AC_D6: Deleted Scene 10- Sakura

Not number 9- because I'm still having issues with that one (Shikaku tends to be a problematic person to write sometimes).

This happens between chapter 15 and 16.
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A tap on her window pulled Sakura's focus away from her notes. Outside her dark window a large white owl hovered.

Sakura stumbled up from her desk and opened the window to allow the white owl inside her room.

“Did Harii-san send you?” Sakura asked the pristine white owl when it landed on her chair. “He didn't have to bother you about that. The more I think about it, the more I shouldn't have asked him. I was just so annoyed with work at the hospital and how I couldn't get access to the research samples that when I heard you helped them get venom, I just asked him and, Harii-san must think I'm very selfish.”

The owl looked at her with amber eyes, as though confused.

“You delivered venomous snakes to the Suna hospital, so I...” Sakura hesitated, unsure about her selfish request. After all, she wanted venom for her own research rather than making useful anti-venom. “Harii-san said that I should ask if you'd be willing to bring me any venomous snakes in Konoha. We don't have any saw-scaled vipers like Suna, but...”

The owl interrupted her with a loud hoot, and she swooped out of the window without a backward glance.

Feeling like a failure, Sakura swallowed down her disappointment because the owl wasn't obliged to help her, especially because Sakura was being selfish with her request. She was only glad that no one had been around to witness Sakura get rejected by an owl.

Rejection would always be a part of her life.

Sakura snorted at the dramatic thought and moved to close her window. If she had time to give in to dramatic thoughts, then she definitely had time to do some more reading.

As she placed her hand on the window, the owl swooped back in with a triumphant hoot. Sakura gaped. “Is that a saw-scaled viper?”

AC_D1: Deleted Scene Episode 8

It's Day 1 of 2016's Advent Calender. I'm not sure how many posts I'll be able to put up this year, but hopefully more than 8, at least.

I thought I'd start things off with a deleted scene from Gaara.

Warnings: Very un-edited.Takes place during chapter 14

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Deleted Scene Episode 7

Timeline: Takes place between AtO's chapter 13 and 14
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Danzo-sama glanced at the file with utmost concentration. “None of our contacts can determine the breed of that animal.”
Everyone in the room stayed silent.
“But they're sure it's more than an ordinary owl because of its silver-hued feathers.” Danzo stood and moved to the window. He looked out into the dark night for quite some time before he said, “Jun.”
Jun stepped forward readily and knelt.  He quelled down his pride at being personally chosen for a mission by Danzo-sama because Root didn't have a need for pride. They only did the job they needed to do for the betterment of the village.
Danzo-sama didn't turn away from the window. “Your mission starting from today... is to observe that owl.”
Jun stilled in disbelief for a moment. He hadn't slaved away at his training so that he could go and observe a bird.
“Record it's daily activities. The routes it takes, where it stops frequently, what it does,” Danzo-sama said, unaware of Jun's inner turmoil. “As an unidentifiable breed, we can't underestimate it's intelligence. It might just have the ability to gather information for that Uzumaki.”
Jun ignored the slight show of frustrated emotion at the end of Danzo-sama's statement. Because some distant part of his own mind was still reeling with the thought of 'but it's just a bird'. He suppressed his rebellious thoughts and reminded himself that he had no right to question Danzo-sama's motives or missions. “Yes, Danzo-sama.”

  =x=x=x=

Jun stayed still on the tree branch and kept to the tree's shadow, even as his muscles twitched from being crouched in the same position for the past five hours.
The white owl, a few feet away on another tree's branch, rubbed it's head against the rough bark of the tree and then stretched out a wing.
And then yet again, it started preening it's feathers.
Jun twitched but dutifully wrote down his latest observation. 'Can spend hours at a time pretending to preen while discreetly observing location (today the owl stayed close to the Konoha's orphanage- hidden slightly in the trees)= patient and well-trained.'
After a few minutes of adding more details, Jun created a clone and sent his report back to headquarters.

 =x=x=x=

Danzo-sama slammed the report shut. “Who is she?”
“The owl, sir,” Jun replied.
“Any why did you feel the need to compromise your position to help her?”
“Her claws got snagged within the wire. If I left her there, she would have cut herself trying to get free.”
Danzo-sama didn't seemed pleased by the answer. “Tell me, Jun. How long have you been watching this animal?”
“Today was the fifth day, Danzo-sama,” Jun said, keeping as still as possible.
“Five days. It took five days for you to be compromised by a mere bird and fail a simple mission.” Danzo-sama turned to the other occupant in the room. “Check his chakra.”
Jun flinched as kikkai bugs landed on various points of his body and pulled at his chakra viciously.
After a few minutes, a solemn voice said, “There is no foreign chakra in his body.”
Danzo-sama clenched his fist tightly. “Then how did that owl get to him?”
After a few seconds, the other occupant replied. “Maybe the unnatural colouring on the feathers serve as some sort of defence mechanism by hypnotizing any predatory threats.”
“Report to the Nest,” Danzo-sama said with a dismissive glance to Jun. “They'll deal with your failure properly."
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Some random OC in a deleted scene? Bet you weren't expecting that, were you?

Jun: Depending on the way the kanji is written, it can have various meanings. Reason I chose it was because two of the meanings were “obey” and “conform to”.

Funnily enough, Jun doesn't actually show up in Chapter 14. But I wanted to post this to show that there are things going on that Harry doesn't necessarily find out/know about- if that makes any sense. And it fills up the story timeline for me.

Polar

Deleted Scene Episode 6

Warnings: Very un-edited and has bits missing. Takes place during chapter 13

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"He just reads anything, even if it's stupid. But those library books he finds are so..."
The black haired boy hummed in agreement. "I saw."
"And he always goes to the library late at night these days, so Sakura and me are never there to see what he's picking up," Naruto huffed sounding so indignant. "He's probably doing that on purpose."
"It can't be that bad," the other boy said, sounding almost amused.
"Sai alone in the library is very bad. Trust me, nii-san. It's like... it's just bad."
Jiraiya snorted, huffing when he realised that the boy had snorted at the same time.
"I don't know. It is funny to hear him talk about things he read sometimes. His interpretation is fun."
"Only sometimes!" Naruto said. "I think Sai needs a book specially written for him. That's it! That's what we should do. Write a book and put it in the library for him to get and read."
Jiraiya scoffed and glanced back. "The library attendants check the shelves regularly. If a book doesn't have the library's official seal on it, it'll obviously get removed."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Were you trying to put your porn books on the shelves?"
The black haired boy glanced between the both of them in wary amusement and imediately said, "Maybe you can give it to him as a gift. When is his birthday?"
Naruto frowned and stayed silent for a while.
"Naruto, you don't know Sai's birthday?"
"It's not like that, nii-san," Naruto said almost pleadingly. "It's just, it's odd to give someone a gift on their birthday if they're not family, right?"
"What...ah, right, no birthday parties every year. One-day-for-all festivals and special birthdays only," the boy said, almost to himself.
"Birthday parties every year?" Naruto asked curiously.
Birthday parties every year? Jiriaya repeated mentally and slowed his own steps till he lingered a little closer to the two of them. "
"Oh, um, we... every year, we sort of celebrate making it through to another year."
Jiraiya frowned. Making it through to another year? And who does 'we' refer to? 
"So you've had birthday parties every year?" Naruto said, sounding almost awed.
The boy snorted. "No, it... I just got gifts. And cake."
"Is it a special cake?"
"It's just your favourite flavour with your name written on it."
 "Why?" Naruto asked.
Jiraiya nodded. Exactly! Why? 
"That's for the parties mostly, I think. You know you put candles on it and after everyone sings the song, you blow out the candles and... actually never mind that."
That's not the Why I want an answer to, Jiraiya frowned at how the conversation went further away from any useful explanations.
But Naruto said, "A song? There's a song?"
"Yes," the boy cleared his throat awkwardly. "But it's not all that important really. The cake is the important thing!"
Jiraiya glanced back, unsure of what to feel at the odd conversation about parties, cake and songs. Some part of him- the curious and inquisitive part- wanted to steer the conversation back into something useful.
"But I don't have a favourite flavour," Naruto said thoughtfully.
Jiraiya twitched in annoyance. What does that have to do with finding out more about...
"You have something against strawberry cake?"
"Nii-san!"
To Jiraiya's confusion, they both started laughing. They can't have known each other long enough to have inside jokes. That's not possible! He glanced back again curiously but frowned when he noticed the boy's slowed down pace. "Oi, you two, we're going to stop by a stream in a few minutes."
The boy didn't react to that. Didn't show any relief at getting a break. Didn't show any annoyance.
When they finally stopped by the stream, Jiriaya stretched. Remembering other potential stops on the way to Yugakure, he said, "I could use a snack. What do you you think about getting some dan..."
Naruto jumped towards him with a panicked expression. "Don't!" Naruto whispered frantically, his eyes wide and worried and his words too fast. "He's got... Dango...trigger word..."
Jiraiya winced after finally made sense of Naruto's whispers and noticing the boy's pale expression. Determined not to let the boy get lost in his memories, he said, "I was going to say Daifuku when we reached Yugakure."
He sighed in relief alongside Naruto, when the boy took a deep breath and spoke like nothing odd had occurred. 
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So I read somewhere that the whole concept of birthday parties is more of a western thing. And traditionally in Japan there were more celebrations for certain older ages (60, 80, etc.)  - which was more of a celebration of longevity.

Otherwise birthdays weren't really given much importance. I thought that was rather interesting.

Interesting fanfic finds
1. The World on His Wrist by bendingsignpost (Sherlock BBC story)
Summary: First, he is shot in Afghanistan. Second, he wakes to a phone call in Chelmsford, Essex. Third is pain, fourth is normalcy, fifth is agony and sixth is confusion. By the eighth, he's lost track.

Brilliant story. Like really. The idea is really unique, at least to me and I read the whole story in one sitting and wanted more. It does have sort of Inception vibes- so a sci-fi genre plot- and a bit confusing at the start, but the more you read, the more it grows on you. Go read it and tell me you're not amazed by it.

2- Haunted by explosive_gnome (SupernaturalxHarry Potter)
Summary: Hogwarts gets an infusion of classic rock and the year isn't going well for Snape. He was no good at human company. It was ironic, he supposed, that he was now stuck with the inhuman kind.

With a summary like that, aren't you intrigued by the story? I was, and when I finally read the story I wasn't disappointed. It's rare to find a SPNxHP story that is likeable, but this one is really nice. Even the style of writing is likeable- fun and quirky- which makes the characters likeable too.

Anyway, that's all for now. Happy Thursday to you all,

Polar.

Deleted Scene Episode 5

Warnings: Very un-edited.Takes place some time between chapter 11 and 12.

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Naruto opened the door to the apartment carefully, feeling a little awkward when he entered the large empty apartment. He removed his sandals after a moment of hesitation, slipped the key in to his pocket and moved towards the kitchen.

He paused at the entrance to the kitchen, and looked up at the photographs on the wall. He slid his eyes away immediately, entered the kitchen and moved to the refrigerator.

The cool air from the fridge created goosebumps on his arms but he sighed at the slight relief from the outside heat. But then he gaped as he looked at the inside of the fridge.

Every inch of space was filled with all sorts of boxes.

Naruto recognized boxes from all sorts of restaurants- the barbeque place, the sushi store, some other seafood joint and most importantly the cake store. He immediately reached for one of the cake boxes, but a fluttering piece of paper on a plastic box caught his eye.

He pulled out the box, stared at the bright paper, squinted at it and read out loud, “Fried Omlette, reheat for two minutes, put some more salt before eating. The pepper is in the cabinet above the sink.”

Naruto pulled out another random box from the fridge and found another note affixed to the top. The more he looked, the more he realized that every box in the fridge had instructions for preparing it and eating.

Nii-san's handwriting is horrible. Naruto mused as he pulled another container out and pulled it's paper closer to his face. Then he remembered the bandages. I see! It's because his hands are hurt. Otherwise his handwriting would be super awesome. Definitely way better than mine.

Satisfied with his selection of five different containers, all with food that he was sure his nii-san had actually made, Naruto finally closed the fridge.

As he reheated the food according to the instructions, Naruto's mind filled with an unpleasant thought. Wait, before I came here to talk to him, he was going to give his key to those annoying guys. Izumo and Kotetsu.

He looked down at the home-made food feeling more than a little irritated. He made this for them? Even the notes on top?

Just for that, I won't let them have any. Naruto nodded to himself, content with that plan, as he pulled out a plate and took generous helpings of everything and moved to the dining table.

As he sat down, he caught a glimpse of the photos on the wall. He grinned up and said, “Itadakimasu”

After taking a couple of bites, the lack of noise around him finally made him look back up at the photographs.

“Nii-san's cooking is awesome, obaa-san,” Naruto said, looking at Harii's mother, as he took another bite. “I can't make anything than ramen.”

The photos just smiled back at him.

“Of course, ramen isn't bad. But nii-san's cooking is nice.” Naruto turned away from the picture happily and took another bite. When he swallowed he turned back to the photograph. “I wonder if he got his cooking skills from oji-san or you.”

“Unless...” He looked between both of Harii's parents critically. “Both of you couldn't cook at all.”

Naruto snorted and finished the last of his food. “I'll probably just have to ask him when he comes back.” He placed the dishes in the sink. “All right, time for cake.”

Naruto opened the fridge and grabbed one of the cake boxes. He frowned slightly when he noticed a note on top, but grinned when he finally read it.

For Naruto only.

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I never actually planned on creating a scene like this- I never wrote any such scene for the actual story. In a way this could be considered more of an omake- but I think it came out as more of a deleted scene.

Anyway, the only deleted scene I had planned on putting up before uploading chapter 13 was a multiple PoV one sometime in Dec.

But then Duchessa sent me this picture--->

which I'm pretty sure has mystical powers in it. Not only did I stare at it like a creep every time I could (getting all warm and gooey inside) for a good amount of time, but then the above scene sort of popped up in my head. 

I don't know about the rest of you but my favorite part of the picture has to be Hedwig. It's almost like she's supervising those two- making sure they act all brotherly and stuff. ("If you're not nice to him, I'll peck you!")

So thank you once again, Duchessa, for the picture. And thanks to glockgal, the artist that Duchessa commisioned to have this picture drawn, for such an awesome piece of work.

If any of you want to see more of glockgal's artwork- be sure to check out her gallery here and her journal here.

Polar

P.S. Omg, end of November- and I have like 5 more chapters (6,7,11, 12 & 14) that need to be written for my NaNoWriMo challenge. Darn my horrendous all-over-the-place style of writing.

P.P.S. If this deleted scene made you all warm and gooey, then I have irrefutable proof about the picture's powers.

Deleted Scene Episode 4

Warnings: Very un-edited. Contains only bits and pieces to help you piece together what happened during Harry's many  bouts of unconsciousness. Mostly a companion piece to Chapter 12

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Konoha Gates

“Ah, I’m so glad Kakashi finally took him to train,” Kotetsu said and fanned himself.

Izumo grinned. “He finally got to you?”

“I thought I’d have to hold him back from leaving or something.”

“But it is kind of funny, right?”

“Well, at least Harii would be all embarrassed knowing that Naruto wanted to follow him like a puppy.” Kotetsu chuckled. “We should tell him.”

There was a loud screech from beyond the gates.

Izumo stood and glanced out, his eyes immediately zoning in on a speck of pure white flying towards them. As it came closer Izumo gasped.  “That’s Harii’s owl!”  He hastily raised his arm where the owl landed holding up one of her legs.

Izumo grabbed the paper tied to the owl’s leg and read it apprehensively.

“Is that blood on her feathers?” Kotetsu said as he came closer to them.

Izumo looked up from the paper and noticed the splotches of red on the back of her wings. He swallowed painfully.

“Izumo, what’s going on?”

“I have to go to the Hokage.” Izumo ran from the gate. “There’s been an attack.”

x-x-x-x-x

The Hokage's fingers clutched the paper tightly and flared her chakra slightly. Two masked ANBU appeared in front of her.

“Get a medical-team and an recovery-team ready to leave in fifteen minutes...”

x-x-x-x-x

Kotetsu stood by the gates watching the white owl fly around in frenzy as two teams assembled by the gate.  He turned to a grim-faced Izumo and said, “What about Harii?”

Izumo just stared at the owl quietly as it flew out of the gates, apparently eager to lead the teams out.

x-x-x-x-x

Izumo stretched hoping to stave off another yawn as Kotetsu snored softly by the wall. He rubbed his eyes and looked out, trying to gauge the time. That monk said that Harii was being transported with the medic-team. What's taking them so long? Did something happen?

It was another hour or so of constant worry before the medic-team entered Konoha carrying Harii on a stretcher.

Hospital Room.

Sentoki glanced at the young boy who looked as pale as the white that surrounded him. He turned to the Hokage, “He seems to be doing a lot better already.”

Sentoki searched through his pockets, and pulled out an omamori. With a whispered prayer he placed it around the boy’s neck. May they still look over you and keep you safe from harm.

x-x-x-x-x

Izumo bit his lip as they entered the sterile room. He stood by the end of the bed and winced at the numerous bruises visible on exposed skin. I sent him there. I told him this was a good job…

Kotetsu sat on the chair and smiled. “We would have brought some dango, Harii, but the nurses tend to take away all the nice food.”

Izumo turned away when Kotetsu’s face turned serious.

“Izumo, how long are you going to act all guilty? At least say something to him before we go for that meeting.”

Izumo just shook his head.

x-x-x-x-x

“The Akatsuki, really? Of all the possible missing-nin to run in to, they were the one you ended up meeting?” Shikaku frowned.

“How did you survive? There’s no doubt from all the bruises that there was a direct confrontation.” Shikaku sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I wonder if it’s too early to get a drink.”

x-x-x-x-x

Naruto touched the hand and relaxed a bit when he felt the comforting warmth. It’s not cold. It’s okay.

“Nii-san.” He clutched his cousin’s hands desperately. “Nii-san.”

x-x-x-x-x

On the roof, a raccoon masked man sighed. “Not a high-profile patient, she says. He’s already had more visitors than most patients have in a day. And it's not even noon yet.”

In some dark dingy place within Konoha,

“Danzo-sama, I’ve obtained a copy of the medical file.”

Danzo took the paper and read over it critically. Unconsciously fighting off invasive chakra? Interesting, but Tsunade seems to have kept this file deliberately vague. “They couldn’t remove the glove from his right hand?”

“It couldn’t be cut off, sir. It probably has some sort of seal protection on it.”

“We aren’t familiar with any seals like that.”

“No, Danzo-sama, but he is an Uzumaki.”

Indeed. He must have inherited their seal-making skills. How else could he have survived against the Akatsuki?

“His owl has also transferred his belongings to the Jinchuriki who keeps a clone with it at all times.”

Danzo frowned. “Has anything been found about the owl? Is it from a new summon clan?”

“Nothing yet, Danzo-sama.”

 “Resume your duties.”

The masked subordinate vanished from sight leaving Danzo to nurse a growing headache. Where have you been hiding all these years?

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A/N: Danzo's part is rather spoiler-ish right now, but I might change things later so don't get too fixated on it. 

Polar

Deleted Scene Episode 3

Warnings: Not edited- expect errors. Also I can't really clarify when this occurs in the AtO time-line.
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Kotetsu climbed the apartment building's stairs with an overwhelming sense of unease. Did something happen? He then shook his head. They're probably not even here. I'm just overreacting. But Izumo was supposed to be back with Harii an hour ago.
He knocked loudly.
“The door's open!”
Harii's home? Kotetsu frowned.  So Izumo didn't pick him up! Did he get called away or something?
Kotetsu opened the door and stared. Izumo was sprawled across the couch looking a bit green. “Izumo, what happened to you? And why are there so many bowls everywhere?”
Izumo gave him a pained look and shuffled deeper in to the couch.
“Kotetsu, come here! I want you to try this!”
Kotetsu walked in to the kitchen and frowned. “Is that ramen? Since when did you make ramen, Harii?"
"Since today morning!" Harii replied as he rolled out some dough meticulously and cut up long strings of noodles. Kotetsu watched him in awe. He's cutting them like a professional. No hesitation and such speed. And he only started making it today morning?
Kotetsu sat at the dining table and cleared his throat hesitatingly. "So why are you making so much ramen?"
Harii held up his hand motioning for him to wait for a few moments as he boiled the noodles carefully making sure to devote his complete attention to the task at hand. Kotetsu watched it with a slight sense of wariness. He looks way too serious.
"Here, try this for me, would you?" Harri said and put a steaming bowl of ramen on the table in front of him. Kotetsu inhaled the scent wafting up from the bowl and grinned. He split the chopsticks apart and grabbed some noodles.
As he lifted his chopsticks to his mouth, he noticed Harii staring at him. Kotetsu stared at his chopsticks suspiciously. "Is something wrong?"
Harii shook his head. "Just wanted to see an honest opinion of the first taste."
"Oh ok." Kotetsu shrugged and shoved the noodles in his mouth. He chewed once.
Twice.
And spit it out in disgust.
"Again?" Harii stared at the bowl in despair.
Kotetsu scrubbed at his tongue viciously as he watched Harii. "What do you mean again?"
"I've been trying since morning to make ramen from scratch that actually tastes good. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. It smells and looks fine, but as soon as you taste it..." Harii sat on the chair, slouched forward and slammed his head on the dining table.
Kotetsu frowned and stared at the bowl of ramen. "So just don't make ramen."
Harii looked up and glared at him. "I can't just give up."
"Why not? You cook other things just fine..." Kotetsu adjusted the bandages that ran across his nose. "Some of that is almost restaurant quality."
"But..." Harii sighed and stared at the bowl.
Kotetsu pushed the bowl away. "You should just stick to what you know."
"Maybe I just need more practice. I mean I just started today." Harii said.
"Don't you usually manage to make eatable food on the first try? Like that time you made that complicated soup from that recipe book?" Kotetsu tapped his fingers against the table top. "Hmm, that was good soup. You should make that instead of ramen. You've probably gotten better with that recipe now."
Harii groaned and slammed his head on to the table again. "Then why can't I make ramen? I followed the stupid instructions and everything..."
"Why is ramen so important anyway?"
Harii shrugged and glared at the bowl. "I guess I should throw that. You should check on Izumo. He said he was fine but he hasn't moved in a while..."
Kotetsu nodded and walked in to the living room. "Izumo? You all right?"
Izumo looked up. "Please tell me he's done."
"Yeah I guess. How many times did you..." Kotetsu said, keeping his voice low.
"Too many. I thought they needed more than one bite to get to the real taste."
"Why didn't you just tell him to stop?" Kotetsu wondered absently.
"He looked so earnest. I didn't want to..."
"Idiot." Kotetsu shook his head. "Do you need some stomach medicine?"
"I'll just sleep it off."
"Fine. See if I ever offer my help to you again."
"As if I'd want your help, moron." Izumo pushed himself to a seating position and promptly winced clutching his stomach. "I think I'll just stay here for a while."
"I wonder why he's so serious about making ramen. You can get those instant ramen packets." Kotetsu absently picked up a scrap of paper lying by the couch. Hmm, Harii draws?
Izumo said, his voice muffled by the couch. "Don't you know a special person of Harii's who loves ramen?"
"Special person? Harii has a girlfriend? When did this happen and why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Kotetsu leaned forward and smacked the back of Izumo's head.
"You moron!" Izumo glared at him. "Who said anything about a girlfriend?"
"So a boyfriend?" Kotetsu rubbed the bandage across his nose. "How surprising. Why didn’t he tell us?"
Izumo narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "Sometimes I really wonder if I should cut off your syrup supply. Obviously it's making you twice as stupid." He sighed loudly. "Kotetsu, which orange wearing person in Konoha loves ramen?"
Kotetsu oh-ed. "Naruto?"
"Yeah! How'd you even end up thinking of..."
"That's because you emphasised special someone. What am I supposed to think?" Kotetsu waved his hand in irritation.
"You’re an idiot! Were you planning on setting Harii up with someone or something?"
"No! Of course not! Who do I look like to you? Idiot-Isshin?"
"Errr..."
Kotetsu looked to the side to find Harii holding a cup and staring at them with an exasperated look. "Kotetsu, you shouldn't stress an invalid person."
"Who are you calling invalid!" Izumo groaned, fell back to the couch and muttered, “And whose fault do you think this is, anyway?”
Harii just shrugged and walked in to his plant room. I can’t believe he made that entire room a place for his plants. But before Kotetsu could say anything, Harii returned.
"Here you go. Drink that up." Harii pushed a cup of something in to Izumo's hands. Kotetsu gagged at the smell and Izumo's face took on a green-ish tinge.
"Are you trying to kill me, Harii?"
Harii gave Izumo an amused smirk. "I wonder if this is some common ninja weakness. Everyone is always wary of me giving them medicines just from the smell itself."
Kotetsu frowned. When did he give a ninja medicine? And who...
"Oh, go on." Harry pushed the cup insistently. “If you drink that, we’ll be able to go out to eat already.’
Izumo sniffed the concoction once again and groaned.
“And I’ll pay for anything you want to eat, even if it’s expensive,” Harry said. “Like maybe some food from, oh I don’t know… the very heavenly establishment of Kusaka’s.”
Kotetsu couldn’t smother his laughter fast enough as Izumo’s eyes widened. “How do you know about that? Kotetsu, did you tell him?”
Kotetsu huffed. “What? No!”
Harii grinned looking rather devious. “So the story about you getting drunk out of your mind and confessing your undying love to Kusaka’s chef just before you fell face first in to a pot of sauce was actually true?”
“You forgot the part where he broke five tables and a door in order to reach the chef in the first place,” Kotetsu said.
“Kotetsu! So you were the one who told him.” Izumo stood up but fell back with a grimace. He frowned, and downed the foul smelling liquid in his hand with one large gulp.
“Izumo, not that fast! You were supposed to wait till I got the water.” Harry ran to the kitchen.
Kotetsu snickered at Izumo’s disgusted expression. “So it does taste as bad as it smells.”
“Worse. I can’t believe he made me drink that useless…” Izumo stopped.
“Izumo? What happened?” Kotetsu asked feeling rather worried at the pause.
“I feel fine,” Izumo said and flexed his arm experimentally and stood up. “In fact, I feel better than ever. Even my arm is fine.”
“Your arm? You mean the one you strained from training last night.”
“Yeah.” Izumo looked up at him in surprise. “My whole body feels fine. Better actually.”
“From drinking the smelly herb drink?” Kotetsu whispered. Maybe Izumo’s delusional from all those fumes. No, he’s actually moving a lot smoother than before.
Izumo nodded just as Harry came back with a glass of water. “I’m going to have a talk with the apartment manager. Looks like something’s wrong with the hot water. Here, hope you don’t mind ice cold water.”
Izumo rolled his eyes. “I’m a ninja. Ice cold water is not the worst thing I’ve had to drink.”
Harii gave him a wry look. “Somehow I just know the medicine I gave you is one of the worst things you’ve had to drink.”
“Worst but the most helpful. My stomach-ache is long gone.” Izumo said and gulped down the water. “Where did you learn to make something like that?”
Harii tilted his head to the side and smiled. “I learnt to make it here in Konoha itself. I was reading up some stuff and decided to experiment with some old techniques. The thing I gave you is probably so weak it’s not all that useful…”
Not all that useful? But it made Izumo’s training pains vanish. Kotetsu felt a little faint and Izumo looked just as surprised. Just what the heck was he trying to recreate then? And where did he learn his old techniques.
Harii was still talking. “It’s a one time medicine right now. Take it too often and it gets useless.” He paused with an irritated look. “I still haven’t gotten the right formula for the stuff I have here. But enough of that! Since you’re all better let’s go out and eat. I want to see Kusaka’s chef.”
Izumo sputtered. “I thought you said we chose the place.”
Harii smiled. “I’m sure you’d love to go back there. Right Kotetsu?”
Kotetsu nodded. “Yeah.” Maybe we’ll find out some more when we’re eating. After all, everyone gets talkative with food.
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A/N: The 'gag' scene removed from chapter 11. Obviously I changed POV and re-wrote most of it- to make it more un-gag-like?  Still feels like something is missing from it, though.

Polar

Deleted Scene Episode 2

Warning: Not really edited- expect errors.

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"Your smile's creepy!"

You’re the only one who’d say that to my face. Other than Inoichi. Shikaku chuckled and jumped up on to one of the rooftops beside him. He bent down from his position on the roof and stared at the black haired boy in amusement.

Harii looked up at him with a smile and said, "Thanks Nara-san!"

Shikaku waved it off and said, "Go get ready to meet your relative." I almost wish I could watch it. Even if it’s bound to be sappy and loud. He moved out of sight and landed on a roof far away from the boy. Why is he staring at the roof like that with that ridiculous smile on his face? No sense of self preservation at all. 

Shikaku watched intently as Harii closed his eyes in concentration and then relax with a visible sense of relief. Did he… no, I didn’t sense any chakra from him. He wasn’t doing any sensing. Otherwise he’d have noticed me here. Unless he was looking for Racoon? Ugh…it’s not even a week since I’ve known him and I’m already got tons of questions about him. 

Shikaku stayed in place and watched Harii until he went in to his apartment and closed the door behind him. He gave the apartment one long look before turning away. No point waiting here. It’d just look suspicious if there were any other followers for him. They’d think I was on to them.

He jumped from one roof to another and took the longer route to the Administration Building. Not like the Hokage told me to hurry or anything. He smirked. Best to take the opportunity presented to me.

Even with his slow pace, he reached the building in minutes. With a sigh, he climbed up the side of the building and landed on the roof just in front of an open window. He gave a slight nod in the direction he knew an ANBU guard was stationed and jumped in to the office.

He blinked warily at the silent stares that greeted him. They couldn’t have been waiting that long. 

“Did you get lost on the way back?” Inoichi grinned and went through a sequence of seals. The room hissed with a brief flare of chakra.

“Just checking the area.” Shikaku shrugged absently.

Everyone in the room tensed and the Hokage shot him a questioning look. He nodded at her and her posture relaxed as she rubbed her forehead. “Good. He’s laying low for now.”

Not for long. Especially not with Danzo. Shikaku wanted to say. But he didn’t think he needed to tell the Hokage that. She knows Danzo will do something later.
 

“All right, let’s get down to business!” The Hokage turned to Ibiki and said, “What did you gather from him?”

Ibiki closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. “His reactions were definitely honest. Not rehearsed in any way. His eyes were too honest so no ninja training what-so-ever.”

Hiashi, his eyes back to normal, nodded beside Ibiki. “His chakra responded accordingly. There wasn’t any deception.”

“Anything else, Ibiki?”

“Just speculation.” Ibiki hesitated. “He didn’t seem horrified by my scars.”

Shikaku frowned as Tsunade narrowed her eyes. “Survived some form of torture?”

Ibiki shook his head. “Hard to say considering he only saw a few scars. He must be used to them. Even Shikaku has them.”

Shikaku frowned when everyone turned to him. “He didn’t react to my scars. Didn’t stare… but then again he does have a scar on his forehead.”

Tsunade gave him an appraising look.

“I played shogi with him.” Shikaku sighed in resignation as everyone’s look became very focused.

“Oh?” Tsunade leaned forward. “I thought he just fixed one of your boards.”

Shikaku shrugged. “I asked him to play a game.”

“You asked him?” Inoichi asked.

I just wanted to pass the time. But they won’t see it that way. Shikaku scratched his elbow absently. How was I supposed to know he was…

“And?” Inoichi prodded him.

“Yoshino made him stay for dinner. He’s very polite, sometimes a bit extreme and even though he’s skinny he has a deep appreciation for food.” Shikaku glanced at Tsunade who nodded. Of course she’d notice. Typical behaviour for orphans who were starved at some point. “And there was his owl.”

“His owl?”

Shikaku nodded his head in amusement. “She’s not a like our messenger owls. She’s unique. You have to see her to understand.”

“Nin- animal?”

“In a way,” Shikaku said, “she’s smart. Definitely human like intelligence even if she doesn’t speak.”

“Are you sure she doesn’t speak?” Tsunade asked.

“She’s bossy enough without the ability.” Noticing the other’s questioning looks he added, “Shikamaru annoyed her. The scratches haven’t healed yet.” Shikaku rolled his eyes as everyone in the room failed to hide their humour.

Hiashi cleared his throat. “What about the bandages on his hands?”

Shikaku shook his head. “He carried the fixed shogi board all the way from the 8^th district to my house. I figured those bandages were some sort of protection for his fingers. Why?”

“From what I could see of his left hand, it looked like there wasn’t any chakra circulating in his palms.”

“What? Why didn’t you say that sooner?”

“Impossible!”

“What about his right arm?”

Shikaku winced at the three voices speaking simultaneously and even Hiashi looked irritated. But he took a deep breath and explained. “His chakra is civilian level so I didn’t think it was possible for him to have a block. And since he didn’t seem to be in any pain when he moved them, I figured it didn’t really matter.” Shikaku frowned at the man and Tsunade glared at him. “His right arm, from the wrist to the elbow was hard to concentrate on but I did notice that the right palm lacked any chakra flow.”

Hard to concentrate on… “Some kind of seal on the arm bracer?” Shikaku wondered out loud and turned to the Hokage who was glaring at the table. “Hokage-sama?”

“Even if he is a civilian, disruption in chakra circulation causes a lot of pain. For him to not feel that…” Tsunade frowned and looked at Inoichi. “He didn’t show any signs of being drugged, did he?”

Inoichi shook his head. “And with my cursory inspection, no signs of being brain washed.”

Shikaku glanced at Inoichi. So Tsunade didn't order him to go in to Harii's head. I guess she's already getting a soft spot for him.

“And there was his reaction to Danzo.” Tsunade signed, opened one of her drawers and pulled out a bottle.

Shikaku snorted. Reaction? More like blatant baiting. “At least Naruto doesn’t know much about Danzo.”

Tsunade groaned.

X-X-X-X-X

Shikaku paused as Inoichi tapped him on the shoulder, “The last person you called an idiot worth playing shogi with was Minato”

Shikaku looked up at the dark sky and took a deep breath revelling in the smell of grass, smoke and a touch of rain. “So?”

“When I can meet him?”

“He’s not fond of people our age”

“But he’s fine with you?”

“When have I ever acted my age?”

Inoichi snorted. “Honestly, what do you think of him?”

“I think his heart is too soft. And it’ll kill him.”

Inoichi coughed and stared at him. “You feel responsible for his well being?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Shikaku turned away with a huff.

“You want to keep him safe for Naruto? I don’t get it…why would you, of all people, want…unless he’s more like Minato then you’re telling me. Shikaku! Did he use some sort of sacrificial move in your game?”

Shikaku sighed. “He tried to save all of them. Even the pawns…like an idiot.”

“It’s just a game.” Inoichi tried to console him. “He’s a civilian. Surely there’s no way he’d ever come into such a position.”

Shikaku grimaced. “He’s an Uzumaki. I don’t think they can stay in the shadows even if they wanted to.” And what happens when he learns about Naruto?

“What would another game accomplish?”

“He can learn.” Learn how not to be an idiot. Learn to stay alive for Naruto.

“Minato never did.”

“And look what happened to Naruto.”

Inoichi frowned. “He turned out all right.”

“Are you kidding? Tell me you’re not that blind.” Shikaku said.

“He turned out all right for an orphan.”

“Don’t be stupid, Inoichi.”

“Well what do you want me to say? That I feel guilty for not taking the time to check up on him? We’re ninja, Shikaku. It doesn’t matter.”

“We swore loyalty to Minato. It should have mattered.”

“There’s something else, isn’t there? What aren’t you telling me?” Inoichi looked at him.

“It’s nothing.” Shikaku shook his head. “Listen I better get home before Yoshino gets cranky.”

“Fine.” Inoichi sighed and looked away. “But you owe me an explanation when you finally understand things.”

Shikaku nodded and turned away. If I ever understand things.

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I thought I already put this up last week and I checked my blog today and noticed it wasn’t there. I’m so muddle-headed.

Was supposed to be a humorous thing. But somehow ended up like this. This was created after combining bits and pieces of my writing that was scattered around. So it might seem a bit choppy. I know I had some more bits, but I can’t seem to find them.

Polar

One year for AtO online

Do people actually mark yearly anniversaries for their multi-chaptered fanfiction?

If not then this post is probably weird. But I'd like to take the time to actually do this. It has been a year and even though I haven't been the most consistent of updaters, I think I'm managed to get a good amount of writing done in a year. (especially if you count the tidbits scattered on my computer and various pieces of paper.)

So as a bit of a celebration, I'm going to put up one of the many deleted scenes that never made it into the first 10 chapters of the story. I've experimented and changed the PoV for fun.

Warning: ...it's a bit of a long post. And not very edited.
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Deleted scene/Omake Episode 1
Gate duty is always so boring. Izumo sighed wearily and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He glanced to the side and poked Kotetsu in the ribs persistently. "Is it time for us to leave yet?"
Kotetsu groaned and moved away from him to the other end of their wooden stall.
"You think Harii has any food with him?" Izumo fanned himself with some of the gate entry forms.
Kotetsu turned to him and rolled his eyes. "Of course he does. His fridge always has something in it. And you keep taking food there too."
Izumo scoffed. "Who keeps taking the dango there?"
"There's nothing wrong with taking sweets. Tons of take out though..."
"He's too skinny." Izumo said and adjusted his bandana to get his hair away from his face.
Kotetu sighed. "He's not Hiroshi."
Izumo stilled. "I never said he was."
"What happened to Hiroshi wasn't..." Kotetsu hesitated and turned away to look at the Hokage mountain in the distance.
"It was the poison. I know." Izumo shoved the forms back in their boxes, reached in to his pocket and grabbed a hold of the paper fan stored there. "Maybe we were just that stupid. I mean we should have known. How could anyone lose that much weight in so little time?"
"No one could have known." Kotetsu said after a long silence.
"We should have... we were his team-mates." Then this stupid fan wouldn't be the only thing left of him.
"Yeah, but..." Kotetsu paused as a group of people passed thorough the gate and headed towards their tiny wooden stall with papers in hand. He straightened in his chair and leaned forward. "Welcome to Konoha! Entry forms and identification papers please..."
Izumo shoved back his memories and smiled at the group as he scanned over their papers.

X-X-X-X-X

"How come we're not taking any food for him?" Kotetsu said as he fiddled with his chunnin vest.
"We should take him out. So that he doesn't have to clean up after us."
"We're not that messy" Kotetsu turned and smirked at him. "At least I'm not."
Izumo leaned to his side a little and elbowed Kotetsu. "Idiot, you're the messy one."
"As if! Who's the one who spilled juice all over his table..."
"You're the one who pushed my glass." Izumo shoved past Kotetsu and raced up the stairs to the top of the apartment building. He reached the top and turned back to Kotetsu. "Slow-poke."
"You cheater!"
Before Izumo could retort, the apartment door beside them was wrenched open. "Did you two have anything to do with this? If this is some kind of joke..." Harii waved his hands wildly.
"Why would we play a joke on you?" Izumo frowned and moved forward.
Harii blinked at him in confusion then moved aside with a slightly embarrassed look to let them in the apartment. "No reason."
His eyes just then... they were wistful. I remind him of someone? No, Kotetsu and me remind him...Izumo sputtered as he caught sight of an elaborately decorated paper clutched in Harii's hands. "A marriage proposal?"
Kotetsu gasped, ran forward and patted Harii's shoulders enthusiastically."Congrats! You lucky..."
"It's not for me, idiot."
Izumo shared a surprised look with Kotetsu."Naruto?"
"I almost wish it was." Harii sighed. "I got this letter from Ryuuken Izara."
Izumo tapped his chin in thought. Ryuuken, that name sounded... He gaped and looked at the snowy white owl perched on the couch, head tucked beneath a wing and obviously taking a nap.
Harii nodded at him. "Yeah. How exactly do I reply to such an odd request?"
"I'm confused." Kotetsu said.
"Kotetsu, you know him. Remember I told you about that creepy guy who breeds the messenger birds."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Izumo smacked his forehead. All that sugar must be rotting his brain. Harii snickered. Although I suppose he does have his uses.
Harii pushed the decorative letter in to his hands and sat at the couch. "Go on, read it."
Kotetsu moved closer and looked over his shoulder as he read the letter.

Sir,
I've never seen an owl from the mountains with such luminous feathers or such an impressive body size. I've even heard rumors of her increased intelligence. Surely her bloodline must be strong and unique.
I would like to make a formal request to have one of my own owls breed with her. He's from a long line of intelligent night messengers.
I'm sure their offspring will undoubtedly be of the most superior ...

Kotetsu choked. Izumo tried not to laugh too much as he read the rest of it.
"Here's the file on the other owl. It has pictures and information I can't even begin to understand." Harii pointed to the items on the small circular table of the living room and pushed himself deeper in to his dull brown sofa. "I almost feel insulted. He didn't even bother to find out my name."
"What are you going to do?" Kotetsu asked.
"She's not some dumb animal who's going to be forced to make superior owls or something. I refuse to do that to her. If she decides to settle down then that's her choice. She'll choose who she wants."
"Err, Harii, you do know she's an owl, right?"
"Yes and?"
"Nothing."
I knew he was different. Here he is acting as though the owl is family. Izumo smothered a laugh at Harii's defiant expression. "But aren't you at least going to see if she's interested?"
"But she's so young." Harii stared at the table thoughtfully.
"I thought you wanted to give her a choice." Izumo folded the letter slowly, shoved it in Kotetsu's hands and moved to the kitchen to grab a glass of juice.
"I did. but did you see the picture of the other owl? It looks stupid."
'It'? Not 'he'? Izumo came back to the living room and found Kotetsu nodding every time Harri pointed out a 'stupid' feature in the photograph.
Kotetsu gave him an amused look and turned to Harry. "So you don't approve?"
Harii held the photograph up to Izumo. "You think it looks stupid too, right?"
Izumo sipped his juice. "Why are you asking me?"
"You're the one who worked at the messenger tower. Obviously you'll be able to tell..."
He remembered. I just mentioned it once and he remembered. Izumo tried not to gape.
"...so what do you think?" Harii finished with an expectant look.
Kotetsu rolled his eyes. "Izumo's hardly an expert, Harii."
Izumo ignored Kotetsu and examined the owl in the photo. He then looked up at the snowy white owl napping beside Harry. "He does seem a bit... dull in comparison to her."
"Exactly! She deserves an owl that's way better than that. It's feather's are so boring and... Can you guys help me with the replying part?"
"No problem." Kotetsu said. "Although this does make me feel like an uncle."
"Uncle?" Harri frowned.
Kotetsu nodded. "You totally sounded like a dad. So that makes us the uncles. Especially since we'll be replying on your behalf..."
"A dad?"
Izumo smiled at Harii's scandalized look and touched the fan in his pocket. "Now that that's settled, let's get some food." He rolled his eyes as Harii opened his mouth. "No dango!"
Kotetsu patted Harri's shoulder consolingly. "Don't worry, there's loads of other sweets out there. Maybe we can even sneak some..."
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Interesting things I've come across
1- Damned Demented Demons by Hells_half_acre (Harry PotterXSupernatural)
This fanfiction takes place after HP's epilogue and manages to blend the two fandoms quite nicely and uniquely. It has a lot of pluses. First of all, the plot doesn't center around awkward yaoi romance. It has a good amount of action and I like the characterization of everyone in there. Also it's a nice length with sequels.

2- A discussion on speech verbs at FFNet's Writers Anonymous forums
Just thought you'd like to have a look at this discussion. It deals with the over-usage/non-usage of 'said' in writing. It also talks about 'bookisms' and how most people depend on that too much making their dialogue weak. (FYI- bookisms are stuff like - he hissed, he chuckled, etc- that are used as tags instead of said.)
It definitely makes you think about your own writing. Looks like loads of future editing for me, either way.

3- Water by Jennifer (Buffy X LoTR)
This isn't really a new find. It's more of a re-find. I remember reading it ages ago and loving it. But I forgot to fav/bookmark it.
It's unique in the narration and wonderfully creative in plot. It's a good read specially the second story "Ebb". Timeline is somewhere after the Hobbit and before the Lord of the Rings. But I do have to warn you that it hasn't been updated for while.
Actually a lot of the other one-shots by this author are wonderful reads- unique and makes you want more.

That's all for now,
Polar
P.S. I haven't been able to reply to any reviews yet. I hope you guys don't mind the delay with that.