𝐃𝐢𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐲||𝐁𝐘 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐃||

Chapter 12:Legacy

The tiniest of changes alter everything.

Even the smallest ripple, the merest of thoughts, can change the world. Paradise or perdition. Peace and war. Heaven. Hell. When one seeks to alter the past, they must be prepared for such things; not just the change in the life of one era, but the lives of many. And when those changes are many...

...well, let's have a look at them, shall we?

Whilst Naruto and his men fought and died in the Land of Water, in Konoha, the changes he had wrought began to bear fruit. All those earthshattering changes, silent for so long, began to move once again. Some of his seemingly inconsequential decisions-simple acts of kindness-bore fruit in his abscence. Lives were lost. Alliances were gained. Bonds bound, and unbound.

Some might call this an interlude, the calm before the storm. That dreadful moment of peaceful, complacent silence before the plunge into the abyss.

Call it what you will dear reader, but it is, nevertheless, an integral part of the story.

Every fiber of her being told Pakura to run.

Run! Flee! Get away from here! She wanted to bolt! She'd faced down assassins, distant envoys from foreign nations. She'd gone toe to toe with enemy shinobi, been wrangled into an unexpected marriage as a consort, and impossibly, found love-and the very strong possibility of a child, IF she judged her courses correct-here in the Hidden Leaf. Her life had been laid out on the line countless times and each time she had done her duty without fear, without hesitation.

Run, run, runrunrunrunrun...

Yet the prospect of this, of walking into unfamiliar territory was enough to make her shake like a leaf itself, sending anxious tremors shooting up and down her spine. She wished Naruto were here to comfort her but no, he was off in the Mist playing hero, taking some of the Leaf's best-and Mikoto!-with him. Pakura didn't begrudge him his actions; far from it, she admired his determination and dedication to the village. He was fierce as a tiger when it came to keeping their home. But she would've sincerely appreciated a little of that heartfelt sincerity for herself right about now. The thought of going in there, without weapons, not being allowed to use her bloodline to defend herself...it was terrifying.

Pakura fidgeted nervously at the thought.

"This is a horrible idea," she muttered to herself, clutching the book to her chest. "Absolutely horrible...why did I agree to this?!" She felt strange enough in her new flak jacket and konoha attire-the hitiate resting quite uncomfortably around her neck like a noose-but the reassurance that, she was now officially, as a gallant Jiraiya had put it, "part of the family" did precious little to quell the nauseating butterflies fluttering about within her breast. Indeed, the dea of entering a hot zone like this threatened to send her breakfast lurching back up-urk!

She leaned against the wall for support, stubbornly steeling herself. 'That better not be morning sickness! No, its too early; it shouldn't even be possible...

"Having second thoughts?"

A startled gasp forced itself between her lips. Pakura spun around with a start, startled to find that she wasn't alone.

"Hokage-sama!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, divested of his hat and robes, smiled pleasantly at her. "I thought I'd see how you were doing. You're going to be late, you know." Without the vestments of his office he looked very much like a simple civilian Pakura thought; though she knew in her heart nothing could be further from the truth.

"So...I just have to tell them what to do?"

"Not too much," he advised. "You have to smile and wave at them, too."