What Went Wrong For Us?

Chapter 12

Boruto's friends and family were finally able to see him again late in the morning after the Rogue Ninja incident and his surgery. The news had shifted from Boruto's attack to his attacker. The Rogue Ninja Jiro was now being held in civilian jail like a common criminal, instead of the ninja prison. Naruto wanted to meet him, but he heard that Jiro was humiliated to be treated as such. Good. He was a common criminal, and one who hurt children, even if they could fight back. He deserved this utter humiliation, Naruto told himself. But he also wanted to know more about Jiro.

Getting back to Boruto, his back was still stiff the next morning. But when he tried to sit up without thinking, he found that he could sit up, but just barely, before the stiffness and pain stopped him. He could only sit up a couple centimeters before he collapsed—for lack of a better term—back onto the bed. He groaned.

The door opened. A nurse walked in, carrying a couple instruments with her. "Good morning," she said. "Sleep well last night?"

"Yeah," he answered.

"How's your back?"

"Still stiff."

"That's normal," she said. "Think you're ready for visitors?"

"Dr. Uchiha visited me last night," he answered.

"That's nice," she said.

"Where is she?"

"She's not here," the nurse said, keeping her tone upbeat but her overall demeanor was clearly unhappy. "Lately, she only comes in once a week. I don't know why. If you ask me, it's because the Chief of Medicine is a stuck-up old fool who hates her name."

"Her name?"

"You don't know what Sasuke Uchiha did, do you?"

"I know my dad told me he once defected from the village," said Boruto. "He also told me he attacked the Five Kage Summit once."

"And other things," the nurse sighed.

"Like not visiting Dr. Uchiha for 12 years," said Boruto.

"How do you know that—oh, of course, her daughter's your teammate. I'm sorry." Boruto didn't answer. But his silence allowed the nurse to remember something. "Oh! I almost forgot. We're going to let you see some visitors today. I'm sure your friends will be thrilled to see you're alright!"

"Why didn't I see them last night?"

"Because visiting hours were over and you were super tired," the nurse answered.

"Oh."

"But they're about to start letting visitors in. You'll know when they show up."

"Okay."

"Can you remind me what happened?" the nurse asked, jotting some notes down and simultaneously prepping an IV bag.

"Some rogue ninjas jumped us," Boruto answered. "One kicked me in the back."

"Oh, that sounds bad," she said. She wasn't looking at him, so Boruto wasn't sure if she meant that his injury sounded bad, or that his fight sounded bad. To be honest, he didn't make himself look good. If he told Konohamaru, he'd probably say those were the least of his worries, but Boruto didn't see it that way. "Are you alright, sweetie? Is something wrong? Well, besides your back."

"No!" Boruto snapped.

"Do you feel... angry?"

"NO!"

"I'll take that as a yes," said the nurse. "It's understandable to feel angry after you get hurt like this. And from what I hear... sorry. I don't want to rub it in."