The Drink

The Aftermath

Hinata, Byakugan activated, searched the town high and low. After Cho-Cho had reported that Sarada drunk a mysterious drink, Boruto chased after her, and it had been several hours with no word from either of them, she left Himawari in the Akemichi family's care and set out.

It didn't seem like they were anywhere near the academy. Nor were they near Hokage Summit, or in Sarada's house. But when Hinata finally found them, she froze. Her eyes widened. Her mouth opened.

"Well... Who would have thought." A gentle smile crossed her face as she walked into the woods, deactivating her Byakugan.

At her feet, Boruto lay on his back, one arm sprawled out without a care in the world, the other resting on Sarada's shoulder. Her head was on his chest, and they were both sound asleep. It reminded her of the times they napped together as kids while Sakura was at work in the hospital...

She crouched down next to her son and gently shook his shoulder. "Boruto."

Sucking in a sharp breath, Boruto stretched and blinked open his eyes. "...Mom?"

The sleeping raven haired girl on top of him began to stir, sitting up and looking around with heavy-lidded eyes. "Hmm? Where..."

Looking down, her eyes widened. She knew exactly what she had been doing there, but she refused to believe that it was real. "What did I..."

Boruto sat up and rubbed his eyes, yawning with a stretch. "You asked me to hum you to sleep... I guess I fell asleep while I was at it."

Sarada's face turned bright red. "I... What?"

"Sarada," said Boruto, looking her straight in the eyes. "Don't drink weird things anymore..." He stood to his feet. "See ya, mom. I'm gonna head home."

Sarada was mortified. None of it was a dream. She had been conscious the whole time, and yet she couldn't do anything about it. What was she supposed to do now? Pretend like nothing happened?

Before she could decide on anything, Boruto began walking away.

"Ah..." She missed her chance.

Hinata smiled. "Sarada-chan," she said, still crouched down to meet her level. "I'm glad you're ok."

Blinking a few times to reregister Hinata's presence, Sarada nodded shyly.

"Well," said Hinata, standing to her feet. "I guess I worried for nothing."

"Sorry..." Sarada mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"Sorry for everything... I ended up causing you trouble..."

Hinata laughed. "Quite the opposite, actually. You know, Boruto doesn't usually stick with things that he doesn't enjoy. I think if he was really troubled, he wouldn't have stayed with you."

A hint of blush dusted Sarada's cheeks. "You... knew?"

"I heard the situation from Cho-Cho. She said she went out to search for you after waiting around the hospital for a while. You drank a weird drink?"

"Ahh... haha..." She halfheartedly laugh. "Weird doesn't even begin to describe it."

"I see," replied Hinata, the smile never leaving her face. "I'm just glad you were ok."

She nodded.

"Would you like me to walk you home," offered Hinata. "I would have made Boruto do it, but he's probably off hiding his embarrassment in a video game," she said, a hint of laughter in her voice.

"I can walk myself," said Sarada, waving her hands in front of her face. "I'm really ok now. Thank you, Hinata oba-san."

With a nod, Hinata turned away. "Well then. I guess I should get home and make sure everyone eats dinner. Bye, Sarada-chan."

"Bye," said Sarada, waving at Hinata's back.

As soon as Hinata was out of the area, Sarada's face turned bright red. I really just... What did I just do? Her feelings had finally turned back to some resemblance of normal, and yet, they still weren't normal.

With a sigh, Sarada put a hand up to her head. Today was very... very... annoying. A hint of blush dusting her cheeks, Sarada returned to her house.