"BORUTO AND SARADA DID WHAT?!" exclaimed Denki. His face was etched with pure shock and disbelief. Iwabe clapped him on the shoulders and shoved a finger in front of his mouth.
"Shhh, keep it down will you!"
"S-sorry. Hey, Metal," Denki turned to address his other teammate. "Metal!"
Metal was face down on the ground, passed out. Denki and Iwabe pulled him into a sitting position and started fanning and shaking him hoping that would wake him up. Iwabe groaned.
"Tch. I think he's the most shocked of us all, but I can't believe Boruto even told me that in the first place!"
The two boys picked Metal off the ground and propped him up against the wall of a building on a nearby bench. They took a seat on either side of him.
"Well, I mean," started Denki, "You're older than us so I would, uh - I can see where Boruto's coming from. I would personally feel more comfortable confiding in you with something like that, too."
"But how am I supposed to respond to that?!" Iwabe cried, "Just because I'm older doesn't mean I have all the answers. I can't have that kind of responsibility!"
"What kind of responsibility?" a new voice asked. It was Wasabi. "Whoah, what's wrong with Metal?" She nudged his foot and got no response.
Denki laughed nervously, "Oh, he just heard some...shocking news. Iwabe and I should probably get him home."
Iwabe jumped up a little too quickly. "Ahem, yes! That's exactly what we should do. Come on Denki, let's get him out of here."
"Hey, guys. What's going on?" Namida entered the scene with a bag of dango. She handed a stick to Wasabi.
"Oh, nothing!" said Denki, "Nothing at all, Metal had a bit of a spill so we're just going to take him home. No need to worry about us!"
"Oh, okay."
Wasabi furrowed her brow in confusion, and she and Namida shared a glance.
Both Denki and Iwabe then swung Metal's arms around each of their shoulders and were about to lift him off the bench when their teammate suddenly jolted back to life and screamed to the high heavens.
"BORUTO AND SARADA DID WHAT?!"
Iwabe and Denki immediately let go of their teammate and let him fall unceremoniously to the ground. Wasabi and Namida hovered over the boys and shadowed them from the afternoon sun.
"Spill," demanded Wasabi.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Back at the Yamanaka house...
"YES!" exclaimed Sarada. The rubber fish's eye glowed green and the dummy flapped about and stayed that way without immediately dying.
"Oh, my gosh," Sarada continued, "I'm exhausted. That's enough exercise for one day."
"See, all our hard work finally paid off," laughed Inojin.
"That's because I have a good teacher," Sarada giggled.
Inojin was about to reply when he heard his mother calling him from downstairs.
"Inojin!"
"Coming!" he replied, "I'll be right back. Mind pushing my desk back in place?"
"Can do," said Sarada. She flipped the practice fish around and pushed the 'reset' button, and packed it back in the cardboard box it came in. Inojin left the room, and she pushed his desk back up against the wall. Next, she unloaded her backpack: organizing flashcards in appropriate stacks, setting up half-finished practice tests, and making sure all her pencils were sharpened.
'Mama is going to be so proud of me,' she thought giddily.
Inojin nimbly stepped over box after box of his mother's craft supplies and met her in the kitchen.
"What's up, mom?"
"What did Boruto want?" she asked.
"Boruto? How should I know? I haven't seen him since this morning."
"Hm? That's strange. Sorry, it's been a hectic day. I guess I just imagined it." Ino put a finger to her chin and then shook her head. "Anyway, my clients are about to head out, soon. It's going to take me a while to clean this up so you and Sarada are on your own for dinner, tonight. There's some money on the counter. Think you can manage?"
"Sure thing, mom. Are we bringing food back here, or-"
"No worries," interrupted Ino, "I'm going to meet up with your father for dinner after he gets off work, but you and Sarada don't need to wait for us. Just go when you get hungry."
"10-4." Inojin gave his mom a mock salute and scooped up the money she left out for them. By the time he got back to his room, Sarada had already made herself at home sprawled across his floor with her study materials strewn about. "Oh, I didn't realize you were moving in," he teased.
"Well, I'm already here so let's finish our practice tests and call it a day. I promise I'll leave you alone, tomorrow."
Inojin sighed and pulled up a beanbag chair.
"Well, with an offer like that I can't possibly say no." He picked up a practice test and stole one of Sarada's pencils.
"What did your mom want?" she asked.
"She gave us money for dinner," he said, "I hereby grant you the privilege of choosing where we go."
"I'm honored."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Back to Iwabe and company…
Both Wasabi and Namida had their hands on their cheeks, unable to fully process what the guys were telling them.
"Boruto and Sarada...are together...like THAT?!" Wasabi's cheeks were flush with embarrassment along with everyone else in their group.
"Maybe not anymore," said Iwabe, "The way Boruto looked it might have been a one-time thing, or they had a fight - either way, he's definitely questioning their relationship."
"What did you tell him?" asked Namida. Iwabe's breath hitched.
"Um, you see…"
"You turned tail and ran?" Wasabi finished for him.
"Well, what would you have done?!" he shouted.
"We," said Namida, "would've asked more questions and helped him realize why he's hurting like that. You boys are so quick to run away from matters of the heart - he's obviously still in love with her!"
"And more importantly," said Wasabi, "We would've followed up with Sarada to see how she feels."
"Hey, what're you guys talking about?"
The quintet let out a simultaneous surprised yelp and turned around.
"Cho Cho!"
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At the Yamanakas…
"Ready to go?" asked Inojin.
"Sure, just let me grab my bag." Sarada haphazardly shoved the remainder of their study materials into her backpack and went to her temporary room to exchange it for her pouch. Inojin checked his wallet and slipped on a jacket. The two were ready to go.
Unbeknownst to the pair, their favorite blond idiot was still having an existential crisis amongst the plants in the backyard. Boruto didn't know how much time had passed, nor did he care. He started to suspect, though, that there wasn't enough time in the world for him to process his most recent trauma. The back door swung open.
"I thought you did well this time," said Sarada, "You're really getting the hang of it."
"Thanks," said Inojin, "Mind if we use the table next time, though? My back is killing me."
"Baby," said Sarada. Inojin rolled his eyes.
Hearing their voices was enough to finally snap Boruto out of his daze. He instinctively crouched further down and watched as Inojin and Sarada left the house.
"We're leaving!" Inojin yelled inside. He held the door open for Sarada. "Milady."
Sarada shivered and hugged herself. "Ugh, you know I hate it when guys do that."
"Milady," repeated Inojin, and he ducked just in time to avoid Sarada's punch. He ran to the edge of the gate.
"Milady!" he yelled one more time. Sarada chased after him.
"Hey, get back here!" she laughed.
The two of them were soon out of sight, but Boruto didn't dare move until he could no longer hear their voices. His heart dropped when he saw Sarada wearing Inojin's hoodie.
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The queen has arrived...
"Cho Cho!" the group exclaimed.
"So, is anyone going to answer my question?" asked Cho Cho.
"Sarada's been sleeping over with Boruto," blurted Namida. The rest of the group dropped their jaws. Namida slapped her hands on her mouth.
"Oh?" said Cho Cho, "That doesn't make any sense. Last I heard she was sleeping over at Inojin's."
"WHAT?"
"It's worse than we thought!" exclaimed Wasabi.
"What do you mean?" asked Denki.
"Either she's cheating on Boruto and he found out, or they broke up and Inojin is her rebound!" explained Namida. She started crying at the thought.
Cho Cho put a finger to her chin and looked off into the distance, deep in thought.
"If that's true, then that explains his attitude, this morning. But I can confirm that Inojin and Sarada were at the Thunder Burger earlier today. I saw them leaving together when I got in line. I figured Boruto was overreacting like usual. You know?"
The rest of the group looked forlorn.
"I want to help Boruto," declared Metal, "Even though love blooms and wilts in the springtime of our youth, if nothing else I want him to at least have some closure."
"Wow, Metal," said Namida, "That's very...mature of you."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" said Wasabi, "Let's split up and find him!" She and Namida turned around and ran at full speed with renewed vigor while Cho Cho just sighed and followed suit at a snail's pace with potato chips in hand.
When the girls were out of earshot, Metal turned to Denki and Iwabe and whispered, "I also want to ask Boruto how he did it."
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And now let's take a look at how our sad boi is doing…
Boruto drug his feet all the way down to the levee by the park next to the shopping district. He'd kicked some rocks into a pile and was chucking them into the water. When he ran out of rocks, he fell back on the grass and watched the clouds go by with a dejected look on his face. He clutched the fabric of his shirt over his heart and slowly went over what he learned.
Sarada had slept over with Inojin.
He saw them kissing in the kitchen.
Ms. Ino either didn't know or didn't care.
They were alone in Inojin's room with the door shut.
And he heard them presumably having sex on a desk.
Boruto's face broke out in a fresh color of scarlet, and he feverishly rolled side-to-side trying to shake the mental images his mind was conjuring. It didn't help that it sounded like they went in for round two right before they left the house, either, or that she was wearing Inojin's clothes. He knew it shouldn't be any of his business, but it still killed him to think Sarada would give her blushes and sweet smiles to anyone else but him.
Boruto settled down with his back to the grass, once more, and threw an arm up over his eyes to block out the sun.
'I got it bad,' he finally admitted to himself. He didn't have much time to reflect on this realization, however, when a body larger than his own slid down the levee and attached itself to him in a full body hug.
"I'm so sorry Boruto!"
Boruto yelped and opened his eyes.
"Iwabe! What are you doing?! Get off of me!"
Iwabe let go of his friend and rolled over onto his knees, bowing his head as low to the ground as possible.
"I'm sorry I ran away when you needed me!" he said. Boruto was taken aback.
"Um, no, it's fine-"
"And I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, this morning."
"Cho Cho? When did you get here?" asked Boruto.
"Boruto!"
Boruto turned around to see Denki, Metal, Wasabi, and Namida all calling his name in unison as they ran down the levee to join him.
"We heard what happened!"
"Don't give up!"
"True love finds a way!"
"We're here for you!"
"What was it like?!"
Boruto was flustered. He turned to Iwabe and Cho Cho.
"Oh, my god! How many people did you tell?!"
"Never mind that," said Cho Cho, "but right now we need to know what you want to do. Are you going to be an awkward boy that hides from his feelings, or are you going to be a man that confronts them?"
"Um, what?"
"And just so we're clear," continued Cho Cho, "Just because I'm helping you out, now, doesn't mean that I'm automatically on your side. If Sarada decides she doesn't want you, then that's that - you accept it and move on because I care about her happiness more than yours."
Boruto gulped and nodded. "Deal."
Cho Cho smiled and clapped her hands. "Okay boys, you're on Boruto duty. Spiff him up and make him look presentable; maybe buy some flowers or candy, too."
Iwabe, Denki, and Metal all saluted.
"Hai!"
"Girls," continued Cho Cho, "You're in charge of Sarada."
Wasabi and Namida also saluted.
"Hai!"
"And what are you going to do?" asked Boruto.
"I," said Cho Cho, "am going to have a little chat with Inojin."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
A/N: I'm writing and updating this as I think of material and can get to it. I'm trying this new thing where I'm writing chapters in a low pressure setting. Thank you for reading, and please leave a review! I appreciate it.