Chapter Text
Backpack with a fresh set of clothes and toiletries, check.
Shuriken pouch, check.
Kunai pouch, check.
Headband-
Boruto stared down at the Konoha symbol on his forehead protector. Should he take it? Or leave it as a relic for the Hokage?
"Take it with you." The low voice at his door startled Boruto into dropping the bag. "Shh keep it quiet, y'know, your mother and sister are still sleeping." Naruto whispered with soft smile.
Boruto stayed still for a few seconds, staring at his father standing in the doorway to the room with a hand tucked in his pocket.
Then he exhaled, turning away as his shoulders relaxed. He tucked the headband into his backpack and slung a strap over his shoulder. "C'mon," he muttered under his breath, mostly to himself. He walked past his father, and stopped halfway down the stairs without looking back.
"What are you gonna tell Mom and Hima?" Boruto asked quietly. He wouldn't thrust worry or anxiety onto them for the life of him. They deserved better. He only wished happiness and good days for the rest of their lives. And so thinking about the feat he was about to perform that night left him torn.
"That you're going away on a long mission." Naruto replied, which wasn't a lie. It was a mission with an indefinite operation period. "They're going to miss you a lot, y'know." His voice turned hoarse. "So will I." Boruto would, too. He knew the village would be in an uproar by mid-morning the next day. But some things had to be done.
His hand tightened around the strap. "Take care, Boruto." The Seventh rasped out. Boruto did not trust his own voice. He slipped on his shinobi sandals and nodded at Naruto. The Seventh Hokage of Konohagakure. The father who was sobbing quietly into his son's shoulder with a bone-crushing hug at 2 am in the morning.
"Dad," Boruto said in a voice steadier than he felt. "Please, let me go."
He gave him a few minutes to compose himself. Then, nodding with finality, Boruto stepped out of the house and into the chilly night air; and Naruto let him. As Hokage, he told himself this was necessary. That this was for the good of the village. Then he felt his heart catch up with him, and he collapsed onto the wooden floor in a shivering fit that had nothing to do with the weather.
Outside, his son perched atop the Seventh Hokage's Stone Face, looking down into the valley where the Hidden Leaf Village was nestled. Straightened his back with a grin, Uzumaki Boruto pumped a fist at the sleeping village and cried, "Until next time, Konoha!"