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“Your eyesight is clearly worse than it was before. It's a risk that always comes with use of the Mangekyō Sharingan. The more you use it, the worse your vision gets. But if you continue to use it as you have been…”
Sarada looks down at her mother's hand, and the usual lines of it now bled into an indistinct blur. Immediately, she already knew the rest of the sentence.
“You'll eventually go completely blind, Sarada.”
The silence that settled inside the room felt endless to Sarada as all the emotion crushes into her until all of them made no sense by the end. She should cry on how heavy the news was, but all she felt was a cold and heavy emptiness settled deep in her gut.
When those eyes first awakened, it felt like a desperate turning point from her need to protect the people she cared about. She had honestly thought, finally, I can stand next to him. Finally, I can help. But it was all just a loan with a massive interest rate, and eventually, she'd get blind and end up being completely useless. Heaven knows how much she hated it.
“You don't have to worry, dear. I've been looking into the Uchiha records from the past. There has to be a way to slow this down… or even reverse it. We'll figure this out, okay?”
Sarada forces her eyes to focus on her mother's face and sees how determined she was. Not wanting to break her heart, Sarada just managed a small, reassuring smile.
Sakura didn't quite believe her daughter, but didn't push further. Instead, she gave a firm nod, brushing her thumb once over Sarada’s cheek before pulling away.
“I’ll head back to the house and pack you some clothes. I'll come right after,” she added, already heading to the door. The door clicked shut behind her after, leaving Sarada alone with Sumire and Chocho.
They spend all day gossiping and laughing, which is a huge distraction for her. Especially being around Chocho had been a big relief. For the past three years, their friendship had been an absolute rocky road with their opposite viewpoints over Boruto. At one point, Sarada had quietly convinced herself that their friendship was just over.
Hours passed without them even noticing, until the gradual change in the color of the sky outside the window reminded them that it was time for the two to head home.
Sumire was the first to stand. “It’s getting late.” She offered Sarada a soft smile. “Take care, Sarada. I’ll try to visit again once my work allows it.”
Before Sarada could respond, Sumire stepped forward and pulled her into a careful hug. Chocho then wrapped both her hands around them that somehow made Sarada huff a small laugh.
“Take care, Sarada. I'm visiting too with food. A lot of food. So don't even think about starving yourself, Sarada.”
Sarada returned their hugs much tighter.
“I will, I will. Thank you for the visit, guys.”
The moment they stepped out of the room, the lively energy they bought with them immediately vanished. Sarada felt empty. Her mother was still not here for some reason, maybe caught up with an emergency, so Sarada completely understood. Still, being left entirely by herself within the four corners of her room was making her feel anxious as the time passed by. She just wanted to go home, curl up under her own blankets, and fall asleep in her own bed.
Wait… would they noticed if she slipped out just for a while—
“I thought I wouldn't get a chance to be alone with you.”
Suddenly, a low, familiar voice shattered the silence and brought Sarada back to the present. Her stupid heart immediately made a flip.
Sarada quickly turned toward the sound, and even though her visions were blurry, she saw a silhouette casually perched on the edge of the open window, looking directly at her. She didn't need perfect eyesight to recognize who it was.
“Boruto…” she utters, disbelief. She had honestly thought he wasn't even in Konoha anymore. After all, their recent interactions had been either one of them was unconscious.
Chocho had mentioned earlier that Boruto had been very worried the exact moment Sarada fell down, even describing him as acting like he’d completely lost his mind because of her. She didn't believe Chocho at first, but seeing her expression made Sarada shut up. At the time, Sarada had quickly shot a worried glance at Sumire, but her face was blank.
Sarada tried to push herself up to stand, but in seconds, Boruto was already on her side, holding her shoulder to keep her from moving.
“Stop moving around, Sarada, or else, you'll fall,” he says in panic.
It was only when Sarada let's him guide her back safely on the bed that Boruto finally seemed to calm down. Sarada stops herself from smiling as he settles down across her. They were barely two feet apart.
“I'm not blind, Boruto… well, not yet,” she joked to lighten up the mood, but it seems like the man doesn't get her humor. To prove her point, she reached out, grabbed his hand, and raised it between them. “Choose any number with your fingers, and I could still guess it. Come on!”
Boruto picks a number.
“Two!” she proudly says while smiling forcefully.
“It's four, Sarada…”
She chuckles. It was fake. “Eh, you're joking. I know what you are, Boruto.”
For the whole day, she was trying so hard to convince herself that everything was fine, that she was fine all while smiling and laughing, but deep within, Sarada was desperately shouting into the void, breaking, and unable to accept her new reality.
Boruto picks up on it immediately. Gently, he turned Sarada's grip around so he was now holding her instead, and brought them close to his lips for a kiss before pulling her into a hug.
“You don't have to lie to me, y'know? It's me…” he whispers.
Sarada's lips quiver, and as if on cue, the tears she had been choking back finally spilled over, running down her cheeks one by one. As she wails, Boruto gently pats her back and whispers sweet nothings into her hair for comfort. And Sarada was thankful for that.
“I-It's… It's not fair! I hate what's happening to me, Boruto. Why does it have to be like this? Why does my own power have to destroy me? I was just trying to help!” she chokes out between sobs and begins freebly pounding her fist against his chest. Boruto just held her tighter instead of pushing away. “I was just trying to help. I was just trying to help…” her voice trailed off weakly.
Her breath hitched sharply as she clung tighter to him, shaking. “I don’t want this… I don’t want to lose my sight… I don’t want to be a burden… I don’t want to end up useless just because I couldn’t control it… I hate it— I hate all of it so much!”
Boruto just lets her. After all, that's what all Sarada needs.
“I'm scared, Boruto… I’m so scared that one day I’ll open my eyes and there won’t be anything left to see at all.”
For a while, there's nothing in the silence but her gasping cries and sobs.
The fight drained out of her little by little until they turned into shaky sniffs. Boruto leaned back to catch her wet eyes.
“Feeling any better?” he asked softly.
“...a little.” She finally pulled back from the hug, but as she did, she noticed the damage she’d done to his shirt. There was a massive, dark wet spot right over his chest where her face had been buried. Her face warms up. “I'm sorry.”
Boruto just looked down at his soaked shirt, then looked back up at her with a genuine smile. He didn't care about his shirt at all. “Don't worry about it.”
Still, Sarada grabs a generous amount of tissues from her bedside table and starts patting down the wet spot. “How long are you watching me anyway?” she asked, trying to steer the conversation toward something light.
“Since you woke up.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Then you should've just shown yourself instead of lurking in the corners like a weird stalker.”
“You were having fun with the girls. I don't wanna ruin that.”
“That, or you were just afraid they'll actually manage to capture you this time. Of all the fugitives I know, you're the only one who keeps casually sneaking back into the village that's actively hunting you.”
Boruto chuckles and catches her hand to get her to stop dabbing at his shirt, giving her a reassuring look. “Actually, I don't really have to sneak around right now. Old man Shikamaru gave the whole shinobi force an order to back off. I'm allowed to stay in the village temporarily, mostly out of gratitude for the help with the last fight.”
Sarada blinked, surprised. Really, Shikamaru-san did that?
“And Kawaki?”
Boruto scoffs. “Oh, he’s the main one I was hiding from.”
That earned him a real laugh from Sarada, the first genuine one all day.
They stayed up talking for hours with Boruto finally opening up about the last three years they've been away from each other. He told her about the breathtaking landscape they'd camp in, describing it as one of the world's wonders, he then recalled the ridiculous punishment her father had given to him for making sloppy mistakes during training. He also mentioned how, every single night by the campfire, Sasuke would casually bring up his daughter and wife, wondering how they were holding up.
By the mention of her father, Boruto suddenly fell completely silent, confusing Sarada. His face was blurry so she couldn't clearly see what face he was making.
“Boruto? Are you good?” she asked softly.
That seemed to snap him out of it. He blinks and jerks his head.
“U-Uh, yeah, just thinking…” He let out a heaviest sigh known to mankind. “I'm sorry, Sarada.”
She frowns. “For what?”
“For all of this,” he whispers hurtfully as his gaze drops to his hands on his lap. “Before everything went down with the shinju, your dad looked me in the eye and told me to take care of you. Master Sasuke trusted me to keep you safe, and now… none of this would've happened if you weren't involved with me in the first place. I'm so sorry, Sarada.”
Boruto went silent after that as guilt slowly eats him inside and out. Slowly, Sarada reached out blindly and he immediately turned his hand over so she could hold them properly. She then shifted a little closer until their knees bumped.
“Please don't do that, Boruto.” She squeezes his hands. “You didn't do this to me. I awakened these eyes because I wanted the strength to protect the people I love… to protect you. That was my choice.”
“Still, if I was stronger—"
“Look, I'm fine. After crying earlier, I'm fine, Boruto. So thank you for that. Yes, I'm scared. Terrified even. I hate not being able to see properly, I hate waking up and realizing things are blurrier than before, and I really hate the fact that your face is currently just…” She gestured vaguely toward him. “a smudge with blond hair.”
Boruto snorts on that. Their eyes met and they both burst into fits of laughter. When they recovered, Sarada then carefully lifted her hand until it found his face, her fingertips brushing against his cheek before tracing downward slowly. She was memorizing him through touch alone. Boruto visibly stilled at the gesture.
“There you go…” Her thumb brushes over his whiskers. “No more traces of ugly-sad-face Uzumaki Boruto.”
“Rude. I am a very good looking man, Sarada.”
He sounded so offended, which only made her laugh again.
“Sure it is.”
“It is.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
A beat of silence passed, then Boruto suddenly yawned.
“...Did you even sleep recently?”
Boruto tried to wave it off, still holding her hand. “I’m fine.”
“That means no. Boruto…”
“What?! I couldn't exactly relax, y'know. I kept thinking one of the Shinju might attack the village again while I was asleep. I should always be on guard.”
Sararada ignores his reasons. She pats the empty space beside her on the bed. “Come here.”
He just stared at her, face blank. “Absolutely not.”
“You need to rest too, Boruto.”
“You're literally the hospitalized one between us.”
“And I've been resting all day,” she shot back quickly. “I've been resting so much that I think I've rested enough for the next century. Now, lay down, Boruto.”
Finally, after another minute of being the hard-headed he always is, Boruto kicked off his shoes and carefully climbed onto the other side of the bed next to her with their hands remained linked between them. With the small space, he felt ridiculously close but Boruto must've been so tired he had gone completely still the moment his body touched the bed.
Careful not to stir him awake, Sarada shifted to look at him better. His face was still frustratingly unclear, but she could make out the shape of him, the steady rise and fall of his chest, and the mess of his blond hair against the pillow. Sarada didn't notice that was smiling.
Then, without warning, Boruto tugs on her hand, ending up face-to-face with him. Sarada was grateful his good eye remained close or he definitely would've seen how red her face had gotten.
“I thought you were sleeping.” She glared at him.
“How can I when there's someone staring at me?”
“I literally can’t even see you properly.”
“You know what? Let’s just sleep together,” he mumbles sleepily as his thumb brushes lazily across the back of her hand before it travels to her back and pulls her closer against him.
The action completely derailed Sarada’s thoughts. For a second, all she could hear was her heartbeat pounding violently inside her ears, before she let herself relax against him until her forehead rested near his collarbone. Boruto felt familiar, safe, and warm.
“Goodnight, Boruto.”
He hummed sleepily with a hint of a smile on his lips.
“Mm. Goodnight, Sarada.”