Boruto - Lost in Time

Part 1: Control || Ch 15 || Illusion

Naruto's pov:

Again a pile of paper and so much work. I sighed as I looked down at the handwriting trying to identity what it was saying. But my mind was always drifting as I knew that Boruto was still feeling miserable.

I shouldn't have let him go.

The constant worry slowly made me go crazy. Just as I was about to begin working again I felt strong natural energy emerging in the middle of the village. The only one who summoned them beside me was Konohamaru. Did his team already arrive? Why didn't they give their report yet?

Thousand questions rose and before I could even sort them out the door flew open and a pale and exhausted Mitsuki was standing in the door frame. His clothes were torn and soaked in blood making my stomach roll over.

"Mitsuki!"

"Nanadaime please hurry. You are our only hope."

"What are you talking about? What happened?"

"No time. Boruto is dying. Please."

It was as if someone had punched me in the stomach and time stood still. The realization made my mind question the things I had just heard. I questioned the name, the verb and the meaning hoping for them to be wrong.

This wasn't real. This was an illusion. This can't be.

As I stood there frozen Mitsuki wad shouting something but my ears didn't pick up any sound anymore. I felt the colour draining from my face, my body felt as if it was burning and yet I felt at the same time my blood freezing.

Damn it! Naruto! What are you doing! Move! You are making it only worse!

Kurama...I didn't hear this right? This...

Naruto, if you won't move I'll force you to. So get going!

Slowly I managed to get control over my own two feet even though I was still in shock making my senses go numb. I followed Mitsuki even though it was hard to keep up as my vision became blurry and I was unable to spot him sometimes. But I knew where he was heading anyway.

The doors of the hospital were scarily closed and the whole building seemed like a place I would have loved to avoid at all costs. I had never wanted not to enter as much as I did now. As I entered I could hear sobbing and painful questions being asked into the air from the waiting area. As soon as I stepped in Sarada and Konohamaru's faces lit up and watched me with tearful eyes.

This can't be happening. Please let this be a bad dream. Someone wake me up.

''Naruto-nii...I...I'm so sorry...''

I was barely hearing his voice. My heart ached as a nurse came rushing over to me. Words like son, chakra and help caught my mind but I was barely aware of what I was doing.

A dream. This isn't real.

I felt losing myself, quickly I hurried after her through the corridor leaving Team 7 in the hallway, their pain a reflection of my own. The light of the operating room was glowing in a shocking intense red making me gulp and preparing for the worst even though I didn't want it to be true.

Boruto...

The door was opening in a crash by the nurse while I stopped in the doorframe. My eyes widened and the tears were already at the edge of falling. The monitor that should have showed his heart rate was a flat line, the beeping sound like a kunai cutting me second after second. In the middle multiple medical ninjas were giving Boruto their chakra, the blue shimmery energy flowing all over his motionless body.

Slowly I moved in his direction my eyes scanning his small, frail body full of blood. His clothes were torn, burns were visible everywhere on his skin, it was as if he had bathed in fire. Cuts, deeper and big ones were on his arms and a giant hole covered in red was where his small chest should be. Even worse curse mark-like lines were covering the right side of his body spreading up to his closed eyes. His headband was gone, now the bloody headband in Konohamaru's hands I had seen earlier made sense. His chest wasn't moving, he wasn't breathing, his heart wasn't beating, I could sense no chakra inside of him anymore.

My body trembled as the realization stuck me.

No, please, don't let this be real.

''Naruto...'', Sakura's whispers made me look up but she quickly averted her gaze as she saw my face her quiet voice continuing, ''...try to share some of your chakra with him. Even though I don't know whether it will help... his heart wasn't beating anymore when he arrived. I don't...''

Her voice broke and I knew exactly why. There was no hope anymore. Even so my hand moved forward and touched his frail body which glowed red with Kurama's chakra. I let my hand stay there as I felt my son lying still like a rock, seeming far far away from me, out of my reach.

Slowly my strength disappeared and tears were running down my cheeks falling down in a stream.

Please don't take him from me.

I felt Sakura's stare on me, hearing her sobs was only confirming the gruesome truth. They were only doing this for my sake. They knew just too well that he was already gone. Deep down my rational self understood too. But the father in me was fighting against it, still believing in naive hope, still clinging to a miracle.

Not Boruto, no please, not him.

Gently I brushed his soft cheek while he still had his eyes closed not moving even a bit. Memories of him laughing were filling my head as I remembered the cheerful boy, the son I had never spend enough time with, the son that had only battled for me to see him, to notice him. I wanted to make it right, I wanted to be the father I never had, the father he deserved.

My legs gave up under me and I heard the worried nurses shouting after me though all I was focusing on was the small boy in front me. I was drowning in my sobbing as I held his hand tightly not letting go.

I wouldn't let go. There had to be a way, there had to be some kind of miracle.

Please someone. If I can't help then there has to be someone else. How can I be so useless as a father? Why? Why am I failing? I can't even protect my own son.

Boruto.
Please.
Don't leave me.