to Kawaki before he could hurt her.

Sorry Shikadai… I don't think I can fight anymore. He let his arms fall limp, his blurry vision fuzzing off as he let his tired eyes drop closed.

"Hm. Resigning to your fate... How cowardly." Kawaki took the knife out of his thigh and stabbed it into Boruto's shoulder.

He winced but wouldn't cry out. Not after what he had put her through. Sliding down against the back of the wall, his figure crumpled, head sagging.

"Even if you surrender, it won't save you… Have fun in the afterlife, ugly beast."

Fire spread from his shoulder into his chest. But he didn't resist. It was better this way.

Just then, Metal opened the door. "I found her!"

Boruto's heart wrenched in his chest. He didn't even have to lift his head to know what she looked like. He recalled her figure, like that of a doll who had its soul sucked dry. One arm incapacitated, beautiful porcelain skin burned away by a hot knife.

His eyes lifted anyways, desperate to take one last look at her in his final moments. But he suddenly wished he hadn't.

Her head was draped over Metal's shoulder, her long hair hanging down in front of her face. Both arms dangled limply at her sides, her ankles hanging freely as they swayed when he walked. She looked pale and sickly, barely holding on to life.

Through that long hair, he suddenly caught the gleam of her open eyes. As it became hard to breathe, he tilted his head away, regret and grief pouring through his veins. He couldn't bear to meet her gaze.

"What..." Her voice came out in a small, raspy whisper. "What are you doing to him?"

"This monster?" Kawaki grinned, jamming the barrel of the gun against Boruto's forehead. "I'm killing him, of course. And afterwards, I'll add that horn to the mantle, right above the fireplace. When we have kids, we can tell them about this day... What do you think?"

Boruto resigned to his fate, fully prepared for Kawaki to pull the trigger. But Sarada's small voice and the light scraping of her dry feet on the wooden floor got his attention. "Don't..."

Kawaki didn't move. "Huh?"

"Don't hurt him," said Sarada.

He looked up in disbelief. His heart leapt into his throat as he saw her stagger towards him. Tears spilled over his cheeks. Sarada.. Please... You don't have to... Just let him kill me... I deserve to die. I deserve worse than death...

"Don't hurt him," she said again, falling against the wall and sliding down next to him. Her trembling hand clutched the fabric of his shirt. He swallowed back the urge to sob.

"Huh? Don't hurt him? What are you, insane?" Kawaki shifted the barrel of the gun from Boruto's head to his heart. "He's a beast. An ugly hideous thing that deserves to die."

But Sarada got in the way. "Don't. Hurt. Him."

"Why shouldn't I? Look at you. I don't know what he did to you, but you look like you've been trashed! You look worse than me after I have too much to drink. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put a hole through his head!"

"I..." She pulled herself up. Whatever look Sarada had on her face made Kawaki gulp, his grip on the gun slowly loosening. "I won't let you."

"Fine," said Kawaki, shifting the focus of his gun to them both. "You can die with him. Why should I care."

Boruto tried to lift his hands. It was second nature, an instinct to protect her. Despite everything he'd done. But his vision was going black. His arms wouldn't respond to him. Pain like fire spread through his chest, urging him to let go of something he didn't know he was holding onto.

But instead of the deafening sound of a gunshot, several thudding noises filled Boruto's ringing ears.

Metal lunged at Kawaki, tackling him to the ground. "That's enough! What are you doing? You drink too much, you kill too much, and now you're trying to put an end to the life of the girl you love?! He's not a monster... You are!"

Kawaki shouted back. "Who are you to tell me that? I only drag you around because you're useful... If you hate me so much, leave me alone!"

"That's not what friends do!"

"I have no friends!"

Suddenly, several objects in the castle came to the aid of Boruto and began throwing themselves Kawaki and Metal as if they were declaring war.

Boruto could barely see the fight going on in front of him. His vision was going darker with every passing second. All he saw was Sarada… A worried expression on her face. Tears in her eyes. He wanted to reach up and wipe them. But his body wouldn't move.

Ah. So this is…

He knew he didn't have much time. She was crying.

"Sarada…"

"Boruto?! Boruto!"

He swallowed back something rising in his throat. What it was, he didn't know. Tears leaked over the edges of his eyes and ran down his numb cheeks.

"I'm sorry…"

He hardly registered her leaning into him. Sobbing into his neck. Clinging to his slightly stretched and torn white t-shirt. Everything was numb, so numb that he couldn't really hear the words that she was speaking. But before he died, whether the game reset or not…

He wanted to let her know why he was sorry. Why she meant so much to him. Why he'd rather die then do this to her. With great effort, Boruto managed to draw in a fickle breath and move his lips.

"…I love you."

Whether the words actually left his mouth or not, he didn't know… He couldn't see. He couldn't feel. And with a great pain in his heart, he let his lungs fall into the same numb depths as his consciousness.