Twisted

Squid

Boruto had his chin snuggly on Sarada's head, her small self fitting like a lost puzzle piece against his front. If he was going to let her go in a mere day's time, he was going to make the best of it. And that meant taking every remaining opportunity he had to hold her close.

Soon Ino came trotting back. He let his hands trail gently away from her waist as he turned to remove the goods from the saddle. Surprisingly, Ino managed to negotiate with the stall owners and picked out the perfect items.

For Boruto, there was a long black hooded cape that would conceal any sign of his princely features from the eyes of curious onlookers, and for Sarada, a small red hood with a matching dress that he was much too excited to see her in. It was clearly suited for a lady that would be attending the ball later that evening, and not a commoner. Regrettably, Ino did not purchase her any shoes.

After putting on his own cloak in less than three seconds, he decided to be a gentleman and keep his back to the large oak tree that Sarada was changing behind, despite the intense desire to steal glances in that direction to give his brain fuel to live on for the next 40 years. Ino would have kicked him if he turned around anyway.

When the sound of her gentle footsteps finally entered his ears, Boruto twisted his upper body back first. But his legs were slow to follow because the sight of her had somehow stolen away his ability to move.

"I'm done..."

Sarada's simple red silk kirtle that had been collecting dirt was replaced by elegant velvet. A caramel brown leather cord tightly laced up her front in a myriad of zigzags, white cotton peaking out through the diamond-shaped cracks that grew wider as they climbed up the curvature of her chest. Silver flowering vines hugged her slender waist and wound up both sides of her wide neckline, accenting her pale skin that he could admittedly see much more of. Her long red sleeves were similarly laced with a leather cord instead of sewn, hugging her upper arms and billowing out just above her elbows, silver trim lining their ends and hiding everything but her delicate fingertips from view.

He closed his open mouth and swallowed, but his mind was as blank as a solitary confinement chamber, eyes trailing down to the ends of her floor-length skirt, lingering on each feature a bit too long for Sarada's liking.

"Do... Do I look weird? I've never worn anything this... This nice before."

Instead of saying words, he eyed the day lily at her feet. He reached down and plucked it from the ground, letting his eyes wander her body on his way back up. Sarada was the epitome of perfect. Her fair skin, her silky hair, her heart-shaped lips, and especially...

He brushed her bangs gently to the side and wove the white flower's stem into her hair to reveal her eyes. Her dark eyes looked at him with a gaze like no other. Concern. Fear. An insecurity that made him want to gather her into his arms and tell her exactly what he was thinking a million times over until she believed that she was worth dying for, starting a war for, forsaking the kingdom for. He didn't care.

But Sarada unfortunately had her heart set on going back.

And so, Boruto had to swallow his unfortunate feelings. He would wait until she got bored of being in that tower and ran into his arms. He would show her all of the wonders of the world and make her long for it so badly that even her own stubbornness couldn't keep her hidden. And he would gladly put up with anything on or under the earth to keep her by his side.

Or at least, that's what scenario his imagination created to convince him that he would see her and that Sarada wasn't the stubborn type of person who would remain hidden even to her own detriment despite her doing it for the past 18 years with no problem.