On Sunday evening after returning home from her parents' house, Sarada checked her email to find a note from Director Uzumaki. She would be excused from group rehearsal the following day because she and Boruto were invited to guest teach a class at the performing arts academy, known to be a feeder for the Senju School. Naruto had mentioned guest teaching among the list of events Sarada may participate in as prima ballerina, but when she woke on Monday morning she was still quite anxious.
Maybe next to Boruto, no one would even notice her though. With his looks and Senju alumni status, she could easily imagine all the young students fawning over him.
Sarada took her time getting ready, dressing in a black leotard and white tights. Her raven hair was in her usual slicked-back bun and her makeup was light. She wanted to be the prima ballerina the young students envisioned, despite the nervous feeling fluttering in her chest.
Being that the performing arts academy was in the opposite direction, Sarada skipped her coffee run that morning and headed straight to the school. She walked the city streets with her duffle on her shoulder, wondering how exactly that morning would go.
The performing arts academy was a tall brick building, old and rich in tradition. It was a boarding high school where many students auditioned and lived away from their parents in order to learn from the prestigious instructors.
Thankfully, the class's teacher met her by the front entrance. Sarada trekked up the stairs as the older woman greeted her with a warm smile. "Oh, thank you so much for coming out this morning, I'm sure the students will be delighted by your presentation."
Sarada smiled back as the teacher went over the age and skill level of the class, along with what they have currently been working on. They would introduce themselves, do a demonstration for the students, then allow the students to perform for them so they could offer tips and corrections before concluding with a Q&A.
Sarada nodded as she spoke, though she hoped she could let Boruto do most of the talking during class. Speaking of… Dark eyes glanced over her shoulder just in time to catch Boruto bounding up the front steps of the academy. A coffee in each hand.
"Apologies for my tardiness," he nodded to the teacher, before looking to Sarada. "For you."
Her brows rose as he placed one of his coffees in her hands. Upon closer inspection, the logo on the cup indicated it was from her favorite shop. With a sip, she realized it was her choice drink. An iced house blend, nothing added.
When Sarada glanced up he was mid-conversation with the academy teacher as she reviewed the same information she had already gone over with her. Boruto had always proved to be observant and yet this time felt particularly sweet.
She didn't want to interrupt, but she wanted to show her gratitude. With the hand closest to her hanging by his side, Sarada allowed her fingers to gently brush against his. Boruto didn't look over at her, but his smile grew wider as he laced his fingers with hers.
"Well, why don't you lead the way to the studio, so we can warm up before the class begins," he suggested.
"Oh yes, of course! Right this way!"
Sarada was surprised he didn't let go of her hand as they trailed behind the teacher through the academy's halls. Her gaze flickered back and forth feeling weirdly self-conscious at the public display of affection when surely no one they knew would be around.
They followed the teacher into a brightly lit studio with wall-to-wall mirrors, about half the size the Konoha Ballet Company rehearsed in. It wasn't long before the students began filing in and taking their place at the barre. They stretched independently but their curious looks continued to wander over to the unfamiliar adults. When the bell rang, signaling the formal start of class, their teacher called them to attention and offered an introduction.
"Good morning class! We're very excited to be hosting our guests from the Konoha Ballet Company…" Small gasps and whispers broke out between the students. "We're fortunate to be joined by their principal dancer, Boruto, and prima ballerina, Sarada. Let's all give them a warm welcome!"
The students clapped excitedly, eager to hear more about their guests after learning they were living the dream that so many in the class were striving for. Sarada was so sure that Boruto would be the star to the teen girls of the class, but it almost felt like they were all staring at her instead.
"We'll start with a demonstration from our guests, then they'll help offer critiques as we go through our technique class."
They all sat up a little straighter as Sarada and Boruto stepped out into the center of the floor. The pair had decided to do the more impressive section of the pas de deux they had been rehearsing. The students seemed riveted by their small performance, clapping and grinning when they finished.
"That was really good," Boruto whispered in her ear. His warm breath tickled her skin, but Sarada did her best not to imagine other things she'd rather hear him say.
"Yeah, you were great," she complimented back.
Most of the time Sarada would replay her performances in her mind and pick apart all the mistakes, but with Boruto's hand lingering on her waist, he seemed to keep her grounded in the present moment.
The academy teacher was quick to keep things moving, signaling their accompanist to start to play. After the students stood and began their technique class, it became apparent which of them would be the popular one.
"Miss Sarada, will you watch me?"
"Like this, Miss Sarada?"
"Miss Sarada!"
It seemed every girl in the class wanted a moment of her attention or a nugget of validation. Sarada tried her best to be encouraging while still offering legitimate advice on how to improve. The smiles the teen girls beamed at her after she praised them made her heart feel warm.
Their fascination with Sarada continued into the Q&A portion of the class, with many of the anonymous questions feeling aimed at her. The students wanted to know everything about them. Where they went to school, how they prepared for a performance, their post-rehearsal care routine, auxiliary exercises they did outside of ballet, their most embarrassing on-stage moment, and on and on.
Some questions were harder to answer than others.
Boruto fished a paper from the cup and read, "how do you overcome your own self-doubt?"
Honestly, she would like to know.
She looked out at the crowd of captivated students and then over to Boruto who was seemingly waiting for her to answer. "Um, it doesn't really matter what level you're at, you may always have doubts… but you just have to do your best and trust that that will be enough."
Dark eyes glanced over to Boruto, who nodded like he approved of that answer. He pulled another slip of paper from the cup and read it silently to himself. "Nice try," he laughed and shoved the paper into his pocket. "But there isn't an answer to that one."
Sarada furrowed her brow in confusion, but he just moved on. "What do you eat in a day?"
Her entire body tensed at the question. Boruto must have noticed because after a quick glance he jumped in to answer instead. "I try to eat a pretty high protein diet, and of course, plenty of veggies. I drink coffee most mornings as does Sarada, but you have to make sure you're drinking at least twice as much water."
"Yeah, exactly," she nodded in agreement. "What's the next question?"
When the bell finally rang and their class concluded, Sarada was relieved to be out of the hot seat. But the students all sighed, disappointed their time together was over. As they packed up and scurried out the door, each made a point to express their gratitude to Boruto and Sarada.
After a final thanks from the academy teacher, the pair began walking toward the front entrance. Curiosity prickled at the back of her mind, so Sarada dared to ask. "What was the question you didn't want to answer?"
"Oh…" Boruto laughed awkwardly. He pulled the paper from his pocket and handed it to her. She uncrumpled the slip to find 'are you guys dating?' scribbled in pencil.
Sarada was equal parts surprised and embarrassed. She wanted to ask why his response was there was no answer when the answer was they aren't, but when she glanced back up at him his cheeks looked particularly pink. She decided to drop it, realizing maybe their relationship was a bit more complicated than that.
"I think I'm going to head over to the studio to get some practice in," Sarada announced.
"I'll come with you."
"You don't have to. Everyone else will probably be gone." Group rehearsal will be over by the time she got there, but she should at least put a little time in.
"I'm saying I want to come with you," Boruto insisted, but then seemed to grow a touch shy. "I mean, I won't like try anything if that's what you're worried about."
"Oh, I-I wasn't worried about that. I just… I…" Her face flushed at the thought. "You can rehearse with me if you want."
The afternoon sun hung high in the sky while they walked down the city street toward the studio. A somewhat awkward silence lingered between them as Sarada tried to puzzle together what exactly Boruto assumed about her physical interest in him. He had initiated more than once, and she reciprocated, but he still seemed to fear scaring her off or something.
"So, uh," Boruto began, searching for an interesting change in subject and settling on the lowest common denominator, company gossip. "Have you heard about all this drama with Sumire and Eida?"
Sarada raised a brow, confused why he would think she would know anything about anyone when no one but him talked to her. Plus after the rumors, she was avoiding Eida like the plague.
He leaned in like he was spilling something particularly juicy. "Well, apparently Eida has been all over Kawaki lately and it's upsetting Sumire."
"But I thought she liked you?" Sarada countered.
Boruto let out an uncomfortable laugh. "Oh come on, we both know Eida was only interested in getting me to do her a favor."
Dark eyes shyly glanced away as she mumbled, "I meant Sumire…"
"Oh." He scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I don't think so."
"She watches you," Sarada quietly pointed out.
Boruto sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew why Sumire would watch him but it has nothing to do with having romantic feelings for him and more so out of concern.
His violet-haired friend was observant and had known him long enough to guess his motives for joining the touring company. She was probably curious about his sudden return, though she hadn't asked.
No one had.
It felt like everyone was afraid he was so fragile that even bringing it up would break him or something. For a moment, he considered telling Sarada just that, but he'd rather not upset himself. So as they pushed through the door of the ballet studio, Boruto decided instead to turn the question around on her.
"How would you know that she's watching me? Have you been watching me, Sarada?"
Her lips parted with a quiet gasp as she dropped her bag beside his against the wall. "I-I don't," she denied and followed him to the center of the room.
"Really?" he questioned knowingly before he turned around to face her. "Because I watch you."
Her heart beat faster as he reached out, dragging his fingers down the length of her arm, the gentle contact inspiring goosebumps on her skin. "You're so…"
Sarada found herself leaning forward, hanging on his every word.
"Graceful. So beautiful. The way you carry yourself, the way you dance, I think you inspire others to be better."
Her gaze fell to his fingers softly playing with hers. The simple touch felt oddly intimate, she couldn't bring herself to pull away, and yet it was hard to accept his praise. "I don't know if that's true."
"Those young ballerinas in our class today definitely were inspired by you."
She still looked skeptical.
"Well, at the very least you inspire me. I want you to know I'm willing to work as hard as you," Boruto told her. "I want you to think I deserve to be number one."
Her dark eyes flickered up to meet blue, surprised her approval would even matter to him. "Why would you care what I think?"
He offered her a tender smile. "Sarada, I don't know if you realize this, but everyone in the company cares what you think."
She instinctively reared her head back in shocked disbelief. "That's not true, I'm constantly having to prove myself to everyone! Nobody here even likes me!"
"I keep telling you they're all just intimidated. You set a really high bar. Why don't you try giving out a compliment to someone at rehearsal tomorrow, and just…" he shrugged. "...see how they react."
Sarada stared down at her shuffling feet as she contemplated going through with Boruto's suggestion. What's the worst that could happen?
Her dark gaze shifted to Sumire who was stretching a few paces away. Nervously, her hand squeezed the barre a little tighter as she mustered the strength to speak.
"Hey Sumire," Sarada called softly.
The violet-haired girl turned her head, eyes wide like she was surprised Sarada would be talking to her. "What's up?"
"Um, I just wanted to tell you that I was watching you the other day and your pirouettes are looking really clean."
Sumire's face lit up and Sarada couldn't help the warm feeling that bloomed in her chest, knowing she was responsible for another's smile.
"Oh my gosh! Thank you so much!" she replied. "I've really been practicing almost every day after rehearsal, so I'm really flattered you noticed the improvement!"
Sarada tilted her head to the side, surprised to learn she wasn't the only one who felt the need to continue polishing her skills after their regularly scheduled rehearsal. "Where do you practice? Why don't you stay at the studio?" she asked, genuinely curious.
Sumire's bright smile faltered at the question. "Oh, I practice at the yoga studio in my apartment building since they have mirrors and wood floors. I just thought — well, we just thought — you didn't want others around since you stay after."
She was slightly taken aback by that response, not only that everyone seemed to know she continued practicing at the studio but that others assumed she wanted to be alone. "But Boruto stays after too," Sarada countered.
Violet eyes glanced around before Sumire stepped closer and lowered her voice. "We told him not to bother you."
Her brow furrowed. "He doesn't bother me. And you being here wouldn't bother me either."
An awkward chuckle escaped her lips at Sumire's less than convinced expression. "It's not like I own the studio."
When she immediately averted her gaze, it occurred to Sarada that the other girls must actually think she had claim over the studio because of her family's donations or something. And on top of that, the assumption that she would be bothered by anyone and everyone's presence. Even someone as pleasant as Boruto.
"Well, if you ever wanted to stay you are more than welcome," Sarada mumbled.
Sumire glanced up and offered her a shy smile. "I'm sorry! I mean, thanks! I promise I won't get in your way."
Their conversation was interrupted when mistress Moegi called the room to attention to begin their technique class. But even as Sumire stepped away, Sarada's thoughts were consumed with wondering what kind of other assumptions her colleagues made about her.