Gambler of Feelings

Chapter Twenty Nine

With Konoha's Gaming Tournament approaching soon, everyone in the club was doing their best during the team practice. Even her mama was more at ease about letting her join the tournament itself and promised to cheer their team on. After the events of that fateful letter reading session, the relationship between them improved a lot.

On a bittersweet note, it was hard to stay strong thinking about Shikadai moving out to Suna when this year ends. Sarada grew attached to the entire group and considered them friends. It was hard thinking what would happen after Shikadai moves out. She wouldn't dare to imagine how painful it was for Chō-Chō or Boruto, who knew him much longer than her.

Speaking of departures, Sumire also planned to study abroad. That news hurt Sarada less, since unlike in Shikadai's case, they still had an entire year to spend time together. Besides, Sarada was happy for her. They both shared a love for travelling, so she was sure Sumire would be happy to share her experiences with her whether she'd end up studying abroad in Suna or somewhere else.

Obviously, friends that were leaving didn't mean everyone would. Mitsuki intended to stay here in Konoha and even planned to attend Konoha University. Only her, Chō-Chō and Boruto didn't share their future goals.

Maybe that was why Boruto asked her for a date after the tournament? He might have figured out she was sensitive to change. The thought of reading too much into his intentions passed through her mind, too.

However, there was one person she needed to check up on the most right now. She arrived early to the clubroom to bump into Chō-Chō. Her best friend was taking the practice for the tournament, the most serious amongst them. Sarada had several ideas in her head about what caused this change.

Soon enough, Sarada's ambush on Chō-Chō was successful. "I knew you'd be here at this hour."

The risk of waiting so early for Chō-Chō to enter their club room paid off when she saw how surprised she was. "Sarada, why are you here?"

"I was waiting for you," Sarada said, trying to conceal her concern. She might have been better at expressing emotions, but that didn't mean her old bad habits had completely died out. It was a work in progress kind of deal. "How are you faring lately? You've been acting weird since Shikadai told us he'll move out to Suna soon."

Chō-Chō averted her gaze. "What do you mean? I'm acting like I always do!"

"No, you're not." The reasoning Chō-Chō acted as she usually did was weak. Sarada knew her for years. She saw through this sheer display of fake confidence many times already and knew the person underneath it.

Chō-Chō let out a sigh. "Fine, I give in only because you're stubborn. I feel like I'm left behind by everyone."

"I'm not a stranger to that feeling either. Was it caused because of information about Shikadai's departure by any chance?" Pondering on the issue longer than necessary was something past Sarada would do. This time she'd try to help without overthinking it too much.

"Huh, am I that blatantly obvious?" Chō-Chō asked.

She was practically waving a neon flag showcasing that she feels down. "Yes. So spill the tea."

"Shikadai moving to Suna was like a wake-up call for me to pick my shit together. I'm not sure I like it." Uncertainty about the future was something everyone struggled with in life to a certain degree. There were people who knew what they wanted from the get-go, but those types of people were very rare. Sarada felt relieved it wasn't something worse Chō-Chō struggled with.

Now the only thing Sarada could come up with was asking more questions and slowly conveying to Chō-Chō everything would be fine to the best of her abilities. "I see. No wonder you're so mopey lately. You didn't figure out what to do after we graduate high school. Is that correct?"