Reincarnation-no-jutsu Ch.3

   ~ The next morning ~

   With Temari, Lee, Kiba and Shino

   “Good morning, Lee” Kiba/Temari yawned.
   “Mmm”.
   “Tired, eh?”
   “Kinda. Now I know what those rings are all about. Poor guy… Insomnia must be such a curse…”
   “You have no idea…” Sasuke/Temari showed up. “That’s partially why Gaara’s sanity is so… fragile. How’d things go, Kiba?”
   “Swell. Except for your hair. I had to let it down”.
   “So I noticed” Temari said, ready to restore her ruined hairdo.
   “Hey, watch it!” Kiba protested.
   The door to the living room opened. “Another peaceful day in the Uchiha mansion, I see”.
   “Very funny, Shino, very funny!”

   ~ ~ ~

   With Gaara

   “Rise and shine, sleepy-head!”
   “Mmm…” Gaara reluctantly opened his eyes. “For how long have I been sleeping?”
   “All night long, of course!”
   Huh? And then, Gaara remembered. He still was in Sakura’s body. “Good morning, Mom”.
   “Good morning, Sakura. I made you breakfast. And after this, don’t you have training today, sweetheart?”
   “Oh. You’re right…”

   After finishing a delicious breakfast, Gaara stood up. “I should get going” he said, as if to himself.
   “Sure… What’s gotten into you, Sakura?”
   “Huh?” Could Sakura’s mother mean that… literally?
   “You even ate fish. You hate fish” Mrs. Haruno said, raising an eyebrow.
   Gaara/Sakura froze. “Yeah” he finally said. “It was delicious. Thanks, Mom. Have a nice day”. And, grabbing the Leaf hitai ate, he dashed outside.
   “You too, dear” Sakura’s mom said. What’s going on with her? It’s like she’s someone else…

   ~ ~ ~

   With Ino

   “Damn you, alarm clock” Ino mumbled. She slowly got out of bed and blindly went into the bathroom. She raised her head.
   “EEEEK!” she shrieked, seeing a drowsy Naruto staring back at her. “Oh, yeah. I forgot…” she muttered, still trembling.
   Later, washed and dressed, Ino/Naruto visited the kitchen. “What a mess” she said for the hundredth time. She opened the fridge and grabbed a carton of milk. Too bad it had expired weeks ago…
   Furious, Ino banged the fridge door. “This place is a total, absolute mess”. And, raising her head and voice, she shouted: “BELIEVE IT!”

   ~ ~ ~
   With Sakura and Sasuke

   The sunlight crept into Hinata’s room. It fell on Neji’s closed eyes and woke Sakura. Blinking, she tried to remember where she was. Another face was about two inches from hers.
   Hinata? No… Sakura held her breath. Sasuke! Chills went down her spine.
   The next second, two big, pale eyes were looking at her. “Morning”.
   Sakura managed to keep her cool, just like Neji would. “Good morning, Sasuke-kun”.
   Sasuke/Hinata sat up. “We’re late. If you want breakfast…”
   “Nah, I don’t think it would bother them if we left. Poor Neji, poor Hinata…”
   “Hn. If you’re ready, let’s go”.
   “Okay…” Sakura put on Neji’s hitai ate. “Let’s go kick some ass”.
   “You’re adjusting to being Neji, I presume” Sasuke smirked.
   “You’re doing the same”.
   “What?”
   Sakura chuckled. “Sasuke-kun, you blushed when I said ‘ass’…”

   ~ Team training ~

   With Team 7

   “This is fun after all!”
   “Get off of me!”
   “Oh, come on, let me have the pleasure of beating you just once!” Temari/Sasuke stood up. “I must say, this sand armor of yours has let your reflexes go numb”.
   “P-lease! Sakura’s body can’t match Sasuke’s speed!” Gaara mumbled.
   “Here, let me help you”. Temari/Sasuke helped Gaara/Sakura get up. “Hey, where’s Ino?”
   “Gotcha!” Ino/Naruto fell on Temari. The two fell on the wet grass, Ino on top of Temari. “Who’d thought ‘Sasuke’ would fall for that!” Ino laughed.
   “I wasn’t paying attention, you dobe!” Temari blinked. “Sorry, Ino, I didn’t mean too say that…”
   “Must be the Sasuke… well, ‘in you’ isn’t quite right…”
   “Let go of my sister, Ino! Naruto’s kinda heavy, you’re crushing her!” Gaara shouted.
   “Is this Gaara being concerned about Temari… or is it Sakura not wanting me over ‘her’ Sasuke-kun?” Ino winked.
   It was the first time Team 7 would laugh like that during a training session… or ever.

   ~ ~ ~

   With Team 8

   “Don’t you guys have a feeling like this is going nowhere?”
   “Yeah…”
   “We can’t beat each other. Well, that’s unusual…”
   “I’ll let you beat me, Neji, if you promise that afterwards we’ll have a break” Shikamaru/Shino suggested.
   “No, thank you. I’d rather play with Sasuke. Come on, charge!”
   “You’re hyper-aggressive today… Or is it just about me being Hinata?”
   “Shut it, Sasuke. Get him, boy!”
   Akamaru took a few steps towards Sasuke/Hinata, before he changed his mind and attacked Neji.
   “You little…”
   “Careful. Kiba will kill you if you mess with his dog”.
   “He is the one who’s messing with me! He kept scratching me all night long!”
   Shikamaru sighed. “You’re so troub-- Not so fast, Sasuke!” Shikamaru easily countered Sasuke’s attack. The brunette -yeah, still a brunette- landed on one knee.
   “Damn, if only I still had the Sharingan…”
   “The All-seeing-eye doesn’t work for you, does it?”
   “I don’t know how to activate it” Sasuke mumbled. “What’s the point of training anyway? None of us can use our alternative bodies properly…”
   “Let’s just go get some lunch, ok? The ramen stand is only three… four blocks away” Neji said.
   “How can you tell?”
   Neji smiled. “Kiba’s nose, of course, what else?”
   Sasuke smirked and nodded. “Let’s go. Either way, when we return to our bodies…”
   “…We’ll still be the best” Neji calmly said.
   “Sheesh” Shikamaru/Shino hissed in his high collar. “Give it a rest already…”


   ~ ~ ~

   With Team 10

   
   “Yikes! Be careful with that thing!”
   “Don’t worry, I don’t aim to kill. If I did, there’d be two Sand siblings by now…” Tenten pulled the kunai off. Two more kunai and three shuriken were holding Kankuro/Choji on the tree, although none of them had injured him.
   “That’s not Shikamaru’s fighting style” Choji said, a bag of ramen bites in his hand.
   “Who cares? He may use weapons too…” Tenten shrugged. She freed Kankuro, who fell on the ground with a loud thud. “And stop eating, Choji. If you gain even half a pound, Ino will kill you”.
   “I’m doing it out of habit. It’s like she doesn’t have any appetite at all. Ever. No wonder she is so bad-tempered all the time…”
   Tenten giggled. “Get up, Choji, and let’s practice some more. And then, I think I’ll go sleep for half an hour or so…” she yawned.
   “Yeah, and I need to get something to eat…” Kankuro said, rubbing his stomach.
   “Why does this conversation sound so familiar?” Choji wondered.

   ~ ~ ~

   With Team Gai

   “What’s the matter with you, Naruto? Can’t you be on time for just once?”
   “Sorry, Neji, ehh… I mean, Sakura-chan. I overslept” Naruto apologized, panting. “I’m sorry, Hinata-chan”.
   “I-it’s okay, Naruto-kun” Hinata whispered.
   “Okay, then, let’s get started! Hinata, do you… err… can you tell me… how does this thing work?” Sakura growled, blinking like crazy.
   “Oh, you mean the Byakugan? Ehhh… Just feel the flow of chakra filling your eyes and unleash it. I don’t know how to explain this any better… I’m sorry, Sakura-chan”.
   “Hey, don’t worry about it”. Sakura/Neji put two fingers in front of her mouth. I’ve got the best chakra control, even better than Sasuke-kun’s… This shouldn’t be too hard… “BYAKUGAN!”
   “Ahhh!” Naruto almost fainted.
   “Get up, Naruto! If you injure Tenten’s body, she’ll chop you down to bits! And why the hell did you scream?” Sakura yelled at him.
   “Don’t be so angry, Sakura-chan” Hinata smiled, sweatdropping. “It’s just… you look scary, that’s all…”
   “What do you mean?”
   Naruto, trembling like a leaf, pulled out a large, shining, silver kunai. Sakura took it and looked at Neji’s face reflected on the blade.
   “EEEK!” Her left eye was blank as usual, but her right was now twice its original size and the bulging around it much worse than normal. Holy hell, I look like Gaara when he was half a demon! she desperately thought.
   “Calm down, Sakura-chan!” Hinata urged her. “Calm down and it will go away!”
   Sakura took her advice, closed her eyes -yes, the right one could be closed too- and within seconds, she heard Hinata’s voice again.
   “Well done, Sakura-chan, that’s it!”
   “Give her the thumbs up!” Naruto joked and both the girls laughed.
   “Okay, let’s spar” Sakura said, changing into offensive stance. “But this time” she smiled “no kekkei genkai”.

   ~ With the Sand Siblings ~

   “Well, this is a fine way to waste our time…” Kiba/Temari sighed.
   “Oh, come on, my youthful companion, make the most of the opportunity you’re given! Seize the day!”
   “Alright, alright”. Kiba grabbed the large fan and tried to hit Lee on the head. Although the latter was now slower, a veil of sand prevented Kiba from hitting his target. Furthermore, with a blinking of Lee’s eyes, Kiba was tossed away.
   “Now I get it. He doesn’t even have to command the sand. It offers him permanent protection, without even consuming a traceable amount of chakra. Amazing!”
   “Yeah, cool…” Kiba murmured, getting up. “What do you think, Shino?”
   “I think this thing’s… fun” bug-boy replied, controlling the Crow with thin chakra strings.
   “Well, I’m happy someone’s having fun…”
   “I’m having fun too! Oh, youthful comrade, cheer up!”
   “Pass! I want my dog back. That Hyuuga kid is so busted if…”
   “Don’t talk that way about Neji! He’s the smartest and the strongest there is and he is my friend!”
   “Yeah, Lee, great. But if he touches my dog, I’ll break his spine” Kiba growled.
   “Like you could ever…” Shino plainly said.
   “Whose side are you on?”
   “The right one” Shino answered. “And the odds of you beating up Neji are one in a gazillion”.
   “Sheesh, what a friend…”
   “Now, now, we’re supposed to be siblings!” Gaara’s sand grabbed Kiba and Shino in a deadly embrace. “We should looove each other, remember?” he grinned, showing the love Kanji on his forehead, while the other two were dangling above his head.
   “Yah, sure, Lee, just put us down!”
   “That’s more like it!” He let go of them and hugged them when they fell down. “I’m proud of you, guys!” he cried.
   “I’m starting to believe the Gaara who wanted to kill us all was a better aspect…”
   “You’re telling me!...” Kiba shouted at Shino.

   ~ ~ ~

   “Ahhh… Lunch at Ichiraku’s… With two… ehhh… I’d say beautiful girls,” Naruto whispered “but you aren’t… girls, I mean!” he hastily explained, seeing Sakura/Neji frowning.
   “Hn. Of course you do” Sakura mumbled, leaning over her half-empty ramen bowl. She looked at the cold content. “I’m full. Let’s go meet the others” she suggested, thinking of none other than…

   ~ ~ ~

   “Sasuke-kun!”
   “Hmm? Oh, hey. Hey, Hinata”.
   “Hello, Sasuke-kun. Is everything in order?” Hinata smiled.
   “As well as it could be” Sasuke said sympathetically.
   Meanwhile, Sakura and Naruto kept looking at the two, both frustrated and feeling the urge to smash something. Until Sakura saw Neji/Kiba.
   “Oh, Neji-kun! Am I glad to see you!” She approached him, chattering about how great his powers were, not only making Naruto more furious, but also…
   “Excuse me, Hinata” Sasuke mumbled, walking up to Sakura and Neji. “So, Sakura, did everything go as planned?”
   “Sure, Sasuke-kun. After all…” she smiled “…I was Neji”.
   Meanwhile, Tenten, who was talking to Naruto and Shikamaru -for obvious reasons- frowned upon seeing an excited Neji, an irritated Hinata and a flattered Kiba chatting. “This is just so weird. And wrong. Wrong and weird”.