Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

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
- 92
- 93
- 94
Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to maliya, eilidhdawn, satterb, melissen, SunaoTsuji, blugirlami21, Laforet, Anon and sadie237 for reviewing after chapter 92 was posted. Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me. Feedback keeps me writing.
Every review is treasured.

Leader
Part 10: Endgame
93: Caring

Once the triplets were sleeping, Sasuke crept away. He laid the biwa in its case and placed it on its accustomed shelf in their bedroom. Then he activated his earpiece and microphone to see if he could hear Naruto.
“That you teme?” Naruto asked immediately.
He sounded anxious. “What’s wrong, dobe?”
“You haven’t spoken to Rin since the evening meal?”
“No, I’ve been putting the triplets to bed. What’s happened?”
“I expect they are waiting for you to reappear.”
“Naruto!”
“I’ve spoken to Udon down in Sublevel C. Every canine-human hybrid Moegi has tested is positive for the virus. Some of them are starting to show symptoms. Elevated temperature, stuff like that.”
Sasuke’s heart was thumping in his chest. So the precautions they and station control had taken had not prevented the virus being released and then spreading. He thanked the Lady that Rin had put Naruto and the others into biomedical containment.
“Shi-chan’s got a computer model.” Naruto’s voice sounded tight. “He won’t tell me what it says the outcome of being infected will be. Find out for me, Sasuke. I need to know.”
“I’ll speak to him, dobe,” Sasuke promised. He did not agree to share Shikamaru’s findings.
“Don’t even think about not telling me, Sasuke. I mean it.”
“I understand.”
“Not a good enough. I know you want to protect me but I am not a child or some floozy. You and I know I am not the leader of the HDL, only the patron, but that is not how most hybrids see it. They will turn to me and I am going to be there for them.”
“Naruto...”
“You keep me fully informed or I will be out of here and down to Sublevel C to see for myself.”
Sasuke’s gut twisted. “Please don’t do anything rash, dobe. I promise.”
There was a small growly huff. “Good. Now go dig Shi-chan out from wherever he is hiding and find out how bad it is.”

Sasuke pushed the door announcer outside Neji and Shikamaru’s office for the second time. Perhaps Shikamaru was not there. He might be with Sumiko in their rooms, or with Rin in the infirmary, or, if he needed somewhere quiet to think, with his trees.
He turned away and started back down the corridor. Then he remembered what Naruto had said; Shikamaru was hiding.
No, he had better check. He thumped on the door.
“Shika, if you are in there open up.”
There was no reply so he flipped open the panel and inputted his override code.

A quick glance confirmed that the room was empty. He was about to go and check elsewhere when he heard it; a sound halfway between a breath and a sob.

Naruto had not been kidding when he said that Shikamaru was hiding. Where was he? Sasuke found himself thinking about Haru when he was little. Where would he have been?
Sure enough, Shikamaru was under the desk.

Sasuke had not known a fully grown man could look so small. His knees were drawn up with his arms wrapped around his shins to create a barrier between him and the world.
Suddenly Sasuke was hyper-aware of what Bettencourt had told him; typed-sevens were frighteningly easy to destroy.
What did he do? This was not his territory. Naruto dealt with Shikamaru when he was upset, or Neji, or Iruka. He was on the edge of going to get Iruka when he realised that Shikamaru had lifted his head and was looking at him.
By the Lady; those eyes.

He didn’t know how to respond. He wasn’t Shikamaru’s best friend, or lover, or substitute mother. Maybe brother, but Sasuke had always been the one looking up to his nii-san.
He had to do something, so he fell into the most familiar of roles.
“Out you come,” he ordered in his kind-but-firm Papa voice.
Shikamaru blinked at him.
“Out,” he repeated but this time he held out a hand.
For a moment he thought Shikamaru was going to refuse but he let go of his knee and took Sasuke’s hand.

Sasuke drew him out, guided him to his chair and sat him down. Touching him reminded Sasuke of how thin he was; he needed rest and convalescence, not another crisis to deal with.
“That bad?” he queried.
Shikamaru nodded, which was good. Sasuke had wondered if he had gone to one of the places in his mind.
“Come on,” he said, pulling Shikamaru back to his feet. “We’re going to the kitchen.”

At least he wasn’t resisting and he was willing to walk. Not that Sasuke would have had any problem carrying him; he would be feather-light compared to Naruto.

There was no one there, which was both a good and a bad thing. He pushed Shikamaru down onto a chair and went to put the kettle on. Once his back was turned he activated his throat mike and earpiece.
“Dobe?” he subvocalised.
“Teme.”
“I’ve found Shika but he’s in a state. What do I do?”
There was a pause. “You could hug him.”
Sasuke did not want to do that; hugging Shikamaru cracked open doors that had to stay closed.
“Where’s Neji?”
“Still at headquarters. It would take him ages to get through decom.”
“Get Iruka-sensei.”
Iruka would be in his room with Kakashi; they had barely been able to keep their hands off each other during the evemeal. “Kakashi just got through decom.”
Naruto caught on at once. “He won’t mind. Even Kakashi won’t mind if Shi-chan’s that bad.”
Sasuke glanced back at Shikamaru. He looked like he was going to slide off the chair and vanish under the table. “I don’t think I should leave him, not even to get Iruka.”
“I’ll contact someone to get Iruka-sensei. Where are you?”
“Kitchen.”

The kettle boiled and Sasuke made tea. He took the tray over to the table and sat down. What did he do next? He dared not even pour the tea until it was cool enough. He would not put it past Shikamaru to drink boiling water at the moment.
Then, thankfully, Iruka was there. His hair was loose and he had obviously dragged on the first clothes that had come to hand. He sat next to Shikamaru and started rubbing his back.
Sasuke took note for the next time; not that he wanted there to be a next time.
“We’re here for you, Shika-kun,” Iruka whispered. He looked towards the doorway to the crew room. “Aren’t we, Kashi?”
Kakashi was standing there. He was obviously teetering between irritation and resignation. He gave a sigh as the latter won out. “I’ll make coffee.”
Iruka scowled at him.
“For me,” Kakashi clarified. “Maybe for Sasuke.”
“Cocoa,” Iruka ordered.
“I’ll do it,” Sasuke offered.
“No, you come and sit here.” Iruka pointed to the chair on the other side of Shikamaru. “Cocoa, Kashi. Please.”

Sasuke sat and contributed to the back-rubbing while Kakashi redeemed himself by preparing the cocoa. Once it was placed in front of him, Shikamaru took hold of the cup and sipped the contents automatically; Sasuke wondered if Yoshino had made it for him when he was a child.
It was only when Shikamaru fell asleep at the table that Sasuke realised that ‘cocoa’ was Iruka’s code for ‘sedative’.
Then Kakashi suggested accessing Shikamaru’s bedroom via Neji’s to avoid disturbing Sumiko, which earned him a smile from Iruka.
“Let’s go then, Sasu-kun,” Iruka ordered. “I am sure Neji-san would prefer you in his room to Kakashi.”
Sasuke was sure that Neji would both hate the idea and forgive them given the circumstances.

Shikamaru weighed even less than Sasuke expected and Neji’s room was, as he anticipated, impressively neat.
The room between his and Shikamaru’s was... ...interesting.
Sasuke managed to make it across Shikamaru’s room without tripping over any of the numerous objects scattered across the floor. He waited for Iruka to pull back the rumpled covers and laid Shikamaru on the mattress.
“I’ll see to him now,” Iruka told him as he removed Shikamaru’s shoes. “Perhaps you should check if Rin-san is still in the infirmary.”
Iruka’s words were like a bucket of cold water in the face.
How bad was it if it had pushed Shikamaru over the edge?

As he walked he reactivated his mike and earpiece. If Naruto was listening he would hear the carrier wave.
“Teme?”
“Iruka-sensei gave Shika some sleepdrug and we’ve put him to bed.”
“You could catch Neji before he goes to sleep and ask him to start going through decom first thing in the morning.”
It was a good idea; at the moment Sasuke really did not care what Izuna got up to. “I’ll do that. I’m on my way to see if Rin is still working.”
“What if she isn’t?”
Sasuke cast about for other ways to discover what was happening. “I’ll go and find whatever Shika was working on.”
There was the sound of Naruto’s breathing at the other end of the link. Finally he spoke. “Maybe it would be better to wait until morning.”
Hearing Naruto being so sensible was a relief; Sasuke knew that he quickly went stir-crazy when he was confined, even if he exercised.

The door to the infirmary opened as he walked towards it.
“No need to wait,” he told Naruto. “I can see that Rin is still in her office. I am signing off for now. Why don’t you ask communications to get Neji for you and talk to him while I speak to Rin?”
There was another pause. Sasuke knew that Naruto wanted to hear what Rin had to say.
“Dobe?” he queried.
“No hiding stuff from me, teme.”
“I understand but you know what Rin is like. She won’t talk to me if she knows you are listening in.”
“Agreed. I’ll talk to Neji, you talk to Rin. Speak later.”
“Speak later. Love you.”
There was a growly purr, “Love you too,” before the link was broken.

Rin was engrossed in some computer programme; presumably the model on which Shikamaru had been working. One look at her face was enough to confirm that she, like Shikamaru, should be getting some rest.
“Rin-san,” he began.
She actually jumped. “Sasuke-sama!”
“I thought that I would check on you. Iruka-san and I have had to order Shika-san to rest.” It was not exactly the truth but he did not think Shikamaru would want Rin knowing he had given out. He pulled up a chair. “Why don’t you bring me up to speed? Then you should go do the same.”
She took a deep breath and Sasuke knew it was bad. He wished he was sitting hand-in-hand with Naruto.
“I am sure we can find a treatment,” she assured him. “But we won’t be able to do it in the time we have.”
“Time?” Sasuke queried.
She looked away. “Before the infected individuals start dying, Sasuke-sama.”

Sasuke’s gut twisted. He reminded himself that they were safe. Naruto, Kuuya, Keizo and Yuki were in biomedical containment. The other kits and Ryuu had been on their way before the virus had been released.
Rin squared her shoulders and looked back at him. “Shikamaru-san’s model shows that the virus must have been released station-wide at least five days ago. That means we have to work on the assumption that it is everywhere.”
Everywhere? “Is it...?” He was shocked at how weak his voice sounded. He tried again. “Including the household?” She had said ‘at least’ five days ago. “What about the Maple? And the Ninken?”
“According to Shikamaru-san’s model there is a ninety-two percent chance the virus entered the household before we took precautions, a fifty-two percent chance it is present on the Maple and an eleven percentage chance it is on the Ninken.”
His beloved and seven of his sons could be dying. Sasuke understood why Shikamaru had been under the desk. He had to stay above the rising tide of emotions. “When will we know if they have been infected?”
“Kiba-san is showing elevated levels of the nanobots that would be involved in controlling the symptoms. I shall suggest a biopsy of lung tissue tomorrow morning.”
“And the others?”
“Their levels of the relevant nanobots are within the normal range but that may only mean that the infection has progressed less far.” She looked into his eyes. “Sasuke-sama, we will find a cure. We have the necessary expertise and technology. It is merely the time that is lacking. Putting them into stasis will give us the time we need.”

It was the lifeline he needed and Sasuke grabbed it. They would go into stasis, Rin would find a cure and they would be fine. Hopefully they could save the canine hybrids outside Uchiha in the same way.
“We will set up a proper crisis control team tomorrow,” he decided. “Get some sleep, Rin-san.”
She hesitated and then nodded. “I shall discuss the biopsy with Kiba-san early tomorrow morning. If he agrees Dan can carry out the procedure while any meetings are in progress.”
“Good,” Sasuke acknowledged. “I meant what I said, Rin-san, you are to rest.” He could see her eyes going back to the display. “I shall walk you to your crew room.”
She turned and blinked at him in surprise.
“I am sure that Dan-san would come to get you if he was not caring for Aiko-chan. I insist.”

Once he had delivered Rin to her crew room and checked on the triplets, Sasuke activated his mike and earpiece.
“Teme,” Naruto acknowledged immediately. “Tell me.”
Sasuke went through to their bedroom and sat on the bed, like he did when he and Naruto had something to discuss. He shut his eyes and imagined Naruto sitting opposite him.
“Not good,” he admitted. “It’s lethal, Rin does not know how to treat it and it was released station-wide at least five days ago.” He took a deep breath. “Nine out of ten chance it was inside the household before we took precautions. Even chances it is on the Maple. One in ten it is on the Ninken. Rin says the only feasible way forward is to get every infected person into stasis to give her and the other medicos time to work on a cure, which she is sure they will be able to find.”
There was a short silence. “Thank you,” Naruto whispered.

He understood. Being kept uninformed was as bad as, or worse than, being locked up. “Dobe...” he whispered.
“It will be fine,” Naruto insisted. “We’ve been given the heads up in time. I guess we have Izuna to thank for that.”
Sasuke did not feel so generous; being warned before the virus was released would have been much, much better.
Naruto was continuing. “If I’m infected, there is no point me being in here. I could be talking to other infected hybrids, persuading them into stasis.”
“Don’t, dobe,” Sasuke pleaded. “Let me cling to the hope you aren’t infected for a little longer.”
There was a short silence before Naruto replied. “Sasuke,” he whispered in the voice that went directly to his cock. “Are you naked?”
“No.”
“What are you wearing?”
Sasuke was about to answer when there was a knock on the outer door to their rooms. “There is someone at the door, dobe,” he explained.
“Tell me you reported back to Iruka-sensei before speaking to me,” Naruto replied.

Sure enough it was Kakashi.
“Iruka is waiting for you to come back and tell him what is happening,” Kakashi warned him. “If I were you, I would pretend I was on my way back from the infirmary.”
Sasuke felt himself flush. “I had to speak to Naruto and I wanted privacy to do that.”
Kakashi raised a brow. “As long as you were going to come and find Iruka afterwards.”
“On my way now,” Sasuke assured him. “Later, dobe,” he subvocalised.
“Later, teme,” Naruto agreed and cut the link.

Iruka was waiting in the kitchen. He had put his hair up and was drinking tea.
Sasuke tried repeating the speech he had delivered to Naruto. Unfortunately Iruka was opposite him rather than at the other end of a radio link. He watched all the blood drain from Iruka’s face, leaving it sallow.
“Rin is sure she can find a cure?” he asked.
“She was confident,” Sasuke answered but, inside, a small worm of doubt began burrowing through his certainty.
“Virus epidemics are rare because medicos are so skilled at combating them,” Kakashi reminded them. “Ir-chan, we ought to turn in. You will want to be up early tomorrow to be there for everyone, particularly Shika-kun.” He took Iruka’s cup from his hand. “You go ahead.”
Iruka hesitated for a moment before standing up. “That would probably be for the best.” He patted Sasuke’s shoulder. “Try to rest, Sasuke.”
Kakashi waited until Iruka was through the shared area and into his room. Then he turned to Sasuke. “Thank you for sounding so certain.”
Sasuke did not know how to reply. He gave a small bow. “Kakashi-sensei.”

When he looked up Kakashi was walking away from him. He sat there at the table. It was as if he had used up all his confidence convincing Iruka all would be fine. All that remained was the spectre of losing Naruto and his hybrid sons.
A soft voice. “Papa?”
It was Hoshi. He tried to pull himself together. She would ask him what was happening and he would have to give his speech again. Somehow he had to find the energy and conviction to sound as confident as he had with Naruto and with Iruka.
Only she did not ask. “I’ll make us some cocoa,” she said instead.

He watched her as she worked; this wonderful girl of whom he was so proud. Once the concoction was complete, she carried the two froth-topped cups towards the table.
“It will be fine, Papa,” she assured him as she placed his in front of him and sat down. “The easy bit will be Rin-san and Kotohime-san and Shika-san coming up with a cure. The hardest part will be getting To-chan into stasis but you will manage it somehow.”
He wondered how she knew so much. Had she spoken to Naruto? Or listened in when he was telling Iruka?
She gave a small smile. “We’ll help you. If it comes to it, we’ll get Tsu-chan to wobble his bottom lip. That works on everyone, even To-chan.”
“True,” Sasuke admitted, cautiously sipping some of the chocolaty fluid up through the froth. It was at exactly the correct temperature. The flavour spread across his tongue. It was not too sweet; perfect. “Thank you, Ho-chan.”
“You are welcome, Papa.”

Cocoa finished, Hoshi washed up the cups and they went their separate ways. Sasuke checked the triplets again, washed, changed and climbed on the bed before activated his microphone and earpiece.
“Dobe?”
“Teme. How did Iruka-sensei take it?”
“It went as well as possible, given how much he loves you all.”
“And you?”
“Hoshi made me cocoa.”
“You don’t like cocoa.”
“It was nice. Not too much and not too sweet. Spicy.”
“Choza’s recipe,” Naruto informed him. “Are you naked?”
This time Sasuke’s cock showed no interest. “I’ve got sleepshorts on,” he admitted, “and one of your shirts.”
“Poor teme.” Naruto whispered. “Why don’t you dim the lights and curl up around a pillow?”
He did what he was told, shut his eyes and listened to Naruto’s foxy lullaby. It was the one he had sung for his babies and still did on occasions when one of the triplets was feeling needy.
It was not in tune and there were many more growly purrs than found in a conventional lullaby.
Sasuke was still thinking how lovely it was as he drifted off to sleep.
- 92
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- 94
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