Well this is a short one. If you want to read I encourage you to read (and review) my new story The Good Ol' Days. Pretty please.


Once all of Anko's lost prisoners had been recovered, she and Orochimaru made their way back down the mountain and across the desert to the North Base.

"So..?" Anko asked as they walked, "What happened while I was gone?"

"Kakashi Hatake and Kurenai Yuhi pretended to be you and Kabuto to get into the Sound." Orochimaru answered, "It didn't work."

"Who was who?" Anko wondered aloud.

"Let's just say, Konoha ninjas don't do the double-gender thing." Orochimaru said, his voice sounding like the fact disgusted him.

"Oh." Anko nodded.

The prisoners all followed behind Orochimaru and every so often he glanced back looking scary which kept them all in line.

"I see your arm grew back." Anko commented, having finally noticed the fact that several chapters ago he didn't have an arm and now he did, "How'd that happen?"

"It didn't." Orochimaru said.

"But then---" Anko exclaimed, looking at Orochimaru and then them arm back and forth.

Orochimaru just smiled and laughed evilly.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kabuto opened the door to face the ex-prisoner who wanted ransom money.

"Come in…" he sighed, "Why don't you sit down and make yourself comfortable."

The ex-prisoner obliged and sat down on a chair at a nearby table, putting up his feet and resting his head on his folded arms behind him.

"Yep." He nodded, " I have the girl so I am god. You got any food? I'm starving."

"Stupid is what you are." Suigetsu snickered, "You actually think you're going to get any money?"

"Yeah." The ex-prisoner nodded, "I will if you want Anko back."

"Heh." Sasuke shook his head, "You people these days. Orochimaru must have messed up your brain in some experiment."

"What do you mean?" the man asked, now getting a little worried but mostly confused. He thought he was in control.

"Let me spell it out for you there, tough guy." Karin said, "We're going to beat the shit out of you until you tell us where Anko is. Got it? Any questions?"

The ex-prisoner turned pale as Karin, Suigetsu and Sasuke closed in around him. It's not like Suigetsu and Sasuke really cared, they just wanted to beat someone up.

"That won't be necessary."

Everyone turned around to see Anko burst in the door, Orochimaru and the prisoners behind her.

"But I am flattered to see you all care so much about me." Anko winked, "At least someone missed me when I was gone."

"Not me." Kabuto stated, "I was hoping you'd die in the desert."

"Yes, I did hear about that." Orochimaru entered the conversation walking over to Kabuto, "Care to explain why you turned on a fellow Sound Ninja?"

"What did you tell him!?!" Kabuto exclaimed at Anko and then turned back to Orochimaru, "Everything she tells you is lies. Lies. It's all lies to get me in trouble. She wants my job, but she can't have it. I won't let her. I brought my prisoners back here first, so I get the job as second to you."

"No you don't." Orochimaru stated.

"WHAT!?" Kabuto shouted, his jaw dropping.

"The terms of the agreement were that whoever brought the MOST prisoners back wins the job." Orochimaru explained, "Not who was here first. You both brought equal so I should give you AND Anko the job but…"

"But what?!" Kabuto asked.

"I think I'll let Anko keep it." Orochimaru smirked.

Kabuto was dumbstruck. He had done everything right and still things turned out wrong. It was all Anko's fault if she had never shown up randomly into the Sound Village then non of this would ever have happened….god, he hated that woman.

"I got the prisoners back!" Kabuto complained, "I should have my job!"

"Stop it, Kabuto." Orochimaru ordered, "Anko still has the job."

"Why!?" Kabuto exclaimed, "She got captured! She failed you! I didn't."

"Do you know why?" Orochimaru began, "Because I like her better than you! You always have to have other motives and try to take control every time I leave the room for a minute. Now, Anko, she may not be the sharpest shuriken, but she knows how to follow orders and never tried to undermine me. That's why."

Now Anko wasn't to happy at being called 'not the sharpest shuriken', but decided to let it slide not wanting Orochimaru to change his mind about the job situation.

Orochimaru directed Karin to take the prisoners (Kabuto's and Anko's) all away to the dungeons and Sasuke just went with them, because he was still mad at Orochimaru for not training him in awhile and Anko and Kabuto for being the cause of that.

Kabuto trudged away to go sulk at still not having his job, debating whether to change his loyalty back to Sasori or even Konoha.

That left Anko, Orochimaru…and the one no longer ex-prisoner in the room. Anko started to walk at him threateningly as he cringed in the corner.

"Not so tough now!" Anko jeered, "Since I'm untied."

"Don't kill me!" he begged.

"Oh, no." Anko shook her head, "Not yet. I have better plans for you…"

The man gulped.

Anko turned to Orochimaru, "Hey, Orochimaru. I want to do an experiment…"


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