Childhood

Growing Up and Apart

As a ten-year-old, Sarada came to realize something. Naruto asked her how Boruto was doing because as Hokage, he was too busy to go home every day. And Boruto was pulling pranks because he wanted his father's attention.

It wasn't her place to stick her nose in, especially since she was doing her best not to get involved with the infamous village prankster... But now that she understood the reason why, she almost felt bad for him.

Her tutoring was going well, but her tutor despised Boruto and everything he stood for. She told Sarada stories of Boruto's pranks, dating all the way back to when he was five years old. She was the daughter of the old woman who's cat was scared more than a handful of times by Boruto. Her tutor told her that if she wanted to be a decent person in the eyes of the village, she shouldn't associate herself with him.

It wasn't just her tutor that was convincing her that Boruto wasn't worth hanging around; it was Cho-Cho as well. Cho-Cho teased her for liking him at first, but the moment she hardened herself and denied everything, her best friend turned haughty and egotistical around him, making sure Boruto knew he wasn't welcomed in their friend group.

Even when Sarada ran into him on her walks, Boruto tried to convince her to ditch lessons, saying they were going to learn all of that stuff in the academy anyway. When she refused, he called her a bookworm and sulked away.

Cho-Cho didn't do any of that stuff. She was respectful and understanding and easy to get along with... And so, Sarada decided to hang out with Cho-Cho instead. Even Inojin ditched the group, saying he would only hang out with Shikadai if Boruto wasn't there.

Despite the distance that was growing between them, Sarada still appreciated Boruto's good points. Although now a days, they almost never surfaced.

As time went on, Boruto stopped talking to Sarada. It wasn't like they had much in common besides training anyway, and now that Sarada had a private tutor, her time was being taken up by her studies. She was too tired to do much outside of that.

Their parents would get together on birthdays and for other events, but Boruto never acted like he used to. Engrossed in videogames, he complained about Sarada being too good at throwing shuriken to practice with. When she suggested sparring, he yawned and said it sounded like a drag. Too much like a certain best friend he always hung out with.

Their relationship became one of calling each other names and bickering whenever they came into contact. She was just trying to get him to grow up a little and realize the trouble he was causing for the townspeople. And he was just being childish.

But the older Sarada became, the more she understood Boruto's actions. He had a reason for everything he did. He was getting good enough to pull off a prank against a jonin every now and then. It was like training for him... But the only time he caught the attention of his father was when he caused a large amount of trouble.

After lessons, she went on her usual walks through the village. Every once in a while, she wouldn't scold him for a prank, and instead, she watched to see if it would actually succeed.

She wished there was a better way he could go about getting attention, but it didn't seem like there was anything more he could do. And when Sarada finally lost it and yelled at him, he yelled back.

"You. All you ever do is go around and pull childish pranks when you're board. I know you're trying to get the seventh's attention and all, but can't you do it some other way? He's right there. Just go talk to him and stop causing him trouble... It's not like your dad is gone! Grow up for once, stupid Boruto."

"You don't understand anything," he spat, hands clenched in fists. "He doesn't come home... He doesn't even come home for dinner! He's right there. Your dad is on some cool mission, out saving the world. But my dad is five minutes away! Five minutes! And he'd rather eat some cruddy cup noodles than mom's homecooked food... He'd rather sleep on the floor of that cruddy office than in his bed!"