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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
- 93
- 94
- 95
Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to satterb, SunaoTsuji, eunmook, Achillona, melissen, sadie237, maliya and eilidhdawn for reviewing after chapter 93 was posted. Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me. Feedback keeps me writing.
Every review is treasured.

Work has been horrendously tough the last three weeks but now I should have some time to write. I am hoping that writer’s block does not set in. Wish me luck!

Leader
Part 10: Endgame
94: Correspondence

By the time Sasuke woke up, Hoshi had taken control of the triplets. When he entered the kitchen they were finishing their breakfast and came over to their Papa for a kiss on their way to the playroom.
Iruka then placed a cup of coffee in front of him and informed him that he would have to cope without Shikamaru. Sasuke opened his mouth to object, or at least discuss it, but was stopped by a glare from Neji. Lady knew how early he had got up to have got through decom already but he had obviously discussed Shika with Iruka.
“We will cope just fine with Rin, Neji, Kakashi and Itachi,” he replied instead and was rewarded with a smile from Iruka and Neji relaxing a little.

Within a short time they were in the small meeting room with the option of live links to Naruto, Sublevel C and Uchiha headquarters.
“We will start by ensuring that everyone is up to speed with the latest developments,” Sasuke began.

Rin was first. She started with what they had learned from Shikamaru’s model, went through the test results Moegi had sent them and ended up with the news that all those in biomedical containment had opted for biopsies to establish whether they were infected.
Naruto had not mentioned that in their early morning exchange. Sasuke tried not to dwell on the omission. It was his own fault for saying that he did not want to think about Naruto being infected.

Next was Kakashi. “We’ve communicated with all allied crews, warning those with canine hybrid crew members to avoid Tarrasade or any ship that has docked at Tarrasade within the last ten days. Not that we should be making any assumptions about where the virus has been released. Other obvious targets are the Warren, Haven and Sanctuary, so we have warned key contacts.
“Most urgent is the Ninken. Not only do they have Yoshimi and Yasushi aboard but all members of the crew are canine hybrids, so the virus could disable the ship. They are heading for Haven and Kotohime-san is expecting them.”
“She is aware that they are a potential source of the virus?” Rin checked.
“Yes, she has all necessary precautions in hand. Also, if they show the least indication of the disease developing before they reach there, they will hide the ship, pod the crew and wait for the Elm to come and get them.”
“There is only a one in ten chance they are carrying the virus,” Sasuke reminded them; he was determined that at least two of the kits were safe. “What about the Maple?”
“Inari has decided that fifty-two percent is too high to risk waiting,” Kakashi replied. “Shizune is going to biopsy the canine hybrids on the Maple and put them into stasis until she gets the results.”
It was very much a captain’s decision; Sasuke wished his life was that simple. “Thank you, Kakashi-san, now let us move on to discussing what we should be doing for hybrids outside Uchiha.”

Captain Inari’s announcement was a shock. When Shizune-san followed up by saying that Kazuki, Ryuu and Ryuka were going into stasis, Haru felt as if he had been hit around the head with a club.
He looked at Kazuki, who was sitting diagonally opposite him across the meeting room table. He did not see surprised; Inari-san must have told him, Ryuu and Ryuka before calling the crew together.
“What about To... the canine-human hybrids in the household at Tarrasade?” Hikaru asked.
His gut clenched. Yes, what about To-chan and Kiba-san and the other kits?
“They are being tested at the moment,” Shizune-san replied. “It is likely that they will go into stasis.”
Hikaru’s face was pale and pinched; Haru wondered if he looked the same.
“Are we needed back in Tarrasade?” Kamatari-san asked.
“Sasuke-sama wishes us to continue with this mission,” Inari-san replied. “However, the situation will be reviewed on a daily basis. I think that is everything for now.”

A hug from Kazuki and Ryuu, a wave from Ryuka, and they were gone. Haru watched them walk away following Shizune-san. Isaribi and Ran went with them to help with the biopsies.
Inari-san was speaking. “...another time.”
Haru had not been listening but he could tell that Inari-san was expecting a reply. “Yes, cap’n,” he tried and was grateful to hear Hikaru giving the same reply.

Then only he and Hikaru were left in the room.
“You didn’t hear what Inari-san said, did you?” Hikaru accused.
Haru opened his mouth to deny it before realising how pointless that was. “No,” he admitted.
“He postponed our knife-fighting lesson until Ran is available. He suggested we arrange a link home.” Hikaru pushed his hair back as he always did when he was worried. “This virus has to be bad if they are putting people into stasis.”
“It must cause irreversible damage,” Haru confirmed. “It’s probably lethal. Like those they used to use as bioweapons.”
Hikaru’s already pale face managed to lose even more colour and Haru wished he had thought about what he was saying.
“Maybe we can ask Hoshi. She’ll fill us in,” he suggested.
Hi-chan perked up and nodded. “Good idea.”

It would be quicker to use the ultra-fast link that Shi-chan had set up for him, but Haru did not want to thrust his privileges down Hikaru’s throat. Instead they went to speak to Akemi-san.
“Impressive timing,” Akemi-san acknowledged as they looked around the door of communications. “There are three vids for you: from Sasuke-sama, Naruto-san and Hoshi-kun. Shall I put them through to the message booth?”
Both the Maple and the Elm had small rooms where people could record a holovid and send it. Many people also used them to view their incoming messages.
“Yes please, Akemi-san,” Hikaru answered before Haru could decide.
On the way there Hikaru looked across to him. “Papa’s first?”
Haru nodded.

Watching Papa’s video didn’t make Haru feel any better. He said all the right things but his eyes looked haunted. It reminded Haru of when Papa had thought To-chan had been killed and his body dumped down the disposal chute.
They opened Hoshi’s next. She looked... ...different. He looked over at Hikaru.
“She’s angry,” Hi-chan told him.
Haru guessed that Hoshi was cross more often at Hikaru than at him.
“It’s the AHB,” Ho-chan told them. “They’ve released the virus all over Tarrasade. Loads of canine hybrids were infected before we knew what was happening. Yo-chan and Ya-chan probably left before it was released but it’s likely to be on the Maple.” She huffed. “The only reason we didn’t have to wait for people to die was that Izuna-sama gave us the heads-up after Papa’s offer to relocate him. It would have been nice if he had done that earlier, before people were infected, but he says he didn’t know then.”
Her expression said that she did not trust Izuna-sama one little bit; something that all three of them agreed on.
“Rin-san is sure she can find a treatment given time, but the earlier an infected hybrid is put into stasis, the less damage there will be.”
So Inari-san was right to insist that Ryuu and Kazuki and Ryuka were podded straight away.
“The problem is going to be to get To-chan into stasis before he gets really sick because he is going to want to be there for the other hybrids.”
Haru’s gut twisted. Hoshi was talking as if To-chan was definitely infected; the probability must be really high.
“Don’t forget to push for him to do that when you send him your message. Oh, and you two have it easy because you only have to look after each other and I am stuck looking after the triplets so Papa doesn’t have to worry about them.”
She waved and the screen went blank. Haru looked across at Hikaru. He looked like Hoshi had, so Haru guessed he was angry. Haru himself was too anxious for anger. He wanted to speak to Shi-chan about the virus and how Rin-san was going to combat it.
“To-chan’s message next,” Hikaru reminded him.

To-chan didn’t look sick. He looked just like he always did. The message was full of how proud he was of them and how much he loved them. He said that this was just one of those things that happened and that Rin-san would sort it out. He talked as if there wasn’t any other possible outcome and that the whole thing was merely an inconvenience. Unlike Papa, every part of him said the same thing, even his eyes and his whiskers.
It made Haru feel much better.
“Do you want to record replies now?” Hi-chan asked. “And what about a message for Kiba-san?”
Haru wanted to contact Shi-chan but he nodded.

It was weird because Hikaru kept insisting they looked over what they had recorded, like Neji-san did when Papa was practicing for an interview that was going to be broadcast.
Haru wasn’t used to looking at himself. It brought it home how young and geeky he looked compared to Hi-chan, who looked interesting and a bit unpredictable. Not that he was, but he looked that way.
In the end, Haru just let Hi-chan make all the decisions.

Once the vids had been sent, Hikaru sat back and looked at him.
“We ought to report to Tayuya-san next. Inari-san will expect us to do more now we are three crew members short.”
Haru nodded. He wanted to escape into his simulator and send a message to Shi-chan. He wished Hi-chan would stop studying him.
“Look, I’ll go and talk to Tayuya-san while you record a message for Shika-san.”
Haru stared at him. How had he guessed? “I usually send messages for Shi-chan from inside m... the simulator,” he admitted.
“You go do that, I’ll speak with Tayuya-san,” Hikaru insisted.

Even with an ultra-fast link there was, Haru checked, a thirty-six minute delay; far too long for a conversation. He had expected to find two messages waiting for him; one from Shi-chan and one from Sai. There were two, but neither was from Shi-chan.
The one from Sumiko was marked urgent so, reluctantly, Haru opened it first.

Interesting, Su-chan used her avatar for messages, the one that she used to play with Sai. Haru smiled to see that it now had its hair arranged the way Haku had done it.
It’s scowl was definitely prettier than Su-chan’s own.
“You have to leave Nii-san alone. He’s upset that Naruto-san is going to get sick and he worked too hard making a sim of how the virus works. He’s doing lots of sleeping and Iruka-san and I are looking after him.” She considered. “You can send him a puzzle, he would like that. And you can tell Sasuke-sama that you will do stuff Nii-san usually does.” He paused, as if thinking of what to say next. “Naruto-san and the others will be fine because Rin-san will make them better.”
The screen went blank. Haru felt guilty. If he had been there, he could have helped Shi-chan with the sim.

The second message was in two parts; they were both from Sai.
This time there was no sign of Sai’s attempts to ‘correspond’; no virtual pen writing a letter, or ditty, or piece of video art. It was pure Sai; a voice message accompanied by a flow of data.
As well as sending Shi-chan’s simulation, Sai reiterated the current plan to put all canine hybrids into stasis. Uchiha would then hunt down the source and those who had released the virus, a task that had been given to Itachi-san and Kisame-san.
Haru allowed himself a small smile. The residents of Tarrasade were in awe of Kisame-san and justifiably wary of Itachi-san. This was one occasion when their reputations would work in Uchiha’s favour.
A quick looked at Shi-chan’s simulation told him that the virus was nasty; Haru hoped they could persuade To-chan into stasis before it did him any damage.

The second part of Sai’s message had been sent some time after the first.
“Shika-san was worried that the canine-human hybrids would not believe the virus kills,” Sai told him. “This would mean they would not go into stasis and Naruto-san would stay out of stasis too long in order to persuade them. This upset Shika-san so much that he hid under his desk and refused to think.”
Haru had to replay that bit. It sounded like Shi-chan was in a bad way.
“So I used Sai-code to look for evidence that the virus kills, so the canine-human hybrids would believe and Naruto-san could go into stasis. I think that you would have told me to do this if you had been here and that Shika-san would have told me to do this if he had not been under his desk refusing to think.”
Haru’s heartbeat sped up; Sai had broken the rules. On the other hand, this was the one exception that Haru had specified; people’s lives were in danger.
“I used the genetic sequence of the virus to locate the laboratory where it was made. I have copies of all their files. This includes the evidence needed to persuade the canine-human hybrids that the virus kills.
“Only I cannot give it to Shika-san, because Iruka-san will not allow him to access his system and Sumiko-chan refuses to let me speak to him. I thought that you could tell Sasuke-sama that you used the new type code to obtain copies of the files. I have sent you all the files so you can send them back after a suitable delay.”

Haru sat back. He did not know what to do. If he waited some of the canine hybrids who refused to go into stasis might die. To-chan might end up sicker and maybe Rin-san would not be able to cure him.
He made a decision. He would send the information anonymously to To-chan as the patron of the HDL.
He lifted the funds for a light-speed message from one of Shi-chan’s accounts and sent it via the Stellar Exchange, making sure it looked like it came from the system in which the laboratory was based. He signed it ‘from a concerned friend’ and followed up with a coded message to Shi-chan saying what he had done.

Then he went to find Hikaru. He was with Tayuya-san in the galley. They were drinking tea and it looked like they were waiting for him. Tayuya-san gave him a look that said he had been too long.
“There was a message from Su-chan saying that Shi-chan was...” He trailed off. He wasn’t sure how to phrase ‘hiding under his desk and refusing to think’. “He isn’t doing well.”
Tayuya’s expression softened. “I am sure that Shikamaru-san only needs some rest, Haru-kun. Hikaru-kun and I are planning the decontamination.” She slid a tablet across the tabletop. “Rin-san has sent her recommendations.”
Haru sat down and looked at it. As usual, Rin-san had considered every possibility.
It looked like they would be doing a lot of scrubbing.

This time when Shikamaru woke he felt almost normal. He remembered other times but he had been dazed and disorientated. He did recall Iruka telling him that it was a choice of being drugged or put in a tank.
“Shi-chan?”
His eyes snapped open and he turned towards the voice. The familiar figure was sitting at the side of his bed. Shikamaru stretched out a hand to touch it, checking if it was real. It felt solid enough. “Na-chan?”
Naruto smiled at him. “Iruka-sensei said you were waking up so I thought we could talk.”
Maybe he wasn’t infected or maybe Rin had already come up with a cure. He sat up. “Are...?” He couldn’t say it.
“I’ve got it,” Naruto answered. “We all have other than Yo-chan and Ya-chan. It looked like they got away in time.”
The hope Shikamaru had briefly harboured drained away. “You should be in stasis.”
“Sasuke and I have made a pact. I still have the rest of today. Things have moved on.”
Shikamaru nodded, confirming that he wanted to know what had been happening.
“We got a packet of information from an anonymous source.” Naruto’s eyes darkened and his upper lip twitched as if he wanted to snarl. “It was records from the laboratory that developed the virus. Among them was this vid showing the virus being tested on a litter of cubs.”
Shikamaru felt sick. He knew from the simulation what the virus did.
Naruto stroked his arm to comfort him. “After that we didn’t have problems getting people to accept how dangerous it was. I went down to Sublevel C to talk to the hybrids and I’ve recorded some vids to use when I’m in stasis. Pein’s ship is here, along with the first batches of the pods you ordered, and we have enough places for everyone. Yugito and Roshi are on their way to take charge in the name of the HDF. Garner-san arranged their transport so it’s super-fast and they should arrive tomorrow or the day after.”
“How long have I’ve been out of it?”
“Three days.”
Shikamaru’s mind went to the simulation. How far had the infection got if Naruto had waited an extra three days?
“The nanobots slow the progress of the virus down,” Naruto assured him as if he had expressed his fears out loud. “Rin has been boosting mine. Also it looks like I got it off Kiba rather than being directly exposed, so I had a couple of days in hand.” He twitched his whiskers. “I’ve been over all this with Sasuke. I go into stasis tonight. Are you coming to breakfast?”
Part of Shikamaru wanted to stay where he was; he was not sure if he could face the others, particularly Sumiko.
“Hoshi and Ayame promised to keep Su-chan distracted,” Naruto assured him.

It was surreal. Everyone was acting as if deadly, incurable viruses were a normal part of everyday life; it was as if they had been brainwashed by Naruto’s optimism and determination.
Then he saw Sasuke’s eyes and he was plunged back into reality.
He placed a hand on Sasuke’s arm. “We will solve it,” he stated.
Sasuke managed the smallest of smiles. “I was going to say the same to you.”
“You will solve it together,” Naruto insisted. “Now, are you up to Sumiko?”

Having spent time with Sumiko, Iruka and Neji, Shikamaru slipped into the simulator to tackle his huge backlog of incoming communications. However there was one person he needed to speak with before he started.
“Sai-kun?”
“It is good to speak with you, Shika-san. I was concerned when you went under the desk and refused to think. Sumiko-chan has been very worried.”
Shikamaru felt himself colouring. Had he been that bad? The memory of Sasuke couching down and looking at him bubbled up from one of the deeper layers of his mind.
“Is this what people mean when they say that typed-seven geniuses are fragile?”
“I’m not sure,” Shikamaru admitted. “I’m the only typed-seven genius I know.”
There was a slight pause. “Was that a joke, Shika-san?”
“Not really,” Shikamaru replied. “Has anything happened I should know about?”

Sasuke would be relieved when this evening was over. As much as he loved having Naruto with him, he could not help thinking of the virus inside him, killing some cells and permanently damaging others.
They were putting the triplets to bed. He played his biwa and watched Naruto tucking Takara in; the gentle strokes and whiskery kisses.

Soon they were together in their bedroom. Sasuke went to put his biwa on its shelf. He was not sure how the evening should pan out. Part of him wished that they had chosen a morning for Naruto to go into stasis because then they could have let growling-possessive-Naruto out.
Only then Naruto would push for another day, like he had for this one.

Then Naruto wrapped his long arms around him from behind and hugged him. Whiskers tickled his ear and there was a tiny nibble on his neck.
“I am going to put by my thingy in and then I am going to fuck you,” he purred.
“I want to walk down with you to the infirmary afterwards,” Sasuke told him.
“No, you are going to be curled up in our bed, too exhausted to move, drifting off to sleep, your mind buzzed on pleasure,” Naruto insisted.
Sasuke decided he could live with that. He wriggled free, shed his jacket and then walked to the head in a way that was certain to attract Naruto’s attention to his butt.
Behind him, Naruto growled.
- 93
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- 95
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