Marapets Story: The Lying Kidlet

The Lying Kidlet

Once there was a kidlet who lived by the boarders of the Light Kingdom. He was a lonely creature and often found himself quite bored. One day he decided to play a trick on King Baspinar and ran screaming and crying to the castle that an army of Queen Eleka's Dark Knights had invaded and were burning down his house. At once, King Baspinar sent an army of Light Warriors to the kidlet's house but when they arrived no one was there. The kidlet laughed and applauded, complimenting them on their swiftness.

'I'm glad you would come running if I really was in danger.'

So the army left, angry that their time had been wasted.

A week or so later, the kidlet found himself bored again so he decided to test the king once more. He ran to the castle, wailing that a legion of Eleka's Drakes had stormed his house and were destroying it as he spoke. Once again, King Baspinar dispatched an army of his own. This time, however, he sent a pack of Felicia to deal with the problem. However, when the Felicia arrived at the house, they found it untouched.

The kidlet laughed once more, exclaiming, 'I'm glad you would come running if I really was in danger.'

The Felicia left and informed the king of what had happened.

A month later, the kidlet had done all that he could think to entertain himself, but nothing had been more fun than having the king's guard sent into a flurry, so once more he fled to the castle, howling that Eleka had sent an army of Drab's to his house and they were stealing everything he owned. The king, aware of the hoaxes the kidlet had brought

up before, decided to send only a small army of newth knights because he could not afford to send his army on a wild goose chase again.

When the newths arrived, much as they had expected, the kidlet's house was fine. Seeing their angered faced, the kidlet laughed and laughed until he cried. As the newths turned and left, he called after them,

'I'm glad you would come running if I really was in danger.'

Weeks passed and the kidlet became increasingly more bored until one day there was a knock at his front door. When he opened it he found Queen Eleka herself standing before him with an army of minions in tow. The terrified kidlet fled to Baspinar's castle and screamed and wailed until he grabbed the king's attention. However, when the king saw that it was the lying kidlet again, he turned the creature away.

'We have no time for your lies today. Go back home and find some other way to entertain yourself. My army is needed

here, for we are interrogating the Desert Spy who was found snooping around yesterday.'

The kidlet cried and cried, pleading with the king to send someone to save his home, but the king ignored his pleas and disappeared deep into the castle. The kidlet continued to cry loudly and desperately, upsetting the other inhabitants of the castle. Eventually, to save the ears of the other residents, the Knutt Knight came forward and said he would come to the house, if only to shut the kidlet up.

When the knutt arrived and found that the kidlet had been telling the truth, he drove away the army but was too late to save the kidlet's home. It had already burnt to the ground. As the kidlet lay crying the knutt showed him no sympathy.

'You lied and broke our trust, young kidlet. Had you told the truth from the start, your home would have been saved. We would have come running when you really were in danger.'

Marapets Story: McDoogle's Farm

McDoogle's Farm

In the Gigantic Paradise, a long time ago, there stood a farm. On that farm lived a family of Knutts - a father with two sons. Although the father worked as hard as any other, he knew that soon he would be too old to carry on ploughing the fields or to manage the livestock, so he began to train his eldest son as an apprentice who would eventually inherit the farm, as he was the strongest and found it far easier to push the plough. The younger brother was neither strong, nor was he ever trained to tend the farm. However, he did not mind because he still had many friends there, and could easily look after the animals.

One day, however, the older brother began to boast about his strength and said the sooner he was in charge of the farm, the better, and the more profit he would make. The younger brother rose to his feet at this and claimed,

'This farm won't be any better, just because you're stronger!'

The two brothers began to argue heatedly and so their father came by. Seeing the passion in his younger son's eyes, the old Knutt smiled and insisted that he prove his point. If he could show that he was better suited to run the farm, then the younger son would inherit the farm.

And so, a competition was devised in the fields of the farm.

'Whomever can plough half of my wheat field the fastest,' said the old Knutt, 'will prove that they are the most suited to running my dear farm.'
As the competition began, the other farmhands and many of the animals came to watch, curious to see if such a small, weak Knutt would be able to beat his brother.

The eldest Knutt brother went first. With ease, he paced up and down his half of the wheat-field, steadily and swift, taking only thirty minutes to finish. Next was the younger Knutt. When his father told him to begin, instead of taking hold of the plough, the Knutt turned and ran to the edge of the field, where the other farmhands were watching.

'Please can you help me' He asked with a smile, 'if we all take a plough and take a line each, the field will be done in no time.'

The other farmhands were all happy to oblige, and once each had a plough to themselves, they marched together in a unified line along the field, with the young milk maid helping the Knutt with his plough. Although neither of the two was strong enough alone, together they could keep up with the burly farmworkers as they walked.

The ploughing took only eleven minutes, and so the father Knutt named his youngest son the winner. In anger, the eldest Knutt demanded that his brother had cheated. To this, the wise old Knutt smiled and stated,

'No, he did not cheat. McDoogle simply used his brain. He realised that the job could be done much more efficiently if he asked for help, instead of trying alone.'

Marapets Story: The Greedy Little Kujo

The Greedy Little Kujo

Once there was a place called Candy Land, where the trees sprouted gumdrops and the lakes were made of chocolate. It was a peaceful place until one day a greedy little Kujo came along and began to eat everything he could see. But he was a sly creature and only ate when there was no one around to stop him.

One day, when all the other creatures of Candy Land were playing down by the Chocolate Lake, the greedy little Kujo snuck up into the trees and gobbled up every last crumb of the Gingerbread House, leaving nothing for those who needed it most. When he was done, with one long burp, he scurried back down to the lake and joined in with the other creatures.

However, when some hungry pets went to the Gingerbread House, only to find it had been eaten completely, the Obese Fairy lined all the creatures of Candy Land up and questioned them one by one. When she came to the greedy little Kujo, she asked sternly,

'Did you eat the Gingerbread House?'

He shook his head and pointed at his tiny body.

'I could never eat a whole gingerbread house, for I am only tiny!'

'Of course,' she said, agreeing. 'You're much too small to manage that task.'

And so the greedy little Kujo got away with his evil deed, and so he carried on eating and eating away at Candy Land until it was practically bare. Each time the Obese Fairy lined up the creatures and questioned them one by one, but the greedy little Kujo would always reply: 'I am far too small to eat all that', and the fairy would let him be.

One day, when there was nothing left on the ground of Candy Land, and the chocolate lake had almost dried up, the greedy little Kujo found that he still wanted something more to eat. So he eyed the candy fruits of a rather large tree and climbed it, plucking a large, sugary apple. All of a sudden there came a cry that shook the whole of Candy Land.

'Ouch,' screamed the voice, 'Ouch! What do you think you're doing, stealing one of my fruits? Get away, you nasty thief!'

It was the Candy Tree - the oldest creature in the whole of Candy Land. The greedy little Kujo fell from her branches in shock, hitting the ground with the apple tumbling after him. Appearing from the call of the Candy Tree, the Obese fairy saw the Kujo and at once she knew that it had been him all along that had been eating Candy Land.

'You greedy little Kujo! You have lied to me, and been so greedy that you haven't left a thing for anyone else to eat! For that, you must be punished.'

With a wave of her wand, the greedy little Kujo was turned into an ice cream. But he did not understand how this could be a punishment. He licked his fingers, judging the taste. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he started to lick more vigorously until his hand had disappeared, too caught up in his greediness. He continued to lick and lick, unaware that he was slowly disappearing until it was too late. With one final lick, he swallowed his tongue and disappeared completely!

'Only take that which you need,' said the Obese Fairy, 'Or your greed will quickly destroy you.'

And with that, she flew away, set upon restoring Candy Land to its former glory.

Marapets Story: The Enchanted Random Plushie

The Enchanted Random Plushie

In the sewers of Marada, a long time ago, there lived two hobos, a Mordo and a Leido. They spent their days rummaging through trash, finding items to give the Sewer Monster in exchange for money. Although not much, it was enough to feed them at the local diner each evening. Then each night they would return to their makeshift hut, warm and fed and happy in each other's company.

However, one day while searching the sewers, they came across a sparkling white plushie. At once the Mordo recognised it.

'An Enchanted Random Plushie,' he exclaimed, 'With this I can become royal and leave the sewers forever. Rich beyond my wildest dreams!'

But the Leido knew of the plushie's power and warned his friend not to use it. Their lives were pleasant as they were now - they should not be greedy. However, the Mordo could not look past the vision of a rich and glorious future and so he used the plushie when the Leido turned his back. A shrill cry was heard, and when the Leido turned back to his friend, instead of a hobo - or even a Mordo - he saw a sludgy grey creature; a dreaded, filthy, disgusting Kay.

Horrified at his new appearance, the Kay fled to the hut and stayed there, weeping in the shadows for days and days. At first, the Leido thought his friend deserved it but as time passed and the Kay grew sadder, the Leido took pity on him and began to search the sewers for a way to change him back. He searched for days and days, becoming filthier and filthier, until he was nothing but a rotten Leido. Finally, late one evening, he stumbled upon a plushie, hidden away in the sludge. But this was no ordinary plushie; nor was it an ordinary enchanted plushie. Caked in grime and filth, he had discovered an enchanted angel Chibs plushie.

With eyes in awe and no time to spare, the Leido returned to the shack, plushie in hand, and held it out for the Kay.

'Dear friend,' he said, 'take this plushie and become rich like you always wished to be.'

But when the Kay saw the rotten Leido, his tattered clothes and his bindle gone, he felt selfish and cruel. He took the plushie from his friend and thanked him greatly, but instead of using it himself, he rubbed it on the Leido's shell. With one great flash of light the Leido vanished and in his place a proud, clean Chibs stood, with wings the size of the hut.

'Friendship is all I should have asked for,' said the humbled Kay. 'And you, who asked for nothing, who helped someone so selfish, deserve all the riches of the world.'

Marapets Story: The Shaved Pucu

The Shaved Pucu

Once upon a time, there was a lonely featherless Pucu who lived in Dukka Town. For years he had lived alone, after his owner had shaved him and disowned him.

Every day, from his tiny cave, he watched the other Pucus flying around the town with magnificent feathers of red, blue, yellow, green - every colour of the rainbow. It made him sad to look at his own pink skin, unable to remember what colour his feathers had been.

One day he plucked up the courage to approach the other Pucus - fed up of being lonely with no one to talk to. However, when he drew close, the other Pucus looked at him and laughed to each other. 'Go away, you strange looking bird. We don't want to play with a creature like you'.

Feeling ugly and ashamed and with tears in his eyes, the Pucu dove into the water and swam away into the Dukka Caves, deciding to live the rest of his life as far from the beautiful Pucus as possible. For days the Pucu travelled. He walked past pirate ships and pyramids, tropical islands and graveyards - even craters of green goo - for he could not fly on featherless arms. Finally, weeks later, he came to rest at the edge of the world where he could live out his life alone as the ugly shaven bird that he was. He sat by the edge of the water, looking out into the sea of emptiness, then finally succumbed to the feelings of loneliness inside him and wept, the tears draining away into the sea.

'Why must I be so ugly? Why must I be so different? Who could have hated me so to take my lovely feathers away from me?'

Although his voice was soft, his cries of desperation were carried away in the cores of his tears. They drifted down into the water, further and further, to a place where no creature should ever hear them. Except one.

A magical mermaid named Pleon was tending to her bubble pit when the sound of the Pucu's cries reached her ear. She searched frantically for the saddened soul, her heart breaking from the sound of his despair. She found him sitting by the edge of the world, his tears ringing louder and louder until it hurt her.

From deep below the water, she took pity on the poor bird. With all the power she could muster, she changed the tides and pulled the Pucu from the shore and dragged him way out to sea.

Above the surface, the Pucu flapped and spluttered, trying to keep from sinking. He had no feathers to fly into the air with and the tide was becoming stronger and stronger. Finally, he was pulled under. Pleon carried the Pucu through the waters until she reached her home of Jenoa. With one final tug on the waves she took the Pucu to a sacred place - a whirlpool with magical powers.

'I cannot guarantee what happens,' she said as she threw the body of the Pucu into the whirlpool, 'But may you never feel sadness like this again.'

At one with the water, Pleon's words were heard by the whirlpool and they knew the Pucu's struggles. The whirlpool filled with rays of light and when the Pucu emerged again on the surface of the water, he looked down at himself and began to weep with happiness.

'Oh, thank you,' he cried, 'I can never repay your kindness. You have been a friend to me and I shall never forget this.'

Unsteadily at first, but with growing ease, the Pucu lifted himself into the sky on wings of rainbows. He was the most magnificent Pucu, with the softest and the brightest feathers, ever seen. From then on, the Pucu travelled to many lands and made many friends, but he never forgot the kindness of the mermaid, and never once returned to the dreary place of Dukka Town.

Marapets Story: The Leido and the Lati

The Leido and the Lati

Once upon a time, in a small place named Lush Lake, there was a Lati who was faster than any other creature around. He boasted daily about the thousands of Olympic medals he owned, claiming that no one in the whole of Marada could ever beat him.

One day an old Leido, sick and tired of the Lati's constant boasting and belittlement of the other creatures, challenged the Lati to a race. The Leido was old and slow, but he was confident and sure of himself. The Lati laughed for a while but, never the less, he accepted the challenge.

So it was decided that the two were to race ten laps of the Olympic running track and the first to cross the finish line would be champion. Dozens of spectators came to watch - some cheering for the Lati, some cheering for the Leido.

When the race began, the Lati sped away quickly, leaving the old Leido to plod slowly behind, disappearing further and further out of sight. This race was too easy, he thought. The old Leido must have been completely out of his mind.

The first time the Lati lapped the Leido, the poor old Leido was only a quarter of the way around the track. The second time he lapped the Leido, he was only half way around the track. The Lati continued to lap and lap the Leido until he found himself on his final lap.

'With so much time to spare,' he thought, 'I might as well stop for a drink.' And so the Lati left the race track and disappeared into the local Coffee shop. Ordering a large glass of warm milk - his favourite - the Lati watched the Leido crawl around the track, wondering why on earth the Leido had thought he could win.

By the time the Lati left the Coffee shop, the Leido was on his fifth lap. The sun was beating down hard so the Lati decided that he would take a nap by the lake, finishing the race with time to spare when he woke up. As he settled down, the Leido plodded on, never wavering from his slow pace.

With the warm milk in his stomach, the Lati slept and slept and slept. But surely this would do him no harm because the Leido was so far behind. However, it was the sound of loud cheering - louder than ever before - that woke the Lati from his sleep. With a start, he leapt up, searching frantically for the old Leido. In the distance, there he was, plodding along towards the end of a lap at his tediously slow pace. Of course, this was fine, he thought, he must still be laps away from finishing. But then the Lati saw it. A red ribbon had been drawn out over the finishing post.

Realising the Leido was close to finishing the race, the Lati sprang to the race track and ran and ran as fast as he could, desperately trying to catch the Leido up. He ran with his ears down and his tongue sticking out, panting and sweating. But just before the Lati could catch up to the Leido, the Leido's long neck went through the red ribbon and the crowd erupted with cheers.

Feeling ashamed and defeated, the Lati hung his head low as the Leido smiled at the crowds. When he was done taking in their praise, the Leido turned to the Lati and said,

"Never underestimate your opponent, no matter how much stronger you seem to be. You cannot win everything simply by being the fastest. Sometimes, being slow but never giving up is the key to success."

Akatsuki Night In: Go to Bed

“I… am going to bed,” you announce, wanting nothing to do with the night. It will only give you a headache, for sure. Or you will end up playing some game that leaves you at the mercy of every male in the room. No thank you.

You rise to your feet, leaving the comfort of the red arm chair you have been lounging in, not waiting for a response from any of the other members. You stalk off towards the bedrooms, ignoring Tobi’s protests of ‘____, you’re no fun! PLEEEEAAAASE STAY~!”

Aah Tobi. One of the main reasons you have decided to go to bed. He is such a loud mouthed idiot; if he gets drink in him, he never shuts up.

You stuff your hands into the pockets of your cloak, skulking off into the dark bedroom corridors.

Once inside your room you let out a sigh of relief, chucking off your cloak nonchalance, letting it fall where it pleases. Rising your hands up over your head, you stretch, wondering what you will do for the evening in the comfort of your own room. Read a book? Practice some ninjutsu? Maybe even take a relaxing bath with candles – ooh that sounds nice. You will do that.

Akatsuki Night In: Spin the Bottle

“I… have no idea.”

This is possibly the worst response you could have given, and had you known what was coming next you would have thought much harder of an activity you could do.

It is Tobi who chirps up, waving his arm about frantically.

“Tobi knows, Tobi knows!” he starts to yell, “Pick Tobi, he knows what to do!”

You have to duck to avoid the kunai-knife that flies over your head in Tobi’s direction. When it misses the masked-nin by an inch, you whirl your head around to glare at the thrower. Hidan, seeing your expression, tsks.

“I was just fucking doing what you all wanted to.”

Tobi, oblivious to the recent attempt on his life, calls loudly,

“Let’s play Spin the Bottle!”

This causes a loud ripple of groans, including yours, but nevertheless you decide to play – simply because Pein has threatened all of you with unspeakable evils if you don’t.

It takes a few moments for all of you to sit round in a circle, and a few more for Hidan to down the contents of the sake bottle – because using an already empty one is unthinkable, in his eyes. But once everything is done and ready – the immortal ninja now swaying from side to side next to you – you begin to play Spin the Bottle. You are first to spin, as you drew the shortest straw, so take the round glass in your hand and flick your wrist.

Everyone waits, watching the bottle spin and spin, until it finally comes to halt in front of Zetsu. The pair of you share a glance. You huff over-dramatically.

“Fine, fine. But if anyone speaks of this again, they die.”

'Beach Trip' - Requested Naruto One-shot

Your head flops against your friend's bed as a sigh of defeat jumps from your mouth. You close your eyes and cover them with an arm; sheltering them from the midday sun streaming in through the window. Konan, giving you a sympathetic - but slightly smug - smile, says,
“Well, think about it this way! In two weeks you'll have done all of your exams and we can celebrate with a month of straight-partying!”
You lift your arm off your face and give her a depressed look. Yes, it's exam season. You had your first exam earlier today, and in your opinion it did not go well. You had revised quite a lot, but as soon as you had turned over the exam paper, BAM! Your mind had gone blank. Just your luck, huh?
Konan sighs, trying to think of a good way to cheer you up. She knows exactly what exam-season can get like; it had been just the same for her two years ago, when she had been up to her knees in revision and tests and lack of sleep. That had been a fun couple of months...
Realising that you are about to lose the will to live, Konan quickly opens her mouth and asks in as cheery a voice as she can muster,
“Well, what would you like-”

'Lights' - Requested Naruto One-shot

It was a dark and stormy night in Konoha. The streets were deserted, and rain lashed like a whip. Sarah was huddled in a blanket in her living room, eyes glued to the television. She was supposed to be at an extra training session with her team, but no way was she venturing out into that! When she saw them tomorrow, she was sure they would understand.

Never the less, when there were three sharp raps against her front door, she could not help but jump. She got up; blanket wrapped firmly around her, and walked to the door as she quickly began to think of an excuse to explain why she was missing training.

With one – not brilliant but usable – excuse in mind, she pulled open the front door, but instead of seeing her Sensei or another of her team-mates, she saw her friend, Ino, shivering and cold but with a determined grin on her face.

“Oh good! Sarah, you're in!” Without being invited Ino walked through the door, passing Sarah by, into the hallway where she proceeded to try and dry out her hair, “It's a bit wet outside.”

Looking down at the trail of water that had followed Ino into her house, Sarah nodded,

“No kidding?” She looked up from the pool on her floor, to Ino, “So why were you crazy enough to venture out into the storm, in that?” she said, pointing disbelievingly at Ino's usual attire of short purple clothing, a few bandages and nothing else – not even a jacket. Ino, after giving up on attempting to dry herself off, gave Sarah a wink, tapping the side of her nose. This seemed to worry Sarah more than any verbal answer could have done.

“What are you up to?” Sarah demanded. Ino, seeing her friend's expression, giggled.

“Don't look so worried, Sarah! It's nothing bad-”

“So it is something?”

Ino winked again, beginning to put her hand into her side-bag,

“Well of course.” She produced a small pouch from her bag, no bigged than her hand. Sarah looked at it suspiciously but before she had time to ask about it, Ino was already holding it out towards her,

“Pull out the first thing you grab.”

Sarah stepped back, attempting to hide her hands deep within the blanket around her so that Ino could never find them.

“Why should I? What's the bag?”

At this, Ino began to pout,

“Why so suspicious all of a sudden?”

“Last time you told me to do this,” Sarah reminded, “I pulled out a-...” her face paled at the memory. Ino laughed, waving her free hand about in the air,

“I already told you it wasn't me! It was that Naruto kid, using transformation jutsu – I swear!”

Quickly giving up the attempt to get out of putting her hand in the bag, Sarah decided to give Ino a small jab to her pride, instead. Holding her hand out in defeat, she smirked,

“Yeah, it was Naruto. A likely story.”

Ino flipped her hair,

“It's true. Where would I have been able to get one of those things, anyway?” A grin grew on her face and she undid the fastening on the pouch, then held it out for Sarah, “Now pick one.”

Sarah, looking at the fabric pouch with suspicion one final time, closed her eyes and slipped her hand between the folds of the fabric, praying she would not feel anything slimy.

She didn't. What she felt were undoubtedly pieces of paper, and lots of them. Following the instructions of her friend, Sarah grabbed the first piece of paper that ran between her fingers and fished it out of the bag. She held it out in front of her, then opened it, looking at what was written there. Ino, once she had slipped the pouch back into her bag and had produced a small notepad, asked,

“What number did you get?”

Loveless: {Genesis x You One-shot}

            (Posted originally as a 10k profile hit commemoration on Quizilla)         

You walk with a spring in your step on the way to your house, your school bag slung over a shoulder and a small pile of books and folders clustered in your arms. You let out a happy whistle as you turn the next corner, deciding to take a short cut home. You are in a little bit of a hurry.

            Earlier today your mother sent you a text saying that the book you had ordered has finally arrived. It is probably sat in your bedroom right now. You clench your school books closer to your chest, tickling with anticipation and excitement. The book you have ordered is the first volume of 'Loveless' – a series of manga about a boy with cat ears, trying to find his brother. You can't wait!

You speed up, trying to get home faster. You dodge a large group of younger students from your school, rolling your eyes at them. Why they have to walk in such large groups that walk so slowly, you have no idea. You leave them in the distance behind you, almost coming into a sprint now. You are not too far away; in fact you can see the light blue slating of your roof. You grin, securing a hand over your book bag, then run the last few meters to your front gate. You hop over it – momentarily looking back, surprised that you managed to clear it (usually you fall flat on your face) – then run up to your front door.

            You shuffle the books around in your arms, dropping a couple, then with one free hand you knock on wood. You pause. No one answers. You begin to bounce on the balls of your feet, hoping that your parents haven't stepped out for a quick errand. You hadn't picked up your key this morning, and it would be luck that now is the first time you've ever needed it. There's about another few seconds of waiting, then you give a small sigh of relief when the door is unlatched.

            Feeling you've wasted too much time already, even before the door's been pulled back you set off moving, pushing what remains of your pile of books out in front of you. Your mother manages to get the door just wide enough to stop you from colliding into it painfully, then you push your books into her hands and dart past her, dropping your school bag in the hallway.

            “___!” your mother yells scornfully, looking at the collection of books spilling from her hands, and some still left to wallow out in the garden. You look over your shoulder and call back,

            “Sorry! I'll get them in a minute!” by this time you're already up the stairs and on the landing. You dash along to your room and fling open the door, whereas down below your mother can only roll her eyes, laughing slightly at your over-enthusiasm. You manage to slow down once your door's open and you're inside. You can see the package sitting on your bedside table. It's at this point that you finally sigh, panting slightly. You know for a fact that all that running you've just done is going to come back to bite you tomorrow. You'll be as stiff as a bone.

            You kick your school-shoes off, slackening off your tie at the same time. You walk across the floor to one side of your bed and flop down onto it, pausing slightly to take in the comfortable feeling of your cotton blankets, then shuffle across so that your hands are just reaching over the other side of the bed, where they are in reach of the package. You wrap your fingers around the brown packaging and pull it up, dropping it in front of you with the sound of someone letting the air out of a beach-ball. You stare at it, your face breaking out in a grin then pull it towards you; needy hands grasping at the packaging to tear it all away.

            Below the layer of cardboard box there is another layer of bubble-wrap, wound so tightly that the book in the middle is barely noticeable for all of the compressed pockets of air. Nevertheless your hands work quickly, pulling the protective layer away, earning the occasional pop that makes you laugh. You will be playing with that later. You strip the thing bare then turn it over so the front cover of the book is looking up at you. You grin. It looks so... regal.

            The cover is a layer of white bound on top of a brown leathering with thin rope, held in place with four ornate, golden metal corner pieces. The decoration on the cover is very simple. In the top centre of the book there is the title 'LOVELESS' in golden lettering, surrounded by a boarder of ornate stencils, then below it there is - what you can only presume to be - a flower made of four golden circles, each holding a heart inside them. Below that are the words 'Legends of the LOVELESS' and the author of the book – whose name you have never heard of before, but of course that's expected as it had been your friend who had suggested the series to you in the first place. You have no idea who's written it.

            You give a giddy giggle, taking the book firmly in your hands, then flip to the first page. That's when you stop. You study the page, your eyebrows slowly pulling down into a frown, then flip to the next page, then the next, then the next. You take a better grip on the book then pull your thumb up the side, flicking through the pages. It's all writing. This isn't right. Your friend told you that this book is a manga – a Japanese cartoon book... so why is it all in writing? You flick back to the first page and start to read it,

            When the war of the beast brings about world's end the goddess descends from the sky. Wings of light and dark spread far-

            You put the book down. This isn't right at all. You close the book, dusting your hand lightly over the cover, then pull yourself up to  a sitting position. Hmm. You look around. There, on the floor, is the cardboard box it had arrived in. You lean down and pick it up, flipping it to look at the collection of stamps.

            There. Now you realise the problem. Looking across the many many foreign stamps – some of which you've never even heard of – you come to realise that this book 'LOVELESS' is not your Loveless. You are expecting your package to have come from across America, whereas this package has come from somewhere called... Midgar? You've never heard of the place. You flex your fingers, thinking things over. There must be more than one book under the same title then. You curse under your breath. This means there must have been a mix-up at the post-office or something, and that means you have someone's 'LOVELESS', and that same someone has your 'Loveless' instead. Damn. You've been looking forward to reading your new book ever since you'd gotten the text.

You drop the packaging onto your bed, next to the book, then flop backwards so your head crashes against your pillow, a pout on your lips. Your Loveless could be anywhere now. Half way across the world for all you know. Where is 'Midgar' anyway? It sounds almost Norwegian.

            That's when a thought hits you. You roll onto your side and pick up the packaging again, twirling it round in your fingers to find something. Of course what you're looking for is on the bottom. The address. Why it's on the bottom of the package you have no idea. That's probably the reason your package got mixed in the first place. You read over the words of where this package was meant to have been sent, expecting it to be a foreign country. What you don't expect is it to be in the same neighbourhood as you.

            With the address firmly burnt into your mind you jump up from the bed, landing on your carpeted floor with a loud thud. You scoop up the confounded 'LOVELESS', stuff it back into the cardboard box (making sure to leave the bubble-wrap for you to play with later), then slip back into your school shoes and head out the door. You charge along the landing, not bothering to miss treading on your baby brother's pile of stuffed toys, down the stairs and into the living room. In the same breath you manage to say,

            “MumwhereisthisaddressIneedtoknowIwanttogetmybookback?!” you thrust the package forward, holding the address out for you mother to look at. She takes a moment to blink, staring wide-eyed at you as what you've just said processes in her mind. As it all settles down she begins to realise why you're holding a torn up cardboard box for her. She takes it from you and looks at the barely legible address, then holds it away from her so she can think properly.

            “That's... well that's a couple of streets over. That's the same street the post office's on!” She hands you back the package. “Now what was that about needed to get a book back?”

            Too late. You're already out the door. You're already half way down the street.

Christmas Time: {Axel x You One-shot}

            You cupped your hands in front of your face, blowing warm air in to them to stop them from going numb, then quickly shoved them down into the pockets of your thick winter coat. It was a nice day out, you had to admit, even if it was a little cold. There were thick blankets of snow on the ground, the sun was shining brightly from above, and everyone around you was enjoying their time at the festive Christmas markets.

            The Christmas market was one of your favourite things about the holidays, with hundreds of stalls dedicated to selling baubles and mulled wine, toys and chocolates, everything you could possibly need at Christmas time. But the shops weren't the only things you liked about the market. There were also the events that went on, such as the best dressed Santa competition, the ice-sculpting competition, and of course the bonfire at night where everyone came together to sing festive songs. Yes, it was safe to say that the Christmas market was one of your favourite things about the holidays.

            Turning away from a small stall selling Christmas cookies, you grinned, hearing a sudden childish scream of delight coming from the frozen lake, not too far away. You decided then to go and watch, feeling that maybe it was a little too cold for you to go ice-skating, but warm enough for you to, at least, see others having fun.

            You walked over to the railing that separated the frozen lake from the street and leant on it with your arms dangling over the other side, a smile on your face as you saw some of the other children you knew skating around in circles – some more successfully than others, as you watched a thin boy with short blonde hair try to do an intricate spin on one foot to try and impress his female friend, only he quickly lost his balance and ended up on the floor, his female friend and his other, more rounded friend with spiky brown hair, laughing at him.

            There were couples on the ice as well, skating hand-in-hand with each other, and even a set of instructors to teach the little ones how to skate for the first time. The instructors were all dressed in black coats, some with fluffy black hoods up, hiding their faces, to cover them from the chill.

Too busy staring at the many people skating together, you did not notice someone skate up to the railings that you were leaning on. You only noticed the person after they had turned round, leant their elbows against the railings, next to you, turned their head and had started to speak,

            “Do you want to have a go?”

            You turned your head to look at the person, only there was a black, fluffy hood hiding their face,

            “What? Oh- well I don't know. It's a little cold to be-”

            The person raised their hands to the hood, pulling it down, revealing their - slightly more beautiful than you had been expecting - face.

            “Excuses, excuses. I've heard them all before.” The hood was dropped low enough for you to make out a mass of red, spiky hair, and a pair of bright green eyes that looked playfully at you, “The name's Axel.” He tapped the side of his head with a finger, smirking, “Got it memorised?”

            Surprised by Axel's confident personality, you laughed, but then when you noticed he was looking confusedly at you, you decided not to be rude, and gave a half-hearted attempt to defend yourself,

            “That wasn't an excuse; it is too cold.”

            Axel shook his head, grabbing hold of the railings with one hand, then pushed away and span around so he was facing you, his hands coming to rest so that both of your hands were boxed in by his,

            “So what's your name?”

            “____,” you replied, giving him what you hoped was a friendly smile, despite the fact that your teeth were chattering slightly. He nodded, giving you another smirk,

            “Okay, ____, I'm going to take a wild guess and say you've never skated before?”

            Well, that wasn't entirely true. You had been skating quite a few times before, actually, but never on a frozen lake. You were used to skating on levelled-off ice-rinks where there was no chance of hitting a bump and falling flat on your face. Axel noticed your hesitant expression and smiled again, this time in a more reassuring manner,

            “Come on, it'll be fun! If you're worried about the cold, then I've got enough body heat for the both of us, and don't worry, you won't fall. I'll make sure of it.”

            You pursed your lips, weighing it up in your mind. You were a little cold, yes, but from the happy sounds you could hear coming from the natural ice-rink, you decided, what the heck, you may as well. You nodded at Axel, smiling,

            “Okay,”

            Axel, happy he had coaxed you into skating, pushed back from the railings slightly, grinning,

            “Great.”

            “Oh! But I don't have any skates with me.”

           As Axel began to skate sideways, motioning for you to follow him, he said,

            “Don't worry. You can borrow some from us.” He pointed to a small shack by the edge of the lake, where a man with bright pink, overly-flamboyant hair was sitting behind a screen, taking money and handing out skates to customers.

            “Okay then,” You could tell that there was no way you were going to get out of this, even if it was too cold - and it was too cold; you could see your breath as a white cloud in front of your face.

            Axel, seeing you following him, skated off ahead, over to the shack. At the point when any normal person would have crashed into the shack for travelling at such a high speed, Axel managed to do a hockey stop, spraying ice-shavings into the screen, behind which sat the man with pink hair. He looked quite alarmed.

            “Axel, what are you doing?”

            “Showing off,” he said bluntly. Axel turned to the screen, placing his hands on the small ledge in front of it, then said, “Marluxia, take the price of a pair of skates out of my wages, would ya'?”

            “Sure,” he said, already beginning to scribble things down onto a piece of paper, “but why?”

            When there was no reply, Marluxia looked up, only to find that Axel had already skated off and was currently stood with a pretty girl by the side of the shack, helping her to find some skates that fit. He rolled his eyes.

            Now wearing a comfortable pair of skates – already broken in by the many uses of other people – you walked across to the edge of the lake with Axel just ahead of you, then he stepped out first, skating just a short distance away, then turned and waited for you. You were quick to follow, quite confident in your ability to skate. You stepped out onto the ice, giving yourself a bit of a push with the railings, and came to a gentle stop in front of Axel. He raised an eyebrow, a hand finding its way onto his hip,

Akatsuki Night In: Seven Minutes in Heaven

“Let's play seven minutes in heaven!” you yell enthusiastically – too enthusiastically. Everyone else in the room looks at you with one or both eyebrows raised, but you shrug it off. After your outburst it goes quiet for a moment, then Itachi points out, deciding to enlighten those that haven't already noticed,

“There's no point playing that game. ____, you're the only girl here.”

You smile devilishly, helping everyone realise your true intentions behind this game,

“I know, which means it's more likely two of you guys will have to go in together!” You make a kissing face, to which Hidan gives you the finger,

“Fuck off! I'm not doing it!”

You glare at him, not liking that he won't take part. That's just like Hidan.

“Oh come on!” You change tactics and give him a playful wink, “You might end up with me.”

This only makes him turn his head, folding his arms over his chest in the process,

“Even more reason not to!”

Your jaw drops open,

“Hidan you-”

Luckily the loudness of everyone's laughter manages to censor the second half of your sentence. Once everything is quiet again Pein, shrouded by the shadows at the back of the room, decides to speak,

“Well then ____, as no one has suggested a better option, we will take yo-”

“LET'S DO A FUCKING DRINKING GA-”

'Clang'

“-As you were saying, Leader?” You say with a grin, having momentarily knocked Hidan unconscious with a kunai to the head. Pein continues,

“We will take your idea and play seven minutes in heaven.” he pauses, “but as you suggested it, you will be going first.”

This causes many cat-calls. You nod,

“Sure!” You know that the faster you're in and gone, the sooner you can get other people in together, and the better chance you have at getting provocative photographs. Photographs you can later sell for much needed money.

Itachi points something out again, able to tell what you're thinking by the look on your face,

“____, there really is no point to this game. If you are not willing to do anything with one of the other members, what makes you think they will do anything with each other?”

You go to retort something about how you're sure they're all batting for the other team anyway, but Pein comments first, a slight amount of amusement swirling in his voice,

“Fair point, Itachi.” He becomes quiet, forcing all of you to look into the shadow where he is sat, then something small comes whirling out of it at you. Deidara goes to grab it but you're faster and catch it between your middle fingers. You pull it in and study it.

“A lipstick tube?”

Some of the other members catch on before you do and cat-call again. Pein explains,

“With each pair that enters, they must at least kiss each other. The lipstick stain will be proof.”

Kisame mumbles, digging Itachi in the ribs as he laughs,

“And Leader just happened to have some lipstick on him?”

Pein says from the shadows, firmly,

“It's Konan's.”

This causes a ripple of chuckles; chuckles from everyone but Zetsu. His black side grumbles to his white side,

“First we're getting locked in a room with some creep, now we're putting on make-up-”

“What's next? Boosting the time up to half an hour and making us give them a lap dance?”

The room is quiet. The other members dart their eyes to the back of the room, hoping Pein hasn't just had another brilliant idea.

“Half an hour sounds better, in my opinion.” Damn. “But no lap-dances are needed.” It could be worse!

Many of the others turn to glare at Zetsu. He gives them an innocent look; not realising everyone has heard the conversation between his two halves.

So now, faced with a game of 'Thirty minutes in heaven and you to have to kiss them or suffer the consequences', it comes as no surprise when a large population of the males decide they don't want to play. Unfortunately they have no opinion in the matter. They are playing. It comes as a little less of a blow to them, even for Hidan, when you're reminded that you have to be the first one to go into the closet, or more, since they don't have a closet, Tobi's room as it's the nearest.

So once the game is set up, all the boys having drawn something on pieces of paper and put it in Pein's Kasa, the bamboo hat is passed to you and you are told to draw a piece of paper from it. You drop your hand in hurriedly, wanting to get your turn over with as soon as possible, but also you have a small part of you that wants to see who you're spending your time with. It's half of the fun, after all.

You open the piece of paper, looking over the drawing, then immediately you scrunch up the paper, slip it in your pocket and call out,

Sweets - Requested Story

L liked sweets. Some could say he liked sweets more than solving the Kira case. Some could EVEN say he valued his deluxe waffle cinnamon cake over Matsuda's life.
That was true up until the day he met Lil. She showed up in the office as a new intern; one of Soichiro's apprentices. She stood with one hand in her pocket, the other holding a large lolly-pop. L was already intrigued. She noticed his gaze and smiled at him; her eyes creasing up at the edges, then she did something that surprised L. She waved. Now what surprised him the most was that he found himself waving back.
Light nudged him, seeing his gaze averted from the monitors for the first time in two hours.
"What's up with you, Ryuzaki?"

Theme 13 - Traitor {Naruto & Sasuke}

The cold winds blew. The powdered snow on the ground picked up and twirled in front of Naruto's face, although he didn't notice it. He was concentrating on his mission. He, along with Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi, crouched behind a large banking of snow, waiting for their targets to make a move. So far it had been a good quarter of an hour and nothing had happened. It seemed as though the targets were waiting as well.

Naruto suddenly sprang up, yelling as he always did when he was impatient,

“That's it! I'm going in and taking them out myself, believe it! They won't stand a chance against my-” Three pairs of hands pulled him down and Sakura clamped her hand over Naruto's mouth,

“Shut up, Naruto,” she hissed angrily, “Do you want to blow our cover!?”

Naruto's eyes flashed from the murderous face of Sakura, across to Sasuke who was shaking his head in disbelief. He sagged his shoulders,

“Sorry,” he said, his voice muffled by Sakura's gloved hand. Kakashi rolled his eyes. Naruto was always the one to jump first and think later.

All four eyes looked up, suddenly hearing something flying over-head. Naruto spotted it first and, taking this as a signal, jumped up with his own weapons ready,

Theme 12 - Wall {Kakashi x You}

Atop of the high walls that encircled your house, you could see for miles and miles easily; your vision only being interrupted by the larger walls that protected the village. It gave you almost a birds-eye-view of Konoha, as you lived on a row of houses situated on the top of a hill.

It was early evening and the sun was beginning to set. The sky was a pool of reds and purples, casting the village into shadow.

You tapped your heels gently back and forth against the bricks of the wall, a sketchpad held in one hand, a pencil in the other and a small box of paints sat next to you. With a view as nice as this, you knew it would be a shame not to recreate it on paper.

You brushed your pencil against the paper again, defining the half-circle of the sun.

It wasn’t often that you climbed the walls; it was too troublesome. On your side of the wall stood a large oak-tree; surrounded by many small bramble-patches. Though what were a few bruises when it came to art?

Theme 11 - Masquerade {Itachi x You}

What a bad idea. It had been a bad idea then and it was a bad idea now.

You were walking down the corridor of what could only be described as a mansion, wearing a dress that would be more suited on a prom-queen, and the mask of a bird covering the top half of your face.

This is not how you had planned to spend your Saturday but yesterday Sakura had shown up at our door telling you to pick a number and throwing a bird-mask at you, then told you to come here and meet your ‘knight in shining armour’.

So here you were, not knowing where you were going - the signs saying ‘this way idiot’ in Sakura’s handwriting being a big help. You arrived at the end of the corridor, stopping in front of a door three times your size. On it was a small white envelope.

Theme 10 - Kiss {Kiba}

There are many types of kiss in the world; a Peck, the French, the Vacuum, Eskimo, Butterfly, Quickie, Mistletoe-

Theme 9 - Fear {Naruto & Konohamaru}

“C’mon Konohamaru! If you don’t eat ‘em you’ll never be strong enough to become Hokage!” Naruto whined in a failed attempt to get his mission complete. Yes, Naruto Uzumaki’s job was to get Konohamaru, grandson of the third Hokage, to eat his vegetables.

Theme 8 - House With the Picket Fence {Deidara x You}

You lay in Deidara’s arms, his head resting lazily atop of yours. The pair of you were having a peaceful day in the base after both coming back from separate missions; his an assassination, yours an infiltration of Suna.

The rest of the members were still out on their missions apart from Sasori and Kakuzu, but they kept themselves locked in their rooms, giving the pair of you some time to yourselves.

You rolled over, lazily lacing your arms around his neck. He smiled, leaning forward slightly to kiss the bridge of your nose.