Written for the 1sentence LJ community (set beta)

Title: 50 Things They Can't Deny (or 50 Reasons to Walk Again)
Series: Mai-HiME
Pairing: Takumi x Akira (with guest appearances by Onee-chan, Midori, and Nao)
Rating: G to PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME or its characters. I tease them mercilessly because I wish I did.
Warnings: Mild language, randomness, sweetness, angst, men in aprons, spoilers, sparkles, and kunoichi temper tantrums
A/N: The sentences are done in the order of the prompts, each one completely separate from the one before it (the last two are exceptions). Some are set during the series, some are set immediately after, and some are set waaaay after. I really hope this doesn't confuse anyone…

Walking: After spending only one week recovering in his hospital bed, Takumi surprised the nurses by standing for the first time since his operation; the first steps were tentative, but Akira's teary smile gave him the confidence he needed to walk on his own.

Waltz: Akira's dance was different, making up for it's lack of twirly poses and hair tosses with unrivaled spirit and precision; it suited her, though, and Takumi was glad to be the one for whom she danced.

Wishes: Akira was indelibly grateful when Takumi returned to the kitchen after his operation, even though he still wore his sister's frilly hand-me-down apron; she supposed only one wish could come true at a time.

Wonder: Although his mind was still numb from shock, something about his mysterious savior captured his attention; even more unusual than being chased by a pink, cake-eating monster was the sense of familiarity that came from watching the ninja fight.

Worry: As she watched her klutzy roommate trip over his own bunny-slippered feet for the thousandth time, she understood why Mai fussed over him so much.

Whimsy: Despite what everyone thought, Takumi wasn't completely clueless about Onee-chan's friends' fantasies about him and Akira; what flustered him was that their fangirling, although a bit far-fetched, was not entirely unwelcome.

Waste/wasteland: Even during his final moments, Takumi still sparkled, an oddly beautiful contrast against the wasteland created by the HiME's battle.

Whisky and rum: Akira knew it was a bad idea to flip out on a teacher, but when an incredibly wasted Sugiura-sensei threw herself into Takumi's lap, subsequently drenching the innocent boy in her mug's contents, the ninja all but shoved a kunai down the redhead's throat.

War: What had started out as a simple challenge had turned into an all-out arm-wrestling war between Akira and Mai; Takumi had no idea for whom he should cheer.

Weddings: "So, what kind of dress do you want?" Mai asked, bubbling with excitement over her little brother's wedding as she handed Akira the catalogue; the ninja felt oddly detached flipping through the pages, because, for some reason, she had an easier time picturing Takumi than herself in the frilly white thing…

Birthday: For her first birthday as a "girl," all the other HiME, save Mikoto, gave Akira very feminine lingerie; to add to the lighthearted humiliation, Nao courteously gave the embarrassed Takumi an economy-sized box of Kleenex for any potential "problems."

Blessing: For an instant, Takumi thought he had died, since the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes after the operation was the glaring white of his hospital suite; then he noticed the blurry green-haired angel at his bedside and knew otherwise.

Bias: Takumi kept his chuckles to himself while his classmates debated over who was to become this year's number one hottie; maybe Takumi was biased, but compared to the other contenders, Akira had no competition.

Burning: Once the clouds of noxious smoke had settled and the nostril-burning odor had dissipated, Takumi found himself on the floor in a fit of uncontrollable laughter; only a girl as special as Akira could manage to burn instant mashed potatoes.

Breathing: "It clears your sinuses right up!" Takumi declared, shoving the spoonful of wasabi paste down Akira's throat.

Breaking: "Darn it, I can never get them to break evenly," Takumi moaned, tossing his lopsided chopsticks unceremoniously onto the table; casting the boy a reproachful look, Akira removed hers from their pouch, placed one end in her mouth, and split the two pieces of wood between her teeth with a ninja's precision.

Belief: Real men don't cry during movies or do housework, Akira thought, and they certainly don't bake strawberry cakes for their sister…then again, I'm not a real man either, so why the hell does his girliness bother me so much?

Balloon: When Akira confessed, the painful tension in Takumi's chest transformed into a swell of emotion so powerful that if he let go of her, he would float into the fiery night sky.

Balcony: Peering through the foliage, she could barely recognize the two students on the moonlit balcony who, from what she could tell, were attacking each other's faces like starved hyenas; cackling smugly to herself, she snapped a quick photo with her cell phone and danced out of the bushes to tell Mai the latest gossip about her little brother.

Bane: Takumi followed Hana Yori Dango like an obsessive fangirl, so he finally coaxed Akira into watching it with him; to his amusement, he soon had to hold her back to keep her from killing the television after every cliffhanger.

Quiet: Before she shared a room with Takumi, Akira could only sleep in absolute silence; to her amazement, however, she found the gentle rumble of his snores to be quite soothing.

Quirks: Through a gap in her curtains, Akira saw her pink-apron-clad roommate at the stove merrily humming an American pop song to himself while he rolled cookie dough; no doubt about it, Takumi was an oddball, and Akira only loved him more for it.

Question: "So have you, y'know…?" Mai whispered eagerly, her face drawing dangerously close to the blushing ninja's; Akira merely fumbled with her shirt hem and cast a lethal glare at the winking boy who chose that moment to walk in unannounced.

Quarrel: "Just because HERS are…" The ninja's angry words muffled when she slammed the bathroom door, but Takumi was too stunned to fight back; there was no way a girl like Akira could be jealous of something as stupid as Onee-chan's breasts, right?

Quitting: When she began her ninja training, Akira's father told her to never hold back or give up in battle; these basic concepts were ingrained in her and it infuriated her that her idiot roommate was so intent on throwing his life away; he was too good for that.

Jump: "I think it looks good down," remarked a voice in the doorway; Akira squealed and jumped a foot in the air, noisily flinging her hairbrush across the bathroom in shock, before she realized that the intruder was only her roommate.

Jousting: Takumi loved to tease Akira just enough to make her blush and each time, she would counter by trapping the boy in a headlock; it was the closest they ever got to hugging during school hours.

Jester: Akira knew that by associating herself with Takumi, she automatically made herself susceptible to being the subject of Mai's "cute" stories; therefore, she should not have been surprised when her classmates casually asked her about "the kitten incident."

Jewel: Unlike most girls, Akira didn't see the point of wearing the large, shiny object her finger, but Takumi insisted that she try it for him; after only one lick, she was addicted to this mysterious "Ring Pop."

Just: When he flipped through the sketchbook, Takumi just wanted to learn more about his elusive roommate; the drawings revealed more than he had bargained for, not only about Akira, but himself as well.

Smirk: Jealous guys often asked Takumi why he was allowed to room with his girlfriend in the dorms (their question was normally accompanied by a suggestive smirk, a punch on the shoulder, and/or a "niiiiice"); Takumi merely shrugged and smiled shyly, inwardly blessing his sister for having such a tight relationship with the directors.

Sorrow: Confined to her father's quarters, Akira had no perception of the outside; her own sun had vanished, leaving her alone in a state of icy blackness where not even teardrops of rain fell to nourish her barren world.

Stupidity: Maybe she should give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was dropped on his head as a child or something; whatever the case, Akira opened the door and wearily called down the hallway, "Oi, Takumi! You put your shirt on backwards again!"

Serenade: Apparently Mai wasn't the only Tokiha to have inherited the karaoke gene; Akira's stomach plummeted when she saw Takumi walk bashfully onto the platform, microphone in hand, with his blue eyes fixed on her.

Sarcasm: "No, I hate you, you dumbass," Akira fumed, snapping the curtains shut around her.

Sordid: The pickup line had barely left the guy's mouth before Akira had him pinned to the sidewalk with her kunai an inch from his throat; when she told Takumi later, he had laughed at her reaction, but on her honor as a warrior (and because having other guys hit on her still creeped her out) she would never condone such repulsive behavior.

Soliloquy: "He loves me not, he loves me," she whispered to herself, leaving a trail of white daisy petals behind her as she walked to first period; Akira didn't actually believe the silly superstition, but Takumi couldn't help but notice the unusual spring in his roommate's step when they reunited that afternoon.

Sojourn: Feeling something graze the back of his head, Takumi peeled his eyes from his math textbook, smiled, and tossed the balled-up sock back to his roommate; maybe he could use a break after all.

Share: Akira grabbed another handful of cotton candy from the bag in Takumi's lap and inched closer, resting her head on his shoulder as they waited on the rooftop for the first stars to appear;moments like this, Akira decided, make living with him worth it.

Solitary: Akira accepted a life of secrecy and solitude at an early age, knowing it was unwise to challenge her father's orders; whether or not her father had anticipated her sharing a room with that person, however, was purely speculation.

Neutral: Chuckling internally, Takumi knew Akira's immediate rejection was only a façade; not even the Queen of Apathy could resist the smell of brownies for long.

Nowhere: Takumi's awkward stammering, was meaningless to the untrained ear; Akira certainly couldn't make sense out of it, and he was getting nowhere, so she pressed her lips against his to shut him up.

Nuance: Akira groaned miserably as she pawed through the pinkish remnants of her laundry attempt; even if he acted like the stereotypical housewife, at least Takumi remembered to separate reds from whites.

Near: Out the corner of his eye, Takumi saw a familiar green ponytail streak past his window; he smiled and pulled his blanket to his chin, knowing that he could sleep peacefully with the "Secret Ninja" keeping watch nearby.

Natural: Unlike the other boys in his class, Takumi had no interest whatsoever in the painted, plastic supermodels that sprawled seductively across magazine covers; with her bare face and messy ponytail, Akira glowed with a natural, effortless beauty that was, to him, infinitely more attractive.

Horizon: A narrow ray of light pierced through the shadowy waiting room, gently waking the girl who slept curled in a ball on the couch; when she opened her eyes, she saw the sunrise over the horizon and knew instinctively that Takumi had survived the night.

Valiant: Akira knew she was no Snow White, preferring to spend her younger years training instead of naively waiting for her prince to come; after transferring to Fuuka Gakuen her life became a fractured fairytale, but her training paid off when she became her Prince's valiant knight.

Virtuous: He was everything she was not: kind, virtuous…innocent to the point where it was sickening…there was no way she could be jealous of someone so utterly pathetic.

Victory: Over time, Takumi's strength recovered exponentially; Akira knew he would win his battle, but when he ran past the finish line a fraction of a second ahead of her, the true extent of his victory left her completely breathless.

Defeat: Throwing her arms around Takumi's neck in a headlock, Akira had never been more willing to admit defeat; taken aback by the sudden burst of affection, Takumi stumbled backwards and both runners collapsed in a tangle of exhausted, sweaty limbs after the race.