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
- 95
- 96
- 97
Thank you to my beta and muse, Small Fox. This story grew from a plot idea he gave me.
Also thanks to eunmook, SunaoTsuji, melissen, Achillona, satterb, Bree and JenniPenni for reviewing after chapter 95 was posted. Readers’ feedback, support and comments mean a great deal to me.
Feedback keeps me writing.
Every review is poured over and treasured.

Please see the author’s note at the end.

Leader
Part 10: Endgame
96: Brink

He was naked and horrendously skinny but it was definitely him; Orochimaru. Yellow eyes peered out from a huge tangle of black hair.
“Haru!” Ran whispered urgently. “Gama-sama is waiting.”
Haru pulled himself together. Did he accept? Did he have the option not to? He couldn’t take the risk.
He wished Papa was there. Papa would do something amazing like dragging the Orochimaru print out of the cage by his hair and slitting his throat whilst making some fabulous speech.
Instead Haru bowed. “I accept the gift on behalf of my father and Uchiha.”

After that, Haru couldn’t stop thinking about Orochimaru and he didn’t think Ran could either; Lady knew what Akemi was feeling. It didn’t help that the celebratory meal was held in the hall with the cage hanging there. Haru was glad he had got to visit with Gamariki, Kichi and Tatsu before realising that the Orochimaru print was still alive.
After the meal, Konohamaru-san contacted Inari-san. The decision was made to stick to the original plan and go back to the Silver Leaf that afternoon. They would take the print with them and pod him. Once he was podded, it would be up to Papa to decide what to do with him.

As soon as Konohamaru-san confirmed what was happening, Haru began to fret about how they would get the Orochimaru print back to their base at the spaceport. Whose boat would he go in? How would they restrain him? They couldn’t use the cage he was in. It was too big; it would destabilise the boat.

When they gathered on the shore Haru was relieved to see the print has been transferred to another cage. It was so small that he had to sit cross-legged to fit inside. His head was down and the mess of his hair covered his face.
One of the hunters was carrying the cage by a handle at the top. Haru watched him walk down the shore and place it in a third boat rather than either of the two they were using.
“Gama-sama is providing an additional boat and four hunters as an escort,” Hikaru told him.
Haru guessed Hi-chan had talked to Konohamaru-san or Kamatari-san. Maybe Kono-san had asked Gama-sama for the extra boat and the escort.
“Kichi says one of the other tribes had him,” Ran added. “Gama-sama bartered for him. Apparently toad hybrids consider what he did to Rin-san far worse than raping a male or torture or even mass murder. That’s why we get him, so he can pay for the worst of his crimes.”
It probably made sense to tribes amongst whom females were so revered. “I wish they’d just fed him to the crocs,” Haru admitted.
Ran stared at the figure in the cage. “So do I but Sasuke-sama promised Haku-san that he could kill him, so I think we’ll be taking him back to Tarrasade.”
Haru hadn’t known that; Ran was much more connected to the crew gossip.
“Do you think he has gone insane from being kept in a cage?” Hikaru asked.
“I don’t care,” Haru heard himself reply. “I wish he was dead like the original one.”

Only Hikaru’s question wouldn’t go away. Haru found himself, almost against his will, watching the print. He was looking this way and that; Haru could tell from the way the mess of hair was moving. He didn’t say anything or make any noises.
“Maybe the other toad hybrid tribe cut his tongue out to keep him quiet,” Hikaru suggested.
It was a disgusting thought.
“The toad hybrids are gentle,” Ran pointed out. “They would not do something like that.”
“The Gama hybrids are gentle,” Hikaru replied. “What do we know about the other tribes?”
Haru shrugged and continued to observe the print. He very still when the hunters were watching him but much more curious about his surroundings when they were not. “I think he’s wary of the hunters,” Haru told the others. “He’ll behave differently when they’ve gone.”

The trip back to the spaceport was more dangerous because the crocs and the snakes had warmed up as they day went on and moved faster. Luckily none of them focused on any of the boats and they made it back without a problem.
Konohamaru-san insisted that the toad hybrids turned around straight away and set off home. Twilight was the most dangerous time of day and they would have to paddle fast to get back before sunset.
A wave from Kichi and they were gone; three streamlined boats sliding as silently and smoothly through the water as any snake.
Haru wondered how many standards it took to learn to paddle without the slightest splash.

Then his gaze went back to the cage. The print was looking straight back at him. As their eyes met, Orochimaru smiled.
Haru shuddered.
“What next?” Kamatari-san asked. “Shall I run back to the Silver Leaf and get a hover platform?”
“Wait,” Konohamaru-san ordered. “Tatsuji-san, what do you think?”
There was a pause. “Waiting on the shore is ill-advised,” Tatsuji-san replied. “The crocodiles and the larger snakes come from the water. According to the reports, the crocodiles are difficult to kill even with a laser rifle.”
Haru remembered Ka-chan trying burn through the giant crocodile’s hide as it headed for their boat.
“Haru-chan,” a voice hissed.
A shiver went down Haru’s spine. The print was talking to him. Looking about, he realised that he was closest to the cage. Everyone else’s attention was on Kono-san, Kamatari-san and Tatsuji-san as they discussed what to do next.
Haru decided to ignore him.
“Haru-chan, I know things. I know things about the man you call Izuna Uchiha.”
“Stop talking!” Akemi yelled. “Stop talking before I make you.”

Akemi was pointing his laser pistol at the Orochimaru print’s head. His face was white and his eyes were wide. The laser pistol was shaking slightly.
Everyone was completely still.
At least the print was no longer whispering. The silence lengthened. Haru found himself thinking that this was why Konohamaru-san wasn’t a captain; he wasn’t decisive enough.
It was Isaribi’s soft voice that broke the silence. “Thank you, Akemi-san. Please keep him covered while I prepare a hypospray to render him unconscious.”
Konohamaru-san pulled himself together. “Yes, good work, Akemi-san. Isaribi-san, please sedate the prisoner.”

The print didn’t try to avoid the hypospray Isaribi pressed to his buttock. There wasn’t any point; the cage was too small. Neither did he object but maybe that wasn’t surprising given how much Akemi wanted to drill a hole through his head.
Once he had slumped, Akemi slowly returned his laser pistol to its holster. Haru was impressed that he did it without being ordered to do so.

In the end, Kamatari-san and Isaribi carried the cage between them. The truth was that it only needed both of them because the cage was too bulky for one of them to handle it easily.
Haru had never thought about Isaribi being strong; she was always so elegant and refined.
“What did the print say?” Hikaru asked him as they walked.
“He said he knew stuff.”
“Is that all?” Hi-chan sounded disappointed.
“He called me Haru-chan. He said that he knew things about Izuna-sama.”
Hikaru was silent for a moment before responding. “Do you think it means anything?”
Haru considered. “Probably not. He... he plays games.”
“Is it true he tortured you?”
It had only been that one time, with the prod. Then Haru remembered all the other stuff; the threats to vivisect Ka-chan and rape Ran. “Yes.” He looked over to where Ran was walking next to Akemi, offering tacit support but also monitoring him for the first signs of a breakdown. “It was nothing compared to what he did to Haku-san and Rin-san and Akemi.”

They walked on in silence for a bit before Hikaru spoke to him again.
“I think you should tell Inari-san what the print said.”
He hadn’t been intending to do that. “You sure?”
Hikaru considered. “Yes.”

Sasuke was finding it tough. Every morning he would wake up without Naruto beside him. During the day he would think about telling him things or even turn half-expecting to see him. Every evening he would put the triplets to bed and see how they missed him. Every night he would retire to his empty bed.
He tried visiting Naruto in the infirmary only to discover that sitting beside a pod was nowhere as reassuring as being able to see him in a tank.

After the third day Rin began sending him a daily report on her research to stop him bothering her. She was making excellent progress; even Shika was impressed. They already had a vaccination, which would stop the virus being a problem in the future. Instructions on how to synthesise it had been sent to the Warren, to Haven and to Sanctuary.
Now she was working on how to get the virus out of people who were already infected.

Sasuke concentrated on the triplets, who were missing Kiba as well as Naruto, and worked on getting Izuna’s expedition on its way as quickly as possible. There would be no better waking up present for Naruto than a firm date for his departure.
Then they could go back to raising their children and building their Uchiha.
He had delivered the triplets to Konan for a morning in her garden and was on his way back to his office when Shikamaru fell in beside him. “I’ve had an idea,” he began. “There is this space station that Izuna-sama’s expedition could use as a waypoint.”
“Tell me about it,” Sasuke encouraged.

He listened long enough to pick up the outline; essentially they could get rid of Izuna sooner if the business end of the expedition was put together at one of the many space stations that Shikamaru owned. After that he let Shika talk and took the opportunity to study him. He was looking much better; he had not put on much weight yet but his face was less haggard and there was a spring in his step.
“You aren’t listening,” Shikamaru accused.
“You convinced me ages ago,” Sasuke admitted. “How far have you got with it?”
“Itachi and Haku think it’s a good idea. We’ve made sure it will save him time and funds. Haku’s come up with a sweetener and talked to Ino about presenting it to him. We just need your go-ahead.”
“You have it,” Sasuke confirmed.
“Good.” Shikamaru looked distant for a moment and Sasuke knew he was running through the plan in his mind. “I’ll also get Ino to remind him that he will want to make his grand departure before the media lose interest.”
“That is not very likely,” Sasuke replied.

Sasuke still felt resentful about the way that Izuna had played the hero. Naruto, Shika and Rin had worked so hard, Naruto had even put his life at risk by staying out of stasis for extra days, and yet Izuna had managed to give the media the impression that he had single-handedly saved all the hybrids.
Contradicting him would only make Sasuke seem petty, particularly since the hybrids included his beloved and his sons.
Instead, each time it came up, he forced himself to smile and say, “Yes, I am very grateful that Izuna-sama exposed the AHB’s plans.” He would then go on to thank the others for their contribution but it was pointless; those words were never reported.
Saving the hybrids of Tarrasade had become part of the Izuna Uchiha myth.

“I think you should have music lessons.”
Sasuke had almost forgotten Shika was walking beside him. “What did you say?”
“Iruka-sensei is worried about you,” Shikamaru told him. “We all are. You love music. You say that you will set aside time to play with Hoshi but you never do. If you had a formal biwa lesson you would go to it. You are like that. Or you could have singing lessons. Or composing.”
For some reason Sasuke thought of his father. He would have sneered at the thought of a grown man studying music.
The memory was enough to make him consider it seriously; he wished to be his mother’s son, not his father’s. “I do not think my technique would sit well with any biwa teacher,” he admitted. “On the rare occasions I play in front of Daikoku-san I can see his disappointment.”
Shikamaru frowned. “You sure? The musicians were pretty impressed when you played that time in the concert hall. What about singing? Or composing? Or another instrument?”
Sasuke found himself smiling; he wondered what Iruka had said to Shikamaru to make him so persistent. “I’ll think about it.”
“I’ve run security checks on five possible teachers,” Shikamaru told him. “I’ve sent you their resumes.”

Sasuke intended to look at them once he had settled at his desk but the soft clime of an incoming message interrupted his thoughts; it was from Inari.
The toad hybrids had found the Orochimaru print. Unexpectedly, especially given the number of their people he had killed, they had decided to keep him and hand him over to Uchiha.
He paused the message partway through. Apparently Gama-sama had given the ‘gift’ to Haru. Sasuke was not happy about that. He shut his eyes and imagined Naruto making him see things from the Gama’s point of view.
Then he played the second half of Inari’s message and recorded his reply. He concurred with Inari’s decision to pod the print and bring him to Tarrasade on the Maple when they returned.
There was no rush; Haku would not mind waiting as long as he got to wield the knife.

That done, he decided to look through the resumes Shika has sent him. Three left him cold. They were as seeped in the classical tradition as Daikoku-san; he could imagine whole sessions debating the way he pressed or plucked a string.
The fourth specialised in the shakuhachi but Sasuke knew he would always pick his biwa over any other instrument.
It was the fifth that caught his attention. Sasuke had not expected to see his name on the list. Sabu was a minstrel, not a music teacher or even a musician. He played the lute but it was not his playing that he was known for. It was his songs; both his own and his interpretation of traditional spacer ballads.
Minstrels wandered, but Sabu had declared himself too old for spacing. The people of Tarrasade had been proud when he had decided to settle there.
Klennethon Darrent had managed to persuade him to perform at the concert hall; apparently the lure of the acoustics had been enough to outweigh Sabu-san’s dislike of formal venues.
Since then, he had performed there two or three times a standard. Only one of the performances had coincided with Sasuke being in Tarrasade and he had asked Shikamaru to get tickets.
The songs had been simple but they had spoken to Sasuke in a way that most classical music did not.
Would Sabu really consider taking him as a student?

He was still considering the possibility when his desk chimed again. It was another message from Inari. This time it was marked ‘urgent’ and Sasuke noticed that it had been sent as soon as it had been recorded.
The contents angered him so much that he had to read them twice. It was bad enough that the Orochimaru print was anywhere near Haru without speaking to him.
As for what he had said, it brough back memories of what the original Orochimaru had said just before his throat was cut.

He checked the indicator light on the door to Neji’s office. It was blue, which meant at least Neji was available. He activated the intercom.
“This is Sasuke. Please could Neji-san and Shika-san come to my office.”

He did not even have time to move two chairs up to his desk before the door between their offices slid open. Shika came through first, followed by Neji.
They were quickly settled and ready to listen. “The toad hybrids had the Orochimaru print,” Sasuke began, in case they had not heard, “ and he said something to Haru before we podded him.”
He saw Shikamaru stiffen at the thought of Haru being anywhere near the man who had treated him so badly.
“What did he say?” Neji asked.
“Inari-san included the exact words. ‘I know things about the man you call Izuna Uchiha’.” Sasuke took a deep breath. “Neither of you were there when I slit the original Orochimaru’s throat. His last words were, ‘I can destroy Izuna Uchiha’.”
Neji gave a small sigh. “Orochimaru knows that Izuna-sama and you are at odds. He is trying to use that to his advantage. The original and the print share the same memories and thought processes, so they both identified the same thing as something they could exploit.”

Sasuke wondered if it was that simple. “We could consider interrogating the print before giving him to Haku to kill.” He looked to Shikamaru but Shika was deep in thought.
Neji also glanced over at Shikamaru. “We invested a great deal of resources into interrogating the original Orochimaru for no return.”
“Prints differ,” Sasuke argued. “This print has behaved differently than the other we encountered. He tried to keep Yoshimi for himself. He did not kill Haru. He impregnated Rin. He hid on the toad hybrid planet and did not suicide on capture as the Orochimaru prints are under orders to do.”
Suddenly Shikamaru spoke. “Are you sure that you want to know?”
“Know what?”
“Whatever Orochimaru intends to tell you about Izuna Uchiha.”

Shikamaru had a point. They were well on their way to getting rid of Izuna. What in known space could the Orochimaru print tell him that would be worth jeopardising that?
“What do you think Orochimaru knows about Izuna-sama?” Neji asked.
Sasuke was not sure he wanted to know the answer to that.
“I do not know...” Shikamaru admitted.
It was a relief.
“...but I believe he wants us to think that Izuna Uchiha is an imposter.”

Fury erupted deep in Sasuke’s core. Shikamaru had assured him that the man in the pod was Izuna Uchiha. Every decision made, every concession given, had been based on that fact.
He was on his feet: looming over Shikamaru; demanding an explanation.
Then Neji was between them and Shikamaru was running. Sasuke sneered, waiting for him to bounce off the closed door.
Only he didn’t, because Neji had reached past him and pushed the door controller.

Outrage fuelled his fury. Shikamaru was forgotten. How dare Neji defy him? He raised his arm to strike.
And stopped. Neji was just standing there, waiting for the blow.
Waiting for his punishment for protecting Shika.
Sasuke’s eyes went to the display frame at the far end of the room; to the fifteen pairs of eyes looking back at him. Thirteen blue, including Naruto’s direct gaze, one amber and one dark, his own, so like his mother’s.
Like his mother.
He would not be like his father.

He stood there, rigid; his body trapped between his rage and his determination to control it. Finally his will won. He dropped his arm and sank back into his seat.
A little longer and he managed to speak. “Please sit, Neji-san.”
Neji sat down. “Sasuke-sama,” he acknowledged.
“Please feel free to go after Shika-san,” Sasuke told him.
“Shika will be fine,” Neji told him. “He thinks that you opened the door for him. He will hide in his room until you calm down.” He paused before continuing. “This may be precisely what Orochimaru wanted and the print wants. You are now considering that Izuna-sama may be an imposter and it is enough for you to make rash and unsubstantiated decisions.”
It was as close as Neji would come to telling him off.
“You think I should let it go,” Sasuke observed.
“Yes. Izuna-sama will leave. He will be gone. It will be over. Any other course of action will create difficulties and raise obstacles to achieving that outcome.”

Could he do that? His mind was full of what had happened since they had opened the pod: the ways in which they had suffered and the damage that had been done; Yoshimi and Haru; Akemi, Haku and Rin.
The man had struck a bargain to give Neji to the Hyuga. He had plotted to rape Shika.
Naruto and five of his sons were in pods, held just this side of death, because ‘Izuna’ had supported the AHB, giving them a foothold in Tarrasade.
“Sasuke-sama?” Neji queried.
Sasuke had forgotten he was there. “Would you mind leaving, Neji-san? I need to be alone.”
Neji hesitated; obviously reluctant. Then he stood and bowed. “Sasuke-sama.”
Sasuke chose to stand. “Neji-san,” he acknowledged.

Once Neji had gone, Sasuke sat down. He stared at the portrait; at Naruto and his children. Was Neji right? Was this Orochimaru’s final blow that he should sidestep?
Or was it his last chance to correct an appalling injustice?
His finger had found the intercom button before he realised what he was going to do. “This is Sasuke. Gai-san, please come to my office.”
He told himself that sending the Dart was not making a decision. Sending the Dart was merely keeping his options open.

Author’s note
An invitation
Three and a half years’ ago I had my fiftieth birthday and decided on of my few regrets was never having shared any of my ‘scribbles’ with anyone. So I decided to write a fanfiction and this series was started. I intended to write one story of 30 chapters and then leave it.
Only now it is over three years’ later and I am still at it! I have learned so much and I intend to try to apply what I have learnt to writing a new original set in my spacer world.
Does anyone want to be in my advisory group? If you do, could you send me an email at mannahpierce@ntlworld.com? I am looking for people to consult about characters and contexts and plot possibilities.
I will absolutely understand if this does not appeal to you. I am one of those people who never watch ‘the making of’ programmes because I want to suspend my disbelief, not know about the nuts and bolts.
But if you are interested, you are very welcome.
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