Summary: Shikadai never knew walking around his own village would be so troublesome... But then again; with his current companion - he wasn't even surprised the way his day was going.
Where Shikadai finds himself in yet another mess; all thanks to Boruto.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Boruto just the idea; Characters might seem a bit ooc.
Things we do for Friendship.
He was the last one coming from their mission. Somehow Inojin and Chocho had managed to leave him behind for damage control and to assure the Villagers that they will be sending rehabilitation teams soon. He was usually cool with doing the negotiation thing and calming the people; but these villagers were plain troublesome and had given him one hell of a time with their complaining and whining.
That was such a drag, now I'm almost half a day late. I'm sure they haven't submitted the report either. Damn those two He grumbled as he neared the Anu gate. He was around 10 minutes away from the village when he felt someone whispering.
"Pss… Shikadai" The voice said
Instantly alert, he drew out his kunai; searching the source of the whisper.
"Who's there?" He carefully asked, eyes scanning the vast expense of forest around him. "Show yourself"
"I can't exactly do that" The voice sounded feminine but also very familiar. Shikadai relaxed after a minute when he placed the voice with a face
"Where are you?" he still couldn't find the source; he tried to trace any chakra signatures, but couldn't find one either "If this is your way of playing another prank, then I'm going"
"No, Wait!" The voice suddenly exclaimed, "Throw me your jacket"
"What?"
"Just throw your jacket, dattebasa; at 4 o'clock - on the branch"
Sighing he did as he was told; throwing jacket on the aforementioned branch. He watched amused when a slim hand came from behind the trunk and grabbed the jacket. He stood there another minute and then landed on the same branch, poking his head behind the trunk
"What the hell are you doing?" He asked
There sat a blonde girl, her upper body only donning his jacket and long legs visible form where she sat. If he didn't know who it was the way he did, he would surely have mistaken her for her appearance. But the big blue eyes and two whiskers on each cheek were a dead give-away of exactly who it was.
Shikadai looked even more confused when the said girl's cheeks turned bright red, looking everywhere but him and grumbled something inaudible.
"Boruto" He crouched down coming face to face with his gender-swapped friend. "I didn't understand a thing."
The said person took a deep breath and looked Shikadai right in eyes. His voice still carrying the feminine essence.
"I'm stuck like this" He said a bit more loudly "I can't change back from this form"
For next three seconds Shikadai just kept looking at him-her-him (yeah whatever Boruto was right now) and then started sniggering at yet another mess his friend got himself into. It was always amusing to watch Boruto get into mess he generally can't get out of himself.
"Shut it!" Boruto growled at him "This isn't funny at all, dattebasa!"
"Okay! Okay!" Shikadai managed to control his obvious laugh at his friend's cost. "What do you want me to do – apart from of course, stealing my jacket."
"It's not stealing if you gave it to me yourself" He stuck his tongue out and then sighed "I want you to help me get back to normal"
"And how do we do that?" Shikadai raised a questioning eye at him
"I don't know" Boruto shrugged "You are the genius here; figure it out"
Shikadai rolled his eyes at that response and sat down Indian style. He still did not have a complete picture.
"Before we even try getting you to normal; tell me, how did you get yourself into this situation? And why can't you change back?" He asked
"Well, it started this morning…"
Boruto was having a day off after his last mission and he had it all planned how to laze around for the day. But that did not happen in the slightest and he was spending his day anything but leisurely. His mom had asked him to deliver some home baked cookies to his grandfather in the Hyuga premise, while his aunt Hanabi was out on a mission and after that he had to carter to his girlfriend's demands, who he had pissed on one of their previous missions. Either way, his focus right now was to leave his grandfather's house as soon as possible.
It's not that Boruto hated visiting his grandfather; but he was rather not too fond of it either. The old man was way too affectionate for Boruto's liking; and at the age of 19 – he didn't exactly like being squeezed half to death by the old man.
But then again, he did not wish to either cross his mom and deny the said task; so, he swallowed his complains and took the cookies to his grandfather. In the old age, Hiashi Hyuga seemed to have softened from his exceptionally powerful ways and now he tended to avoid any kind of conflict, at all cost.
So, it surprised Boruto when he found his rather easy-going grandfather in a slight furious mood when he reached the premise. There was a young man; maybe a few years older than him, crouched on the ground head bowed lower and Hiashi was lecturing him with an angry tone.
"I appreciate your dedication towards Hyuga, young man. But I can't help you in the slightest. Do not try to do that again! Those scrolls and books have been treasured by all of the Hyuga clan for generations now, and I do not wish for them to get into wrong hands. What you are trying to achieve is way too dangerous; for yourself and others."
Sensing another presence, Hiashi turned around to find Boruto standing by the door a worried look on his face
"Boruto" he smiled "What a surprise! Come in, Come in"
"Hello grandpa, I brought cookies mom made" Boruto then looked at the man on ground "What's going on here?"
"Nothing to be worried over" Hiashi waved Boruto off and then turned towards man from before an gave one of his glares "Hoshi, I will be glad to teach you Hyuga's taijutsu techniques, but not the gentle fist or rotations. They are possible only for a Hyuga with Byakugan. You do not possess what it takes to perform those jutsu's"
The man then looked up and Boruto figured what his grandfather meant when he said he did not possess what it takes; The man did not have Byakugan.
"But lord Hiashi I can still master them only by knowing chakra points!" the man argued
"And that's precisely is what is dangerous!"
"But-"
"No if's and but's. Go back to your house and concentrate on your other training"
"Yes" The man bowed again and in seconds he was gone
"What was that all about?" Boruto asked as he made his way towards his grandfather and they both entered the house.
"He is a family member, but unfortunately he did not inherit Byakugan like most kids do. And now he is dead set on learning Hyuga gentle fist with only the knowledge of general chakra points – says he doesn't need Byakugan to master it"
"But isn't it like impossible?" Boruto asked, he then handed his grandfather the bag of cookies "Oh, and the cookies; mom made them specially for you"
"Thank you Boruto" Hiashi then pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. "Gramps... too tight" But that seemed to go unnoticed by the elder Hyuga. A few minutes later the old man let him go and they decided to have a tea; something Boruto was happy for - at least it saved him from his grandfather's dotting.
"So, what will happen now" Boruto asked when they both settled for a tea. It was nice once in a while to spend time with your grandfather.
"I don't know" Hiashi honestly replied "I will maybe have to speak to his family about it. Let them know it is dangerous to be so much obsessed with this"
"I hope he understands."
Boruto and Hiashi then spent most of their morning catching up. The old age wasn't very kind to the elder Hyuga and soon he had to retreat for an early afternoon nap. Boruto bid his grandfather goodbye and made his way towards his mom's older room. He would often sit there and just look around the room; trying to grasp his mom's childhood and how she was when she was younger; traces of his aunt Hanabi and late uncle Neji were present all over the room. He felt more connected to them here.
This time though, when he passed the old study room of his grandfather where most of Hyuga records and what-not were kept – Boruto wasn't well aware of all that. But what he knew for sure was that no one was supposed to enter the study without his grandfather or Aunt. And right now, there definitely was someone in there who wasn't either of them.
He carefully sneaked a peek inside the study and was surprised to find the same young man from before. The Hoshi guy. It seemed like he was going through some scrolls
"Hey!" Boruto entered the room without thinking "What are you doing, dattebasa?" he asked
"Umm…" The guy looked around and when he found who had caught him, he paled. "Nothing?" To Boruto it sounded more of a question than an answer
"Really?" Boruto crossed his arms and glared at him "If I'm not wrong, grandpa asked you not to go through the secret scrolls; those could be dangerous for you and others"
"As if" Hoshi huffed and the next moment pushed the big pile of scrolls and papers from the table and scattered them all over. He then turned and jumped out of the window right behind him. Caught off-guard; Boruto's reaction was a few seconds late but when he understood what had happened – he was quick to follow the trail Hoshi left behind.
Hoshi gave Boruto quite a run for his money; figuratively and literally. Boruto followed him all over the village; from the old Hyuga complex to central village, crossing Thunder Burger Joint and past Ichiraku's Ramen shop. They then rounded around the new settlement and back to the outskirts of village to the main gate; He then escaped into the thick forest surrounding the village. When they were considerable distance away from the village; they stumbled upon a clearing and Boruto managed to intercept his escape.
"Get out of the way you brat!" Hoshi growled panting.
"No can do. You are coming with me and we are taking this seriously now, dattebasa." Boruto replied and stood in front of him, pissed to have made run all over the village. Not wanting to get another lecture or even punishment, the man did what he thought could save his skin form this brat, he attacked Boruto head on engaging in a combat.
"You have no right to decide that for me! I have already taken this thing seriously and no one can stop me from mastering gentle fist!" He threw a kunai towards Boruto, who dodged it easily
"Why are you so obsessed with it!" Boruto asked stopping another punch thrown his way
"What do you mean why! It's my family legacy" He kept up his kicks and punches in progression
"But you don't have Byakugan!" Boruto reasoned
"That doesn't have anything to do with this!" He threw another kunai
"News flash! It does" Boruto growled, only operating on defensive "Not seeing chakra points while applying Byakugan is like shotting a AK47 in blind."
"You have no right to say that! You don't know what it's like not to have a family kekkei genkai." Hoshi was getting frustrated by every missed hit, plus the run had already wore him down
"Umm… Hello! My mom is a Hyuga too, you don't see me whining about not having a Byakugan" Boruto jumped a few feet away creating a distance between the two, time to end this useless spar session
"Spoiled brats like you won't understand what it's like to live like us!" He then ran towards Boruto at full speed with kunai ready
"You seem to have more concerns that just not having Byakugan, dattebasa" Boruto gave out his observation; dodged the kunai and then landed a solid punch to his stomach, the guy was thrown back and he hit the tree pretty hard. He did not get up after that.
"Now tell me the real reason for that" Boruto crossed his arms and stared down at Hoshi
"Why do I even tell you! You won't get it anyway" He spat even though he was barely able to sit straight
"Try me" Boruto said and when he still did not answer, be crouched down to Hoshi's eye level "C'mon, don't be like that. I can maybe help you"
"I…" He suddenly had a bright red face
"You what?"
"I can't get a girl because I don't have Byakugan" he then looked away
"Eh?" Boruto gave him a confused look
"I like this girl, but she does not like me back. Instead, she likes my cousin because he has Byakugan!" He was complete red by now "See! That's why I need to learn what all normal Hyuga's do; and without Byakugan – I'll be considered the rarest shinobi to perform gentle fist"
"There are other girls too, ya know?" Boruto rolled his eyes at the man. He was what – 20+ and that was the best he came up with to get a girl. Talk about lacking charm & brains. This was the lamest excuse he had ever heard.
"But none other girl likes me either!" He was angry again "This was the seventh girl who didn't even look at me" and then he started the waterworks like a fountain broke.
Boruto looked at the man in front of him; he did not seem like someone girls would fall head-over heels for. He rather looked more like the candidate for arranged marriage, where his parents will do all the work and get him a girl; a girl who was timid and soft and basically a female version of him.
But then again; he was being a bit of prejudice here. He did not exactly know many people from those category – the people he daily contacted with were by far anything but normal in attractiveness levels. All his friends were exceptional Shinobi and eye candy for the opposite gender. Boruto himself being one of them. Plus, they all had inherited the best of genes from both their parent's; unlike this poor guy.
He might not be able to relate to this guy, but guess he could understand where he was coming from. But then again; that's no reason to go behind elder's back and do exactly what is told not to do. Such behaviour may be suitable for people like Boruto who had skills to back them up, but other's trying to do any such thing will only cause irreversible trouble.
Add to that, this Hoshi guy made him run all over the village on his day off; and for what? Only so he could learn some impossible jutsu to show-off to a girl? Yeah right, as if Boruto would let him walk away with such a thing. This guy needs to be taught a lesson and for that a devious idea came to his mind.
"So, you haven't come in contact with any girl? Not even a single one?" He asked
While Boruto was busy devising his brilliant strategy, he missed that his supposed fallen opponent was back to his original strength and could easily move.
"Nope" He answered and stayed still for a moment; he needed to get out of this mess.
Smirking evilly, he turned away from Hoshi ready to put his plan into action; he was going to have fun teasing him and make sure this idiot understood not to mess with him again. And he deserved that fun after this man made him run across the whole fucking village.
"Yosh!" he made a hand sign "Here comes my Sexy Jutsu!"
"Gentle fist, 8 trigrams 32 palms"
And then chaos ensured. Hoshi had taken Boruto's back as a right opportunity to try out the Gentle fist he was learning in secret. Only difference is; he could not see any chakra points of his subject, only the ones he could recollect from the scrolls and medic books; to top it off he had closed his eyes trying to visualize all the points he intended to hit. He also did not have the exact hang of how to concentrate one's chakra in their palms and so his moments and delivery were sloppy. The only thing he had of the original Jutsu was the speed.
Boruto on the other hand could not move even for a second. He was feeling chakra piercing on his back and for a brief moment his mind took him to the time Himawari had activated her Byakugan. It was terrifying and right now, the same fear had immobilized him. Terrible scenarios ran through his mind, what if he loses his mobility? What if he encounters some serious internal damage? What if he gets heart attack right here – right now!
When Hoshi was done, he opened his eyes only to find back of a very pretty blond, who seemed to be in the least clothes he had ever seen a girl in. Her curvy body and exposed skin that was perfect shade of cream. It wasn't like anything he had experienced before. And for that his reaction was ultimate; he fainted.
When the assault had stopped, it took Boruto a few seconds to understand that he was standing and was not in pain. He moved his arms and legs to find them still completely functional. His heart was also beating very fast, so he was not going in cardiac arrest. He does not seem to have any internal damage, but he will have to still get that checked with Aunt Sakura; just for precaution.
"Phew!" He let out a relived breadth "I was scared there for a minute. Seems like he doesn't know how to use it at all. Good for me." He then turned around, ready to give the adult a nice long scolding on how to not attack someone so suddenly; especially with such half-baked jutsu, anything could have happened. But when he looked at Hoshi, the said man was already unconscious with a bleeding nose.
"He was serious when he said he have not come in contact with any females. Only looking at one's back caused this to him" He laughed, the fog that was created around his body seemed to dissipate; that was when he realized, he was still in his Sexy Jutsu form.
"Release"
Nothing happened. He raised his eyebrow at that and tried again
"Release"
"Release"
"Release"
He tried again and again and again and again; but he was not able get back into his normal form. He felt dread wash over him when he realized what had just happened. Some of his chakra points were blocked and that was stopping him from releasing his Jutsu!
"You've gotta be kidding me, dattebasa!"
This time, Shikadai laughed out loud. His voice roaring through the silent forest; he almost fell of the branch with how hysterically he was laughing.
"Shut up Shikadai! This is not funny."
"Oh, but it is!" He continued to laugh
"Shikadai!" Boruto whined
"So let me get this straight" Shikadai asked through his laughing feet "You went to Hyuga premise, met a man and poked your nose in his business, then you chased him around the village and when you cornered him in a clearing; as a revenge you wanted to tease him with your Sexy Jutsu. But things backfired; he used half-baked gentle fist and blocked enough of your chakra points so now you can't get back to normal"
"That pretty much sums it up" Boruto grumbled
"Man! This is hilarious" Shikadai laughed again "and where is that man who did this to you?"
"I tied him up around the tree. When I get into some decent clothes; he is going to wish he had never been born."
"Okayyy" Shikadai drawled out, not wanting to know what exactly Boruto was thinking to do. Either way, it was not his problem to solve; this Hoshi guy got it himself.
"What do I do, Shikadai?" Boruto asked, pulling his leg up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He looked so vulnerable in that moment. If he was an actual girl, Shikadai would have considered her cute enough to help her with anything.
"We should go see your mom; she will release all the blocked chakra points" He suggested
"No!" Boruto exclaimed "We can't let my mother know about any of this! And I mean under-no-fucking-situation. She passionately hated this jutsu! She will skin me alive, or worst ground me for a week or month!" he was hyperventilating by this point.
"Calm down will ya" Shikadai placed a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Your mom can't ground you, you are 19 man" He tried to reason
"So are you, still Aunty Temari took away all your video games not two weeks ago, dattebasa" Boruto countered
"But Aunty Hinata isn't like my mom! She is actually sweet and very easy going"
"You haven't been on the receiving end of her Byakugan!" Boruto exasperated "Anyone but my mom!"
"Troublesome" Shikadai muttered under his breadth and thought for a minute "The next option we have is Hima" he suggested and nodded to himself; pleased to come up with the only next best person to help Boruto's situation
Boruto thought about it; it won't be too bad to get his sister to free his chakra points, after all she was the best Byakugan user form their generation. And she also knew his tendencies to get into trouble – sure she will tease him, but she will also help him out none the less. Only downside to this was Hima teasing him in front of others; namely Kawaki, Mitsuki, Chocho, Inojin and worst of all Sarada. And then it will slowly spread like a wildfire
No, no, no – Sarada can't come to know about this at all! She had warned him last time only, if this time he gets caught using this jutsu she will not talk to him at all.
"No!" Boruto shook his head "Hima will definitely let it slip in front of others; and if by chance Sarada came to know – you know it won't end any good for me. And if some gossiper caught the wind of it; then I'll definitely be dead by next Monday."
Shikadai seemed to consider his logic. It did have some merit to it, but was it really going to be that big of a deal? It seemed a bit too farfetched, if Shikadai was being honest. But then again; anything concerning Boruto – impossible have also happened.
"Ugh… What a drag!" He sighed, if not the two Hyuga's then who? "You definitely won't want to have any help from your grandfather if you can't have Hima or Aunty Hinata help you. That leaves him out too. Apart from that; you don't know many Hyuga clan members as best as that so they are also out of question" He then thought for another minute "How about going to Aunty Sakura; I'm sure medics will have a remedy for your situation."
"Nope, Chances are she will tell Sarada about it – and again Sarada!" was all he said, and that was enough of an explanation; but if not her either then who?
"And don't even bring up my old man, dattebasa; I did rather get stuck like this for a week than go in front of him." Boruto huffed
"Then that leaves only one person" Shikadai sighed, Boruto peaked up at the possibility of getting back to normal "But I don't know how long will it take for her to return back to village"
"Who is it? Who is it?" Boruto asked excited
"Hanabi Sensei"
Boruto then pondered upon it; yeah, that could work. Sure, she will also tease him but she wont rat him out like Hima would. He loved his sister dearly; but sometimes she just can't keep her mouth shut and that too in crucial times.
"She will do it, Of course I won't hear the end of it for a few months, but at least she won't tell Mom or Sarada or anyone else for that matter. She is perfect for this" Boruto hurriedly for up "Then what are we waiting for, let's go!"
"Didn't you say she is out on a mission with team 15" Shikadai reminded
Boruto groaned again, luck just doesn't seem to be on his side today. Now he will have to wait till his aunt returned.
"When is she going to return?" He asked more to himself than Shikadai
"How would I know? I haven't memorized everyone's roster" Shikadai answered none the less.
"What am I going to do Shikadai! I can't go home like this; I can't meet anyone like this and I sure as hell can't stay in this forest like this, dattebasa!"
"How about we get you a room in inn and you can spend your time there till Hanabi sensei comes back?"
"Sounds good." He then turned his best puppy-dog face to Shikadai "You will help me through this, right? Like getting me a room and food and then talking with Aunt Hanabi when she returns. Please"
Boruto was well aware of how he looked right at this moment, he had mastered those expressions long ago. Shikadai is not that difficult person to deal with or to get him to agree with things, Boruto just wanted to make sure he will have one friend at least in this mess with him. And even if Shikadai wasn't usually swayed with the charm of sexy girls; he was still a hormonal teenager and Boruto's jutsu was a direct hit with that category.
Shikadai sighed, he knew Boruto was trying to play that card, but he didn't have to; because even before this Shikadai had followed this blonde in blind against his better judgement. This situation was a piece of cake compared to the shit they had gone through together.
"First thing first; we need to get you into decent clothes."
Oh, the things I do for friendship! Shikadai thought.
"Seriously! This is your idea of decent clothes, dattebasa!" Boruto gritted his teeth and glared daggers at his companion from the corner of his eyes. The only reason he was not shouting and kicking him was because he did not want to create a scene and grab attention of the villagers.
After deciding their course of action; Shikadai had gone into the village and purchased the cloths Boruto could wear for his stay in the inn. But to Boruto's dismay, Shikadai returned with a Plain Pink Top – that was more like a tight crop top on him and a Blue high waist, knee length skirt – that did not even reach his knees. To top it all of; the bastard had the audacity to bring him knee heel boots. To put it simply; Boruto looked like a girl straight out of teenage high school movies.
It would still not have been that bad, if Boruto did not had to put on concealer and a bit of makeup to hide what was remaining of his whiskers. They had cut off most of it, but some part was still visible.
"Not my fault you overdid yourself with all those curves, if not for them; these clothes would have actually been pretty decent" Shikadai defended himself, trying not to think of the said curves
"But then you should have used your brain and brought a larger size!"
"Hey now, I'm not used to shopping for girls. Amongst the two of us, I'm not the one with a girlfriend; you are. So, cut me some slack"
"Oh I'm gonna cut you alright, just let me get back to normal, dattebasa."
They had decided to head towards the Inn located in the middle of city, so they could go to wherever when Hanabi had returned. When they came in, Shikadai informed the guards on Anu gate about a man being tied up not too far; gave the details that he was stealing something from the Hyuga Premise and that Boruto had informed to get him in custody. One of them had instantly left to retrieve the culprit; while he will have to write a brief report of what the exact situation was and how he knew. Great, just more paper work for me. This is such a drag.
They were pretty close to the inn when they heard two angry yells of his name
"Shikadai!"
Shikadai turned and saw his very upset team mates Inojin and Chocho marching towards him with intent to seriously hurt him. Looking at their faces he instantly knew why they looked pissed; he completely forgot he had a mission report to submit of that day. Wait! I was supposed to be angry at them for leaving me there all alone.
"Inojin, Chocho" He greeted with a small smile; yeah, he can't stay mad at them. Even he kind of ditched them for some time now to clear Boruto's mess.
"Where have you been? The whole report is remaining, Moegi Sensei is not at all happy with the delay. What took you so long?" Chocho fired when she came to a stop in front of him.
"And now we get to do more paper work because it's our punishment for procrastinating our report submission" Inojin folded his arms and gave him a stinky eye "Wonder who is responsible for that"
"Sorry, you two. I'll make sure to submit that report as soon as possible." Shikadai gave them a sheepish smile. Two reports in a day, kill me now!
"You are tuning way too -" Chocho stopped mid-sentence when she noticed her, a Blonde girl trying to hide behind Shikadai; she looked a bit scared. "Who is she?" Chocho asked eyeing the girl carefully. Nope; she is a new one Chocho thought as she couldn't place the face with a name
Shikadai and Boruto shared a look with each other; Seems like we did a good job covering any identifying traits.
"Oh umm…" Shikadai racked his brain to come up with a girl's name; Damn it! Why did I not think about this? He mentally cursed himself and quickly blurt out the first name that came to his mind "This is Bo… Bonnie. Yeah, and she is here for a day or two; just visiting for sightseeing and all" He told the two, praying to all the non-existing god's that they would believe him.
"What a wired taste you have there. Sightseeing and that too in Konoha, pretty dull choice if you ask me." Inojin said like a complacent bastard he was.
"I did not ask, so shut up, dat-" Boruto snapped at him, and immediately clapped his hands on his mouth; he almost gave himself away. He is not supposed to say 'dattebasa' under any circumstances! Shikadai only facepalmed at that, he had warned Boruto about him verbal tick many times before coming into the village.
"Well, what do you know, we've got a feisty one right here" Inojin snorted "Hey chubs, she even crosses your standard of being snobbish"
"Ne Inojin, Why don't you actually shut the fuck up" Chocho glared at him and then turned to the two in front of her "Ignore him okay? Konoha has many amazing food shops one should definitely visit! You should come with me; I'll take you to the most amazing restaurants of Konoha" Chocho smiled
"We appreciate the offer Chocho" Shikadai interfered before things got too troublesome "But we are a bit on tight schedule here, Later" He then turned to leave when Inojin stopped him again
"Hey, are you her guide now? Since when did you go around being tourist guide? You seem unusual Shikadai"
Shikadai cursed Inojin's ability to read him like a book. It helped in most of the missions but right now; it was just creating more problems. Luckily, they were saved by yet another voice; this time calling Chocho. Chocho and Inojin turned around to look at the new arrivals.
Boruto gazed passed Chocho to the new arrivals and his blood ran cold. No No No… This can't be happening. They will know right away!
His mental panicking was shoved aside as Shikadai grabbed hold of his hand and dragged him in the nearest alleyway. They let out a sigh of relief when they were sure none of the four saw their narrow escape.
"That was a close one" Shikadai sat down exhausted. He needed some much-deserved rest, it was getting way to hectic for his supposed free half day.
"Yeah man!" Boruto joined beside him "If Mitsuki or Sarada had seen me there, they definitely would have known it was me in a second"
"And if we had not escaped, Inojin would have called us out in his next sentence."
"What now?"
"We'll leave from the other end of this ally, and straight go to the inn. After that you are not stepping a foot out of that god-damned room." Shikadai gave him a nasty stare; warning him not to dare try anything funny.
"Yes sir!" Boruto rolled his eyes. Shikadai can be such a worrywart sometimes.
"And do me a favor, keep your trap shut."
With that they both got up and exited through the other end of the narrow ally.
Sarada was beyond pissed by the time she met up with Chocho and Inojin in middle of the village. She was supposed to meet Boruto earlier that morning after he was done running an errand for his mom and then treat her to whatever she said the whole day as a compensation for when he messed up one of their mission almost two weeks ago. He had been putting it off in favor of other missions and always making up excuses of being busy with one thing or other. But today he did not have any excuses! Today was their day off and what she got from Aunt Hinata is that Boruto was just going to drop off some cookies to his grandfather, who Boruto did not like spending much time with. Ideally, he was supposed to meet her two to three hours ago, but that bastard is yet to show his face and when he does show his face, he was going to train with her and she was going to take full advantage of her Mom's strength and her family Sharingan and make him regret to keep her waiting.
"Sarada, What is going on? You seem red" Chocho asked as they reached the two.
"Have you seen Boruto?" She asked only for the former two to reply negatively. Her anger going up one more notch she beatdown her own hand "Cha! Boruto, I'm going to kill you when I next see you." She muttered mostly to herself.
Chocho then raised her eyes at that and then looked at Mitsuki who still had that goofy small smile on his face with no expression what so ever. She would have called him out on that but right now Sarada's killer instincts was more important.
"What did Boruto do now?" She asked the pale boy.
"He seems to be avoiding Sarada for a while now. That's what she said" Mitsuki answered
"Still haven't gone on that date of yours? How long has it been two weeks or is it three?" Chocho mused and pulled out a bag of chips and started eating them
"What?" Inojin asked not having any idea of what the other three were speaking about.
"C'mon Sarada, it was just another mistake; I'm sure if you let it go he won't be avoiding you like this" Chocho ignored Inojin and said to Sarada, who flared up after this suggestion
"And I'll again tell you! This wasn't just any mission he messed up on. Lord 7th was personally overseeing the progress of this one! And because of him we messed up big time and let that important intel get into those bandit's hands! Thank heavens, Lord 7th was able to stop anymore rucksack and retrieve that intel and get rid of those bandits. We did nothing. Nothing!" She had unknown to her activated her Sharingan and Chocho and Inojin took a step away from her, just to be cautious if she unleashed her monstrous strength. Mitsuki seemed completely at ease though, apparently used to her rants and lashing out by now.
"Calm down Sarada" Inojin said understanding a bit of what was going on "I'm sure he will have a good explanation for ditching today." He tried to mellow her down, Poor Boruto, He is going to have one hell of a time.
"Don't take his side" Sarada snapped at him
"I'm not. But think about this, he is completely wrapped around your fingers; unless he finds someone else, he won't do anything to mess up with you" Inojin rolled his eyes; Girls! In some or the other way all are the same. Even the fighters like Sarada can behave like typical girlfriends over a period of time.
"He does have a point Sarada. C'mon let's get some BBQ so you can cool down a bit. Right Shikadai?" Chocho turned around to her other team mate to find him gone "Where did he go?" She looked confused
"Huh?" Inojin also looked around to not find anyone "The girl is also missing. Did he really ditch us for her?" He was offended that his best friend would just leave them for someone he met only today
"Which girl?" Sarada asked now curious, Shikadai – with a girl, now that's interesting.
"Some tourist. She seemed a bit off though, like trying to hide something. And she was hiding behind Shikadai and all. Very weird if you ask me" Chocho said and started walking towards the BBQ shop
"I say they were up to something and we just interrupted them" Inojin added following behind her. Sarada and Mitsuki falling in steps with them
"Do you think Shikadai finally went on a date?" Chocho wondered "And we messed it up"
"Date with a random stranger, doesn't sound like Shikadai." Sharada shook her head "Hell he isn't able to ask-out a girl he's known for years, forget about someone he just met"
"Is it really that weird?" Mitsuki asked
But no one answered him as they all stopped in to look at the scene in front of them. Team 25 was on some mission it seemed, Hako was using her puppet to go near every face that did not belong to Konoha. They were well versed with the intelligence missions and sniffing out enemies without much trouble.
"Houki, What's going on?" Inojin asked as they reached the two team 25 members who were standing a few feet away looking carefully at what their team mate was doing.
"It's you guys" He greeted them without taking his eyes off Hako "We are on a mission right now."
"There are a few troublemakers that were able to infiltrate the village and disguise themselves as normal tourists. There is a chance they are going to cause trouble around the village soon. We were just trying to get to them before they got us" Renga briefly explained their situation
"Sai sir said to keep a close eye on everyone and take in anyone looking suspicious." Houki added and then spared them a glance "You guys also keep an eye out; anyone you think is a threat call us or Sai sir."
"Will do" The four agreed in unison.
"No one here" Hako returned with her puppet at her side and team 25 bid the four goodbyes to continue their mission.
"Well, not everyone has a day off. Let's go eat!" Chocho exclaimed, forgetting all about the infiltration in village.
"I'll catchup with you guys later, have some place to be at." Inojin said and then left the three to go in opposite direction.
"Seems like it's the three of us" Sarada said and again started towards their previous destination.
"I'm hungry" And his stomach grumbled to support his statement. Shikadai rolled his eyes at that. This has been fourth time Boruto had complained about being hungry and all the time Shikadai had reminded him they can't stop now in case they ran into someone they know.
"Aren't you the one who is dead set on other's not knowing about your mishap? Then why are you being such a pain!" Shikadai was frustrated by now. He had to not only keep a check whether they were being noticed or not; but also, to keep Boruto in line and make sure he did not do something 'Boruto-like' in middle of the village. It will be a dead giveaway.
"But that does not mean I wanna starve to death, dattebasa!" Boruto was outright whining now. Yes, he understood that being caught in this situation was a bad thing that could happen to him; but going all the while hungry will be worst. Plus, he was carving some spicy Thunder Burger – one that they had launched just two days ago. He wasn't able to have it yet.
"For the sake of everything holy; shut up!" Shikadai turned on his toes and glared at the boy turned girl following him "You are being more troublesome than usual and that's saying something. This is more drag for me than you, but don't go saying your dattebasa every chance you got. And don't whine like that!"
"But Shikadai! I'm Hungry! We can just stop by Thunder Burger and I'll order one and we can be on our merry way" He reasoned
"And you very well know all of our former classmates just love that place and often hangout there! That's the last place we should be going."
"Then what about Takoyaki? I'm sure not everyone goes there. Plus, at this time of day there won't be many people there."
"We could just have a take-out. That's all" Shikadai sighed. There was no winning with him.
And they took a small detour to reach the Takoyaki shop – only to find it closed. Not only that; it seemed Team 5 also had decided to have some Takoyaki and were standing in front of the shop equally disappointed. Metal looked at the two approaching and wave to them
"Shikadai! You also came for some Takoyaki?" He asked
"Yeah" Shikadai was so tired of running into all these people, he had to make a quick gate-away. "But since it is closed, we are leaving" He said and grabbed Boruto's hand; ready to leave the three and going as far as possible
"Leaving already? We were going to Thunder Burger now, wanna join?" Denki asked
"Are you on a date?" Iwabe ignored him and asked the two.
Both the sentences made Shikadai and Boruto stop; though for different reasons.
"Thunder Burger?" Boruto's eyes were shining by just thinking about the heavenly meal he could have at the burger joint. While Shikadai paled at Iwabe's question.
"No no, I was just showing her around." He gave a nervous laugh after that
"Who is she anyways?" Iwabe came in front of them and looked closely at Boruto who was still busy day dreaming about the burger.
"Can we please go have some?" He tuned to Shikadai and pouted a little; fully displaying his puppy-dog eyes.
"You want to have Thunder Burger?" Denki asked as he joined the three followed by Metal.
"Yes!" Boruto nodded his head enthusiastically.
"But we are in a bit of hurry-" Shikadai started to say but Iwabe cut him off
"I'm sure one burger couldn't hurt." He then turned around and started making his way towards the Burger joint "Let's go everyone. You also pretty lady, what is your name by the way?"
And thus introducing one another; they reached the Thunder Burger. Shikadai's main concern was to get Boruto to an inn and make sure he does not do something to revel himself; otherwise, all their efforts till that point would be for nothing. But as of now, Boruto seemed to understand this and is very cautious as to what he is saying and how he is behaving. So, the next concern that troubled Shikadai was when was Hanabi Sensei returning. Something clicked in his mind
"Say Iwabe" He casually asked, as they sat down in the booth "Weren't you supposed to meet with Wasabi for that medical ninjutsu evaluation or something? Why are you with these guys then?"
"Shikadai" Denki sweat-dropped, Shikadai just pushed a trigger with that question. Iwabe huffed at that and then took an angry bite out of his burger.
"She had the audacity to schedule our meet and then cancel it last minute to go off on some C rank mission. I mean I would have understood if it was a B rank or A rank mission, but C rank! Ridiculous" He muttered
"It's okay Iwabe" Denki tried to play it cool and then looked at Shikadai, exasperated "He had just stopped grumbling about it for only 35 minutes now, & you had to bring it up again!"
"I had no idea" Shikadai raised his eyes in surrender but felt no remorse what so ever.
"So, when is she coming back?" Boruto asked and all eyes turned towards him. He had caught up on Shikadai's intentions quickly and wanted to have more information "I mean, It seems important." He quickly explained.
"Supposedly two day from now. They had to go all the way to Kiri and had some important business to take care of. Man! this suck -" Iwabe then continued to grumble how unfair it was for him to wait this long and something about going on mission himself in a day or two. Boruto couldn't really care about that in that moment. He shared a glance with Shikadai, Horror written all over his face
Two days! Two Fucking Days! How am I supposed to live like this for two more days! Do I just ask for Hima to help, this will end faster? But mom will find out and Sarada – Oh Sarada! She is going to kill me if I do not meet with her soon. Hell, I missed the meeting today morning! I'm sure going to die a very painful death.
While Boruto was busy panicking, Shikadai noticed Chocho and remaining of Team 7 entering the burger joint. He mentally cursed his luck and grabbed Boruto by hand
"We gotta go, later" he told the other three who looked at them confused. Shikadai quickly left the place; dragging Boruto out of the back door.
"This is bad, this is bad!" Boruto kept muttering "What do we do Shikadai!" He looked at his friend who at his wits end.
"Why do I get myself into your mess every-single-time!" Shikadai sighed in frustration "This is such a drag!"
"Shikadai!"
"Can we just get your chakra points released from your mom? It would save us a whole lot of problems"
"Stop complaining. We are not doing that, dattebasa!"
"Ugh… Let's just get you settled; I still have two reports to make."
It was late in the afternoon and they still were just roaming around the village, mostly because every time they turned around a corner, they saw some of their classmates and had to take a long detour to avoid all of them. It seemed for some reason, all the Chunin's and Genin's present in the village were on move and that just added more to their trouble.
"I'm tired to running into every single person I know from this village! Why are so many people here and not on missions?" Boruto was frustrated by now.
"I wonder who will it be next. We have run into everyone by now" Shikadai sighed at that and truly they did; not only their classmates but all the people they encountered during their missions.
Casually joking about running into someone completely unexpected and how that would at least bring some innovation to their rather repetitive day, they turned the corner; only to meet with a very unusual sight. Something Boruto was not ready to experience in this lifetime at least.
On instinct, his temper flared and his well-hidden over-protective side surfaced. He would have charged in and plumped the person responsible for his rage into oblivion if Shikadai had not held him back.
"Boruto, Wait!" Shikadai stopped him. Physically stopping Boruto was never a challenge for Shikadai, they had fought many times, had hand-to-hand combat and even teased each other enough times that physically restricting the other seems like normal. Well, before now it did; but considering the state Boruto was in – this contact seemed a bit weird to say the least.
Boruto's female frame was smaller than his usual height, making it easy for Shikadai to wrap his hands around his stomach and lift him off the ground. The only problem was, Boruto's obnoxiously big curves. Boruto trying to squirm his way out of Shikadai's hold did not help their situation either.
To them it might not have seemed all that bad; but the handful people that were present around them did find this particular sight a bit disturbing.
"I'm going to kill him" Boruto kept struggling to get to his target
"Not the right time! You can't do that! It will blow away our cover." Shikadai tried to reason; putting way more efforts in restraining him than usually needed
"Like I care right now. How dare he touch my sister!"
"Will you just stay quiet for a bit! People are watching"
"To hell with them; Bloody bastard Inojin!"
"if you don't stop; I'm going to strangle you to death"
"Shikadai?" A new voice interrupted their banter making the two of them to stop in their tracks. Shikadai's blood ran cold hearing that voice; he knew exactly who that belonged to. Slowly he turned around praying all the heavens above that he was wrong; and she wasn't who he thought she was. But like everything else; this day just had to make his life more miserable. Because when he turned his head around, there she stood in all her glory looking at him with expression he couldn't exactly read. Running into someone unexpected, Check. He mentally cursed luck.
"Yodo" He gave a sheepish half smile; wondering why she was even here "What a surprise."
"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were supposed to meet me by the gate today so we could go over the Mach-Academy documents"
Her eyes then drifted to his hands that were still wrapped around Boruto. The later was still glaring daggers in opposite direction where his sister and Inojin were. Shikadai quickly separated himself from his friend and put a considerable distance between them. With sudden lack of restrain, Boruto now turned to see what happened and came face to face with the sand kunoichi.
"But I guess you are busy" Her tone turned grave "Later" and then she turned around and left.
"Yodo, wait!" Shikadai tried to stop her but she had already jumped a few roofs and was out of sight. What a horrible way to mess up! This is going to be such a drag to explain it all to her later.
Oops, seems like trouble in paradise, Poor Shikadai. Boruto cringed at that thought; he had no right to think like that when he on his own was on thin ice.
"If she does not talk with me again, I'm going to make sure you grace everyone with this look of yours" Shikadai glared at him
"What did I do?" Boruto asked offended. Like seriously! He did nothing.
"Oh really? Who is the reason we are in this mess in the first place!" His glare intensified and Boruto suddenly got flashbacks of Aunt Temari when she had same expressions during one of their missions and how she had then destroyed all of the vegetation in their vicinity out of sheer anger and ended their mission then and there.
"You can't blame me here! It was Inojin who had to get me this angry; he had the nerve to get to my sister."
"She is not a kid! She is 15 and can make her own decisions"
"She is still my baby sister"
They kept on bricking; what none of the two noticed is a pink teddy like puppet that came to them, touched Boruto and left. They were in a hell lot of trouble.
And trouble did find them not five minutes later.
They were walking side-by-side, looking in opposite directions too annoyed at each other to actually talk. While they were bricking, Inojin and Himawari had left unnoticed – much to Boruto's irritation. While Shikadai was occupied with ways to pacificate the sand kunoichi that had gotten the wrong idea all together.
While none of the two were paying any attention, they ran into Team 25 blocking their way.
"Houki, Hako and Renga. What's the matter" Shikadai asked at the unusual trio in their way. They were classmates during Academy days, and while he was not specifically close to them; he knew them well enough and had gone on missions with them. So, for them to stop them in the middle of village screamed Trouble all over; and Shikadai very well knew that.
"Get away from her Shikadai" Houki said drawing out his kunai and aiming it at Boruto
"Huh?" Both Shikadai and Boruto were confused to say the least.
"You are using a transformation" Hako said; Boruto's eyes widened at that "Your chakra feels weird and you are wearing cloth's that are newly brought. You are not used to them and therefore you keep tugging at them. You are someone else; trying to be someone else." She further explained. It always amused Shikadai at how perceptive Hako was and it was so spot on – the girl had some great potential.
"You are mistaken, I'm a girl only" Boruto feebly tried to convince the trio who looked more menacing than his mother with her activated Byakugan.
"Well, we will confirm that after you undergo complete inspection and for that we will need to take you into custody. So come on your own or we will have to force you" Renga said getting ready to jump up if need be
"Now wait you guys." Shikadai took a step forward and stood between Team 25 and Boruto. "What's all this about? She is a tourist; we don't treat our guests like this"
"We are sure it's her who the intel said. You get out of our way Shikadai, or we will have to immobilize you too" Houki said and took a step towards them.
In a desperate attempt to get away from Team 25, Shikadai took quick measures and yelled 'Run' to Boruto and they dashed in other direction. His shadow shot out from below him and entangled the feet of his three classmates making them fall on the ground and using this as an advantage to get away.
Damn with keeping up the appearance and all. Thinking so, Boruto forgot all about being a girl and started running from rooftops to rooftops with Shikadai right behind him. Team 25 wasn't too far behind either, they only took a few seconds to cope up with the shock that Shikadai had used his shadows on them; something that was only used against enemies so far.
"What's gotten into you Shikadai?" Renga asked irritated, not expecting such a small mission to turn this harassing.
But Shikadai did not answer, he only increased his speed. This chase caught the attention of others who were making rounds till now.
"The girl is imposter and for some reason Shikadai is defending her, get them" He vaguely heard Houki tell others, and mentally groaned. If only he could tell them all to mind their own business. With that statement out, now Shikadai and Boruto were not only running from Team 25 but almost the entire Chunin population. Boruto thanked all the heavens for the way they were trained till now, because if not for that training, he and Shikadai would have been long caught.
Somehow, they managed to get rid of the hoard of ninja's after them and escaped though a narrow alleyway to the outer parts of the village. It seemed they would not be able to go with their previous plan.
Just when they thought they had managed to get rid of all the pursuers and they were safe, a loud yell caught their attention and they saw an angry Uchiha running towards them
"Cha!" She was ready to punch the fuck out of Boruto but he barely managed to jump out of the way, summersaulting a considerable distance away from her
"Sarada!" Boruto gulped as he came face to face with his girlfriend for the first time that day. Then next came Chocho from another direction, rolling like a human boulder and ready to toss him like ragged doll. This time Shikadai managed to pull him away with his Shadow possession and out of the way.
"Ninja Art! Super Beast Scroll"
With that a set of yellow-green birds rounded around them. Troublesome. Shikadai thought and leapt away from them before they exploded. Something Inojin had mastered over the years of training. Their explosions were pretty big too; it hurt way too much if you get caught in one.
"So, you are actually taking her side, Shikadai" Sarada was ready to start her second assault, her Sharingan activated.
"Sarada, listen to me" Boruto started, Maybe I could talk her out of this. He thought. But he couldn't take one step towards her, when a few snakes wrapped around his legs making him loose his balance. He was quick to kick them away and looked at its source – Mitsuki.
"Pay attention, will you!" Shikadai scolded as they both stood back-to-back. They were now surrounded from all the four sides by their friends.
"Listen guys, we can explain. Let's not do this" Shikadai tried to reason
"This girl is trouble, Shikadai. She is an imposter." Chocho said.
"But she also seems familiar, no?" Mitsuki tilted his head a bit to look at Boruto, trying to analyze the chakra coming from her, it seemed a bit hindered.
"We are taking her in, and we will deal with you later, Shikadai." Inojin said and they charged in on them engaging them in a combat.
Sarada was surprised, for someone looking so fragile and feeble, the girl had some excellent moves. And her fighting style was very similar to someone Sarada knew very well. But that was not the matter right now, her main focus was to get this girl into interrogation room.
Even though it was four to two, Boruto and Shikadai were able to hold their fort quite nicely. With practiced moves and synchronized attacks, they were able to defend each other's back, which was their motive from the start. They were both looking for an opening so they could escape without trying to go all offensive.
That was until the fifth member joined their current opposition. She came out of nowhere, suddenly in front of Boruto; She had her Byakugan activated and chakra flowing through her palms.
"Gentle fist, 8 trigrams 64 palms"
And for the second time that day, Boruto was subjected to Gentle first at the hands of a Hyuga. But unlike the previous one, this one hurt like hell. Himawari on the other hand kept up her assault till the end, when Boruto collapsed on the ground and with a 'poof' sound and small smoke; his sexy jutsu was released and he was back to his original form.
Sarada, Inojin & Chocho had their jaws dropped to the floor as the scene unfold before them, even Mitsuki seemed a bit taken aback with the turn of event. Shikadai was the last to react; as he sighed defeated and sat down on the ground, tired with all the efforts he had unnecessarily put into that day – only for it all to get exposed like this.
Himawari finally stopped after her attack; and with the same eyes glared down at her brother. She had seen the girl from afar when she was talking with Inojin outside the Yamanaka flower shop, that time she had not thought about it much, but had felt she was way too familiar. Now when the others were attacking, she had scanned the girl with her Byakugan, only to find several chakra points already blocked. It did not take her even a minute to join the dots and come to a conclusion who actually it was.
"I'm… free?" Boruto on his own was in a daze. His whole body was aching, but the first thing he noticed was himself coming to normal – he was ecstatic to finally be himself. "Shikadai! I'm back to normal!" He exclaimed to his friend who in turn only facepalmed and buried his face in his hands.
"Care to explain, Dear Big Brother of mine." Himawari asked, arms folded and an enraged look on her whole face. Boruto gulped at that, he then noticed it was not only Himawari but also the other four looking down on him and if looks could kill; he would be dead five times over by now.
"You have some major explanation to do to all. Causing rucksack in the whole village, making every Chunin chase after you and you had the audacity to lie to our face!" Inojin gave an unimpressed look to them.
And he was not kidding when he said they would have to explain everything to everyone. After Boruto changed into his original cloths, both Shikadai and Boruto had to explain the whole circumstances not only to the Intelligence department and Sai; but they had to apologize to Team 25 too and all the other Chunins.
If that was not enough, Sarada had dragged them to the Hokage's office and made them explain everything again to Naruto and Shikamaru, both of who were so confused at first; but as they took in all the explanation they started laughing.
"Lord Seventh" Sarada was confused with Naruto's reaction as were the other teens
"Sorry" He regained his composure and looked at the two boys standing in front of him, heads bowed down and looked ashamed and in all defeated.
"Boruto, Shikadai. I won't say the trouble you caused others was an acceptable thing to do, it all could have been avoided if you had just come to me or Hinata in the first place – which was actually a right thing to do. But also considering the events that lead to it; Boruto -" Boruto slowly looked at his father, who gave him a small smile
He might not show it but he hated when his Dad was disappointed in him. He might have been a brat in his early teens and all; but now he valued all the small moments he got to spend with his father. So, he usually avoided doing something that could make his father unhappy with him
"I appreciate what you did for your grandfather, it was a right call you made there. But the way you were going to end it wasn't right to do. Using such a jutsu -"
"Are you really going to lecture me how to use Sexy Jutsu?" Boruto raised his eyes at his father, he continued "Because if I remember correct; you used to have some silly competition with Big Brother Konohamaru to decide which one of you had a better one and that too in the middle of the village"
Shikadai punched him on the shoulder after that for running his mouth so freely; while Sarada and others glared at him for it. Himawari was completely annoyed with her brother; if he won't behave now – she was sure to block all his chakra points again.
"That's not the point" Naruto sweat dropped, Who even had the audacity to tell Boruto something like that!
"Anyways" Shikamaru interrupted and caught everyone's attention. "You both will be serving the Intelligence department for next two weeks as a sincere apology for all the trouble you put them through for last hour."
"But -" Shikadai tried to object, Why am I being punished? He thought.
"No if's and but's. You are all dismissed." Shikamaru said in a tone that always told Shikadai they were done with what ever discussion they were having. So, with a sullen mood Boruto and Shikadai turned to leave, others looked a bit satisfied.
"Shikadai" Naruto called "Thank you for helping Boruto today, dattebayo"
Shikadai could only smile in return "I didn't have a choice even if I wanted" He chuckled and they left the Hokage's office.
"As for our punishment" Chocho started as they all came out of the tower.
"You are treating us to drinks and dinner tonight." Inojin declared, daring the two to decline it. Boruto and Shikadai gulped, Dinner and Drinks meant they were going to have a huge dent in their pockets.
"This is going to be troublesome."
"Tell me about it, dattebasa"
And really, their whole months salary had vanished within one hour of stepping a foot into the small Pub, their usual place to gather when they were not in the Thunder Burger. It was not only Sarada, Mitsuki, Chocho, Inojin and Himawari that had showed up; but also, Team 5, 25 and 40 were invited. Although Boruto had made it clear Himawari was to strictly stay away from any alcoholic beverages; he also knew someone will pass a sip or two to her no matter what.
"You are such an annoying big brother" Sarada chided him for his death glare to every-male who tried to get within a foot of his sister on the dancefloor. That was the only reason he did not like to take Himawari to pubs.
"Well, she is my sister and I did rather die than let some bastard come near her" He huffed as he sunk more into his seat. He again looked at the dancefloor to find Inojin had taken over his duty of scaring away any creeps coming near his sister. And as much as he did not like it, in that moment he was okay with it - but only till he reached her himself.
Some of their friends had already finished their dinner and had joined the dancefloor, while others had taken seats near the bar; leaving him and Sarada to complete their dinner in peace.
"Oh don't worry, I'll kill you before it comes to that" She was busy with her sushi, half smirking at her beloved-idiot boyfriend.
"Sarada!" he pouted and tuned towards her completely "You are still not mad, are you?" He was hoping she would say 'no' but that was not the reality and he knew it
"Sure am" She shrugged "But I have carefully devised the best plan to get you to pay up for all the trouble you've caused and the way you've pissed me off. It's a very creative way I came up with." She smiled at that, a big one that had Boruto rendered a putty in her hands. So much so that even if she asked if she could cut his throat with that smile, he would tear out his heart and put it in her hands. Yeah, he was that whipped.
"I hope it's not what I think it is" He slowly muttered and shoved the last remaining bit of food in his mouth, because he knew exactly what she would be planning - though he was not sure how she will make it creative.
"Oh, but it is" She wiped her mouth and got up "But right now, let's join others"
And with that she pulled him up and joined others on the dancefloor, where all of them were quick to target Boruto for his feminine day and swapping stories of when they encountered him; all the while the swaying to the loud music filling the whole pub.
Shikadai was sitting by the Bar alone, looking at all his previous classmates enjoying at their expense - but he did not feel even a bit bad about it; only missing was Team 15. In fact, he was happy that at least such occasions were present that they all could come together and have fun. Boruto especially was the center of attention as everyone was teasing him nonstop, he had his head buried in Sarada's shoulder with embarrassment and his girlfriend didn't seem to help him one bit. From where Shikadai sat, he would say it was Sarada that was the major source of his embarrassment in first place. He laughed at that, Serves him right.
He was avoiding getting drunk that night, for he was their destined escort for most. It was because of that he was easily able to recognize her coming in and taking a seat beside him.
"I heard you were paying tonight" She asked without looking at him
"It's kind of payment for all the trouble we caused in later half of the day" he replied looking at her. She was in her regular clothes, only ditching her headband. She still had those earphones in her ears though blaring some loud rock music through them - rivalling the one from the pub and Shikadai was least surprised she was still easily able to hear him.
"Hmm…" She did not reply after that, only drowning the vodka shot kept in front of her.
"Yodo, Listen okay-" He started, unable to keep avoiding the topic any longer. He had apologized to every person as far as he could tell, except her. "- about this afternoon; it was -"
"Boruto" She finished for him and then turned her eyes to him.
"Yeah" He sighed and looked down at his glass containing Sprite. "It was some weird situation we were caught in and what you saw; I was just trying to stop him then; and -"
"Shikadai" She stopped his rambling, and half turned towards him "I'm sorry; I have no right to behave like that. And you have nothing to apologize for"
"But I do, I don't want you to get any wrong ideas" He muttered softly, not used to be so open with his emotions.
"Why?" She asked simply and intently looked at him. He did not say a word. See this was the problem, he always got tongue-tied when the actual moment came.
When she did not receive any answer for another two minutes; she got up leaving her glass there only. Before she completely left his company, she said something causing Shikadai's eyes to widen. And she was gone just like that; catching up with the others present.
"I expect a nice lunch tomorrow, it's a date."
-Fin