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’. There is also a one-shot ‘Silver Leaf Tales: Tying the knot’.

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.

Thank you to those readers who have written a review and particular thanks to YamanashiOchinashiIminashi, SunaoTsuji, unneeded, blugirlami21, richon, disembodiedvoiceofthedying, Aflyingmonkey123, Moonmoore, Dorkchic, TanuKyle, Prism0467, cynaga and sadie237 who reviewed after chapter 116 was posted.

It is wonderful to hear from readers. It is feedback from readers that keeps me writing this story.

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). There are hints of some Naruto/Sasuke action in this chapter.

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Chapter one hundred and seventeen: Rising

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Sasuke sat in his office staring at the picture of him and Naruto with the children.

His stomach was churning and his skin was clammy. How could he go to Naruto like this? Tomorrow was the day of Naruto’s third operation. He was supposed to be calm, confident and supportive. Instead he felt sick. What if Lady Luck turned on them?

What if Naruto ended up paralysed from the neck down?

Worse, Sasuke was willing to take that risk. It made him feel terrible but he wanted the old Naruto back so much.


He needed to talk to someone. He always talked to Naruto but how could he talk to Naruto about this? Before he knew it he was in the corridor; walking.


He found himself outside Iruka’s office. The door was open. He only had to pause for a moment for Iruka to be up, drawing him into the room and shutting the door.

He sat on a chair; hunched and miserable. Iruka made and brought him a cup of tea. He put it on the surface of the table in front of him but then, unexpectedly, hugged him.

Sasuke leaned his head against Iruka’s belly; eyes shut. Iruka stroked his hair.

“You took the decision together, Sasu-kun,” Iruka reminded him. “The chances of it going wrong are very, very low.”

“I know. But...”

“Hush,” Iruka interrupted him. “Naruto wants it as much or more than you do.” He pulled away. Sasuke heard him crouch down.

Sasuke opened his eyes to find Iruka’s warm, compassionate gaze.

“Do you think Naruto likes needing a buggy to get about? Do you think he wants to be unable to fuck?”

Naruto had been so unrelentingly positive. “But...”

“He hates it, Sasu-kun. He hates being so limited. He wants to dance and fight and fuck. He is taking this risk as much for himself as for you.”

“He is?”

“He is. Now why don’t you go find him?”

“I don’t know what to say,” Sasuke admitted.

Iruka smiled at him. “Sasu-kun, when have the two of you needed words?”

It was a good point.


Naruto was in the playroom. They were winding up the afternoon’s activities. Sasuke was soon swept up in tidying and visits to the washroom. Soon they were all on their way to the kitchen. Naruto had Teruko and Takara on his lap while Tsuneo rode on the back of the buggy.

Sasuke wondered if this would be the last time he did that; if things went well, the buggy would be consigned to the past.

Kiba had excused himself and somehow all the other children, even Sumiko and Ran, had ended up with their parents. It was just them around the table; him, Naruto and their thirteen children.

Then he and Naruto put the triplets to bed while the older children did stuff in their nursery or the adjoining rooms.


After that it was the big litter’s bath time, story time and bedtime. Kiba stayed away and Sasuke belatedly realised that it had been decided that they would have this family time together. Naruto told a story and he played his biwa. Then it was time for bedclothes-tucking and forehead-kissing.

The children appeared unconcerned about Naruto’s operation. It had happened twice before and Naruto talked as if it was as mundane as cleaning his teeth or taking a shower. He did say that he expected them ‘to be good for their Papa and Kiba-san while he was in the tank’, but that was all.

As they left the nursery, Naruto whispered in his ear. “Choza’s packed a basket for our evemeal. I’ll get it. You prep yourself. I expect you to put your thingy in.”


Soon they were in the bath with a large tray full of snacks floating between them on a cork mat. Naruto was wearing the activator for Sasuke’s prostate simulator casually on his left hand.

Sasuke bit into one of Choza’s delicious mini-pies and watched Naruto with suspicion. He could imagine Naruto thinking it hilarious to zap him as he was eating.

Every so often Naruto’s thumb would move, his whiskers twitch and he would smile mischievously. Even so, he refrained until they had finished their meal and packed the remains away.


Then he reduced Sasuke to a quivering, mewling mess whose only thoughts were of sleeping with his Naruto in their nest.


Next morning he forced himself out of bed and walked beside Naruto to the infirmary. It was very matter-of-fact and almost too quick. Before he knew it Sasuke was in his office at the beginning of what he was sure was going to be a very long day.

Only it wasn’t because he had a succession of visitors as well as his usual meetings. First it was Iruka with breakfast in a basket, wanting to discuss the household accounts. Then he had a meeting with Itachi to discuss the search for Orochimaru. After that he had planned to review the latest reports from the allied crews but instead Shikamaru turned up using the excuse that he wanted to discuss the proposal for the freighter terminal.

By the time Shikamaru left, it was time for Sasuke to run his music session for the children, followed by him sharing the midmeal with them.

Next was his scheduled meeting with Konohamaru. Then he settled at his desk to open the first of the reports from the allied crews only to have the door announcer sound and Kakashi saunter in.


They started looking at the reports together, which was nice. Sasuke moved the report from the Ninken up the order, unable to resist seeing Kakashi’s reaction.

An image of Captain Bull formed on the screen. He saluted the camera and then signed a greeting with the usual growled accompaniment. Then Pakkun appeared. He bowed.

“Uchiha-sama. This is Pakkun reporting for the Ninken. We have been doing what Shikamaru-san said. The stuff he wanted is with this report. Please thank Kakashi-san for the simulator and the programmes. We are learning lots.” He stopped, scratched his ear. “I don’t think there is anything more.”

The camera pulled back to show the entire crew.

“In the cold of space...” Pakkun began.

“..you find the heat of suns,” the rest of the crew completed using an assortment of words, woofs and signs.

The screen then went blank. Kakashi was frowning.

“You sent them a simulator and programmes?” Sasuke asked

“No,” Kakashi replied but then shook his head. “Shikamaru.”

That was the most likely explanation. Sasuke would check later. He smiled. “He sent them in your name.” He then started humming the tune to which the ‘Kakashi of Uchiha’ spacer ballad was sung; or sung, howled and signed in the case of the Ninken’s crew.

“Sasu-kun,” Kakashi warned.

“Kakashi-sensei?” Sasuke queried with a large helping of false innocence. “I’ll make tea,” he added quickly.


They were onto the ninth crew when they were interupted by the door announcer.

It was Rin. She looked tired and Sasuke was surprised that she had come to him rather than asking him to come to her. His gut twisted; he hoped it did not mean that there was bad news. He gestured that she should take one of the comfortable chairs and then sat opposite her. Kakashi sat beside him.

“The operation went exactly as planned,” she assured him. “Naruto-san’s damaged spinal cord is in stasis. The new spinal cord has been grafted into place. The specialist nerve fibre connecting nanobots appear to be performing even better than they did when the new leg nerve was connected. We have no reason to expect anything to go wrong.”

Sasuke had never known Rin to be so positive; he found himself imagining Dan coaching her.

“Thank you, Rin-san,” he acknowledged. “I know that your phenomenal skill and unceasing hard work have given Naruto the best possible chance.”

She flushed slightly. “It is my duty, Sasuke-sama. I shall send you a daily report.”

“I shall be visiting Naruto in the infirmary each day, Rin-san.” He smiled. “Of course on some of those visits I shall be bringing the children.”

Rin’s face fell at the thought of her infirmary being invaded. “I understand, Sasuke-sama.”


Rin left, they finished reviewing that batch of twenty reports and then it was time for Sasuke to go to the playroom. Kiba asked about the operation but none of the children did, so Sasuke did not talk to them about it. He played with the triplets and watched the big litter. It was a time set aside for them to do something artistic or practice a craft. Hoshi was playing her biwa, Hikaru was building something using his rubber bricks, the kits, even Kazuki, were painting pictures, Ryuu was making a model from clay and Haru was...

Sasuke was not sure what Haru was doing.

“Haru-chan?” he queried. He had to repeat himself three times before Haru registered his name; sometimes the child was scarily like Shikamaru. Once Sasuke had his attention, he beckoned him over.


Sasuke was sitting down, so their eyes were level.

“Haru?” he queried.

Haru’s eyes filled with tears.

Sasuke checked where each of the triplets was, exchanged glances with Kiba and then guided Haru into a quiet corner. Once there, he sat down and lifted Haru into his lap.

“Talk to me, Haru-chan,” he encouraged.

“To-chan’s operation might go wrong,” Haru admitted. “Will he die if it goes wrong?”

Sasuke held him close. “No, sweetling. The operation is over. It went perfectly. Now the nanobots are working on connecting the new nerve fibres to the old.”

Haru’s tear-filled, Naruto-blue eyes looked directly into his. “Nothing will go wrong?” he checked.

Sasuke remembered his reaction to Haru smashing the tablet down on mother’s desk. This time there would be no lies between them. Lies had led to him almost hitting his son. “The chances of something going wrong are very, very low. Rin-san has worked very hard to make everything work.”

“To-chan won’t reject the new spinal cord?” Haru asked.

“We don’t think so, Ha-chan. In-san came up with an idea and Darrent-san helped Shika-san find out about it. Rin-san used the idea to treat the new spinal cord so that your To-chan won’t reject it. He did not reject his new kidneys and they were treated in the same way.”

“The kidneys work?” Haru checked.

“The kidneys work just fine,” Sasuke assured him.


Haru relaxed a little and Sasuke held him close, stroking his back. Sasuke suppressed a sigh. He should have spoken to Haru sooner.

“Ka-chan says we worry too much,” Haru told him.

Sasuke was intrigued. “We?” he queried.

“You and me,” Haru clarified.

“That’s very insightful of him,” Sasuke suggested.

“He can be like To-chan sometimes,” Haru admitted. He slipped off Sasuke’s lap. “I’ll go back to the others now.”

“Good,” Sasuke confirmed. “We could go visit your To-chan tomorrow.”

“That would be good,” Haru agreed.


Sasuke played chase and tickles with the triplets before starting the run-up to leaving the playroom for the day. He then supervised the children’s meal, put the triplets to bed, checked what the big litter were doing and joined the adults for their evemeal. After that came baths, story-telling and bedtime.

One advantage of having thirteen children was that they could keep you too busy to think.


He found himself wanting to sit in the rocking chair in the big litter’s nursery. He refrained because he knew at least Haru would worry why he was there. Instead he sat watching the triplets; trying to see traces of Naruto in Teruko and Takara’s faces.

When Kiba checked on him, using the excuse of looking in on the babies, Sasuke knew he had been there too long.


He walked through to their bedroom and sat on the bed. Part of him wanted to lie down and bury his face in the pillow; hoping for a trace of Naruto’s scent.

The rest of him knew that he had to keep himself busy; he would go to his office.


However, he had not allowed for Iruka lying in wait for him. Before he knew it, he was sitting sipping chocolate and playing shogi with Shikamaru.

“I have instructions to stay with you until your usual bedtime,” Shikamaru admitted. “If you refuse to stay with me, Iruka-sensei will set Kakashi-sensei on you. He has even suggested saki.”

Sasuke was beginning to regret his moment of weakness in front of Iruka the day before. “I think there is a limit to the number of times I want to be beaten at shogi,” he admitted. “What about if I go and visit Naruto and then come back and play the biwa?”

Shikamaru looked to where Iruka was watching them. “Can I walk you to and from the infirmary?” he asked. “Please? Otherwise I will get told off.”

Sasuke doubted that but he agreed.


Once they arrived Shikamaru produced earpieces, goggles and control wires from a pocket. He was connected to a computer and into the datastreams before Sasuke had crossed the threshold of Naruto’s side room.

The tank was set low in anticipation of the children visiting. Sasuke was glad; it gave him an excuse for not examining the incision that he knew ran the length of Naruto’s spine.

Within a few days all trace of it would have gone.

He found a chair and leaned forward so that his forehead was against the tank. He spread a hand against the surface.

“Mend, dobe,” he pleaded. “Come back to me and the children quickly. We miss you already.”


The next seven days passed remarkably quickly; a combination of him looking after the children and Iruka making sure that everyone looked after him. Each night he had fallen into bed exhausted.

It helped that the daily reports from Rin continued to be so positive. By the eighth day, when Rin came to his office to deliver her report, he was unable to contain his curiosity.

“Has Iruka-san told you not to upset me?” he asked.

Rin scowled at him. “Sasuke-sama?” she queried.

“You are usually so cautious, Rin-san. Normally everything you say is covered by caveats. There has been no ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’. You haven’t even mentioned probabilities.”

She was silent for a moment and then, unexpectedly, she smiled. “No, Naruto-san’s recovery is going exactly as planned and even better than we hoped.”

Sasuke stared at her. This was not the Rin he knew. “You are sure?” he checked.

“Absolutely sure. Of course, we have never been so well prepared. All those divs of work. And transplanting the leg nerve was an excellent idea. Once we had seen how the nerve fibre connecting nanobots were working, we were able to fine tune them using the spare nerves we had grown.”

“But the leg nerve is connected properly,” Sasuke checked.

“Yes, Sasuke-sama, but connecting the spinal cord was much more challenging. There are so many fibres and the more we can get connected perfectly the less physiotherapy Naruto-san will need and the better the result. Dan had this idea about making every connection unique, so we could make sure the fibres were connected exactly the same way in the new spinal cord as they were in the old.”

She smiled again. Sasuke found himself smiling back. He found himself liking this new, smiley Rin.

“We have been running tests for the last two days,” she added. “The results indicate that the connections are near perfect. We are ready to wake Naruto-san and move into the next phase of testing.”

Sasuke was on his feet. “Already? Today? When? I want to be there. I will need to tell Kiba-san I will not be available to help with the children. I may have to postpone meetings.”

“We were going to start this afternoon. What about immediately after the midday meal?” Rin suggested.

Sasuke agreed. He would have cancelled an appointment with Lady Luck herself to be there when Naruto regained consciousness.


He was there waiting when the medico team returned from their midmeal. Dan came over immediately.

“Normally Shizune or Moegi helps me get the patient out of the tank,” he explained. “Would you like to do it instead?”

Sasuke nodded, not sure if his voice would hold if he spoke.


They went into the side room. Dan handed him a coat.

“To keep the gel off you,” he explained.

“Naruto does not like the smell of regen gel,” Sasuke replied, donning the coat and fastening it.

Dan frowned slightly. “Perhaps we should look into that.” He brought over a gurney and locked its wheels. “Can you lift him out easily without help?”

Sasuke nodded.


Following Dan’s directions he soon had Naruto on the gurney. Dan produced towels and they wiped away the excess gel. Then they put the towels and their coats in a laundry basket.

“Let’s give him a quick sponge bath,” Dan suggested. “It will get rid of more of the smell.”

“Do we have time before he starts coming around?” Sasuke asked.

“We’ll probably have to wake him with a shot,” Dan explained. “What was in the basket?”

After the other two operations, Sasuke had brought a pair of superpants, a shirt and a washkit. This time he had been uncertain what Naruto would need so he had brought one set of ordinary clothes, a set of pyjamas and the washkit. He had dithered about bringing a pair of superpants or not; it seemed like tempting fate either way. In the end, he had left them in their closet.

“Have you brought a bodywash he likes?” Dan specified. “We’ll use that.”


Naruto had told Sasuke how good Dan was in this type of situation. Sasuke found himself agreeing; there was no discomfort and no embarrassment. Without discussion, Dan helped move Naruto this way and that, leaving Sasuke the job of washing Naruto’s skin.

It made Sasuke ache to see how much Naruto had changed since the bombing. His shoulders, arms and chest had bulked up, while his legs, despite constant physiotherapy via the superpants, had wasted a little.

His face was thinner; he looked older.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment. He would not think about the future. He would concentrate on the now.


When he opened them, he could swear there was a change. Had Naruto’s penis plumped a little? He dipped the washcloth in the warm water, wrung it out and swept it down Naruto’s concave belly towards his groin.

Was that a slight twitch?

Sasuke’s heart beat faster. Before the operation, there had been no sensation; no possibility of a reaction. If Naruto could respond to his touch, then the operation had been a success.

Dan turned away. “I’ll dampen and warm a couple of towels to rub him over with,” he said. “Back soon.”

Sasuke gently wiped the residue of the gel from around Naruto’s balls and watched, captivated, as his penis swelled slightly. There was definitely a response; Sasuke’s throat closed and his eyes prickled.


He checked the room; they were alone. Apparently Dan had decided that dampening towels required him to leave the room closing the doors behind him.

Sasuke planted one, small kiss on the head of Naruto’s penis, rewarding it for being the bearer of such excellent news.

It stiffened obligingly. Sasuke drew back and watched it; fascinated.

“Beginning without me, teme?” a voice growled softly.

His gaze went to Naruto’s face. Bright blue eyes were looking at him from under hooded lids. Golden whiskers twitched.

Something inside Sasuke gave away. Tears poured down his cheeks. Next thing he knew he was against Naruto’s chest, being groomed and listening to comforting foxy noises.

It felt so good. Sasuke turned his head, so that he was looking down Naruto’s body rather than up towards his face. There, rising from golden fur in all its glory, was the welcome sight of Naruto’s slim, curved erection.

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