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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
- 69
- 70
- 71
Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to maliya, melissen, SunaoTsuji, cynaga and sadie237 for reviewing after chapter 69 was posted.
Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me. Feedback keeps me writing. Reviews are particularly welcome.

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Part 7: Vendetta
70: Interrogation Part Three

Shikamaru felt better after Na-chan’s visit. He had enjoyed the evening meal and then, after their visitors had departed, consoled himself with a lively session messing up Neji’s room.
He slept well.

None of the alarms he had set had gone off overnight. Next morning, coffee in hand, he activated the interfaces and displays. As Kabuto had not spoken, there were no recordings selected for analysis.
Instead he sampled the recording to find out what Sasori had been doing.

He had taken Kabuto out of the tank, washed him and wheeled him back to his cabin. Shikamaru watched him gently lay Kabuto on the bed and cover him. It was a side of Sasori that fascinated him; the unexpected tenderness. Had it always been there or had it developed because of his relationship with the Ranmaru reprint? The Ranmaru reprint was, like Ran himself, an empath. Did he see through all the layers of evasion and deceit? Was there a kernel, deep inside, of the person Sasori could have been if his life had been different?

An alarm sounded. Shikamaru flipped through the live feeds until he found the correct one; Sasori was opening Orochimaru’s pod.
He activated the intercom. “This is Shikamaru. Please could Kakashi-san and Neji-san come to the meeting room immediately?”
The pod was upright, feet end down. Sasori stood at a distance; feet together and hands neatly clasped.

Despite not been summoned, Kotohime was the first to arrive, followed closely by Neji and Kakashi.
Kakashi looked at Kotohime, probably considering asking her to leave.
“I am sure that Kotohime-san can give us insights into Orochimaru’s behaviour, Kakashi-san,” Neji pointed out.
Kakashi thought about it and then nodded. “Please take a seat, Kotohime-san.”

They watched as the pod started to open. Shikamaru saw Sasori stiffen momentarily before he forced himself to relax; so even Sasori, who appeared impossible to intimidate, was frightened of Orochimaru.

If Orochimaru was surprised to see Sasori standing there, he did not show it.
“Orochimaru-sama,” Sasori stated, bowing deeply and remaining bent at the waist.
Orochimaru reached for the robe that Sasori had put out for him and slipped it on.
“Sasori,” he acknowledged.
Sasori straightened. “I am honoured that you remember me, Orochimaru-sama.”
Orochimaru did not comment. “So this is Pein’s ship,” he stated.

Shikamaru and Kakashi exchanged glances. How did he know?
“The robe,” Neji stated. “It is Konan’s needlework. Also he knows that Sasori stole Pein’s ship.”
“Yes, Orochimaru-sama,” Sasori replied.
“Explain why I should not kill you, given the trouble you have caused me.”
“I am what I am, Orochimaru-sama. Klennethon Darrent was a difficult man to refuse.”

They had not discussed mentioning Klenn. Shikamaru looked to Neji.
“It is a good tactic,” he confirmed. “It implies that Sasori was not working for Uchiha.”

Orochimaru did not ask how long he had been podded, or how Sasori had found the stasis unit, or any of the other questions that Shikamaru had anticipated.
“Where is Kabuto?” he asked.
“Sleepdrugged in what used to be Konan-san’s cabin, Orochimaru-sama. I have prepared what used to be Pein-san’s cabin and office for you.”
Orochimaru’s lips moved in the slightest suggestion of a smile. “That was very thoughtful of you, Sasori. What if I said that I would prefer you?”
Sasori bowed. “I would be surprised, Orochimaru-sama, but if that is your wish.” He began undressing.
“Stop,” Orochimaru ordered. “You will give me the key code to Kabuto’s cabin and a wake-up shot to use on him. What time of ship’s day is it?”
Sasori refastened his jacket. “It is still the first half of the morning, Orochimaru-sama.”
“You will be ready with a full report by mid afternoon.”
“I understand, Orochimaru-sama.”

They watched, moving from one camera to the next, as Sasori led the way up the ship’s levels.
“Lady knows how Sasori can turn his back on him,” Kakashi observed.
“It is the only way to survive,” Kotohime told them. “You have to behave as if you are handing him your life and it is in his gift not to end it.”
“Is he the original?” Kakashi asked.
Kotohime considered. “Either a print or the original. Not a clone raised differently and pretending to be him.”
There was no mindnet so it had to be the original; they had what they wanted. “Maybe we should end it here,” Shikamaru suggested. “I could gas them. We could repod Kabuto and Orochimaru and send Sasori on his way.”
Kakashi glared at him. “Shikamaru, we did not go through all this just to check if he was the original. We could have done that by simply unpodding him here on the Elm.”
“I did wonder why you were going to all this trouble,” Kotohime added, which didn’t help.
“I thought we would learn more this way,” Shikamaru admitted. He did not say that it had seemed a humane alternative to allowing Kakashi to torture them.
“We are,” Neji pointed out. “We should allow it to run its course.”
Trouble was, its course included whatever appalling things Orochimaru chose to do.

Orochimaru let himself into Kabuto’s cabin and placed the wake-up shot on the low table near the bed. He then drew back the covers and examined Kabuto’s skin; all of it, every scrap. Rolling him over, he continued checking, finishing up by spreading his buttocks and sinking two long fingers into his hole.
Next, still with his longest fingers buried in Kabuto’s arse, Orochimaru reached with his other hand for the hypospray and pressed it to Kabuto’s neck.
Kabuto’s eyes fluttered open. “Orochimaru-sama,” he murmured.
Shikamaru stared at the display, watching Kabuto writhing with pleasure as Orochimaru massaged his prostate.
“Turn it off, Shika-san.” Kakashi instructed. “Your programme will find any conversations and I shall examine the recordings later for any hand signals or other code.” He turned to Kotohime. “Show’s over for now, Kotohime-san. Do you intend to stay aboard or should I arrange a shuttle to Skyburrow?”
“I would like to visit Rin-san in Skyburrow. We were discussing refinements to hybrid age retard and I have had some thoughts.”

It was a reminder to Kakashi and the rest of them just how much they owed her.
“So Rin-san is back to her usual self?” Shikamaru asked.
“Not really,” Kotohime admitted, “but she can switch between Rin-mode and mother-mode.” She shuddered. “I could not have done it. Do you know she is going to look just like him? I ran the maturing programme.”
Shikamaru imagined a little girl with straight black hair, pale skin and amber eyes.
“We in Uchiha do not blame children for the acts of their parents,” Kakashi reminded her.

Once Kotohime had gone, Kakashi turned to Shikamaru. “Can you set it up so that Sasori could trigger the knockout gas by a phrase or a gesture?”
Shikamaru was surprised; Kakashi had resisted that suggestion only a few days ago. “Phrase, yes. By gesture would be more of a challenge but I can do it with Sasori’s cooperation.”
“Begin sorting it out and get Sasori on the other end of a link.”

Sasori was available, suggesting that he expected to be contacted.
“Your opinion, Sasori-san,” Neji encouraged.
“I think it is him,” Sasori replied. “He is different from the print I knew. This Orochimaru is more intense, more present.”
More scary, Shikamaru added silently.
“We have decided that you should have the option of triggering the knock-out gas,” Kakashi told him.
Sasori smiled. “Am I detecting some concern for my well-being, Kakashi-san?”
“No,” Kakashi answered bluntly. “If your head exploded it would be no more than a temporary inconvenience.” He glanced across at Shikamaru. “However, for some reason it would upset Shikamaru-san.”

Neji and Kakashi went about their business while Shikamaru and Sasori sorted out a number of phrases and combinations of gestures.
“What next?” Shikamaru asked once they were finished.
“I avoid them as much as possible and leave it up to Kabuto to extract the information you require.”
“The report he wants this afternoon?”
Sasori shrugged. “I’ll keep the lies as simple as possible.”
“What if he orders you to move the ship?” Shikamaru asked.
“If he insists, I shall move it,” Sasori admitted. “Slowly. You are not going to get more than a few days. Less if Kabuto decides to tell him that I threatened to sell them to Uchiha.”
“Will he?”
Sasori shrugged. “Perhaps not. Loyalty comes in many forms. Kabuto will keep a secret if he feels he is protecting Orochimaru by doing so.”
Shikamaru thought of Sai. “Yes, I can see that.”

Sorting out the trigger had taken more time than Shikamaru had expected; the bulk of the morning was over. He left his programmes monitoring the feeds and went to help Iruka with the midday meal.
Not that Iruka required assistance to look after such a small crew, but he would appreciate the company.

Shikamaru need not have worried; Inryoku and Enerugi were already there. Inryoku was setting the table while Enerugi chatted with Iruka.
“We have news,” Enerugi announced as soon as Shikamaru entered.
“En-chan,” Inryoku scolded.
“This is Shika-san,” Enerugi pointed out. “Konan-san won’t mind in the least if we tell him. Will he Iruka-san?”
Iruka smiled. “I imagine that Konan-san will be fine with it.”
“Konan-san and Hana-san are going to swear to Sasuke-sama before they go back to Tarrasade.”
“That is excellent news,” Shikamaru acknowledged. It was a relief; he did not like the way Izuna sought out Konan’s company.

After the midday meal he, Neji and Kakashi observed the meeting between Sasori and Orochimaru. Orochimaru demanded a tour of the ship, asked few questions and did not challenge the lies Sasori told him. He only showed interest in the mindprinter and uploader.
“Conclusions?” Kakashi requested.
“I understand why he is interested in the mindprinter and uploader,” Neji began. “However, I do not understand why he is so uninterested in how he came to be on Pein’s ship with Sasori.”
“He may have decided to ignore anything Sasori tells him,” Shikamaru suggested. “It is not an unreasonable decision if he remembers Sasori or knows his reputation.”
“Could having the mindprinter and uploader have changed his plans?” Kakashi asked.
Shikamaru’s mind responded to the enquiry. Various thoughts intersected or crystallised. “I think he can mend them. He probably designed and built the originals.” Deeper, more analytical, layers provided additional information. “It is now more likely that he will kill Kabuto and Sasori. It is now over ninety percent probable that he intends to kill Sasori.”
Kakashi nodded. “Let’s hope that we learn something useful before he does it.”

Shikamaru pretended to be concentrating on the interface. He didn’t want Orochimaru killing anyone else; not even Kabuto and certainly not Sasori. He wished he had never come up with the scheme. He looked through the live feeds until he found Orochimaru, who was on his way back to the level where he and Kabuto had their cabins.
Suddenly his chair was spun about and he found himself face-to-face with Kakashi.
“You are not watching live,” Kakashi told him.
“Kakashi-san is right, Shika,” Neji agreed. “It will upset you. You have to accept that what Orochimaru does is not your responsibility, it is his.”
Shikamaru knew that was not Kakashi’s reason. Kakashi thought he would gas Orochimaru if he attacked Kabuto, which he probably would.
“Perhaps you should go back to Skyburrow,” Kakashi suggested. “Leave this to me and Neji-san.”
“No,” Shikamaru replied quickly. He had made the deal with Sasori; it was up to him to see it through.
Kakashi studied him for a moment and then turned to Neji. “He’s not to watch live, or he’s going back to Skyburrow.”

Banished, Shikamaru went to his room. There he donned goggles, earpiece and throat mike before plunging into the data streams.
Once he had caught up with all his identities he checked the Tennyos’ reports.
Then, putting work aside, he persuaded Haru to forgo what he was doing in favour of a game of Go before checking on Sumiko and Sai.

They were keeping the same routine on the Elm as in Skyburrow, so Sumiko being called for her evening meal served to remind Shikamaru of his.
He resisted the urge to look at what was happening on the other ship. After the meal he would go through that afternoon’s recordings.

His fork was halfway between his plate and his mouth when his wrist alarm sounded.
“What is it?” Kakashi demanded.
Out of habit he looked to Iruka; interrupting a meal had never been acceptable. Once Iruka had nodded, he checked. “Sasori has triggered the knock-out gas.”
Iruka judged Kakashi’s reaction. “You had better look into it.”

Released, Shikamaru ran to the meeting room and activated the equipment. The live feed showed Kabuto collapsed on the floor of his cabin.
He left that image on one of the displays and went looking for Sasori. He was strapped to a chair in Pein’s office. Zooming in, Shikamaru could see angry red marks around his neck.
He told himself that he would be able to tell if Sasori was dead.
“Find out what happened,” Kakashi ordered. “Keep them unconscious. I will report to Sasuke-sama and ready the ship for jump.”

He and Neji started by investigating how Sasori had ended up strapped to a chair. Orochimaru had trapped the door and summoned Sasori to the office. Avoiding the trap distracted Sasori just enough as Orochimaru had thrown a blanket over him. The thick fabric had stopped the darts and hindered his knife arm, allowing Orochimaru to land the blow that rendered him senseless.
“Skip forward?” Neji suggested.
Shikamaru concurred; they could check the fine detail later.

The intercom clicked. “This is Kakashi. Is there any reason we should not jump?”
Shikamaru checked the data from the sensors in the other system. He did not expect to find anything. Other than Pein’s ship, the system was deserted. “This is Shikamaru. I see no reason not to jump.”
“This is Kakashi. Prepared for jump in ten seconds.”
There was the familiar brief disorientation and then they went back to checking the recordings.

Orochimaru had strapped Sasori to the chair and waited for him to regain consciousness. There was a flash of anger in Sasori’s eyes, which was quickly suppressed.
“Orochimaru-sama,” he acknowledged.
“Why is Kabuto asking me questions?” Orochimaru asked.
The tone of his voice, even recorded and reproduced, sent shivers down Shikamaru’s spine.
“Questions, Orochimaru-sama?” Sasori queried.
“Do not attempt to play your games with me. He told me, once I had insisted, that you want to know who from within the Uchiha household betrayed Sasuke Uchiha and name of the other founding member of the Akatsuki. Why?”
“To sell the information,” Sasori replied. “Uchiha know I was a member. They will believe I could have or acquire such information.”
Orochimaru studied him. “You could sell us to Uchiha.”
Sasori looked him directly in the eyes. “I want both. I want payment from Uchiha and whatever I can gain from you.”

Orochimaru sat back. “As greedy and self-seeking as ever. In that you are consistent.” He considered. “No, it does not fit. If you had control of his ship you would never have disabled the mindprinter or the uploader. Sold them, yes, disabled them, no. Then there is the wording of the vendetta. You were specifically excluded, like Kotohime and Konan and the Zetsus. You are going to tell me what is happening, Sasori.”
He leaned forward, wrapped his hands around Sasori’s neck and pressed on his larynx with his thumbs.

Shikamaru paused the video. “Why didn’t he trigger the gas?”
“Perhaps he is checking that Orochimaru is not bluffing,” Neji suggested. “Or maybe he believed he could regain the upper hand. I could watch the rest of the video alone, Shika, and tell you what happens.”
“No,” Shikamaru decided and restarted the recording.

It was not easy to watch. Orochimaru gave a small smile as Sasori’s lips turned blue. He kept up the pressure until Sasori’s survival instincts took over and he started fighting to free himself.
Then, after what seemed forever to Shikamaru, Sasori went still and stared at his capture with undisguised fear.
“Now,” Neji observed and, at that moment, Orochimaru released his grasp. Sasori gasped.
Shikamaru looked across at Neji, How had he known?
“He was waiting for Sasori to submit,” Neji explained.

Orochimaru waited until Sasori’s breathing had slowed.
“We will do that again and then I will ask you questions. Or perhaps we will do it twice before I ask. Or three times. Or maybe four.”
It had been then that Sasori had triggered the knock-out gas.

The intercom clicked again.
“This is Kakashi. Shikamaru, tell me your plan included embedding an autopilot sequence that allows us to get that ship into one of our docking bays.”
“Shikamaru here. Of course.”

Less than a hundred minutes after the alarm had sounded, Sasori was sitting in the meeting room on the Elm rubbing his throat.
“Do you wish for some pain relief, Sasori-san?” Neji asked. “We do not want to treat the damage until we have decided whether we wish to reinstate the scenario from which we extracted you.”
“It’s over,” Sasori croaked. “At least in that format.”
“Too scared?” Kakashi taunted.
“No, merely realistic. He wants the ship. He has decided to kill me. I confess I do not understand his relationship with Kabuto. Maybe he is fond of him. That brand of mindless loyalty is difficult to replace.”
“What next?” Neji asked.

They decided to make one last attempt to extract some useful information. The ship would not leave the Elm’s docking bay and the Elm would not jump back through the hole. They sedated Kabuto and Orochimaru before clearing the knock-out gas. Kabuto was placed in bed and the door of his cabin relocked. Orochimaru was strapped into the chair that had held Sasori.

Kakashi, Neji and Shikamaru watched from the meeting room. Sasori sat at a safe distance, waiting for Orochimaru to regain consciousness.
“Our positions are reversed, Orochimaru,” he began.
Orochimaru ignored him. Instead he stared at the most likely hiding place for a camera.
“Sasuke Uchiha. I have information you required for your survival and the survival of those you hold dear. I can tell you the identity of the traitor in your household. I can tell you the name of the other founding member of the Akatsuki.” He smiled. “I can even tell you how to extend the lifespan of your beloved and your hybrid sons.”
- 69
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