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.

My gratitude to those readers who have written a review and particular thanks to YamanashiOchinashiIminashi, Tai, The Horseman of Death, disembodiedvoiceofthedying, unneeded, v, lonelylulaby (twice), maliya, sadie237, Prism0467, Gingitsune, blugirlami21, richon, lividangel, cynaga, Darling425, Gaia77 and xxShadowheartxx who reviewed chapter 63. I lost nineteen reviews this week, maybe when an account (or accounts) were deleted, so receiving enough new reviews to make up the deficit was particularly nice. Thank you!

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). This chapter contains a small amount of Sasuke and Naruto action.

---

Chapter sixty-four: Fallout

---

Everyone tried to go about their business as if it were an ordinary day. For Naruto that was particularly difficult because, with the children and the babies in stasis, the day was anything but normal.

He was in the gym but he kept thinking what was happening eight jumps away rather than concentrating on his training. The Dart would jump into the Cardinal system and dock. Would Shi-chan be there? Would the Akatsuki be there as well? How would Kakashi-sensei find Shi-chan if he was hiding?

How would he cope if Shi-chan and Haru were not there? He took a deep breath. He would have to be strong. Sasuke would need him to be strong.

The intercom clicked and Naruto jumped.

“We have a live video link to the Dart set up in the galley,” Shino announced. “Remember that there is a considerable time delay due to the real distances involved. We will record the incoming message for those who don’t make it in time.”

Naruto was out of the gym and down the corridor. They would only be setting up a live link if Shi-chan and Haru were safe.


He slipped into the chair next to Sasuke. Sasuke’s hand sought his and Naruto squeezed it reassuringly. Coming up with the route had pushed Sasuke to his limits. Naruto knew Sasuke still believed there were better routes that would have reached Shi-chan and Haru sooner.

It would be a 2D image because that was easier to encode, transmit and decrypt. Sasuke’s eyes were fixed on the screen where it would be projected.

“Here it comes,” Shino warned and Naruto turned his attention from Sasuke to the screen.


Shi-chan had Haru on his knee. Naruto’s eyes were riveted on the image. Haru was much thinner; too thin. He was too pale. Naruto thought he spied a mark on his arm that should not be there. Was it a scar?

“Hello To-chan. Hello Papa. Hello Kiba-san,” Haru called. “Kashi-san says Kazuki and the others are podded so I won’t say hello to them. Hello everyone else. We are fine. I want to be with you. Shi-chan has promised to put me back in the pod so I won’t have to wait days. Shi-chan says we should leave a gap now. You are meant to reply, even though we won’t see it or hear it yet because radio waves take fifty-five and a half minutes to travel a gigaklick.”

“Hello, Haru-chan,” Sasuke answered. “We have missed you so much. It is wonderful to see you.”

Naruto felt Sasuke nudge him. He did not know what to say. He wanted to hold Haru, not talk to an image of him.

“We love you, Ha-chan,” he managed. “We love you so much.”

“Shi-chan will talk now,” Haru warned them.

“Hello everyone, especially you, Ma, and you, Pa,” Shikamaru began. “Iruka-sensei, thank you for sending Kakashi-san to fetch me. We have missed you all. We are fine and we have lots to tell you. I expect you have masses to tell us as well. I will be recording a detailed report that I will send forward for you, Sasuke-sama. I confess we are tired, Haru from the pod and me, well you know me, I like lazing in bed. We will end this now but talk so much more face-to-face in a few days’ time.”

Naruto could see how exhausted Shi-chan was. He shook himself. They were safe now.

“You sleep well, Shika-kun, Haru-chan,” Shikaku told them. “We are, as always, thinking of you.”

Then the screen went blank and Naruto found himself wanting to rip something apart or to cry; he was not sure which.

Sasuke was stroking his arm.

“They will be sleeping by now dobe, safe and on their way to us as we are on our way to them,” he reminded him. “Do you want to go to our room for a cuddle?” he whispered.

Naruto nodded; he could not trust himself to speak.

---

The Dart was built for one, snug for three and too small for four, even without a child. There was the control room, two tiny cabins for sleeping, a shower, a head, a galley big enough for one person to cook and a shared area with two small couches on either side of a low table.

It would be easier once Haru was podded but Shikamaru had promised him that they would wait until they received the video from the Oak. For now, Gai and Kakashi were in the control room, leaving the shared area for Neji, Shikamaru and Haru. Haru was asleep in Shikamaru’s lap. Shika himself kept drifting in and out of sleep. Neji watched him from the couch opposite.

It was obvious to Neji that the relationship between Shikamaru and Haru had changed. Before they had been like brothers with a large age gap, or perhaps an uncle with a favourite nephew. Now they were father and son. Neji wondered how Sasuke and Naruto would react.

Shikamaru had also changed in other ways. He was more assured and mature. Neji suspected he had developed some of the resilience he had previously lacked. It was marked enough that Kakashi and even Gai had commented on it.

Would Shikamaru still need him? Neji swallowed. He clung to what Kakashi had said when they were anchored off the Warren; Shikamaru needed a lover and no one else could be trusted not to hurt him.

At least no one available; there were some very suitable partners for Shika amongst the crew but, luckily for Neji, they were all taken.

Shika’s intense, dark eyes were studying him. Neji decided to deflect any questions.

“I expect your parents and Sumaki will be staying permanently,” he suggested.

To his surprise Shikamaru did not rise to the bait.

“I can make Darrenden safe for them if Ma wants to go back there,” he answered. “Will she?” he asked.

“I do not think so,” Neji admitted. “She adapted very quickly to life on the Oak. She helps in the playroom and invites people for tea. She has struck up a friendship with Tsunade. Unlike last time she has Sumaki, who takes up much of her time. I think she has realised that your father’s attitude to life fits new Uchiha rather well. By the way, he helped Sasuke find a route.”

“Did he?” Shikamaru was obviously pleased. “I wondered how you managed to get to Cardinal so quickly. I was expecting to have to hide there much longer. That was why I created Derek.” There was a pause; he was obviously thinking. “Wow, Sasuke got his head around the route-finder well enough to incorporate new data? That’s impressive.”

“He struggled with it,” Neji admitted. “He only had half a route before your father started assisting him. We were already focused on sector seventeen. The Tennyos had been sending in data about holes there.” He decided to ask the question that had been in his mind ever since they had opened the packing case. “Who is in the other pod, Shika?”

Shikamaru checked that Haru was thoroughly asleep. “A version of Ranmaru. Eight standards in age and feral. He’s the original. The Ranmaru we knew was a clone. There were others. The one in the orphanage and another who helped us escape. I promised the Ranmaru who helped us escape that I would bring the original child back to Uchiha.”

Neji struggled with the unexpected information. How would Konohamaru cope? “Our Ranmaru was a mindprinted clone?” he queried. “That’s amazing. I somehow thought you would be able to tell. He seemed completely normal.”

Shikamaru nodded. “Prints who don’t know they are prints act, think and feel as if they are the original. There is a limitation. Clones printed from an original only keep the imprinted memories for about ten standards. Clones printed from a print keep theirs for less than three.”

“When was our Ranmaru imprinted?” Neji asked, trying to get his mind around the implications.

“When he was eight. From the original, the one in the pod.” Shikamaru considered. “I think some of the memories from the print at the orphanage must have been added later.”

“So his memories, the ones from the child, would have faded when he got to about eighteen,” Neji surmised. “What would have happened?”

“I don’t know,” Shikamaru admitted. “He would have had ten standards of his own memories. On the other hand, he wasn’t the one who learned to walk and speak. So much of what we can do was learnt long before we are eight. Perhaps the framework in which the new memories were stored was imprinted and would fade, so the new memories would be lost too.”

Neji shuddered. “I hate to admit it, but perhaps it was for the best that our Ranmaru died when his mind was still working normally. By the Lady, how will Konohamaru cope with a younger version of his Ranmaru?”

“I promised, Ne-chan,” Shikamaru admitted. “I promised that I would ask Sasuke to raise him. The other Ranmaru we met, he was a reprint from our Ranmaru’s head. He remembered everything. He chose not to come with us because he knew his memories would fade soon. He would not put Kono-kun through that.”

Neji could see how upset Shikamaru was at the thought of it. This was his Shika, who cared so much that it often hurt him. He moved to sit beside him and put an arm around his shoulders.

Shikamaru checked Haru was secure and then laid his head on Neji’s shoulder. Within a few seconds he was asleep.

Neji held him and Haru; his Shika and his Shika’s child.

---

Sasuke had expected Naruto to be relieved to see Haru, even if it was only via video, so it was worrying that he was so upset.

Naruto had faced the last half standard with incredible strength. His support while Sasuke had battled the route-finder had been invaluable; Sasuke did not think he would have managed without it.

Now, after viewing Haru, he looked almost fragile. Sasuke was glad that he had agreed to retire to their room. He wanted to hold him. He would reassure him that it was almost over and soon all would be well.


So it was a surprise when Naruto slid the door shut with his foot and dragged Sasuke towards the bed. He was peppering Sasuke’s face with kisses, almost begging to be taken.

It did not feel right.

“What about a quickie?” Sasuke suggested, snaking his hand down between them, intending to caress Naruto through his pants.

Naruto twisted his lower body away. “No, I want you to fuck me,” he insisted between kisses.

They never released fluffy-soft-Naruto in the morning; it would put Naruto out of commission for the rest of the day. Sasuke pulled away from the addictive kisses.

“Sweetheart?” he queried.

“Please,” Naruto pleaded. “I don’t want to think just now. Fluffy-soft-Naruto never thinks.”

Sasuke still was not sure. He did not like leaving Naruto alone when he was at his most vulnerable, but he had duties to attend to and Shikamaru may have already sent a preliminary report.

“Please,” Naruto begged. “I’ll be fine sleeping. You can lock the door.”

Sasuke gave in; whatever his brain was saying, his body was already responding to Naruto’s wandering touch.


Naruto had them on the bed naked within seconds. Sasuke focused on grabbing the lube and managed to squirt some over his erection before Naruto straddled him and impaled himself.

By the Lady, Naruto was tight and hot; Sasuke was concentrating on not climaxing too quickly when Naruto wrapped his legs around Sasuke’s waist and flipped them over.

Sasuke did what he was being told and started thrusting; aiming, as always, at Naruto’s button.

It worked, Naruto was flipped into his fluffy-soft-Naruto persona and Sasuke came, but it still did not feel right. Sasuke pulled out and decided to find a wet washcloth to clean up the mess; the bedcover would need to be laundered. He kissed Naruto’s shoulder and stroked his fur.

“I’ll get us a towel, sweetheart,” he whispered. “I’ll be back in a minute. You start nest-building,” he encouraged, putting some cushions onto the bed.

He did not like the way Naruto was just laying there; he was too still.


He hurried into the bathroom, set the faucet running, grabbed two washcloths and put them under the running water. He fished out the first, wrung it out and wiped himself. He threw that washcloth into the laundry basket, wrung out the other, turned the faucet off and grabbed a towel.

He had been no more than a minute but Naruto was gone.

Sasuke panicked. Where was he? Had he gone into the crew room? He had only ever done that a few times. The door was shut. Sasuke did not think that fluffy-soft-Naruto shut doors behind him.

The door to the babies’ nursery was open. He checked. No Naruto; just the three empty depressions in the platform where the gestators had been.

Then he heard it; a soft, plaintive howl.

He ran up the spiral staircase, heart hammering. The children and the babies were in stasis; the den was empty. All the kits, both Naruto’s litters, were gone. Did fluffy-soft-Naruto even understand that they were safe?

It would appear not. He was wandering about the nursery, from bed to bed. Tears were pooling in his eyes and running, unheeded, down his face. He stopped again and gave one of the heartrending little howls.

Sasuke went to him, desperate to hold him and comfort him, only to be repelled by a growl. He tried again and this time Naruto actually snapped at him; his teeth passing so close that Sasuke felt Naruto’s breath on his skin.

It was a warning; Sasuke knew that. Naruto would never miss. Now what should he do? He sank down into the rocking chair to think.

Naruto continued patrolling the room, stopping at each tier of bunks and examining each empty bed. He was still crying. Every so often he would howl.


What made it worse was that it was not necessary. All the children were safe; even Haru. Sasuke guessed that fluffy-soft-Naruto had misinterpreted Naruto’s anxiety at being separated from the children.

Until today, when he had observed Naruto’s reaction to seeing Haru, Sasuke had not known that Naruto felt so badly. It had been Naruto himself who had suggested podding the children.

His lack of insight made him feel self-centred and inadequate.

Would he have to fetch Rin? He dismissed the idea. Naruto would never forgive him if he allowed Rin to see him like this.


Then he remembered the hypo that Naruto had given him five divs ago, when he had been worried that growling-possessive-Naruto would be angry. He hurried out of the nursery, down the pole, into the bathroom and inputted the combination that opened their drugs cabinet. Inside were stims, the hypos they used when they wanted Naruto’s knot to go down and, at the far right, the hypo Kiba had prepared that would knock Naruto unconscious.

The label indicated it was still fresh enough to use.

Sasuke hesitated. It had been prepared for growling-possessive-Naruto. What would happen if he used it on fluffy-soft-Naruto?

He went to the intercom and pressed the button for broadcast. “Please could Kiba-san come to the downstairs nursery?” he requested. “As soon as possible.”

Then he pulled on some clothes, went to the babies’ nursery and waited.


Kiba arrived quickly, entering the nursery via the door from his room.

“Sasuke-sama?” he queried. “What is wrong?”

Sasuke did not know what to say. Naruto must have talked to Kiba about the other problem. He cast about for a way of broaching the issue that did not betray too many of Naruto’s secrets.

“This hypo, the one to knock Naruto out. Is it safe to use at all times, no matter what behaviours have been triggered?” he asked.

Kiba’s eyes were soft with concern “Is Naruto-san upset?” he asked.

Sasuke bit his lip. “He’s in one of his alternative states and he thinks the children and babies are missing because they are dead, or perhaps stolen. I don’t know which. He won’t let me near him and he doesn’t talk much, not when he is like this.”

At least Kiba did not seem in the least surprised or shocked. Instead he gave a small whimper of sympathy.

“I could give you something less strong, but using this might be safer,” he advised. “It won’t harm him but it will drop him in his tracks. It would be better if he were lying down when you used it. Or at least if he had somewhere soft to fall.”

Naruto had not mentioned that. It had been all about him not hurting Sasuke.

“You can always come to me about things like this, Sasuke-sama,” Kiba reassured him. “I understand. In another seven standards we will have to face up to the same types of issues with the kits. We do not know yet which triggered behaviours they will develop. They may have the full set, or just one, or none.”

Sasuke had never considered that the kits could be as complicated as Naruto. What if they bonded to someone unsuitable or even cruel? The idea of it was terrifying.

“I should have not mentioned the kits,” Kiba apologised. “You should get back to Naruto-san, Sasuke-sama.”

He pulled himself together. “Yes. Thank you, Kiba-san.”


He slid open the door to the nursery. Naruto was on the floor, whimpering. He had taken the bedclothes, pillows and toys from the children’s bunks and made a nest. He was curled up at the centre clutching Haru’s maroon plushie.

It was not a sleeping nest or a fucking nest. It was a mourning nest.

Sasuke never, never wanted to see Naruto in one again.

He got down on the floor and crept closer. Naruto ignored him.

Under the circumstances, that was good. Sasuke managed to get close enough to stretch out an arm and press the hypo against his thigh.

The whimpering stopped immediately. Sasuke checked. Naruto’s eyes were closed and he was breathing normally.


He covered him with two of the child-sized blankets and went back down the stairs. He had a feeling that Kiba would have waited in case there was a problem.

He was correct. Kiba was in the closet at the back of the babies’ nursery, putting tiny sleepsuits and diapers on the shelves.

“He is unconscious,” Sasuke confirmed. “It went well. He was lying down.”

“I couldn’t help but hear that he is upstairs. Would it be better if he woke in the usual place?” Kiba suggested.

It would be much better but Sasuke wasn’t sure if he could carry Naruto that far, never mind down the spiral staircase.

“He’ll be deeply unconscious for the next hundred minutes or so,” Kiba informed him. “What if you sorted things out and then I came up to help you move him in, say, thirty minutes?”

Sasuke considered. He could clean Naruto up and get him into some pyjamas. He would have to disassemble the nest upstairs and sort out the bedcover, but he could do that in thirty minutes.

“That would be very much appreciated, Kiba-san,” he admitted.


Kiba made it easy by saying very little other than to assure Sasuke that he could easily put the children’s nursery back to its usual state. He carried Naruto down the stairs as if he weighed no more than a child. He even offered to give Naruto to Sasuke once they were downstairs but Sasuke decided to be sensible and asked Kiba to carry him through into their bedroom.

Kiba laid him on the bed; Sasuke had already folded back the covers. Then Sasuke thanked him and Kiba left, shutting the door to the nursery behind him.

Sasuke sat on the bed and stroked Naruto’s fur.

He yearned for life to return to normal, if living with four Narutos, thirteen children and their extended family could ever be considered normal.

---