"Of course, your big sis will be always there for you"
Hanabi warmly smiled before pulling Boruto in her embrace, He kept silent, and a small smile crept up on the side of his lips.
'This....isn't so bad'
He wrapped his small arm around her waist and supported his head on her chest.
After a few moments, Boruto pulled out from her embrace, Hanabi ruffled his hair before standing up.
"I'll go bring us some snacks, you wait here, ok?"
Boruto nodded, Hanabi went towards the house while Boruto again looked at his reflection.
"....My past"
Boruto muttered, he closed his eyes and recalled everything about his past.
.
.
.
.
*FlashBack*
In Japan, inside an orphanage stood two individuals, one of them had auburn hair and azure eyes.
The other had Jet-black hair with jade emerald eyes.
"Hey Alex, it looks really cool right? ... Can we also do it?"
The former asked Alex, Alex nodded as he ate a chip from his bag of chips.
"Mhm!, I'm sure we can also do it Arthur"
Alex excitedly told Arthur, both of them looked around 5yrs old, Arthur and Alex were best buddies.
They grew up together in the orphanage, They always shares their meals and pulled pranks on others.
"I wonder when we can control Chi"
That's right, this world isn't the same as our Earth, well it's really similar yet very different.
In this reality, the concept of Chi from Marvel exists, Therefore Martial artists have a higher value than normal civilians.
Both Alex and Arthur were now laying on a single bed while watching a show on a small T.V.
"I don't know Arthur...maybe when we join a dojo"
Alex replied while he tried to imitate the person on the T.V, Arthur also got up and tried to do the same.
"Let's leave this shity orphanage Alex, We can go and work to earn some money...maybe then we can join a dojo"
Alex looked a bit conflicted at his words but ultimately agreed.
"yeah, I'm done with this stupid orphanage, let's get out of here and live our life freely...I'm sure somebody will accept us"
Arthur nodded, fortunately, the orphanage was empty during that particular period of time.
All the kids were taken outside for playtime, and the thing that made Arthur and Alex hate the orphanage was because of a certain individual.
His name was Clark, the person whose is in charge of taking care of the kids, He treated everyone equally except for Alex and Arthur.
The reason was simple, he had anger issues, and when Alex and Arthur pulled small pranks on him or made fun of his appearance, he treats them like shit for the rest of the week.
"He didn't let us play today...argh! I hate him!"
Arthur cursed under his breath, Alex seeing his best friend acting like this gave him a punch to the face.
"Oww~..that hurt"
"It was meant to, now stop whining and pack your things... it's now or never"
Arthur wanted to kick the balls outta him, but he suppressed his anger, he went and packed his belongings...Alex did the same.
They didn't have anything special in their possession except for some pair of clothes and a bunch of coins.
They both strapped their small backpack around them and nodded to eachother.
That was the day when both Alex and Arthur escaped from the demon known as Clark.
[A week Later]
"Please, good sir let us work in your shop, we'll do any work...we won't complain"
The pleading voice of Arthur echoed through the empty hall of a butcher shop, Alex and Arthur were kneeling in front of a man who had blood all over his clothes.
"You're just kids, you can't help me run this shop...and besides, I don't need any help from some brats to run my place, Get out of here immediately or I'll kick you out personally! "
The man said with irritation in his tone, but Arthur again tried to ask only to receive a fierce kick in the stomach.
"Argh!!"
"Arthur!!.... please don't hurt him! we'll go and never come back!"
Alex hurried through the hall and hugged Arthur as begged the shop owner to stop.
"Hmph!, Get out before I lose my patience!"
The man snorted, Alex slightly bowed his head before carrying Arthur out of the shop.
After walking far away from the shop Alex and Arthur both were supporting their body on a wall in a small ally.
"Grr...it still hurts Alex"
A groan escaped from Arthur's lips, small drops of tears were leaking out of his eyes.
"Why? Why isn't anybody helping us...aren't adults supposed to help us?"
He couldn't bear it any longer, Alex sat next to Arthur, he pulled Arthur's head and placed it on his chest.
"Don't worry, I'm sure somebody will accept u-"
Alex attempted to console Arthur but the latter interrupted with anger filled in his voice.
"Stop it! Don't you get it! Nobody gives a shit! Stop saying delusional things!"
Arthur yelled as he punched Alex's face, The latter took the hit and didn't utter a word.
"C'mon, stop fighting...kids shouldn't fight among themselves, especially friends"
An aged voice rang through the silent alleyway, Alex and Arthur quickly stepped back after hearing the voice.
"Don't be afraid, I'm just an old man walking"
"W-Who're you?"
Alex asked while stuttering, The old man chuckled, he walked out of the darkness to reveal himself.
The old man was about 178cm in height, he looked like someone in his 60s, his hair was completely white as well as his facial hair.
"I'll ask again...who're you?"
Alex again asked, but his voice wasn't stuttering anymore, in fact, it was accompanied by confidence.
"Interesting"
The Man muttered, Arthur looked at the man with wary eyes, he couldn't just trust a guy that just popped out of nowhere.
"Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself, my name is Morihei Ueshiba...may I know both of your name"
Morihei politely asked the kids infront of him.
"....Arthur"
Arthur was a bit hesitant but in the end, he decided to reveal his name, I mean he had nothing to lose.
'Maybe, just maybe...this old man might be the one'
"Alex"
Morihei nodded in satisfaction, he neared them, Arthur grew warier as he came forward.
"Stop! ...don't come closer"
Arthur was afraid, he was afraid that the old man would try to hurt Alex.
"Calm down...I won't come closer, better?, I can offer you a job in my dojo"
Alex's eyes shined with hope, he looked at Arthur who was having an inner conflict with himself.
"....Arthur, this might be our chance...let's go, we don't have anything to lose"
Arthur didn't reply, he stood there silently...he was staring at the Morihei's eyes.
"Fine"
Eventually he agreed, Morihei let out a sigh of releif, one could say that he didn't know how to handle kids.
"Good!, Now...let us go shall we?"
Both Arthur and Alex nodded at his words, Morihei exited the alleyway, both of them followed behind him.
[A few Hours Later]
After walking for a few couple of hours, both Morihei along with Alex and Arthur stood infront of a small-sized dojo.
"Woah"
Both Arthur and Alex blurted out in amazement, it couldn't be helped, both of them only saw dojo's on a T.V.
Now that there were seeing it in person, they couldn't help but express their thoughts, Morihei chuckled at the sight.
"Are we going inside or are you going to stand there all day?"
Alex and Arthur both came out of their trance, Morihei entered the dojo, Arthur and Alex both stared at eachother before following him.
Both Alex and Arthur observed their surroundings, multiple teenage and adults were wearing white clothes and training amongst themselves.
"Welcome back sensei!!"
Every person in that place bowed towards Morihei, the latter just waved his hands, the students then continued their previous actions without even bothering about the kids that he brought.
"Now...what kind of work can you do?"
"We'll do anything!"
Arthur and Alex both replied together before performing a 90° bow towards Morihei.
"Alright then, from now onwards these are your jobs
[1]. Wake up at 4:00 and clean the dojo
[2]. Clean the kitchen around 5:00
[3]. Serve a cup of tea infront of my room at
6:00
[4]. Clean the backyard and the front at 8:00
[5]. Wash the dishes at 9:00
[6]. You can rest until 3:00 in the evening
[7]. Laundry at 3:30
[8]. Clean the dishes at 5:00
[9]. Clean the kitchen at 7:00
[10]. The Laundry at 9:00
[11]. Clean the dojo at 11:00
"That's about it...is there any problem?"
Arthur and Alex gulped, but they had no choice but to agree, they hesitantly nodded.
"Good, you don't have to do anything today...start from tomorrow"
Morihei walked away, Alex looked over to Arthur only to receive a glare, he quickly retracted his gaze.
[8 years Later]
"Alex! Stop lazing and start working!"
Arthur scolded Alex...the former was 175cm in height and the latter 169cm.
"Shut up, just gimme a minute"
Alex replied back with a snort, everyday they would wake up at 4:00 and would do their job(s) without slacking off, this continued for straight 8years...not once did they complain about it.
[10:00]
"Ha~ finally"
Alex let out a sigh of relief before collapsing on the ground, they were in the dojo's main hall...the students were currently outside relaxing.
"What're you exaggerating about?, you didn't even do half of what you usually do?"
Arthur rolled his eyes at him, Alex however, just shrugged his shoulders.
"Well...I'm gonna practice"
Arthur's interest only grew more when he sees the students performing MartialArts, he tried to channel his Chi through his body.
But both of them were unaware of a pair of black eyes that spy-ed on them.
'The sheer amount of Chi inside that kid is...unbelievable'
Morihei looked at Arthur with astonishment in his eyes, he then decided to reveal himself.
"Arthur~"
Arthur stood there unmoving, cold sweat appeared on the back of his head, Alex frowned at the sight.
"Umm~ I can explain"
Arthur nervously chuckled before slightly bowing infront of Morihei.
"Arthur, are you interested in MartialArts?"
"NoNoNoNo"
Arthur lied while hastily shaking his head, but Morihei wasn't a fool, he could tell he was lying.
"Kid...I've seen you grow from a child to a teenager, do you think I can't tell the difference between lie and truth?"
Arthur had a bitter smile on his face.
"I do love it"
Morihei's lip curled up to a warm smile, he neared Arthur and patted his shoulder.
"I can train you if you want"
"Really?"
"yes"
Arthur's eyes shone with excitement he pounced on Morihei and tightly hugged him.
"Hey Hey, calm down...I'm quite old for all of this"
Arthur stepped back bowed infront him.
"Thank you so much, old man!"
"From now on, call me sensei"
"Yes, sensei! "
Alex watched all of this with a gentle smile, his friend finally got a chance to achieve his dream.
Morihei again patted Arthur's shoulder before walking away.
"Guess, more work for me huh"
Arthur chuckled at Alex's words, Alex didn't care if he got extra work because of Arthur...he only wanted to see Arthur accomplish his dreams.
[A week later]
"How is this possible? The minimum amount of time to control Chi is atleast 1 month...to think that someone could do it in a single week"
Morihei watched as Arthur performed MartialArts, whenever his hands moved a trail of golden light was present there.
All the students watched this scene with wide eyes, and one of them was especially keeping his eyes on Arthur.
He had black hair with black eyes and an average look.
'This guy....'
He gritted his teeth as he watched him control Chi with no effort...almost as if he was born to do this.
[1 year Later]
Arthur was now 15, he was walking inside a super-market, he looked at a banner named
'Anime&Manga'.
Behind him was Alex, he was rolling the shopping cart with their purchases.
"Hurry up already...the old man must be waiting, can't we purchase the Manga next week?"
"No"
*sigh*
Alex gave up, but the next events made his eyes wide.
Arthur fell to the ground seemingly unconscious, Alex was about to step forward before he felt a slight sting on his left shoulder.
Alex also fell unconscious, before he passed out he saw a familiar figure but he couldn't recognise who it was.
*thud*
.
.
.
.
"Mm"
Arthur slowly opened his eyes with a grunt, he looked down only to see himself tied on a chair.
'Alex!'
Arthur's eyes wandered the room until finally, his gaze fell on a black-haired teenager, his eyes widened seeing the tools beside Alex.
"Alex!"
Arthur tried to call him, but the reply that came wasn't the one Arthur was expecting.
"Oh Arthur Arthur Arthur...it's good to see you"
A person stepped out of the shadows with multiple men behind him, Arthur narrowed his eyes at the man.
"Asahi, what do you think you're doing, if the old man finds out you'll be in big trouble"
Asahi snorted at his words, he neared Alex and pulled his hair.
"Argh!"
Alex jolted up, Arthur's aura changed, Killing intent leaked from his gaze.
"Asahi, if you hurt Alex, I swear I'll rip you apart piece by piece"
Asahi slightly trembled at those words, but he quickly regained his posture.
"What can you do?"
Arthur was about to respond but Asahi's next actions made him yell in anger, he lifted up Alex's finger and cracked it.
*Crack*
"Arghh!!! It hurts!!"
"Asahi stop it!!"
Alex cried out in pain, Arthur's heart beat started accelerating, he tried to get out of his binding...but the ropes were made out of steel, he couldn't break free.
"Asahi! I told you to stop! What have we even done to you?!"
Asahi loosened his grip on Alex and looked at Arthur.
"What have we done!? you ruined everything! I was Sensei's favourite student, i was No.1, I was the most popular! ....until you showed up! You were just a slave, why are you better than me?!"
Asahi yelled onto Arthur.
Arthur, However, looked puzzled.
"So that was it, I'm your target right, Then why the hell are you dragging Alex into this! Let him go! You can torture me if you want, just let Alex go!"
Arthur pleaded, but Asahi smirked at his words.
"That's right, it's between us...but physical damage isn't the way to go...I'm gonna torture you mentally"
Arthur's eyes widened, he again yelled but his words fell into deaf ears.
Asahi turned the lights on, Arthur could see everything now.
Almost around 100 men were present in the room, and next to Alex was a Hydraulic pressing machine.
"Hey!! Don't do it!"
Asahi ignored Arthur, he lifted Alex's arm and placed it under the machine.
Tears slid under Arthur's eyes.
*Intense screaming*
"Argh!!!! Please stop it!!!"
Alex's hands were being crushed by the machine, the sound of bones cracking resounded through the room.
"Stop!!!"
Arthur's voice started to crack up, he was witnessing his best friend getting tortured right infront of him.
The friend that accompanied his whole life, Images of Alex and him together flashed inside his mind.
"Stop!! Torture me instead!! Please stop!! I'm begging you!!"
Asahi's smirk grew wider each passing second, Alex's eyes were blood shot, tears were coming down uncontrollably.
"This hasn't even started"
Blood sprayed everywhere like fountain water, Arthur saw him lift up Alex's other arm.
"NoNoNoNO!!!"
[A few moments later]
Alex's every limb was crushed under the machine, Arthur's Chi exploded like a raging volcano.
"Asahi"
Arthur's voice was now dangerously calm, Asahi looked over, the smirk on his face immediately vanished.
He watched as Arthur break the ropes and stand up from the chair.
"What?!"
The reason Arthur was able to break the ropes was simple, he used his Chi to weaken the ropes...but this took quite a bit of time.
'It's too late'
Arthur looked at Alex's unmoving body, his eyes started to tear up again.
"What's happening? Where is your Chi?"
Asahi wasn't able to sense even a drop of Chi from Arthur's body, But...he felt more dangerous looking at Arthur now?
Arthur shifted his gaze, he looked right at Asahi's eyes, Asahi felt a shiver running through his spine.
Arthur then looked to his left, his saw a doubled edged sword laying on the ground.
Asahi looked over where Arthur looked, his eyes widened after seeing Arthur there.
'What's happening?! How did he reach there?!'
Arthur picked up the blade, he swung it slightly towards the ground.
*Crack*
The moment Arthur's sword passed by, the ground started to crack up.
"Ho-"
Asahi was about question him, but he grew confused, the world was upside down?
*Thud*
Arthur stood on the other side of the room, behind him blood started raining, Arthur droped his blade...his eyes became dead like a fish.
Behind him were bodies of hundreds of men who were beheaded, the room was filled with blood, a small pond formed under his feet.
"Old man, You said to use this technique if i was in the verge od death...I'm sorry"
The technique now used by Arthur was 'The end', the technique came at a very high price...it was Chi.
After sacrificing every ounce of Chi inside you, the said person can increase his physical abilities by 10X after using it, but it's only a temporary power-up.
Every MartialArtists know this...but, after using the technique, you can never experience Chi.
Arthur's now gotten strength started fading away, his veins started popping, blood dripped down his body.
"Goodbye....Alex"
Arthur took a one last glance at Alex before he started to look for the exit.
*Flashback end*
A drop of tear fell on the small pond under Boruto, he swept it away before washing his face.
'Atleast I'm quite aure that you're still alive on some random universe...probably a hentai one'
He chuckled at his own thought before a bitter smile formed on his face.
"I'm back with the snacks!"
Hanabi's voice bought him out of his thoughts, he looked at her with a small smile.
'I'll come visit you Alex...one day for sure'
He dispersed his thoughts after that.