In the cold of space you find the heat of suns

Thank you for the reviews. They are very much appreciated.

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.

55. Kisame

Sasuke ignored Asuma’s shock, Naruto’s relief, Kakashi’s resignation and Neji’s confusion. He hoped that Itachi was as close to death as he looked. The only advantage of having Itachi alive was that Kisame had not killed himself.

The seed of a plan began germinating. “You are welcome, Kisame-san. Neji-san, please will you go ahead and inform Rin-san to expect a patient.”

“Sasuke-sama!” Asuma objected.

Sasuke turned haughty eyes on him. “Kisame-san has always behaved most honourably. He is true to his oath. For a Companion, the choices are those of another.”

“What of the garbage he brings with him?” Asuma demanded.

Kisame showed his teeth and Naruto stiffened.

Kakashi laid a hand on Asuma’s arm. “None of us are going to attack an unconscious man,” he observed.


Not everyone, however, felt the same way. They were close to the infirmary and at a corner when Haku leapt from cover, striking at Itachi with a knife in either hand. Kisame managed to twist enough to parry the blows with his body. Haku twisted the blades from Kisame’s flesh and began another attack only to be caught about the waist by Naruto and pulled away. Haku squealed his displeasure and flailed with his blades, so that Naruto had no choice but to propel him up the corridor away from all possible targets. Haku managed to stay on his feet, turn and charged towards Itachi, screaming his hatred.

Sasuke calmly stepped in front of Itachi and Kisame. Naruto, whose plan had involved an arm sweeping through the space Sasuke now occupied, aborted the move, swiped at Haku and missed. The knives, followed by Haku, were plunging towards Sasuke’s chest.

Haku, but not the knives, thudded home. The knives clattered to the floor. Sasuke staggered but remained upright. He wrapped his arms about Haku and held him.

Haku beat at Sasuke’s body with his fists. “Kill him!” he yelled. “Kill him! Kill him! Kill him for what he did to you even if you can’t kill him for what he did to me. I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!”

Sasuke’s eyes warned Naruto away. The blows became weaker, the protestations of hatred less vehement. A sob racked Haku’s body, then another. Sasuke held him close. Haku leaned against his chest, tears pouring down his cheeks.


Once Itachi was stable and Kisame’s wounds treated, Sasuke called muster in the crew room.

“Where are they?” demanded Jiraiya.

“In the infirmary,” Sasuke informed him. “Itachi is tanked. Kisame-san can be trusted.” He took a deep breath. “I know that Itachi deserves to die. I hate him. If it were not for Kisame-san I would kill him without a moment’s hesitation. The truth is that Kisame-san will kill himself when Itachi dies. While Itachi is alive, however tenuous that life is, Kisame-san will continue to live.” He turned to Rin, “Rin-san?”

“The bastard was almost gone,” she confirmed. “His liver had stopped functioning. There is major damage to his brain and his heart. None of his systems are unaffected. To bring him back I would have to regenerate his entire liver and mend the other organs. Even then, the damage to his brain may mean he is non-functional when he regains consciousness.”

“What caused it?” asked Kakashi.

“I do not care what caused it,” Sasuke replied. “It is convenient. The damage to the nervous system means that his only hope, and it is a small one, is to regenerate parts of his brain. He has to stay deeply unconscious, tanked, for at least a standard. We have him helpless and where we can find him, rather than out there as a potential danger. It also means that we have a standard to persuade Kisame-san that he can live without Itachi.”

“You are very sure of Kisame,” Dan observed.

“I am,” Sasuke assured them. “Kisame-san hid me from Itachi during the massacre and he threw the fight with Naruto when Itachi’s crew challenged for me. He went against Itachi’s wishes twice, for me.”

Haku, still abnormally pale, tilted his chin up. “I think that Kisame-san deserves this chance. I spaced with them. Kisame-san is a good and kind person whose life has been mutilated by a monster.” His voice shook. “I agree that Itachi should live, for now, for Kisame-san’s sake. If I, whom he slashed and gutted and left for dead, can say this, if I, who loathe him most, can say this, then surely you can find it in your hearts to agree.”

Asuma was the first to respond. “Itachi is as good as dead and we’re keeping his body alive for Kisame’s sake. I can live with that.”

“We are agreed then?” Kakashi checked. “I think this is an issue on which we should all speak. I shall begin. I, Kakashi, agree that Itachi should be allowed to continue living, tanked and unconscious, for at least one standard and that Kisame-san should join our crew, our family.”

The others followed, one by one, with differing degrees of certainty but no dissension.


Haku accompanied Sasuke, Naruto and Rin back to the infirmary. Kisame was sitting beside the tank that contained Itachi, head bowed.

“Kisame-san?” Sasuke said gently.

The sharkman looked up.

“Rin-san will treat Itachi.” Sasuke told him. “She tells me that his only chance is for his nervous system to be regenerated, which will be a long, slow process. He will need to remain tanked. We have talked and we wish you to join us while Itachi is receiving treatment.”

“I apologise for my behaviour earlier and for hurting you,” Haku added. “I am here to ask you to take your place in my crew room.”

Kisame smiled very slightly. “You are queen, Haku-kun?” he asked.

Haku blushed slightly. “Only of that crew room, Kisame-san. Iruka-sensei is, of course, queen of the whole crew.”

“Each one of us agreed, Kisame-san,” Naruto told him.


Kisame had sent the distress call in desperation not expectation. Rin was the best medico Kisame knew. He had done it because he loved Itachi but he had already been resigned. Itachi would die, Kisame would allow the air to bleed away. They would be entombed together forever. It was fitting.


Now Itachi was safe. Kisame looked at them: Rin who reminded him of a time before all hope was lost, Sasuke who was everything Mikoto-san had so wanted, Haku-kun and the fox-boy who had matured into the most magnificent of Companions. They were offering him a place with them. He yearned to take it, even if it were only for a little time; he said yes.


Haku-kun’s crew room was lovely. Kisame was shown a cosy room rather than a bunk. It had its own head and shower. Haku promised to return with some fresh clothes.

Kisame spent a long time in the shower. When he emerged the closet was populated with clothes and the bed had been made. The bedcover was in shades of blue. He dressed.

There was a gentle knock on his door. It was Haku warning him that the evening meal was in forty minutes. Kisame waited a little time and then cautiously slid the door open. The main part of the crew room contained various couches and chairs. Haku was reclining on one of the couches. He looked different; beautiful. Kisame’s prick twitched. That had not happened in a long, long time.


Kisame had always wished he were asexual; it would make his life easier. When Uchiha had sent him to cat they had assigned another, normal, boy to cat with him; the crew had been relieved. When he had returned to Tarrasade to receive his implant he, like the others, had begun paying women to see to his needs. He was generous and undemanding. The whores who had known him had liked him. When he went back to spacing, Kisame did not force himself on the cat; the lad was too scared of him. In port, he would find an older, experienced whore. In space, he made do.

Then he had fallen for Itachi.

Itachi found Kisame physically unattractive but that did not prevent him being possessive and jealous. Kisame had given up the whores. He continued to make do, in secret, in the shower. He gave Itachi the illusion he wanted; that Kisame, as part shark, was asexual.

Haku had been different. Despite his devotion to Zabuza, Haku had been happy to cat for the rest of the crew. No one who knew him doubted that fucking was, along with dressing up, one of Haku’s favourite activities. Haku flirted with everyone and Kisame was no exception. He was candid about having set himself a personal target of persuading Kisame to fuck him or, if that was truly impossible, of giving Kisame a blow job.

Needless to say, this had not increased Itachi’s fondness for Haku. Kisame had watched them with horrified fascination. There was a limit to how badly Itachi could treat Haku before Zabuza would intervene or, worse, lose his temper. Also, Itachi was utterly addicted to Haku’s ability to play Sasuke. Haku refused to leave Kisame alone. At first Kisame had thought it was merely about Haku wishing to annoy Itachi but he had come to realise that Haku cared for him and hated the way Itachi treated him. Haku was like that.

There had been no locks on the showers on the Morning Mist. Haku would lie in wait and attack when Kisame’s resistance was at its weakest. Itachi had caught them on the third occasion. It would not have been so bad if Haku had not started telling Itachi, in detail, about the previous two encounters. There had been considerable blood but no deaths; Zabuza had protected Haku and Kisame had, in desperation, disarmed Itachi. The fallout had been painful and protracted.

Now Haku was this beautiful creature with those same caring eyes. It was no surprise that Kisame’s prick was twitching.


“Kisame-san,” Haku called, uncurling his legs, sitting up and patting the couch beside him.

Kisame sat on the couch, careful to keep some distance between them.

Haku looked at him and then dropped his gaze, displaying his eyelashes. “I apologise again for hurting you, Kisame-san.” The eyelashes lifted and soft brown eyes made contact. “I have decided that my dislike for Itachi comes second to my wish for you to be happy. I have given up my desire to kill Itachi. For you.”

Kisame could see the faint scar on Haku’s throat. It followed the precise angle of Itachi’s signature slash. He remembered Haku’s frenzied attack earlier in the day. For Haku to give up his revenge was a considerable gift.

“You are generous, Haku-san,” he acknowledged.

Haku laughed. It was a soft, silvery sound. “When did I stop being Haku-kun to you?” he asked.

Kisame smiled slyly, “Perhaps it should be Haku-sama. After all, you are queen.”

Haku leaned across and hit him on the arm. “Iruka-sensei is queen and Sasuke is sama.”

Kisame rubbed the spot on his upper arm, pantomiming pain. “Haku-hime,” he suggested.

“Kisame! Be good,” Haku scolded.

“Yes, princess,” Kisame replied. “Who else lives here?” he asked quickly, to distract Haku from hitting him again. “There are many rooms.”

“This is the elite fighters’ crew room,” Haku explained. “Plus me to look after you all. Kakashi, Naruto and Asuma have rooms here that they rarely use because they live with their lovers. Kakashi is with Iruka-sensei and Naruto with Sasuke. Asuma’s partner and children have a separate apartment.”

“Asuma has children?” Kisame queried but his thoughts were with Kakashi. He struggled to imagine Kakashi with anyone other than Obito. There again, he knew that Fugaku-kyou had trapped Kakashi into living by making him responsible for Sasuke. If Kakashi had to live, it was good that he should have someone to warm his bunk.

“Asuma and Kurenai have two boys and a girl,” Haku confirmed. “So living here we have Gai, Inoichi, Tatsuji, Kunugi, Dan, Hamaki, Terai, Fu and Choza, although Choza has retired and is now Cook.”

Kisame could imagine Choza as Cook.


The evening meal was educational. Kisame swiftly realised that Iruka was no bunkwarmer. Everything about him, from his demeanour to the way the others deferred to him, announced that this was the person who held this peculiar group of people together and melded them into a family. Kisame was not surprised to see a Uchiha duty ring on his finger. The ring on his heart finger, like the corresponding one on Kakashi’s, was more disconcerting but Kisame was willing to acknowledge that this man was worthy of Kakashi’s love, however surprised he was that Kakashi could give it.

And Kakashi was whole. Kisame had expected never to see that again.

The other elite fighters were themselves, but their best selves.

Jiraiya and Rin were older, and possibly wiser, versions of the people he remembered.

Sasuke was Mikoto-san with flashes of Itachi at his best and a suggestion of Fugaku-kyou’s steel. It made Kisame strangely content to watch him.


Kisame listened to the conversation but did not contribute. He was interested that there was yet another hybrid on the ship: a new ally. Apparently Uchiha had committed to removing slavers from the hybrid’s home system. The ordinary-looking young man with the duty ring, Shikamaru, was tasked with coming up with a plan and none of the crew doubted that he would do so. Kisame deduced that he was Kakashi’s type seven genius. A type seven genius and a Hyuga sworn to Uchiha: Kakashi had certainly provided Sasuke with the tools he would need to lead.

The other topic of the moment was babies. It would appear that Sasuke was not making Fugaku-kyou’s error of trying to raise one, perfect heir. Naruto was clear that they would raise ten babies and Sasuke did not contradict him. The first three were already conceived. Naruto was building a nursery. It was odd to see a fighter like Naruto so focused on caring for babies. Kisame wondered if it was part of his foxy nature. Certainly sharks had no tendencies in that direction.

Throughout the meal there was Haku, sitting next to him, playing footsie. Kisame knew he could not withstand Haku’s assault. Haku was unrelenting and, given that he had been able to trip Kisame when Itachi was close by and vigilant, there would be no stopping him with Itachi tanked. It was inevitable and, if so, there was little point resisting. It was a nice thought.

After the meal, Sasuke played the biwa. Kisame wished he could appreciate music. Haku obviously derived great enjoyment from it, so Kisame settled for watching Haku.


He was still watching Haku later that night, only by then Haku was riding his prick. It was a wonderful sight. No one, not even the most genial whore, had ever suggested such a thing. Even Haku had been nonplussed in the past by Kisame’s skin, sandpaper harsh in one direction and silken soft in the other. Previously he had settled for unidirectional stroking and tiny kisses, which had been much appreciated and effective. This time Haku had produced a large jar of what he called balm and Kisame thought of as grease. With a goodly layer of grease even sandpaper could be smooth and slippery.

And Haku climaxed; he had an orgasm because being with Kisame made him feel that good.


For Kisame, it was a rare and precious moment of bliss.

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