"I'm sorry Sarada, Boruto actually just left to see his father at the Hokage office." Hinata replied to the young Uchiha standing at her doorstep.
Sarada let out a soft sigh as her earlier prediction had come to fruition: Boruto had forgotten about their training. The two had agreed to work on combination jutsu's together using Boruto's wind style to enhance Sarada's fire style.
"Okay, thank you Lady Hinata, have a great rest of your day." Sarada replied with a bow as she turned to head towards the Hokage's office.
Hinata shook her head in disbelief as she shut her front door. No matter how many times she told Sarada she did't have to be so formal, she insisted on maintaining such high manners out of respect for the Hokage and his wife.
That stupid Boruto, he better have a good excuse for forgetting out training session. Sarada thought to herself with an annoyed expression on her face as she approached the Hokage's office.
Just as Sarada was going to knock for permission to enter, she heard Boruto say something that made her freeze in place.
"I can't be on the same team as Sarada anymore."
Sarada stood behind the door in utter disbelief. She was certain she heard him quite clearly.
Did I do something wrong? What did I ever do to make him not want to be on the same team as me? Sarada thought with a serious frown.
Naruto placed his hands together and leaned forward as he eyed his son, examining his body language and facial expression. It was quite clear to the Hokage that his son was dead serious about this.
"This is certainly surprising, especially considering your recent accomplishments. May I ask why you no longer want to be on the same team as Sarada?" Naruto asked.
Sarada gulped in anticipation, eagerly awaiting Boruto's response. A small piece of her was hurt inside that Boruto would make such a request.
"During our fight with Boro, he grabbed a hold of Sarada and was going to crush her in a few moments if I hadn't have kicked his arm, forcing him to let her go." Boruto began, his gaze firmly set towards his fathers.
"I instinctively turned all my attention to Sarada to make sure she was ok, despite the rampaging maniac still being few feet in front of me." Boruto stated, the incident fresh in his mind.
"If Momoshiki didn't take over my body, I would have died." Boruto stated while glancing down towards the ground. He hated admitting it, hated admitting that his body had to depend on the power of an evil Ohtsutsuki in order to save his own skin.
Sarada was wide eyed at Boruto's retelling of the event. She lowered her gaze to the ground as she remembered Boruto nearly dying that day, being pummeled into the ground by Boro. She couldn't deny Boruto had a point.
"I see..." The Hokage stated while leaning back in his chair, his eyes still firmly peering at Boruto.
"And this is unique to Sarada, you haven't had this problem with anyone else?" The homage asked, his eyebrow raised slightly.
"Y-yeah..." Boruto replied sheepishly, a slightly shade of pink coming across his cheeks.
Where are you going with this? Boruto thought while nervously scratching the back of his hand.
A sly grin crept across the face of Naruto.
"Seems to me like you have a crush on Sarada, Boruto."
Boruto's face turned a hot burning red, as did Sarada's.
"Dad, I'm being serious!" Boruto shouted at the top of his lungs.
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at his flustered son.
Boruto regained his composure and deeply inhaled as he looked his father in the eyes.
"It's not that we don't have good teamwork or anything like that, but its just I.."
Boruto's voice trailed off as he searched his father's face for any sign he would tease him again. Naruto's face remained serious as he continued to listen, waiting for Boruto to continue.
"...I care about her too much." Boruto finished, remaining cool and composed despite the slight blush he couldn't help from rising up to his face.
"I care about her too much and don't wanna compromise the mission or anyone's safety." Boruto claimed.
It took him a little while to work up the courage to tell this to his father, but knew it was for the best and had to be done.
Sarada just stood still on the other side of the door, a feeling she didn't know how to describe welling up inside of her.
So he feels the same way about me... Sarada thought with a smile on her face.
Sarada couldn't fault Boruto's logic. She recalled that even she had acted recklessly on account of protecting Boruto, remembering how if it weren't for Mitsuki holding her back, she would have fought a hopeless battle against Kashin Koji in hopes of helping Boruto.
And she too only had this problem when it came to Boruto.
Naruto said nothing but continued to hold eye contact with his son before a slight smile formed on his lips. Naruto stood from his seat and walked around his desk and stood directly in front of Boruto. The dad in him wanted to put his hand on the top of his head and ruffle his hair as he used to always do, but he relented. He wanted to slowly start to treat Boruto more and more like the grown man he was maturing towards.
"Son, i'm glad that you were able to reflect and discern this, and i'm glad that you care so much for Sarada. But I can't accept your request." Naruto stated plainly.
"W-What? Why not?" Boruto asked in surprise. He was sure his father would agree with his thinking and see the danger Boruto and his team could be in if he jeopardized the mission for Sarada's sake.
Sarada too was surprised at the Hokage's denial, agreeing with Boruto's logic, despite her wanting to stay close with Boruto on the same team.
"Boruto, being a shinobi isn't about not having feelings. It's about controlling your emotions and keeping them in check. This is also why teamwork is the most essential element to a mission, and if you can't find a compromise for your feelings for Sarada and her safety and completing the mission, i'm afraid you won't make it far as a ninja." Naruto asserted.
Both Sarada and Boruto felt a sense of shock at Naruto's assertion, processing what he had just said. They both stood silently in thought, debating rather or not they would be able to accomplish this.
"Well then, I guess we better keep working on our teamwork ." Boruto said with a determined expression on his face.
Naruto just stood silently and admired the growth he was seeing in his son.
"But I swear old man, you better not tell anyone that I like Sarada, not even mom! And definitely, definitely not Sasuke Sensei!" Boruto demanded, a fearful image of an angry Sasuke Uchiha flashing through his mind.
This made Sarada blush and giggle, delighted at Boruto's crush on her and his fear of her fathers wrath.
"Eh?" Boruto uttered as he turned to the door where the giggle he heard had come from.
Sarada gasped and was wide eyed as Boruto opened the door to see her standing there.
"S-sarada? How long have you been standing there?" Boruto demanded to know, his face slowly turning red.
His face got even more red as Sarada, with a blush, turned and ran away giggling at Boruto knowing she heard his confession.
Naruto chuckled and wished his son good luck in his mind as Boruto chased after Sarada with a flushed face, screaming her name at the top of his lungs.
