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As she sat in her living room and watched the scene unfold before her, she couldn't help but curse under her breath.
Honestly, she should have known better. When her teammates arrived at her door that afternoon with a Game of Life box and boundless energy, she should have slammed the door in their faces and returned to her book.
But she hadn't. She'd thought it would be nice to hang out together outside the training grounds or Thunder Burger, so she'd let them in.
That was her first mistake.
“It's my turn,” Mitsuki smiled.
The boy spun the roulette wheel. It landed on a four, so he moved that number of spaces, ending up on a yellow box. He took an action card from the stack and showed it to them.
An old aunt has died and left all her cats in your care. You pay 20k in veterinary bills.
"Well, that's inconvenient," Mitsuki said, handing her—the player designated as the bank—the money.
He only had 200k on him, so losing that amount caused him serious financial hardship, but he didn't seem worried about it. Sarada suspected it was because he didn't quite understand the purpose of the game. He was just happy to be there.
"Sounds like something that could happen to you, Mitsuki," Boruto said, elbowing his friend jokingly. Then, as he remembered whose turn it was next, he became serious again. "It's your turn, Kawaki."
The older boy rolled his eyes. "I know the order of the round."
“Yeah, whatever. Just spin already.”
Kawaki did just that. He got a seven. Everyone watched as he led his token to the green box indicated on the board.
Payday.
Sarada gave him his money.
"Okay, I'll go now," Boruto hurried.
"I didn't finish yet," Kawaki interrupted. He picked up the forgotten dice from the side of the board and held it up for everyone to see. "I'm going to use the Trick."
As Boruto started whining again, Sarada had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.
That was her second mistake.
She should have immediately stepped back when the whole team sat down at the table and opened the game box, only to find that they had left some dice and a wand from an old magic game forgotten there.
But she didn't. And Boruto, being Boruto, saw an opportunity to take advantage of those new acquisitions, so he created a new rule.
The Trick™ overruled every other rule.
It was based on just one principle. As long as the player chanted a number first and got it in one try with the dice, they could do whatever they wanted for that turn. This could include stealing money from the bank, getting ahead on boxes, avoiding fines, or changing the course of life in a significant way.
This seemed like a great idea for a cheater like Boruto. However, it quickly backfired when he realized that, unlike his brother, he was wasn't lucky when it came to gambling.
"You can't use it again if you've already used it on your previous turn!" Boruto protested.
"Who says that?"
"I do. I invented it."
"You should have made that clear at the beginning of the game, then. It's too late now."
Boruto looked around, searching for confirmation in their gazes that they were against his brother's words as well. But both Mitsuki and Sarada shrugged. He should have made it clear from the beginning.
"Whatever," the boy said, pouting. "Just stop using it against me. Get yourself a house or something."
"Okay. If I get a two, Boruto's house is mine."
"Son of a bitch!"
Kawaki rolled his dice. The four pairs of eyes followed it's movements closely and widened when it landed on two.
"Great," Kawaki said as he took the card from Boruto's property and stacked it next to him, wearing the first smile Sarada had ever seen on his face.
He was truly twisted when it came to playing this game.
"Your turn, Boruto."
Still pouting, Boruto spun the roulette wheel. He clasped his hands together as if in prayer and meticulously followed each spin until it stopped on number five. Yellow box. He picked up a card and read it aloud.
Your company's actions skyrocketed. Take a bonus of 850k.
"Oh, hell yeah!" he cheered, extending his hand toward Sarada for her to pay him.
She did so reluctantly. That single move cost her the first place, leaving her now with a 300k difference from Boruto's total of one million in his net worth.
It was ridiculous and unfair, considering she was the only one who chose to go to college for a better salary. But it wasn't like the game made any sense anyways, so she decided it would be a waste of time to fight over it.
"I'll go," she said, reaching over to spin the roulette wheel.
Sarada landed on a ten, which should have left her on the green box to collect her payment. However, before she could get there, a red box forced her to stop.
Marry.
She looked around, unsure how to proceed. The last time she played the game she had just enrolled in the academy, so she didn't remember the rules very well. It didn't help that Boruto snatched the instruction manual from her as soon as she touched it either.
"Can I just not do it?"
Surprisingly, it was Mitsuki who refused. "It seems like an important box."
"Okay, so what do I do then?"
Everyone looked at the game box on the side of the table. From the picture on the cover, it wasn't hard to deduce that she should put another character in her car slot. However, given that the game had been in Boruto's house for years within range of his little sister, they weren't playing with the game's cars, but with Monopoly tokens.
The hat was for Sarada. The cat was for Mitsuki. And the dinosaur for Boruto. Kawaki hadn't been quick enough to choose from the limited tokens available, so he played with a thimble they pulled from her mother's sewing kit.
"We can take another thimble and put it next to you," Boruto suggested. "That way can get your husband and charge 10k each as a wedding gift."
Sarada frowned. "That's too cheap. Are you trying to scam me?"
“No. I'm just giving you options.”
"How about the option where you give me the instruction manual back and we play the game like we're supposed to?"
"But it's more fun this way."
Sarada opened her mouth, ready to argue, when Mitsuki interjected. “How about you marry one of us? You can take half the estate and 100k from each of us as wedding gifts."
Boruto's head shot in his friend's direction. "That's not how that box works at all."
Mitsuki smiled.
"But It's more fun this way."
She considered it for a moment while looking at the board. She was several boxes ahead of the boys and had a considerable net worth. If she made the right move, she could secure first place again and leave with a win.
"Does that mean I have to share their debts?" Sarada asked, tying up the final ends of her strategy. When the boys said no, she nodded. "I'll marry Boruto then."
Boruto looked at her as if she had stabbed him. "Why?"
"You're the one with the most money."
"So you're a gold digger now?"
She crossed her arms. "I'm not a gold digger. You just happen to have the most money, and I want to benefit from that.”
“That's exactly the definition of a gold digger.”
"So it's finally official." Mitsuki interrupted, reaching out to pat Boruto on the shoulder. "I'm happy for you. You said you were a fan of the Uchiha clan, and now you belong to it."
"What—I never said that," he yelped, his cheeks reddening. When no one responded, he frantically waved his hands in the air. "What the hell guys? I never said that!"
Boruto grumbled under his breath but still handed over half of his money, stocks, and property. Kawaki and Mitsuki handed her their gifts as well.
Sarada stacked the bills with a smirk on her face. "Thanks."
Mitsuki was next. The boy spun the roulette wheel. He landed on a yellow box and picked up a card.
You meet an old friend in a bar and he offers you a ride. Move forward seven boxes.
He moved, and when Mitsuki didn't make any other comment, Kawaki took it as his cue to start his turn. He craned his neck in anticipation and spun the roulette wheel. His thimble advanced to the indicated box, and when he took the action card, his scowl made it clear that it was a bad one.
"What does it say?"
In response, Kawaki tossed the card to the middle of the board. The three of them leaned forward to read it.
The government finds out you've been evading taxes. Pay 900k or go back to box number one.
"That's fucked up, bro," Boruto burst out laughing. "It's even worse because you don't have the money. But you kinda had it coming."
Kawaki, who until then had remained calm, seemed to lose his patience at his brother's mocking tone. He grabbed the dice from the side of the table in one swift motion.
"I'm going to use The Trick."
"What for?" Sarada asked.
After a solid minute of thought, Kawaki announced with conviction, "If I roll a six, Boruto and I will exchange lives. I'll keep everything he's earned so far: his token and position."
Boruto's jaw dropped. "Wait, what the—?"
Before he could finish, the dice began to roll. Everyone held their breath as they watched it spin on the table, its faces changing slowly.
One.
Three.
Six.
"No, no, no, wait!" Boruto pressed a wad of bills to his chest, trying to shield them from Kawaki's hands, which were already taking his other possessions. "You can't steal my life!"
The older boy snatched the bills from his hands.
“I already did. Cry me a river, loser."
Boruto's face contorted with anger. He stood up, ready to throw punches, but Sarada grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and shoved him back down into his seat.
"Relax, Boruto," she scolded him fully aware that if it were her in his position, she would be throwing a tantrum as well. "It's just a game."
Kawaki moved the thimble—now Boruto's token—to the beginning of the board slowly and mockingly. "Yeah, bro. Listen to your wife."
Boruto crossed his arms and shot him a dirty look across the table, promising a fight once they got home. "Shut the fuck up, you idiot. I shouldn't have invited you. You always do the same thing."
"Do what? Win?"
Sarada brought a hand to her temples, already feeling a headache coming on. "All right, guys. Cut it out. It's my turn."
She spun the roulette wheel with less interest than before and advanced her token to the indicated action box.
You win the 'beautiful forehead' award. Get 40k from the bank.
Sarada snorted, weirded out by the strange card, but grateful for the entry. She was about to take her money and end her turn when Mitsuki spoke.
"Wait, does this mean Sarada is now married to Kawaki?"
An awkward silence pervaded the room at those words. Her gaze met Kawaki's, both equally disgusted. Sarada didn't have to think about it for a second. She took the dice immediately.
"If it rolls a three, I'll get a divorce."
The dice rolled, stopping at the end of the path on the number four. She missed.
"This game sucks," she declared, tossing her money on the table.
Boruto let out a sigh. He looked at her for a second too long, as if asking for permission. Permission for what, precisely, Sarada didn't know. Still, weary of the game, she chose to give him a slight nod.
That was her third mistake.
Before either of them could stop him, Boruto flipped the board onto the table, scattering the tokens and cards across the floor.
"So," he said, rising from his seat as if nothing had happened. "What do you say we clean this mess up and play some Uno?"
Needless to say, they never got to play. As soon as they finished cleaning everything up, Sarada kicked them out of her house. Boruto and Kawaki's screams could be heard even as they descended the stairs of the building, accompanied by the murmur of Mitsuki's voice commenting on where he planned to place the cat token he had kept as a souvenir.
Once the sound finally died away, Sarada leaned back on the couch and returned to her book, making a mental note to never ever play a board game with them again.