Chapter 64

                                    

                                          

"Thank you for being with him." thanked Konan, who had stood outside next to Shika, who was leaning on the railing. "You're welcome."
"In a way, yes." Konan breathed out, looking down at the villagers, who were out early. Actually, Nagato would have been back on the road as Pain by now. But he was actually sleeping a little longer than expected today.
"Nagato is still the same with you as before. He really likes you and is very attached to you." came from Konan, which Shika had rather questioned. "There's nothing between us. I would have noticed that."
Konan laughed softly. "Not everything is about logic and tactics, Shika. You can't always factor in feelings and emotions. They're just there and they don't go away, no matter how hard you try."
Shika looked at Konan a little differently now. She could hear a certain sorrow in her voice, which had probably been carried around in her heart for a long time. It was true what Konan said about the feelings. However, Shika had only ever found a solution with her shogi. Simply letting herself be guided by something else seemed a little strange to her.
Perhaps she was a little ignorant when it came to feelings. Especially when it came to the kind of feelings Konan was trying to explain to her. Nagato had always considered Shika to be a very good friend. Just like Yahiko, although Shika had actually treated them both a little differently. However, Shika couldn't compare the redhead to Iruka either.
"Hm..." Shika mumbled thoughtfully to herself, trying to look at her own feelings without a tactic. "Your reaction to Hidan." Konan said with amusement. "You didn't want Nagato to feel insecure about you. You wanted to make it clear right away that you would take someone else."
"Hidan just got me excited." the Nara grumbled, annoyed. "I think you wanted to tell Nagato that only he is allowed to approach you. It used to be like that. At least in some situations."
Shika looked away from Konan and realized how much it pleased her friend. Shika herself had never really noticed it, as she would never have thought about it as a child. As an adult, everything was different. She actually felt drawn to Nagato, which was probably why she had kept her caring side.
"And I think Nagato feels the same as you do. Back then, he would probably never have thought about it because it was sureal from his age. But I don't think it makes any difference now whether you're younger than him." Konan, who had now looked at her, smiled. "What's seven years when you have a beautiful woman at your side?"
"Konan..." Shika grumbled and heard another laugh from the woman. "What then? You are beautiful. And I'm sure Nagato thinks so too."
This conversation was slowly getting on Shika's nerves. She quite enjoyed talking to her friend, even if it disturbed her peace and quiet. 
"Yahiko would say that to you too." came from Shika, even if it wasn't exactly nice. The silence that came from Konan was clear.
"Sorry..." This time, Konan exhaled a little. "It's okay, I started it." The violet-haired girl smiled a little pained, which Shika didn't want to do. She should have left the king on her side of the game.