In the cold of space you find the heat of suns

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

Please see the author's note at the bottom.

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.

43. Rôles

“What does Uchiha do?” asked Naruto as he punched the eject key on his viewer. If he hit it just right the tiny cassette tape popped up and he could flick the cassette into the correct box. Most of them went into the ‘reject’ box but there was something about this lad that Naruto had liked so this tape was propelled into the ‘maybe’ box.

Sasuke sniffed. “Uchiha does not do, it is,” he replied. He had yet to put any tape into the 'maybe' box.

“Teme,” murmured Naruto. “What has Uchiha done?” he asked instead. He loaded another cassette.

Iruka pretended to be engrossed in the application video he was viewing. In truth, he also wanted to know what Uchiha did.

Shikamaru was not viewing tapes. It took him longer to load and unload the tapes than to make his decision, so he was working through the electronic applications. “Mostly it traded in dangerous places that others avoided,” Shikamaru told him. He rejected one and opened the next. “By taking risks they built a big reputation and became very rich and powerful. Once you are rich and powerful it is like Sasuke says, you just are.” He decided that there might be something interesting about the next one and forwarded it to Neji.

Naruto flicked the next cassette into the 'reject' box. “Oh, I was hoping Uchiha might kill pirates or protect planets or something like that.”

Sasuke scowled.

Ibiki got up. He tipped twenty-seven tapes into the 'reject' box and tossed three into the 'maybe' box. He then filled the kettle and put it to boil before collecting another thirty. When the kettle began to boil, Rin was the first to stand up and go to make tea.

Neji turned to Shikamaru and shook his head. Shikamaru shrugged. It knew it had been something interesting. It was up to Neji to decide if it were a good something. “Being mercenaries could have its advantages,” he said.

“Only against bad people.” Naruto insisted.

“The Uchiha are not mercenaries,” Sasuke growled.

“They have been, from time to time,” Kakashi observed and sent a cassette into the ‘looks good’ box.

The others watched it land. Shikamaru memorised what it looked like. If Kakashi thought the application looked good then it did. He had by far the most experience.

Neji tossed eight cassettes into the 'reject' box and promoted two to the 'looks good' box. He then walked over to the 'maybe' box, dodged two flying cassettes and collected another ten tapes.

“Shikamaru-san?” Shino asked.

Shikamaru looked up from his viewer, his attention caught by Shino’s formality. “Yes, Shino-san?”

“What should Uchiha do?”

There was silence.

Shikamaru touched his top lip with his tongue. He looked to Sasuke, who nodded. “I will think about it,” he promised.

Ibiki helped Rin distribute the tea.


“I have had a communication from Tsunade-san,” Jiraiya said between sips of his tea.

They waited.

“She is intending to relaunch the Silver Leaf with an all female crew. Sasuke-sama, she would like to discuss an alliance in the first instance. I know she is hoping that you were serious about recruiting females with appropriate qualities. I thought that I would mention it now because a few of these application videos are from females and I thought that we could forward those that look good.” Jiraiya looked thoughtful. “Unless we are considering having a female cat.”

Rin tossed a cassette in the air and batted it into the 'reject' box. “You are not ready for a female cat,” she told them. “The elite fighters are even less ready for a female cat. Having separate female crews within Uchiha would be an interesting way forward.”

“It is something well worth considering,” Sasuke confirmed. “Jiraiya-san, please forward my regards to Tsunade-san and tell her than I would welcome a meeting at her convenience.”

For a time the only sounds were the loading and unloading of tapes, of cassettes travelling through the air and of them landing.

“How far have we gone, Iruka-sensei?” Sasuke asked.

Iruka considered. “About one-third through.”

There were groans.

“We said we would continue until the midday meal,” Iruka reminded them.

Naruto stretched. “I am no longer being fair,” he admitted. “The ones I am viewing now have to be better than those at the start to get into the 'maybe' box. I am stopping.”


Gradually, one by one, others gave up until only Kakashi, Shikamaru, Neji and Sasuke remained. As soon as Iruka had left, Shikamaru stood up, walked to the door and closed it. Sasuke looked up from the application he was viewing.

“We need to discuss something and these are the correct people,” Shikamaru explained. “Now would be better than having to explain why we are convening a separate meeting.

“I have received the strangest message,” he admitted. “It was addressed to me personally, ‘For Shikamaru, the voice in Sasuke Uchiha’s ear’.”

“What made it strange?” Kakashi asked.

“I would not have thought anyone else could have understood it,” Shikamaru said slowly, “so I was very surprised that someone else could compose it.” He paused, obviously thinking. “It was formulated by someone like me.”

“It could be a trap,” Neji insisted.

“Or just a very clever way of getting our attention,” Kakashi suggested. “What did it say?”

“Many things. There were many layers. Overtly, a man called Garner Parrad wants to meet and discuss setting up a meeting between Sasuke and a man called Klennethon Darrent.”

Sasuke scowled. “Why would I want to meet this Klennethon Darrent?”

Shikamaru stared at the ceiling. “Because, I think, he can travel through space faster than anyone should be able to travel. Or I have been tricked into coming to his conclusion. The person who composed this message is capable of misleading me,” he admitted. “It is very troublesome.” He looked to Sasuke. “Imagine if we could travel faster than others. It would give us the advantage we need.”


Kakashi jumped on Shikamaru’s choice of words. “We need such an advantage?” He saw Shikamaru flush and turned to Sasuke. “What have you been hiding from me?”

Sasuke could not hold his gaze. “We did the interview for the credit. We need credit.”

Kakashi’s world reeled. He steadied himself. He understood why Sasuke not told any of those sworn to the Old Uchiha. If he struggled to accept it, the others would be devastated.

“I am sorry I did not tell you, Kakashi-sensei,” Sasuke whispered.

“It was the correct decision,” Kakashi reassured him. “Do not tell the others if you can avoid it. Do you have it under control, Shika-kun?”

“Only in the short term,” Shikamaru admitted. “Seven to ten standards. There is a limit to the risks I can take, so there is a limit to the profits I can make by speculating. We will spend more quickly than I can grow the credit. We must make profit in other ways.”


Kakashi pulled his mind away from a potential risk in several standards’ time and focused on the immediate problem. “What do we know of this Klennethon Darrent?” he asked.

“Shika asked me to research him,” Neji replied. “He is fabulously wealthy. Multiple-planet-owning wealthy. He was born in the Borders but he chose to join the Central Civil Service so he is a citizen of Centre. After his service he came to the Fringe. That was over seventy standards ago. Reports say his age retard is still holding.” Neji took a deep breath. “He has no enemies. All his former enemies are dead. No one steals from him. It is said that it is impossible to take a contract out on him or even on one of his agents.”

Sasuke frowned. “Why would he be interested in meeting me?”

Shikamaru and Neji exchanged looks and then Shikamaru took the plunge. “We are guessing, but we think Naruto interests him. Certainly the timing of the contact suggests that it was sparked by the interview.”

Sasuke was white. “Tell him no. I do not care how rich he is or how much power he thinks he has, he is not having my Naruto.”

Kakashi signalled that the others should leave. Once the door was shut he walked to Sasuke, drew him up out of his chair and held him. “We know too little, Sasuke-kun. Men that rich can afford to be capricious. Klennethon Darrent may only wish to enquire about Naruto’s origins, or for a tissue sample. We do not know. We do know that he is a dangerous man whose enemies die. It would be wiser to meet with Garner Parrad and find out more.”

Sasuke battled against his fear that Naruto would be taken from him. He managed a small, jerky nod.


Shikamaru hoped that Kakashi would be able to persuade Sasuke that meeting Garner Parrad was better than not meeting him. They had been lucky to find an opportunity to discuss it with Kakashi there and Iruka absent; Iruka was also irrationally protective of Naruto. Shikamaru bit his lip. Naruto was his best friend and this Klennethon Darrent might want him for as an exhibit in some bizarre private collection. Shikamaru felt guilty, but he was glad that Neji had not mentioned that Klennethon Darrent was a collector.

Neji was watching him. Neji often watched him but it had a different quality since Shikamaru had received the weird message. It was good, really, that Neji knew him well enough to realise how badly its contents had shaken him. By the Lady, Shikamaru wanted to meet the person who had written that message, even it were only for a few minutes.

Strong arms went around him and he was hugged close to Neji’s body. Rin’s treatments, training and good food had filled Neji out perfectly. His physique was like Sasuke’s but on a larger scale. And his hair, Shikamaru loved Neji’s hair, so heavy and straight, like a curtain of silk. He knew that Neji kept it long for him, even through he disliked looking so Hyuga. Warm lips nuzzled his neck and Neji pulled him closer so that they could feel each other’s erections.

There was probably time before the midday meal.

They always used Shikamaru’s room. On one level it was practical because it allowed Neji to keep his room immaculately tidy, which was how he liked it. On a deeply level it was about invasion, submission and trust. Shikamaru allowed Neji full access to his room and his body. The way Shikamaru saw it, if Neji could be trusted to look into the abyss of his mind then rooms and bodies were trivial in comparison. Also it had worked, being fucked was much better than being celibate and vastly better than the awful between stage they had gone through. Maybe one day Neji would trust him enough for Shikamaru to initiate rather than respond. If not, Shikamaru could live with it. As Haku had said, Neji liked looking after people. By allowing Neji to look after him, Shikamaru was looking after Neji.

They were late for the midday meal and Shikamaru had to ignore a battery of lustful looks. It had been easier when he had been the lanky, gawky nerd no one had wanted. It was worst at times like this, when his body language was still too submissive. Some of them looked like they wanted to eat him rather than the food. Shikamaru sighed. He would have to work on it and, for once, he could not ask Neji for advice because it meant reminding Neji that others wanted him. He already used Iruka’s trick of always tying his hair up; perhaps he would have to learn to nag and to lecture. There was always the option of giving them a flash of what was happening in his head but Shikamaru did not want to alienate them completely; Rin still had not recovered. It was very troublesome. He resolved to spend more time with Naruto; to Naruto he was just Shi-chan.

“You thought any more about it?” Shino asked as he piled noodles onto Shikamaru’s and then his own plate.

It took Shikamaru more than a few moments to work out that Shino was referring to his question about Uchiha.

Shino swallowed. “Damn it, Shikamaru,” he said, keeping his voice soft and light so it would not travel nor draw attention, “you need to build in some recovery time. You can’t go to that place you go with him and expect to get back to reality within a few minutes. You aren’t Haku. You can’t switch like that.” He passed the bowl of noodles across Shikamaru to Naruto beyond. “By the Lady, I can’t believe I just served your food without even asking you. Trouble is, Shika, you are so good at a thing when you set your mind to it. Damn it, now I am calling you Shika. It’ll be ‘my Shika’ next and Neji will kill me.”

Naruto’s head turned towards them. His eyes were almost circular.

Shikamaru blushed, Shino covered a groan with a cough and Shikamaru found the sense to say, “Later, Na-chan.”


It was a challenge to explain it to Naruto, but he finally got it.

“If Neji’s prick had a knot,” Naruto observed, “you would have to stay together and alone. You would have your ‘recovery time’.” He smiled. “You have made me glad for the first time that I make a knot when I fuck. Thank you, Shi-chan.”

“You are welcome, Na-chan,” Shikamaru replied.

“I will speak with Neji,” Naruto told him.

Shikamaru was about to protest but did not. On reflection, it was an excellent idea.


Whatever Naruto said, it had the desired effect. Neji became scrupulous about ensuring that they no longer fucked when there was too little time available. Between them, they worked out a routine to bring Shikamaru back to his usual persona before exposing him to others.


He and Neji were with Sasuke in his office discussing the meeting with Garner Parrad when Naruto walked in and sat on the rug. Sasuke immediately wound up the discussion and fetched a small box from his desk. He placed it on the low table and removed the lid, revealing a ring bearing the Uchiha symbol. Unlike the rings that Sasuke and Iruka wore, this ring had no gemstones. The symbol was in enamel. It was not in wonderful condition. It looked old.

“This is Izuna Uchiha’s love ring to the voice in his ear,” Sasuke told them.

Shikamaru blinked. No amount of gemstones could make the ring more precious. It was ancient and priceless. It belonged in a museum.

“I want you to wear it as your duty ring, Shikamaru,” Sasuke told him.

Shikamaru was caught between overwhelming joy and utter terror. “I can’t. I will lose it. Or damage it. I mean thank you. Thank you for realising what it would mean to me. But I can’t. What if I lose it?”

“Stop babbling, Shikamaru,” Sasuke ordered. He plucked the ring from the box, grabbed Shikamaru’s left hand and slid the ring onto his middle finger. “See, it fits perfectly.”

Shikamaru stared at it. “What about a replica?” he suggested.

Sasuke scowled. “I have had it encased in a superhard, megastrong transparent coating and there are two separate microlocators on the inside surface. Shikamaru, I want you to wear it.”

He would ask Shino to sort out an alarm that would sound if he walked away from it. “Thank you, Sasuke-sama.” He stared again at the ring. “This is one of the best moments of my life,” he admitted.

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Author's note

Thank you to all the readers who responded to my plea to help me identify more Naruto male characters who could be cats in this story. As well as helping me decide, my mind was opened up to lots of other possibilities.

Four other things:

1. A number of readers have pointed out that I miss errors, particuluarly those a spell check does not pick up. There are three reasons for this (a) I am terrible at proof reading anyone's writing never mind my own, (b) although I spend as long as I can on each chapter there are times when I jump the gun and post it before re-reading for the fourth or fifth time and (c) I do not have a beta. I do not think I can manage to send chapters through a beta before posting. However, I am absolutely willing to edit the posted material. In fact, some of you may have noticed that I try to do this when someone points out a problem. If there is anyone who would like to work with me as a 'post-posting beta', please email me. I would email them the Word file when I am posting and they could send it back to me with the errors highlighted. Of course, they could read it at the same time instead of on the site. My email is in my profile. Otherwise, feel free to point out errors as you see them. One plea, just saying 'some of your chapters have lots of errors' is frustrating rather than useful. If you could at least say which chapters, that would be great.

2. This story had got to the stage where I am no longer really in control. I know the plot but the scenes write themselves. Sometimes, I confess, I leave a scene in because I like it when, if I was being professional about it, it would be culled because it is taking up too much space. I apologise for becoming sentimental.

3. I am now trying to handle a lot of characters so it is inevitable that some will get more air time (or the equivalent) than others. For some of you, I will not be spending enough on a character you like. Characters get 'air time' when either (a) they insist or (b) I can use them to develop the plot or the action. I confess that Shikamaru does an lot of insisting.

4. I know that the quality of the chapters can be a bit rocky. Some of them are reworked five or six times before posting, others only two. I could work more slowly, but if I do that I think it is likely that the urge to continue will wither and die.

Thank you for reading this and for reading the story.

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