Chapter Sixteen

                                    

                                          


                          


                          
"I'm reminding you, the drug was just for the pain," he hissed, his words competing with the sound of their footsteps and the wind angrily rushing against their direction. "It didn't really make your condition better, although you may feel like it," he added, trying to make his point clearer.
                          
His statement was barely audible but he knew his student, who'd insisted on running on his own now just right behind him, could hear him. The blonde's sudden wincing had just confirmed so.
                          
"The only concern I have right now is I that believe you're not going fast enough—"
                          
"That's because I need to scan the area well—and how can you insist on going faster when you can't even catch up anymore? You don't even know who we're facing yet." Sasuke snapped.
                          
He could not believe Boruto was still in such a mood to argue, given his current state. The boy should be drowsy, if not sleeping.
                          
"Of course I don't know who the hell it is! You wouldn't tell me! All I know is that there's chaos back in the village right now, so we need to hurry," Boruto grunted. "You wouldn't tell me anything. You wouldn't tell me where my teammates are, you wouldn't tell me what is happening in the village, and you wouldn't tell me where we're heading!" Boruto took a deep breath before continuing, yelling to make sure his mentor heard him well. "Is it because you don't trust me now, too? Because I'm also ANBU and you're afraid I may have become one of them—?!"
                          
Before he could continue, Sasuke suddenly came to a halt without warning, that Boruto had to hold on a branch to stop himself from bumping into the older man. Sasuke walked right toward the younger man, and Boruto braced himself.
                          
For a moment, the blonde thought a fist was headed his way, but Sasuke just stopped barely a foot away from him, his mentor's gaze piercing through him.
                          
"Did I hit a nerve there?" Boruto asked, straightening up and matching Sasuke's gaze with his.
                          
Sasuke let out an annoyed grunt. "If that's a very big deal to you, then let's settle it now. Got anything else you have a problem with?"
                          
Boruto sighed before shaking his head in disbelief. A few seconds of silence lingered between them before Sasuke raised his voice—
                          
"Because if that's the ONLY reason you wouldn't let me carry you so that you'd rather die from exhaustion and blood loss in the middle of this forest—" Sasuke paused, his face throat burning at how loud he was talking.
                          
Boruto just rolled his eyes before biting his lip. He had so many questions to ask but deep inside he knew that the need to know the details wasn't the real problem. His mentor knew that the questions he'd wanted to ask weren't the problem. And they both knew—they both knew what the problem was—it wasn't there yet when they began the journey but now it was. How the hell should they even talk about it?
                          
Since Sasuke wasn't showing any signs of bringing it up, Boruto decided to speak.
                          
"I just want to know why..." he sighed, "Why is that a probable solution? What circumstance do we have to face that makes it a reasonable thing to do? A reasonable thing to risk? Who is this..." Boruto paused, "Who is this... person.... or enemy, that makes this worth it?"
                          
Sasuke considered him from a moment, before pursing his lips. Boruto observed him as he tensed up and raised a finger.
                          
"For a moment," Sasuke muttered. He pulled his cloak back before raising his only arm. In a split second, a hawk was perched on it and he placed a note in its beak.