~A short one today. As a reminder, there's a poll in my profile to help me gauge what you guys want to read. Of course, reviews work, too!

This one was actually a deleted scene (it got to happen off-screen because, well, it did), and it fits vaguely in the Itachi/Kana category. Itana? Kanachi? Watachi? Yuck, some of those sound like sneezes. Someone had better convince me that's a bad thing, because I'm really finding them amusing. *Wakachi!* Bless you.

Time: Chapter 17

Directly outside Hokage's Office, Konoha. Seven years after Kyūbi.

Twenty-four, twenty-five . . . come on, Itachi, how long does it takes to walk out of the Hokage's office? Oh, okay. Hello.

I trotted to his side. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Home," he said.

"Your mother is visiting one of her friends. Your father's at work. You're not bleeding." I grinned. "It's settled—we're immersing ourselves in a grueling genjutsu battle, a battle so fierce that your brother will see it from the Academy."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really."

I grinned more widely.

"And why are you not there with him?"

"Because I took the graduation exam yesterday, of course. I passed with flying colors. Like your summons on a sunny day!"

The stoic Uchiha looked at me seriously, weighing the likelihood . . . and snorted. "But not like your thrown weapons fly, no doubt."

Ouch.

Still ouch.

I huffed. "Fine, if you're going to be like that, I'll just head back to eat my lunch. Bye." I turned.

"I apologize if—"

"No, no, no, I only wanted to say hello, since you always come to spy on your brother after you report to the Hokage." He raised an eyebrow; I ignored it. "Anyway, some of the other kids have been looking for me. See ya!"

"Other kids" meaning Naruto, but, well, he kind of counted as two. Maybe even three. Eh.

I bounded off.

(Okay, it was possible that I was a bit self-conscious about the aim joke. At this point, I wasn't even ready to think about taking the exam, not unless failing the practical part was allowed. So no more jokes about that.)

~Thanks to everyone who was kind enough to review! Also, some chronological replies to the anonymous: pao (That sounds like a hypothetical idea for sure. We'll see!), Guest (*guilt* Sorry! Sorry. Sob. At least I don't have any thoughts about abandoning it, so that's one plus), and Guest (Aw, great! I'll keep going, then).

Out of curiosity, just how much romance does everyone actually want to see? So far I wouldn't count any of this as romantic. Just deep, which is, I bet, going to leave more of an impact than straight romance would. Personally, I'll read romance, but I read it for the deeper emotions, not for the love part. But I'm curious if you guys want to read that sort of thing. Your opinion! It wants to be voiced. :)

As for my opinion, my main character is five right now. This story is rated K+. Since this story goes into all the trouble of writing itself (within reason), I'll let it continue doing that. Simple for me, right? Yeahhh, right.