Sasuke: That snake is finally out of my life! I think I could do a jig.

Sonic: (crosses arms and raises a brow)

Sasuke: (frowns) What? Is it wrong that I want to do a jig?

Sonic: Yes, very wrong. What would your fans think of you? You wanting to do a jig is like me saying that I hate chili dogs.

Sasuke: (scoffs) I don't care what they think. *proceeds to jig*

Sonic: (looks at readers) I'm sorry you have to see this.

Cool down

Sonic's POV

"So…this is the summary of your story." Kakashi is sitting Indian style, like most of the shinobi in the group. It has been an hour since the death of Orochimaru, and the venom has just showed signs of leaving their system. They drunk a lot of water from plastic bottles they refilled earlier at the lake they visited before they got to Otogakure. The silver-haired ninja is leaning his cheek on his knuckles, looking at Shadow with calculating eyes. "When you were in the hospital, Iruka told you we were going to find Orochimaru. Then, you saw Sonic outside, clearly broken out of jail." Kakashi glances over to me and I chuckle nervously, scratching the back of my neck. He focuses back to Shads leaning on the trunk of a tree. "So you snuck out of the hospital, into the tower, convulsed on the Hokage's floor, snatched the scroll from her desk, and left. Anko found you out, but told you that she wouldn't tell anyone. Then you left the village."

Kiba snickers. "Yeah, he did all that, but I'm glad he did! Without those emeralds, I would've been a goner!"

Kakashi coughs, slightly miffed that the dog boy interrupted him. "I'm not done." Kiba sinks into himself a bit, giving the jonin a 'go on' motion. Kakashi taps a finger on his chin. "After you left the Hidden Leaf, you followed our footsteps up until the point that they disappear. Then you followed Sonic's since he was the one running on the ground. Not shortly after, you tried to open the scroll, but failed, so you found a vine to help secure it on you. After a few days and nights, you found us fighting the giant snake. Is that the gist of it?"

Shadow nods. "Pretty much." He's holding the red Chaos emerald in his hand, the yellow and white ones hidden in his quills (we have a lot of room back there, I tell ya). I have the cyan and blue ones in my hands, the other two in my quills. Tired of just holding them, I juggle the two back and forth, ears still concentrated on the conversation going on. "It was hell getting here, but, I made it."

Kakashi closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Tsunade is not going to be a happy camper when we get back…"

"I agree." Shikamaru is the only shinobi not sitting down. He's still lying on the ground, staring up at the clouds. "I'm not looking forward to being in the room when we give the mission report…what a drag…"

"Well…maybe when she realizes how much a help he's been…she won't be so mad?" Sakura speaks up, tone sounding like she's not sure of her own words.

"I dunno…" Choji is slowly snacking on some chips, not in full function of his movements yet. "I still think chairs will be flying."

Hinata pushes her two fingers together. "B-But wouldn't she b-be happy to know t-that Orochimaru's d-dead?"

"Che…I hope so." Ino answers. "From all that we've been through. I still can't feel my toes!"

There is laughter within the group at the blonde's comment until Kurenai speaks over it. "Speaking of Orochimaru…we're going to have to seal his head for proof."

Kakashi waves a dismissive hand. "Maa, maa…I'm gonna do it after I get all my motor functions back." He glances over to the corpse still in the middle of the clearing. "I'm planning on beheading him with his own sword to add insult to injury…or in his case death."

I stopped listening at 'beheading.'

Choking on my own spit in shock, I put down the emeralds and wildly gesture to the deceased shinobi. "Behead him? As in like cut off his head?!" Shadow and I share a concerned look, his is more muted, but it's still there all the same. I gape at Kakashi. "That's…that's sick!"

"I agree with Faker here." Shadow's lips curve downwards. "Shouldn't you leave the dead alone? No matter what they did alive?"

"It's what we do here." Asuma puffs out a cloud of smoke, cigarette dangling from his fingers. He glances between us. "Also, a severed head is the only thing that's going to make the Hokage believe that Orochimaru is really dead." I fold my ears against my head, but don't comment any further. This place is insane! I always knew that it was a completely different place from where Shadow and I came from, but this is like icing on the cake! Asuma takes his eyes off of me and roams the field, zeroing in on the forgotten scroll on the ground. "We're going to have to use that scroll over there."

"Plus, it's easier to carry back his head than his whole body." I turn to the usually silent Shino with a look of disbelief. He sees my expression and shrugs. "It's true."

The group grows quiet for a moment, all of us hoping that the poison would just go already. That lasts until I see Tenten eyeing the emeralds in my lap. Curious, I tilt my head at her, raising a brow. "What?"

She blinks before pointing at the gems. "Don't you think we should seal them up for the time being? So you won't have to carry them?"

Before I could answer, Shadow scowls. "There's no way in hell that you're sealing these up again."

The weapons specialist holds her hands up in a peaceful gesture. "Uh…sorry. Just a suggestion."

I roll my eyes at Shadow's rough words and give Tenten a grin. "I apologize for faker's rude statement, but he's kinda right. We don't really want to let these babies out of our sight again." I start back juggling. "And plus, we're gonna use these to get us back to Konoha."

Lee's eyes begin to sparkle and he looks like we just announced that we were planning him a birthday party. "Really? They can take all of us at once? How youthful!"

"Wait, wait, wait…" Kiba gazes at me dubiously, petting Akamaru who's sitting in his lap. "If they could do that, then why are we still sitting here?"

"Well," I start, focusing on coordinating my throws. "You don't want to be dumped in the middle of the streets still basically paralyzed, do you?"

"Uh…"

"Also, you guys have to take Orochimaru's head." I shiver when those words come out of my mouth, losing my concentration. The Chaos emeralds fall to the grassy ground, bouncing slightly. "Cuz I sure ain't doing it. Do you want to, Shads?"

The addressed glares at me for the nickname before answering, "Shooting I can do, but decapitation? I'll leave that to them."

Kiba sighs. "Then I guess you're right. I just don't want to sit here on the ground any longer than I need to. I just wanna get back to the village."

"Speaking of the village…" Naruto glances at me before turning to Kakashi. He jabs his thumb over to me. "What are we going to do with Sonic once we get there? What's going to happen with him?"

The atmosphere seems to grow tense as I'm reminded of my status back in the Hidden Leaf. Naruto has a good point. As soon as we get into the village, am I going to be sent straight back to jail? Because I sure don't want to. I'm holding on to the sliver of hope that me helping take down Orochimaru is enough to soften Tsunade's heart enough that she'll revoke my sentence there. I mean, the snake was a major threat to the village, right? That should be enough to sway her.

"Is he going to go back to jail, or…?"

"I don't know, Naruto. It isn't up to me." Kakashi shifts his position so he's leaning back on his hands. He pulls a Shikamaru and looks up at the sky. "I say it could go either way. Tsunade might think that his help here would override his crimes, but she might also think that his crimes shouldn't go unpunished. It impossible to say."

"Don't forget the Council." Kurenai adds. "The Hokage is going to have to confide with them as well."

"Yeah…can't forget about them."

There is a pensive silence until Sasuke speaks up. His is his first time talking since Orochimaru was shot. "I think…he's going to be let off the hook."

Neji scoffs and I can tell that he's thinking the exact opposite. "And why do you think that, Uchiha?"

The raven glares a him for a second before interlocking his fingers and putting them up close to his mouth, staring at nothing but air. "Orochimaru was an S-ranked missing-nin. He was a very twisted ninja and I think the Hokage knows that. She was his teammate after all. And another thing, he killed the Third Hokage." There is a brief moment of quiet. "Sonic…" His voice is softer now. "Isn't going to be sent back to jail." When he's done, I grin slightly. I know that all he said were facts, but I can sense that he personally doesn't want me to go back to jail. I'm actually sensing that vibe from a lot of people in the group.

"I doubt it."

From Neji though…not so much.

His pale eyes bore into mine. "Yes, he did help us defeat him, he didn't actually kill him. He was too weak to do so." The genin turns to the others. "I don't think that his part in this mission is enough to ignore all of the people he killed. Jail time will to justice for him." Neji crosses his arms. "He deserves it."

"You can state your opinion, Neji, but there is no need to bring your personal feelings into this."

Ino facepalms at her teammate's words. "Choji, that's what an opinion is. Personal feelings." She then glances at Neji. "But I get what he's saying, you don't have to be so harsh about it."

"Humph."

Guy gives Neji a disapproving look. "Neji! When we get back, you need to run two hundred laps around the village!"

The pale-eyed genin gawks. "But-"

"Do I need to make it four hundred?"

"No! I-"

"Six hundred?"

Neji snaps his mouth shut and mutters under his breath, "Fine…"

Naruto gives his fellow rookie ninja vulpine grin, seeming to enjoy his torment. He then rubs his hands together. "Alright! I think I can start to feel my chakra again!" The blonde forms a hand sign. "Shadow clone jutsu!" There is a poof and beside him is another Naruto, in the same position. Then, without warning, the clone falls backwards and just lays there, not moving. "Uh…" The whiskered boy pokes the other him and the fake just bursts into a cloud of smoke before the wind blows it away. Naruto looks at us and rubs the back of his head. "Maybe not…"

There is laughter throughout the group. Shikamaru, after letting out a little snicker, gazes at the blonde. "Oi, Naruto."

"Hm?"

"Your jutsu didn't work right, but it still worked. Try standing up."

Naruto blinks a couple times. "Yeah! You're right! I should try." He shifts his body so that he's leaning forwards on his arms, then he carefully maneuvers his legs into a squatting position. The blonde then pushes himself up fully onto his feet, wobbling a bit to retain balance. After a few seconds, he gives everyone a thumbs up. "Woo! I can move again!"

"I want to try too!" Lee jumps up only to fall right back down, landing on his knees. "Guess I'm not ready yet…"

"Don't worry Lee! We all will be able to eventually." Tenten says, patting him sympathetically on his back.

"Well, Naruto. Since you're up, could you go cut Orochimaru's head off for me? It'll be appreciated.

Naruto hesitates at Kakashi's request before sitting back down. "Ah…I think I'll let you handle that…"

The silver-haired ninja scoffs and hides a laugh. "Thought so."

Thirty minutes pass and now everyone is up and walking around. From their excited chatter, I learn that they can tap into their chakra reserves again. They all preform many jutsus just to make sure, causing many damages to the nearby trees. Shads and I are watching off the side as the shinobi tear up the nearby area with their chakra induced moves. When they are sure that they are all back to normal, Kakashi claps his hands to grab everybody's attention.

"Alright! Now that we're all healed up, we can go back home!" The more outgoing of the ninja celebrate for a moment before the silver-haired jonin cuts them off. "In a couple minutes. We, or rather I, have some important business to take care of." Kakashi sprints over to the scroll lying in the middle of the field. He picks it up and tucks it under his arm. I see him take a breath before walking smoothly over to Orochimaru. My stomach drops when I realize what he's about to do.

Kakashi picks up the sword beside the body and looks at the blood currently residing on it with a blank face. He tightens his grip and swings the katana, slicing the air around him. It doesn't take a genius to notice that the ninja's testing the weapon out so he could make a nice clean single cut to make the experience as pleasant as possible (because cutting off someone's head has to be pleasant for the audience). A few more practice swings later, Kakashi raises the blade over his head.

Looking around, I notice that every ninja is watching, even if some of them have uneasy and disgusted expressions on their faces, anticipating the blow. Shadow's even watching, face devoid of any emotion. Stealing myself, I decide that I'm not going to turn away. I'm not going to let the sight of blood control me because it's inevitable that I'll see some back at home. If I freeze up, it could be the difference between life and death.

Kakashi in the middle of the field glances over at us before bringing down the sword, slicing through skin, muscle, and bone. I flinch at the sound and watch dully as the head and body oozes blood. The grass around the corpse gets stained red. Without wasting any more time, the masked ninja seals the still dripping head up into the scroll, rolling the paper up and tucking it into a pouch. He walks back over to us, sword still in hand.

Naruto is the first to ask about it. "Wait, Kakashi-sensei! Why are you taking the katana?"

He shrugs. "Why not?"

Sasuke shoves his hands in his pockets. "Wise words of a jonin." If you can't tell, very heavy sarcasm is present in that statement.

Kakashi eye smiles at him before he turns to me and Shadow. "Now, we're done here. So, uh…are you two ready?"

Shadow nods and I grin like I just didn't see a guy's head getting chopped off. "I've been ready!"

"Woo…finally we can leave. This whole thing has been a wild ride." Kiba says, making a show of wiping his forehead.

"Yeah, and I can't wait to sleep in an actual bed." Sakura plays with a lock of her bubblegum hair. "Sleeping on the ground in a tent is absolute murder on my back."

Tenten hums in agreement, stretching her back. "I agree with you there."

"So!" Guy rubs his hands together and looks toward me. "Now that we know that everyone is ready to go home, will you please use your youthful powers to take us there?"

I scratch the outside of my cheek, slightly embarrassed. "Well…you see, I'm not as experienced with Chaos energy as Shads here." I gesture to him and smirk. "So, care to share how to do a mass Chaos Control?"

Shadow just sighs at my inexperience and takes a step forward. He glances at everyone. "You all need to get in a close knit circle around Sonic and I." They automatically do so and I'm impressed at Shads' ability to command a group. My rival turns to me. "All you need to do is focus on the emeralds and do a Chaos Control."

I raise an eyebrow. "That's it?"

"That's it. Because we are using all of the emeralds, the range will be enough to include everyone around. We just need to preform it at the same time." Shadow turns around with his back to me. Getting what he's showing me, I put my back to him as well. After grinning at my half of the circle, I hold out the two gems in my hands and close my eyes. I feel the energy from those two along with the duo still in my quills.

When I'm good to go, I call over, "Are ya ready, Shads?"

He grunts. "I was waiting for you. I was ready the second I turned around." I roll my eyes. Suurrree he was. We glance back at each other before nodding.

"Chaos Control!"

A bright light covers all of us and a weightless feeling takes over my body for a second. I'm of course used to it, but I wonder how all of the ninja are doing. The whiteness fades away and I end up on my feet on a dirt path. Looking around, I see Shadow standing up as well, smirking. I follow his gaze and grin at all the ninja sprawled out on the walkway in different positions. Some are on their stomachs, some are on their backs, and some are sitting down with a dazed look in their eyes. Even Lee, who had experienced the feeling before, is lying on his back. I inwardly chuckle at him. Guess one time isn't enough to get used to the teleportation.

"Come on guys!" I say with humor very present in my voice. "It wasn't that bad, right?"

There is a groan as Shikamaru peels himself off of his stomach. "That's easy for you to say, you were expecting the whole weightless thing."

"I've never felt like that before in my life!" Ino shouts out as she stands up and fixes her hair.

"W-Well, you h-haven't Chaos Controlled until n-now…" Hinata responds, helping Kiba up.

Said genin dusts himself off and places Akamaru on top of his head. "No one has!" He focuses on one bowl-haired ninja. "Except for you Lee! It felt weird and awesome at the same time!"

Lee jumps up, stars in his eyes. "I know! It was exactly the same as the first time!" He calms down a bit. "Hm…not exactly…I didn't feel the rush of energy, but maybe that's because I wasn't the one holding it." The green clad ninja brightens up again. "But it still showed flames of youth!"

"It was a different experience alright." Asuma says as he lights up a cigarette.

"You can say that twice." Kakashi gets up after grabbing his book after it fell from his person during the Chaos Control. He wipes it off before pocketing it again. The jonin then peers over our shoulders. "Huh…we're right by the entrance of Konoha." We both turn around to see that he is right. The giant doors are like a five minute walk away. "Good job, you two."

I glance behind me and cockily smirk. "All in the day's work!" Shadow scoffs beside me, but doesn't say anything else.

Guy smiles brightly before looking over to Kakashi. "Eternal rival! How about a race?"

"Not now, Guy." Kakashi deadpans.

The eccentric jonin then grabs the silver-haired ninja's wrist. "Alright! Since you won't do that, you are just going to have to witness my youthful running ability!" Guy sprints off toward the Hidden Leaf's gates, dragging a surprised and shocked Kakashi behind him.

"How does he even have the energy…" Asuma watches the two leave a small dust cloud behind.

Kurenai facepalms. "We just fought Orochimaru for goodness sake!"

"My sensei is so inspirational!" Lee gushes, eyes sparkling. He turns to one of his teammates and holds out a hand. "It's go rival! I need to show off my speed as well!"

Neji's eyes widen and he backs up slowly. "No! There's no need to-Waa!"

And now…the group is down two more.

"You know…Lee and Guy remind me of you."

I cringe subtly and look at Shadow like he was crazy. How am I in any way like those two maniacs? (thought in the nicest way possible)

He glances at me with humor present in his eyes. "You like to show off."

Well…that isn't a lie, but… "Okay, I do that sometimes, but I don't do it to that extent!"

Shadow raises an eyebrow.

"What? I don't!"

He keeps staring and I cave.

"Fine…" I admit, placing a hand on my hip. A grin makes its way on my muzzle and I nudge Shadow. "But who wouldn't? Come on, Shads, don't you want some time in the spotlight?"

"And get hunted by fans? No thank you."

I laugh out loud at that. "They aren't that bad, and I don't get hunted by them."

"Amy."

I blink. "Touché."

"We better catch up with them." Asuma sighs out, starting to walk along the dirt path with Kurenai by his side. "We don't need Kakashi and Neji to be more hurt than they already are." We all chuckle at the duo's situation and follow the jonin back at a leisurely pace. I could have been back in the village by now, but I want to prolong the inevitable as long as possible. I know that as soon as I step in the Hidden Leaf, something is about to go down. I inwardly sigh. Something's going to happen. What? I have no clue. It could go from a full out uproar to an old lady just screaming and running away.

I peek a glance over to Shadow who has his arms crossed and is looking ahead at our destination. I don't know why he's staying back. My lips curl up some. It's most likely because he knows he's going to get an earful for stealing the scroll containing the emeralds. But hey, without them, the fight's outcome could've ended very differently. Not wanting to continue that train of thought, I focus in on the other conversations around me for a distraction.

A couple minutes later, we are standing right outside of the village, watching in humor as Neji and Kakashi hastily dust their backs off while sending the oblivious Guy and Lee distasteful looks. The cleaner of the four are doing their good-guy pose and shouting about youthfulness, flames, and eternal rivals. I look between the two parties, glad that Shadow isn't like the louder ninjas, and I can bet that Shadow is glad that I'm not like that either.

"The next time you do that, Lee, I'm getting a restraining order."

Guy laughs like it is a funny joke and not a warning. "You can't do that Neji! You two are on the same team!"

"Yeah…he can't do anything about Lee, but I can make you stay a mile away from me." Kakashi retorts.

The addressed pauses for a moment before throwing an arm around the silver-haired ninja. "Ah! But you wouldn't do that, Kakashi! You'll miss me too much!"

Team 7's sensei rolls his eye. "Surely…"

"See! You agree with me!"

Behind us, I hear Naruto speak up. "Hey teme…"

"What?"

"You're not gonna put a restraining order on me, are you?"

Sasuke snorts. "No, but I will if you start dragging me around on the ground, dobe."

"Whew, that's a reli-"

"Or if you drag me to that ramen stand again."

"What!? Come on teme…you know it's good!"

"As good as drinking salt water."

I let out a small snicker at their banter before focusing on Kakashi who is in the middle of saying something. He must've started talking when I wasn't paying attention. "-now we're going to the Hokage tower to give the mission report." He glances over to me and Shads before turning back to the other shinobi. "And…uh, watch out for flying furniture."

There are affirmatives all around before we all pass through the threshold into the village. I take one step inside and suddenly I'm off my feet, being held in the air by my arms. Looking to my sides, I see two ANBUs. One with a rat mask and, just my luck, the other is in a bear one.

Bear looks down at me and lowly chuckles. "Did you think you'll avoid the law forever?" A shiver goes down my spine as I feel his glare through his mask. "You, buddy, are going straight back to jail."

"What!" See! My gut feeling was right! "No!" I try to wiggle out of their grasp, but I can't really do anything against their strong grip. Turning my head around, I see the others staring in shock, no doubt not expecting the ANBU's quick appearance. "Help! Anybody?"

Shadow seems like he was about to Chaos spear the ninja holding me into space, but Kakashi steps up and stops him. He looks at the masked shinobi with an eye smile. "Now, now. There's no need to be hasty. Would you mind putting him down?"

"Absolutely not." Rat replies automatically.

"Yeah, this criminal needs to be put back into his place." Bear squeezes my arm hard and I wince.

Kakashi, seeing the rough treatment, loses the light tone. "You have no right to make any decisions. We are going to the Hokage to see what his future holds."

"Why? You already know what he's done."

"Because without him, we wouldn't have been able to kill Orochimaru."

Bear goes rigid in surprise. "Orochimaru's dead?"

"Yes! Didn't you hear him?" I say, a bit irritated at being manhandled. "They killed that snake, and I helped them."

The two ANBU look at me, then Kakashi, then to each other. Bear sighs. "Let's let him go, Rat." I drop a couple inches down to the ground and rub my wrists. I give the two a slight glare as they take a step back. "We'll let the Hokage make her decision. But if, no when, she calls us, we'll be there in a heartbeat."

"I'm sure you will." Kurenai says. "It is your job after all."

"Also, if you see any other ninja, can you tell them not to react like you two did at the sight of Sonic here?" Kakashi adds. "And if needed, tell them the reason."

"We will." Both of the ANBU say before disappearing with a swirl of leaves.

Feeling that it is very necessary, I blow a raspberry at the spot they were standing in not a second before.

Shadow walks up beside me. "Real mature, Faker."

"Hey, they started it!"

He smirks. "Actually…"

"Don't say it! That was like…forever ago!"

"Four days." Shads deadpans.

"He's right, Sonic." Kakashi says as he passes by, heading toward the tower. He eye smiles at me. "You started it." Being ganged up on, I cross my arms and huff. Most of the group laugh at my expense and follow the jonin who's reading his book. Shadow shakes his head in amusement before leaving and gesturing for me to follow. After being defiant for a moment, I slowly trail them.

"So…you're meaning to tell me…that he joined you on your mission…AND YOU DIDN'T SEND HIM BACK!?"

We all jump and take a step back when Tsunade punches her desk, causing it to crack down the middle. The tension grows in the room as the Hokage glares at each and every one of us. To be brutally honest, I'm terrified for my life.

Things were actually going pretty well before now if I do say so myself. The way over here wasn't that bad. The Black Ops members must've moved fast because the other ninja didn't do anything drastic like the ANBU. They gave me mean looks and things like that, but nothing physical. The villagers were more or less the same. I just ignored them.

But, that was the calm before the storm.

As soon as we walked into her office, she took one look at me and the group before she seemed like she was going to explode. Kakashi had to hurry and give the report with some of the others adding in additional information before Tsunade would blow a gasket. She had stayed quiet throughout the whole thing to soak in the facts, but by the end…well, that's sort of where we are now. And it looks the Orochimaru dying part is pushed in the back of her head while she focuses on me escaping.

Naruto waves his hands out in from of him. "Wait a minute Old Hag! We thought he'll make a good ally!"

"And he did." Sasuke says, a safe distance away from the desk. "Orochimaru is dead because of him and Shadow."

Tsunade stares at him before shifting to me. We hold our gazes (I'm slightly nervous, but no one needs to know that) for a second, then she sits back down in her chair, taking a deep breath. The older blonde runs her hands down her face. "Yes, yes he is. That's good…"

"So…" Sakura starts. "…are you going to make him go back to jail?"

The Hokage sighs and leans on her desk, head being held by her hands. We all see the gears turning in her head and I wait anxiously for my verdict. My heart is beating ridiculously fast and my palms are a bit sweaty. I have no idea what she's gonna say. It could go either way. Yes, I got rid of a major enemy of Konoha…but I also have done some major damage in the neighboring villages and took a life here. I wouldn't be surprised if I do go back to prison.

Tsunade shakes her head. "No, I'm not." I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. "But that doesn't mean that you'll go without punishment." She looks at me with her lips set in a thin line. "House arrest."

My heart drops.

"Wait!" I'm freaking out on the inside and out. "House arrest? B-But that means I can't run!"

Tsunade nods. "Unfortunately for you, yes. You won't be able to walk on Konoha's streets until we find a way for you to go home. If anyone catches you, you will be placed back in jail. The Council will no doubt agree with my rules, so don't depend on them."

I deflate, knowing that she means every single word. Man, my life in that house is going to be hell. "F-Fair enough…" Ugh! There has to be a loophole somewhere…I got it! "Tsunade, I know that you said that I can't be seen in the village, but can I at least leave the house and run in Sasuke's little secret field? Not anywhere else?"

"Finally using that brain of his…" Shadow says under his breath and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep a smart remark at bay. I keep my eyes trained on Tsunade's pondering face.

She makes a clicking sound in the back of her throat. "Fine. You can go there because I know you'll do something crazy if you don't get to run." Everyone chuckles and just like that, the tension drains away. "Just don't let your feet take you where you're not supposed to be."

I salute her. "Aye, aye, captain!"

Tsunade smirks before turning to Shadow. "And don't think that I've forgotten about you and your little stealing escapade."

The other hedgehog straightens up some. "It had to be done. I couldn't heal using them if they were still sealed up in that stupid scroll." He crosses his arms. "And plus…they were useful in our battle, were they not?"

"They were very useful according to your mission report. But that doesn't mean that stealing is good! Especially from me!"

The sides of Shads' lips twitch. "It wasn't even that hard."

Tsunade blushes from embarrassment. "That's because I was drunk!"

I wiggle my finger at her. "Another reason not to be at all! What if it was a real bad guy?"

She sputters. "W-When did this become about me?!" The Hokage points her finger at Shadow. "Since your healthy and fit now…" She gestures to the hole that is still present in her office. "…you have to fix my wall!" Tsunade is looking smug now. "That's your punishment even though you were supposed to do it earlier."

Shadow grits his teeth and scowls at the offending wall. "When?"

The blonde taps her chin; I can tell she's enjoying every second of this. "Hm…I was thinking after you go back to Sasuke's place and hide those emeralds in a safe place, you can come back and start. I'll have the supplies for you then. Oh! And tomorrow, you can go help Iruka at the academy with the little kiddies."

Shadow clenches his fists before sighing in defeat. "Fine…"

Shikamaru steps up and lazily pats us both on the shoulders. "Your punishments aren't that bad…they could be worse."

"I know." I say while Shads nods.

"With all that said," Tsunade waves a lazy hand. "You all are dismissed."

"Ah…" Kakashi turns to the group consisting of genin and us two hedgehogs. Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai left to rest in their homes as soon as Tsunade waved her hand. "You all go ahead to the house. I need to talk to the Hokage for few more minutes."

"Right." The group says simultaneously.

"Hey, Shads."

Shadow sighs at my nickname for him, but answers anyway. "What?"

I grin and face the whole in the wall, going into my running stance. "Wanna race?"

My rival gets into the same position. "Any time, any place, Faker."

"Seriously guys?" Ino asks, putting her hands on her hips. "Now?"

I glance back at her. "Why not?" I then hold my hand out to Sasuke. "Let me have your keys." The raven just stares at me, not moving. I raise an eyebrow. "Do you want your door kicked open again?" He caves and drops the keys into my hand and I give him a thumbs up. "Thanks!" I look straight ahead and like there's an imaginary siren, Shads and I take off.

We sprint out of the room and drop to the roof of the building next to us. Without spending half a second there, we jump down to the ground and run faster than the speed of sound to our destination. We weave and swerve out of the way of unsuspecting villagers and ninja all the while staying neck and neck with each other.

I smile as the wind whips across my face as the Hidden Leaf village goes by in a blur. You'd figure that I should be moving slower to get my seemingly last look of the place, but eh…I have good memory. Plus, who am I to waste a chance to participate in my favorite hobby?

We reach Sasuke's house in under five minutes at the same time. Standing in front of the door, I wait for our tailwind to catch up to us before tuning to Shadow with a smirk. "Looks like I win again, Shads."

He scoffs. "Not a chance, Faker."

"Well, you didn't win and I know it wasn't a tie!" I hold up my pointer finger and thumb and bring them together, almost touching. "I was this far in front of you."

Shads looks at my fingers. "You're ridiculous. Can you open the door already?"

"Only if you tell me that I woooon." I singsong. Shadow, having run out of patience, just snatches the keys from my other hand and unlocks the door, pushing it open. "Geez, violent much?" He doesn't respond as I follow him inside. Shutting the door behind me, I across the living room and into the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Looking back, I see Shadow staring at me at the bottom of the stairs.

I gesture to the hallway connected to the room I'm in. "I was thinking where to put the emeralds, and I came up with my closet in my room."

Shadow walks over to me. "Did you forget what happened in there?"

I tilt my head at him. "What happened?" My room should be fine except for the blood… "Oh…"

He smirks at my expression. "Yeah. Oh." He does a 180 and goes toward the stairs. "I was thinking that we could hide them in one of the closets in one of the rooms up here."

I trail after him, going up to the second floor. "That's a good Plan B as any." All the way up, we both look around to decide which room is worthy to hide our gems in. "So…which one?"

Shadow points down the hall. "We should put them in a room at the far end."

We walk down there and I look between the two rooms. "Right or left?" I glance again. "I say right!"

Shads shrugs. "It really doesn't matter."

I push open the door and head straight for the closet. Pulling open that door, I see that it's filled with dark blue shirts and grey shorts. "Hey! We're in Sasuke's room!" I grab the four emeralds from my head quills. "I'm sure that he won't mind." I say with a snicker.

I place the blue, green, and purple emeralds on the floor while Shadow puts down the yellow and white ones. I hold the cyan gem in my hand and Shadow grips the red one. We glance down at them before peering up at each other.

"I believe that our quills are a safe enough place." He suggests.

"I agree wholeheartedly because…they're sharp."

"Yeah…"

With that, we place our own gem in our quills, neither of us wanting to admit that we want the emerald just to have it in our possession. I close the closet door and we walk back into the hallway. Then I hear voices of the others. "Guess they're back." I say as we make our way back downstairs. Down there, I see all of them going into the kitchen. "What's goin' on, guys?"

Choji glances over at us and smiles. "Sakura's going to cook dinner!" He puts his hand on his stomach. "I'm glad because I'm starving! Oh yeah, who's the winner of the race?"

I grin. "Me, of course!"

"Don't listen to him. As much as I don't like saying this, it was a tie." Shadow then starts to walk toward the front door. "Save me some food. I going to rebuild that damn wall."

I snicker. "Bet you regret doing that in the first place, huh Shads?"

"Shut up." He slams the door behind him.

Choji blinks. "A little more than angry, ain't he?"

"You'll get used to it." I make my way into the kitchen, the chubby boy following me. "And he isn't angry…just passionate." I laugh on the inside at my wording. Shadow and passionate really don't go together.

Inside the kitchen, I take my seat and Choji takes his. Tenten, immediately noticing that someone's missing, speaks up. "Hey, where's Shadow?"

"He had to go fix the wall that he blew to smithereens." I turn to Sakura at the stove cooking some fish. "Make sure to leave some for Shads when he comes back." The pinkette hums in recognition.

The weapon wielder grins. "Oh yeah, that's right."

"So Sonic…how do you feel about house arrest?" Kiba asks, placing Akamaru on the floor.

I lean back in my chair and link my hands behind my head. "I…really don't feel anything about it. I know that I can't go into the village anymore, but I can still go out and run whenever I want. I just know that it beats going back to prison."

He nods. "True that."

"What was prison life like, anyway? I'm curious." Naruto leans his cheek into his hand. He looks around at the shocked group of genin. "What?"

"I-I kinda want t-to know t-too…" Hinata shyly stutters.

I'm surprised at their interest, but comply anyway. I tell them about how the jail looked and all of its branches. I talk about the God awful food and horrible cell conditions. Finally, I mention my cellmates. I talk about the friend I made there, Takeshi, and my violent green-eyed enemy, Kenji. By the end of my story, we are halfway through with our meals and everyone's, even Neji's (he was trying to look bored, but I saw the interest in those pale eyes of his), curiosity is sated.

They all are talking about it when Kakashi enters the kitchen. He grabs his still warm plate and sits down at the table. "Kakashi-sensei…what did you talk to the Old Ha-ouch!" The blonde rubs the back of his head, pounded upon by Sakura. He swallows his words and tries again. "What did you talk to the Hokage about?"

Kakashi lets out a chuckle at his students' interactions. "Well, I just asked about when you all could go on missions again."

"When?" Sasuke asks.

"Tomorrow, which is also the day that you all will be moving back into your own places."

"Seriously?" Shikamaru stops mid-chew to sigh. "Now I have to go back to my mom's bad cooking. What a drag…"

Kakashi eye smiles. "Well, that's the way it is. We will pack up and move out after breakfast tomorrow so we'll be ready from missions by noon. Some ANBU are telling Kurenai, Guy, and Asuma about this now." He pats the raven beside him on the back a couple times. "Now, Sasuke here will have his house all to himself again."

"Not technically." Lee smiles. "He's still going to live with two youthful hedgehogs!"

I plant a grin on my muzzle at his comment. Hm…I wonder how it's gonna be like living with just Sasuke and Shadow. Not as lively, I can say that much. Also, I won't be able to see the others unless they come over here to visit. That's a problem…but, it's a punishment for a reason.

When dinner's over, I announce that I'm going out for a run and they acknowledge my words with 'okays' as they make their way into the living room. Outside, I glance over in the direction of the village. I wonder how Shads is coming along. My foot unconsciously takes a step in that direction. I can run faster than the eye can see…I shake my head and walk the other way toward the clearing. It's not worth it.

Tired of going at a leisurely pace, I pick up speed, uprooting the grass my shoes touch. It's not long before I arrive at the field. Not stopping in my run, I sprint around the perimeter a number of times, content that the field's size isn't too small. After my twenty-fifth lap, I slow down to a jog and do one more lap for a cool down. When I'm done, today's events catch up with my body and I look up to the sky to see the sun starting to set. I could go for a little nap out here before heading back.

Looking for a sturdy tree, I find the tallest one and make my way up it to the top branch that seems like it could hold my weight. Laying down on my back, I lean my head on my hands and focus on the blue sky, not really thinking about anything. My blinks eventually become longer and longer. Yawning, I close my eyes and drift off, feeling the soft breeze cooling my body.

Blinking my eyes open, the first thing I notice is that the sky is dark and filled with stars. I know that it isn't very late because a small amount of light from the sun is still brightening up the heavens. Stretching out my arms and legs, I hop down from the branch and curl up to land safely. On the ground, I crack my back before jogging back to the house.

As I get closer, I can see the lights of Konoha in the distance. I almost stumble over my own feet as a thought comes to mind. I'm never going to have dango again! I think I just died a little on the inside. Wait…I could always get Sasuke or Shadow to go get me some…if they are in a nice enough mood at the moment. I'm happy again.

When I see Sasuke's house, I witness a very rare sight that would make anyone drop down and roll on the floor laughing. Myself included. I'm now lying in the grass holding my stomach with tears streaming down my face. Shadow covered from head to toe in paint would do that to a person, you know?

My guffaws must've alerted him of my presence because I hear low growling. Picking myself off of the ground, I walk over to him and give my rival the once over. Everything was drenched in thick cream paint that overrides Shadow's other colors. The only thing that isn't cream is his fiery red eyes that are glaring at me. "What happened?" I ask, wiping my moist eyes with a smirk on my face.

Shadow clenches his dripping fists. "I was painting the wall that I fixed with my back to the bucket. When I wasn't paying attention, some kid with green goggles on his head and scruffy hair picked it up and poured the paint all over me. Before I could register what happened, he was gone with the parting words, 'That's what you get for not teaching me!'. Apparently, Tsunade got a kick out of it because she told me that I've done enough and let me leave."

A scruffy haired kid with goggles? I've got a feeling that-oh yeah! It's that brat! "His name is Konohamaru!" A snicker escapes my lips. "He was bothering me the other day because I wouldn't show him how I would run so fast. I guess he mistook you for me!"

Shadow grits his teeth. "All I know is that he better watch his back for now on."

"Come on, Shads! He's just a kid." An annoying one at that.

"I don't give a rat's ass how old he is." He stomps his way up to the front door and eyes me when I follow him. "Why are you out here anyway?"

"I went for a run." I answer simply then point to the door knob. "It's unlocked. Just go in." Shadow opens the door and enters only to be face to face with all of the others spread out in the living room in little groups. They were probably talking about random stuff to let the time pass. Before anyone could say anything, Shadow glares at all of them. "Don't ask." He then makes his way upstairs to take a well needed shower.

Sasuke looks down at the footprints on the floor with a sigh. "I really don't want to clean that up…"

"Don't worry, it's just paint. It'll come off."

Sakura cocks her head at me. "Paint?"

I nod. "One word: Konohamaru."

The room bursts with various degrees of laughter. "Ah…my ways must have rubbed off on him!" Naruto gets out in between chuckles.

"Man! I wish I was there to see it!" Kiba bellows.

"I bet Tsunade busted a kidney when it happened!" Ino says.

"You bet!" Sakura agrees, laughing.

"Shut up!"

Everyone quiets when Shadow's voice echoes in the house until I shout back up, "It's okay, Shads! The color looks good on you!" My only answer is the sound of the bathroom door slamming upstairs. The room breaks back out in snickers and chuckles. I go over to the couch and sit in between Naruto and Kiba who are talking to Choji, Lee, and Shikamaru sitting on the floor in front of them. I jump into the conversation about pranks pretty easily and it keeps me entertained for a while.

Shadow eventually comes back down and he goes into the kitchen to warm up then eat his dinner. He then comes into the living room and merges in with the group with little difficulty. He actually gets into a conversation with Sasuke, Neji, and Tenten sitting on the longer couch. I think I catch snippets of the topic. It has to do with weapons. No doubt Shadow's gun will be or already has been brought up.

This goes on until the ninja are ready to go to bed. Actually, it goes on until Kakashi tells them to go upstairs. They reluctantly do so with a chorus of 'good nights' aimed at me and Shadow. When they disappear to the second floor, I then realize that I don't have a bed to sleep in. With a grunt, I get off the couch and turn off the light; when there isn't any complaining coming from Shadow, my feet lead me back to the make-shift bed. Sighing, I slip off my gloves and shoes before fluffing one of the futon's pillows. I lay my head on it and then curl up hedgehog style. On the other couch, I see Shadow doing the same thing. Resting comfortably on the cushion, my eye lids begin to get heavy.

"Goodnight, Shads."

"Mhmm…"