"I think I'll get mine with the usual naruto fish-cakes, extra pork, hold the menma today, how about--"

"This guy goes on and on..." Sasuke muttered as he and Sakura walked a good few feet behind Naruto, "he rambles about ramen. Who knew, out of all the things someone could ramble about..."

"Hn." Sakura shut her eyes, "this is Naruto after all."

"Hey, Sakura!"

Sasuke turned at the sound of her name, "huh? Ino?"

"Ah! Sasuke!" Ino ran up to the two, Shikamaru and Choji following close behind, "how are you? I heard you were in the hospital!"

Sakura shrugged, "yeah, I was."

"Oh, you too, Sakura." Shikamaru looked at Sakura, "what happened?"

"We actually still have no idea." Sasuke chuckled, "But it's all okay, now. Uh, partially. Anyways, how was your mission, Ino?"

"Oh, Sasuke!" Ino giggled as she blushed a little, "it went fine. We completed it smoothly. So, uh, where are you two going?"

"We're going to Ichiraku. Want to come with us?"

"Sure!" Ino gushed, "wow! I can't believe Sasuke's asking me to come with him!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "what a drag..."

"But what about you, Sakura?" Ino looked at her friend, "I haven't heard anything from you..."

"Hn." Sakura shut her eyes, "you're annoying."

"What?!" Ino gritted her teeth, "wanna say that to me again, you billboard brow?!"

"Hey, Ino!" Sasuke grabbed Ino's shoulder, "calm down! I'm fine!"

"Wait, what?" Ino looked from Sasuke to Sakura, then back to Sasuke, "I'm confused..."

"Did you two hit your heads or something?" Choji chuckled.

"Ah! There you two are!" Naruto ran up to the group, "what'd I miss?"

"Uh, nothing." Sakura looked away. Too many people...

"Uh, S-Sakura?" Sasuke muttered, "maybe we should get out of here..."

"What?!" Ino shrieked, "you wanted to go get ramen with me, now you want to go with her?! Did you hear what she called me, Sasuke?!"

"Hn." Sakura leaned her head back, then turned to Naruto and lowered her voice, "stall."

"B-but..." Naruto stared at her, "Sas--"

"Just do it." Sakura ordered as she grabbed Sasuke's wrist and took off running.

"Hey!!" Ino yelled, "Billboard Brow, where do you think you're going?!"

"Calm down, Ino!" Shikamaru shouted over her screams as he and Choji held her back.

"Yeah, maybe you need some food!"

"Let me go!" Ino yanked her arms away, but Shikamaru caught her with his shadow possession jutsu, "Shikamaru!"

"Sorry, Ino." Shikamaru smirked, but froze when she faced him straight-on with her arms outstretched, "oh, crap!"

"Mind transfer jutsu!"

As soon as Ino reached Shikamaru's body, she took off running after Sakura, "get back here!" Shikamaru weaved the hand signs, "shadow possession!"

"Oh no you don't!" Sakura yelled as she reached into her pouch and pulled out a few ninja stars. Then she threw them perfectly at Shikamaru, who barely dodged them. They grazed his arm and left three thin cuts.

"Tch..." Shikamaru stopped, then fell over as Ino left his body.

"Sakura!" Ino yelled, but the two had already disappeared.

_______________

"You just couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you..." Sakura panted as she and Sasuke hunched over, catching their breaths in an alley at the edge of the village.

"Sorry, Sasuke..." Sasuke muttered as he leaned against the building and caught his breath.

"From here on out..." Sakura groaned, "as annoying as it seems, we're going to have to act like each other..."

"That's practically impossible..." Sasuke sighed.

"Yeah, well..." Sakura shrugged, "I know you're strong enough to do it."

"Maybe..." Sasuke rubbed his forehead.

"So go home." Sakura ordered, "it'd be better if we stayed away from people for a while."

"But... What about my parents?"

"I'll..." Sakura tapped her chin. Damn, I forgot... Her parents are going to be home... "I'll figure something out."

"Okay." Sasuke smiled, "sorry again, Sasuke."

"Nah. This is also my fault." Sakura shrugged, "if anything, Naruto's to blame."

"You think so?"

"Mhm." Sakura started walking off, "so you're going to have to go to my apartment."

"O-okay..." Sasuke watched as Sakura walked out of the alley and towards her home. I'm surprised he knows where I live...

Sasuke decided to take the long way so that no one could stop him on the way. He found his way to his apartment, looked around for a key, and once he finally got in, he turned on the lights and took his shoes off, "I'm home."

No response.

Does Sasuke always live like this? He walked through the halls and looked around, exploring the space. Wow, I can't believe I'm in his apartment... He looked around and made sure there was food in the cupboards, running water, and working appliances as if this were a new home to him.

"Boy, I hope Sasuke'll be alright..." Sasuke muttered as he looked out the bedroom window. He shivered, "I need to pee." As he was making his way to the bathroom, he suddenly froze, "oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap..." He covered his mouth and blushed, "I can't... No I can't... I need to hold it..." He squeezed his eyes shut, "oh crap, Naruto I'm gonna kill you..."

_____________

Why am I so nervous? Sakura looked at her trembling hand as she reached for the door knob of her house. It's just Sakura's parents, right? I mean... I've never met them before, but... She swallowed hard and opened the door, "I-I'm home."

"Sakura?"

Sakura froze as she saw her dad, Kizashi Haruno, coming through the doorway, "D-Dad?"

"Hey, welcome home!" He smiled, "your mom is in the kitchen making dinner! Glad you're back safely! Heard you dropped into the hospital with that Uchiha. We thought we'd come visit, but you were probably enjoying yourself, being alone with him."

What the hell... Sakura stared at him. What's he talking about? Me? "O-okay." She took her shoes off and set them to the side, then stepped in. As soon as she did, her dad came up and gave her a hug.

"Glad to see you're still alive."

"Heh." Sakura chuckled, "well, uh, I need to go up to my room now and get changed..."

"Right. Do that, then come back down. Your mother still wants to see you." he grinned.

"Y-yeah." Sakura nodded as she ran up the stairs as fast as she could. She peeked into each of the rooms, getting familiar with the house's layout. Parents' room, bathroom, closet, ah, this must be her room. Sakura looked around and slowly stepped in. She turned on the lights and took in the scene. It was just like any other normal bedroom. It was definitely bigger than his own bedroom, but still a good size. Why do I feel so weird being here... She scanned her bookshelf, spotting the picture of their squad all together and some pictures of her and Ino. Cute. Then she saw a picture of just Sakura. She picked up the framed and stared at it. Sakura...

"Sakura? You all changed? Dinner's ready!" She heard her mom, Mebuki Haruno, call from downstairs.

"Ah, yeah, almost done!" Sakura called as she set the picture back down and turned to the dresser. She opened the door and pulled something that looked comfortable. Then she turned to the mirror as she started to take the dress off. It wasn't until the dress was actually off that realization hit her. She blushed a deep red and leaned her head back. I'm not looking... She quickly threw on a t-shirt she found, slid off her tight shorts and quickly pulled on loose shorts. Maybe I should go visit her later when no one's awake. She considered as she slowly walked in front of the mirror, making sure she was wearing something. She's slimmer than I thought...

"Okay." Sakura took a deep breath, "dinner. Right. I don't have to make my own food..." She turned and headed downstairs, dreading it with each step.

"Sakura!" Mebuki greeted her as she stepped into the dining room, "you took awfully longer than you usually do."

"Heh. I guess so." Sakura shrugged as she took a seat at the empty place setting.

After a short silence, they started eating.

"So, Sakura? What happened on the mission?"

"Nothing."

"Whoa, you okay?" Kizashi chuckled, "you leave, your normal cheery self, on a mission, the next thing we know, you're coming from the hospital and you're not talking. What happened? Did you switch bodies with someone or something?"

As her parents laughed, Sakura only stared into her empty bowl.

"Like that could ever happen." Mebuki laughed, "that's bizarre, Kizashi. Don't worry, dear. Your father's just kidding you."

"Ah." Sakura muttered as she pushed her chair back and bowed, "I'm, ah, a little tired."

"Of course. After everything that's happened." Kizashi nodded, "good night, Sakura! Sleep well!"

"Glad your back home safe." Mebuki stood up and gave her a hug.

Would Sakura hug back? Sakura thought to herself, so she hugged her mom back, "Yeah. Good night." She quickly pulled away and headed upstairs. What's this feeling... I mean, I know they're not my parents, but... The feeling of temporarily having parents... Sakura went up to her room and shut the door behind her. She walked over to the window and looked out. Sakura... He turned, walked over to, and collapsed onto her bed. And for the first time in a very long while, she felt tears on her face.

"Damn, she's always crying..." Sakura wiped her face and turned over so she was on her stomach, "Sakura... Is this what a real life is?" She inhaled deeply. Smells like her... She turned back over and tucked her hands behind her head.

'Your missions will be easy missions that don't require any ability of any sort. With different bodies, Sasuke can't use his Sharingan or his Chidori, and Sakura will have to adapt to Sasuke's body's chakra level.'

'Kakashi-Sensei...' Sasuke groaned, 'is Lady Tsunade anywhere close to be done with the analysis?'

'Sorry, Sasu-- Sakura, not yet.'

'So what's with Naruto?' Sakura crossed her arms.

'He'll be doing D-Rank missions with you guys.' Kakashi smiled, 'so, with that said, you two should probably prepare for the worst and train together.'

'Prepare for the worst?!' Sasuke shouted, 'you mean if we can't switch back?!'

'Yep!'

'How can you be so calm and collected about this?!' Sasuke pointed at their sensei, 'even if it is Sasuke, I want my own body back!'

'I can't be a girl forever, either!' Sakura added.

'Well, sorry, all I can do is help decipher the scroll and let you two teach each other.' Kakashi waved to them as he started walking off, 'maybe this will help with your teamwork, too.'

"You are such an idiot, Kakashi..." Sakura muttered. She turned to the clock and checked the time, "it's almost midnight. Maybe I should go visit her..." She swung her legs over the bed and opened the window. Then she climbed out and started running to Sasuke's apartment. Once she got there, she knocked on the door. It didn't take long for Sasuke to get it, "hey, Saku--"

"Sasuke!" Sasuke cried.

"Wha..." Sakura stared at him, "are you okay?"

"Oh, sure..." Sasuke strained, "but why do you drink so much water?!"

"Huh?" Sakura blinked a few times, then slapped her forehead, "Sakura..."

"Sasuke, I need to pee!" Sasuke whispered, "but... But..."

"Do I need to teach you?" Sakura sighed.

"What?!" Sasuke shook his head and blushed, "no, no, it's not really just... That... I can't even change my clothes without... Wait." Sasuke looked Sakura up and down, "you changed..."

"Don't worry, I didn't see anything." Sakura crossed her arms.

"Why are you wearing that shirt?!" Sasuke groaned, "I hate that shirt..."

"Well." Sakura smirked, "I like it, so you'll have to deal with it. Now back to your problem..."

"This is really bad, Sasuke... I don't know what to do..." Sasuke groaned.

"Wait..." Sakura pushed Sasuke back into his apartment and shut the door, "let's not be too loud, people might hear us."

"Just..." Sasuke yanked at his hair, "tell me what to do, Sasuke! I need to go, but... I just can't!!"

"Just don't look!" Sakura blushed, "please don't look..."

"I've never done this before, though..." Sasuke groaned, "why do I have to be a guy..."

"Yeah, well." Sakura scoffed, "easy for you to say, girls have it worse... By the way... You never told me--"

"You don't need to know!" Sasuke shouted.

"Well, I do now!" Sakura countered, "because you're me, so you don't have to worry about that time of the month, because you're a guy now! I've never had to worry about this before!"

"Of course not..." Sasuke groaned, "why... Why us..." then he shivered again, "crap, and I still need to go..."

Sakura sighed and rubbed her forehead, "just... Keep the lights off and go. And please aim... I don't want to have to clean anything up..."

"Fine, I'll try." Sasuke groaned as he ran to the bathroom.

This is so awkward... Sakura rubbed her elbows. A few minutes later, she heard the bathroom lights click on, then Sasuke's call.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"What happened?" Sakura walked over to the bathroom, then froze, "I told you to aim!!"

"I'm sorry, it's hard to do that in the dark and not knowing where anything is!" Sasuke yelled.

"Sakura..." Sakura groaned, "just... Clean it up... Please..."

"Sorry..." Sasuke grabbed a towel and started cleaning, "boys have it hard. But girls have it worse."

"You get used to it." Sakura replied as she bent down and helped clean, "not that you need to. We're not staying like this any longer. I swear, if it's the last thing I do..."

Sasuke looked up at her, "so... You met my parents?"

"Yeah."

"How are they doing?"

Sakura shut her eyes and smirked, "they're glad you're safe. They don't know yet."

"Oh, I see." Sasuke looked back down and continued cleaning.

"They're really nice." Sakura smiled.

"You think so?" Sasuke chuckled, "my dad is always cracking ridiculous puns and jokes, I didn't think you'd..."

"He's your dad. I know they're not my parents, but having experienced what it's like to temporarily have parents..." Sakura crossed her arms and looked down, "I'm actually kind of thankful this happened."

Sasuke stood up and smiled, "I'm not thrilled that this happened, but I know now... And I'm sorry you have to live alone like this. You and Naruto, it's harder than I thought it'd be."

"Hn." Sakura smirked, "well, I'd better get going. Don't want your parents to find out you've been out."

Sasuke laughed, "yeah. Thanks for coming over, Sasuke... I really needed help."

"I could tell." Sakura nodded, "just... Be careful next time."

"I'll try." Sasuke scratched the back of his neck as Sakura headed out, "see you at training tomorrow."

"Yeah." Sakura nodded. Crap, that's right. That's where the fun really begins. Sakura and I... This is going to be fun.