46. I've finished revising the chapters I intend to revise but am continuing to check through older chapters for typos and other things. For now, a slow interlude chapter as we set the ground for wrap up of this arc.

To the guest Rafafalafa whose review I have turned over for a long while, I hope you find that the changes Sakura has made have increased in the future. But it's also odd, that she wasn't born to be a hero and had nothing to live up to. So, mostly, I am interested in a simple life that grows beyond itself. "her life has done nothing" can be your view, I will take it simply. Still, I hope that the hours of reading before and after were well spent for you.


"Nee-chan… what are you saying?" Shikamaru asks her, his footsteps mismatched as they walk down the street to the Akimichi restaurant.

"I have known for some time now, through gathered intelligence that the lady I operated on back in Kumo was your mother. I learnt more recently that the Kumo leadership killed her because they misunderstood my actions to be confirmation of her identity."

He stuffs his hands into his pockets before humming. "Yeah, I got that part, nee-chan. But I had already guessed that when my dad held the funeral years ago. You didn't have to worry. We don't blame you at all. It's not your fault."

He says it simply like it's easy to forgive; Sakura is a little caught off guard by the easy acceptance. "You don't..?"

Shikamaru gives her a little smile. "We don't blame doctors when their patients die since we know they try their best. It always sounded like my mother got to live the best days of her life, with someone whom she loved."

Her little brother bumps her shoulder with his as the take-out window comes into view. "Stand here and process that, nee-chan. I'll get the food."

She stops like a befuddled puppet as he lopes casually forward, one hand now out his pocket to wave at Chouza-sama.

She had expected some kind of disbelief. Maybe anger? Since there is still the implicit understanding that she…

"Chouza-jiisan, this completely gives the game away," his voice carries an edge of a whine – it cuts through the thoughts and reminds her easily of what it means to be comfortable.

There's the steady stream of people who weave around her, the obstruction in the main road, and if she were to be careful, she could differentiate between ninja-trained footsteps and the clatter of civilians.

Then there's also the feeling of being safe and not in immediate danger that has settled back in the streets, a far cry from the wound-up tension months back.

The days, months she and her team spent in Suna have been good to Konoha. Everything is all but rebuilt and improved, instilling the people with a kind of confidence that their village is truly undefeatable.

She smiles at the thought of Naruto someday leading the village.

"You're smiling," says the voice that pops up beside her, Shikamaru's voice and she laughs, coming back into reality, the sound of the street rushing into her ears.

"I am, Shika-chan."

He's carrying a multi-tiered bamboo holder, one much bigger than their usual dinner four-pack. Then he seizes her hand in the other, pulling her back towards the Nara Clan house. Ah? A celebration?

"That's good. Nee-chan should smile more. Otherwise, it's really troublesome when you think too much."

Sakura lets her little brother lead her, reassuringly squeezing her fingers around the hand that has been given to her.

"Never thought I'd hear a Nara say that you can do too much thinking," she teases gently. Shikamaru almost pouts. "Troublesome nee-chan. I'll let my father deal with your brand of overthinking."

Reality taps on her shoulder and she laughs, freely. "I suppose that if Shika-chan managed to figure it out, it's unlikely that Shikaku-sama doesn't know."

"Of course, he knows. But he's never said anything because it's not your fault."

To be told that things are 'okay' and 'not your fault', to think that some people live their entire lives waiting to hear such words.

The best thing about living is knowing that it's worth living, that she is loved and that these are the people whom she loves and –

"Nee-chan!" comes Shikamaru's whisper shout and she meets his gaze to smile, eyes half-lidded and yet indulgent.

"Yes, Shika-chan."

He snorts.


"Happy early birthday, Sakura-chan," he says, appearing from the kitchen with cutlery and the table already set.

Shikamaru is ushering her to her usual seat and then he hoists the bamboo carrier onto their dining table. "Tou-san, Chouza-jiisan said you already got the cake in the fridge," he says it like a prelude and Shikaku-sama replies with a, "Ah, yes, I did…"

They disappear into the kitchen, not that it's far.

She sets the dishes out, everyone's favourite and then some, aware that Shika-chan is obviously grilling his father on news regarding his mother with the aim of protecting her.

Because there is truly no trusting love, only that it is undecipherable.

There's a loud, "Why would she think that? Of course, she is not to blame," scripted and echoing out from the doorway and she smiles down at her reflection in the soup.

Sakura wonders, if Tenkawa-san's story had hurt him. Had they been in love? Once? She thinks back to how happy Shika-chan had been in that alternate world where his mother had been around, how he unconsciously stuck by her side.

Losing is not easy and blame is not rational, and a part of herself truly feels she is somehow guilty. She should not have been so careless in enemy territory, she shouldn't have jumped at the opportunity presented to her.

But there are already too many wouldn'ts, shouldn'ts and couldn'ts, Shika-chan is right that they cannot begrudge themselves.

I will think carefully, closely and less like a child.

When Shikamaru steps out of the kitchen, quickly coming to help her ladle out the soup she could almost swear that she would give everything to protect them.

Just them. And then by extension the village that already killed.


They eat slowly today; dinner has always been a ritual and not a pastime. There's still the lingering feeling that there are things that have to be said. She's worried about the safety of her friends, her loved ones.

Nagato, Konan and Itachi dispatched the village, rock walls and all so easily. Sasori and Deidara could have done the same to Suna.

Maybe we can have help. Sakura looks across the table, tip of her fork in her mouth, her slice of cake not quite finished.

Shikaku-sama meets her gaze keenly, Shika-chan's vision intercepts their shared look. He clears his throat softly before offering her more cake.

She accepts happily before telling him, "Last slice! If not, I will be too full to sleep tonight."

Shikamaru blinks slowly at her, like a cat on the verge of sleep. "Mhm… Nee-chan, do you want to bring a slice home? Tou-san and I can't finish all of it."

Sakura bobs her head from side to side and he slips off his chair towards the kitchen, leaving them with some extra privacy. It's only an illusion of it, since Shikamaru has sharp ears and is no doubt listening out to them.

"Sakura, if this is about my wife," Shikaku-sama tells her cleanly, not beating around the bush, "Then you don't have to say anymore."

She looks down at her cake slice, a whole fruit sponge from the café she and senpai frequented before the destruction. Then she's also looking away from him, when she replies, "Ah, no. Shika-chan has already helped to make that clear."

She composes a smile for him, "But I have other things I would like to bring to your notice. Next week, on the anniversary of my parents' passing, will you meet me?"

"Is there a particular significance to the date? It must not be urgent if it can wait," the Nara clan head, Konoha's chief tactician, points out drily.

Sakura shakes her head. "I have other things I need to settle before."

"Alright. I'll meet you in the morning outside Yamanaka Flowers. If anyone asks, we can be paying respects to your parents."

She hums in assent. And before the conversation can take a more serious or ominous tone, Shika-chan whirls out of the kitchen with a cooler bag.

Shikaku snorts when he pretends to walk in unknowingly, gruffly telling his son to, "Walk Sakura-chan home, Shikamaru. And don't grill her."


But he lets Shikamaru walk her home so that his son can find his own answers. She's not the child Shikaku-sama once walked home in the dark.

In fact, after the re-construction, the village has taken an uplift. The red-light district is lit by the same warm orange lights, though the red neon billboards remain.

That's beside the point that she can hold her own now, easily. Sakura is aware that her reputation precedes her, the network of merchants that rely on the connections she has brought in would not dare to move against her.

She is also not a tyrant, though she could be well on her way to becoming a dictator, holding a monopoly that she has no interest in easing.

"Did you know that Aburame-sama gardens, Shika-chan?" she tells him lightly, opening the conversation to questions. Her little brother is nothing if not polite and would otherwise not ask the things he wants to.

"I've seen Shino garden during one of the D-ranks our teams did together. I guess it would be a good clan hobby," his gaze slides over from the lady reclined in the shadowed corridor to her. "But what makes you suddenly think of it?"

She touches his hand to prevent it from folding into a seal, "They have no ill intent, otouto," waiting until his shadow retracts to where physics demands.

The lady and her partner retreat into the alleyway and Sakura dips her head in a mild warning. "As my heir, someday you may have to take over all of my business connections. Aburame-sama has helped us handle various agricultural issues. It's good to hear that Shino-san will be able to help."

Shikamaru hums, tension easing out of his shoulders as they turn down the corner to the larger road. "My dad will protect you. And eventually, I will as well."

Sakura shakes her head at the quick diversion of the topic, not knowing if he is shying from the thought of more work or the thought of her leaving. "Sometimes, Shika-chan, to protect others is to endanger yourself. This is something I've realised in a world where killing is so easy."

"I'll protect you," the child says stubbornly.

She can see her mirror in him and in that moment she sighs, "Maybe Shikaku-sama will have a better answer. If you were hurt at my expense, Shika-chan, I am willing to do some horrific things."

Children they are then they are also not. Children of iron, war soldiers marching a death march to the sound of drums!

She has already given a lot. Betrayed the country, sold out her heritage, consorted with rebels and the new-age equivalent terrorists, only to find a conspiracy as old and ridiculous as history itself.

How could she discard the possibility that Konan and Nagato speak the truth of a madman who intends on using the tailed beasts for something like peace?

So Sakura can't. She can't discard the thought that Kumo is moving towards war, nor that there is still that orange Uchiha on the loose.

They part at her doorstep – Shikamaru sets the cooler bag down carefully before throwing his arms around her.

He's that much taller than her when he's not slouching, it makes her realise how time has flown. And her little man says, "Sleep well, nee-chan."

She strokes his hair twice, then thrice. What was it, the sound of your acceptance?

Sakura knows what she is working towards, even if she does not know how her life will end. Looking at ninjas and their messy statistical endings, she doubts she will have a pleasant one.

"I will see you next week, Shika-chan. There is no need to worry."


Konan-san frowns lightly at her proposition, though that is the only symbol of her distress. Not quite enough to be disagreement before she answers in her soft voice, the tone of an angel descended from the sky. "Should you believe this to be wise, we cannot oppose."

Sakura allows herself to smile, reaching over to pour the purple-haired lady another cup of tea. "Konan-san, we have always worked under the assumption that I would keep your secrets. But someday, I would like for Naruto to know the truth about his cousin and their shared dream of peace."

She sips her own cup of tea. "I truly believe that Nara-sama will be a good failsafe for us to counter Tobi, he is the only one who will always be within the village walls."

"As you wish, Sakura-san, I will prepare a token for him. I will let Nagato know. How much will you tell the Lord Nara?"

"Enough truth to convince him, as much as he is able to make me say. He is a smart person, as you must know, unblinded by love as Jiraiya-sama is towards both you and Nagato-san."

Sakura withdraws the little clay bomb that Deidara gave her from her travel pouch, setting it on the table. "I will convince him that you two have control over what is left of Akatsuki and have him find ways to deal with your Zombie Duo amongst the other problems. Those whom we do not have to kill, we will not."

Konan's slim fingers brush the smooth surface of the pale white clay and she hums, "Acceptable. Kakuzu can be bought and he will be useful to fight Madara."

Her memory ticks back to the first conversation they had on moving forward to the future. The thought that the secret to immortality is hidden in Waterfall and in a body made to host multiple hearts.

"Wait for us in one of the paper trees on the 28th. Let us see how long it takes for him to notice that there is something off."

A smile regains ground on Konan's face, a laugh they share, "I look forward to challenging him."


As we mentioned, a slow chapter full of Sakura/Yuurei thoughts and regathering of her bearings. Part of it is also me repositioning where we are headed. I couldn't find a satisfactory ending that includes Princess Kaguya, so somehow I will end up having Zetsu killed before any such problems happen.

I am also trying to ease back into writing this story, which I hope will get better once I finish up my present on-going fic on Archive of Our Own. This past month and a half, I've been busy writing a Niebros fic for the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. The tone… is very different.

Coming back to writing Chains after writing multiple weddings for my Snapping Branches will take some adjustments. This chapter is mostly to try and blend a sated happiness with underlying tension and darkness.

With that, this chapter closes off one part of Sakura's vulnerability. Someone commented a long time ago that Sakura has become more and more unlikeable, and I think that that is okay. To Sakura, here and now, she does not mind becoming the villain.

Of course, I hope she's not too unlikeable! I'll get around to replying the new reviews in PM. See you all next chapter.

Yours,

Kayo.