Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

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
- 27
- 28
- 29
Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to sadie237, Procastination_is_key, melissen, disembodiedvoiceofthedying, cynaga and eunmook for reviewing after chapter 27 was posted. I wish I could say that writing was always a joy but often it is tough and readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me.
Hits are nice. Ratings are welcome. Reviews encourage and inspire.

Leader
Part 4: Parry
28: Scrap

They were landing at an abandoned spaceport on a planet that, according to the records, had never been visited, never mind explored or settled.
Kazuki twitched his whiskers. “It could be worse,” he commented as he finished off the landing manoeuvre. “It could be an active spaceport.”
It was a good point. “Or an Akatsuki base,” Haru suggested.
“The ship will be less obvious,” Dan-san added, “which is good. Great work with the landing, Kazu-kun. Haru-kun, start the environmental checks.”

Haru activated the sensors and scanned the console for information: the gravitational field was a fiftth above the norm at 1.2 G; the planetary day was almost twice a ship’s day in length; the temperature was just below ship’s standard but rising slowly; the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere was slightly high at 36%.

Something hit the shell of the ship. Kazuki was ears-pricked, tail-fluffed and whiskers-high. Another vibration followed and then another.
Kazuki was unbuckling. “That’s long-short. It’s Kuu-chan.”
Haru connected the camera above the small airlock to a display. Trouble was, the Lancet was designed to be docked; the airlock was one third up its height and whoever was banging on the ship would be on the ground.
There were five more knocks; it was definitely long-short.
“So much for environmental checks,” Dan-san murmured. “Haru, pressurise the small airlock from the atmosphere and unlock the outer door only.” He activated the intercom. “This is Dan. We are safely down and running checks but the knocking sounds like Kuuya-kun, so we’ll be keeping them to a minimum.” He released the intercom and turned to Haru. “Activate the intercom in the lock.”

Kazuki yelped an alert as Kuuya came into view, climbing the emergency access handholds.
Somehow he managed to hold on using his feet and one hand while opening the lock with the other. Then he swung himself inside and slammed the lock shut behind him.
Haru switched to the camera in the airlock. Kuuya was filthy but otherwise looked fine; he was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet with agitation.
“This is Dan. Report please, Kuuya-kun.”
“This is Kuuya. In the day people come. They’re after metal. In the night the crocodiles come. They’re after food. The people started cutting bits off the Snow Willow the first morning and they took the last bits of the shell away yesterday. I know where you can hide the Lancet.”
Haru’s imagination exploded. Who were ‘they’? How primitive were they if they cut up a state-of-the-art spacecraft like the Snow Willow for scrap?
Kazuki growled. “He should have zapped a few of them with a laser.”
Haru wondered if Ka-chan meant the people or the crocodiles.
Dan-san scowled his displeasure at Ka-chan, who dipped his ears in submission. “This is Dan. How long do you think we have before the people arrive?”
“This is Kuuya. About a hundred and fifty minutes. I think they leave wherever they live at dawn. That’s when the crocodiles leave.”
“Have you encountered any health issues?”
“There are biting insects and leeches and plants that give you a rash but my nanobots are coping fine. Dan-san, we need to hurry. Maybe the people came that first day because they heard the Snow Willow landing.”
Dan studied the results of the first batch of checks. “Haru-kun, open the inner lock.”

Kuuya was in the control room within a minute. He was filthy and smelt strange, even to Haru. Kazuki wrinkled his nose but it didn’t stop him leaping across the room and giving Kuu-chan a hug.
“So where are you suggesting we hide a spaceship?” Dan asked.
“There are pits,” Kuuya replied. “Maybe they were for maintenance. Anyway, I found one that is about the right size and wasn’t filled with stuff that couldn’t be chopped up or burned. I’ve worked on it when I wasn’t hiding from the wreckers or hiding stuff from the Snow Willow. Ka-chan can land the Lancet in it easily and then we can think about how to hide it, or keep them out, or both.”
Dan-san grimaced. “It’ll use a lot of rocket fuel. I suppose they took the fuel from the Snow Willow?”
Kuuya shook his head. “They just took the shell; they seemed wary of touching anything else.”
“Why did you let them?” Ka-chan demanded.
Kuuya gave him a look worthy of To-chan. “If I’d switched on the active defences I might have killed them. What would that have led too?”
“Kuuya-kun, how sure are you that Kazuki can successfully get the ship into the pit?” Dan-san asked.
Kuuya considered. “100%, Dan-san.”
“Then we do that now. Haru-kun, down to the crew room, warn Ran-kun and Haku-san and get yourself settled in for lift and drop.

Haru stood up. He could feel the extra weight, even if it was only another one-fifth. He slid down the ladder and entered the crew room.
“We’re moving the ship,” he announced.
Haku-san began setting up a bunk as an acceleration couch. “Adapt my chair for you,” Haru-kun,” he instructed.
Ran helped him. The three of them were strapped in and ready well before Dan-san asked them to report.

Moving a space ship such a short distance would have been tricky for most pilots but not Ka-chan; they were soon settled into their new berth.
The intercom clicked. “This is Dan. Meeting in the control room at once please.”

They decided that the priority was a perimeter around the top of the pit. Haru immediately suggested a sensor net, found one in the Lancet’s inventory, modelled how it would operate and displayed the result on the screen. Kuuya and Kazuki assured Dan-san that they could install it.
Dan-san shook his head, which Haru found a little worrying, but then he smiled. “That’s what comes from being trained by Itachi-san for four standards using Shika-san’s simulations,” he observed. “Kuuya-kun and Kazuki-kun will install the sensor net. Haru-kun, can you sort out some wireless camera with transmitters that we can monitor from here or from a mobile device?”
Haru considered and consulted the inventory, “Yes,”
“We shall place them in various places so that we can monitor approaches,” Dan explained. “Given the terrain and the presence of natives, we may have to review our plan to live away from the ship. However, the priority is to get the sensor net and the cameras operational. Once that is done, we will reconvene the meeting. We need everyone outside fitted with radios. Haku-san, please could you see to that.”

Haku-san, Ran, Kazuki and Kuuya went to the storage hold while Haru set up to work on the galley table and Dan kept watch in the control room.
Once Ran had arrived with the components, Haru donned his magnifying goggles and settled down to work. Ran watched him for a few minutes and then began arranging the parts in groups according to what went with each camera.
“Kuuya says that the people are hybrids,” Ran volunteered. “Probably not mammalian or avian.”
That made sense to Haru. If they had been adapted for this planet they were probably fish-human or amphibian-human. “I wonder how they got here and when?”
“No idea,” Ran replied. He smiled. “I expect you have some.”
Haru felt himself flush. “If this is the only spaceport, or the others are like this, then they have been here a long time. If so, either they are a breeding population, like some of the Fuma cat-human hybrids, or they still have enough technology to generate embryos and gestate them, which seems unlikely.”
“They may have kept that technology going, even if they let everything else go,” Ran pointed out. He peered at what Haru was assembling. “Power cells rather than solar collectors?” he queried.
“Between the longer nights and the clouds, I don’t think the solar collectors will hack it. Anyway, the device will be smaller with a power cell.” He rolled one of the cameras this way and that between his thumb and first finger. “They switch to infra red when there isn’t enough visible light available.”

They settled into a pattern where Ran made the straightforward connections and Haru the tricky ones. The nine cameras Dan-san had specified were soon ready, along with two backups.
Ran collected them up and went to report to Dan-san. Haru began work on the mobile receiver, recorder and display, even though that wouldn’t be required unless they left the ship.
It wasn’t easily; the components hadn’t been designed to work together so he was having to be creative about the connections.
“Would you like a drink or something to eat, Haru-kun?”
Haru jumped and looked up; Haku-san looked really weird through his magnifiers. “I’m sorry about the mess, Haku-san.” It was a reflex response to being caught doing something he shouldn’t in the kitchen or galley.
“It is fine, Haru-kun, There is no other suitable surface. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Haru was trying to think of something when the intercom clicked.
“This is Dan. Haru to the control room please.”
Haru took off his goggles, laid them on the table and stood up.
“Go,” Haku-san encouraged.

Dan-san was preparing to join Kuuya and Kazuki outside and wanted Haru in the control room to check each camera as it was being located and activated.
Haru kept his sigh until Dan-san had left. As much as he had hated the idea of living in a swamp, Haru would have liked to be allowed outside at least once.
That did not seem likely. Having a hiding place for the Lancet reduced the chance that the Orochimaru print would find it while the presence the natives and crocodiles increased the risks associated with leaving the ship. He imagined living on the Lancet in a pit until Papa and To-chan arrived to rescue them. How long would that be? Divs? Standards?
He dismissed the thought; they had natives to deal with and an Orochimaru print to avoid.
At least being in the control room meant that he could listen into the radio channels Dan-san, Kazuki and Kuuya were using.

The security net was working well; Haru monitored Kuuya, Dan-san and Kazuki as they left the pit. Then he brought up all the data he had about the surroundings and integrated it to make a map; it wasn’t complete but the data from the cameras would help once they were operational.
He listened to Dan-san asking Kazuki if he could climb something. Next thing, Haru was receiving a feed from one of the cameras. He connected it to a display and got a close-up of Kazuki.
“You there, Haru?”
Haru activated his microphone. “Yes.”
“Would a panoramic view help?”
“Thanks, Ka-chan.”

Kazuki slowly scanned the surroundings before fixing the camera in the direction and at the angle that Dan-san had specified. Haru thought that he could make out the Snow Willow; what remained did not look much like a spaceship.
He processed the images, extracting as much data as possible, intent on improving his map.
Each camera operated perfectly as it was added into the network. Between new sets of images, Haru occupied himself by creating a user interface that made it easier to monitor the cameras and the net.

Then Kazuki thought of strapping the extra cameras to his and Kuu-chan’s heads. Haru chuckled and gave them each a dedicated feed, labelling one Ka-cam and the other Kuu-cam.
They needed more displays; three wasn’t enough to monitor eleven cameras. He checked the inventory and began thinking about what he could cobble together.
He was about halfway through the design when Kazuki gave a small growl that ended in a yelp.
Haru knew that sound; it was the kits’ alert call for strangers.
“This is Dan. Back to the ship. Make sure you aren’t seen.”

Haru cycled through the camera feeds until he found the one showing the natives. There were three large figures and one smaller. It was difficult to get any idea of scale but he thought the larger people were big; Kisame-sized big.
He activated the intercom. “This is Haru. Natives have been sighted. Dan-san, Kazuki and Kuuya are on their way back. I can see the natives using the cameras.”
The three large ones were pulling what looked like flat bottomed boats. Strangely the boats were full. Surely wreckers arrived with empty boats and left with full ones?
Ran arrived and took one of the two unoccupied chairs.
“Haku-san is staying at the airlock until everyone is in,” he explained.
Haru nodded. Feedback from the net showed three figures entering the pit in quick succession.
“They are very colourful,” Ran observed.
Haru turned his attention back to the display showing the feed from the camera. They were either mostly naked or wearing very tight-fitting body suits; it was impossible to tell which because the camera was too far away.

They moved out of one camera’s field of view and into another. The figures had stopped about fifteen paces from the remains of the Snow Willow. They were lining up the boats side by side.
He felt the airlock open and shut. Next thing he knew, Ka-chan and Kuu-chan were in the control room, their eyes fixed to the display.
“The maroon one with the blue head wasn’t with them last time,” Kuuya told them.
The smaller figure was, now that Haru thought about it, exactly the shade of his plushie; the colour Haku-san called maroon.
“Are they wearing clothes?” Kazuki asked.
“Just some tight-fitting pants,” Kuuya replied.
Haru enlarged the image. The definition wasn’t very good but you could see that they were wearing skin-tight, low slung shorts.
“Nice skin colours. Look at those patterns,” Kazuki pointed out. “Wouldn’t like not to have fur though.”
They did look hairless. Ka-chan was right though, the patterns on their skins were neat.

Then Dan-san arrived with Haku-san following. The kits and Ran sat on the floor so that they could sit down.
“What are they doing?” Haku-san asked.
All six of them studied the display. They were pulling away a covering from the first boat.
Inside were pieces of the Snow Willow’s shell.
Dan-san leaned back and smiled. “I see,” he said.
“I don’t,” Kazuki admitted.
Neither did Haru.
“I think I do,” Haku-san volunteered. “A hunting or gathering party goes out. They find metal. Metal is scarce. They take it back in triumph. Only when they tell their story, someone else connects the dots, realises it is from a newly-landed spacecraft and orders them to take it back.”
Haku-san’s suggestion made sense to Haru. If one of their crews made a mistake like that, Papa would send them back to sort it out, especially if To-chan had a say in the decision.

They watched for a while. All four figures were now sitting cross legged, facing the remains of the Snow Willow. It definitely looked like they were waiting.
“We need to get on with these people,” Kuuya pointed out. “Uchiha might officially own the planet, but they live on it.”
“We don’t want to be fighting on two fronts,” Kazuki added. “And Kuu-chan made a good start by not zapping them.”
Dan-san nodded. “Kuuya, Ran and I will go out there and try to make contact. Ran-kun, I’m including you because you might be able to pick something up about their intentions. Kuu-kun, if it goes wrong you are responsible for protecting Ran-kun and getting him to safety.”
Haru stiffened. He didn’t like the idea of Ran being in danger; the bigger ones had to be massively strong if they could pull the loaded boats.

Too soon for Haru, the three of them had left the ship. Kuuya still had a camera with him; this time mounted on his shoulder rather than strapped to his head. All three of them were wearing microphones to pick up ambient sound as well as their usual throat mikes.
Haru intended to record everything in case there were language difficulties.
He gave one display over to the Kuu-cam and another to whatever camera showed the three of them walking across the spaceport. The third showed the natives.
“I wish I were out there,” Kazuki muttered.
Haru did and didn’t. He wished Ran wasn’t out there.

The natives stood as Dan-san, Kuuya and Ran approached. Haru swallowed. The smaller one was as tall as Dan-san. The larger ones were considerably bigger; thinking that they were Kisame-sized had been an underestimate.
Close-up, the colours and patterns of their skins were amazing.
Dan-san led their delegation to a place between the Snow Willow and the boats and sat down. Kuuya sat to his right and Ran to his left.
The natives sat down again, which was a relief.

They spoke first, or rather the big blue-green one did. It was very fast and included many noises that Haru did not recognise as words.
Dan-san responded by pointing to himself. “Dan,” he said clearly. He pointed at Ran and then Kuuya, naming them.
The big blue-green one nodded, which was interesting. Maybe nodding was universal. He pointed to himself. “Gamahiro.” He then pointed to the smaller one who was mostly plushie-coloured but had a blue scalp and blue around his eyes. “Kosuke.”
The big rusty-coloured one was Gamabunta and the big purple-pink one was Gamaken.
Haru wondered why three of their names started with Gama while the fourth didn’t; maybe Gama meant big.
“Gama means toad in the old language,” Kazuki pointed out.
Haru glanced over at him.
Kazuki shrugged. “Some story I read. So they are toad-human hybrids.”
Haru opened his mouth to reply only to be distracted; the maroon and blue one, Kosuke, was speaking.
“I a speaker of the old way am. We a tribe of the Gama are.” He stopped and waited.
Dan-san nodded. “We are a small part of the tribe called Uchiha.”
Gamahiro said something quick with lots of croaks. Haru guessed it was ‘What’s he saying?’ Kosuke responded in kind and then turned back to Dan-san.
“Question. Uchiha tribe between planets go?”
“The Uchiha tribe travels between the stars,” Dan-san answered.
There was another quick exchange in the croaky language. It looked like Kosuke did not want to ask the next question, but Gamabunta insisted.
“Question. Uchiha masters are?”
Haru’s heart beat a little faster. It was a crucial question. He could tell.
“No masters,” Dan-san answered. “No slaves.” He pointed to himself and then to the toad-human hybrids and then to Kuuya and Ran. “Not masters. Not slaves.”
It seemed to be an acceptable answer; all the toad hybrids relaxed a little.

They then talked about the Snow Willow. It took a long time. Gamahiro offered the metal back and Dan-san explained that they could not use it because they did not have a metal-worker with them. Next, Dan-san offered it as a gift only to have Gamahiro politely refuse it as being too valuable.
“They were willing to steal it,” Kazuki observed.
“Scavenging is not stealing,” Haru-san pointed out.
The conversation then rambled a little. The gist of it was that the metal was too valuable to leave unguarded; other tribes might come looking for scrap and find it.
Then, unexpectedly, Gamahiro invited them to stay with the tribe.

There were three taps on Dan-san’s microphone; he was asking them for their opinions. Meanwhile, he played for time by trading pleasantries.
There were two clicks from Ran; a swift and categoric affirmative. Haru wondered why Ran felt so positive about the toad hybrids; perhaps they emitted their emotions particularly strongly.
Haku-san went next. “It is closer to what we had planned,” he pointed out. “If the Akatsuki drop here, which is likely, they will find the Lancet and us in it.”
“Having locals as allies will make us more difficult to find,” Kazuki added. “Only maybe we should tell them that they are going to have the Orochimaru print after them.”
Haru waited for Kuuya’s response to no avail. He took a deep breath. He had to commit. “I agree with Haku-san and Kazuki. We are better off anywhere but here because the Akatsuki will land here. Given what the terrain is like, we will need the locals to guide us.”
Then Kuuya’s response came in long-short. “The crocodiles are huge. We should accept.”

Haru tried to concentrate on the next exchange between Dan-san and Gamahiro but he was distracted by the possibility of leaving the ship. It did not help that communicating with the toad hybrids was slow and difficult.
He wished he could think in parallel, like Shi-chan.

Dan-san had raised the issue of pursuers. The toad hybrids laughed at the notion that outsiders would be able to find the tribe’s home.
Then they talked about the Snow Willow and Gamahiro agreed to help them conceal what remained.
Finally Dan-san admitted that there were another three people in hiding. Gamahiro appeared unconcerned and told them that they needed to leave early that afternoon.
Which, Haru reminded himself, would feel like the middle of the night because the days were twice as long.

Haru stayed on watch while those outside helped move the Snow Willow, Haku-san prepared a meal and Kazuki set up an extra layer of automated defence for the Lancet.

It was fascinating how the toad hybrids built and used simple machines. Even so, it was over a hundred minutes before they finished.
“This is Dan-san. We’re on our way back. Haru-kun, set the surveillance to automatic and relay the console display to a tablet. Haku-san, I would like us to eat together.”
“This is Haku. The meal is ready. Kuuya-kun, you will need a shower before coming to the galley.”

Haru waited until everyone was in, set the security systems, shoved the tablet into the one of his pockets and slid down the ladder.
Kazuki was already at the table in the galley looking hopeful. Kuuya was in the shower. Ran was loading Kuuya’s clothes into the cleaner. Haru propped the tablet where they could keep an eye on it, washed his hands and helped relay the food to the table.
Dan-san and Ran took their places, followed quickly by Kuuya wearing a robe.
“You have got your pack?” Haku-san checked.
Kuu-chan nodded. “Hidden.”
Dan-san waited until Kazuki and Kuuya had demolished their first plates of food and were on seconds; otherwise they had a tendency to be distracted.
“Thoughts,” he requested. “You first, Ran-kun.”
“I can feel their emotions, even at the distance we were from them,” Ran admitted. “I’ve come across the odd person like that, but not four at a time, so I’m guessing it is a breed characteristic. They are nice.” He frowned and Haru could see that he was struggling to put it into words. “Choza-nice,” he decided.
“That is a relief,” Dan-san admitted. “Kuuya-kun?”
Kuuya reluctantly put down his fork. “They were probably nice the other times too. Who knows, if I had dared speak to them they might not have cut up the Snow Willow.”
“Don’t worry about it, Kuuya-kun,” Dan-san suggested. “Being magnanimous about it gave us a great starting point. Kazuki-kun?”
Kazuki stopped eating. “We’ll need to get them to make some ‘Danger Keep Out’ signs to put around the pit. If a toad hybrid stumbles in by mistake he’ll get fried. I’ve already made Uchiha ones,” he added and went back to his food.
“Haru-kun?” Dan-san asked.
Haru had one eye on the tablet relaying information from the control room and the other on Haku-san. He knew that Haku-san was not going to let him leave the table until he had cleared his plate. “We’re taking a lot of stuff. Do you think they will be all right with that?”
“I hope so,” Dan-san replied. “Haku-san?”
“It could be much worse,” Haku-san acknowledged.

Haku-san did not only insist that he finish his food, he also ordered Haru to have a nap. Haru didn’t argue; he knew he would lose and, anyway, he was tired.
He went into the crew room. To his surprise Kuuya was already curled up, fast asleep, on the bunk that Haku-san had used as an acceleration couch.
Kazuki was pulling down another bunk from its storage position. “Want to share?”
“Thanks,” Haru accepted, grateful for the offer of some physical contact.
They laid down side by side and Kazuki pulled the cover over both of them.
“I like this too,” he confessed. “I always went looking for you, not the other way around. Kiba-san was right; I needed to move on and become more independent. Otherwise I would always be a part and not a whole.”
Haru blinked back sudden tears. He had never seen it that way. To him Kazuki had been growing up and leaving him behind. “Littermates,” he whispered.
“Always,” Kazuki replied. “Who knows? If you and Ran end up as lovers, we could be best friends.”
Haru turned his head to see Ka-chan looking back at him. “Isn’t brothers and littermates more than best friends?”
“No, because those are facts and best friends is a choice.”
Suddenly Haru saw it from Ka-chan’s point of view. Hoshi and Yuki were best friends, as were Ya-chan and Yo-chan. Hikaru was Ryuu’s best friend; Haru couldn’t imagine anyone else other than Ryuu putting up with him.
Of the eight of them who had been paired up since they were babies, only Haru had picked someone else as his best friend. He had chosen Ran.
“I’m sorry.”
Kazuki twitched his whiskers. “For what?”
“For having Ran as a best friend.”
“Don’t be. He was so lonely he didn’t know it and you responded to that. It was a good thing. Otherwise you could have ended up as selfish as Hi-chan.”
“I’m nothing like Hi-chan,” Haru objected.
“Bits of you are just like him.”
Haru wondered if that was true. “I am me, he is him,” he insisted.
“And I am me, which is a bit scary,” Kazuki admitted. “Sometimes I think Ya-chan and Yo-chan have got it right.”
Haru waited.
“They were born together and they live together and they’ll get old together and die together. They will save themselves and other people a lot of pain that way.”
They were on the edge of forbidden territory. It was their one taboo; none of them ever talked about fox hybrids only living a third as long as purebreds.
“Those other people will miss a lot of joy,” Haru replied, thinking of Papa and To-chan.
“Maybe,” Ka-chan conceded. “We’ll see if it’s worth it in ten standards’ time.”
It was a chilling thought. Would Papa cope when To-chan died? Haru wasn’t sure what he would do if Papa fell apart. Or worse; he wasn’t going to think about ‘worse’.
“I wanted to kill him. Preferably the real one, but I’d have made do with a print.”
It took a moment for Haru to catch up; Ka-chan was talking about Orochimaru. “You still may get your chance,” he suggested.
“Not me. He is not interested in me. I have ears and a tail. One of the others might get close enough. Maybe Yu-chan. He looks so sweet.”
Haru imagined it. “You’ve talked about it?”
“Yes, ever since we realised that he wanted us rather than To-chan because he wanted to bond us to him like To-chan is bonded to Papa.” Ka-chan shuddered before looking his most fierce. “As if any of us would ever let that happen.”
Haru could imagine scenarios where there wasn’t a better choice, but he kept those to himself. He decided to change the subject. “We’re going on an adventure.”
Kazuki grinned. “With huge, brightly-coloured toad-hybrids who are nice like Choza.”

They talked about that instead, chasing away thoughts of Orochimaru or Papa without To-chan. Haru painted pictures with words, like Shi-chan, and Kazuki groomed him, like To-chan.
Gradually Haru’s words dwindled and his thoughts drifted into sleep.
- 27
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- 29
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