For the next two weeks, Team 7 has accomplished 5 more missions without Boruto.

During them, Mitsuki doesn't offer any topics of conversation, by nature not one to mind silences nor one to break them. Sarada doesn't mind, not a chatterer herself, rather inclined to keep conversation to when it's needed, and when she needs to tell Mitsuki something, she'll break the silence herself.

They work well, stealthy, and swiftly, without any problems together, and it is rather peaceful to be able to do their jobs well. Sarada knows Boruto is the one who constantly evokes the both of them to talk whenever they sink into their own heads too long. She doesn't think she'll miss it, and she hasn't so far, but she did think it would be too awkward with Mitsuki – surprisingly, it's not – he's very intuitive and they've gotten closer than ever before as teammates, despite both being shinobi of few, and select, words.

There is one thing that they are both terrible at – when times come for one of Boruto's crazy ideas that are actually brilliant, they both come up short, which is when Konohamaru-Sensei steps up and resolves the situation.

"What do you think is going on?"

They just returned to the village and are walking through the gates.

Konohamaru-Sensei glances at Mitsuki; he doesn't usually speak first. "What do you mean?"

"Something happened." Mitsuki explains, his sharp yellow eyes looking at the people around them buzzing about.

Sarada looks carefully; everything seems casual, but there's a feeling of unrest in the air. "It feels a bit… nervous."

Konohamaru-Sensei nods, his expression serious. He pauses to stop a passing Chunin.

"Hey there, did something happen?"

"You guys just came back from a mission?" The Chunin asks, looking at them. "Yeah people are just loud, nothing serious."

"What is it?" Konohamaru asks.

"Someone set fire to the Hokage's office –"

"What?!" Konohamaru-Sensei freaks out, and without another word he rushes off.

All three watch as he disappears from sight, frantically.

The Chunin shrugs at Sarada and Mitsuki. "It was a few days ago, it's fine now. Nobody got hurt." He says apologetically for causing Konohamaru-Sensei an unwarranted burst of panic.

"Oh. Was something stolen?" Sarada asks, curious.

"Nobody thinks so, but no one was caught for it. Eventually, people are just wondering how something like that could've happened. I mean, it's the Hokage's office, you know?"

Mitsuki nods, and Sarada and he walk on, leaving the stranger behind.

"Peculiar." Is the only thing Sarada says.

"Mm." Mitsuki agrees.

"Well, let's go hand in our report, Mitsuki." Sarada shrugs. Her teammate nods and they head out to where Konohamaru-Sensei rushed off to, in a calmer pace. "The party is tonight?"

"Mm." Mitsuki nods.

Sarada yawns. "Maybe we should catch a few hours of sleep before it starts. Are you going?" She asks him.

"Yes."

He doesn't expand, and Sarada doesn't need him to; Boruto will be there, that's all the reason Mitsuki needs.

Mitsuki's only subject of interest is Boruto, which means that for two weeks that's all he was willing to talk with Sarada about unless it pertained to their missions.

It's been a long two weeks.

When they handed the report there was still a lot of chaos in the Missions Office. They were handed their next mission and rushed out of the building, already full to the brim with busy shinobi.

"It's tomorrow morning, should be done in a day or two." Sarada reads, telling Mitsuki. They haven't seen Konohamaru-Sensei inside.

"We'll be back before Boruto departs." Mitsuki says unnecessarily.

Sarada ignores the anger trying to rise in her. "Yeah. We'll, I'm going home. See you tonight."

Mitsuki half waves and they separate.

Sarada walks calmly towards her house, trying to ease her ire.

Boruto this, Boruto that, Boruto whatever.

He's my friend too, but does everything have to revolve around him?!

Someone she recognizes pops on her radar across the street.

"Namida." Sarada greets, hoping for a distraction. "How are you?"

The girl with the two pony tails has bags in both arms. "Hey Sarada-Chan! Just helping Shikadai-Kun organize Boruto's party tonight."

Of course.

Sarada walks into the house, catching Temari-San's eye across the room. She bows politely as she stands in the doorway.

"Oh hey Sarada, come on in!" Shikadai waves her into his house.

Temari-San nods slightly in acknowledgment of Sarada and turns to her son.

"You know the rules, Shikadai. Your father and I will leave now. Don't upset the neighbors."

"Alright." Shikadai agrees easily, and his mom takes a leave.

"The place looks good." Sarada comments, head still pounding from the fall she had this morning on their mission. A nap didn't help much.

"Mm. Namida and Metal helped, thank god." Shikadai says, picking disks for the music player.

Sarada scoffs. "Of course you'd ask the two nicest can't-say-no of the group. You have no shame."

"Well, planning a party is a lot of work." Shikadai frowns at her. Then he suddenly smiles slyly. "But also, yeah, they're too nice and I'm too lazy."

"Yo, Sarada-chan!" Metal runs by, carrying a few bags of snacks.

"Hello Metal."

"Where do these go, Shikadai-kun?"

"Just put them on the kitchen counter, we'll use them if we run out of snacks." Shikadai tells him, still picking an assortment of disks.

"Alright-o! Let's go, let's go! Nothing like a noble goodbye for a Nakama to bring grandeur to our springtime of youth!" Metal says, eyes shining, and runs off to carry the bags to the kitchen.

"You're shameless." Sarada comments.

Shikadai shrugs. "I am what I am."

"I'm surprised to hear Metal use words like 'grandeur'." Sarada says, checking out the labels on the CDs.

"Now who's shameless?"

Sarada throws him a glare, as he snickers.

"Rogue Red Clouds? Haven't heard that one." Sarada says, turning over the CD in her hands.

"Mm. Some guitarist, who went solo, wrote a whole bunch of songs about his dad's hang ups who used to be a minor member of Akatsuki."

"Really?" Sarada asks, looking at the CD more carefully.

"Yeah, nothing interesting, just a bunch of PTSD – it's really sad. Turns out some of the higher ranking members used to be creepy looking."

Disappointed, Sarada puts it away. "According to Might Guy one of them was a shark whose name was impossible to remember."

Shikadai rolls his eyes. "According to Might Guy he carried his wheelchair all across the land of fire country from one side to the other in less than a day."

Sarada smirks. "Maybe he did. Probably Metal went with him."

Shikadai snorts.

"Oi! Is the party starting or not?!" comes a bark from the front door.

"Hello, place looks cool." Says another boy, more politely.

"Iwabee, Denki, welcome." Shikadai nods. "We're waiting for people to start coming in."

"Nice." Iwabee marches in, straight for the snacks.

Denki wonders over to Sarada and Shikadai, some sort of technological device Sarada can't identify under his arm.

"Been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, heard your dad's company is doing well." Shikadai comments, picking the last of the CDs and placing the pile he chose on top of the player, putting the first one in.

The beat starts playing.

"I think so? I mean, I don't know much about that, I just like to fiddle with the technology." Denki laughs shyly, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"I heard you're developing Data Recorders for the Techno-Nin facility." Sarada says, leaning back against the wall.

Denki suddenly looks much more excited. "Yeah! If anyone uses them now, it's able to report back when and how. I guess all the mess with – er –" he looks unsure and lowers his voice "Kara – sort of got them to realize the tech was dangerous if left unsupervised. They've asked for a few other things too, we're trying to figure out how to make them together."

"Guys, are we early?" a cheerful voice calls out.

"Inojin, did you bring the CDs I asked for?" Shikadai asks, waving him over.

"Yep, dragged Chubbers on the way too." He calls, smiling, dragging Cho-Cho with him.

Behind them Sumire and Wasabi come in, waving.

"We met these two on the way." Wasabi calls sharply. "Boruto here yet?"

"Not yet. Come on in." Shikadai calls across the room.

"Oi, Wasabi!" Iwabee calls, holding a plate of food. "Can you live on cat food when you transform?"

"Can a person live on cat food in a regular situation?" Cho-Cho wonders, picking up a plate herself.

Iwabee agrees loudly. "I wonder!"

"I'm gonna feed both of you cat food, and we'll see if you survive, how 'bout that?!" Wasabi yells, Sumire trying to calm her.

Inojin comes over to Shikadai, chuckling. "Sure is lively. Here you go."

"Thanks." Shikadai tells him and switches it with the one inside.

"How have you two been?" Inojin asks, grinning.

"Alright." Denki smiles.

"Same." Sarada nods at him.

"It's flu season." Inojin comments.

"Yeah. It is." Sarada agrees, face impassive.

Shikadai and Denki share a confused look at the turn in the conversation.

"Whatever, I'll go see if there are enough drinks." Shikadai says clapping his hands together.

Sarada does her best not to roll her eyes.

"Oh!" Denki jumps at once, cheeks reddening. "it's alright let me help too!"

"Well, if you want. You don't have to –"

"It's fine, you're hosting, after all!" Denki goes off quickly.

"Shameless." Sarada says dryly.

Inojin laughs. "Well he is what he is Sarada."

"So I've heard."

"YO! Nara! I can't believe you've dragged me over here just to return a stupid pen I borrowed from –!"

"Here we go." Shikadai calls.

Boruto pauses at the entrance, blinking at all the faces inside, and Sarada notices Mitsuki standing behind him.

"SURPRISE!"

For a moment Boruto blinks at them, then his eyes widened and he smiles such a huge smile it nearly covers half his face.

"SHUT UP!" he yells. "You guys are the best!" he jumps inside, grinning at everyone. "Iwabee isn't there a game tonight?"

"Yeah, be thankful I'm here – the semi-finals are happening right now!" Iwabee smirks.

"I am! Hey even Class Pres is here!"

"Hey." Sumire grins. "Sorry for teasing you earlier, Shikadai wanted it to be a surprise."

"It was! It really was! Hey Cho-Cho – you're here for the snacks, aren't you?"

Everyone laughs, as Cho-Cho rolls her eyes.

"You think I don't have my own snacks?!" she demands.

"Really?! I'm touched~!"

"Hey Mitsuki, you came with him?" Shikadai calls, noticing the boy at the entrance as well.

"Yes." Mitsuki grins, gliding into the room.

"Mitsuki knew? What, he didn't say anything!" Boruto sends Mitsuki a playful glare.

"Good." Shikadai nods. "Well, now that you're here, let's get the party going."

Boruto smirks, and then blinks when his eyes move from Shikadai to Sarada.

"Eh, Sarada's here too?!" he asks, surprised.

Sarada tilts her head. "Of course; Mitsuki and I came back to the village this afternoon."

"Oh. Right! Thanks!" Boruto says smoothly, cheerful.

Sarada feels a blood vessel pop in her head.

What is his problem?

There are loud cheers, Boruto at the center of it. Music and smells of food and drinks are in the air. People shuffling around… slowly, they are all becoming unrecognizable lumps.

"Sarada!"

The familiar voice snaps her into attention.

"…What?"

Boruto stands right in front of her. "You spaced out."

Sarada doesn't space out. They both know that.

"You alright?"

"Yes, just tired." She admits. "Sorry."

Boruto shrugs. "S'fine. Mitsuki said you hit your head today, maybe go check it out, yeah?"

"I'm fine."

"Right." He says, unimpressed. "Do I have to annoy you into going?"

"How? Are you going to fall on the floor again like a child and kick about?"

"Sure." Boruto says easily. "Although that plan worked way too well last time." He half-glares at her. "Mitsuki wouldn't go near cards when I tried playing with him today – damn it I'm so curious! Does he smile when he wins?"

"No."

"Does he cry when he loses?"

"No."

"Damn." Boruto shakes his head. "That's so like him."

Sarada's glasses are slipping down her nose.

Damn. Maybe she has a concussion.

"I'm gonna call it a night." Sarada sighs, placing a cup of juice someone handed her on the table.

She's heading towards the door when Boruto calls her back.

"Hey thanks for coming." He says almost shyly.

I'm not your dad, of course I showed up.

She doesn't say it, but she almost does. That alone tells her something's wrong with her head.

He annoys her, but he's still her friend; she wouldn't hurt him like that.

"Sure. Night."

On the way home Sarada stops at a small clinic, hoping her mom wouldn't work a shift there tonight. She gets a check up, that confirms she has a small concussion, and that she needs some sleep (more than a nap could provide).

She comes home, expecting it to be empty.

"Okaeri. You're back."

Sarada pauses while taking off her shoes.

Is she a bad ninja, or is her dad impossible to detect even when he's not trying? Maybe it's the concussion. Sarada would like to think it's the concussion.

"…I'm back." she announces late. "Tadaima."

"Your mission?"

"Completed." She says, walking inside the house. Her dad is sitting on the dining table drinking tea. There is a small backpack near the door. Her dad's all ready to leave the day after tomorrow, of course.

For a moment Sarada wonders what to do next.

"If you would like to eat, I'll keep you company." Her dad offers.

Sarada's heart quickens; they could spend some time together.

I want to.

Sarada falls into the couch in front of the TV, closing her eyes. The kitchen and living room aren't separated, and the couch isn't far from where her dad's sitting, watching her.

"Alright?" he asks after a long moment.

Sarada opens her eyes.

He can't think you're weak.

"Just tired. I had some snacks with friends."

Her dad drinks his tea. Sarada stares at the dark TV screen. She can turn it on, just to have something to fiddle with through the silence, but her head hurts just at the thought of the bright noisy images and she disregards it.

She lets her eyes close for a while, before remembering to open them again as her dad drinks calmly, a constant soft noise in the background.

She needs sleep, before tomorrow's mission, but she'll sit with him for a while longer.

Not like I'll get to again anytime in the future.

"What I said last time,"

Sarada's head turns a little in the direction of her dad's voice.

"will only happen under… a very bad stress. Don't let your mind linger on it too much."

Stress. It sounded more like a psychotic episode.

Stupid concussion.

"Okay Papa."

"But if it does happen, it's not an excuse."

There's a warning in his voice. It is subtle, but there.

"….Okay Papa."

A long minute passes between them, when neither says a word.

Surprisingly, her dad breaks it first again. Unable to ignore her pounding headache, Sarada doesn't manage to question why too much.

"When is Sakura coming back?"

"It's flu season." Sarada answers. When he father stares at her, she expands. "Overstaffed. She'll be at the hospital for the next couple of weeks, overworking."

Like every year, Aunt Ino probably took time off from the Intelligence Unit to go help out as a medic-nin until flu season is over, which means Inojin isn't likely to be seeing his mom for a while either.

"…This seems like a bad time to leave."

"It's fine." Sarada tells him. I'm used to being alone. "Don't worry about it."

Her dad pours himself another cup of tea. The steam is almost reflected in his dark eyes.

Sarada feels her eyes close again.

"If anything happens with your eyes and I'm not here, ask Naruto."

"Seventh?" Sarada asks, wondering why not mom.

"He'll have to do until I'm back again." Her dad says and Sarada feels there is an insult on Lord Seventh's expense her father isn't saying out loud.

"Sarada."

Sarada looks at him, squinting. How many times has he broken the silence himself tonight? How strange."Yes?" she asks carefully.

"Go to sleep."

She sighs and peels herself off the couch. "Good night." She says politely.

"Mm." he acknowledges it, as she leaves and walks down the hall to her room.

If she thinks she saw an amused grin on her dad's face as she walked past him, she'll have to go to the hospital and demand a more thorough check up, because clearly she is outright hallucinating.