A.N: Hello~! This is a collection of Boruto and Naruto (but mostly Boruto… probably anyway) one shots and a part of my "Steps" -collection. For those who don't know, I have a one shot collection for two other series as well, both having names that start with "Steps." "Steps Along the Wall" for Shingeki no Kyojin and "Steps for the Future" for 7 Seeds. The stories will have no connection to each other, unless I mention otherwise. Naturally, there will be some spoilers for the series, but I'll warn before hand if there's any for the newest chapters or episodes.

Here's the first step of this collection. Enjoy!

Treating Her Condition

"He's so in to me" Mitsuki heard Chou Chou say as she walked away with Sarada. All he had done was answer "yes" when she'd asked if her new dress suited her.

"Maybe it's time we did something about that condition of hers" he mutters, but can't keep the small, fond smile away from his face, not that he's even trying.

"Her what now?" Boruto asks "Which of them are you even talking about? Wait, probably Chou Chou; if something was wrong with Sarada, aunt Sakura would take care of it. What's wrong with Chou Chou?"

"She has the tragic heroine syndrome."

"…The what now?" Boruto asks, confused. After Mitsuki explains it, Boruto just laughs.

"She's fine, Mitsuki" he says "That's just how she is!"

"She's delusional" the blue haired boy points out. Boruto just shrugs "Maybe a little, but what's the harm?"

"…" Mitsuki had no answer to that. It's not like he really minded her delusional assumptions about his affection, so there was indeed no harm. But what if her delusions one day caught the attention of someone who would be bothered by it? Or worse, of someone who'd end up hurting her for it? There had already been a close call with that actor, even if that case had ended well in the end.

"Don't worry about it" Boruto tells him "She'll grow out of it eventually. Or find some sorry sucker that'll become her boyfriend and she won't bother you anymore with her delusions."

Mitsuki did hope she'd grow out of it. Somehow though, the second option didn't sound too appealing to him.

"How puzzling."

XXXXX

For once, Mitsuki chooses to go against Boruto's advice. He has decided that he should do something about Chou Chou's condition. But how? He doubted she'd just go to a doctor if he told her to, nor would she agree to it even if he offered to take her there. What kind of doctor could help her in the first place? A psychologist, maybe?

"But she definitely wouldn't agree to see one" he knew "I need to try to snap her out of it myself."

But how?

"Hello~, Earth to Mitsuki!" the said boy jolted, looking up to see the very source of his conflicted thoughts in front of him.

"Hello Chou Chou"

"I called you many times, you know" the girl said "What are you thinking so hard about?"

"You" he said, bluntly as always, but realized his mistake right after. The girl's condition being what it was, she was surely going to-

"Can't get your mind off of me, can you?" she said with a proud smile "As flattered as I am, I need to remind you that I'm way out of your league."

"…" how to get through to her? "…You've misunderstood."

"Keep telling yourself that" Chou Chou says with a laugh.

"No, you really have" Mitsuki insists, and he can see he caught the girl off guard. No wonder; usually he'd just let it go after all "I think it's time you face reality."

"Huh?"

"We should start with the fact that not everyone is in to you just because they talk to you" Mitsuki tells her "You should stop assuming so."

Chou Chou crossed her arms, unimpressed.

"Uhhuh, and what makes you so sure they're not in to me? Did you ask them?"

"I did not, however- "

"Then you're just jumping to conclusions" the girl interrupted, narrowing her eyes "Is there some particular reason why you would think that?"

Mitsuki knew what she was hinting at; despite her confidence, her appearance, her weight to be more exact, was still a source of uncertainty for Chou Chou, especially when talking about attention from the opposite sex.

"Aside from this particular delusional side of yours, no" he said, smiling a bit as he said to reassure her "That excluded, you're fine as you are."

He saw her blush a little. Uh-oh, he might've made things worse.

"You insist you're not in to me, yet you say stuff like that!" Chou Chou laughs "You're contradicting yourself; you know."

"That's not what I meant" Mitsuki said with a sigh. Normally he'd just be amused, but since the purpose was to knock some sense in to her… "But you're proving my point by twisting my words in to something that you like."

"Like?" Chou Chou repeated in disbelief "You think I'd want someone like you to be interested in me?"

"…" well, to Mitsuki it seemed that Chou Chou would be flattered if anyone showed any interest in her, but he was smart enough to not say that out loud.

Chou Chou, taking Mitsuki's silence the wrong way, quickly stuttered: "I don't mean that there'd be anything wrong with you as a person, just that- um- well…"

"I know" Mitsuki interrupted her with a smile. He wasn't offended, he was used to this.

"Ah, okay… good" Chou Chou said, looking away awkwardly.

"But someone else might take it the wrong way, regardless of if they are or aren't interested in you" he pointed out "If you continue with that attitude, things might get dangerous for you."

"Ha!" Chou Chou said "So you're that worried about me?"

This time Mitsuki wouldn't mess this up.

"I worry about all of my friends" he clarified.

"But do you talk to everyone one on one and express your concern like this?"

"I do this all the time" Mitsuki pointed out, smiling happily "With Boruto."

"I can imagine that; bet he's a real piece of work" the girl snorted, her gaze momentarily softening "He is really special to you, isn't he?"

"He's my sun" Mitsuki said with a smile, and Chou Chou smiled back.

"And because he's special to you, you look out for him a lot."

Mitsuki nodded. This was one of the things he liked about Chou Chou; she didn't question the way he saw Boruto.

"In other words: you look out for people who are special to you."

Mitsuki froze, finally understanding the grin on her face. He'd walked straight in to her trap.

"You're twisting my words agai-"

"Sure Mitsuki, sure" she interrupted, patting his shoulder "Whatever keeps your disappointment at bay."

Moving her hand, she started to walk away.

"Inojin and Shikadai are waiting for me, so I've got to go. See ya!"

Mitsuki watched, dumfounded, as the girl walked away. He was so used to these antics of hers, and yet she still managed to catch him off guard.

"Chou Chou, you really are one of a kind…" he smiled, shaking his head "Looks like curing you will have to wait."

A.N: At first I was planning for one or the other get offended with this conversation and have a bit of an angsty drama, but I felt like this kind of not so serious exchange was more in character for the both of them.