Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

In the cold of space you find the heat of suns	By : mannahpierce Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 3341 -:- 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
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Thank you for the reviews. They inspire me to continue this 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.

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

Also, apologies to those readers who, rightly, expect more of a Naruto/Sasuke focus because of the category. It started out that way but that was before it became 75 chapters long!

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.

75. Duty

Itachi pulled himself together. The holovideo could be a trick. Even if it were true, he must concentrate on his current situation.

These people, Orochimaru and Kabuto, had stolen from Uchiha. He must retrieve what had been stolen; the woman in the tank, the tissue bank and the foetuses that had been grown from the fox-hybrid�s cells.

Worse, they had dared use a full blood Uchiha as bait. Orochimaru had paid and Kabuto must do the same.

He went looking for Kiba and found him in the laboratory.

�What resources does Kabuto have? Does he have fighters? Guns?� he asked.

Kiba scowled. Kabuto was not coming, so it did not matter if he had fighters or guns. However, he could not tell the man that; he might discover that Kiba had sent Kabuto a letter.

�He has twelve mink-human fighters,� Kiba replied. �They are small but very vicious. They use guns as well as biting and clawing.�

Itachi considered. �You have none here?� he enquired.

�There are thirty trained fighters in stasis,� Kiba answered. �They are loyal to Kabuto. They would attack you as an intruder.�

�No untrained ones?� the man pressed.

Kiba recalled the adolescents he had recently frozen; he had been fond of them. He could revive them. They would not have to fight, because Kabuto was not returning. �There are thirty youngsters; not trained, but not loyal to Kabuto.�

It took a great deal to make an Uchiha admit to having made an error, even to himself. Itachi�s eye twitched as he watched the sea of furry youngsters crowd about Kiba vying for his attention with their squeaking and squabbling. He should have asked more questions.

�Quiet!� he bellowed.

They froze. Some of them looked to Kiba for reassurance.

�I am Itachi Uchiha. You will call me Itachi-san. What will you call me?�

The response was scattered and weak.

�What will you call me?� Itachi barked.

�Itachi-san!� they replied.

�Better,� Itachi acknowledged. �You will obey me. You will do what I tell you and you will do it well. Then you will be rewarded. How do we reward mink hybrids that obey and do well, Kiba-san?�

A few of the youngsters giggled at hearing Kiba called Kiba-san. Kiba himself looked surprised. �We reward them with fish, Itachi-san,� he answered.

The mink hybrids� noses twitched at the thought of fish.

�And if you do not obey me or if you do badly, you will be punished. How will I punish mink hybrids that disobey and do badly, Kiba-san?�

�You will punish them by making them sleep alone all night, Itachi-san,� Kiba decided.

Itachi could go with that; the mink hybrids� whiskers drooped at the thought of it.

Kiba was impressed. Despite knowing nothing about minkies, the man managed to have them busy cleaning themselves and their accommodation for inspection within minutes.

�I can see they each have a number between one and thirty on their ear tags,� the man said. �Can you quickly give me a list of their names against the numbers?�

Kiba wondered if he should tell him that minkies were not allowed names; that these ones would be called purple one through purple thirty for the rest of their depressingly short lives. Instead he found a piece of paper, wrote down one to thirty and added the names he had used with each of them as he raised them.

The man stared at it for a few minutes.

During the inspection he called each one by name. He complimented the ones whose fur was particularly neat or who had cleaned something well. There was a steady, questioning look for those who were scruffy. He and Kiba had one of their �Itachi-san� and �Kiba-san� exchanges in which it was decided that there might be a small amount of fish for every minky later that day.

He divided them into groups of three and taught them how to reload or recharge the selection of guns he had gathered; Orochimaru had liked guns. Then he gave them laser pistols turned to minimum. After a very short lecture about safety, he had them shooting at targets.

Kiba had never seen them concentrate so hard and for so long. He watched the man compliment Meeko-kun, who had proved to be a particularly good shot; Meeko�s fur rippled with pleasure at the praise.

During feeding time the man gave out the small pieces of fish himself. Every minky got one. Meeko and the other minkies who had done particularly well received two. The man gave two pieces of fish only to minkies who had earned them.

Kabuto usually trained minkies using an electric prod, with a beating for any minky that did badly. If a minky failed three times he was sent to Orochimaru; the lucky ones died quickly.

Kiba much preferred Itachi-san�s methods.

Itachi had decided that, despite their immaturity and their tendency to squabble, the mink hybrids had considerable potential. Being recently out of stasis and having worked hard, they were tired. After they had fed, they groomed each other and settled down to sleep in a furry huddle.

He was, he admitted, weary. He hoped that Kiba was correct and that Kabuto could not arrive that night and was unlikely to be back the next day. Next morning he would work out how to reset the security.

He accepted the food handed to him and did not object when Kiba insisted he receive more treatment. He was content to sleep on the treatment bed while the regenerators did their work.

Kiba stood in the doorway of the treatment room and studied the man, Itachi-san, as he slept. He found himself wondering, again, how such a fragile and damaged man could be so powerful.

Kabuto was a day later than he would have hoped and, worse, there was no answer to the communication he had sent as he jumped into the system. The sight of an envelope bearing the address �Kabuto-san� in Kiba�s childish handwriting increased his foreboding. He opened it with trepidation.

Kabuto-san

Orochimaru-sama played with the man.

The man killed Orochimaru-sama. I put his body in the freezer.

Orochimaru-sama killed the minky kits before he died. The man killed all the bullmen. I cremated the bodies.

Stay away. The man will kill you. He has sent a message to his friend.

Kiba

P.S. There are six foetuses left and they are very promising. The man has promised not to kill them or me.

Kabuto calmed himself. Orochimaru could not be dead. Kiba must be mistaken. At least the dog hybrid had not cremated him.

He went to activate the twelve mink hybrid fighters.

Sasuke had promised not to view any other communications from Jewel without Naruto with him. After consideration, he chose to also have Shikamaru, Neji and Kakashi present.

This communication was different. It had been broadcast. It was secured using one of the Old Uchiha ciphers. It was marked for the urgent attention of all Uchiha ships. It included the coded signature of a full blood Uchiha.

So Sasuke was not surprised to see Itachi�s face. It was pinched and sallow, but his eyes had the intensity Sasuke remembered. He was shirtless. The way his collarbones projected confirmed that he was far too thin.

�This is Itachi Uchiha.

�My memory is damaged. I do not know when or how this happened. It will affect the quality of this report.

�I have been told that I was captured in a raid on a ship by a man called Kabuto. I was tanked. Also taken were a woman in a tank and a tissue bank. The woman is still tanked. Kabuto and his superior, Orochimaru, are hybrid engineers. They are hoping that Kisame will walk into a trap in a bid to rescue me.

�They are also interested in the fox-human hybrid. They have already cloned him using cells from the tissue bank. There are a total of six foetuses that are all, apparently, promising.

�Kabuto is away from his facility at this time. He is due back within a few days.

�There is a dog-human hybrid called Kiba. He was their laboratory assistant. He helped me kill Orochimaru. In return I have promised not to kill him. He is very protective of the fox-hybrid foetuses.

�I will protect the stolen material, including the foetuses, from being reacquired by Kabuto.

�Requesting pickup.�

Just before the camera was deactivated Itachi had turned, perhaps to speak to another. Sasuke saw part of his back, crisscrossed with cuts and welts. He took a deep breath, squeezed Naruto�s hand and looked to Neji.

�He is not under duress,� Neji told them. �The indications are that he is speaking the truth when he says that his memory is damaged. It would be consistent with what Rin told us about the brain damage and consequences of taking him out of the tank too soon.�

�We retrieve him, quickly,� Kakashi added. �Before his memory returns.� He scowled. �It will not, however, be before Kabuto returns and we know how dangerous Kabuto can be.�

�We will need another six gestators,� Naruto added. �We haven�t got any more with us.�

The others looked at him. Sasuke could see how badly he was shaken by the news of the fox-human foetuses.

�We will send the Dart to get more,� he promised.

Kisame had viewed the communication Itachi had broadcast to Uchiha. Itachi had looked terrible but fiercely fine. He took a deep breath and opened the message that was for him alone.

In this Itachi�s eyes were vulnerable and pleading.

�I know you, Kisame. I know you are my friend and my Companion. I remember us together. I know who I am. I am Itachi Uchiha. I know I live the life I have to lead.

�I remember people and places but few specifics of what happened and where.

�I know I was bait in a trap for you. I have killed everyone whom I judged dangerous. I will kill Kabuto. It will be safe for you to come for me.

�I miss you.

�Please come.�

Kisame suppressed his emotions. Otherwise his rage would be released with them.

He closed his eye. He struggled to remember a time when Itachi would have admitted to missing him. Perhaps long ago, when they had first become friends, before he had offered to be Itachi�s Companion.

It had been the only way to stop Fugaku-kyou. As Companion, Kisame was sworn personally to Itachi. It superseded all other vows, even that to the clan leader. The overt abuse ceased. Fugaku-kyou had known that Kisame would snap his spine.

Yet here was Itachi, separated from him; vulnerable, raped and beaten.

Kisame had failed him.

Again.

Kiba crouched behind the barrier.

He had watched Itachi-san preparing for an attack Kiba had been certain would never come. Itachi-san had reset the security codes, overseen the minkies building barricades across the corridors and erected shields to protect the gestators. Each minky had been given a specific task in the anticipated battle and instructions how to stay safe when under attack.

Now Kiba was accepting the fourth blow dart from the two minkies tasked with supplying him. He had only eight darts in all and he was determined to make each one count; the alternative was watching more of the mink-human hybrids shot in the head by Itachi-san. Even though the adults had been trained to despise him, Kiba still felt affection for them.

Kiba could tell that what Itachi-san wanted to kill Kabuto. He knew from the way he looked beyond the mink-human fighters, seeking a target. Kiba had expected him to charge down the corridor in a killing frenzy. Instead he held his position and, because he did, the minkies stayed where they should and none of them were hurt.

When the sixth mink-human fighter fell, Kabuto retreated.

He took the unconscious mink-human hybrids but not the dead.

The only dead body they took was Orochimaru�s.

Itachi did not know what to make of Kabuto�s retreat. There were two possibilities. Either he had retrieved what he had wanted or he had not been prepared for the level of opposition they had offered. The first seemed unlikely because Kiba did not think anything was missing. The second would mean that he was likely to attack again, perhaps with hired fighters. Itachi had spent the rest of that day and the whole of the next working with the minkies to secure the perimeter.

Sasuke found the weight of the laser pistol in its holster strange. Normally they would never drop to a planet where a spacer crew was reduced to wearing guns. He glanced over to Kakashi, who had wanted Sasuke to stay on the Sakura; the space port was the only safe and secure location in the city, possibly across the entire planet. But Sasuke had insisted and Naruto, the only person to whom he might listen, had agreed with him; Sasuke needed to be there when Kisame met Itachi.

They set off towards the origin of Itachi�s broadcast.

The property was covered with the Uchiha codes for �trapped - do not attempt entry�. Naruto suggested pressing the doorbell only to evoke a chorus of horrified exclamations from the other elite fighters.

�This is Itachi,� Gai told him. �The doorbell will be the trigger for the biggest bomb.�

After some discussion they decided that the best option was for Kisame to yell.

Kiba was suddenly surrounded by squeaking minkies.

�There is a big blue man ...�

�..at the front door...�

�...yelling for...�

�..Itachi-san.�

He wondered why they had not gone to Itachi-san directly but then realised that he was in Kabuto�s office with the door closed. Kiba knocked politely on the door and waited for permission to enter.

�There is someone at the front door,� he said. �From the minkies� description it is your friend.�

Itachi put down his pen and tidied the notes he had been making. This was it, the moment he would discover whether what had been implied in the interview was true. He wondered if Kisame would be alone. Itachi wanted him to be alone. It was easier for Itachi to be himself when they were alone.

He walked calmly to the door and used the viewer.

Kisame was not alone. It was a large party of fighters. The quality of the picture was poor and the viewing angle limited, but Itachi was sure that he recognised Kakashi and Gai. It was a shock to see Kakashi. That meant that Sasuke�s time as cat in a crew was over; more evidence that what Itachi had seen in the hololoop was true.

Itachi unhooked the trigger from the bomb he had improvised and opened the door.

Sasuke was with them.

Viewing the interview had not prepared Itachi for the reality. He was taller and more powerfully built. He was even more beautiful than Mikoto-san. He exuded quiet and confident authority.

He was wearing the ring. He was leader of the clan.

Itachi sank to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground. �Sasuke-kyou,� he acknowledged.

�Do not call me that,� he growled. �Never call me that. You and I both know what our father was.�

His contempt for Fugaku was palpable.

Itachi stayed where he was. He did not know what else to do. What were his options if he was responsible for a massacre?

�Get up,� Sasuke ordered him.

Itachi stood.

�Do you remember anything?� Sasuke asked him.

�People,� Itachi admitted. �Scenes. Some events. I think I know who I am.�

Sasuke looked at him. Itachi realised that his little brother was taller than him.

�You don�t know who you are, Itachi,� Sasuke replied sadly. �That is the problem. A man is who is but he is also what he has done. You have done terrible things.�

Itachi knew then. He did not need a memory. He could see it in Sasuke�s eyes. He had not only killed Fugaku. He had, indeed, massacred his family. He had killed Mikoto-san.

He went back down on his knees. He pressed his forehead to the floor. �I offer whatever reparations you demand, Sasuke-sama. My life is in your hands.�

He heard Kisame�s strangled gasp among the various exclamations.

Then there was the sound of a knife being drawn and a hand fisting in his hair. His head was lifted and tilted back.

Now he could see his father in his brother�s face.

�Did I kill her?� he asked.

Itachi felt the sharp edge of the steel against his throat, nicking the skin. Then the word came that confirmed that he deserved to die.

�Yes.�
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In the cold of space you find the heat of suns