Konoha's Anniversary, even during war, was a big deal. On this, the 41st year since Konoha's founding, it was even bigger: the Ino-Shika-Cho Heads were stepping down, and their heirs were ascending.

Most of December was marked by a mad scramble to get as many Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Nara back into Konoha as possible without risking any part of the war.

By the day of the ceremony, then, the day of Konoha's Anniversary, there were so few non-Ino-Shika-Cho that it felt almost as if they'd taken over the whole of the city.

Sakura grinned as Sayuri straightened her hair. She'd done Himari's first, but now she was going around checking Kohana's and Sakura's just as their mother used to.

They were ready.

They'd be sitting as a family, quite near to the actual event, and Kohana had been outright given her outfit—it likely cost more than a house—and put in a very prominently positioned seat.

Sakura would be next to her.

Ren, Ikue, Rento, and Yoriko came alongside as they made their way to their seats; they'd be sitting just behind.

Akina, Arato, and Kaoru wouldn't be able to make it, but Fujio had arrived with a burn scar and a slightly manic grin that morning and Kamui and his fiancée Yumi had doled out breakfast to everyone at the table. Ibiki was there, nominally Sakura's child first, but Shin and Juro weren't; they would both be spending their day with their own parents.

They were almost at their seats when Sakura felt it, whipped around.

Her family followed.

Sakura had not seen her since the start of the Second War, nearly five years ago.

She'd been thirteen then, young and scared and unwilling to leave home, but there hadn't been much of a choice.

Everyone else was leaving soon.

The difference, of course, was that Sakura came back.

Fujio—rarely, he had a group of friends he lived with most of the time—came back.

Sayuri came back.

Many of her other siblings didn't.

Kaede had never made it to the war at all.

Aoi was long declared dead.

Kaoru visited occasionally, but Akina and Arato were still in places unknown, and if they died Sakura would likely not be informed for months—that was the life of an infiltrator, of an infiltrator's family.

But for Yamanaka Kaoru, T&I Jounin and mother to a dozen children, there was no excuse.

She'd kept writing, of course; knew about Kamui's engagement and Ibiki's adoption and so on, but she'd not visited.

She looked small, standing in the middle of so many nearly identical faces, small and slightly scared and alone.

"Mom!"

Her head turned, she saw them, and her face crumpled.

She held it together through introductions—met Ibiki and Yoriko and Rento and Yumi. She held it together through congratulations, for the engagement and the promotions and so on. And then—because the timing was just a bit off, because they really hadn't expected her to be here—she held it together for the ceremony, too.

Inoichi, at almost but not quite sixteen, was the youngest of the new Heads, but not by much.

He looked…

Capable, Sakura supposed. Capable in a way he hadn't before. He'd always been powerful, always been smart, but now, standing on the stage, he very much gave off the impression of a man who would lead his clan. Who would do what was best.

Shika and Choza gave off much the same impressions.

They had once been whiny kids, once been fighting genin, inexperienced chuunin.

Now they were jounin, jounin with the weight of the clan on their necks.

And they looked like they knew just how to cope.

.

There was a party, after, and because Kohana was dating Inoichi all were expected to attend.

Sakura's Mom still looked like she'd very much like to curl up somewhere, but only in flashes—only when she thought no one else could see.

She'd been gone five years, though; all her children were looking.

The dances were frenetic, the sort of thing one would expect out of a militant clan, and the food was mouthwatering and decadent in ways that made it obvious it had taken weeks of preparation, but…

Ibiki, at least, didn't particularly care about his grandmother.

He had two other sets, after all; what was one more?

He was far more interested in the food, in the dancing, in the people, and so Sakura led him around, met with Shin and Juro, filled them in while their child crammed his face with whatever was in reach.

Just after midnight the party began to clear out.

Back at home, Sakura put Ibiki to bed. It took a bit longer—the amount of food made him the slightest bit nauseous—but he had a bucket just in case and she'd cut him off a few hours before, so he went down after only half an hour.

Downstairs the house was quiet, her siblings—all congregated, all waiting—uncertain of who should make the first move.

It was still Kaa-san's house, Sakura considered. She knew her mother's name was on the official paperwork, but it had never been necessary to change that; the house had always been open to anyone in their family.

"I'm so happy to see you all." Kaa-san said. She'd said that before, when she first saw them, and then again, just before the ceremony, and even a few times during the afterparty.

"We're happy to see you too, Kaa-san." Ren said.

"Why didn't you visit sooner?" The youngest asked, because of the many things Himari was known for tact wasn't on the list.

"I—" She started, stopped. Paused, really, except there didn't seem to be any rush to start again.

Shin and Juro were already upstairs, already in bed.

Sakura wished that she was in her bed too.

She stood, instead, waited.

"I got busy."

Kamui snorted, but that was to be expected. "You got busy?"

"Yes."

"Too busy to visit your kids? Shit, Himari was basically raised by Kohana—not you."

"I was here—"

"Until you weren't."

She sighed. "I have no excuse."

Sakura—

She waited, they all waited, but it became clear that no explanation would be forthcoming. They would get nothing, no reason for the years spent apart.

"Really? Nothing?"

That was Kohana.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. No excuse." Kaa-san said, and Sakura realized she meant it. No matter what the reasons were in her own head, she wasn't going to share them.

The room descended into silence again.

Ren was the first to leave.

Fujio and Kamui followed soon after.

Sakura went to bed.

Thirty minutes later Kohana was beside her, shuffling under her covers like they did when they were little.

"I wanted her to have a reason." Kohana muttered. "I know she does, but she didn't even share it, so it was obviously a stupid reason. I still want to know what it was, though."

Sakura…

Ren and Sayuri were already well into their own lives when the Second Great War started. For them Kaa-san not visiting wasn't great, but it also wasn't…

Bad.

Kamui was younger, but he also hated the war more, hated the shinobi-lifestyle that he could never fully divorce himself from; his anger came from that more than anything.

Himari was only ten, so young, and she'd just missed Kaa-san.

Kohana had been thrown into the position of family head, having been left the house, and suddenly had to raise her barely-younger sister, maintain their home, and act as family representative in their overall clan.

She'd missed Kaa-san, but knew she had good reason.

And then their mother hadn't come home.

Everyone who wasn't non-infiltration visited occasionally, even Tou-san managed to sneak away once, but not Kaa-san.

Not their mother.

It hurt Kohana, Sakura knew, but.

Sakura wasn't Kohana.

Sakura loved their mother, it was true, but it had been Arden who did a lot of the 'raising', not Kaa-san. Kaa-san was there, and she loved her, but in practice it was more in the way she loved Tou-san—perhaps her mother might be around more, but her presence wasn't something she depended on.

Which was weird, in retrospect, because Kaa-san had been a very present parent.

And yet.

It still hurt, though, that she'd not been a part of their lives for so long, that the Head Ceremony was the first time that she met Ibiki, that she didn't even have an excuse or explanation.

It was not a great start to the new year.

.

Kaa-san left almost immediately after the anniversary, but promised to be back for Kamui's wedding in a month's time. Fujio promised the same, though his came with less certainty—he was going to be involved in some sort of mission in the Chigiri Sea, and assignments that limited information like that were not ones completed quickly.

Sakura, with what little free time she had, focused on a new invention; Arden had a memory of something called an iron lung, and other ideas of 'ventilators', and Sakura was sure she could make a useful version in her world too.

She'd have to, given the increased chemical warfare; three different Researchers in the Weapons department, her nephew included, were dedicated to finding new, horrible ways to use it.

January brought a new element to that front, too. It had been an unusually warm November and December, even in Iwa according to reports (Kumo was an exception, but they were north of the Land of Frost; it was little surprise), but that was over: winter had come, and with it a sudden drop in the deadliness of the gas attacks.

Sakura, who knew perfectly well that poison gasses had actually been banned in Arden's world, at least officially, was thankful for it.

Mostly.

But it also meant that Iwa, when combined with their newly deployed gas masks, were on the attack again.

There were now two bloody fronts of the war, and the only thing that was keeping the fight with Kiri from counting too was the sea itself; typhoon season was about to start and Water was therefore caught between the war and the need to batten down the hatches, so to speak.

The war continued.

The chemical warfare continued.

The physical warfare continued.

The psychological warfare continued.

And then it was time for Kamui's wedding, and Sakura was once more jolted out of reality and into a happy sort of facsimile where there wasn't anything important to talk other than Kamui' and Yumi's love.

"Congratulations!" Juro said. Sakura grinned from her spot down the table, its massive length full of Kamui's siblings Yumi's parents and, yes, Kaa-san too.

Shin nudged Ibiki (he'd decided to eat with Juro, didn't want to sit at the center table with all of the well-wishers constantly visiting) and the boy reluctantly copied him; their child had been stuffing his face, and clearly wanted to get back to doing so as quickly as possible.

"Thank you!" Yumi and Kamui chirped—they clearly didn't care at all about Ibiki's distraction. Shin and Ibiki moved away and another set of well-wishers—a pair of Yamanaka Elders—came to say their own piece about how wonderful love was, a rambling ode to their own marriage which lasted at least two or three minutes too long.

Kamui and Yumi nodded along eagerly. They had clearly gone mad with love.

Sayuri, who sat to the one side of Sakura—Kohana sat on the other—eyed Ibiki jealously. He had a different kind of mochi in each hand, and was eying a third type eagerly as he scarfed down the one in his right.

It was considered rude to eat while the newlyweds were being congratulated, however, so besides a quick bite at the very beginning of the dinner they'd had nothing at all.

Sakura's eyes swept the room, counting; five, maybe six left, then they'd be free to eat and dance at last.

Head Uchiha Fugaku, his just-announced-to-be-pregnant wife beside him, came up next. Sakura wasn't exactly sure why there were so many heads—even with her and Kohana the wedding shouldn't have been significant enough, but it would be rude to point that out.

"Congratulations."

"To you as well."

A hint—and it really wasn't more than that—of a smile flashed across his face, and then he and Uchiha Mikoto were gone.

They'd be having Itachi, Sakura was sure.

She hoped she'd manage to do enough to allow him to be happy.

She hoped she'd know what enough was soon.

Next was another Head was next, Inuzuka Tsume. She'd dragged her niece—she had no children, but the twelve-year-old was named after her—with her, and the girl didn't hesitate to open her mouth. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"

"I am."

"I knew it!"

Three more well-wishers left… two more… one more, and Sakura stood to make her way to one of the many banquet tables, more interested in filling her empty stomach than any of the other festivities.

Of course, the second she did Inoto had to catch her eye.

She made her way over to him, found him at the table with the Uchiha and Inuzuka heads and the former Heads of the Nara, Aburame, and Akimichi clans to boot.

"Not today, but tomorrow." Inoto said. "Dawn."

Sakura nodded, tried desperately to pull more information from his face.

She was unsuccessful.

The wedding party lasted into the wee hours, but Sakura volunteered to take Ibiki home the second he began to flag.

She had a feeling she'd need the rest.

.

It was the same group that had been sitting around the table during the reception, with several additional Yamanaka elders beside.

Sakura swallowed.

"We've been following up on the rumors, as you know."

Sakura nodded.

"We've found something. It—you suspected Danzo, didn't you?"

"Of what?"

Silence.

"I don't—something about him feels off." Sakura said at last. "I have no proof, though, which is what I've told you."

"You really have no idea why you feel that way?"

Sakura hesitated. She knew exactly why she felt that way, had the memories to prove it, but—"I know how I feel. I also know that I've never had a single negative interaction with or about him."

"We might be changing that."

Sakura stepped forward at the former Head's gesture, turning to look at the table.

"What is this?"

"Someone—someones, really, have been… spreading rumors. Intentionally. We narrowed down some of the rumor's origins, and Head Aburame managed to track one, despite significant effort to try to prevent such. He led Head Aburame's insect straight to Elder Danzo's house."

Sakura swallowed.

"You know," Former Head Inoto continued, "most people like Elder Danzo. He's well respected, particularly for his work during the prior two wars."

"I know. Again, I—at least until today—had no solid reason to distrust him."

Head Aburame grunted. He was young, still, had only just taken his position two years ago, but Bokuso liked him, thought he was very levelheaded. "My family never liked him."

"That's true." Former Head Nara sighed. "Your clan didn't pursue it, though."

"It's still not much proof."

Former Head Inoto ignored the elder's comment; "We're going to the Hokage tomorrow."

"Should I…"

"It is not necessary for you to come along; we just… keep an eye out. Try to figure out why you felt uncomfortable as we continue to more actively address the issue."

"Of course, Former Head."

Former Head Inoto sighed. "I had been planning on not doing much in my retirement, you know."

Former Head Nara snorted. "That makes you an idiot, not this situation."

Another sigh, and Sakura was dismissed.