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Leader	By : mannahpierce Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 2189 -:- 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
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Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to eunmook, richon, lonelylulaby, angelj232000, unneeded, GreenEyedCat, melissen, ShadyDarling, sadie237, Dawn and disembodiedvoiceofthedying for reviewing after chapter 8 was posted. Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me. Feedback keeps me writing.

Leader
Part 1: The pod
9: Childminding

Haku had the apartment for Uchiha-san ready within four days. Sasuke inspected it because Haku expected him to do so and because it gave him an opportunity to thank Haku for the time and effort he had spent on it.
It was beautiful. Given that he only had access to the furniture and fittings that were on the Oak, Haku had done an amazing job.
The only things that Sasuke did not like were the camera and the microphones. They offended his spacer sensibilities. Worse, spying on Uchiha-san was disrespectful.

Everyone else had insisted that they were necessary. Kakashi wanted them for security. Shikamaru wanted to collect more data. Neji wanted to observe Uchiha-san’s behaviour. Rin, Haku and Dan wanted to ensure that Uchiha-san was safe without having someone with him for every minute of every day.
Sasuke had reluctantly acquiesced.

He gave the order for the sedation to be reversed and left the matter in Rin, Dan and Haku’s hands. Each day a brief report would arrive on his desk, written in Haku’s careful script. They confirmed that the man’s behaviour continued to be aberrant. Rin postulated brain damage. Haku suggested regression. They decided to observe him for one div, to see if his condition would change, before discussing treatment.

Sasuke put Uchiha-san to the back of his mind and concentrated on eliminating his backlog of reports before they reached Kaze.

He was in his office when they jumped into Kaze I. The intercom clicked.
“Kakashi here. Jump successful. We have a message from the Gourd requesting to dock. Identity confirmed.”
That was unexpected. They were going to Kaze V after Kaze I; no one had suggested that Gaara would be in Kaze I. He activated the intercom.
“This is Sasuke. Gaara-san and Lee-san are welcome.”
He looked towards the door. Sure enough it slid open revealing Naruto.
“Any idea why he is here?” Sasuke asked.
“No,” Naruto admitted. “I’m on my way to the docking bay to greet them. Could you cover for Kiba in the playroom? Normally I’d ask Haku but he’s busy.”
Sasuke knew how important Gaara was to Kiba. He closed the report. “Of course.”

Kiba was pleased to be freed to greet Gaara but disconcerted that it was Sasuke relieving him.
“Iruka-sensei is with the big litter on Shika-san’s level,” he warned.
Sasuke had forgotten that. They were doing something with the trees for Shika; he could not recall exactly what. “I’ll be fine,” he insisted. “You go.”
Then Kiba was gone and he was alone with the eight younger children.

Within ten minutes he knew he was out of his depth. Sumiko was in a foul mood. He had a sneaking feeling Mai and Naomi were being mean to her but there was nothing he could put his finger on, so he could not scold them. Takara and Teruko were looking angelic, which he knew was a bad sign. Shou and Tsuneo had vanished. Nagato did not want to get off his lap and, when he managed to stand up, clung to his leg.
He remembered enough from when the big litter were five to recognise that it was sliding away from him. He picked Nagato up and went towards the intercom.
Then he thought of what would happen if he used it. Kiba would be back within minutes. Iruka would probably cut short his session with the trees.
He could send Sumiko. She was seven. He found a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote a note. Then he called Sumiko over.
She came to him, which he decided was a good sign.
“I need you to take his note to Choza-san in the galley,” he told her. “Straightaway,” he added. “Can you do that for me, Su-chan?”
She considered before nodding. “Yes, Sasuke-sama.”

Next, still carrying Nagato, he went looking for Shou and Tsuneo. He could not get the chlorine incident out of his head. He still had not found them when Ran and Five arrived with Sumiko.
“Choza-san sent us,” Ran began but was interrupted by a blond missile that had appeared from nowhere.
“Five! Five!” Tsu-chan squealed, running towards his target at full speed.
Five caught Tsu-chan, tossed him into the air and caught him.
Tsuneo spared a glance and a few words for his Papa. “Look Papa, it’s Five.”
Sasuke suppressed a small pang of jealousy. “Yes, Tsu-chan, I can see that.”
“Maybe Five could mind Tsu-chan and Shou-chan, I could do something with the girls and you could read Nagato-chan a story, Sasuke-sama,” Ran suggested.
That sounded like an excellent plan.

He sat in one of the rocking chairs with Nagato in his lap. Five had taken Tsuneo and Shou into the gym; occasional squeals of delight confirmed how much fun they were having.
Ran was handling the girls perfectly. He defused the tension between Mai and Sumiko and gave Naomi extra attention. He hinted to Takara that the task might be too difficult for her, which ensured her full attention. Teruko, as always, followed her sister’s lead.
It reminded Sasuke of Ranmaru, only Ranmaru had never had Ran’s confidence and self-assurance.
Story finished, Nagato decided that he wanted to play with the other boys. Sasuke followed him into the gym to check that Five was happy taking a third.
Tsuneo was explaining the rules of some game to Five, who was making a show of listening intently.

Leaving Nagato with Five, Sasuke went back into the playroom and lifted Teruko from her place.
“I am going to borrow Te-chan for some Papa-time,” he told Ran.
Ran smiled his approval. Teruko put her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.
By the Lady, he loved being a parent.

He was sorry when Iruka-sensei returned with the big litter and assured him that they would cope without him. His office seemed empty; his reports dry. He changed the indicator on Neji’s side of the door from amber to blue and was pleased when Neji came in to discuss the upcoming visit to Suna.
The rest of the day went quickly, ending with Gaara and Lee joining the crew in the galley for the evemeal. Gaara was even more morose than usual; Lee was trying to compensate by asking lots of questions.
Sasuke noticed that Sumaru had sat next to Lee. Lee visiting would be good for Sumaru; Sasuke suspected that he was lonely without Tayuya chivvying him to be more sociable.
He made a mental note to talk to Kakashi about it.

Once the big litter were in their rooms for the night, Naruto suggested a bath. Sasuke jumped at the idea; it had been a while since they had fucked in the bath.
Only it soon became obvious that it was a talking bath rather than a fucking bath.
“You might have wondered why Gaara met us here rather than waiting for us to arrive at Sanctuary,” Naruto began.
He waited.
“Gaara was telling me about the twins.”
Sasuke recalled what little he knew about ‘the twins’. They had been conceived using Gaara’s humanised chromosomes and Temari’s ordinary ones. They called Temari mother and Gaara uncle. They were named after Temari’s uncle and her mother; the woman who had died because she had tried to be a gestator for a hybrid foetus. They were five, the same age as the triplets, give or take a div or two.
“He wants to spend some time with them but it doesn’t work when he tries staying in Suna. I suggested that the twins spend a day or two here, on the Oak.”
Sasuke did not like the sound of that. “In the apartment, with Gaara and Lee,” he checked.
“Not exactly. More like with us and the triplets.”
“Why?” Sasuke enquired.
Naruto twitched his whiskers. “The Oak is absolutely secure. It will do our children good to meet other children. Gaara thinks that our children are good role models for his.”
Sasuke hovered between taking that as a compliment about his children’s behaviour and regarding it as a warning about the twins.
“Gaara asked me and he is my friend,” Naruto added.
Which, Sasuke knew, was the end of any hope of persuading Naruto out of it. He could either argue, lose and not fuck or he could be gracious, give in and have mind-blowing sex.
“Very well. Just for a few days,” he agreed and was rewarded by a stunning smile.
He smiled back. How bad could it be?

He had his answer two days later as he watched Karura and Yashamaru run rings around their minders at the formal reception in the Great Hall in Suna.
“Why are they even here?” he muttered to no one in particular.
“It is traditional for the Kage’s children to be present at such functions,” Neji told him. “It shows that the heirs are alive and healthy.”
They were certainly lively and, if the way they were running about was anything to go by, in very good health. He watched them vanish under a long, cloth-draped table.
A few minutes later there was a commotion some distance away. A woman screamed. There was a minor panic until a large spider was contained and ejected.
He no longer had any doubt that his children could be positive role models for Yashamaru and Karura.

Haru and Kazuki, like everyone else, made sure they had line-of-sight when To-chan, Gaara-san and Lee-san brought Karura and Yashamaru to the playroom.
They watched as the triplets and the twins were introduced and told to play nicely.

That lasted until they had edged far enough away from the adults. Then something happened, Haru wasn’t sure what, and a fight broke out between Takara, Teruko and the twins.
It should have been brief but To-chan was distracted by Gaara-san jumping to his feet, passing out and hitting his head.

Haru thought it was pretty balanced. Takara and Teruko had better technique but Karura and Yashamaru fought dirty. After about a minute, Hoshi and Yuki interfered.
“Kazuki, will you stop spectating and help me and Yuki separate them?” Hoshi demanded.

Yuki ended up holding Takara and Teruko, while Kazuki had Karura and Yashamaru in either hand at arm’s length. By then Iruka-sensei had arrived. He took over looking after Gaara-san, freeing To-chan and Lee-san to deal with the combatants.
“How could you?” Lee-san asked mournfully. “You are guests. Your behaviour should be exemplary.”
Haru couldn’t see that having any more effect on Karura and Yashamaru than it would on Takara or Teruko.
“My playroom, my rules,” To-chan announced. “Fighting is not allowed. Each of you will go into a naughty-corner for at least five minutes. After that you can say sorry for fighting or you stay there.”
Karura and Yashamaru looked at him as if he was speaking a foreign language.

Takara and Teruko walked to the indicated corners but Karura and Yashamaru just stared at To-chan.
“No,” Karura stated.
Haru guessed that Karura did not have a parent like To-chan or Papa, or a Guardian like Kiba-san.
“You will go into the corner or I shall pick you up and put you there,” To-chan warned.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Karura told him.
Haru admired her spirit, although not her survival instincts.

To-chan sent for Kiba-san, Haru wasn’t sure if it was because To-chan needed him or because he wanted Kiba-san to see what the twins were like.
Gaara-san had recovered consciousness and received treatment. He and Lee-san sat and watched.
Karura walked away from her corner again. To-chan picked her up and put her back.
“What happens if they don’t apologise?” Gaara-san asked of Iruka-sensei.
Iruka-sensei was careful to reply in a loud enough voice for the twins to hear. “When Naruto-san decides that they have had enough we will stop for today. Then, tomorrow morning, we will start again.”
Lee-san looked horrified. “How long can it go on?” he asked.
“Three days is the record,” Iruka-sensei admitted.
Yashamaru went very still. Haru heard Kiba-san say something to him; it was too quiet to hear. Then he apologised.
The look his sister gave him was worthy of a laser pistol.

Kiba-san gave Yashamaru a hug and guided him to where Gaara-san and Lee-san were sitting. To Haru’s surprise neither of them said anything.
He checked with Kazuki, who rolled his eyes to show what he thought of Gaara-san’s child rearing skills.
Iruka-sensei stepped into the breach. “Well done for apologising, Yashamaru-chan. I am sure that your mother would be very proud of you.”
Yashamaru blinked back tears and Haru was suddenly very grateful to have To-chan and Papa and Kiba-san and Iruka-sensei and even Haku-san.

Karura cracked when Iruka-sensei brought out the cookies.

That evening he, Kazuki and Sai were hanging out with Ran in his room. Kazuki was finishing telling Ran about the afternoon’s events.
“Iruka-san described each cookie in turn to Yashamaru, so that Karura would hear.” He began mimicking Iruka-sensei. “There’s a gooey one with big chocolate chips, Yasha-chan, or a buttery one with nuts, or a sticky one with toffee chunks.”
Haru laughed and Ran smiled. It was Iruka-sensei at his sneakiest.
“I do not understand,” Sai complained. “Why is describing cookies funny?”

Haru left it to Kazuki to explain. “How was your day?” he asked Ran.
“Good,” Ran admitted. “With so many crew members involved in the drop to Suna, Five and I both had a slot as third chair in the control room.”
The control room was only triple-manned when they were in a high risk situation, like at a gate or during a drop.
“We’re both going to drop to Sanctuary when we get to Kaze V,” Ran added. “I’ll be staying in the control room on the Sakura but Five is going out onto the surface with Naruto-san and Kisame-san.”
It sounded much more interesting than being in the playroom on the Oak. “That’s great,” he acknowledged. He made himself ask. “How is Five doing? Is he settling in?”
Ran considered before answering. “He acts as if everything is fine, but I know he’s lonely. He misses his group.”
Haru noticed that Ran had said ‘know’. It meant that he had linked with Five and felt his emotions. Haru could not stop himself asking the next question. “Do you like him?”
There was silence. Kazuki had stopped explaining to Sai about the biscuits.
Ran sighed. “Only in the way you like him,” he replied. “He’s nice. Everyone likes him.”
“He smells wrong,” Kazuki complained. He twitched his nose at Ran. “You smell of him.”
Haru’s mind was full of what Ran might have been doing with Five to smell of him.
“I spend a chunk of each day with him. We train together. Of course I smell of him,” Ran complained. He turned to Haru. “Will you stop being so jealous. It feels horrid.”
“Jealous has three main meanings,” Sai stated. “One; strongly wanting someone else's position, advantages or possessions. Two; suspicious or unduly suspicious or fearful of being displaced by a rival. Three; protective and suspiciously watchful. Which jealous is Haru being?”
“Two,” Kazuki replied. “He doesn’t want Ran to get close to Five because he’s scared Ran won’t have time for him.”
Haru felt himself flushing.
“Why don’t you get jealous?” Sai asked Kazuki.
“Haru spends lots of time worrying about what might happen. His mind works like that. I don’t because mine doesn’t,” Ka-chan replied. He looked at Haru. “Trouble is, he could push Ran away by being jealous. He could push him towards Five.”
“So being jealous makes being displaced by the rival more likely?” Sai checked.
“Yes,” Kazuki confirmed.
“Jealousy does not seem a productive emotion,” Sai observed.

Sasuke looked at Naruto in horror.
“You want to do what?” he queried. It was early morning and he was just out of the shower. Maybe he was still asleep or had water in his ears.
“I want to recruit some childminders from Sanctuary, train them and then send them to Temari-sama to help look after Yashamaru and Karura.”
There was so much wrong with the idea that Sasuke had to think before he knew where to start. “You want to bring strangers onto the ship. You then want to let them go again, which means that they will know inside information. Worst, our enemies will think they know even more than they do, so we will be endangering their lives.”
“They will be from Sanctuary. It will be no more risk to us than recruiting Kamatari,” Naruto argued. “We can limit what they find out about how Uchiha operates. They will be going from us to another high security environment; they will be part of Temari-sama’s staff.”
It was madness; Sasuke had no intention of allowing it. He cast about for a way of saying no without upsetting Naruto. “It would be like telling Temari-sama how to raise her children,” he pointed out.
Naruto twitched his whiskers. “Sasuke, I had to stop her making an official request for us to foster them.”
In the past, fostering each others’ children had been an important way of strengthening alliances. Temari-sama was head of an allied clan. If she made the request, honour required that he agree.
Sasuke imagined the two little hellions being a permanent part of their lives; suddenly Naruto’s scheme was worth considering.
“We’ll have to hang onto Yashamaru and Karura while we train the recruits,” Naruto added. “Which is a good thing because we can make sure the relationship is sound before sending them back to Suna.”
Sasuke shuddered but decided that it was better than having to raise them until they were fourteen. “You must consult with Neji about recruiting and Itachi about security,” he insisted. “Shika does the background checks. They have to live separately on the Oak.”
“As far as possible,” Naruto agreed. “But they will have to visit the playroom. Iruka-sensei will help me sort out the training programme. It will be fine,” he added on his way out the door.
Sasuke doubted that. He followed Naruto out of their room and went to get a flask of coffee to take to his office.

Haku appeared as soon as he was over the galley’s threshold. “Sasuke-sama,” he acknowledged with a small bow. “We have a case conference about Uchiha-san today. Would it be possible for you to attend for part of it? Possibly the beginning?”
Sasuke had hoped to avoid that level of involvement but he could not refuse a direct request. “I shall be there, Haku-san. When and where?”

Where was the seminar room in the infirmary. When was so soon that he just had time to drink one cup of coffee.
Neji, Dan, Haku and Rin were already present when he arrived.
“Who is with Uchiha-san?” he asked as he took his seat.
“Tatsuji-san and Itachi,” Haru told him.
Tatsuji had been suggested as back-up when Dan was not available but no one had mentioned Itachi.
“Shall we begin,” he suggested. “Rin-san?”

Rin activated the projector, which began showing video of Uchiha-san in his apartment. Sasuke looked away. He was annoyed that Rin was oblivious to the concerns about privacy and respect that he had raised previously.
“Turn it off please, Rin-san,” he ordered.
“Sasuke-sama?” she queried but did so.
“I am not involved with Uchiha-san’s care. It is inappropriate for me to invade his privacy.”
There was a silence that Rin broke. “I apologise, Sasuke-sama.”
“I accept your apology, Rin-san. I understand that you are motivated by your desire to care for your patient.”
“There has been a development, Sasuke-sama,” Neji informed him. “Perhaps Haku-san should explain.”
Sasuke nodded.
Haku glanced at Rin and then began.
“Uchiha-san’s behaviour has been consistent. I shall not describe it in detail but, importantly, he ignores other people. If a person has to approach him, to tend to him, he either retreats or, if there is nowhere to retreat to, hides his face with his hands.”
Sasuke remembered the man peering out from between his fingers.
“Yesterday there was a short time when neither Dan-san nor Tatsuji-san was available. We discussed the matter with Kakashi-san and it was decided that having a fighter with an implant present was not necessary. Itachi was available so he substituted.
“In brief, Uchiha-san behaves completely differently with Itachi.”
Sasuke discovered that he was not surprised. “He reacted to Itachi’s looks,” he suggested.
“We would like to test that hypothesis,” Neji replied.
Sasuke knew what was coming next. “You want me to visit him.” He was not at all keen on the idea but he could see the logic of it.
“With appropriate security precautions,” Neji confirmed.

Later that morning, he and Naruto visited Uchiha-san’s apartment. Sasuke sat on the couch in the sitting room. Naruto stood against one of the walls.
If Uchiha-san found Naruto’s presence too frightening, they would try something else.

After some time, a face peered around the doorjamb from Uchiha-san’s dressing room. Sasuke pretended not to see. Dark eyes, Uchiha eyes, studied him but then flicked to Naruto. The face vanished.
On the third repeat Haku whispered into his earpiece. “Make eye contact with him next time.”
Sasuke decided to imagine that the man was a frightened little boy. The next time the man’s eyes widened as he realised that Sasuke was looking at him.
“Maybe gesture for him to join you?” Haku suggested.

At first Sasuke thought that beckoning him over had been an error; the face vanished as the dark eyes focused on his hand. Then the face was back, watching.
Sasuke smiled at him.
It was enough; he crept across the threshold.

The man now looked as an Uchiha should, from his perfectly manicured fingernails to his simple but elegant clothing. His hair was smooth and well-tended; short at the front but long and tied into a tail at the back.
Sasuke patted the couch beside him. The man left the shelter of the wall and started across the room towards him only to stop two-thirds of the way and sit cross-legged on the floor.
Like a child sitting and looking up at an adult; the similarity was too obvious to miss.
“He is waiting for you to speak to him, Sasuke-sama,” Haku hinted.
Sasuke knew that, but what should he say?
“Sing to him, Sasuke,” Naruto whispered.
The man startled at the unexpected voice and Sasuke realised that he would have to act quickly to prevent him scuttling back to his bedroom. He began singing a lullaby; one that his mother had sung to him and that he sang to his children.
All the tension went from the man’s body. He relaxed, looked up at Sasuke and smiled.

.

Sasuke Uchiha had a beautiful voice but hearing the lullaby stirred memories he preferred to forget. It made of him think of his grandmother and his brother; of before.
So he curled up on the floor and pretended to sleep, knowing that Sasuke Uchiha would stop singing and go away, taking the fox hybrid with him.
When they had gone he stayed where he was until pretence became reality.

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