Chapter Text
Sarada is on the run, she doesn't even know who's attacking her, just that they are large in number, and more then strong enough to overpower her.
The woods surrounding her are unfamiliar and covered in iced-over snow, she was hoping to finish her B-rank mission assigned to her the same day it was given to her, but those hopes were dashed when it was revealed to be a trap of sorts.
The men she was meant to guard were in fact expert shinobi hunters, they had acted as if they had no clue of the basics of fighting, tricked Sarada into helping them on their way, even made her think they idolled her, and when her back finally turned and her guard finally let down, they came at her hard.
That same night ended with Sarada exhausted and on the brink of collapse, in her attempts to make it back to the village she has been met with attacks on all sides, her only course of action to flee into a tundra like region to escape, early that morning it began to snow and it didn't stop.
She spent her day fighting constantly, taking any break she could, and moving fast as humanly possible. Finally, in the afternoon, the snow let up after putting nearly 5 feet of snow onto the ground, Sarada had long since made use of a Jutsu that let her traverse on the surface of the soft snow, and spent the rest of her night silently watching for any sort of attack as she ran through the cold snow in an aimless direction, when the sun finally peeked over the mountains, she cursed the northern star she was following for leading her to the middle of nowhere. Then it started to rain.
The snow had become slippery, The sun shined onto the reflective ice making for a bright, albeit a jarring sight for Sarada's eyes who were sore and irritated from the lack of sleep. She hadn't seen her assaulters for a few hours now, and would have considered taking some brief shut-eye if it wasn't for the fact that she knew they were simply following her from a distance.
If Sarada even let a moment slip, she would end up with a kunai in her gut and her eyes slipped out of their sockets. So she ran, slammed her mostly numb feet into the ice below her, and kept her eyes forward, searching for anything.
She slipped, after so long she just couldn't prevent it anymore, as she felt her legs give and her body go off balance she couldn't help but feel just a bit of relief to stop running. Those simple thoughts were shattered instantly when a Kunai with a paper bomb attachment hit the snow beside her with a soft thud.
In fluid movement Sarada swung her arm on the opposite side from the bomb all the way around her body, the speed and power of her swing spun her body along with it, lifting her entirely off the ground, finally she slammed her fist down on the rounded end of the kunai.
The snow and dirt underneath caved in completely under her fist, the kunai disappearing beneath having been swallowed by the earth itself, as this happened Sarada heard other kunai being lodged into the earth nearby her. Sarada briefly considered her next plan of action, she had no way out of this in the position she was in, and no matter which way she ran she would likely be attacked after showing such a sign of weakness, a dangerous idea crossed her mind, and having been her only option, she took it.
Sarada counted her seconds as she swiftly positioned herself above the entry point of the bomb she buried, in an instant flurry of hand signs she slapped her hands into the snow, a slab of stone appeared and in the same instant was shattered as a hot cloud of flames and smoke bellowed its way through it.
One moment Sarada was on the ground, and in the blink of her eye she was in the air, upside down she caught a glimpse of a cave in the distance. Even as she fell headfirst towards the ground Sarada's weak and energy sapped mind created plans, she knew this area was well known for its enormous caves and figured such a cave sitting in the hill was no exception, if rumors held true that cave could go for miles in all directions. This made for the perfect escape, and Sarada’s only chance of survival.
Sarada silently slipped her hand into her utility bag, fishing out its remaining items, A dented smoke bomb she refused to use in fear of it being a dud, and a dulled kunai she didn't get around to sharpening before her mission came up.
She palmed both items in her right hand before holding them in front of her face, she stared at them, this was her last chance, her body was at its limit, and potential escape was just around the corner, a certain blonde's face flashed through her mind steeling her nerves and resolving her will in an instant.
Still falling and getting rather close to the ground Sarada brought her knees near her chest, spinning her body over with a slight twirl to it, Sarada noted a sharp pain at the base of her left foot along with a duller one in her right hip.
Raising her hand high above her head she revealed her potentially faulty smoke bomb, whispered a quiet prayer to no god in particular, and threw it straight down, Smoke enveloped the ground, with a slightly humorous dent in the cloud that managed to even make Sarada crack a broken smile.
Having already expected resistance in her dash toward the cave, Sarada held her kunai across her chest as she landed, after a brief moment of rest that Sarada used to take a breath, the last one having been stolen by the explosion, She took a runner's stance, activated her Sharingan despite her eyes extreme discomfort, and flew out of the smoke in a dead sprint.
-
Boruto has been walking for what felt like days, in reality, it had only been an hour. Generally, he liked to stay out of this ice-cold region during the colder months, but the town he had been staying in had received reports of large amounts of rogue shinobi activity in the area, and he was promised a very hefty sum of money to clear out the area.
Honestly, he didn't really care who he was fighting, he knew that whoever he was fighting likely didn't have the ability to take him down, and he was in desperate need of money after lending a little too much to a hungry child he found in the streets of a neglected town, and now was short on rent.
for a few years now Boruto had been roaming the countryside as a rogue ninja, it wasn't entirely by his choice but at this point, It didn't really matter, he had made his way in life and was content with what he had until he finally solved his Kara issues, and brought Kawaki down from his god complex.
Thinking about things like this, along with what he would eat when he got home, the explosion nearby almost went unnoticed, but he definitely noticed it, he also noticed the secondary explosions that went off just a moment after the first. Boruto considered it for a moment and deduced that the ex-shinobi he was after must be in some sort of combat, and knowing that he was the only one to accept this job, he also figured that they must be hunting someone for whatever reason.
Realizing someone is likely in danger, Boruto took haste.
The blonde shinobi began to run in the direction of the first boom when even more went off each seemingly following a single direction, Boruto looked to the right of himself to view the mountainish hill in its path, a small cave-in was at its base.
Boruto putting two and two together realized the person on the run must be going for a cave, and him having an idea of the area's reputation it wasn't hard to think they were going to try and lose the shinobi in the caves' endless loops. Unfortunately, Boruto has been in this area, he crosses through to visit the traders market across the tundra, the cave stories were built up to simply leave the area uninhabited, and without trade routes in an attempt to protect the rival villages in the surrounding regions from attacking each other, no such snakey caves existed here.
This meant that whatever plan this unknown party had was going to fall through the moment they reached the other side of this cave and realized they were trapped, Boruto broke into a sprint for the cave opening, determined to save whoever was inside from their miserable fate.
-
Sarada was in complete despair as she ran through the quiet cave, she found the fact that her assailants didn't follow her in suspicious originally, but when the cave kept level as she ran through her worst fear began to shine through, "this cave isn't going anywhere" was the thought that shattered her hopes.
Sarada let out a whimper as she saw light on the other side of the cave, in desperation she ran harder, faster, hoping that if she was fast enough she could make it to the other side of it, and continue her desperate sprint through the forest, her body along with her hopes skidded to a stop when a light enveloped shadow came into view just above her, the heart inside her simply stopped beating to focus all energy into adjusting to the brightness of the person standing at the mouth of the cave exit, and fear raced through her veins as she began to panic at the thought of being caught by them.
Her breath hitched in shock as she gazed at a familiar face, a face she hasn't seen in nearly 4 years, one that she has been looking for in crowds and random passersby since it left her side. Attached to that face was lofty blonde hair that swayed to the right in the freezing wind, blue shining eyes stared down at her in disbelief, the 19 year olds mouth pursed shut in a flat line, his inherited whiskers drawn on the side of each cheek.
Boruto was in absolute shock, behind him lay 4 men who attempted to enter before him, their warm bodies each thrown into the ground by force, soft breaths exiting their mouths, Boruto was expecting some random traveler, or maybe another rouge shinobi, but never Sarada, the strange way she looked at him right then was confusing, normally he could tell what she was thinking by just a look but right then she was a complete and utter mystery.
He did though recognize that she had gotten even more beautiful somehow, her hair just a few inches longer than it was when they were genin, its locks flowing in the draft flowing from the cave opening, her Sharingan turning ever so slightly, and her pupil shrinking rapidly at first, before growing in size at a worrying rate as if she was very happy all of a sudden.
Then her pupils got a little too big, her Sharingan was released, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.
She collapsed to her left into the soft snow below, the soft thud that was practically inaudible to Boruto's ears, for a brief moment Boruto had no clue what to do, his mind raced at every option knowing he couldn't leave her here, Boruto began to lock up at the idea of bringing her back, knowing she wouldn't want to leave if he did.
But a breath of hot, shaky exhale of air flowed out of Sarada's mouth, Boruto stared at it as it slowly disappeared into the air above her, and as if this made his mind up in an instant, Boruto hopped down into the cave to grab his old friend off the ground.
A few moments later Boruto is holding an ice-cold Sarada on the outside in the wind, activating his Jourgan he scanned over her, quickly realizing she has developed a fever, he then scans the nearby area for anywhere well enough to treat her.
A broken-down-looking log cabin came into view, its insides seemed to have been out of use for a long while, but it would more than work. As Boruto began his trek to the cabin, his thoughts only included Sarada. He wondered about how she managed to be defeated so badly, and how long she had been running from this group.
-
Boruto held Sarada close to his chest, her injuries weren't horrible, but she was sick, a seemingly lack of sleep, and total lack of energy were the cause. Some part of him was angered by her mistreatment, but that would have to wait.
For the time being Boruto was clear of whoever was pursuing Sarada, a shadow clone decoy had been sent due south to throw them off their trail, Quietly Boruto slipped away from the commotion, and into the more wooded area that housed the shack.
The log house was still a few miles out, but became clearer to Boruto's dojutsu as he walked forth, his eyes had better visual powers then the normal Byakugan, so he kept it activated to watch for any approachers.
Boruto shuddered at the sight of himself along with his surroundings, having never been taught how to use his dojutsu, he found its abilities to be somewhat jarring to use at times. Nonetheless he had become quite skilled at its uses, and its 360 vision that went for miles made sneak attacks nearly impossible against him, only those with a chakra concealing jutsu could even try, like his elder brother for example.
"Hey, aren't you going to warm the poor girl up?" A slightly annoying and somewhat demeaning voice sneered, "I'll warm her when I get to the cabin, as soon as we get there, i'm going to treat her fever" Boruto said out loud without even slowing his pace.
In Boruto's inner mind, Momoshiki turned his head to glance at his younger half, "Don't you think it's unsafe to leave her untreated for so long?" raising an eyebrow he gave Boruto a look of feigned shock, Boruto let loose an annoyed sigh, "We don't have the luxury to stop right now, my clone can only hold out for so long against that group." His sharp tone of voice made it clear that he wanted Momoshiki to be quiet.
"Well you better get out of this cold soon, You know how much I hate it when we get sick!" Grumbled a now disgruntled Momoshiki, when it came to the subject of those close to Boruto, the teenager always treated Momoshiki somewhat coldly, I mean it wasn't *entirely* it's Otsutsuki's fault that he was sent here to destroy the planet!
Boruto never blamed Momoshiki for all that happened, not entirely, his fate was clearly screwed well before the pale alien ever entered his body, rather it was his Jourgan that presented a real threat. Years ago the two inhabitants of this body had their final battle, Boruto using his pure eye, managed to overpower Momoshiki, the horned man then pledged loyalty to Boruto, and has helped him restrain his eyes power since.
Nonetheless Boruto treated him like a stranger if someone he considered family came up, it was something of an instinct after all the damage Momoshiki caused to his loved ones when he was but a genin. At the very least Boruto acknowledged his behavior and resolved to apologize to the alien.
"S-sorry Momo, It's just hard to not think about everything that happened, you know-" Boruto was cut short as the memories of his clone flooded back, in an attempt to fool the attackers the clone used transformation jutsu to look like Sarada, Boruto noted that the hunters fell for it, and chased the clone down into a lake, things were going well until one of the ex-shinobi managed to get a punch in, and the clone went into a puff of white smoke.
Knowing that the hunters would retrace their steps, Boruto hoped that he had not left a visible enough trail for them to follow, something did catch his eye although. The hunters were just hires, he assumed they would be after Sarada eyes, but he knew from seeing them at bars that they aren't the type, whoever did this wanted something other then her dojutsu, but he couldn't fathom what they would want.
The two shinobi finally reached the cabin, Boruto before entering, did a last minute scan of it to look for any traps. After making sure it was clear he quickly laid Sarada on the bed at the far end of the wooden room, fished out medical equipment from his back pouch, and after a few hand signs he lit the fireplace that sat nearby her bed.
Scanning over the items he fished out of his pouch, he decided to first grab her a cold drink using the ice and snow he collected outdoors, once again going through a few hand signs Boruto now had cold melted ice in a cup, Sarada would have to take the water slowly so she could swallow it all given her unconscious state, so Boruto lent down, and tipped it slowly against the rim of her lips.
Boruto suddenly found himself a little too caught up in the slight shifts in Sarada's features, for a moment Boruto's eyes took in every one of her movements as she swallowed the cup of water, as if he were in an experiment he lifted the water away from her mouth and watched as her lips opened wider and a nearly silent gasp sounded from her, Boruto froze up as he watch her shift slightly forward and seemed to need more water. Boruto couldn't help but watch her without movement, he knew he should get back to helping her, but was completely captivated.
"Ahem" Momoshiki cleared his throat with a look of amusement of his face, and a dark mischief in his eyes, Boruto went wide eyed, as if his actions went completely unnoticed by him till now, "You know if you can't handle this, I could always take over" the Otsutsuki said in a serious tone, but a raised eyebrow along with a annoying smirk let his real meaning shine through.
"N-no I can handle it fine, I just got-" Boruto paused to find a better word than what he was thinking "Distracted" came out awkwardly, a blush ran up the blonde's cheeks and he suddenly looked away from Sarada as if to act like he wasn't thinking about her anymore.
After a brief pause, the Momoshiki finally lamented in all seriousness, "Boruto, the water." another more awkward pause than the first two, then Boruto flipped back to continue trickling water into the girl's mouth. Afterward, a pair living in the same head gave Sarada a pill that Boruto had bought at a market, funnily enough, it was the same brand Sarada's mother had published years ago before either were ever born after then the sick girl needed only rest and eyes to keep watch on her temperatures.
A little tired and happy with his work Boruto got ready to lay down himself and wait until Sarada was well, when Momoshiki alerted him of a situation brewing outside, "Boruto, chakra signatures have appeared outside the house, I suggest you go and meet them."
Another annoyed sigh, Boruto activated his Dojutsu to survey the enemy, there were about seven of them, much less than before and definitely not the ones who directly attacked Sarada, instead, Boruto guessed they were the ones who hired the hunters to come after her. Donning his master's sword and cloak, Boruto walked to the front door with a dark look in his eyes.
Using his sleeve and the palm of his hand, he pushed the unlocked door open as he passed through, Boruto glanced around, the seven unknown men surrounded the front of the cabin in a semicircle, each man wielded chained weapons, three had scythes, two held swords, and the last two held sickles.
The men immediately recognized the man from the report standing before them, as they had guessed it was the rogue Uzumaki, they had been right to hide their approach along with their chakra, this man was dangerous. They all knew his info and knew his worth if they could turn him in, but he was also the son of one of the legendary team seven and had been trained by one of the others, the men bristled as they prepared themselves for the formidable opponent.
Boruto stepped just past the door opening, far enough so that he could let it swing shut behind him, his face was scrunched together in a furious stare that could kill an average person, but these men were all but average, the man directly across from the door held some sort of flag, he raised it up high before bringing it hard into the snow and dirt with a grunt, finally the man stepped around it to face Boruto directly.
The flag was simply the Uchiha clan symbol, with a single black slash through the side and out the other, it flowed in the wind casually, as if it held no meaning at all.
It was complete silence save for the whistle of the wind, Boruto glanced with cold hard blue eyes at the men who put Sarada through so much hell, the killing intent radiated off of the Uzumaki in large and powerful waves, the men felt as if they could choke on it, but despite the obvious anger and power, the men lowered their knees, the attack was about to begin.
The leader rushed in first, he brandished a sword with a chain that wrapped around his body, ending at his other hand which held a dull baton, knowing that he had no chance of obstructing Boruto's view, the rather lanky man decided to instead work as a buffer, the plan entailed that he must restrict the Uzumaki's movement as much as possible, and the other six would form the attack.
The first swing was sidestepped with ease, the second slid off the side of Boruto's sword, using that momentum the young shinobi prepared to strike the chest of the hunter, but before that could be enacted a scythe sliced between the two, causing Boruto to dash back.
For a moment the leader thought they could overpower him like this, if he couldn't attack, and was always on defense then there was no way he could win.
Boruto could see everything, the plan of the leader had no effect if Boruto could watch every attack trail towards him, Boruto simply defended and waited for the right moment.
Three stood out in anticipation for room to attack as the other four were fully engaged with the Uzumaki, a man who held a sword similar to his leader, but slightly shorter in length, finally saw his chance, Boruto had just deflected a full-force swing, and was knocked off balance, another one of the seven attempted to act on this with his sickle, The young ex-shinobi simply ducked below.
The man smiled, all they needed to win was a single moment of unexpectancy, the sickle wasn't even fully over Boruto’s head when a scythe came through and locked into the sickle, Boruto couldn't jump or move from his position, The blonde's eyes narrowed in calculation, before a shadow appeared before his face in an instant, the man with the shorter sword had taken his chance.
Everything seemed to slow down just a bit as the bloodthirsty hunter smiled gleefully at his soon victory, but something in his opponent's eyes seemed to put him at unease, it was too late to stop the swing he had aimed at the Uzumaki's head though, and the man wouldn't have stopped even if he could.
Boruto had seen their plan play out from all sides, he saw as the man before him smile when Boruto ducked below the sickle, and he saw the scythe wielder angle his weapon away from Boruto as he rushed in, honestly, Boruto found their plan unorthodox, but could also see it working in certain situations, still, they were finally in range, he could hit four of the hunters all at once now!
In an instant Boruto shifted control to Momoshiki, the Otsutsuki relished at the control he so missed, then after just a few moments to prepare his chakra, he let loose a shockwave attack that ripped the ground apart and sent 3 of the attackers into the air, the forth who was a bit farther away was tossed into a tree, effectively breaking his back. The Karma which had flashed on, now slowly dissipated having served its purpose, Boruto simply glanced around at the remaining three.
"Is this still going, or are you ready to run?" said Boruto in the coldest, most serious tone he could muster.
A pause "N-no absolutely not, we won't run away, not from you!" The head hunter stood a little taller after his outburst, he was about to continue talking but was interrupted by a sudden pressure in his gut, as if someone had punched him in his internal organs directly, then turned them in a spiral just to put salt in the wound.
The leader collapsed into the shredded snow, a silent gasp escaped his mouth before he fell unconscious. "If any of you come after her ever again, I'm just going to stop you again, and next time, It's going to kill you." Using a tactic his older brother used to scare idiots, Boruto drove fear directly into each one of the men standing around him.
"Now leave" Boruto turned away and walked towards the wooden cabin, he activated his Jourgan just in case any one of them attempted to sneak attack him, all that ended up happening was the hunters grabbing their fallen comrades and turning tails into the woods.
After confirming their retreat, Boruto walked back inside to check on Sarada, her temperature had dropped considerably, and she seemed to finally be ok.
He would need to remove her memories of meeting him in the cave, but that could wait.
Boruto turned to extinguish the fire, as he did he pondered on where he should leave her, this isn't the first time he had saved her without her knowledge, and he always made sure to leave her someplace she would like, someplace completely disarming, one that would make her forget how she might have gotten there for a bit, and just enjoy her way back home.
Boruto smiled to himself, "Yeah, I think I know the place." Momoshiki piped up at this, "You're dropping her off at some random place again?" strangely Boruto could have sworn he sensed a bit of concern in his voice, "Yeah, I mean what else will I do?".
Momoshiki paused for a good while, long enough that Boruto thought he dropped the conversation, "Where is this place you're thinking of?" his voice came off dry, almost tired, The blonde excitedly replied, "You remember that breathtaking forest clearing?" The place in question was a clearing that was surrounded by a wall of beautiful trees on both sides, it stretched for about 6 miles, the ground there was covered in rich brown and velvet red leaves. Boruto for a moment just thought about that place like a dream he deeply missed.
Momoshiki decidedly does not tell Boruto of the awakening Uchiha behind him.
"Well then, we should get a move on, if Sarada wakes up before I drop her off then this will get much harder."
Momoshiki, after concealing his mischievous intent from his other half, lets loose a dangerous question, "Boruto, when are you going to stop running?".
A heavy pause, "Hey, there is a point to me being out here, and I don't need you questioning it again momo." Boruto paused to find the right words, "I can protect the village just fine from here, and Sarada as well, I don't need to come back, you know?" Boruto's voice got quieter as he went, he found this subject to be particularly sensitive.
-
Sarada was lying in a cot she's never slept in before, but that didn't matter, all she could focus on was the voice just across from her, the one that she recognized so easily even as it got deeper through the years, despite its lowered tone. Sarada stays completely still save for the slowest breaths she could muster, she needed to hear what he was saying.
"Alright, the fire’s out, let's get Sarada to the clearing now." Boruto stood up and collected the medical items he left lying around. "Do you think she misses you?"
Boruto exhaled a saddened sigh, the normally deadpan man had been particularly questioning that day, "No Momoshiki, she does not miss me, it's been years since we last even saw each other, If anything I bet she wants me dead to get it over with." Boruto let out a pained laugh as if his joke was funny.
Sarada boiled inside at his comments, just how did he get off assuming such terrible things! She just about calmed her nerves when she heard him stiffen again, assuming Momoshiki had asked yet another personal question she perked her ears. "No, of course, this isn't wanted!" Boruto snapped in irritation "None of my promises were empty, they just didn't pan out the way I thought they would!".
"And so what happens when Sarada becomes Hokage?" Momoshiki's plan to make him blurt out something incriminating was about to succeed, honestly, what would the little idiot do without him.
An enormous pause that almost made Sarada peek open her eyes to see if Boruto was still there, "I-I, I'm not sure, when she's Hokage she'll-" Another pause that showed just how stumped the blonde was, finally he spoke, " Sarada doesn't need me to be her right hand, the days of fantasizing about helping her with other nations, or sort paperwork in a stuffy office ended the day Kawaki turned against us." Boruto went quiet again.
“H-hey can we just stop talking about this now?” A quiet and visibly uncomfortable Boruto said with clear pain in his voice. The poor boy didn't even notice the fiery anger brewing just behind him.