This is a one-shot collection. It is marked complete because each story is - but the collection is far from finished. Feel free to read them in order, or mix it up.

Most of the odd numbers are about Naru/Oliver and the even numbers are for Mai. However, even if the questions are directed at these two characters the story is often told in the very different viewpoints of the people that know them.

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Title: It was Taken from Me

Word Count: 770

Prompt: What does he want more than anything in the world?

Note: While I wanted to try using the Japanese Honorifics, I used the English titles of Miss and Sir in this prompt. I did not want to accidentally mess something up, like John does frequently in the manga. I'll try them out in later prompts. :)

The grass under Naru's boots crunched as he walked along the shoulder of the empty road. It was high noon, and he knew he should have gotten out earlier to avoid the heat of the summer sun.

He rounded a bend, and the lake shown on his map came into view. He stopped mid stride.

It was not the one he was looking for.

...

He considered turning back but instead moved to the guardrails that protected against the drop off leading to the water. Rolling up his sleeves for a small relief from the heat, he leaned on the barrier, staring out to the shimmering water.

Naru knew he should contact Lin; tell him it was another false trail. He also needed to decide if he should call the cab he had told to wait a few miles down the road to pick him up, or if he should walk back.

Or, he could just stay for five minutes and enjoy the silence. He did not get too much of that since starting the Japanese division of the SPR.

But maybe silence was overrated, for questions started to crop up that he normally did not have the time to think about. What if he never found Eugene's body?

If I died right now, Naru thought, would I stay to continue looking for my brother, forever?

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and he looked up to see a woman. Older than him, but her face told him not by much. She had her black hair done in a long braid down her back, and she held a thick knit sweater tightly around her.

She leaned on the rails not far from him. When he caught her eye, she smiled.

"Sir, would it be possible for you to give me a ride home?"

He shook his head, and she frowned. Looking around them, she asked, "How did you get here?"

"I walked."

"Oh." She turned back to the lake, her outline glistening like the water.

"Miss," Naru said softly, "Are you aware you are no longer of this world?"

She looked back at him sharply. "Why, yes. I am." She clenched the sweater tighter, as if she was very cold. "You are the quickest to have realized it."

"It's my job."

"Most people take me home…and then somehow, I end up here again."

"Do you know what happened?"

She moved a short distance down the road, and spread her arms wide. "Right here, my car went over the side, right through the rails. That was some time ago, they have been fixed." She turned her head back to him and grinned. "I was going too fast. Now I look back – what was the point?"

He nodded since that was what she wanted. He could only guess how many times she had told the story to anyone who would listen.

Her words struck a chord within him – what was the point? What had been the point of not going with Eugene to Japan? Eugene had just smiled and nodded at his brother's excuse – too busy, as always – but Naru had seen the disappointment in his eyes.

If Naru had been there with Eugene, would he have foreseen the danger and been able to prevent it?

"Why are you here?" the spirit asked.

Naru had found a dead person – just not the one he was looking for. She was strong and lively, and appeared to have no attention of crossing over anytime soon.

"You talk a lot," Naru told her.

"I was like that in life too. It was very difficult to shut me up."

I know some people like that, Naru thought wryly. Answering her question, he said, "I was looking for something."

"Did you lose it?"

"It was taken from me."

"You must want to get it back," the spirit said.

Oh, he wanted to get his brother back with every fiber of his being. Whole, alive – but he would have to settle for the body.

Naru decided to walk back to the cab. It would lessen the chance of her trying to get into the car with him.

She followed him a short distance, stopping when she came to the end of the guardrails.

He would call Miss Hara when he got back, and tell her of this location. Perhaps she would be interested in doing a cleansing.

"Bye," the spirit said quietly.

Something tugged at his heart, but he set the emotion aside, as if it was on a shelf. It would still be there if he ever needed it. Under control, but not forgotten.

A Second Note:

My friend (Coriana on ) gave me a list of prompts she had found. Instead of single words, they were questions for characters. My goal is to take those questions and write a short for each of them, without necessarily using the actual question in the story. There are 91 prompts (she might write me a few more to make an even 100) so please keep watch.

The time periods for each story will not be in order, and they could range from prequel to sequel and everything in between. More often, a story will be closer linked to the novels and manga than the anime, but I will leave a note if I'm using something from the anime. Thanks for reading!