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the-letter-horror-lover · 2 years

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Naruto: The Adventures of Boruto! by BorutoHyuga

Anime » Naruto Rated: T, English, Adventure & Humor, Konohamaru S., Boruto U., Sarada U., Mitsuki, Words: 3k+, Favs: 13, Follows: 16, Published: Oct 12, 2015 Updated: Aug 14, 2016

1Chapter 1: Prologue (Mysterious Assassins arc)

I hope you like it I'm a die hard Naruto and hopefully you are I'm going to do at least 600 chapters and I'm making some new characters! I don't own Naruto. Hope you enjoy and give me recommendation so I can make it better. Enjoy!

The sun shined on Boruto's back itching him to wake up after all it was an important day!

"Ugh I'm too tired to get up!" He moaned. Suddenly the door bust wide open. "Wake up sleepy head!" A kind motherly voice called. "It had to be her," He mumbled under his breath.

"I said WAKE UP," she said in a more stern manner. Boruto lifted himself up from the prison that was his bed, but he hadn't finished his sentence and fell right back down. Hinata (his mom) dragged him into the living room where the maids were waiting to dress him during that long and painful time the maids were jibber jabbering and scolding Boruto. "Wait a minute, wheres Himawari (his sister)?"

"She's already at the Academy, she left an hour ago," Hinata 's eyes whitened and he had a surprised look on his face He was late which wasn't a surprise! On his way to the Academy he looked at the great sights of Konoha it was going to be a long daaaaay...

2: The Long Day (Mysterious Assassins arc)

This chapter is going to be longer than the first one I hope you enjoy sorry for the first one being so short I was trying to get used to publishing a story since this is my first time. Enjoy! BTW I got most of the moves and background info from wiki/Narutopedia)

As Boruto went into the Academy he got the same treatment he always got.

"Hello Boruto you're late again so we won't be able to practice are jutsu's for the exam. Tsk,tsk,tsk!"- Gonae sensei explained.

Oh No! Boruto forgot about the final exam if he didn't pass it he wouldn't graduate and he would be sent back to the Academy. His heart raced back and forth thinking of random jutsu's he could perform but, he wasn't good at any of them except one he hadn't thought of.

"Now for this final graduation exam, if you've been listening, you have to show me a jutsu that's at least D rank, if you do a C rank or higher I'll give you extra credit!"- Gonae looked at his list of students.

"First up is Shikadai Nara!"-Gonae called. Shikadai went to the stand to do his jutsu. "Shadow Imitation Technique!" -Shikamaru called. A shadow linked him to Gonae making him imitate anything Gonae was doing. He stopped the link. "Good job Shikadai-chan,"-Gonae congratulated.

"How pointless..." He said.

"Next up is Sarada Uchiha!"-She announced. Sarada chuckled and went to the front of the room. She performed the tiger hand seal which was commonly used in fire techniques. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" A basketball sized fireball came out of her mouth but dissipated after a couple seconds.

"Good job but I think you should of perfected before showing but good job," -Gonae explained. Sarada scoffed and walked away pouty embarrassed to even look up. After a long boring list the words came out of her mouth,"Boruto Uzumaki." Boruto jumped from his little nap and everyone started giggling and whispering right away. He stood up,"Right I'm going to show you my master jutsu!" Everyone laughed openly. "AHEM!"-Gonae retorted.

Boruto went to the front of the classroom. "I'm gonna need you to make a clone for this!"-Boruto ordered. Gonae prepared a clone for his presentation.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"-Boruto's clone appeared next to him. "He's a joke..." Mitsuki thought. The clone prepared a small blue ball in his right hand ,he's going to do a rasengan! He ran towards Gonae's clone thrusting his arm forward,"Rasengan!" The Rasengan dissipated before it reached Gonae's clone.

"I should fail you but because you made that shadow clone I'll pass you slightly,"-Gonae scolded.

At lunch Boruto stood alone as usual while his sister talked and played with the girls. Suddenly, Shikadai and Inojin approached him. "Hey dude I think that prank you pulled was pretty funny!"-Inojin laughed.

"Um t-that wasn't a prank..."-Boruto said tensely his face flaming red. "Oh umm sorry!" Inojin apologized. "What a drag."-Shikadai added.

Boruto walked away with tears flowing down his face. "Why can't I be better!" He asked himself. "I don't wanna be called the 'Hokage's Brat' I wanna be more important than that I want to be acknowledged!" He thought. His eyes hovered to his side there he saw Mitsuki staring at him.

"Who are you looking at!"-Boruto yelled. Mitsuki smirked and walked away. Boruto smiled...

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3: Twist & Turns (Mysterious Assassins arc)

This chapter is pretty good if you don't read and skip you might miss some information ,BELIEVE IT!

After school as usual Boruto and Himawari walked home together. Himawari smiled and walked confidently which wasn't her normal look. "Hey, what are you so happy about?"-Boruto asked. "Nothing!"-She said firmly that smile turning into a frown.

"You're weird!"-Boruto told. Himawari growled," You act like I'm your little sister remember we're twins!"

"Gosh!" Boruto thought,"she's a real pain for a sister!" They never have unpleasant walks home I guess today was just different. Boruto spotted Sarada sitting near the docks reading a book. "I hate reading!" Boruto thought. Suddenly something pushed Boruto, he fell face first on the ground. "Who did that?!" He asked.

"Sorry." A voice answered. Boruto got up. There was a boy wearing a green jumpsuit with orange neck and leg warmers and bandages on his hands. His bowl style haircut spelled him out. "I'm Metal Lee the son of Rock Lee who was the greatest taijutsu master in Leaf history!"-Metal Lee announced.

"Oh and H-himawari uh ,I hope we get on the same team..."-Lee blushed. "I'll be looking forward to it I guess?" Himawari awkwardly retorted. Metal Lee dashed away to who knows where land. "That guy's weird!"-Boruto pointed out. "Something we can actually agree on!"-Himawari's frown washed away but her arms were still crossed in a "don't mess with me manner." After a long treacherous walk they reached the Hokage Residence their beloved home. Waiting inside was their Dad. "Dad!"-Himawari screeched giving him a nice juicy hug.

"Ow! Himawari that was a bit over the top,"-Boruto rained all over the fun. Naruto looked at Boruto with a smile. "Come here champ!"-Naruto picked him up and twirled him around like a big baby. Boruto laughed and giggled during the fun. They all sat at the table. "Are you guys ready for tomorrow?"- Hinata asked.

"Whats tomorrow?" Boruto wondered. Naruto chuckled with a slight squeak popping out.

"You didn't know, tomorrow you're going to be assigned to your teams AND your going to meet your instructor!"-Naruto ended it with a soft smile. Boruto had a comical surprise face we didn't see that comin'! "W-w-whaaaat! How come Gonae sensei didn't tell us!"-Boruto had a sudden outburst in excitement/anger.

"I guess he was trying to surprise you,"Naruto answered. Hinata prepared the roast that she made for dinner. She handed the plates put on the dinner table.

"Eat up everyone, you got a big day ahead of you especially Dad being Hokage and all,"-Hinata set out a plate for everyone and then sat down. Boruto picked through his food he was too distracted about everything that was going on, Hinata and Himawari were eating steadily savoring their food. Meanwhile, Naruto gobbled up his food as if he hadn't eaten in days.

"Dad?" Himawari called.

There was a awkward silence all eyes were on Naruto.

"Guys I haven't eaten all day since I'm Hokage I never have time for anything including eating,"-He said in the coolest way possible. Boruto groaned and continued to grunt for awhile.

"Hey you know what Dad!" He began.

"Yo!"-Naruto answered.

"How did you eat with your dad when you were a kid and all?" Boruto innocently asked.

Naruto stared at the table with a gloomy faced then looked at Boruto.

"My dad died when I was born," He responded. Boruto looked at the table and sulked, Naruto smiled.

"Don't feel sorry for me! I still had a happy childhood!" Naruto happily exclaimed.

"Having no father didn't stop me from becoming Hokage!"

Those words echoed in Boruto's head he didn't know about Naruto's situation but Naruto's words made him feel a little bit better. That night while in bed he thought about ways his father's childhood could've been: was he accepted into life or was he made fun of, how did he become Hokage?

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4: Meeting (Mysterious Assassins arc)

Hey Guys tell me if they're getting good or boring I finally thought of the name of the arc and its "Mysterious Assassins" it'll probably last for a maximum of 26 chapters or something. Enjoy!

Boruto woke up that day earlier than usual he wanted to become a better ninja. But his tiredness tried to get the best of him it must've been 6:30am the Academy opens at 8:20 am! He had to find something to do so he looked at his options. After thinking for a while Boruto got dressed and brushed his teeth but when he was about to get cereal his sister woke up. She dragged herself to the kitchen which was filled with clicks and clangs loud enough to wake anyone up.

"W-what are you doing...up so early?"-Himawari yawned and wiped across her face. Boruto laughed and got into his "Believe It Pose"

"Cause Ima full fledged ninja now and ninja are always It!"-Boruto did his casual thumbs up pose with a wide smile. Himawari tilted her head in confusion and made cereal for both of them. Boruto said thank you with his mouth stuffed with cereal. When they started laughing milk spouted out of their noses causing them to literally cry laugh. Boruto and Himawari were getting closer and finally becoming best friends ,the relationship a brother and sister should have...

AT THE ACADEMY

When they reached the academy it was still too early to enter the building. "WHY are YOU so early Boruto?" Sarada Uchiha questioned. Boruto glared at her deeply.

"Oh so now I can't be early well i'm not the joke people see me as anymore, I'm Boruto Uzumaki the Prodigy of this Gen!" Boruto responded back to her. Sarada chuckled.

"You think YOU'RE the prodigy of this Gen your Dad might be the Hokage but you're not even CLOSE to being the prodigy of this Gen. Shoot, I bet your sister's stronger than you and your a boy you're supposed to be the strongest!" -Sarada clenched her fist and threw it in the air.

"Mitsuki is the strongest but I know one day I'LL surpass and become...the...Hokage!" She yelled with confidence in her voice. The name Mitsuki made Boruto sick he was an arrogant, show off who thought everyone was lower than him. Boruto cursed him in his head. After awhile the doors opened and everyone settled for a class Himawari sat next to Boruto which was an unusual occurrence.

"Now today , students, I'll assign you to your teams!"-Gonae explained. EVeryone gasped and eyed their friends except Boruto and Himawari which they scoffed to.

"AND, later today you'll meet your teachers (the team leaders)!" Everyone screamed and walked across the room to talk to their friends except Boruto and Mitsuki. While looking across the room they made eye contact. They glared at each other so hard you could see the static!

"That jerk I should glue him in a chair!" Boruto thought.

"That lowlife I bet he can't do a D rank move after that fail with the Rasengan!" Mitsuki thought.

"Hn!" They both did. They then faced away from each other.

"Ahem.(No one seemed to hear her)Ahem! Now go back to your seats.(Everyone goes to their seats) I will now tell you your teams!"- Gonae sensei began.

"On team Tamosa will be... Shikidai Nara, (Inojin crosses his fingers) Inojin Yamanaka (lets out a yes!), and ChoCho Akimichi (pouts). Now on Team Ronan will be Metal Lee, Folan Inuzuka, and Himawari (Metal Lee lets out yes Hima bangs the table). On team Udon will be... Salon Sarutobi, Dodon Senju (yells that's me!), and Rose Aburame (waves across the room. Well last but not least on team Konohamaru will be Boruto Uzumaki (yells Believe it!), Mitsuki (Both him and Boruto think," I have to be on a team with that guy,hmph!), and Sarada Uchiha!" - Gonae took a deep breath. Everyone started talking laughing and crying right away. It was torture to Boruto he had to be on a team with Sarada AND Mitsuki it wasn't gonna end well...

"Lunch Time," -Gonae said under all the commotion. Boruto and Mitsuki glared again this time even harder. After eating lunch Gonae dismissed teams to meet their teachers. As they waited in their room the door creaked open he was here! But the person who came out didn't look like a jonin or at least a current one he was a bald old man with a white Kimono, what! Before they could say anything a cloud of smoke covered the man when it cleared there he was!

"My name is Konohamaru and I just tricked you using a transformation jutsu!"-The man yelled.

"I already can't trust this guy..." Mitsuki mumbled. Sarada grumbled.

"We learned that during class teach us a more advanced jutsu!"-Boruto yelled.

This was going to be a weird teacher...

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5: The Upcoming (Mysterious Assassins arc)

I hope you liked the last one it ended in a cliffhanger and I'm going to continue give me recommendations and make sure you follow me bye! Believe it!

Everyone's face blanked. His attire was a flak jacket a short blue scarf, and black sandals he also had a black elastic headband sand red armband with the Sarutobi crest on it. Mitsuki frowned , "You joke..." -He murmured. Boruto growled and glared at Mitsuki.

"That's enough you shouldn't disrespect him like that! He's a Jonin he wouldn't be a Jonin if he was a joke!"- Sarada vocalized. Konohamaru still faked a smile.

"That Mitsuki kid is arrogant, Sarada is outspoken, and Boruto is a knucklehead," He thought. Lots of thoughts lingered in Boruto's head he was always thinking about something like what he was eating for dinner or what he was going to do this weekend. Sarada knocked his head causing a big bump to swell up.

"Hey! Hey! What was that for!?" He asked spinning in circles trying to numb the pain. Tears were flowing out of his eyes but he wasn't going to let everyone see him cry so he fought the tears.

"That's what you get for ignoring Sensei Konohamaru!"-Sarada shouted. Konohamaru chuckled trying the hardest to keep his cool ,the kids were already annoying. After a moment of silence Konohamaru started.

"Alright my name is Konohamaru Sarutobi and I'm your sensei or team leader. We are going to tell each other are hobbies and dreams! Now lets start with me!" Everyone put there listening ears on and tuned in. "My Favorite Food is yakiniku ,My hobby is to collect magazines, I like magazines and battling, my dream is to become the greatest ninja in leaf history, I dislike war and arrogant, outspoken, and loud kids just kiddin!" He pointed to Sarada.

"My name is Sarada Uchiha! My favorite food is steak, my hobby is to train! I like to go to fairs and eat ice cream, and my dream is to become Hokage! I dislike Boruto (yells,"Hey")! And I also don't like arrogant show offs who think they're better than everyone!" He pointed to Mitsuki and Mitsuki smirked.

"My name is Mitsuki from the snake clan... My favorite food is sushi and my hobby is... to succeed. I like wars and fighting, but don't like training because I'm already a prodigy." There was a long pause, "My dream is to justify the treatment my clan is getting!" There was a moment of silence...

"This guy, I have to watch him," Konohamaru promises in his head. The moment of silence continued .

"Well, he thinks he's so cool doesn't he!" Boruto thought.

"I'll surpass him!" Sarada promised. Konohamaru took a deep breath to signal he was about to say something.

"You guys are not yet Genin," He explained. They all frowned comically.

"Wait what! W-we did that graduation test for nothing!" Boruto replied him kicking and screaming. Again Sarada knocked him in the head to calm him down.

"That was just to see if you're eligible, let me explain," He began to explain in his cool dramatic voice," after that to see if you're ready we do another test. If you fail it slightly then you go back to the academy, if you do HORRIBLE you're dropped from the program and can never become a shinobi." Boruto's nose started to bleed.

"What! I'm not going to the academy!" Boruto shouted.

"Come on dude." Mitsuki complained.

"I'll never go back to the academy I haven't fulfilled the mission!" Mitsuki thought.

"That's why I have faith in you guys, heh," Konohamaru told. There was a spark of hope in each of their hearts.

"Well see you tomorrow at 5:00 am. in the training fields! Don't be late..."

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6: The Rasengan! (Mysterious Assassins Arc)

Sorry guys i got lazy and stopped writing I'll be more active. Believe It and review!

A moment of silence occurred before the kunai made its way out of Boruto's pocket.

"Die, old man!" He yelled charging at his dad.

"Not quite!" Told Naruto as he jumped behind Boruto. Boruto laughed nervously Naruto took on a smile.

"You're not supposed to let your opponent get behind you! Now let's get back to lesson." Naruto handed Boruto a water balloon. Boruto scoffed malicely.

"What does a water balloon have to do with it, we're not playing with toys!" Naruto giggled cheerfully and began to explain

"The Rasengan requires nature transformation which you completely lack in... The first step is to burst the balloon by spinning the water inside multiple directions using only your chakra. In order to do this you must be aware of your NATURAL rotation of chakra." Boruto took a long gulp.

"I-I think I understand." He could feel the water spinning in the balloon as he rotated his chakra. You could hear the rotation surprisingly. Boruto grunted furiously. BOOM! The balloon busted wildly.

"He's a fast learner!" Naruto thought. Boruto smiled.

"Alright! I'm ready for the next step!" Boruto yelled as confident as ever. Naruto threw him a shiny rubber ball.

"Good job! Now The second step was for the you to burst a rubber ball. Since rubber is thicker, and air is completely different from water, it forces the you to use denser chakra to break it. This step emphasizes power." Boruto held out his thumbs up pose and smiled. Boruto had to put more chakra into the rubber ball than the balloon which was putting strain on his body. However, at that moment and time something gave him ALOT more power and he suddenly burst the ball.

"Kurama," Naruto thought.

"Next Step!" Boruto ordered. Naruto smiled contently proud of his son.

"Ok the third and final step is to combine steps one and two by spinning chakra inside a balloon without moving the balloon itself, emphasizing stability of the sphere." Boruto felt jumpy at these new directions he doubted he would be able to do that.

"I can do it!" Boruto mumbled under his grunting his chakra was waving around and around rapidly. After awhile of hard work he finally did it which was a great feat ready to be broken. It took Naruto a week to learn the rasengan while it took Boruto only 4 hours. The sun started to sulk in the nice tangerine sky.

"Congratulations Boruto! You did it!" Naruto congratulated. His grin widened. Boruto felt proud of himself for this achievement but didn't know what to be happy about.

His face saddened he began," I bet you learned it before me!"

"No silly pants it took me a week to learn it you're actually the fastest learner of the rasengan!" Boruto was stunned his eyes widened. A tear ran down his face, "thanks dad!" He hugged Naruto furiously until about 3 min.

"Alright lets go home you have to wake up early tomorrow," Naruto suggested. They continued towards home.

"Oh yeah do you like Konohamaru?" Naruto asked.

"How do you-

"I'm Hokage I actually assign teams," Naruto admitted. Boruto nodded and thought for a minute.

"Yeah I like him but he's really weird and seems annoying."

Naruto smiled.

"You know I actually trained Konohamaru!"

Boruto giggled.

"How did you deal with him?!" Boruto wondered curiously.

"Oh trust me it was hard he was obnoxious and annoying!" Naruto replied. After a quick bento dinner it was time for bed.

Naruto tucked the covers over Boruto's chest.

"Good night!" the exchanged. Tomorrow was the big day it was almost time.

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#boruto fanfiction

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shikadianara · 2 years

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shikadai nara | episode 222 +

#shikadai nara #borutoedit #boruto naruto next generations #boruto: naruto next generations #c: shikadai nara #gifs #*

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nejigirl5 · 2 years

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Character/Masterlist [Closed]

Finally Updated (1/3/2024)

I’m currently not writing anything right now... but I might get back to it eventually? I have a nice list of requests to get through so it’ll probably take me a while, no harm in sending them in though.

I do not write anything past romance at the moment! - Sorry!

Requests Specifications:

1. For romance, I write male character x female reader only. Platonic and plot based stuff are cool too (not necessarily x reader).

2. Feel free to be as detailed as you would like in the request (I will likely need a character though). If it’s not clear based on context or specified, I will assume things are romance.

3. Generally I prefer to do cutesy romance things (often around marriage), though I’m happy to do other things, that’s just a style note.

Important: I will likely make a preview post with a date for non-anon requests (and tag you to the fic), and will respond directly on the request post for anon requests (since I can’t tag you). To see if it is in progress, check the WIP list below.

Last update: January 3rd, 2024

My Works In Progress/To-Do: (not in any particular order)

1. Neji x Reader Christmas - Request

2. I’ll Never Leave You pt 3 (Neji x Reader)

3. Late Nights (Kiba x Reader)

4. Take a Break (Shisui x Reader)

5. Pumpkin Parade (Neji x Reader)

6. Costumes (Kawaki x Reader)

7. Candy (Kankuro x Reader)

8. Something Missing (Momoshiki x Reader) - Request

9. Kagura, Kawaki, Shikadai, Shinki Valentines HCs - Request

10. Kawaki Jealousy - Request

This is just a list of the work that I’ve done, as well as some characters that I am hoping to write one day:

Akatsuki:

Deidara (Iwagakure)

Hot Springs Bring Us Together

Itachi Uchiha (Konohagakure)

Teddy Bears

Insecure at the Beach

Beautiful

Sasori (Sunagakure)

Flowers

Hidan (Yugakure)

Kisame Hoshigaki (Kirigakure)

Konohagakure:

Neji Hyuga

I’ll Never Leave You pt. 1

I’ll Never Leave You pt. 2

July Birthday Boy HCs

Halloween HCs - Konoha Boys

Shisui Uchiha - the fact that I haven’t written anything for him... :(

Kiba Inuzuka

New Friends

July Birthday Boy HCs

Rock Lee

Choji Akimichi

Halloween HCs - Konoha Boys

Genma Shiranui

July Birthday Boy HCs

Sai

Halloween HCs - Konoha Boys

Shino Aburame

Halloween HCs - Konoha Boys

Shikaku Nara

July Birthday Boy HCs

Sasuke Uchiha (Konohagakure, Otogakure, Hebi/Taka)

July Birthday Boy HCs

Kirigakure:

Haku Yuki

Zabuza Momochi

Yagura Karatachi

Mangetsu Hozuki

Suigetsu Hozuki

Kumogakure:

Darui

Omoi

Iwagakure:

N/A

Sunagakure:

Gaara

Kankuro

#Naruto

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moonandblossoms · 3 years

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Naruto tier-list!

So, this is the tier-list, just according to my analysis (keyword: mine). And I tried to cover as many characters as possible. Since there are so many, I divided each of them.

God-tier

SS - Isshiki Otsutsuki, Baryon mode Naruto

S - Kaguya Otsutsuki, Jigen, Sasuke and Naruto (new era), Momoshiki (fused)

A - DMS Kakashi, Juubito, Juubidara, Toneri Otsutsuki (Tenseigan chakra mode)

B - Might Guy (8th gate), Madara Uchiha, (sage), Hashirama Senju, KCM2 Minato, Gaara (New Era)

Kage-tier

SS - Kabuto (War arc/Sage mode), Orochimaru (by New era), Tobirama Senju, Kakashi Hatake (by new era), Onoki, Minato Namikaze (Alive)

S - Itachi Uchiha (Healthy), Nagato, Konan, Mei Terumi, Tsunade Senju, Killer B, Jiraiya (sage mode), Naruto Uzumaki (sage mode), Sasuke Uchiha (MS), A3, A4, Kisame Hoshigaki (for the dead ones, I’ve ranked their powers when they were alive)

A - Kakuzu, Sasuke Uchiha (Hebi), Deidara, Sakura Haruno (War arc/100 healings), Choji Akimichi (War arc), Maybe Sasori.

High Jonin - Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru Nara (by new era), Ino Yamanaka (by new era), Kiba Inuzuka (by new era), Shino Aburame (by new era), Neji Hyuga (by NS), Hidan, Kankuro (by NS), Konohamaru (by new era), Udon (by new era), Moegi (by new era)

Tobuketsu Jonin - Ibiki Morino, Anko Mitarashi, Hayate Gekko (Alive) , Genma Shironui

Jonin - Sarada Uchiha, Boruto Uzumaki, Mitsuki, Kotetsu, Izumo, and Shin Uchiha (also clones)

Chunin - Sumire Kakei, Wasabi, Namida, Chocho Akimichi, Shikadai Nara, Inojin Yamanaka, Metal Lee, Iwabe, Tsubaki, Iruka Umino

High Genin - Denki

Need more feats/I don’t know where to place them

Somewhere in God-tier - Hagoromo Otsutsuki and Hamura Otsutsuki

At least Kage-tier A/S or maybe above (keyword: At least)

Sakura Haruno (new era), Hinata Hyuga (new era/post HC amp), Kurotsuchi (new era), Eight gates Rock Lee (by new era), Prime Hiruzen Sarutobi, Chojuro (by new era), Jugo (sage mode), Darui (by new era), Kara

High Jonin to low Kage (maybe C) - Karin Uzumaki (Uzumaki chains), Kushina Uzumaki (Uzumaki chains), Tenten (with SO6P tools), Temari (by new era), Suigetsu Hozuki (by new era)

At least mid to high Chunin - Rin Nohara (young), Mirai Sarutobi

ANBU members like Sai (currently Chubu), Yamato and Yugao are out from the list. I might update the tier-list in my spare account much later if I had to (maybe after Boruto ends).

So that’s it. I hope I tried to cover as much as possible. I am not sure where to place the other six Jinchurikis, maybe somewhere in Kage-tier.

Any suggestions (be nice)?

#naruto #naruto tier-list

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wolvesandfoxes25 · 3 years

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What we want:

Chapter 18

Shikamaru stood at the pick-up area of the school, his attention drawn to the blonde woman who was talking animatedly with her blonde son. He knew he should drag his eyes away from her, but he couldn’t.

Oh Kami.

He was wholly fucked, and still staring, which the woman finally realized he was doing, her eyes meeting his.

Her smile at what her son was saying fell, a sadness now passing over her features.

He looked away finally, swallowing thickly.

Fiddling in his pocket, he cursed when he couldn’t find his cigarettes.

Fuck it.

“Dad!” A voice rang out, capturing his attention.

Shikadai stopped before he ran into his father.

“Dad!” He yelled one more time, a smirk on his face.

Shikamaru grimaced, rolling his eyes.

“Stop screaming, it’s a drag. And irritating. Especially since I’m standing right in front of you.”

The younger Nara shrugged, “Well, I’m just making sure you’re paying attention.”

The older Nara just raised an eyebrow at his son, sighing softly.

Cheeky bastard.

“Inojin!” Shikadai called out to his friend suddenly.

Shit.

Shikamaru glanced over at the woman beside him as they walked to their homes, feeling and sensing her tension.

He felt the same.

She finally decided to break the immeasurable silence between them.

“Are we going to talk about this?” She murmured towards him.

He glanced nervously over at the kids not too far in front of them.

Ino rolled her eyes, putting her fingers up to put up a silencing jutsu.

“My son can sense that.” He said to her.

Ino nodded her head back to him.

“As can mine, but they’re too engrossed in their own conversation. Besides, they’re walking pretty far ahead of us, Shikamaru.”

He sighed at her statement and nodded his head.

“We have to stop whatever this is.” He mumbled, giving a slight wave to the children when they turned their way.

Ino looked over at the man beside her, furrowing her brows.

“Nothing’s happened.” She muttered, trying to shove down the uneasiness she was starting to feel.

“Ino.” He said heavily, stopping his walk.

She stopped with him.

“Boys.” She called to the children, taking the jutsu down between her and Shikamaru.

They both turned and looked at the adults.

“Me and Shikamaru need to talk about the hospital for a few minutes, run ahead and start practicing your jutsu’s.”

The blonde boy nodded and kept walking, Shikadai holding back for a moment.

“Everything alright, dad?”

The elder Nara raised a brow and gave a wave, putting a bored expression on his face.

“Adult shit, run along now.”

Shikadai shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pocket, trekking a long after his friend.

Ino folded her arms over her chest.

“Ino.” Shikamaru tried again, running his eyes over her features, blanching at the jolt of…something akin to arousal dashing through him.

“Nothing has happened.” She repeated, snapping it out this time, drawing his attention back to their conversation they were trying to have.

“You don’t think about the past? Never?” He asked her, slightly dreading the answer.

She felt her mouth start to quiver, emotions she had shoved back coming to the forefront.

“Of course I do.” She whispered, feeling the dam break inside, tears starting to cloud her eyes.

Shikamaru felt his heart drop at her reaction.

“Please don’t cry.”

Ino shrugged, wiping her tears away briskly.

“It doesn’t matter, not really. W-We were never meant for each other. You have Temari, I have Sai. So, there’s nothing more to say.” She finished, sniffling and turning away.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth, and grabbed her hand before she moved away completely.

He gripped her fingers tightly, but didn’t say anything, he felt the words build but nothing came out of his mouth.

Ino turned her face slightly towards him, a slew of tears cascading down her cheeks, faster than before.

The male felt his mouth open and close like a fish gasping for air.

Still…nothing came out.

She pulled her hand free of his and Shikamaru felt like the earth fell out beneath him.

Ino walked away then, her shoulders hunched in, her long hair cascading over her right shoulder, her steps faltering.

Damnit.

Sakura stared at her friend, fingering her tea cup, afraid to break the silence between them.

Sarada was training and Naruto was working, so they had the house to themselves at the moment.

And Ino…well, she was falling to pieces in front of her.

“Stop staring.” The blonde grit out, bringing her glass of sake to her lips.

Sakura nodded and looked away.

She had a hunch as to what this visit was about. But, she would wait for Ino to be ready to tell her.

But, there was no reason why she couldn’t give a little…nudge in the conversation.

“You know…I felt the exact way you do right now.” Sakura started quietly.

Ino looked up at her, eyes bright and questioning.

“It’s true. When…everything happened between Naruto and I…even before the physical aspects.. I was confused. I was scared. But I knew the truth deep down.”

The blonde fiddled with her glass.

“It’s not just now, is it Ino? It’s been building?” Sakura questioned her lightly.

Blue eyes met green, and she shrugged, lower lip trembling, nostrils flaring.

Sakura reached across the table to take her hand but Ino got up, crossing her arms over her chest, staring through the kitchen window.

“Building? Yeah. I guess you could say that.” Ino murmured, trying to hold back the sob that clutched at her windpipe.

Sakura waited.

“Sai is..well, he gave me Inojin. And…attention. Granted, there wasn’t much talking between us until later on. He didn’t notice me much, yeah he called me pretty, but a lot of men did.”

Sakura chuckled lowly, taking a sip of her tea.

“A-And we’ve had good moments, great moments.” Ino muttered, digging her fingers into her arms.

Sakura just stared at her friends back, tapping quietly against her cup.

“But, why don’t they feel like enough now? Why do they seem less than what they actually were?”

Silence.

“Shikamaru was… he was always pushing me to be better than I was. Helping me be better. Standing beside me when our fathers died. Almost…taking my grief and bearing it himself.”

Sakura cocked her head, listening intently.

“And when he couldn’t bear the grief, we bore it together.”

Sakura closed her eyes, thinking of Naruto.

“And Temari…they’re perfect for each other. She’s always been tough, always strong, unlike me.” Ino muttered, feeling self hatred boil up.

Sakura blanched.

“If you’re weak, Ino, then I’m weak. It took us both time to find our forte, but we did and we’re both damn good at what we do.”

The blonde woman turned to her and smiled.

“I guess you’re right.”

Sakura leaned back in her chair, folding her arms, “I’m always right, don’t forget that.”

Silence.

Ino didn’t turn back to her after that joke and Sakura got out of her chair to go to her friend.

“I think a lot of us made some mistakes regarding what was and wasn’t good for us when we got back from war, Ino. Maybe Shikamaru feels the same, maybe Temari feels the same. I haven’t seen her around the village lately.”

The blonde turned towards her, eyes watering again.

“And does that give me the right to..what? Prey on her husband? Take him away from her and their son?”

Sakura blanched at that, feeling guilt spread through her stomach.

“I didn’t mean that as a slight to you, Sakura. Your situation with Naruto is different from mine.”

The pink haired kunoichi just nodded at the apology, but kept her eyes fastened on her best friends features.

“Ino. I’ll throw out one more time. Do you see Temari around the village that often? She’s always running off to the sand village. Well, not always. But, the last time I saw her, she…she didn’t seem like herself.”

The blonde shrugged.

“Unhappiness everywhere, I guess.” She muttered.

Sakura let that fester between them, not wanting to push the woman any further.

Ino was walking back from Sakura’s house, stopping at the flower shop to see how everything was going.

She had ownership of the shop, but had stepped back for a bit to help Sakura out at the hospital.

She missed it occasionally, loving the smell of all the flowers, and the easy glide of her day. There was no death, except those that were buying flowers for arrangement on graves here and there.

That was always a plus. She had seen enough death to last a couple lifetimes.

“Ma’am!” A voice called to her, and she looked up to see Mina coming towards her.

Ino smiled tightly, not wanting to put on a façade, but having no choice.

“Is everything alright?” The young woman asked, wiping her hands on her apron, leaving green trails behind. She must have been doing arrangements in the back.

The kunoichi waved her off, “No, nothing like that. Just stopped by to see if anything needed to be done, is everything alright?”

Mina nodded her head, but looked behind her at the clock on the wall.

“A-Actually, I know this is last minute, but I really have a really important errand to run in town, and I have to be there before they close. C-Could you by chance close the shop. I have everything done, I just finished with the fresh arrangements I’ll put out tomorrow, all you have to do now is take out the money drawer and lock the door.” She finished quickly.

Ino smiled, understanding.

“No problem, Mina. Go on ahead, I’ll take care of everything.”

She really had completed everything for tomorrow.

Ino had no problem finishing the money, locking it in the back and shutting off the back lights to the store.

While sweeping up the floor, Ino heard the bell ding signaling the front door had been opened.

“We’re closed!” She called out to them, whoever it was and kept on sweeping.

Silence.

“We’re clo-.”

“I heard you the first time.”

Shikamaru.

Ino whipped her head up and stared at him, taking in his nervousness, putting the broom against the wall.

“Why are you here?” She asked, feeling a lead weight drop in her stomach.

The man just threw up his hands, scrubbing them through his beard, sighing.

“I don’t even know, truly. I just…goddamnit Ino. I can’t…fuck.”

She raised an eyebrow.

Silence.

He looked narrowly at her.

"We weren't finished with that conversation we were having today..and you decided to leave."

Ino blanched at his veiled annoyance and shrugged. Not really knowing what else there was to say to him.

"These emotional outbursts between us aren't getting us anywhere Shikamaru. It's only making things tense, and awkward. Aren't you supposed to be the level headed, reasonable one here?"

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he smirked, chuckling lightly at something she didn't know, or understand.

Silence. His eyes staring almost blankly at the wall behind her.

“Do you know what it feels like…to…lust after another mans wife? To look at your own wife and feel…empty?”

Ino felt the wind knock out of her at his admission, not used to hearing this kind of passion from him.

“Do I know? Of course I do. Of course I know. You think you’re alone? Think your feelings are just…not noticed?” She grit out to him, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. Those dark irises sliding back over to her, burning molten into her body.

The brunette shrugged.

“What do we do?” He asked, not knowing where to go from here with his feelings regarding her or his wife. It was all confusing, and he hated it. This is one of the reasons why he didn’t bother with emotions, they were the biggest drag ever.

Ino leaned against the wall, staring at the man in front of her.

He was warring with himself, she knew what that felt like.

Kami, did she ever.

Suddenly, Ino knew what she wanted, what she needed, what they both needed.

Moving from her position, she crossed the room towards him and stopped just short of touching his person.

He was staring intently at her movements, judging them as she got closer, his dark eyes widening.

Ino couldn’t take it anymore though and leaned in, laying her lips on his, stepping into his embrace, curving a hand around the back of his neck.

It took no time at all for him to respond, his hands clutching her to him as they poured their feelings out for each other in the middle of her closed flower shop.

Fitting.

Minutes later, they broke apart, both breathing heavily, clothes rumpled from heavy petting while they kissed.

Then, there was the horror at what just happened, which quickly got washed away by the roaring lust.

Ino stepped back, her hand going to the front of her shirt, fingers plucking deftly at the buttons, her gaze never breaking his.

When she got everything undone, she shoved her shirt off, working at her bra, dropping it along with her shirt.

Her breasts were freed then, the cool air making her nipples harden.

And Shikamaru didn’t need anymore prompting.

There was no more talking, no words of understanding the situation.

No need, really.

He advanced on her, his mouth meeting hers in a frenzy he’d never felt before. He reached low and clutched her thighs, dragging her body up into his arms as he hoisted her up, full breasts rubbing against him erotically.

“Back. Take me in the back.” She muttered, feeling her womanhood throb for him.

Shikamaru nodded, voice thick with tension and arousal.

“Gladly.”

#naruto and sakura #narusaku #ino yamanaka #shikamaru nara #shikaino #my fanfiction #fanfiction

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migila · 4 years

Text

MitsuChou Week, Day 6!

Note: I cut it really close with this one, but made it in time! I actually really like this idea, and am considering making a multichapter story out of it later, with more details.

Day 6: Isekai

Chou Chou honestly had no idea how the hell did this happen. She and her team went to what was supposed to be a perfectly regular C-rank mission, escorting a wealthy merchant. All was going well; they were almost at their destination…

…And then the attack happened.

Everything had happened so quickly; she faced the enemy head on with Moegi-sensei and Shikadai while Inojin stayed back to guard their client. The enemies were weaker than she’d first thought; they were actually bringing them down pretty easily. They were winning, or more like they did win. But as they proceeded to tie them up, one woke up too soon and used a jutsu. What kind, Chou Chou had no idea. She hadn’t even seen what signs the redhaired man had done. She just remembered the light that had spread out, how Moegi-sensei had pulled Shikadai with her as she jumped, but Chou Chou herself had been too close to the source. She’d been pulled to the center of the light, and everything had gone black.

When she’d woken up, it was only her and the attacker, the later still unconscious, fortunately. When he woke up, she’d been determined to know what happened to the others, happened to her team. She’d beat the information out of him. To her relief, the man said nothing had happened to them. To her horror, the man informed her that it was them that something had happened to. According to the man, he’d sent them to a parallel universe with his jutsu. She didn’t even know what that was, but after he’d explained, she had refused to believe it.

But after she’d reached Konoha in order to get help, the man following hot on her heels, she had no choice but to believe. The village looked so different, much older. The stone faces were there, but she didn’t recognize the face, there was only one, after the Fourth Hokage. She’d seen familiar faces, tried to talk to them, but they’d had no idea who she was. Not the one who looked exactly like her uncle Shikamaru. Not the one who was like aunt Ino.

Not even the one who was a splitting image of her dad.

She’d fled the village, the redhaired man waiting for her not too far from the gates, and she’d demanded that he send her back.

But he couldn’t.

Apparently, it took him three years to gather enough chakra to cross dimensions. She was stuck.

That was two years ago.

Chou Chou had had no choice but to temporarily settle down in to this familiar yet so different world. Fortunately, the man, Nagato she learned his name was, knew the Hokage, who was aware of the man’s strange power. He’d arranged her an identity and a place in the village for the time being until she could go home.

“Hurry up, Chou Chou!” a blond boy called out. Her place in the village included placing her in a three-man team as well. She hadn’t known if she should’ve laughed or cried when she had met her new teammates.

“Yeah yeah, I’m coming” she called out as she walked over to this world’s version of Uzumaki Boruto. Yes, Boruto existed, same name and face, but the personality was different. This one wasn’t so much of a prankster and didn’t have daddy issues.

“So troublesome…” again, Chou Chou hadn’t known if she should’ve laughed or cried. She’d ended up in the same team with Nara Shikadai. He was exactly the same, inside and outside. It was heartbreaking, for as familiar as he was, he wasn’t her Shikadai.

“You’re late” said her new team leader.

“Sorry, Ino-sensei” she said. Ino looked the same too, but Chou Chou had found out that in this reality, she had married a man that wasn’t uncle Sai.

In other words, Inojin didn’t exist here.

It wasn’t just the blond artist; over the past two years, she’d also learned fast that neither did she. Or any young Akimichi heir for that matter; Chouji Akimichi of this reality had never married. Sarada’s parents were both married here too, but not to each other.

Her best friend didn’t exist, either.

Metal did, but he might as well not have; while his name and face were the same, he neither acted or dressed the way that the guy Chou Chou knew did. Iwabe was around, not all that different, but seemed to be more of a jerk than in her world. Wasabi and Namida were here, almost the same as ever. She hadn’t met Denki, Sumire or Mitsuki, but she hadn’t heard of their families either, so there was no strong reason to believe that they didn’t exist.

Not that it mattered to her either way; even if she met them, they wouldn’t be the friends she knew.

“A-rank mission, finally” Boruto breathed out, but Shikadai scowled “B-rank, idiot. It only becomes A-rank if we’re unlucky and get noticed by the wrong people, which we do not hope.”

“It can even become S-rank if we’re really unlucky” Ino pointed out “The danger of death is real here; if there were people available, the Hokage would’ve sent an all jounin team instead of a jounin and three chuunins.”

“But all’s good if we don’t get spotted, right?” Chou Chou asked, going the mission details through in her head. They were to break in to a certain S-class criminal’s assumed hiding place, steal certain documents and get the hell out of there. If they weren’t noticed, all would be perfectly fine. Even if they did get spotted, as long as the criminal, Orochimaru was the name if she wasn’t mistaking, wasn’t there himself, they could still all make it out alive. The abilities and numbers of his subordinates was unknown, but it was considered likely by the Hokage that their team could handle it. The only thing that had Chou Chou truly worried was the possibility that the man would be there.

“True enough” Ino said “But if we’re unlucky, get spotted and the boss is there, we’ll all likely fail and die.”

Chou Chou gulped, and she was sure Boruto did too.

“…He’s that strong?” the blond asked.

“Yes” Ino confirmed “Which is why I tell you this: if we get spotted by him once we already have the documents, Boruto will make a break for it with them while the rest of us try to hold the man back.”

“Wha-!?” Boruto started, but Ino cut him off: “No objections!”

“It makes sense” Shikadai spoke up, nervous sweat running down his brow, but otherwise he appeared unaffected “You’re undeniably the fastest of us, Boruto, and that way we still have a chance for success of the mission.”

Boruto no longer protested. Her Boruto would have, but not this one. Instead, he glanced at his team mates, taking a deep breath.

“Okay, let’s do this”

They left the village gates, and like every time before, Chou Chou prayed that she’d make it back, that she wouldn’t die in this world.

---------------

They managed to brake in. Chou Chou had noted in her mind that there was something familiar about the place, but quickly dismissed the idea. If she’d been here in this world, she’d remember, and she certainly hadn’t had any super dangerous missions in her world, their little adventure in the land of Earth not counting, so she couldn’t have been here in her own world, either.

…Right?

She jolted as she saw Shikadai give a signal. Someone was coming. They hid and held their breaths as two men passed. Neither were the S-class criminal, they’d been shown a photo, but it was still better to go unnoticed. And they did.

“Let’s go” Ino said quietly, and they continued on.

They got the documents, and Boruto took a hold of them as planned, just in case. So far so good; now they just had to get out.

But of course, their luck wouldn’t last. As soon as they’d stepped out of the room, they were surrounded by twenty or so people. They’d been spotted after all.

Shikadai, the most observant of them all, quickly gave them the signal they’d agreed upon beforehand. The place’s boss wasn’t around, at least for now. Good. Still, with this many enemies, Chou Chou knew what Ino’s orders would be. And sure enough, she shouted: “Boruto, go!”

The blond ran off, and Chou Chou stopped the two that tried to follow him. They all still had a chance for survival, but it was for the best to secure the mission’s success by letting Boruto go ahead.

“Even if I die young, there’s no way in hell I’m dying here!” Chou Chou roared. It was chaos all around, but she and her team held their ground. Ino of this world was differently stronger than the one in their own, which was something Chou Chou was very grateful for right about now.

But even this world’s Ino didn’t seem to see the huge explosion coming.

Chou Chou cried out as she got hit by falling debris. Blindly scrambling for safety, she lost sight of her team. When she finally stopped to catch her breath, she realized that she was alone with one of their enemies, though fortunately the man seemed to be unconscious, perhaps even dead.

“Okay, all’s good” Chou Chou muttered “Everything’s gonna be okay, I’m gonna be okay.”

She looked around, realizing that she was stuck in a rather small space, the walls having given in in both directions. She was strong enough to move some of the debris, she was sure, but she was worried of the ceiling collapsing on her.

“Ugh…”

Chou Chou froze, realizing that the enemy with her wasn’t quite as dead as she had hoped. Damn.

She’d have to kill him.

She’d killed before, in this world. It was scary, but she was a shinobi. Even if she hadn’t come to this world, she knew she would’ve had to kill eventually. Still, she always hated it.

“I’ll just get this over with” Chou Chou thought as she took out a kunai, hoping that the enemy was still at least somewhat out of it. She wanted to make this quick, both because she didn’t like to make her enemies suffer needlessly and because she didn’t want to risk a fight that would make the ceiling collapse.

As she approached, she noted that the enemy still lying on the ground looked young. And familiar. In fact, he looked a lot like-

“Mitsuki?”

---------------

When Mitsuki regained consciousness, the first thing that his mind registered was the pain. For a brief moment, he wondered what had happened, but the memories rushed back to him quickly. Juugo had noticed intruders. He’d alerted the others, and Mitsuki had joined them out of curiosity. He hadn’t planned to take part in the fight; intruders were his parent’s problem, not his, even if Orochimaru wasn’t present. However, as the blond boy who’d tried to flee on his own spotted him and attacked, he had had no choice but to fight. The guy had been good, but Mitsuki was better, getting the upper hand quickly on their short one on one. He’d had a perfect opportunity to kill the boy, but he’d plunged his kunai in the blonde’s shoulder instead. He was Orochimaru’s enemy, apparently, but not Mitsuki’s. Mitsuki did as he pleased, and killing an enemy that wasn’t his wasn’t on the list of things he wanted. However, when the boy he’d stabbed turned out to be a clone and he himself got stabbed in the side on the next second, the boy had become his enemy. Mitsuki didn’t enjoy getting stabbed.

They’d fought, and the collision of their attacks had caused an explosion, far larger than he would’ve expected. It might not have been much of a problem outside, but inside not only did the force throw him back, but the walls and the ceiling had started collapsing. He’d scrambled out of the way but, apparently, he’d hit his head at some point. Or maybe he’d lost consciousness due to blood loss, who knows. But he was alive, and right now that was enough.

“First I need to heal my injuries” he thought, attempting to reach out for the wound on his side, but found out he couldn’t move his hands. At first, he assumed them to be stuck under something since they didn’t hurt all that much, but after a moment he realized that they were tied. As were his legs.

Eyes snapping open in full alert, Mitsuki came face to face with a chubby girl eating potato chips, where the hell had she gotten those from, he wondered, that had to be one of the intruders. He could see the Konoha headband, which wasn’t good. He knew how much the Konoha shinobis hated his parent… which made him wonder, how come he wasn’t dead yet?

“Morning” the girl said with a smile after he’d opened his eyes “That’s quite bad injury; I wasn’t sure if you’d make it.”

This was not the kind of interaction Mitsuki had been expecting. Was this some new form of interrogation?

“Do you want some?” she asks, lifting up the bag of chips “Onion flavored.”

“…”

Chou Chou sweat dropped when Mitsuki didn’t react to anything she said. She had no idea what she’d been expecting him to do or say; she didn’t know how her Mitsuki would’ve reacted in this situation, either. And even if she did, this wasn’t her Mitsuki, a genin from Konoha. This was a Mitsuki who, apparently, worked for an S-class criminal.

His own parent.

While she’d been tying Mitsuki up for safety reasons, tending to his wounds too while at it of course, she’d realized why the place had seemed familiar. This was Orochimaru’s base in their world as well, the one she’d gone to with the Uchihas and Lord Seventh. And the S-class criminal they were dealing with was none other than Orochimaru, though the photo she’d seen looked way different than the person she recalled meeting.

Not that it mattered. What mattered was that Mitsuki was here. Even though he was not her Mitsuki, her annoying as hell friend, there was no way she could bring herself to kill this guy who looked so much like him. Not that she even needed to right now since they were both stuck and she had the upper hand, being less wounded and not tied up.

“Is there a reason you haven’t killed me yet?” Mitsuki asked after a while when the girl didn’t say anything. In this situation, he could still gather information. He should also try to keep her distracted, keep her talking until he figured a way to save himself.

“Is there a reason I should kill you?” she countered, much to Mitsuki’s surprise. The boy had assumed she just considered him an enemy, one of Orochimaru’s lackeys, and would try to kill him for it. But the thing is, he wasn’t. Unlike his parent, he had nothing against Konoha and wouldn’t attack its shinobi if they would just leave him alone. But apparently, his face was already in a bingo book, marked down as Orochimaru’s subordinate. And all that just because he’d been in his parent’s company when a group of anbu attacked them and he’d defended himself. If the girl didn’t know he was on Konoha’s kill list, then maybe it made sense he was still alive. Maybe she thought he was Orochimaru’s prisoner.

“I suppose not” he answered with a small smile of his own “Is there a reason I’m tied up, then?”

“Just to be safe” she said, smile still in place “I didn’t want you to attack me in fright when you woke up.”

That made sense, Mitsuki realized.

“Can you untie me, then?”

At this, Chou Chou hesitated. He seemed calm and civil, but the Mitsuki of her world was a good actor, and she was willing to bet that this one was too. Even if he seemed like he wouldn’t attack, there was no guarantee.

“I think I’ll keep playing it safe for now” she tells him “Sorry.”

Not naïve, then. Of course, she wasn’t, she was a shinobi, but Mitsuki had to try it.

Shifting a little, he took a look at the wound on his side, only to find himself bandaged. He certainly hadn’t expected that.

“Don’t move around too much; your wound could open” she tells him “Just take it easy.”

Maybe she was a bit naïve, after all. There was no way he could “take it easy” in this situation. Surely, she had to know that.

Popping the last chip to her mouth, Chou Chou tossed the empty bag away.

“Alright” she stood up, making Mitsuki tense “Back to work.”

He watched as the girl moved debris aside bit by bit carefully, always pausing to see what would collapse after each one. Seems like she prioritized getting out over getting information from him. That was good; it gave him time to wiggle his way out of his steel wire binds. They dug in to his skin painfully, but he was flexible, he could do this.

Keeping his eyes on the girl, only occasionally glancing down at his work, Mitsuki focused on not letting out any sounds of pain in order to not alert her. When his hands were finally free, he quickly untied his legs. The girl had yet to notice. Now would be a good time to sneak up on her, take her by surprise and kill her fast, but he decided against it. He wasn’t in the best shape, so he might as well allow her to do the heavy lifting for him. He’d kill her after the debris was cleared. Were he not injured, he could just knock her out or even leave her alone; she seemed somehow different from the other shinobis he’d encountered over the years and he was curious, but right now he couldn’t take any chances.

She was almost done, he saw. He could move the rest himself; now was the time to move. He got up, or he tried to, but the burning pain in his side as soon as he tried to sit up stopped him. Hand flying to the wound, he was unable to hold back the gasp of pain, alerting the young kunoichi immediately as her head turned sharply. So much for his sneaky assassination plan.

“Don’t move; your wound will open!” Chou Chou yelled, rushing over. Pushing him back down, she observed his bloody side, which was already turning even redder. The wound had indeed reopened “Shit.”

She’d already used up whatever little bandages she had with her for emergencies, so she’d have to improvise… she could make bandages out of her own clothes, but her dress was rather short as it was, so she’d rather not… but there wasn’t much of a choice.

Seeing her pull out a kunai, Mitsuki attempted to do so too, only to find out that his pouch of weapons was no longer where it was supposed to be. Of course, she had removed it. Taking a piece of debris instead, he swung it at her, but the girl dodged just in time.

“What the hell, you jerk!?” she cussed “Here I’m trying to help you and you try to smash my head open!?”

“I don’t see how you’ll help me with a kunai” Mitsuki simply said, wincing in pain as he fell back down again. The blood loss was making him dizzy.

Chou Chou gave him a hard look, but told herself to not be too unreasonable. He didn’t know her; he didn’t know she wasn’t going to harm him. The more she thought about it, the more understandable his reaction was.

“I’m just gonna make some new bandages, okay?” she says, starting to cut the hem of her dress “I already ran out of the actual ones.”

Mitsuki stared. Had she not already treated his wounds once and had she not already been cutting her clothes apart, her rather short clothes he might add, he never would’ve believed her words but currently, she was doing nothing that went against what she said.

She was interesting indeed, along with being very confusing.

The stare didn’t go unnoticed by Chou Chou.

“Would you mind being a gentleman and stop staring?” she says “I know I’m gorgeous and that it’s probably hard for guys to keep their eyes away, but you could at least try!”

“You’re delusional” Mitsuki said with a chuckle, but looked away anyway. Normally he wouldn’t even consider it, but with the girl’s irrational, amusing behavior, he found it extremely unlikely that she’d attack him now, so he considered it to be safe.

“Keep telling yourself that” Chou Chou said with a wink, one that he wouldn’t see. Her smile dropped as she realized that what he’d said was very much like something she could imagine her old friend Mitsuki saying, and it clenched painfully at her chest. She had to keep in mind that this was not her Mitsuki; this was a stranger, apparently a criminal, and she mustn’t let her guard down.

But even so, she couldn’t bring herself to abandon him.

Mitsuki didn’t fight back as the girl started to bandage him up, supporting his own bodyweight the best he could when she rewrapped the wound. As she did, the idea of killing her now briefly entered his mind. She was so close that it would be easy. His teeth were sharp; if he wanted to, all it should take would be one quick movement of his head to sink his teeth on her throat, ripping it open. It’d be so easy-

“What did I say about staring?” Chou Chou asks, finishing up her task before pulling her kimono styled dress to cover more of her front “Pervert.”

Well, Mitsuki supposed that it was natural to mistake staring at her throat for staring at her chest, at least for someone who thought so highly of herself. Perhaps the idea that he was considering the idea of slitting her throat really didn’t even cross her mind.

Lucky him, but it made him wonder the level of Konoha shinobi in general.

Maybe this really was a bad idea, Chou Chou realized. Similar as they were, her world’s Mitsuki would never get caught staring at her like that. While he could be a jerk sometimes, he did have a certain set of manners… or maybe he was just more subtle in order to not get in to trouble?

“Urgh, now’s not the time to be thinking of this!” she scolded herself. She had more pressing matters to address, mainly what she should do now. Should she just leave Mitsuki there and walk away? That might be the safest option for her, but what about him? What if the wound was worse than she thought and he didn’t get help in time? What if the ceiling collapsed on him? What if someone from her team stumbled upon him and killed him in his nearly defend less state!?

“I can’t leave him here” she realized with finality. Taking a deep breath, she swung his arm over her shoulder, apologizing when he hissed in pain.

“What are you doing?” Mitsuki asks, though at this point, he feels like he has an idea.

“I can’t just leave you here with the ceiling in the danger of collapsing” she tells him. He had expected something along those lines, though the possibility of her taking him along as a hostage had also crossed his mind. Who knows, maybe that was the case and he was being tricked.

“No” he decided “She’s not smart enough.”

With that in mind, Mitsuki decides to let her support him and lead the way.

Especially since she didn’t seem to realize that she was walking deeper in to his home, not away from it. Unless the whole place was in shambles, she’d be trapped soon enough.

This was going to be interesting.

---------------

“Told ya she’d get caught too” Chou Chou heard Boruto say after she was literally thrown in to a cell, the door locking behind her. The girl glared at him, though she supposed that this time his lack of faith in her was well earned. Just how had she let herself get ambushed like that?! It’d been three plus Mitsuki on one, so her loss wasn’t unexpected, but it still irked her. As did the amused look Mitsuki had had on his face after she’d been defeated and his friends, or whatever they were, tied her up.

“Shut up Boruto” Shikadai snarled “You were supposed to run!”

“I did!” the blond protested “…Well, I tried.”

“We all messed up” she heard Ino say, much to her surprise. She hadn’t seen the older woman; apparently, their teacher was somewhere behind her “But it’s too early to give up.”

“How come none of us are dead yet?” Chou Chou couldn’t help but ask. She felt like that’d be something that they’d do, even if they kept one or two of them alive for information.

“Apparently, they want to leave it up to their boss to decide what to do with us” Shikadai said “That’ll give us some time to think of an escape plan, at least. Though if he gets here before we get out…”

“Then it’s game over” Chou Chou realized, gulping “Please tell me you have a plan.”

Turns out he didn’t.

---------------

Mitsuki sighed in relief, finally free from Karin’s worried fussing. Not that she didn’t have a reason to worry, but it had still been annoying. Besides, his mind was stuck on other things. Other people. One person in particular.

“I didn’t catch her name” he realized, afterwards wondering why it even mattered to him. Well, he supposed he was curious by nature. Still, it wasn’t what was on the front of his mind right now. Instead, he was wondering about the kunoichi’s actions before getting caught.

When they were surrounded by his comrades, he had expected her to use him as a living shield. The idea of her slitting his throat on the spot so that she could get rid of at least one enemy had also crossed his mind, but instead of doing either, she’d pushed him aside, seeming to try being careful, almost like she was trying not to hurt him, before lunging in to the fight. Fight that hadn’t lasted long, which was no surprise as the shinobi was badly outnumbered, not to mention their side had Suigetsu, who was one of their strongest. He’d dragged the kunoichi away while Mitsuki had been taken to Karin. Now that he was patched up, he wondered what had happened to the girl. Was she still alive? Knowing the people around the base, probably not, unless they were in mood for some torture. But he supposed it wouldn’t hurt to check.

Getting up, he immediately winced. Turns out it would hurt to check; moving hurt.

“No pain, no gain” Mitsuki muttered wryly, proceeding to gather some information. It wasn’t too hard. He found Juugo quickly, who told him they were waiting for Orochimaru’s decision and had all four prisoners locked up and alive. He supposed it made sense; his parent could use some more material for his experiments. Or something to annoy Konoha with. Or just someone to torture. Prisoners had a lot of uses, after all.

Finding out the exact location of the prisoners, he slowly made his way to them, wondering what he’d see. Would the kunoichi act the same with her comrades around? Did she do things like this often, or would they be surprised if he revealed how she’d treated him? Would they believe him if he did and she denied it? It would make sense for them to not believe; he was the enemy after all.

“There’s always the chance that her naïve personality was just a well-done act” he reminded himself “Very well-done act.”

Be it this or that, he wanted to make sure of it himself.

---------------

“…Still no ideas?” Chou Chou asks, making Shikadai sigh.

“Again, no”

“And you’re supposed to be a genius…” the girl muttered, and it clearly irked Shikadai.

“Why do I need to be the one to come up with something?” he asked “You know what? If you want a plan then here’s one: you always go on about how gorgeous you are, so how about seducing a guard to make him let us out of here!?”

“Shikadai!” Ino yelled, scandalized “Stop that!”

“Not that she’d be able to…” Boruto muttered, eyeing Chou Chou up and down with the girl staring back, unamused “No offence, but since it’s you…”

“No offence my ass, Boruto” she snapped.

“But there’s some idea in that plan” Ino says with a sigh “I’ll try it.”

“You’re married” Chou Chou points out.

“And you’re a child” Ino shot back “This is for the mission; it’s a natural course of action to take.”

Her three students exchanged glances, but didn’t argue further.

When the door opens, Chou Chou can’t help but think that she could try going with Shikadai’s original plan, for Mitsuki was at the door. As gorgeous as Ino-sensei was, the younger kunoichi was convinced she was too old to get Mitsuki’s attention in the slightest.

“You!?” Boruto asks “I thought I took you down already!”

“Almost” Mitsuki admitted with a coy smile “But I got help in time.”

Chou Chou gulped, wondering if he’d rat her out. For a split second their eyes locked, and the girl was quick to look away, praying he’d keep his mouth shut.

The girl’s reactions were enough to tell Mitsuki that the girl had indeed helped him out of good will, without having permission from her team. Very interesting.

“Well next time you won’t be so lucky” Boruto told him.

“Don’t provoke him!” Shikadai hissed, but Mitsuki ignored him, turning his attention to Boruto. Tilting his head, he asks: “What makes you think there’ll be a next time?”

Boruto doesn’t answer, and they stare at each other. Mitsuki takes out a kunai, walking towards the blond. While the rest were Orochimaru’s enemies, this one had stabbed him, which made him Mitsuki’s enemy as well. This was personal.

“Stop!” Chou Chou calls without thinking, and to everyone’s surprise, the boy actually does stop in his tracks. Turning to look at the girl, he asks: “Why?”

“Why?” she echoes.

“Why should I stop?” he clarifies patiently, tilting his head with a small, curious smile on his face “Why should I not kill someone who attacked me?”

“Ah… um…” so it was Boruto who had stabbed him. Damn, he was always causing trouble! “Well… uh…”

Mitsuki tilted his head, patiently waiting for the girl to come up with something. Depending on what she said, he might actually choose to not kill her friend. He didn’t have a permission to do so anyway, but he wasn’t really a fan of rules. If he wanted to kill someone, he’d kill someone, even if Orochimaru wouldn’t like it. Not that he’d get in to too much trouble; there’d still be three more prisoners, and it’s not like his parent even knew about any of them yet.

“Well… you could be the better person here?” Chou Chou says uncertainly. That was all she could think up; to give him a chance to consider himself better than Boruto. She saw Mitsuki blink, still looking at her with that same smile, but he wasn’t making a move to attack anyone. She supposed that was a good sign.

“What if I don’t care if I’m the better person or not?” he asks, smiling at the girl’s dumbfounded look.

“Well… that’s…” she seemed to be thinking hard. Mitsuki weighted his options. He could just go and kill his enemy now, but if he did that, he doubted the situation would stay the same. The kunoichi would get mad for sure, and there’d go his entertainment. He didn’t want that, but would it be worth of getting rid of his enemy?

“I can always kill him later” he thought, chuckling as he put his kunai back, walking towards Chou Chou instead.

“Hey! Stay away from her!” Boruto shouted, but Chou Chou wasn’t too worried, if not a little nervous. She’d already gotten him to leave Boruto alone, for now at least, which was a good sign. Maybe this Mitsuki did indeed listen to reason.

“Why?” Mitsuki asks, looking at Boruto over his shoulder, smirking “Are you afraid I’ll steal your girl?”

The reactions are immediate. Boruto sputters, but Chou Chou barely notices it as she bursts out laughing, finding the idea way too funny. Also, a little disturbing, but mostly funny. Her and Boruto? Her and Boruto!? No way, never, not in this world nor hers! Even Mitsuki of her world would have a better chance with her than either Boruto!

Mitsuki watched her, amused. It was just a simple jab that he hadn’t really been expecting any reaction to, but this was certainly interesting. Then again, maybe he shouldn’t be so surprised. She seemed to be like this all the time; at this point, he highly doubted it’d be some kind of trick.

Swiping out a kunai, he ignored the shouts of the three shinobi, noting that oddly enough, it was the girl who stayed calm, although her eyes were fixed on the weapon as well. He cut the ropes on her legs, again taking note of how unconcerned she looked when he brought the weapon closer, though he did notice her tense.

“Come with me” he says “If you cause trouble, I might as well kill one of them, so I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“And if I kill you, your friends will kill us” Chou Chou added with a raised eyebrow. Mitsuki smiled “Exactly.”

“Chou Chou, don’t follow him!” Ino said sternly. Normally, the girl would’ve listened to her team leader, but she was dealing with Mitsuki now. She’d take a gamble. Besides, what’s the worst thing that could happen, considering their current situation? At the very worst, death might just come a little earlier, not that she believed Mitsuki planned to kill her. She just had to make sure she wouldn’t give him a reason to, either.

“No worries, I got this!” she says as she stands up wobbly, her body sore and her hands still tied behind her “I know what I’m doing.”

Mitsuki wondered what the girl, Chou Chou, they’d said her name was, meant. Did she have a plan or was she simply trying to reassure her friends? If the former, then he was sure she was up to something amusing. This would be fun.

Kunai still in hand, he led her outside of the cell, this time ignoring the blonde’s shouts of kicking his ass if he did anything to her. The guards gave him questioning looks, but didn’t try to stop him. Perks of being the boss’s son.

Chou Chou kept eyeing the route they were taking, attempting to memorize it and look for possible ways to escape. She knew that if she made a run for it now, she’d probably get away from the wounded boy behind her and if she got lucky, she might even be able to sneak out. However, that was not an option with her friends still inside. If she went to get help on her own, they’d probably kill everyone else so that there’d be no one left to save.

“But if I can get Mitsuki to our side, he can help us escape” that’d be ideal, but how would she do that?

“In here” Mitsuki said, pushing a door open before shoving Chou Chou forward. It was a small push; had the girl not wanted to move, she could’ve easily stayed put. But she didn’t.

Observing the space, she saw it was completely empty. Weird. Pushing that thought aside, she looked at Mitsuki who’d just closed the door and was now standing in front of it, staring at her. She decided to wait for him to tell her what he wanted, but as time ticked by and he just kept staring, Chou Chou started to get a little unnerved.

“What?” she finally asked, unable to help herself.

Mitsuki smiled, having wanted to see how long she’d stay quiet if he didn’t say anything. She’d lasted longer than he’d expected.

“When you told me not to kill your friend, I was expecting you to say that I could spare him to return the favor” he says “Why didn’t you? Did you not want your team to find out that you helped an enemy?”

Chou Chou stares, her mouth slightly gaping. Right, she could have tried that!

…But even if that was an option…

Mitsuki stares at the girl, who now looks surprised.

“Could it be?” he smiles “It didn’t even occur to you, did it?”

Chou Chou blushes, and that is all the proof Mitsuki needs. His smile widening, he points out: “You’re not very smart, are you?”

Her blush deepens. She’s interesting to watch alright.

“Well excuse me for not being a genius!” she hisses, and Mitsuki almost points out that it doesn’t take a genius to consider something like that, but ends up keeping his mouth shut anyway. Basking in his amusement, he almost misses the girl’s next words “…Even if I had thought about it, it wouldn’t have been right.”

“Right?” he repeats, puzzled.

“It’s not right to help someone just to get help myself” Chou Chou huffed. It was at that moment that she remembered what Mitsuki was like in their academy days. He’d seemed to have very little sense of right or wrong, using Boruto as a moral compass. But this Mitsuki had had no such influence-

“Oh boy” she realized, paling “I might be in a far bigger trouble than I thought.”

Mitsuki blinked as the girl’s face suddenly got a lot paler. That too was interesting, but also puzzling as he couldn’t think what could’ve scared her so just now. He shifted his stance a little, and did not miss how Chou Chou took a step back at that exact moment. Curious, he took a step forward, only to see her taking another step back. Interesting. Normally, it would’ve been a logical thing for her to do, but the change in her behavior had been very sudden. Why did she seem so much more afraid of him out of the blue?

With every step that Mitsuki took forward, Chou Chou took back. Why had he gotten so menacing right after she realized how much trouble she was in? It was like he was reading her mind!

“Or maybe my worry was just shown on my face” she gulped “Damn.”

The girl yelped as her back hit the wall, but Mitsuki was still advancing on her, taking his time. Or maybe he just walked slowly because of his injuries. Regardless, he ended up reaching her, standing right in front of her. She could see that he seemed a little confused, like he was thinking of something. Right now, she wasn’t all that sure that she’d want to know what that something was.

She was afraid; Mitsuki knew. He wondered what she’d do if he extended his hand. Her options were limited as her hands were still tied, but she could try to run; there was enough space to her left. She could try to swipe him off his feet, she could headbutt him or bite his hand. She could cover in fright, too, and that was starting to feel like the most likely option. Curiosity getting the best of him, he decided to do just that.

As Chou Chou saw a very familiar twinkle in Mitsuki’s eyes, she froze. It was the look he, well, the other he, tended to have when he was making fun of her. Fear overtaken by a familiar annoyance that she hadn’t really felt in a couple of years, she cast him a fierce glare, not moving an inch.

Mitsuki froze in turn, again not understanding the sudden change. They stared at each other for a good while before Chou Chou raised an eyebrow, asking: “What? You afraid I’m gonna bite or something?”

Withdrawing his hand, Mitsuki confessed: “That did occur to me, yes.”

Chou Chou tried, and ultimately failed, to hold in the chuckle, which turned in to full laughter in no time. She was laughing so hard that she was doubling over, having to squat down.

Mitsuki blinked, completely baffled, yet he was unable to keep a smile from forming on his face, soon laughing as well. He had no idea what she was laughing about, but it was infectious. She, with her very presence, made him laugh.

Chou Chou noticed this, and it only made her laugh harder, his laughter fueling her own. When she finally calmed down, he’d already stopped. It still took her a minute to regain her composure, but when she did, only one thought was in her head.

What now?

“Why did you bring me here?” she asks, and Mitsuki has to wonder the same. Why indeed? He could’ve just talked with her in the cell… but would she have been the way she is now in front of her comrades? Probably not, and he decided that was the reason why.

“I wonder…” he muttered instead, and Chou Chou recognized that smile; usually, it meant that someone would get in trouble. And she was the only one with him now “Why do you think?”

“…” part of Chou Chou’s earlier wariness returning, she chose not to say anything. If she gave him nothing, he could not be angered by it or use it against her.

“…” she was wary, Mitsuki realized. Even though she’d been laughing so hard just now…

…

She was an enigma, alright.

His silence was unnerving her, so much so that Chou Chou started to wonder if her not saying anything would anger him. Gosh, what a mess she’d gotten herself in to!

“Well…” she started uncertainly “Maybe you wanted information? Why we’re here, how many of us came… and stuff?”

Mitsuki chuckles.

“I already know what you were after and that it’s just the four of you” he said “And if I wanted more information, the fastest way to get some would be torture.”

He said it so casually that Chou Chou almost thought he was joking. Almost.

“…Then I have no idea” aside from one, but she found it very unlikely.

“In a way, you could say that I do want information” he said, smiling “You are rather peculiar. I’m interested to know how someone can be… like that.”

It sounded like an insult, but she wasn’t sure if it was one or not. Her Mitsuki tended to use the same word of her, so maybe it wasn’t? Either way, getting angry at him wouldn’t help her. Taking a deep breath, she decides to try to forget where she is and that she’s in the company of an enemy. It’s a move that could turn out to be fatal, but it’d help her think, and she’d yet to abandon the idea of trying to get Mitsuki to side with her. Sitting down on the ground, she says: “I don’t really know what you mean by “like that.” I’m just being the way I always am.”

“Hm” Mitsuki hummed, sitting down as well “Interesting.”

“You’re not exactly normal either you know” the girl said. She saw Mitsuki blink “Who just pulls along an enemy for a casual chat?”

“Who joins their enemy for a casual chat?” Mitsuki shot back. Chou Chou rolled her eyes “I’m tied up, unarmed and in a heavily guarded enemy territory. What other choice do I have?”

Mitsuki realized that she was right; she wasn’t here because she wanted to be, not in the least. Somehow, he found that realization slightly depressing.

“But you don’t seem like a bad person, so it’s not like I mind” she said, much to Mitsuki’s surprise. He couldn’t doubt the sincerity behind that smile “What did you want to talk about?”

For starters, there was one thing he wanted to confirm. He knew things about Konoha’s most powerful clans, and judging from her body shape-

“You’re from the Akimichi clan, aren’t you?” he asks, and the reaction is instant as her eyes widen, a hint of panic forming in them.

“No” Chou Chou quickly denies. There were people in the village who’d come to the same conclusion, but with her and the clan denying, had quickly dropped it. She hadn’t expected it to come up here “I’m not.”

Mitsuki smirks.

“I think you’re lying” he says, and the paling of her face is all telling “Unless, of course, you’re not officially part of the clan. An illegitimate child, perhaps?”

Chou Chou doesn’t answer. His guess is so close, yet still so far. It made her wonder if some people in this world who she had gotten to know actually thought the same but kept their mouths shut.

“I’m not” she said “Do not tarnish the Akimichi name with such accusations.”

Mitsuki tilted his head to the side with a coy smile.

“Why so defensive of them?”

Chou Chou glared, refusing to say more on the subject. She couldn’t let anything slip.

Mitsuki’s smile faded at the girl’s glare. If he tried to press her on the subject, she might not be as willing to talk anymore. Better change it.

“Which clan are you from, then, miss Chou Chou?”

She was momentarily surprised he knew her name, but then realized it must’ve been because he’d heard her friends calling for her.

“…None” she decided to answer, for it was true in this world “I have no clan.”

“She’s lying” Mitsuki found himself thinking. For whatever reason, she was keeping the clan she belonged to as a secret; he could see it from her eyes.

But even so, he decides to leave it be, for it’s her he has interest in, not her clan.

“What about you?” she asks “What clan do you come from?”

“I don’t know” he answers honestly “It’s just me and my parent left, and he doesn’t talk about our clan in the slightest.”

“I see” she hums “So is your parent Orochimaru?”

She probably shouldn’t have asked, Chou Chou realized as she saw the alert, which was soon taken over by cautiousness, in Mitsuki’s eyes.

“How did you know?”

Fortunately, she had an excuse formed.

“Just a hunch based on your behavior” she said “You don’t seem like someone who’d work for a man like Orochimaru, yet here you are. Blood ties seemed like the most logical reason.”

Mitsuki stared. Her logic was so simple and full of flaws, yet she got it right on the first try.

“I shouldn’t even be surprised anymore” he thought “Even if I don’t work for him, being his son makes me your enemy.”

“Does it?” she asks, much to his surprise “My enemies are the ones who hurt my friends or my village. You haven’t done so as far as I know” she pauses “Well you did clash out with Boruto, but he can be a jerk sometimes so he might even have deserved it. Plus, he’s fine, so it doesn’t really count.”

Mitsuki stares at her smiling face, again so sincere. He chuckles.

“I suppose it doesn’t” he admits. Then, he asks her something that he has always been wondering “What’s Konoha like?”

“Konoha?” she echoes, and he nods. He knows some things, things he’s heard by coincidence, and some things his parent has told, though those aren’t much, for the man hated his former home. But Mitsuki was interested.

“Well, it’s lively” Chou Chou starts, proceeding to tell him what he wants to know. She tells about the views, the places, the people, careful to make sure she talks about this world’s Konoha. Few times she slips with certain details, but he doesn’t notice, he can’t tell the difference. When he asks a question, she answers. Some of the things she says make him laugh, including some that weren’t intended to do so. She pouts when that happens, knowing he’s partly laughing at her, but she’s not angry, not really. She was having fun; she hadn’t talked this freely since she ended up in this world.

“You really love Konoha, don’t you?” he asks suddenly.

“Yeah…” Chou Chou says, but to Mitsuki, she looks sad “But... it’s not really home.”

“It’s not your home?” he echoes, confused.

“Well, it is now, but it’s not where I’m from” she mutters, and he can hear that the joy has departed from her voice “But I can’t go back home yet…”

He’s curious, he wants to ask why, but he’s sure she won’t tell even if he does. She refused to talk about her clan, so he highly doubts she’d speak about her home, either.

He’s brought out of his thoughts by a loud growl. He jolts, jumping to his feet and wincing at the pain in his side before drawing out a kunai, looking around.

“Relax, that was just my stomach” Chou Chou said with a snort. Mitsuki looks at her in disbelief, his mouth dropping open in to a small “o.” Then, unable to stop himself, he starts laughing, hard, wincing again as it hurts his wound.

“It’s not that funny!” Chou Chou snaps with a blush.

“I have to disagree” Mitsuki says after he gets his laughter under control. Putting his kunai back, he says: “I’ll go get you something to eat.”

He’s already at the door before the girl can react.

“Stay here” he says before he goes “For your own safety.”

The door clicks shut, and Chou Chou hears it lock. She’s not sure if that just now was a threat or if he was simply warning her about his comrades. She considers disobeying, but decides against it, knowing that she wouldn’t get far.

Mitsuki comes back soon enough, and Chou Chou wonders if he’s going to untie her or if he’s planning to feed her. Normally, she would never allow the later, but right now she’s really hungry.

Mitsuki puts down the lunch box he’d swiped from Karin, knowing that he’ll be her last suspect when she notices it’s gone. He just hopes it has something Chou Chou likes.

“Turn around” he says “I’ll untie you.”

“Right” Chou Chou says, relieved. Having to be fed by him would’ve been awkward.

She opens the small lunch box, finding rice balls. Yummy.

Smiling happily, she starts eating. After being done with half of them, she asks: “Aren’t you going to have some?”

“I don’t eat” he replies simply. Chou Chou shrugs “More for me, then.”

As she keeps eating, Mitsuki wonders what to do from here. He would like to just continue speaking with her, he wanted to know more, but he knew that wouldn’t do. Even if no one found them here, his parent would be back eventually and find out there was a fourth prisoner as well. He’d want to know what Mitsuki’s been up to, and he’d kill Chou Chou, unless he had a way to make her useful. But Mitsuki didn’t like either option, so that left-

“I can get you out of here” he told her just as the girl finished the last rice ball.

“Huh?” Chou Chou was surprised. She had aimed to get an ally out of him, but this easily… “How?”

“Right out the door” Mitsuki smiled “With my parent gone, we only need to avoid his three most trusted men. None of the others will question me even if they see me with a prisoner.”

That could work, Chou Chou knew. If she got out, she could go get help… the problem was that she didn’t believe she’d manage to do that in time to save the others.

“I’m not leaving without my team” she told, firm and simple. Mitsuki frowned.

“I can’t let that many people out without it being suspicious” he said “And I’m not interested in doing so, either.”

“Looks like I’m staying, then” she said, standing up “I’m not abandoning them.”

Mitsuki stood up too, wondering what such determination to protect someone felt like, what it felt like to be protected. He knew that he wouldn’t put himself in such a risk if his parent or any of his subordinates got caught by the enemy, and he highly doubted any of them would take the risk for him, either. Why were they so different? Perhaps finding out would be worth a risk?

“Alright then” he said, smiling “I’ll sneak all four of you out.”

Chou Chou stared. Was it really this easy, or was he leading her in to a trap?

“No… don’t doubt, not now” she told herself “Even if it turns out to be a trap, this is the best chance you’ll get.”

And probably the only chance.

“I trust you” she says, hoping that it really was the right move.

---------------

Mitsuki knocks down the guards before they can even realize what he’s up to. As Chou Chou opens the door to the cell, she sees the relieved faces of her friends.

“Chou Chou, you’re okay!” Boruto says in relief.

“Of course, I am” she says as she runs in to the cell, kunai in hand “We have to hurry.”

“Did you knock out the guards?” Ino asks from behind her as she releases Shikadai and moves on to Boruto. Chou Chou bites her lip before muttering: “Well… not exactly…”

“We need to hurry” she hears Mitsuki say from the door, and recently released Shikadai jumps, immediately attempting to catch him with his shadow, but misses and ends up with a kunai held to his throat. Smiling, Mitsuki says: “Please don’t give me a reason to kill you.”

“Hey, cut it out!” Boruto yells, about to lunge at the pale boy, but is stopped by Chou Chou “No Boruto, you cut it out!”

Her team looks at her in confusion, so she hurries to explain: “He’s helping us escape, so don’t pick a fight with him!”

Shikadai looks down at the kunai almost pressed against his skin. Chou Chou knows that look; it’s calculative, he’s going over his options. She hopes he won’t do anything stupid.

“I see. I’m sorry, then” he says, but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. Chou Chou wonders if Mitsuki notices this “Could you move that, please?”

It takes a few seconds too long for Chou Chou’s liking, but eventually, the weapon is removed. She sighs in relief, moving to help Ino. After the woman is free, they all leave the cell with Mitsuki in the lead.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ino asks Chou Chou in a hushed whisper.

“This is the best we can get” Chou Chou says back “So I’m gonna trust him.”

“How did Chou Chou manage this?” she heard Boruto ask Shikadai, though it seemed like it was supposed to be a whisper “Could it be that she actually used your plan and it worked!?”

Chou Chou’s face heated up and she cast Boruto a glare, which he answered with a sheepish smile. Shikadai however, was watching her thoughtfully.

“Chou Chou, be honest” he said “Did you?”

“Of course not, asshole!” she yells at him, immediately getting shushed by the others, Mitsuki included “Sorry…”

“What I don’t understand is why are you helping us” Shikadai addressed Mitsuki, but the pale boy just shrugs.

“I felt like it’d be fun” he says.

“You’re betraying Orochimaru for fun?” Boruto asks in disbelief, but Mitsuki shakes his head “I don’t work for him in the first place.”

Chou Chou would really like to know what the others are thinking right now.

“Then why are you even here? Why did you attack me!?”

“I didn’t; you attacked me first, so I defended myself” Mitsuki points out as he looks over his shoulder, a slight frown on his face “And I’m here because my parent is here.”

Chou Chou prays that he won’t mention who his parent is.

“So… you’re not a criminal?” Boruto asks, and Mitsuki shakes his head before turning his attention forward again as they sneak through the mazelike hallways.

“But your face is in a bingo book” the blond argues.

“Because I defended myself against the shinobi that attacked me while I was in the company of my parent” he says simply “I have no desire to cause trouble for Konoha or it’s shinobi, aside from the ones who cause trouble for me.”

Everyone goes quiet, and Chou Chou wonders if they believe him. Eventually, Boruto asks: “What’s your name?”

Chou Chou gasps, realizing that she hadn’t asked. Thank god she hadn’t said his name on accident!

“Mitsuki” he replies, suddenly extending his hand “Halt.”

Mitsuki hears their footsteps stop, obeying him, but his attention is focused on Suigetsu, who’s loitering at the front door, possibly waiting for Orochimaru. He wonders how to go about this. Could he distract the man enough for the four to slip past? Should they go past by force? He didn’t want to risk alerting others and truth to be told, he didn’t want to harm Suigetsu, either…

“We need another way out” he finally says.

“Or we can just knock that guy out” Boruto suggests, but Mitsuki stays firmly on his decision “No one’s harming him.”

“Hey, you might not be a criminal, but that doesn’t apply to whoever is guarding the door, right?” Boruto tries to reason “We can just kick his ass!”

Chou Chou shifts uncomfortably, afraid that Boruto’s going to piss off Mitsuki and cost them their chance at escaping. One look at Ino and Shikadai tells her that they’re probably thinking of the same thing.

“Kick who’s ass?” they all, even Mitsuki, jump. He whirls around, only to meet the gaze of amused Suigetsu. They were caught “Well?”

Boruto dashes forward, but Mitsuki trips him before he can reach Suigetsu.

“Suigetsu” he greets with a wide smile “Mind letting us pass?”

“What if I say no?”

“Then I’ll make you” Mitsuki says, the smile not leaving his face. It’s a bluff, but he knows Suigetsu won’t take the risk; his parent has made it clear to them all that Mitsuki is not to be harmed.

Suigetsu sighs.

“You’re lucky that I’m not allowed to harm you” he says “Fine, shoo. But don’t think for a second that Orochimaru won’t hear about this!”

“I won’t” he says “Let’s go.”

Chou Chou sees how Ino hastily pulls Boruto, who’s eyeing Suigetsu suspiciously, along as they flee from the door. And then they run.

---------------

After what felt like hours, Chou Chou has no idea how long it’s actually been, they all stop running. Mitsuki is still among them.

“I think… we’re safe for now…” Ino says, out of breath “Let’s take a short break.”

Everyone collapses on the ground, trying to catch their breaths.

“We actually made it out…” Shikadai mutters as he stares at the clouds “Weird.”

Chou Chou notices that Boruto is staring at Mitsuki.

“What are you going to do now?” the blond asks “You were seen; you’ll be in danger if you go back.”

“I’ll manage; this isn’t the first time I cause trouble” Mitsuki says with a chuckle, wondering what his parent would have in store for him. He’d probably get off rather easy since these weren’t people that Orochimaru had specifically wanted captured.

“You sure about that?” Shikadai joins the conversation, also looking at Mitsuki “I think you should run away.”

“I’ll be fine” Mitsuki insists, turning to look at them “And if I’d run away, I’d have to defend myself from all the shinobi on my own.”

��Can’t we get him off of the Bingo book somehow, Ino-sensei?” Chou Chou asks, knowing from the looks on their faces that she has surprised everyone “He’s not a bad guy.”

Ino stares at her, before glancing at Mitsuki.

“…I’ll have a word with the Hokage, but I can’t promise anything” she says “Honestly, what I should do is to capture or kill you right now, but I think we can all pretend there was no chance to do so.”

Mitsuki blinks.

“Agreed” Shikadai says.

“Hell yeah!” Boruto.

Chou Chou just smiles, looking at Mitsuki, who gives a small smile back. Her smile fades as he stands up.

“I must go” no one tries to stop him. Before leaving, he looks at Chou Chou one last time “I’m glad to have met you, Miss Chou Chou.”

“Likewise, Mitsuki” she says with a grin. When the boy is out of sight and far away for sure, she says: “That guy’s totally in to me.”

No one tries to deny it.

---------------

It had been three weeks since she met Mitsuki, and now she was on another dangerous mission. Again, things didn’t look too good. Ino-sensei? Down. Boruto? Down. Shikadai? Nowhere to be seen. She still had energy, having arrived later than the others as she’d been guarding the other side of the valley, but she wouldn’t last forever, plus there were too many enemies. Unless Shikadai showed up soon and in good health, she was screwed.

She noticed the enemy coming from the left with a sword drawn, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to dodge as she was too busy holding back another one. He’d get a hit in, there was no avoiding it.

“C’mon, Shikadai, please come!” he didn’t, yet Chou Chou heard metal clinking against metal. She saw the back of a kimono shirt, and the light blue hair accompanying it was all-telling.

“MItsuki!?” she breathed out in disbelief.

“Hello Miss Chou Chou” he said before slitting the stunned enemy’s throat, moving on to the one Chou Chou was fighting right after, but that one managed to dodge “I see you’ve gotten yourself in some trouble.”

She scowled, and he didn’t miss it.

“Would you like some help?” he asks, smiling. Chou Chou blinks, staring at him for a while, but decides to not to look at the gift horse’s mouth “Sure.”

Mitsuki is strong, she soon learns, stronger than in her world. Or maybe it’s just because he’s older; she’s stronger than few years back too, after all. Together, they actually manage to take down the enemies, though neither of them gets out unharmed, either.

“Finally” Chou Chou says as she collapses, having just taken down the last enemy. She winches, the large gash on her left arm rapidly bleeding.

“Let me see” Mitsuki commands as he walks over, and Chou Chou obeys without a second thought. Turns out this Mitsuki is a medical ninja, and he manages to stop her bleeding rather quickly, before wrapping her arm up in bandages.

“Thanks” she says. Looking around, she sees Boruto and Ino still in the same places they’d collapsed in to, hopefully still alive. Wanting to find out, she walks over to Ino. There is still pulse, and her injuries don’t seem deadly. Thank god.

“This one’s alive” Mitsuki calls out and Chou Chou sees he’s gone over to Boruto. She doesn’t have the time to relax before Mitsuki continues: “But not for long if nothing’s done to that headwound.”

“Shit!” Chou Chou curses as she rushes over, checking the injury. Her limited medical knowledge wouldn’t cut it “Mitsuki, can you help him?”

For a moment he doesn’t move, and Chou Chou fears that this was the extent of how much help she’d get, but then he moves his hands to Boruto’s head, much to her relief.

“He’ll live” Mitsuki said after he was finished “As will the other one at the entrance to the valley, but it’ll be a while before he can walk again.”

Chou Chou froze. Shikadai!

“You mean Shikadai?” she asks, but clarifies at Mitsuki’s questioning look “The guy that was with the three of us last time.”

“Yes, him” the boy confirms “The fight was over when I got there, but he’d somehow managed to evade death.”

Chou Chou sighs in relief.

Mitsuki stares at the girl, amused. Unlike the boy, Shikadai she’d said, she hadn’t seemed to think even for a second that he’d be an enemy. She’d accepted his help without hesitation, like he was one of them, and even asked for his help. It was weird, but the feeling he got from it was… nice.

“She truly is something else” he muses.

“I need to get to Shikadai” Chou Chou decides, picking Boruto up “Can you bring Ino-sensei?”

“Of course” he says, going to pick up the woman. Really, it’d be easy to kill her, kill them all, doesn’t the kunoichi realize that? Doesn’t she even consider the possibility? He wondered how someone so naïve had lasted this long as a shinobi.

---------------

“Shikadai!” Chou Chou cheers as she sees the boy slowly limping towards them, bloody and out of breath, but still alive.

“Chou Chou” he breathes “How are the others?”

“They’ll be fine, and the enemy’s down” she says “No worries; mission accomplished!”

Shikadai smiles before his sceptic gaze turns to Mitsuki, who has a calm smile on his face, but who is also eyeing him. Chou Chou sweat drops, realizing that the two men are pondering if the other is a threat.

“C’mon you two, we’re all friends here!”

Raising an eyebrow as he turns to her, Mitsuki asks: “We are?”

Chou Chou sighs.

“Why are you here?” Shikadai asks, and Mitsuki’s attention returns to him.

“I was simply passing by on my way home” he answers as he puts Ino down “I have no intention to cause trouble -unless you plan to attack me, that is.”

Shikadai stared, but then he smirked.

“Think I’ll pass on that; it’d be too troublesome” he says “Thanks for the help.”

Chou Chou smiles, relieved.

“Don’t mention it” Mitsuki says, turning to Chou Chou “I’ll see you again, Miss Chou Chou.”

He runs off, the two staring after him. Chou Chou had not missed how he’d only addressed her. She chuckles.

“Honestly, that guy’s so- “

“Smitten with you” Shikadai finishes for her with a snort “We were saved because of that, I think, but in case you do encounter him again, be careful.”

“He’s not a bad guy, Shikadai” Chou Chou said, a slight blush on her face, caused by someone else saying it out loud.

“Let’s hope you’re right” the boy sighs “Otherwise things might get troublesome for you.”

---------------

That was far from the last time Chou Chou saw Mitsuki. She had a few more dangerous missions that went wrong and he showed up to help, which she was grateful for, but he also appeared randomly during some of her easier missions, coming to sight the moment she was alone, once even when she had night watch and her team was asleep right around her. It’s not that she minded, in fact she enjoyed his company. She could be herself with him without fearing any consequences. The thing that worried her was the possibility of getting in trouble for being seen with him.

Or to be exact, being seen by someone else than her team members. Those three had caught them red handed at least once each already, and she wouldn’t be surprised if she had missed some times. She wasn’t worried about Boruto; he was actually becoming friends with Mitsuki, which was good since she wouldn’t be around forever. Shikadai and Ino-sensei however…

“Chou Chou, you need to cut ties with that boy” Ino said “Even if his name is no longer in the bingo book, he’s still considered a suspicious individual. Interacting with him the way you do will eventually put you in danger.”

This wasn’t the first time she’d told her that and, as usual, Chou Chou told her not to worry before walking out of the café. And then she ran in to Shikadai, which wasn’t uncommon thing to happen after one of their sensei’s rants. She was starting to suspect that they planned these supposed chance meetings.

“Don’t you start too” she said, walking away, but as expected, Shikadai followed her.

“You know I don’t have anything against that guy” he said “But logically thinking, whatever you two have going on won’t end well.”

Chou Chou glared.

“And why is that?”

“You’ll be going home soon, right?” he asks, and she freezes. How? How did Shikadai know? What did he know?

“I heard from the hokage, the whole team did” he said “That you’re not from around here.”

“…”

“Does Mitsuki know?”

“…No” that was the one thing she hadn’t told him. Maybe she should have, considering that she knew that once she got a chance to go home, she would and they’d never see each other again.

“You’ve clearly become close” the young Nara says “And the closer you are, the more it’ll hurt both of you when you leave.”

Chou Chou stops walking.

“Just keep that in mind” Shikadai says, but unlike his friend, he continues to walk. Chou Chou bites her lip. Of course, she’d known that Mitsuki would be sad when she eventually left, but she hadn’t really thought it’d be that big of a deal. She’d thought that it’d be fine; he had other friends…

…But did he? He wasn’t her world’s Mitsuki; he certainly wasn’t friends with the same people as he was in her world. Some of them didn’t even exist. He sometimes talked about the people he lived with, it sounded like some were his friends, but how close were they? Perhaps not that close, perhaps there was reason he always sought her out, even when it was dangerous.

“What have I done?”

As Chou Chou was musing over this, a messenger from the Hokage came to tell her Nagato was back.

It was time.

---------------

Mitsuki smirked, about to sneak in to Konoha again. He’d done so few times before, though in neither time did he reveal himself to Chou Chou. With how often she told him to avoid the Konoha shinobi, just in case, she’d certainly worry if she saw him in the village. Sometimes he just couldn’t help it as he got the sudden urge to see her, like now.

He wasn’t sure if his parent knew about him sneaking in to Konoha from time to time or not, but he certainly knew about what he’d been up to. Had laughed about Mitsuki having normal teenage behavior and how that was an interesting find. Not that Mitsuki cared. He just wanted to see his amusing, unique friend.

The first friend he’d ever had, Suigetsu and the like not really counting in his opinion.

Reaching her apartment, he saw the lights were out. She wasn’t home, then. It was late though, so was she out on a mission? Or maybe a late-night snack-

“To think that you’d appear tonight of all nights” Mitsuki froze as he heard the voice. Slowly turning around, he saw Shikadai and Boruto staring up at the tree he was in. He relaxed, but only slightly. Boruto wouldn’t attack, he knew, but he still wasn’t sure where he stood with Shikadai, if the boy would attack when having a chance or not.

But right now, none of that mattered. What Shikadai said had awoken his curiosity. Jumping down to join them, he asks: “What’s special about tonight?”

The two exchange glances. They’re hesitant, Mitsuki realizes. That’s nothing new with Shikadai, but Boruto usually does whatever he wants without really thinking much, so his behavior puts the pale boy on edge.

“Give it to him” Shikadai finally says, addressing Boruto. Reaching in to his jacket, the blond pulls out a scroll, holding it out for Mitsuki to take. He blinks before taking it. He doesn’t need to be told to know that it’s from Chou Chou. He unfolds the scroll.

To Mitsuki

I’ve finally gotten a way to go back home and once you read this, I’m probably already there. It’s not easy to get there, so once I’m back, I won’t be returning to Konoha anymore. Don’t worry though; Boruto is your friend too, isn’t he? And Shikadai’s warming up to you too, I know he is, so you won’t be lonely.

I’m happy we met, even if it was in an odd way. I’ll always remember you.

Chou Chou

Mitsuki just stared. She’d left? For good? She hadn’t said anything about it the last time they saw each other! Why?

“When did she leave?”

“A bit over an hour ago” Shikadai told him. Mitsuki was relieved; perhaps he could still catch up. He was about to break in to a run, but was stopped by the black-haired boy holding his arm “What do you plan to do? Stop her from leaving, from returning to her family where she belongs?”

That’s what he wanted to do, no doubt. He didn’t want to lose Chou Chou, and if Shikadai got in his way-

“Let him go, Shikadai” Boruto interrupted, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder “Mitsuki will do what’s for the best, I’m sure.”

Shikadai didn’t agree with his friend, that much was clear, but he seemed to trust Boruto.

“You need to hurry” the young Nara said as he let go “She’s leaving with the help of a jutsu. It’s meant to be activated 30 kilometers south from the village. Activation takes time, so you might still make it.”

Mitsuki nods, taking off.

He had to reach her in time.

---------------

Nagato was almost ready, he’d said, but Chou Chou didn’t remember another time she’d felt this impatient. It was finally time, so she just wanted to hurry and get this over with so that she could go home. She’d miss the friends she’d made here, but she missed her family and the friends back at home more. If there was one thing, she might regret about leaving, it’d be not telling Mitsuki the truth. Unlike to her team, no one had told him that she’d one day leave for good. She had planned to, but Nagato had gotten ready sooner than she had expected, and she had had no chance to see Mitsuki again.

She hoped he’d forgive her.

“I’m almost done” Nagato tells her “Sorry about this whole mess.”

Chou Chou chuckles.

“I’d tell you that you better be sorry, but I think I’ve yelled at you enough over the years” she tells, smiling at him, and he gives a sad smile back. Right, he was another friend she had to say goodbye to. Not right away as he’d be stuck in her world for a while after using his jutsu, but eventually. And truth to be told, she didn’t really want to be around him much after she got home in the fear of ending up here again.

“CHOU CHOU!”

She’d recognize that voice anywhere, in any world.

“Mitsuki!?” she sees the boy rushing towards her, and she can only stare. Just what are the odds that he’d be passing by here, this close to the village, in the same direction she’s in, today of all days?

…

It couldn’t be a coincidence. Somehow, he’d gotten a word of what was happening. Boruto must’ve told him.

She didn’t know if she should be happy or upset. Now she could say a proper goodbye, but this also meant she had to face him. She’d have to see the hurt on his face, have a painful goodbye.

Mitsuki comes to a stop in front of her, panting slightly. It was rare to see him so out of breath.

“I got your letter” he says “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was planning to, but this came faster than I thought” she said “Sorry.”

“Why do you need to go?” Mitsuki asks “You have a home in Konoha. You have friends.”

“You have me”

That was left unsaid.

“…I know” she said “But I also have a home and friends elsewhere. And my family. This isn’t where I belong.”

“But it could be” Mitsuki tries “You could decide to belong here, to not go back. Make a new home here.”

Yeah, she knew she could.

But she didn’t want to.

“I know” she says, a sad smile on her face “But I’ve decided not to. I miss my parents, I miss everyone. And they don’t even know for sure that I’m alive.”

“But- “

“Chou Chou, it’s time” Nagato interrupted whatever Mitsuki was about to say.

“I’m coming!” she called back, giving Mitsuki a sad smile “I’m glad I got to see you again, but I need to go now. Bye Mitsuki.”

She turned to walk away, but was stopped by Mitsuki taking a firm hold of her hand.

“Mitsuki…?”

“Don’t go” he simply said. He didn’t want to lose her. She made him happy in a way no one else did. He needed her.

“I have to” Chou Chou said. She had been so sure she could leave without crying, just glad to finally head home, but as she looked at Mitsuki now, not crying became an impossibility. The tears gathered in her eyes, soon falling down her cheeks “I’m sorry.”

He could stop her from leaving, he was strong enough. Fast enough. More so than her, he knew. He didn’t know how strong the redhaired man was, but if he acted quickly, he should be able to catch them by surprise. He could make sure she stayed here, with him.

…

She hadn’t tried to pull her arm away. She hadn’t told him to let go. Looking in to her eyes, he saw no fear or anger, only the tears and sadness of having to leave. She didn’t fight against him because, unlike her friends, she had full faith in him. She didn’t even consider that he’d seriously try to stop her, try to keep her from going home.

“You’re too trusting, Chou Chou” he thought, his lips curling in to a small smile “You’re one of a kind.”

He lets go.

“Stay safe” he tells her.

“You too” she says “And if you have time, look after Shikadai and Boruto for me. Especially Boruto!”

Mitsuki laughs.

“I will”

He watches her rush towards the man. He watches the peculiar sight of a portal appearing. He watches as she looks over her shoulder one last time and waives. He waives back.

And then she’s gone.

---------------

Home at last. She’d said goodbye to Nagato, not knowing where the man headed, deciding not to ask. She’d walked in from the gates of Konoha, sighing in relief when she saw the familiar stone faces, all seven of them. She’d reported to the Hokage, who’d been shocked to the say the least. She’d explained everything to the best of her ability before being taken to a hospital for a checkup. Her parents came to see her there. She wept. Her team came too, and she wept some more, later hoping that she hadn’t broken any of Inojin’s delicate bones when she’d hugged him.

Now she was out of hospital and, while she wasn’t given any missions yet, she was out for lunch with her team. She sure had missed the Kaminari Burgers.

“Chou Chou!”

But not as much as she’d missed her best friend.

“Sarada!” she yelled as she saw the girl rushing in from the door. Both of them stared, tears forming in the eyes of each girl, before they ran for a hug.

“Lord Seventh told us you’re back” she said “Gosh, where have you been?!”

“I was told not to say anything” Chou Chou said. It seemed that dimension traveling was best to be kept secret “I missed you!”

“We’re here too, you know” Boruto said. He might have been trying to sound offended, but failed poorly as he was grinning from ear to ear “Welcome home!”

Chou Chou laughed.

“Good to see you too, Boruto” she said, wiping her tears “Have you stayed out of trouble?”

“You’ve completely forgotten who he is, haven’t you Chubs?” Inojin snorts, and they all share a laugh in Boruto’s expense.

“It’s good to see you’re back, Chou Chou” the girl freezes. This voice…

Slowly, she looks behind Boruto. That’s right, she’d completely forgotten that, in this world, where Boruto was, Mitsuki usually followed. And such was the case today as well.

“Mitsuki…” she muttered, and the boy smiled in reply. This wasn’t the Mitsuki she’d learned to know during the past year, this was her Mitsuki, the one she’d longed to see along with the rest of her friends. And she was glad to see him, she really was…

And yet, her heart ached as she looked at him, the one who was so similar to the man who’d asked her not to go, not to leave him.

“Ah what the heck, it’s like I’ll always find something to complain about” you gain something, you lose something “I’ll never forget them, him especially, but…”

“It’s good to be home” she says, winking “Bet you missed me, huh? Sorry to say this, but remember that I’m still out of your league.”

“Even time can’t cure your condition, I see”

Chou Chou laughed. She was home alright; this was the Mitsuki she knew.

Her Mitsuki.

#mitsuchouweek2020 #MitsuChou week #mitsuchou #mitsucho #mitsuki #akimichi chou chou

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faintblueivy · 5 years

Text

Alphabet of Shikatema

Ah, well, here’s a new Shikatema piece from me! I’ve been wanting to try this for them a while now. Hope you all like it!!!

...

A – Affection

She knows that she’s never been efficient in showing affection. Yells of 'you idiot', punches of concern, and a tongue lashing of worry was all she could offer at times. But somehow he always sees past that, thanks her and tells her, “I’ll try not to repeat that.”

B – Bachelor

It’s unsettling when his photo and profile appears in a magazine in the list of most eligible bachelors in the five great nations. They talk about how he’s a war hero, a genius strategist and the head of prestigious Nara clan. He is very curious about what a particular Suna kunoichi thinks about this.

C – Cloud

Cloud watching was his favourite past time. But when her eyes flick across the vast expanse of blue above dotted with whiteness, she wonders when it became hers too.

D – Daughter

She’s is the daughter of her parents. But Shikamaru chokes on his tea when his mother gushes over how much she would love to have Temari as her daughter, a day too soon after their first meeting.

E – Exception

Temari doesn’t like to provide comfort or sugar-coat things. Well, she’s not very kind to men in general. Her brothers may be exceptions but it’s not soon enough when two other men join the list as well. One of them, she calls him her husband and other is the tiny crying child on her lap.

F – Fear

She understands the source of her fear when the Hokage tells her about Shikamaru's latest mission in a tight voice. And it haunts her till he’s in front of her. Pinned down. But alive.

G – Game

It’s a little weird to see a miniature version of himself, with sparkling green eyes, right across the tiny shoji board. It’s hard to explain the rules of the game to a child but the warmth that swells up in his chest at the scene makes him wonder if this is what his father had felt back then.

H – Hair

He’s exhausted and sleeping. And to be honest, Temari has always been quite curious about his hair. They way he ties it up makes him look like a pineapple head. She tries to imagine how he would look with his hair down though.

I – Idea

Strategies and plans flow to him when he concentrates enough. But when it comes to her, no matter how hard he tries, he has no idea how to even propose for a date on a nearby Ramen stand.

J – Journey

The journey between Suna and Konoha takes approximately three days. But when they travel together, the time ends up way too soon.

K – Kicked

Her loud gasp makes him drop the large sheaf of papers and files. He jumps over the mess, races to the kitchen. The alarm on his face is real when he finds her bending over with an arm over her womb. But she immediately looks up, her eyes shining with unveiled happiness and places his hand on her swollen belly. It takes a moment before Shikamaru’s louder gasp echoes throughout the house.

“He kicked!”

L – Light

The light of the candle flickers in the shrine dedicated to his father. His vision is hazy with tears as he extends the sleeping infant in his arms to show the photo of the man.

“Look dad, he’s…mine. Your grandkid. Mother named him Shikadai. Are you happy there? Cause I sure am.”

M – Mornings

Mornings with him are lazy. But should she be surprised?

N – Nights

There are nights when they find each other on the porch, trembling with the pain of having lost comrades and loved ones in the horrid war. But it makes them move forward solemnly towards the peace to preserve the future.

O – Older

“You know, I’m older than you are.��

Shikamaru tries to deduce where that came from. Her eyes are focused on somewhere beyond the sun they were supposed to be watching roll down. It takes him a moment before he responds.

“I know that. But you’re already too troublesome. I can’t imagine how troublesome would it be to deal with a younger version of yours.”

It is then her lovely laugh rings out in the meadow.

P – Perfection

He has always known that perfection is just an illusion. But when she wakes up in the morning, hair all dishevelled, eyes droopy and the sleeve of the night dress slipping down her shoulder feeding their infant son, it defines perfection for him.

Q – Quarrel

The first time they had a marital quarrel, he was kicked out of the house. And it was also the first time that she stepped out in midnight to drag him back home. It became a ritual somehow.

R – Rain

For having always lived in a desert enclosed land, Temari hadn’t witnessed torrential rain like this. So Shikamaru is stunned when he comes home to find his wife drenched to the bone, still out in the backyard, rainwater pelting against her skin, eyes closed and a genuine smile that spoke millions on her face.

And he swears that it is the most breath-taking sight in the world.

S – Sun

She talks about her mother sometimes, comparing her to the sun, telling him how the woman brightened up everyone’s lives around her and how the love was so much abundant in her heart. And the way her eyes shine as she talks, Shikamaru loves it all.

T – Trust

He trusted her blindly. Because she was the one to have seen him at his weakest, because she was the one to come to his aid and protect him when he needed someone strong.

U – Unforgettable

She watches him pray at his teachers’s gravestone regularly and often gathers up the courage to accompany him. She doesn’t stop him when he smokes only one particular day of the year and offers him her shoulder to cry upon because she understands there will always be some people and their memories in your life who would be unforgettable.

V – Valuable

Due to their position so up high in the social ladder of their respective villages - a lot of council members, socio-political experts and commoners believe their marriage to be just a treaty. And obviously, it irks them. But on their wedding day, the genuine way Gaara smiles and Kakashi's eyes crinkle beneath his mask and their friends tease them, they understand that the people closest to them have always considered their bond much more valuable than that.

W – Wishful

It’s her wishful thinking that he would wear their wedding ring always, if possible. But she never really expects him to wear it around his neck and show it off to the world.

X – Xylographs

Nara clan has a ritual of engraving the name of the head of the clan and their consort on the sacred wood tablets. Shikamaru feels his heart pound in his ears as the artist xylographs her name beside him.

Y – Yes

Her 'Yes' to his 'Will you marry me?' is an awkward kiss to stop him from embarrassing himself further because he’s such a bumbling mess that he eats half of what he wants to say and she had enough of waiting done.

Z – Zenith

Their love was always at it’s zenith. Shikadai knew it. Throughout the one-sided arguments, weird flirting and soft smiles their love stood undaunted. He places a flower between the two graves that stand beside each other and whispers a 'thank you' into the wind.

...

I wanted it to be a little deep and I hope I succeeded in catching glimpses of their life together. Aaaahhh, do share your thoughts me! Please?

#shikatema #shikamaru x temari #shikamaru and temari #shikamaru nara #temari #naruto #shikatema fanfiction #naruto shippuden #boruto naruto next generation

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karinrumi · 5 years

Text

Gambler of Feelings - Chapter 17

Title: Gambler of Feelings.

Status: Ongoing

Rating: T

Wordcount: 2, 855.

Konoha High, One Year ago:

This is the story about the four people that made a mistake. First was too much naive in seeking a place to belong to, the second couldn't pick between love or friendship, the third blinded by their pride and the fourth that was the cause of it all.

Now when they think about it, it was just a mere coincidence that all three of them ended up in the same classroom. Whether it could be a fortunate one, or not is up to debate.

Boruto's assigned class was the class "C". He could feel the sense of dread about his upcoming high school life. As the principal son, he for sure will face prejudice or people approaching him with nasty intentions.

Walking towards the classroom assigned for the class "C", a faint scent of vanilla made the trip through bland hallway much more bearable. Decorations along the way were tasteless just like his dad.

Surprisingly the classroom he entered looked approximately normal. Empty desks, blackboard stained with charcoal and pleasant view through the seats next to windows. What brought his attention were two familiar figures writing something on the blackboard.

"Sumire and Shikadai…" he whispered in his state of shock. Boruto had a conviction they chose a different school, so why they were here? Deep in his thoughts about their reasons, he stopped paying attention to his surroundings.

"B-Boruto? I didn't know you were in the same class!" Class rep sudden shout startled him. He missed the moment when both she and Shikadai recognised his presence.

"Shouldn't I be more surprised you're both here, ya know?" he asked. Boruto's suspicions about them being here had a valid reason. Both Sumire and Shikadai supposedly planned to go to 'Suna High.'

"What a drag… Sumire should give you an explanation, not me." Shikadai couldn't stop his yawn. Yup, his childhood friend was talkative like no one ever was.

"Konoha High was our second pick on the list, can't you remember?" The sigh class rep let out started to hurt his personal pride.

"Now that you mention it I remember something like that, ya know! So Sumire do you plan to be a class rep in high school too?" What with that unimpressed gaze from Shikadai?! 'Class Rep' nickname was in danger if Sumire won't want to be one! It would be convenient if she is because she's used in dealing with his mischief.

"I don't know if I will. Maybe?" Sumire tilted her head in an overly-cute way. Damn, she saw through him like he was some sort of open book. 'Class Rep' could be really scary sometimes.

"Please, be class rep this year too! Without you being class rep when you're here everything can feel off, ya know?" How awkward of him to spell this out loud. It's too much big of favour since the 'class rep' didn't have any obligation to listen to his plea.

"My close friend from Suna was nervous about transferring to the city, so I ended up here. Though, it's troublesome," mumbled Shikadai. That was the nice life-saver! As excepted from his childhood bro that could tell how ridiculous his conversation with 'class rep' was.

"Oh, really? Introduce me to your friend someday, ya know!" Pretending to be excited, Boruto jumped as high he could. Crashing onto the floor wasn't the best first impression he did on the rest of slowly coming into the classroom his future classmates. But the thought that two of his friends being here was reassuring.

At that time feigning ignorance to his naivety and still seeking out for a place that he belongs to. He hurt just his own feelings in the end.

____________________

Sumire considered Shikadai just as a mere acquaintance. Of course, she was astonished when she met him in near the school building. After all, didn't he plan to enter Suna High just like her?

Setting aside the small chat that she had with her old friends and hiding her 'real' reason to be a student here, she spaced out during class rep election. Boruto's begging from before apparently had an effect of the promotional school election campaign. She won the votes from her classmates without doing anything. That irritated her to no end.

It's true that she always was 'class rep.' However, being one this year sounded boring. Even a small change in her position would be nice. At this point, she's stuck to the stigma of a 'class rep' forever.'

Echo of the school bell annoyed her more. But it was a sign that the time to meet Shikadai's friend is coming soon. During their talk, the guy asked her to accompany him because 'Asami' didn't have a lot of female friends. Sumire agreed for the old times' sake.

Walking into cafeteria filled with the smell of freshly baked bread, Sumire somehow noticed Shikadai waving towards her to join the table. Next to him was sitting slender looking girl that had green eyes and the long wavy platinum-blonde hair. Was it Asami? She looked similar to a doll with a bubbly personality than the real human. Maybe she shouldn't judge her based on the first impression?

"Hi, Shikadai! I g-guess that's the friend you talked about, right?" Sure, she stammered a little bit because she's nervous around meeting new people. But gathering the courage to join the table where both Shikadai and the doll-like person were sitting wasn't easy for Sumire Kakei. At least not now.

"Oh, it's a person I talked about to you, Asami. That's Sumire Kakei, Sumire the person sitting next to me is Asami Kinoshita." Shikadai eyes seemed to sparkle when introducing his 'friend' from Suna. Friend, right? For Sumire, it looked more like a one-sided crush. Nara wagging his puppy tail for that girl wasn't something she excepted.

"Nice to meet you, Lisa! Do you have speech problems?" Asami spoke up. The whole doll-like image Sumire had of her suddenly shattered to pieces.

"I'm Sumire, not Lisa. And my speech shouldn't concern you," she responded. All her willpower went into stopping herself in saying something ruder.

Sumire disliked Asami thinking of her as the person that had the sweet, innocent facade that went completely unnoticed by no one in school. Oh, stupid comments about her upbringing coming from Asami's mouth played a large part in it too.

Due to her too much prideful personality and an open-dislike for the girl, Sumire's warnings were not considered. If something else happened that day…

Maybe the warning she gave would have more meaning. And everything could change. But Sumire's personal pride got in the way.

The only thing Sumire Kakei wanted to know till this day is the entire truth. The truth about the girl that hurt her close friend.

__________________

Boruto ran away from his fangirls. Those girls were crazy and dedicated to tail him that far.

"They're just after me cause of my parents, aren't they? Being in the centre of attention sucks," he whispered. He was sure nobody will hear him here. After all, that's his favourite hiding place.

"Oh, you're the guy… Boruto Uzumaki!" Boruto recognised the owner of this voice. Was he so out of it he didn't notice the girl sitting in front of him?!

"Asami, what are you doing here?" he inquired. Maybe it was the stupid thing to do, but at this moment he didn't care about it.

"Sitting as you can see! Is there something wrong? You look really like a beaten puppy right now." Asami shook her head in worry. How pathetic. Being an optimist was his speciality, not this girl.

"I just feel overwhelmed by the other people putting high expectations around me, ya know? It doesn't help I don't know what to do either," his small confession and feelings he hid until now came out.

"Oh, I mean every person feels down sometimes. You're just a human like me! Aren't you good at gaming?" Asami started to spin as if some idea popped into her head. What is she? A ballerina? And when she got into a position to be his personal counsellor?!

"I like to play in games, but I wouldn't call myself a professional gamer." For a moment he forgot how bad he's feeling.

"Why do you not to try to take part in the upcoming gaming tournament? I feel you have a knack for it!" she clenched her hands into fists. Did he really give an image of a professional gamer? The idea itself wasn't that bad.

"If you think I have a knack for it, why not? I can even be the president of the club for people that enjoy playing in games, ya know!" Maybe he acted too hasty, but for some reason need to impress this girl won over his any remaining doubts.

"See? You still have reason to live for the future." Asami made a peace sign. He really appreciated the gesture she did to try to improve his bad mood. It was the first time when he let someone see him in this state.

After their first real conversation, they started meeting up in Boruto's hiding spot. Talking about various things and the future plans involved gaming was in his daily routine now. It's no wonder he fell in love. He even successfully could be called Asami's boyfriend.

That's how they all met her. And that's how Boruto love for her was the cause of everything that happened.

____________________

"Did you hear, Shikadai? Boruto started to date Asami!" Sumire felt an obligation to inform him about this shocking news.

Shikadai shrugged. "It's a drag… I'm happy for them, really."

That was obviously his lie, but Sumire didn't plan to give up. Something was wrong with that 'Asami' girl.

"I'm telling you something is wrong with your so-called friend! Can you at least listen to my warnings?" It's the only hope she had for Shikadai to take action and warn Boruto too. But her words weren't enough.

Because Shikadai couldn't pick either love or friendship. Both were a precious gem for him. His inability in choosing sides hurt every party.

"Can you stop, Sumire? I know you dislike Asami, but it's not really your business. Stick your nose into something else, okay?" Due to mixed up emotions welling up inside of him, Shikadai got unreasonably mad.

That day friendship that could form between them came to a halt. Sumire stopped her usual mornings' greetings directed at Shikadai, and he started to ignore her as well.

All three of them were just fools back then.

__________________

Boruto was really nervous that day. He somehow managed to convince both Sumire and Shikadai to join his club and the gaming tournament.

All those cameras around made him extremely nervous. There was a lot of the clubs competing and gathering at different gaming tables, or sometimes even fancy platforms. A place where the audience could watch his matches from a safe distance, for sure didn't make him feel calm

Maybe that's why he bumped into a girl with short jet-black hair and red glasses. He shouted out his apology, but it seems she completely ignored him.

The feeling of anxiety passed when Boruto started to play with his competition. His club destroyed all the others on various games. It was so humiliating for those losers that a break was announced due to some complication about some 'cheater'. Well, that so-called cheater wasn't a person he took an interest in.

Walking towards the backstage when the short break started, suddenly he froze. He couldn't believe what was transpiring in front of him.

Asami kissed flustered Shikadai that pushed her away. They were screaming. At some point, she cried. Boruto stopped to care, his mind went blank. All the things he believed in his best friend, girlfriend and future shattered. And the sudden realisation struck. Asami was using him, she wanted to get closer to Shikadai, not him.

His personal feelings, the fear of being used were now true. And that hurt like someone cut his heart in half. That pain was so real he'll never forget it.

"A-Asami, S-Shikadai…" Boruto cried out to them. His friend and girlfriend expression were terrified. Like he's some kind of monster. Why? Was he really that selfish? Naive? So incompetent in love that his friend and person he loved betrayed his trust?

Asami knew about his fear of being used. And she took advantage of that knowledge. He couldn't forgive her, even if he could try. Never. In the end, he broke up with her for Shikadai's sake too. Because it doesn't matter if Shikadai betrays his trust, he was still his childhood friend.

Running away from them and giving up in the tournament was the main action he took afterwards. Even if losing meant he'll never announce to everyone Asami is his girlfriend, or give her a surprise he planned. Everything he did had no meaning. Eh? Are those tears that are falling on his cheeks?

Feelings can be indeed cruel sometimes. That's the conclusion Boruto Uzumaki arrived at after some time passed and he received a letter from Asami.

Dear Boruto and Dai!

I owe an honest apology to you both. I didn't want to hurt anyone, but I guess it couldn't be helped in the end.

The president of Boruto's Fanclub learned about me having a crush on Shikadai and the secret talks I had with Boruto. At first, it was nothing major, but later I got dangerous threats telling me what to do.

I was so scared that I did everything I was instructed to do. Terrible things. Like accusing that one poor girl as a cheater and leading you all on.

I'm really sorry! Please forgive me… I won't show up in your lives anymore too, so let's all move on.

PS - Don't show this letter to Sumire. She already disliked me, so what's the point?

From wishing you good luck, Asami.

The content of the letter helped him and Shikadai to move on. They didn't tell Sumire about what happened between them. Later on, their old friend Chō-Chō and a completely new member joined the club. But the pain and the past grudges remained till this day.

___________________

Back to the Present Day:

"That's the whole story." Boruto summed everything up being grateful Sarada, Mitsuki and Sumire are patient listeners.

"Uwawa! You should tell me about the letter, even if you knew about my dislike towards the girl." Sumire couldn't help but comment bitterly. Instead of being secretive, everything would get resolved if they talked to her from the start.

"You're quite scary when you mad. It's a drag," Shikadai put his input about events that happened in the past. But he sensed Boruto wanted to ask Sarada something important right now.

"Hey, Sarada… You said you know Asami. How exactly you're connected to her?" Boruto tried to calm down. Telling a story about his emotional scars wasn't easy for him.

"I'm the accused cheater. Asami approached me under the guise of friendship and framed for cheating during the tournament. We were… close friends." That's all Sarada had to say about the girl. She forgave Asami Kinoshita long ago. Holding a grudge now was pointless. But the feeling of betrayal will always linger.

"I see… I'm sorry," said Boruto with a warm smile. He even walked up to her and stroked her hair to show he's really sorry. It made Sarada incredibly embarrassed. At this point she suspected patting her was the new hobby that he desperately looked for in the past.

"I-It's not your fault." This situation was bad for her heart. Every time Asami name was mentioned, Boruto smiled.

Sarada hated it. She wanted to be the person that makes him smile in that way. Not some another girl! At the same time, she hated herself for being jealous too. God, she needs help. Boruto is just too kind and handsome.

"Thank you." Boruto response pulled at her heartstrings more. She needed to change the subject. Think Sarada, think! Before your cheeks will turn as red like tomatoes.

"So what about the game tournament this year? Do you want to participate?" Sumire question was a life-saver. She needs to say 'thank you' to her later.

"I have nothing against it, but my mom will." It was the truth.

"That's okay. This day is exhausting. Let's meet up tomorrow. You can flirt with Boruto later," she winked in her direction. Wha-What? Wasn't Sumire on her side?! Not being able to look any club member in the eye Sarada exited the clubroom.

And that's when she remembered about the bet. The bet that didn't have any progress. Eh, she promised to buy a new phone together with Boruto tomorrow before she got engaged in a story he was telling!

Is it a date?

That type of delusions flew into her thoughts. It's official if it continues she'll turn into Chō-Chō. But if that's possible… She wanted to help Boruto to heal from his pain.

_____________________

AN: I hate that tumblr rid of horizontal lines for me. It’s disappointing. Some exposure and explanations why Boruto and Shikadai were hurt by Asami!

Your clumsy author - Karinrumi :)

#Gambler of Feelings #Chapter 17 #BoruSara #Sarada Uchiha #Boruto Uzumaki #Mitsuki #Shikadai Nara #Sumire Kakei #OC #Romance #High School AU #Comedy #MitsuSumi #mitsuchou

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