Swapped
The Reveal & the Resolve
It was a quick escalation, from flirting in the streets to making out in an elevator, and Kakashi wasn't entirely sure how they'd gotten there, but he wasn't going to pretend to be concerned about it. The events leading up to their pawing in a lift weren't nearly as important to him as the feeling of his hands on Sakura's ass. At some point, between the time it took him to restart his brain and them hitting the elevator call button, she had climbed him like a tree. Now she was hanging onto him, wrapped tightly around his neck and waist. He felt like this was a gift from the universe; recompense for the night he lost to his drunk self in Konoha.
He would not be forgetting this night, of that he was certain.
The elevator dinged, signalling that they'd reached their floor, and Kakashi stumbled out with Sakura in his arms. She was pressing hot kisses across whatever portion of his neck she could reach above his dropped mask. He didn't think he'd ever felt so heated and desperate for release in his entire life. With the way she was mewling in his ear and rubbing against him, it was a miracle he was able to navigate to his room.
He'd found the door just fine, but getting it open was a whole other issue. He knew his room key was in his front pocket, but he was finding it difficult to manoeuvre around the supple thigh pressed against his hip. Her mouth was against his ear now, nibbling and licking lightly, and her hot breath was doing strange things to his stomach. Frustrated in more ways than one, Kakashi slammed her against the door, hiking her a little higher while also getting some space between them.
Gods, she was a sight to behold. Still blindfolded, lips swollen with kisses and parted in a soft oh, and panting with desire.
"Fuck, Sakura." He groaned before leaning in to kiss her hard on her parted lips. He scrambled with the key card he'd managed to pull from his pocket, trying to unlock the door while not compromising his focus on Sakura and the way she was moaning softly into his mouth. He had her pinned to the door, hiked up on one leg while she clung to him, rocking her hips deliberately. He almost wanted to forget the door and just satisfy her then and there. It would be so easy, just a little chakra and she'd be crying out for him…
"K-Kakashi," she whimpered into his ear. Shivers worked their way down his spine as her fingernails scraped gently through his hair. He was going to lose it.
Finally, the door unlocked and he pushed them through roughly, supporting Sakura with one hand gripping her ass firmly. He managed a few clumsy steps before they crashed down onto the bed together, lips coming together in a series of frenzied kisses. He heard a low popping sound and then everything felt different.
His eyes flew open to see his own blindfolded face beneath him, frowning in confusion. With a groan, he rolled off her and buried his face in his hands. Sakura sighed wearily beside him and he heard a rustling of fabric that he assumed was her pulling off her makeshift blindfold. He let his henge drop as they lay there silently.
"That was probably for the best." She grumbled eventually. He laughed humourlessly. When he finally got the nerve to look at her, that humourless laugh turned into something more hysterical. He wasn't sure if he thought he looked hilarious or tragic. Sakura seemed to agree as she combusted into giggles beside him.
"I look ridiculous!" He wailed. Sakura was laying flat on her back in his body, dressed in her festival costume, skirt tented very obviously. He eyed it warily as Sakura continued to stare up at the ceiling unmoving. "You're hard." He pointed out needlessly. She sniffed experimentally.
"And you're wet." She retorted, turning pink as she said it. He felt himself flush as well.
"The serpent and the sea." He grumbled lowly. There was a beat of silence before the two of them burst into roaring laughter again.
"We're idiots." Sakura said through her howling. He had to agree, they really should have seen that coming. He was impressed her transformation had lasted the long; she must have been putting significant effort into it. At least it had failed in private. He wouldn't have wanted to see the reactions of strangers that would have bore witness to this.
After awhile, they settled into a relaxed silence, lying side by side. Sakura was right; it probably was best things stopped there. He wasn't sure exactly what would have happened if they hadn't. There were a lot of unanswered questions with their bodies, and he felt that heading full-speed into physical intimacy wasn't the best way to answer those questions. Not to mention the implications it would have on their relationship. Although, if their history was any indicator, it wouldn't have much of an implication at all. So far they'd bounced back seamlessly from every line they'd crossed.
He only worried that one day they'd cross a line there was no turning back from. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if Sakura ended up hating him.
"I should probably take this skirt off, huh?" She asked amusedly. Kakashi looked at his body in dismay again. He would never be able to get that image of himself out of his mind.
Sakura tried to stifle her laugh as she drunkenly stumbled through the washroom and to her room where a clean set of Kakashi's clothes were waiting for her. Her arousal was fading, probably aided by the alcohol in her system, but her skin was still tingling from him, and her lips were a little sore in the best way possible. She couldn't really say how they'd gotten so deep into it. She was pretty sure no one was to blame. She couldn't help smiling to herself as she compared this night to their night in Konoha. Kakashi certainly seemed to have a thing for picking her up, she mused.
Twice now, he'd picked her up to kiss her breathless and twice she'd been left high and dry, she thought with a laugh. But if he forgot about this night, she would personally make his life a living hell.
She wondered if Kakashi would want her back in his room after all that. It didn't feel weird or awkward to be near him, but maybe it was best if they had some space. She was still pretty drunk, and she was sure he was in the same boat. If she went over there now, would they just end of in the same position? They'd probably be horizontal this time…
Bad train of thought, she realized a little too late. The heat was building in her belly again. With a sigh she got up and headed into the washroom to get ready for bed. It was definitely best if she kept to her room for the rest of the night. She grabbed her toothbrush and loaded it up with paste, sparing a glance at her reflection before shoving the brush in her mouth.
Wait.
Her reflection?
With wide eyes, she looked up at the mirror hanging over the sink and the toothbrush fell out of her mouth, clattering loudly in the basin. She shouted something nonsensical (there was still a glob of toothpaste in her mouth), and she could hear laughter from Kakashi's room. That jackass had been waiting for this. She frowned at her reflection, but seeing the expression on her face quickly wiped away any unpleasantness. She couldn't believe she was looking at Kakashi's face.
Every flicker of emotion was so clear, she couldn't keep from smiling. And then she was looking at his smile, and she smiled wider. That little dimple in his left cheek appeared and his teeth were straight and pearly white, and he had the tiniest, cutest little beauty mark off to the side of his chin, and he was so, so handsome. As she continued to grin at the reflection she started picking apart all the nuances of his face.
His smile was a little lopsided, because of course even his smile had to be lazily charming. His canines were a little protrusive, and his stubble had come back in earnest again since she'd last asked him to help her shave. He looked so young. She never imagined how young he would look. But what got her more than the face itself, was that he had trusted her enough to show her, willingly and unprompted.
Shit, she thought as she stared at the reflection. I'm in big trouble now.
"You feeling okay?" Kakashi was leaning against the doorjamb nonchalantly, watching her in the mirror with an amused expression. She grinned at him in the mirror then spun to face him.
"Your smile is a little crooked." She pointed out happily. He laughed lightly, his cheeks going a little pink. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, though." She chastised mildly, turning back to face the mirror. She hadn't quite got her fill of it yet. He snickered at her as she continued to investigate and scrutinize her reflection, even when she finally got around to brushing her teeth. Finally, she decided she could give it a rest for the night and turned away from the mirror.
"Novelty wore off pretty fast, didn't it?" He asked with a bright smile.
"Well, you're hardly much to look at." She teased, although they both knew she was lying. Their teasing smiles both softened as they stood in silence. "Thank you for tonight." She said in a near-whisper.
"For what?" He prompted. She wasn't entirely sure, honestly; between accompanying her to the festival, or revealing his face, or their intimate moments in the elevator, she wasn't sure.
"I'll never forget how good you look in a skirt and crop top." She teased finally. "Goodnight, Kakashi." She called over her shoulder as she headed to her room, closing the door behind her.
Kakashi was having a hell of a time falling asleep. He'd finally begun to settle in when he was jarred from what little comfort he'd just found. Sakura was in the washroom grunting in frustration, and while she doing her best to keep her voice down, her efforts were wasted. Laying down in the dark was making it abundantly clear that he was still drunk, and Sakura's banging around in the washroom was evidence of her state as well.
"Sakura? Is everything okay?" He called out. The banging stopped and he heard her curse under her breath. Finally, the door connecting his room to the bathroom cracked open and Sakura stood backlit by the dim yellow light of the washroom.
"I can't sleep." She grumbled miserably. He knew the feeling. he leaned over to turn on the lamp on his bedside table. Now that he could see her more clearly, he could see how fed-up she really was. He couldn't blame her. She hadn't rested properly in nearly forty-eight hours.
"What's wrong?" He asked, although he had a pretty good idea. Her frown deepened and she huffed angrily.
"It's impossible. I've tried everything." She said. Not everything, he thought to himself. After a moment of silence she let out another frustrated growl. "Your dick is always hard." She cried. He felt his ears burn.
"Ah…well…" He began awkwardly, not sure what to tell her. "You could, you know…" He waited for her to pick up what he was putting down.
"I very obviously do not know." She said bitterly after too much of a pause. He sighed wearily.
"Just touch yourself, Sakura." He said bluntly, trying to ignore how warm his face was, and how she was spluttering from across the room. "You have my consent. Or whatever." He added as an afterthought. She eyed him warily for a long moment before turning sharply on her heel and hightailing it out of his room. She paused just as she was about to close the bathroom door behind her.
"You could, too, you know. I'd be okay with that." She said quickly before the door closed and she was gone. He sighed and flopped back onto his mattress. There was absolutely no rest for the wicked.
He felt like he had only been asleep for five minutes when something stirred him. He cracked an eye open to look at the clock next to his bed. It had only been five minutes.
"Sakura, what the hell are you doing?" He mumbled into the dark as she climbed into his bed beside him.
"I couldn't do it." She mumbled, sounding a little embarrassed. "I can't…I can't touch myself—you—whatever. Not while I'm in your body. Not when you're not in your body." She said softly. He understood. He hadn't been able to do it either.
"And you think this is going to make things easier?" He asked doubtfully, already feeling the strain of being near her. The events of their evening were weighing too heavily on his mind. It was too easy to recall the way her kisses felt on his lips, his jaw, his neck.
"No." She admitted. "Maybe? I don't know. I just want to sleep." She said, sighing and burying her face in his neck. "God, this is ridiculous. I'm pretty sure Ichiro's plan wasn't for us to dieof sexual frustration." She said after a tense moment. He chuckled lightly, albeit a little bitterly.
"If it was, it was an excellent plan. He should be looking on in pride." He said. Sakura's warm breath was ghosting across his collarbone, her arm strewn across his stomach, and her erection poking persistently at his thigh. It was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore her. Maybe he ought to just suffer for the night, and hope she'd finally be able to rest. But after awhile, her breathing still hadn't evened out enough to indicate that she'd fallen asleep.
"Have you died yet?" He asked quietly.
"Nearly there." She mumbled grumpily. He sighed for what felt like the millionth time that night and turned his head to face hers. He couldn't really make anything out in the dark. As he stared at her, he considered his options carefully. Finally, before he could lose his nerve, he leaned forward to kiss her lips softly. Her mouth was warm and pliable beneath his, and not altogether unpleasant, but certainly strange. She seemed willing enough, leaning into his kiss and wrapping her hand around his hip.
This kiss was some kind of middle ground between their chaste kiss for Kojima-san, and the passionate whirlwind they'd engaged in earlier that night. They were taking it very slowly, trying to come to terms with what it felt like to kiss their own lips from the other person's body. Kakashi had to admit it was quite nice. Somehow, he still felt like it was him and Sakura, even if it wasn't exactly the way he'd have pictured it.
Sakura's lips parted as she sighed against him, inadvertently deepening their kiss the slightest bit. She rolled a little further over him, her hand trailing up to his waist and curling into his sleep-shirt. He could feel that the erection poking at his thigh was more noticeable now, reminding him that this was never just about a kiss. Still, he enjoyed the languid exploration of each other. He enjoyed feeling his own hands on Sakura's body, even if he wasn't in control of them.
"Is this weird?" Sakura whispered between slow kisses. He took her bottom lip between his teeth and gently tugged, thrilled at the shaky breath she emitted. He always had enjoyed that.
"A little." He admitted, but he wasn't quite ready to stop. When she didn't say anything else, he pulled away slightly. "Do you want to stop?" He asked gently. She pressed an insistent but gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth.
"No, gods, no." She muttered quickly before claiming his lips again. He smiled under her kiss. As slow and relaxed as they were going, he could still feel the tension coiling in his abdomen, and he could feel the ever-present evidence of her arousal as well. She was desperate for this, just as much as he was, if not more. No one could fault them that, he reasoned. Not that he would particularly care if they did.
Sakura's tongue swept across his bottom lip and he parted his lips obligingly. Their heavy breaths were lingering together as they sighed softly in pleasure. Then, Sakura was ducking her head and kissing him gently along his neck, stopping right at the base where it met his clavicle, and softly running her tongue and teeth against the spot. The noise he made in response would have embarrassed him, but it sounded so delightful coming from Sakura's body. Those gentle touches were sending a shock straight between his legs. He would need to remember this for a later time.
Sakura settled between his legs as they continued kissing. She was digging her fingers into the flesh of his hips a little more insistently, and he was biting on her bottom lip a little harder now. Things were accelerating again, though that didn't exactly come as a surprise. He had one leg hooked up around her hip with the other lay entwined with her legs.
"This is so weird." She said quietly against his skin as she flexed her fingers.
"We can stop." He suggested, though he was deeply against the idea.
"I don't want to stop." She said plainly, kissing him deeply again.
"Are you sure—"
"I don't want to stop." She said more insistently, grinding her hips down against his to prove her point. That was all it took. He tossed his head back and moaned lowly as she rocked against him. She groaned with her head buried in his neck as she repeated the action. "Shit," she whispered. He had to agree. There was no going back now. Sakura's body was wonderfully responsive. Every little touch elicited excitement and had him purring in her ear. As good as it all felt, he wanted it to be Sakura lying beneath him, moaning softly in his ear.
Instead, she was above him, unintentionally showing him exactly how she liked to be pleased. She had slid his thigh up higher on her hip to further accommodate her between his legs, allowing her to press herself even tighter against him. Her fingers digging hard into his thigh sent sparks through him, igniting at the apex of his thighs, just for her to then rub herself right there, right where it felt best. He was moaning in earnest now.
"Ugh," she groaned into his ear, sending shivers down his spine. "It's—" she started but broke off with a shaky breath before pressing her hot, open mouth against his. She groaned into his mouth with a particularly hard grind of her hips. He could feel the leg she was holding begin to quiver. "It's so wet, Kakashi." She moaned into his mouth. He flushed all the way down to his chest. It just felt so obscene. He could feel that the panties he'd gone to bed in had been soaked through to his thighs, and he knew it was enough to reach through Sakura's briefs as well, but hearing her say it was enough to make his toes curl.
He wanted so badly to be in her position in this moment. He wanted to experience her himself; see her writhing beneath him, feel her slick body against his, run his hands all over her, teasing her and driving her mad until she was begging him for more. He couldn't help arching up into her as his thoughts ran wild. They were moving against each other much more frantically now, heavy panting and broken moans passing between clumsy kisses.
"I'm—ah! Sakura, I'm—I—" His voice broke off pitifully with another breathy moan, back arching high off the bed. Sakura took the opportunity to slip her free hand down behind his back to grip his ass tightly and hold him fast to her bucking hips. "Oh, fuck—I-I'm gonna…" She caught his wail with another open-mouthed kiss. Her body was so sensitive; he couldn't believe how quickly he had been overwhelmed.
"I know, I know." She muttered softly between heaving breaths. "Me too." She assured him as he became wholly incoherent. He was digging his nails and teeth into any part of her he could reach, spurred on by her ragged breaths and stunted moans. Just as he began to come back down, Sakura thrust against him hard and fast, pushing herself to her own finish, and pushing him right along with her again. When all was said and done, Kakashi's left calf was trembling in earnest, and Sakura had collapsed on top of him, breathing heavily against his chest.
They laid there in silence for a few minutes; sticky, sweaty and out of breath.
"I can't believe we just did that." Sakura mumbled as she finally rolled off of him. He stared up at the ceiling for the second time that night, contemplating the effects of alcohol consumption on his decision-making ability. If he was being honest, which he was loathe to do, he could admit to himself that they would've eventually ended up here, one way or another.
"I can't believe I just had multiple orgasms." He said to the ceiling. He could feel her glaring at him. But then her severity turned into a sigh, which turned into a giggle.
"At least one of us came out okay, then." She said once the giggles subsided. He smiled to himself.
"Oh, I think we both came perfectly fine."
Sakura woke up feeling remarkably okay. Her hangover and morning wood hardly even bothered her as she slowly opened her eyes. She had fallen asleep in Kakashi's bed, and he was currently wrapped around her like a koala, still fast asleep. She smiled to herself softly as she considered who in Konoha would love to hear about how cuddly the Copy Ninja really was. It would really put a cramp in his whole super-detached-but-charming-but-I'll-still-kill-you vibe.
She was feeling a little weird about the way their night had ended, but mostly she just felt relieved. For one, it had really taken the edge off and she needed that. She really needed that. Kakashi had obviously been faring better than she had, but he seemed eased by it, as well. As with everything else that had happened between them, they seemed to slide back into normalcy with ease. She wasn't sure what that said about them, but she was grateful for it.
It had felt right to share his bed after all was said and done. She rather liked having him close.
She lay for a little while, wrapped in Kakashi's limbs and her own musings, until finally finagling her way out of his embrace. Once she was standing she looked back at her sleeping body. She really was quite cute when she slept, she thought happily. And then her face contorted and a loud snort came out.
Okay, maybe "cute" was a stretch.
With a bruised ego, she headed for the washroom. It took her longer than usual to brush her teeth and wash her face because she was a little preoccupied with her reflection. She sighed at the mirror and shook her head in dismay.
"What are you doing hiding this face, Hatake?" She said to herself, watching his lips move in intrigue. She was so accustomed to gauging his expressions based on such small real estate that it was astonishing to see that he was actually quite emotive under that mask. She wondered how many people had seen this face. Surely, he had had lovers that had seen it. The way he kissed, she was certain there was a long line of women pining after him. Hell, there were plenty of women he'd never spoken to that were half-way in love with him.
She was distracted from further inspection of Kakashi's face when she felt someone approaching the door. She could smell tobacco. She made to the door just as Shikamaru had lifted his fist to knock. He raised an eyebrow at her disinterestedly.
"I thought this was Kakashi's room." He said, sounding like he didn't really care one way or another.
"Uh, we switched." She said as slipped out of the room without opening the door all the way. Still, his eyes slid past her and to the pink hair sprawled across the pillows.
"…Right." He said dubiously. "Whatever. You and Kakashi have been summoned to the Chikamatsu clan workshop." Sakura frowned at him in confusion.
"The place with all the puppets? Ew, why?" She asked, but clearly Shikamaru had had his fill of running errands for the day because he had already turned to walk away with a shrug.
"Three o'clock. And nice face!" He called over his shoulder with a lazy wave before turning the corner. Sakura raised a hand to her bare face in shock. Whoops, she thought as stepped back into the room quietly. Shikamaru was too laid-back to be a gossip, at least. She hoped he wouldn't mention it to anyone.
She had a few hours before they were due at the workshop. She might as well enjoy the rest of her self-appointed vacation.
Sakura had just sat down in the training grounds by a manmade pond with a coffee in hand when she saw him stalking toward her deliberately. She knew an annoyed Kakashi when she saw one. She smiled to herself and mentally prepared for his ire.
"Good morning, Kakashi." She said pleasantly, glancing out over the underwhelming pond and sipping on her coffee.
"Sakura-chan." He said with forced politeness. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to get rid of me."
"Oh, don't be silly." She admonished. "I just didn't want to disturb you. Men your age need their rest, you know." She teased lightly.
"I see, very thoughtful of you." He said, unconvinced. "And walking around transformed into yourself?"
"I'm a creature of habit."
"And showing Shikamaru my face?" He asked. The tables had turned and now he was teasing her. Her face warmed.
"I can't believe that little weasel ratted me out." She said with a laugh. "It was an honest accident." She said with a small sigh and an apologetic smile.
"Give me some of that coffee and I'll think about forgiving you." He proposed. She grinned and reached behind her to grab a cup of his own. She knew he'd be along sooner or later. Suna coffee was her absolute favourite. She'd tried to make it at home, but it was never quite as good. Kakashi sniffed at in confusion. "Why does it smell spicy?"
"Just try it, I promise you'll enjoy it." She said with a roll of her eyes. Resigned, he lowered his mask in order to sample the coffee. He didn't make it quite so far as to actually take a sip, because he was immediately distracted by Sakura staring at him. He stared back warily.
"What?" He asked after a long silence had passed. Her cheeks went pink as she glanced away from him. It wasn't long before her eyes were back on his face.
"Just getting used to it, I guess." She said, only lying a little. She didn't think she'd ever get used to it. "You're more handsome outside of the mirror." She said, laughing when she realized how ridiculous it sounded. It was true, though. She much preferred seeing him from the outside perspective. Now his cheeks were pink as he sipped his coffee. A blushing Kakashi, it turned out, was profoundly attractive. "So? Verdict on the coffee?"
"Spicy coffee: one, Hatake: zero." He said with a crooked smile that made her heart beat a little faster.
"I think we can call this one a draw. Even your tongue seems to enjoy this coffee." She said playfully as she took another sip. She had been worried his tastes wouldn't allow her to indulge in her favourite Suna offering, but even Kakashi's terrible taste couldn't deny her this. His tongue had been doing her a few favours as of late, it seemed. They finished their coffees in relative silence, enjoying whatever coolness was left of the morning before the sun reached its peak above them.
"I have something to show you." Kakashi said suddenly, turning to her with a smile that was a little excited and very smug. She eyed him suspiciously.
"What is it?" She asked warily. He laughed.
"You'll like it, I promise. After Naruto had perfected his Rasenshuriken, I gave some thought into other elemental releases. My nature affinity is lightning, obviously, and I already have my Raikiri, but I always wondered what you could do with an earth-style release." He explained, leaning back in the sand and looking out at the murky pond ahead of them. Sakura smiled to herself as she listened to him. He was never satisfied; he knew more jutsu than just about anyone alive, but here he was, looking for more still.
"Ninjutsu was never really my thing." She pointed out.
"Mm, that's true, but chakra control and deadly accuracy are very much your thing." He said with a little smirk. "Don't let that get to your head. You already can't fit your hitae-ate over that big forehead." He teased when she puffed up with pride. She frowned down at him.
"That was uncalled for." She said as she turned her nose up and sniffed at him.
"It's okay," he said with a little chuckle. He reached out to flick her gently on the little purple seal in the centre of her forehead. "I happen to like big foreheads." He teased with a roguish grin. She wondered how he'd react if she tried to kiss him again, right there in the open, without the excuse of being stupidly drunk. "Anyway," he continued unaffected, "with your control, it was a lot easier than I imagined."
"What was easier than you imagined?" She asked as she tore her eyes away from him to distract herself from thinking about sinking her teeth into his bottom lip.
"An earth-style chakra release." He said, looking at her with a raised brow. "Isn't that what we're talking about?" She looked at him in shock.
"Well, yeah, but there's no way you could have developed one already." She said. "…Right?" She asked when he continued to stare up at her looking incredibly smug. "Kakashi, that's insane!" She said, suddenly very excited. She turned to face him completely, waiting for his demonstration.
"It's not perfect, and I'll need to break the henge." He said before he did just that. That was fine with her; looking at her own face was far less distracting. He sat up straight and gathered the chakra in his hand in the shape of a thin beam. Slowly, she watched it harden and crystallize into something of a chakra senbon. She watched in awe as he thrust his palm forward and it launched from his hand and deep into a bit of packed sand before splintering into shards.
He never ceased to amaze her. Sometimes she forgot that he had been great before the Sharingan, and while he may have been renowned as the Copy Ninja, she knew that his genius existed outside of that. He was proving it just then, using her body and her chakra to develop a brand new technique in a matter of days.
"How…did you manage to accomplish this…?" She asked, completely baffled. He laughed and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"I had already conceptualized the jutsu. It was just a matter of performing it, which I never would have been able to do with my own body and chakra." He said offhandedly. "Anyway, the best part is, when this lands on someone, it disrupts their chakra flow by shocking their stream with your own chakra." She hummed in interest.
"And how did you figure that out?" She asked.
"I, uh—I threw one at a shadow clone." He admitted with an embarrassed smile. "Hurt like a bitch." He said with breathy laugh. She was grinning at him pointedly. With a sigh and an indulgent smile, he rolled his eyes but popped out a shadow clone. "Watch with the Sharingan." He suggested as he created another crystal senbon. She slid her hitae-ate up in time to see him launch the needle at the shadow clone. True to his claim, when the chakra splintered off, it embedded itself into the clone's stream and disrupted the flow. She imagined that would have much more impact when used against a foreign chakra stream.
She sighed a little sadly. He made it so difficult sometimes. If his strength and brilliance weren't enough, he was also charming, and fiercely loyal. And if that still wasn't enough, he was god damn gorgeous, too. She wanted to bury her head in the sand and never emerge. What was she supposed to do with a man like that around? She'd gone down this road once before, and it had taken months to come out clear-headed.
Kakashi was looking at her with mild apprehension as the clone disappeared. He had just opened his mouth to speak when Kankuro approached.
"Well, well, if it isn't double the trouble." He said with a grin, looking at both of them sat in front of him, looking identical. "Wait, don't tell me."
"Aren't you supposed to be a jonin?" Kakashi asked coldly. Kankuro frowned and Sakura jumped up and broke her henge, laughing awkwardly.
"Kankuro, what are you doing here?" She said, hoping to distract Kankuro from Kakashi's suddenly soured mood. It worked perfectly, as Kankuro looked away from Kakashi sitting in the sand, and turned to Sakura with a bright grin.
"I was warned that the two of you would be late, so I figured I ought to escort you to the 'shop." Oh right, she realized with mild dread. The puppets.
"What business do we have in a puppet workshop?" Kakashi asked cold as ever. Kankuro's frown was returning in full force. At this rate, Kakashi was going to single-handedly ruin Konoha-Suna relations.
"Is this about a poison or something?" Sakura asked quickly, trying to take the attention away from Kakashi's bad attitude again. With a fleeting scowl at Kakashi, Kankuro returned his attention to Sakura.
"No, it's about the two of you." He said plainly. "No one told you? We think we have a way to switch you back."