A/N: So, I'm not sure if any of you guys have noticed, but I changed the story properties from Romance/Adventure to Romance/Friendship because this story isn't really going to be that action-heavy and the plot is kind of slice of life-esque. (But don't worry, there is a plot). I also realized that I put it in the Naruto category when it should be in the Boruto category. Anyway, Boruto has appeared! Yay! I had a lot of fun writing Sarada and his dynamics(Boruto's a freaking poet in the beginning, I swear), and I hope it's at least somewhat similar to canon. So without further ado, here's chapter 3. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto(or Boruto)

Boruto was a talkative person. It was a fact that Shikidai, the smartest person he knew(though he would never tell him that), would attest to. Which meant that it had to be true. And for the most part, it was. He never ran out of things to say and even if he did, he was pretty sure he could carry a conversation about nothing at all with absolutely anybody. His mother said it was a trait he got from his dad and, despite his grumbling about being completely different from him, it was a characteristic that he quite liked having. It certainly made him popular.

This was a completely different story. The moment his eyes had locked with the girl's, it felt like all of the air had been sucked out of his lungs, rendering him speechless for the first time in his life. Her eyes shone like water at midnight, deep and dark and making him wonder just what was hidden in those depths. It took him quite some time to finally break his gaze away and actually look at the rest of her. Red glasses framed her eyes and shiny black hair fell down in waves to her waist. She was wearing a red top with beige shorts underneath, and black fingerless gloves that went up to just below her shoulders. She seemed familiar, like he had seen her somewhere a long time ago. They stood there in silence for what seemed like an eternity, neither of them daring to make a single noise. Everything else seemed to melt away and for a brief moment, it was just Boruto and the mystery girl, alone in the world. And strangely, Boruto felt no need to leave.

The moment was broken, though, when his mother spoke up.

"Boruto, this is Sarada. She's the same age as you. You both were friends when you were little," she said. Boruto looked at the girl and stuck his hand out for her to shake.

"You'll love Kaa-san's cooking. Her miso soup's the best," he said, whipping out his brightest smile possible. Sarada looked at him in confusion and slowly extended her hand, as if she was unsure of what to do. Her grip was firm, and he could feel calluses on her skin, no doubt from training. Boruto waited for her to say something, but she continued to stay silent. She really doesn't talk much, huh? I bet I could change that. He grinned even wider, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he formed a plan.

"Onii-san, who's this?" Himawari asked. He hadn't noticed her come down the stairs. She was standing right next to him and looked at Sarada questioningly.

"This is Sarada. She's a little shy, so don't expect her to talk that much." As expected, the girl scowled at him.

"I am not shy," she said, spitting out her words with as much menace as possible. It only served to make Boruto's smile wider.

"Really? Then why didn't I hear you say anything before?" he asked mockingly. Sarada's glare darkened.

"Shut up."

"Why? Afraid of the truth?" Boruto was starting to find out that he sure loved pushing Sarada's buttons.

"Boruto," Hinata chided, watching the exchange. "Sarada's our guest, so I expect you to treat her nicely."

"Kaa-san, I wasn't doing anything!"

"Boruto." He gulped. Making his mother mad was not on his agenda for the day. He nodded stiffly and Hinata walked back to the kitchen. Sighing in relief, he looked back towards Sarada, whose lips were curved upward in a smirk. Boruto froze. It was the first time she had smiled in front of him and it was doing strange things to his heart, which seemed to beat faster and faster with each second. He didn't know how much time had passed until Sarada spoke.

"Now look who's afraid." He glared at her, unable to say anything in return because of his mother's previous chastisement.

"Dinner's ready," Hinata called. Still smirking, Sarada made her way to the dining table, leaving behind a frowning Boruto and a grinning Himawari. The blond looked down at his younger sister. She had that teasing look in her eyes that told him that whatever she was going to say next would be the end of him.

"You like her, don't you, Onii-san?"

Boruto felt his soul leave his body right then and there.

Dinner at the Uzumaki's was strange, to say the least. It was much different than what Sarada was used to. The Uzumakis–well, mainly Boruto and Himawari–were loud and cheerful. It was almost grating, really, how absurdly extroverted they were. It was cute with Himawari, and with Boruto…well, she didn't really know what to think of Boruto. The moment she had first seen him, it was as if everything else just stopped. She had been frozen in place, stuck staring at his annoyingly bright blue eyes. It was stupid. She was stupid for doing that in the first place. Frowning at the memory, Sarada raised the small wooden bowl to her lips and sipped the miso soup. Boruto was right. It is good. Her frown deepened at the thought of him being right about anything.

"Sarada? Are you okay?" Hinata asked with concern, ripping Sarada out of her thoughts.

"Oh, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You look a little pale."

"I'm fine, Aunt Hinata," she said with a small smile. The woman's concern was touching. It was a shame that Boruto wasn't more like his mother. But that would mean that he's more like Nanadaime-sama. The thought of the Hokage acting anything like the blond almost made her snort. There was no way their personalities were similar. Setting her bowl back down, Sarada tuned into the conversation.

"The old man's not coming today either, isn't he?" Boruto asked, poking at his food with his chopsticks.

"He's busy with his work. Being Hokage's a difficult job, Boruto. Your father needs to keep the village safe," Hinata responded.

"Does Nanadaime-sama come home late often?" Sarada asked, surprised by her sudden boldness. Inwardly she cursed herself. She was being too nosy, poking into other people's family business. But she was curious about the life of the illustrious Hokage. What was the phrase her father often said to her? "Curiosity killed the cat."

"He does, but it's a part of holding such an important position. Naruto works very hard," Hinata said, smiling softly to herself. Sarada smiled as well. But satisfaction brought it back. Watching the Hokage's wife, she realized just how much she loved her husband. She felt a pang of hurt at the thought. Had her mother loved her father just as much? She knew it was true, but she wished she could see that same look in her mother's eyes. She wasn't quite hungry anymore.

Boruto scoffed at his mother's words and Sarada shot him a glare. She noticed that she was doing that a lot more often whenever Boruto was around.

"Be respectful. I'm sure Nanadaime-sama has some very good reasons for coming home late. He's the Hokage for God's sake. He has a village to take care of," Sarada said. Boruto's eyes narrowed at her.

"Don't act like you know everything. And for the record, he doesn't come home at all a lot of the time."

"I'm not acting like I know everything. I'm just stating the facts, which you refuse to accept," she said, standing up from her seat and gripping the table. Something about Boruto got on her nerves, made her less inhibited. Boruto stood up as well, ignoring Hinata's protests for him to sit down.

"Well you can't tell me what to do." Sarada rolled her eyes.

"You're such a child," she said, causing Boruto to glare at her. Sarada felt unsteady, but she refused to back down. She would not lose.

"Boruto! Sarada! Sit down!" Hinata shouted. Both of them whipped their heads towards her. Veins pulsed around her eyes, which seemed to bore into Sarada's soul. She activated her Byakugan. It was terrifying. Her legs shook and she felt lightheaded.

"Sorry, Aunt Hinata," Sarada said, acutely aware that her voice sounded slurred. The woman's dojutsu disappeared along with her angry expression, replaced by one of worry.

"Sarada? Are you alright?" She nodded, despite the growing feeling in her stomach that something was wrong. Very wrong. She teetered off balance and felt her grip on the table slacken.

The last thing Sarada saw was Boruto's concerned face hovering over hers. Then everything went black.

A/N(again): And the plot thickens...