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 SyilxPrincess, YamanashiOchinashiIminashi, SunaoTsuji, richon, disembodiedvoiceofthedying, blugirlami21, Kat Saama, sadie237, v, Prism0467, lonelylulaby and Dorkchic who reviewed after chapter 73.

Prism0467 asked a question. I have answered it here:
http://www2.adult-fanfiction.org/forum/index.php/topic/21106-the-world-of-mannah-pierce/page__pid__227866#entry227866

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 hoping for Sasuke/Naruto or Naruto/Sasuke action in every chapter.

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Chapter seventy-four: Safe

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Ran watched Haru making marks on the white sheet with coloured sticks.

He remembered the man in the market. He had put blobs of colour on a board. The blobs made a pretty picture.

Haru’s picture wasn’t pretty. Ran wasn’t sure if it was even a picture.

“It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t look like the thing, as long as it stands for the thing,” Haru explained.

That was meaningless to Ran.

Haru sighed. “This is To-chan,” he said, pointing at one group of marks. “Tell me why it is To-chan.”

Ran looked at it. The two lines at the bottom could be legs. It started making sense. There was a line for the body and two more for the arms. There was a blob for the head. The top of the head-blob was yellow. Of the coloured sticks Haru had, it was the closest to Naruto-san’s hair colour.

“Yellow hair,” he replied. He looked closer. “Whiskers,” he added. He thought again. Why wasn’t it Yuki? Yuki had the same colour hair as Naruto-san and the same whiskers. “Long legs and arms,” he decided; Yuki’s arms and legs weren’t long like Naruto-san’s.

“You could draw Kono-san,” Haru suggested. He stood up and went to get a sheet for Ran to draw on.

“Not Konohamaru-san,” Ran decided. “Iruka-san. Naruto-san is your Mommy.”

Haru frowned at him. “Mommy?”

Ran struggled to remember the word Kakashi had used. “Par-ent,” he tried.

Haru smiled. “Yes, To-chan and Papa are my parents.”

‘Papa’ was the special name the children called Sasuke-sama.

Ran picked out coloured sticks for Iruka-san’s skin, hair, eyes and mouth. He did not use lines. He made coloured blobs, like the man in the market.

“That’s good,” Haru told him. “Why Iruka-san?”

“Iruka-san wants to be my Mommy. My par-ent,” Ran replied.

Haru frowned and then he smiled. “Good,” he decided.

Ran stopped making blobs. “Good?” he queried.

“Papa says that Iruka-san ‘stands in the place of his mother’. If he’s good enough for my Papa he must be a good parent. If Iruka-san is your Mommy, will Kakashi-san be your Papa?”

Ran was confused. Was Iruka-san Sasuke-sama’s Mommy?

“I didn’t say yes,” Ran told him.

Haru was surprised; Ran could feel it. “Why not?” he asked.

Ran wasn’t sure; it felt wrong. “I remember my Mommy,” he whispered.

“Couldn’t he be your parent without being your Mommy?” Haru suggested. “You could call him To-chan, or Papa, or Ir-chan. It doesn’t matter what you call him. It matters that he looks after you, loves you lots and stops you doing things you shouldn’t.”

It was a new idea. Ran would think about it.

---

Iruka sat at the galley table and poured himself another cup of tea. The final part of the move to the household was scheduled for the next day.

Ibiki had moved his crew room two days ago and Haku yesterday; C-san had gone with them. Shikaku, Yoshino and Sumiko had transferred early so that Shikaku could work on the playroom. Kotetsu, Izumo and Ayame had moved once Izumo had closed the shop on the Oak and opened the one in the compound. Kurenai and the children were due to leave tomorrow, along with Naruto, Sasuke, their litters and the rest of Iruka’s crew room, including Ran.

Then Asuma and a skeleton crew would then move the Oak to a secure mooring in the freighter dock.


Kakashi came through the doorway from the crew room and sat beside him. Iruka blinked, wondering if he was dreaming. It was early, really early, just after ship’s dawn early. Kakashi did not do early.

“We tell him today,” Kakashi stated.

Iruka knew he was right. He imagined Ran’s reaction and winced but he nodded.

“I have been thinking,” Kakashi continued. “Perhaps it would be best to take him to the household this morning and show him his new room.”

Iruka had a long list of tasks he needed to complete this morning. He almost objected, then realised that Ran must come first. He would delegate as much as he could and do the rest during ship’s night if necessary.

“Yes, that would be good,” he agreed.

Kakashi smiled, obviously pleased to be making progress. “Then, this afternoon, once we are back, we pack up the rooms,” he continued. “Maybe Ran could help us pack up ours first. Then we can offer him the choice of you going into his room to help him pack or him bringing the stuff he wants to take out to you in the shared area.”

Iruka was impressed; while he had been wasting his time worrying, Kakashi had been thinking it through step by step. He smiled back. “We have a plan then.”

---

Kakashi had been pleased with himself right up to the point when Ran refused point-blank to walk up the gangplank onto the Dart.

That was when things had gone very wrong. Kakashi had moved toward Ran. Yes, he had intended to pick him up and, yes, that had been a very bad decision.

Once Ran started to run there had been no option other than to chase him. The docking bay was too dangerous. He had been running towards the edge of the dock and the fall from there might have killed him.

It had been a minute Kakashi would never forget. The boy could run fast and dodge effectively; Kakashi had only just caught him before he went over the edge. Then he had completely under-estimated the intensity of Ran’s reaction; if his reactions had been any slower Kakashi would have been blind until Rin could grow him a new eye. As it was he had a ripped ear, deep scratches on his cheek and a chunk of hair had been pulled out by its roots.

The ear was particularly annoying as Kakashi had thought he had Ran immobilised when that happened. He had trained Naruto. How in known space had he forgotten teeth?

Iruka had opened the door to the corridor and Kakashi had released Ran close to it. Ran had shot away. Luckily he had made straight for his room.

As Kakashi had anticipated, Iruka was more than angry at him for moving towards Ran and precipitating the disaster. His fury had been and remained monumental. The only comparable time had been when Sasuke had completely withdrawn after Naruto killed Tenzo.

Either this was worse or eight standards had softened Kakashi’s memory.


They were in their room because Iruka did not like shouting at him in front of other people. Kakashi tried again.

“I have said that I am sorry and that it was my fault,” he reminded Iruka. “Ir-chan, he can feel your emotions. If he decides to come out of his room and you are this angry, it could be bad.”

Iruka rounded on him. “And how likely do you think it is that he will come out of his room today? Or tomorrow?”

Kakashi almost said that they could ask Konohamaru to try, but managed to stop himself in time; there was no need to make Iruka feel inadequate as well as angry.

“Maybe he’ll get hungry,” he suggested.

Iruka calmed a little at that. “True,” he conceded. “What did Rin say about the ear?”

Kakashi flinched and stopped himself scratching the dressing. “Once she stopped laughing, she stuck it together and said it will be fine.

“Good,” Iruka admitted. “Thank you for saving him, Kashi, even if it was your fault in the first place.” He moved towards the door. “I am going to my office. I’ll ask Choza to watch for him.”

Kakashi let him go; he did not even try for a kiss.

His ear itched.


He had to do something to remedy the situation. After some thought Kakashi decided that he needed some children. Ran did not find children as frightening as adults. He had made promising progress when he was in the playroom; particularly when with Haru and Kazuki.

He went to find Naruto, which was not difficult because he was with Kiba and the children in the playroom; packing.

Naruto’s eyes widened to see the scratches and the dressing. “What happened?” he asked.

“I spooked Ran in the docking bay. I had no choice but to chase and catch him,” Kakashi admitted. “Naru-kun, is there any way you could lend me Haru and Kazuki?”

“Please,” Kiba muttered from his position a handful of paces away.

Kakashi assessed the situation. He guessed that the children ‘helping’ was Naruto’s idea.

Naruto frowned. “It is important that they all contribute,” he insisted. “We can’t let two of them go and play.”

Kiba’s face fell.

“They could be ‘helping’ Choza pack up the galley,” Kakashi suggested.

“An excellent idea,” Kiba insisted. “I am sure that Cho-chan will appreciate it. Maybe some of the others could help elsewhere? Maybe Ya-chan and Yo-chan could help you pack up your office, Naruto-san.”

Naruto scowled at him and then sighed. “If I take Ya-chan and Yo-chan to my office for the rest of the morning, you will promise to let the other six help?”

Kiba scowled back. “Yes, I promise. However, if you think of anyone who would appreciate Kuu-chan and Kei-chan’s help, please do not hesitate to inform me.”

“I’ll ask about,” Kakashi promised.


He encouraged Naruto to go ahead with Yasushi and Yoshimi and then walked at Haru’s pace. Kazuki, as always, ran on ahead but kept coming back, as if he was attached to Haru by an invisible elastic cord.

Kakashi explained what had happened in the docking bay. Haru looked up at him. His expression said it all, even if Kiba had him to too well-trained to comment.

At least Kakashi did not suffer the ignominy of having a child of six telling him how stupid he had been.

“We need to go back to the playroom,” Haru told him.

Kakashi gave him a questioning look.

“We need to get Ran’s drawings and more paper and crayons,” Haru explained.

Kakashi had not known that Ran drew.


They went back. Kakashi assured Kiba that they would be leaving again while Haru found what was needed and Kazuki dashed about.

Kakashi watched Haru putting the sheets into a portfolio. The way he cared about keeping the paper flat reminded Kakashi of Sasuke. It was odd but pleasant; usually Kakashi thought of Haru being Shikamaru in a Sasuke-shaped package.

“Do you want me to carry that?” he asked.

Haru handed him the portfolio and put two boxes of crayons in his satchel. Kakashi notice that he had gone back to carrying his tablet; something that he had stopped doing before he was abducted.

They walked side by side. Haru was unusually quiet; Kakashi guessed that he was thinking through a strategy for persuading Ran out of his room, off the Oak and into the household.

“Is Iruka-san upset?” he asked suddenly.

“You could put it like that,” Kakashi admitted.

---

Haru was pleased that Kakashi-san had come to him for help with Ran. Most people assumed that he was only good with puzzles and computers. He couldn’t remember any adult other than Shi-chan or Ranmaru asking him for assistance and that had only happened when they were being held by Pein.

It was odd thinking about Ranmaru. Would Ran grow up to be like him?

He gave Kazuki the short version of the problem; Ran’s safe place was his room on the Oak and he did not want to leave it. Kazuki would understand because his safe place was To-chan and the litter.

What Ran needed to understand was that it was people who made a safe place, not the place itself.


Once they reached the crew room, Haru spread Ran’s drawings across the low table between the couches in the shared area and put blank paper on top.

Kakashi-san looked too interested.

“You should wait until he decides to show them to you,” Haru warned him but he had a feeling that Kakashi would not be dissuaded; he would just be sneaky.


Then he settled down to draw the picture he had planned as he walked from the playroom to the crew room. He had decided to just do faces because that would be quicker. In the lower, middle section he drew three circles. To the one on the left he added silvery hair, pointed ears, blue blobs for eyes, a mouth with fangs and five whiskers on each side; it represented Kazuki. The centre one of the three was him and the one on the right Ran.

Ran needed less detail because Ran did not look like anyone else; Haru gave him large brown eyes, brown hair that fell in two parts over his forehead and a mouth that was a horizontal line because Ran never smiled.

Then he settled to his task of representing the rest of his family in the top right section of the paper; it was one of those times when Haru almost wished there were fewer of them. He made eight medium circles, three small ones and two large ones. He made sure that the large ones were to the right of the family group. Then he added just enough detail to represent each person. He did make sure that Papa was obviously Papa.

Then he made two large circles in the top left corner. The right-hand one of the pair he made Kakashi, which was easy; one eye and sticky up grey hair. The other he made Iruka, which was more of a challenge. He based it on the way Ran had drawn Iruka-san.

Then, finally, he got to the point. He took one crayon and made a closed curve around all the members of his family. Then selected a different colour and drew another that contained Iruka, Kakashi and his Papa.

Only when it came to the last, most important curve did he hesitate. He looked at Kakashi, who was sitting on one of the couches watching him intently.

“Do I put it around Ran and Iruka-san, or around Ran, Iruka-san and you?” he asked. “I know Iruka-san wants to be Ran’s parent, but do you?”

---

Kakashi had watched Haru systematically construct the picture. The boy really could not draw and it did not matter; it was more like a coding system than art. It was astonishing.

His heart jumped when Haru confidently drew the line to group him with Iruka and Sasuke. Only Sasuke could have told Haru that he thought of him and Iruka as substitute parents. The fact that it meant enough to Sasuke for him to tell his son touched Kakashi somewhere deep.

Then, with bright red crayon poised and ready, Haru asked The Question.

For a moment he allowed himself to be distracted. If Haru knew that Iruka wanted to be Ran’s parent, Ran must have told him. That was promising.

“Kakashi-san?” Haru queried with a touch of impatience in his voice. Kakashi smiled to hear him sounding like an Uchiha.

Did he know the answer? Was he ready to commit?

If he said no the red line would exclude him.

“Yes, I want to be Ran’s parent,” he replied.

Haru drew the line to include Iruka, Ran and him; they became a family.


Kakashi continued to watch as Haru studied the drawing and then nodded; obviously satisfied. He got up, went to the galley, got a stool and placed it by the intercom. Once he was standing on the stool he pressed the button.

“This is Haru. Ran, there is a drawing for you outside your door. Kazu-chan and I are in the galley with Choza-san,” he said. He paused and then repeated the message twice.

He stepped down and turned to Kakashi.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be here, Kakashi-san, if you scared him so much this morning,” he suggested. “It would be good if Iruka-san was here,” he added.

Kakashi could recognise a dismissal. As he left to talk to Iruka, Haru had placed the completed picture on the floor outside Ran’s door and was returning the stool to the galley.

---

When the intercom clicked, Iruka hoped that it would be a message from Choza saying that Ran had come out of his room. He did not expect it to be Haru.

It had to be Kakashi’s idea and, after the debacle in the docking bay, Iruka was not feeling very trusting. He put aside what he was doing and hurried towards the crew room.

He met Kakashi coming to find him.

“It is Ha-chan’s plan,” Kakashi told him. “He wants you there.”

“Haru’s plan?” Iruka queried.

“Yes, he is far more like Sasuke than I thought,” Kakashi admitted.

Iruka wondered where that had come from. Surely having a plan was more like Shikamaru than Sasuke? Before he could ask what Kakashi meant he had gone.


He sat on the couch where Haru indicated. On the table were blank pieces of paper and crayons. Over by Ran’s door, on the floor, was a drawing. Apparently Haru had drawn it. Iruka could not see the detail but there were many of what he thought might be faces.

Haru and Kazuki were in the galley. They were putting labels on everything that would be transported from the Oak to the household the next day.

If they managed to complete the move.


He was considering whether he could trust Haru to fetch his tablet from his office when Ran’s door cracked open. Iruka held his breath.

Haru had been very specific about where he should sit; Iruka realised that Ran would have to either open his door fully or poke his head out to see him. The drawing was where it could be seen but it was well out of reach; Ran would have to leave his room to get it.

Iruka marvelled at the detail in Haru’s plan.

There was a long wait before the door of the room opened wider and Ran slid out and down towards the sheet of paper. Then he spotted Iruka and froze.

Iruka smiled at him.

For a moment it looked like Ran would retreat but then he continued towards the drawing. As his hand close on it he spoke.

“Haru drew it,” he whispered.

Iruka decided to take a risk. “Do you want to show it to me?” he asked.

He could see Ran deciding between taking the drawing back into his room or bringing it to Iruka.

His heart was thumping. He told himself that he would not be disappointed if Ran chose his room.

Ran moved towards him rather than away. Iruka kept calm and still as Ran sat down on the couch beside him with a careful distance between them. He put the sheet of paper on the low table.

Iruka saw it properly for the first time. He watched as Ran traced the curve that united Naruto, Sasuke and their children. Then, slowly, he did the same to the red line that enclosed Ran, Iruka and Kakashi.

“I don’t want you to be my Mommy,” Ran said.

Iruka accepted it. He would not become upset. He did not want to alienate Ran any more than he had done already.

“You aren’t Mommy,” Ran explained. He looked at Iruka with huge, brown eyes. “I want you to be my par-ent but not my Mommy.”

Iruka felt a surge of joy. “Thank you, Ran-chan. I would like that very, very much.”

---

Ran could feel how happy Iruka-san was, even though they weren’t touching. Sometimes it was like that, if the person was close and the feeling was strong.

Par-ents were like Mommies. Mommies gave cuddles. He needed to know what Iruka-san felt like before he could risk a cuddle.

He reached out and touched Iruka-san’s hand. The link was strong. He felt Iruka-san’s happiness. It would be fine.

He crawled into Iruka-san’s lap and sat there.

Strong arms tightened about him. He cuddled close.

It was nice.

He was safe.

---