Mine to Take (A Boruto Love Story)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry I'm late on the new release. Work has been hectic and it's going to be even more hectic this month. Here is the next installment. Thanks to all those who've reviewed/favorite/followed Mine to Take. As always, it means a lot. Please keep it coming.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Yuna stood on the mountain overlooking Konoha and Boruto stood beside her, smiling down at her with love and affection. She beamed back at him, but when she glanced down at the village below, she's standing on her own and the village is gray and drab. She gazed down at her hands and noticed the seal for Napalm Fist wrapped around her body. No! Her head whipped back to his face, to find his smile is sad and wistful. He tucked her hair behind her ear. Standing behind her was Ataru; he murmured something in her ear. Slowly, she lifted her arm and placed a hand on Boruto's chest, transferring the seal over to him. Then with a cruel smile, she gave him a hard shove in the center of his chest, and he staggered back off the edge of the cliff. With blank eyes, Yuna watched as he disappeared into the village below. The seal went off, taking Boruto and the entire village in its destruction...and she woke, gasping for air, as panic seized her.

"Hey," he whispered from beside her in the darkness, his voice filled with concern.

Oh, he's here. He's safe. Relief coursed through her.

"Oh, Boruto," she mumbled, trying to bring her pounding heartbeat under control. He wrapped her in his arms, and it's only then that she realized she had tears streaming down her face.

"Yuna, what is it?" He stroked her cheek, wiping away her tears, and she could hear his anguish.

"Nothing. A silly nightmare."

He kissed her forehead and her tearstained cheeks, comforting her. "Just a bad dream," he murmured. "I've got you. I'll keep you safe."

Drinking in his scent, she curled around him, trying to ignore the loss and devastation she felt in her dream, and in that moment, she knew that her deepest, darkest fear would be losing him and her home.

~MINE TO TAKE~

Yuna stirred, instinctively reaching for Boruto only to feel his absence. Shit! She woke instantly and looked anxiously around the room. Boruto was watching her from the small, upholstered armchair by the bed. Stooping down, he placed something on the floor, then moved and stretched out on the bed beside her. He's dressed in his black pants and a white T-shirt.

"Hey, don't panic. Everything's fine," he said, his voice gentle and soothing—like he's talking to a cornered wild animal. Tenderly, he smoothed the hair back from her face and she calmed immediately. She saw him trying and failing to hide his own concern.

"You've been so jumpy these last couple of days," he murmured, his eyes wide and serious.

"I'm okay, Boruto." She gave him her brightest smile because she didn't want him to know how worried she was about the poisoning incident. The painful recollection of how she felt when Boruto was poisoned—the hollow emptiness, the indescribable pain—keeps resurfacing; the memory nagging her and gnawing at her heart. Keeping the smile fixed on her face, she tried to repress it.

"Were you watching me sleep?"

"Yes," he said, gazing at her steadily, studying her. "You were talking."

"Oh?" Shit! What was I saying?

"You're worried," he added, his eyes filled with concern. Is there nothing she can keep from this man? He leaned forward and kissed her between her brows.