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Leader	By : mannahpierce Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 2163 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: This story has some of Masashi Kishimoto's characters from Naruto in a universe of my own devising. I do not own Naruto. I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
My gratitude to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me. He’s been having a tough time lately but he always responds when I send him a chapter. Thank you!
Also thanks to richon, GreenEyedCat, disembodiedvoiceofthedying, Kyle, cynaga, Dawn, sadie237, angelj232000 and melissen for reviewing after chapter 13 was posted. Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me. Feedback keeps me writing.

Leader
Part 2: Preparations
14: Prize

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The apartment was most satisfactory. Not only was it in precisely the location he had specified but everything was right; the objects, their placement and the harmony of the whole.
Haku had done an admirable job of his rooms on the Oak but this was impressive.
He was no longer annoyed that Haku and Itachi had left the Oak early, picked up by the Dart. At the time he had been irritated to be left in the care of Dan, who lacked Haku and Itachi’s immaculate manners, but the sacrifice was now worth it.
“There were many items to choose between in the storerooms, Izuna-sama. I do not think Uchiha has ever thrown anything away.” Haku informed him.
They had. He knew that Uchiha had systematically purged the household of everything he had owned. Not that the household had contained furniture and fittings of such exceptional quality in his time; every credit had been invested in building the compound.
If he had been able to afford it, he would have purchased or commissioned objects like these.
“It is beautiful, Haku-san. Thank you. Please convey my gratitude to Itachi-san.”
“I shall do so and you are welcome, Izuna-sama. It is very important to Sasuke-sama that you have suitable accommodation and are comfortable.”
He did not miss the message; Haku was doing this for Sasuke, not for him and not for Uchiha.

Haku was sworn to Sasuke, as were Itachi and Naruto; he had yet to discover if there were others. Kisame had been personally sworn to Itachi. Itachi was no longer Uchiha, but he doubted that negated Kisame’s loyalty.
He was not sure which was the more terrifying; Kisame with his obvious strength and pointed teeth or Naruto with his sparkling blue eyes and winning smile.
He did know that both of them had to be far away and preferably dead before he made his move.
Shikamaru, thank the Lady, was sworn to Uchiha.

“We did manage to find one piece of furniture that we knew you owned, Izuna-sama,” Haku said as he opened the door to the room that had been set aside as his study.
It was Izuna’s desk. The shock of seeing it was so great that he almost stumbled. “I am stunned, Haku-san,” he managed.
Haku gifted him with a small smile. “Sasuke-sama insisted. He even had Shino-san strip out all the records that dated from after you were lost. It is as close as we could make it to how you left it.”
“Other people have used it?” he asked.
“Every leader of Uchiha,” Haku confirmed. “Even Sasuke-sama used it for a time, but decided to put it into storage because it reminded members of the crew of his father. Fugaku Uchiha was a cruel man.”
Fugaku Uchiha had been a sadistic tyrant who had twisted his eldest son until he snapped and committed mass murder. However, as a person who had been in a pod since the first generation of Uchiha he would have no knowledge of such things. “I do not wish to make any of the crew uncomfortable,” he replied, hoping that Haku did not take him at his word and remove the desk.
“What better way to redeem the desk than to return it to its original owner?” Haku replied. “Not my words,” he admitted. “Sasuke-sama’s. You have seen each of the rooms, Izuna-sama. Is there anything else that you need?”
He wondered what Haku would say if he asked for a blow job. Not that he would dare; he could not see either Itachi or Kisame seeing the humour in any such request. “No, thank you Haku-san.”
“Then may I make a suggestion, Izuna-sama?”
He gestured that Haku should proceed.
“I wondered if you would like to be taken on a tour of the compound while we unpacked your things. Konohamaru-san has volunteered to make himself available.”
Konohamaru was Sasuke’s foster brother and the key member of the crew for Tarrasade; an early meeting with him would be useful. “That is an excellent suggestion, Haku-san, and most considerate of Konohamaru-san.”
“I shall contact Kono-san at once,” Haku informed him. “Will you be attending the meal this evening? Sasuke-sama is making an announcement to the crew and I know that he would like you to be included.”
Sasuke had already mentioned it. “I would not miss it, Haku-san,” he replied, which was true; it was essential that he should become accepted by the crew.

Konohamaru proved to be a physically unimposing young man who made a better impression as soon as he opened his mouth.
“I wish I could show you the whole compound, Izuna-sama,” he admitted when they were in the Hall. “Unfortunately that will not be possible as there are outsiders in the new headquarters. I have arranged for certain corridors to be cleared, so that you can see some of it.”
“Thank you, Konohamaru-san,” he replied. He liked the Hall. He would keep the Hall as it was. The doors were particularly nice.

They walked along corridors, through security doors and up stairways, ending up in a very large, modern and impressive office.
“I know it is a bit much,” Konohamaru admitted, “but some of the people I meet here expect it.”
His eyes were drawn to the far wall, which was made of glass. Was that part of a tree beyond it?
“The glass is one way,” Konohamaru assured him. “No one will be able to see you.”

He approached it and looked out. They were halfway up one side of a huge square and in the middle was the biggest tree he had ever seen.
“It’s hard to appreciate it from here,” Konohamaru was saying, “so I found this projection.”
He dragged his eyes from the tree to the three dimensional model that sprang into existence over the large table at one side of the room.
It was amazing. They were on the middle floor of Uchiha Headquarters, a huge glass-fronted edifice bearing the Uchiha crest. Two other sides of the square had small shops and eateries on the lowest level and offices arranged in two tiers above.
The fourth wall was interrupted by an opening and beyond that was a....
He walked back to the window. Yes, it was more woods.
“The park,” Konohamaru told him. “That is the public part but there is a private side just for us. I was planning on heading there next.”
He nodded; momentarily stunned into silence by the blatant, if tasteful, display of wealth.
“Whose idea was the tree?” he managed as they left the office and headed back the way they had come.
“Shika-san’s. He likes trees,” Konohamaru replied.

The park was like the woods on the Oak only it had a greater variety of trees and he could hear birds. There was an onsen, a pond and a tree house for the children.
All because Shikamaru liked trees; he was struggling to understand why Sasuke indulged Shikamaru so.
“You must know Sasuke-sama well, having been together as children,” he suggested.
Konohamaru’s expression changed; he looked suspicious, almost hostile.
He tried a smile. “He seems a prudent person, not inclined towards excess.” He gestured to encompass the trees. “Yet there woods here and on the Oak.”
Konohamaru laughed. “You are right. Sasuke did not pay for them. Shika-san did.”
So Shikamaru had his own resources; it would appear that the concept of being sworn to Uchiha had changed.
“There he is now,” Konohamaru pointed out. “I didn’t think it would be long before he came to say hello to the trees.”

He looked and saw Shikamaru. There was a child with him; the sister he had care of since the Orochimaru reprint had arranged for the Uchiha Compound to be bombed.
Orochimaru had been apologetic about that; apparently the print had been reckless and the reprint worse.

The child was running towards them.
“Kono-san, Kono-san, I haven’t seen you in ages!” she accused.
Konohamaru gave a small bow to excuse himself and went to meet her. “It is good to see you, too, Su-chan, but I am busy showing Izuna-sama around the compound.”
It was too good an opportunity to miss. “Perhaps we could swap, Konohamaru-san,” he suggested. “You could spend a little time with Sumiko-chan and Shikamaru-san could walk me back to my apartment.”
The child turned to her brother. “Please, Nii-san.”

He studied Shikamaru watching Konohamaru leave with the child, who was chattering about things that had happened on the Oak.
“I was admiring the trees, Shikamaru-san,” he began. “I understand that they are yours.”
“No, they are Uchiha’s. A gift.”
“Some would say, Shikamaru-san, that you were both given and receiver.”
Brown eyes turned to him. “Sasuke-sama knows what I am, Izuna-sama.”
He wondered what Shikamaru meant by that but decided to let it rest. It was more important to gauge whether his planned seduction had any chance of success. “Perhaps you could introduce me to the trees as we walk, Shikamaru-san.”

Even discounting the time in stasis, it had been a long time since he had pursued anyone. He started with the simplest of techniques: deepening and enriching his voice; using Shikamaru’s name; trespassing into his personal space; making eye contact. Shikamaru definitely responded to his voice, there was a softening of his stance and his pupils dilated, but seemed oblivious to the rest.
Then there was the way Shikamaru phased in and out. Most of the time he appeared slightly disconnected. Sometimes he drifted even further away, although he never lost track of the conversation.
And once, just for a moment, he was utterly present, which was breathtaking.

It was a familiar pattern of behaviour; his brother’s lover had been like that.
“You remind me of him,” he stated.
There was another flash of the true Shikamaru. Intense brown eyes met his gaze for a split second before going to the rings on both their fingers and then back.
“I could stop wearing the ring,” he offered. “Sasuke would give me another.”
He noted that in moments of absolute honesty it was ‘Sasuke’ rather than ‘Sasuke-sama’. “Thank you, Shikamaru-san, but I do not think it is the ring,” he replied, taking full advantage of Shikamaru’s attention to make eye contact and smile.
It was too much. Shikamaru’s gaze went distant. He thrust his hands deep into his pockets, introducing a slouch into his walk, and began talking non-stop about the technical challenges of establishing the trees.
He suppressed his irritation; it was useful to have discovered one of Shikamaru’s limits.

By the time they were leaving the park he had heard more than enough about trees and was determined to take the conversation in a new direction.
“I understand from Sasuke-sama that you lead Uchiha’s research and development team, Shikamaru-san.”
Shikamaru smiled. “I think that ‘lead’ may be an exaggeration, Izuna-sama. I am not cut out to be a leader.”
The smile was a surprise. It would appear that the encounter could still be useful, if not for seduction than for research.
“So leadership is not a ‘typed-seven’ genius behaviour?” he asked. “I confess to not being familiar with the notion of typed-genius, Shikamaru-san. I do not believe that the concept had been developed in my time. Could you indulge my interest?”
“It’s a Centralite idea,” Shikamaru began. “Centralites do not celebrate difference but they do value intelligence. Children who are different are usually given therapy to bring their difference within the normal range. This is not done if they reach one of the thresholds that defines a typed-genius. Instead of being given therapy, typed-geniuses are removed from their families and raised in controlled environments. This is so that they will be as useful as possible without disrupting the smooth running of society.
“Once Centre had the definitions and the tests they began looking for typed-geniuses outside Centre. Once an individual, usually a child, is identified, they are transported to Centre to spend the rest of his or her life in the Institute of Psychology on Centre I.”
“So you have never officially been tested, Shikamaru-san.”
“No. Only Centre administers the tests and I do not wish to be transported to Centre I.”
This was interesting. Orochimaru referred to Shikamaru as ‘Uchiha’s typed-seven’, which had suggested that it was common knowledge. He wondered if Centre was that inattentive or whether they considered Shikamaru beneath their interest. “You think that they would want you, Shikamaru-san,” he suggested.
“They collect typed-geniuses,” Shikamaru replied. “Functional typed-sevens are rare. It is likely that they would commit considerable resources if there was even a chance of acquiring one.”
“Functional typed-sevens?” he queried, keen to keep Shikamaru talking.
“Sane typed-sevens,” Shikamaru clarified. “Most of them are disconnected from reality.”
“And typed-sevens...?”
“Detect connections other people cannot,” Shikamaru told him. “Here we are, Izuna-sama.”
They had reached the outer door of his apartment just as the conversation had got interesting.
Shikamaru bowed. “Until the evening meal, Izuna-sama.”
He inclined his head in return. “Thank you for your company, Shikamaru-san. Until then.”

He watched the ordinary-looking young man walk away. Then he entered and checked each room. He was alone. The belongings he had acquired while on the Oak had been neatly arranged in the cupboards and chests.
He made his way to the study and sat at the desk, running his hand across the surface. What would his brother have said if he had been told that his simple workstation would become a symbol of power?
For a moment he closed his eyes and saw Izuna’s smile.

He was almost sure that this apartment was camera and microphone free. He had been repeatedly assured that the cameras in his rooms on the Oak had only been used when he had required a high level of care.
Sasuke Uchiha was far too honourable and trusting for his own good; very like the original owner of the desk.
However, it was possible that one of his advisors could have persuaded him to put the newcomer’s goodwill to the test; maybe Kakashi, who was shrewd, or Neji, who was too enigmatic to second-guess.
If so, it would be better to act out a scene now than be caught later.

He knew it was still there. Orochimaru had checked for him; it had been one of the purposes of the raid on the household. His eyes scanned the wall, picking out the familiar features.
It was the same for space stations throughout known space. Most walls were merely partitions. Moving such walls was trivial. A few, like this one, were structural. Behind the panelling were struts and beams and pillars. Some ran the height and breadth of the compound. A few ran even further, anchoring Level 1 to Level 6.
One was not what it appeared. It had been built with a different purpose in mind.

He walked to the exact location and pressed the precise parts of the wall in the correct order. As the panel sprang open he laughed for the benefit of any observers, imitating the sound he thought a man might make if he had rediscovered a childhood toy.

He resisted the urge to investigate further. Instead he closed the panel, being careful to trap a single hair between it and the rest of the wall. He smoothed the protruding end so that it ran along the join in the panelling. Even Haku at his most observant would be unlikely to see it.
If the hair was undisturbed after five days he would proceed.

They sent the oldest of the cats, Misora, to escort him to the evening meal.
She was slim with small, pert breasts and curves that made his fingers itch to grope and fondle. Perhaps it was not such a bad idea to allow female spacers; at least he had fuel for his fantasies.
He imagined her in one of Haku’s kimonos, first naked between the outer layer of silk and then cocooned in layer after layer of traditional garments, waiting to be unwrapped.
Maybe it was a good thing that the ‘trainees’ were not available to the crew; he was not sure he could pretend to be male-only with such delicacies on the table.
He should speak to her; he needed to get to know the crew.
“I understand from Sasuke-sama that you are doing very well, Misora-kun.” He only just remembered to call her ‘kun’ rather than ‘chan’, which sounded ridiculous but, apparently, was expected. “I expect that you will soon be promoted.”
She flushed prettily, which supplied more images for his fantasy but also stiffened his cock. He willed it away. He did not want to be in a room with hybrids that could smell his arousal, or the faux Hyuga who would see it, or the little empath, Ran, who could probably feel it.
“It is kind of you to say so, Izuna-sama.”
“Have you decided on your area of specialisation, Misora-kun?”
“Not really, Izuna-sama. I think perhaps communications.”
“I am sure you will do well whatever you decide,” he replied, keeping it simple.

The rest of the household was pleasant and comfortable; almost homely. Over the centuries, during his brief awakenings, he had tried to find out what it was like inside the Uchiha Compound. He would examine accounts that had been harvested while he slept. Occasionally the current Orochimaru print would have caught an Uchiha to play with and he would watch video of him answering questions.
None of them described anything like this. This was unexpectedly close to what Izuna had wanted for his family.
The thought crept into his mind that Sasuke was more like his brother than he had been willing to admit. He had thought him more staid, more formal, but seeing Sasuke in the inner household, with his children and his lover, changed that.
There was that smile that lurked in his eyes and occasionally crept to his lips.
Today it was obvious. His eyes were sparkling. He was excited about whatever announcement he was planning to make.

They sat around the huge table in the kitchen. Sasuke sat at the head of the table with Naruto on his left and Iruka at his right.
He, as guest of honour, was given the place opposite. Haku was on his left and Itachi on his right.
Even the younger children were there, allowed to stay up for the big announcement.

And it proved to be big; huge; prodigious; colossal. Ten systems arranged in three strings. Five had planets. Eighteen planets in all; four were thought to have a standard ecology.
Eleven gates; Uchiha could afford eighteen planets and eleven gates.
He tried to keep observing despite the shock. There was something peculiar about how they had defined the routes. A route finder was mentioned and ‘sub-optimal’ holes. Apparently the sub-optimal holes allowed them to take shortcuts, because they talked about being able to jump into systems further along the strings.
He had thought that they had made it back to Tarrasade abnormally quickly.

Then Sasuke said it. They needed to jump the routes and survey the systems. If Sasuke himself was going, it might provide the opportunity he required.
“I think our tour established that we can stay in touch,” Sasuke continued. “And we have the Dart to redistribute personnel if that is required.”
“Are you saying that you fancy going exploring, Sasuke-sama?” Asuma asked.
Sasuke looked to his left, at Naruto. “Not me, but someone else might. Also, it would be a wonderful experience for our youngsters.”

He sat there, listening to them talk and supplying appropriate, if brief, responses. All the systems at the far ends of the strings were possibilities.
He must find out more about the ‘sub-optimal’ holes, the shortcuts, the route finder and how Uchiha managed to communicate over long distances.

Uchiha would be his. All of it: the compound he had coveted for so long; the ships with their Mulligan drives; the eleven gates and eighteen planets displayed before him; even the typed-seven genius.
It would belong to Madara Uchiha.

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Leader