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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
- 19
- 20
- 21
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My gratitude to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to GreenEyedCat, disembodiedvoiceofthedying, sadie237, melissen and SidonieStarr for reviewing after chapter 19 was posted.

Author’s note
I cannot emphasise how much it means to me to hear from readers. I am posting about 7000 words a week, occasionally more, which means writing at least 7000 words a week, which is proving tough. Every time someone reviews it is encouragement, a little push, to keep going. You may think you have nothing to say but it means so much to me that you are willing to take the time to put down a few words.
So THANK YOU SO MUCH to those loyal readers who regularly review and THANK YOU to those who occasionally review and ‘please do’ to those of you who think about doing so but decide ‘not this time’.

Leader
Part 2: Preparations
20: Delays

Shikamaru had almost finished his daily message to Haru. He checked Haru’s latest data packet again; a Go move, the solution to one of the puzzles he had sent, a ridiculously difficult mathematics problem and an excited description of what he had been doing as data manager.
No, there was nothing else he should add to his reply. Once it was encoded and compressed, he sent it on its way.
He missed Haru, and Naruto, and Sasuke, and the other children, and Iruka, and Kakashi, and Haku; it wasn’t meant to be like this.
Less than two more days to go and then he, Neji and Su-chan would be away in the Dart, closing the gap with every jump.

He was about to dive into the data streams when it occurred to him that Neji should have been bothering him by now. He pulled down his goggles but all he could see were the screens they had installed so that Sasuke could not see his mess.
They should have taken them down once Sasuke had left.

He pulled out his earpieces, got up and went to see if Neji was at his desk. He was and Shikamaru could tell that he was worrying about something.
“Ne-chan?” he asked.
Neji jumped. Neji never jumped. Then there was the smile; it was nothing like a Neji-smile. It was like someone else’s smile on Neji’s face.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded. “Has something else gone wrong with the interview?”
“Not the interview,” Neji admitted. “Sit down, Shika,”
That sounded bad. Not horrifically bad or Neji wouldn’t have pretended to smile. No one had died or was hurt. He perched on the edge of Neji’s desk.
“You know that we are expecting Izuna-sama to receive many invitations after the interview,” Neji began.
Shikamaru nodded. Although most of them would be out of the question, he knew that Izuna had been considering a handful of the possibilities Konohamaru was anticipating.
“He wants me with him for the first few.”
Shikamaru was about to snort with derision when he read the message in Neji’s eyes. “Sasuke couldn’t have said yes, he just couldn’t!” he complained before accepting that what was done was done. “How could he? Why didn’t Na-chan stop him?”
Neji sighed. “I doubt he consulted Naruto. I do know that Izuna asked Sasuke if it would be possible to hire a Hyuga, which is not an unreasonable request given now rich Uchiha is and how difficult it will be for him to integrate into Tarrasade society. Sasuke had to explain that Uchiha is on Hyuga’s banned list because of me. Then Konohamaru talked to Sasuke and next thing Sasuke asked me, us, to stay an extra five days.”
“Five days!” Shikamaru objected, but, inside, he was grateful it wasn’t longer. Given the speed of the Dart they might still make it to the last system in the string before they finished surveying all the planets. “I don’t know why he wants to meet outsiders anyway,” he grumbled. “Do I have to attend these social engagements?”
“You are banned from leaving the compound. Sasuke-sama’s orders.”
“I guess it could be worse then,” Shikamaru admitted.
“Yes, he could have ordered us not to follow the Oak,” Neji pointed out. “After all, I’m needed here more than I am there and Haru is doing a good job of covering for you.”
Which was not what Shikamaru wanted to hear; given enough pressure from Izuna, Sasuke might still change his mind during the next seven days.

Even so, it probably wasn’t a good idea to answer, “Yes, very much,” that afternoon when Izuna asked if he minded staying the extra five days.
Izuna looked hurt. “I am sorry you feel that way, Shikamaru-san.”
After that, Shikamaru felt guilty and went out of his way to be helpful. He even promised to generate a version of Sasuke’s database interface so that Izuna might find it easier to learn about the outsiders with whom he would be interacting.
“I’ll add more historical detail,” he explained. “Learning is easier when you can link it to stuff you already know.”
Izuna smiled at him with his eyes, like Sasuke did. “That is very kind of you, Shikamaru-san.”
“Do we need to go over tomorrow’s interview again, Izuna-sama?” Neji asked.
“No. Get dressed. Go to meeting room. Answer prearranged questions. Avoid or evade the extra questions Yukie Fujikaze will insert. Remember that it is meant to be live although it will not be because we have introduced a six minute lag so Shikamaru-san can edit out any appalling gaffs I might make.”
Shikamaru wondered if Izuna was as frustrated with the process as he seemed. He noticed that Neji, like him, had chosen not to respond to his mini-outburst.
“Will you be sharing the evemeal with us, Izuna-sama?” Neji asked.
“No. Konan-san has done me the honour of inviting me to her apartment,” Izuna replied.

“I suppose there is no chance that Izuna and Konan...?” Shikamaru suggested as they walked back to the crew room.
“I doubt it,” Neji replied. “Everything we know about Izuna Uchiha suggests that he only finds men sexually attractive. Certainly the only person he has shown an interest in since coming out of stasis is you. No, I think he likes conversing with Konan.”
Shikamaru could see that; Konan was clever, educated and refined. He speeded up. “Let’s sweet-talk Choza into giving us a picnic, steal Sumiko from her last session and go to the park.”
Neji matched his pace. “Good idea. Maybe we could also ask Choza or Kiba to keep an eye on Sumiko this evening.”
Shikamaru’s mind went immediately to his list. There were still a few places left.
“Don’t even think about it, Shika,” Neji warned him. “We are not fucking in Iruka and Kakashi’s bed. However, an evening in the onsen would be very pleasant.”

.

Madara enjoyed being witty and charming to Konan while imagining what Orochimaru was probably doing to Pein at that very moment.
It would be better to be fucking her but that was not an option; at least not yet.
The fact that Konan did not have a clue as to who he was or his connection to Orochimaru made it even more delicious.

Being patient was becoming more and more difficult. It was so close but so far away. A five day delay was not enough. He wanted Shikamaru in Tarrasade when the attack occurred; if he was already underway it would be difficult, probably impossible, to get him back.
He had considered bringing the Hyuga plot forward but the negotiations were delicate and better not rushed. Also, Neji being kidnapped or killed might be enough to persuade Sasuke to abandon the survey and come home.
No, he needed something else.
He had toyed with Sumiko having an accident but Shikamaru would investigate the cause and Madara had no illusions about what would happen to someone who was known to have harmed one of the children. Even being the great Izuna Uchiha would not prevent Kiba from ripping his head off.
An assassination attempt at a social function was a possibility but, again, it risked bringing lines of enquiry to Shikamaru’s attention.
The only viable option was a media storm. He could initiate that through Karin. The extra five days should give him the time he needed.
It would have to be enough.

He smiled at Konan, complimented her on the delightful table setting and accepted her invitation to walk in her flower garden.

.

Shikamaru compressed and encoded a copy of the video before sending it along the minigate link to the Oak.
The interview had been perfect. Izuna had performed magnificently. Yukie-san had been so dazzled, or perhaps still suffering the after-effects of being podded, that she only asked extra questions that allowed Izuna to demonstrate his charm.
The media were going crazy. Yesterday Uchiha still had to confirm that the man in the pod had been Izuna Uchiha. Today Izuna Uchiha had stepped from the past into the present in front of millions of people; trillions once the video spread throughout known space.

Shikamaru’s fingers flew over the interface creating another two layers of filters to sieve through the barrage of incoming communications. They were building up alarmingly quickly; this should be the lag before the response took off exponentially.
He got up and went looking for a two by two by two data crystal array; assuming the pattern was as he had predicted, he was going to need it.
Neji peered around the edge of the screen. “Shika?”
“I was at least one order of magnitude off as to the level of response,” Shikamaru admitted. “I need to increase the capacity before we are swamped. We’d be in trouble already if we didn’t use dedicated channels for Uchiha traffic.”
“We are about to release Sasuke’s recorded video. Is there any reason we should delay?”
Shikamaru paused for a moment and considered. “Nothing new,” he confirmed. “I need to do this now. If I am quick I can be at the meeting.”

He went back to his desk, called up four of the media channels to view while he worked and began connecting the portable data array into a suitable interface. The filters should deflect anything important or urgent for them to view; the other incoming messages would receive an automated reply and be stored in the array for later consideration.
Each of the channels had reached the point where they were running clips of Izuna’s interview and then getting comments from experts, celebrities or the public, depending on the target audience.
Then, almost at the same moment, the channels cut to a presenter announcing the release of Sasuke’s statement.

He had recorded it sitting at his desk, the Uchiha crest on the wall behind his right shoulder and one of the small three dimensional family portraits close to his left hand.
Shikamaru shook his head; Neji was so predictable. The crest represented Uchiha’s power, so was shown above Sasuke’s knife hand. The family portrait was close to his rings, which linked him to his parents and to Naruto. When he spoke it was measured, melodic and surprisingly intimate.
“Finding Izuna Uchiha alive is a wonderful gift. It is an honour to welcome him home and a privilege to spend time with him. We welcome him back into the clan and hope that Izuna-sama will choose to live with us always as an admired and valued member of our family.” The image cut away to show brief shots of Sasuke and Izuna walking together in the park and then sitting in armchairs talking. “For me, who no longer has parents, uncles, aunts and cousins, a long-lost relative is especially precious.” The view came back to Sasuke sitting at his desk. “Having that relative turn out to be the great Izuna Uchiha is thrilling; my boyhood hero in the flesh. I know that Uchiha will benefit from his wisdom and experience.”
The image faded to be replaced by presenters, experts, celebrities or members of the public. It would appear that Sasuke’s statement had gone down well, which was good.
Shikamaru made the last connection, installed the programme, tweaked the parameters and set it running. He checked the chronometer on his wrist. He would only be a few minutes late for the meeting.

He normally wouldn’t have bothered with an apology but Izuna was there so he bowed. “Asuma-san, Izuna-sama, Konohamaru-san, Biwako-san, Sumaru-san, please forgive my tardiness. It was necessary to increase capacity to cater for the incoming messages.” He was intrigued to see Biwako and Sumaru; including them must have been Asuma’s decision.
Asuma gestured that he should sit down. “Thank you, Shika-san, for reacting so quickly. Preventing a mess is always quicker and easier than cleaning one up. I was explaining to Izuna-sama that he will obviously require his own staff. Until we can reassign personnel or recruit I have asked Biwako-san if she could spare some time, as her knowledge of Tarrasade is unparalleled among the crew. I have also removed Sumaru-san from all other duties. He will operate as Izuna-sama’s secretary, at least temporarily. I am sure that Sumaru-san has some secretarial skills and it is, of course, easier to introduce a secretary rather than a bodyguard.”
Shikamaru had to suppress a grin as he sat down; Asuma’s approach suited him just fine.
“Since security is always easier to provide within the compound, Konohamaru is arranging an office for Izuna-sama in the headquarters that he can use for some of his meetings with outsiders. Until it is ready, Izuna-sama, Konohamaru-san had suggested that you use his office.”
Izuna gave a small, stiff bow. “That is most kind of you, Konohamaru-san.”
Konohamaru bowed in return. “You are welcome, Izuna-sama.”
“Down to work,” Asuma warned them. “It makes sense for Izuna-sama to establish some key contacts while Neji-san is here to give feedback about the initial interactions. With that in mind, I thought that we would arrange meetings over the next five days. Konohamaru-san has cleared his schedule, which means that he and Kamatari-san can also be available.”

Within ten minutes they had a list of nine people whom Izuna should see in person and established that all of them had already been in contact.
“Neji-san, who should be first?” Asuma asked.
Neji did not even need to check with him, the answer was so obvious. “Hiruzen-sama,” Neji replied.
Asuma did at least look to Izuna for confirmation.
“The head of the Fire Shadow organisation,” Izuna acknowledged. “Yes, that would be most appropriate.”
“Can’t expect Hiruzen-sama to look like he is rushing to our door, so why don’t you propose tomorrow afternoon, Kono-san?” Asuma suggested. “And Biwako-san, maybe you could make sure you are somewhere else?”
Biwako smiled. “I don’t know. It could be fun. All that glass.”
“It’s unbreakable, obaa-chan,” Konohamaru pointed out.
“Do not worry, Kono-chan, I shall not put Hiruzen in a bad mood by making an appearance,” Biwako replied. She turned to Izuna. “If no one has told you, Izuna-sama, Hiruzen and I were partners long ago.”
“No, I had not realised that,” Izuna admitted. “How interesting.”

.

Madara was having difficulty concentrating. It took all his will and energy to maintain the Izuna persona because, underneath, he was seething with fury.
One moment everything had been proceeding smoothly. The next Asuma had stolen control of the situation. Now he had a secretary he did not want, an office he had not asked for and nine appointments about which he had been barely consulted.
He hated realising he had underestimated people and, without doubt, he had done so with Asuma. Asuma, who, unless Madara’s knack for spotting familial features was failing him, was related to Konohamaru, Biwako and, in all probability, to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
“Perhaps it would be possible to adjourn for now, Asuma-san,” he suggested. “I would like to familiarise myself with these nine individuals and their organisations. Shikamaru-san could walk me through the new database interface he has prepared for me. Then, perhaps, we could meet again, either later today or tomorrow morning.”
Asuma looked directly at him. “As you wish, Izuna-sama. I suggest that Kono-san updates you later today as to how far he had got with setting up the meetings and we all meet tomorrow morning. Feel free to use this room for your meeting with Shika-san and Neji-san. It will save time if you do not change venues.”
Madara managed polite bows as the others left. As Asuma had suggested, Neji stayed.
“Do you want me to stay, Izuna-sama?” Sumaru asked.
“Not this time, Sumaru-san,” Madara answered hastily, before one of the others could suggest that was an excellent idea. “Perhaps you could ask Choza-san if he could send Keitaro-kun with some tea.”
“I shall bring it myself, Izuna-sama,” Sumaru replied.

He waited until Sumaru had followed the others from the room and shut the door before asking his question.
“Why has no one told me that Asuma-san is related to Biwako-san and Konohamaru-san?” he asked.
Shikamaru and Neji exchanged looks. “Because he is not,” Shikamaru replied.
He was about to argue but Neji spoke first. “Like Itachi-san is not Uchiha.”

Madara anger faded to annoyance as curiosity took over. “Hiruzen Sarutobi gave his baby son to Uchiha?” Sasuke had mentioned the practice and that it had been abandoned.

“We would not know,” Neji replied.
“And would not ask,” added Shikamaru.
“Or expect an answer if we did,” Neji concluded. “As Sasuke-sama says, there are certain responsibilities that he has inherited and must uphold.”
Madara was intrigued. Was Uchiha obliged to put Hiruzen Sarutobi at the top of each list because he had sacrificed his son? Or was it because Sasuke Uchiha had been fostered in his household when orphaned? Or both?
“You wanted to see how the database interface would work, Izuna-sama,” Neji reminded him. The door slid open. “And here is Sumaru-san with the tea. Perhaps he could stay and familiarise himself with the database, Izuna-sama.”
He had to agree; Izuna would have gone out of his way to be pleasant to the young man.
Madara often wished his brother has been less insufferably nice.

The interface was excellent. Unfortunately it would leave an electronic trail and could therefore, for now, only be used to look into people in whom Izuna would be interested.
Shikamaru’s oscillating mood intrigued him. The closer the planned departure of the Dart, the livelier he became. He had been depressed by the extra five days’ delay and today he was particularly cheerful, as if Asuma’s interference made it more likely that the Dart would leave as planned.
Madara concurred; he would have to take a risk he had hoped to avoid. It was the only sure way of escalating the situation to a point when Shikamaru’s departure would be impossible.

.

Shikamaru grabbed a flask of coffee from the kitchen and sauntered along the corridor to his office. Sumiko had rushed off for a session with Konan and Nagato in hydroponics. Neji was with Izuna in the headquarters. The first two days of meetings had gone well.
Two more nights and they would be on their way.
He settled at his desk and activated his favoured interface for analysing communications.
The lag warned him even before he was faced with a mass of amber and red. He called up his direct wireless link to the control room and requested a voice link.
“Choza here.”
Choza being on watch emphasised how short-handed they were now that Asuma had assigned Sumaru to Izuna. “Shikamaru here. Is there anything I should know?”
“The watch commander for Levels 5 and 6 has requested a conference with Asuma as soon as he is available.”
That wasn’t good; it suggested a public order issue. “Thanks, Choza. I’ll leave you to it.”

He brought up the two main news channels before beginning on the messages that had been identified as both urgent and important.
What he saw made his heart sink. A crowd gathered around a preacher. Behind the preacher was a huge image of Izuna. Even before his ears turned into what the news presenter was saying, Shikamaru’s mind had provided the answer. Izuna Uchiha was back from the dead; that appealed to those looking for someone to deliver them from their problems or even merely the tedium of their everyday lives.
Worse, it attracted people like the preacher he was watching. Best scenario; he was crazy but harmless. After that it was a sliding scale that ended with a megalomaniac who thought nothing of sacrificing innocents. Between the two extremes were various versions of undesirable with differing degrees of nasty.
The expert on one of the news channels was sneering. Shikamaru sighed; he knew better. In a space station such as Tarrasade, where so many had so little but few were actually starving, such fads spread like fire.
He might be able to stop it, or at least mitigate it, if he moved fast.
His fingers flew across the interface, sorting the incoming messages into those that were relevant and those that could wait. He constructed and initiated a search and sent messages to a few key people before diving into the data streams to check for new currents. Then he used what he had learnt to create and run a predictive model.
What it told him only confirmed what he already knew; they weren’t going to be on the Dart any time soon.
- 19
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