"Yes, I just invited you to date. Are you in or not?"
Boruto didn't recover from the initial shock at those words. Sarada invited him on a date?! Sure, they got closer, but he never imagined she'd see him in that light.
"S-sure, why not? A date with you sounds fun, ya know! You're not joking, right?" He blabbered, flustered.
"Hah?! I'm deadly serious! Why would I be joking?"
"Serious, yeah... I see."
"Hmph. I already said I am! It took half of my courage to ask you out. Don't brush it off as a joke." Sarada glared at him.
This entire conversation didn't happen in his imagination, but why him? Sarada could pick anyone to go on a date with in their club. Why ask him out of everyone? He should calm down. She didn't say she liked him, just invited him for a date.
What if she led him on? He'd not be able to deal with another person cheating on him. Was it fair to Sarada to make such an assumption? He didn't think so.
Until now, he denied he was her friend. Not to mention, the idea of dating her sounded abstract to him. No matter how abstract, it was his current reality, though.
"I get it's no joke! It's just why you picked me?" he asked.
"Simple. I'm only interested in you in this way. Process it." Sarada's determination could make anyone blush. He wasn't immune to her charm, either.
"I know I agreed, but where would we go?" he asked.
Boruto wondered where his date with Sarada would take place. What type of place she'd pick? Theatre seemed like an activity she'd enjoy, but there's a lot he didn't know about her.
It felt unfair. Sarada learned about his painful past. Everything he knew about her was on a surface level in comparison. That's why he agreed to go on this date. Part of him desired to know her better, too.
"Before I answer you. There's something I want to be sure of. Do you want to date me? I don't want you to feel pressured."
"Listen, Sarada. This is fine with me. I at least want to give it a shot, ya know? I'd not give you this answer if I didn't move on from Asami."
Sarada's reaction to Asami's name was weird. She bit her lip and opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then stopped herself. Boruto sighed. He knew that girl was a touchy subject.
"Does that mean you like me? No, perhaps it's an opportunity for you to see me in a romantic light. Which one is it?" She sounded very hopeful.
Boruto didn't want to half-ass his answer. Was he ready to love someone else again? He can't lie to her.
"The latter. You know how my last relationship ended, right? I'm sure I'll be able to return your feelings. I just need time. Can we take it slow? I hope you're alright with this."
"I guess that's not a surprise. It's decided then, Boruto Uzumaki. I need to show you how much I like you from now on." Her sudden boldness towards his response took him off guard. Well, this whole situation did.
Boruto knew he was definitely blushing. At least, he was happy she was alright with taking things at a slow pace. He did like Sarada a lot. But his paranoia of being cheated on again held him back.
Having a bit more trust in Sarada should be his priority right now. That was why he needed to know her better.
"I see. Coming back to the initial question, where are we going?"
"To the park! Let's go skating."
Skating? What type? Ice skating, roller skating, skateboarding, longboarding, or another type? He didn't take her for the one to enjoy this type of activity.
"Skating on what?"
"Roller blades, of course. Do you own a pair?"
"I tried a lot of skating related things. I own a pair of roller blades, but like my skateboard more. You're the roller blade type, huh?" He tapped her with his elbow to tease her.
Wasn't it an opportunity to get to know her better, anyway? He might as well try to continue his goal.
"Well, if you wanted to chill and enjoy the ride, you'd pick a longboard. Skateboarding means you enjoy the challenge of doing tricks, don't you? Suits a troublemaker like you."
"Hey, don't drag my troublemaker reputation into this! Roller blades suit your personality too, ya know? The in-line-straight-A student. Like the roller blade wheels."
"What?! Where did you get that impression?!"
"I don't know! From the same place where you got yours?!"
"Pfft…"
"Hahaha…"
"I thought asking you out would create the tense atmosphere. It seems we can be ourselves with no problems despite the tension. I am glad, Boruto."
"Yeah, so… see you tomorrow at the park!" he said.
"Yes, see you tomorrow! Don't forget to come. I'll call you."
To say she wasn't dying of embarrassment was an understatement. She was happy Boruto agreed to a date with her.
Does this mean she avoided the danger of the friendzone Chō-Chō mentioned?! She didn't think so. Sarada was nervous. Just because Boruto agreed on one date doesn't mean he'd agree to the next one.
"I'll need to show you how much I like you! Just watch me, I said. Ugh, I am such an idiot!" she muffled her scream while grabbing her pillow.
The only shimmering light in this whole date invitation event was that Boruto didn't outright reject her invitation while witnessing her saying everything with her resting bitch face.
She'd never live it down if she ended up calling Chō-Chō for dating advice after today.
Sarada set up everything on her new phone. She only had one saved contact at the moment. Her new phone worked properly. Should she call Boruto? She displayed too much bravado with him in person. Texting him was the safer option.
"Let's see… Don't forget to come to the park!" she sighed, deleting the message. She came across as too stiff.
Maybe something like:
It occurred to me that our families are both well off. Skating equipment of any type is pretty expensive.
The second idea sounded like she only cared about money. She didn't end up sending this one either.
In the end, that's what she wasted her send button on;
From: Sarada
To: Boruto
[Are you ready for tomorrow? Let's have fun! How about we race with each other to settle our initial bet and change the winning conditions?]
Why was she so bad at this?! She just wanted to be casual, not competitive. What if everything today was a dream? Well, it's too late when it already happened. Nervously waiting for a reply, Sarada stared intensely at her phone screen.
From: Boruto
To: Sarada
[I am ready. We're going to the park after school, right? What's your favourite colour? Oh, and I'll win that race, ya know! ]
From: Sarada
To: Boruto
[ Yes, after school. Red's my favourite one, yours? Ugh, you're so full of yourself. Ever considered I might be better?]
From: Boruto
To: Sarada
[ Gotcha! And pink is superior to red. Also to answer your last question—Did you ever consider I am even better than you? ]
From: Sarada
To: Boruto
[ LIES! Red is cooler. Favourite meal and dessert? And no, the possibility you're better than me never crossed my mind. How could it be? Perhaps the only thing I took into consideration is your incredibly high ego. ]
From: Boruto
To: Sarada
[ TRUTH! I'll defend pink as being cooler for eternity. Burgers. I'm fine with every dessert. You're just afraid to admit the truth that I am better. Hey, Sarada? There's something important I want to ask you tomorrow...]
From: Sarada
To: Boruto
[Tch. I will stand by red for eternity too! You probably already know, but I do like black tea-flavoured snacks. I am not admitting the truth because in your case, it's non-existent.
Oh. I've a hunch I know what you want to ask me. Don't worry, I'll answer anything serious to the best of my abilities in person. Let's continue messaging random things to each other for now…]
They did continue texting each other till 2 AM. Sarada couldn't help but giggle every time their conversation got more absurd. It gave her hope, hope that everything will work out in the end.
She'll show Boruto how much she loves him. The only issue was how she'd express it?
With worries like this, it's no wonder she overslept during the morning and went to school in a rush, but ended up being late.
This day passed so fast that their date was starting soon.
Boruto waited for Sarada in front of her house. His hands were shaking, and he questioned himself and his decision-making process.
Texting with Sarada was undeniably fun. Too much fun. That's what scared him. The last time he got seriously invested in it didn't end well.
All his nerves disappeared when he noticed Sarada going through the door and approaching him like usual.
"Boruto!" she shouted, wearing her skating gear. "Are you ready to lose?"
"I don't intend to, Sarada."
"If you say so… Before we start, let's talk about our bet."
Right, she mentioned changing the winning and losing conditions of it.
"Why do you want to change it? It's not like we discovered the truth yet, ya know?" he asked, sure the situation between them now vs before undergone change.
I mean, she's too obvious now! Even the densest person in the world would pick up on her feelings when she's direct. It's just… He was too shy to face her directly in person, so text messages were better for his heart, at least at the moment. Boruto knew he'd not be able to avoid direct meetings with Sarada.
"The situation changed. I feel like we should discover the truth without bet being involved now."
"Makes sense. Winner of the race wins our initial bet, then?"
"Yes!" Sarada cheered and winked in his direction. He pretended he didn't notice it.
"Ready, set, go!"
After the signal, he went ahead, riding as fast as possible to the park. He intended to win this race. Fortunately, he knew a shortcut Sarada wasn't aware of. Roller blades weren't his preferred method of transport, but he still had an advantage.
Boruto arrived at their goal destination before Sarada. Her face at the sight of him when she got here was priceless.
"I won, Sarada!" he said with a triumphant grin.
"Boo! Impossible!" she pouted. He stopped himself from patting her head.
Today, he was weirdly self-conscious about it.
"I told you before, ya know? That I am better than you." Boruto said with a certain pride.
"And I told you it's just your high ego." she sighed. "You won, so what do you want as a prize?"
"That's easy! You need to answer anything I ask you for the entire month. Oh, and you can speak only the truth. Is that clear?" Boruto was happy to win because of the questions he intended to ask her.
"Fine. I settled our bet, so ask me anything," she answered.
"Glad you agree, Lady meow-meow."
"I agree to answer anything as long as you drop this pet name."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go sit down somewhere." He declared while gently taking her hand.
He let go of her hand right after he realised it was a bad idea. Boruto didn't want to have any accidents on their date.
It didn't take long to find a nice sitting spot. Great, now he could ask her everything he wanted to know.
"Sarada... Why did you get accused of cheating in the last Konoha's Gaming Tournament?" She knew his past directly from him. Now it's his turn.
"Hnn. I knew it'd come up, eventually. It's a long story." She laughed, but something was amiss. It didn't sound sincere at all.
"I've time to listen to a story of any length." Boruto tried to encourage her to open up to him.
"Back in the past, I loved games since they were replacing my feeling of loneliness with excitement and adrenaline. I was famous enough to be called Gambling Queen." she began while avoiding his gaze.
Was her past that painful? Boruto felt a bit of guilt for digging everything up now. Regardless, he wanted to know the truth from Sarada compared to an unreliable third party.
"Don't force yourself if you don't want to continue."
"No, it's fine. I am fine. Let's continue."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Where did I end up again? Everything went downhill when my granny died. Rumours about my mom cheating on dad started. Unable to bear with it, I dived deeper into gaming."
"You're feeling better now?" he questioned.
"Better than I did during that time, for sure."
"Please, continue."
"Sure. Anyway, when everything felt bleak, I met Asami."
He knew she met his ex, but something always shrouded circumstances in mystery.
"You weren't friends before?"
"No, didn't I tell you? She was the one responsible for me being framed. Do you know the worst part? I knew from the start what she was doing."
"You knew?"
"Yes, I let her do it to clear my mom's name. Do you really want to hear the rest?"
That entire story was completely unexpected. Boruto nodded. Having a feeling of what they will say next could influence where their relationship goes, depending on the truth.
Only... Why did that make him so uneasy?
AN:
Hello, everyone!
I'm very sorry for the delay. I got a nasty cold and am still in middle of recovering from it. Anyway, here's the chapter. BoruSara Date part 1. We're diving into Sarada's past pretty soon too.
I hope that all of you enjoyed this chapter.
Sincerely yours, Karinrumi :)