She was happy papa came back. However, with Boruto's presence, Sarada outgrew the loneliness suffered because of her parents' absence. Spending time on obligatory family dinners felt out of place, too. It seemed silly, but she missed the times her parents were absent. A glaring contradiction to this thought was until now, she yearned for them to be an active part of her life.

In uncertain moments like this, she desired for Boruto to be here with her. She was aware it wasn't possible. The one who should try to put in work to reconnect with her parents was her. A date with Boruto would have made this entire ordeal enjoyable, though. Without his presence, the atmosphere around the table was stifling.

The noise of the cutlery snapped Sarada back to reality. "Papa, how lo—can you pass me the salt, please?"

He handed the salt over to her and resumed eating his soup. Sarada wanted to know how long he'd be here, but held her tongue. She already asked him this before. Papa's visits were infrequent, and he never knew the time-length of his stay at home.

"Thank you," she said and was happy he acknowledged her presence.

"How's school?" Sakura asked, and Sarada groaned. That was the worst question amidst this awkward atmosphere.

"Not too bad. My grades are decent enough," she replied. "My club activities are more interesting."

Sarada found the following silence suffocating. It wasn't like the quiet moments she had with Boruto without minding it at all. This wasn't even the type of awkward silence like during her conversation with Mitsuki. That was the silence anyone would want to break and replace it with loud noises instead. Even a screaming match between crowing roosters at five am would be less painful. At least they'd respond with their crowing.

Mom seemed to notice the shift in the mood she was in, but ignored it in favour of looking fondly at papa instead. In the past, Sarada didn't fully understand how much papa's visits brightened mom's mood. Not until she fell in love, herself. Seeing her parents wordlessly flirting with each other made her immensely miss Boruto. She wanted to see him or at least hear his voice! Ugh, why was she stuck at this table in the first place? There were so many other things she could do instead, while leaving them alone to their own devices.

Would leaving make her happy? Sarada sincerely doubted it. She discussed certain things with Boruto after they officially got together. One of those discussions involved a mysterious correspondence between their parents. Fed up with all the things their families were hiding, both of them agreed to ask the involved people about the truth. They only needed to set up an opportunity to do so.

"We're preparing for this year's Konoha Gaming Tournament, so things are quite hectic," she mentioned, gauging their reaction.

As expected, papa didn't mind. His habitual absence meant he'd support anything Sarada desired to do. His support wasn't vocal, but she didn't mind it at all.

Mom's lips pressed together to form a thin, tight line. "Did you already forget what happened last time? I don't approve of you signing up for that tournament."

Sarada put down the spoon she held, leaving her soup unfinished. She didn't like where this was going. "I didn't forget. Just because the last time ended badly doesn't mean I'll skip club activities."

Sakura furrowed her brows to put a further emphasis on her disapproval. Of course she did. Her mom often changed her mind on things as often as the weather did. "Then resign from the club. You don't need to engage in the club activities if you're not a member."

Sarada slammed her hands onto the table, the contents of soup spilling out slightly from the impact. "I'm not resigning!" She thought mom would understand by now and that they were getting along better. "Besides, I am the one that should be angry. You always hide important things from me using watered down excuses!"

"Listen, I'm not hiding anything from you, Sa—"

"Lies. You exchanged letters with Boruto's dad in secret and you never mentioned that our families knew each other! What else do you hide?! Even though I'm clueless, I can handle the truth better than you give me credit for."

A loud noise that Sarada craved before echoed. It was her mom punching the dining table. That it didn't break was a miracle. "You shouldn't know about those letters unless you went through my things and disrespected my privacy! Don't act like you're not hiding things from me too, Sarada!"

"Calm down, Sakura." Her papa's voice rendered them both speechless. He rarely involved himself in their family squabbles. "Sarada, you too.'

"Sorry darling," her mom said, backing off from the argument first. When she did so, Sarada followed her example. Why was papa intervening? Did his portion of the soup spill or something?

"Sakura, why are you so against Sarada taking part in the tournament?" Papa asked calmly. If he didn't speak up at all, anyone would think he was just a beautiful sculpture placed on a chair.

"Dear, you know very well what happened last time. I just wish Sarada wouldn't end up hurt again." Mom's explanation made sense, but Sarada knew her overprotectiveness wouldn't spare her from the pain.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow slightly. "Sarada?" The quiet 'tell me your side of story' from papa went unspoken.

"I wish to be in the tournament this year. I refuse to let the past hurt hinder me. Is it wrong to enjoy club activities? This time, I won't be alone. Boruto, Chō-Chō, Shikadai, Sumire and Mitsuki will be there in case anything serious happens. Mom's overprotective. I'm stronger than she thinks." Now that she and mom weren't in the middle of a screaming match with one another, Sarada felt they heard her wishes.

Papa let out a sigh. "What's the harm in letting her do it, honey? Sarada's friends seem reliable enough to keep an eye out for her. Have more faith in our daughter." The trust he put in her friends felt nice, even if he didn't know any of them, except for Boruto.

"I suppose you're right," mom conceded. "There's one issue that remains, though. Why do you know about the letters, Sarada?"

"Coincidence." That, technically, wasn't a lie. Sarada wouldn't even know about those letters without Boruto showing her the one he had in his possession. "Kind of. Boruto got and read one by accident that was addressed to his dad, then showed it to me. He hoped I'd be able to explain the situation neither of us knew anything about."

"What a mess," commented mom. "I guess it means I owe you both an explanation."

Did it mean she'd get answers they tried so hard to uncover? Just like that? It felt anticlimactic, but Sarada just nodded in affirmation. "You sure do."

"Sarada, please talk to Boruto to invite him to lunch at our house this week. I'll talk with his parents to ask them to come over too," mom said.

"Sure thing," Sarada responded, and their remaining time during family dinner ended up being peaceful, despite the horrible start it had.

Soon… Soon Sarada will get all the answers she sought from the moment she saw the letter Boruto showed her that day.

Being Sarada's boyfriend turned out to be fun. Meeting up with her and getting to know things they had in common was always a blast. They didn't tell their friends they were dating yet. Telling their families first took the priority. There were things both of them desired to discover before announcing they were a couple.

He wanted to be with Sarada today, but promised Hima to be there for her and support the art she made displayed in an art school exhibition. On his way, he bumped into Shikadai. Apparently, Inojin was the primary star of the event. There was an anonymous voting poll to pick the best artwork on display. The choice was obvious. Between Inojin and his sister, Boruto didn't hesitate at all and voted for the work created by Hima. Inojin still ended up in first place anyway, so the rest of the event was predictable and dull.

"Thank you, big bro!" Himawari's wide smile when she learned he voted for her was worth enduring said dullness.

"Yeah! I'm proud of you, Hima!" he said, gently ruffling her hair. Boruto automatically thought of how Sarada's hair was smooth to touch, too.

"I know. Inojin ended up as the winner again," she sighed.

"They should ban him from participating again after this," he joked. "I admit his painting was amazing, even if I like yours more."

"What do you want, Boruto?" Hima asked, giving him an apprehensive look.

Boruto chuckled nervously, while being scrutinised by her. "Nothing! Can't I just be supportive of my little sis?"

"Mhm. Last time you tried to butter me up was when you wanted to borrow my art supplies for a prank." True. He rarely gave out compliments unless he wanted to bribe her. That was a two-way-street. There were plenty of occasions where she was overly nice to him to get her way, too.

He winked at her. "This time, I don't want a thing from you. Just telling my honest thoughts."

"Figures." She shrugged, then jumped, a little startled by the sound of a ringtone coming from his phone. "You should pick it up. I'll go to say hello to Inojin and congratulate him on his victory."

Boruto took his phone out of his pocket, relieved his sister didn't comment on the song he picked for his ringtone. "Thanks, Hima. I'll wait for you outside after I finish!"

He looked at the caller's ID. It was Sarada. Must be something important, since they both had other plans for today. Boruto quickly went outside to be alone while picking up the call.

"Hi, Boruto!" she said, and he wanted to see her when he heard her voice.

"Hey, what's up?" He was curious about what brought this on.

"Remember the letters?" Sarada whispered the question to him. Was she afraid someone could spy or disturb their conversation on her end?

It was an emergency then. "Yeah, I do! I found the first one I showed you."

"Well…" she trailed off for a moment. "I got into a fight with mom about those letters."

Eh?!

"Are you okay?" Boruto had a million questions, but in the end, this was the one he asked first.

"Yes, I am," she said, while letting out a small giggle. "Things on my end somehow got resolved, but my mom stubbornly insisted on inviting you and your entire family to our house."

"I don't mind coming over to your house at all!" If that meant getting answers to everything they were uncertain about, then he'd attend, even if he minded. "No idea if my entire family could show up. I'll talk to them once I'm back home with Hima."

"That's great! Let me know how it goes once you pass on the news." Sarada's voice softened, and she sounded much more relaxed compared to when she initially called.

"Will do. Wanna go on a date before confronting the truth?" He asked, secretly hoping it'd ease his nerves too.

"That would be lovely. I'll see you then!"

"Yeah," he replied. It was a shame he couldn't find a subject to prolong their conversation, but at least he heard Sarada's voice today.

He should continue accompanying Himawari for the rest of the day, at least until they get home. Boruto hoped he'd bump into both his parents there, even if it was unlikely dad would be home.

Sarada bit her lip slightly. She was looking forward to her date with Boruto. The idea of confronting the truth during today's family dinner was exciting, in a distinct sense.

"You came!" She went full speed ahead and embraced Boruto tightly.

"I did," he nodded, and freed up his right arm just to ruffle her hair with his hand.

"Will you ever be tired of this?" she asked, while fixing the headband Boruto almost knocked over. It was challenging when he had no intention of stopping what he was doing.

"Never! Your hair is very soft to touch," he pouted slightly. Sarada didn't know whether he was doing it on purpose to calm her down or if it was his usual flair for drama over mundane situations.

"Sure, sure… Let's go watch the movie now!" Without hesitation, she linked their arms together. Arriving at their destination, they scanned their tickets and sat in the back row of empty seats. There weren't many people at this hour to watch the movie they picked.

The movie they watched was about two people bound by fate that hated each other. Connection between their souls resulted in the disruption of their daily life. Learning that fate was forcing them together, the pair tried to sever the link tying them together. It led them on an adventure to find their respective Guardian Angels. The Guardian Angels agreed to sever the link tying the souls of the main characters under the condition they'd pass necessary trials. Each trial made the leads grow closer. So close they fell in love and accepted their fate. In the end, the pair didn't sever the link that tied their souls. This ending wasn't bad, but it was a disappointing one for Sarada. She preferred the chemistry the female lead had with an actor playing one of the Guardian Angels instead.

As she was tearing up during the confession scene when her ship sank, Boruto's amused gaze focused on her rather than the big screen. How annoying. He probably had more fun watching her reactions over the movie.

"Such a shame Belial and Selene didn't get together!" That was the first thing she had to say about the movie, while on the edge of her seat waiting for Boruto's opinion.

"I think Selene should get with Astaroth instead."

The calmness of his statement made Sarada sit there in silence for a good minute. "What? Did we watch the same movie?!"

"We did." Boruto nodded. "The point is, we both agree Selene and Cassiel had no chemistry."

No chemistry? Selene and Cassiel didn't even fall under the 'No chemistry' category. That's how bad their romance was. When thinking about it this way… Seltaroth wasn't that bad of a ship. "Valid."

Boruto smiled, accepting her response, and his attention seemed to turn somewhere else. "You know what that movie made me think?"

Despite not having the ability to read minds, Sarada's natural curiosity drove her. Boruto asking her these sorts of questions just fuelled the turning gears in her mind. "No idea. Care to share?"

"We are meant to be together."

The gears in her mind stopped. She expected a very detailed discussion of the movie's plot. Definitely not this.

"As in destined to be?" she asked, trying to deflect his attention from the fact she misread his initial intention.

What Boruto implied sounded incredibly romantic to her, but something felt amiss. As if her heart wanted to scream out in protest.

"Nah. I dislike the idea of destiny. Even if we weren't destined to be together… I'd defy this fate to end up with you." Boruto seemed to put into words the reason his initial statement felt off to her. Sarada put in a lot of effort for Boruto to go out with her. Chalking it up to destiny felt like undervaluing said effort. Their relationship only thrived after she told she loved him and overcame her fears.

That being said, she found the idea of them fighting destiny to stay together quite endearing. "You're quite the romantic. I don't dislike it, though." At least, to Sarada, it was more romantic compared to staying with someone just because fate dictated them to be like in the movie. "Maybe I'm a fool, but I'd support you the best I can to defy destiny."

Boruto's wide smile was enough to leave her without regrets. Regardless of whether she was foolish.

Time flies too fast when you spend it in the company of someone you like. Now the only thing remaining was her nerves. Boruto held her shaking hand while they were exiting the cinema. Sarada hoped learning the truth would be beneficial to their relationship.

"We've got this, Sarada." She barely heard Boruto say this, but his supportive tone made her confident there was nothing to worry about.

"You're right," she answered, while they were closely approaching the lion's den that was her home.

"Heh. Glad you agree with me," he joked. Sarada was painfully aware that her boyfriend was right at that moment. It didn't mean he was always right, and the thought made her more nervous before facing her parents.

"Mhm. Let's go inside."

It was time to conclude the case of mysterious letters once and for all. That might be their only chance to learn the truth, and Sarada wouldn't lose this chance for anything else. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door to her house open.

Was it like opening a gate to hell or to heaven? She didn't know yet. The only thing she knew was to face whatever truth came her way head on.

AN:

Hello everyone,

I set this chapter up as a build-up to chapter 28 of GoF! It still has some of my favourite BoruSara moments. Baffling to think, I started this story before the time skip in the manga, right? I have a few ideas about fics that would fit the actual time skip version of the characters better, but GoF for obvious reasons wouldn't include them.

I'm still committed to finishing this story, though.

Only 2 more chapters and an Epilogue to go through! Let's hope you'll all enjoy my November/December upload spree.

Sincerely yours, Karinrumi.