B if for bite, Shizune/Genma

F is for fate, Kakashi/Sakura

Y is for you, Zuko/Katara

"I'm dying."

She frowned at the boy who was lying on the ground in front of her, his eyes looking to the sky like a saint accepting a heavenly reward after an act of matrydom.

"You're not dying," she said evenly, her hands going to her first aide pouch that her mentor and soon to be aunt had given her for field training.

"It feels like I'm dying."

"When you overreact it's harder to assess the damage," Shizune said flatly, pulling up her teammate's pant leg and looking at the snake bite he had received. She fought terribly hard the urge to roll her eyes.

"Genma..."

"Am I going to pull through, Shizune-chan?" Something devilish entered his formerly somber gaze, "...you may have to suck the poison out. With your mouth."

Perhaps she would have, if the wound were actually poisoned. It was obvious to her that her dear, dear teammate wasn't as close to death's door as he'd want her to believe. She could tell by how the puncture marks weren't inflamed, discolored, or starting to ooze puss. Her best, medically informed, thirteen year old guess was a harmless rat snake bite. If that. She knew that it was her duty as a medic in training to inform her melodramatic teammate of this.

But he was being annoying, and she still owed him for the time that their other teammate Kurenai had caught him peaking on them in the hot springs.

"Genma, I'm so sorry," Shizune whispered in what she hoped was her serious voice and not her bad acting voice.

Apparently it worked, as the hands that were folded peacefully over his chest suddenly clenched, "Huh?"

"It's venomous, possibly a pit viper bite," Shizune said softly, fiddling around in her first aid kit and pulling out the most intimidating syringe, "I'll have to act fast, or you could use the leg."

"You're...you're joking, right?"

She pressed her lips in a grim line and shook her head. Her fingers flicked the syringe's needle to expell any air bubbles.

The senbon, the one that Genma had recently started chewing in an attempt to outshine Asuma's new habit of smoking in adolescent boy coolness, fell slack on his hanging lower lip.

"You know, I think I'll pull through-"

"Genma, this is your health, we can't afford to take any precautions-"

"No really, I'm fine-"

"I insist-"

"It was a rat snake!"

Shizune stared at him, long and hard. He offered a nervous grin in return.

"Well," she said with pursed lips, "I hope you learned a lesson."

Genma fell silent, letting go of a relieved sigh when she put the syringe away. Just because he liked fighting with senbon didn't mean he was in a hurry to get stuck with one. He waited until he was sure Shizune was done putting away her first aide pouch before he cheekily asked his next question.

"Will you kiss it better?"

The rain isn't pouring down, it's a drizzle, if anything.

Her hand clenches around the hitae in her hand, one with a deep, long gash down the middle. It isn't hers, but she's gotten into a habit of taking things that aren't hers. In her pack alone there's so many pieces of other people that she tries, and fails, to make fit around the edges.

He wonders what piece of him she'll be carrying one day.

He knows that a paintbrush is the newest one, the one that was delivered after the hitae with a smile. And he's certain that it's the one that made her wake up and realize that maybe she, like Kakashi, isn't cut out for the life of a survivor. She isn't her mentor, she can't feel her teammate and friend die under her hands and then hide, heal and grieve in silence. She stays where she is needed, and her shoulders are permanently hunched over from the weight of memories. He recognizes the posture, sometimes.

She hasn't moved from her spot in front of the memorial stone, and he hasn't moved from his, watching her back. It's the one thing he makes sure he's good for, now that two of his students are too far ahead to see, and the last is starting to chase after them. He keeps her clan insignia in his sight whenever he can, the white circle like a target.

Her breathing has been remarkably calm, but he can hear the stretch of fabric over her knuckles.

After what feels like years, she looks straight at him over her shoulder. She's smiling.

It's soft, but twisted with a bitterness that he has grown more and more used to seeing as the years go by and the list of names grows longer.

He could stare at her forever, but he doesn't think fortune is going to be smiling at him like she is anytime soon.

"I'm tired of fighting, Kakashi."

It's not sensei anymore. It hasn't been sensei since he needed her to pull him back from the brink of death. It hasn't been sensei since she realized her jounin instructor was made of flesh and bones just like everyone else.

He doesn't know what he can say that won't end up sounding hypocritical. He settles instead for resting a hand on her shoulder. Ruffling the top of her head has become taboo ever since he had smiled, told her it'd be okay, and it wasn't.

The hand not holding onto her memories reaches up and grabs his, and she lets her thumb ghost over his knuckles.

She looks straight at you and I can feel my heart stop for just a second.

Because, despite your constant mothering, the thing you did with the guard, and your really intimidating glare, you're only a kid. We're all only kids, but when I look at you, I think that maybe you haven't grown out of it. You came close, back when we went after the man who murdered your mother, but you aren't there yet. I would know. I don't want you to know what I know. I want you to be able to figure it out for yourself.

The index and middle fingers of Azula's hand are extending. I know what will happen next if I don't move. You won't be able to stop being a kid and start being you. After everything I've done, I can't let that happen. I won't let my sister take that away.

I run, and she isn't aiming for you anymore.

Because you are making it out of this fight alive.

I can't live with myself if you don't.

S is for Shower. Sakura/Sai

Z is for Zoo. Ed/Winry

Q is for Quote. Lavi.

Totally doing all of them! I'm excited to write FMA and DGM for the first time <333

"...And then I, your considerate and loving supervisor, took the liberty of leaving you the forms for the property damage complaints during our last Exorcist field mission-"

Scritch, scritch.

"-Those of course will need to be done in triplicate-"

Scritch.

Komui frowned at the tiny, irritating little noise that was coming from behind him, his eyebrows furrowing behind his lenses as he took a ginger sip from his cup of tea. The sound of several groaning members of the research division of The Order didn't draw his attention, having been listed as Head of the Department for over five months now, Komui was quite used to the sound of spirits being broken by unyielding mountains of paperwork.

There was a tiny, spiky red head bent down over a stack of papers, his quill halted like a large object about to roll down a hill.

Komui's eyes narrowed, he recognized that unruly mop.

"The Bookman's apprentice?"

The quill moved across the paper. The boy was silent.

"What are you doing?"

The quill moved again.

Komui's eyes blinked owlishly before he cleared his throat, "Well, it's nice to meet you. I am the ever charitable and kind Lee Komui, who you'll be getting the pleasure of observing-"

The boy's hand danced across the page.

"-and maybe if you're lucky, I'll introduce you to my lovely and beautiful and amazing sister Lenalee-"

The boy dipped the quill in a well of ink.

"-but don't even think about being alone in a room with her, because she's not married and will never be married-"

The boy flexed his hand.

"-did you know that Lenalee can also dance? She's such a fantastic dancer-"

He flipped a page over.

"-but you know what Lenalee can do better than dancing? Cooking! She makes the most amazing-"

Three hours later found the Bookman's apprentice in the aforementioned Bookman's office, patiently watching as the old man went through the scroll of observations he had made that day.

"When I asked you to work on your memory by taking down notes, this wasn't what I had in mind," he muttered, flipping through the thirty ninth page of the dialog the boy had transcribed, this one dealing entirely with the most darling way Lee Lenalee tied her hair ribbons.


Edited at 2009-05-19 06:17 pm (UTC)

As Sai was passing by Sakura's apartment on the way to the library, as he often did because the longer route past the housing building presented the best aesthetic scenery, he paused in his step, his left ear twitching just slightly.

There was a strange sound coming from within her house.

Putting on his concerned face, thinking that perhaps his teammate was being assaulted in her own home, Sai charged in through her mostly open window. Once he was inside the screeching, horrible noise assaulted his senses, a disorientating sound jutsu most likely, meant to knock off his sense of balance. Quickly, he took off his shoes, because if something wasn't killing the hag she would kill him if he tracked mud on her new carpet, and rushed to the source of the sound.

As he continued through Sakura's apartment, it's dreadful keening echoed, a synthized beat accompaning it. Sai's eyes narrowed, the attacker had backup.

He finally reached the room where the sound was strongest, and with one quick inhalation of breath he kicked down the door and stormed in.

"Whooooooa!" Came a voice that was distinctly Sakura's from behind a shower stall.

If Sai had been paying attention to the bathroom instead of the noise of a dying animal, he would have noticed the sound of water running and a radio playing.

"Hag!" He cried, flinging open the shower curtain.

There was this moment of silence, where Sakura turned to look over her shoulder, saw Sai, and met his stare.

Then she screamed.

"SAI WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" Each arm immediately created thin censor bars over her least tanned areas.

"I heard crying, are you in danger?"

"Sai, you moron! I was singing! Close the curtain!"

Sai's eyes narrowed, scrutinizing the shower stall, "Are you certain there isn't some sort of rabid animal in here?"

"The. Curtain. Sai," she ground out between her teeth, arms still firmly in place.

"Edward, what is going on here?" Winry demanded as she tiptoed through the Elrics' living room, careful not to step on any of the numerous kittens that were crawling all over the floor.

Edward sighed, looking cross as he sat at the kitchen table, even with an adorable tabby kitty perched up on the top of his head, "Why don't you ask Al?"

"They were going to starve!" Came an echoing voice from the room's sofa, his suit of armor now serving as a scratching post for three kittens.

"Al you don't have room for this many kittens," Winry said reproachfully, taking a seat across from Edward, picking up the tiny white kitten that began pawing at her feet, "Although they are really cute."

"Winry!" Ed huffed.

"What? They are!"

"Al, we don't have enough space for all of them," Ed said in a shockingly paternal tone.

Al applied the ancient strategy of using an adorable animal for defense as a kitten crawled onto the ledge of his helmet where his eyes were usually seen, "But brother, they have no where else to go."

Ed stared at the kitten.

The kitten stared back.

"You know, I'm sure we can find someone to take them eventually," Winry suggested lightly.

"Fine!" Ed said, crossing his arms and turning away from her, an act ruined somewhat by the tabby beginning to paw at his braid, "But Al, these kittens are your responsibility now!"

"Thank you brother!" Al said happily, going back to playing with the kitties.

"You always side with him," Ed said with a pout.

"Oh come on Edward," Winry said, cradling her face with her hand and smiling, "Who could resist that face?"

Ed snorted, "Well, if he thinks he's getting out of cleaning the litter boxes he has another thing coming!"

Edited at 2009-05-19 06:14 pm (UTC)

N is for Names, Lavi/Allen (D. Gray-man). :D <3

N is for Names (Lavi x Allen)

"Oh, I'm taller than you!" Allen said, that good-natured smile slapped on his face as he hovered his hand above Lavi's head, then up to his, and then down again.

Lavi crossed his arms and scowled, "It's not permanent!"

Allen acquired a thoughtful look to his eyes, fist closed under his chin, "Maybe I should give you a nickname now? Like how Kanda always calls me Beansprout."

Lavi's scowl deepened, "That's a bad idea."

"How about Shin? Like what you say to make your hammer extend? That'd be ironic...or, hm, how about you be Teeny and Kanda will be Tiny..."

Lavi realized that the only reason Allen was poking fun of his...situation...was because he was overjoyed at finally being taller than someone else, so he couldn't really fault him for that. He was often the brunt of short jokes, afterall.

Allen took the fist that was under his chin and slammed it against his open palm, "Oh! I've got it! How about Bunny, since you're about that tall now?"

Lavi reared up his short little leg, kicked Allen in the shin, and then ran away.

R is for Regrets, Anko/Itachi. :D

(My first time writing either of these characters. Please, be gentle XD)

He was, without a doubt, the most uncutest kid she'd ever seen. He had stress lines already, like a middle-aged man, and his face seemed to be half composed of huge placid eyes that took everything in. He was even dressed in black, only enhancing the certain something irritating about his bearing that Anko couldn't quite put her finger on.

The kid turned around to head to the door, and all the pieces snapped together. White and red fan. Bingo. Uchiha.

Anko watched him, teeth pulling the ball of dango from its kebab, chomping down viciously as the kid hovered somewhere between the line and the door. He didn't look nervous, just kind of awkward in a regal, pompous sort of way. She snorted out of her mouth, shoving her chair back as she stood up from her table, and strode over to the newcomer with the remnants of her snack.

"Hey, kid!" She barked.

The boy didn't move, but his gaze went over to the older girl.

"Yeah, you with the bad outfit," she said, walking next to him and bending to meet him in the eye, "You're blocking the door, get in line or don't."

"Excuse me," he said politely, moving over to the side. Still not quite in line.

Anko groaned, there was no hope for some people, "Look brat, you've obviously never been here before. To get food, you get in line first."

"Why are you talking to me?"

She glared at him, "Because I'm bored and you're quiet," she paused, pursing her lips, "How old are you even? Should you be out of the house by yourself?" She saw his hitae the moment he walked in.

He didn't answer. Typical. She snorted, rolled her eyes, and gave him what was left of her dango, "Since you seem to have difficultly comprehending the line, you can have the rest of this one," she rolled her shoulders, walking to the door, "See you later runt!"

She was halfway out the door when-

"I'm seven," he said calmly.

She smiled like a shark, even though he couldn't see it with her back turned to him. Quickly, she swerved on her heel.

"Oh yeah? Well I'm twelve, which makes me bigger and more important than you and next time you're buying me dango," she said matter of factly, "So you better be here tomorrow or I'll kick your ass."

His only response was to experimentally chew the next ball on the stick.

Anko laughed, before ruffling his hair and leaving. She was late for her meeting with Orochimaru-sensei, who said he had a very special surprise for her.

Anko wasn't going to make it to the dango shop the next day. Itachi would become a frequent customer.

W for Wet, Roy solo (FMA)

Kimblee smirked as the thunder rumbled and the beginnings of a downpour surfaced, tiny drops of rain gathering in intensity until they created vertical streaks.

"Looks like it's going to be trouble for you," he purred, "Although I must admit I'm a bit disappointed, I was looking for a fight."

Roy sighed, pulling off his glove, the wet fabric making a nice snapping noise.

"But I suppose that's what The Flame Alchemist gets-"

Kimblee's taunts were cut short when Roy promptly backhanded him with the wet glove.

There was a moment of stunned silence until Roy drove his knee into Kimblee's groin, the man in the suit falling to the ground with a strangled 'umph' noise.

Mustang smirked. He had always been a master at improvisation.

M: Milestones, Sasuke/Sakura (Naruto)

She is doing everything she can not to be that girl anymore.

In her head, she hasn't been that girl since she cut her hair, since she tied with Ino in the prelims, but everytime she looks in the mirror and sees that photograph of Team 7 tucked in the corner of it, she realizes that her heart's going to need some convincing.

But she's making improvements, now that Sasuke's back.

There is a list of things that she will no longer allow herself to do, and it fits at ten, the same number she's supposed to count to before she loses her temper.

---

1. No Nicknames

He's sitting calmly at the library, an unusual spot for him, and he's near where she usually studies, a scroll opened in front of him. This surprises her, because despite his brilliance, he's not the best of students. His mind had always been far too preoccupied on other things for studying.

Her hand is up in the air before she realizes what she's doing, but she forces herself to freeze. She doesn't call out, she doesn't rush up to him to ask what he's reading, she doesn't wave. What she does do is square her shoulders and walk over to the table next to him.

"Sasuke," she greets, sitting down and opening her medical textbook while biting her lower lip.

He nods back, dark eyes staring at her profile for a moment before going back to reading. The silence where 'kun' should be is heard by them both.

2. Do Not Put Beauty Over Practicality

Sakura does not brush her hair before going to meet with her team for the mission. She is too tired, too overworked, and her alarm clock went off about twenty minutes too late.

Uchiha Sasuke doesn't notice that Haruno Sakura is wearing the same outfit that he saw her in yesterday, because Uchiha Sasuke doesn't notice those sorts of things.

3. No More Asking for Dates

When Naruto asks her out to lunch, she says "Okay."

When Sasuke asks her to train, she tells him to ask Naruto.

4. Don't Worry

She takes a longer route on her way to work at the hospital. She tells herself it is for the exercise and not because she wants to avoid the Uchiha grounds.

5. No Touching

Once, while on watch during a mission with Sasuke, Sakura noticed how he clutched at the spot between his neck and collarbone, a phantom pain that made creases between his eyebrows.

Before she realized what she was doing, her hand was outstretched, glowing green around the edges, and heading straight for that spot.

He turned and looked at her at that moment, his eyes holding a sort of expectant look to them that made all fleeting thoughts of comforting him flee from her mind. Her hand fell, the green light flickering and dying.

He stared at her, obviously confused, but she turned away from him, gathering her things and making for the other side of the site.

"You know," she whispered very quietly, "One day you're going to learn to ask for help."

A is for Afterwards, Kakashi/Sakura

T is for Taste, Sai/Sakura

D is for Dread, Anko/Iruka

P is for Pale, Konan/Deidara.

(Warning: Smutty implications)

His heart was thudding against his ribcage as Anko tied the blindfold around his eyes, wrists rotating fruitlessly around the handcuffs binding them to the bed post.

This is fine. I'm a ninja. A competent ninja. It's just experimenting. I'm in a safe place right now. Iruka coached himself as his highly attuned hearing made out the sound of his girlfriend's clothes dropping to the floor.

"Aw, Iruka, this is supposed to be fun," he heard her say, practically envisioning the pout on her face that made him feel bad about being scared.

"It is fun," he tried to reassure, clearing his throat and using his most comforting voice, the one reserved for kids who fell and skinned their knees during recess, "I'm having lots of fun."

"I don't believe you," she crooned, and Iruka suddenly felt something cold and sharp trailing lightly from his belly button to the waistband of his pants. His eyes widened behind the blindfold when he put two and two together.

"Anko, are you sure that kunai is really appropriate-?"

"Goddamn it Iruka! Stop acting like a schoolteacher and start acting like a man!" Anko said, quickly dropping the demure, sulky act as she straddled him.

Iruka swallowed hard, "Alright but please..." he heard the kunai slice through his pants and his voice went up an octave, "...be gentle."

U is for Unforgivable, Sasuke/Karin.

She hopes he doesn't notice that her pinky nail is just a little longer than the others, with a more refined edge.

She hopes he doesn't notice how when her hand wraps around his neck, when her lower lip pouts suggestively and when she croons, "Sasuke-kuuun," that sometimes her pinky traces itself along the skin on the back of his neck. She hopes he stays focused on her wriggling in his lap.

She knows he doesn't notice how when she takes 'alone time, you know, Sasuke-kun, for girly things' that she also takes a one-way frequency radio with her. Because if he did, she'd be dead.

Because what Karin is doing is unforgivable, and Uchiha tend to hold onto their grudges.

She just hopes that when she meets with Kabuto, DNA samples in hand, he doesn't notice the guilt in her eyes.

Hi there! So, I was just browsing around in livejournal and came across this page. So, when I saw this, I nearly squealed!! ^_^!

So, may I request C?

Prompt: Cat. Pairing: OrochimaruxSasuke

Absolutely! :o) I'll try and get it up in a few days

Wow! Thanks for writing this! *gives you a Sai pushie* I really enjoyed reading this! BUT what really irks me though is tat how you made writing this so easy! And here I thought I gave you a difficult prompt and pairing too! *pouts*

Anyway, I guess the part I liked most was when Sasuke was carressing the cat (god, that sounded so wrong...). I don't know why, but I really have a thing for a feline loving Sasuke!

Hmm... it's not what I expected(you know, crack-ish) but still, you made it work really well! Thank you for writing this!

You're most definitely welcome! I'm glad that you liked it, I'll be honest the pairing/prompt kind of stumped me for a while XD

Sasuke is so totally a cat person <3

I'm glad you liked it! Feel free to request anymore open letters

Hmmm... I don't know if I can request again, but still, since you excuted my OrochimaruSasuk challenge so masterfully, I thought I'd throw another one at you:

E for erotic. Pairing: NejiHina

So, I know my challenges are... unusual to say the least, but think you can do it? Please? *puppy eyes*

It's no problem at all!! I'd love to try writing NejiHinata, it's a pairing I've been kind of curious about for a while :o)

Hey Nym!

I've been following you a while (well, doesn't that sound creepy...) and I think you're fantastic, but I miss DOTM way too much!

On your profile it said if I had a request, to come here... um... and this seems to be a lot of Naruto and other such things, but I have a request...

V is for Valentine's Day, Serena Killingsworth and Obie Ostrov.

Thanks :)

Oh sweet! DOTM requests!!! I really miss it too, it bums me out that the fandom is slowly dying out :o( It's great to find another fan!!! <3<3<3<3 /HUGE HUG OF DOOMNESS

Ooh, and I'll take X... I play Scrabble a lot, so knowing words starting with "x" is a must!

Xenagogue (guide; someone who conducts strangers)

Serena Killingsworth and Berto.

:)

Haha, AWESOME prompt and Scrabble always comes in handy <3

H is for Hyperbole: Bastila Shan
J is for Jealousy: Aang
O is for Obstinate: Jedi Exile

YAY! MEME!

I love this one so much I might have to do it again!

I LOVE YOU FOR REQUESTING KOTOR. LOVE.

I is for Illogical.

Byakuya x Soi Fon from Bleach please.

L is for Life.

Toph x Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

G is for Goodness.

Lee x Tenten from Naruto.

Please & Thank you ^^