Same day, a few hours earlier:
"So, do you like him?" Mitsuki's words are still buzzing through her mind. Again and again Sarada has to think about her conversation with Mitsuki from this morning. It all started with Boruto's visit in the Science Institute's infirmary when he showed them his new scar and Sarada examined Boruto.
She can still remember his annoyed statement: "Take your hands off!"
As if she made him uncomfortable. His reaction to her touch, still hurts, and Sarada wonders if he would have made the same comment if it had been Mitsuki or even Sumire.
Gradually, Sarada begins to realize more and more that her relationship with Boruto is slowly changing and she is no longer the friend closest to him as she was in their childhood days.
"Sarada! You have to be more careful!", she hears Mitsuki admonish her...
Sarada is snapped out of her thoughts: "What?! Oh..."
Too late.... The damage is irreparable and she looks at the grilled fish in front of her with a crispy skin. She had imagined it differently, actually the purpose of the exercise was to heal and revive the fish. Now it lies in front of them , fragrant. She would be suitable as a cook, but as a Medic Nin she once again failed terrifically.
Mitsuki lies grinning on the floor in front of her with his head propped up in his arms.
"Is there grilled fish again today?" he scoffs.
Sarada just sighs in frustration and gestures him something to eat. Actually, she should make some progress with this exercise, but chakra control for healing skills is not really her area of interest and she will never be as good as her mother. But without a better chakra control, learning new jutsus is pointless and whether she will ever reach her 3rd Tomoe is also questionable, not to mention her Mangekyō Sharingan. Dad tells her so little about her family's dojutsu and it's the reason why she knows so little about herself and her father at all.
"Are you thinking about him again?" She hears Mitsuki ask. By him he means Boruto.
Sarada ponders his question, and she realizes that lying in front of Mitsuki doesn't do any good.
She nods in response to Mitsuki's question.
"So you are liking him after all...", Mitsuki's eyes look at her in shock and does she hear jealousy in his voice?
"But not the way, that you think... Not the way Sumire does and maybe you do, too..." Sarada looks at Mitsuki scrutinizingly. His eyes take on that shine again, like they always did when they talked about Boruto. Mitsuki's cheeks seem to turn slightly red. He seems shy to Sarada, a fact that is new to her. Otherwise he always seems very intrepid and says his opinion bluntly.
"People's feelings are new to me and I can't give an exact answer..." he tells her honestly.
Mitsuki's reaction is enough for Sarada's answer. "I'm just terribly worried about him. Ever since we were little, we grew up together like siblings. I fear for Boruto's constant change. The thing about the Karma Mark and Boruto's second personality that we saw after Boro's fight...", when mentioning the Karma Mark she thinks about the conversation with her father about having to kill Boruto in case of danger and also about a second person, which it would also affect him, if the same transformation happened. Sarada fervently hopes that such a change will not affect him too.
"There's something else..." Mitsuki says knowingly and looks at her seriously.
"There's nothing else..." Sarada tries to avoid Mitsuki's comment.
Mitsuki shakes his head and takes one of his kunai's and shows Sarada her reflection. She finds that her 2nd tomoe is clearly visible. Frustrated with herself and with her weaknesses, she decides to entrust something to Mitsuki...
" Shanaroo..." she says nervously, a habit she picked up from her mother. But it's no use... "It's Kawaki..." she tells him.
Mitsuki looks at her in surprise, "Do you like Kawaki?"
Sarada hates Mitsuki for constantly asking blunt questions and having to play this question and answer game.
Sarada realizes that it bothers her, but at least it would put an end to Mitsuki's remarks about Boruto once and for all.
" I'm not sure. All I know is, that I worry about him as much as I do about Boruto. With Boruto, I know that it has something to do with our common childhood . With Kawaki, I'm not exactly sure what the reason behind it is. It's strange, actually we don't really know each other that well and yet it's like that..." she says thoughtfully and tugs at a blade of grass lost in thought.
" That's not true, Sarada!", Mitsuki answers and grins, " you have the best connection to him of all of us, next to the 7th Hokage...
Think about the conversation between you and him when he had his breakdown when Boruto's father was captured by Jigen and Boro. In the end, only you were able to calm him down", the other person recognizes. Mitsuki manages to utter things she is unable to and is always amazed at Mitsuki's ability. Although he is an artificial human, he understands other people's feelings much better than some real humans.
Through her realization she notices how warm her cheeks are getting. Is she turning red??? Please don't!!! she thinks. She doesn't have to judge an answer from Mitsuki based on his growing smile.
"It's so frustrating. One moment I think he has his nice and friendly sides and the next moment he's just an idiot , attacking me and forcing me to fight him..." she says emotionally.
Mitsuki knows that she is hinting at the failed sparring between her and Kawaki which Boruto had to intervene in.
"He wanted to test you, Sarada. I and Boruto realized that. Only you still take it personally. Your parents train you the same way, too, and you don't blame them. Maybe Kawaki is just worried and wants, that you become stronger..."
Mitsuki sits down to Sarada: "I also fought against him and he attacked me as well."
"You agreed to that," she replies to her friend and teammate, "I never wanted to fight him..."
" Why not? It was just sparring after all," Mitsuki asks her in astonishment.
Sarada cannot put her hesitation into words. She has never had a problem fighting Boruto or Mitsuki.
It's different with Kawaki. Since the first day she walked through Konoha with Naruto and Kawaki and she saw his collapse in Ino's flower shop, she vowed never to attack or mistreat him. She felt at that moment that something was wrong with him. If it hadn't been for the 7th, she would have hugged him and said everything was fine. But thankfully Naruto had been there for him at that moment, which seemed more appropriate at that moment.
Also, when he told her about his childhood with Jigen during sparring, it tore her heart.
Mitsuki finds herself hesitating. "Let's go to Boruto's family," he suggests, "the news about Boruto will also interest him and concern him as well.
Sarada starts sweating at Mitsuki's suggestion, "wait! I don't know if that's a good thing..."
Mitsuki grins at her suspiciously, "Why? I like the idea and you can talk about your failed sparring a few days ago."
Damned! He suspects something, she thinks. Frustrated, she sighs, "You're not going to be dissuaded," and finally follows him.
Meanwhile at the Science Institute:
Shikamaru, Naruto, Sasuke, Boruto and Kawaki talk about the upcoming problems and events in a short time. Shikamaru also explained the incident involving Code, Amado, and Eida.
Meanwhile, Delta stands impassively nearby. She clings to her hope of seeing Eida again soon. She must come back. Because she said to her that she would love her. It has to be like that. Right? Delta thinks.
Kawaki stares at Boruto in horror: "So you were able to survive my attack?" Kawaki suspects that something is wrong with Boruto and something is dormant deep inside him, "How?"
Boruto looks at his Karma Mark and begins to explain, "I can't really explain where I was, but I thought I was dreaming that Momoshiki appeared to me and he put the rest of his compression data into my heal. After that I woke up in my father's arms."
Kawaki reacts alarmed and his Sukunahikona activates, 3 triangles light up dangerously in his eye, "You trust that asshole from Otsutki? That smells like a trap!" he yells at Boruto.
" Are you crazy? Momoshiki can't come back anymore. Even Mr. Amado confirmed this when he examined me." Boruto reacts angrily to Kawaki's reaction, " I can handle the new power in me!"
"You believe this asshole ? Have you forgotten that he is partly responsible for what was done to me?"
The adults watch the two fighting brats. It seems hopeless.
"It's enough for you two!" Naruto intervenes, "Shikamaru and I saw what happened. Kawaki, we talked about your action during and after the incident. Boruto is still my son and it is my job to decide his fate. And you Boruto, how could you think that getting into a fight with code was a good idea? This also applies to you, Kawaki!"
Boruto's father scratches his blond head of hair tiredly, "Give me a break!"
A knock on the door can be heard...
"Come in!" Shikamaru calls, visibly annoyed by the situation but also relieved that everything has gone well so far and they all have a moment to think about it.
In the doorway, a visibly worried Sumire stands with her familiar ghost, Nue, on her shoulder. Boruto's former class president and now a novice at the Science Institute and assistant to Amado.
"Class Rep!" Boruto's mood immediately brightens after the argument with Kawaki. The worried young girl approaches him and gently touches his right cheek with her hand, "Boruto-kun, are you alright?"
Boruto blushes at this reaction and didn't expect Sumire's concern.
Naruto and Shikamaru smile at the young couple. Yes, yes the good old days...
"Boruto, maybe you should get your class rep to safety and inform her of the danger," Naruto says to his son.
The others watch as Boruto escorts Sumire outside.
Both walk shyly down the aisle and nobody really knows what to say.
" I have not seen you for a long time. I'm sorry that I see you so seldom. But you know, the missions and then all the things that happened lately", Boruto shyly begins a conversation to break the awkward silence and scratches the back of his head in embarrassment.
"You don't have to apologize Boruto-kun. Forgive me if I just took you by surprise in front of the others. But when Kawaki told me what happened between you guys, I got so scared for you..." Sumire says with tears in her eyes.
" Sumire..." Boruto looks at her in surprise. Never before has a girl cared for him so much, except for Sarada.
But Sarada is more like a big sister for him, who sometimes really annoys him with her clucking and decisive nature. Sumire is much more like her in that way, never loud, always friendly, sometimes shy.
He wishes Sumire had seen his scar this morning and not Sarada. Sarada was too bold again, even Mitsuki could never have made it so uncomfortable with this touch. He sighs in frustration.
"What is it?" Sumire looks at him worriedly, both of them slowly reach the visitor's room. There is no human there after the Code incidents happened. All employees have been sent to their families for safety.
"Oh, I was just thinking about this morning when Sarada and Mitsuki were visiting and Sarada was a bit annoying and rude with her manner. She absolutely had to examine my scar too closely..." he turns to the side so that Sumire doesn't see his frustrated face .
Sumire chuckles at his remark, how cute it sounds, he thinks.
"She's just worried about you. You know, I'd be happy if someone would do it for me. Sometimes I feel like only Nue cares about me..." she says sadly, holding her hands in her lap.
"That's not true, class representative!" Boruto says indignantly, "there are your old friends who often ask about you. Your old team 15, all the staff of the institute like you...
And I'm worried about your safety and I'm glad you're here." He says the last sentence quietly, more to himself.
Sumire blushes at his admission, "oh Boruto-kun..." and looks into his eyes . How beautifully sky-blue they are, some days the sun shines in them. She slowly approaches him.
Boruto realizes this and gets nervous about it. He can see every single facet of her violet eyes. What if he were brave enough to kiss her here?
But the courage leaves him, he has the feeling that it is going too fast.
"Shall I show you something?" he asks her to hide his insecurities.
Sumire stops and looks at him in surprise as he pushes up his shirt.
At first her face becomes like that of a tomato, she has never seen a boy's naked torso, and it's also that of her crush.
But then she sees the ominous, huge scar across Boruto's torso. Strange marks stretch across his chest, which is slightly bluish in color.
" Oh my God! I knew what was done to you, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. Does it hurt?" she cries out, startled.
" What! It's all good with me!" Boruto says proudly.
"May I touch it?" Sumire asks shyly but also curiously.
At her question Boruto gets red cheeks this time, "yes, you may..."
Sumire gently strokes his scar with her index finger. Much more carefully and gently than Sarada did. He notices how she is becoming increasingly shy.
To break the emerging silence, he starts a new conversation:
"The good thing is, the Otsutki trial has been stopped according to Mr. Amado's investigative report..."
Sumire looks at him alarmingly, "Don't trust him. Be careful!" Sumire interrupts, startled. "He seems to be using you and Kawaki for his own interests."
"Don't worry, class rep! Amado-san even helped me to stop the process so I had time to work out a plan with Kawaki to get rid of Momoshiki... Sumire, he's gone..." and he feels free like he hasn't in a long time .
His girlfriend shakes her head alarmingly, "No, you have to get out of here! You don't know what he's capable of. He was the one who gave Kawaki his Karma Mark back..."
Boruto looks at Sumire in dismay, "What? I thought he resurrected it on his own?"
Dismayed, she takes his hand, "You have to get out of here. I suspect, something bad will happen! I'll explain everything to you while I get you to safety...."
At the end of the conversation, two young teenagers escape from the institute. A storm is brewing...
For the others in the lab:
"So Code took Amado against his will?" Naruto asks Shikamaru.
Naruto's friend nods thoughtfully, "Who knows if he's still alive. Code has injured badly him and his companion Eida gives no hope that he will survive the whole thing."
" This sneaky pig will survive. He's always managed to find a way out and manipulate the people around him until now..." Kawaki comments darkly. He looks towards the door where Boruto and Sumire just left.
" What will we do next? Code is a massive threat to Konoha and he will find a way and come back," Naruto says thoughtfully.
"The claw marks in the lab have been closed by Kawaki. He won't be able to use them anymore", Shikamaru thinks about the upcoming events. The newly released cyborg Eida is an intimidating personality, yet she has traits that would be beneficial to Konoha. All it takes is Kawaki. Shikamaru never thought that this brat would be useful for Konoha.
"There are still some outside of Konoha near where Boruto and Kawaki have fought. Jonin on duty are currently guarding these marks. While I gathering information about our opponent. He doesn't seem intelligent to me," Sasuke replies.
"He's an idiot, don't let that fool you. He makes up for his stupidity with his absurd strength and dangerousness." Kawaki looks over at Naruto worriedly,
"I'll go to the claw mark to be on the safe side and give him a nasty surprise." Kawaki is already on the go, "I have to protect Konoha..."
"Wait! Before you go . There is something else that needs to be discussed with you!" Shikamaru calls after Kawaki.
"What?" Naruto's foster son seems impatient.
"I offered a deal to Eida. Her skills are invaluable to Konoha. In return, she wants to be with you. She seems to like you..."
Kawaki, Naruto and Sasuke look at Shikamaru in disbelief.
"Forget it!", the boy replies angrily, "I won't let myself be bartered!" The situation comes to a head.
"Shikamaru, you can't be serious!" Naruto says, shocked and angry, "I made it clear to you that Kawaki is under my care!"
Shikamaru shakes his head and desperation is audible in his voice, "Naruto, if I knew another way. I would choose it. But our home is at stake and our families are not safe from Code.
We need every ally we can rally to our side, and Eida would be a strong one, plus another hidden cyborg stronger than Kawaki..."
Kawaki looks angry and disappointed at Shikamaru. Again and again people just want to use him. He just wants to be free and make his own decisions.
He would only allow one person to influence him with advice if the situation required it. She always keeps a cool head and is only interested in him as a friend. But she's not here...
"I'm going..." he says threateningly to Shikamaru and shrinks himself. He just wants to get away from here...