Iteration

‘Iteration’ is part of the space saga that began with ‘In the cold of space you find the heat of suns’ and continues in ‘Tales in Tarrasade’.

Thanks to Small Fox for being my beta. For this story he has also been my muse, suggesting a number of the ideas that have evolved to create this arc.

Many thanks to those readers who have left a review – they are very much appreciated.

Apologies if the characters have grown differently in their new environment.

This is posted in the Naruto/Sasuke section because it is part of a Naru/Sasu/Naru space saga. However, it does feature many other pairings (and a few threesomes). Apologies to those who are expecting Naruto/Sasuke or Sasuke/Naruto every chapter.

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Chapter eleven: Indecision

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Ranmaru slowly came back to reality. He could feel the familiarity of Konohamaru’s touch and of his emotions. No one could have missed his anger, it was clear in his voice.

“What did you do to him?” he was demanding.

“He fainted,” the one called Neji was saying.

“We were telling...” the other one began, only to be cut off by Neji.

“Shika!”

“Sorry,” the other one, Shikamaru, replied. He sounded sheepish.

The two of them were lovers. Ranmaru had been almost sure of it before but now he was certain. His mind belatedly processed what Neji had told him. Shikamaru was the clever one. Neji was an expert on interpreting behaviour.

“We’ll leave him with you for a while, Kono-kun,” Neji said. “Ranmaru-kun, we will leave it to you to explain what we were talking about.”

Ranmaru understood; either he told Konohamaru or they would.


Ranmaru sat in one of the chairs. Konohamaru placed one of the others so that they would be sitting facing each other. Their knees were touching. Konohamaru held Ranmaru’s hand.

“I have something to tell you, Ranmaru began. “They ran a genetic analysis and found something I haven’t told you,”

Konohamaru’s grip on his hand tightened but he said nothing, merely waited. Ranmaru could feel his fear.

Ranmaru took a deep breath. “I have an extra sense,” he admitted. “I can sense people’s emotions.”

He concentrated on Konohamaru’s reaction. There was no anger. He was confused and hurt, but those emotions were swiftly replaced by love and affection. The grip on his hand lessened.

“Naruto can tell what people are feeling from the way they smell,” Konohamaru told him, “and Neji can read it in their behaviour. If it shows up in a genetic analysis, then it is part of what you are. You should celebrate it, not hide it.”

Celebrate had been the word Neji had used. He had said that Uchiha celebrated difference. “I was frightened of telling you,” Ranmaru whispered, which was, in part, true.

At that there was a hint of annoyance, swiftly suppressed. “Maybe you will be able to trust me in time,” Konohamaru suggested.


Then it hit Ranmaru. Konohamaru was upset that Ranmaru had not told him, but not worried by his ability. People always hated him or feared him once they knew what he could do. Neither Neji nor Shikamaru had reacted that way and Konohamaru was sitting holding his hand.

These people were different. They were nice, like Konan-san.

And he was meant to betray them; betray Konohamaru.

He did not want to do it.


He had not realised that he had started to cry until he felt the tears on his face. He watched them drop through the air. One hit the ground. The other hit his thigh just above the knee. The water produced a dark circle in the lighter fabric. There was another tear and then another; half of them splashing onto the floor and the others producing small, dark, overlapping circles.

“Ran-chan, please don’t cry,” Konohamaru was saying. “I didn’t mean to be cross. Of course you don’t trust us yet.”

That made it worse. Ranmaru’s throat closed. His next breath came out as a sob.

Konohamaru was pulling him from the chair and hugging him but it only made things worse. Every comforting action made Ranmaru feel more guilty and confused.

Then Ranmaru found himself being rocked gently Konohamaru’s lap with Konohamaru’s arms around him. It calmed him. The sobs subsided and, slowly, the tears stopped.

---

Shikamaru watched Konohamaru trying to comfort the distraught youngster. He felt terrible. They were spying on lovers. Ranmaru was obviously deeply upset. They had put Konohamaru in an impossible situation where it was inevitable that he would support Ranmaru against them.

He watched Neji stand up, remove his headset and drop it onto the table.

“He needs to be receiving therapy, not being interrogated,” he stated. “Kakashi-san, if Iruka-san was here he would be yelling at us by now. This is not what we are about.”

Kakashi frowned at him. “We have not finished,” he complained.

“We are going to get nowhere useful,” Neji insisted. “It is almost certain that he is harmless and we are being cruel to him for no good reason. If he isn’t, he is far better a deceiver than I am capable of detecting his deceit. Even Shika can’t find anything amiss.”

Shikamaru wished he did not have that itch; that whispering, unintelligible, nagging little voice somewhere in his head. “It all appears to fit,” he confirmed.

Kakashi sighed. “Very well.”

---

Ranmaru would have been pleased that they had stopped questioning him but he was so very tired. The ship was huge, with long, curving corridors and stairs rather than ladders. As they approached the crew room he could tell that they were going to meet more people. He knew that it was important that he made a good impression.

He no long knew why that was important. Ten days ago it would have been because of his mission. Now he cared more about not disappointing Konohamaru.

They were in a very large galley. Konohamaru’s arm was around his shoulders. Facing them was an exquisitely dressed... ...person. Ranmaru was not sure if the person was male or female. Whichever, the person was important to Konohamaru; Ranmaru could feel it.

“Ranmaru, this is Haku,” Konohamaru told him.

Ranmaru was glad his training included remembering everything and putting isolated pieces of information together in patterns. Haku was definitely male and he was Kisame and Itachi’s lover. He pulled himself away from Konohamaru, stood straight and bowed.

“It is an honour to meet you, Haku-san,” he managed.

Haku frowned at Konohamaru. “He is exhausted, Kono-kun. Ranmaru-kun, we will show you your room now. It is next to Konohamaru’s.”

They went out of the galley through a different door and into an area with couches and low tables. Around the walls were many doors. Haku slid one open.

“I have tried to make you comfortable, Ranmaru-kun. Of course it will be fine if you and Kono-kun decide to share a room for some or all of the time.”

The room was very nice. Ranmaru could see a shower and a head at the far end. The bed, the side of which was against one wall, looked particularly inviting.

Haku said something to Konohamaru that Ranmaru missed and then vanished. Konohamaru guided Ranmaru into the room.

“Haku thinks you should sleep,” Konohamaru told him.

Ranmaru did not argue or agree. He sat on the edge of the bed. Konohamaru crouched down and took off his shoes and then helped him out of his jacket. He then persuaded Ranmaru to stand while he folded back the cover so that Ranmaru could lie down.

He was asleep within a minute.

---

Sasuke stared at Kakashi’s frozen image at the end of the message. The interrogation had been aborted and Ranmaru was installed in the crew room. They had, at most, only implemented one-third of their plan. In addition, Ranmaru was an empath. Sasuke had not known that empaths existed.

He wished it could talk it through with someone but all the people he would have usually chosen were on the Oak. Iruka and Naruto thought interrogating Ranmaru unnecessary and undesirable. Sasuke was not in the mood for a lecture from Iruka-sensei or one of Naruto’s looks.

He sent Moegi to ask Jiraiya-san to come to his office.


“I really like that picture,” Jiraiya commented as he settled into a chair.

Sasuke had intended to change the picture of Naruto before Jiraiya arrived. He found the pointer and changed it to an image of Naruto with the children before finishing preparing the tea tray.

“That is nice too,” Jiraiya acknowledged. “You must be immensely proud of them.”

Sasuke carried the tray from the alcove and placed it on the low table. “I am. They are the future of Uchiha. A future you helped make possible, old man.”

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at Kakashi’s name for him but did not comment. “What do you need, Sasuke-sama?” he asked.


Sasuke explained the situation in detail and played extracts of the interrogation and messages, including Kakashi’s and Shikamaru’s latest reports. Jiraiya watched, listened and asked a few pertinent questions.

“There is no good solution, Sasuke-sama,” he said at the end. “With hindsight, the error was made at the start. The cat should have been put into stasis, taken to a secure processing centre and put through a pre-planned initiation process run by suitably trained personnel, including therapists, medicos and interrogators. Perhaps this is what should happen with all people we acquire rather than select.

“Instead we acted as spacers, because that is the tradition from which we come. Even Itachi, of all people, thought he ought to be taken from the tank and observed while integrating with a crew.

“What we all failed to see was that once he was crew and had made relationships with his crewmates, we could not interrogate him as a stranger.

“Beyond that, you saw the state of him. If Iruka ever sees that holovid Kakashi will be sleeping in Haku’s crew room for a div. They did not have another choice that was compatible with the new Uchiha.”

It was a relief that Jiraiya agreed both with the decision that Kakashi had made and Sasuke’s suspicion that it was less than ideal. “What about this business of him being an empath?” Sasuke asked.

Jiraiya shrugged. “I think I agree with Konohamaru. It probably gives him less information than Naruto gets from his sense of smell.” He shuddered. “It must make life difficult for him. Imagine what he must have been through with that crew we got him from.”

Sasuke had not thought of that; at least Ranmaru was with Konohamaru now. He sighed. He was now content with the decision they had made. He finished his tea, conversed with Jiraiya, which was surprisingly pleasant, and constructed a message to send to the Oak.

---

Ranmaru did not wake until the next morning. He used the head and took a shower. Beside the bed, set into the wall, was a tall closet containing clothes on hangers and underclothes on shelves. They were not the clothes he had used on the Silver Leaf; the bag he had packed that morning was on the floor, full.

Haku must have gone to the trouble of asking Tayuya for measurements, because the clothes fit remarkably well.

He unpacked his bag and hung the clothes, including his uniform, in the closet.


Then he investigated what else the room had to offer. There was a tablet with a range of entertainment loaded and a console. The console linked to various generic services but he guessed that he would need a password to access anything sensitive. He did not try. Even being detected trying would be bad. Instead he checked the time. It was early but not excessively so. It was almost the time for a cat to be appearing in the galley. Sumaru would be training.


He slid open the door and crept across the crew room. The door to the galley was open.

Haku was sitting at the table. His hair was pinned up in an artfully messy way that exposed his neck. He was wearing a kimono; Ranmaru wondered if he always wore women’s clothes when he was out of uniform. He was sipping tea from an elegant tea bowl.

“Ranmaru-kun,” he acknowledged. “Come in. Shut the door. Sit down.” He pointed to the chair next to him. “Here.”

Ranmaru could feel a variety of emotions from Haku, not all of them positive. He wished he had the option not to obey but he was a cat and Haku was queen and there was no latitude in that relationship. He slid the door shut and perched on the indicated chair.

Haku took his hand. It was all Ranmaru could do not to pull it away. Haku’s emotions coursed through his mind, as acute as tastes on his tongue. He shut his eyes and wished he was elsewhere.

“Calm yourself,” Haku ordered. “I am doing this deliberately. I know you are an empath. Kono-kun told me.”

Ranmaru opened his eyes.

“Better,” Haku told him. “I am going to say some things and you are going to listen. Do you understand?”

Ranmaru nodded.

“Good. There are two types of people in Uchiha. There are the innocents, like Shikamaru and Inari and Kono-kun. Then there those with history, like Itachi and Neji and me. Most of us in Uchiha have history.

“Kono-kun thinks of you as an innocent. You are not, you have history. The issue is, is the history you have chosen to share with us the whole story? Are you what you appear to be?

“I am now going to tell you a story. It is Itachi’s story, not mine,

“Itachi was Sasuke-sama’s older brother. He was born ten standards before Sasuke and raised to be heir. Their father was a monster. Itachi had no mother. When he did not obey his father, or measure up to his impossible standards, he was punished. His father beat him and, when that no longer had the effect he wanted, he raped him. Repeatedly.

“When Itachi was eighteen, after living this life of horror his father had created for him, he was told that his father had decided that Itachi was too damaged to make a good heir. Instead his little brother, who had been raised by his mother, would be heir. Itachi was to be discarded.

“He snapped. He killed his father. Much worse, he killed Sasuke’s mother. He killed every member of the Uchiha clan with the exception of Sasuke. He probably would have killed Sasuke but he could not find him. Itachi became a renegade, a hunted man.

“Almost ten standards later fate delivered Itachi to his brother but there was a twist to the tale. Itachi’s brain had been damaged. He had lost much of his memory. The lost memories included the murders.

“Sasuke-sama weighed all the pieces. He made a judgement that balanced retribution and redemption. Itachi would live, but he would no longer be an Uchiha. He would live his life within Uchiha where Sasuke could watch him and kill him if he reverted. He would have to live with those who, by chance, had survived the massacre; the people who loathed him.”

Haku looked at him. “Do you know why I am telling you this story?”

Ranmaru did. Haku was telling him that Sasuke-sama was a just and merciful man. However to admit it would be tantamount to a confession. Instead he did nothing and said nothing.

Haku sniffed. “I have a second story for you. This is part of my story. I was a boy. I watched my family, my whole community, taken by slavers. I was also taken.

“A man took a fancy to me. He was a fighter, not technically a slaver. He took me as part of his payment.

“He gave me security. He looked after me. In truth, he limited the extent that he and others exploited me. I did not see it that way. I believed it when he told me that we would be together forever. I adored him. He was the centre of my world.

“Then fate delivered me to Uchiha. It did not take me long to see that Uchiha offered me much more than the man and that the people in Uchiha truly cared for me. Even so, I clung to my devotion.

“And I went with him when he returned for me. I made the worst decision of my life.

“But he had a tiny decent streak. He showed me the reality of what we shared and then took me back to Uchiha.

“Sasuke-sama did not blame me for walking away from them. Instead he took me back. He allowed me to swear to him personally and to Uchiha.”

Haku’s brown eyes studied him. “These may only be stories to you. If so, that is fine. They are part of Uchiha and, if you are to be part of us it is good that you should know them.

“Or they may mean more, whereupon they may be useful to you as you think about your future.”

He learned towards Ranmaru and dug his fingertips into his hand. It was surprisingly painful.

“One warning. If you betray us, if you hurt Kono-kun, I will be first in the line of people trying to kill you.”


Ranmaru was frozen, incapable of deciding what to do. Haku released his hand, which helped a little as it removed the pressure of Haku’s emotions.

“Go to your room. I shall not need you for duties this morning,” Haku informed him. He smiled and Ranmaru shivered at the ice behind that smile. “Or you could go to Kono-kun’s room and wake him up in a way I am certain he would appreciate.”

Ranmaru fled to his room and latched the door behind him. Then he hid in the head.


Haku knew. He was almost sure that Haku knew. He did not know what Haku knew but Ranmaru was certain that he knew it. He was a thousand times more terrifying than Kakashi-san or any of the others. Ranmaru had not been created to appeal to someone like Haku. Haku was familiar with every trick in Ranmaru’s repertoire and probably had another twenty for every one of Ranmaru’s.

Slowly he calmed down. He thought about the stories Haku had told him and he thought again about what Sumaru had told him.

Sasuke Uchiha was a good man. He was worthy of people’s service.

Why did he want to fulfil his mission?

Because of Konan-san.

Konan-san was not like the man Haku had described. She cared for him, Ranmaru was an empath, he could tell.

He wracked his mind for a way out. He could kill himself but that not a very satisfactory solution. Kono-kun would still be hurt and he still would have let Konan-san down. The only advantage of killing himself was that it would mean that Haku did not kill him. He rubbed his hand. Ranmaru was sure that being killed by Haku would be extremely painful.


Then, slowly, gradually a tendril of thought began to form and to weave its way through his mind.

He was sure that Konan-san had not known about the crew of the Hellion and what they would do to him.

What else didn’t she know?

Maybe she knew nothing about any of it.

Maybe when she has said that she wanted him to fulfil his mission and come home, it was the same as her saying that he should work hard at school; she didn’t know what he was going to do at school but she still wanted him to do well.

Maybe she was one of the people Haku thought of as innocents.


If she knew how happy he was with Konohamaru, perhaps she would tell him to forget the mission. The more he thought about it, the more he could see her smiling at him and telling him that it was fine; that he should be with Konohamaru and be happy.


He crept out of the head and sat on the bed.

---