Swapped

The Serpent & the Sea

The serpent and the sea, Sakura said to herself as she peered down at her plate. It didn't look nearly as daunting as that scorpion had, but the insinuation of serpent had her nervous. Kakashi was leaning down to speak lowly in her ear again, and as pleasant as that was, she really wished he wouldn't. With the alcohol warming her up from the inside-out and her inhibitions lowered, her mind was already running rampant with inappropriate images. He was speeding along the inevitable coiling of heat in her stomach, and she really didn't need the help.

"It's king snake and sea grapes." He said against the shell of her ear. She was sure he knew exactly what he was doing to her, but she had no idea why. She'd avoided him all day in order to dispel the ravenous feeling he was instilling in her again.

"How do you know all this?" She grumbled, chancing a look at his face hovering close to hers. Not that it mattered, with that mask on. All she gained was an accelerated pulse. He grinned under the mask.

"I told you I was worldly." He said cheekily. She rolled her eyes and smirked at him.

"Humble, too." She said leaning into him slightly. He held her gaze for a moment, and that telltale feeling in her abdomen began to stir.

"Hmm, well false modesty never was one of my faults." He said playfully, and she tried to pretend she didn't notice the arm he had slung around the back of her chair, or the hand that was dangling off the table, precariously close to her thigh.

"You have so many others; I suppose we wouldn't want to add to the list." She teased. He sighed wearily.

"Why do you bother carrying kunai with a tongue that sharp?" He questioned dismally. She couldn't stop her smile from widening.

"I don't know that my adversaries would appreciate me licking them to death." She said with a giggle. Then, Kakashi's dangling hand dropped, and his warm palm was very much placed on her half-covered thigh.

"Mm, yes, that sounds unbearable." His voice carried an edge, and she would have questioned it but his thumb was stroking the skin of her thigh and she promptly forgot how to breathe.

"Um, so are you two, like…together?" Daichi asked with a frown. Sakura felt Kakashi's fingers flex on her thigh, and while she was pretty sure it was meant to be a warning of his waning patience, she mostly just took it to be completely, embarrassingly arousing. She went to answer Daichi, but she found her voice had died in her throat at the feeling of those fingers pressing into her flesh.

"Duh, Daichi-dumbass! Stop asking stupid questions." Maiko said rolling her eyes and huffing in exasperation. "And," she continued, much to Sakura's chagrin, "even if they weren't, what makes you think you have a shot with the Hokage's apprentice?" Daichi resembled a colour not unlike the scorpion from their first course.

"I-I was just asking!" He said as he glared fiercely at Maiko. "I wasn't really trying to—" Daichi began urgently.

"Oh, don't worry!" Sakura interrupted with a light laugh. "I'm sure you were just making conversation, I understand." She said, neither confirming nor denying what Maiko had assumed. She felt Kakashi's grip loosen, but his hand stayed put. She preferred it where it was, anyway. Distracted by Kakashi's thumb and Daichi's tomato-red face, she casually plopped a large bite of snake into her mouth without thinking. Her eyes widened in realization as she chewed. "Oh, it's good!" She said in delighted surprise. Kakashi chuckled beside her, and his thumb made an extra-long stroke along her thigh.

"Daichi, why don't you continue your story? I'm sure Sakura would love to hear the rest." Kakashi said far too smugly for Sakura's taste, but she was feeling too flustered to do anything about it now. As Daichi continued with the story, Sakura busied her hands with the plate in front of her, glad for something to do besides drink.

"The prince wandered for two days through the sand, during which time he learned the magnificent effects of the elixir; he was impervious to the threats of this daunting landscape. He had never heard of a Basilisk Queen, nor had he ever seen such a strange landscape in his life. He had studied the scrolls in the palace library, but none of them mentioned this arid land, or a Queen Nagami. On the third day, he was met with merciless winds. He was pushed senselessly by the wind and sand until he arrived at a cave. He ducked inside for shelter until the storm passed.

"He walked into the cave's depths, and oddly found that it was basking in a dim glow, despite no outside light filtering in…" Daichi continued. Sakura's attention was briefly taken away from the story as she felt Kakashi's arm leave her shoulders, followed by his hand. He was holding his chopsticks in the hand he had just had on her thigh. She eyed it for probably too long, because Kakashi was looking at her with a raised brow. She shook her head and tuned back in to the story.

"…deeper, the glow intensified. Upon reaching the deepest cavern, he was met with the sight of a most beautiful creature, and the source of that golden light. The creature set its yellow eyes on him but made no effort to move. He realized that it was hurt, its body lying limp on the rocks. He approached slowly.

"'So you have come to kill me.' The creature said, its voice raspy and high. It sent a shiver down his spine. With great effort, the creature turned over to face him, and his heart stopped. The body of a beautiful woman lay before him, covered in gleaming gold and green scales. Her yellow eyes bore into him. 'My sister has chosen a handsome champion. I wonder what she has promised in exchange for your soul.'

"'My soul?' He questioned. The scaled woman slithered closer to him, dragging her broken body across the floor. 'Your sister…saved my life in return for your demise.' He admitted. That raspy voice hummed lowly. 'You are the Basilisk Queen Nagami, are you not?' He asked but hoped she wasn't. He didn't know if he could bring himself to kill such an alluring creature.

"'I am…and what will you do with this life my sister has granted you?' She asked, slithering closer still. He regaled her with the tale of his exile and his quest for redemption so that he might one day return to his people." Sakura's plate was empty at this point, and her glass was back in hand. She could feel that her mind was beginning to get a little clouded from the drink, but she was too enthralled in the story to care.

"So this prince thinks murdering a dying queen will bring him redemption?" Kakashi asked sarcastically. Sakura shushed him fiercely, swatting his shoulder with her free hand while remaining focused on Daichi.

"Ignore him, he's bitter." She said, ignoring Kakashi's protesting. "Please continue." Daichi obliged her happily.

"To answer your question, no. The prince began to doubt himself. The Basilisk Queen had listened to his story with such compassion that he thought it was surely the wrong thing to do; to kill this woman. So he confided in her about his doubts. She seemed understanding, but was adamant that her sister would not let him continue freely with his debt unpaid. So they formulated a plan.

"Queen Nagami had a plan that would give him both his life and hers, as well as redeem him in the eyes of his people. If he were to slay her sister, the land left in her wake would be his to make a new home for his people. He would be the greatest explorer in history, she promised. They spent days in that cave, the prince thoroughly seduced by Queen Nagami's beauty and promises. Once ten days had passed since the prince's quest began, he headed back into the desert, with a layer of Queen Nagami's shed skin in hand. A spoil of his battle well fought, she explained when he resisted taking it. Her sister would need proof.

"He arrived two days later at the peninsula where it had all began, placed the hide at the water's edge and kneeled before it. A column of sea foam emerged in the shape of a woman and that sweet voice spoke to him. 'You found my sister.' She said. The prince bowed his head and told her of his battle with the Basilisk Queen. When he stood and faced her, obsidian eyes as dark and endless as the night's sky stared at him unblinkingly. 'I see,' she said in a tone of understanding. The prince didn't waste any more time, and he plunged a dagger, coated with the venom of the Basilisk Queen, deep into her heart."

Sakura had been intently focused on Daichi and his words. She was broken from the reverie when the servers came around with the third course. By this time, half the table had been listening to Daichi's retelling of this famous Wind legend, and they all appeared to be waiting patiently for him to continue. Sakura was no exception. She spared a look to the plate set in front of her; a splendid array of fruits, both dried and fresh. They fresh fruit appeared to have been tossed in spices. Their glasses were now being filled with a dark ale as accompaniment.

"The third and final part; reward and reaping." Daichi said as he plopped a juicy piece of plum in his mouth. Sakura frowned down at her plate to find the "reaping"; she suspected her fruit was being served with a particularly hard kick. Maiko laughed softly.

"Don't worry; it's not nearly as bad as the scorpion, and the ale cuts straight through the heat." She assured her. Sakura smiled in thanks and dove into both the fruit and the ale.

"The woman of the Great Salt Sea had exploded into mist, and as the remnants of her body dispersed, so did the sea. Now, he was standing in a great expanse of sand. After awhile, the sand in front of him began to part until his Basilisk Queen stood before him. She smiled at him, her eyes scouring the area. She seemed unhappy when she didn't find what she was looking for. She asked him where the body was.

"He didn't understand. Her body had been nothing but water and mist; of course it was gone. Queen Nagami was furious. In her anger she revealed her true intentions to the prince; she needed her sister slain in order to reclaim her domain. For too long, the sea had been revered, and now it was her turn. Queen Nagami abandoned him there in the desert to pursue whatever remained of her sister's existence. In the end, the prince was left to return to his people, if he so chose.

"He traversed the desert, intending to find hospitable land for his people, but there was no water to be found. Only poisonous creatures and dust. He fell to his knees and prayed. He had no concept of how long he kneeled there, praying to anything that would hear him. Eventually, a familiar voice called out to him in the distance.

"'You forsook me for the lies and beauty of the Basilisk Queen, and now you beg for salvation.' She whispered. He cried and apologized for his foolishness. He had been deluded and arrogant, overcome with the possibility of becoming a hero whose likes would be unparalleled. 'Bring your people to this place, and the worthy shall find deliverance.' She promised and then the voice was gone. He tried calling out for her again, but he would receive no response.

"He did as she commanded. He went back to his homeland, stricken with poverty and in dire need of saving, and his people were all too eager to follow him into the strange land. He brought them to the place she had spoken to him, as promised, but it had been a dreadful journey. He had lost many to exhaustion and poisoning. His people were losing faith in him, especially after he'd brought them to their destination and there was still nothing but sand in every direction.

"Eventually his people abandoned him. He spent the rest of his life wandering the desert in search of purpose, but never found it. On his dying day, a voice spoke to him, sweet and low. 'Your people were worthy of salvation, but you were not.' He died smiling; glad to know his people had found their home at last." The table erupted in applause for Daichi and Sakura smiled and clapped with them. Kakashi was not nearly as impressed, and Maiko was still rolling her eyes at Daichi.

"So the desert was created by a grudge match between two sisters." Kakashi said dubiously. Sakura swatted at him again, but this time he caught her wrist and held her hand down against his lap where she could do no more damage. She stuck her tongue out at him in a grand display of maturity. Daichi frowned at him, peeved at his ongoing criticisms.

"Ugh, I know. I hate that version of the story." Maiko said, much to Daichi's horror. "That's the most common version, for sure, but I prefer the retelling that doesn't boil down to vengeful women." She said as she chewed on a date (Sakura had learned her lesson with those, and had steered clear).

"What's the other version?" Sakura asked innocently. Kakashi's hand tightened around her wrist warningly. The Copy Ninja was clearly not a fan of story-time.

"Well, there's no Basilisk Queen or murder, for one." Maiko said.

"How boring." Kakashi said. Sakura broke her hand free and whacked him on the chest. Maiko just laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so. Really, it's about the Goddess of the Salt Sea falling in love with a man who takes her for granted. Much like the original, she creates the desert for a prince, but when he settles in the land with his people, he takes a wife. Heartbroken, she abandons this place, taking the waters with her." Maiko said.

"I do like that better." Sakura said, smiling apologetically when Daichi pouted.

"There's a myth that she still holds a place in her heart for true love. She reveals oases to wanderers who share a pure bond." Maiko said dreamily. Sakura felt her cheeks warm, but when she glanced at Kakashi he was studying his plate of fruit in boredom.

"What tripe." Daichi said with a roll of his eyes, as if he hadn't spent the entire dinner on a dramatic retelling of an ancient legend. "No one has discovered an oasis in a hundred years."

"We saw one on our way here." Sakura said with a small shrug. She was sure Daichi was mistaken. Both he and Maiko stared at her with wide eyes.

"Are you serious?" Maiko asked. Sakura glanced at Kakashi who still couldn't care less about the conversation.

"Yeah…it wasn't far from Suna. Two hours west-northwest of here." She said as she went back to her fruit and ale. The two sitting across from her looked doubtful. "We even spent the night there. Right, Kakashi?" She said, looking to him for backup. He lifted his gaze to her uninterestedly.

"Yup, sure did." He said unhelpfully. Sakura wanted to hit him again, but she wasn't sure what that said for her table manners.

"Your love must be true then." Maiko said playfully and Kakashi choked on whatever he'd managed to sneak a bite of. Sakura could feel her face was flushed, but the embarrassment was secondary to the satisfaction she felt hearing Kakashi choke on a piece of fruit. Served him right.

"Oh, I'm just with her for the sex." Kakashi said with a happy eye-crinkle. Maiko and Daichi were floored.

"He's just kidding! He's actually impotent." Sakura whispered loudly with a cringe for dramatic effect. Kakashi pinched her leg under the table, but the damage was done. Maiko and Daichi were thoroughly disturbed.

"Ha-ha…you guys are funny…" Daichi said without an ounce of mirth. Oh, well, Sakura thought. It's not like they would be in Suna for much longer. Maiko and Daichi were reluctant to converse with them after that, which pleased Kakashi to no end. Sakura, on the other hand, was pouty for the rest of the feast.

"You know more than most about my lack of impotence." Kakashi leaned down to her ear to whisper lowly. She shifted to surreptitiously lean away from him, but the little distance she gained didn't make much of a difference. He was still as intoxicating as that bitter ale. The last thing she needed a reminder of was his very well-functioning reproductive system. She tried to glare at him, but she was worried it came out as more of a deer-in-the-headlights sort of expression.

The feast came to a close and the guests were set loose. Kakashi had tried to make a run for it, but even tipsy and trapped in his body, she wasn't easy to escape. She locked his arm in a death grip and held him by her side. She dragged him along against his will.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" She exclaimed before reaching into her skirt to reveal a pouch hanging on her thigh. Kakashi didn't even bother trying to stop his eyes from roaming. She pulled out a shimmery veil and tied it around the back of her head. When she looked up at him, she had a glittering navy mask hanging delicately from her nose. He could see her bright smile through the translucent fabric. "Now we match!" She said excitedly. He couldn't stop the smile that tugged at his own face. It was adorable, and he was horrified to realize it.

Sakura was far too excited about this festival. He thought teasing her at dinner would make it easier to head back to the room and avoid the crowds, but he'd had no such luck. It was quite the blow to realize the promise of fried food and sweaty hordes of people were more enticing than he was. He consoled himself with the fact that she hadn't exactly known what she was being enticed with. Although, if he were in her position, he was pretty sure her hand on his thigh would have been enough. He was still reeling from the idea of "being licking to death". He didn't think it was possible, but he'd sure love to be her test subject.

For now, he'd have to settle for being towed around town. He supposed it wasn't all bad. He got to watch her hips swing and thighs poke out of that skirt with every step.

"How can you not like festivals?" Sakura asked through her delight. He thought about all the assassinations he'd done under the cover of a crowd.

"Pickpockets." He replied. She looked at him suspiciously.

"You're worried about pickpockets." She said in disbelief.

"That's right." He said with a nod.

"You're the most esteemed ninja of a generation, and you're worried about pickpockets." She frowned at him. "I thought I told you to put in more effort when you lie." She chastised as she pulled him over to a stall to purchase a few shots for them.

"Someone's thirsty." He noted sarcastically at the four shots in front of her. She smiled wickedly, then sectioned out the shots; one in front of her, and three for him. He blinked down at them. "Sakura-chan needs a refresher on counting, I think." He said pointedly.

"Oh no," she insisted, "we are safe in a hidden village, and you are not going to be a party pooper like last time." She said before she held out her shot in cheers. He clinked one of his shot glasses against her and downed it.

"By party pooper, do you mean the person responsible for avoiding a riot?" He asked as she pushed the next shot at him. He obliged her and swallowed that one as well.

"Semantics," she admonished with a wave of her hand before handing him the third and final shot. "I promise I won't arm-wrestle anyone, if you promise to have a good time." She proposed as he put down the third empty glass. "Deal?" She asked with an outstretched hand. He eyed it warily but clasped it.

"Deal." He said, and almost immediately regretted it.

She twisted her hand in his and began dragging him behind her through the throngs of festival-goers. As the crowd got denser, she pulled him closer, wrapping his arm around her waist. Now he was shuffling closely behind her with his palm pressed against her taut abdomen. He had never been particularly spiritual, but he thought this must be punishment for leading a life of violence. He had escaped the grips of death and now the afterlife was fucking with him in the real world.

Sakura kept finding new ways to acquire drinks for them. She was like a bloodhound with the way she sniffed it out. Maybe she really had been, he thought, with his sense of smell. He still hadn't gotten accustomed to this body-swap situation; especially when they were walking around in transformation jutsu. Especially when he had his arm wrapped her trim body. He was definitely going to hell, if he wasn't there already.

"Oooo, Kakashi look!" She cried out and pointed hysterically at the spectacle before them. A large crowd had already gathered to watch, but Sakura had wedged them into a nice viewing spot. He was pressed up rather tightly against her back, but she didn't seem to mind. He was glad to be in her body in times like these.

There was a group of dancers putting on quite a show. Dressed similarly to Sakura, they were moving their bodies with a fluidity Kakashi had never seen before. He wasn't exactly an expert, but he thought it was captivating. Sakura was certainly in awe of it, if the way she was leaning forward in anticipation was anything to go by.

"Wow…" She said as she tilted her head back against his chest to talk up at him. "I've never seen anyone move like that!" She said with what may have been the world's largest grin in history. To his dismay, she began wiggling her hips in tandem with the dancers. He figured she was moving subconsciously as she tried to work out the dancers' movements, but this was agonizing. If she didn't stop soon, he'd have to use a teleportation jutsu. He didn't want to know what wrath that would bring.

Thankfully, Sakura was distracted when the dancers started using chakra to manipulate wind and add further spectacle to their choreography. He felt more than heard Sakura's elated gasp. That was when someone moved into her line of sight, too tall for her to see around them. She darted left and right to get a new vantage point but it was pointless. She pouted up at Kakashi.

And that's how he'd ended up stood in the middle of a festival in Sunagakure; giving Konoha's most venerated medic-nin a piggyback ride. If he had thought her swaying hips had been torturous, he didn't know what to deem this. She had her arms wrapped around his neck loosely and her legs clenched around his waist, and his hands were clutching her high up under her thighs. She seemed to really be enjoying herself up there, though, so he really couldn't bring himself to let her down. Literally and figuratively.

He had felt all her coos and gasps reverberate through his back throughout the performance. Honestly, he hadn't even really been paying attention to the dancers, with his mind so focused on the kunoichi wrapped around him. As the show came to a close, Sakura tightened her arms around his neck in a hug and pressed her mouth to his ear as she giggled.

"Thank you, Kakashi." She muttered before pressing a quick kiss to cheek through both of their masks. He felt himself blush deeply.

"Y-you're welcome, Sakura-chan." He called up to her pleasantly, trying to hide is nervousness. He was confident she hadn't noticed, because her attention had been stolen by an alcohol vendor.

"Oh, Kakashi! That way!" She said, pointing and bidding him to carry her toward the booth. He obliged half because it was easier than shuffling behind her and half because he enjoyed the feeling of her soft and strong thighs in his hands. Once they got to the booth, he let her down, albeit reluctantly. He figured it would be much easier to share a drink this way, anyway.

Once again, she set out three shots before him to match her one. He wasn't sure if this was the best course of action, but when he said that to her she rolled her eyes and demanded he drink lest she make some horribly embarrassing fact about him public knowledge. She knew far too much about him for it to be a bluff, so he took his shots without further argument. He wasn't sure how many they'd had now. For every one drink Sakura had, Kakashi had had two or three. That had been her idea, but even so, she seemed more far gone than he felt.

They had enjoyed some festival foods between their copious amounts of drinking. And by they he meant he had enjoyed the festival foods. Sakura couldn't stomach the oil in the fried foods. Another win for being trapped in her body. He was definitely coming out on top here. His alcohol tolerance was through the roof, he could enjoy the wide array of foods presented to him, and Sakura had no idea she was driving him absolutely wild with her wandering fingers.

And as her fingers wandered, so did they. Kakashi had his arm hanging around her shoulders as they walked together, marvelling at the costumes and creations of the festival-goers, stopping to eat and drink, and sometimes just because they were laughing too hard to continue moving. Sakura's infamous hands were hard at work tapping him on the chest, running across his stomach, or entangling with his own hand that was dangling off her shoulder lazily.

"You know, I think I'd like to climb up onto your back again. I quite enjoyed it," Sakura said through giggles as they shared another drink.

"I should've known you'd like to climb on top." He leaned down to tease mischievously. Her jaw dropped and her cheeks reddened but she laughed. He took hold of a second drink while she swatted at his shoulder.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She teased back with a sultry little smile. He maintained eye contact with her while he downed his shot, thinking that he would absolutely, hands-down love to know, but having enough sense to keep that to himself. There was nothing he could do about the image of her naked and straddling him that popped into his mind. He just took another sip and thought how grateful he was that she couldn't read his mind.

She was standing too close to him again, he noticed too late. Or maybe he had been standing too close? His hand was on her hip, and his thumb was gently stroking the bare skin above her skirt. His brain was foggy from the drinks, which meant he'd had far too much. Sakura was also quite intoxicated, though she seemed to be managing his tolerance much better than the last time they'd been drinking. He briefly thought that he might have to climb up onto her back for the walk back to their rooms.

"Uh-oh," Sakura said teasingly, running her finger down the centre of his chest. This was feeling very familiar, he realized as he ducked his head to look her in the eye. She was smirking beneath her veil. "Kakashi is druuuuunk," she said in a sing-song voice. She was giggling profusely and tapping her fingers idly against his chest.

"This was your grand plan from the beginning, was it not?" He asked playfully. If her fingers could play and roam, so could his, he rationalized. He swept his hands across her hips to her back, brushing his fingers softly against the skin at the base of her spine. It was a warm night, but that didn't stop her from shivering lightly under his touch. His pushed his palms flat against her back and she moved into him a little further.

"What are you accusing me of?" She asked with a raised brow and a dangerous smirk.

"I think I need to gather more evidence before I draw up my final conclusion." He said as he let his arms wrap fully around her back. She hummed thoughtfully as she sunk her teeth into her bottom lip. Then, she rolled her veil up and pushed it over her eyes.

"Why don't I give you a hand with that then?" She suggested with a playful smile on her lips as she tilted her head back up at him blindly.

A/N: Merry Christmas & happy holidays everyone! If I don't update tomorrow, it will be on Saturday. I hope y'all are safe and able to spend some time with loved ones!