Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yami did not remember much after Zenon spirited him away with Vangeance. Sometimes he woke in the middle of the night to make sure his legs and arms were flesh, and that there were no branches growing from his ears, mouth, or eyes. Sometimes he stared off into the distance, his eyes fixed on the horizon, waiting for things to distort and become the laboratory in the Spade castle, but all he saw was sky and sea. The Black Bulls hideout rested on the same beach where he washed ashore years ago. Owen said it had restorative properties that cleansed curses, replenished mana, and possibly subverted death.

Today the sun shone brightly and the clouds looked like the fluffiest meringue Charmy could make. The water caught the sunlight and the waves crashed noisily to the shore. Yami sat beside Vangeance on chairs Henry made. When they first arrived on the beach days ago, neither Yami nor Vangeance could move much. All of the places the roots and limbs of the Tree of Qliphoth invaded and grew ached. Their mana was dangerously low. At least they could walk very stiffly today. The more exposure they had to the local sun, sand, air, and surf, the sooner they would be able to leave.

The Black Bulls hideout towered over the beach down shore, larger than usual to accommodate both the Black Bulls and Golden Dawn. The members of both squads spread out along the sand, each group preoccupied with their own activities. All of them had dark marks streaked across their bodies and staining their hands. Owen said the marks came from a curse brought on by their squads’ efforts to clear the branches and roots from Yami and Vangeance’s bodies after the battles ended. Every day the marks seemed lighter and covered less skin.

The breeze picked up and threatened to upset the most ridiculously wide sunhat on Vangeance’s head. Vangeance snorted quietly as he watched several of their squad members playing a ball game in the sand. “I told Jack you’d come back from your banishment with a devil on your squad.” His voice was weak and still hoarse, but more audible than it used to be since the war ended.

“Liebe’s been a Bull as long as Asta. He’s just got a cloak now,” Yami murmured. He reached into his pocket for a cigarette on reflex, but there was nothing there.

The ball flew down the shore covered in lightning. Luck’s victorious laughter echoed across the sand. Magna dashed after the ball.

Klaus stood beside Luck on one side of a row of rocks serving as a net marker. He adjusted his glasses and frowned. “Is this really okay?”

“Of course it is.” Luck grinned where he stood between Klaus and Yuno. “We’re winning.”

“I meant having a holiday like this,” Klaus gestured at the beach. “Clover’s down two squads with us here. Should we really be playing on a beach right now?”

Yuno’s gaze swept the surrounding area. There was no sign of threat or any other people. He closed his eyes and searched the area with his mana. He felt nothing suspicious and sighed. After all the battles, he helped Asta and Noelle seal all the wege the Tree of Qliphoth opened. Even though he saw the devils and the bodies of the Dark Triad disappear as each weg closed, it was hard to believe their adversaries would not appear again without warning.

“Clover’s down one squad,” Magna said as he joined Asta and Liebe on their side of a line of rocks in the sand. “The Black Bulls are still banished.” He tried to twirl the ball on his fingertip, but it slid off and he caught it before it could hit the sand. “Besides, if the kingdom needs us, they’ll call us up and we’ll answer like always.”

“Is it a banishment if they keep letting you back into the kingdom?” Liebe asked.

“Why wouldn’t they let us back into the kingdom?” Asta asked. “Our banishment’s just looking for devils and gathering info.”

“What do you think banishment means?” Liebe asked.

“Special mission punishment,” Asta said.

Yuno and Liebe sighed heavily and chose to leave it at that.

Down shore, the door to the hideout open and shut loudly. Mimosa and Noelle approached Yami and Vangeance with mugs of medicine and ice water on a tray. Mimosa placed her hands on their foreheads and frowned. “You’re still too warm. How do you feel?”

“Tired of resting, but too tired to move,” Vangeance admitted.

“Like I need a cigarette or five,” Yami said.

“Owen said no smoking until you’re fully recovered,” Noelle said. She handed them each a mug full of a special medicine made from local plants. It smelled like raspberry and vinegar. “Mimosa and I worked hard on this, so drink all of it.”

The drink was acidic and tart like always. It was almost enjoyable now and easily downed. As always, a warmth built up in Yami and Vangeance’s chests and radiated to their limbs. It was a different kind of warmth than alcohol. On the first day of treatment, it would burn and sting like a fire, but now it was only mildly uncomfortable.

A shriek down shore drew their attention. Grey shook a crab off her finger into a bucket.

“How dare! You’ll be the first to crack la!” Charmy promised the crab.

“He’s defending all his friends,” Gordon said. “I can relate.”

“Then we’ll crack all his friends too!” Charmy vowed as the ocean crashed around her before abruptly receding rapidly.

Yami tensed. The empty mug of medicine slipped from Vangeance’s hands. Both fo them stood without thinking simultaneously as fast as their bodies would allow. “Tsunami!” Yami called out at the same time Vangeance called out, “Earthquake wave!”

The tray and mugs of ice water dropped to the sand. Noelle’s grimoire opened and flipped towards a page past the middle and she grasped her wand tightly. Immediately bubbles formed around groups of people across the beach. Noelle’s eyebrows furrowed and her eyes remained fixed straight ahead on the advancing lead wave, her body tense with concentration.

The lead wave steadily gathered along the horizon and grew as it rushed towards them. It crashed to shore filling the beach with water and speeding inland. More waves followed, some even larger than the lead wave. The waves caught the bubbles and threatened to push them further inland or drag them out to sea, but Noelle kept them contained to the beach as the wave train continued. Sweat trailed down her face but she barely blinked. The wave train eventually stopped, but there was no guarantees that there would not be more.

The bubbles bobbed in the floodwater. The Black Bulls’ hideout looked different now with fewer windows where the waves could damage glass. Henry rearranged its roof structure so it was flat and then called out to everyone while standing atop it. “Please come up here. Once you are all here, I will move the hideout.” His voice was still slow. Despite sealing away so many devils, there were still others loose in the world to find and thwart.

“Yuno!” Noelle called out.

“I know.” Yuno’s grimoire glowed. A great breeze blew across the beach, lifting each bubble into the air and setting them down on the rooftop.

The bubbles burst once they were all safe on the roof. The hideout vibrated under their feet as Henry continued preparing it for their new situation.

Vangeance grasped Yami’s arm to steady himself when his legs wobbled. He blinked and then pointed with his free hand towards the flood. “Do you see that?”

Yami frowned. Something black and pink floated with the current. “I think it’s a body.”

“Definitely a body,” Alecdora said.

“I’ll get them!” Asta rushed forward.

Yami made a weak attempt to grab Asta’s cape, but Asta was too fast. Noelle managed to grab it before Asta could launch himself into the air on his sword. “We don’t know if the earthquake waves are done yet!” She kept a firm grip on Asta’s cloak.

“We can’t just leave them there!” Asta said.

“I’m on it!” Finral said as he opened a portal. His upper body appeared near the body in the water. He wrapped his arms under the boy’s arms and hoisted him onto the roof just in time for a large wave to rush through the water and start another wave train. Finral’s portal disappeared before the waves could use it to drench everyone on the roof.

Mimosa immediately wrapped her vines around the boy, starting her resuscitation spell. Everyone on the roof watched silently. The next wave train crashed around them, but none of the waves was tall enough to threaten the roof.

Yami frowned. The boy’s hair stuck up on end even though it was wet and he had birthmarks like whiskers on his cheeks. A headband remained fixed to his head, its spiral leaf sparkling in the sunlight. Yami reached into his pocket for a cigarette, but it was still stubbornly empty.

Boruto’s eyes fluttered. He coughed and sputtered before rolling and throwing up seawater. His throat and chest burned. He tilted his head so his ears would pop and any trapped water would drain.

Mimosa’s vines loosened as he moved but she did not cease her spell just yet. “You might want to stay down or sit up slowly,” she advised. “Sometimes people can be dizzy after this treatment.”

None of her words made sense. Boruto eyed her. Breathing hurt. Maybe he still had water in his ears. He remained seated out of his own volition.

“It’s a healing spell,” Yami said in his native language. “She’s not attacking you, kid.”

Boruto’s gaze shifted to Yami and then scanned the crowd on the roof. They all wore capes with emblems along with attire appropriate for a day at the beach. It looked like some kind of movie poster. His gaze returned to Yami. “Where am I?”

“Clover Kingdom. It’s across the eastern ocean,” Yami continued speaking in the language of the lands, resting a hand on the top of one of the chair backs. He hoped he looked cool and casual instead of dead tired. “I’m Yami Sukehiro and this is William Vangeance. These are our squads.” He gestured to Vangeance and then to their squadmates. “You’re probably stuck here, but we’ve got room.”

Mimosa’s spell retracted. Boruto stood stiffly. His eyes swept the floodwaters below. He could see a tall white tower somewhere in the far distance where the water could not reach. It looked like something from a movie or children’s book. The communication device in his pocket beeped. Boruto pulled it out and infused it with his chakra to help amplify its ability to receive radio waves. “Hey.”

“Boruto!” several voices said at once.

“Thank goodness!” Toono said. “It’s been hours!”

“Are you alright?” Mitsuki asked.

“Where are you?” Sarada asked.

“I blasted across the ocean! I shouldn’t have let you talk me into this!” Boruto shouted.

Yami sat slowly since he was not the center of attention now. Vangeance sat soon after and removed his hat. The waves calmed again and the sun continued to lower on the horizon.

“The earthquake caught us off guard. Our detection system is still in its infancy,” Toono said. “If I realized it might happen, I wouldn’t have held the ninja speed boat test.”

“Yeah, well, the boat definitely didn’t survive. I almost didn’t survive.” Boruto looked away from the debris in the water. “The people here healed me. I don’t know where I am. Only one person here seems to speak our language. He called this place ‘Clover Kingdom.’”

“I read once that there’s a country of water queens across the ocean,” Sarada said. “It sounded like it was just a legend. I don’t think it’s called Clover, though.”

“I heard there are five kingdoms across the ocean,” Mitsuki said, “but we’ve not had contact with them in centuries.”

The magic knights watched curiously. Klaus ran his tongue along his teeth warily. “What are they saying?”

“Something about a boating accident,” Vangeance said. “They’re trying to establish where he is.”

Yami blinked and glanced at Vangeance. “I didn’t know you knew my language.”

“I didn’t before,” Vangeance adjusted his hat, “but after our ordeal, it appears I do now.”

“If I start attracting cute little woodland creatures, I’m going to blame you,” Yami murmured.

Vangeance snorted almost imperceptibly.

Boruto watched the sunset change the colors of the clouds and the colors of the waves. “The tsunami keep coming.” He wrinkled his nose. “I’m stuck for now.”

“It might be twenty-four hours before the tsunami calms there,” Mitsuki said. “Might be longer before we can come get you.”

Boruto groaned. The communicator abruptly shrieked.

“Another earthquake. They’re smaller now,” Sarada said, but her voice broke up as she spoke. “Over and out.”

“Over and out,” Boruto murmured, pressed the red button on the communication device, and put it back in his pocket. He sighed and his stomach rumbled loudly. He had not eaten since breakfast.

Charmy approached him and tilted the bucket in her arms so he could see the crabs but they could not escape. “We’re going to have supper soon. Join us?”

“I don’t know what you’re saying,” Boruto said.

“That settles it la!” Charmy said. “We will start supper! We are going to feast!” She scurried across the roof and disappeared with the crabs through a trapdoor. The Golden Dawn mage in charge of cooking followed at a more relaxed pace.

Stomachs rumbled. The other members of the Black Bulls and Golden Dawn left the rooftop through the trapdoor so they could clean up before supper. Only Yami, Vangeance, Finral, Langris, and Boruto remained on the roof. The sunset grew brighter and its colors more intense as it reflected off the sky, ocean, and the floodwater.

“What was that about?” Boruto looked at Yami.

“Supper,” Yami said in the language of the lands. “Charmy’ll probably fix you something as a snack before we eat. If she gives you something with cheese on it, be prepared for it to ruin you, but it will be worth it.”

“I can eat cheese fine,” Boruto said. The wind picked up as the sun continued to lower.

Everyone grew quiet. Yami and Vangeance could not leave the roof until the sun set as per Owen’s orders. The breeze ruffled their hair. The waves crashed against the hideout and destroyed remaining trees.

“There aren’t any ninja or samurai in this country,” Yami continued speaking in the language of the lands. “Instead of an emperor, daimyou, shougun, samurai, and ninja, there is a king, wizard king, and the magic knights. Almost everyone can use magic and most people live off the land and barter. Our squads,” he indicated Vangeance, “aren’t like most of the kingdom. Not everyone here is nice or willing to help. Ask someone where you can get some sashimi and they’ll send you to a clothing store. Ask the clothing store if they can make you a happi, they’ll tell you they’re already a married and throw you out on your ass. There are a lot of nasty bastards around who can’t handle someone or something they’ve never seen before, so don’t hold back if they start shit.” He ran a hand through his hair. “If you stay long enough, you’ll get a book that helps you cast magic.” He rested a hand against his grimoire pouch. “No idea how that’ll interact with ninjutsu. I didn’t grow up in Konoha.”

Boruto frowned. “How long have you been here?”

Yami did not look away. “Almost twenty years.”

Boruto’s stomach rumbled again. His mind spun. The last of the sun’s light disappeared from the sky. “I can’t stay here for twenty years!”

“No one’s expecting you to,” Vangeance said in the language of the lands.

“I just got unlucky,” Yami said. “Maybe Sandaime will care enough about you to get you a transport or talk to the Fire Lord or something.”

“Nanadaime,” Boruto said.

“Good. Probably less of a bastard then,” Yami said. “Anyway, we should go downstairs. Charmy’ll kill us if we keep you away from food much longer.” He stood slowly.

Finral opened his portal. He stepped back so Boruto could see into it. “I only know some directions and commands in your language from Yami.” Finral paused, realizing the sentence was probably useless since it was in Clover’s language. He thought a moment and then said in the language of the lands, “Go forward.”

Boruto peered through the portal that looked into the great hall of the Black Bull’s base where some of the other magic knights gathered at a very large circular table that Henry made big enough for everyone. Boruto glanced back at Yami, took a deep breath, and stepped forward, surprised when his foot hit stone. He held his breath, but there were not tricks or traps.

Asta flopped down near the center of the large table. Liebe sat at his right and Yuno sat one seat down to Asta’s left. Asta’s gaze latched onto Boruto and he grinned brightly. “Hey! Welcome!” He motioned to the seat between him and Yuno. “You can sit here!”

Boruto’s gaze shifted from Liebe, to Asta, and to Yuno. They all looked like older teenagers and probably as strong as any chuunin or young jounin. None of them set off alarms in Boruto’s gut. Yami put a hand on Boruto’s head briefly after stepping through the portal and then took his usual seat at the table. The portal disappeared once Finral stepped through it. Vangeance and Langris soon appeared through Langris’ portal.

A vibration began under their feet almost unoticable. Boruto took the seat Asta offered. Noelle and Mimosa sat across from them. Charmy immediately appeared at Boruto’s side.

“I thought some turf would go with our surf feast,” Charmy said. She set two hamburger sliders in front of everyone at the table. The buns were leftover ciabatta rolls lightly toasted with butter. There was a slice of cheese on one slider while the other had no toppings.

“Thanks,” Boruto said.

Charmy smiled and returned to the kitchen where a herd of bipedal sheep continued to cook supper. Boruto stared a moment. Maybe this place was not so different from the ninja countries; although he could not imagine Kakashi’s dogs fixing supper.

Asta followed Boruto’s gaze. “Those sheep are Charmy’s magic. They make the food extra tasty. It’s always really, really good.” He picked up his plain slider.

Boruto picked up his cheese slider. It smelled enticing and the pale cheese oozed down the sides a little. His stomach rumbled and he said a quick, “Let’s eat,” before taking a large bite. The cheese was sharp and rich, complementing the juiciness of the meat and the crunch of the bun. The plain slider was just as delicious with some au jus spread across the bun. “Bet I passed out in the water. This is too delicious. Burgers are always the best.”

“Do you call them burgers too?” Noelle asked.

Boruto was not sure what the question was. He pointed at the slider on Klaus’ plate nearby. “That’s a burger.”

Noelle pointed at the slider too. “We call them burgers too.”

Mimosa pointed at her silverware and plate. “We call these fork, knife, spoon, and plate.”

Boruto pointed to them in turn. Fork and spoon were cognates. Knife and plate were not. Soon the girls began pointing out objects and comparing words. The more they exchanged words, the more Boruto realized he heard this language before at the movie theater when it advertised movies from villages reportedly founded by elves. He always ignored those previews unless the effects looked cool.

Supper soon arrived at the table. There was crab, shrimp, and a few large, stuffed flounders, and octopus along with steamed vegetables and rice. Stragglers arrived at the table and everyone dug into the food, talking while they ate. Asta was loud and spoke animatedly. Yuno was quiet and seemed to speak deliberately. Noelle placed a hand on her chest to assert something and then passed Boruto the last few pieces of shrimp left at the bottom of the serving bowl after everyone took some. Mimosa laughed quietly. It was all strangely familiar but also garbled and overwhelming. The food kept coming. Suddenly the constant vibration under their feet ceased. Everyone’s attention turned towards Yami and Vangeance as if the lack of vibration meant something significant.

Yami leaned back in his seat and surveyed everyone. Vangeance’s lips almost turned upward, his eyes very tired.

“Henry moved us away from the flood, so tomorrow our healing continues,” Yami said. “Get some rest. I don’t want to hear from any of you until morning.” He looked at Finral, who opened a portal near Yami who left quickly.

Once Yami was gone, Vangeance bid them goodnight and left for the bedrooms upstairs. Those still eating soon emptied their plates and Charmy’s sheep began to clean all the dishes. Slowly other magic knights disappeared to their rooms or spread out across the furniture in the great hall. With the danger from the tsunami gone, the outer walls of the great hall rearranged themselves so the windows returned.

“That kid’s probably what? Twelve?” Magna asked quietly where he sat on the sofa.

Luck looked over at Boruto. “Probably? He doesn’t look like a worthy opponent yet.”

“I’ve heard of ninja,” Zora said. “They’re supposed to be secret spies who can become invisible easily.”

Magna eyed him. “Not very secret if he told us he’s a ninja.”

“Maybe it doesn’t matter if he can turn invisible,” Luck said.

“Nobody told him how the hideout works.” Magna stood up. “He shouldn’t have to end up sleeping on the sofa.” He headed over to Boruto and sat down across from him at the table at the same moment Klaus sat across from Boruto at the table.

Boruto looked up from where he fed Nero little seeds Charmy gave him. Nero fluttered up and perched in his hair. “Wait a minute! I’m not a tree!” He tried to dislodge Nero but she simply closed her eyes and settled in. Boruto sighed and then looked at Klaus and Magna. They seemed to radiate two opposing energies at equal intensity. Boruto wondered if they were twins.

“I’m Klaus Lunettes,” Klaus said. “I’m part of the Golden Dawn. I have steel magic.”

“I’m Magna Swing,” Magna said. “I’m one of the Black Bulls. I have fire magic.”

Boruto went through enough introductions that evening to recognize one when he heard it now. “I’m Boruto.”

Magna leaned forward, holding Boruto’s gaze. He did not speak too quickly or too slowly. “The beds are upstairs. We’ll probably all drop before you do.”

Klaus adjusted his glasses, which drew Boruto’s attention. He gestured to the night out the window and then pointed upwards. “Most of us wake with the sun. I’m sure you won’t have to, but you might miss breakfast.”

“If you’re late to breakfast, Charmy’ll still feed you, but she’ll make you help with lunch,” Magna said.

Boruto looked up at the ceiling. There was nothing unusual about it. Bed sounded like another cognate. They must be talking about sleeping and the beds must be upstairs. “So up?” he asked and pointed to the ceiling.

“Yeah,” Magna said. “Up,” he repeated in the language of the lands.

Boruto nodded and frowned. “It’s frustrating that we can’t just talk to each other.”

“I’m sure Henry will have a room for you,” Magna said, taking a wild guess what might be the problem.

“Maybe tomorrow we can work on communication,” Klaus said, also guessing.

“Yeah,” Boruto murmured, not sure what either of them were talking about either.

Slowly everyone else left the great hall. Nero flew to her usual nighttime perch. The hideout was quiet enough that Boruto could hear the ocean outside. Moonlight streamed in through the windows after a while. He did not know what time it was in Konoha, but he did not feel sleepy at all. He pulled his communication device out of his pocket and infused it with his chakra. He adjusted the frequencies and pressed an orange button a few times.

Static gave way to a clicking noise. “Boruto?” Naruto asked.

“Dad!” Boruto exclaimed in a rush and then paused. He lowered his volume, “Yeah it’s me.”

“I heard you ended up across the ocean. Are you okay?” Naruto asked.

“I guess? It’s some place called Clover Kingdom. They healed me and fed me at least.” Boruto frowned. “The boat I was in smashed up in the flood and then we moved to another beach. I don’t think I can retrieve it.”

There was a long stretch of static. Finally, Naruto said, “Don’t mind the boat. I’ll let your mom and Himawari know you’re okay.” There was another long pause full of static. “Sorry. There were a few major earthquakes in multiple locations across the country. Konoha suffered some damage, so everything’s still chaotic here.”

Boruto frowned. “So I guess I won’t be able to go home for a while.”

“Maybe. I’m sure we can figure something out,” Naruto said. “Can I talk to whoever’s in charge?”

“They’re asleep. I think they’re injured. It’s like everyone’s recovering from something.” Boruto sighed. “Only two people speak our language. Everyone else sounds like those elf movies.”

“That’s a hard language to learn. I still screw it up,” Naruto sighed. There was more static. “Sorry. I’ve got to go help. I’ll talk to you later, okay? Stay safe.”

Boruto opened his mouth and closed it. Did they really have to end the conversation now? Although if he was in a tsunami that flew him across the ocean, he could only begin to imagine the type of earthquakes that went with it. “Okay. See you.”

There was a beep indicating that Naruto’s communication device ended the signal. Boruto sighed and leaned back in the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. Movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention. A tall pale figure that seemed to be mostly hair loomed near the table. Boruto screamed.

“Sorry,” Henry said slowly. “I didn’t mean to pry. I wanted to get some dinner.”

Boruto shoved his communication device back where he kept it and stood up. “I – I’m not afraid of ghosts! You can’t scare me!”

“I made you a room upstairs. I kept the door open so you can find it easily,” Henry said. He made a sandwich from some leftovers. “You should probably go to bed or I might absorb your mana.”

Boruto eyed Henry. This ghost was definitely more talkative than he imagined ghosts would be. The ghost also seemed way hungrier than ghosts should be too. Boruto stifled a yawn without much warning, suddenly feeling much sleepier than he did minutes ago. His chakra also seemed lower than he remembered it being.

“See? It’s why I eat by myself most of the time,” Henry said, “but that will change someday.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’m going to go to bed. Don’t haunt my room, okay?” Boruto headed up the stairs. There were several rooms on the second floor with a bathroom at the end of the hall along with another flight of stairs. Boruto headed up, not sure how he was supposed to find a free room, but soon found a suspiciously open door. He carefully peered inside. There was a seemingly untouched bed in the far corner and duplicates of his clothes lying on a chair. Boruto stepped further into the room. There was a sandwich, drink, and fried potatoes on a small desk. His stomach rumbled. It was probably suppertime back in Konoha. He ate the food and felt less sleepy. He sighed and glanced out the window. The moon rose above some trees on the horizon while the ocean waves crashed excitedly to shore even this beach was away from the tsunami. He really, really hoped that he would not spend the next twenty years here.