All in the Delivery

[endless_scrolls]

Title: All in the Delivery
Type: Fanfic
Fandom: Naruto
Character(s): Hatake Kakashi, Aburame Shino, Uchiha Mikoto, Sai, Uchiha Sasuke, Sabaku no Gaara, Maito Gai, Uchiha Madara, Inuzuka Kiba, Hatake Sakumo, Shimura Danzo, Tenten, Hyuuga Hiashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Kushina, Rock Lee; brief mention of Uchiha Itachi, Hyuuga Hizashi, Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Neji, Kidomaru
Pairing(s): Hints of Shino/Tenten, hints of Naruto/Kiba
Warning(s): ...Probably a lot of things, but it's taking too long to post this up.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: Written as replies to some 1-Sentence Meme requests. Listed in the order of how they were filled.
Dedicated to: Um... whoever made the request(s) I suppose.

- Gai / Kakashi -- Surface

Look underneath the underneath; that was his lesson to the world and what he expected would be etched into his tombstone when he finally died... but it was something Kakashi knew he would never have to do around him - with Maito Gai, what you saw was what you got - and he was thankful for that.

- Shino - panties
(Shamelessly stolen from the mod's post because it had to be done. XD)

The rule of thumb was that once you knew something was there, it was a fruitless attempt to denying it; so when a particularly engaging spar had resulted in a very wet yet amused Tenten, Shino was hard-pressed to look away from the transparency of her white shirt... or how the water seemed to accentuate the outline of her... other piece of undergarment.

- Mikoto Uchiha
(Mansuetude.)

History would remember Sasuke and Itachi to be tactical prodigies who took the world through the force of their convictions and the strength of their loyalties, but let it never be said that their mother was anything but a simple housewife; after all, she held the power to control Uchiha men with only the most underplayed gestures.

- Sasuke/Sai; beneath the surface

Appearances aside, he realized then that, at their basic core, they were a lot alike - almost identical; and that was a lot more than his former teammates could ever offer.

- Sasuke - Anger Management

And as his fist crackled with the Chidori, his mind whispered the only words of comfort Sasuke could find within his slowly slipping consciousness; It wasn't anger and revenge that drove him through life - no, those were words that seemed to defile and invalidate his cause - but passion and determination to regain what honor was lost with the lives of all who had carried the name Uchiha.

- Sasuke/Gaara - heart

Surrounded by steel -- steel of the flesh and steel of the profession -- they were both incomplete men walking down their yellow brick paths towards their own salvation - their own Oz, their own answers; one tinman seeking to find his heart, while the other sought to destroy his.

- Guy, Weltschmerz

Hate was not in his nature; they fought against each other and other nations out of a duty and honor that was bestowed on every shinobi who fought for their village... and that only made him cry more for all the souls that had to die in order to uphold such unbending loyalty and love; that these things weren't as black and white as he had once thought them to be as a child.

- Naruto/Gaara
(Fantasy)

From the first moment they met, he had always thought that the boy lived in a disillusioned world of his own making; but the more time passed and the further he advanced along in his training, the more Gaara started to wonder whether or not Naruto was the one who existed in reality while they were the ones who lived the fantasy.

- Madara; null

And as the whole of the clan turned their backs to him and his proposition for revolution, Madara realized with bitter betrayal that all of his work and diligence meant nothing; that everything he had done to create a strong legacy for the name of Uchiha was suddenly invalid at the first mention of conflict, and that he was left with nothing but empty resentment and a thirst for revenge.

- Naruto/Kiba-Awkward

It was less public and more subtle than the one he had shared with Sasuke when they were Genin -- Naruto was the cushion now, softening the landing for his mis-step -- but the embarrassment and general... awkwardness of finding that his lips - nevermind that they belonged to The Mutt - were very soft and inviting, and for the briefest of instances the blond couldn't help but share in Kiba's look of confused guilt.

- Hatake Sakumo, duty

As a shinobi, his loyalty went first to his village; despite that, Sakumo's last breath was spent apologizing to his son.

- Kakashi; forgive

He had chosen to forget; to bury the past and live from his own experiences... but it wasn't until he found himself sitting at a fire that didn't exist with the spirit of his father that Kakashi finally found the courage to forgive the man as well.

- Danzo, Sai; pet

They weren't soldiers, he thought, merely experiments loyal only to him, his Dogs of the Root; and favorite - the most obedient of them all - had been the one they called Sai.

- Tenten, self-reliance

She was a kunoichi and one of the strongest of her generation; she had been taking care of herself for years and didn't need to place her trust in anyone to survive... but that didn't stop Tenten from wanting the comfort and security that Team Gai seemed to bring.

- Naruto/Gaara - Dares

It had been a game he had always heard the kids play in the streets when he was young and still unwanted - feared - but as Naruto's words registered in his mind -- "I dare you to live and love and dream of protecting those closest to you... like I do." -- Gaara couldn't help but wonder if maybe this was never a game at all to begin with.

- Sai; illusionist

He was an artist - artistic - sketching and painting, and quite literally bringing those works to life each and every time he walked out into the world; onto the battlefield -- but his greatest masterpiece was the face he wore every day, and the mask he wore that told everyone he didn't care... when in reality, he probably cared the most.

- Hiashi; inheritance

At age four, the children of the Side Branch are branded, and while he had always thought it a cruel practice, as he watched his twin's face twist with a mix of anger and pain and betrayal Hiashi could only be grateful - under all the guilt - that Hizashi was the one to receive the seal; it was not until they were older that he realized selfish relief was the curse that all Main Branch members shared.

- Naruto/Sasuke, pills

And as his fingers brushed over the cylindrical tablets in his pocket, the blond's eyes glanced up at his team - blotches of pink, grey, and blue against the white of the sky - until finally they settled on the cool black of Sasuke's eyes; and then he was left with the difficult decision: live in an empty fantasy where they were all together in a pretend world of the Matrix, or a reality where he would have to fight for everything he wanted; Which will it be, Naruto, the Blue pill, or the Red?

- Kushina/ Signature

Never was it said that Kushiha had been a difficult person to find; all one had to do was follow the sound of explosions as they were soon followed by her cackles of glee at the beautiful trail of destruction.

- Rock Lee -- keepsake

They were all that he had of them now, as they each were divided into their assigned divisions - the plain white scrap of cloth Neji forgotten at his house the night before he would begin his Jounin career, the three of swords card that belonged in Tenten's deck of cards she left scattered across his coffee table last night - and in a way, it was Lee's attempt at keeping them close and inseparable... like they had always been since that first day they became a team.

- Tenten -- hair

A lock from when Lee decided his emulation of Gai-sensei could not be completed without a cut, a few strands saved from the time Neji's had to be used to patch the hole Kidomaru had punched through his shoulder; combined with a tuff of her own hair in a carefully crafted braid, Tenten tucked it away in her weapons pouch and stepped out into the arena for the final rounds with the confidence of knowing that her boys were right there and that they would see her through to the end of the Chuunin Exams where victory awaited them all.