Author's Note: I was inspired to write this by a review left by kbnsr. Sometimes when I read things you guys write me, I get all of these inspired ideas that I think are good and I rush to write them down for later. It's one of the reasons I love reviews so much and encourage everyone to leave them for not only me, but any other story out there that you enjoy. It goes a long way, so thank you.

Also speaking of reviews, if you do want to leave one, I would love to know what you all think about the story as a whole so far.

Thank you and enjoy!

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Omake 3: Head in the Clouds

a Deleted Scene

Peace and tranquility.

Those were the words that came to Shikamaru's mind when engaging in his favorite activity. Well, engaging wasn't really the best word to describe it. In fact, he enjoyed it so much because there was no need to engage in anything. Watching the clouds was calming, yet it also required practically zero physical effort. Sure, sometimes his eyes would get heavy from sleepiness, but then that meant he could fall seamlessly into a nap. Another plus in his book.

Watching the clouds was also the perfect time he could think about things that were on his mind. No distractions; no worries clouding his judgment and rational thought. And as of recently, there were quite a bit of things he needed to sift through.

'Crunch.'

The Nara's ear twitched slightly at the familiar sound. He had a good idea about who was behind it. While he enjoyed his free time almost as much as anything, the company of his best friend was always welcome. Slowly, expending the least amount of energy possible, he turned his head towards the stairs that led to the rooftop he was currently occupying.

Seconds later, a plump face with red swirls on his cheeks poked his head out. The head's eyes roamed the rooftop, and once they fell on Shikaku's son he broke out into a huge smile.

"Yo." Shikamaru said coolly.

"There you are, Shikamaru! I've been looking all over for you." The friendly Akimichi exclaimed, making his way over to his best friend's side. Forgoing the option to lay down on his back and watch the clouds, Choji opted to sit cross-legged next to his friend. It was easier to eat chips this way. Less messy, too.

The shadow user's eyebrow raised. "You were looking everywhere? Shouldn't this be, like, the first place you look?" If he wasn't at home or on a mission, and it was a nice day out, there was a good chance you'd find the genius on that very rooftop watching the clouds in peace.

"Well, your mom said you went to go play shogi with Asuma, but that was a while ago. Then, I got suspicious and thought you guys might be eating at Yakiniku Q without me, so I went there next." Choji explained shamelessly with a shrug.

The Nara chuckled lightly, turning his eyes back to the sky. " You know we only go to that place because you like it so much. I don't think I have ever actually gone there without you."

"Let's keep it that way." Choji said jokingly, though, Shika wasn't totally sure his friend was kidding.

They sat in silence after that for several minutes, simply enjoying one another's company. This was a common occurrence. Shikamaru would lazily watch the clouds above, while Choji would snack on his favorite chips and occasionally glance up at the sky himself. He didn't enjoy it as much as his spiky-haired friend, but just like Shika's admission with going to eat barbeque, Choji did it because Shikamaru liked to.

"Hey, Choji?" The Nara began, breaking the calm silence between the two.

"What's… up?" Choji said in between chews of his snacks.

"Did you ever get a chance to read Naruto's book?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah! I read it a little after it came out, remember?" The Akimichi answered, recalling when the surprise book was released a few months ago. "Why?"

"Well… I finally got around to reading it." Shikamaru was going to continue but was cut off by the chubby food enthusiast.

"Wait… you actually… read a book?" Choji interrupted, an incredulous look on his face. He couldn't recall any time in which the Nara boy had read anything without being forced to do so.

"Yeah, I did." The genius confirmed, slightly surprising himself with his own actions. "I had been curious about it or a while, I just kept pushing it off." Shikamaru said, acknowledging his own lazy tendencies. He wanted to support Naruto's book; it was just hard for him to find the motivation to do things. "Anyway, you're getting me off-topic. I wanted to know, what did you think about it?"

Choji, about to open another bag of chips, stopped and thought about the question. "I'm not much of a reader, but I thought it was good. Honestly, I had no idea Naruto could even write like that. When we were in the academy, his grades were even worse than ours."

"I know for a fact that Naruto couldn't write like that when we were in the academy." The shadow user added, fully aware of how inept the blond was in an academic setting. Sure, his own grades were pretty bad too, but that was due to him lacking the motivation to apply himself. "Though, his writing ability isn't really what I'm talking about. What did you think about what he wrote? Like, the story?"

"Oh, it was pretty interesting. I really liked the main character. Even though he wasn't treated right by the people around him, he never let it get to him. The character felt less like a hero, and more like an actual person. It was different. Naruto has always been a pretty creative guy, so I'm not surprised he was able to come up with it."

Shikamaru frowned, gaze drifting back to the beautiful sight above his head. Though, in the corner of his eye, he saw something moving in view. Though they were a considerable distance away, dark rain clouds were starting to approach the clear skies above the Leaf Village. A storm might soon be upon them.

"Yeah…" the spiky-haired youth said with even less emotion than he usually exuded. "Creative…"

Yoshino Nara, the wife to the clan head Shikaku, was cheerfully humming to herself as she was in the process of preparing dinner for her family. Though one of her geniuses was still not home yet, and she didn't have to look outside to know how hard it was raining. She could hear the small water droplets pummeling against the sides of the house.

'I hope Shikamaru isn't caught up in this rain. He gets a little moody when he comes home soaked.' Just as the thought came to her, she heard the door open in the other room. "Shikamaru is that you?!" She yelled, raising her voice more than necessary due to the rain bouncing loudly off of the window over the sink next to her.

Instead of answering right away, the young Nara walked into the kitchen with a grimace on his face. His hair was so saturated with water that his spiky ponytail being weighed down. He has taken off of his now wet jacket, revealing his mesh undershirt.

"You know, Shikamaru, you should be more aware of the weather." His mother began, eliciting a sigh from the boy. "I bet you were falling asleep staring at the clouds again, weren't you? All that time you waste when you could be out doing more important things."

Man, he hated when his mother got so naggy. Sure, he understood why she did it but that didn't make it easier to listen to. It really was bothersome sometimes. "I know, mom." He conceded, hoping to end the woman's mini-rant. Normally he wouldn't be this dismissive of his mom, but there was something on his mind that he needed to take care of. "Is dad home? I need to talk to him."

"Hm?" Yoshino responded, seemingly already forgetting about what she was complaining about. "Oh, your father is home. He's in the study." Shikamaru was already walking past her to the study, much to her annoyance. "Dinner will be ready soon! When you two are done talking come and eat!" She called after him.

Shikamaru threw a half-hearted hand above his hand in acknowledgment. He wasn't listening to what his mother had said, though if he had to guess it was a bit of nagging mixed in with when dinner was going to be ready. He wasn't being intentionally rude; the aloofness was only because the young Nara was focused on something else. And there was really only one person he could go to get the answers that he wanted.

"Dad." Shikamaru said as he walked into the study of one of the most intelligent ninjas in the Land of Fire, maybe even the entire elemental nations.

Shikaku looked up from something he was reading and waved his son into the room. "What is it, Shikamaru?"

"I need to talk to you about something."

Shikaku's brow furrowed in intrigue. Usually, when his son wanted to talk about something, the young Nara would propose they play a game of shogi. Shogi loosened them both up, making it easier to have these types of conversations together. Though, this time, Shikamaru didn't open up with a round of their favorite game. What was bringing about this change in routine? 'How interesting…'

"What is it?"

His son, instead of responding with words, simply took something out of his pouch and tossed it in his father's direction. The clan head knew what it was before reaching out and grabbing it in mid-air. It was a bright orange book.

His son was still standing in the doorway, arms crossed, and a frown stretched across his face.

Shikaku couldn't keep a weary sigh from escaping his lips. He was fully aware of the contents his son's former classmate had authored; the Hokage had made most of the ninja aware of it in case the younger generation began asking questions. This was a conversation he hadn't exactly been looking forward to.

"Your friend is apparently quite the author, I hear." Shikaku began in a measured tone. "That is if it has the ability to get someone as lazy as you to sit down and read."

"We both know what this is about, so why don't you just tell me what is going on." Shikamaru said with a modicum of annoyance. He could tell when his father didn't want to talk about something.

"I would if you told me what exactly you wanted to talk about." His son returned his serve in their verbal game of shogi, and he delivered a strike right back. "I'm all ears."

The young Nara sighed as he leaned up against the door frame. "The things Naruto talks about in this book, it isn't as simple as an author telling a story for the enjoyment of the readers. No, it has to be much more than that."

"Are you saying you didn't like the book? I heard it was actually quite the enjoyable read."

Shikamaru's eye twitched at his dad's obvious attempts to avoid this entire conversation. "No. What I'm saying is the things in this book seem a little too real to be just a story. Though, if it is more than just a story, I don't understand why these things happened."

"Oh?" The clan head said with feign surprise, rubbing his chin in apparent deep thought. "Which parts are you talking about?"

"Everyday, I wake up to the hateful stares of people who don't understand me." Shika began, seemingly reciting a passage from the book solely from memory. "They whisper how much they despise my existence, even though I have caused them no harm. This is the world that I was born into. A world that rejects me." He had read that part so many times, that he didn't think he would ever forget it.

Shikaku remained silent.

"Those words are in that book. I've known Naruto for a little while, and while I'm not sure how he suddenly gained the ability to write coherent sentences, I know that he didn't come up with that on a creative whim." It wasn't a surprise to him that Choji hadn't picked up on the book's meaning. The young Akimichi was usually someone who took things at face value and rolled with it without much thought. If only Shikamaru had that luxury. He picked up on thing and had to know the meaning behind it. Especially if it involved a friend of his.

"What are you trying to say, Shikamaru?"

"You know exactly what I'm trying to say."

Shikaku tossed the book back to his son and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. It looks like he doesn't have a choice except to have this conversation.

"Then say it. Tell me what it is that you're thinking." A touch of annoyance was in the clan head's voice.

"When we were in the academy together, I didn't think much of it, but I would sometimes see him out in public after school hours. Or, even, when we would skip class together with Choji and Kiba. He would get these looks directed at him. At the time, I thought it was because he pranked everyone in the village, though, something about those stares didn't look like prank victims." Shikamaru winced slightly as a rush of guilt washed over him. "We weren't particularly close, so I guess I just didn't care enough to give it any significant thought. I took the simplest answer available because I didn't want to put any additional effort into it."

Shikaku's eyes softened as he watched his son struggle with guilt. "Don't beat yourself up about it. You were, and still, are, just a child. How could you know anything unless we told you?" Though, his gruff and unsympathetic tone didn't come off as very reassuring.

"I should have noticed regardless, but it doesn't really matter right now." The boy said, locking eyes with his aloof father. "My question to you is, why? Why did he get those glares from people in the village?" There was a touch of anger in the usually reserved Nara's voice, something that didn't go unnoticed by the scarred man.

There was a long pause as the clan head turned his answer over in his head. He had no choice in his response, really. "That… is something only Naruto can tell you, I'm afraid."

Shikamaru recoiled a bit, shocked that he was being denied. "What? Why?!"

"Well, there are a couple reasons." Shikaku answered, rubbing his chin in actual thought this time. "Most importantly, though, is that whatever happened, happened to Naruto. So, it isn't my place to tell you about his business."

Shikamaru wanted to say something in retaliation, but there was nothing that was coming to mind. As much as he didn't like to admit it, his dad was right. Would it be right of him to snoop around in Naruto's business? Especially if it was potentially something that the blond wanted to keep under wraps? No, as a friend he would respect his space.

The spiky-haired man stood up from his chair, intent on leaving the room. "Now, if I had to guess, I would say that dinner is about to be ready." He said as he slipped by his son who still remained in the doorway. Though, shortly after passing the boy, he stopped; back still turned away from his successor.

"I may not be able to give you the answer that you want, but I will tell you this." He continued. "You're right, that quote you read isn't simply an author crafting a story. Though, it could mean many things for many different reasons. If you want to know, I would suggest asking Naruto when he returns to the village. Only he can give you the answer you want."

"And, if he doesn't want to tell me?" There was no anger or frustration in the young Nara's voice, only conflicting emotions of confusion and sadness. Sadness that he was right, and someone he now considered a friend had gone through being neglected by everyone while he just turned a blind eye. "I just want to make up for being a bad friend. Naruto deserved better than what he got from all of us."

"Then, respect his decision." He turned his head back, locking eyes with the younger Nara. "And, be there for him. As his friend. It would mean more to him than you know. If anything, being sad and sorry for him may make him feel worse. I get that you may feel some sort of guilt, but don't show him that. No one wants to be pitied."

As he watched his dad's retreating form, his mind began to race with the new information he was given. If anything, their conversation had just raised more questions that begged to be answered. And since he respected the blond's privacy, they would have to wait, at least, until he returned to the village. Though, there was one thing the talk with his father had clarified.

Naruto was his friend, and he would be there for him whenever he was needed.

Deleted Scene From Chapter 13: Change - Jiraiya Retires?

"W-What did you say, Sensei?" The blond sputtered. Were his ears clogged? He couldn't have heard that right, there was no way…

"I said, I quit." The Sage said matter-of-factly.

"Quit what?! What are you talking about?!" What the hell happened last night?

Jiraiya chuckled. "I just told you. I'm done being a ninja for the Leaf Village."

For a moment, it felt as though the Genin's brain stopped functioning. This made absolutely no sense. His Godfather had to have been joking. Yeah, this was just some bad joke.

"You aren't funny, you know that?" Naruto didn't believe his own thoughts. Jiraiya didn't look like he was joking.

"But I'm not joking, kid. I swear."

Naruto winced. That was what he had been dreading.

"You can't just quit. The village needs you." Trying his best to reason with the man.

"Yes, I can." Interestingly enough, the Sage was smiling. He almost seemed happy with this decision, furthering confounding the boy. "I just sent my messenger toad to deliver my resignation to Tsunade. I'm sure she won't be happy, but that is a bridge I'll cross when I get to it."

Naruto felt dizzy. To him, Jiraiya WAS the embodiment of a ninja. Strong, the strongest the Leaf had to offer; one of the Legendary Sannin. Talented, a master of infiltration and espionage. Strong-willed, someone who refused to give up no matter what was put in front of him. If he was no longer a ninja, who truly was?

"I don't understand." Naruto verbally stated his confusion. "What happened? Why would you do this? What happens to me? It's your mission to stay with me and teach me… Does that mean you're leaving?" The more he spoke, the more distraught he sounded. Jiraiya wasn't perfect, but he was his hero.

Jiraiya shook his head. "I've been thinking about this all night. I'm not watching over you for the sake of the village or anyone else, I'm here for you. To protect you and make you strong because you're my family. I can't ensure that if my attention is divided by all of these other things."

"B-But what about your spy network? You can't abandon that for me! It's invaluable to the Leaf!"

"Oh, that." Jiraiya waved off as if it was of little concern to him now. "I'm turning all of my current resources over to the village. I wouldn't be truly 'retired' if I still had to manage that. I referenced Kakashi as my potential replacement, but whatever happens, is up to Tsunade."

"I don't know what to say… I think you're making a big mistake. I'm not that important, Sensei."

Jiraiya smiled. "Well, I don't care what you say. You're important to me."

There was silence between the two, Naruto trying to find something to say, but he was shell shocked.

"Though, there is something that I won't be giving up." Jiraiya said, breaking the tense silence. "If they do appoint Kakashi, I'll have him keep us updated with all Akatsuki activity. I may be done with being a ninja, but the Akatsuki are after you, which means I'm not done with them."

"If you're no longer a ninja, are the village leaders going to let you do that?"

"I'm a Sannin, they won't turn me down if it is about the Akatsuki." Face dead serious. "And if they do, well, I don't think they can really stop me."

"So, let me get this straight." Naruto rubbed his temples. "You're gonna retire so all of your time can be put to training me and writing smut all day?"

Jiraiya let out a bark of laughter. "No kid, not at all." He reassured after regaining his composure. "I'm quitting writing, too!"

'Thump!'

That had apparently been the straw that broke the camel's back. Naruto completely overwhelmed by the thought of the Sage quitting his two favorite things was too much to take.

He fainted and hit the ground. Hard.

The Sage stared at the unconscious boy for a long time.

"It isn't just about the training." He said aloud to himself. "I want to be here for you, in case you need me."

I had mentioned a couple chapters ago about this deleted scene. I decided to put it here for fun, and if I have more in the future I'll probably post them in addition to chapters if that is something you guys would like to see.

Author's Note: Shikamaru is one of my favorite characters, and his intelligence makes it almost impossible that he would not catch the meaning of Naruto's book. The only question to ask would be if he ever got around to actually reading a book, but since it was written by a friend of his I gave him the benefit of the doubt. His friend mean a great deal to him, even if he doesn't wear his feelings on his sleeve.

What did you think? Your opinions matter greatly to me! I'm always available via PM, and I am still updating my writing progress very frequently on my profile, so look out for that if you're ever wondering when I'll be posting again.

Thank you for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows, and I will see you next time for Chapter 15: Elemental Forces.

cravensvt - Sorry for the scare! I mentioned the chapter's title was going to be Author's Remorse in the ending notes of the previous chapter (similarly with this one, as well). I have no plans to stop, but I will notify readers of any delays or updates on my profile page if those things ever happen.

adam199118 - Thank you, I'm glad someone can relate. Still, I'm trying my best to continue to write when I can. I like canon Naruto for what he is, and I won't say that Kishimoto did a bad job, although post-timeskip Naruto did leave a lot to be desired imo. My take on him is in my own image, something I try to make different from others (including Kishi). Though, I digress.

Thank you for the nice compliment about my work!

AkashimaUchiha - I can't speak for canon, but Jiraiya's decision definitely makes more sense in my story. It would be incredibly selfish of Jiraiya, as his Godfather, to continue to waste away time on things that don't really mean much in the grand scheme of things; especially when his Godson, the potential child of prophecy, is struggling to function normally under his watch. Jiraiya made the adult decision, something he hasn't always shown he's been capable of.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of my thoughts!

ThelittleKing - I personally love character development I saw someone comment that Naruto was evil after what he did to Jaaku, and I just don't think that could be farther from the truth. It isn't that black and white.

As for your point about the sequel, well, you'll just have to wait for the next 2 chapters. Can't wait to hear your thoughts about them!

As always, thank you for the quality review.

Still extremely unlikeable though, evil or not.

DragonshadowRyukage - If you are referring to Jaaku Monsuta… yes, I'll will admit that it is extremely unimaginative. Though, if you notice I have done that a couple times throughout the story. Naki...dead, Uddo…wood, Sozoku…rat, and Jaaku for being a corrupt monster.

This is what my "I only speak English" brain came up with. Instead of coming up with random Japanese names, when I had to make an OC name I just chose something that relates to a trait that character has, while still sounding like it could be a name to my uncultured ears.

Lastly, while I don't know if what I have written is breathtaking, the compliment still means a lot to me nonetheless. Thank you, and let me know what about it you've enjoyed so far!

JoeMcLuvin - While I agree it can be a bit sad, I try to not make it depressing. I try and give the tone a darker, more somber tone without bringing it down too much.

And about the water fall, he didn't change because he willingly welcomed his darker side with open arms. It was almost like he erased it. In this, a tragic event caused both sides to mash into one. Before, happy Naruto was always on the exterior, while darker Naruto was suppressed. Now? Both of them are at the surface.