"Ugh! I can't believe I'm still struggling with this!" exclaimed Sarada. Her arms were tired, her chakra was running low, and she still couldn't get the dumb rubber fish to move for more than a few seconds before it died out, again. She slumped back into her chair, cheeks pinkened with exhaustion. Ino chuckled.

"Consider yourself lucky, Sarada. When your mama and I went through this we had to use a real fish."

"A real fish?! Yuck!" Sarada's face contorted with disgust, and Ino laughed.

"Kids these days are so spoiled," she said.

"Tell me Auntie Ino, did mama really save Kazekage-sama's brother when she was my age? Why am I struggling so much?"

"It's true," replied Ino, "She shocked an entire nation with that one, but she also worked very hard. Try not to beat yourself up about it too much, Sarada. If you're serious about learning medical ninjutsu you'll get there. You've already taken a big step by signing up for the refresher course while Sakura is out of town."

"I just hope I can pass the next practical exam. I already feel like I'm so far behind everyone else and Shizune Sensei has no mercy."

"Inojin should be home later tonight. He's in your class, too, so it wouldn't hurt for the two of you to study together. He's less book smart than you, but does practical application well. It's a nice trade off, don't you think?"

Sarada perked up and smiled. "Sounds like a plan; I'm feeling better already," she said. She had been meaning to get some of her classmates together for a study group, but with everyone's schedules these days it was near impossible. Thankfully, at least Inojin would be around as long as the Yamanakas were looking after her while Sakura was away.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Later that night…

Sarada was almost asleep when she heard the front door open and close. Putting on her glasses, she peeked at the clock on the night stand and saw it was almost 2:00 AM. Yawning, she slipped out of the Yamanakas' guest room, hoping to corner Inojin before he went to bed. As luck would have it she found him in the kitchen.

"Well look what the shadow clone dragged in," teased Sarada. Inojin groaned.

"Awe, what are you still doing here?"

"You know my parents are away on their missions. You're stuck with me until my mama returns, anyway."

"Aren't you a little too old to have a babysitter?" mocked Inojin. Sarada stuck her tongue out.

"Aren't you a little too old to be waiting in line to preorder trading cards in the middle of the night?" she retorted. Inojin rolled his eyes and moved past her into the kitchen where he opened the refrigerator and poured himself a small glass of milk.

"Want one?" he asked.

"Sure."

Sarada sat herself down at the dining table and Inojin grabbed another mug from the cupboard. The two friends sat adjacent to each other and sipped their chilly drinks.

"Think you could make some time tomorrow to study with me? I'm still struggling with that stupid fish."

"Yeah, I think I can do that." Inojin yawned. "But only if you make time to help me with those stupid diagrams. I keep getting the names mixed up." Sarada smiled at her friend.

"You've got a deal," she said. And she downed the rest of her milk in satisfaction. She started to push her chair out to stand up, but then lost her footing and tripped over an upturned corner on the rug behind her. She successfully banged the back of her head against the countertop. Inojin immediately rushed to her side.

"Crap, Sarada. Are you sure you're a shinobi?"

"I'm ok, thanks for asking." Sarada groaned and cupped the back of her head tenderly. "Between Shizune Sensei and your mom, today, I got my butt kicked. I don't think I've been this kind of exhausted since our Academy days."

"Yep, that'll do it," said Inojin, "Can you stand?"

"Only if you help me up, first."

Inojin hooked his arms under Sarada's and hoisted her onto the counter top. She winced in pain and he held onto her so she wouldn't fall over. Carefully he removed her glasses and gently rolled her head forward running his fingers through her hair until he found the swelling lump that graced her scalp. Delicately, he traced the injury with his fingertips while emitting a steady stream of chakra until he felt the swelling go down.

"Feel any better?" he asked.

"A lot better," she smiled, "Thanks, Inojin. I hope you won't think any less of me after this." She grabbed her glasses and put them back on.

"I'll just tuck this little moment into my blackmail folder and hold onto it for a while," he teased. Sarada rolled her eyes and slid off the counter, still cupping the tender spot on her head. Inojin put their empty mugs in the sink and straightened the chairs around the table. "Come on, four-eyes. I'll help you upstairs. Try not to stub your toe on the way up."

"Whatever, pale-face. No promises."

Inojin sighed, took her right hand in his, and placed his left palm on her back to guide her. He turned off the light on their way out, and dropped Sarada off in the guest room before collapsing on his own bed, not even bothering to change clothes.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next day…

Inojin and Sarada decided to take their textbooks to the Thunder Burger and get some work done there. They were in the middle of quizzing each other on some flash cards when a certain blond idiot slammed his tray down at the end of their table with unnecessary force, startling the pair.

"Boruto!" scolded Sarada. She gave him a nasty look when he invited himself into their booth and shoved himself in the seat beside her, glaring daggers at Inojin sitting across from them. Sarada continued her scolding, "In case you haven't noticed, we're a little busy right now! Whatever's got your panties in a twist can wait."

Boruto redirected his heated gaze toward her, and Sarada felt the weight of his quiet rage slam into her. It sent chills down her spine. She was caught off guard by his new demeanor and was suddenly afraid of saying anything that might upset him. After a few more seconds under his intense gaze, Sarada let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. Boruto huffed and stuck his nose in the air.

"Whatever," he said, and he grabbed his tray and left their booth to go sit somewhere else.

"Jeez, what was that all about?!" exclaimed Sarada in a breathless whisper, "I don't think I've ever seen that face on him."

"Maybe we should go back to my house to finish studying?" said Inojin, "It's almost time for the lunch rush and we don't need to be taking up a booth. Besides, I can still feel Boruto looking at us and it's making me very uncomfortable." He laughed nervously. "We'll find out what bit him, later. I don't have the energy to deal with him, right now."

A chuckle escaped Sarada and she clapped a hand over her mouth to try and suppress it. "You're starting to sound like Shikadai," she said.

"Yeah, yeah," said Inojin, "Just shove everything in your bag and let's go. He might come back any second." The pair scooped up all their study materials and scampered off before Boruto's stare actually broke something.

Boruto crossed his arms over his chest and huffed as he watched the two of them scurry out of the restaurant. He barely registered when his friends slipped into the booth with him.

"A man's attractiveness goes down 78% when he has that look on his face," said Cho Cho.

"Sheesh, what's got you bent all out of shape, today?" asked Shikadai, "Or don't tell me. Knowing might be a drag."

Boruto only groaned and mumbled under his breath, sliding down his seat and trying to avoid his friends' gazes. Mitsuki, however, in all his smiling, oblivious glory shattered his tough exterior with one blunt statement.

"It seems Sarada and Inojin spent the night together."

"Oi, Mitsuki!" Boruto's face was beet red, mouth agape in horror. He bolted upright and grabbed his teammate's collar. Shikadai's eyes widened in surprise, and Cho Cho gasped and brought her hand over her mouth.

"No!" she half-shouted in disbelief.

Boruto lost his composure and slammed his palms on the table making all their trays jump. He started interrogating Cho Cho.

"How long has this been going on?!"

"What? Why are you asking me?!"

"Don't play dumb, your her best friend and his teammate. If anyone knows it's you!"

"Back off Boruto, this is news to me, too! But Sarada and Inojin? If it's true, I'm insulted they kept it from me for this long!"

Shikadai stepped in, "Calm down, you two! Think about this logically. Aren't they taking that Medical Ninjutsu refresher course together? Maybe they were just studying and you're overreacting."

Boruto's face paled in abject horror. He had an image of Sarada sitting on the countertop in front of Inojin where she'd say the name of a body part and he'd show he knew where it was by touching her. Boruto rapidly shook his head.

"Th-they better not have!" he shouted.

"My, my," said Cho Cho taking a sip of her drink, "What brought all this on, anyway? How do you know Sarada was with Inojin, anyway? Weren't all you boys in line at the game shop, last night?"

"We were," said Shikadai, leaning back against his seat, "and the wait was so long we even played a few mini-tournaments against the guys in front of us."

"They were trying to move up in the line if they won," explained Mitsuki, "but in the end they suffered a miserable defeat."

"Oh, did you buy cards, too, Mitsuki?" asked Cho Cho. Before Mitsuki could respond, Boruto cut in.

"You guys are getting sidetracked! The point is, some of Inojin's cards got mixed in with mine and I tried to stop by his house to return them. That's when I saw them."

Flashback

'I hope Inojin isn't in bed, yet,' thought Boruto. 'I guess I can always drop off 'em off in the mailbox.'

Boruto jumped over the backyard fence and was about to run up the side of the house to Inojin's window on the second floor when he noticed the light was on in the kitchen. He changed directions and lifted his hand to knock on the window, but what he saw through the glass made him halt. Inojin was pressed up against Sarada on the countertop. He watched him take off her glasses and lean into her collarbone, mussing up her hair as he ran his hands through it. She was smiling when they parted, and Inojin helped her off the counter. Boruto felt his limbs go numb as he watched the pair head up the stairs and didn't even register when the light went out. Forgetting about Inojin's cards in his pocket, Boruto's body went on autopilot as he walked the rest of the way home, his mind whirring to catch up to all the thoughts that were spilling through. He didn't even remember putting himself to bed.

"Them?" asked Cho Cho, "Doing what? Are you sure you're not just overreacting?"

"Does it look like I'm overreacting?! You're underreacting!"

"Sheesh, if you're that upset about it then go ask them yourself," said Shikadai. He stood up from the table and grabbed his empty tray. Cho Cho and Mitsuki followed suit.

"What? You aren't coming with me?"

"Why would we? You're the one who's jealous."

"I'm not jealous!" yelled Boruto.

"Oh, Sarada is so lucky she has two men fighting over her," Cho Cho swooned, "It's just like a soap opera."

"Mitsuki!" Boruto grasped at his last hope, "You, you're worried about Sarada, too, aren't you?"

"Why would I be worried? She's very strong." Mitsuki furrowed his brow in confusion.

"But she and Inojin...together...alone…," Boruto could tell he wasn't getting through, but still tried anyway. "Doesn't that bother you?"

Mitsuki cupped his chin and thought about it for a moment. "No, why would it?" he finally said.

Boruto hung his head in defeat. "Never mind." He waved Mitsuki away, and soon he was the only one left at the table with an uneaten burger.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N: I had a small idea and decided to run with it. This was knocked out in a couple of hours, and I'm looking at adding a second chapter, later on, to wrap things up. I'm hoping to write more one/two-shots across different fandoms to help me work through some writer's block so I would appreciate a review to let me know how I did! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.