Chapter IV:
Sarada woke up early as she liked to do even on Saturday mornings. There was something about waking up just before the crack of dawn that made her feel so empowered. Mornings were her own. She could breathe in the crisp morning air as if it were hers alone and listen for the first echoes of the day before they were drowned by the sound of the city coming to life. Her favorite was watching the first streaks of sunlight peek through the tree branches; she loved to see how they returned color to the earth leaving the darkness of the night behind them. Nothing could compare to a sunrise, but just as quickly as it came; it left, leaving Sarada hopeful for the day ahead.
Hastily Sarada collected her books before dashing out the door. She wanted to get to the library as soon as it opened. It was her favorite place to start her mornings, completely engulfed in books. She inherited that from her mother. It was Sakura who took her to the library for the first time. Although many consider it an antiquated hobby, Sarada could never forget the way she felt as she walked across its hard covered walls, shelves bursting with titles. Books have physical beauty. They have provenance. They're nostalgic and collectable. That day, she made it her life goal to read every book on the Konoha library's shelves. She would soon realize that this would be a lot more difficult than she perceived for almost every book about her clan was restricted. There was one book though. One measly book she'd been waiting on for months. It had finally become available and she couldn't wait to get her hands on it. She wondered what it would say about her blood limit, the history of her clan and more importantly about her father. Sarada knew it wasn't okay to pry, but was it really so bad to want to know about her family's history? Sarada, although being one of only two living members of the Uchiha clan knew very little about her lineage. Her mother wasn't the best resource either as she was always very vague when she spoke about her father. It was time Sarada began looking for her own answers. She deserved to know. She had to know.
"HEY SARADA WAIT UP!"
Sarada didn't have to turn around to know that it was her best friend Chocho calling out for her.
"Oh Good morning, Chocho."
"Geez Sarada, where are you heading off too in such a hurry? I've been calling your name for over ten blocks. You're going to have to buy me a whole breakfast buffet to recuperate my energy."
"Sorry about that Chocho I guess I just have a lot on my mind. I was on my way to the library to return these books and…"
"THE LIBRARY?! ON A SATURDAY?! Absolutely not. As your best friend, I cannot allow you to waste such a perfect day cooped up in a dusty old shack. Besides aren't all books online now or something? You and I are going to go have some fun!"
Before Sarada could protest, Chocho was already dragging her off towards Thunder Burger, hardly Sarada's first choice for a breakfast joint. Sarada loved Chocho, but sometimes she had to admit that she could be a tad bit irritating. She looked past it though. Chocho was only annoying because she cared. If it wasn't for her, Sarada would be a perfectly content hermit spending her weekdays training and her weekends surrounded by books in what Chocho had referred to as a "dusty old shack." Her mother always told her having good friends was important, and Sarada knew she had that in Chocho.
The girls ordered their food and picked a nice booth right up against the window. While Sarada had opted for a quaint cup of orange juice, seemingly the only healthy thing on the menu, Chocho had served well on her promise to have a whole breakfast buffet. That is, if you can call 5 orders of burgers and fries breakfast.
"Sooo why where you so distracted this morning? It was like you were a million miles away. Are you trying to ghost me or something? Because if you are, you should know that I'm not so easy to get rid of. Just ask my army of admirers. Once you get a taste of me you'll never settle for anything less. Speaking of my fanboys, here they come now."
Sarada followed Chocho's gaze toward the door and sure enough there was Boruto followed by Mitsuki, Shikadai and Inojin. Sarada hadn't spoken to Boruto since that night at the dango shop. She was worried that he would bring it up again and she honestly didn't have any explanation. She figured it was always better to say nothing than to lie, which some might agree is another form of lying, but she didn't care to get political. Her only prayer was that Boruto hadn't said anything to his mother or worse, Lord Seventh.
"Yoo-hoo! Hey boys! Don't worry the object of your desire is right here!"
Sarada gave them a sheepish smile and a curt wave, clearly embarrassed by her friend's forward remark. Seemingly unfazed by her outlandish greeting, the boys made their way towards the booth. Sarada could feel her heart pounding inside of her chest. What would Boruto say? Certainly he wouldn't bring it up now, right? Maybe she could steer the conversation away from the topic. She could fight with him. That always seemed to work. Boruto was quite impetuous; certainly he would fight back and forget about the whole thing. Kami, this was the last thing she needed today. When they arrived at the booth, Boruto spoke first.
"Hey Sarada, I have to say I'm pretty surprised to see YOU here. I thought you hated burgers. What is it you called them? Oh yeah, artery clogging balls of death. Besides, shouldn't you be at the library surrounded by your usual pile of books?"
A wave of relief washed over Sarada. She had never been so glad to be teased by Boruto.
"Hn I think maybe your little video games are starting to rot that tiny brain of yours. What I said was you shouldn't eat so many of them, or they could put you in the hospital, but on second thought I can take care of that for you myself."
"Oh yeah?! I'd like to see you try!"
"With pleasure!"
Deciding that they would prefer not to be banned from their favorite hangout spot, Chocho and the guys separated the two before they inevitably turned the burger joint into a pile of rubble.
"Gosh Sarada what is it with you two? It's like you can't be in the same room together without causing a public safety hazard. I always thought your parents were setting up some secret arranged marriage between you two but-"
"ARRANGED MARRIAGE?!" WHY WOULD YOU- HOW COULD YOU- WHAT?! WHAT ON EARTH GAVE YOU THAT IMPRESSION?! Boruto and I would NEVER. Not in a million…no a billion years!"
If Sarada thought her heart was going to burst out of her chest before, she was sure it would stop all together after this. She felt her cheeks burn red and she hid her face in her hands.
"Okay okay calm down, I get it. All I'm saying is that your families are really close so it's a little surprising that you two aren't. "
Once Sarada felt her heart rate return to its normal pace and the heat in her cheeks subside, she responded,
"Look Chocho, if Boruto and I aren't close it's because we just aren't compatible. He's way too reckless and honestly kind of stupid. Anyway, I'd better go. I'm gonna have to take a rain check on our day of fun. There's something really important I have to do. I'll fill you in later okay?"
Before Chocho could protest, Sarada scurried out of the shop. She felt bad for ditching Chocho but she had more important matters to attend to than Boruto. When she arrived at the library, she wasted no time, running straight for the check-out counter. Finally, after all of these years she was going to get the answers she craved. She was going to be one step closer to figuring out the enigma that was her father.