forbidden words are a chrysalis in his throat,  vacuous irises settle upon the lost. he dithered, for professing the brambled wreathes of a nameless ache plaguing him so would not alter a dolorous present. instead, pallid fingers rustle the feline's coat, tuffs of fur rising in stiffened clumps. she wasn't herself, the silence so utter && profound that mitsuki may have become lost in its immensity.

respite swathed in cotton, the pristine sheets match the stark colours of the incarcerating walls. he'd waited there patiently for there was nowhere else that he was obligated to be. even as the vivacious nurses had sauntered through, reassuring him that he should go home && get some rest, he'd denied them, his intentions unknown && yet his resolve unfaltering.

so when vivid irises, a blue that rivalled the pristine skies, fluttered open, he was the first to greet them. ❝ you're finally awake, boruto. ❞ impassive tones impart little, aureate hues assessing the bundled up shinobi.  ❝ ——  did you rest well ?  ❞  after all, the nurses had been adamant that it was that which he was doing.  

beneath the transparent veil of glass, dithering bubble rise in ascension && it's in those moments that evidence shows, how replaceable an existence was. for he was one of many, a vessel if so, for the things his parent could not accomplish. only since then had mitsuki developed a will of his own && how paramount had it become to him, this sense of separation, of existence, of self.  

sarada's hands encompass his own, clammy, uneasy, she claims composure but below the quiver of artificial light does she reveal her concern. it lingers on the precipice of her voice, swathes her words in choked rasps. never had mitsuki feared his own demise, for such trepidation, was human nature && he'd never quite passed the tenuous line between which he was && what he wanted to become.

❝ ... are you worried ?  ❞  it's barely audible, tasting of bitter iron && sweltering heat. beneath the swell of his lids does he observe her. had his parent been correct, all that awaited him beyond those ephemeral dreams was anguish && suffering to which he could not anticipate ? && yet ....  && yet his friends had come to fill the void of uncertainty that had corroded && consumed, their words && values, their actions && their vices. leaden, they slip closed, a shudder descending upon marred ivory, how vile the view of those arbitrary bruises. one did not have to be human, to break beneath the weight of their own existence; something new he had been taught.  

&& so the room, so teeming with melancholy, is dyed in monochromatic hues. through the serpent’s gaze, aureate && attentive does this child drink in the vile tastes of conflict. it’s death && decay && the husks of humanity dispersing upon a fickle wind. in this chaos, jutsu && blade alike inclined to ferocity && barbarity he wonders, what is his place here ? they had been transitioned to aid in confrontation but never, not even amongst the pallid walls of his parent’s laboratory had he smelt something so potent, so rancid, he assimilated it as simply the aroma of death.  

❝ —— you want us to believe that. ❞ he confirms, an ivory visage wavers not in the face of the depraved, the deplorable && unjust. if these people died for the sake of their village, was that truly so unfortunate that they’d wish to hide it away from the eyes of their successors ? if that were truly the case && they had done all they could, was this mission, not a failure.  mitsuki cants his head, ignorant to the appropriate times to speak of such things.