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
- 60
- 61
- 62
I decided that this might be a good time to review the warning codes I chose at the beginning of the story. One problem with AFF.net is that it is difficult to edit these. When you first write the summary, the codes are added in addition, even if they take you over the character limit. When you edit them, the proper limit is suddenly imposed, which means that to fit all the codes in you lose most of the summary.
I guess that it wasn’t designed with 100 chapter space sagas in mind.
OK, here is the up-to-date list of codes. Most of them refer to incidents that are mentioned or referred to rather than described.
3Plus, Abuse, Anal, Angst, Bi, Bigotry, Fingering, HJ, Incest, M/M, MiCD, Minor2, OC, Oral, Other, Preg, Rim, Solo, Tort, Toys, Trans, Violence plus sex where consent is forced rather than freely given.

Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to SunaoTsuji, satterb, Aflyingmonkey, sadie237, melissen, disembodiedvoiceofthedying, Jrocklover for reviewing after chapter 60 was posted, Dawn for sending an email and SidonieStarr and Tanukyle for posting on the forum.
Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me. Feedback keeps me writing.
I am very busy at work. I am only working one chapter ahead of what is posted, so I am afraid it will remain at one chapter per week at the moment.
At the moment I am struggling with chapter 62, which is refusing to cooperate.

Leader
Part 7: Vendetta
61: Edges

Shikamaru stared at the melted blob that lay on the surface. Also gathered around the workbench were Haru, Ran, Kazuki and Sumiko.
“He doesn’t look so good,” Kazuki observed.
Sumiko started to cry.

The combination of words and tears broke the spell. Shikamaru began to think. It could be worse. He had managed to arrive before Kazuki had brought Sai back to Skyburrow. He was there for Sumiko and Haru.
There were a few places where the stubs of connectors projected from the melted plastic. Perhaps one of them had made contact with a component and allowed Sai to send his message.

“This...” Haru pointed at the blob. “...is much bigger than Sai’s box. Sai’s box could be inside.”
It was good that Haru was being positive. Sumiko stopped crying with a snivel. Ran passed her a handkerchief.

It was time to find out what was left. Shikamaru brought the test rig he had built from his pocket. “I made this on the way here,” he told them, trying to keep his voice confident. “We can use it to test those connectors with the minimum risk to Sai. I have kept the voltage as low as possible and incorporated an amplifier. We’ll need a suitable interface, Haru.”
Haru nodded and selected one from the collection on the shelves at the side.
“Can you tell which connector is which?” Ran asked.
Shikamaru didn’t even know if they had Sai the right way up.
Haru’s fingers danced across the interface. “Divs ago, I ran simulations of the ways the boxes around Sai could melt. Maybe one of those can give us a clue.”
He started projecting the endpoints of each simulation.
“That one was close,” Kazuki declared as one three-dimensional image after another flashed by. “Back two,” he specified.
It didn’t look anything like the blob on the bench. Then Ka-chan turned the blob over and rotated it around two different axes. “See?”
Shikamaru shook his head in admiration. “I don’t know how you do it. Na-chan is the same.”
“Awesome spatial awareness,” Haru confirmed. “Shall we finish checking the others?”

None fit anywhere near as well; they were as sure as they could be of which stub corresponded to which conductor.

The display also showed the final temperature inside Sai’s array; it was unexpectedly low.
“Could you run the whole of that sim for me, Ha-chan?” Shikamaru asked.
He watched the outer layers ablate or melt. According to Haru’s model, the internal temperature never reached a level where Sai’s components would melt.
“You sure about the temperature?” he asked. “Wouldn’t it be higher?”
Haru nodded. “I used the specs that Klenn-san gave me with the data arrays. He told me that he had designed them to survive almost anything.”
Shikamaru could imagine that. “Trust Klenn,” he whispered.

Haru pointed to one of the metallic stubs. “This one is the one most likely to have been causing the oscillation.”
Shikamaru found himself in the rare situation of catching up rather than setting the pace. He worked backwards from Haru’s statement. “I agree.”

They watched as Haru grasped the stub with a tiny gold clip and connected the clip to the test rig.
The display flickered. Sumiko clapped her hands, Kazuki pricked his ears, Ran gave a small smile and Haru’s hand shook with excitement as he inputted some instructions into the interface.
Shikamaru realised that he was slowing down the signal so they could see the pulses.
It was the same signal as before; Haru in long-short.
“It’s Sai, he’s still there,” Sumiko declared.

Shikamaru suppressed a sigh. He should have been braver. He should have raised the possibility that it was an automated signal before they got to this point. Now Sumiko’s hopes were sky-high.
He opened his mouth to express a few words of caution.
“The signal’s changing,” Kazuki observed.
It was true; the pattern of pulses was different.
“What’s he saying? What’s he saying?” Sumiko demanded.
Ka-chan decoded the message. “It’s ‘Sumiko’ in long-short.”
Su-chan was squealing with delight.

It still could be an automated signal. The connection had been lost. The programme could have been to send ‘Haru’ during the first connection and then ‘Haru’ followed by ‘Sumiko’ in the second.
Even so, Shikamaru was more hopeful. “Disconnect and reconnect again,” he suggested. If Sai was there it would confirm that the disconnection and subsequent reconnection had been deliberate.
Haru complied.

The signal altered and continued to change. Kazuki began decoding the pulses as they appeared on the display.
“Connectors damaged. Many components of interface lost. Power cell at one-third. Will detect voltage change on this connector.”
“I want to send him a message! Please, Nii-san! Please!”
Shikamaru had never seen Sumiko so happy. By the Lady he hoped Sai was still in there. “We can use the test rig to perturb the voltage,” he confirmed, making the necessary alterations.
Haru nodded. “Right, Su-chan. What’s your message? Ka-chan will convert it to long-short and then we’ll make the code into a change in voltage and speed it up so Sai can detect it easily.”
Sumiko frowned and then smiled. “I love you and have missed you lots.”

Kazuki coded, Haru processed and then the message was sent.
“We signed it from you, Su-chan,” Haru assured her.
They waited. The longer it took, the worse Shikamaru felt. Haru was far too pale. Ka-chan’s ears, tail and whiskers were drooping. Ran was biting his lips.
Even Su-chan was beginning to look worried.
Maybe even the message about Sai’s condition had been part of an automated sequence, recorded divs before.
Then the line on the screen started pulsing and Kazuki began decoding.
“I have missed you too, Sumiko-chan.”

Madara had resisted for as long as he was able. Then he had seen Haku in that particular kimono.
It felt as if Lady Luck was playing with him. During the day he was with Sakura, who was exactly the type of woman he would want as his mistress, and at the evemeal there was Haku, who, except for his gender, was the embodiment of everything Madara would want in a wife.
Yet he could touch neither. He could not seduce Sakura because Izuna Uchiha was uninterested in women. He could not fuck Haku because Kisame would twist his head from his neck.

It was one of many unacceptable aspects of the unsatisfactory life he was leading. He had planned for standards and waited for centuries; now he was wasting div after div of his precious lifespan marking time.

Sasuke still had both Shikamaru and Neji. Centre had yet to acquire Shikamaru and the Hyuga, for reasons Madara did not comprehend, had returned Neji.
Worse, Sasuke was content to stay away from Tarrasade in order to avoid a challenge. Madara suspected that he could go to the Killing Square, draw his knife and declare Sasuke Uchiha a coward without it having the slightest effect. Sasuke would release some statement reminding everyone that Uchiha was in the middle of a vendetta and politely querying his sanity.
In that way Sasuke was irritatingly like Izuna.

So he was here, in a brothel. At least it was an exceptionally discrete brothel. It was located in Prime. It masqueraded as six separate apartments. Even its neighbours did not realise that the apartments were linked and the function they fulfilled.

The sensible approach would have been to tell Sumaru and swear him to secrecy but Madara could not bear the thought of those sanctimonious eyes judging him.
So he had paid to use one of the other entrances; the one from the upmarket gambling den. As far as Sumaru knew, Izuna was two rooms away playing cards with other rich men who valued their privacy.

He was not. He was a corridor’s walk beyond in a beautifully appointed room waiting for the prostitute he had selected.

It was not the one he had most desired because it had to be male. He could weather the storm if his indiscretion was made public. What he could not risk was being caught with a woman; that would be considered uncharacteristic behaviour for Izuna Uchiha.
Not that Izuna would have ever visited a brothel.

He had picked one that he could fantasise was Haku; slight, elegant and graceful with large brown eyes and long, dark hair. He had specified full traditional dress, a tea ceremony and a scenario that the brouchure had described as uninhibited sexual intercourse with a consenting but less than willing partner.

The door slid open and a person entered. The rustle of silk immedately brought Haku to mind, even before Madara took in the beautiful kimono.
The thought of it being Haku sinking to the floor and bowing in submission made him hard.
“I am here to do your bidding, honoured captain.”
Even the voice was close enough. Madara leaned back on the couch, spreading his legs to display the bulge in his pants. “You understand the deal to which your husband has agreed?” he asked.
“Yes, honoured captain.”
“And you have never been intimate with anyone other than him?”
The reply was soft, hesitant and ashamed. “Never, honoured captain.”
“I shall offer you one small mercy,” the ‘honoured captain’ replied. “You need not pretend to enjoy it.”

It had been remarkably satisfying. The whore had known his business: the hands trembling slightly as the tea was poured; the tiny gasp of shock at the size of his erection; the eyes tearing as he stretched the painted lips; the sobbing as he thrust without restraint; the naked, despondent body lying motionless on the rumpled, stained sheets.

More importantly, it was effective. He could look at Sakura without wanting to bend her over his desk. He could feel superior when Haku or Itachi thwarted him by politely evading his requests. He could keep his rage under control without endless katas and too frequent cold showers.

But then the dreams began; rooted in memory but going in bizarre directions. He would wake sweating. For a few moments the dream would seem real but then it would fade leaving only vivid impressions: Izuna morphing into Sasuke; his hands around Shikamaru’s neck; people laughing at him.
Orochimaru laughing at him.

It started as a tiny thought, perhaps in one of the dreams, but it grew. What if one of the Orochimaru prints did not suicide before it was caught?
What if Uchiha managed to capture Orochimaru himself?
Would Sasuke offer enough to tempt Orochimaru into betraying him?

Sasuke moved through the corridors: Terai walked five paces in front of him; Naruto was behind his right shoulder; Hamaki and Fu protected their backs. Every so often they would pass a crew member from the Ninken, guarding possible approaches.

He had seen images and read descriptions of Akatsuki bases. It was exactly as he had expected: a beautiful house surrounded by glorious gardens set within a jungle of killer plants.
Haru had spent three divs living in a house like this one.

Like the other bases, there was more than could be seen from space or even the surface: silos for spacecraft and missiles; supply dumps; a network of tunnels; racks of mindless clones waiting to be mindprinted.
This time there had been a three-phase, booby-trapped, self-destruct system that the Zetsus had disarmed.
The prints Orochimaru had left behind had been rounded up and locked away. There were no surviving hybrids; they had fought to the death.
Kabuto had not been with them.

They reached the stairs and began making their way down. Their footsteps echoed from the unadorned stone walls. The Zetsus were sitting on the bottom step. Sasuke could see their narrow shoulders shaking; at least one of them was crying.
They looked over their shoulder as Terai passed them, struggled to their feet and bowed.
“Sasuke-sama.”
“Inryoku-san, Enerugi-san,” he acknowledged.

Kakashi stepped forward out of the shadows. Terai, Hamaki and Fu moved to watch the doorways.
“Sasuke-sama.”
“Kakashi-san.”
“You must prepare yourself,” Kakashi warned. “I would not allow Ir-chan to see what is in there.”
Sasuke swallowed. He understood the message. Kakashi wanted to protect him but, as Uchiha-sama, it was his duty. He turned to Naruto.
“No,” Naruto replied before he could speak. “My place is at your side, as always.”

The three of them moved forward into the room beyond. It smelled odd; a mixture of antiseptics, disinfectants, fresh meat and decay.
In the centre of the room there was a wide, shallow tank and spread out in it was something that had once been a man.

Then its eyes opened and Sasuke realised that it still was.

He concentrated on Pein’s face; all too aware of the reasons that Orochimaru had left most of the head intact. Pein could still hear what was going to be done to him and beg for it to be over.
His eyes showed a depth of agony that went far beyond Sasuke’s comprehension.

Sasuke moved forward so that he would be within Pein’s field of view. The exposed ribcage moved up and out. He could see the diaphragm moving down. There was the harsh rasp of air passing down the windpipe.
“Uchiha-sama,” Pein croaked. “Haru looks like you. Except for the colour of his eyes.”

He gestured for a chair and sat so that he was looking directly into Pein’s eyes.
“And Nagato-chan looks like you,” he replied. “Except that he has Konan-san’s eyes.”
Pein stared at him. “Nagato?” he whispered.

So Sasuke told Pein about his son. About what a fine boy he was; so loving and giving. About his many likes and his few dislikes. About how he preferred playing with trains more than helping his mother with the plants. About how he liked music and stories.
About how he listened attentively when Konan told him about his father.

Tears pooled in Pein’s eyes and ran down his face into the green regen gel.

Sasuke turned to Naruto. “Get me some images of Nagato-chan and Konan-san.”
Naruto nodded and was gone.

Next Sasuke talked about Konan: her dignity and grace; the perfectly judged path she had walked between staying loyal to her husband and playing a part in the Uchiha household.
There was another rasp as Pein inhaled. “She deserves more,” he croaked.
“Yes,” Sasuke agreed.
“Once I am dead...” he began.
Sasuke interrupted. “Once the Akatsuki is gone, she will be able to choose from many futures. If she wishes, she can stay within my household. If she wishes, she can become part of Uchiha. If she wishes, she will be free to build a life elsewhere.”
“There is another,” Pein whispered. “Orochimaru began the Akatsuki with him. He spends decades, sometimes centuries, in stasis.” He paused for another rattling breath. “I do not know his identity. If I did, I would tell you.”

Sasuke filed the information away for later consideration. Kakashi stepped up beside him, holding out small tablet in a leather case.
“The Zetsus had this on them,” he murmured. “Naruto is finding a better display.” He moved so his lips were close to Sasuke’s ear. “Even if we wanted to, we cannot save him. Shizune says that Orochimaru has poisoned him with a slow-acting nerve toxin. It will be a prolonged and agonising death.”

He looked to where Shizune was standing at the side of the room; he had not noticed her before. She made eye contact and nodded.
“Get Shizune to prepare something that will take away the pain and give him as gentle a death as possible,” he whispered into Kakashi’s ear.

The images on the small tablet were perfect; the Zetsus had recorded every milestone in Nagato’s life from when he was a newborn in his mother’s arms, through each of his six birth anniversaries to a small collection taken recently.
Konan featured in about half of them.
Sasuke held the tablet four handbreadths from Pein’s eyes while Naruto set up a large display and the Zetsus, still weeping, sorted out a connection.
Soon they had the images cycling slowly on a large screen suspended over the tank.

“We cannot save you,” Sasuke admitted.
There was another tortuous inhalation. “I know. Poison. Fool. I wanted it.” He managed something approximating to a smile. “I lived to see this. Tell Konan and Nagato that I love them.”
“Willingly,” Sasuke assured him. “We can ease your going,” he offered.
“Please,” Pein whispered.

Shizune injected a massive dose of opiates. Sasuke watched as, slowly, Pein’s eyes dulled and lost focus. Then, finally, he was gone.
Sasuke stood up. “Check it’s not a print,” he ordered. He would not put it past Orochimaru to do that. “Inryoku-san, perhaps you could tell Shizune-san what you think Konan-san would wish to be done with the body.”

He needed air. He left the room, climbed the stairs and made his way through a corridor into a conservatory that led to a garden.
It was beautiful; full of flowers. Sasuke had no doubts that it had been Konan who planted them.

“I am so proud of you,” Naruto whispered, his eyes shining with unshed tears.
Inside, Sasuke was seething. “I want to kill him.”
“Orochimaru,” Naruto checked.
Sasuke nodded. “I want to drag him in chains to the Killing Square. I want him to beg for his life. I want to slit his throat and watch him die.” He realised that he was clenching his fist and forced his hand to relax. “When I think of him escaping into stasis...”
“Inari is trailing them,” Naruto reminded him. “If he keeps Kabuto with him we will have him.”
- 60
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- 62
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