Mitsuki lingered in the shade of a maple that edged the village square. Dappled light drifted across his shoulders while his silver fringe shifted in the warm breeze.

He watched Chōchō laugh with Sarada and Sumire, her golden kimono glimmering each time she tipped her head back. Although he kept his expression mild, curiosity hummed inside him.

He still could not understand why she had pushed herself to reshape her body. He thought she had been perfect long before the change.

'She looks good either way' he mused.

Chōchō felt the weight of a gaze and turned. Amber eyes locked on his with a spark of challenge and she raised a sculpted brow. Leaving her friends mid-sentence, she cut through the late afternoon crowd until she faced the lanky teen.

At six foot five he towered above most people in the plaza yet she met him with the same confidence that lit her entrance gate that morning.

"What's with the look?" she asked. Annoyance curled her voice while a faint blush coloured her cheeks.

Mitsuki smiled, eyes closing in an easy crescent. "I was thinking about you."

"Obviously." Chōchō folded her arms under her bust. "I know I'm gorgeous but staring is rude."

The corner of Mitsuki's mouth twitched. "Your condition still gets worse." His soft chuckle made her face turn brighter. "I was wondering why you slimmed down. You looked fine."

"Looking fine isn't enough." She hugged herself and glanced at the cobbles. "You've been lean and handsome since the day we met. I've carried the Akimichi bulk since birth." Her lips pursed. "You don't know how it feels to be rejected because of weight. Even close friends used to tease me. I knew I was beautiful yet beauty never seemed to beat fatness." Her shoulders lifted and she offered a small grin. "I'm not skinny, skinny but I like where I am now. More important, I actually love myself more than I thought I could."

"I have always loved the way you look."

Chōchō's eyes went wide. She stared up at him, throat suddenly tight.

"People were blind to your beauty back then." Mitsuki brushed a strand of ginger hair from her face. "I never was."

"I… I didn't know you felt that way." Her palm covered the back of his hand.

"What feeling?" Mitsuki tilted his head, pupiless eyes honest. "That I liked you before the change?"

Chōchō swallowed. He never actually said he liked me, she realised. "Nothing." She released his hand and stepped back. "So what are you doing today?"

"I planned to meet Boruto and Sarada."

"Oh." Disappointment pinched her tone. "I wanted to hang out."

"Then let's hang out."

She blinked. "What about the others?"

He fished out his phone, thumbs flying across the screen. "I'll tell them I'm with you." A satisfied ping sounded. "Second time we spend the day together."

Colour warmed her face at the memory of the first. At thirteen she had demolished four boys who mocked her clan then fled to a quiet clearing to cry. Mitsuki had followed, comforting her until she confessed how close the words had cut. One moment of shared anger and tenderness had led to a shy kiss.

She shook her head to banish the flutter. Mitsuki ruffled her hair and smirked. "Thinking naughty thoughts, Miss Akimichi?"

"None of your business!" She slapped his hand away yet her lips twitched. "Come on then."

They crossed the plaza. Vendors called out specials while the savoury scent of pork buns drifted from a nearby stall. Chōchō's stomach growled loud enough to make a passing genin snort.

"Some things never change," Mitsuki teased.

"Hush you." She bought two buns, handed one to him and devoured the other in three bites. "Training diet or not, a girl needs fuel."

Mitsuki nibbled his with polite restraint then pointed towards the training grounds beside the river. "Walk with me."

They strolled down the path where cherry petals floated across clear water. Ducks quacked from a muddy bank and frogs chirped from reeds. Conversation slipped easily between them. Chōchō spoke about Darui's lightning drills that left her muscles screaming. Mitsuki recounted a recent mission where he and Boruto rescued a caravan from bandits armed with explosive tags.

She grinned. "You saved them with that stretchy arm thing?"

"A little," he replied. "Mostly I stared until they panicked."

"You spoil the fun." She nudged his elbow.

A wooden footbridge crossed the river at a gentle bend. Mitsuki hopped onto the railing, balanced with toes curled over the edge and gazed down at her. "Race me to Training Field Three."

"Please." Chōchō cracked her neck. "You'll eat my dust."

"Loser buys dessert."

"You're on."

She dashed. Mitsuki vanished in a blur of snakes and caught up beside her, their footsteps drumming the packed dirt. Farmers looked up from rice paddies as the pair raced by in a flash of gold and silver. At the final slope Chōchō channelled chakra to her calves and exploded ahead, laughter ringing across the grass. Mitsuki closed the gap at the last instant but she tagged the boundary post first then doubled over, breathless yet triumphant.

"You may have let me win, but I won fair and square" she huffs "Pay up"

"Guilty" Mitsuki bowed in mock defeat. "You improved."

"Damn right. That's what twelve hour sessions do." She grins

He straightened and the air between them pulsed. Their chests rose in tandem, eyes gleaming with adrenaline. Mitsuki stepped closer and the world narrowed until she saw nothing except the soft curve of his mouth.

A sudden whistle broke the spell. Boruto loped onto the field, Sarada and Inojin at his heels. "Oi lovebirds," he called, grinning. "Hokage's kid here, remember me? Thanks for ditching us Mitsuki!"

Sarada swatted him. "Stop ruining moments you clown."

Mitsuki shrugged. "Emergency."

Inojin smirked. "Looked like tongue emergency."

"Shut it" Chōchō snapped though her face burned.

Boruto flopped on the grass. "Hey ChōChō, Why don't you show us what you learnt from those four years of training. We'll spar."

Sarada adjusted her glasses. "Two v two."

Chōchō cracked her knuckles. "Me and Mitsuki against you two." She pointed at Inojin. "You referee."

In seconds Boruto and Sarada stood ready.

Boruto steadied his stance and fixed his blue eyes on Mitsuki. Sarada adjusted her glasses and let her Sharingan unfurl with a snap of scarlet. Opposite them Chōchō rolled her shoulders while Mitsuki's pale snakes of chakra began to ripple beneath the fabric of his jacket. Inojin raised one hand.

"Ready," he called. "Begin."

The first instant passed in silence then Boruto sprang forward with three shadow clones at his flank. Mitsuki answered with a whip of white lightning that forked like serpents and cracked through two clones before they could cross the clearing. Boruto vaulted over the scorched earth and twisted mid-air to launch a rotating Rasengan. Mitsuki slithered back and the sphere cleaved a groove through the turf.

Chōchō wasted no time. She danced ahead of Boruto's clones with a flash of gold steel. Killer B's eight-sword style required years of conditioning yet she had adapted the fluid footwork to her twin katana set. Blades whirled in tight crescents that met every wooden kunai Sarada threw. Metal rang like cymbals while sparks showered across the grass.

Sarada's eyes tracked the arcs. She recognised a gap in Chōchō's right flank and flicked three shuriken in a shallow triangle. Chōchō exhaled and her chakra surged an icy blue. Lightning Release Chakra Mode blossomed around her as taught by the Fourth Raikage. Muscles and reflex ignited. She pivoted, sidestepped two blades then vaulted backward, skirt of raw electricity blurring her outline. The final shuriken missed by a whisker.

"Your speed's on another level," Boruto shouted, weaving around a new clone. "But not unbeatable."

Chōchō met him mid-field. She shoved her left palm into his chest in a textbook Lightning Lariat. The impact thundered through Boruto's clone and dispersed it in a plume of smoke. The real Boruto skidded to safety and whistled admiration.

Mitsuki took advantage. His snakes coiled and launched, chasing Boruto in looping arcs. The blond ducked, rolled and lobbed a pair of kunai that exploded into smokescreens. Grey fog swallowed three metres and Mitsuki lost his visual.

Sarada cut across the haze and met Chōchō in a fierce cross-strike. Steel kissed steel. Chōchō felt the resonance all the way through her arms. Sarada's strength had risen during her own harsher drills with Sasuke. They locked gazes an arm's length apart, amber into crimson.

Sarada pushed. "You're hiding something. Show me."

Chōchō grinned. "Gladly."

She kicked away then lifted her right hand skyward. Black clouds of charged particles zipped into a sphere above her palm, gathered from invisible motes of iron in the air. Darui's Black Lightning throbbed with an angry violet glow. She swung the arm down and the sphere unravelled into twin bolts that corkscrewed at Sarada. Each bolt tore furrows through ground and filled the field with crackling ozone.

Sarada's eyes spun. She sidestepped one bolt and watched the other clip her sleeve in a shower of sparks. Heat licked her skin but she flowed into a roll, re-established footing and formed seals with blistering speed.

"Fire Release Great Fireball Technique."

A cone of flame howled from her lungs, met the tail of Black Lightning and detonated into a wall of steam that swallowed the field.

Inojin leapt atop a stump, eyes wide, but held his post as referee.

For three heartbeats everything whistled and hissed. When the vapour thinned Mitsuki appeared behind Sarada with a lightning coated fist. She felt the charge but Boruto's chakra pulsed from nowhere. A Rasengan slammed Mitsuki's ribs and launched him sideways. He tumbled and rolled but planted a hand to steady himself.

Sarada exhaled and nodded thanks to her teammate. Chōchō dashed back into view. Sweat beaded on her forehead though her grin remained unbroken.

"Round two?" she challenged.

"Gladly," Sarada answered.

They blurred together once more. Boruto lunged at Mitsuki in a mirror of their training routines, exchanging quick kicks and parries. When Boruto flickered behind him Mitsuki bent low and let two snakes spring from his sleeves to bind Boruto's ankle. Boruto twisted and the snakes hissed empty air while the clone popped, revealing the real Boruto descending from above with a lightning punched Rasengan. Mitsuki crossed arms and blocked yet stumbled as the sphere dispersed against his chakra.

Chōchō caught sight of Mitsuki's forced retreat and knew momentum had shifted. She flicked through hand seals she had learned under Darui. Storm Release Laser Circuit. Pale blue light gathered along the edge of her katana before exploding into a beam that curved like a ribbon. Sarada tilted her head and the beam sliced strands of dark hair but missed flesh by half a finger width. Sarada's Sharingan predicted each twist and let her skim sideways.

"Impressive," Sarada noted.

Chōchō responded with a grin. "Still going."

She slashed again. Another beam weaved across the ground then popped into sparks. Sarada raised a chakra shield with her palm and the sparks sizzled harmlessly.

Boruto's voice boomed. "Switch."

Sarada turned to move. Boruto launched two clones that flew past her shoulder towards Chōchō. The clones drew kunai tipped with buzzer tags and harried Chōchō's flanks. Chōchō dispelled one with a backhand swipe but the second clone ducked beneath her knee and stabbed the tag to her boot. Electricity rippled through the tag in pulses that mimicked Raikage currents.

At the same instant Sarada dashed for Mitsuki. She crossed him with a spiral of chakra through her arm, building Chidori. Mitsuki conjured a dense wall of snakes. The Chidori punched through the first three serpents before the wall hardened with earth chakra and deflected her strike. She hopped back.

Chōchō yanked the sparking tag away but Boruto closed in with a wind-enhanced palm strike that echoed like a thunderclap across the meadow. Chōchō flew six metres and rolled to her feet, breath short.

Mitsuki signalled her with a quick nod. He flicked his wrist and a white snake wrapped round his forearm. Sage chakra glimmered at his temples for a heartbeat. He fired the snake at Boruto but Boruto side-stepped and drove a Rasengan into the ground at Mitsuki's feet. Dirt exploded upward, dazing Mitsuki long enough for Sarada to sweep his supporting leg. He fell and Sarada pressed a kunai to his throat.

Inojin's voice rose. "Mitsuki down."

Boruto turned for Chōchō. She planted her feet and channelled Lightning Release Chakra Mode again. Sparks rippled across brown skin, illuminating her outline like neon. Her eyes shone. "Not done yet."

She flickered forward. Boruto swung, missed, felt a shockwave hammer his shoulder as Chōchō clipped him with elbow lightning. He hissed. She pivoted and unleashed another Lariat but Boruto ducked at the last instant. He snapped a palm to her ribcage and formed a rapid Keaton Palm. Chakra blasted. Chōchō skidded back. Her lightning cloak dimmed then flickered out.

Sarada appeared on her flank. She launched three shuriken bound by thread. Chōchō slashed two but the third looped behind and snagged her wrist. Sarada tugged. Chōchō's balance broke for a moment. Boruto shot a clone that somersaulted and slapped a sealing tag to her shoulder.

A shimmering net of chakra spread from the tag and froze her limbs. She growled defiance as Boruto's real form approached.

Inojin saw. He jumped down with raised hands. "Stop. Chōchō captured. Boruto and Sarada win."

The sealing net melted. Chōchō dropped to a knee, panting. Sweat rolled down temple to chin. Mitsuki pushed himself upright, rubbing dust from sleeves.

Boruto offered his hand. Chōchō slapped it in gratitude and accepted the pull to her feet.

"You're monstrous," he laughed. "That lightning armour nearly turned me into ashes."

Sarada nodded, Sharingan fading. "That Black Lightning arrow had real bite. I've only seen Darui pull it off in the archive. You already replicate it."

Chōchō wiped her forehead. "Still not perfect. Darui can guide it with fine control. Mine goes wherever it likes."

Shikadai and Metal had arrived right when they started their match. They emerged from the sidelines where they had been spectating. Even Inojin bounced closer.

Metal pumped his fists in the air. "That was insane! Chōchō your sword work looked like a cyclone."

Inojin grinned. "I never doubted you had style. That Storm Release strip light nearly pierced my eyesight."

Chōchō rolled her eyes. "Flattery's cheap."

Sarada placed a hand on her shoulder. "Not flattery. Fact. Your speed's eclipsed mine unless the Sharingan's active. Your strength almost matches Boruto's Rasengan. That's terrifying progress in four years."

Boruto nodded and rummaged in his pouch for two energy bars. He tossed one to Chōchō. "Snack. You earned it."

She tore the wrapper and bit, tasting caramel and nuts. Her lungs still burned but a warm glow spread in her chest at her friends' praise.

Sarada waved Inojin closer. "Referee gets thanks too. You kept eyes on everything. Not easy when lightning and fire fill the air."

Inojin puffed out his chest. "The pencil sees all."

Chōchō chuckled. "Maybe I'll commission you to draw my victory pose when I finally land that Black Lightning directly on Boruto's nose."

Boruto snorted. "You can try."

"Count on it."

Shikadai surveyed the churned turf. "We should patch the ground before the field marshal complains we wrecked another practice zone."

He formed hand seals and extended shadows beneath the torn grass. Using fine chakra control he lifted sods and slid them back into place. Mitsuki called snakes to drag scattered branches. Boruto transformed clones into labour drones hauling soil.

Chōchō stood with Sarada and Inojin watching the restoration. She let the last of her adrenaline settle and replayed Darui's stern but encouraging instructions in her head. Visualise lightning as a living river. Guide its flow with breath. Trust the current.

Sarada spoke softly. "I remember when you'd tire after ten swings. Now you carry lightning like silk. Killer B and Raikage A must've left nothing to chance."

Chōchō nodded. "The Fourth punched me across a ravine on the first day. Told me get back up the cliff in under a minute or never come back. My arms felt like cooked noodles."

Sarada shook her head. "Harsh."

"It forged the lesson. Speed comes from commitment. Control comes from pain."

Boruto overheard as he flattened fresh soil. "Pain kept you improving but don't forget you had will before you left. That will's still your own."

Chōchō smiled, a gentle curve rather than a smirk. "Thank you."

ChōChō couldn't help but feel flustered. She was thankful she had such friends. They knew how self conscious she was when it came down to her abilities at times. Ever since the chunin exams her confidence wavered.

Hearing them praise her the way they are now brightened her mood instantly.

Mitsuki brushed hair from his forehead, eyes on Chōchō. "Dessert time."

OoO

At the little mochi shop at the end of the lantern-lit alley they watched the steam rise from freshly grilled rice cakes as the air turned cool. Mitsuki handed Chōchō a soft pink orb of sweet strawberry paste wrapped in pillowy rice dough while he cradled a matcha-green mochi in his palm. They found a low wooden step beneath a maple whose leaves had just begun to gold in the afternoon sun.

Their knees touched under the gentle curve of his jacket and they sat side by side in companionable silence. Chōchō closed her eyes for a moment before taking a careful bite. The tart sweetness of the strawberry filled her senses and her lips curled into a contented smile. A single grain of sugar clung at the corner of her mouth.

"Thanks," she murmured, voice soft enough to drift over the quiet clink of porcelain cups behind them.

Mitsuki watched that tiny sugar crystal tremble on her skin. The world seemed to shrink until he could feel only the warmth of her thigh pressed against his. He leaned in instinctively, heart thudding, and brushed the speck away with the tip of his finger. Before he had time to think he pressed his lips to the soft hollow where he had touched. The thrum of his heartbeat echoed in his ears.

Chōchō's eyes fluttered open and met his. Her breath caught, warm and sweet in the fading light. For a heartbeat they froze, caught between laughter and longing. Then she lifted her hand and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, cheeks dusted with rose.

"That was," she began, voice unsteady, "unexpected."

He grinned, cheeks warm. "It was my pleasure."

Her phone buzzed. A photo from Sarada appeared. It showed Boruto and Inojin bickering over who paid the bill while a text overlay read 'Told you it was a date.'

Chōchō snorted, standing up to stretch her limbs as she replied back 'MLM (Men love Men).'

"Heading home?" Mitsuki asked.

"Walk me."

They ambled through quiet streets until they reached the Akimichi compound. Fireflies drifted above garden ponds and the night smelled of lotus and soy. Chōchō turned on the path and faced him beneath the porch lamp.

"Thank you for seeing me," she whispered .

"I will always see you." He brushed his fingers along her jaw. "Every version of you."

She kissed him again, soft and sure, lips tasting of promise and hunger barely hidden. "Come in with me."

Mitsuki's cheeks flushed warm pink, his voice quiet but steady. "Okay."

ChōChō turned, hips swaying like she knew how he watched, how his pale eyes fixed to her silhouette with quiet desperation. Up the stairs she led him, slow enough for his gaze to drag on every roll of her curves. Each step creaked under their weight but she didn't look back, didn't need to, her body spoke loud enough. The way her tight black skirt clung to her thighs, the way the hem teased the undercurve of her cheeks, made his breath catch.

Upstairs the light was low and golden, filtering in through the slats of the blinds like warm honey, coating the room in lazy seduction. She didn't stop moving. Straight to the bed, her hand trailing down the zipper of her top, eyes on him like she could already feel his breath on her neck.

Mitsuki stood by the door for a heartbeat, eyes wide, not with fear but stunned reverence. She was like art. A walking hunger. Every inch of her skin a story he hadn't read yet. Then her top fell to the floor and he followed like a spell was wrapped around his ankles.

ChōChō sat on the bed, arms braced behind her, breasts high and proud in a black lace bra that barely contained her. "Well?" Her voice was smooth, amused. "You planning to just watch?"

He stepped forward, hands clumsy as he started to undress. She didn't wait. She crawled backwards onto the bed, watching him with fire in her eyes, legs spread just enough for the promise to punch him in the chest. "Come on then. Come show me what that pretty mouth of yours can do."

His clothes dropped one by one to the floor, pale skin catching the amber light, chest rising and falling with nerves that couldn't mask the heavy arousal between his legs. His cock twitched as he climbed onto the bed, and her fingers ran down his chest like she was mapping him for memory.

She pulled him down, lips on his again, hungrier this time, tongue flicking into his mouth before she bit his lip gently, tugged it between her teeth. Her thighs opened wider, inviting. Commanding.

"Touch me."

His hand found her knee, then slid up, trembling but eager. The inside of her thigh was silk-warm and tense under his fingers. He felt the edge of her knickers and paused.

"No hesitation," she said, voice low, sultry. "Not with me."

So he pressed. Slipped fingers beneath the fabric. Found her heat.

She was wet. Slick already. His fingers sank into her folds and she moaned into his mouth, hips grinding against his hand, her own fingers knotting into his hair.

"God, you're so fucking good at that," she whispered, biting his neck now. "Don't stop. More."

Mitsuki's breath shivered out of him, eyes locked to hers as he pressed deeper, fingers curling into her like he was searching for her soul. She threw her head back, breasts bouncing as her back arched. That little black bra couldn't hold her anymore.

"Take it off," she gasped, fingers pulling at the clasp. He helped, tugged it away, and her breasts spilled free, dusky nipples stiff in the cool air. He ducked his head and kissed one, tongue lapping at her nipple, making her cry out.

"Yes," she hissed, fingers gripping his head. "More. Bite it."

He did. Just enough. Her body shuddered and her cunt clenched around his fingers.

"Fuck-Mitsuki-don't you dare stop now-"

But he was already moving lower, kissing down her belly, slow, reverent. Her thighs opened further and he tugged her knickers aside with his teeth, tasting the sweet-salty scent of her arousal thick in the air.

He looked up once, and she nodded. Gritted her teeth. "Eat me."

He dove in.

Tongue dragging through her folds, licking up every drop of slick she gave him. Her fingers twisted in the sheets now, hips grinding against his face. He moaned against her, and the sound vibrated through her pussy, made her cry out loud.

She was loud. She didn't hold back. Her moans were guttural and sharp, full of hunger and heat and filthy delight. "God yes-fuck that tongue-don't stop-don't you fucking stop-"

He licked and sucked, circled her clit, then pressed into it hard and fast until she was jerking up off the bed, thighs squeezing around his head. "I'm coming-fuck I'm gonna come all over your face-"

And she did. A tremble started in her gut and rolled out, made her legs quake, her voice break. Her orgasm soaked his mouth and he drank it like wine, moaning into her until she had to push him back, gasping, skin flushed, wetness dripping down her thighs.

Her chest heaved. Her thighs twitched.

She laughed low. "You've got a filthy mouth, you little snake."

He smiled, lips shining with her. "Only for you."

She pulled him up and shoved him onto his back, climbing on top like a queen claiming her throne. Her hand wrapped around his cock and stroked him slow, eyes locked to his, grinning.

"This…" she whispered, rubbing the head against her wet folds, "is gonna be fun."

And then she sank down.

Her heat took him in inch by inch, her mouth falling open, a moan pouring from her like smoke. He gasped, hands gripping her hips, the tight wet clutch of her pussy making his vision blur.

She rolled her hips slow, then faster, using him. Riding him hard, her tits bouncing, her nails raking his chest. "You feel so fucking good," she growled, slamming her hips down, making him cry out. "You gonna fill me up, Mitsuki? Gonna let me ride that cock till you break?"

His answer was lost in a groan, spine arched, hands clutching her arse like lifelines. Her pace got faster. Louder. Wilder. Skin slapped on skin, sweat dripped, her moans turned to screams.

"Say it," she snarled, panting. "Tell me how much you love my cunt."

"I love it-fucking love your cunt-it's perfect-it's-fuck-"

"Good boy," she spat, grabbing his throat now, squeezing just enough. "Now come in me. Come in my filthy little pussy."

And he did.