In the cold of space you find the heat of suns
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Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male › Naruto/Sasuke
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Adult +
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91
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3,736
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636
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Currently Reading:
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Category:
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male › Naruto/Sasuke
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
91
Views:
3,736
Reviews:
636
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
3
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.
Battles
Apologies if the characters have grown differently in their new environment.
Spacer crews travel the Far Borders and the Fringe of occupied space, trading. Spacing is an ancient and honourable profession carved out by millenniums. Most spacers start out as fourteen-year-old boys seeking a future. Few survive a decade spacing.
30. Battles
Once the evening meal was over, Neji and Shikamaru sat cross-legged opposite each other across the low table. Shikamaru unfroze the board.
“Your move, Neji,” he stated.
As if Neji did not know. As if the whole crew did not know. This was their first ever game of Go and it had already stretched across four evenings into a fifth. The slim advantage Shikamaru had in strategy was balanced by Neji’s ability to read his behaviour. They had played for one hundred and fifty minutes each evening. No one could decide who would be favoured by playing for a shorter or a longer period of time.
Shikamaru waited. This was the moment. Either Neji would see the crucial move and make it or he would not. If he saw it, the game was over because Shikamaru could not imagine Neji making an error when playing out the end game.
Shikamaru was going to be so disappointed if he missed it.
Neji’s long, elegant fingers placed the white stone.
“I resign,” Shikamaru declared. “Congratulations, Neji-san.”
Neji lips moved slightly in what may or may not have been a smile. “It was an honour and a privilege, Shikamaru-san.”
“W-what happened?” Naruto asked.
“That was the key move,” Sasuke explained. “Shikamaru knows that he will lose if they play out the rest of the game. Congratulations, Neji. I think that is the first time Shikamaru has lost a game of Go since he was five.”
“I was ten,” Shikamaru admitted. “I lost to my grandfather.”
He began picking up the black stones. Neji was collecting the white. Their hands touched and Neji looked up. For a split second their eyes met and Shikamaru saw through the stoic surface into confusion and uncertainty.
The gate closest to Chanx was seven days from the planet. Other than watching the epic game of Go, they prepared for the long haul to Tarrasade. There had been no time to buy provisions at Soutash so stocktaking was essential. Iruka was anxious enough to be organising hydroponics tanks in one of the pressurised storage holds.
Kakashi had them running the whole repertoire of drills, from being hit by space junk to full out battle. By the time they reached the gate it would be fourteen days after the news of Sasuke Uchiha's whereabouts broke. Given that Chanx was a centre of light speed communication there was little doubt that the information had been relayed to other systems, attracting crews hunting opportunity, fortune or notoriety. All it would take was for someone to link the Performance Tracker to the Silver Leaf and they would be trying to avoid other ships all the way to Tarrasade.
Naruto spent much more time training on the weapons simulators than in the gym.
On the sixth day the Captain called a Meeting and informed them that they would approach the gate prepared for battle as a precaution. The next morning they sprung the panels concealing the battle chairs: Jiraiya’s and Iruka’s in the crew room, Shino’s and Shikmaru’s in the lab, Ibiki’s in the weapon store. Naruto, Sasuke and Haku helped strap them in and run the checks for their helmets, visors and control gloves. Rin and Neji reviewed the plans for responding to damage and prioritising first aid.
Sasuke went with Naruto to the gun turret. There were no preparations to make there; Naruto kept it perfectly tuned. They kissed, then Naruto settled into position and Sasuke went to the Control Room to join Kakashi and the Captain.
It was still a long way to the jump gate. They each had their way of coping: Shino and Shikamaru talked, Iruka played music, Jiraiya meditated, Ibiki carried out endless checks on the weapons systems, Naruto ran simulations. In the Control Room Sasuke piloted the ship, Kakashi tested the battle board and the Captain brooded.
The Captain called them to battle stations forty minutes from the gate. Twenty minutes out they were close enough for Shino to begin deciphering the mess of signals and for Kakashi to glean some useful data from the sensors.
“Shino here. The gate is set on incoming. Repeat. The gate is set on incoming.”
“Kakashi here. We have a problem, Captain. Multiple ships between us and the gate.”
“Command. How many?”
“Shino here. Eleven ships. Each showing individual colours. Shikamaru is running the identifiers.”
“Shikamaru here. Only five of the identifiers are good. Only two of the five are queued for jump. Analysis, estimate six to nine potential hostiles.”
“Kakashi here. Potential hostile one within weapons range seven minutes. Potential hostile two within weapons range eight minutes.”
“Naruto here. Ready to begin firing on command.”
“Ibiki here. Armour active. Weapons loaded. Reload prepared.”
The Captain killed her mike, signalling Kakashi and Sasuke to do likewise.
“Kakashi?” she asked.
“Shikamaru is correct," Kakashi confirmed. "There is no good reason for ships to be at the gate unless they are queued for jump. Given the number of ships with false identifiers, we have to assume that it is an ambush. The gate is stuck on incoming and there isn't anywhere to hide so there is no chance of avoiding a fight. We’ll last three exchanges, maybe four or five given that Naruto is on the guns. There is no good option if this turns into a battle. Short of a miracle, this is a battle. Potential hostile within weapons range in six minutes, Captain.”
Sasuke looked at the battle board. Battle was inevitable. There was only one way to win. Some of the crews had to fight with them rather than against them. “Tsunade-sama, I respectfully request command,” he said.
Tsunade looked at him. She did not look at Kakashi. She activated her mike.
“Command. This is Tsunade yielding command to Sasuke-sama. Repeat, this is Tsunade yielding command to Sasuke-sama.”
Sasuke activated his mike.
“This is Sasuke. This is Sasuke Uchiha assuming command.
“Command. Shikamaru, you are the voice in my ear. Tsunade, you are pilot. Kakashi, you will update the battle board. Shino, communications. Naruto, guns. Ibiki, weapons and defence. Jiraiya, you are other ships damage report. Iruka, you are this ship damage report. Rin, Haku and Neji stand by. Shino, change our identifier to the Silver Leaf and remove our colours. Now. Shino acknowledge.”
“This is Shino. Identifier is Silver Leaf and we have no colours.”
“Command. Kakashi, set the battle board. Friends and allies are blue,red,white. Neutrals are purple. Acknowledge.”
“This is Kakashi. The battle board colours are set. Friends and allies are blue,red,white. Neutrals are purple.”
“Command. Naruto, the word ‘Fox’ is your signal to attack all potential hostiles. Friends and allies are blue,red,white. Neutrals are purple. Acknowledge.”
“This is Naruto. The signal to attack potential hostiles is ‘Fox’. Friends and allies are blue,red,white. Neutrals are purple.”
“Command. Shino, get ready to set our colours to blue,red,white on my mark. Acknowledge.”
“This is Shikamaru. Sasuke-sama, I can give you full Uchiha battle livery if you wish.”
“Command. Shino, belay your last order. Shikamaru, display full livery on my mark. Shino, ship to all ships broadcast on my mark. End broadcast after word ‘allegiance’. Repeat broadcast on loop. Acknowledge.”
“This is Shikamaru. Full battle livery on your mark, Sasuke-sama.”
“This is Shino. Ship to all ships broadcast on your mark. End broadcast after word ‘allegiance’. Repeat broadcast on loop.”
“This is Sasuke. Thank you, everyone. It is an honour and a privilege. Naruto, I love you.
“Command. Mark!
“This is Sasuke Uchiha commanding the Silver Leaf.
“I proclaim the Uchiha call to battle.
“In the cold of space you find the heat of suns.
“Battle has commenced. Our colours are blue,red,white. Neutral is purple.
“Declare the nature and the extent of your allegiance.”
“Command. ‘Fox’.”
Sasuke watched the battle board. The closest ship had less than twenty seconds to declare itself friend, ally or neutral before it was in range of their guns and Naruto fired. If it had better guns, they would be hit first. It should not have better guns. The Silver Leaf had the best available guns. It passed the point and Naruto fired.
“This is Jiraiya. Direct hit on power plant. Potential hostile eliminated.”
Sasuke allowed himself a small smile: the perfect shot; trust Naruto. His eyes did not leave the battle board. The next closest potential hostile changed colour to purple, declaring its neutrality, but did not change course. The two ships queuing for the gate went purple. He decided that it was best to be cautious.
“Command. Shino, warn neutrals to keep their distance beyond weapons range. Add to broadcasting loop. Acknowledge.”
“This is Shino. Neutrals to keep their distance beyond weapons range. Added to broadcast loop.”
Four of the ships went green,gold; confirmation of a concealed alliance. It included the closest, which had temporarily declared itself neutral. They fired. Naruto fired. They missed.
“This is Jiraiya. Direct hit on weapons. Hostile appears rendered weaponless.”
They had already shown themselves unworthy of mercy. He had no intention of stopping Naruto. He felt the guns fire again.
“This is Jiraiya. Direct hit on power plant. Hostile eliminated.”
Kakashi had added temporary identifiers to the enemies: T3, T4 and T5. Sasuke threw him a grateful glance, he would have agonised over which to attack first. Sasuke waited. One of the ships went blue,red,white. Sasuke’s heart started to hammer. This was it. If the others went green,gold battle would be lost. If they went purple, Naruto might win them the slimmest of chances. If they…
Two of the other ships went blue,red,white. Sasuke experienced gut-deep relief.
“Command. Tsunade, change course. Take us towards T3. Accelerate to maximum norm.”
He was pressed into his chair by the acceleration. They needed to watch the undeclared ship.
Sure enough, it declared green,gold and attacked the blue,red,white closest to it, the ship that had declared for them first. Kakashi labelled the new hostile T6.
“This is Shikamaru. The friend under attack is known to be weak.”
“Command. Tsunade, take us within range of T6. Accelerate towards maximum but maintain constant velocity as we come into range. Acknowledge.”
“This is Tsunade. Course towards T3 altered to bring us within range of T6. We will be at maximum achievable constant velocity as we come within range.”
Only Naruto could score a hit when the relative velocity between the two ships was so great. Only Naruto and it would be at the limit of his skill.
The force from the acceleration was intense. Then it was gone; constant velocity. The guns fired twice.
“This is Jiraiya. Direct hit on power plant. T6 eliminated.”
Only Naruto.
The ships who had declared for them second and third, in quick succession, appeared to be allies. They were attacking T4 using a classic pincer manoeuvre. T5 and T3 were showing no sign of cooperating. It looked like T5 was going to make a run for it.
T3 was dangerous. T3 would have hit them if the Silver Leaf had not been moving so quickly. Unfortunately for them, their gunner was only human.
Their new friends were effective. Having finished with T4 they were hunting down T5.
Sasuke allowed himself to relax slightly. Shikamaru would warn him of any developments. He was still sweating into already sweat-soaked clothes. Tsunade was smiling at him.
How many captains would have handed their command to a cat without hesitation? He killed his mike. “Thank you, Tsunade-sama,” he acknowledged.
She switched off her own. “It proved to be a pleasure, Sasuke-sama. I shall ask Haku to move my stuff from the captain’s cabin.”
Sasuke froze.
“I am sure Iruka can find me some locker space in the crew room.,” she continued.
“But…”
“I have to say, it will be pleasant to be able to share the evening meal with others.”
Sasuke’s mind was full of all the reasons he did not want to be captain. Then it settled abruptly on the most important: no Naruto.
Tsunade’s smile widened as she saw realisation dawn. “You’ll have Haku one night in twelve and you can always assign him extra duty during the day.”
The thought of fucking Haku was almost as bad as the idea of not fucking Naruto. “Tsunade-sama!”
She looked at him with blatantly false incomprehension. “Yes, Captain?”
“Please do me the honour of accepting command.”
Her smile was becoming more and more predatory. “I am looking forward to having regular access to Ji-chan’s cock,” she told him.
“Tsunade-sama, please, I don’t know enough to be captain.”
“It will be good experience for you. How many days to Tarrasade, Kakashi?”
“Fastest route is fifteen days, Tsunade-san,” Kakashi replied, “but that is twenty-eight jumps. There is eight jump option, through secure systems, but that will take forty-two days.”
Two jumps a day would make everyone too disorientated to function. Forty-two days without Naruto?
“Which would you choose, Sasuke-san?” Tsunade asked.
Sasuke frowned at her. “If those were the only two options? Forty-two days.”
“See, that was a captain’s decision. It was not so difficult. You will be fine.”
“Stop teasing the boy, Tsunade-san,” Kakashi said.
Sasuke’s spirit lifted. He tried again. “Tsunade-sama, I respectfully request that you accept command.”
Her smile softened. “I accept command.. Do not worry, Sasuke-sama, even on a Traditional ship command in battle is sometimes delegated. If you had not offered, I would have transferred battle command to Kakashi.”
Sasuke felt his skin flush. Kakashi would have been the better choice. “Kakashi-sensei…”
“Sasuke-sama, we would have lost,” Kakashi assured him. “I had no right to issue the call to battle and I would never have attempted those high velocity moves. As for resurrecting the ‘voice in my ear’ role, Shikamaru would now follow you to the edge of the Universe.”
Sasuke looked into Kakashi’s eye. “That was true before,” he admitted. “You found Shikamaru. I have never thanked you for that.”
“You found Neji, who may prove to be equally or more important.”
“And then there is Naruto,” Tsunade added, “the fox-boy who taught you to be human.”
Sasuke did not dispute it. “My heart,” he stated. “Shikamaru is my brain and Neji will be my judgement but Naruto is my heart.”
Author's note
I have tweaked this chapter because of a very useful review by Halskr. The battle scene was a challenge to write and I think Halskr was correct in that I sacrificed the necessary detail because I was concentrating on maintaining the pace. I hope the small tweaks help.
Updates will be less frequent from now on. Please email me (see my profile) if you want noitifying of updates.
Spacer crews travel the Far Borders and the Fringe of occupied space, trading. Spacing is an ancient and honourable profession carved out by millenniums. Most spacers start out as fourteen-year-old boys seeking a future. Few survive a decade spacing.
30. Battles
Once the evening meal was over, Neji and Shikamaru sat cross-legged opposite each other across the low table. Shikamaru unfroze the board.
“Your move, Neji,” he stated.
As if Neji did not know. As if the whole crew did not know. This was their first ever game of Go and it had already stretched across four evenings into a fifth. The slim advantage Shikamaru had in strategy was balanced by Neji’s ability to read his behaviour. They had played for one hundred and fifty minutes each evening. No one could decide who would be favoured by playing for a shorter or a longer period of time.
Shikamaru waited. This was the moment. Either Neji would see the crucial move and make it or he would not. If he saw it, the game was over because Shikamaru could not imagine Neji making an error when playing out the end game.
Shikamaru was going to be so disappointed if he missed it.
Neji’s long, elegant fingers placed the white stone.
“I resign,” Shikamaru declared. “Congratulations, Neji-san.”
Neji lips moved slightly in what may or may not have been a smile. “It was an honour and a privilege, Shikamaru-san.”
“W-what happened?” Naruto asked.
“That was the key move,” Sasuke explained. “Shikamaru knows that he will lose if they play out the rest of the game. Congratulations, Neji. I think that is the first time Shikamaru has lost a game of Go since he was five.”
“I was ten,” Shikamaru admitted. “I lost to my grandfather.”
He began picking up the black stones. Neji was collecting the white. Their hands touched and Neji looked up. For a split second their eyes met and Shikamaru saw through the stoic surface into confusion and uncertainty.
The gate closest to Chanx was seven days from the planet. Other than watching the epic game of Go, they prepared for the long haul to Tarrasade. There had been no time to buy provisions at Soutash so stocktaking was essential. Iruka was anxious enough to be organising hydroponics tanks in one of the pressurised storage holds.
Kakashi had them running the whole repertoire of drills, from being hit by space junk to full out battle. By the time they reached the gate it would be fourteen days after the news of Sasuke Uchiha's whereabouts broke. Given that Chanx was a centre of light speed communication there was little doubt that the information had been relayed to other systems, attracting crews hunting opportunity, fortune or notoriety. All it would take was for someone to link the Performance Tracker to the Silver Leaf and they would be trying to avoid other ships all the way to Tarrasade.
Naruto spent much more time training on the weapons simulators than in the gym.
On the sixth day the Captain called a Meeting and informed them that they would approach the gate prepared for battle as a precaution. The next morning they sprung the panels concealing the battle chairs: Jiraiya’s and Iruka’s in the crew room, Shino’s and Shikmaru’s in the lab, Ibiki’s in the weapon store. Naruto, Sasuke and Haku helped strap them in and run the checks for their helmets, visors and control gloves. Rin and Neji reviewed the plans for responding to damage and prioritising first aid.
Sasuke went with Naruto to the gun turret. There were no preparations to make there; Naruto kept it perfectly tuned. They kissed, then Naruto settled into position and Sasuke went to the Control Room to join Kakashi and the Captain.
It was still a long way to the jump gate. They each had their way of coping: Shino and Shikamaru talked, Iruka played music, Jiraiya meditated, Ibiki carried out endless checks on the weapons systems, Naruto ran simulations. In the Control Room Sasuke piloted the ship, Kakashi tested the battle board and the Captain brooded.
The Captain called them to battle stations forty minutes from the gate. Twenty minutes out they were close enough for Shino to begin deciphering the mess of signals and for Kakashi to glean some useful data from the sensors.
“Shino here. The gate is set on incoming. Repeat. The gate is set on incoming.”
“Kakashi here. We have a problem, Captain. Multiple ships between us and the gate.”
“Command. How many?”
“Shino here. Eleven ships. Each showing individual colours. Shikamaru is running the identifiers.”
“Shikamaru here. Only five of the identifiers are good. Only two of the five are queued for jump. Analysis, estimate six to nine potential hostiles.”
“Kakashi here. Potential hostile one within weapons range seven minutes. Potential hostile two within weapons range eight minutes.”
“Naruto here. Ready to begin firing on command.”
“Ibiki here. Armour active. Weapons loaded. Reload prepared.”
The Captain killed her mike, signalling Kakashi and Sasuke to do likewise.
“Kakashi?” she asked.
“Shikamaru is correct," Kakashi confirmed. "There is no good reason for ships to be at the gate unless they are queued for jump. Given the number of ships with false identifiers, we have to assume that it is an ambush. The gate is stuck on incoming and there isn't anywhere to hide so there is no chance of avoiding a fight. We’ll last three exchanges, maybe four or five given that Naruto is on the guns. There is no good option if this turns into a battle. Short of a miracle, this is a battle. Potential hostile within weapons range in six minutes, Captain.”
Sasuke looked at the battle board. Battle was inevitable. There was only one way to win. Some of the crews had to fight with them rather than against them. “Tsunade-sama, I respectfully request command,” he said.
Tsunade looked at him. She did not look at Kakashi. She activated her mike.
“Command. This is Tsunade yielding command to Sasuke-sama. Repeat, this is Tsunade yielding command to Sasuke-sama.”
Sasuke activated his mike.
“This is Sasuke. This is Sasuke Uchiha assuming command.
“Command. Shikamaru, you are the voice in my ear. Tsunade, you are pilot. Kakashi, you will update the battle board. Shino, communications. Naruto, guns. Ibiki, weapons and defence. Jiraiya, you are other ships damage report. Iruka, you are this ship damage report. Rin, Haku and Neji stand by. Shino, change our identifier to the Silver Leaf and remove our colours. Now. Shino acknowledge.”
“This is Shino. Identifier is Silver Leaf and we have no colours.”
“Command. Kakashi, set the battle board. Friends and allies are blue,red,white. Neutrals are purple. Acknowledge.”
“This is Kakashi. The battle board colours are set. Friends and allies are blue,red,white. Neutrals are purple.”
“Command. Naruto, the word ‘Fox’ is your signal to attack all potential hostiles. Friends and allies are blue,red,white. Neutrals are purple. Acknowledge.”
“This is Naruto. The signal to attack potential hostiles is ‘Fox’. Friends and allies are blue,red,white. Neutrals are purple.”
“Command. Shino, get ready to set our colours to blue,red,white on my mark. Acknowledge.”
“This is Shikamaru. Sasuke-sama, I can give you full Uchiha battle livery if you wish.”
“Command. Shino, belay your last order. Shikamaru, display full livery on my mark. Shino, ship to all ships broadcast on my mark. End broadcast after word ‘allegiance’. Repeat broadcast on loop. Acknowledge.”
“This is Shikamaru. Full battle livery on your mark, Sasuke-sama.”
“This is Shino. Ship to all ships broadcast on your mark. End broadcast after word ‘allegiance’. Repeat broadcast on loop.”
“This is Sasuke. Thank you, everyone. It is an honour and a privilege. Naruto, I love you.
“Command. Mark!
“This is Sasuke Uchiha commanding the Silver Leaf.
“I proclaim the Uchiha call to battle.
“In the cold of space you find the heat of suns.
“Battle has commenced. Our colours are blue,red,white. Neutral is purple.
“Declare the nature and the extent of your allegiance.”
“Command. ‘Fox’.”
Sasuke watched the battle board. The closest ship had less than twenty seconds to declare itself friend, ally or neutral before it was in range of their guns and Naruto fired. If it had better guns, they would be hit first. It should not have better guns. The Silver Leaf had the best available guns. It passed the point and Naruto fired.
“This is Jiraiya. Direct hit on power plant. Potential hostile eliminated.”
Sasuke allowed himself a small smile: the perfect shot; trust Naruto. His eyes did not leave the battle board. The next closest potential hostile changed colour to purple, declaring its neutrality, but did not change course. The two ships queuing for the gate went purple. He decided that it was best to be cautious.
“Command. Shino, warn neutrals to keep their distance beyond weapons range. Add to broadcasting loop. Acknowledge.”
“This is Shino. Neutrals to keep their distance beyond weapons range. Added to broadcast loop.”
Four of the ships went green,gold; confirmation of a concealed alliance. It included the closest, which had temporarily declared itself neutral. They fired. Naruto fired. They missed.
“This is Jiraiya. Direct hit on weapons. Hostile appears rendered weaponless.”
They had already shown themselves unworthy of mercy. He had no intention of stopping Naruto. He felt the guns fire again.
“This is Jiraiya. Direct hit on power plant. Hostile eliminated.”
Kakashi had added temporary identifiers to the enemies: T3, T4 and T5. Sasuke threw him a grateful glance, he would have agonised over which to attack first. Sasuke waited. One of the ships went blue,red,white. Sasuke’s heart started to hammer. This was it. If the others went green,gold battle would be lost. If they went purple, Naruto might win them the slimmest of chances. If they…
Two of the other ships went blue,red,white. Sasuke experienced gut-deep relief.
“Command. Tsunade, change course. Take us towards T3. Accelerate to maximum norm.”
He was pressed into his chair by the acceleration. They needed to watch the undeclared ship.
Sure enough, it declared green,gold and attacked the blue,red,white closest to it, the ship that had declared for them first. Kakashi labelled the new hostile T6.
“This is Shikamaru. The friend under attack is known to be weak.”
“Command. Tsunade, take us within range of T6. Accelerate towards maximum but maintain constant velocity as we come into range. Acknowledge.”
“This is Tsunade. Course towards T3 altered to bring us within range of T6. We will be at maximum achievable constant velocity as we come within range.”
Only Naruto could score a hit when the relative velocity between the two ships was so great. Only Naruto and it would be at the limit of his skill.
The force from the acceleration was intense. Then it was gone; constant velocity. The guns fired twice.
“This is Jiraiya. Direct hit on power plant. T6 eliminated.”
Only Naruto.
The ships who had declared for them second and third, in quick succession, appeared to be allies. They were attacking T4 using a classic pincer manoeuvre. T5 and T3 were showing no sign of cooperating. It looked like T5 was going to make a run for it.
T3 was dangerous. T3 would have hit them if the Silver Leaf had not been moving so quickly. Unfortunately for them, their gunner was only human.
Their new friends were effective. Having finished with T4 they were hunting down T5.
Sasuke allowed himself to relax slightly. Shikamaru would warn him of any developments. He was still sweating into already sweat-soaked clothes. Tsunade was smiling at him.
How many captains would have handed their command to a cat without hesitation? He killed his mike. “Thank you, Tsunade-sama,” he acknowledged.
She switched off her own. “It proved to be a pleasure, Sasuke-sama. I shall ask Haku to move my stuff from the captain’s cabin.”
Sasuke froze.
“I am sure Iruka can find me some locker space in the crew room.,” she continued.
“But…”
“I have to say, it will be pleasant to be able to share the evening meal with others.”
Sasuke’s mind was full of all the reasons he did not want to be captain. Then it settled abruptly on the most important: no Naruto.
Tsunade’s smile widened as she saw realisation dawn. “You’ll have Haku one night in twelve and you can always assign him extra duty during the day.”
The thought of fucking Haku was almost as bad as the idea of not fucking Naruto. “Tsunade-sama!”
She looked at him with blatantly false incomprehension. “Yes, Captain?”
“Please do me the honour of accepting command.”
Her smile was becoming more and more predatory. “I am looking forward to having regular access to Ji-chan’s cock,” she told him.
“Tsunade-sama, please, I don’t know enough to be captain.”
“It will be good experience for you. How many days to Tarrasade, Kakashi?”
“Fastest route is fifteen days, Tsunade-san,” Kakashi replied, “but that is twenty-eight jumps. There is eight jump option, through secure systems, but that will take forty-two days.”
Two jumps a day would make everyone too disorientated to function. Forty-two days without Naruto?
“Which would you choose, Sasuke-san?” Tsunade asked.
Sasuke frowned at her. “If those were the only two options? Forty-two days.”
“See, that was a captain’s decision. It was not so difficult. You will be fine.”
“Stop teasing the boy, Tsunade-san,” Kakashi said.
Sasuke’s spirit lifted. He tried again. “Tsunade-sama, I respectfully request that you accept command.”
Her smile softened. “I accept command.. Do not worry, Sasuke-sama, even on a Traditional ship command in battle is sometimes delegated. If you had not offered, I would have transferred battle command to Kakashi.”
Sasuke felt his skin flush. Kakashi would have been the better choice. “Kakashi-sensei…”
“Sasuke-sama, we would have lost,” Kakashi assured him. “I had no right to issue the call to battle and I would never have attempted those high velocity moves. As for resurrecting the ‘voice in my ear’ role, Shikamaru would now follow you to the edge of the Universe.”
Sasuke looked into Kakashi’s eye. “That was true before,” he admitted. “You found Shikamaru. I have never thanked you for that.”
“You found Neji, who may prove to be equally or more important.”
“And then there is Naruto,” Tsunade added, “the fox-boy who taught you to be human.”
Sasuke did not dispute it. “My heart,” he stated. “Shikamaru is my brain and Neji will be my judgement but Naruto is my heart.”
Author's note
I have tweaked this chapter because of a very useful review by Halskr. The battle scene was a challenge to write and I think Halskr was correct in that I sacrificed the necessary detail because I was concentrating on maintaining the pace. I hope the small tweaks help.
Updates will be less frequent from now on. Please email me (see my profile) if you want noitifying of updates.