The Fourth Wall

Chapter 8: The Confession

"Boruto," Sumire began once they were sitting on a bench outside of the restaurant. "What do you think of Sarada?"

Boruto froze. "Huh?" He backed up. "What do you mean, what do I think of her?"

"I mean, do you like her?"

His face exploded. "P-Prez... Why do you want to know that?"

"It's important to me."

"Man," he said, touching the back of his neck with his palm. "When you said you had something to talk about, I wasn't exactly imagining this..." He ducked his head. Thinking about the mission had given him mixed feelings. He was beginning to realize she wasn't entirely annoying... but to go so far as to say that he liked her was an overstatement. "I mean... I guess, she's annoying, but she's reliable? Kinda."

"Reliable?"

Boruto nodded. "Like when we're on missions, she usually knows what I'm thinking, and it comes in handy. Or if I get distracted, she'll snap me out of it... But on the other hand, she's constantly nagging me like she's my mom or something," pouted Boruto. "Or going on about how great my dad is, and how much she wants to be like him. Her dad is so much cooler... But I guess I kinda understand why she likes mine better. I still think he's a cruddy geezer though."

Sumire laughed. "I see. She sounds like a sister."

Ouch, thought the author, who was watching the exchange from behind a tree.

"Nah," said Boruto, much to the author's surprise, "she's different than Hima. Hima gets on my nerves sometimes, but I wouldn't call her annoying."

"Then a cousin," giggled Sumire.

"I guess...?"

Sumire stood to her feet. "Boruto," she said, eyeing the restaurant. "The truth is, someone came and told me that you would be going on a mission. They told me that on this mission, you might discover something important to you. Something like your feelings for a girl."

"...Prez?"

"It seems to me like you have feelings for Sarada."

If Boruto was drinking something, he would have spit it out. "Huh?!"

"And if you did," she continued, "I would be very troubled."

His surprise was replaced with immediate blush.

I see the troublemaker didn't even have to bother with giving her a mission. Great. How am I going to clean this up, sighed the author, watching as Boruto stared off into space like he had just been hit by a metal baseball bat.

"P-Prez?"

"Whatever this mission is that you're on, I hope you come back from it unscathed," said Sumire with a smile. "And please don't forget what I said, Boruto."

The author sighed as they watched Boruto sit in a daze on the bench. But when they peered at their laptop screen, the words written there made their eyes widen.

Sumire... likes me? Boruto thought, his eyes trailing after Sumire's slowly vanishing figure.

The author laughed. Oh Boruto. It was very obvious.

I... I guess I should be taking this more seriously... But... Do I like Sumire? Or... Boruto stood up from the bench. "Dang it."

"Boruto!" Sarada waved him over from the entrance of Kaminari Burger.

He sighed. "I'm coming."

"So," said Sarada, "What did Sumire want to talk to you about?"

He tucked his chin into the collar of his jacket and averted his eyes. "Nothing..."