tsukiyuuki

Tōryanse
Gaara and Kankurou, Temari realised as they finally arrived home, were both exhausted, though they hadn't said a word about it.  She saw Gaara's hands shaking, and heard Kankurou groan as he slung Karasu down off his back.  They both needed something to eat and some rest, Gaara especially, so Temari herded them toward the kitchen, following closely behind.  She put some water on to boil for tea, and then went to the fridge to see if there were any suitable leftovers.
"There's some chicken teriyaki that's still good in here, does that sound okay?" Temari asked with a glance over her shoulder.  It was a bit of a shock to realise just how little time she and Kankurou had been gone, given all that had happened.
"It's fine," Gaara said wearily, and Kankurou nodded his agreement as he doodled half-heartedly on a napkin.
Taking the container out of the fridge, Temari paused to make the tea, and then popped the container into the mic

Best of You
"Kankurou."
Kankurou turned from where he'd been working on Karasu, surprised—he hadn't even heard Gaara come in, which he had to admit unnerved him. He would rather be able to hear someone who could easily kill him coming than be startled by him. But no, he chided himself; he didn't have to worry about that any more, since Konohagakure and the Chuunin selection exam.
"Do you need something, Gaara?"
Kankurou studied his brother as he came into his workroom and walked around to the opposite side of the table, staring out the window. Gaara seemed somewhat—preoccupied, perhaps? He certainly acted preoccupied, and more solemn than usual, almost melancholy. Kankurou went back to tinkering with Karasu—he knew that Gaara would speak when he was ready, once he had his thoughts in order. Years of seclusion and exclusion and loneliness had left their mark; Gaara always chose his words carefully to make sure he could get his point across correctly.
"How do you apologise to a wh

Flavours
Two in the morning, and a light was still on in one room of the house that Sabaku no Gaara shared with his siblings.  In said room, the pale redhead sat at the desk in the corner, the wooden top covered in papers.  There were mission reports and pages of numbers, complaints, and correspondence of every type.  And there was a lot.  Things had piled up between the death of the previous Kazekage, his biological father, and his own inauguration as the new Kazekage.  Gaara was almost glad he couldn't sleep; if he could, it would have taken at least twice as long to get everything sorted through.
Just because he couldn't sleep didn't mean he didn't get tired, however, and he was.  He had been working on this particular issue since 0600 the previous day.  His eyes ached, his fingers were cramped, and he wished he could just burn the damn papers, or throw them out the window, or tear them up.  Anyth

And Sand Becomes Glass
With time, heat, and pressure, coal becomes diamonds.
He'd learned that years ago, and remembered it after the Chuunin exam.  He'd wondered if it was true, and had asked Temari.  Still adjusting to him not being utterly vicious and homicidal, she'd looked at him strangely, then confirmed it was true.
Something so ugly and cheap turning into something so pretty and valuable was amazing.
Coal becomes diamonds.  He wasn't coal, he'd told Temari.
No, she'd said, he wasn't.  He was sand.
And sand?  He'd asked.  What about sand?
Coal becomes diamonds, she'd replied, and sand...
...Sand becomes glass.
Gaara smiled.
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fin
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So, my first ever drabble.  It's actually 100 words on the nose, and I'm rather surprised at myself.  This was written for the 20_inkspots community on Livejournal, which can be found at http://community.livejournal.com/20_in

Disclaimer: I do not own in part or full any aspect of Naruto. This is the property of Kishimoto Masashi-sensei, his relevant partners and subsidiaries. I do own all original aspects of this fanfiction including but not limited to original characters and plot. This fanfiction has been published at no profit, purely for the enjoyment of the fans and the collective good of the series.
An Easy Thing
//"It seemed an easy thing, to step into the nothingness, to fall, to die.…//
He stood on the precipice, staring out into the endless sea of gold, red, orange, and ever-darkening violet that was the sunset.  The wind threaded playfully through his hair and the treetops, inviting both to dance.  The leaves waved jauntily as they turned from green to crimson to green and back in the fading light, glistening like so many drops of blood.
He took no pleasure in the sight or smell of blood, though he knew the townsfolk would laugh should he say so.  As far