Masked-Writer-In-Disguise: Hello, readers. This is a series of drabbles with no specific word limit or prompt written when I was sick and not really thinking like I normally would, so some of these may not be like my normal work. I hope you like these, considering how not like me some of these will be.

On a happier note, I'm starting a story for IDespiseTragedy about Minato and Kushina called ______________, so be expecting that. I'll be working on that and hopefully Stumble for a while, so if I post anything else, it'll be because I needed stress relief. Here We Go Again is on pause. Sorry guys; brain dead.

I HAVE HET IN HERE!!!!! IT'S A MOMENTOUS OCCASION!!!!!

An (*) next to a title means I will probably be expanding on this concept later. I have a few ideas from these things I wrote.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and, as of yet, it's not looking so good, so until further notice, I'll continue writing fanfiction.

Inspiration: My cold medicine addled brain and the need to write… that's really all I need for anything, really.

Warnings: rape, child abuse, hints of incest, blood, yaoi…possible swearing…if you notice anything else, let me know. You have been warned.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Brother

Home was supposed to be warm, safe, familiar. He was supposed to be able to escape the harsh words and heated glares, but he couldn't. His dad wouldn't let him. For him, home was painful, scary, dreaded, worse than the glares he got on the street. His brother didn't hate him, though; Kankurou always tried to 'protect' him from everything. Kankurou always tries to make him happy, even if he wasn't happy himself. Dad didn't like either of his sons, and he ignored his daughter, but home was home, and it was familiar but not safe.

Gaara didn't care; not as long as his brother still cared.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Raped

Warmth surged through him and pulsed around him, drawing a moan out of his throat and a hoarse cry from the boy beneath him, but he didn't care. All that mattered was release and Sasuke was available and not going anywhere; it wouldn't have mattered anyway; he'd have taken it wherever he could find it, from Kabuto or Suigetsu or any of his other subordinates, but Sasuke always fought. The others were too willing.

The boy screamed again, but his arms stopped flailing around so much, simply clawing at the ground in an attempt to keep himself grounded and Orochimaru moaned and released, pulling out and coating the boy in white. When he left, Sasuke was still shaking right where he'd been left.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Anybody…?

Naruto sat in the chair quietly and watched his sensei sleep. Nobody was sure when he was going to wake up and the blond was starting to worry a little bit. He missed his crazy, perverted sensei. Naruto looked around the room and frowned; there were no 'Get Well Soon' cards or flowers or anything, just bare and impersonal, almost like nobody realized he was there. Kakashi didn't deserve this kind of treatment. He should have at least one person that cared and Sakura was here every day. Maybe she just didn't care enough to bother.

The blond stood up and left, coming back three hours later with a bar of dark chocolate and a card that he thought his sensei would appreciate and set them on the bedside table. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair; he just hoped the chocolate would keep long enough for his sensei to enjoy it.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Maybe

Iruka looked at the dejected blond boy in front of him with a critical eye. He was probably upset about Kakashi's hospitalization, and Iruka could understand that. He'd've been sad if his sensei had been hospitalized, too.

"He's going to be ok, Naruto," Iruka murmured comfortingly. "He's too stubborn to die."

"It's not that; I know how stubborn he is. I just want to know why nobody cares about him."

"I'm sure plenty of people care."

"If they do, they don't care enough to visit him in the hospital. He's only got one gift and that's from me."

Iruka frowned and watched the boy look out the window again. He didn't know why Kakashi wasn't liked aside from the fact that his attitude was infuriating, but he should have more friends than his student. Maybe he'd go visit the hospitalized man; for Naruto's sake.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

*Water

The throat-tearing hacking echoed through the dark bedroom followed by wheezing gasping breaths sucked hurriedly into lungs too full of phlegm to keep it there and Genma sat up and reached out for the other man. Hayate's illness had been getting worse lately, and Hayate'd like to think it was just the weather, but they both knew. Genma knew the other man was in a lot of pain and no amount of medicine was going to help him, and Genma was floored with the knowledge that all he could do was hold the younger man's hand.

Hayate's breathing evened out a little and he whispered, "Gen, water, please."

"You got it, babe," Genma whispered back and went to the kitchen for water and honey. He went back to the bedroom and gave the cup to the man in the bed, rubbing his shoulders and back gently, offering what little comfort he could to a slowly dying man.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Gray

Sasuke opened his bedroom door and peeked down the hall. The dawn was gray today, filtering through the apartment like a light mist. The raven walked down the hall and looked into the living room in search of Sai. He found the artist sprawled out over the couch with the little black kitty curled into a ball on his bare stomach. Sasuke smiled in a melancholy sort of way and immediately felt bad about having to wake him up, but he needed to take his pain medication. Everything hurt right now, reminding him of everything he was trying to forget.

The teen tapped the artist on the shoulder and he opened his eyes as though he'd never been asleep, eyes clear and alert. Sai gently moved Shadow-kitty and went to the kitchen while Shadow glared balefully at the raven. Sasuke looked to his feet and wondered if anyone thought he was worth anything more than an intruder or a quick fuck.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

*Coffee

The scent of coffee floated around the room like it owned the place and Shino opened his eyes with a groan. His dad was standing at the door, his face not betraying anything in regards to the fact that the three of them, Kiba, Kankurou and himself, were naked in Shino's bed with the blankets thrown haphazardly across the room… When had his father gotten home?

"Breakfast is ready when you are," Shibi murmured with a slight smirk and Shino let his head drop heavily back onto Kiba's outstretched arm.

The pale boy 'hmm'ed and Kankurou tightened his grip around the pale boy's waist. Kiba inhaled, yawned and opened his eyes, which immediately landed on the man leaning on the door frame.

"G'morning, Mr. Aburame… How was the mission?"

"It went well, thank you. You boys have fun?"

"Yep!"

"Shut up, mutt. Too early," Kankurou groaned and Shibi left the boys to their own devices.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Awake

Kakashi sat up and looked around the room groggily. It was nighttime and the moon had bathed the white washed room in silver. The hospital was quiet except for the beeping and whirring of the machines that had been monitoring his vitals. The room he'd been kept in was white and impersonal and boring… except for the bar of chocolate, the package of really good coffee (still fresh; he could tell by the smell) and a card. He frowned, not expecting to get anything from anyone because that's how it always was.

The silver-haired man reached out and picked up the card, checked for a name, smiled because Naruto knew him better than he'd thought and read the message inside.

'Hey sensei. I hope the chocolate is still good. –Naruto'

Then in different colored ink:

'Iruka-sensei got you the coffee. He doesn't know I know, though, so shhhh.'

Kakashi smiled and checked the chocolate; 75 percent dark chocolate and it was still good. He leaned back against the pillows and opened the package as the nurse came in to check on him.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Help

Sasuke woke up to the sound of a muffled scream and his first thought was not again, then he realized where he was and got up slowly to investigate, his heart beating heavily against his ribs. He found Sai being over powered by an older, cruel looking man, Danzou, in his own bed, not fighting back, and Sasuke couldn't feel the older teen's chakra.

The raven backed away from the door and all but ran quickly and quietly to the kitchen where the phone was located. He dialed in Kakashi's number and prayed his sensei would pick up.

"Hello," asked Kakashi's voice.

"Help," Sasuke breathed, knowing that was all it would take to get Kakashi over there.

"I'll be right there. Go to your room; stay out of sight," Kakashi ordered and Sasuke knew better than to disobey any orders his sensei gave. Kakashi never hurt them, but he did know how to make them learn. Sasuke didn't need to learn this one again, though.

The raven did exactly as he was told, and when Genma came in to get him half an hour later, he was sitting back against the wall with his hands over his ears and his eyes squeezed tightly shut in a failed attempt at holding back tears. Genma gently pulled the boy's arms away from his head.

"It's ok. He's been arrested and Ibiki has him," came the soothing summary.

After the three jonin left, Sasuke grabbed his pillow from his own bed and crawled into Sai's, not really caring whether or not the other didn't want him there.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Ticklish

Shikamaru ran his hand through the short, dirty blonde hair and smirked at the contented sigh the brushed against his collar bone. He liked it when Temari came in from Suna; it was always nice to see her. There was a poke in his right side and he turned his attention from the clouds to the woman looking up at him with green-blue eyes and a raised eyebrow. He raised an eyebrow in return.

"I want lunch. You're paying," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes, dear."

Temari laughed and pushed herself off the ground, using Shikamaru as leverage. The teen groaned and she laughed again.

"C'mon you lazy ass. Let's go before I waste away," she poked Shikamaru in the ribs with her toe and he moved instinctively to block; he was very ticklish.

"Ne, troublesome woman," he smirked.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

**Second Chance

Kiba looked at his mother as though he'd never seen her before. Air wasn't coming quickly enough and his knees felt weak, so he let them collapse. Tsume rushed forward and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Kiba leaned into his mother and tried to take deep breaths.

"Kiba, I need you to look at me," she said clearly and calmly, so he did, albeit a bit shakily and he couldn't quite make out her features because they were blurry. "Breathe and let me know when I can continue. In… out… in… out…"

After a few minutes he was calm enough so he nodded jerkily.

Tsume inhaled deeply, "First off, Akamaru's going to be ok," Kiba nodded; he'd already known that because he'd just talked to Hana about it, "an secondly, your father's been found and all of the DNA tests match perfectly, but he has no memory of anything." She paused to make sure Kiba was ready for her to continue.

Kiba bit his hand between his thumb and forefinger and allowed his mother to continue.

"We're going to be picking him up from the hospital today," she began, quite used to the action that helped him calm down and clear his head, "and he's going to be living with us. The doctors are hoping that familiar surroundings will help him remember…" Kiba could hear that she wanted that to happen, too. "Are you ok with this? Going to pick him up?"

Kiba nodded again and Tsume ruffled his hair fondly. "Alright, let's go see him, then."

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Anger

Neji knocked weakly on his uncle's study door, trying to keep himself standing up by leaning against the door frame. He heard movement on the other side and looked up shakily as the door opened. Strong, safe arms wrapped around him and gently lifted him into the room. As soon as the door was closed behind him, he was lifted bridal style and carried to the couch against the wall.

Hiashi knew now not to ask any questions, but Neji could still see them swimming behind pale eyes. He decided to tell him this time; his uncle was head of the clan, maybe he'd be able to do something about it.

"The elders," Neji whispered in answer and he was glad he wasn't on the receiving end f the rage that lit the man's face.

Hiashi finished gently cleaning up his nephew before he stood rather abruptly and left the teen lying on the couch.

"Stay here; I'll be back." Neji didn't tell his uncle who had done it, other than the elders, because there were only three elders in this family right now and two of them were female and rather fond of Neji. The other one was male and openly sneered at the boy. The pale-eyed teen rested back on the leather seat.

Neji didn't even question the order because the couch was just so comfortable and he was so tired. He fell asleep and didn't wake up for two days.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

Masked-Writer-In-Disguise: And there you have my cold addled brain. I hope you enjoyed some of these, 'cause I rather enjoyed writing them. Let me know what you think about the ones I've starred, especially the one I double starred (the Kiba one, 'cause I really like the idea, but I don't really want to write it if nobody'll read it), so yes. Thank you for reading! You all make me happy.