Author's Note: My first BoruSara fic and I'm super excited!
I've been wanting to write a sports au for so long and I thought the Boruto universe would just be perfect for it.
I hope you guys enjoy!
Chapter One: Buttons to Push
—
"Over here! I'm open!"
Iwabe looked to his right to see Boruto running down the court. His eyes travel to the digital clock on the wall. They were running out of time.
He quickly fakes out the two guys guarding him, bouncing the ball under their legs instead of throwing it over their heads. Boruto easily snags it and dribbles down the court.
Four seconds.
Three seconds.
Boruto stops, ignoring the other team coming towards him. He lines up his shot, the ball leaving his fingers and soaring through the air toward the basket. The buzzer sounds out as the ball bounces on the rim then swishes through the net.
It's like he's watching it happen in slow motion. Everything was quiet. The thud of the ball hitting the ground reaches his ears and then he's overwhelmed with noise as the entire stadium erupts in celebration. His teammates come barreling toward him, thumping him on the back in excitement. Suddenly, he was being hauled onto a couple people's shoulders as they lifted him above the crowd, the whole stadium chanting his name.
"UZUMAKI! UZUMAKI! UZUMAKI!"
The blonde waved his hands at his adoring fans. High school couldn't get any better than this! he thought with a huge smile on his face as he was paraded around the gymnasium.
———
Boruto Uzumaki.
Seventeen years old.
Senior in high school.
A class clown who also got good grades.
And the star player of Konoha Central's Boys Basketball team.
His best friend, Shikadai Nara, was the captain of the baseball team. His other two best friends, Mitsuki and Inojin, were on the soccer team. Well, Mitsuki was, anyways.
"I still can't believe you quit the soccer team for the art club," Boruto said to the blonde sitting across from him. He took a bite of his burger a little too aggressively.
"Come off it, Boruto," Shikadai chided. "That's literally all you've been talking about for the past week."
"Yeah," Mitsuki agreed. "I figured you'd still be boasting about your amazing win on Saturday."
"How can I even think about my super star athletic skills when one of my best friends is throwing his away to paint!"
"You know, you really shouldn't mock artists," Inojin replied calmly, then he smirked. "Wouldn't want my dad to somehow hear you."
Boruto balked.
Everyone knew Inojin's dad used to be a member of the Foundation – a secret sect of the Special Forces that didn't even exist anymore – and was now a freelance artist. A pretty good one too. But he still had the ability to kill a man without leaving a trace of evidence and no one forgot that.
The others laughed at Boruto's paled expression. Boruto grumbled and threw french fries at them.
The four boys were seated in their usual booth at Thunder Burger. A place they went every Wednesday after school since that's when none of the sports teams practiced.
Boruto slumped back against the vinyl cushion and sipped on his orange Hi-C, still confused and irritated. He really didn't understand Inojin's decision to quit sports. They were in their senior year. College scouts would be coming from miles to see them all play. It was the perfect opportunity to get recruited by an elite university. But his friend just threw it all away for a sketchbook.
Inojin sighed. He could just sense what Boruto was thinking about. "Boruto, I've told you. Soccer was fun but I've always had other hobbies. And art makes me happy. Also, I've never wanted to be involved in college athletics. It'd be too much hassle."
Boruto huffed. He understood, somewhat. "Still. Why now? This was suppose to be our best school year yet. We're supposed to be the top dogs. Seniors! You know, get invited to all the parties, make out with all the hot chicks, and then leave high school in a blaze of glory!"
"And you don't think I can do that now that I'm not on the soccer team?"
"Psh. Athletes rule the school. Everyone knows that," Boruto said pompously.
"You're an idiot, Boruto," a biting voice stated from behind him. He turned to see a slim brunette with red-framed glasses and a chubby redhead approaching their table.
"Who asked you, Sarada?"
"No one has to. You're just an idiot. Everyone knows that," she mocked, throwing his words back at him.
"Hey Sarada. Hey ChoCho," Mitsuki greeted the newcomers politely.
Sarada Uchiha, Captain of the Girls Tennis team, and her best friend and Head Cheerleader, ChoCho Akimichi, took their seats a the table next to the boys' booth. Boruto slumped further down into his corner.
Sarada always got on his nerves. And it didn't help that their parents were best friends, so she always seemed to be around. They've known each other their whole lives'. But they never really got along, always bickering with each other. Even worse than he did with his actual sister. For some reason, Sarada knew just the right buttons to push to get under his skin. And she pushed them often, with a smile on her face.
"You still bragging about single handedly winning Saturday night's basketball game? Or have you moved on to something else that better strokes that giant ego of yours?"
Shikadai and Inojin had to try way too hard to keep from snickering at the Uchiha's comment. They knew the beef these two had with each other and it had gotten old three years ago. But that didn't mean it still wasn't entertaining to watch once in awhile.
Honestly, everyone was just waiting for the two to finally end their petty squabbles and admit they liked each other. They weren't in second grade for crying out loud. Yet Boruto always acted like the boy who'd put gum in the hair of the girl he had a crush on. And Sarada was no better.
"Stop egging him on, Sarada," ChoCho said flippantly before she started eating one of the five burgers in front of her.
"I'm not," Sarada protested indignantly.
"What were you guys talking about anyways?" ChoCho asked after she swallowed.
"Oh, Boruto was just beating a dead horse," Shikadai stated. Boruto muttered to himself, cursing his friends under his breath.
Inojin explained. "He's still butthurt that I quit the soccer team. He thinks it's going to ruin our senior year."
"How?"
"Because apparently I won't be invited to all the hot parties since I'm just an art freak now and not a jock anymore," Inojin said derisively, indicating he really didn't care if he was invited to parties or not.
"Well, I think what you did was admirable," Sarada stated. "Sports can be exhausting. Especially on top of studying and preparing for college. I can understand why someone would want to quit and focus on other things."
"You're one to talk," Boruto interjected. "You're the captain of the girls tennis team."
"Yeah, and I'm also top of the class. You know how hard I bust my butt to get good grades, practice and compete, and have enough time to cook for myself and do the chores!"
Inojin, Shikadai, Mitsuki, and ChoCho all held their breath. Their eyes switched between Sarada and Boruto, waiting for the shoe to drop.
"You're the one who piles all that crap on yourself! No one forces you to! Your parents aren't ever home enough to even nag at you for a dirty bedroom or bad grades like my mom does!"
And there it was. Boruto had crossed the line, once again.
The sound of a chair falling to the floor echoed around the restaurant. Sarada stood, her fists clenched as she stared daggers at Boruto across the booth. Boruto was on his feet too, his hands flat against the table as he leaned forward.
The restaurant was silent. The employees were used to this by now, but the patrons whispered and stared at the group of teenagers in wonder.
ChoCho got up from her seat to console her friend, but before she could lay a reassuring hand on Sarada's shoulder, the brunette stormed out of the restaurant and marched down the street.
ChoCho turned a stern look to Boruto. "Why do you always have to do that, Boruto. You know that's a touchy subject for her," she scolded before walking away from the boys, shouting Sarada's name as she chased after her down the sidewalk.
"Yeah. That was a low blow, man. You should apologize," Shikadai told him.
"Tsch. Whatever," Boruto said quietly, sitting back down and crossing his arms, trying not to feel the guilt that was settling into the pit of his stomach.
Their entire friend group knew that Sarada's parents didn't spend a lot of time at home with their daughter. Sarada's mom, Sakura, was the Chief Physician at Konoha General Hospital, meaning she spent a lot of her time working the emergency room or conducting groundbreaking medical research. Her dad, Sasuke Uchiha, was some sort of intelligence operative – his occupation was pretty much a mystery to everyone, including his family – but whatever he did, it forced him to travel all the time, so he was hardly ever in the city.
Boruto understood how Sarada felt to some extent. His dad was the Hokage, a title given to the head of Fire Country's Special Forces. Making him Sasuke's boss, so he was barely home himself, even if he didn't have to travel as much. And it pissed Boruto off to no end. So he could imagine just how bitter Sarada must feel sometimes when both of her parents rarely ever made it home for dinner. At least his mom was always around. But still, he could never stop himself from throwing all that back in her face once in awhile. Especially when she really got on his nerves, even though he knew it was a dick move.
So when his friends tell him he needs to apologize to Sarada, he knew he should. But would he?
"I'll consider apologizing when she does," he said petulantly.
Inojin and Shikadai just shook their heads and sighed.
Sarada was still taking angry strides away from the burger joint, hoping to distance herself from the irritating blonde idiot. She could hear her best friend shouting at her as she hurried to catch up.
"Sarada! Wait up!"
Sarada stopped walking. Her blood still boiled. Boruto always had to bring up the fact that her parents weren't around. And he knew how much it hurt her.
"Ugh! I can't stand that asshole!" Sarada shouted as ChoCho finally reached her, slightly out of breath.
"You say that every other day."
"Yeah, well I always mean it. Boruto can be such a dick sometimes. I don't know where he learned it from because his parents aren't like that."
"I don't know. I've always been told Boruto is like a mini clone of his dad. Maybe Mr. Uzumaki wasn't always as cool as you like to think he is."
"Maybe so. But I'd still rather hang out with the rest of his family than him. Boruto is just intolerable and insufferable. Ugh! I can't stand him!" She shouted again, stomping her foot on the ground.
"I hope you mean me."
Sarada turned to see the boy she had just ran away from and her eyes narrowed.
"Leave me alone, Boruto. When I stormed out of the restaurant like that, it means I didn't want you to follow me. I was actively trying to get away from you."
"Tsch. Could've fooled me. Usually when someone makes a scene like that, they want the attention." He stepped up closer to her until he was right in front of her, only a few inches separating them. ChoCho had retreated by then, having went to join the boys a few feet away to watch this train wreck unfold.
With a smug smile, Boruto leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "and usually when a girl runs away from a guy, it's like she's practically begging him to follow her."
Sarada gave an involuntary gasp at Boruto's sultry tone. She'd never heard his voice sound so husky before and it made goosebumps prickle up her arms. She could feel his hot breath on her neck as he spoke. For some unknown reason, her heart rate picked up and she blushed.
If she wasn't angry before, she sure was now.
She shook her head clear and shoved Boruto away. He stumbled backwards a few steps.
"What the hell was that for!" He shouted angrily.
"For invading my personal space. It's rude."
"And pushing someone isn't?!" He ran his hand through his hair. He hadn't intended to get that close to her like that. He didn't know what had come over him. He felt a little sleazy. He had only wanted to tease her.
"A girl has to be able to protect herself from pricks like you."
Any remorse for his actions he felt a moment ago vanished with his sudden anger. "You know what, you're such a bitch! I had come over here to apologize to you!"
"Apologize then," Sarada said snottily, crossing her arms over her small chest.
"Like hell I'm apologizing to you now!" He screamed in her face.
Their friends thought it was an appropriate time to interrupt this little feud before they actually starting swigging punches. Shikadai came up and held Boruto under the arms. ChoCho tentatively touched Sarada on the shoulder to get her to follow her.
"Come on, man. Just leave her be."
Boruto was growling at the Uchiha as she walked away. He tried not to pay attention to the way her hips swayed back and forth in a tantalizing manner, something he'd never noticed before. He shook his head and freed himself from Shikadai's grip.
"I told you it was pointless to try and apologize!" He shouted in his friends' faces.
Shikadai and Inojin shared another glance and sighed.
"Maybe things will go better tomorrow," Mitsuki said, ever the optimist.
"Tsh. Yeah right," Boruto scoffed, still watching the path Sarada had just taken. He shoved his hands in his pockets, thinking about the gasp she'd made when he whispered in her ear and how it had excited him. He scowled at his feet as he trudged home, his thoughts a jumbled mess.
A/N:
Thank you for reading [insert heart emoji]! I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter.
Just wanna mention that I know very little about sports, but I am writing this story anyways :)
I'm gonna try to keep up a weekly or biweekly update schedule for this fic [fingers crossed].
I am just a little, tiny cinnamon roll, so please be kind :)
