A Not so Sickfic

Escort Mission

Sarada awoke to find herself tucked down in her blanket. Chills ran over her body and across her skin like the gentle caress of Jack Frost. Her throat was beginning to feel as though little tiny microorganisms were chewing away at the lining.

"Not today," she moaned, wondering if the hay fever that was affecting everyone else had finally made its way to her. "We were supposed to go on a mission..."

It wasn't just any mission. It was a B rank mission. Her first B rank mission as team captain.

Boruto shirked a mission for the sake of saving someone else's life, but she couldn't sit out just because of a fever... Besides, Cho-Cho was looking forward to the opening of a new sweets shop. And as a Chunin, Sarada was going to use her earnings from this mission to treat her.

The moment she sat up, a sneeze flew out of her mouth at Mach speed. Her mom was already at work, which was a good thing. If she was home, she'd never let Sarada leave the house. While her voice wasn't being affected just quite yet, her mother could spot sickness from a mile away.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she noticed her color wasn't too bad. It was only slightly paler than normal. She threw on her regular clothes and ran the palms of her hands across the goosebumps on her arms. I'll just take some cold medicine... Then I'll be fine.

After swallowing down a few pills and making herself some herbal tea, she felt a little better. The goosebumps receded, and the tea was doing a good job at soothing her throat. "Alright! Time to go do this mission."

Sarada left her house and walked through the village. The warmth of the sun soaked through her sensitive skin. If she didn't run, she could conserve more of her energy for the mission... But it would also be cutting it close to their meetup time.

Boruto, Mitsuki, and Kawaki were all waiting for her on top of the hokage's office, each one with a surprised look on their face.

"Ah there she is," said Boruto, waving his hand and hopping off the building. "I thought I was going to have to go looking for you. Our team captain was really thirty seconds late for her first B rank mission..."

"Oh shut it," she grimaced.

But when Boruto paused, narrowed his eyes, and slumped his head forward in a "really?" gesture, she knew her sickness was discovered.

"Hm? Boruto." Kawaki jumped down and came to join them. "What's wrong?"

To her utmost surprise, Boruto nonchalantly turned around and sighed. "It's nothing. I thought maybe someone else was transformed into Sarada for a second, but I was wrong after all."

Either he was an idiot, or he was covering for her.

"Hmm," said Mitsuki. "You must look at her often to be able to tell. But then again, it is strange for Sarada to come late."

And there was Mitsuki, teasing them without knowing. Or maybe he did know and he just found it amusing. She never could read that smile of his.

"Anyways, let's go." Boruto turned his back and began walking. "Our client is waiting."

Their mission was to escort a merchant carrying goods that were being targeted by a few lower-level rogue ninja. Their client was a middle-aged man, average appearance, no remarkable features. But the dark green box on his back was a dead giveaway for the bandits.

Sarada was about to introduce herself, and then sneezed into her hand.

"Hm? Sarada, are you sick?" Mitsuki asked.

"Ahaha," she laughed nervously. "Maybe Cho-Cho is gossiping about me..."

"Anyways," Boruto covered her for certain this time, "our team is here to escort you. Let's get this mission underway!"