[open] I fell into a burning ring of fire

[ninjasloveme]

Who: Kushina (in Gaara's body) and you
When: March... 6th, I think. Also open to March 7th
Where: Sunagakure, will also have option for Konohagakure
Notes: Tophie and Elle swapped accounts for the body swap thingy, some options for meeting Kushina-as-Gaara below.


Suna

Kushina was not a happy camper. One minute, she was on her mission and someone bumped into her. The next... She was surrounded by desert, feeling like utter rubbish, and immediately hit with a feeling that something was very wrong. Not only was she not supposed to be anywhere near Wind Country, but there was a very different presence within her. She knew her seal inside and out and whatever was on her now wasn't right. This wasn't hers and neither was the tailed beast that she had a very, very long and heated conversation with before heading for the village.

It was taking some adjustment to walk with this new body, but the looks she was getting from the villagers when they didn't scurry off in another direction were downright unnerving and pissed her off. Which led her to yell at anyone who stared too long. And hearing a young man's voice instead of her own come out when she opened 'her' mouth was really weird. At least the yelling made them stop staring in a hurry.

She needed to find this guy's passport and get to Konoha as fast as possible and find out what was going on. And she wasn't about to let anyone or anything stop her. Not a desert full of sand, not a fucking raccoon demon with one tail, and certainly not the odd dense weight that she could feel covering the body she inhabited.

...But who the hell was she?


Konoha

Things were going marginally better, given the circumstances. But she was still pretty grumpy. With a little help, she managed to make her bid for freedom to the nearest travel seal. On her trip back home, she mostly debated what to do first. Finding her body and demanding answers with whoever stole it from her seemed like a solid course of action. Though making a beeline for Obito's office to explain as best she could and make him believe her story should be her first priority.

Even if she wasn't getting the same looks here as she had in Suna, it was taking some restraint not to stop and say hi to anyone she recognized. She could catch up with friends and make excuses for any odd behavior when she figured out how to get back in her own body and thoroughly punish whoever did this to her. But first, her mind was finally made up. She had to find Obito.

Comments

if we collide do we switch back AKA [Konoha]

[ghostpepper]

It was fortunate, then, that her first and second priorities matched up so closely. After all but escorting himself to the Hokage Tower, Gaara was cooling his heels - or rather, Kushina-san's heels - in the waiting room outside the office, having already been through a battery of tests and at least one quiet, serious talk about secrecy and gag orders on all matters bijuu.

He'd been allowed to send a missive to Temari, but how successful would Suna be in containing Shukaku without warning? If the demon had even broken free. He was only a mediocre fuuin practitioner at best, but even he could tell the seals in this brain he was inhabiting were infinitely more careful and layered than his. Would that be an advantage or a severe shock to the jinchuuriki facing Shukaku, whose seals by comparison might as well not exist?

He was so deep in thought that at first he didn't even look up as the door into the main corridor opened.

idk but she might try one form of collision soon...

[ninjasloveme]

The seals present (or lack of anything worth having) had been one of many reasons she was in a terrible mood. The lack of sleep the bijuu's host had had before she found herself in his body wasn't exactly helping matters either. At the very least, she'd gotten him to stop continuously siphoning off chakra with a well-placed seal of her clan's design as a temporary measure, and had threatened so much worse if he tried taking her over.

So she looked about ready to throttle someone by the time she made it up to the right floor, having insisted to every single person she passed that no she did not need an escort. She knew exactly where she was going and who she needed to see. But when she saw who was outside the office, she froze as if she'd seen a ghost.

"YOU! What the hell is going on and what did you do to me?!"

Maybe it wasn't the most logical accusation, but she was at least opting for yelling and storming over instead of taking a swing at... Herself.

swap fight swap fight

[ghostpepper]

He had a split second of absolute disorientation as his head shot up and he was suddenly staring into his own furious expression. It was likely for the best that neither of them attacked immediately, given that Gaara's next move was to shoot upright and reach for her shoulder - Kushina's, because surely no one else, having obtained his body, would return to Konoha so fast? - and demand,

"What happened in Suna?"

He was foiled in actually making contact with his body, since a thin whip of sand slapped his hand away before he got close. It couldn't stop him from glaring up at her with just as much focus.

lmao yes

[ninjasloveme]

At the attempted contact, she was about to lift a hand to swat him - herself - off, but sand off her borrowed body came from nowhere and beat her to it. It distracted her temper for a few seconds as she stared at where it was retreating back over the skin. Nothing made sense anymore, but then she remembered his question and the fury came back, still blazing.

"What's that supposed to mean?! And why should I tell you anyway, y'know?!"

[ghostpepper]

Bizarrely the sight of the Ultimate Defense at work actually reassured Gaara more than anything, but he bridled at her tone anyway. It was somehow even more irritating in his own voice. "It was the full moon. You shouldn't have been allowed out of the village by absolute order of the Kazekage." Using protocol that Gaara had triggered himself with that one missive, but he didn't bother saying that. "What did you do in Suna, Kushina Uzumaki?"

[ninjasloveme]

She puffed up indignantly and folded her arms. Her momentary silence was accompanied by a burning glare as she found herself at war with denying this kid in her body what he wanted to hear. But the buried diplomat in her reminding her that even if her body made her look like a teenage boy, she was still a grown woman and maybe she could shake him down for some answers after telling him how she'd gotten here.

"I didn't have much time to do anything before I was stuffed in a giant wooden puppet, but I didn't see any sand coming out to strangle they guy who did it. Even if he did get me to Konoha... But that's not important! What have you been doing in my body?!"

[sunshinenpcs]

Minato had heard that Kushina was on her way back later than he'd expected. Even if it had been years since he'd been Hokage, there were still some small things that were jarring on occasion, such as not being the first report when it came to his wife's whereabouts and status. Not that he was worried Kushina couldn't handle herself -- in this current climate, he was somewhat more concerned about anyone who thought she couldn't -- but because it was nice to fill a kettle with water and set out a few sachets of her favourite tea.

That, and to warn Naruto to clean his room before his mother could see it. Those tasks done, Minato had headed to the Hokage's office to meet his wife in an unhurried fashion, hoping to arrive just as she was finished giving her report.

What he walked into in the Tower was not what he expected. From all appearances, it looked as if his wife was menacing the youngest son of the sitting Kazekage, the line of her back definitely set at an angry angle and the boy's body language matching. With Obito nowhere in sight to defuse the situation, Minato hurried forward from the door, stepping up next to Kushina and leaning in to plant what was hopefully a calming welcome-home kiss on her lips.

"It's good to see you back," he said, and turning to the boy: "And it's good to see you're visiting us again, Gaara-kun."

i'm going to sink into the floor i'm so embarrassed for minato

[ghostpepper]

"Nothing," he growled back. So Kankuro and Temari had smuggled his body out of the village. That was in the lowest stages of his imagined worst case scenarios, so he felt more justified in diverting his attention entirely to raising his hackles at her tone. He hadn't done anything-- apart from counter an assault from her son, put her through a medical examination, and trigger several village failsafes on the way. Hardly worth mentioning. The attention diversion was a mistake, in retrospect, because when the Fourth Hokage swept into the room, he didn't remember whose body he was inhabiting in time to do much more than blink once before-- well. The strangled noise he made in answer to the greeting - both parts of it - could almost be a word, if that word was equal parts shock and pure rage.

[ninjasloveme]

Just as he didn't think she needed to know about his escapades, she wasn't sharing hers. But he'd been in her body for... Who knew how long. And she was calling bullshit on his answer. Before she could start in on him though, Minato appeared. Her expression softened and she nearly forgot she wasn't in her own body when a hand started to reach up for him. But he kept going to her body, clearly intending to do what he did best before actually saying hello: buffer her temper.

In the same moment she felt her heart pang at the utter weirdness of the situation, she caught the sound and it shouldn't have made her want to laugh. It really shouldn't. He was going to know something was up very soon, and he really should know that while he thought he was kissing his wife, he technically wasn't.

And if he tried kissing her body again, she might be forced to snap her body's neck.

"Actually... There's something you should know. I know this is going to be hard to believe, but I- uh... Your wife's not really in that body. Try asking something only I-uh-she would know."

Remembering she was in someone else's body was hard work...

SUNA ft abuse of italics

[highly_strung]

Despite the fact that Gaara had conveniently forgotten to clue him in on matters regarding his current personal situation even though the puppet master was entirely able - probably the most able - to deal with a situation like this, Kankuro had dashed nigh-immediately out of the correspondence quarter as soon as he'd finished reading over Temari's shoulder. He wasn't sore at all.

He was used to panics after a full moon, used to keeping an eye on his brother, but nothing could prepare him for what he was about to find.

"Gaara!" he grunted as he approached. No sense yelling and making the split in Gaara's skull even worse. Compromised, the missive had said. He squinted, distrust evident in his expression.

okay italics, point on the doll where miro hurt you

[ninjasloveme]

She'd already yelled at nearly a dozen people for staring and it hadn't done her headache any favors. It didn't even occur to her that maybe this person was looking for her. Or more accurately, the body she was in. The distrust in his eyes didn't seem much different from all the others and she only slowed her pace to tell him off too.

"What the hell are you looking at? Huh?! Keep moving!"

At least he was close enough where she didn't have to really yell, just raise her voice as she glared.

[highly_strung]

Well, that was one hell of a compromisation, alright. It was just like dealing with thirteen year old Gaara again, except... his brother looked practically animate, his voice emotive (even if it was just anger); it was strange for Kankuro to see his younger brother looking so alive, which brought him steadily to the conclusion that the missive was correct, effective immediate, and he quickly unfurled a scroll at his back as his brothers body turned away from him to continue stomping down the road.

Kuroari sprang from the seal, strings immediately latching on to each of his arms as he ambled forwards and crowded the body of Kankuro's sibling into the gaping maw of his stomach, which promptly clicked shut with a satisfied rumble.

Either Gaara was suffering from a particularly bad night, or there was something else going on, and judging by the fact that Gaara's penmanship hadn't looked like his own.... Kankuro had a few questions to ask.

[ninjasloveme]

That had usually been enough to send anyone scurrying, and she had assumed it would work on the boy as well. But she assumed wrong. She had no time to react before something wooden was closing around her.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing to me?! Let me outta here!" Headache be damned, she yelled for all she was worth and started punching at the inside of her 'prison'. "You better let me out right now or I'll rip you limb from limb when I get out! I'll put on a seal on you and you won't know which way is up for a week! D'you hear me?! Get me OUT!"

[abluntwind]

Temari had taken a few moments to dash off a quick note to her youngest brother to find somewhere safe wherever he was and once he does to stay put and stay calm. When it was finally done and sent she took off after Kankuro to find their bother, at least physically, it was just in time to watch Kuroari to shove the hissing and spitting teen into it's stomach. The sounds of Gaara' imposter struggling to find a way out just reaching her ears as she landed lightly just behind Kankuro and his puppet.

"Come on let's get out of the middle of the street before we let him out again."

Thankfully, this part wasn't entirely unusual for their village. She and Kankuro descending from nowhere and trapping their little brother in a puppet before he could hurt someone. It'd been a while since they'd actually had to, but it was familiar enough that most of the civilians and shinobi passing wouldn't blink an eye at the slight scene.

[highly_strung]

Kuroari's stomach had been primed for opportunities like this; his lining thickened, his defences heightened to nigh-preposterous levels for a puppet so old-school, and every source of light extinguished while the outer wall of the prison muffled sound. It was a perfect haven for a jinchuuriki suffering from the after effects of a full moon, and also apparently the perfect place to store... whatever Gaara was right now.

When Temari landed beside him, he gave a quick nod and flicked the hand holding the strings to lure Kuroari's to float ominously behind them.

While it was very true that the civilians were probably used to seeing this around the village, Kankuro knew for sure that they wouldn't be so at ease with the bile spewing from not-Gaara's mouth.

"Oi!" He yelled, rapping the knuckles of his free hand on the swell of Kuroari's stomach to silence the shouting. "For the moment you're pretty safe in there, but trust me, you don't want me to take this to the next level! So keep it down, you got it?"

[ninjasloveme]

Of all the luck... There wasn't any room to prime an attack, and those that she'd even known to try required chakra that the bijuu had been trying to steal. She'd need some time to bully him into giving it back and more to pay "rent", but she had more immediate fish to fry. Like the brat giving her way too much lip.

"Don't you dare tell me to be quiet! You're just lucky I don't have my chakra chains or I'd be showing you stuff on a level you couldn't even begin to imagine ya know! Let me OUT!"

[wind_and_whirl]

Gaara was nearby. The shift in the flow and movements of the people was something Kazue was especially sensitive to as it typically indicated the proximity of the village's jinchuuriki, which had been a point of interest to her since early in her childhood. That case had changed only in that it became stronger for having met and interacted with him in the past half year or thereabouts and it saw the red-haired kunoichi pause and turn from her intended path to weave soundlessly through Suna's streets and the more readily paranoid and weary to find -- to find Kankuro stuffing Gaara into Kuroari, Temari joining him, and quite a bit of yelling, which resulted in her exchanging looks of confusion with the tanuki puppet at rest atop her shoulder. Takkun shrugged and, rather than away, Kazue moved forward only to pause as she drew close enough to hear a familiar voice shouting at Kankuro in turn.

O-kay? That was --

"I wasn't aware Gaara could do something like that."

-- and that was her greeting, arms folded not quite expectantly as she regarded her seniors, but there was something about her posture to suggestion a question. No, several. Several that she would like answered and preferably sooner than later whilst Takkun alternated between a happy greeting and evidently deep concern, paws up and swaying at Kuroari.

KONOHA OBVS- HE WALKS AWAY FOR TWO SECONDS AND YOU PICK A FIGHT WITH GAARA. OMG.

[thebestuchiha]

Gaara was there. Wait. Gaara body meant Kushina mind right? He had no idea where Gaara could have escaped to for the moment given he'd been practically camping near his office. Got hungry finally maybe? Bathroom?

He suspected he didn't have long in any case.

So, he took a gamble. "Kushina-nee! Unless I'm wrong. Please tell me I'm not wrong or this is going to be really worrying."

CAN YOU BLAME HER FOR BEING CRANKY AND EXTRA COMBATIVE?

[ninjasloveme]

She'd been taking a little more time to get the mental space shared with Shukaku more to her liking when the address caught her attention immediately. Her head snapped up, surprise writ over her face that she'd been called the right name for once.

"Obito!" In an instant, she was on him, slamming in with a hug and a huge grin on her - well, Gaara's, face. "Thank goodness it's you! But you're right, it's me! I knew I needed to get back here and find you and my body and try to figure things out. But do you know what's going on?"

I'M REALLY JUST WAITING FOR GAARA TO JUMP INTO THIS THREAD ALL DO YOU SEE THAT?

[thebestuchiha]

He reflexively wrapped his arms around her, oddly at ease, to her at least, being hugged by the boy. Then again, on his side of things that wasn't unfamiliar at all and thus no cause for awkwardness. "Yeah, Gaara was here. You haven't seen him have you? He hasn't actually left since he got here and I only stepped out for a minute really."

He glanced around, then back to her. "Are you doing okay? With Shukaku and everything I mean."

BAHAHAHAHA also doing some vague handwave-y things with the thread unfinished

[ninjasloveme]

"He was here when I got here, but Minato showed up soon after and things got kinda weird with trying to explain things and everything. But I'm doing awful! I was fine coming back from my mission until something bumped into me and then it was like waking up with the worst hangover of my life without the alcohol from the night before. And I've spent most of my day trying to hold onto what little chakra I can by putting down a seal - and this kid has a really shitty seal to begin with - to stop it getting sapped away. I feel like I haven't slept in weeks, I have less chakra to work with than I've ever had to in my life, this whole body is weighed down with sand, and I think I spent most of my time trying to get this goddamned tanu-"

Her long-winded rant cut off when something hit her, and it wasn't about the familiarity he had with the hug.

"Wait a second... How did you know this thing's name?"

WHOOPS. UH. SO. ELLE, CLEARLY HE ASKED GAARA AT SOME POINT IF IT HAD A NAME.

[thebestuchiha]

"I asked." He blinked down at her, then finally eased back off the hug, putting his hands on her shoulders and leaning down to examine her eyes, seeing how she was doing in there.

"Gaara doesn't sleep by the way, so that probably accounts for the exhaustion. He usually just sort of meditates a bit from what I've seen and calls it good. Not sure if he notices he does that though so I have no idea if he'd be able to explain."

He was getting the niggling thought that he was forgetting something particularly important here...

[ninjasloveme]

Even through her relief at having finally found Obito, she was still fairly grumpy. And the mention of Gaara substituting meditation for sleep made her jaw drop.

"I can't just meditate! I need to actually sleep! But how do you know all this anyway? I mean, I don't just tell anyone I'm a jinchuuriki, and I doubt he does either, if he can help it. ...Except for that one round at the chuunin exams, so I guess a lot of people know about it."

[thebestuchiha]

"If you try to sleep it won't be inside Konoha's walls, that seal the kid has is way too unstable for me to risk it." He shook his head, stepping right around most of those questions. "You know, I never asked but are you able to fuss with seals like that? I mean, you're great with seals but I know you didn't make the one on you."

[ninjasloveme]

She let out a frustrated growl and ran her hands over her head. It would have been so nice to sleep in her own bed, but several issues arose from that, including the one he mentioned.

"I probably could. I mean, there's barely anything to this one that I could probably add to it and make it stronger. Not sure if I could do it while I'm in this body, but I could at least try and do more to put in mental barriers and stuff until I can work out something more permanent. Also, you never answered my question, so I have another one for you to answer too. How was it even possible for us to switch bodies in the first place? I wasn't anywhere near him. And how hasn't this freaked or weirded you out at all? Did you get it out of your system earlier after Gaara showed up as me?"