Sequel to CaR. You can read it as a 'stand alone' although you may miss out on some references to the other story but they're few.

Warnings: Unbetaed! and OOC! Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Now enough of that and let me proudly introduce to you all;

PART ONE - Old Demons Die Hard

Darkness laid draped like a heavy blanket as light from the sky above stayed hidden behind a thick layer of clouds. There was little sound but the bustling wind rustling leaves fallen from the massive oak trees towering with their strong might high in the air. Fall had settled all around and summer's sweet warmth was long gone. From a distance, the shape of a man slowly approaching appeared.

"Geika, Geika! Is it time yet, is it time yet?!" Another man's voice broke through the hushed silence.

A rustling sound came from a nearby bush and a head poked out, revealing a third person hidden in the rich greenery. "Akuun, shut up! You'll blow our cover!" Purple eyes stared cautiously ahead but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They drew a sharp breath and continued, "You are such an idiot! I swear I don't know why Master included you in our group. You're useless."

"Akuma-chan, you're so mean!"

"Both of you be quiet!" A voice barked out, efficiently ending the other two's bicker. The man from the distance, now closer, gestured with his hand that they were leaving. As light reflected on glass shards the man smirked. "It's time…"

The two known as Akuun and Akuma jumped out from their hiding and together the trio disappeared through the trees, leaving behind no trace of evidence but the flutter of leaves.

oOoOoOo

In the small town of Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto greeted the new day by drinking in the frisk morning air. He stretched his arms to rid them from tension and then started his way over to the Hokage tower where he would get his first mission in a very long time. It was a good day, he just knew it. He had certainly missed it; the freedom that came with missions and the excitement.

As he walked through the city nothing could ruin his good mood. He smiled at the frowning townspeople and to his surprise some actually returned it. Few people still called him names, one bastard going as far as throwing a bottle at him, but after his travel to the other universe their words came off less hurtful. The townspeople based their opinion of him on false facts. It was up to him to change that.

Once outside the Hokage's doors, he waved at Shizune and then entered the room. He was pleasantly surprised to find the old hag awake, as she usually was asleep when he came to see her, but when another presence made itself known he quickly realized why. His mind went blank and the word 'fuck' rang like an alarm inside his mind.

Standing in front of the desk was none other but the Uchiha Sasuke. The man he had carefully avoided the last week, ever since their very drunken mistake. Naruto greeted the woman with a bow and sent Sasuke an awkward quick nod, silently hoping the blond woman didn't have any dirty cards up her sleeve. He knew she knew of his feelings for the Uchiha since that perverted Sannin Jiraiya once told her during a drunken night out, the two having mocked Naruto that whole night for falling for the most complicated person in the whole of fire country.

Tsunade welcomed him with a warm smile, her eyes shifting between him and Sasuke, making him squirm. No one knew about their kiss but her calculating eyes made it seem like she did. From the corner of his eye he saw Sasuke visibly stiffen, dark eyes casting a short glance his way before going back to stare at the wall. Naruto felt ready to make a run for it.

While he knew why the other acted the way he did it also irked him that he would not even acknowledge him with a simple greeting. Obviously he was angry about the kiss. Naruto was sure of it. In his defense, Naruto knew for a fact, Sasuke had not tried to stop him and they had both been equally shit faced. Hell, with that amount of alcohol in his blood he would have even kissed Sakura! That if anything proved how drunk he was. She was nothing but a sister to him. Give any guy something to suppress his inner inhibitions and he will act upon it. Naruto did, after all, harbor feelings for the brunet. He spent many days in denial after having moved out from the brunet but in the end he knew there was no point in denying it any further; he was attracted to his best friend.

However, he could not let Sasuke know. He feared his feelings would be the end of their friendship and the thought of losing his best friend was unthinkable. It was impossible. He would rather let the other stay in the unknown and still be friends.

"Earth to Naruto." Tsunade's voice broke through his train of thought, his attention snapping back to her. "Listen to me when I'm talking. It's a matter of respect. If you ever want to be Hokage you better start showing me some!"

Naruto cringed as Tsunade sounded genuinely angry and apologized with his head hung low. "Please continue Hokage-sama." He hoped the suffix and his polite tone would ease her anger.

Tsunade hmphed but waved him further inside the room, seemingly forgiving him. "Also, don't stand by the door when I'm talking to you brat. Come closer. " She paused as she waited for him to come closer and once he stood in front of her desk beside Sasuke, she continued, "Your mission is to escort lady Akimayashi back to her home village in river country. You will leave immediately. Any questions?"

Upset the old hag were giving them a simple escort mission, something meant for Genins, Naruto opened his mouth to voice his complaint but Sasuke beat him to it.

"What rank is this?"

Naruto saw Tsunade's eyes slim, most likely perturbed by the lack of respect shown by the Uchiha. 'Today's youth', Tsunade thought, and helped herself to a chug of sake before she answered, "It ranks as a C, you brat."

Sasuke looked confused. "Aren't we more suitable for another mission?"

"You work well as a team and she requested strong ninjas." Tsunade argued, not letting up, but then she revealed the real reason behind their mission. "Well, she paid a lot too. We are low on missions at the moment. Either you take it or leave my office and starve because you're not getting paid!"

"Greedy old hag." Naruto mumbled, not surprised, but then quickly said, "We'll take it baa-chan." Whatever the rank was, he had to get some sort of normalcy back into his life and going on missions was the first step. In his peripheral vision he could tell Sasuke was glaring at him but ignored his burning look. Perhaps, he thought, this would give them the opportunity to hash things out.

Tsunade's sly grin made him think twice but whatever her thoughts were it was too late to ask as she barked out Shizune's name. Shizune appeared in the door with her brow drawn together and asked what the woman needed. "Tell Akimayashi-san she can come in now. Thank you." Shizune nodded and left with a bow.

They waited in silence until the doors opened yet again this time revealing a foreign girl. She walked on dainty feet and her lips settled into a thin line. Naruto inspected her from head to toe as she stopped next to him. She was a pretty girl but the frown on her face and the bitchy aura she radiated made him think twice about her attitude. When the girl opened her mouth he knew his prejudice had not been uncalled for. "Are we going yet?! I didn't pay to wait, I want to go home. Are we going yet?"

Naruto sweatdropped as she then turned to him and her frown immediately turned into a shy smirk. "Hello there." He could almost hear the purr in her voice.

Unwillingly, he greeted her back.

Two days later and Naruto was ready to pull his ears off. He thought no amount of money was worth spending that much time listening to a girl whine about everything and nothing, from her aching feet to her stupid boyfriend. She managed to tell him her whole life story and yet nothing out of her dull life had been remotely interesting. He wanted to stay positive and in the end thought he did a pretty good job while nodding along and acting like he cared about everything she said. Sasuke the bastard took the lead since leaving the village, effectively leaving Naruto to cover the rear and entertain Akimayashi-san. He drew a sigh of relief once they finally arrived at her destination and dropped her off with her father. She tried one last time to bat her eyes and ask him out, but Naruto quickly excused himself, leaving her behind without a second glance. He thought he heard Sasuke laughing but he was walking too far ahead to really tell.

Normally he wouldn't mind flirting, having had Jiraiya as a teacher while growing up had influenced him a lot, but it was the way Sasuke seemed to gloat that made him take offense. He glared at Sasuke's back as he did his best to hold back any angry remark. He knew it was finally time to deal with his grouchy partner. Sasuke had said nothing during their whole mission but for some lone grunts here and there. Now when they were finished, he was ready to interrogate him. The blond fastened his speed until he was in step with the other and called out for his attention. "Ne Sasuke, we've been walking nonstop for two days now. I'm thinking maybe we should just rest for a bit? Get some much needed sleep, ya know."

"I don't need to rest. If we continue we'll be back in Konoha by tomorrow morning." Sasuke replied dismissively.

Naruto frowned. "Okay, maybe you don't want to rest but I do." He pressed. "Why do we have to hurry home?"

Sasuke turned with a glare to look at the blond. "Because."

"Because is not a reason."

"Hn."

Naruto groaned over the brunet's lack of an explanation. "I say we take in on that inn over there," He said and pointed at the big sign on his right reading vacancy, "And as team leader, we will." He yanked on the brunet's arm and started to drag him in the direction of the inn.

Meanwhile Sasuke had spent two days trying to ignore the blond the best he could and for the most part he had done a good job. Akimayashi-san had made his life fairly easy as she clung to Naruto like a leach during their whole travel together. It sort of amazed him how she managed to talk on and on without even stopping to take a breath, having thought no one could be worse than Naruto once he got started. He silently regretted all the bad things he had said during their years together whenever he had thought Naruto to be too loud and obnoxious, knowing now it could have been worse. But like all good things they eventually came to an end, and that was exactly what had happened as soon as they dropped the girl off at her destination. Barley half a minute had passed before Naruto started to bother him.

Sasuke protested and tried to yank his arm free from the blond's hold but to no avail, Naruto held on with his stupid brute strength. "Let go, dobe." Sasuke hissed, damning the blond for acting like a caveman. "Else I'll chidori your hand till it falls off and for the record, you are not team leader."

Naruto yelped and let his hand fall from his grip. "Geesh, no need get your panties in a twist Sasuke-chan." The blond teased, pissing Sasuke further off. He aimed a blow to the blond's nose but Naruto deflected it with ease sporting one of his biggest grins before continuing. "And for your record, I am team leader."

"Says who?" Sasuke glowered, annoyed by the other's confidence, yet for some unknown reason he continued walking the way Naruto was leading them.

"I do." Naruto singsonged cheerily and quickened their pace.

Sasuke huffed but kept his mouth shut. He was reluctant to spend more time than necessary together with the blond. It hurt every time he looked at the blond all because of that damn drunken kiss, yet at the same time, all he craved was the other's presence. Mentally he damned himself for having feelings at all. Years had passed since team seven brought him back to Konoha and he knew he had lost sight of becoming the avenger he once aimed to be as a young boy but that didn't mean he'd abandoned his dream completely. He trained every day and he was definitely getting stronger.

But not as fast as I should have...

The pressing thought that had nagged him for weeks resurfaced. Sasuke knew his feelings for Naruto held him back. Had it not been for the blond he would have never let himself be dragged back to Konoha in the first place. There were times when he would fantasies about never returning and staying with Orochimaru but the picture of Naruto the day Sasuke woke up in the hospital after having been 'saved' quickly silenced any of those thoughts.

Why did Naruto hold such power over him? Balling his hands to the point they turned a whiter shade of pale, Sasuke stared ahead of him. He would avenge his clan. He just needed a bit more time. 'A bit more time…'

"Tell me again why we have to share a room?" Sasuke glared at the two beds in such close proximity to each other with much contempt. He never even wanted to stay at the inn, afraid of what he would do if he spent too much time with the blond, and now he had to stay at one and share rooms with said object of whom he tried to avoid. God hated him, though the reason to why was still unclear, but he knew he hated him.

"Because all other rooms were occupied, you bastard. At least we were lucky enough to get two separate beds. Maybe it's not up to your usual standard princess, but I can't very well do anything about it now can I? How should I know they have a huge carnival this week?" Naruto took his backpack off his shoulders and put it on the bed closest to him. It would be nice to get some rest.

Sasuke smacked the blond's head as he passed him, "Don't ever call me that word again, dobe." He let his bag fall on the bed and tugged on his shirt. Perhaps getting a room had been a better idea than initially thought, not that he would share that with the blond, but his shoulders were aching and his feet itched from walking. Not to forget the layer of grime and sweat that covered his body.

From his peripheral he could see Naruto's eyes glued to him. He watched him lick his lips probably thinking his ogling went unnoticed. Oddly enough Sasuke felt kind of proud of the attention. Not that he should have. "Something you want?" Sasuke asked, trying to sound upset. "Your ogling's unwanted."

He heard Naruto sputter, probably from having been caught red handed, and watched him force his gaze in another direction. "I'm not staring you bastard." Naruto lied and got off the bed, turning his back to him. This time it was Sasuke's eyes that lingered a second longer as Naruto pulled his shirt off.

Stripping the rest of his clothes until he was left in only his boxers, Sasuke rummaged around his bag for his shower supplies. Finding them he announced his shower. Stepping inside the shower room and turning the lock behind him a sense of relief washed over him. It felt great to be alone again. Even if he hadn't spoken to Naruto during their mission just his presence was enough to make him lose sight of his self. His shower dragged out and he made sure to dry up as slow as possible. He wanted to make sure Naruto was asleep by the time he got back. Freshly showered, Sasuke crept under the covers enjoying the comfortable warmth. Turning on his side so that his back faced his partner, Sasuke quickly dozed off with a smile on his lips.

The scenery around him faded into darkness, the process long and dreamy, eventually morphing into that of a dense forest. After a quick assessment of his location he noted he appeared to be in a small clearing. Tall trees built something like walls around him effectively imprisoning him without any visible way out. There was something eerie about the place too. It was too quiet he mused as he watched leaves move in a silent dance in the tree tops towering above him. The wind appeared to move them yet not even the faintest of rustle could be heard. Instead the silence appeared deafening.

He felt the back of his hair stand on their ends as dark eyes moved cautiously over the surroundings. 'How did I get here?' He wondered, unsure if he was just dreaming or not. The sudden snap from a twig made him crouch into a guarding stance and stare in the direction of the source.

He did not wait long before a dark form made itself known and soon revealed an all too familiar face. "Do you know why you are here?" The voice was calm and soothing. Bittersweet memories made him want to relax however the face of the man had been tainted by other far too vile pictures. He felt his shoulders tense fueled by fear and anger. "Itachi…" He growled.

Itachi smirked. "Otouto."

Though the other made no move of attacking Sasuke found himself running forward collecting chakra in his hand. He felt the familiar build up of raw chakra but the chidori wouldn't shape up, the crackling little lights died out as soon as they appeared at his finger tips. Stopping to stare at his hand he then glared hard at the other. "What have you done? Is this a genjutsu?"

Itachi chuckled and shook his head no. "You brought me here, otouto. You're dreaming."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "The only dream I have when it comes to you is my chidori straight through your heart."

"Yet, I'm standing here, alive and talking."

"I'll kill you!" With inhuman speed Sasuke lunged forward, aiming a punch to his brother's head but was quickly blocked. His one leg swept out forcefully in an attempt of landing a kick in the other's side however his ankle was quickly caught by a pale hand. He used Itachi's hold around his foot to spin in the air and land a kick to his head but was thrown back and landed gracefully a few meters away. Leaping back he crouched down and swept his foot at the other's feet, Itachi easily avoided the attack by jumping back and kicking Sasuke in the abdomen.

Feeling his breath kicked out of him Sasuke grasped his stomach as he tried to gain back the control of his breathing. "You're weak, otouto. How are you ever going to kill me if you can't even beat me in your own dreams?"

Feeling his hatred grow, Sasuke lurched up. Using his left foot to aim a kick at Itachi's face, he used his other foot to jump up in the air and do a backflip. Grabbing shurikens from their holster he threw them and lurched forward once again, punching the other hard in the stomach. Itachi went flying back but was quickly up on his feet, smirking. "Well done, otouto. Only it takes more than that to kill me. I thought I already told you that years ago yet you act like the same child I left so many years ago."

Sasuke grit his teeth. He wanted to shout back, deny his current weaker state and show him, but knew the other was right. He wasn't growing strong fast enough. He had made a promise to avenge his clan yet he lived in a village where he was getting nowhere, just because of what? Naruto? Was one guy worth giving up his honor? No. His family depended on him to punish Itachi for his betrayal. His heart had clouded his judgement for too long. "I will grow stronger! I will kill you!"

Itachi leant his head to the side, staring with prying eyes. "Are you really?" And in the next second he was gone.

Sasuke searched frantically his surroundings and was taken by surprise as a sudden burning pain settled inside his chest. "I was right when I said you weren't worth killing."

Sasuke's knees buckled under his weight and he fell to the ground, blood red eyes staring at him with confined laughter. "Pitiful." The words taunted him as his world was engulfed by flashes of the day of the Uchiha massacre."You can't win Sasuke, you never will."

"Sasuke…"

"Sasuke!"

/END PART ONE Old Demons Die Hard

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