And here is the second and last part of this story :D It's decidedly kept short because it's pretty much an experiment on my side, trying to see how I can adjust to canon material. Hope you guys enjoyed it! ^^

Song suggested for this chapter is "Sarada's Heartache" from the new Boruto OST.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters.

...

The days dragged past... stretching on forever for Boruto... He never knew what he had been doing for the past few days, feeling more... detached the more he thought about what happened... maybe even hoping that every night he went to bed, he would wake up to a different morning, one in which he was still that carefree, happy boy who was simply starting the academy with his friends... before the ghost incidents... before his eye - which never seemed to work the way he wanted... not when he most needed anyway...

Before he... met Mitsuki...

His eyes once again wandered to where he was supposed to be seated... next to him, that is. Now the blank space just... felt like it had its own presence, constantly reminding him of the transfer student from Otogakure... a friend he didn't expect to make so quickly... or to lose like that...

He would have to fake smiles around his friends, he knew he couldn't exactly trick them but at least he tried... Boruto would say everything was fine, that he was just tired and now that the Ghost incidents were over he was just really focusing on the studies. He still didn't care about becoming a ninja though... especially after what had happened, after what he had witnessed... he was sure that he didn't want... actually need to be a ninja.

It kinda made the blond's blood boil when he heard the cover story they had made for Mitsuki's sudden disappearance, but he too had been forced to comply with the lie... both Mitsuki and the Class Rep had gotten injured in the battle with the Nue. They had gotten too close. That's what they had said...

He understood why they had made up the cover story for Sumire, they didn't want anyone to despise her after everything she did once she returned.

But Mitsuki? He had pretty much saved them...

"Boruto-kun..." the sound of Denki's voice brought him abruptly from his thoughts - well, especially the concern in it. He really wasn't good at hiding his feelings... "We are out to grab some burgers. Would you like to join us?"

"He's being nice. I wasn't thinking about requesting." that came from Iwabe, who had on his usual smirk... trying to cheer him up, they all were. The blond had no trouble seeing through that.

"Uh, I'm sorry guys..." he said, trying to sound casual as he cracked a smile. "I... really need to go home..."

Inojin cocked an eyebrow. "You do realize we're teasing you with your favorite restaurant, don't you?" This resulted in an elbow trust by Shikadai.

It's not that the Nara had been the only one to notice his friend's sudden sad mood, no, that would be a lie because everyone had noticed that. The difference was that while the others didn't exactly understand the reason why, Shikadai couldn't decide on which option was the right one; Mitsuki and the Class Rep's sudden disappearance or the end of the ghost incidents... or heck, even both.

"Well, it's not even up for discussion." and he grabbed Boruto by his bag, dragging him towards the restaurant, ignoring Boruto's yells to let him go. The others just simply laughed at it. Maybe they would manage to discover why Boruto had been so down...

...

Boruto had been so stubborn that Shikadai asked Iwabe to force the hamburger down the Uzumaki's throat if necessary. Which the oldest of the group was gladly going to comply if Boruto hadn't finally given in and decided to eat the hamburger... on his own.

The meal had gone down in silence... aside from the occasional experiments on casual conversation that is, but they were all short-lived. Boruto's answers to all questions were either a yes or no or very short replies. The friends looked at one another, trying to decide which way to best bring up the matter...

"Boruto-kun..." Denki once again decided to take the lead a few minutes into their joint decision of just staring somewhere after they finished their burgers. "You... know we're all friends here, right?"

"Of course I do, Denki," Boruto said with another smile that just has "forced" written all over it.

"And that we will listen to you... whatever it is...? We want to help if we can..." and there it was, the worrying tone again, in Metal's voice this time...

"I... know that." he stared at his friends before just sighing, he didn't really know what to say anymore and he didn't exactly want to talk about it...

"Then," Shikadai removed his hand from his face and put on a more straight position and a serious look in his green eyes. "Are you going to say why you have been moping around in the last few days? Is it because the Ghost incident is over?"

Boruto's body perked up at the mention of the incidents. "It's not that, I'm glad it's over. No more people hurt..." Except for one...

The Nara just crossed his arms. "Then all is left is that you are sad that the Class Rep and Mitsuki left? Do you miss them that much?" He wasn't being heartless, he was just testing Boruto to see every single reaction of his.

Boruto wasn't looking at them, his gaze was on the table as he replied with a millisecond hesitation. "Of course I'm worried about them... Aren't we all?" That last one was pretty much a dismissive attempt.

"Yes we are... but in case you didn't notice, we're not brooding about it all the time. I mean, they are gonna make it in the end, aren't they?"

Iwabe's words only hit too close to home... The blond twirled the wrapping of the burger in his hands, trying not to dwell too much on how one among them... is never gonna be able to eat these hamburgers as he looked at it... "Yes... they are." he said, but it came out... more blankly than he would have liked.

Metal's eyes took a serious look. "Boruto... do you know how... bad it is...?" That was apparently a question all of them were wondering...

Inojin tilted his head curiously. "I didn't know you had seen them get hurt Boruto?"

He knew it wasn't their fault, they were just worried about him, they wanted to know what was wrong and he couldn't explode on them... it wouldn't be right, but... he couldn't also speak about it, it hurt too much...

"I'm sorry... I can't talk about it..." and before anyone could say anything else, the blond grabbed his school bag and ran out of the restaurant, hearing only very vaguely Shikadai's voice calling his name. He just... couldn't...

He couldn't!

He didn't know how he ran all the way back home, it felt like he couldn't even breathe... it was becoming such a difficult task...

But as hard as it was... he had to keep his little sister in mind so as to keep his composure when he reached home. He quietly took of his boots and walked in...

Before he took more than a couple of steps, something small bumped into him and Himawari looked up with a smile as bright as the sun. "Welcome home, onii-chan!"
How happy she was when he brought a friend home after a long while...

Smiling a little bitterly, Boruto ruffled his sister's hair. "Hi, Hima. How was your day?" At least he could keep up that much. He was the big brother after all...

Hinata soon came to welcome him too, giving him that warm welcoming smile that she always had for her children and husband whenever they walked in through that door.

"How was your day, Boruto?"

He looked up his mom and tried to keep that forced smile. "It was fine. Just the usual." He quickly turned around and put his boots in place like his mother used to do before running towards the stairs. "I already ate. I'm going to do my homework and go to bed. Good night!"

He felt bad for dismissing his family like that, it left a bad taste in his mouth... he was acting like his father... and he hated it! But... he really wasn't in the mood to be with anyone, not even his precious mother and sister.

Hinata smiled sadly... she knew what was going on, of course, Naruto had told her... But she didn't dare bring it up to Boruto unless he felt like it. She didn't want to push it.

The oldest of the Uzumaki siblings threw himself on his bed as soon as he was in his room, staring up at the ceiling... trying to leave his mind empty of the onslaught of memories that just doesn't want to leave him alone. He didn't want to face them... he closed his eyes and turned to a side, curling into the fetus position.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that an idea hit him and he opened his eyes again.

Maybe... that could be a good way... to keep those memories...?

Getting up quickly, he sat down at his desk and pulled a sheet of paper and some colored pencils in front of him. And then he just started drawing, drawing... as painful as it felt, he just let the image in his mind come to life on that piece of paper, a blue haired and yellow eyed superhero standing in front of a big and ugly monster, arms spread around, protecting the frightened people behind him... and with every line, it felt like his pain was ebbing away onto the paper...

And that was how Hinata and Naruto found him, face on the desk with the pen still in his hand, sound asleep... uncomfortable as the position he was in, his expression... more relaxed somehow...

"Naruto... is that - I mean... are you sure about that...?" Hinata asked, worry coating her tone.

Naruto picked up his son from the chair, carefully shifting him in his arms before turning around to lay him comfortably on his bed. Hinata was right after him, pulling the sheets and blanket over him, caressing his face and hair.

"As astonishing as it sounds..." the hokage whispered to his wife. "Yes... it is true. I was asked not to tell anyone else but those needed."

"Were you going to...?" She eyed their sleeping son.

Naruto was silent for a bit, also looking at his boy. "I was requested not to tell Boruto... I don't know how he would react, given how he had been in the past days..." His wife nodded in agreement.

They could just hope that in his dreams Boruto was having a good one... he needed it.

...

The following day was pretty much the same as the past ones. Boruto got up in time, went downstairs, ate the breakfast made by his mother and then left for classes. Today it was different, they were finally returning to their classroom, its reparations had been complete.

It felt oddly comforting for Boruto to be indoors again... maybe it was because his indoor memories stayed on the safe side of being painful. He quietly took his book out of the bag, not really making eye contact with anyone, especially his friends.

"Alright everyone, listen up." Shino-sensei's voice resounded in the room, and despite himself, Boruto did notice that the man's tone was... soft? Now, that wasn't really something they saw from their sensei far too often. "Today... we're welcoming the return of one of our students."

That caught the blond's attention, although he didn't look up. He didn't know Sumire was allowed back to the academy again... he didn't really have the energy to look up when the door cracked open.

It was when another... familiar voice rose among the gasps that his head immediately snapped up though... unbelievable... "Ohayo."

Shikadai chuckled. "My, my... quite the stubborn one huh?" He just slid back into his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

Metal quickly stood up. "It's amazing that he returned even when he is still all bandaged up!" but a quick look from Shino made the boy blush hard, mumbling a quick apology before sitting down again.

Boruto on the other hand had forgotten how to speak, or even how to breathe, just... what kind of a prank was this...?

Very slowly he looked around, everyone was as surprised as he was... then... no one was joking...?

Because... the little blue haired hero he had drawn yesterday just to vent out... was right there, standing just a few feet away from him...

And he was looking right at him...

Shino put a hand on Mitsuki's back, giving him a gentle push forward. "Welcome back, Mitsuki. It's good to have you back."

"Thank you, Shino-sensei." Mitsuki said respectively with a small bow before turning back to face the class and started making his way towards them. There were still hushed murmurings going around, creating a buzz, students wondering and theorizing what had happened, of course none of them even remotely close to the truth.

Boruto just couldn't take his eyes off the bandages... did that bomb went off after they went through the portal...? How much did it hurt...? How come was he here, like this...?

"Should've known it would take more than a big ugly beast to take you down," Shikadai said lightly and only then did the blond realized Mitsuki reached their seat - of course. The Nara stood up to allow the blue haired boy to squeeze in between them. "Welcome back..."

Boruto gulped a little and only managed to nod towards him - he didn't trust his voice enough to speak. Indeed, it was only gen minutes into the class and he made sure no one could hear him behind his book that he actually whispered to Mitsuki.

"Are you for real?" There was an edge in his tone. "...or am I speaking to another clone...?"

Mitsuki's eyes moved towards Boruto but not his face, a small smile made its way on his lips. "I'm sorry I tricked you like that, Boruto. It was the only way I could make you leave without you trying to stop me." His tone was casual, simple and quiet, just like the blond remembered.

The only way...? He was about to open his mouth again when Shino's voice reached his ears. "Boruto, I know that you must have missed Mitsuki quite a lot but please leave that to the lunch break."

The poor Uzumaki blushed that he had been caught talking and unlike other times he didn't make a remark answer, instead the whole class, even Mitsuki, laughed at his face.

Boruto pouted a little, he had so many questions, but... yeah this wasn't the place to ask them all, so he would have to listen to his sensei and wait for lunch break.

The lunch break came only too late... and it wasn't easy for the blond to find his friend alone for a minute. Mitsuki was surrounded by groups of students, asking him how it felt like to come face to face with that monster, whether it hurt a lot, just a retelling of the story... as far as the Uzumaki could hear, his friend was keeping to the cover story his father and the others made up... so it must've meant the adults were aware of his return... but his father didn't tell him anything...

"What is with that face?" he heard Iwabe's voice and practically jumped into the air. "If I didn't know better I'd say you weren't all that happy he's back."

Boruto involuntarily shuddered at the idea... "Shut up." he said, still pouting. "It's not that."

Iwabe just rolled his eyes at the blonde's pout, it was so ridiculous for him. "Okay I get it. You want a moment alone. Let me handle this." He cracked his knuckles and a big grin formed on his mouth. One that made Boruto sweat, what the heck was he gonna do...?

The next moment he saw Iwabe stomping towards the group of students that were surrounding Mitsuki. "Alright you bunch of brats, back off! Enough flirting, go back to your lunches, leave him alone! Shush!" He was literally shooing away the students like a bunch of birds surrounding a piece of bread on the floor.

Boruto sweated more and smiled awkwardly. "Iwabe..."

The oldest of the class grinned proudly at Boruto, his hands on his hips. "Alright! You two can now talk alone."

"Seriously, what are you Iwabe, their nanny...?" Inojin remarked with a grin, only to run away from the fury of the short tempered boy. The Uzumaki took this chance to approach Mitsuki, who seemed to be just sitting there waiting for him.

"So..."

"So..." Boruto mimicked him, hands on his hips, his expression really serious... he was trying not to show how very... angry, disappointed... he was towards his blue haired friend after what he had put him through, but didn't know how good he was at hiding it. "So you decided to trick me, went one on one against the Nue..." his voice had become a little shaky. "...and still somehow, you managed to come back. Explain."

Mitsuki tilted his head to a side, that... annoying, matter-of-fact expression still on his face. "Well, the bomb indeed went off..." he said, like it was nothing. "But I was saved before I received further damage." And just like that, he was talking about himself like... he was some kind of a machine, or a robot...

"Saved...? By whom...?" He was now more frowning than actually angry... he just... needed answers damnit...

Mitsuki just closed his eyes, giving him that... smile that Boruto had started to nominate as a fake smile before nodding. "By my parent of course. He says I still have a lot to do in this world, so he couldn't let me destr-"

Before he could even finish the phrase Boruto was grabbing him by his robes, lifting him slightly from the seat. The angry look was back.

"Will you... stop talking about yourself like you are something that can be so easily discarded 'ttebasa?! I don't know who your 'parent' is but that is not how you treat your kid! He should've saved you because he cares about you, not because you are still of use! You should've come with us in the first place and let the Nue explode by itself in that freaking dimension!" There were tears forming in the blonde's blue eyes, his teeth clenched. "You can't be replaced damnit...!"

"You know that beast would've followed us right back to Konoha if it wasn't stopped." He was talking like explaining these things to a five year old. "I told you this earlier Boruto... it was just one person against the lives of an entire village... it wasn't even a choice."

The Uzumaki was trying his best to actually remember that he shouldn't punch Mitsuki, not in the state he was in right now... but it was hard. Tears actually began spilling down his cheeks... trying as he might to stop them... "You piece of shit..." he said in a low, trembling voice. "That's... all that matters...? Not the fact that you have friends caring about you, people who care about you...? You're just... willing to cast your life away like it's nothing, just because of some stupid duty...? That's..." he gulped. "...that's pathetic, 'ttebasa." What he meant to say was sad.

"That's being a ninja." Mitsuki replied calmly.

"I don't care...!" he nearly yelled as he lowered his face and tightened the hold on Mitsuki's clothes, so tight that it felt like he was almost ripping them. "There... there is a lot more in life than being a stupid ninja...! Is that all you care about Mitsuki...?! Ninja duties...?! You are not even one yet!"

Mitsuki closed his eyes calmly. "It's why I was created... I don't see the point besides fulfilling the reason I was created for."

"Well there is!" he pulled him closer, Mitsuki just expected him to punch him to vent out all the anger in his body, but... instead, Boruto just pulled him into a tight hug... something that the Uzumaki didn't do much often. "There is a lot more than ninja life and I... I am going to prove it to you, I'm going to show you there's a lot more to see and do than a stupid ninja mission!"

Mitsuki's eyes widened slightly with those words, and mostly with his touch... in his short life, he had never been hugged like this... he was never hugged, period. It felt weird, and he didn't know what to do or feel about it... other than it did feel... sort of warm...

A small smile made its way onto his lips and he closed his eyes for a minute. "Heh... I was right... you are indeed the sun."

"What's that even mean, 'ttebasa?" Boruto mumbled.

Slowly... hesitantly... the blue haired boy raised his arms and wrapped them around the Uzumaki himself... not too tight, just experimenting with the sensation. "Maybe I will tell you one day."

...

As always, favs and reviews are more than welcome! ^^