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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
- 22
- 23
- 24
Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to Coolio69, Copy_That33, Slynx, telynaayuri, SidonieStarr, eunmook, Procastination_is_key, melissen, sadie237 and disembodiedvoiceofthedying for reviewing after chapter 22 was posted. Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me. Feedback keeps me writing.
Remember, if you want to receive an email alert of when an update happens, contact me on mannahpierce@ntlworld.com.

Leader
Part 3: Betrayal
23: Watching

It had been difficult to give command over to Itachi, hard to walk away from Haru, heartbreaking to listen to the Oak getting close to jumping only to fail and agony watching the Oak break apart.
But all those were nothing compared to seeing the Sakura crippled and defenceless while enemy fighters swarmed about her.
There was nothing they could do. If even one of the enemy ships exploded it would trigger the others; no one could survive that.
This way Keizo, Yasushi, Yoshimi, Yuki, Hoshi and the others were still alive.

He wished he could hold Naruto. They were trapped in the Blossom’s tiny cabin, so close and yet separated by suits and vacuum; only able to hear each other’s voice through a microphone and speaker.

“We wait,” Naruto growled. “Orochimaru is not here. It is an Orochimaru print. They will transfer the prisoners to T1 and jump back through the hole. We can watch and follow. We will rescue them.”
Sasuke looked across; through the visor of Naruto’s helmet he could see tears streaming down his cheeks. “Yes,” he agreed. He did not say that Orochimaru only wanted the kits. He did not point out that they could not take too many chances because they were carrying the younger children. “I am going to risk contacting the Cherry and the Spear,” he added. “I’ll code the signal and hide it within the background radiation.”
Naruto nodded, never taking his eyes from the scopes. “Not the Lancet or the Snow Willow,” he checked. “They must concentrate on hiding and getting away.”
“Not the Lancet or the Snow Willow,” Sasuke assured him. He imagined Kuuya alone on the Snow Willow. At least Haru and Kazuki had Dan, Haku and Ran.

Getting the coder and decoder operational gave him something to do; it was always a challenge getting through Shika’s security checks. Once he managed it, Sasuke discovered that he was not the first to decide to make contact. There was a message waiting for them.
He played it through both their suit speakers simultaneously. “This is Akemi on the Sakura. We are waiting for the enemy to make contact. It is likely we will be boarded. We have a plan. We are going to put bugs around the ship and feed their output into the coder, which we’ve set on clandestine transmission.”
“They have bugs?” Naruto queried.
Sasuke recalled looking through the big litter’s personal basics. There had been all manner of small electronic devices, some of which could have been bugs. “A combination of Haru’s ingenuity and Itachi’s influence,” he explained. “They aren’t allowed to use anything during a simulated mission that they don’t have in their emergency packs.”
“I can hear Hoshi in the background,” Naruto told him, his tone wistful. “Do you think it was her idea?”
“Probably,” Sasuke answered, astonished Naruto could discriminate that from the output of his suit speaker. “I am going to pressurise the cabin,” he decided.
“You sure?” Naruto asked. “Can we spare the oxygen?”
“I am sure,” Sasuke confirmed. “The Blossom might not have much, but it does have air scrubbers.”
“The cabins speakers are better,” Naruto admitted. “I’ll be able to hear more.”
Shika had systematically re-specified Uchiha equipment to cater for hybrids; all audio devices worked for frequencies beyond a purebred human’s range.

It took a remarkably brief time for the pumps to pressurise the cabin. They opened their helmets and stripped off their gloves.
It was good to touch, even if it was only holding hands for a few seconds.
“Could we risk one message to the Sakura?” Naruto asked.
Sasuke considered. It should be safe; Akemi had said that he had the communication system set up for clandestine operation. Incoming messages would be stored in the decoder until released by someone who could jump through all Shika’s security hoops. “Yes.”

He went first. “This is Sasuke. We have your message and will be listening in. We are here for you.” He nodded to Naruto.
“This is Naruto. It will be good to see you and hear your voices. Take care and stay safe.”

Once all messages had been sent, they began settling in for the long haul.

Naruto had tucked the Blossom away within a piece of wreckage and Sasuke had deactivated all but essential systems. They had reasonable sight lines for the scopes.
They decided not to move. It was too risky, particularly as their battleboard was next to useless without any active data gathering.
Despite the cabin being pressurised, they would have to live in their suits. The Blossom was too small for bunks, or a head, or artificial gravity.
Sasuke was not looking forward to days of taking pills to settle his stomach.
Even monitoring the bugs would be a challenge; they only had three display screens and two speakers.

Sasuke connected the output of the decoder to a speaker and one of the display screens before spelling Naruto on the scopes. He spared sideways glances as Naruto sorted himself; removing the clothes he had been wearing beneath his suit and adding the attachments that dealt with urine and faeces. Sasuke marvelled as he twisted and turned in the limited space; easily coping with there being no up and no down.
There was a crackle of static as the speaker attached to the decoder was activated. Sasuke braced himself to hear the Sakura.
“This is Fu. We have disengaged because fighting will endanger the Sakura. Awaiting a change in the situation or further orders.”
It was good to hear that Hamaki, Terai and Fu were alive.
There was still nothing from the Spear.
“Maybe we should connect the scopes to one of the displays,” Naruto suggested as he refastened his suit and checked their supplies. “We could run the vid through Shi-chan’s programme that detects changes in patterns of movement.”
Sasuke was surprised; Naruto trusted his senses far more than any programme.
“It could be days,” Naruto reminded him. “The programme has an alarm function.” He twisted so his face ended up less than a hand’s breadth from Sasuke’s.
“Good idea,” Sasuke acknowledged and looked away from the scopes long enough to claim a kiss. It felt good; a reminder of what they shared in contrast to the destruction and dread.
Naruto twisted again and settled back into his chair without the slightest rebound. He then reclaimed the scopes while Sasuke set up Shika’s programme.

That done, Sasuke started the tricky procedure that Naruto had performed so effortlessly. Unlike Naruto, he had to manage it while strapped loosely to his chair; he would be a hazard if he allowed himself to float freely.
For once Naruto did not tease him as he wriggled and flopped or make some remark that gave him an erection while he was fitting the urine collector.
Sasuke half wished he had. The omission was a painful reminder of their situation.

Five of their children were about to fall into the hands of a monster.

Finally Sasuke sealed his suit, tightened the straps that held him to his chair and checked the decoder. To his surprise there was a message. He wondered why it had not triggered the speaker but then he realised it was in long-short.
He decoded the first line in his head. “Message from Dan on the Lancet,” he announced. He transcribed the rest and heard himself utter a sigh of relief.
“Teme!” Naruto demanded.
“They are already away from the battlefield. He isn’t using audio because he wants Haru and Kazuki to stay focused on escaping.”
Naruto’s whiskers relaxed a tiny amount. “Good.”

The speaker crackled again. This time the display activated, showing four locations on the Sakura in quick succession; the control room, the captain’s office, the crew room and the inner side of the smaller airlock.
Hoshi was in the control room and Sasuke spotted Yuki and Yoshimi in the crew room. They watched the display flick from location to location while the noise levels fluctuated.
“It would work better if we could watch all four locations at once,” Naruto pointed out.
Sasuke agreed. A few minutes’ work had the locations split across the two available screens. Another ten had the audio connected to four channels of their suit radios.

At first all Sasuke wanted to do was watch his children and switch between channels to listen to for their voices. Then he realised that whoever had hidden the camera bug in the control room had positioned it to show the Sakura’s battleboard.
He studied it. None of the smaller Uchiha ships were showing, which was good. The tiny enemy fighters were now clustered around the Sakura and the wreckage of the Oak. The enemy ships T1 and T3 had not moved but T2 had entered the battlefield and was closing.
He was about to bring the development to Naruto’s attention only for Naruto to point it out first.

An indicator on the console flashed; a broadcast communication from the enemy. Sasuke gave over half of one display screen and the main speaker.
Orochimaru’s image appeared.
“I have your ship, the Sakura, at my mercy. One word and she will be gone along with everyone aboard her. Is that you, Sasuke Uchiha? Or is it one or more of your children? You have ten seconds to answer me. Ten, nine.”
Commonsense told him Orochimaru would not do it; he wanted the kits. Even so, it was hard to stay silent. Naruto was watching him, his expression forbidding him to answer.
“Seven, six.”
Another indicator flashed; an audio-only signal on the Uchiha broadcast frequency.
“Five, four.”
Sasuke put it through to the other speaker.
“This is Sasuke Uchiha.”
It was Itachi.
Orochimaru smiled. “Are you on the Sakura?”
“No,” Itachi admitted.
“Do you have the Bara hybrid with you?”
There was a pause before Itachi answered. “No. He is with our younger children.”
The tip of Orochimaru’s tongue ran across his top lip. “How intriguing. This is what is going to happen. My people will board the Sakura. There will be no resistance. You will issue the appropriate orders.”
“You give me your word that those on the Sakura will be unharmed,” Itachi checked.

Itachi understood better than any of them that Orochimaru had no honour and therefore his word was meaningless. Sasuke knew he was only negotiating to keep the situation developing; hoping to create opportunities that they could exploit.
Anyway, calling Orochimaru’s bluff was pointless: at best he would damage the Sakura until those aboard had no option other than to abandon ship; at worst he would destroy her killing all those aboard.
“You have my word,” Orochimaru answered. “The order?”
“This is Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura, prepare to be bordered. The enemy had given their word that no one currently on board will be killed, injured or harmed in any way. Do not resist whilst the enemy adheres to these terms.”
“This is Gai, commanding the Sakura. We will cooperate with the boarders provided the enemy adheres to the terms.”
Orochimaru nodded. “Gai. One of the few remaining members of the old guard. Until we meet, Captain Gai.”

The half of the screen dedicated to Orochimaru’s message went blank. Sasuke assigned the display back to the video from the Sakura.
“Why didn’t the Spear answer my message?” he mused.
Naruto’s eyes were fixed to the displays, hungry for even fleeting glimpses of the children. “Maybe Itachi isn’t on the Spear,” he suggested. Blue eyes briefly fixed on him. “Or maybe he doesn’t want you relieving him of command.”
Sasuke understood; Itachi would not hesitate for a moment to sacrifice himself if it were necessary.
Was that what he had agreed to on the Oak? That Itachi would die in his place?

They watched the video from inside the Sakura as the T2 ship approached. The children had gathered in the crew room and were reorganising the fittings.
Sasuke crowded the output of the other three camera bugs onto one display to give them a better view. Hoshi was too pale and the kits too subdued.
There was an ominous clang; the enemy had connected a docking tube.
Hoshi turned to the others. “Remember; act as if you were still ten. No one lets on we have ever done anything but play in a nursery.”
Yuki was facing the camera. His eyes were suddenly twice as wide. His posture changed so that he looked small and scared.
Sasuke smiled despite himself; it was a clever idea, although he wondered if Keizo, Yasushi and Yoshimi were too tall to pull it off.
“That’s why they are reconfiguring the crew room,” Naruto pointed out. “So it will look like the children were in there all the time.”

Gai sent Rin to open the airlock. They watched and listened to the feed from the bugs the big litter had hidden there.
Rin unlocked the inner door of the airlock and stepped well back. “I am Chief Medico Rin,” she announced as the lead boarder swung open the door and stepped through.
“Cat-human hybrid,” Naruto said immediately. “Fuma type. Female.”
It was a relief; Sasuke imagined if it had been a bullman and shuddered, remembering what they had done to Itachi.
The boarder opened the visor of her helmet. “You may call me Neko-six.” The number corresponded to the figure on the upper arms of her suit.
Five other female cat-human hybrids followed her through the lock. The last of them closed the inner door.

Neko-six addressed Rin again. “I must remind you that the bombs surrounding this ship will be exploded at the first sign of trouble. Please go up to the crew room. Neko-twelve and Neko-eight will accompany you.”
She waited until Rin and the two hybrids had climbed the ladder to the next level before issuing orders.
“Three and Eleven, up to the top and work down. Send anyone you find to the crew room. No touching anything. Two, check out this level and the engine room and then get the pods. I shall report in.”
Nekos Three, Eleven and Two left the camera’s field of view.
“Neko-six reporting, Orochimaru-sama. We are aboard. A female purebred individual has identified herself as Chief Medico Rin. Her appearance concurs with the briefing data. So far there is no sign of resistance.”
Sasuke could not hear Orochimaru’s reply; he wondered if Naruto could.

They watched Gai and Akemi leave the control room and reappear in the crew room. Neko-six entered a few minutes later.
She looked from prisoner to prisoner. “If there is anyone else, you should tell me. The ship will be destroyed once we have left and anyone who remains aboard will die.”
“This is everyone,” Gai insisted.
“She’s receiving orders through an earpiece,” Naruto observed.
“You will all be podded.” She turned to Gai. “The young man is surplus to requirements,” she announced, gesturing towards Akemi. “If there is any trouble, we will kill him. Next we will kill you and then the girl.” She pointed to Hoshi. “If you all cooperate, the young man, you and the girl will live.”
Sasuke noted that Orochimaru wanted Rin as well as the kits.

Pods were coming through the airlock, disappearing up the ladder shaft and appearing in the crew room. Sasuke guessed that Nekos Three and Eleven had found the hoist and worked out how to operate it.

They watched in silence as their children, one-by-one, stripped, climbed into the pods and lay down so the lids could be closed.
He put his hand out and Naruto took it. A thumb rubbed gently against his wrist.
Sasuke blinked back tears to see their babies behaving with such dignity.

Neko-eight shook herself as soon as the last lid shut. “That was easy.” She looked about. “This is nice stuff, really nice stuff. Are we really going to blow it all up?”
“Concentrate on the job,” Neko-six ordered. “Orochimaru-sama will be furious if we mislabel the pods.” She dug out a pen and wrote ‘Uchiha girl - Hoshi’ in large characters on the surface Hoshi’s pod and ‘fox hybrid’ on the four containing the kits. Then she carefully added descriptors to distinguish between Yuki, Keizo, Yoshimi and Yasushi. Finally she wrote ‘Chief Medico Rin’, ‘Captain Gai’ and ‘Akemi - purebred young male’ on the remaining three.
Sasuke noticed that the purebreds’ pods were named but the kits’ were not.
“I am going to report in,” she said once she was finished. “You two go help with searching the ship.
“Neko-six reporting, Orochimaru-sama. All prisoners are podded. We have limited success. None of the primary targets are aboard. We have four of the secondary targets, including the one without whiskers or fangs. We have two of the tertiary targets; the older Uchiha girl as well as Chief Medico Rin. In addition there are Captain Gai and a purebred young male called Akemi.”
There was a pause.
“We do not have the one with ears and a tail, or the one with reddish fur.”
So she had a description of each kit.
Another pause. “Yes, Orochimaru-sama, it was definitely a girl. She stripped naked to get into the pod. No, there is no sign of younger children or other occupied pods.”
“The kits are not the primary target,” Naruto observed.
“Primary targets,” Sasuke pointed out. “It sounds like the primary targets are Uchiha males.” He found that strange; Orochimaru had always been far more interested in Naruto than in him.
Neko-six was talking.
“Very, very high standard of fittings, Orochimaru-sama. Also there are items and devices that we do not recognise. They could be of significance.” Another pause. “Yes, three of the fox hybrids were wearing collars. Yes, including the one with no whiskers and no fangs. No, the small one did not have one. Yes, very cute.”
Sasuke felt the hairs on his neck stand up; Naruto was growling.
“Yes, Orochimaru-sama. At once.”
She then went over to the ladder and made a noise; half howl and half cry. The other five arrived quickly.
“We’re taking the pods and sealing the ship. Some of the minky fighters will tow the ship well away from the battlefield for further investigation.”
So each of the small fighters was probably piloted by a minky. It explained how they could be so small and, sadly, why Orochimaru considered them disposable.

This was, Sasuke understood, the crux of the problem. Orochimaru considered all his people this side of the hole disposable, even the Orochimaru print. Sasuke could never think that way.
Even though he knew that every member of Uchiha would die for him, he still would fight tooth and nail to save them.
- 22
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- 24
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