Evenings at Ichiraku Ramen were bustling, and that was a dysphemism. The golden illuminated restaurant was vibrant, with the lively chatter of the families of the village giving life to the atmosphere. Uzumaki Boruto didn't hate the place, he just couldn't comprehend why one would go to eat ramen over burgers from Lighting Burger.

Yet, he was sitting in a two-person booth across from Iwasaki Sora, who was amidst devouring her fourth bowl of shoyu ramen. Glancing down at his bowl that he had finished, then back to the brunette, Boruto shuddered in disgust.

"I'm surprised that you aren't two-hundred pounds over weight. Many would say it's even abnormal for a young girl like yourself to eat more than two bowls." The shinobi cooly spoke, taking a sip of his iced water.

Setting down her large bowl, and ignoring Boruto, Sora yelled out. "Another bowl of shoyu ramen please!" Ayame, the owner of joint, replied loudly. "Coming right up!"

Turning back to Boruto, Sora noted how his azure-coloured eyes proceeded to roll. Breathing in, Sora responded, shrugging. "Well I'm no normal girl, and I'm hungry." Glancing at the bowls, she finished. "Plus, it tastes really good, and I do love some good ramen."

"What type of food do you like?" Boruto asked the young girl as they left the inn. If it were him, he would have gone to get burgers, or even try something new. But it wasn't his choice, and he was doing a job.

At his words, Sora's eyes glistened. It had been a long time since the brunette had eating delicious and richly caloric food, the only type of food that should be classified as real food, in her opinion.

Sora's response made Boruto shudder, and wish that he just took her to Lightining Burger without saying a word. With a smile, Sora spoke with a watered mouth.

"Ramen".

Yet another steaming bowl of noodle-goodness was rapidly placed in front of Sora, who immediently pounced at it with a healthy appetite. Boruto couldn't help but grimace at the sight, feeling stuffed already.

Sora, completely unaware of Boruto's disgust, quickly finished her food, then proceeding to take a large gulp of her diet cola. "I should probably stop here and avoid over-eating." At that, Boruto eyes completely widened. She's just like mom! Where exactly does all this food go to?

What Boruto didn't realise was that he was blatantly staring at Sora's cleavage, which was not on full display, but visible as she was still wearing her black strappy tank top. And it took Sora a moment to understand what the blonde was staring at, but when she did, her hazel eyes widened.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, you dirty perv!" Sora yelled whilst throwing her chopsticks at the shinobi. This proved to be ineffective as he caught them with ease, but he still went completely red, like a deer caught in headlights. It didn't help that, simultaneously, the entire restaurant went silent at the commotion, and everyone stared at the couple. Sora was physically huffing as she crossed her arms around her upper area, meanwhile Boruto was completely flustered.

And then, the entire restaurant started silent whispering, and Boruto knew why.

"Is that the Hokage's son?"

"Who's the girl he's with?"

"Wow, he grew up to become handsome."

"But didn't you hear, he's perv."

"What's he doing here?"

"Is he still a shinobi?"

"Not sure, but by his age, his father had done so much more."

Boruto remained silent, trying to ignore the voices. Stop feeling like that, you're a shinobi. Their opinions don't matter, only your's.

The blonde was once again lost in his thoughts, and unconsciously clenching his fists. A pair of hazel eyes was carefully watching him, and though she didn't understand, she also wasn't deaf, and she could hear the silent chatter. Letting out a sigh, she took out a large bill from her pocket, setting it down on the table.

Sora then stood up, reaching her hand out to Boruto. "Hey Boruto-kun, let's go. I'm in the mood for some ice-cream" At that, Boruto's eyes snapped, and his face morphed back into its usual scowl.

"You must be joking." Following that, Boruto reached for the wallet in his pocket, getting ready to pay for his portion of dinner. And even though he's a well-trained shinobi, Sora's hand that quickly envoloped his wrist caught him off-guard.

Her soft voice also quickly spoke. "No need, I've got you covered." But Boruto quickly protested, in an attempt to protect his pride.

A waitress then ushered in, grabbing the large bill from the table. The brunette turned to the waitress. "Keep the change, consider it as a tip." At that, the helper's eyes widened, but she nodded. Hm, is it abnormal to leave tips here?

Turning back to Boruto, Sora reaffirmed "No need, Boruto-kun. This is one of your fringe-benefits as an temporary employee of the Iwasaki family."

It was a Saturday night, so it wasn't surprising to Sora that the urban village was so alive, especially at the town center where she and her bodyguard were walking in. The pair were walking towards a dessert cafe, one which Boruto believed still might be open.

The pair walked in silence, but Sora didn't consider the silence to be awkward. There just was no conversation, which was expected due to the nature of their relationship. But Sora couldn't help but note how close he was to her, and she liked to think that it wasn't because of how congested the area is.

The couple then paused infront of a pink-themed cafe, and Sora couldn't help but find it adorable. Whilst admiring the establishment, Sora failed to register how Boruto physically paled.

Why did Boruto begin to profusely sweat? Well, that was because seated inside the cafe was seated three fellow shinobi who were enjoying large ice-cream sundaes: Nara Shikadai, Yamanaka Inojin and Akimichi Chõchõ. It wasn't difficult to deduce which member Boruto tried to avoid.

Unfortunately, Boruto was not as lucky as he hoped, because his client briskly entered the cafe, beginning to order. Glancing between the trio (who still didn't realise Boruto's presence) and Sora, Boruto considered hiding until the trio left, or perhaps just ditching Sora altogether. I mean, I'm sure she knows the way back to the inn. And it's after hours, I'm sure child labour laws still apply to me.

However, Boruto's luck really was unfortunate, because whilst contemplating his options, Sora quickly ruined them by wailing out. Very loudly, Boruto noted.

"Boruto-kun, which flavour do you want."

At that, the very shinobi that Boruto tried to avoid, realised his existence. To the blonde, everything occurred in slow motion, and that was not an exaggeration.

First, Inojin's blonde head turned in confusion, initially glancing towards Sora, before turning to Boruto, who was stood at the enterance. Simultaneously, Shikadai faced Boruto, but his emotions were not visible, as usual. And Chõchõ's reaction was, by far, the most 'vibrant'.

"Boruto!" Her voice echoed loudly throughout the room, and she practically jumped out of her seat, positioning herself between Boruto and Sora. For a moment, she shamelessly stared at the brunette, analysing her appearance. She then turned back to Boruto, positioning herself closer to him.

"Boruto, you did well." Chõchõ declared, giving him a thumbs up. At this, Boruto went red from embarrassment, but Sora found this endearing.

The brunette took hold of two cones of ice-cream, and approached the pair. "What did you do well at, Boruto-kun?" Sora naively asked, as she passed a cone of chocolate ice-cream to Boruto.

Boruto stuttered, whilst Chõchõ tried to suppress her laughter. "Anyways, you didn't tell me which flavour you wanted and I was on the spot. But if you'd like, we can switch. Mine's vanilla."

Borutõ stood as if he was shell-shocked, not moving even as his ice-cream began to melt. An odd silence enveloped the trio. Sora stood there confused, while Chõchõ was, uncharacteristically, lost in her thoughts.

On the outside, Inojin and Shikadai watched them. "Should we do something?" Inojin asked Shikadai.

Taking a lick of his coffee-flavoured ice-cream, Shikadai responded. "Nah, that'd be a drag." Unfortunately for the brunette shinobi, his wishes were disregarded.

"Hey Boruto, introduce us to the new babe in town!" Inojin noisily yelled.

Sora went completely red. Boruto choked on his ice-cream. Chõchõ yelled back.

"Ahh, the babe and the bad boy, how romantic!" She then grabbed the pair by their arms pulling them to the round table where she was formerly seated at.

"Yeah Boruto-kun. Please do introduce us." Inojin and Chõchõ's smile was unrealistically wide, meanwhile Shikadai practically buried his face in his hands.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be on a mission right now." Boruto huffed out.

Chõchõ then proudly replied as she finished her ice-cream. "Nope, we came back this afternoon."

Sora initially felt overwhelmed by the amount of people, but by this point felt okay, comfortable even. This entire situation felt like her own home, the bickering reminiscent to that of her own siblings. It was due to this, that the brunette elbowed Boruto as he sat in his seat flabbergasted.

Glancing at Sora, Boruto saw a bright look in her hazel eyes. Maybe it won't be so bad.

Clearing his throat, Boruto spoke. "Right um, this is Iwasaki Sora, she is the daughter of the owner of the Iwasaki Construction Company." Looking at Sora again, the blonde noted the warmth that radiated from her smile.

"Oh wow, you're like a noble, or an heiress. Well, I'm Akimichi Chõchõ. Gorgeous resident of Konoha by day, ninja goddess at all times." The auburn-haired kunoichi proudly boasted, putting an arm around Sora, and pulling the girl into an odd, half-hug.

Chuckling, Sora smiled warmly and modestly responded. "Nice to meet you Chõchõ." The brunette paused for a moment, glancing at the others. "Oh no, I'm not a noble. Far from it actually."

Boruto murdered then murmured. "You can say that again." At that, he received a punch to his side.

"And what's that supposed to mean." Sora grumbled as she tended to her first. If anything, the punch hurt her more than the blonde. Lord, what is he made of, steel?

Boruto touched his side for a moment, chuckling at the lack of pain. "Well, you don't act or dress like a noble. If anything, I could find a street rat with more class than you." At that, the pair began bickering back and forth.

"Well you're not that impressive either, you reek of nepotism."

"No I don't. Wait, what does nepo-ism mean."

"You're not very intelligent either, clearly."

"Well I'm sorry if daddy doesn't hire me all the fanciest tutors."

"What are you talking about, your father is the Hokage. He could hire anyone you'd like."

"Well, um-"

The trio at the table found Boruto and Sora's interaction hilarious, and howling out in laughter, with the exception of Shikadai, who sat there with a smile. Inojin then paused, introducing himself to Sora. "Nice to meet you, Iwasaki-san. I'm Yamanaki Inojin, and the sour puss next to me is Nara Shikadai."

"Please, call me Sora." The brunette replied, as she finished her ice-cream. She then turned to Shikadai.

"I've got a question. Has Boruto always had a stick up his ass?" Sora asked. Shikadai stared at her for a moment, before beginning to laugh for the first time in the evening. This caused everyone, except Sora, to stare in shock.

Shikadai once calming himself, responded to Sora. "I like you Iwasaki Sora. So where are you from?"

Sora smiled again. "I'm from this village actually. I just move around a lot because of the family business."

"Makes sense." As Shikadai spoke, Boruto glanced at his wrist, despite not wearing a watch.

He then began to stand. "Ah, well look at the time. This has been definitely lots of fun, but sadly the princess and I have dash. Curfew reasons."

"- but I don't have a curfew." Sora attempted to reason, but it was too late, because as she finished her sentence, Boruto pulled the brunette out of her chair, and they were at the door.

Glancing at Boruto's blue eyes, Sora noted an almost pleading look in them. She sighed, before pulling on her arm, where Boruto held her wrist. This paused the pair, and Sora turned around.

"It was really nice meeting you Chõchõ, Shikadai and Inojin. We should meet up again when you guys are free." The trio yelled out goodbyes as well.

"Don't go running off to another village!" Chõchõ yelled out as Sora and Boruto left the ice-cream store.

The pair walked in silence as they left the parler, and Boruto's hand remained around Sora's wrist. As they walked through the urban village, Sora admired the shining neon lights, which lit up the village, further giving it life.

The air was breezy, pleasant, but by this point, Sora felt cold. That was why, when Boruto felt the brunette shivering, he sighed, whilst stripping off his black jacket, setting it down on the brunette's bare shoulders.

Sora paused, looking at his face, which was illuminated with the pale moonlight. "You're sweet when you want to be, Boruto-kun."

"If you dressed more modestly, then I wouldn't have to be." Boruto grumbled, as he started to walk again. Sora watched him from behind, smiling, before calling out.

"Well then, it's a good thing I don't believe in modesty then."


Chapter notes

hello again! ahh, i'm in the mood for some ramen now. also, i realise how much fluff this chapter has, but do not stress, because i intend to shake things up in the next chapter for sora and boruto.

also, i literally typed this chapter up on my phone because i'm traveling with my family currently (i kid you not, i types some of this while waiting in line for coffee), so show some love and review please!

until next time,

s.