What Could've Been

Chapter 34

At the designated meeting spot, Naruto and Sakura were pacing around, worried for their comrades. Well to be more accurate Naruto was pacing around while Sakura was trying to tend to the Okari cat the two had just barely succeeded in capturing.

"I don't understand Sakura! They told us to meet them here but they aren't here! What if something happened to them? I can't lose Sasuke when I only just got him!" Sakura rolled her eyes, petting the huge animal in front of her.

"Yeah yeah lover boy. I'm sure they are fine, Sasuke can take care of himself. Besides, how exactly did you two get together?" That one question completely flipped his mood around. Almost immediately, a dreamy look overcame the blonde's face.

"Well actually it's kind of complicated since we've sorta been skirting around each other for so long but then Sasuke made the first move and I'm so happy that he did and you know what he did he kissed me out of nowhere in the tent and oh my kami I was so surprised Sakura but I'm so happy right now and-"

"Ok ok I get it. He kissed you out of nowhere." She lightheartedly rolled her eyes. "I don't think you used any punctuation in that sentence." Naruto frowned. "How could you tell? I was speaking, not writing."

"Nevermind."

A loud thud came from behind them. Sakura instantly was on guard, hand reaching towards her kunai. Seeing that it was just Sasuke, she sighed in relief, relaxing her stance. Naruto ran towards the love of his life, knocking him down onto the grass.

"Wahh, Sasuke you took so long!" Sasuke groaned, shoving the blonde off of him. "Jesus Christ you're a clingy boyfriend." Naruto widened his eyes, somewhat hurt. "Does it bother you? I can stop if you want me to."

The raven turned away from ocean blue eyes, blushing slightly. "It's fine, dobe. I don't mind it." Naruto beamed, before hauling himself up onto his feet. Sasuke followed suit.

Sakura laughed at the couple's antics. "What he means is he absolutely adores the attention you're bestowing upon him, Naruto. He just doesn't like to admit it." Blushing furiously, Sasuke quickly changed the subject.

"Sakura, can you take a look at this girl? We need her alive, but wounded enough that she won't make a scene." Switching to professional mode, the girl nodded, kneeling down to examine the body. Naruto looked over Sasuke's shoulder.

"Where's Kakashi?" Sasuke sighed. "On our way back, we heard a voice scream that they were lost. Kakashi went to check it out. We think it's most likely Boruto who got lost mapping the area.

The blonde blinked. "How do you get lost when mapping an area out?" The raven groaned. "Apparently it's his first time doing anything like this." Naruto chuckled nervously, bringing a hand up to the back of his head.

"We're back." The trio simultaneously turned around, seeing Kakashi with a foreign man on his back and an embarrassed Boruto by his side. Sakura frowned. "What happened? Why'd you two take so long?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Boruto got lost. I had to find him then lead him back over here." Sakura shook her head. "I'm not even going to ask." Kakashi hmmed in response. He looked behind her, spotting a large grey cat tied up with chakra.

"Is that the Okari?" Sakura nodded. "Alright then. Get some of its blood and venom then let it go." Sakura frowned. "Wait what? How come?"

This time Sasuke spoke up, looking the pinkette in the eye. "According to the rogue nins we talked to, there are only about 4 left in this entire area. We should let it go back to its pack." The girl's mouth formed an 'O' shape.

"Alright then. Lemme just finish up on this girl and I'll get to work." Kakashi gave her a short nod, before turning to Boruto. "You. Try not to create anymore trouble." Boruto gulped, eyes trailing behind Kakashi as he began tying up the man he was previously carrying.

Boruto sighed. It was his very first mission outside the leaf village and he was already screwing it up. And it wasn't even his fault! He just sort of, somehow, lost track of where he was. Groaning, Boruto plopped his head into his hands. He felt stupid.

"Hey." The young blonde looked up to see Sasuke offering him a water flask. "Don't think too much of it. It's your first mission after all." Boruto accepted the flask with a grateful smile. "Thanks. Did your first mission go as terribly as mine?"

Sasuke blinked. "Yes actually. I almost died on my first mission. And then the dobe ended up going berserk with Kurama." The younger nervously grinned. "Wow. That must've sucked." The raven shrugged. "It all comes with the life of a shinobi. You get used to it."

Boruto chuckled. "You know when I was in the academy the only thing I could think about was surpassing my father. I wanted to become the greatest shinobi ever, so that I'd be even stronger than he was. But now, I'm not so sure I wanna live that life."

Sasuke nodded at him. "I wouldn't want you to live that life either. You would be better off choosing a different career path. Although there aren't any quite as respected or exciting as a shinobi."

Boruto nodded. "Yea. I've been thinking of going into the video game industry. I really enjoy it, and it seems to be booming lately." The raven furrowed his brows. "What's a video game?"

"Oh right!" Boruto laughed. "It hasn't been invented yet. It's pretty cool. Maybe I can show you it one day. Well, if I still, ya know, exist." He trailed off.

Sasuke gave him a curious look. "You said that you had a two year time limit, and then your given body would die and you would be sent back to the future, right?"

Boruto nodded. "Well." Sasuke continued. "What happens if you die before then? Would you be sent to the future anyways? Or would the jutsu not register you returning even if you exist in that time? Must there be a certain set of requirements in order for you to return?"

The boy standing next to him blanched. "Oh god I haven't even thought of that. What happens if I die before I'm supposed to?" Sasuke shrugged. "You should take care to not die until the day the two year mark is over."

"Right, yeah, I will." Boruto smiled gratefully at Sasuke. "Oi boys!" Sakura's voice called from a few yards away. "We gotta get going, everything's ready!" Sasuke gave Boruto a small smirk before heading off in Naruto's direction.

Boruto grinned back. As soon as Sasuke was out of sight his smile dropped from his face. Great. As if I didn't have enough things to worry about, now I have to stay alive or else I might die for real.

HEyOOO! Im not sure if any of you guys saw, but I started a new fanfic! Its still SasuNaruSasu (Of course) but it's a bit more lighthearted and fun than this one. Ok I take that back. It can get serious at times, but its also a sort of crackfic. Its still timetravel, except its Sasuke who goes back into time this time.

Anyways, I wont reveal anything else. Go check it out! It's called 'Sass-suke', and its already up! You should be able to find it by going to my profile.