𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝙱𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚜! : 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚃𝚠𝚘

The spring breeze always felt too fresh, it gave his nostrils a little sting that he never got used to.

Walking through the streets of the Hidden Leaf, the Uzumaki couldn't help but walk aimlessly about. At some point in found himself before 'The Blacksmith' only to read the sign 'CLOSED INDEFINETLY' hung up and written in bold letters. That aging unmarried woman must have been taken the day off to treat herself. Not that Tenten's shop gathered that many customers to begin with.

Stopping by his favorite burger joint wasn't an option. The idea of having a juicy beef burger and extra peppers was making his tummy do flips in disapproval. Anxiety usual does that to him.

Sighing at his disposition, the blond had no choice but to head to the dreadful Academy he had been running away from that morning. If he was lucky, he might even catch the last remaining minutes of the Opening Ceremony.

As he arrived at the train station, Boruto couldn't hope for worse weather as he hopped onto the top of a moving train that headed towards The Academy. Judging by the position of the sun, he knew that he was more than late for his first day of senior year. Not that he cared as much, all he felt like doing was giving up.

The other kids were better suited to the Ninja way than he was, he wasn't a lazy fool, he was just a coward. Skipping school would have been easy but the prospect of being bombarded with a myriad of questions regarding his whereabouts as the Hokage's son was worse. Any excuse he could think of was going to be half-baked therefore he didn't have a solid alibi that presented evidence.

Boruto sighed and looked down at the train's roof. He placed his hand on it before chuckling to himself. This excuse of his was going to be the worst one yet.

As the train entered the tunnel, the boy grinned nervously at the idea of how much trouble he was about to get himself into.

In the meanwhile, the Seventh Hokage could feel the sun's full terror come down on his forehead the longer he stood on the podium. However, that didn't compare to the eager eyes of the Academy's students weighing on him.

"To be the future leaders of tomorrow in this new age of peace means believing in not only yourself but the others around you too. Continue to grow with the Will of Fire within and become the greatest you can ever be."

With a smile at the end of his speech he was meant with loud applause. As nervously chuckled and raised his hand in dismissal making all the youngsters scuffle with excitement towards their classes.

Shikamaru approached with an approving nod.

"How long do you think it will take those kids to realize that you've been recycling the same speech," he grinned nervously.

"Well, what they don't know won't hurt them, besides you always make sure to add a bit of spice in it each and every time."

The pair laughed it off as Sarada made her silent but deadly approach behind Naruto. Upon sensing the girl's wide-eyed stare burning through the back of his head, the yellow head turned to give her the attention she was craving.

"Ahhh Sarada, glad to see you've grown well in the past few years," The Seventh Hokage said with a smile as he patted down her black hair.

Sarada was practically beaming.

"Well, that's the only way I'm going to become as great as you."

Naruto gave her a heartly chuckle. "The more I look at you, the more you look and sound like your father."

Sarada's face flushed for a moment before her smile completely dropped for a moment. Being compared to someone she's never seen takes a huge blow to her ego, even when the praise is good.

Before Naruto could even muster a reasonable statement to cheer her up, the Uchiha snaps out of her momentarily trance to give him a big smile.

"I guess it means I have bigger shoes to fit," she said all fired up.

Naruto raised his eyebrows before letting out an internal sigh of relief.

"Well if you need anything Sarada, you can just come to me. As your friend, there's no way I'd let you down."

"Really?"

The thought of being able to talk to her idol really warmed up her heart. He was telling her that she could confide in him, maybe that way she could find favor in his eyes and be his understudy.

Sarada jumped and fist pumped the air in excitement before regaining her composure and bowing towards him.

"Thank you so much sir!"

Naruto gave her a pleasant hum in response before looking down to give her one more pat.

It was at that moment he noticed a large rectangular shadow getting darker and darker upon the podium. As his eyes shot up, he felt every single cell in his body lose life.

Sarada, confused as to why the Seventh Hokage looked so ill, looked up as well before her face went from shocked, to enraged and then settling on disappointment. This had to be the worst misdemeanor she had witnessed yet. In fact, this had to be a crime in itself at this point.

There was Boruto and a train trailer that he had just unrailed from its tracks, falling from the air and hoping to land on the podium on its side.

As the students and the instructors screamed for safety, Sarada's only thought in her mind was finding a way to make sure that wild card of a boy doesn't interact with her for the rest of the school year, permanently.