Pre-Battle Confessions

Unrest

Boruto's legs carried him until he was standing on her balcony where he had started. If she wasn't in her room, she was at the training grounds. He looked down at the wooden planks under his feet as the breeze gently blew his bangs to the side.

He heaved a deep breath, clenched his fist, and knocked on her window. "Sarada. Are you there?"

There was no response, but he could feel it. She was in her room. How he knew, he wasn't sure. He just... knew.

"I need to ask you something. It's important."

There was still no response.

"As long as you're listening... That's good enough... Sumire just told me... something." He couldn't reveal the details of their conversation or it would ruin their plan. "And I was wondering if it had anything to do with why you were crying... If it doesn't, that's ok. But I just... I just wanted to know if you... well..."

His face started to heat up. Why was it so embarrassing to ask?

Aside from slight surprise at Sumire's confession, his insides didn't feel like they were burning like they were now. Certain that his face was red, he drifted his gaze to his shoes. He couldn't say it.

"Why are you here?"

Sarada's voice. Clearly still crying but trying to pretend like she wasn't.

He lifted his eyes to the curtain that blocked his view of her. His fingers curled into his palm.

"I'm here because... I have a feeling you'd be too stubborn to tell me otherwise." His heart was pounding against his chest, but he ignored it and stared straight at the curtain. "Sumire told me something I found hard to believe. And I wanted to confirm it. Do you..."

"Shouldn't you be more worried about what she told you?" Now her voice was angered, her accusatory footsteps getting close to the window. "Don't tell me you just brushed her off and ran back here. She... She confessed to you, didn't she?"

This entire exchange was making him feel miserable. He heard a muffled, "shannaro" from the other side of the curtain. It sounded like a pained whimper. Something he wasn't supposed to hear. And it compelled him to find out the truth.

His hand pressed up against the glass door that separated them. "She told me she liked me. But she also told me she wasn't the only one."

There was nothing but silence on the other side. 

"And I need to know before I answer her," he said, gaze narrowing as the blush dissipated from his face.

"...Why do you care?"

His palm curled into a fist. "Because..."

"You shouldn't be here, idiot."

He pressed the top of his head against the glass, flattening his bangs against it. "I'm here because I want to know. I need to know. The need to know is practically killing me and if you don't tell me I'll be too distracted to fight. That's why." He bit his lip. What was he even saying?

The unsettling feeling in his chest wouldn't go away. She would still be his teammate, and would likely continue to be his friend. Heck, he didn't even need to accept or reject Sumire's confession. Now that he was in on the plan, he was going to protect them both. He wouldn't let anything happen to either of them.

Sarada's voice snapped him back into reality. "What would you do if I told you?"

His heart skipped a beat. Her voice was so small and soft. But when he thought about the answer... He wasn't sure what he would do. Especially if she said it wasn't true.