Boruto: Sacrifices

Chapter 10. The Hardest Battle

Checking on her daughter to make sure she was tucked in safely, Hinata's eyes drifted back to the clock on the wall. Naruto was running late...

Of course, that wouldn't be the first time. The woman had adjusted to the life as the Hokage's wife smoothly and without a complaint, she knew Naruto's dedication to his duties and that was one of the many qualities she admired in the man she loved. And with the village still on high alert after the recent attack, she knew it was Naruto's top priority to see the village to safety and peace once again before being able to rest properly.

But it wasn't very usual for him to call Boruto to his office at such a late hour. It was already past midnight... and something nagging at the back of her mind gave the woman a chilled feeling.

She sighed and leaned down to gently caress Hima's hair as the little girl mumbled and shivered in her sleep. And just then, there was a soft knock on the door.

As quietly but quickly as she could, Hinata went down the stairs. She opened the door and came face to face with her husband.

Or well... a clone of his. For her Byakugan induced eyesight, even when the dojutsu wasn't activated, it was a very clear distinction.

"Naruto..." she whispered, concern and apprehension in her voice, especially because she noticed the grave look on his face.

"Hinata-san..." Ironically, the clones would always address her with honorifics, although it was a little awkward for the young woman. "Naruto-san will not be able to come home tonight. There has been another attack."

The woman's heart skipped a beat. "Is it... bad...?" she managed to ask, her mind immediately snapping to her son.

"No, it has already been thwarted, but..." Naruto's voice faded away as he had to look away for a minute. "But... something unfortunate has happened."

"Naruto..." Hinata was almost hesitant to ask.

"Boruto's friend, Mitsuki... he was attacked by the assailants. He was taken to the hospital, and both Naruto-san and Boruto are with him now."

The woman's hands flew to her mouth, her eyes widening. Shock was still the dominant expression on her features when she was eventually able to lower her hands a minute later. "A-and how is Mitsuki-kun...?"

Naruto sighed. "We don't know all the details yet but... I'm afraid it doesn't look very good. We will keep you updated."

Not able to say anything more, Hinata just nodded, and had to lean against the door sill as the clone disappeared in a puff.

...

The first thing Shikadai noticed as he was heading to the border for his patrol duty was that there was an abnormal activity in the village for this late hour. The jounins were rushing everywhere, apparently in a big hurry, and whispers... there was a great deal of whispering going around. And although he didn't stop to listen to most of them because duty was awaiting, the young Nara caught some words... "new attack"... "genin"...

Just what was going on...?

Well... surely he would find out when he reached his post. He had always viewed these late-night patrols as a kind of a drag, but now he was feeling anxious, restless...

At first, it didn't seem like anyone was going to pay attention to him when he arrived at the border. It had been almost a solid minute before he finally came across a familiar face. "Mirai!"

The young woman strode over to him, looking a bit distraught and... very confused. "Shikadai... what are you doing here?"

"Uuugh... I have the next shift..."