Stones fell from the ceiling and shattered as the ground shook. Different tones of granite going to waste as the beautiful building was razed. Veritable shouts came from wailing souls as they lost the grip on life. The older of the dying men comforted the younger ones, young men who had not yet started to live. Lives had been cut short by a mechanical yellow fire. It's existence unnatural and inhumane.

Kāma.

It was the seal that had plagued Boruto's life. Ever since he got the stupid seal it all went wrong.

Kawaki... Oh poor Kawaki

If only Boruto had been fast enough. If only he'd seen the signs. He should have seen him suffering. They were like brothers; bound by the Kāma seal. But Boruto still let him fall. Kawaki went dark and it was all his fault.

"Boruto!!" A voice yelled. It was the origin of his suffering.

"Kawaki!!" Boruto yelled back. His hand burned as his seal spread, reaching his face. As he looked forwards he noticed the same happening to his rival.

"This is it... It's time for you to join your father once and for all." Kawaki said in a piercing tone. "The age of ninja is over!"

Boruto gritted his teeth. Beneath is Cloak he felt the clink of metal. His hand travelled down to it's source. There were four head bands. The first was his father's. Second belonged to Mitsuki. Third was Sasuke. And lastly...

Sarada

Boruto growled softly in rage. He gently grabbed her headband. He looked at it for one last time. Then he slowly wrapped it around his head. No matter how much Boruto wished to turn back time; he couldn't. He would have to live with his failures, lest they consume him.

"Not until I'm dead." He answered. There was no way he could lose. He was Boruto Motherfucking Uzumaki.

Boruto's eyes snapped open. He had been staring at his seal and fell asleep. It had been a few hours according to his clock. That dream...

He remembered dreaming it before. But something felt different. Maybe the setting? He really didn't know and the details had gone fuzzy. Maybe it was for the better. Perhaps the stress of the upcoming fight had gotten to him. He laughed as he knew Sarada would eat him alive for not sleeping. She worried to much.

A slightly raspy yet femenine and composed voice rang accross his house as the doors opened. "Borutooo I'm home!"

The young adult man stood to his five feet and eleven inch height. His smile was dorky and a bit childish as he rushed out of his room. Saying that he wasn't excited to see her was a very wrong assumption. He didn't love her, or so he told himself, but there was just something about living together that made him feel like a boy in a candy shop. He approached her and spoke in a teasing manner. "Keep saying things like that and people might think we're romantic!"

Sarada clicked her tongue in annoyance at his antics, heaving out a sigh. While she was keenly aware of the ever growing romantic tension between the two, she still couldn't see herself as a starry eyed wife comming home like Boruto implied. She was going to be Hokage after all. She flicked his nose in a cute manner and chuckled. "Keep dreaming Uzumaki!"

You see, the reason they were living together was not out of anything other than necessity. About six months prior, they had gotten news that had shaken them to the core. Mitsuki had perished; while he was always weird, he carried the will of fire within him. He'd pushed his sage mode too far. He'd saved every single person in the Hidden Sand Village. But it had cost him his life. All that was left now was a corpse and a headband. He was given a proper burial, which had been done by Orochimaru. After the fact, Boruto had been forced to move into a house with Sarada. Sakura had thought that it would help both of them mourn. And in fact, it had. They'd both managed to climb out from depression thanks to each other.

They both had fallen in love but neither realized.

As the night went on, the two forgot their usual schedule. They settled for sitting together and dreading the battle to come. They both had stakes in this battle. To Boruto, he was the reason this was all happening. So he needed to win. And Sarada had never been closer to fulfilling her dream of being Hokage.

She softly laid her hands on his lap. "Boruto..."

The man in question snapped back to reality. He hummed and looked at her. "Yeah?"

She took a deep breath, nervous as possible. "Well... Tomorrow is the day and... I don't know... I think.. what if... maybe I-"

"-You're scared..." Boruto said flatly. But he couldn't say he blamed her for it. In fact, he was scared shitless. "That's okay... I'm scared too. The world's turned upside down. And it doesn't seem like it will stop shaking"

For mainly her own sake, Sarada laughed. Boruto looked mock offended. "What's so funny?" He asked.

"You sound like my dad!" She laughed. Which just insulted Boruto more. "How dare you?"

They jumped at each other, wrestling and tumbling around like teenagers again. Their giggles and laughs genuine as they had, what seemed like, their last time as just "Boruto and Sarada".

Eventually they calmed down. They laid perpendicular to each other as they caught their breath. By now both realized that there were many things left to do before dying. For example. Sarada had yet to have her first kiss.

After being made aware of this fact by her mumbles, he pulled her up. And pointed at the hanging wall clock. "We have three hours" he said.

"Hmm?" Sarada hummed in confusion. "For what."

"I heard your mumbling." He stated matter of factly. While he wasn't really one to exploit his friend's feelings, this may be the one chance he has at finally kissing her. "We need to go to sleep in three hours. That's how much time we have to complete your bucket list."

Sarada couldn't help but feel her face light up. Boruto had really changed for the better, and she was all for it. She gave him a big monsterous hug. "Thank you Boru. Wait! Why are we wasting time?! Come on!!"

By the end of the night, a lot of things had changed. Boruto was without a shirt and had ice cream and flour all over him. Sarada looked much the same in her sports bra. They looked like crazy teenagers as they devoured the bunch of junk food they had. But despite looking insane, neither had ever felt more sane. Sarada looked up at the person who she was laying on. Maybe it was the fantasy of her mind. Or maybe it was the love and adoration in his eyes.

All of a sudden, Sarada saw herself as the wife who shouted honey! I'm home! As she came in. That had never been in her dreams but all of a sudden it was the only thing that seemed correct. "Boruto..." She muttered inaudibly as she prepared to do something bold. She unwrapped her headband from her arm. Yes it's ironic. And she slowly put it in his hand.

"There is one last thing..." She said, holding Boruto's hand. "I know it's sudden and unexpected. Hell I don't even have rings. But, I guess we could exchange these..."

She shook her head as she presented the marker of her being a ninja. "Boruto... Please Marry me."

It barely took a second for Boruto to take off his own headband. He pressed it onto her other hand. "Yes... Obviously... I love you, Ms Uzumaki."

In a second, the unbreakable bond was formed. The headbands meant a lot more than just "I am a ninja" it represented their Nindo. In battle they would no longer be alone for they carried the will of another.

It was the birth of something impossible. Against the pressure of the upcoming fight they'd managed to find love. It was a paradox. One which couldn't have come sooner. And it was all sealed with a kiss.