Their father clapped his hands. He placed his hands on his sons' bare shoulders and smiled at them. His eyes closed and his brown hair swayed in the wind.

The boys had trained hard that weekend. It was already Sunday, the last week of training went by and it was time for them to take it easy. They would be able to rest for four days and after that, they'd be fighting their first fight on Friday. If they won then they'd be moving on to the next and final round on Saturday.

"The experience scorers will see through our jutsu," Sarada exclaimed.

Their father placed a hand under his chin. His eyes looked up at the sky and he puckered his lips, deep in thought. "Hmm, you're right but there was nothing in the rule book about not being able to use a transformation jutsu."

Sarada and Tsubaki exchanged looks then shrugged.

"As long as I get to fight Boruto then I don't care." Sarada folded her arms, her legs squared; it was apparent she was looking forward to the dual.

"Hmm, the Hokage's son. He's been training hard with Kakashi Sensei and Uchiha. You think you can beat him?"

She smirked. "I know I can."

"Quite the confidence." He replied. Once again he repeated for the two boys to go home and rest.

Sarada stepped out of her jutsu once home. She got into the shower, and placed her normal clothes on to meet up with Cho-Cho for the afternoon movie. Yes, she was tired but she hadn't seen Cho-Cho all week. They barely been speaking much because Sarada was so busy training as Saku.

The two girls smiled at one another as they made their way into the movie theatre. Sarada bought them a big tub of popcorn along with a soda, but Sarada just took a water.

The movie was another romantic movie, very typical storyline of woman meets man, they hate each other, it turns to love as time goes on, happy ending. Afterwards, they walked out the theatre laughing and enjoying some of the popcorn they had left.

"So," Sarada started. Both girls sat on the bench on the bridge. "Do you plan to go on another date with Baki?"

"Nope." Cho-Cho said. She placed her hand in the popcorn bucket and took out a handful. A closed smile on her face as she took in the buttery taste. "He's leaving town on Saturday anyway. It was just for fun. Nothing serious."

Sarada nodded her head. After a beat of silence, she spoke but this time in a quieter tone. "What about his brother?"

Cho-Cho rolled her eyes. "Sarada, I told you. He's an asshole."

Their conversation drifted to other things but as the two girls spoke, Sarada came to the conclusion she was going to talk to Cho-Cho as Saku. She didn't want to 'leave' Konoha on bad terms with Cho-Cho. Sarada didn't know what the future brought, maybe Saku would make an appearance sometime again in the future. If so, she wanted him and Cho-Cho to get along.

"Are you going to the competition?"

Cho-Cho nearly chocked on her popcorn. "Of course, we're all gonna support Boruto and Metal. You should come too. Why you gotta be so busy?" Cho-Cho nudged Sarada on the shoulder which gave her a little flush to the cheeks.

"Oh, don't worry, Cho-Cho. I'll be there." Sarada confirmed. That was it. Sarada would apologize to Cho-Cho at the competition.

Although their father didn't want them to train these up coming days, Sarada found herself in the training fields once the sun had set. She was unsure whether to train in her jutsu or in her normal form. Since she was able to do clones, she figured it would be best to train in her jutsu. The goal was to not get hit and since clones disappeared with one hit, it was perfect practice.

It was exceptionally chili that Monday night and Sarada found herself exhausted. Her back was against one of the many trees that surrounded the training fields. With her mind idel, she thought back to the dreams she'd been having lately. The dreams showed a much older Boruto, maybe twenty, and he was fighting with Kawaki. What caught Sarada's attention in the dream was the fact Boruto had Sasuke's sword and his cloth.

There were times when Sarada wished they could swap dads. With the way Sasuke interacted with Boruto, it was like he was her brother. Maybe that was why she wanted to beat him so bad. She wanted to prove to her father she was strong, that she had potential. Sarada just didn't understand why he didn't see the same enthusiasm in her. If the dream was a glimpse into the future, where did she stand with Konoha? Was she any closer to becoming the Hokage or was Konoha merely a place of refuge versus a home?

Crack!

Sarada ignited her sharigan and turned her head in the direction whence she heard the snapping of the branch. There! She saw the figure. "Hey!" She pointed and got in her fighting stance. "Don't make me come at ya!"

After a moment, the figure came from the shadows and Sarada got a look at the person. She sat up straight and looked at Cho-Cho.

"What are you doing out here?" Sarada asked.

"Training," Cho-Cho responded matter of factly. "I was heading home and stepped on the branch. I didn't know you were here." Then she thought to herself. 'If I did, I wouldn't have come here to train'

Just as she was about to walk on, Sarada called her back. Instead of waiting for the competition, Sarada could speak with her now.

Saku had released his sharigan once he realized it was Cho-Cho. When he walked to her, he noticed a worry expression on her face. He felt a hinge of guilt and did his best to lighten the mood.

"Can we talk for a moment?"

"Uh?" Cho-Cho looked around. Honestly, she didn't like she was by herself with the boy. She didn't know anything about him except for the harsh words he slugged at her that one day.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He held his hands up to show he was weaponless. "I just want to talk."

"Can we do that in an area that's like, not dark-"

"Are you afraid of me?"

Cho-Cho couldn't form the words she wanted to say. It wasn't like she was afraid of him, it was more of she didn't know what to expect of him. She just wanted to be cautious. Hopefully, he'd understand that and by the way he sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck, it seemed to work in her favor.

The two of them sat on a bench near a light post. Saku noticed the moths and other bugs that flew around the bulb. He pulled out some snacks from a bag he recently bought at the corner store right behind them. He handed Cho-Cho the bag of chips she requested, and she gleefully took them.

Once he saw Cho-Cho's fingers dip into the bag, Saku pulled the plastic off of his popsicle and began to bite it. When he was done, he got up and threw the wrapper away, and wiped his hands on his formal dark blue shorts.

"Cho-Cho," he started as he sat next to her again. "I'm sorry for saying those things to you. Sanin Sakura is just someone I look up to."

"Why? You're nothing like her."

This was correct, but Saku shook his head anyway. "I know...but she worked hard for what she's got, you know. She's not the best fighter but she found herself with healing people. That makes her just as important." Saku said.

"I never said that she wasn't important..."

This was true too. Saku sat back on the bench with his hands in his lap. He heard Cho-Cho mumble a few words but didn't hear her. She repeated the words once more.

"I forgive you." Cho-Cho repeated. She rolled down the bag down and got up. "I have to get going. It's already pretty late."

"Want me to walk you home?"

Cho-Cho shook her head. "No, it's okay."

Saku watched her walk away but he didn't allow her to get too far. He cuped his hands over his mouth. "Hey, Cho-Cho!" He watched the girl turn around. He walked back to her, not too close though since she was still a bit skidish of him. "For what it's worth, you're really pretty."

A hand went to her hair, uncertain by the compliment and even a bit skeptical considering who it came from. Still, Cho-Cho felt herself become modest. "You think so?"

Saku nodded his head. "Yea..." He saw a light blush come over Cho-Cho. The girl smiled a bit and turned to walk home.