Happily Ever Afterward -- Borusara

Infiltration Mission (Part 4)

The ring of a spoon clinking against a glass silenced the entire room. Boruto and Sarada looked away from making idiotic faces at each other and turned their attention towards the feudal lord holding the cup.

"The hour draws near for the time you've been long awaiting!" The man seemed too antient to breathe, his sunken eyes peering over their bags to the crowd. "Representatives from each village, please prepare your waltzes. We will be starting with the Land of Lightning!"

Boruto met Sarada's surprised gaze. "So that's what this was about."

"Funny to think all these guys used to be at war with each other, and now they've turned their battles into a mediaeval dance competition."

Sarada fiddled with something under the outer layer of her dress skirt.

"What are you doing?"

"If I could just undo the pins... Got it!"

As she said the words, the white underlayer of her dress lost some of its volume and fell to the ground, giving her a floor-length gown rather than a highly maneuverable party dress. The red still accented her frame down to her waistline and swooped into the white in neat little cloud shaped U's, but her black gloves didn't particularly match the rest of the fit.

Boruto on the other hand was astounded that her dress had a trick to it. "How'd you do that?"

"Oh, I just released the pins. The reason it took so long to change into this wasn't because it was hard to put on... I just wanted something I could fight in, so they pinned it. Just in case. But they insisted it be floor length for dancing."

He laughed. "You know I'd protect you if there was something we had to fight."

"Me and the entire venue of guests?"

"No. Just you."

"See, this is why I had it pinned," she said with a sarcastic eyeroll. Then she peeled off her black gloves.

Boruto didn't get to see her arms very often. They were usually hidden by her dark purple arm sleeves. A quick image of her bruised arm flashed into his mind, but he shook it off. While she busied herself with tucking one glove into each of his suit jacket pockets, he busied himself with searching for freckles to tease her about later.

After finding nothing but smooth porcelain skin, he grew dazed and began to wonder if the constant coverage from the sun was what made her arms so perfect. Instead of touching them like he wanted to, he stood still as a statue, letting her adjust his tie.

"You know, you really should keep an eye on your appearance." Her fingers tucked under the collar of his suit jacket and smoothed down the edges, running down the lapels until she made it to the button at the end. Her hands trailed away, leaving a trail of electricity in their wake.

"That's what you're there for," he barely managed to say, silently begging her to stop teasing him when she looked as pretty as she did. "But it's unfortunate, I don't have a single thing to nitpick back."

She smirked up at him. "Maybe I'm just too perfect for words."

Blush crept up his neck at the mention of the embarrassing compliment he whispered to her in the carriage. "Let's just watch the other people dance like idiots so we can show them up when our name is called."

They neared the edge of the crowd together, Sarada loosely wound around his dangling arm. "Hmm... They're not bad..."

It seemed as though the two participants from the Land of Lightning had practiced. But unlike the flowing melody, their movements were stiff and rigid.