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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
- 78
- 79
- 80
Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also THANK YOU to Procrastination_is_key, Aflyingmonkey, satterb, melissen and sadie237 for reviewing after chapter 78 was posted.
Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me.
Feedback keeps me writing.

Author’s note
This run of four chapters is a bit different. Because of that I will be posting them twice a week – Saturdays and Wednesdays. The Wednesday postings may be a bit late in the day as I will be working.

Leader
Part 9: Family
79: Interviews 1-16

Naruto [part 1]
Naruto looked at him as if he were crazy. “You are going to interview the entire crew at once?”
“One-by-one,” Sasuke clarified.
“I know you meant that. Teme, there are fifty-two of them.”
“Fifty-four including Ino and Sakura,” Sasuke reminded him. The vote had been fifty-two for, none against. The ceremony was the next day, with a celebration afterwards. It could be so soon because there were no security concerns; Sakura been working as a Tennyo for over fifteen standards and Sasuke did not intend to query Mother Superior’s unconditional recommendation.
“Fifty-four at ten minutes each...”
“Twenty minutes each,” Sasuke insisted.
“Twenty minutes each,” Naruto agreed, “with five minutes for you to think and make notes afterwards and a five minute gap is...”
Sasuke was much quicker at mental arithmetic. “One thousand six hundred and twenty minutes.” He had to admit, it sounded a lot.
“If you dedicate every afternoon to it, starting straight after the midday meal and carrying on until the evening meal, with no breaks, that will be...”
“Eight a day, so approximately seven days,” Sasuke concluded. “I shall start with today, tomorrow and the day after.” He went to find the copy of the list he had made and fixed it to the wall of their room with magnets. “So I can remind myself each morning who is coming up,” he explained.
Naruto peered at the list. His whiskers twitched. “Interesting order,” he observed.

Tatsuji
Sasuke had started with the people he spoke with least often and any list of taciturn people would always have Tatsuji at the top.
He had rearranged his study so that there were two comfortable chairs opposite each other at the portrait end. There was a small table between them.
The carefully engineered informal setting was not having the desired effect on Tatsuji, who was sitting bolt upright as if he were on guard duty.
“It is very good to have this opportunity to speak with you, Tatsuji-san,” Sasuke began and then waited.
“It is an honour, Sasuke-sama,” Tatsuji replied in his whispery voice.
Sasuke tried what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Would you like some tea, Tatsuji-san?”
“No thank you, Sasuke-sama, although I am honoured to be asked.”
“Coffee?”
“No thank you, Sasuke-sama, although I am honoured to be asked.”
Sasuke resisted the temptation to list more refreshments. He should have left Tatsuji until the evening; then he could have offered whisky.
“I wish to assure you that your service to Uchiha has continued to be exemplary in every way,” he began.
Tatsuji relaxed a little “I thank you, Sasuke-sama. Serving you and Uchiha is the greatest of honours.”
Suddenly twenty minutes seemed a very long time. Sasuke was pleased that he had the sense to prepare six questions that he could use with anyone: accommodation; present duties; future duties; training; plans for the future; concerns.
He made very little, if any, progress with the first five.
“Is there anything concerning you, Tatsuji-san? If so, I would be honoured if you felt you could share it with me.”
This time there was a pause, which Sasuke chose to interpret as a good sign.
“En-chan wants a baby but In-chan doesn’t,” Tatsuji confided.
At that point Sasuke decided to offer whisky after all and Tatsuji accepted.

Inryoku
“I confess that I am unclear how you and Enerugi-san arrange matters in a situation like this,” Sasuke admitted after pouring Inryoku a coffee. “Is he listening?”
Inryoku shook his, their, head. “No, we agreed not to.” He paused for a moment. “He’s very small and far away.”
Compare to talking with Tatsuji, it was easy. Inryoku wished that Shikamaru was less busy so he could speak with him more often. He wanted some new equipment for his laboratory. He had suggestions about how to make the plant-based defence system even more lethal.
At fourteen minutes exactly, Sasuke asked his last question. “Is there anything concerning you, Inryoku-san? If so, I would be honoured if you felt you could share it with me.”
“En-chan has this ridiculous notion about having a baby. As if any child should be saddled with us as parents.”
Sasuke was struck by the pain in his expression and the derision in his voice. “In my experience, children only want their parents to love them and care for them,” he replied. “They do not understand the concept of normalcy. They are very accepting of difference.”
“En-chan’s too fragile,” Inryoku insisted. “When he breaks down he hides away inside us for divs. You shouldn’t do that to a child.”
Sasuke could not remember Enerugi vanishing. “When was the last time that happened?” he asked.
Inryoku considered. “Not while we’ve been with Uchiha,” he admitted.
“That’s a long time,” Sasuke reminded him. “Perhaps he isn’t as fragile as you think.”

Enerugi
“..and Haku-san says that he will help us like he helped Terai-san and Hamaki-san and Fu-san. And Kiba-san says that there is lots of room in the nursery and the playroom. And Tatsuji would make the most wonderful father.”
Sasuke realised that Inryoku did not have a chance against the irresistible force of Enerugi’s determination to be a parent. However, he decided that he owed it to Inryoku to try.
“When you are one of a couple, it is important that both of you make such an important decision together.”
“Tatsuji wants a child.”
Sasuke tried again. “Couple was the wrong word. I apologise. Enerugi-san, whatever you do, Inryoku-san has to be involved, he hasn’t got a choice.”
Enerugi swelled with indignation. “He didn’t think of that when he swore to Pein. Oh no. He just told me that it was for the best. He didn’t care that Pein thought homosexuality was a perversion that had to be suppressed. I put up with that for standards. The better part of a decade. And he has the gall to complain about a child. A child he would love just like he loves Haru-chan and Nagato-chan.”
No; Inryoku did not have a hope.

Tenten
As Tenten sat down, Sasuke realised that he had no idea about what made the person in front of him tick. He had not chosen to recruit her, Tsunade had. All he knew was that she did her duties, she did them effectively and that Asuma had thought enough of her for them to have had a relationship that had lasted standards rather than divs.
After sharing a cup of tea, Sasuke found himself well on the way to confirming she was a genuinely nice person. Apparently her hobby was collecting handheld, non-powered weapons from different cultures.
They talked about and educational project for the children that could lead to a permanent display of weapons from Tenten’s collection and the Uchiha storerooms.

Izumo
“We have put together this proposal for expanding the shipyard in Skyburrow. I was hoping to run it past Shika-san but I haven’t been able to catch him.”
“I am sure it is very well thought out, Izumo-san,” Sasuke assured him, accepting the tablet.
“We were wondering if you were planning on having a permanent presence there,” Izumo hinted.
Sasuke understood. In many ways, living in Skyburrow gave them much more flexibility. On the other hand, leaving Tarrasade to Izuna was unacceptable. “It is under consideration, Izumo-san. We still intend to have Skyburrow as our major secure base.”
“That is good to know, Sasuke-sama.”
It was almost time to wrap up. “Is there anything else concerning you, Izumo-san? If so, I would be honoured if you felt you could share it with me.”
Izumo considered. “No. Kotetsu and I have decided to raise twin boys now that Ayame has moved into the crew room but that it not a concern.”
Sasuke decided he had better start a tally: three babies so far.

Kotetsu
“I miss working with Shika-san. We have not had a research and development meeting for divs. I know he is busy. I know that Rin-san is occupied with Aiko-chan. I do drop in to Inryoku-san’s laboratory regularly for a chat. Even so, it isn’t the same as those meetings. They were very simulating and I was looking forward to Haru-kun joining the group.”
Sasuke made a mental note to mention it to Shikamaru.

Ayame
“I am worried that Dad and Pa will be disappointed that I am thinking about becoming a medico rather than an engineer,” Ayame confided.
Sasuke knew he was on firm ground. “Your parents are rightly proud of you, Ayame-kun. They would never be disappointed in you for following your dreams.”
Ayame smiled her thanks, which would have been nice if the smile had been a little more genuine. “They do have Kei-kun. He’s amazingly talented. His 3D awareness is incredible.”
Had Sasuke known that? He knew Keizo liked helping Izumo. Then he was struck by a sudden thought. “Tell me more about why you want to be a medico, Ayame-kun.”
Five minutes later his suspicion was confirmed. It was not about being a medico; it was about not being as good an engineer as Keizo.
“It can be difficult being fourteen,” he told her. “I remember when I was fourteen. I was used to always being the cleverest but suddenly I was with Shikamaru and he was much cleverer than me. Then there was Naruto. He developed so quickly, like hybrids do. One div he was smaller than me and I was better that him at almost everything and then, suddenly, he was faster and stronger and beating me at everything, even piloting. I had always been proud of being good at that but Naruto was so amazing at it that it was like I was useless.”
He was on the right track, he could tell from the way she was looking at him.
“In the end, I realised that it wasn’t about being best, it was about doing my best. As long as I had done my best, I could be proud of myself and the people I cared about would be proud of me too.”
Ayame blinked at him; he had noticed that she did that when she was thinking. “I do like working in the yard,” she admitted.
“You will receive some training as a medico. Everyone does. Once you have done that you will be in a better position to compare being a medico with being an engineer. You are only fourteen, Ayame-kun, there isn’t any rush.”

Isaribi
This was the girl whom Naruto and Kiba were encouraging Ryuu to pursue. Apparently she was gentle and considerate and unlikely to take advantage of Ryuu’s good nature.
“How are you enjoying your experience of Tarrasade, Isaribi-kun?”
She paused for a few moments before replying. “I very much like being in my crew room; I think living with the other youngsters would be too noisy for me and Misora-kun goes out of her way to look after me. The household is lovely, Sasuke-sama. It is the most beautiful place I have ever been; it is a pleasure to walk the corridors and be in the rooms.”
Sasuke decided that he liked her.

Naruto [part 2]
“So what did you learn today?” Naruto asked from the other side of the bath.
“That Isaribi is as nice as you said she was and that Keizo has the potential to be a really talented engineer.”
Naruto frowned at him. “You’re not talking to Keizo until the day after tomorrow.”
“Ayame told me,” Sasuke explained. “Did you know that Enerugi and Tatsuji are planning to have a child?”
“Haku has discussed it with Kiba,” Naruto confirmed.
“You didn’t mention it.”
“People tell you things when they want you to know. I don’t want to spoil that for them.”
It was an interesting thought.
“I would tell you anything I thought you really ought to know,” Naruto added, “but Haku or Iruka would have got there first.”

Konan
As usual, Konan avoided talking about herself. Sasuke used tea and her garden as a way in and Nagato as firm ground. She looked different; a little dreamy.
She told him that she was resolved to become more integrated into the crew, which he encouraged.

Hana
Sitting so close, Sasuke realised that Hana was beginning to age. It was a shock, even though she was a couple of standards older than Kiba and her age retard had started late.
For a moment, in his imagination, he was seeing those first signs around Naruto’s eyes.
He pulled himself together. He returned to the difficult task of persuading Hana to think about her own needs rather than others’.
It proved hopeless. In the end he resorted to a direct question. “Is there anything I can do for you, Hana-san?”
“It would be nice if Shikamaru-san visited Konan-san. She expected him to do so when he returned to Tarrasade and he did not.”
Sasuke tried again. “What about you, Hana-san?”
She considered. “No. There was only one thing I wanted, Sasuke-sama, and you did it.”
He was lost.
“You got rid of Izuna-sama,” she explained. “I did not like the way he looked at Konan-san.”

Hamaki
“I like being back in Tarrasade but as long as we are with you, Sasuke-sama, protecting you, we are where we are meant to be.”
“You have no concerns at all, Hamaki-san?” Sasuke pushed.
At least Hamaki thought for a few seconds before saying no.

Terai
“You have no concerns at all, Terai-san?”
“None, Sasuke-sama.”

Fu
“You have no concerns at all, Fu-san?”
“Not at this time, Sasuke-sama.”
It was only after Fu had gone that Sasuke realised what was worrying him; none of them, not even Hamaki, had mentioned Naomi.
He wrote himself a card and marked it urgent.

Ryuka
This scrap of a girl with her wary eyes was Kazuki’s life partner. Worse, he had not chosen her. It had been a by-product of a careless overreaction to a pull on his tail.
How did she feel about him?
Her ears were slightly back but there was a look of determination in the amber eyes. “May I say something, Sasuke-sama?”
“That is one reason you are here, Ryuka-kun,” he reminded her.
“I know no one wanted me here. I know that I was taken as a favour to Captain Bull. You choose your crew members but you got stuck with me. I want you to know that I know how lucky I was and that I have tried hard from the moment I joined the crew and I am sorry if my best isn’t very impressive.”
She paused to take a breath but before Sasuke could open his mouth she was off again.
“And I know you wouldn’t have chosen me for Kazuki or for any of your children, because I’m not good enough. But I’m going to work hard and get better until even you think I’m worthy of him.”
Sasuke was stunned. An unexpected lump formed in his throat. Luckily, the words he had said to Ayame came into his head. “It is not about being the best, Ryuka-kun, it is about doing your best. I think you are doing very well.”
She stared at him. Her whiskers twitched. “You do?” she queried.
“I do. Ryuka-kun, can I ask you a question as a father rather than as clan leader?”
She nodded.
“How do you feel about Kazuki?”
She bristled slightly. “He’s my mate.”
It was a huge relief. “That is good,” he acknowledged. “Now would you do me the honour of telling me a bit about yourself? What duties do you like best?” He almost asked her about her hobbies but stopped himself. From what he had gathered, the two of them spent all their spare time fucking.
Like him and Naruto before the children.
It turned out she liked trees; really liked them, perhaps as much as Shikamaru did.
“I was hoping that Shika-san would introduce me to the trees in the park,” she told him, “but he hasn’t has time so I had to introduce myself.”
Once she had gone he selected various cards and added notes to each. He paused at the one with Shikamaru’s name at the top.
So far five people had mentioned that Shikamaru had not had time to do something.

Anko
“I thought that life would be dull once we caught Orochimaru and Kabuto, but it hasn’t been so bad. The girls, Mai, Naomi, Takara and Teruko, are at a really interesting age and it’s good to see the older girls holding their own so well. Recruiting Isaribi and Ryuka was a good move and I’m looking forward to Ino and Sakura joining. I think I’ll have more in common with them than with Tenten and Shizune.”
Sasuke could imagine; at least to some extent. “Do you have any other concern that you would do me the honour of sharing with me, Anko-san?”
“Is that your way of asking about me and Shino?” she checked.
“I am always concerned for my crew members’ well-being,” Sasuke replied.
“You’d be better off asking him. I’m the one who mucks it up; he’s the one who straightens it out.” She was silent for a moment. “I know he wants to start having babies. He’s so broody, I’m surprised he can function.”
“We are well set up to support parents with children,” he reminded her.
“I know that,” Anko acknowledged. She fixed him with a frank gaze. “I’ll be a crap mother, Sasuke-sama.”
Sasuke thought of Rin, who was so anxious about being a good parent, and Naomi’s parents, who were not. “May I make an observation, Anko-san?”
“Feel free, Sasuke-sama.”
“I believe that worrying about the type of parent you will be means that you are well on your way to being a good one.”
She thought about that for a moment and then smiled. “Thank you, Sasuke-sama.”
“You are welcome, Anko-san.”

Shino
With Shino, it was about giving him time to construct his responses. Sasuke made tea; drinking it would give him something to do while he waited.
“As soon as you and Anko are ready, I will make sure that your duties fit around raising your children,” he promised. “I understand that you will probably wish to be the primary care-giver. I always knew that having a family would be a priority for you.”
While he waited, he recalled Naruto with the Aburame children; that moment when he had been given a glimpse of their future life together. Shino shifted in his chair, signalling that he was about to reply.
“That is kind of you, Sasuke-sama, but I cannot see Anko being ready any time soon. I shall continue contributing to the children’s educational programme, instructing the trainees and working with Akemi. I believe that Keitaro will follow his brother and specialise in electronics and communications. I very much enjoy what I do, especially when we are in a space station where development work is possible.”
Sasuke made a mental note not to send Shino on any more missions for at least the next few standards. He decided to ask about the type of development work Shino would like to do.
“I would like to work with Haru-kun,” Shino admitted. “Perhaps in conjunction with Kotetsu-san. Haru-kun and I corresponded about developing automata for use on the toad hybrids’ planet. We had some very interesting ideas but only pursued a few of them. Given the number of planets in the three new strings, I think it would be a very productive line of enquiry.”
“I think that Haru would enjoy that. Perhaps you should ask Iruka-san for some of his time.”
There was another pause before Shino replied. “I had thought of that, Sasuke-sama, but Iruka-san tells me that Shikamaru-san has claimed all of Haru-kun’s available time over the next two divs.”

Naruto [part 3]
“Did you really invite Izuna?” Naruto asked as they dressed in their uniforms.
“Of course,” Sasuke replied fastening and tightening his belt. “He is a senior Uchiha. It was only polite.” Sasuke had half-hoped he would accept, if only to see Izuna’s reaction when he realised that Ino and Sakura were swearing to Sasuke personally.
“So you will let Kimimaro in if he turns up?”
“He declined, dobe.”
“But you would have let Kimimaro in if Izuna had accepted?”
Sasuke sighed. “I believe that Kimimaro is now personally sworn to him so, yes, we would have to let him in. You know how it is; when you swear to Uchiha, whether to the clan or to a full blood Uchiha, you get a fresh start.”
Naruto’s whiskers twitched. “You need to change the rules.”
“I can’t. You know that. Amending the clan charter requires a vote of at least thirteen full blood Uchihas and nine would have to vote in favour of the amendment.”
Naruto gave a small growl of disapproval as he pulled on his jacket. Then he shook himself as if trying to dislodge the notion of having a cold blooded murderer in their home. “What did you learn today?” he asked.
Sasuke was grateful for the change in subject. “Ryuka is more impressive than I thought and Hamaki, Terai and Fu are poor parents.”
“Ryuka-kun is shaping up fine,” Naruto agreed. “Hamaki, Terai and Fu love Naomi. They just don’t get what it means to be a parent. Maybe it’s the way they were raised. Maybe it’s because Haku bails them out all the time.”
“They should try harder,” Sasuke complained.
“Did you learn anything else?”
Sasuke thought about mentioning Shikamaru but he decided against it; Naruto would start worrying and Sasuke wanted him to enjoy the celebrations.
- 78
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- 80
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Leader