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 unneeded, sadie237 (twice!), Lixx, Midnight Essence, satterb, ahmenet, disembodiedvoiceofthedying, v, SunaoTsuji, angelj232000, blugirlami21, meow-ku, lonelylulaby, Dorkchic, KL, Prism0467, Blubbering and Crying, Gingitsune, richon, YamanashiOchinashiIminashi, superflaj, Darling425, silentnight and SidonieStarr who reviewed chapter 87.

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-eight: The list

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Sasuke was watching the game Itachi had created. It was pair against pair with the other three boys sitting out. Every two minutes someone was swapped in. Each player was awarded the points scored by his team; Kisame was keeping tally. Points were given every time the ball went over the net or touched the ground on the opposite side.

Kazuki was the fastest, Ryuu the strongest, Keizo the best at feinting and Kuuya tried harder than anyone else to get the ball. Yasushi and Yoshimi were supreme when playing together but each was a liability if the other was across the net.

It was a revelation watching Hikaru. He tried his best and had a much better grasp of tactics than any of the others. He was most successful when paired with Ryuu, because Ryuu followed instructions. He did not get annoyed when the kits failed to do as they were told.

He was losing badly and loving every moment of it.

Sasuke did not understand it. How could Hikaru be one way with Haru and completely different with the kits and Ryuu? He called out his appreciation of one of Hikaru’s ideas even though it did not work, just as he did ever time Kuuya lunged for but missed a ball.

Suddenly every hybrid stopped. Itachi was speaking, Hikaru was moving, but Kisame, Ryuu and the kits were motionless. Kazuki and Ryuu’s ears were pricked. As Sasuke watched, their tails bristled.

The floor no longer felt the same beneath his feet.

“Pods and suits,” Kisame ordered. “Now.” He turned to Itachi. “I shall get Ran before he spooks,” he added and was gone.

Sasuke hoped it was a false alarm; he tried to think of something harmless that could change the way the floor vibrated.

Itachi turned to him. “Kisame, Biwako and I shall manage the podding. You and Shika-san get suited and on the intercom.”


Itachi herded the boys towards the doorway with Sasuke following. Before they reached it the whole room shook and the alarms sounded. Sasuke’s eyes went to the top corner of the gym. There, under a red flashing light, was the elapsed time since the emergency was declared; three seconds and climbing

0000:05

It was real; something had hit the station. Sasuke speeded up; heading for the intercom. The children were shedding their clothes with the older ones helping the younger ones; Sasuke was proud at how calm they were. Kisame had Ran unconscious against his shoulder. Biwako was releasing the pods and Shika was almost at the locker that held the emergency suits for the adults. Itachi was already stripping babies.

There was a third impact, perhaps closer than the first but further away than the second. The alarms quietened but the red light continued to flash and the clock continued it inexorable climb.

0001:18

Sasuke took up his station standing next to the intercom. He wanted Naruto very badly; he needed to know that he was safe. Shika tossed him a suit and then went to put others where Biwako, Kisame and Itachi could reach them. Sasuke wriggled into the suit but left the helmet open. Children were going to sit, naked and cross-legged, on the floor as Kiba had taught them.

The intercom clicked; Sasuke’s eyes went to the clock.

0002.05

“This is Asuma on duty in the control room. The wall of the Uchiha compound has been breached. Suits and pods. I repeat; suits and pods. The station is not under attack by ships. We are trying to launch the Sakura to inspect the damage. All household residents report in via the intercom or radio.”

Sasuke pushed the intercom button and listed the people present in the playroom. Parents needed to know that their children were safe.

Shika joined him. He had a sheet of the children’s drawing paper and a pencil. His face was sallow and his eyes haunted. Sasuke knew that his imagination was working overtime, coming up with cycle after cycle of ever-worsening scenarios.

Person after person reported via the intercom, ending with Konan and Zetsu confirming that the prisoners’ apartments were unaffected. Naruto had not reported. No one had listed Naruto as present. Sasuke’s eyes returned to the clock.

0005:13

What was happening elsewhere? Here there was the sound of pods being pulled out, children being lifted in and lids being shut.

Once Zetsu’s voice died away Shika sat down at the closest table and started a list of the missing. He made two headings: ‘Iruka’s meeting’ and ‘Other’.

Sasuke felt sick. None of those in Iruka’s meeting had reported. Neither had Neji, who had been on his way there. The list ran: Iruka, Naruto, Haku, Kiba, Ibiki, Choza, Kurenai and Suzume. At the bottom Shika wrote ‘Neji’.

If they were dead... Sasuke refused to think about it.

The second list started ‘Ma’ followed by ‘Pa’. Sasuke shut his eyes briefly, wishing it all away. When he opened it Jiraiya, Tsunade, C and Izumo had been added. Shika had then left a small space and was writing ‘Kunugi’. He then added ‘Moegi’.

“Moegi is at the medico school,” Sasuke told him.

Shika nodded and crossed through her name. “Was Kunugi with C-san last night?” he asked.

They both knew that Kunugi loved staying over with C, sleeping late and having his breakfast made for him; the other elite fighters liked teasing him about it.

“Maybe,” Sasuke admitted, knowing that made it even more likely that the apartments had been hit and that Shika’s parents were dead. Maybe they were out. Moegi was out. They could be out like Moegi.

He knew he was clutching at straws.


Naruto could be dead; the admission crept up from deep in his mind, spreading its tentacles of dread.

Asuma had said that the station was not under attack; it was a bomb or bombs. Kakashi’s words came back to him, telling him how much he would regret his actions if Udon was killed or Sublevel C was purged.

Had he killed Naruto by serving a Scavenger tea?

He went back to waiting; his eyes fixed on the clock.

0006:30
0006:31
0006:32
0006:34
0006:35

There was a faint hiss from his suit radio. “This is Neji. I am in corridor section B62 in the unoccupied section of the household. The doors have sealed, suggesting that the pressure in the next section has dropped. I am suited. I am venting the air and attempting to open the doors in what I believe to be the direction of the breach.”

The doors would only open when the air pressure on both sides was equal.

Shika crossed Neji from the list. The line was uneven, his hand was shaking so much. Sasuke watched him, fascinated by the war of emotions in his expression; relief that Neji was alive and dread as to the fate of the rest of his family.

They were back to waiting. Sasuke watched Haru being podded by Biwako. He was silent this time; not a single question. Was it because the emergency was real or had being kidnapped changed him?

The clock was counting seconds.

0007:20
0007:21
0007:22
0007:23

“This is Asuma.” The words came from the suit radios rather than the intercom. “It looks like three bombs clustered at the interface between the occupied and unoccupied parts of the household. The largest breach is over the apartments.”

The remaining colour drained away from Shika’s face.

“Ma insisted they have a viewing port,” he whispered. “I thought they were safer with me. They should have gone back to Darrenden.” He looked towards the pods. “Who’s going to look after Su-chan?” Then he looked back to Sasuke with such pain in his eyes. “I always said we were safer as nomads.”

Sasuke was about to hug him, to try to comfort him, when his radio crackled with static.

“This is Choza. Outside the station. I have a casualty. Losing air. Seconds count. Which airlock?”

Sasuke watched Choza’s name being crossed from the list as they waited for someone to respond.

“This is Dan. Rin and I are suited. We are on route to airlock 4-32 with tanks. Asuma, can you get it open both ways and show Choza where it is?”

“This is Choza. Airlock 4-32. I know where it is.”

“This is Asuma. Airlock 4-32 will be open.”

Sasuke’s heart was racing. Choza had survived. Survival was possible. Who was the casualty? Where were the others? Could it be Naruto?

Was Asuma wishing it were Kurenai? Was Kakashi thinking of Iruka? Were Kisame and Itachi imagining it was Haku?

Was it Kiba? Sasuke knew he would choose to save Naruto over any other adult. Was Choza the same?

“This is Rin. Choza, it would help to know the identity of the casualty and any information about the injuries.”

Sasuke held his breath.

“This is Choza. It is Naruto.”

Naruto; it was Naruto. Sasuke’s legs went weak. He steadied himself by placing a hand on Shika’s shoulder. Shika covered it with his own.

Sasuke regretted that they were suited; at that moment he needed another person’s touch.

“Large shrapnel fragment embedded in his back. Major suit breach I cannot patch without pulling out the fragment.”

Sasuke swallowed. Was he listening to a description of Naruto dying?

“Don’t do that!” Rin yelled.

“I know, but our air is almost gone. It won’t last to the airlock.”

Sasuke’s vision blurred. His eyes had filled with tears. Choza must have connected his air supply to Naruto’s leaking suit.

“Dan here. Make sure you are travelling on the correct trajectory, Cho-chan. I will come and get you.”

“Choza here. Kakashi, Iruka was suited.”

“Kakashi here. We hear you Cho-chan. Don’t talk now. Conserve your air.”

“Asuma here. Gai, can the Sakura assist? I repeat, can the Sakura assist?”

“Gai here. We cannot launch due to damage to the dock.”

Could Dan get there in time? Sasuke doubted it. He imagined Choza unconscious, still holding Naruto, missing the airlock and possibly even the station. In his mind’s eye they floated away, their lives ebbing away.

Life without Naruto; it had always been a future shadow but now the darkness was here, fast approaching, only minutes away.

008:41

Itachi’s voice from immediately behind him. “We are going to make our way to where Neji is.”

Sasuke jumped. He had not registered that the podding was almost complete, never mind that Itachi and Kisame had walked over to him. He understood their decision; they needed to look for Haku.

“Please look for Kurenai,” he asked them in the lowest of voices, aware that Misora and Keitaro were still conscious. “Asuma is in the control room and cannot go himself.”

Itachi nodded. “We will do that.”

“You two look after each other,” Kisame added.

Then they left. Sasuke watched them go. It gave his eyes something other to do than look at the list or the clock.

Shika had not crossed out Naruto’s name. Instead he had added a question mark to ‘Naruto’ and to ‘Iruka’. Sasuke’s gaze was drawn back to the clock, like iron to a magnet.

0009:14

He dragged his eyes away. Biwako, Misora and Keitaro were putting on suits. He was surprised; the standard procedure was that all the children would be podded.

“We will guard the pods,” Biwako told him. She looked pointedly at Shika and the list. “Maybe you and Shika-san should go to your office?”

Sasuke understood. It would be bad for Misora and Keitaro to see their mother’s name. He wondered why Biwako had chosen not to pod them. Was it because she had realised that Kurenai may be dead? Did she think Misora and Keitaro needed to be with Akemi and Asuma?

He stared at the pods. How would he tell the children if Naruto did not make it?

Why wasn’t there any news? Had Naruto died and they did not want him to hear over the radio? Would Kakashi walk through the doorway with that look on his face?

He squeezed Shika’s shoulder. “We are going to my office.”

Shika took a moment to register what he was saying but then he nodded. He rolled up the piece of paper and stood up. Sasuke glanced one more time at the clock as they left.

0009:31

They were barely out of the playroom when there was hiss from their suit radios. Sasuke held his breath.

“This is Hamaki. We have Choza and Naruto. Both are unconscious but their air supply is re-established. We are approaching airlock 4-32. Make sure the path to Rin-san is open.”

Sasuke was caught between disbelief and relief.

“They must have given up on the Sakura and jetted out an airlock,” Shika suggested.

Sasuke did not dwell on the details. Rin was Naruto’s best chance. He remembered her saving Haku.

He willed Naruto to stay alive until they reached her.


They had stopped. He started walking again and Shika caught up. They soon completed the short journey to his office.

He automatically looked towards the display frame as he entered. He had left it on the drawing of Naruto; Naruto walking away from him. He could not look at it. He grabbed the pointer and turned it off.

His eyes went to the corner; the red flashing light was smaller here but the clock was identical.

0010:31

Shikamaru was turning on the projector. Sasuke pulled his attention away from the clock and activated his desk. They watched it link into the control room and the main communications console.

Hiss from their radios; Sasuke braced himself for news of Naruto’s condition.

“This is Kotetsu. I have found Izumo. He is in the shop but he is unconscious and trapped. I can get him free but he needs a medico.”

They had no more medicos. Rin and Dan were with Naruto and Choza. Shizune was on the Maple. Moegi was at the medico school.

Who would he send if he were in Asuma’s place?

“Asuma here. Hang on Kotetsu-san, qualified medicos are already on their way.”

Sasuke looked at Shikamaru, wondering what Asuma meant. Shikamaru claimed the secondary desk interface. He made a disgruntled grumble about having to use it while wearing gloves but soon had every information system accessible.

Meanwhile Sasuke unrolled the sheet of paper and added a neat question mark next to Izumo’s name.

“Moegi’s brought half the medico school,” Shika announced. “She’s escorted a group through the headquarters and the ones with the right experience are jetting across the surface.”

Sasuke’s eyes went to the clock.

0011:58

He had never been impressed by Moegi before but he was now. It had only been twelve minutes since the alarms started. That she could deliver a response in such a short time was amazing.


Sasuke wanted to ask Shikamaru what else he could find out but he resisted the temptation. He did not want Shika discovering confirmation of his parents’ deaths.

“I’ve already looked. I know they are gone,” Shika said, as if he was reading Sasuke’s mind. “One of the bombs was on the outer wall of their apartment.”

As Sasuke watched, Shika’s eyes filled with tears that overflowed down his cheeks. Sasuke resisted the urge to raise false hopes by suggesting they may not have been there. Instead stood up, pulled Shikamaru to his feet and held him.

Again he wished that they could dispense with the suits but it was far too soon. The surface had to be checked for bombs and its structural integrity confirmed.

Shika pushed against his chest. “Let’s try to do something useful,” he suggested.

Sasuke gave him one last hug, demonstrating that comforting someone was more than useful, before allowing him to go back to the interface.

Shika was soon busy with data. Sasuke could not keep his eyes away from the clock.

0012.44

Surely there would be news about Naruto soon?

Another hiss, but it was Neji’s voice. “This is Neji. We have live casualties. Suited medicos required in B64. Itachi and Kisame are clearing the route and will guide.”

Sasuke silently thanked Moegi. He tried not to speculate who Neji’s casualties might be and failed. Probably not Iruka; he had been with Choza, so it was likely he had been spilled into space. Shikamaru’s fingers scuttled over the interface. Sasuke waited.

0013:00

0013:15

0013:30

0013:45

“This is Moegi. Izumo-san has been stabilised. We are on our way to the infirmary.”

So far Sasuke had obeyed the rules. He had neither interfered with Asuma’s command nor made non-essential intercom or radio transmissions. He decided to make an exception.

“This is Sasuke. Very well done, Moegi-san. Thank you.”

He crossed though Izumo’s name on Shika’s list.

0014:15

0014:30

0014.45

0015:00

0015:15

0015:30

“This is Neji. Kiba and Haku are stabilised in portable tanks and are on their way to the infirmary.”

Sasuke wanted to be pleased but he could not escape the growing conviction that Rin was losing her battle to save Naruto. It had been over six minutes. There was not even confirmation that Rin had reached Naruto.

He crossed Haku and Kiba off Shika’s list and checked the time.

0016:15

Someone pressed the entry request button. Sasuke stiffened and opened the door from his desk.

It was Konohamaru.

Sasuke’s gut clenched. They might send Kono-kun to tell him.

“He’s stable,” Konohamaru told him. “Very badly injured, but tanked and stable.”

The relief was overwhelming. Sasuke was glad he was sitting down because he would have fallen. He heard jagged breathing and realised it was his own.

Pressure on his hand. It was Shika. He was smiling, giving permission for Sasuke to be happy that Naruto was safe. Sasuke smiled in return.

Konohamaru was looking at the list. He picked up Sasuke’s pen and crossed off Naruto’s name. Then he drew an asterisk and wrote beside it ‘confirmed death’. As they watched he placed the symbol against Kurenai’s, Ibiki’s and Suzume’s names.

“Looking for Iruka has become the priority,” he added. “Choza insists he was suited when the outer skin failed but there must be something wrong with the suit’s beacon.”

Sasuke imagined putting on a suit with bombs exploding and the station disintegrating around you. Maybe, just maybe, Iruka had not had time to turn it on.

“Can the beacons be activated remotely?” he asked.

Konohamaru looked at him and was gone, running. Shikamaru grabbed the interface and began searching for relevant information. Sasuke saw him activate the transmitter of his radio.

“Shikamaru here. Kono-kun, I have sent the necessary information to the main communications console. The transmission will affect other systems. You will need to issue appropriate warnings.”

0018:30

0018:45

0019:00

0019:15

0019:30

“Konohamaru here. We have a signal from a beacon travelling away from the station. Medicos with support have been dispatched.”

Sasuke refused to be too hopeful. It might not be Iruka’s beacon. Even if it were, it did not mean Iruka was alive.

0020:00

0020:15

The door slid open. It was Neji. He headed straight for Shika, plucking him from his seat and holding him tightly.

Sasuke suddenly felt very alone.

There was dried blood on Neji’s suit. Sasuke got up, walked to the suit locker and sprang the panel. He took one out and carried it over to Neji.

“You should change into one with a full air supply,” Sasuke reminded him. “I am going to go to the infirmary to thank the medicos.” Once he had thought of one thing he should be doing there were many. “There are people I should see.”

Neji looked at him over Shika’s shoulder and nodded his understanding.

0021:00

He slipped into ‘Sasuke-sama’ mode; a word here, a touch there, a look or a nod. He could do it now that Naruto was safe. Every time he met one of the non-Uchiha medicos he thanked him or her formally for giving assistance.

When he reached the control room he steeled himself and entered. Asuma was still in the command chair. Kakashi caught his eye and Sasuke knew that Kakashi had tried and failed to make him stand down.

“Kakashi-san, please would you take command so that I could have a word with Asuma-san?” he asked.

Even phrased so politely, it was a direct order and Asuma would not disobey it. He and Kakashi swapped places.

Sasuke took a deep breath. “I am so sorry about Kurenai, Asuma-san.”

Asuma looked at him; his single eye empty in an expressionless face.

“Biwako-san chose not to pod Misora and Keitaro,” Sasuke added. “They are in the playroom guarding the children. Perhaps you and Akemi could go there to be with them?”

“Is that an order, Sasuke-sama?” Asuma asked. His voice was as lifeless as his eye.

Sasuke picked up Kakashi’s slight nod.

“Yes, Asuma-san. Find Akemi and be with him, Misora and Keitaro.”

Sasuke watched him leave; everything about the big man was different, even his walk.

“Who is with Shikamaru?” Kakashi asked.

“Neji,” Sasuke replied. “He knows about Shikaku and Yoshino,” he added, answering Kakashi’s unasked question. He was about to sit down but Kakashi stopped him.

“No. You should be out there being seen, not in here,” he said.

Sasuke swallowed. Did Kakashi mean that, or did he not want to look at the person who had incited the bombing by serving tea to a Scavenger. “Kakashi-sensei...”

“Not now, Sasuke. Please, not now. Send Konohamaru to take the second seat. Or anyone else available and suitable.”

Anyone but him; Sasuke refused to cringe. He turned and left.

As he walked down the corridor his chin came up and he pushed his shoulders back. He would have to live with the consequences of what he had done. Hindsight was corrosive; at the time he had been sure he was doing the right thing.

Naruto had been proud of him and Naruto’s judgement would never let him down.

0056:39

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