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 SunaoTsuji, lividangel, Aflyingmonkey123, Kat Saama, Darling425, disembodiedvoiceofthedying, richon, prettypurpletiger, cynaga, sadie237, satterb and unneeded who reviewed after chapter 74.

Remember, if you want to discuss anything, there is a forum 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). This chapter is about Naruto and Sasuke.

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Chapter seventy-five: Haunted

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Naruto studied Sasuke, wanting nothing more than to gather him up and comfort him but keeping his distance. Although he could be there, supporting, there was little he could do to relieve Sasuke’s pain.

They opened the huge, counterweighted doors and stepped into the inner household of the old Uchiha.

This was the place where Sasuke had been raised. When he had been the babies’ age, the children’s age, even Ran’s age, this was where he had lived. Naruto took in every detail. It was formal and imposing; rich but stark.

“We keep the doors,” Sasuke told him.

Naruto made a note on the tablet.


This was, ostensively, the reason they were here. The whole Uchiha compound, without exception, was going to be included in the redevelopment plans. The family apartments would be stripped out and all the components placed in storage.

The fitters would arrive in five days time. Yesterday Iruka had asked Sasuke, gently, if he wanted anyone to pack up his parents’ personal belongings.

Sasuke had made it clear he did not care about his father’s things. After some thought he had asked Asuma to look through them and do what he thought best.

He then told Naruto that he would like to walk through the apartments and decide what items or features should be included in the new designs. He did not mention Mikoto-san’s belongings but neither did he delegate the task to another.

Naruto knew that Sasuke going into the apartments was not about reviewing what should be preserved, or even looking through his mother’s belongings. It was about facing up to memories that had almost destroyed him.


“That triptych,” Sasuke decided.

All the pictures were beautiful. Naruto wondered why Sasuke had selected that particular set of three. He did not ask. They would be hung in one of the new rooms. He would have standards to ask such questions.

There was something about the way the apartment smelled. Naruto allowed his attention to move away from Sasuke for a moment.

The floors were wood. So was the panelling that covered the lower third of the walls. Naruto shook his head in disbelief. Wood was found on planets, not out in space; using wood as a building material on a space station was as blatant a sign of wealth as coating the floors and walls with gold.

He made his own note. Did Sasuke even see the wood? Naruto doubted it; for Sasuke it would be part of the landscape.

“If you see something you particularly like you must say so, dobe,” Sasuke told him.

Naruto made a noise that he hoped sounded like agreement.

Sasuke frowned at him. “I mean it.”

“I will,” Naruto promised.


They worked their way through the reception rooms. At one point they passed a magnificent set of wooden doors; intricately carved, inlaid with richly coloured materials and highlighted with gold. In the centre of each door was the Uchiha fan.

“My father’s study,” Sasuke stated and kept walking.


The smaller of the two kitchens was homely; Naruto could imagine a child Sasuke perched on one of the stools at the table eating a snack.

“Did you spend much time here?” he queried.

Sasuke shook his head. “My father would not allow us to associate with the servants. I ate with my mother in her rooms or in the nursery if she was busy. Once I was six, I had to attend dinner with my father when he was eating at home. That was in the formal dining room.”

It sounded very lonely. Suddenly being a feral child in the bustling corridors of a space station did not seem so bad. “Did you ever play with other children?” he asked.

“Cousins or other suitable children were brought by their parents to play with me for one hundred minutes every fourth afternoon.” Sasuke managed a small and unconvincing smile. “Sometimes I would forget myself and actually play, but the idea was for me to make a good impression on their parents and form relationships with the children that I could exploit when we were older. On play days, my father would question me at dinner and then my mother would be asked to give her assessment of my behaviour.”

Naruto shuddered; it sounded gruesome.

Sasuke gave a small laugh that sent a shiver up Naruto’s spine. “I remember once I got into a fight with another boy. Mother was furious because I was the host. It was the only time I remember her being angry. I was terrified of what Father would say. I thought about running away to avoid being at dinner. I tried telling Mother I was ill, but she asked me if I really wanted to wait another whole day before telling Father. I thought I would wet myself, I was so scared, but I didn’t because I knew that even Mother would not be able to stop Father beating me if I did such a shameful thing. You know what, Naruto?”

Naruto didn’t; he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to.

“He laughed. He wanted to know if I had won, which of course I had because I had begun martial arts training as soon as I could walk.” Sasuke smiled and this time it was more genuine. “Mother lectured me about it for days afterwards. Looking back I can see that she did not want me thinking that the only way to get Father’s approval was to hit people.”

“Was it?” Naruto asked.

“No,” Sasuke admitted. “He would say he was pleased whenever he got a good report from one of my tutors or from Mother. I think it was one of the things he had been told to do by the Hyuga so I would not turn out like Itachi. That was the only time he laughed, though.”


They decided to ask Choza to look through both kitchens and moved on. Sasuke stopped in front of some simple, elegant doors.

“My mother’s apartments,” he said.

Naruto waited. This was where Sasuke’s mother had lived but it was also where she had died. Would Sasuke choose to enter?

Sasuke took a deep breath. “I’ll show you my room,” he decided and slid open one of the doors.


The room was empty. The only clue that it had been a child’s room was the size of the bed. Sasuke checked the closet.

“They must have moved all my things to Hiruzen-san’s,” he said uncertainly. “The nursery was through here.”

It was a little more cheerful but devoid of toys. At one end there was a table with one small chair. Naruto imagined a child Sasuke being served his meals there when his mother was not available.

“The toy chest was moved to Hiruzen-san’s,” Sasuke decided. “I didn’t have a huge number of toys. Lots were sent as gifts to impress Father but Mother only allowed me to have twelve at a time. I had to choose.”

Naruto could not decide whether twelve was too many or two few. The problem was not the number of toys but that there had been no siblings or friends for Sasuke to share them with.

“A litter is better,” he stated.

Sasuke smiled at him. “A litter is much, much better,” he agreed. “A wonderful, noisy, lively litter. Or two. Two litters are even better than one.”

“Do you want to go home now?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke considered. “No,” he decided. He bit his lip. “I would like to look through Mother’s office.”


Naruto quickly decided that it was a nice room. Sasuke seemed relaxed there. On the desk was a silver display frame like the ones Itachi had given him and Sasuke when the children were born. This one had only one window. Naruto moved towards it, assessing Sasuke’s reaction.

Sasuke gave his permission with a small nod.

It contained pictures of Sasuke; one or two of him as a baby and then more as he grew. Most of them showed him as a boy. He had been shockingly like Hoshi and Haru but surprisingly different to Hikaru.

“Can we take this?” Naruto asked. “May I keep it for now?”

“Of course, dobe,” he replied.


Once the frame was tucked under the tablet he was carrying, Naruto turned his attention to the rest of the room. He decided that it was more than nice, it was very pleasant.

The desk was beautiful. The top was smooth; the grain of the wood glowed. The sides and legs were carved so they looked like climbing plants.

Naruto thought of the plain, functional desk in Sasuke’s office; the one that had replaced his father’s desk.

“What about the desk, teme?” he asked.

Sasuke blinked at him. “Mother’s desk?” he queried.

“For you. In your office,” Naruto clarified.

Sasuke stared at the desk. “Isn’t it a bit feminine?” he asked.

Naruto thought about it. It certainly wasn’t plain like the desk Sasuke had at the moment or starkly striking like his father’s desk had been. He looked at Sasuke. Sasuke would look good sitting at the desk. Sasuke’s office would look a lot better with the desk in it. “I like the desk,” he encouraged.

Sasuke cautiously sat at it. He brushed his hand across the surface. “It is beautiful,” he admitted. “It would remind me of Mother in a good way.” He pondered for a few minutes. “We’ll take it back with us today,” he decided.

Naruto had been right. Sasuke looked good sitting at the desk. The light reflected by its surface warmed his pale skin.

“I have to make the decision about going into Mother’s rooms.” Sasuke admitted suddenly. “She had a private sitting room, a dressing room and a bedroom. She... It... The body...” he trailed off unable to continue.

Naruto was instantly beside him, stroking his back. Was it time to take Sasuke back to their room?

“I am fine,” Sasuke lied. “I know I want some of the things out of the sitting room,” he explained.

Naruto had talked to Asuma. He knew that Mikoto’s body had been in the sitting room.

“You sit here and I’ll bring the things in one by one,” he suggested.

Sasuke relaxed. His scent was less worrying. “That would be good, dobe,” he admitted.


They selected a screen, a low table, a few ornaments and almost all the pictures. Naruto placed the items that were wanted in a corner of the office and noted them on the tablet.

“Should I go get a hover platform for the desk?” he asked.

Sasuke shook his head. “Not yet. We need to check the dressing room and the bedroom. There may be personal things. We don’t have to go through the sitting room, there is a side door into the dressing room,” Sasuke explained. “For the servants.”


Naruto watched carefully but Sasuke seemed comfortable sorting through the clothes and accessories in the dressing room. His mother’s jewellery and another small box would go with them back to the crew room. Two chests were filled and locked for storage. That left four closets of beautiful kimonos.

“Perhaps Haku would like them,” Sasuke suggested.

“That will make him very happy,” Naruto agreed with a smile. “Will you be all right with him coming in here or should I move them into another room?”

“It will be fine,” Sasuke assured him. “There will be people in every room soon.” He frowned. “I haven’t found any letters or keepsakes. I am going to check in the bedroom.

Naruto stayed in the dressing room; bedrooms were private and Sasuke had not suggested Naruto accompany him. He was imagining what it would be like leading Mikoto’s life, endless duty relieved only by her love for her son, when he heard a small sound from the next room.

He was through the door and beside Sasuke in a moment. He was staring into a closet. At the base of the closet, tucked away, was a chest.

“In there,” he whispered. “That’s where Kisame hid me.” His eyes were far away; his mind long ago. “The lid is heavy,” he recalled. “I pushed it up with my back and wedged stuff in the gaps at the sides so that it would not close on a hand or a foot as I climbed out. Then I went looking for Mother.”

Sasuke was remembering every child’s step between the chest and the sitting room. Within too few seconds his mind’s eye would be looking at his mother’s body.

Naruto swept him up and bore him away from there, out of that place and towards their room.

“I will come back for the desk and the other things later,” he promised. “I will look for your mother’s keepsakes then.”

He was no longer sure that Sasuke could hear him. He should have insisted that he remain at the desk while Naruto showed him things from the dressing room and bedroom.

Sasuke’s face was pale; his eyes shut. His scent reminded Naruto of those days in the rented unit when Sasuke was slowly and painfully allowing himself to feel. That had been eight standards after his mother’s death; eight standards ago. It had been when Sasuke had first turned to Naruto for support and Naruto had been there for him. In a way, it had been the beginning.


They crossed the boundary and entered the new household. Sasuke did not react, which was worrying. He would normally care that none of the crew should see him so distressed and needy. Instead he leaned against Naruto’s chest, not even holding on, trusting Naruto not to drop him. His eyes were shut; long black lashes against too pale cheeks.


Those in the crew who had known what they were doing were waiting for them to return. Naruto spotted Iruka’s anxious face and Kakashi’s unhappy stance. He heard Asuma’s breathing and knew that he was watching.


They reached their room. Naruto used his foot to close the door behind them. He jumped onto the bed and sat down, never loosening his grip on Sasuke for a moment.

Then it was cuddling, petting, purring and grooming; slowly but expertly moving Sasuke from where he was to a happier place.

Slowly his scent changed, his skin warmed, his muscles relaxed and, finally, his eyes opened.

“Dobe,” he murmured.

“I am here,” Naruto assured him without words. “You are safe.”

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Sasuke had known he was not ready but they could wait another sixteen standards and it might not make a difference. It was the correct decision to redevelop the compound and he did not want the old household lurking within the new.

He had almost asked Iruka to make the decisions about his mother’s belongings on his behalf, as he had asked Asuma to deal with his father’s. Then he had realised that he needed to do it himself.

It had gone well until he had opened the closet in his mother’s bedroom. The decision not to go into the sitting room had been a wise one; Naruto’s solution had worked well.

The moment he had seen the chest he had been transported back there. Kisame insisting that he stay hidden, no matter what he heard. Hearing the bad man speak with Itachi’s voice. Waiting and waiting only for no one to come. Finally battling with the lid and creeping through the bedroom, across the dressing room and into the sitting room.

His mother’s body.

The blood.

Her lifeless eyes.

He could not be there; could not face it again. He turned away and found that place inside where there was nothing.


Then, like many times before, he chose Naruto over the nothing. He could not love Naruto unless he could feel. He let go of the nothing and was bathed in Naruto’s love and caring.

He was the luckiest person alive.

He was the luckiest person who had ever lived, or would ever live. The luckiest person in the history or future of the human species. The luckiest person in eternity.

He had Naruto and Naruto loved him.

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