Chapter Text
Boruto didn't know why they had chosen this forest, out of the many surrounding the cities of Konoha, to do their test of courage. According to Inojin’s mother, it had been a popular place for academy students to venture to, young children daring each other to walk deep into the woods before eventually chickening out, their tails between their legs. Even after the buildings nearby had been destroyed during the Ame assault, the forest stood.
Despite it being a Saturday night, not everyone who had agreed to come showed up.
“Is Shikadai here yet?” he turned to the pale Yamanaka.
“...He said he couldn't get out,” Inojin shifted his eyes bashfully to the side.
Boruto stares at Inojin, disgruntled. This outing was already starting off great. A dumbass idea for dumbass people with a warped sense of fun and the only one who Boruto could put up with: a no-show.
“Figures,” he muttered under his breath. Typical Shikadai.
“Boruto,” a lofty voice chimed alongside a whistle of wind.
The collective bandwagon screamed at the sudden appearance of an even paler boy.
“My apologies, I didn't mean to-”
“WHAT THE HELL MITSUKI,” Iwabee screeched.
“Excuse me, it was not my intention to surprise anyone,” Mitsuki turned expectantly to Boruto.
“Why are you here?” Boruto side-eyed, exasperated.
“I heard about your plans and decided to invite myself, I hope you don't mind,” Mitsuki’s glowing yellow eyes glinted mischievously. He knew damn well Boruto did.
“Does your… parent know?”
“Orochimaru doesn’t take problem with me wandering where I please, I’m quite the expert at exploring random forests during the middle of the night,” Mitsuki’s mirthful smile curled up at the ends.
Sage, he hated when Mitsuki did that.
“Oi oi… this isn't any normal forest Mitsuki, didn't you hear what Inojin said…” Iwabee drawled out
Denki stiffened.
Inojin narrows his brows, leans in, and whispers conspiratorially “The story goes that after a horrible argument between a mother and her son, the boy couldn't bear to be who his mother wanted and ran away from home. His mother chased after but wanting to disappear, he hid in the forest and was lost forever. There's a gateway to a different world. They say it could be any step and you’ll be wisped away.”
Boruto scoffed.
“What a stupid cheesy premise.”
“Fitting of a Kamakura movie,” Denki fired back.
“HEY.”
The moon shone brightly as they started on the trail. Branches laid low and the canopy was thin so everything was bathed in a light silvery blue.
“Boruto, are you scared?” Mitsuki asked quietly.
Boruto rolled his eyes for the nth time.
“Because I am.”
“Weren't you talking about how you do this all the time?”
“You heard them, this one is different,” Mitsuki leaned in and smiled.
“No I’m not, and don’t encourage them.”
“Well then, do you still mind if we hold hands?”
They had made it a few steps into the forest and the trip was proving to be absolutely normal.
“This blows, I should have just gone with Sarada,” he thought to himself before hearing a “crtch” and turning around.
The sound of feet on gravel went on and Mitsuki’s hand slipped out of his grasp, continuing without him.
“Hey did any of you hear that-”
Nobody was there.
“Mitsuki? Inochi? Denki?” he ran and called out.
But no matter how far along the trail he ran, they were nowhere to be seen.
“IWABEE. IWABEE. IS THIS A PRANK?” he bellowed.
No response except for the howling of the wind. A gust passed by, the trees whistling. The road was still brightly lit from the clear night sky.
At this point, he was beyond concerned. A part of him still hoped- no, still was convinced that they were all just hiding from sight and laughing at his overblown panic but another part whispered that Inojin’s whispers were true. That he was in a…
Boruto ran.
He didn't know what to do, where he was going, just to keep running. Through the trees and the shadows that were all turning to figures, into the darker and darker woods. Leaping past roots and fighting past thorny branches, about to fall with the momentum of every sprint. And suddenly, nothing looked familiar. Everywhere was danger. He stopped out of fear of running into something that would come after him. His breath came out hard and fast, legs trembling. Boruto bent his knees to crouch down before shooting right back up again.
Sage, he didn't want to disappear. He wanted to go back- he didn't want to think that he would never see Himawari, or Mom, or-
A choked sob came out as he shakenly collapsed against two conjoined tree trunks.
And another followed. Then suddenly, he couldn't stop the tears and gasps.
A short cry, before wiping his eyes with cold freezing hands, and then a shaky hiccup, and more tears would run down his face. And then he thought about how horrible the situation was and all the people he couldn’t see again and his throat would clench painfully-
But before he could start again, the quiet was filled with distant gasps.
He looked up from where he was crouching and tried following the sound of the soft whimpering.
Someone else?
There, a tiny brown-haired boy in a navy blue shirt with a wide umbrella collar, curled pitifully under the golden light of the grassy area.
Carefully approaching, Boruto doesn't try reaching out to grab the boy’s attention and the boy doesn't notice him in return, continuing whimpering inaudibly.
“Hic- it’s not fair,” he barely hears.
And at this point, Boruto can’t stay quiet any longer.
He tentatively knocks on the tree three times and the boy tenses up. For the first time, Boruto gets a good look at the kid’s face. Large black pupils, redden alongside a blotchy face with…
a bruise.
He tried not to make his reaction noticeable as his mind whirred with unsavoury possibilities, and hoped his smile didn't come off as intimidating or patronising.
“Can I sit down right here?” his voice was still hoarse from before.
The boy stares for a bit before burying his head back into his knees and scooting over a bit.
Boruto plopped down and craned his neck to try and get another glance at the other’s face. His half-grimace gave an all-too-knowing expression of understandment.
“I got scared in the forest and started running deeper in. I felt super bad and started ugly crying my eyes out,” he joked, pointing at his puffy eyelids, “I thought I’d never see my parents again, even though I tell myself I hate being with them so much.”
The boy peeked out from his crossed limbs.
“Did you get lost too?”
“No… yes,” his quiet answer warbled and he continued weeping between gasps before…
“I don't know. I wanted to run away.”
“Does the reason have anything to do with the bruise on your face?”
“Kind of.”
The boy stopped to take a shaky breath.
“I’m trying so hard to do my best but no matter what I do, she keeps on saying the worst things-”
his voice cracks.
“I said something really stupid but it’s just so frustrating that no one knows. They just all expect me to grow up and-”
The boy’s face screws up before he becomes silent.
Boruto didn't need him to continue, he knew more than enough how hard these expectations came, even when you weren't trying to reach them.
“Hey, I’m really sorry you feel that way,” he tried to comfort.
“I know how hard it is when your parents don’t like a part of you, I had to grow up with that. It’s not right of her to do that, or say these things.”
The boy’s tears started again.
“But I have to get stronger” he croaked out.
“I need to do whatever it takes so I can come home. So I don't end up like-”
He stopped and looked to Boruto, tear-ridden face, before whispering a broken name and clenching his fists, turning away to look onward.
Boruto took one look and realised that the boy wasn't as similar to him as he’d expected. Having seen that the crying had settled, he rose up.
“I can lead you out.”
“Really?” The small boy looked up at him with big doe eyes.
The feeling of being looked up to as a saviour from a much younger child filled Boruto with unreasonable amounts of confidence.
“We just have to travel southwards and follow the first road and we’ll get back to the village.”
“And hopefully not get attacked by wolves,” a sarcastic voice that sounded suspiciously like his own popped up in his head. He mentally pushed away the voice of his shadow clone, revelling at the small protest that followed.
The other’s lips turned up slightly with a grateful watery expression. Agh, being an older brother did things to him.
“No more crying, ok?”
“Mm.”
The other boy sniffed hard before bashfully wiping his eyes with his sleeve, taking Boruto’s hand and clinging onto him.
The walk out has been a peaceful silent affair and as they reached the forest edge, the shadows started melting away.
The boy parted from him.
“I think I’m fine on my own now. I know where the road home is.”
“You sure? I should still walk you home.”
The boy gave another “Mm” of agreement before stopping and looking down at his feet.
“I’ll be fine. You should get back,” he said distractedly before bolting ahead.
“Hey wait!” But as soon as Boruto passed the low branches, out into the open, the boy was nowhere to be seen.
But a new voice followed.
“Boruto!”
Huh?
He hurriedly turned about, looking for the source of the voice.
In the distance, Inojin was waving furiously, running towards him.
“WHERE DID YOU GO,” he bellowed.
“Wha-”
Inojin caught up and several ANBU personnel immediately followed, appearing in a flash.
“You just- DISAPPEARED ON US! WHAT WAS THE BIG DEAL.”
The ANBU guards surrounding the two all looked unimpressed, silently standing by.
“Wh-” Boruto looks around, turning to take in his surroundings. ANBU, Inojin, trees, open forest, the bright sunny light filtering through the leaves and hurting his eyes.
“DUDE, WE LOOKED THROUGH THE ENTIRE FOREST FOR YOU. YOUR DAD SENT OUT SCOUTING PARTIES.” Inojin heaved after every scream of emphasis.
The boy, the forest, the test of courage, the story.
And then Boruto realised.
Inojin desperately tried to get a reaction out of the Hokage’s son but no matter what he did, the bright blond boy continued staring wide-eyed, mouth agape.
