Swapped
The Method & the Madness
Kakashi had pretty much dropped his attitude at the news. Not that he was being particularly nice to Kankuro, but he at least wasn't insulting him at every turn. Sakura really wondered what had gotten into him, but she supposed she already knew. Whether it was because of Kankuro's "friendly" greeting at their arrival in Suna, or some kind of protective streak, it was still a bit over-the-top. She'd dated men before, and plenty of men came onto her at the hospital every day, but Kakashi never seemed bothered in either of those instances. Hell, even Kiba hadn't gotten so deep under his skin.
She supposed it really could just be that Kankuro had copped a feel of him. She didn't think a thing like that wasn't likely to upset Kakashi, but she couldn't find any other reasonable explanation for his cool exterior.
She was dreading walking into that workshop, though. Body-swap fix or not, those puppets gave her the heebie-jeebies. She just hoped it would be quick, and she could leave without one of those things touching her. Or looking at her. Or anything at all, ever, in her presence or out of it. She could hear the click-clacking already in her mind.
Shit, she thought to herself as a hard shudder worked its way through her. She'd already freaked herself out. Kakashi glanced at her curiously, maybe even with a touch of concern. She just kept her eyes forward and forced herself to focus on the task at hand. She was getting her body back today, puppets be damned.
Their walk to the workshop went far too quickly, in Sakura's mind. She was pretty sure Kakashi and Kankuro were of the opposite opinion, having been spent the entire walk scrutinizing each other bitterly. When they weren't doing that, they were trying to ice the other out of a conversation with her. She duly ignored them and continued with her eyes forward, and her mouth shut. Men were such strange creatures. But even stranger than them, were all the disembodied puppet limbs dangling from walls and strewn about table tops.
She made a conscious effort to not look outwardly rattled. She could handle dismembered humans all day long without batting an eye, but unblinking eyes, unhinged jaws, and the noise…
"Sakura, is everything okay?" Kakashi whispered gently in her ear. She steeled herself once again. Clearly, her efforts had been in vain. She nodded tersely, not quite trusting herself enough to speak, and kept her eyes on Kankuro's back as he led them to the back of the shop where some of the puppet masters were waiting.
Sakura was ashamed to admit she had a tough time following the conversation unfolding before her. She had greeted the masters appropriately, and nodded aptly along with the conversation, but she was really only hearing bits and pieces.
"Normally we would never reveal clan secrets to outsiders." An older man who looked extremely displeased to have Leaf shinobi standing in the midst of what was, for all intents and purposes, the Chikamatsu clan headquarters. Kankuro rolled his eyes.
"Gaara's orders. They eliminated the last Aoyagi; consider this their payment." He said firmly. Sakura was glad to have him in their corner, and she smiled to him in appreciation. With the cranky old man standing down, Kankuro winked at her.
"We understand your position, Sato-san." Kakashi said evenly. "Sakura and I are not interested in breaching the privacy of the clan; we only ask that you share any information pertinent to reversing this body-swap jutsu. You are free to share as little, or as much detail as you choose." He said with a respectful bow of his head. The puppet master looked entirely placated at that. Sakura bit back her smile. She was sure Kakashi could talk himself out of damn near anything.
"Oh…very well. I suppose you couldn't let the last Aoyagi evade you, eh, Hatake?" He said with a boisterous laugh. Sakura couldn't help the lifted eyebrow that displayed how unimpressed she was. "Eh, Hatake"? What was that about? Not thirty seconds ago, this man had been ready to toss them out on their asses.
"Ah—actually," Kakashi began with a pleasant smile, "it was Sakura who defeated Aoyagi." He gestured to her and the two puppet masters she had never met before stared at her.
"Oh, delivered the final blow, did you?" He said with a patronizing pat on her shoulder. She glanced between Kankuro and Kakashi, who both looked suitably embarrassed on his behalf. I'm getting my body back, I'm getting my body back, I'm getting my body back, she chanted inwardly to keep her cool.
"She handled it all quite independently, Sato-san. Aoyagi was already dead when I arrived." Kakashi said, remaining remarkably calm. Sakura was nowhere near as composed. Even the puppets weren't grating on her as badly as Sato was. Sato looked dubiously from Kakashi to Sakura and smirked.
"Yes, yes, of course. Follow me, please." He waved at them over his shoulder and led them through a back door to a room of completed puppets that were eerily human-like. Sakura's mind flashed with the memory of Sasori's child-like puppet and she shuddered. This time, Kakashi couldn't ignore it. He gently placed a hand at her elbow and squeezed reassuringly, as if that one involuntary twitch told him everything he needed to know. Maybe it had.
The second man, whose introduction Sakura had missed, gestured to the room proudly. She tried her best to hide her disgust with it, but she really wasn't sure how successful she was. She just hoped no one was paying attention to her.
"Sasori wasn't the first to attempt transferring consciousness to a puppet." Kankuro said eventually, possibly sensing Sakura's discomfort, or perhaps just sensing that the two elders were slightly unhinged. Sakura had respect for Kankuro, and believed he was a formidable ninja, and it was well-known that she admired and revered Chiyo-baa-sama to this day, but she couldn't help but wish she never had to see another puppet again in her life. Unfortunate for her that she was stood in a room of probably twenty humanoid puppets, all emblazoned with that red scorpion.
"Th-this isn't his jutsu, is it?" Sakura asked, unable to hide her horror.
"No." Kankuro answered quickly, although the elders did not look pleased. "Because of Sasori's experimentation, transferring consciousness into puppets has been labeled a forbidden jutsu." As it should be, Sakura thought bitterly. "But they learned some interesting things along the way."
"Transferring consciousness into an inanimate object proved…troublesome." The unnamed elder said in what Sakura assumed was a gross understatement.
"So you think this can be safely accomplished, person to person?" Kakashi asked, glancing at Sakura to gauge her reaction. Faced with a proposed solution she was able to shake off some of her uneasiness and focus on the matter at hand.
"We believe so." Sato said cautiously. Kakashi frowned.
"Has this been attempted before?" Sakura asked, grateful that her voice was much stronger now than it had been the last time she'd spoken.
"Yes, and it was a success." Sato said firmly. Kakashi looked suspicious and Sakura couldn't say she felt any differently.
"That's not the whole story." Kankuro said with a deep frown, and the Sato bristled.
"Now, let's not say anymore than we need to." The second elder warned Kankuro while attempting to calm Sato.
"I think it's pretty key information." Kankuro said sarcastically. Sato seethed, but Kankuro continued unperturbed. "This jutsu was only used once, and it was successful, but the circumstances weren't so complicated." He said with a sigh. Sakura listened keenly, and while Kakashi had given his undivided attention to Kankuro, the expression on his face was less than impressed. She imagined that's what her face looked like when Naruto asked her to help him wash his whites.
"What were the circumstances?" She asked before Kakashi could say anything to discourage the one person in this room that seemed to be working unquestionably in their favour.
"The mind of a dying kunoichi was transferred into her sister's body. But her sister's body was…unoccupied." The other old man said delicately. Sakura considered this carefully, from the medical perspective. That was quite different from what Kakashi and Sakura were currently dealing with.
"Unoccupied?" Kakashi asked with a frown.
"She was brain dead." Sakura answered softly. "So this method has only been performed where there was only one consciousness in question." She said, mostly thinking out loud. Kankuro had a proud smile playing at his lips, while Sato looked at her in disdain. She didn't mind receiving the contempt of a sexist old coot; if anything, she was almost flattered to get under his skin so much.
"Yes, but we see no reason why this shouldn't work in your case." The soft spoken elder said. "We use fuinjutsu to seal the consciousness into its new vessel. The jutsu can very easily be performed simultaneously on both of you."
"It's just a matter of getting the timing right." Kankuro said. "The seals need to be completed at the exact same time, or there may be side effects." Kakashi hummed in thought, but Kankuro was doing an excellent job in only addressing Sakura. She would probably never understand what it was with these two.
"What kind of side effects?" She asked. All the medical knowledge in the world hadn't prepared her for the intricacies of body-swap reversal. She could hypothesize until she was blue in the face, but the truth was that she was way out of her depth here.
"This is a unique situation, so we wouldn't very well know that, would we?" Sato said with a sniff. Sakura kept her eyes locked on Kankuro. She didn't want to be goaded into something that would make them lose what might possibly be their only solution. Kankuro had the decency to look apologetic on Sato's behalf.
"I'm sure you have some ideas, Kankuro." Sakura said through clenched teeth.
"We estimate that the side effects would all be generally mild, assuming that the jutsu isn't completely botched." He said. "There's a possibility for memory loss. Nothing drastic, likely just short-term memories." That wasn't so bad, Sakura thought. There were a few things that had happened recently that she could probably benefit from forgetting. "Temporary chakra dependency on each other, or possible suppression. Sakura's chakra control is legendary, so I doubt you will have to deal with that." Kankuro said with a flirty grin. Sakura laughed a little, glad that he could lift her spirits even a little.
"Anything else?" Kakashi asked abruptly and frowning deeply. Sakura raised an eyebrow at him, but he was fixated on Kankuro.
"Unfortunately, we don't have much more insight. You two seemed to have fared well enough in each other's bodies, so we can only assume that a reversal would be as seamless." The unnamed elder said. Sakura thought that if "fared well enough" included nearly dying twice, and being horrendously libidinous, then they certainly had fared quite well. She decided it was best to keep that to herself, although she would love to see Sato's feathers further ruffled.
Kakashi looked to Sakura to see how she felt about all this. She honestly didn't believe Kankuro would have brought them here if he didn't have faith in this technique but she got the distinct feeling Kakashi did not have the same confidence in Kankuro's judgement.
"Sato-san, Hideki-san, would you please allow us a moment?" Kakashi asked the two elders. Sato frowned.
"I'm sure we can provide insight that Sakura here would not be able to." Sato said, saying her name like a curse. This time she did roll her eyes. Kakashi smiled tight-lipped at him.
"Sakura is one of Konoha's sharpest medical minds. There are just some things I'd like her to ease my mind about." He said it pleasantly enough, but Sakura heard the edge in his voice. His patience had worn thin. About damn time, she thought. Hers had disappeared quite awhile ago.
Grudgingly, Sato adhered to Kakashi's request and moved to walk away, waving for Hideki to follow.
"Kankuro will stay with you, I'm sure you understand." Sato said with a hard look to Sakura. Kakashi could see Sakura visibly holding herself back from speaking, but she managed. He had almost wanted to tell Sato to forget it, he could stay and Kankuro could go, but Sakura was smiling in relief with him gone and she had been comforted by Kankuro's presence during this entire meeting.
For some reason, that made him like Kankuro even less. He knew it wasn't reasonable, but that's the way it was, and there was no use telling his emotions to be rational. He remembered now why he had spent a good portion of his life squashing them down. He almost wished he'd continued with that bad habit.
"What are you thinking, Kakashi?" Sakura turned to him and asked, visibly more relaxed with Hideki and Sato gone, but he could still see the telltale signs of stress in his own body. She was still holding on to some tension.
"Is this a risk you're willing to take? We don't have any guarantees we'll come out on the other end." He said, scanning what little of his face he could see for her honest reaction. Her gaze flickered to Kankuro quickly before landing on Kakashi again.
"I think it's our best bet right now. There's no guarantee we'll find a better solution in Konoha." She said with a small sigh. "I had been counting on the Yamanaka clan to be able to help but…"
"The nature of their jutsu is not perfectly suited to our situation either." Kakashi finished resolutely. She had thought about this in great detail, it seemed.
"It may be even less suitable, honestly. The Yamanaka clan doesn't deal with extracting or replacing consciousness. Most of their jutsu are centred around transferring themselves. Who knows if they'd even be able to pull another person out of a body, let alone place them elsewhere?" She proposed, sounding a little hopeless. Kakashi almost wished he'd never asked.
"Either way we're taking a risk." Kakashi pointed out. "At least in Konoha, we know who we're dealing with." He said it with a short glance to Kankuro. Sakura's brows were pinched together unhappily "No offense." He added begrudgingly, even though he didn't really care if he had offended.
Kankuro had ignored him, anyway, so he really had only annoyed Sakura with that comment. Definitely not the desired outcome, but that guy just really rubbed Kakashi the wrong way. Seeing Sakura rely on him and his input just added to Kakashi's irritability. He hadn't been this annoyed since he started taking genin teams. Maybe he should never have left ANBU. He probably would never have been in this position if he had stayed put. He'd be cold and merciless, but he'd at least be in his own body.
Sakura made excellent points. He had also been of the mindset that the Yamanaka clan would be their best bet to reverse the body-swap, but if he put aside his overwhelming irritation he could admit that this fuinjutsu sounded like a solid plan. He let Sakura talk him into it for a couple more minutes, even though he didn't really need any more convincing. He enjoyed seeing her in her element, and going on about the intricacies of brain waves and cortex function seemed to be relaxing her. It was also a little sexy, if he was totally honest. Weird, considering it was his own body, but he would have to look past that for now.
Eventually, he conceded and Kankuro called the elders back in. Sakura's cold shoulder was immediately back in place as Sato walked in the room. Kakashi wasn't sure how this man had such scorn for kunoichi when Chiyo-baa-sama was heralded as one of the most powerful puppet masters in Suna history, but he didn't care to ask. The sooner he and Sakura were out of his presence, the better.
"Shall we begin?" Hideki said with a motion to the two tables by the wall. Sakura looked to him nervously, but he just gave her a reassuring smile in response.
"Yes. We're ready when you are." Kakashi answered, reaching out to squeeze Sakura's shoulder reassuringly. He had done it on instinct, and before he knew it his hand was already on her. He was worried he'd overstepped some kind of boundary, but she looked grateful as she nodded in agreement.
Not ten minutes later, they were laid out on the cold tables, their midsections bared as Sato and Hideki put the finishing touches on the sealing technique. Kankuro was standing by Sakura's head and speaking to her in hushed tones. Whatever he was saying to her had her grinning and holding back laughter. One time, she had let a giggle slip and Sato had glared at her so fiercely Kakashi worried he wouldn't have a body to return to. In turn, Sakura had rolled her eyes so dramatically Kankuro had to hide his bark of laughter behind a cough.
All of this did nothing to ease Kakashi's frustration. All he could do was lay there stewing, and hope that being back in his own body would improve his mood.
"It's done." Sato said suddenly as he stepped away from Kakashi's body with one last reproachful look to Sakura and Kankuro. Hideki also stood and stepped back from Kakashi as he appraised the black seal scrawled across his stomach. "You will make the seals as so," Sato said as he demonstrated the hand seals, "and then place your hand on the centre of each other's fuinjutsu."
"Be careful to initiate contact at the same time. The fuinjutsu need to activate simultaneously." Kankuro warned, touching Sakura's shoulder lightly as a comforting gesture. Sakura may have felt comforted but Kakashi certainly didn't. Sakura was staring at him, eye wide.
"Ready?" She asked, trying to hide her nervousness but failing.
"See you on the other side." He said with an encouraging smile. She smiled back, looking slightly relieved by his air of confidence. Together they weaved the signs and then reached out to each other's seals.
Kakashi felt Sakura slide her warm hand over his abdomen at the same that he slid his over hers. They shared small smiles as the seals activated.
When Kakashi came to, Kankuro's face was hovering only centimetres above his. Kakashi frowned up at him. This was not an image he'd ever wanted to wake up to. Upon realizing Kakashi was conscious, Kankuro immediately stood straight and stepped away. Slowly, Kakashi sat up and surveyed his surroundings.
For the first time in nearly a week, he didn't have to tilt his head up to look anyone in the eye. When he turned his head, Sakura was already awake and watching him with wide eyes. She looked surprised, but elated. He could relate. Feeling his own chakra coursing through his body, and the feeling of his body itself; he hadn't realized how much he missed it until it was back in his grasp. Kankuro had been mistaken about impacts on their chakra, as far as he could tell. Although, he had mentioned that their aptitude for chakra control would likely nullify that possible side effect.
He was loath to admit that Kankuro had not only been correct, but also vastly helpful. He nearly allowed himself to warm up to the young man when Kankuro leaned down to whisper something in Sakura's ear that had her giggling up a storm. Just like that, all pleasant opinions of Kankuro flew out the proverbial window. Kakashi could not wait to get the hell out of the desert and leave this man behind with his dolls.
Maybe he could convince Sakura to leave Suna early, without Shikamaru. He considered that as she and Kankuro continued sharing their inside jokes and little touches; Kakashi could not take it any longer. He hopped off the table, roughly pulling down his shirt as he did. He thanked the men for their help, and with a two finger salute he was gone.
Sakura could enjoy the remainder of her time in Suna with Kankuro. He wasn't sure why their friendship bothered him so much. Sakura had said they were friends. She had also said Kankuro had been harbouring feelings for her for years. He supposed he couldn't really blame Kankuro for that; he'd heard of countless men proposing to Sakura in the hospital. Hell, he'd seen Genma do it on two separate occasions, hopped up on painkillers and referring to Sakura as his "bubblegum angel". None of that had really bothered him before.
Kakashi was brought back to his room with the teleportation jutsu. At first, he was relieved to be alone and in his own space. That was until he flopped back onto the bed and took a deep breath through his nose, and promptly realized that everything in this room smelled like Sakura, and painfully so. It was a rather outrageous reminder of what had taken place between these sheets not that long ago. Kakashi could feel his face flushing beneath his mask. The mingling of their scents was too much to deal with right now. He wasn't sure if he was ashamed or aroused, and that question alone was enough reason to leave this room forever.
Sakura could have this room, he reasoned. Her sense of smell was not nearly as keen as his, and she didn't appear to be as tightly wound as he was right now. He let himself into her room, relishing in the much more neutral smell that lingered here, and happily leaned back in her bed. He could be calm here. He could gather himself and sort out the mess of frustration away from prying eyes and flirtatious inside jokes. He pulled out his blood-stained Icha Icha and forced himself to focus on the drama unfolding in the pages versus the one in his life.
Sakura was baffled by Kakashi's abrupt exit. He had seemed pretty on edge all day, but she had expected that reversing their body-swap would cheer him up some. Maybe he was just a little sick of spending so much time with her. Her heart clenched a little at that notion, but she told herself to stop being childish. He had been trapped in her body for five days and that was enough to drive anyone a little crazy. She'd had her moments of frustration already; she should understand how he felt.
And she did understand. Understanding didn't seem to stop the insecurities from gnawing away at her, though.
At least she had Kankuro to take her mind off it. He was catching her up on everything that had changed since she'd been there last. Suna was a slow-changing type of place. She imagined when you were surrounded by sand for miles that things tended to feel a little less urgent. Still, Kankuro had some interesting new things to show her.
One of which being a new paralytic he'd discovered while out on a solo mission. He wouldn't tell her how he found it, only that it came from a reptile, which made her think he'd been bitten and had done some heinous thing to himself that would make any medic worth their salt want to wither and die. When she considered that, it was probably best that he hadn't disclosed it to her. She clocked him in any case, certain that he deserved it for one reason or another. He didn't deny it.
With toxic secretions and possible fatal wounds out of the way, they spent the rest of their evening exploring Suna. Kankuro had taken her to his favourite coffee shop so she could get her fill of it while she still could. She never could make it quite the same at home, no matter how many variations of the spice blend she tried. Kankuro had said that the secret was sand itself and she would have hit him but it was kind of funny, and she had begun to wonder if it was actually true.
Eventually, Kankuro walked her back to the Kazekage tower while they munched on some sort of fried dumpling that was stuffed with vegetables and aromatic spices. She always missed the spices when she left Suna; both in her coffee and food. Kankuro had tried to entice her to stay out with him a little longer, but she declined. She had picked up some food for Kakashi and was hoping he was in better spirits after his afternoon alone. Kankuro bid her goodnight and assured her he would be there to see them off in the morning.
When Sakura entered her room, Kakashi was sitting on top of the covers snoring softly with Icha Icha in his lap. She smiled softly at the sight of her partner totally off guard and peaceful. It was the rarest of sights, and she relished in it as long as she dared. Finally, certain he would catch her sooner rather than later, she took matters into her own hands and waved the food below his nose. It didn't take much to wake him now that he was in his own body.
"It's a really beautiful night out." She mentioned and Kakashi hummed in agreement around a mouthful of food. "Want to look at the stars with me?"
That's how they'd wound up sat on a roof in Suna staring at the stars together. Sakura had half-expected him to decline based on his exit from the workshop that afternoon, but it was a nice surprise. She had also scooped a cup of coffee for him, since he'd enjoyed it this morning, and they simply sat on their roof, sipping coffee and stargazing. She couldn't really think of anything she'd rather be doing in that moment.
"Today, in the Chikamatsu workshop," Kakashi said suddenly. Sakura knew where he was going with it. Kakashi's eyes flickered to her as she fidgeted. "It was the puppets, wasn't it? Was it…is it Sasori?" He asked quietly, carefully. She let a shaky breath escape her lips. It had been eight years since she fought Sasori and she still had nightmares.
"It hasn't been bad in a long time, you know. I've had a handle on it for a long time." She said, probably more to convince herself than him. "But the workshop…and then that room…" She couldn't suppress the shudder that ran through her. "And that horrible sound…" She said, her voice breaking a little. Kakashi reached out to cover her hand with his where it sat palm-down against the roof.
"I couldn't use the chidori for years after Rin." Kakashi whispered. "I understand." Sakura's lips parted at the mention of Kakashi's old teammate. He had told her that story once, two years ago, after she had found him drunk at the memorial, passed out in the rain. She never expected that he would ever mention it again.
"I don't know how you do it, Kakashi." She said, looking at him in awe. He was so strong, so steadfast. After everything he'd seen and done, he was still fighting. He gave her a sad smile and she marveled at how he managed to look so wise and young at the same time.
"My first kiss was with Gai." He said suddenly. The abrupt change of subject had her off-kilter and she started at him in confusion.
"Excuse me?" She asked dully. He had an amused smile playing at the corners of his lips. Gods, he was handsome. "Gai-sensei?" She asked with a giggle.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. He was wearing the green jumpsuit then, too." Kakashi recalled fondly. Sakura couldn't help but laugh. "He said I was his rival in love. I was a kid, way younger than every other rookie; I had no idea what he was on about." He paused to take a sip of his coffee. "I found out later that Gai liked this girl, who apparently had a thing for me." He said with a little shrug and a roll of his eye. Sakura smiled to herself; she could picture a tiny, aloof Kakashi far too easily in her mind's eye.
"So he thought the best way to defeat you was to capture your heart?" She teased. Kakashi nearly choked on his coffee.
"You know…I never asked what his motives were." He said with a short laugh. "Gai logic. I figure it's best to let it be." Sakura hummed in agreement, but she tucked this story away for a rainy day. Next time she was feeling down, this would undoubtedly lift her spirits.
"Thanks, Kakashi." She said after a beat of silence. It was a rare occasion to see Kakashi so candid and engaged. She loved that he felt comfortable enough to share these parts of himself with her. "I don't suppose you'd like to disclose any other secrets while we're here?" She asked mischievously.
"Hmm, I could be persuaded, but it'll cost you. You already got one freebie." He replied. He was immovable, she could see. She wasn't quite ready to cash in her Free Secret ticket; she'd want to save that for something big.
"I can be persuasive." She said as she leaned back onto the roof with a coy smile. He followed her movements with his gaze, considering her quietly. She wished she could read his mind.
"I know." He said poignantly after a long pause. It was quite warm out but she felt her hair stand on end as he continued looking at her. Finally he broke his stare to look skyward. Her stomach felt tight with something she hadn't felt in a long time. It reminded her a little of the deep longing she'd felt in her pre-teen heart for Sasuke, so many years ago. Instead of tumultuous and frenzied obsession, it felt calm and vast, though no less consuming.
She would choose being consumed by tranquility over calamity any day. Still, it was a daunting feeling.
"I have to ask," Kakashi began softly, looking up at the stars unwaveringly. "Do you regret what happened last night?" He finished with just the tiniest hint of red on his ears. Sakura stared at him in shock.
"We've kissed before, and never had an issue." She said with brows pinched in confusion as she sat up beside him. His gaze snapped to her finally. "Did…did something else happen?" She asked in fear. Kakashi's ears were no longer red; in fact, he looked a little pale. He scrutinized her for a moment.
"…No. Nothing else. I just wanted to know that we were on the same page." He said finally. Sakura squinted at him suspiciously, but he said nothing more.
"You're a cheeky bastard." She said while shaking her head. He looked at her in shock. "How could you pretend nothing happened? You really wouldn't have told me, would you?" She accused. "After everything that's happened on this mission, you would keep a secret like that."
"So you do remember." He said, sagging in relief.
"Yes, no thanks to you." She said, crossing her arms over her chest indignantly. He just laughed. "Honestly, Kakashi, you have some nerve—mmph!" Kakashi cut her off abruptly with a hand over her mouth and an exasperated shake of his head.
"You're much cuter this way." He teased with a smirk that made her feel stupidly giddy. She glared at him before parting her lips and sinking her teeth sharply into his palm. He yanked it away with a very manly yelp. "You bit me!" He accused, staring at the teeth marks she'd left in his hand.
"But I thought you liked that." She said with mock innocence and a little pout. He slowly ran his eye over her face before finally settling on her lips. He was leaning closer to her unhurriedly. She held her breath in anticipation, and wondered vaguely if this would lead to a repeat performance of the previous night. She had enjoyed that, to be sure, but she had some other ideas she thought might suit them better. For starters, she'd like to redefine what it meant to be "inside her body".
Suddenly, Kakashi halted with a mildly startled look. His ears went pink as he looked at her, apparently lost in a thought. With a subtle shake of his head, he was back in action, leaning towards her face with his gaze locked on her lips. He stopped a whisper away from her. When he spoke, she swore she could feel the faintest brush of his lips against hers.
"Your execution was a little off." He said softly. She barely heard him over the blood rushing in her ears.
"Care to remind me?" She asked, feeling quite bold. She felt his lips curve above hers before he was kissing her. She thought she could melt into him and just cease to exist with the way he was kissing her; slow and deep, and so, so sweet. She could forget to breathe in a kiss like this, and when his lips parted against hers, she did forget to breathe for a second. With a little gasp, she remembered herself.
Kakashi was smiling beneath her lips, probably finding it funny that she would get so worked up over a little kiss. But, she thought, there was nothing insignificant about the way his tongue felt against her bottom lip, and when he pulled that lip between his and sucked on it gently, she thought he could laugh at her all he wanted, as long as he never stopped doing that. When she felt his teeth graze and gently sink into her lip she wondered if breathing was overrated.
And then he was gone. Her eyes flew open only to stare at an empty rooftop.
"Bastard." She growled out even though there was no one there to hear her.
A/N: aw this one's a lil more serious