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, smauigirl, satterb, disembodiedvoiceofthedying, V-anon, unneeded, sadie237, richon and YamanashiOchinashiIminashi who reviewed after chapter 85 was posted.

Also thanks to readers who point out possible errors that have slipped past both me and Small Fox. Sometimes they are compromises that we have settled on because I write in UK English and he reads in US English. For example ‘speeded up’ is the more common form in the UK while ‘sped up’ is more commonly used in the US. I assume most of the readers are from the US so I use ‘faucet’ rather than ‘tap’ and ‘diaper’ rather than ‘nappy’ but I still use the UK spellings like colour and foetus.

Occasionally I allow something I should really correct stand. This is because I have had trouble with the ‘new’ text editor. The only way I can handle uploading is to use plain text and HTML code for formatting. This works but when I try correcting using the text editor all the formating is lost (or it was last time I tried it). The only way I have of correcting is to delete a chapter and then re-add it. This means that corrections are only possible to the most recent chapter and I am reluctant to do even that as it jumps the chapter to the top of the list and makes readers think I have updated when I haven’t.

That was probably far too long an explanation of why I do not always make the corrections you suggest!

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 eighty-six: Tea

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Konohamaru finished sorting the incoming communications into urgent, important and pending. He could hear Kamatari fidgeting, desperate to get out of the office. As soon as Konohamaru’s eyes left the screen he was on his feet.

“We ready to go?” he demanded.

Konohamaru smiled. “Almost. Schedule?” he queried, relying on Kamatari’s memory for detail.

“Walking the site using the usual route,” Kamatari replied. “We are to radio Naruto-san when we are close to the Medico School. You asked me to remind you that Angela-san is bringing Udon-san to see the Jizenkai offices.”

Konohamaru was looking forward to meeting the ex-Scavenger who was handling the tricky situation in Sublevel C with such patience and resilience.

“Radios,” he instructed and caught the one Kamatari threw at him. Then Kamatari picked up the tablet and they were off.


Konohamaru had two offices; one in the household and the other in the new Uchiha headquarters. When he and Kamatari were working alone, like this morning, they preferred to stay in the household. As Kamatari said, it was closer to Choza’s food. When they had people to see they used Konohamaru’s impressive office in the new headquarters.

They made their way through the unoccupied section of the household, past the prisoners’ apartments and through the back entrance to the headquarters. Konohamaru had become accustomed to the many security measures; combination locks, thumb prints, retina scans and checks for explosives. They then walked through the lowest floor of the headquarters and out the front door.

Konohamaru paused, looking around and then up. Accepting his new role had been difficult, particularly when Inari and Tayuya had been sent on the Maple’s first long range mission, but he had adapted and now he was proud of what they had achieved. The route from the hub was complete. The plaza, where he stood, was almost finished. Within a div the adjacent park would have been installed by the specialist fitters that Shikamaru had hired. As a final touch, they would also plant a single, huge tree in the centre of the plaza.


Kamatari pointed across the square. Jirocho was on the opposite side of the plaza, on the lower of the two raised walkways that ran around three of the four sides. He was leaning on the railing, admiring Wasabi Engineering’s handiwork. He spotted them and raised his hand in acknowledgement before making his way down the closest of the four spiral staircases.


They made the rounds together. As they approached each section Kamatari would remind them of the outcomes of the previous walk-through or a relevant point from one of the reports; the independent inspector that Konohamaru had hired was extremely thorough.

There were fewer points of contention these days. Jirocho had accepted that Konohamaru missed very little and rarely yielded; it was much easier to complete the work to the required standard the first time.

After about forty minutes they stood in the cavernous space that would be the park. Across one corner was the temporary tunnel that housed the running route and would continue to do so until the park was completed.

“We will be ready for the park fitters in ten days’ time?” Konohamaru checked. The fitters who were creating the park cost a fortune per day and, even if Shikamaru was paying, Konohamaru felt obliged to waste as little credit as possible.

“We are ready now, Konohamaru-san,” Jirocho told him.

“And we have the necessary labour lined up?”

“Yes. No problem with that. Every qualified fitter wants to be involved, even if they will only get labouring rates. All the hybrids are keen to work those days.”


They completed the tour by arranging a time three days later to take a shuttle to inspect the outside.

“By that time your man will have finished crawling over the surface,” Jirocho pointed out. “Doubtless he will have sent you a detailed report, Konohamaru-san.”

Konohamaru merely smiled. “I am sure it will be filled with commendations for Wasabi Engineering’s work, Jirocho-san. Kamatari-kun and I are walking back to the offices now. Are you going that way, Jirocho-san?”

Jirocho was not, so they took their leave and Kamatari radioed Terai so that he would tell Naruto they were heading for the Medico School.


Members of the Uchiha Security Force were patroling the boundary between the unfinished park and the completed plaza. At Sasuke’s request, Itachi had created a company, Uchiha Security. He and Asuma, supported by Neji, had recruited suitable personnel who had then been trained by Kakashi, Gai and Kisame. The USF was responsible for day-to-day security across the whole compound with the exception of the household. Its offices, like Konohamaru’s, were in the new headquarters.

Komohamaru and Kamatari were recognised immediately; one of the female guards unlocked the small door in the temporary wall separating the plaza from the park.


The idea was that many organisations would occupy the plaza, but only a couple had moved in; the Medico School and Jizenkai, the charitable trust that had leased Sublevel C. Within Jizenkai there were many offices for individual charities, four of which were already occupied; the HDL, the Spacers’ Society, The Cho Orphanage and Songen, the charity that was setting up the hospice.

The presence of the USF, the fitters, the construction workers and those employed in the offices had created other jobs. There was already a hotel, a cleaning company and various small shops specialising in food-to-go or things people may have forgotten to bring with them.


Konohamaru and Kamatari made their way to the Medico School, where they discovered a small crowd of hybrids and purebreds excitedly awaiting Naruto’s visit. Konohamaru saw Moegi at the back and worked his way over.

“Wow,” he commented.

“Yes, we forget he is a superstar,” Moegi observed.

Konohamaru knew that Naruto had thought he was merely visiting, so it was interesting to see how easily he coped with the unexpected audience. He gave a short speech emphasising how far hybrid medicine had come in only a decade and the unique way it combined many different aspects of science and technology. He praised Shikamaru, Rin and Kotohime by name, using his controller, age-retard and his children to illustrate the life-changing nature of the innovations that had been made. He asked those listening to help spread the wonderful practice that had already been developed and to create new techniques to help hybrid and purebred alike.

He glowed as he spoke, as only Naruto could.

Then he was meeting and greeting, asking each person where they were from and what had brought them to Tarrasade. Konohamaru managed to catch his eye between conversations and Naruto nodded; acknowledging that he would be busy for the rest of the morning and that they could catch up later.


Konohamaru was about to leave with Kamatari when he thought of Moegi.

“You aren’t here to see Naruto,” he observed.

“No, I am meant to be assisting Rin-san demonstrating how to adapt dia-docs to hybrid needs,” she told him, “but it is obvious that it will be rescheduled.”

Konohamaru knew that working with Rin was tough on Moegi, especially while Shizune was away on the Maple. “Come with us,” he suggested on impulse. “We are going to Jizenkai to meet Udon-san.”

Moegi perked up. “That would be interesting. I’ll check with Rin-san that she does not need me,”

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Whenever things were going badly, which was often, Udon would sit in his room and remind himself how much better this life was than what had gone before. When things were going really badly, like when thugs had invaded from Sublevel B and vandalised the first of the renovated sections or when some Ressies had stolen everything that was not screwed down and sold it to the fences in Sublevel A, he would make a list of what they had already achieved.

Top of the list was tempting the trolley-pushers into allowing renewal of the entire air filtration system by offering them the old components; they had even agreed to Scavengers being trained by Udon to carry out the work in the Scavenger areas. Second was the idea of paying the clubbers more for a living body than the Recyclers paid for a dead one. Third was the beginning of the hospice, consisting of Udon’s rooms with better supplies and the assistance of two of the Ressie females who still had the capacity to care.

He knew that Angela-san was frustrated that progress was so slow; that they seemed to be walking in circles.

Udon was amazed that they were making any progress at all.


He closed down his computer, went into the washroom he had constructed and scrubbed himself under the shower. Then he found the clothes, shoes and eyeglasses that he had bought from stalls on Level 4.

Today Angela-san was taking him to Level One.

He locked all the doors that needed to stay closed and spoke to the Ressie females about his people. The more sensible of the two listened, so he decided it would probably be fine.


Angela, backed up by Ishidate, Karenbana and Kongo, met him at the hub.

“Looking good, Udon-san,” Karenbana observed as he approached them.

The others looked at him and Udon flushed. He liked Karenbana; she always noticed the little things like when he had cut his hair or was wearing new clothes. Angela never did; it made Udon think that he never managed to achieve an acceptable level of dress.

Not that he was complaining; all four of them treated him far better than Scavengers were used to.

He knew he was in trouble when Angela selected the ladder labelled ‘QUICK’ and ‘UP’. Udon had to work hard to match their pace; they were much healthier than him. At the first landing, Ishidate had a word with Angela and they swapped to the ladder marked ‘SLOW’.

“Maybe we should have one of the medicos look at you while you are there, Udon-san,” Angela suggested. “You are far too young to be wheezing like that.”

Udon had always wheezed when he tried to move quickly for long periods of time. It was part of who he was, like his dripping nose and not being able to see properly.

“We could take the elevator from Level 6,” Kongo suggested.

Angela studied Udon and nodded.


The ‘elevator’ was a small room that moved up and, Udon guessed, down. Angela had to pay credit to make it work. There were many buttons; Angela chose the one labelled ‘LEVEL 1 – restricted access’.

When the door opened, Ishidate, Karenbana and Kongo stayed in the elevator. Through the opening, Udon could see large men in identical dark clothing. They were looking at him as if they knew he was a Scavenger.

“This is it, Udon-san,” Angela told him.

He could not bring himself to cross the threshold before her but he did follow. Behind him the door to the elevator slid shut, separating him and Angela from Ishidate, Karenbana and Kongo. Angela ignored the big men. She walked over to a device on a podium and beckoned Udon to stand beside her.

“You put your thumb here,” she told him, “and look into the screen.” She demonstrated. The machine bleeped and the light flashed blue. “It will be fine, Udon-san, it already knows about you.”

He did what he was told and was relieved when the light flashed blue. Udon wondered what the big men did if the light did not flash, or was the wrong colour.


They went through a door and Udo found himself in a curving corridor that he assumed ran around the hub. Immediately opposite there was a recess containing a pair of huge, blue doors. In the centre, bisected by the join, there was circle that was red at the top and white at the bottom.

On one door was the greeting ‘Welcome to the Uchiha compound’ and on the other was the warning ‘Unauthorised intruders will be incapacitated and may be killed’.

Udon shivered.

“It used to say ‘Trespassers will be killed’,” Angela informed him. “This is the new, nicer version.”


As they approached the doors slid open. Angela walked through and Udon hurried to catch up. It was nice; really nice. The corridor was very wide. The light came from everywhere rather than harsh lamps that failed to illuminate the shadows. The floor gave slightly beneath his feet. The decor was not a mixture of drab grey and rust. At intervals on the walls there were pictures to admire or benches on which to sit.

One picture was very different than the others. It was large and Udon realised that the image was moving. There was a black background with small lights. In the foreground there were shiny, curved surfaces.

He was more used to moving pictures since he got his display screen and had visited Level 4 more often. This was like no other moving picture he had seen.

“It’s a viewing port,” Angela told him. “That’s the outside of the space station.”

He just stood there while she pointed out the stars, spacecraft and the parts of the space station that could be seen from this particular part of Level 1.

They had to move on but Angela promised they could spend more time there on the way back.


The corridor widened even more and the ceiling rose; Angela called it a ‘plaza’. There was a large space in the middle. Around three of the walls, at height of the corridor ceiling, there was a walkway and, high above that, another. Four helical arrangements of steps, one in each corner, led up and down. At the core of each helix was a transparent elevator; Udon could see the little rooms travelling up and down.

“The headquarters of the Uchiha corporation,” Angela pointed out, gesturing to their right.

The wall without walkways was blue and, across most of it, there was a huge version of the same red and white symbol that had been on the doors.

“Jizenkai is there,” she added, pointing to the opposite wall, middle tier, right-hand side. “We’ll take the elevator,” she decided and headed out across the plaza.

Udon took two steps and stopped. He felt dizzy. It was so high and so open. Instead of following Angela, he cowered back under the walkway, close to the wall.

He was alone for a few moments before she rejoined him.

“Agoraphobia,” she told him. “Fear of open spaces. Do you think you can cope if we stick to the wall?”

Udon nodded. He could imagine that the underside of the walkway above him was a ceiling.


It helped when he realised that it was not a wall to his left but room after room. Many of them were unoccupied but some were shops or restaurants or bars, like on Level 4. Looking at them distracted him from the huge, empty space to his right.

“It’s going to be shops and services down here and offices on the two tiers above,” Angela explained. She pointed to a blank wall opposite the entrance. “When they finish the park, this wall will come down,” she told him.

Udon did not know what a ‘park’ was.


They turned two corners and walked past the temporary wall, which brought them below Jizenkai. Angela did not even ask him if he would like to use the steps; she summoned the elevator. Once aboard, Udon made sure he was facing the wall rather than the open space.


The entrance to the Jizenkai main office was a simple pair of sliding doors. Inside, to Udon’s relief, there was a much smaller space, like a large room, filled with desks and people.

“There are many separate offices,” Angela told him, “but at the moment all the charities but the Spacers’ Society are using this space because it is more sociable. I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

Udon spotted a door with the sign ‘The Spacers’ Society’ beside it. Otherwise there were desks or pairs of desks with the names and logos of charities on them. He spotted the yellow Cho butterfly first and then the blue of the HDL. Other desks were marked ‘Jizenkai’ and ‘Songen’.

Then there was a flurry of introductions. It was too quick for Udon to take much in. Except for one of the HDL people, they were all purebred, female and terrifyingly posh. They were dressed in clothes that made those worn by Angela look ordinary. Many of them looked young but weren’t, which Udon guessed was the ‘age-retard’ he had read about. Most of them looked at Udon with horrified fascination; it was obvious that they knew he was from Sublevel C and had been a Scavenger.

They worked their way around the desks and towards a seating area. As they approached three people in blue uniforms stood up; a female and two males, one of whom was a hybrid.

“Konohamaru-san, Kamatari-san and Moegi-san are Uchiha,” Angela told him. “Konohamaru-san is responsible for the construction and development of the Uchiha compound. Kamatari-san is his assistant. Moegi-san is a medico.”

Udon bowed as they exchanged greetings. He was surprised that Konohamaru was so young; not much older than him. Neither of the purebreds had the marks of age nor the strange agelessness of the females.

Konohamaru’s expression was not much better than that of the people at the desks, although he made more effort to cover it. Kamatari was, like many hybrids, too different for Udon to read; he had whiskers and a fascinatingly mobile nose.

Udon wondered if he was guilty of staring at Kamatari in the same way that Konohamaru was looking at him.

“We’ve heard a lot about you, Udon-san,” the female, Moegi, was saying.

Udon flushed. Moegi was close to his age and rather pretty. She had nice skin, pink cheeks, dark eyes and lots of orange hair.

“Saving Fuku-san’s grandson and working so hard on behalf of Jizenkai. You are quite the hero,” she continued.

Udon did not know if she meant it or not. He felt himself blushing, which was embarrassing and made him blush more.

“Please sit down, Udon-san,” Konohamaru requested. “Share tea with us and tell us about how things are going.”


He sat down. Konohamaru poured hot water into a beautifully painted pot. There were five matching cups on the tray with the pot.

The females at the desks were openly staring.

Kamatari leaned closer. “Konohamaru is from one of the richest families in Tarrasade,” he whispered. “As nice as they are, they can’t get over that he talks to me, never mind you.”

Udon could hear the amusement in his voice and see it in his eyes.

“Kama-kun!” Konohamaru scolded but it was gentle and not loud enough to attract attention.

“It’s true though,” Moegi added. “Imagine if Sasuke-sama walked in and spoke to you. Every posh lady in Tarrasade would know within the day.”

Konohamaru looked thoughtful as he poured liquid into the cups and proffered the tray to each of them in turn, starting with Udon.

The drink, tea, was hot and rather bitter. Udon was not sure if he liked it and it obviously contained a stimulant because it gave him a buzz.

They began talking about what was happening on Sublevel C. Udon was not used to speaking so much but Moegi was skilled at teasing the details out of him. He barely noticed when Konohamaru excused himself for a few minutes.

He accepted another cup of tea; the taste of it was growing on him.

Then the outer door opened, a group of people walked in and there was absolute silence. The people around him put their cups down and stood up so Udon followed their example.


Two of the newcomers were the people on his and Angela’s medallions. Their pictures had been attractive but in real life they were stunning. Udon no longer had attention left for anyone else.

The tall hybrid, Naruto-san, was the brightest person, possibly the brightest thing, Udon had ever seen. His hair was gold and his eyes were the bluest of blues. The shorter man, Sasuke Uchiha, was the complete opposite; pale, dark and mysterious.

Then the dark-haired man spoke. His voice was beautiful. Udon forgot about anyone else, even the golden hybrid.

“It is good to meet you, Udon-san,” he said. “We are so impressed by what you are achieving down in Sublevel C.”

Udon’s tongue refused to work. He bowed. That was what Angela had taught him; if in doubt, bow.

“Is there any tea left in the pot, Kono-kun?” Sasuke Uchiha asked before lifting the lid to check for himself.

“I’ll heat some more water and get some more cups,” Konohamaru offered. “Why don’t we sit down?”


Once Udon had regained his composure he noticed that some of the men stayed standing. One of them stood directly behind Sasuke Uchiha’s chair; Udon guessed he was a bodyguard. He glanced over to the women at the desks. They were staring. Some of them were gawping. One or two were smiling in a way that suggested hysteria.

There were questions. The first one was directed at Angela, so Udon had the chance to model his answers on hers; she called Sasuke Uchiha ‘Uchiha-sama’ so Udon did the same.

The hot water arrived and was poured into the pot. Konohamaru added two cups to the tray. They spoke about the plans for the hospice and the orphanage. Sasuke Uchiha commended him on managing to bridge the gap between Jizenkai and the Scavengers.

“More tea, Udon-san?” he asked when there was a pause in the conversation and held out his hand for Udon’s cup. It was a beautiful hand, with long, elegant fingers and the nicest fingernails.

Udon was not sure he wanted more tea but he obeyed and handed over his cup. There was the sound of a concerted intake of breath from the other side of the room. Sasuke Uchiha placed Udon’s cup on the table, poured a little tea into it, replaced the pot on the tray and then handed him the cup with a small bow.

There was a suspicious thump; Udon guessed that one of the females had fainted.

He bowed and accepted the cup. “Thank you, Uchiha-sama,” he acknowledged.


A little while later Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto-san began taking their leave. Sasuke Uchiha had a quick word with the females at the desks, congratulating them on their good work. Naruto-san smiled at Udon, his blue eyes dancing and his whiskers twitching.

“It has been good to meet you, Udon-san. We will talk more at another time. Perhaps I should pay another visit to Sublevel C to see the changes.”

Udon felt warm. “You would be very welcome, Naruto-san,” he answered.

Then they were gone.

“That’s how it all started,” Konohamaru told him. “Naruto went down to Sublevel C and saw the children waiting to die.”


They talked for a little longer. The effect of the tea was wearing off and Udon was beginning to feel tired.

“I think you need to escort Udon-san home, Angela-san,” Konohamaru observed.

“Come back soon,” Moegi added. “We can talk about what medical services are needed in Sublevel C and, perhaps, you would allow me to give you a check-up, Udon-san. Pardon me saying so, but you look like you might be in need of some medical services yourself.”

“It is just allergies,” Udon assured her, “but thank you, Moegi-san.”

“We can get rid of allergies,” Moegi told him. “We can even sort out your eyeballs so you don’t need the eyeglasses.”

Udon stared at her. No more allergies would be wonderful. On the other hand, he had been rather proud of his new eyeglasses.

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