"I'll... I'll look that way while you get dressed."

She laughed. "Ok. But you should get dressed too."

Heat rose to his cheeks as he turned into the wall, his new clothes in hand. Why did Cho-Cho have to lock them in a room? Especially after... He shook his head. He knew she had to be traumatized. How was she doing so well at holding it back? Did she really forgive him? Just like that?

He slowly slid off his t-shirt, praying that she wouldn't turn around. If she had gotten over it... He at least needed to try to move on. Not to pretend like it never happened, but to realize that she was going to live life despite everything. And he should too.

Even if they did end the level and they got back to Konoha...

Konoha... It felt like a distant land. Sarada was no longer the Sarada he used to know. Had time passed for anyone else?

"Boruto?"

He froze, pants on, white shirt unbuttoned. "Hmm?"

"I can't zip this up."

"...You want... me to... help you?"

"...Yeah."

He sucked in a breath. You can do this. "Give me a sec..." After what he did to her mere hours before, he was not leaving any of his skin exposed at the same time as hers. He finished buttoning up the rest of his shirt and turned around. Immediately, his breath was taken away.

She was holding her medium length black hair up off of her neck. Her golden dress glittered in the dim light of the moon. The zipper lie open, the smooth, creamy, unblemished skin of her back exposed. Is it really ok for me to help her?

"Please?"

He walked stiffly over to her, noticing her figure trembling the slightest bit. She is still scared... Maybe she's... doing this on purpose...

He relaxed his stiff muscles. Without so much as brushing against her skin, his fingers found the zipper and zipped her up. "There you go."

She let her hair fall down around her shoulders, her hands returning to her sides. "...Are you dressed?"

"I wouldn't get close to you if I wasn't."

Her trembling stopped. She turned around, arms sliding around his neck as her head gently rested against his chest. "Thank you." The words came out in a whisper. He could barely feel the cold splotch of a tear soaking through the thin fabric of his white shirt.

It was a test. A test to make sure she could still trust him.

Ever so slowly, he brought his arms to her waist. She felt so small, so fragile in his arms. It scared him. "I promise," he whispered into her hair. "As long as I live, I'll never let that happen to you again."

She pulled herself closer, burying her head in his shoulder.

Not knowing what else to do, he kept his hands on the small of her back where there was fabric and grazed his thumb over the material.

She slowly pulled back and looked up into his eyes.

Heat swirled into his face all over again. Between her fair skin and silky black hair, her angelic smile set on lips as red as a ruby, and her eyes that gleamed like obsidian in the dark behind her long, feathery eyelashes, Sarada's face alone was breathtakingly beautiful.

"Sorry, the dress isn't red."

The heat turned to fire as he recalled his embarrassing compliment from the previous level.

"Am I still pretty?"

A grin tugged at his face. "Sarada," he said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You're more than just pretty."

"...Boruto?"

Ever so gently, he brushed her hair out of the way of her forehead. In the way that he had kissed her for the first time, gentle and soft, not daring to move, he touched his lips to the top of her forehead. "I'm sorry…"

Her eyes fluttered open as he pulled away. "You don't have to apologize anymore…"

"I…" All the purple bruises and burn marks had disappeared, but Boruto still remembered. It was impossible to forget. "Before we move on to the dancing part of this level… Can I…"

She smiled. The soft brush of her fingers against his face caused all of the tension to leave his neck. He leaned his head further into her hand as she spoke. "You can do whatever you want."

Boruto took a deep breath. He studied her carefully. Bringing one hand from her waist to her previously tattered arm, he remembered. The way Momoshiki burned the pattern on his skin into hers. The way he dislocated her shoulder. Held the candle under her arm until it was singed.

Holding her seemingly tiny soft wrist in his palm, he brought the back of her hand against his lips.

Her eyes widened in realization as he continued, leaving a soft kiss on every place she had been burned and marked.

Even when she pulled him closer, he didn't dare do anything other than brush his lips against her skin, and his hands respectfully staying on her arm and back. He couldn't make her forget; he couldn't undo what he had done. But if he could cover the painful memories with gentle ones, perhaps it would have the effect he was wishing for.

. . .

Can I… Cho-Cho listened to Boruto's voice behind the door.She smirked and waited for the sound of silence with the faint rustling of clothes to ensue.

Shikadai walked up to her, a frown on his face. "What are you-"

"Shh!" Cho-Cho placed a hand over his mouth. "Come on. Let's go get the ball ready."

"Why? Where are Boruto and Sara-"

"I told you to shh! And who is that anyways?"

"Hm? What do you call your master?"

"That's Prince Adam. And Belle." Cho-Cho lead him down the hallway, casting a look over her shoulder. "At least get his name right, you've lived with him long enough."

"Cho... I mean, Mrs. Potts..."

"Yes?"

"Are they in that room?"

"You don't have time to be worrying about that right now Cogsworth, get yourself dressed!" With that, Cho-Cho shoved Shikadai into a room and closed the door with a huff.

. . .

It wasn't long before everyone was assembled in the large ballroom. Cho-Cho walked over and fixed a stray strand of Sarada's hair with a knowing smirk. She blushed and thanked her friend, only for her to turn around and shove her towards Boruto.

He caught her and gently stood her back up, taking her gloved hand with a shy smile. The moment they faced each other, the orchestra started up the music.

With the full symphony egging him on, Boruto couldn't help but linger his gaze on her figure for a moment longer before he started waltzing, wondering if this was possibly the last time he would get to dance with his princess.

Her face tilted upwards as she faced him, her irises reflecting the same somewhat lonesome feeling.

"You know," said Sarada, a bit shy, "I never thought I would enjoy dancing with you."

He smiled. "Neither did I… But it's growing on me," he said with a chuckle. "Which reminds me... When I died, did you say it?"

"Say what?" she smiled.

"That… You know. I love you? And what not."

She crinkled her nose and let him dip her back. "What if I didn't?"

"Then I would have to question why you kissed me, and I might go throw myself off a cliff."

She pinched his arm on the way back up.

"Ow!"

"You literally died in my arms. Jerk."

"Sorry," he whispered against her forehead as they danced a bit slower. "I didn't mean that… I just… Shikadai told me that was how to end the level… So I wasn't sure."

"I already said it." She smiled, her arms snaking around his neck. "Idiot. How else do you think you resurrected?"

"Oh. I… I don't know. I just…"

"You just?" She tilted her chin down, smiling with her forehead practically brushing his.

"It's a shame I was too dead to hear it."

Sarada rolled her eyes. "I love you. Stupid idiot."

His smile widened. "I wasn't expecting you to say it."

"You expected wrong."

Boruto reached up and took Sarada's right hand in his, intertwined their fingers, and led her into the most dignified waltz he had ever danced. He took up the entire dance floor as he moved in a graceful counter-clockwise motion, his eyes never leaving hers. Even Shikadai seemed to be impressed with the smooth elegance of their movements.

But Boruto wasn't concentrated on how well they were dancing. He was only concentrated on her. The way the corners of her eyes turned up at him. The way her lips creased when she smiled. The way the tips of her hair gently brushed against his fingertips as they moved. He wanted to take it all in before he forgot.

"Why are you staring through my soul?" She asked, a laugh bubbling up from her throat.

His cheeks dusted with pink, awkwardly looking towards the polished floor. "I'm not staring."

"Says the one who hasn't taken his eyes off me since we started dancing," she teased.

"I can't help it. You're really pretty..."

At the mention of the word, both of their faces reddened.

"You mean it?"

He smiled. "You want me to tell you a story about what happened when we first got into this game?"

Sarada spun out and then back into his arms. "By all means, please. Go right ahead."

"Well," he said against the top of her ear, "I got into this game dressed in rags, and Mitsuki and Kawaki were talking about a ball."

"Go on."

She turned back around, connecting her hand with his.

"And I asked where you were. They told me you were a princess. And I was shocked."

"How rude," she said, laughing up at him.

"Do you know what Kawaki said when I thought Mitsuki had a thing for you back in Cinderella?"

Sarada's eyes narrowed. It seemed as though she vaguely recalled his comment about how Kawaki wasn't wrong.

"He said this." Boruto slowly dipped her back. He stared directly into her dark eyes. "'Everyone has a thing for Sarada. She's drop dead gorgeous.'"

He watched as her face slowly reddened. A smile crossed his lips. "And the moment I saw you, I thought, dang. He wasn't wrong." He brought her back up and continued their waltz, his heart dancing in his chest as she averted her gaze.

"Since then? You've liked me... since then?"

"Sarada." A chuckle escaped his throat. "I think I've liked you since long before then. I just didn't realize it until we were in this game."

He could only grin as she stared up at him in wonder. "Boruto?"

"Yes?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against his chest. "Can we dance like this for a while?"

His hands slowly dropped to her waist, shifting the rhythmic pattern of his feet to a slow and gentle sway. "It would be my pleasure."

She couldn't see the rest of the castle inhabitants reacting to their sudden shift, some (Cho-Cho) staring with wide, sparkled eyes, others (Shikadai) smirking, and yet others still (Inojin) turning away in embarrassment.

He only continued to hold her there, swaying under the lights of the chandeliers, ignoring all the looks from the peanut gallery. Nothing else mattered. He was himself again, and she loved him.

Slowly, Sarada broke apart from him, her hands on his chest as she looked up into his eyes. "Boruto?"

"Yes?"

"Can we move onto the next level?"

His face reddened. He assumed she wanted him to kiss her again. But would that move them on? Her eyes were already glassy, staring up at him as if everything else in the room vanished. Who was he to say no?

Slowly bringing one hand up to the back of her head and the other to the small of her back, he tilted his head and leaned in, gently encasing her lips. Her warmth, taste, and the feeling of comfort that could only come from Sarada washed over him as he held her, imagining the emerald room filling the space around them. But when they broke apart and opened their eyes, they were still in the ballroom.

"It's Belle and Adam," Shikadai yelled from the audience.

Their faces turned scarlet. The fact that someone was watching them so intently and would remember for the next level was quite embarrassing to say the least.

"Well... I guess this is it, Belle."

"It was nice getting to know you, Adam," she said with a gentle smirk.

The room faded to green for the last time, Sarada still in Boruto's arms.

"Congratulations," said the robotic voice. "You have completed the game."

With that, the glow faded and was replaced by an old storage room filled with ninja scrolls.

. . .

Boruto looked at Sarada. Sarada looked at Boruto. They both turned red.

Shikadai yawned and stretched. "Ugh. Finally back to normal. What a pain… We should go back to…? Hm? What's wrong with you two?"

Boruto looked away. "Nothing! Come on Shikadai, I'm starving. You wanna get a hamburger?"

"You and your hamburgers," Sarada retorted. "Don't you ever want to eat anything else? And what about your family?"

"It doesn't seem like any time has passed on this side ya—" Boruto cut himself off. He caught sight of the black diamond mark on his palm and froze. Something inside of him shut down. It was still there…

What if he transformed again? The events of the other world hit him like a truck. He ducked his head. "Ya know… Maybe we should just go home after all."

Sarada took a step forward. She took his hand, karma and all, and intertwined their fingers. "You'd better take me on better dates than thunder burger after this, idiot Boruto."

Boruto's face unwillingly turned scarlet. "O-Oi! Sarada!" But despite his embarrassment, he followed after her, his head tucked into the neck of his jacket.

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Welp, that's the last level! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have an account and feel like commenting, let me know which level was your favorite :D There is a small afterward, so stay tuned for the true ending :)