Childhood

Boruto's Birthday

Boruto avoided Sarada for a little while after the incident, unsure how to deal with her. Afraid that Shikadai would tease him more, he insisted that they weren't even friends. And every time he was around her, he felt... weird.

When they finally hung out as a group again, she seemed upset with him. He tried to apologize for avoiding her, but she huffed and turned away. He thought maybe it was because he said they weren't friends, but that wasn't it either. He had no idea why she was so mad at him, why she almost cried when he couldn't find the right words to apologize.

If only he knew that the shuriken he took from her room was one given to her by her father, he would have understood immediately. But she never told him, not wanting to accuse him of stealing when she had no proof. And he remained oblivious.

Even worse than Sarada avoiding him, his father was slowly getting busier and busier. Boruto tried to get his attention by learning to make two shadow clones at once. It impressed his mom and his little sister. But his father just gave him a tired smile and told him that he was making great progress.

Finally, Boruto's 8th birthday rolled around.

Himawari pounced on him first thing in the morning. "Onii-chan, wake up! We made pancakes for breakfast!"

Boruto rubbed open his eyes and ran downstairs expecting to find his father and mother sitting there like they usually did, wishing him a happy birthday.

But when he went down the stairs and saw only his mother, his heart sank.

"Happy Birthday," Hinata cheered, presenting him with pancakes. He smiled back and enjoyed the whipped cream and fresh fruit. And in the back of his mind, he convinced himself that his father would be there later.

His mother and little sister tried to help him have a fun day, taking him to his favorite burger place for lunch and even getting him the latest video game he had been looking forward to. But somehow, he couldn't find it in him to be his usual cheery self.

Later that night, Sakura and Temari showed up with Sarada and Shikadai. The sight of Shikadai brightened his mood a little, but Sarada brought back the weird feeling in his chest. "Y-you came?"

"I... I'm here for Himawari."

That was news to him. He had only seen them interact a handful of times, and it was usually just a simple wave. "I see."

He turned away from her and showed Shikadai his new game, to which Shikadai replied, "what a drag..." He bought the same gift.

But Boruto smiled and told him to run back home to get his console. "Since I already have one, just take that one for yourself so we can play together!"

Shikadai smirked and snuck out of the house without his mother noticing. If she saw that they had the same game, there was no doubt that she would make him return it.

Boruto turned over his shoulder and watched Sarada laughing as she played with Himawari. Her facial expression was a lot more gentle than it was around him. And it caused him to sigh. I wonder why she's nice to everyone but me?

"Hey Sarada," said Sakura suddenly. "Why don't you give Boruto his birthday present?"

His mood brightened a bit at the mention of gifts.

"...Ok..." Sarada went to the door and procured a small neatly wrapped box. "Here." She was fidgeting with her skirt as she stood in front of him, holding out the package. "I wasn't really sure what to get you... But... I hope this is ok..."

Boruto gently took it from her and unwrapped it, revealing a neat wooden box. When he opened it, inside were four shuriken. "Woah! Are these real?"

"Yeah," she said, blinking up with her head turned away. "They're just like mine. Careful that you don't cut yourse--"

But Boruto was already taking them out of the box, holding them in his fingers. "Sweet!"

"Idiot! Be careful!"

Eyeing his reflection in the shiny new shuriken in his hand, he checked the box one more time. There were, in fact, four. He held one out towards her. "Here."

"...You don't like it?"

He shook his head. "No that's not it... I used one of yours last time. When you got kidnapped. I had dad look for it, but I think it got washed away with the guy's water style justu... You can take this one as a replacement. I'll take the other three."

As if a wall had been broken down, Sarada suddenly relaxed, reaching her hand out slowly. But just before she touched it, she hesitated. "That's ok. You keep it."

"...Are you sure?" He would be a fool not to notice how much her expression had shifted, going from tense and offput to gentle and kind.

"I'm sure." Sarada smiled at him. "Happy Birthday." With that, she turned and went back to Himawari.

He found himself frozen. He thought she hated him. But to see her face soften into that kind of smile? Maybe she didn't hate him after all. 

"Hey mom... Can we go out and play with these?"

"It's dark now," said Hinata with a smile, "and you might lose them. Wait until tomorrow morning and then you can try them out. If you'd like, I'll even come with you and teach you how to use them."

"That's ok." He closed the box with a grin. "Sarada can do it."

Shikadai came back shortly after, and Temari nearly dragged him out the door by his ear when she figured out what he had done. But since it was Boruto's birthday, he passed with a scolding.

"I'm home!"

Boruto's face lit up into a smile. "Dad!" He ran to the front entrance to greet his father. Naruto smiled down at him and ruffled his hair.

"Yo, Boruto! Hm? Are there visitors?"

Boruto's eyebrows twitched. It was almost like he didn't even remember...

"Oh, welcome home dear!" His mother appeared behind him and interrupted his thoughts. "We're just about to have cake. Why don't you join us?"

"Ah! Good," said his father, taking off his shoes and laughing nervously. "I'm glad I didn't miss the cake."

The momentary sinking feeling was replaced by excitement. Boruto ran back to the kitchen and sat at the head of the table, hardly able to contain himself as his mom brought out the cake and lit the candles.

And as everyone gathered around him and sang happy birthday, he began to think that this was the best birthday he ever had.