"Okay, shut up." Sarada muttered to her friend. "This sucks. I really wish ChoCho was here. She would be a much better companion in this weird situation, Boruto." She complained to the blonde. 

"Hey." Boruto pouted. "It's not my fault you don't like the things I like doing." 

"Yeah, like pranking people is going to get you a career." Sarada rolled her eyes. "Besides, don't you get tired of getting in trouble?" She recalled the Nanadaime-sama's face when his hair was dyed a mint green color. And Papa's face when Boruto put his kusanagi in the fire. And Younger Naruto's face when his ramen was filled with-- (you don't want to know...)

"Come ON. Pranks are fun. Training, fun. Work? Not so fun. You clearly don't know how to have fun." Boruto told Sarada, standing up on the tree branch and balancing on it, then starting to walk on it, arms waving frantically. 

"I know how to have fun." Sarada frowned. "I just don't see the point of it. Why have fun when you could be doing something more productive?"

"Fun is productive. It keeps you sane." Boruto said, doing a handstand, his fingers gripping the bark tightly. "Even if it gets you in trouble sometimes, you enjoy it." 

Sarada scowled at him. "The problem is, it gets you and everyone in on it in trouble every time." 

The blonde boy shrugged, putting his hands behind his head, grinning that closed-eyed smile that infuriated Sarada a lot. "I guess that's just one of the side effects. Tell you what, you come with me on a prank run, and I'll quit bugging you for a whole day." 

"Like a day is going to be enough." Sarada bit her lip. "But I guess it would be better than nothing." Boruto extended his hand, and Sarada shook it hesitantly. She was well aware that she would regret this decision. "Who are we pranking first?"

Boruto's hands dropped to his sides. "Oh, this one is more of a spy mission. You with me?" 

Sarada's eyes narrowed. Already regretting it. "Who are we spying on? Tell me, and I'll see. If I don't like it, than I'm going back on this, and we'll just go for a prank run."

Boruto's blue eyes twinkled mischievously. "I think you'll like who our first victims are." He pointed behind her, further into the woods, and she looked back, following his finger. There, walking by the river, were Itachi and Izumi, seeming to be talking. Itachi had a smile on his face. Sarada raised her eyebrows at her Time Travel companion, and he just shrugged. "What? I've wanted to figure out what's going on between them for a long time."

Sarada laughed breathlessly. "Me too. So are we playing matchmaker, or just watching?" 

"Whoa, you agreed quicker than i thought." Boruto's eyes widened. "Anyway, I don't know yet. I was thinking we could just follow them, see what they do while we have time." 

Older Sasuke, Older Naruto, Older Hinata, Tsunade, Shizune, Older Sakura and basically everyone else were going back to Orochimaru's place to see if they could find a cure for Itachi's condition. Only Itachi and Izumi were staying behind, Izumi volunteered to take care of Boruto and Sarada, who weren't allowed to go this time and couldn't stay by themselves, and also because Izumi was still very weak from being in a container for, like, ten years. Itachi stayed behind because he wasn't in much better condition, and also because Older Sasuke said that Izumi couldn't stay by herself. 

Plus, Sarada suspected that there was some matchmaking going on, because before Sasuke announced that Itachi would be staying too, Older Hinata and Older Sakura pulled Older Sasuke aside, and they all talked, the two ladies giggling and Sasuke smiling a little. 

So, Itachi and Izumi were going to be babysitting Boruto and Sarada for awhile, a day at least. Before Sarada had gone outside, declaring she needed to think, Izumi had said she needed fresh air, and Itachi, being the gentlemen he was, offered to join her. Sarada internally squealed, exchanging knowing glances with Boruto. 

"Sarada?" Boruto pulled Sarada out of her fangirl thoughts. "Are we going, or do you want to lose them?" 

Sarada shook her head violently. "Oh no." A devilish smirk entered her gaze. "I wanna see everything. Then we can use this as blackmail, Boruto, how genius is this?!" She exclaimed, face brightening. Boruto seemed stunned, a little, confusing Sarada. He shook himself out of it and nodded. 

"I know, that's what i was thinking too." Boruto flashed a smile. "Wanna go? I see a tree just over them that we can listen from. They're sitting on a bench over by the water, see, dattebasa?"

"Yeah!" Sarada was off, dragging Boruto behind her. They decided to be extremely quiet, and go sort of slowly. So they made their way to Sarada's uncle and his soon-to-be-girlfriend. 

The two of them sat on the bench under the tree, laughing. "Oh my kami, do you remember that one day with the dango?!" Izumi laughed. "I thought you were going to stab me if i didn't give one to you." 

Itachi chuckled. "Oh wow, we were so little... I can just barely make out the details. Weren't we on some kind of dock? By the lake?" 

"Yeah!" Izumi giggled. "You were so cute when we were little."

"I don't think I necessarily knew what to say to you." Itachi laughed. "You were always so much more talkative than me, I just listened while you talked." 

Izumi smirked. "You were pretty antisocial back then. Like, remember when I asked to hold Sasuke-kun that one time? You were like, 'No, he's gonna cry.'" She narrowed her eyes and deepened her voice, putting her arms out in a way that looked like she was holding an invisible baby protectively to her chest. 

"No I did not say that!" Itachi pouted. "I said that I didn't want him to cry." 

"You still let me hold him!" Izumi grinned triumphantly, sticking her tongue out at Itachi. "Ha!"  

"Yeah, because you practically took him from me!" Itachi gripped his stomach, leaning forward, gasping from all the laughter. "And what happened when you took him?" 

Now it was Izumi's turn to pout. "He cried." 

Itachi laughed more, and eventually Izumi joined him. Sarada watched from the tree above, nudging Boruto when he wriggled and a leaf fell. 

"They're so cute!" She grinned at Boruto. 

"SHHH!" He whispered back, narrowing his eyes to get a good view of the two, sitting peacefully. 

"Oh, do you remember when Sasuke-kun was-- oh, five? He was the most adorable thing ever!" Izumi gushed. "He would always make a bee-line toward me whenever he saw me."

"He would always tease me." Itachi nodded. "He said that he liked 'Izumi-nee better than you, nii-san. She's prettier, too.'" He mimicked his younger brother when he was very little. 

Izumi laughed. "He was such a goofball. Mikoto-san said he was going to grow up to be a great shinobi one day. Now look at him. Sixteen and he's already so strong!" 

"I know." Itachi nodded. "I'm really proud of how he turned out. Even though he did go to Orochimaru after awhile. He really hated me." Itachi shook his head, a small smile on his face. "He did as i told him, too." 

Sarada's eyes widened, but not because of the conversation. Her hand was slipping, and she fell halfway off the branch. Itachi's head was looking a whole heck of a lot closer, and that wasn't a good thing. Then, her grip failed, and she was sliding off. Sarada mentally prepared for a scolding, closing her eyes and bracing for impact. But instead of landing next to her uncle, two hands gripped her waist. Boruto, who was wincing at the loud noise, pulled her up in front of him on the branch. "Be careful, I don't want you to get hurt." He whispered into her ear, making her want to shiver a little. Blushing, she nodded her thanks, and scooted away from the boy, heart pounding.

Tch. Annoying boy.

"He went to Orochimaru?!" Izumi gasped. "It seems he might be a little stupid after all, huh?" She chuckled, looking down. "If he knew about me, though, he probably would've done something." 

"He turned out okay," Itachi repeated, smiling. "He has a Rinnegan in the future, so that is pretty awesome." Sarada smirked, then her hand slid off again. She cursed, when Boruto sighed and pulled her up again, this time keeping her directly in front of him, to the point where she could feel his breathing against her neck. 

Silly boy shouldn't do things like that when they were on a high tree, trying to focus. 

"What's up with you today?" Boruto whispered, sounding concerned. 

"Sorry, I think I'm sick or something." Sarada lied, turning to face him. "I don't think it'll last long, though, I'm fine." 

Boruto stared at her, eyes narrowing. "Are you sure it's just that? I seriously don't need you to be sick."

"Chill out." She laughed quietly. "Why are you so worried about me all of the sudden?" 

"I'm sure he's antisocial in the future too." Izumi nodded solemnly. "Like nii-san, like otouto." She burst into laughter again. "His daughter is so cute, though, right?! Sarada Uchiha. Sakura told me they used the letters from her name, Sasuke's name, and your name in making hers, huh? She's such a sweetheart. I love her already." 

Sarada grinned at Boruto. "See? Izumi-baa-san likes me better than you." 

"And Boruto is adorable too! I swear, all these cute little kids. He is so playful, one of these days I'm going to join in on his pranks. Naruto's son, right? Naruto is the jinchuriki of the Nine Tails. I wonder if Boruto is too."

Boruto stuck his tongue out at Sarada. "See? She likes me too!" 

"They're both really amazing." Itachi agreed. "Although the Naruto's kid is obviously a bad influence, since the two of them are spying on us." He looked up, and Sarada and Boruto jolted. 

Boruto cursed, and Izumi giggled. Sarada climbed down, and smiled sheepishly at her uncle. Moving to stand beside Sarada, Boruto stood in front of Izumi, smirking. Itachi looked at Boruto with a raised eyebrow. "What's so funny?" He asked. 

"It took you longer than normal for you to find us." Boruto smirked wider. "We must've done a good job." 

"Boruto, Boruto, Boruto..." Itachi laughed. "Nice try, but I always knew where you were. For example, when you were talking over by the house. When Sarada, here, almost fell out of that tree over there, twice, and you helped her. Both times, right?" The two kids blushed fiercely. "That was a nice catch, by the way, although I don't appreciate where you held her the first time, eh?" His eyebrows raised. They were both as red as Sasuke's favorite food. 

They should've known better. This was Itachi Uchiha. They'd learned about him in school. A young prodigy. He had one of the highest grades in the Academy's history, second only to Minato Namikaze. Even in sickness, he was still a genius.

Izumi giggled. "Kids will be kids, Itachi." She stood and wrapped her arms around the two of them protectively. "Remind me to teach you two how to avoid getting detected by Itachi, hm?" She whispered. "It's really simple." Boruto and Sarada looked up at her in awe. "Ano, you two must be hungry. Want me to make you something?" She grabbed their hands and kicked Itachi's foot. He was still seated on the bench, watching Izumi interact with the children. 

He stood up and grabbed Sarada's other hand, leading the way back to the house. "Next time, infuse chakra into your grip. Then you won't need to be saved by Mr. Blondie over here, and I don't need to be concerned." 

"You don't need to be concerned." Sarada reassured her uncle. 

He smiled, but didn't look convinced. "I'm your uncle. It's only natural for me to be concerned. Let's go back, huh?" 

"Sure." Sarada shrugged, internally smiling. Uncle Itachi was more like her papa than he knew. 

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

"So why were you so worried about me earlier?" Sarada asked, as Boruto pushed her on the swing. Itachi had set it up earlier, when the two got bored. Izumi had said that Shisui still had a swing in the training room, he probably used it for training purposes.

Boruto shrugged, pushing her shoulders again. Sarada went flying away from him, giving him time to think of a logical response. Then she came flying back. Great. "I don't know, I guess I just didn't want Uncle Sasuke to kill me? And now there's two Uncle Sasukes, two Dads, two Moms, two Aunt Sakuras, and an Uncle Itachi." He pushed her again. 

When she came back, she nodded. "That makes sense. But that wasn't what you said when you were 'saving' me." She took her hands off the bars to make air quotes around 'saving'. 

"Sarada, put your hands back on the bars. If you fall off, you'll get hurt." Boruto barked, panicking. 

He panicked more when the swing pitched forward, really high up. Sarada let go, arms swinging, and then let herself fall backward. Boruto screamed Sarada's name and started to run for her, when he realized what she was doing. She moved into a backflip, landing on the floor as nimble as a cat. Sarada turned to face Boruto with a smirk on her face. Her sharingan was activated, the three black tomoes bringing Boruto comfort. She'd taken off her glasses and was holding them, her hair was swept around and out of it's usual neatness, and her bangs were in her face. She looked a lot like her father... so much so, Boruto stood and gaped. She was alive, and actually... really cute...

"Look, you're doing that again." Sarada giggled. "You don't need to worry about me, Boruto. I'm an Uchiha. We're pretty tough." 

Boruto exhaled. "I know." He went over to her and put a hand over his forehead. "Jesus, Sarada, you scared me!" 

"Chill out." She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. Clearly. Now, why do you always get so worried about me? For real this time." 

Boruto groaned and sat on the swing. Now it was her turn to push him, and Boruto wasn't about to be outdone by a girl. "No reason! You're my sensei's kid, and my teammate! Is it illegal to be worried about you?" 

"No," Sarada grinned. "But you have to have some kind of reason, right? It's easy. I'm worried about you all the time because I care about you." 

Boruto was shocked. She'd never shown any signs of caring for him before. But then again, Uncle Sasuke wasn't the most affectionate person... and Aunt Sakura had strange ways of showing affection. Like punching the living daylights out of you. 

Sarada always punched him... maybe that was how she showed affection. Like her mom. 

"My mom says that Uncle Naruto is never any good at confessions." Sarada laughed. "Maybe that's where you got that from. And Aunt Hinata is the most shy person I know. But you can relax. I'm your best friend. I won't laugh at you." She said solemnly. "Well, you know, maybe." She added, pushing him again. 

Boruto inhaled, resisting the urge to jump off the swing and run to Itachi and Izumi for protection from this crazy, prying girl. She'd tease him forever if he did that. 

"What do you want me to say?" He finally asked her. She stopped the swing and turned him to face her. 

"Just what you feel." Sarada smirked. "What's wrong, you scared, Uzumaki?"

"Of course not, 'ttebasa!" Boruto replied. "I..." 

Sarada's eyebrow raised. "20 ryo you don't do it." 

"I care about you too." He blurted, sighing and opening his eyes. Sarada stood with her eyes gleaming. 

"Ha." Sarada seemed surprised. "I guess i owe you 20 ryo, huh?" 

"You betcha!" Boruto grinned. 

"Fine. When we get back." Sarada nodded. "I'm surprised. I genuinely thought you would chicken out. Huh." 

"Glad to know you think so highly of me." Boruto rolled his eyes. "Okay. If that's all you need, I'm going to go see if Itachi can teach me a jutsu. See ya later." He waved and turned around. 

"Boruto." Sarada called. He turned to face her, groaning. "See ya." She said, and pecked his cheek. "I'm going to go hang out with Aunt Izumi, if you need me, okay? Bye." She ran off, waving, leaving Boruto totally stunned. 

"Girls." He finally muttered, walking to the porch. "I'll never get them."