Boy’s love  

In the modern reception room, there was a glass of fruit juice on the coffee table in front of him. Holding the latest game console, his fingers nimbly operated as he played merrily, while a plump man fiddled with some technological product in the corner of his eye.

The battle on the game console screen grew increasingly intense, and the fingers pressing the buttons seemed to want to poke holes in the thin game console with such force. His heart jolted as his in-game character finally took down the opponent with a beautiful slash. He couldn't help but smile, setting the game console aside and looking at the man across from him, who had put down his device and was smiling at him.

"...As expected of the young master, you've already cleared the latest game so quickly," he said with a smile.

Feeling pleased but feigning nonchalance, he replied, "That's nothing, if I hadn't been a little busy lately, I would've beaten a game of this level ages ago."

The man across from him first praised his prowess, then asked curiously, "What has the young master been busy with lately? Schoolwork should be easy for you, no?"

"Schoolwork is nothing, the key is Master Sasuke's training," he said with some vexation, leaning back on the sofa and staring glumly at the ceiling. "Those sword-throwing techniques are so difficult."

The man's dismissive voice came, "No matter how difficult, it'll only be temporary for the young master. With your intelligence and talent, who could possibly master it faster than you?"

However, his words received no response.

A certain person's cold brow and eyes flashed before him, causing a tightness in his chest, but it was immediately followed by an unwillingness to lose and an uncontrollable smile at the corners of his lips.

"...There is, you know. Enough said, Father's ship is about to depart, I need to hurry." With that, he sprang up energetically and reached for the small backpack beside him.

"It's Chitose, isn't it?"

The sudden voice caused all his muscles to tense up, as if his heart had stopped beating at that moment.

Feeling a little guilty, he looked at the man, who had a kind, teasing expression on his face, causing his cheeks to burn.

"How... how did you know..." he stammered involuntarily.

The man smiled, "Of course, it's from what the young master has said before. In my opinion, among the current genin, only Chitose seems to match the young master's talent."

Relieved, he grinned, "That guy... is only better than me for now, but one day I'll defeat him."

Hearing this, the man didn't agree as usual, only smiling at him.

Feeling puzzled, the man easily revealed his biggest secret—

"Does the young master like Chitose?"

As for his own embarrassing reaction and subsequent frantic escape afterward, Boruto didn't want to recall.

He stared blankly at the ceiling for a while before slowly sitting up and glancing at the sky outside the window. The horizon had just begun to turn gray, while the nearby sky remained pitch-black.

He lay back down, but no matter how much he tossed and turned, he couldn't fall back asleep.

What happened after that? He couldn't help but recall with downcast eyes.

Ah, it seemed like he was first choked, stuttering for a long time without uttering a word, and judging from the intense heat on his face, he must have blushed like a tomato. Then came the flustered denial and refutation; in any case, he didn't want Uncle Katasuke to be certain of his little crush at the time.

He didn't want anyone to see through his little crush.

Why? Uncle Katasuke, whom he had asked to keep it a secret, asked.

Boruto took a deep breath at this point, slowly exhaling. As the breath gradually left his lungs, an inescapable sense of melancholy and helplessness filled his chest.

—Of course, it's because that guy still hasn't seen him.

He and Chitose were still too far apart, and he didn't want Chitose to find out about his feelings from someone else and distance himself from him thereafter.

Boruto had his own ambitions. He wanted to make Chitose like him.

Although he lacked confidence in this regard, the mere thought of Chitose being with someone else, the image of Chitose being with another person by his side, made him anxious.

If you like someone, you want them to like you back, and then the two of you can be together.

Boruto thought naively. At the age when feelings first blossom, this intelligent young man vaguely understood some things, whether from the gossip of the girls in his class or the innate feelings of boys his age. For example, Fen from the neighboring class had previously liked the class president in his class but got beaten up for stalking her. At the time, after Fen was caught stalking and confessed to the class president, he was immediately rejected. Boruto had watched the scene with a flushed face, feeling as excited as if he were the one confessing, and was mocked by Shikadai.

Of course, he had defiantly retorted, but it was also true that he was inexperienced in matters of the heart.

—Come to think of it, shouldn't they all be emotionally naive at this age? So why was he the only one so excited? Feeling vexed, Boruto went online to research what it meant to "like" someone—of course, he didn't think Fen's obsessive "like" could be used as a reference—involuntarily thinking about things like constantly thinking about that person, feeling nervous and his heart pounding when talking to them, immediately searching for that person wherever he went, always feeling that person was shining... Summarizing, it was more or less these things.

He thought he understood, and put these matters aside. Then, Chitose came. And it wasn't until he unknowingly fell for him that he became aware of his own feelings.

Of course, he understood that it was abnormal for a boy to like another boy, but during the days when he confirmed his feelings, he learned about Chitose's father's past, saw him lying bloodied on the ground, learned that he had forgiven Master Sasuke, and then watched him diligently carry out those D-rank missions that he himself considered quite boring over the next six months, while swinging his sword every day with admirable perseverance.

He could feel himself liking him more and more with each passing day, even every moment and second. Whether these feelings were right or wrong, he didn't want to think about it, but after Uncle Katasuke expressed his concerns, he felt disheartened yet also thought... what did it matter if it wasn't so proper? He liked Chitose, liked him so much that he thought about him every moment when he couldn't see him, liked him to the point of wanting Chitose to like him back, liked him to the extent that he worked harder than ever before to catch up to him, to have his own image reflected in those eyes that always looked ahead.

Liked him to the point of wanting to be with him forever. So, willfully, he wanted to keep chasing after him in his own way.

He wouldn't give up. No matter what stood in his way, he wouldn't give up. He had to catch up to Chitose, to have his existence reflected in those eyes that seemed unable to see anything.

As for the future?

Boruto stood up, turning to glance at the small corner of the warehouse he had been using as a bed these past few days. A certain emotion gradually became clear in those azure eyes.

He turned and opened the large warehouse door, then flashed a big smile at the chef who was gaping at him in surprise.

Following the chef to find his father, knowing that the Hokage wouldn't possibly send him back now that they were nearing the Village Hidden in the Mist, Boruto gave himself a pat on the back for his cleverness.

He looked ahead at the silhouette of the city gradually emerging, pursed his lips, and clenched his fists.

Future matters could wait until later. For now, he liked Chitose, and knowing this was enough!

The Hokage arrived at the office aboard the ship. Boruto flashed a toothy grin at the chef, thanking him for the "friendly" food he had provided these past few days.

With his hands behind his head, he strode into the office nonchalantly. However, the first thing he saw wasn't his stern-faced father sitting behind the desk as he had imagined, but a familiar figure with her head lowered.

Boruto was taken aback, pointing at her in disbelief and exclaiming, "...Sa, Sarada? What are you doing here?"

"That's what I should be asking you, Boruto," Naruto's voice came from in front of the girl, its expected sternness causing Boruto to shrink. Pursing his lips, he walked over to stand beside Sarada, finally seeing his father sitting behind the desk in the exact pose he had imagined. However, Sarada, clearly having had the same scheme as him judging by the backpack beside her, did something that left him gaping.

"I came aboard after seeing Boruto sneaking onto the ship instead of heading to class, suspecting he was trying to skip school. I wanted to catch him and bring him back, but before I could, the ship had already set sail, Lord Seventh," she pushed up her glasses, her gaze serious and earnest as she looked at Boruto, then turned sincerely to the hand-under-chin Naruto.

Before the indignant Boruto could point out the obvious flaw in her statement by gesturing at the clearly premeditated backpack, the girl swiftly turned a ninety-degree bow towards Naruto, her voice filled with remorse, "I should have disembarked immediately, but after learning that this ship was headed for the Village Hidden in the Mist... I was so worried about my brother that I couldn't help but stay aboard!"

She looked up at Naruto, her expression one of deep reflection on her mistake, then lowered her head again, stating righteously, "I know my actions have caused you great trouble, and I am truly sorry!"

The room fell silent for a moment. Boruto stared at her with his mouth agape and eyes wide, already stunned by her preemptive strike and audacious rhetoric.

Naruto looked at the two kids' performance, clearly seeing through the entire situation. Struggling to hold back his laughter at his son's rare foolish expression, he spoke, "Boruto, what about you?"

Upon meeting his father's twisted (with anger?) face, Boruto gulped.