What Will Be

Chapter 16

Boruto scowled. He just barely managed to trap that damned snake in a scroll, only to lose Mitsuki. The boy sighed. Why did the universe hate him? He stared unimpressed at the dead end.

"Oh well, not like I can do anything now." Boruto muttered to himself. He might as well head back now.

Boruto trudged in the grass, kicking at some stones that had the misfortune to cross him. Sarada gave him a look. "No luck finding your boyfriend huh?" Boruto blushed red. "He's not my boyfriend!"

The girl nodded. "Mhm, mhm. Whatever you say." Boruto rolled his eyes. "Hey where are Dad and Tou-san?" Sarada shrugged, "Dunno, they just left me here and told me not to follow them."

Boruto sighed. "Well I'm bored so let's-" A spike of panicked chakra stopped him in his tracks. Wait- He recognized that chakra. Gritting his teeth, Boruto bolted towards the chakra, Sarada sighing in exasperation.

"Seriously Boruto, must you run off without even a word of warning?" She groaned, gathering her energy and following him.

Boruto quickly approached the familiar chakra, alarm spiking when he felt his parents chakra along with it. "Oi! Tou-san what-" Oh no.

Mitsuki was there. A little kid stood next to him, sobbing into their hands as they violently tried to wipe their tears away. But Mitsuki- Mitsuki looked devastated. The pure shock reflected on his face, causing Boruto to follow his line of view- oh.

Well, no wonder Mitsuki's like that. Boruto made a choking sound, bile rising up his throat. His stomach felt queasy as he took in the sight before him. Orochimaru was- well, dead. His throat was slit- and oh my god there's so much blood.

Boruto peeled his eyes away from the sight, gaze shifting up to find- Tou-san? Sasuke's face was completely blank. He halfheartedly returned his sword to his sheath, the blood and gore not seeming to alarm him in the slightest.

Naruto was the same. The way he looked at the corpse made Boruto shiver. It was- it was as if Orochimaru's death was nothing more than a minor set-back. He didn't care at all that a human being was lying dead on the ground. Put there by his own husband no less.

"Why?"

Three heads jerked up to meet Mitsuki's eyes. "Why? WHY?" The boy's eyes darted from Naruto to Sasuke, his entire body shuddering. Finally, he settled on Boruto, who couldn't help but flinch away.

Mitsuki's eyes hardened into a steady glare. "Y-you. Why?" Boruto could not give him an answer, so Naruto did. "Forgive us, Mitsuki, was it? A kid like you shouldn't witnes-"

"Witness what?" Mitsuki laughed dryly. "Witness you murder my parent? He-" The boy choked on the newfound tears sliding down his cheeks. "He was all I had. He- he- I loved him. Why? WHY?"

Mitsuki took several several shuddery breaths. Naruto bit his lips, pain and pity swirling in his eyes. Boruto didn't- couldn't say anything. How could he? He just took his parent from him.

Just as Naruto reached out for the albino, Mitsuki shook his head, speaking up, "No. That's a lie." He quickly grabbed the kid's hand next to him. "I won't let you take anything else from me."

Naruto's face looked pained. "We- we're not trying to take anything from you." Mitsuki just shook his head, bolting away with the little kid in hand. Boruto wanted to run after him, but a steady grip on his shoulder told him to stay put.

"Leave him, Boruto." Sarada gulped.

Sasuke sighed, nudging Orochimaru's dead body with his foot. "Dammit. If only the bastard had not pissed me off. Now we don't know which body he's in." Naruto was still staring in the direction Mitsuki ran off in.

"Sasuke, how come Mitsuki doesn't know that his parent can, well- er, revive himself?" Sasuke frowned. "I don't know. Knowing Orochimaru, he likely has a reason for it." He turned towards Boruto and Sarada, a scowl on his face.

"I thought I told you two to stay put." Boruto shook his head. "What? Why, so you could murder my best friend's parent?" Sarada blinked at him. "You just met him, how can he be your best friend?"

Boruto didn't answer, eyes glued to the ground. Naruto bit his lip, "Listen Boruto, I know you must be upset, but-" A delicate hand on his shoulder cut him off track. "Ah- Hinata-"

The woman sighed. "Let him be upset. He needs to let it out. I- I need to return to Himawari. We can continue the search for Sakura and Kiba some other time." Naruto placed a comforting hand over Hinata's, a grim look on his face.

"Of course. Let's head home."

~*~

Mitsuki tried to comfort a crying Aiko, but it was futile. She could barely talk, hiccuping every time she took a breath. A cool breeze swept through the area, making Mitsuki and Aiko shiver.

They were still outside, surrounded by nature that no longer seemed so welcoming in the dark. Instead, the air was a biting cold, the bright green having dulled to near black.

Well it wasn't too bad, Mitsuki supposed. He looked up towards the sky, the twinkling stars doing nothing to ease his nerves. If it were any other circumstance he would be in awe.

Mitsuki quietly picked Aiko up, holding her close to his chest. He glanced grimly at the woman still unconscious on the ground. It didn't look like she was waking up any time soon, meaning it would be up to Mitsuki to take care of the three of them.

The boy shivered once more. "Mitsu?" The snake did not respond. Did they do something to him too?

Mitsuki felt his hands tremble in anger, pulling Akio closer in order to calm himself. He glared into the shadows, eyes burning a dull yellow.

"I will make them pay."

Sorry for the short chapter, I felt that was a good place to stop. Hope you enjoyed the pure angst in this chapter!! ;p.