Like a Dream || borusara

11.

Blue eyes watched as Sarada stared blankly into a cup of lukewarm tea, still processing all she had learned that night. "One more time," she insisted.

Boruto exhaled a sigh. He was grateful she had calmed down enough to sit down at her small dining room table and have a conversation, but they had been over this half a dozen times already.

"As a kitsune, I have the ability to enter and influence your dreams. But right now, you are awake and we're inside your apartment. I have been following you, investigating the reason evil spirits have been after you. I've protected you every time they tried to hurt you. I do not want to hurt you," Boruto told her, trying his best to keep his explanation as simple and digestible as possible.

"But why?"

He pursed his lips. They had already been over this part too. "My father believes this will deepen my wisdom and ultimately help me grow more tails, which is a sign of power and maturity for a kitsune."

Sarada shook her head and finally lifted her gaze to look at him. "No, sorry, I mean... Why did you start sleeping with me?"

His eyes widened, a bit caught off guard by the new question. "Oh," Boruto laughed and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "For fun, I guess."

Her face scrunched like that was the wrong answer and Boruto frantically waved his hands as if that could erase his response. "Not like just for fun, more like it's fun to have sex with someone you like!" he corrected.

Sarada's expression softened, but she still didn't speak. Seemingly mulling over her next words.

"I don't get why that's a problem! You were the one who came on to me!"

She shook her head with a sigh. "No, it's not a problem, I just... I like you too. I really like you," Sarada mumbled. "I wanted to talk to you about our relationship and how you might want to be introduced if and when you meet my parents at the showcase this week... but you and I aren't going to have a real relationship, are we?"

Boruto's lips pressed into a hard line, unsure how to best respond to that.

Sarada swallowed harshly, taking his silence as confirmation. She hesitated before she spoke again. "Would it be totally selfish of me to ask if... we could pretend? At least until you're done with your investigation?"

His hand reached up, gently combing her bangs behind her ear. As difficult as it was to wrap her head around this entire crazy situation, Sarada knew one thing had always been true. She felt safe when she was with Boruto.

"Yeah, whatever you want," he nodded. "But fair warning, this investigation might take a while."

For the first time that night, a genuine smile stretched across her lips.

*****

As the days passed, every so often, Sarada would ask him if she was dreaming as if to confirm what she knew to be true. Boruto still felt a bit guilty for the way he confused her by visiting her in both her dreams and reality, but she promised that she forgave him.

Though it was an accident and resulted in a colossal mess, it was so much easier to watch over Sarada now that she knew the truth. Boruto began following her out in the open, walking her to class and accompanying her at work without bothering to ask first. She hadn't been attacked again, which meant his protection was working, but Boruto could sense the evil spirits that lingered around their periphery.

The source of their attraction to Sarada still evaded him.

Boruto continued to review the things he knew: there was no curse placed on Sarada herself (his father confirmed as much). But he still had yet to find any cursed object that she may have in her possession.