Chapter Text
Sarada had always loved the rain.
The sounds it made as it dripped onto the hard pavement, the way the sky would darken as the clouds engulfed the sky, the way the drops welcomed her with open arms as they drenched her solitary existence to a whole. The way no one was ever outside at the same time as her, allowing her to be as free as she wanted to. She could scream whatever she wanted, kick and splash as many puddles as she could that unavoidably dirtied her outfit, and no one would ever know. No one would ever have to see the real her.
She would take off her glasses as she stared into the sky, closing her eyes as she let the rain consume her and her entire being. Sometimes she’d even cry, since no one would ever find out anyway. It barely even registered to her that she was freezing, and sure she’d get sick the very next day sometimes — but it was all worth it for that euphoric feeling. The rain was her solace, her escape from everything and everyone else.
Which is why she was incredibly surprised to see the silhouette of another body standing not too far from her. Only he didn’t seem even nearly as soothed as she was. He was shaking, trembling, palpitating as his body shivered in discomfort.
Well, of course it is, Sarada thought as she observed further. People don’t ever appreciate the rain.
Normally, she would’ve considered this a nuisance and walked somewhere else so she could continue to drench herself in silence…only she didn’t.
Something about his presence seemed awfully familiar to her, and being the perfectionist that she was, she couldn’t let it go without confirming her doubts. She stepped closer, her desire to quench her curiosity getting the better of her. His blond hair that spiked at the ends, the way his voice sounded as it grunted, the way he angrily kicked the puddles on the pavement — why did it make her want to cry?
He might have been crying, Sarada honestly couldn’t tell for sure. Or maybe he was just a scrawny teenage dipshit throwing a tantrum over some girl that dumped him. ( his figure was hardly scrawny though, she thought before immediately denying that the thought entered her head)
But no, Sarada got the idea that he was seriously tormented by something. Why was he outside in this weather? It clearly wasn’t to his liking. And why. Why did she swear she knew him somehow?
Concluding that whoever he was, he’d probably want to be left alone, she took a step backward intending to turn around and probably just go back inside for the day. Only, the normally prepared and calculated Sarada hadn’t accounted for the fallen branch that she’d just stepped on, illuminating a noticeable noise that he’d surely pick up on. Shit, she panicked.
Before she could take off sprinting, the back that she’d been staring at had his head turned in her direction. She gasped, not used to having other people see her in this unorganized, disheveled messy state she was in. However, she was even more surprised to see strikingly blue eyes staring back at her, and all the puzzle pieces jumbled up in her head finally fell into place.
They merely stood like that for a few solid seconds, before a clap of thunder startled Sarada, causing her to hug her chest as a way of recoiling.
She knew who that was. She could never forget those blue eyes. And by the looks of it, he hadn’t forgotten her dark onyx eyes.
As his eyes kept piercing into hers, Sarada’s breath halted in embarrassment, suddenly feeling a sense of nakedness to her. Sure, she wasn’t actually naked, but she was missing her usual polished attire that made up her identity. She had just thrown on a random hoodie and a pair of sweats before dashing outside, not expecting to have anyone look at her.
Sarada wasn’t sure what she should do — now that he’d seen her, would it be considered rude to leave? She almost didn’t want to, noticing that his face looked just as anguished as his body language had portrayed. This wasn’t like her. What was she still doing here?
Before letting her brain catch up to her actions, she reached into her messenger bag and whipped out an umbrella that she usually brought with her as a precautionary measure. You can never be too careful. Hesitantly, she slowly inched over to him, half expecting him to suddenly disappear in a flash.
Her mind still clouded with a mix of self-consciousness and curiosity, she held her hand with the umbrella out to him, too stunned to say a single word. A gust of wind swayed both of their hair as she waited for him to do something.
To her surprise, his hand reached for hers, reluctantly grabbing the umbrella from her, causing her gaze to dart back to his face.
She felt a sudden gush of deja vu fall upon her, her mind slowly but surely painting a picture of why she felt this way. Why her body had moved on its own and given him the umbrella.
It was because this was the second time.
Totally drenched, Sarada lounged back into her house, making sure to dry her hair with the towel she’d left on the hanger prior to leaving. Ensuring she didn’t track water or mud into the house, she slipped her rain boots off and went up to her room. With the click of a button, she started to blow dry her raven hair as she gazed into the mirror, recounting to herself mentally what had just happened.
Sky blue eyes bore into her dark pupils, a hint of sadness tainting them. Now holding her (still not open) umbrella, he didn’t dare move a muscle or say a single word. Sarada parted her lips to say something, but the words caught in her throat as she merely gulped before her body started to retreat.
Slowly, she inched backwards, more and more as his body still refused to move. She wondered if perhaps he was offended by her gesture, or simply too overwhelmed to react in any way. Either way, it didn’t matter because she turned around, quick on her heels as she sprinted away, not stopping until she made it back home.
A part of her regretted not staying longer, not waiting to see what he would eventually do — because they could only stand like that in the rain for so long before someone had to do something, right? But another part of her was also content with how things turned out, as missing out on a good interaction was always better than risking a bad one.
The ravenette put her hair dryer down, but her mind was still spiraling with thoughts that didn’t show any sign of ceasing. Frustrated, she plopped a pillow over her face and sprawled onto her mattress.
That was….Boruto, right?
But….this didn’t make any sense. Why on earth would Boruto be in Konohagakure? His figure had definitely matured since she’d last seen him four years ago, sixth grade, but she had no doubt that it was the same him. He had moved to Sunagakure back then, and she’d never seen him since.
Well, except for that one encounter.
She just couldn’t wrap her head around it. Had he moved back after all this time? Would she see him again? More importantly, why did she even care? As far as she was concerned, he was nothing but a nuisance back in elementary. A blond idiot that only knew how to laugh till he made her ears bleed and thwart any plans she had of succeeding academically. They never got along at all, and probably never would. That’s right. They could never be friends.
But earlier today, he looked…..
Sarada couldn’t finish that thought as slumber had decided to steal her away for the night. And a couple hours extra.
Dark onyx eyes fluttered open to the overstimulating light that was her room bulb, as she heard footsteps walking about downstairs. She felt unusually groggy, and her throat felt a bit tight as she sluggishly reached for her bedside table to grab her phone.
8:54 am.
Shit. Shit! She panically tossed her comforter to the side as she stood up, suddenly feeling a dizzy, nauseous sensation creeping up to her head. Oh, god. You’ve gotta be kidding me. Trampling over her feet, she dashed in the direction of the washroom before being stopped by her mother.
“ Sarada. ” She cautioned. “Turn around, please.”
Sarada knew what was coming, so she faked her best I’m-totally-fine-and-can-go-to-school face and turned around to meet her mother’s concerned eyes. Her gentle hand rested on the ravenette’s forehead, and she sighed in more worry.
“I knew it. You’ve got a fever, dear.”
“Wait mom I–”
“Uup!” Sakura hushed her. “Go back to bed young lady. You’re not going to school if you’re sick!”
“But I really–”
“No buts! I’ll make you some porridge and bring you some medicine.” She scratched her chin, her eyebrows furrowing in fret. “Awh, I’m so sorry, Sarada. You know how my job is…I- I can’t stay home….”
“Yeah yeah,” Sarada dismissed with a wave. “I get it. The hospital patients need you more. Really, it’s fine.”
Her mother placed a warm hand over Sarada’s head as she gently caressed it. “That doesn’t mean you’re any less important though, you know that, right?”
“Uh huh,” Sarada shrugged off, turning around to slump back into bed.
“I’ll try my best to come home early today though! And I’ll call Auntie Ino to check on you later!” Sakura exclaimed as she frantically gathered her things into her daily work bag.
“Mmph,” Sarada melted back into the bed, frustrated about missing another day of school. She couldn’t afford to have her attendance take a toll, why did she have to go ahead and get herself sick!?
And not to her surprise in the slightest, her mother couldn’t stay home with her again. It wasn’t a big deal anymore, really. She understood that her mother had more important things to do at her work. So did her father, hence why he was never at home anyway. And what did it matter? Sarada could manage just fine by herself. She always did.
She didn’t consider her isolated existence a burden, really.
To Sarada’s relief, she managed to make a quick and effective recovery within a day. She barely managed to escape the bad-immunity allegations from her mother though, given that this was her second fever this month. She made a mental note to be more careful from now on, not wanting to risk three fevers in a month. Now that would most certainly not fall under her mother’s radar.
Prepared to make a clean entrance back to school, she put on her well-ironed uniform as she neatly brushed out her raven hair, noticing that it was probably due for a trim pretty soon. Her gaze went over to her desk as she grabbed the badge that she proudly wore on her uniform.
Student Council President.
The sole proof that she was worthy, that she really was something. The badge that she fought so hard for, and would maintain for as long as she possibly could. She could never afford to let her crown slip even a little bit, and so she always remained as careful as possible. Cold, calculated, the icy princess of the school that no one would dare to cross. This was how things should be. After all, friendship would only be a distraction.
Her parents were high school sweethearts, both of them playing a part in the student council. Her father was the CEO of the most successful law firm in Konohagakure, while her mother ranked highly in all of her medical programs. As a result, Sarada took the mantle upon herself to make sure she did nothing to disgrace them. She wanted to be perfect. Spotless. The most flawless student you could ever meet.
Taking one last look at herself in the mirror, she grabbed her bag and headed out the door, eager to make it to school as quickly as possible.
The ravenette always opted to bike to school, ensuring that she got at least a bit of exercise each day. Her bike had been gifted to her by her father, bearing the Uchiha crest on the back of it as she rode into the sunrise. Upon arrival, she glanced at her analogue watch.
7:45. Not bad. She smirked to herself, taking pride in how early she arrived. As expected, today was off to a clean start, and nothing could ruin it.
Or so she thought, until she heard a handful of rowdy snickering coming from a hidden corner. She heard the pop of a lid come off, only to hear a shake and a continuous fizzing sound, which could only be spraying. Delinquents.
It looked like Student Council President Sarada was being put right to work the moment she arrived. Scoffing at the audacity, she sped to the corner intending to put a stop to the delinquent vandalists who clearly had no other sense of purpose in life to stoop so low.
“Hey! You guys are violating school rules! Stop what you’re doing immediately!” She scolded, her tone sharp and reprimanding.
“Ugh, I told you this was a bad idea, getting into trouble is such a pain…” a boy with a ponytail groaned, tugging at the perpetrator’s collar who was still using the spray paint. “Let’s bounce, dude.”
“Aw come on, it’s almost done!” The other boy countered, and Sarada’s heart dropped at the sound of his voice. No. No. This was a joke. A foolish attempt at comedy. A big, fat—
“Look Boruto, I know that you’re new to the school, but the girl in front of us is the Student Council President. She could actually get us into trouble.”
“Oh?” Boruto teased, before turning around to see the girl that his friend was talking about. “Oh.”
Oh!? That’s all he has to say!?
“ Oh is correct, Boruto. ” It had been so long since she said that name, but it still fell off her tongue just as easily as it used to. “Since you’re new, I’m willing to let this slide just once as I don’t really feel like ruining my morning either.” She stepped forward, glaring at him dead in the eye. “But you should know, this school doesn’t let delinquents like you off the hook easily, and neither do I.”
It wasn’t like Sarada to be this aggressive in a school setting, but something about the person that she was reprimanding seemed to throw her off balance, just as it did back in the day. It only frustrated her further.
“Hmm? Oh wow, a threat from the president on my first day here? I must be special,” he mocked, stopping the paint that was spilling from his can as he let his hands rest behind his head, elbows pointing upward. “Don’t you wanna try?”
“What did you just ask me!?” Sarada yelled, scoffing even further at the audacity. School hadn’t even started and he was already causing problems!?
“Oh sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed that your ears are fully functional, my bad,” he passed his paint can to his friend, immediately starting to move his hands in a way that Sarada didn’t understand.
“...What?” The ravenette deadpanned, wondering if this was his idea of a sick joke.
“Oh? The president doesn’t even know sign language? Damn, does that mean even I’m qualified for student council?” He snickered, clearly amused by everything that was going on.
Sarada was even more pissed at this. How dare he not only violate the school’s code of conduct, but now mock her for not knowing sign language!? There was no way she would let this slide.
“The school council isn’t something to laugh at! Not like a spoiled daddy’s boy like you would ever understand what it takes.” Boruto’s eyebrows furrowed as his sky blue eyes pierced into hers. Sarada had said that knowing that Boruto’s father was the head of their education district, clearly he hadn’t taught him any manners.
“Wow, they really elected a busy-body like you for president? Were there even any other candidates?” He scorned, bitterly laughing as he grabbed the paint can from his friend and started to shake it up. “And I really don’t get what the problem is, I mean, all I did was make a homage to ThunderBurger.” He pointed to his piece on the wall that read “ThunderBurger Rules” in different shades of blue and pink.
“I hope you know that you’ll be expected to stay after school to wipe this all off,” Sarada snided, putting her hands on her hips. She didn’t understand what his problem was.
“And if I don’t?” The blond raised an eyebrow, a calloused smirk emerging as his face inched closer to hers. Sarada was taken aback by their proximity, but she refused to back down.
“Then I’ll report you, and you’ll be suspended on your first day of school.” Sarada scowled back, her onyx eyes carrying her fury. Boruto merely cocked his head back in annoyance before sighing. “And I don’t think your dad would be happy to find out that his son is a delinquent,” she found herself saying before she could stop herself. This earned her another glare from Boruto.
“Whatever you say, president. ” He tossed the paint can into her hands as she barely managed to catch it, not failing to rub a little bit of leftover paint from his finger onto her cheek before leaving.
“Sorry for the trouble,” his friend uttered, putting his hands up in defeat. “Please don’t suspend him, we’ll be here to clean up after school.”
Sarada was honestly surprised to find that guy, Shikadai, hanging around a guy like Boruto. Shikadai always received high marks in class, and was even on her list of candidates to join student council, although he declined. She never understood guys like him — oozing with potential but not having a care in the world about it. She supposed she could just take his word for it.
“Good to hear,” was all that she said before turning around and walking away. It was a good thing she showed up early, as she had plenty of time to wash her face off in the girl’s washroom.
While rinsing off the paint on her face, she couldn’t help but grow even more frustrated by just thinking about what went down. Normally, she was a specialist in keeping a cool head and not letting dumb students get to her, but something about Boruto just made all that level-headedness go out the window. She didn’t know what it was about him, but something made her desperately want to wipe that cocky smirk off his face.
Just watch, Boruto. I’m not the same girl that put up with your dumb pranks back in elementary school.
Before heading to class, she decided to stop by the Student Council office to use the photocopier for some documents she needed. As she stood by the machine waiting for it to work, a pair of footsteps walked through the door.
“Oh, Good morning President,” the quiet voice greeted, walking towards the printer.
“Good morning, Sumire,” Sarada politely returned, not looking away from the machine. She noticed that her purple-haired friend looked a bit peppier than usual. “Did something good happen?”
Sumire immediately turned red, stammering in embarrassment. “O-oh, it was that obvious, huh?” She sighed in defeat. “W-well President,” she fumbled, “have you ever had a crush before?”
“W-what?” Sarada nearly lost her composure at being asked such an unexpected question, but calmed down just as quickly. “Of course not. Dating is only a distraction.”
“But….” Sumire averted her eyes away. “Having a crush on someone doesn’t mean you have to… date them necessarily…..” She blinked as her cheeks flushed again. “You see, this really nice boy helped me carry my papers today and I….” She buried her face into her hands with embarrassment.
“Ah.” Sarada nodded in understanding. “You like him.” Sumire’s voice merely muffled into her hands. As if on cue, the ravenette’s papers finally finished copying, and she grabbed the entire stack. “That’s nice, Sumire. Just make sure it doesn’t interfere with your school work or your council duties.”
“O-oh no! Of course not!” Sarada smirked at the sight of the usually timid Sumire suddenly filled with so much emotion.
“I’ll be heading out now, see you later,” she gave a quick wave before heading out the door. After all, she didn’t have time to lollygag with girl-talk when she had a class to attend.
Absent-mindedly, she opened the door to her classroom, only for her previously better mood to be tainted with disdain upon stepping inside.
Of course he’s in my class. Why am I even surprised?
Boruto was laughing obnoxiously with his friends without a care in the world, kicking his feet on top of the desk. His dopey grin, his carefree attitude, just the mere sight of it made Sarada’s blood boil.
Sarada was never one to pay too-close attention to other people’s uniforms — as long as it looked alright from a glance, it didn’t really matter to her. This however, didn’t stop her from going up to him about his, her body once again moving before her brain could retaliate like it always did when it came to him.
She walked up to his desk, a dirty look on her face. “Your tie isn’t on properly, and please take your feet off the desk.”
Boruto looked away from the convo he was listening to upon her opening her mouth. His eyes grew instantly annoyed. “Dude, why are you so obsessed with me? I mean really? My tie is a priority for you?”
Sarada flinched backward at his choice of words. Obsessed!? Her!? His audacity only continued to shock and irritate her.
“Jeez, how egotistical are you?” She scoffed. “I just want to make sure that idiot delinquents like you don’t drag our class down.”
“Oh?” He smirked, although it was hardly a happy one. “And just how do you think this idiot delinquent made it into this AP class?” He pointed to himself, then to the chalkboard, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh please,” Sarada rolled her eyes, “for you, that means nothing. All you need to do is beg your dad to let you into whatever class you want, nepotist baby. ”
That caused Boruto to take his feet off the table, as he suddenly directed all of his attention to her with an angry scowl. “Oi, watch it. ” He sneered. “And just what did I ever do to you, anyway!?”
“You’re seriously asking me that!?” The ravenette slammed her hand onto the desk. “You’re a troublemaker, and troublemakers need to be punished!”
“Woah, woah,” a girl with a mouthful of potato chips tried to butt in. “Maybe you guys shouldn’t fight?” That merely earned a death glare from Sarada, prompting the girl to butt out.
“Oh wow. That’s how the president treats their peers? I bet you don’t have any friends, do you?” the blond huffed, leaning back into his chair.
“Yeah? Well I’d rather have no friends than have to deal with people like you ,” Sarada got one last jab in before she headed to her seat, which was thankfully more towards the front of the classroom.
“Bro, what was that all about?” One of the boys asked Boruto. “What got the prez so pissed off at you?”
“Hell if I know.”
Seething at the opposite end of the classroom, Sarada overheard what he said. She didn’t know how, or why, but this blond idiot somehow managed to rile up every bone in her body without even trying! She thought back to what had happened two days ago, when she stupidly gave him her umbrella.
Tch. No way in hell a guy like that would ever end up crying in the rain.