Summary: While Shuurei is away from the palace, Ryuuki's powers run amok again and Shuuei, Kouyuu, and Kochou aren't quite themselves.

Characters: mainly Shuuei, Kouyuu, Kochou with some Ryuuki, Shuurei, Seiran, Ensei, Shusui, Shou

Author's Notes: Written for the January 2011 prompt, Wanton, at the saiun_challenge LJ community. This AU is a crossover with the manga Genju no Seiza but knowledge of that series isn't necessary to understand the story. Previous pieces of this AU include The Legend of Dhalashar, Love Songs and Lullabies, and The Purple Ribbon. If this AU is new to you, I recommend reading The Legend of Dhalashar first since it contains a lot of background including more details about the setting and what everyone looks like in their altered forms. In this AU, Ryuuki is the reincarnated ruler of the tiny desert kingdom of Dhalashar and Shuuei (a dragon), Kouyuu (a phoenix), and Kochou (a snake) are animal gods who serve him. They can take on animal forms or human forms with some animal-like characteristics; Kouyuu keeps his colorful wings in human form while Shuuei has sharp nails, pointy ears, and snake-like eyes. And Kochou usually has a snake's tail rather than legs.

Warnings: Very AU with magical powers and animal transformations. Because I am full of crack, this also involves body switching. And there is some vague nudity for humorous purposes.

Ryuuki woke up alone in bed. "Shuurei?" He rolled over onto an elbow and found she was standing next to the bed, wearing traveling clothes rather than her usual priestess garb. "Shuurei, why are you dressed like that?"

"I'm just not meant for this life, Ryuuki." She smiled apologetically. "This palace, being the priestess, using magic… I'm not suited for this role. I'm going back home to father and Seiran is coming with me. I hope you understand."

Seiran appeared, also dressed for a trip through the desert. "Sorry, Ryuuki. You already have all the other guardian beasts to protect you so I will stay with her ladyship. Good luck with the kingdom, younger brother."

"Goodbye, Ryuuki." Shuurei took Seiran's arm and they turned to leave.

"No, wait! Shuurei! Seiran!" Terrified at the prospect of losing his two favorite people, the king reached out after them. "Come back! Shuurei!"

"She's gone one day and he's already like this!" Kouyuu complained to Shuuei as they hurried down the lantern lit halls towards the king's rooms. With Ryuuki's progress the past couple of months, they thought it safe for Shuurei and Seiran to finally travel home and return with Shouka. But the king's nightmare-induced screams suggested otherwise.

"Well, she is the Priestess and her powers help keep His Holiness calm," the dragon reminded him. "It's a good thing she'll be back in a week."

Kochou was already at Ryuuki's bedside when they arrived, shaking him by the shoulder. "Your Holiness, wake up! It's only a dream!"

The three tried to rouse the king but he continued to thrash in his sleep and call for Shuurei. A shock went through the trio as a jolt of magical energy escaped from Ryuuki. The king stopped flailing and fell into a peaceful slumber while the guardian beasts blacked out.

Shuuei awakened a few minutes later with his face pressed to the cool stone floor. Something felt wrong as he sat up although he couldn't say exactly what. He reached out to the snake woman sprawled on the floor next to him. "Kochou, are you alright?" His voice sounded odd to his ears, more like Kouyuu's.

"Ugh, I have a headache." The voice that replied came from behind Shuuei and was masculine—actually, it sounded a lot like his own.

Surprised, the dragon looked more closely at his hands. He hadn't noticed at first in the dim light but now he saw his claws were gone and the sleeves of his robes were maroon. Something feathery brushed against his back and the meaning of it all became clear when several aqua strands fell in front of his eyes. He was in Kouyuu's body! Then, did that mean…? Turning around, he saw his own body leaning against the side of Ryuuki's bed. "Kochou?"

"Yes, although I don't seem to be myself right now." She was looking down with wide eyes at her now flat chest and the blue robes patterned with dragon scales. She quickly guessed what had happened. "That burst of energy from the king before…"

"Then, if you're in my body and I'm in Kouyuu's body…" Shuuei glanced at Kochou's body as it finally started to stir.

Despite being a bit perturbed by the situation, Kochou couldn't help laughing at the thought of the prudish, women-hating scholar in her body. "Oh, he is not going to like this…"

Kouyuu groaned as he sat up with a shiver. "Why is it so cold?" He blinked. "And what happened to my voice?" As the muddle cleared from his head, he realized the reason for his chill. He looked down to see an alarming amount of bare skin—feminine skin—concealed only by a copious amount of jewelry and a sheer sarong. "Gah!" Mortified, Kouyuu curled up into a ball, trying to hide this shameful appearance. It had to be a nightmare! How else would he be in a woman's body? And not just any woman's body but that of a voluptuous, half-naked snake goddess!

Shuuei couldn't resist chuckling at his friend's discomfiture and teasing a little. "I didn't think it was possible for Kochou to blush like that. It's quite endearing."

"It's a good thing no one else is here to see or he'll ruin my reputation," Kochou commented wryly.

Still hugging the long white snake tail to his chest, Kouyuu raised his face to glare at the other guardian beasts. "Don't joke around so calmly! How did this even happen?"

"Presumably, it's another of the king's powers." Shuuei looked at Ryuuki, who was still sleeping soundly.

"Then, wake up that idiot and get him to put us back to normal!"

Kochou craned her neck and glanced up at the king. "As much as I'd like to have my body back, is it really safe for His Holiness to try to put us back without the Priestess here?"

"Hmm… That's a good point." Shuuei thought back to all the other times Ryuuki's powers had gone out of control in the past. "His powers tend to be wild without her around and he might unintentionally create an even bigger mess if we try to make him fix this now."

"Then, we're stuck like this for a week?" Kouyuu groaned and buried his face in the snake tail again. A whole week trapped in this lewd woman's body! It was definitely a nightmare.

"Guess so." Shuuei supposed he didn't have it too badly since his gender hadn't switched but it was still going to be a strange week. "Do you want your clothes back, Kouyuu? I'll give them to you." He tugged at the sash that held the red robes in place.

"No!" Kouyuu uncurled just enough to grab his wrists. "It's bad enough that I'm in this indecent outfit! Don't undress my real body, too!"

All of the yelling finally woke Ryuuki and he blinked the sleep from his eyes as he sat up in bed. The ruler seemed to have no recollection of his nightmare and smiled hopefully when he saw the trio of guardian beasts sitting on the floor. "Did you all come to spend the night with me while Shuurei is away?"

Incensed by this question, Kouyuu forgot about modesty and sprang up to loom over Ryuuki with clenched fists. "You stupid king! Do you realize what you've done?"

"Kochou?" Ryuuki shrank back, confused why the snake woman was suddenly mad at him. He'd never seen her face red with anger before and her words sounded more like something the phoenix would say.

"No, it's Kouyuu! You switched all of our bodies, idiot!" He normally settled for glaring and threatening Ryuuki with scrolls but he was so angry at being turned into a woman that he reached out as if to throttle the king.

Shuuei pulled him back but it was a bit of a struggle since he wasn't used to Kouyuu's body. "Calm down, Kouyuu." He leaned close to the other's ear. "Remember, if you strangle His Holiness, we'll be stuck like this."

"Hey, what's all the commotion?" Ensei walked in, oblivious to the situation since he had been busy swiping the last of Shuurei's steamed buns from the palace kitchen. The wolf god nearly dropped the remnants of his midnight snack in astonishment at the sight of Kouyuu with clothes mussed and arms wrapped very tightly around a blushing Kochou as he whispered in her ear. He glanced at Ryuuki who looked as surprised as he did and Shuuei who was watching with an amused expression. "Um, guys, did I miss something?"

Continued in Chapter 2...

Author's Note: Thanks for reading. I usually write humor but I admit this story idea has a lot of crack and even I wonder if it's too silly despite the fact that body switching does occur a couple of times in Genju no Seiza canon. So, this is a test for now to help gauge interest and decide whether to continue. If there's a lack of response, I might just assume it was a bad idea that broke people's brains! Meanwhile, I've started on some fanart for this AU; check my profile for details.