Title: Not Together, Part I
Rating: T+
Genre: Action / Romance / A whole lot of Denial
Beta read by: TyyTyy
A/N: Sequel to "Not a Date" and written for D1 of BoruSaraWeek2020 - Free day! LovelySheree on Tumblr asked me to post art for her, and I wrote this fic to accompany it! I hope you enjoy. :)
Boruto walked to Hokage tower with a spring in his step. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and he was called to the office for official ANBU business. Everything was right with the world. It had only been a week after his promotion to ANBU captain with his partner, and crush—Woah wait—no, not crush. Friend. Yes, that. Or like, best friend. They have been friends since they were in diapers, after all. Perhaps best friend suited it more.
Anyway, Sarada Uchiha was one of the best ninjas out there. And it only made sense they were partners because other than being in the same three-man cell back during their genin days, their chemistry was perfect. Chemistry being like, fighting. Totally not like, with romance or anything. Nope. Chemistry with fighting. They were both so in sync and just got each other.
It was a shame they aren't together.
Boruto shook the last thought out of his mind. There was no time for that. The summon he received was urgent, and it was a task only the unstoppable duo could do. He walked up the steps and bumped into a young couple. The woman was hiding her face and weeping. Her husband—Boruto assumed—was tapping her shoulder. His face was crestfallen, but he tried to console her… he was failing at it though.
The young Jonin didn't know what to do. He wanted to help, but he didn't know what was going on… a quick look at the clock that hung overhead told him he was going to be late but…
"Excuse me, sir," Boruto nearly stumbled over his own feet trying to catch up to them down the hall. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to intrude but… what happened? Is there anything… I can... do?"
The woman ceased her crying and sniffed as she looked at him. She was still young… but the way her eyes puffed and the dark circles under her eyes suggested she had been crying for more than just a few hours. "My… son…" She choked out. "He was… mi-missing and n-now he's…"
Boruto gaped. Perhaps it was better he didn't even ask anymore. "I'm… I'm sorry."
The man wrapped his arms around his wife and gave Boruto a tight smile. "These things just… happen, right?"
He blinked and opened his mouth, but closed it right after. Being a shinobi meant being familiar with loss. But it didn't mean he liked it or ever got used to it. "I'm so sorry…" it came out as a whisper. The couple walked out of Hokage tower and Boruto stood there for a few moments, feeling his heart weigh a ton. The clock tolled. He was late, and will probably get an earful. But that didn't matter much to him anymore.
The door opened and he was face to face with his father, Shikamaru, and Sarada. The latter was tapping her foot, but the moment she looked at his eyes, she stopped and her face fell. "Boruto…"
"Sorry, I'm late!" He pulled a fake smile. "Bumped into someone and thought they might need help, ya know? I thought wrong." He laced his fingers behind his head and grinned. "What's up?"
Naruto and Shikamaru looked at each other before the latter gave their brief. "The AkaKuro, a notorious gang, was seen terrorizing a small farming village a few miles from here. Your mission is to apprehend them. We will send a group to… clean up the mess after."
"There have already been reported casualties…" Naruto's voice started wavering, blue eyes burning. "A number of them women and children."
The two jonin looked at each other before nodding. Shikamaru handed them a scroll, to which Sarada took and tucked it into her pouch. "Understood."
They left the room without another word. Although Boruto was silent and cooperative, it didn't mean his heart was as calm. His partner knew that.
As they made their way to the gate, she asked gently, "do you want to talk about it?"
He shook his head. "I… I don't even know why I'm so affected."
Her dark eyes softened and she fell in step with him and linked their hands together. "I'm sure it was a lot to make you feel this way."
Boruto looked at her, and gave her a soft smile and squeezed her hand. "A couple… lost their son. He must have been no older than six, they both looked so young…"
She bit her lower lip and said nothing. Their walk to the gate was silent, and they never released their hold on each other's hands.
Again. It's a shame they're not together. Yes, they're not together. Not even dating. Just friends.
Best friends, at most. But don't tell Mitsuki that.
Once they reached the gate. They exchanged looks, gave their hands one last squeeze before putting their masks on and disappearing in a flash, jumping for the trees. Their steps were fast, light, soundless. A passerby would think they were seeing and hearing things should they chance upon them.
There was no time to waste. Boruto could feel his heart pounding, adrenaline filling his body. The smell of fresh leaves and the damp ground exhilarated him. But most of all, he couldn't allow this gang to hurt anyone. The thought that an innocent little boy could be part of the fray stung his heart. As a shinobi, it was his duty to protect people. He was not going to let anything bad happen.
Sarada zipped by, now she was running a few steps ahead of him. He smiled. It was his duty to protect people, but her most of all. It was his promise and Boruto intended to keep it.
Yes, they really aren't together. Despite the promises and support for each other. Totally not together.
They're a duo. An unstoppable duo. But not together.
Keep up.
Sarada jumped off the tree and landed with a soft thud. Boruto landed right next to her and adjusted his cape. Before them was a small village with straw roofs. Screams and cries could be heard in the distance as black smoke rose to the blue sky. Flames licked the roofs and bamboo walls.
Behind the mask, Sarada frowned and her blood boiled. Boruto looked her way, feeling her killing intent flare. Oh damn. She was angry. And not in a he-did-something-stupid way. But more like, this-isn't-right-and-she-was-going-to-kill-whoever-is-responsible-for-this-carnage kind of way. His blood ran cold.
Note to self, don't ever anger Sarada if you wanted to live.
"There's fifteen of them," she muttered. "We take all fifteen of them."
He nodded. Not that she was in charge or anything but the way he could feel her anger emanating from her very being, it was best he did exactly as he was told.
"You got it."
Agreeing to what the angry partner is saying without hesitation? Totally not together.
Boruto counted down. They were going to take action in:
Three
.
.
.
Two
.
.
One
There was a reason why they're partners. Not only because they were in sync, but because they were equally ruthless. Moving as fast as lightning, one look in their eyes and their enemies would be frozen with fear.
Enemy shrieks filled the air. Confusion swam in the civilian's eyes. A mother holding on to her child, dark irises reflecting the orange flames, flashes of yellow lighting, and merciless red eyes.
Boruto and Sarada swung and slashed, expertly telling the difference between friend and foe.
A man came yelling, holding a club up in the air at Sarada. Slash.
Fourteen.
Boruto turned around and came face to face with a Goliath. His sword must have been as big as his leg. The Goliath slammed his sword down, Boruto escaping his blade by an inch. That was too close.
The jonin made two shadow clones to distract the monster. He slashed them away, smoke covering his vision when the clones disappeared. The last thing he saw was a swirling ball of chakra and Boruto's jogan before he fell to the ground.
Thirteen.
He dusted his cape and turned around to find his partner faced with three enemies. Boruto lifted a brow. Huh. Someone was taking their sweet time. Crossing his arms he stuck his foot out, tripping one of the gang members, Boruto then kicked the back of his head, knocking him out.
Twelve.
Honestly. These guys had no respect. He was trying to watch his not girlfriend at work here! Totally not his girlfriend. Just a partner.
Sarada balled her fist, and with a shout, slammed her fist down on the ground, making rocks fly and the ground split open, engulfing three of the members.
Eleven, ten, nine.
Well, Boruto better hurry the fuck up or else Sarada was going to stay ahead and win the higher score. To be fair, that giant had to got to count as three at the very least. That fucker was huge!
Sarada - 4
Boruto - 2
Six down, nine to go.
Boruto made a bunch of clones and dispersed. Some of them were herding civilians out of the way, while the others used jutsu after jutsu to get rid of the pesky gang that did nothing but hurt this innocent farming village. With every injured woman, and child Boruto saw, his anger only grew.
Eight. Seven.
At his peripheral vision, Sarada was also multi-tasking. Holding on to a child that got caught in the field with one hand, and blocking a katana-wielding foe with a kunai on the other. Finally, she found an opening and aimed right for the jugular.
Six.
This confirmed it, Boruto never wanted to anger Sarada. For real.
Sarada - 5
Boruto - 4
Blood stained Sarada's mask, making the child cry out in fear. Sarada removed her mask to show her face, trying to calm the girl down. This did nothing for the little girl, as Sarada's eyes were blood red. The girl tried to escape Sarada's grasp, and the Jonin was about to put her down but the little girl grabbed on to Sarada's neck as soon as two other members of the gang came running towards them.
One threw shuriken, the other had a whip. Sarada jumped back, holding fast on the little girl, dodging every single whip and star thrown at her. "Boruto!"
Oh finally. She asked for help. Time to be the savior, now, huh? Boruto smirked and created more clones. Two to jump at the enemy, while his original self came running in from behind, creating a Rasengan.
The two clones disappeared, badly injured by a whip and a knife. Boruto's Rasengan missed, and his shoulder was grazed by the knife. He grimaced. Not exactly what he had in mind.
The two turned to face him. Knife and whip held at the ready to strike.
This was looking bad.
And then, the Jonin smirked, before ducking down on the ground.
A large fireball engulfed the two. Screams filled the air before they both dropped to the ground. Boruto looked up to reveal his partner. Eyes flaming with fury, Sharingan still activated. "No one hurts my partner," she declares menacingly.
Boruto removed his mask and gaped at her. Fuck. That was hot. Too hot.
But they're not together. Don't forget that. All the heated action, sexual tension, and sincere care they had for each other merits them single. Besides, saving each other and dropping threats like that, doesn't mean a thing.
It's totally not like, a declaration of undying love or anything.
He swallowed hard, didn't even make a move to get off the ground.
"You need a hand over here?" She asked, walking towards him.
"N-no!" Boruto shook his head frantically. I'm fine. Just—just ah… Give me a sec."
She raised her brow but turned around and started to jog away, heading back to help other civilians and maybe knock another gangster out.
Lifting himself with his hands, Boruto looked down at his pants and cursed. Apparently, another part of him felt the heat as well. "Now is not the time!" he scolded himself.
In the distance, another manly scream was heard, and Boruto cursed yet again.
Sarada - 8
Boruto - 4
Little Boruto - 1
Getting these kinds of… reactions are perfectly normal when with… friends, ya know? Totally no crush or anything. Just… pure… admiration at one's… skills. Yeah, that.
And Boruto was losing. Like, embarrassingly losing. Dammit.
Gotta up the game! Not little Boruto though... He needed to chill the fuck down.
After hobbling for a few steps and then getting back in the game, Boruto surveyed the scene before him. The fire engulfed the other side of town, and more and more civilians were running towards the bridge, over the river. In the distance, he could see Sarada's form, perched on a rooftop, looking for trouble.
Either those in trouble, or made trouble. Boruto initially didn't want to be the first, but recalling how Sarada barbecued those two guys, he definitely didn't want to be the latter.
Boruto scanned again, and found two bodies sneaking up behind Sarada.
Oh no they don't. Not on his watch.
Chakra concentration. A series of hand seals. Crackling and light emitted from Boruto's hands.
In a flash, lighting darted towards the two, their own screams the last thing they hear before tumbling to the ground.
Sarada - 8
Boruto - 6
She looked back at him from the roof, a smirk on her face. Her mask was still off. How he loved seeing her face.
Smitten by her beauty? Yeah, no crush here.
Moving along. There was one left.
Boruto made a circling motion with his index and middle finger. His partner nodded and jumped off the roof, running towards the rest of the civilians herding towards the other side of the river.
That last fucker was Boruto's.
Perhaps in number, Sarada would win. But when they laid down the difficulty level, Boruto always got more points… Most of the time.
A shrill scream came from behind Boruto, making him turn around, kunai up and ready. The enemy was wearing a black and red mask, holding on to a small sword. With ease, Boruto blocked the slash aimed toward his shin and then used his gale palm to blow him away.
The mask came flying off, and Boruto's blood drained.
It was just a kid.
What was a kid doing with this gang?
Scruffy clothes, messy brown hair, and scrapes on his arms and knees… He didn't look older than eight or nine. Just a kid Boruto could bump into when he was walking near the academy…
All in all, that made fifteen.
.
.
.
"Good job, you two." Lee gave them a thumbs up. "We will take it from here!"
"Yeah, you two really didn't hold back, huh?" Kiba snickered.
Despite his effort to try to lighten things up, it didn't look like it was working… for Sarada, at least. Killing was part of the occupation but it wasn't something those in the profession liked.
"What about the kid?" Boruto asked sheepishly. "Is he…"
"He's fine," Kiba assured. His eyes shifted from side to side, and Lee seemed to have mirrored the gesture. "No parents, or anything like that… Looks like an orphan and," He sighed loudly. "It's going to be a pain trying to figure out what to do with him and all."
Boruto released a breath of relief. At least he didn't kill the kid. It all happened so fast that Boruto didn't even get to assess who he was dealing with. "Good…"
"Beating a kid up?" Sarada smirked. "That's low, even for you."
"Hey!" He retorted. "I didn't know, okay? 'Sides he was pretty fast."
Sarada nodded and added teasingly. "Far too much for the great Boruto Uzumaki!"
He stomped his feet and Sarada giggled, running around as he tried to catch her.
Kiba and Lee exchanged a smug look.
Nope. They're totally not together.
.
.
.
Despite things looking good, and really, when will they ever learn? Things were never good even when it seemed like it.
The duo was given another task, which was to report to the next village. The damage had been extensive and will require some support in the meantime. It wasn't all that bad, a very low profile mission like this would be a piece of cake except… it was more than a day's walk away. Neither of them looked forward to sleeping on the forest floor. Just the two of them. Sharing a blanket. Alone.
But hey! They're just friends, and friends share blankets, right? Nothing couple-y or romantic and it's not like this was one of those ohmygodtherewasonlyoneblanket scenarios.
Boruto handed Sarada the scroll containing the full report and they were off. No running this time, just walking. Their chests still felt a little heavy, coming from the cull. Boruto noticed that Sarada was wiping at her hands, despite it being clean. Her thumbs rubbing on her palms were getting harder and harder, her jaw clenching.
For a moment, Boruto thought against reacting, but as he heard her whimper, he closed his eyes and took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. She didn't say anything. Only squeezed his hand and looked at the floor as they walked.
It wasn't uncommon for shinobi to find ways to cope… taking was always a little harder than giving for Sarada but for now, she chose to take the comfort his warm hand offered and Boruto was glad to offer it.
Still not together, though. Stay with me, fam.
After a few minutes of walking along the path, he heard rustling behind them and gave Sarada's hand a squeeze. Her eyes met his and they gave each other a slight nod. They kept walking. Waiting.
And.
"AAAAAAAA!"
They both let go of each other's hands and turned around. Swords at the ready. As soon as they saw who their opponent was, their eyes widened.
Boruto put his sword down and groaned. "Oh come ooon!"
It was the little boy. But despite the lack of enthusiasm from the blond, the little boy kept going. That kunai he held was pointed right at Boruto, running full force.
"Aren't you gonna get that?" Boruto asked Sarada, boredom dripping from his voice.
Her brow lifted. "Excuse me? You were the one lagging behind the score."
His eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets. "You kept count?!" Not fair. Only he was supposed to keep count.
Sarada stepped back, a smirk on her lips. "You need the points more than I do."
With his shoulders slumping and lower lip jutting out, Boruto sheathed his sword and tripped the little boy over. The poor thing stumbled and fell on his face.
Hands on her hips and a scowl on her face, "Did you have to do that?"
His response? Sticking his tongue out at her. Real mature.
Boruto walked over to the kid and poked at his cheek. "Hey, kid, what're you doing here? You're supposed to be on the way back to Konoha."
The little boy got up and tried to bite his finger. Boruto pulled back just in time and had half a mind to swat this kid away. He only stopped himself because Sarada came behind him to get a good look.
"He looks fine," Sarada grinned at him and extended her hand to help him up, but instead of accepting her offer, he tried to hit her! "Hey!" She exclaimed and took a step back, a pout on her face.
Boruto sniggered and asked her smugly, "Still think he doesn't deserve it?"
The two argued for a bit and the child watched on, a twisted and confused look on his face. What were these fools doing?
"Are you, like," He started, confusion still swimming in his eyes. "Married or something?"
Woah what? Married? No, way. They weren't even together!
"NO!" The two yelled in sync, faces red and flustered. "WE'RE NOT TOGETHER!"
His boyish features drooped down. "Ya coulda fooled me."
After a round of bickering, kick blocking (from the kid) and one throw of rock-paper-scissors, a conclusion was made.
The two jonin would drag the kid along to bring the report over to the next village, and then bring him with them back to Konoha. Seems easy enough, right?
Wrong.
"Ouch!" Sarada pried his hands off her hair. The boy insisted to be carried, and because Boruto did not oblige (only his precious little sister was allowed in his arms… well… and maybe Sarada. If she was like… dying or something… or asked... But, whatever. Beside the point!) "S-stop moving! Boruto!" She exclaimed. "Help out, would you?"
He sighed. "This is so lame. We're jonin, not babysitters." Alas, he had lost the rock-paper-scissors match. He wanted to go back and drop the kid off with Kiba. But no, Sarada had to win, and she wanted to be more "efficient." Now they were stuck with a little kid. "Just drop this kid off somewhere, will ya?"
"Renji!" The little boy snapped. "I have a name, and it's Renji!" In a fit, he began hitting Sarada's head with closed fists.
This ticked Boruto off. "Hey, knock it off, don't hurt her!" He plucked the boy off of Sarada's shoulder and put him back on the ground. But not as gentle as Sarada would have liked.
Heh. Served the kid right.
Renji puffed his cheeks. "See!" He cried. "You are together! If not, you wouldn't care!"
"NO WE'RE NOT!" the two screamed in unison.
The little boy only raised his brow and smirked at them. "You so are."
A/N: That concludes part 1! I'm not sure when I'll have part 2 up as I'm terribly busy with work and still have a bunch of fics to finish for this event week. For now, I hope this was to your liking!
BoruSaraWeek2020 is being hosted on Tumblr and Twitter, and you can go to my profile for more information!
Cheers,
Kairi
