Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and any characters affiliated. Masashi Kishimoto is the proud owner of the franchise.

Notes: I have not watched any off Shippuuden, I have no idea what happened, or what is going on. This takes place in the time frame Shippuuden does, after Sasuke returns to the Leaf Village (?)


What of Demons?

Sasuke awoke from his slumber, still groggy from a previous mission. He sat up, ruffling his unkept raven-black hair, rubbing his eyes. He looked around, seeing his best friend and roommate, Naruto, sleeping in a bed across the room from his. He yawned quietly, slipping out of bed, tiptoeing, careful not to wake the pest up.

The 15 year old raven-haired boy slipped sneakily into the bathroom, latching the door carefully, and locking it afterward. He was immediately faced with his reflection, including the bags under his eyes. Which were courtesy of lack of sleep and stress, of course. Sasuke blinked a couple times before hastily brushing his teeth. There was a bang on the door.

"Sasuke…" a weak voiced Naruto sounded on the other side of the door. It was obvious he wasn't even awake yet, but that kid needed the bathroom in the morning like normal people need a shower.

"I'b bru-ing mah eet" Sasuke mumbled out, the toothbrush still in his mouth. Naruto banged on the door again, starting to wake up more.

"But Sasuke!" he whined. "I have tah… you know!" Sasuke rolled his eyes at the childish remark. If you have to take a shit, you have to take a shit, he thought. Sasuke spit the minty foam out into the sink that riddled his mouth, and unlatched and opened the door.

"Hurry up, dobe." He snapped. "I have to take a shower." Naruto glared at his rival and best friend. Sasuke was never a morning person.

As Naruto barricaded himself in the bathroom for his 2-hour (or so it seemed) morning in the bathroom, the more-sophisticated raven poured himself some coffee that had brewed while he was asleep. He sipped it black, as he started to pull out ingredients for his breakfast; tomatoes, and eggs.

"You might want to wait a little bit before your shower…" Naruto said annoyingly as he exited the bathroom. Sasuke was cutting up tomatoes, as Naruto scooted around him to get a cup ramen from the cupboard, and began to heat up some water in the microwave.

"It's impossible living with you, you know that?" Sasuke remarked, as he poured his now-diced tomatoes into his already-cooking omlette. Naruto shrugged, apparently too tired to be his usual overly-wound self, as he poured hot water into his ramen.

After eating in complete silence, Naruto began to get dressed without showering first. Sasuke shook his head as he took his black shirt and pants, and green vest into the bathroom.

As Sasuke showered, he thought. He knew there was a top-secret mission today, reserved especially for the likes of only him. He would have no team this time, as if he were elite. He knew he wasn't though, unless you compare him to that dobe, Naruto. He didn't know why he was being trusted with such a mission, although so far, he had no idea what it was. I mean, after all, he did leave the village to be with Orochimaru for 3, almost 4 years.

Sasuke turned the hot water off, and got dressed. As he exited the bathroom, he was greeted with the loathing face of his roommate.

"Grandma Tsunade called." He said skeptically. "Before she realized it was me, she told who would have been you, about this mission." Sasuke rolled his eyes again, which he did a lot when he was around the obnoxious yellow-haired teen.

"Yes, she told me she had a mission for me." The raven said, with the least amount of venom in his voice as he could manage. "It's not really your business." Sasuke started for the apartment door.

"I'm just wondering why your being selected for top-secret missions and I'm not." Naruto began to whine. Instead of engaging himself in the usual confrontational, snarky, sarcastic cat-and-mouse, Sasuke ignored his roommate, and closed the door behind him. He heard the frustrated pound from the apartment as he descended down the stairs. He rolled his eyes… again.


"This mission is very important, Sasuke" Tsunade's voice sounded. She sat in her chair in the office, he fingers entwined. Sasuke stood, remaining formal.

"I understand, hokage-sama." He said, almost as if he were a robot. "Please, explain the mission to me and I will execute it accordingly."

"Hmph." Tsunade sounded almost impressed. "There's this island. No one's ever been on it, no one has been seen coming off of it. We, and all the villages, are curious to know what's on it, however. It has been said, something dangerous and new resides there, by the elders. "

"So, you want me to go there and sniff around?" Sasuke said, as if this mission was belittling.

"There could be something extremely dangerous there." Tsunade said, seriously. "There have been a lot of unexplained deaths, and assassinations around the area. Whatever's there has been sneaking back to hide in its hole for years."

"Why not a team?" Sasuke asked.

"We think it would be best to only send one." Tsunade replied, almost resigned. He knew it. It was because of his betrayal, that he was disposable. "Do you think you can handle yourself?" she asked, sliding a map in his direction on the desk. He went to grab it, but she held a firm grip on it, staring into his onyx eyes, waiting for a response.

"I will carry out your orders, Hokage." Sasuke replied finally, and Tsunade let up the paper.

"Don't forget to bring everything useful." Tsunade said. "I'm not sure how long the travel, or the mission."


Sasuke returned to his apartment, the map folded up in his back pocket. He sighed as he unlocked the door. He just got a new mission, and he knew exactly what 15 year old dreamer was going to be all up in his face about when he opened the door.

"So what's this mission?" the raven's nostrils were immediately filled with ramen-breath as he opened the door.

"Naruto, I just walked in the door, and if you refuse to get out of my face, I might just have to kill you." Sasuke said threateningly. His roommate stepped aside, and he immediately grabbed his pack from beside his bed, and began packing it.

Sasuke's Normal Mission Things

Several kunai and shuriken (besides the one's he kept in his pockets)

A large canteen of water

One pillow

Poison bombs

A small wire

"Wow, how long will you be one this mission?" Naruto asked, as he watched Sasuke. Shaking his head, the ex-henchman slipped, again, past his roommate, and out the door, avoiding confrontation.