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 lonelylulaby, richon, nivell, Dorkchic, The Horseman of Death, gingitsune, v, satterb, Prism0467, cynaga, sadie237 and disembodiedvoiceofthedying who reviewed chapter 60. It was good to hear from so many readers. Hearing from readers really does help me keep writing.

I know now that some of you wish that the story concentrated on fewer characters, or that it was Naru/Sasu rather than Sasu/Naru with some Naru/Sasu, or was more focused on the family, or had a lot fewer children. Other readers like the complexity. A few are SciFi fans and like the ‘known space’ world.

I wish I could please every reader, but I have realised, after reading all the reviews and emails, that I cannot. I will just have to continue writing what is in my head and hoping that enough of you enjoy it. I hope that most of you keep reading and enjoying the aspects you like and skipping over any bits you do not.

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.

---

Chapter sixty-one: Risk

---

Shikamaru was up early. He sat in a chair by Haru’s bed and watched him sleep. Today was the day, or rather that night would be the night. There was no other feasible choice; Sasori was due to leave in a few days and if they waited any longer a ship and crew would arrive to transport him.

There was only a limited amount of planning they could do, which was scary.

Ranmaru had done a few scouting missions at night; ready with the excuse that Sasori had finished with him and he was on his way back to the apartment. He had an infusion of foxglove leaves prepared; the idea was to add it to one of the dishes to be served at dinner. Shikamaru hoped that Ranmaru would have an opportunity to tell him which one but it was not crucial; Shikamaru’s nanobots should deal with any ingested poison.

Shikamaru had cobbled together various devices to help him hack the security and control systems. The computer was now just a box with a power indicator and a fan that whirled to give the illusion that it worked; he hoped that the Zetsus did not decide to pay a visit and ask about progress.

He suspected that Sasori had concentrated on acquiring things that could be used as weapons. He tried not to dwell too much on the possibility that Hana or Zetsu would end up dead. Shikamaru knew that Sasori may not have an option; they succeeded or Pein would kill him.

He would also kill Ranmaru; the last trace of the Ranmaru they knew and loved would be gone.


He had to decide when to tell Haru. On one hand Haru was five, so might find it difficult to conceal his excitement and behave normally. On the other hand, he would know something was happening and could begin asking questions at an inconvenient time. He was also the best distraction they had; he could have Zetsu enthralled or Konan distracted within a minute. He could even capture Hana’s attention, usually by scaring her into thinking he might hurt himself.

Shikamaru placed a hand on Haru’s back and rubbed in small circles. Bright blue eyes opened surprisingly quickly.

“Are we escaping?” he asked. “Is it today?”

Shikamaru smiled; so much for the option of not telling him. “Not until tonight. It must be a secret, Ha-chan.”

“You can hide all the stuff under my bed.” Haru suggested. “I’ll have a sleep this afternoon so I can run fast tonight. Is Ranmaru coming?”

Shikamaru nodded. “You will have to do exactly what we say, Haru. It will be even more dangerous than when Pein’s men kidnapped us.”

Haru scrambled out of bed, went to one of the chests, pulled a drawer completely out and reached inside the gap created. He brought out a bag and emptied its contents onto the bed.

“Will any of these help?” he asked.

Shikamaru looked at the array of electrical and electronic components, some of which were already connected into devices to aid hacking. He could imagine where about a third of them had come from. The origin of the others was a complete mystery.

“Very much so,” he assured him. “Have you found anything to hack?” he asked.

Haru shook his head. “Pein, Hana and Konan-san have offices but I hadn’t got that far. Cook doesn’t even have a computer.”

Shikamaru fingered one of the filched components. It had come from a detector. “Tell me exactly where you got each of these,” he requested, “it could be useful.”


Ranmaru brought Sasori’s chronometer with breakfast, as requested; Shikamaru wanted to disassemble and rebuild it to check exactly how it worked. He read off the standardised date before he started and was shocked to realise that it had been longer than five divs; they must have spent over three in stasis.

He blinked back tears. Shou would have been born and Naruto’s new litter would be over halfway through their gestation. He imagined Neji withdrawn and alone; encased and isolated within the impassive demeanour he presented to others. Shikamaru hoped he had allowed Haku and C-san to support him.

Shikamaru could not afford to dwell on it. He had a chronometer to reassemble and an escape to prepare.

Haru behaved perfectly all morning. He ran about and bothered people for the first half and then went too quiet for the second. It was Konan herself who suggested that he have a nap after lunch.


Shikamaru and Ranmaru spent the afternoon creating packs and tool belts. They worked in near silence, only speaking when necessary.

The question that had been bothering Shikamaru was going around and around in his head. Finally he could contain it no longer.

“Who decided the amount of the foxglove infusion you are going to add?” he asked.

Ranmaru hesitated but answered. “Sasori-san.” He gave a very small smile. “I had already decided to halve it.”

“Are you sure?” Shikamaru queried. “You are most at risk.”

Ranmaru nodded. “It is what we are,” he replied.

Shikamaru smiled at the reference. It was the reason Sasuke always gave when new Uchiha acted in a way that was motivated by something other than self-interest.


There was a knock at the outer door; it would be the Zetsus. Ranmaru went to answer it while Shikamaru loaded everything they had been working on onto a large tray, took it through to Haru’s room and slid it under the bed.

They talked; a little about the data crystal array and the database but it was mostly banter. At one point Shikamaru saw En-san tilt his head and the Zetsus’ eyes went to the computer. His heart sped up but neither Zetsu spoke.

At the door, as Shikamaru showed them out, dark Zetsu turned to him.

“Look after Haru,” he said.

Shikamaru’s heart was hammering. “He’s just having a poor day,” he replied, determined not to read too much into In-san’s comment.


Before dinner Shikamaru renewed his argument with Ranmaru about eating charcoal. Shikamaru was sure it was not necessary, that his nanobots would counter any small amount of poison. Ranmaru scowled at him.

“It’s going to be in the sauce. Even if you only take the lumps there will be some sauce on them. It isn’t worth the risk,” Ranmaru insisted. He pushed the large cup of black slurry towards him. Drink it, Shika-san.”

Shikamaru gave in and gulped it down as quickly as he could without gagging.


Given how quickly Konan began to show symptoms, Shikamaru was thankful that Ranmaru had halved the dose. She was pale and excused herself. Shikamaru could tell that Pein was torn between telling Hana to go after her and having her there to escort him to the apartment.

“I’ll go to the apartment,” Shikamaru volunteered. “Haru wasn’t feeling well earlier. I would like to check on him.”


There was a small crisis when Cook came to the door to ask if Shikamaru or Haru were sick. Shikamaru listened to Ranmaru telling him that Haru was asleep and that Shikamaru had a headache. Cook was still anxious. Ranmaru had to promise that he would check on them regularly. He was to go to Konan-sama’s rooms and speak with Hana if they were nauseous.

“Is Konan-sama unwell?” Shikamaru heard Ranmaru ask. “Shikamaru-san said that she looked pale and retired early.”

“She is nauseous with stomach pains and a very bad headache,” Cook answered. “Pein-sama is also showing symptoms. I am on my way to check Zetsu-san.”

“Perhaps it is why Haru was poorly this afternoon,” Ranmaru suggested. “Only he has those nanobot things, the ones that saved him from the poisoned needles. Shikamaru-san probably has them too.”

Cook sounded relieved. “So you think it is an infection? I was anxious that it might be the food,” he admitted.

“I can’t imagine any food you prepare being bad,” Ranmaru answered, which was true; it had been fine before Ranmaru had doctored the sauce.


Shikamaru wished he could sleep like Haru. Instead he waited; his stomach churning and his mind filled with evermore horrific outcomes.

It had been his idea to escape. If Ranmaru died it would be his fault. If Haru was injured or killed it would be his responsibility. He briefly imagined having to tell Naruto that Haru had died because he had been reckless and felt sick.

“Shika-san?” Ranmaru asked. “Are you all right? Is it the poison?”

Shikamaru grimaced. “No, just nerves,” he replied.


Finally the time came to wake Haru. He looked at Shikamaru with Naruto’s solemn blue eyes in a child version of Sasuke’s gravest face.

“It’s like an adventure,” he said, “only for real.”

“Yes,” Shikamaru agreed.

“The word is Uchiha,” Haru told him.

“The word is Uchiha,” Shikamaru echoed, hoping that this adventure had a better outcome than the last.


They walked swiftly but softly. Ranmaru went ahead to check that the coast was clear. Haru held Shikamaru’s hand. This night appeared to be like the others; there was no one in the corridors. They crept down the stairs towards their rendezvous with Sasori. He was already there, looking deceptively harmless.

“The control panel is just around the corner,” Ranmaru reminded them. “It is in a grey box on the left hand wall at head height.”

The plan was for Sasori to pick the lock of the box and then Shikamaru would hack into the panel. They had no idea if either action would set off the alarms, or even if there were any alarms.


Sasori had the panel open within seconds. He fell back to act as lookout and Shikamaru stepped forward to begin his assault on the control panel. Haru watched intently from where he was standing holding Ranmaru’s hand.

Physically, it was not the most secure of systems. It even had a socket via which a computer could be attached for diagnostic purposes. Shikamaru managed to sort out a connector and was soon battling to persuade the programme that he had legitimate assess.

It was difficult. The security was sophisticated and robust. Shikamaru had no doubt that it had been designed by the Zetsus. Minutes rolled by. Sasori drifted back from the corner at intervals and scowled at him. Ranmaru looked increasingly anxious. Haru was hopping from foot to foot.

Once they hit ten minutes, Sasori came over.

“Do we abort?” he asked. “Or do we start breaking things?”

Shikamaru had hoped they would never get to this point. Did they give up, return to their rooms, rebuild the computer and hope that Pein never worked out that Konan had been poisoned? Or did they start disabling the detectors and hope that they made it through the tunnel before Pein was alerted or the defences in the tunnel killed them?

He was about to say that they would abort when, to his surprise, his latest effort, which had seemed little different to the many that had gone before, succeeded.

“I’m in,” he announced.

“Thank the Lady for that,” Sasori murmured and went back to the corner.


Once he was inside the programme it seemed obvious. The list of active defences was frightening; aborting rather than fighting their way through the tunnel would have definitely been the correct decision. He switched them off, followed by the alarms and then the detectors.

Sasori came back from the corner as soon as he heard the cover being closed. He fiddled with the lock so that the box looked untouched.

“You go first, Ranmaru-kun,” he said.

They hurried along the tunnel. There were no alarms, no falling barriers, no clouds of soporific gas and no flesh-cutting lasers.

At the other end there was a door. To Shikamaru’s surprise it opened when Ranmaru pressed a button.


The side of the ship came into view as the door slid open. One third of it was below them, two-thirds above. It was about the size of the Sakura. The gangplank was in place, leading to one of the ship’s airlocks.

Haru was looking about, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“Stay close,” Shikamaru reminded him. “I have to jimmy the control pad.”

At least the ship had started life as a standard model. He opened the panel next to the airlock. The security system looked familiar. Shikamaru hoped that it had not been Zetsued.

He prised up the edge of the top left hand button; the known weak point of that particular data entry pad. He fished with a slender hook and found the wire he wanted. With seconds he had it spliced and was unlocking the airlock.

“Nice job,” Sasori acknowledged. He seemed on the edge of a smile but stiffened. His eyes went to the open doorway and the tunnel beyond.

“Hana,” Ranmaru gasped and was off, over the gangplank and towards the doorway.

“Ranmaru!” Haru squeaked.


Shikamaru was too slow. His hands were full of tools. By the time he had dropped them his fingertips brushed Haru’s sleeve but he was too late to grab his arm.

Haru ran after Ranmaru.

“Uchiha!” Shikamaru called after him but Haru was not listening.

Sasori had the outer door of the airlock open. “Get inside and start checking the ship,” he ordered.

Shikamaru was already moving towards the gangplank. “Not a chance,” he replied. He did not trust Sasori; he would leave Haru behind.

He was proved correct because Sasori attacked him from behind. Suddenly, unexpectedly, all the training Kakashi had bullied and cajoled Shikamaru into doing fell into place. He dodged the blow, turned and swept Sasori’s feet from under him. Sasori was caught unprepared and sent sprawling; it was all he could do not to fall into the gap between the ship and the dock.

Shikamaru left him struggling and chased after Haru.


Even Shikamaru could outrun a child of five. He caught him up. Haru wriggled in his grasp.

“Ranmaru!” he shouted.

“Stop it, Haru,” Shikamaru commanded in a voice he did not know he had.

Haru was suddenly silent and still.


Shikamaru knew that he should run back to the ship. He should use the little time Ranmaru could buy them. Instead his eyes went along the tunnel. Hana had Ranmaru in her grasp.

Their eyes made contact. Hana was enough like Kiba for Shikamaru to know that she was very, very angry.

“What did you give Konan-sama?” she growled.

“Foxglove extract,” he told her. “Not enough to be lethal or cause any permanent damage,” he added, hoping that was true. “We had to keep you occupied. We thought you would not leave her side if she were sick.”

“The ship’s computer has a diagnostics programme,” she explained, “but you have told me so I no longer need it. Run, Shika-san. Take Haru back to his To-chan. Do not give me time to remember that I could break Ranmaru’s back within a moment and be on you within seconds.”


Shikamaru took half a second to process what she had said and then turned and ran. Haru was looking over his shoulder. Shikamaru knew that he was probably watching Hana kill Ranmaru but there was nothing he could do. He had to concentrate on running as fast as he could before Sasori cut his losses and launched the ship. At the moment the outer door of the airlock was still open but he was acutely aware that it could be closed from the control room.

The sound of running footsteps came from behind him. They were soft, but he knew how deceptively lightly Naruto could run. Had Hana changed her mind?

“Ranmaru’s coming too,” Haru informed him.


They barrelled through the airlock and into the ship; Ranmaru punched the controls so that the outer and inner airlock doors closed behind them.

Shikamaru put Haru down. “You stay with Ranmaru,” he instructed. He turned to Ranmaru. “Follow me up to the control room.” Then he began climbing the ladder.


Sasori was in the command chair. He already had the interface activated. Shikamaru looked about, relieved to see that there were four chairs; they would not have to locate other acceleration couches. Before he could sit in the pilot’s chair Sasori was up and had taken it; the command interface gave more information and Sasori was the more experienced pilot.

Shikamaru did not mention that Sasori had tried to hit him over the head and drag him into the ship. Sasori did not remind Shikamaru that he left Sasori clinging onto an edge over a possibly lethal drop.


Ranmaru and Haru’s heads appeared at the hatchway. Haru scrambled off Ranmaru’s back onto the floor of the control room.

“She let you go too?” Sasori queried in amazement. He forced his attention back to the display. “I am beginning to think that there is something in this crazy Naruto-san thing,” he muttered. “It makes people behave in the weirdest ways.”

“My To-chan isn’t crazy,” Haru objected, his chin jutting out in a gesture that was surprisingly like his Papa.

“It wasn’t an insult, Ha-chan,” Shikamaru assured him, his fingers flying over the control board. “Sasori-san has noticed that your To-chan brings out the best in people. Sasori-san knows Gaara-san. Let Ranmaru-kun strap you in. We’ll be lifting as soon as possible.”

Sasori made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a snort. “Do you recognise the type of drive?” he asked.

“Yes, it is a miniature Mulligan drive,” Shikamaru told him. “We have one. It is designed to handle like a conventional drive. I know how to manage the jump, we just have to find a hole.”

“We have to get into space first. For all we know here are another three perimeters of defences to get through,” Sasori reminded him.


To Shikamaru’s surprise there were none. In an amazingly short time they were in orbit avoiding a plethora of transporters and freighters in a system that appeared to have no centralised traffic control.

It had almost been too easy.

---

Zetsu fought another wave of nausea. Did he need a bucket again? Hana had sent the Cook with a suspension of charcoal for him to drink. It seemed to have helped.

“Stop crying,” he told En-chan.

“I didn’t want him and Haru-chan to go,” En-chan sobbed.

“I know. Neither did I,” In-chan admitted. “But in the end Pein-sama would have asked him to do something he couldn’t and Pein-sama would have threatened Haru-chan.”

They sniffed. “So we were doing Pein-sama a favour, because it stopped him hurting a child,” En-chan suggested.

In a way En-chan was right; Pein hated himself when he did something that led to a child suffering.

“Will he be cross when he finds out we helped?” En-chan asked.

In-chan imagined it and shuddered. Not only had they lost a typed-seven genius but a full set of mindprinting facilities, even the uploader. He hoped that Shikamaru would think it through properly and give the ship back; it would take the edge off Pein’s fury.

“Pein-sama must not find out,” he told his other half. “Never. You must never say anything, even if you are angry.”

“He won’t work it out?” En-chan asked.

In-chan was glad that he had let Shikamaru struggle with the security system in the tunnel for so long. Knowing how he approached the problem would make it much easier to fabricate a record of how he had triumphed over that and the control systems for the two outer security cordons.

“No, En-chan, because we will make sure he doesn’t,” In-chan told him.

It would be hard, particularly the loneliness, but they owed it to Shikamaru-san. For the first time in their lives they had felt truly accepted.

They would never forget their friend, who had given them so much. Split Zetsu had gone forever. Now they were Inryoku and Enerugi.

---