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In the cold of space you find the heat of suns	By : mannahpierce Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 3609 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 3
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
- 73
- 74
- 75
Thank you for the reviews. They inspire me to continue the story.

Updates for this story are now weekly. I try to update on a Friday so that readers will have something to read at the weekend.

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Apologies if the characters have grown differently in their new environment.

Spacer crews travel the Far Borders and the Fringe of occupied space, trading. Spacing is an ancient and honourable profession carved out by millenniums. Most spacers start out as fourteen-year-old boys seeking a future. Few survive a decade spacing.

Warning: this chapter contains (brief) non-consensual sex.

74. The dog and the wolf

Itachi woke belly down on the bed. He could not move. There were straps across his calves, thighs, upper arms, wrists, neck and head. They held him still but they were not cruelly tight. His head had been carefully turned to one side so that he could breathe easily. Someone was bathing the welts on his back. The pain was great and he hissed before he could stop himself.

�Sorry,� a voice said.

Itachi recognised the voice from beyond the door; Kiba. He remembered a sting and a feathered dart; presumably a blowpipe. The antiseptic liquid hit a particularly deep cut and he winced. �Can�t you just tank me?� he asked. �Like Kabuto did?�

�He didn�t say to tank you. He said to treat your wounds,� Kiba told him. �Anyway, I don�t know how to use the tank. If a hybrid is hurt bad enough to be tanked they just kill it. At least I got the regenerator up your arse before you woke up; you should be grateful. I�ll turn up the painkiller.�

�No, don�t,� Itachi told him. He did not want his mind fuzzy with drugs. He was confused enough as it was. �It�s just pain. Pain is good. It tells you where the damage is.� He felt a gentle, cool sensation across his back and guessed that Kiba had spread a lightweight cloth across it.

�I can�t close the cuts until the swelling goes down,� Kiba explained.

The bed moved and Itachi thought Kiba was about to leave. �Stay,� he heard someone say and realised that it was him. It had sounded entirely too needy.

Kiba�s weight settled back onto the bed. Itachi felt a hand on his head. Fingers gently raked his hair into a tail. There was the familiar pattern of tugs that suggested plaiting. Then Kiba was gone from the bed but Itachi could hear a tap running. A warm, wet cloth moved gently and rhythmically across his skin. Itachi shut his eyes. He hated his side of himself, the part that needed. It was weak. It made him vulnerable.

Kiba�s kindness reminded him of Kisame.

Maybe he could use it. Perhaps Kiba could be persuaded to help him escape. �How did you end up working for a bastard like him?� he asked.

The gentle stroking with the cloth did not stop. �I don�t work for him,� Kiba replied. �He owns me.�

�So you�re a slave?� Itachi asked.

The stroking stopped and there was the sound of the cloth being washed out and wrung. Then the stroking was back. It felt good.

�No, you have to be human to be a slave,� Kiba answered.

Itachi was lost. Kiba was obviously human. Then he remembered the bullmen. �So you aren�t purebred,� he stated. �My best friend isn�t purebred,� he heard himself add.

The stroking stopped briefly and then continued. �The sharkman,� Kiba agreed. �I�ve got good hearing. I listen in. It�s safer to know what is going on,� he explained. �You are bait in a trap.�

Itachi had known that, but it did not make him feel better to have it confirmed.

�I think they want the other one as well, the fox hybrid, the one they are cloning,� Kiba added. �You know, the one that Orochimaru has been obsessing about.�

Itachi did not know. �Kisame is the only hybrid I know,� he replied. �Other than you,� he added. �And you are merely an acquaintance.� He heard a giggle; to his horror, it was him. Damn it, it had to be the drugs. �Don�t you ever think of running away?� he heard himself ask.

Itachi often thought of running away but Uchihas did not run.

�No,� Kiba answered. �I�m part dog. Dogs are loyal. Whatever.�

Maybe that was it, Itachi thought. He was a dog and Fugaku was his master. Or maybe a wolf that had been broken and domesticated. If he was a dog, he would be more content, like Kiba.

�I wish I were a dog,� he whispered.

Kiba watched the man drift into the embrace of the painkillers and then into sleep. If he wasn�t so lethal, Kiba suspected he would like him, which was dangerous. He had liked Amachi. Amachi had raised him from a pup. When Amachi had patted him on the head it had felt too good. His bond to Kabuto was much weaker and therefore less risky.

It was time to check the foetuses; they were too far on for Kiba to think of them as embryos. Kiba checked that the man would be comfortable, locked the door, returned the key to its place and went to the laboratory. As he expected, another one of them had died, helped on its way by a kink in one of the tubes. Kiba went through his usual ritual, wishing the little one�s spirit better luck next time around while he decanted and froze the remains. Once he had updated the log he went to see to the mink.

All the kits he had decanted were dead. They had been killed, their necks snapped one by one and the little bodies thrown into a heap on the floor. Kiba sighed. This kind of thing happened when Kabuto went away. He took the little bodies to the incinerator and said the words over each as he cremated it. Then he tidied up the incubators.

The bullmen were fine; Orochimaru needed the bullmen. They leered at him as he topped up their feed.

He was walking back to his kennel when he heard it; Orochimaru�s pants and the man�s whimpers, the slap of flesh on flesh. Kiba froze; he had left the man strapped down because it made caring for him easier, not to present his arse for Orochimaru to use.

He looked down the corridor. The cell door was open.

His blowpipe was where he had left it, leaning against the wall.

The dart kit was still on the table. Kiba primed two darts with as much anaesthetic as they would take; enough to drop a rampaging bullman.

Then he was looking at that pasty arse pumping up and down, thrusting as hard as it could into its victim.

It was a direct hit.

Orochimaru reared up with a roar. His hand came around, grasped the dart and pulled it out.

Kiba ran. He thought that the dart would have delivered enough anaesthetic but he could not be sure. Maybe Orochimaru would not realise it was him.

�Kiba!� Orochimaru bellowed.

So much for that hope; Kiba rounded a corner, stopped and loaded the second dart. His best chance of a second shot was as Orochimaru charged down the corridor. He jumped into position and aimed.

Orochimaru had his knife in his hand. He was trying to run but his body was betraying him. He stumbled and fell, tried to get up and fell again. He was pulling himself along the floor in Kiba�s direction.

Kiba put the second dart into his rump. Once he was unconscious, Kiba checked that the dart was empty.

He went back to the man. He cleaned up the worst of the mess and replaced the regenerator; it went in far too easily. The man�s breathing was shallow and rapid. He was still conscious.

�Let me up,� he demanded.

�No,� Kiba replied. The man would probably kill him; Kiba had left him tied up for Orochimaru to fuck.

�Did you kill him?� he asked.

Kiba considered. �Maybe not,� he admitted.

�Then do it. Or at least make sure he�s restrained.�

It was a good idea. Kiba went and found rope, then bound Orochimaru securely. Then he went back to the man. He filled a bowl with warm water and washed out the cloth. He stroked the cloth over the man�s body. The man liked it, Kiba could tell. Kiba liked it, it relaxed him.

�You have to unstrap me,� the man told him.

Kiba ran the cloth down the man�s leg. �No, you�ll kill me,� he replied.

The man made an exasperated sound. �When is Kabuto coming back?� he asked.

It was not something Kiba wanted to think about. Kabuto was going to be angry with him. He carried on stroking the man.

The last thing Itachi had expected was for the hybrid to interfere. It would appear that Kiba�s doggy loyalty was to Kabuto rather than the loathsome Orochimaru. Unfortunately, Kiba�s motivation appeared to have been dislike of Orochimaru rather that helping Itachi escape. He had to persuade him to undo the straps.

�Kiba, please undo the straps,� he asked. �I promise not to kill you,� he added.

The movement of the cloth against his skin ceased. �Purebreds make lots of promises they don�t keep,� Kiba told him.

�Kiba, my name is Itachi Uchiha. I give you my word, as an Uchiha, that I will not kill you.�

There was no response.

�I don�t want to kill you, Kiba. Why should I want to kill you?� Itachi asked.

�I left you tied up and he fucked you,� Kiba admitted.

�It wasn�t your fault and, anyway, you stopped him. Damn it, Kiba, he was your owner and you did that for me. I am grateful.�

�I didn�t just do it for you,� Kiba replied.

Itachi waited.

�I did it because he gestates two-headed embryos, and he killed the mink-human kits, and he fucks Kabuto, and he killed Amachi.�

Itachi did not know who Amachi was, but it had been someone Kiba cared about; it was in his voice. �It sounds like he deserves to die,� he suggested.

Kiba snorted. �Death has nothing to do with deserving. What will you do if I unstrap you? And don�t lie. I can smell lies.�

Itachi doubted that, but telling at least some of the truth was probably safer. �I will not kill you. I will kill Orochimaru if you haven�t already done so. I will escape.�

�Will you promise not to kill Kabuto?� Kiba asked.

Itachi thought about lying. �No,� he confessed.

For some reason Itachi did not understand, it worked. The hybrid started undoing the straps. Once he was free, Itachi turned onto his side and pulled up his knees. Perhaps jumping off the bed was not a realistic option.

�He�s unconscious and I tied him up really well,� Kiba assured him. �Kabuto can�t be back today or tomorrow. You need to sleep now and let the regenerator heal you.�

Itachi wondered if he was being sedated as he drifted away.

Kiba found a blanket and covered the man. He studied at his face. It was interesting, but far too thin. When he was sleeping he looked fragile.

He went to check Orochimaru. He did not smell dead but there was no sign of life. It had been a huge dose of anaesthetic.

Kiba ate. He finished his rounds. He went to the laboratory and saw to the other fox-human foetuses that wouldn�t be able to run about and feed themselves. He still froze the remains, because that was part of the ritual. In the log he wrote, �Killed by Kiba because it is kinder that way.�

There were six left, including the one with the tail. They were all very promising.

Then he went to his kennel to sleep.

He was woken by the sound of a gun firing projectiles. Listening, he could hear the bullmen trying to stampede in limited space and the sounds they made when they were terrified. He pulled on some clothes, shoved his feet into his shoes and ran in that direction.

His route took him past the man�s cell and where he had left Orochimaru. The cell was empty. There was a huge pool of blood, already dark and sticky; Orochimaru�s throat had been cut.

The noises had stopped. Either he had run out of projectiles or all the bullmen were dead. Kiba spotted him going into the main laboratory. There was the sound of equipment breaking.

Kiba ran faster. He charged through the open door as the man was approaching a gestator. Kiba leapt and landed on his back, knocking him to one side. The man fought him but, for once, Kiba did not hold back. He broke his arm so that Orochimaru�s knife fell from his hand. He kicked the knife away and hit him hard enough to subdue him. He did not break his neck.

�You will not hurt the foetuses,� he told him. �They are promising.�

Then Kiba looked about. The six important gestators were undamaged. He checked each one in turn, in case any of the tubes had kinked or the power had been interrupted. They were fine.

Then he went back to the man, who was sitting on the ground holding his broken arm.

The man was a killer, like Orochimaru. Kiba calmed himself. Being a killer was not necessarily bad. Kiba himself had killed thousands of embryos and foetuses. The bullmen had been dangerous. They were personally loyal to Orochimaru. They had raped the man and they would rape Kiba if given half a chance. The man probably did not think of the foetuses as anything more than one of Orochimaru�s experiments. What made Orochimaru hateful was that he enjoyed causing people pain.

�I will see to your arm now,� he told him.

Itachi allowed the hybrid pick him up and carry him into a treatment room. It had been shock to experience his speed and his strength; he had snapped Itachi�s arm as if the bones had been dried twigs. In contrast, he was exquisitely gentle as he set Itachi�s arm and encased it in a regenerator. Again it reminded Itachi of Kisame.

He smiled; now it was safe for Kisame to come for him.

�I need to send Kisame a message,� he told Kiba. �And we have to agree what to do when Kabuto arrives.�

Kiba thought about what the man had said. Was he offering not to kill Kabuto? Perhaps he did not know that Kabuto was the one who had raided his ship and stolen the tank he was in.

Did Kiba want Kabuto killed?

No.

Perhaps he could send Kabuto a message, or leave him one. Kabuto had a permanent mooring at the spaceport. Kiba could not take a message himself, but he could send one. All he had to do was go out onto the street and flag down a courier; Kabuto had an account.

This was not something he intended to share with the man.

�I will help you send a message to your friend if you will promise not to hurt the foetuses,� Kiba bargained.

The man scowled at him. �What is it about the foetuses? Are they some special experiment?�

�The cells they were grown from were stolen from the same ship as you were,� Kiba replied. �Along with the other tank, which has a woman in it.� He could see that the man was confused. �You were in one tank. The woman was in the other. There is also a tissue bank. The cells were in the tissue bank. They are from the fox-human hybrid that Orochimaru has been obsessing about.� Kiba had an idea. �I can show you the hololoop Orochimaru kept playing. It is all about the fox-human hybrid.�

�I want to send a message to Kisame,� the man insisted.

�As soon as you promise not to hurt the foetuses,� Kiba repeated, patiently.

The man made the same exasperated sound as he had the previous day. �I promise not to hurt the foetuses. Now, show me the communications console.�

Itachi could have laughed. Kiba had made it clear that he would snap Itachi�s neck rather than let him hurt the foetuses, yet still he wanted his promise. He wanted it much more than he wanted any protection for Kabuto.

The communications console Kiba chose to show him was in Orochimaru�s room. Kiba explained that it was much more powerful than the one in Kabuto�s office.

It was a standard model. The problem for Itachi was that he could not remember what ship they were currently on, or any other details. He had to settle for broadcast messages, one to Kisame and one to Uchiha.

Kiba watched the man send his messages. Then he leaned over the console. �I will play you the hololoop,� he said. He hoped that the holoprojection would distract the man long enough for Kiba to slip out and find a courier.

It seemed to be working. The man�s initial objection fell silent almost immediately. He stared at the projection. Kiba snuck away.

He was lucky, a courier passed within minutes of him finishing writing the letter and taking up his position on the corner. He used Kabuto�s account details and added a tip in coin, explaining that safe delivery of the message was important to his master.

The man was still in Orochimaru�s room, staring at the holoprojection, so Kiba decided to clean up. He considered cremating Orochimaru�s body but then thought that Kabuto might need to say goodbye, so he froze it instead. He cleaned up the blood and started the thankless task of moving the bodies of the bullmen one by one to the incinerator.

The man had shot each one in the head, which was a comfort.

Itachi watched the holoprojection play again and again. Every time the interview came around Itachi was transfixed. Sasuke was an adult. He was wearing Fugaku�s and Mikoto�s rings, which meant they were both dead. The fox hybrid was his Companion and there was no doubt he was beloved.

Then there was the woman�s question, �What is it like, Sasuke-sama, to live with the awful truth that your brother massacred your entire family?�

And Sasuke�s reply, �I miss them very much.�

Author�s note

OK, I had no idea that this was going to happen when I started writing this chapter. It was like it wrote itself. I feel like Shikamaru is going to in the fic � all those plans and, instead, Kiba spots his blowpipe against the wall and that�s that.

Kiba wasn�t even in the planned plot until two days ago.

I guess he snuck up on me.

73

74

75

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In the cold of space you find the heat of suns