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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
- 74
- 75
- 76
Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to blugirlami21, Procrastination_is_key, redtatsu, Moonmoore, SunaoTsuji, Destiny and melissen for leaving a review after chapter 74 was posted and disembodiedvoiceofthedying for sending an email.
Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me.
The recent reviews and other feedback has really helped me. Thank you!

Author’s note: For those who feel they need a recap about the characters who have crawled out the woodwork, I have added some notes at the bottom.

Leader
Part 8: Clan
75: Itch

Sasuke made the mistake of letting go as soon as they crossed the threshold into the household. Immediately he was light-headed and his legs felt as if they belonged to someone else.
He could not give out yet. They had to dispose of the bodies. There were over fifty allied crews in Tarrasade that deserved his recognition and attention. Most importantly, the first time his adolescent children had seen people die had been when he was slitting their throats.
He glanced across at Haru, who looked worryingly pale.

As if he had read his mind, Naruto was over there, moving among them. Sasuke watched him stroking Haru’s back and having comforting words with the others.

A hand on his arm; Asuma’s.
“You concentrate on the youngsters, Sasuke-sama. Kakashi, Kisame, Itachi and I have everything else in hand.”
“The allied crews?”
“Each of the captains knows about the reception tomorrow. We’ve arranged an allowance in the bars and the brothels for today. The USF have talked it through with the station authorities and the plan is to contain and manage rather than control.”
“Bodies?”
“Already on their way to the infirmary for storage.”
Asuma’s confidence was reassuring. “Thank you, Asuma-san. I leave it in your hands.”

Next Haku was behind him, lifting his jacket from his shoulders.
“I’ll see to this, Sasuke-sama.”
He had managed to direct the blood onto the floor but some had run down from the knife onto his sleeve. “Thank you, Haku-san.”
“Iruka-san is suggesting that we congregate in the kitchen,” Haku informed him. “I expect he will wish to make us tea and Choza-san will attempt to feed us.”
Sasuke was not sure he could face food but a cup of tea would be welcome.

Then Naruto’s hand was on his back, warm through the gaps in his mesh shirt. He glanced over to the youngsters. Haku was directing them to the kitchen. Ran had his arm around Haru’s waist under his jacket.
“They are fine, teme. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Sasuke looked down at the dried blood and nodded.

Once they reached the crew room, Naruto took him through to their bathroom and washed his hand and arm. Sasuke let him. It felt good.
“We could stay here for a bit,” Naruto suggested.
It was tempting. “No. I should be in the kitchen with the others.”
Blue eyes shone with approval.
“Maybe you could persuade Kiba to let the children join us,” Sasuke suggested. “I know it would be disrupting their routine, but...”
Naruto was out the door before he finished speaking.

He found another jacket, most people would still be in uniform, and made his way to the kitchen. The younger senior crew, what Sasuke thought of as Inari’s generation, was at one end of the table, and the youngsters were at the other. Older members of the crew occupied the gap between them.

He forestalled all the offers to take someone else’s place by sitting down quickly. He picked out various people for a look of approval or a quick word of reassurance: Kotetsu and Izumo, for whom the more ruthless rituals of spacer life were so alien; Rin, who had chosen to leave her daughter in Kiba’s care to walk the station with her crew; Hoshi, whose eyes told him she was wondering if she had it in her to kill a person like that; Sumaru, who had become Izuna’s bodyguard believing it to be an honour and served perfectly for over two standards despite his disappointment.
He was with Moegi, Konohamaru, Kamatari, Tayuya and Inari up one end of the table. It looked like Konohamaru and Kamatari were teasing him, which Naruto insisted did Sumaru good.

Iruka poured him some tea. Sasuke thanked him and took a sip. It tasted good. Choza was loading the counter at the side with bread, cheese and fruit. The hybrid youngsters were following in his wake, filling plates to take back to the table.

Then Naruto arrived with Kiba and the children. Behind them were Konan and Hana, who was carrying Aiko. Even at only five divs, she was a lively little thing; more like Haru at that age than any of the other purebred babies had been.
Sasuke was suddenly and acutely aware that he had just killed her genetic father. It was an odd thought but it only lasted for a moment; Tsuneo had lots to tell him about what he, Shou and Nagato had been doing.

He was half-listening to the rules of their latest game when he spotted Sumiko. She was standing with a small frown on her face.
It was only then that he realised that Shikamaru and Neji were missing.
Naruto had followed his line of sight and his train of thought. “They are probably finishing up,” he suggested. “Do you want me to go and check?”
Sasuke shook his head. They were both needed here. He beckoned Sumiko over.
“Can you do me a favour, Sumiko-chan? Can you go to the big meeting room and tell your Nii-san and Neji-san that we are all in the kitchen having tea?”
Sumiko gave one of her rare smiles. “I can do that, Sasuke-sama. I shall go right now.”

Shikamaru had jumped at Neji’s offer that he should be the one to tell Sasuke that Izuna was leaving the Killing Square. They had survived without losing Sasuke on Izuna’s blade or Naruto on Kimimaro’s. The allied crews had stepped up and given a magnificent demonstration of their loyalty, searing an image of the new Uchiha into Tarrasade’s consciousness.
It was a good day.

So why did he feel like this? Why did he have an itch in the middle of his back, between his shoulder blades? It was the one that he got when one of the deeper layers of his mind was telling his body that something bad was going to happen.
What had his conscious mind overlooked?
Why did he keep thinking about the Warren?

“Shika?”
He realised that Neji had probably been talking to him for some time.
“What’s wrong?” Neji asked.
“I have to think,” Shikamaru replied. What had triggered his discomfort? Identifying Kimimaro? No, that had made it worse but it had started before that. Identifying Kurotsuchi?
Yes, the trigger had been when Kurotsuchi’s name had appeared on the list.

He constructed a query looking for links between the events that had just occurred and the Warren. At the last moment, he added the HDF and the AHB.
As soon as he set it running, the answer came to him. He did not have wait for the results. It was Tennyo Three. She had used the Sakura persona in the Warren, when she helped evacuate the hybrids.
Would Kurotsuchi or Kimimaro recognise her? It was a distinct possibility. How many pink-haired, emerald-eyed women called Sakura were there?
If they did, Izuna would start asking questions.

He would, as Chaaruzu-san, contact her and warn her.

He had expected the decision to get rid of the itch. It didn’t. He moved onto thinking about when to warn her and the itch subsided.
It vanished as soon as he considered contacting her now, without delay.

Why was it so urgent? His mind exploded with possibilities. The worst was that Izuna had known that Sakura was a spy for days, perhaps longer, but was waiting to see how events in the Killing Square played out before taking action.
Shikamaru imagined what Izuna might do to her and shuddered.

At this time of day she should be in Izuna’s office, working. He linked through the control room to the Uchiha headquarters main reception. Usually a lady with a pleasant voice answered immediately, inquiring what the caller wanted.
Not this time; he thought he heard breathing but he might have imagined it.
“This is the Uchiha household,” he tried, including the appropriate security code via the interface he was using. “Please put me through to Izuna Uchiha’s office.”
There was a pause and then a male voice answered. “This is Uchiha headquarters. Izuna-sama’s offices are closed today.”
At first he was relieved. Maybe Izuna had given Sakura and Ino the day off. If so, Sakura would pick up a message from Chaaruzu-san before she saw Izuna again.

He began asking if he could speak with Sakura-san when, without warning, the link was broken from the other end. That was not right. The itch was back.

Was Sakura at Uchiha headquarters or not? He decided to check the entrance and exit logs, which would be easy given that he had written the security system.
“Shika?” Neji’s tone was insistent.
“I am worried about Sakura-san,” he admitted. “I think Kimimaro or Kurotsuchi or one of the people with them might recognise her from the Warren.”
“Izuna knows she was in the Warren?” Neji checked.
“Yes, but he doesn’t know that she coordinated the couriers who ran messages throughout the evacuation. Doing that is not consistent with the person who is his personal assistant.”

The logs had Sakura arriving but not leaving. Why had the man told him that Izuna’s office was closed if Sakura was present? Why hadn’t he been put through?
The itch was almost unbearable.
He wished that he, as Chaaruzu-san, had given her a panic button and access to a back-up team. Not doing so was his error; his responsibility.
“What are you going to do?” Neji queried.

An answer suggested itself immediately; use his knowledge of the security systems to make his way undetected to Uchiha headquarters and find out what was happening.
Only he couldn’t tell Neji that.
“The person who answered said that Izuna’s office is closed,” he replied.
“That makes sense. He knew he was not going to be there. We will talk to Sasuke when he gets back,” Neji proposed.
“I suppose so,” Shikamaru replied.

He knew he had to sit there for at least a few minutes, or Neji would be suspicious. He checked the display showing the crew’s progress. They weren’t even out of Level 3; given the crowds it could be the better part of forty minutes before they reached the household.
There was no sign of Izuna; he had ditched or destroyed the tracker.

The itch had lessened as soon as he had made the decision to go and look for Sakura. Now it was back and getting worse again.

He lasted three minutes and then stood up. “Can you manage on your own for a bit? I need the head and I thought I would check on Su-chan.”
Neji nodded. “Good idea. If I need you, I’ll use the intercom.”

Shikamaru walked until the doors closed behind him and then set off at a run.

He pulled the schematic for the compound from some little-used corner of his mind and plotted a route to Izuna’s offices that, as far as possible, avoided the corridors.
Having an override code for every door and hatch got him into the headquarters and up to the storey that Izuna had appropriated. Once there, he discovered that the security settings on the doors had been reset; some even had mechanical locks.
It slowed him down a little but not much. No one had thought to reset the locks on the maintenance hatches.

He emerged from a storage closet into the corridor just outside Izuna’s office, well clear of the security desk.

The door slid open as he approached. He walked into the outer office. It was empty and for a moment he thought she was not there.
He began imagining Kurotsuchi denouncing Sakura as a spy and Izuna’s reaction.
“Shikamaru-san.” The voice was bright and welcoming. “How can I help you?”

It was her: Tennyo Three in her Sakura persona. He breathed a huge sigh of relief. Then he realised that he had no idea what to say. She did not know that he was Chaaruzu-san and he did not wish to tell her.
“Do you know what has happened in the Killing Square?” he began.
Sakura laughed and coloured slightly; the perfect reaction of a skilled personal assistant caught doing something slightly unprofessional. She moved towards what he knew to be a meeting room, causing the door to slide open. “I confess we have been monitoring the developments.”

Inside were six small leather cases and a woman whom he recognised as Ino. She was leaning back in her chair, her feet up on the table, drinking coffee and watching the media coverage.
Shikamaru had never seen longer or more attractive legs. For a moment it was difficult to think about anything else.
Then they were gone, tucked away under the chair as Ino sat up.
“Shikamaru-san, to what do we owe the pleasure?”

It was the kind of greeting that bounced about Shikamaru’s mind sparking all manner of thoughts, which was not helpful. He tried to marshal a coherent argument.
“I thought you should know that Sumaru-san is no longer Izuna-sama’s bodyguard. In fact, we doubt that Izuna-sama will be returning to the Uchiha household.”
Neither of them said anything. They were both studying him, which was not surprising given that one was a highly trained operative and the other was an ex-Sister.
“His new bodyguard is a man called Kimimaro. Uchiha has had dealings with him in the past. He was a prominent member of the AHB during the attempted hybrid purge in the Warren. We believe he was an active member of an AHB murder squad.”
Emerald and sapphire eyes continued to gaze at him.
“I thought you should know,” he concluded, lamely.

Ino gestured him towards a chair, which he took.
“Izuna-sama left instructions to pack up certain things.” She indicated the leather cases. “We are meant to be on our way to a rendezvous with them.”
Shikamaru stared at the cases. Sakura must not go; she must not meet with Izuna away from the relative safety of the Uchiha compound. “You are still here,” he pointed out.
“Yes, because I have no intention of going. My letter of resignation is the first thing Izuna Uchiha will find when he opens this case.” She tapped a slim documents case with a beautifully manicured finger. “However, I am struggling to persuade Sakura-san to follow my example.”

Shikamaru knew why. Tennyo Three had a mission. He wished that he, as Chaaruzu-san, had sent her more detailed instructions. He cast about for a way to convince her of the danger she was in.
“It isn’t only Kimimaro. We have evidence that there are a number of prominent members of the AHB in Tarrasade, people we came to know when Uchiha evacuated the hybrids from the Warren. You were there, Sakura-san, you know what the worst of those people were like. We have even seen Kurotsuchi.”
Finally something that he said hit home; Sakura paled slightly and, for the first time, there was uncertainty in her eyes.
“Kurotsuchi?” Ino queried.
Shikamaru waited.
“She wants to kill every hybrid,” Sakura admitted, “and she’ll do anything to achieve it.”

There was silence.
“Even if you won’t resign, don’t keep the rendezvous,” Ino suggested. “Put in a note saying that Uchiha detained you.”
To Shikamaru’s relief, Sakura nodded. “That might be wise. Izuna-sama can always contact me through the Stellar Exchange. What about the cases? Should we say that Uchiha kept them too?”
“I do not think Sasuke-sama would want that,” Shikamaru admitted. “Izuna-sama is still a senior Uchiha who should be treated with respect.”
Ino made a sound that was suspiciously like a snort. “He is a power-hungry fossil who uses the concepts of honour and duty rather than living them.” She saw his shock and pointed at the document case. “I have resigned. What about the cases?”
“I’ll arrange for them to be taken by courier,” Shikamaru assured them.

He moved towards the door, intending the use the interface on Sumaru’s desk. As it began to slide open, he spotted a USF guard entering the outer office from the corridor.
He was yanked backwards and thrust under the table. For a purebred, Ino could move remarkably fast and was surprisingly strong.
He resolved to be small and silent.
“Gentlemen,” Ino acknowledged as the door to the meeting room opened again.
Shikamaru counted six pairs of uniformed legs.
“Ino-san,” one of the men responded. “Izuna-sama has been in contact. He is worried because you and Sakura-san have not kept the rendezvous.”
“We will not be able to make it,” Ino replied. “Feel free to take the cases.”
There was a short silence.
“Izuna-sama is expecting you and Sakura-san at the rendezvous,” the man insisted. “You will accompany us there.”
“No,” Ino replied.

One pair of uniformed legs closed on Ino’s stockinged ones. Shikamaru watched as she stamped on his foot, driving her stiletto heel through his boot. She then yanked out the bloodied spike, stepped back and kicked upwards with the other foot.
Given the sound he made and the way he dropped to the floor clutching his groin, Shikamaru deduced she had scored a direct hit.
“Anyone else?” she challenged.
“Don’t be difficult, Ino-san.” It was the same man who had spoken before.

Even from under the table, Shikamaru could see that Ino had gone very still; the usual response when your opponent drew a gun.
There was a masculine yelp of pain. A laser pistol dropped to the floor and skidded under the table. Shikamaru risked kicking it towards Ino, who swept it up.
“You heard Ino-san.” It was Sakura. “I suggest you take your wounded and the cases while there are still enough of you to carry both.”
“Be reason...”
A laser hit one of the boots Shikamaru could see. There was a muffled shriek of pain and some hopping.
“I am being reasonable,” Sakura informed them. “Very reasonable. My reasonableness is wearing very thin. Last chance before Ino-san and I find out which of us is the best shot by aiming at your vitals. Take the cases and him.”
Shikamaru guessed she meant the man still writhing on the floor.

There was a risky moment when two of the men leaned down to lift up their colleague but Shikamaru stayed very still and neither of them noticed him. Then they were on their way.
Ino watched them from the outer office, making sure they entered the elevator.
“Do you want to give the front desk instructions to stop them?” Sakura asked, peering under the table.
“No.” Shikamaru crawled out. “Neither of you have the authority to do that, so if it happens it will look suspicious.”
Ino came back into the room. “Nice pistol,” she observed. “I would have sworn it was just a pen.”
Sakura twirled the slim, pen-shaped object between her fingers. “A girl can never be too careful.”

Sumiko returned with Neji. Sasuke stared at the door, expecting Shikamaru to follow them in.
Neji looked up and down the table.
“Where’s Shika?” he asked. “He said he was going to the playroom.”
Kiba heard and looked towards them, frowning. “I haven’t seen him since breakfast.”
Neji went completely white. “The idiot. He said he would wait until you arrived and discuss it with you.”

Sasuke was out of his seat. He pulled Neji into the crew room. “Discuss what with me?”
“He was worried about Sakura-san.”
Naruto joined them. “Where do you think he may have gone?”
“Uchiha headquarters. Izuna-sama’s offices,” Neji replied. He bit his lip, which for Neji was the equivalent of hysterical screaming. “Sasuke-sama, we allowed Izuna-sama to recruit anyone he wished provided they passed a basic security check.”

Asuma, Kakashi and the other old Uchiha elite fighters were still busy elsewhere and the situation would not wait. Sasuke went back to the doorway to the kitchen.
“Sumaru-san, with me. Konohamaru-san and Kamatari-san, find out what is happening at Uchiha headquarters. Start by contacting your most trustworthy people. Shino-san, get us all in contact by radio.”
Within a minute, he was running down the corridor, flanked by Sumaru and Naruto.

Kazuki caught up with them as Sumaru was opening the second of the three security doors that linked the household to Uchiha Headquarters. He threw three radios to Naruto and then stood there, ears pricked and whiskers arched.
“Go back to the others,” Sasuke ordered. “If this turns out to be more than what it seems, I want you with Haru.”
He nodded and was gone.

Naruto activated Sasuke’s radio and attached it to his belt. Sasuke clipped the microphone to his jacket.
“This is Sasuke. Report.”
“This is Konohamaru. The elevators are not working. I suspect sabotage. Also it appears that the security settings have been changed on Izuna-sama’s level of the building, so only his people have access from the stairwells.”

Sasuke noted that there were Izuna’s people, which was worrying. His gut twisted. The more he heard, the less he liked it.

Sumaru had the third door open and Naruto was through it and confronting the guard.
“Which way did Shikamaru-san go?” he demanded.
The poor man looked terrified. Sasuke put a calming hand on Naruto’s arm. “It is urgent,” he emphasised.
“I have not seen him, Uchiha-sama,” the man insisted. He checked. “There is no record of him entering the building.”
“Back routes,” Naruto suggested.
That would be typical of Shika.
“Stairs,” Naruto proposed.
“Go ahead,” Sasuke directed. “Sumaru will stay with me.”
“No,” disagreed Sumaru. “All this could be a trap. You must not be separated from Naruto-san. Our tags do not match.”

It was an excellent point. They would have to proceed at Sasuke’s top speed.

It was eight flights of stairs to Izuna’s level. Sasuke was grateful that he had been training so hard.
He expected the door to be a problem, but it offered Naruto only token resistance,
They jumped over the debris and started running down the corridor beyond.

The security desk was unmanned. Sasuke did not have time to decide if that was a good or a bad thing before they were approaching the outer doors of Izuna’s personal offices.
The doors opened and Sumaru only just managed to avoid colliding with Sakura, who was carrying a tray.
Sasuke would not have stopped in time if it had not been for Naruto’s arm across his chest.
She smiled at them as if having three men charge into the office was an ordinary, everyday event. “Uchiha-sama, Naruto-san, Sumaru-san, how pleasant. Please come through.”

She led the way through another set of doors. In the room beyond were Shikamaru and a younger, female version of Inoichi. They were sitting at the table as if nothing was amiss.
For a few moments there was only the sound of his laboured breathing, which was embarrassing.
“I shall get some more tea,” Sakura declared brightly. “May I get you some water, Uchiha-sama?”

He was going to kill Shikamaru.

Author’s note:

Kimimaro
First appeared in ‘In the cold of space you find the heat of suns’. He was a ‘ring fighter’ on Jewel and, along with Lee, was one of the three young men picked up by Kabuto’s men as test subjects for the symbiote that he had acquired when he raided the Oak.
When Uchiha took back what had been taken, they took responsibility for the two survivors, Lee and Kimimaro, who were dying slowly despite being tanked. Rin, with Shikamaru’s assistance, finally managed to cure them. Kimimaro lived as a guest in the household but his hatred for hybrids meant he would never stay.
Kimimaro then went back to Kabuto and Orochimaru, who worked out how he could activate the symbiote.
During ‘Iteration’, in the arc about the Warren, Kimimaro was meant to be working for Orochimaru but was out of control, a leading member of the AHB (Anti Hybrid Brigade) and an active member of the murder squads who went through the lower levels of the Warren slaughtering hybrids. When the AHB attacked the spacer quarter of the Warren, intending to stop the evacuation of the hybrids, Kimimaro got through the blockade and was hunted down by Lee and Gaara, who thought they had killed him.
Obviously they had not, as he is back.
Sumaru loathes Kimimaro as he considers having the symbiote as a great honour and Kimimaro murders innocents.

Kurotsuchi
Appeared in Iteration. She was the political leader in the Warren who most wanted the hybrids eliminated. She believes that the end justifies the means and considers most people disposable. She was mayor of the Warren for a short time during the crisis but vanished when he lost control. She is still prominent in the AHB.

Suigetsu
Appears briefly in Iteration as one of Kabuto’s people. Is a very wary associate of Kimimaro.
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