Dear friends - and everyone who has supported Waiting for Totsuka up until now - Kateracks and Arait would like to thank all of you immensely. Honestly, neither of us have ever had a story as well liked as WFT...ever, so this truly was an amazing experience for us. To see so many of you come back to read each new chapter really is touching, as it makes us feel that maybe you don't want it to end. Neither do we.

Another new experience for both Kateracks and Arait was coauthoring. Since the beginning of...well forever...we have been writing *for* one another. The ultimate accomplishment was to make something that would surprise the other with its greatness. When we first started trying to write WFT together, we still had this attitude. So Kateracks would be assigned a section, and Arait would be assigned another section. We would write them separately, not saying a word about it until it was finished, trying to create a surprise for the other. This resulted in some VERY BIG misunderstandings, most of which were pretty funny (whether or not Azami should have a tattoo was *not* a funny misunderstanding, which would most likely be why it's not in the outtakes). Once Azami and Fushimi were in scenes together, we realized this approach would totally not work, and we learned how to write together for real.

Anyways, this story is intended to be our mistakes, alternate ways scenes could have played out, deliberate bloopers, and some deleted scenes that we could have written but didn't for one reason or another. We've tried to add context as a reminder of where in the story each part comes from, but it might be necessary to read this with WFT in another tab. Maybe I'll add which chapter they're from real quickly as reference. Hopefully this can tide all of us over until Missing Kings is on the internet and Kateracks and Arait can get more inspiration for a sequel. By the way, we're still waiting to hear from you guys whether you even want a sequel or not. So far only mst88 has given input. Maybe only she will get to read it...

Anyhow, first: BLOOPERS

Chapter - The Truth Revealed

She was a little surprised by the cheerful tinkling of a bell above her and the greeting, "Hello, welcome to HOM—Ah?" The person behind the counter turned to reveal it was Yata and confusion lined his face along with a little anger...Yata glared and moved around the counter, taking hold of a bat that he had propped in the corner. "This isn't neutral territory, and I've had enough of your mouth."

He charged through the space between them in a second, currents of fire spiraling out from his chest and down around his being until he was covered in curling, spitting tongues of flame. Azami maintained her cool exterior, but the green aura of her clan was bubbling up inside her and she did her best to channel it into her fists hidden in her sweatshirt pockets and only her fists. If she didn't catch the pyro off guard, her plan might not work, and she'd end up as a hunk of charred meat. Still, try though she did, she felt a tingling go through the hair at her scalp and green sparked across her vision.

She watched only the bat, and when it swung, she ducked underneath and moved toward him, ripping her hands out of the pockets and shoving them against his chest. The unexpected discharge knocked a breath out of the boy moving him back a few inches, but did little more harm than a mini explosion that left the impact zone and Azami's hands smoking but uninjured.

The distraction didn't last as long as Azami would have hoped, nor prove the seriousness of why she had come there to the vanguard. She didn't even get to start her explanation when he ran toward her again, but then he found himself skidding to a halt when she held up a plain hand in front of his face saying, "Stop." So firm was the order that he complied out of confusion. Who was she to command him here?

"I bet I can convince you in five words not to kill me," she added.

His mind processed that and then went through immediate options of what she could say so that he might spare her life. I came to apologize. No, that was only four words. I think you were right. That was five, but he had a hard time believing that she'd actually say that, even to save her life. I want to join HOMRA. That was five, too, but he would never let that happen, and she looked like she felt awfully comfortable in green. Whatever her message was, it had to be something urgent then.

"Better speak fast."

"I could kick your ass."

Yata's jaw dropped. "What? Bring it on!"

Chapter - The Truth Revealed (Also)

Yata walked up to the two leaders, skateboard under his arm, leading the green clansman as if she were a prisoner of war come to plea her case before the general...Kusanagi waited for the boy to begin his exciting account of what had brought them to this meeting...Through with the examination, he gestured at them both, but asked directly of Yata, "What is this about?"

The boy stood straight like he had just remembered their original purpose in being there and that he felt he had accomplished something great in bringing her to them as he proceeded to explain, "Hayashi, Azami came into the bar and said—'"

"Yata-chan," Kusanagi scolded, anger piercing through his glare, "I thought I told you no lame bar jokes!"

Chapter - Decoding the Mystery

The atmosphere was lively. Bubbly music played in time with colorful splotches of light that danced across the rink in random patterns. Since it was the weekend, the ice was crowded with young children, entire families, and youths skating hand in hand as couples. Falls were happening left and right from the inexperienced, and occasionally someone talented would dart by with an awe-inspiring trick.

In spite of all this, somehow Totsuka felt as if Emi was the only other person there with him. That had, in fact, resulted in quite a few near-crashes during which he had struggled to stay on his feet. He didn't mind, though, because when Emi covered her mouth to laugh at his clumsiness, he felt like the accident had been worth it...

About halfway through open-skate, a young girl with pale skin and a red dress glided up to Emi. Looking up at her with unmoving eyes, the girl commented, "I like your bow."

Caught off guard, Emi almost pulled away. The girl had sneaked up on her silently and directly, without wavering. Her expression was cold like the ice. Emi realized after the initial shock, though, that she knew this girl. At second glance, her rosy cheeks and eyes fixed upon the red bow made her appear more alive than normal. It seemed she also had no trouble keeping her feet on the slippery skating rink.

"Anna," Totsuka called out to her as he joined the two girls, "what are you doing here?"

"Mikoto sent me to watch you," she answered plainly, clearly unaware that she was likely supposed to keep an eye on him without being noticed.

Totsuka laughed even though he was frowning. He sent Anna? Besides the fact that Totsuka had specifically told him there was nothing to worry about, that he would be fine, and not to send anybody with him, why had he sent the youngest member of Homra? While she could blend in with the other children on the rink fairly well, and it was clear she at least knew how to skate, she wouldn't necessarily be any better off in a battle situation than Totsuka himself. Then, another thought came to him, and he glanced urgently around the building. Was he supposed to look after her while they skated, or had she come with the whole red clan?

"Are you alone?"

Her response was clear and silent, a single shake of her head in the negative. Others had come with her. Totsuka quickly tried to identify who had come, looking first at the rink itself. No one in particular stood out. Then, he turned his attention to the bleachers around them, and a flash of red hair caught his eye. Mikoto sat there glaring at the whole building full of potential threats, condensed breath against the frosty air blowing from his mouth instead of smoke. Beside him, Yata was bundled from head to toe in winter clothes, shivering furiously, but also looking ready to snap at anyone who attacked. Kamamoto and Dewa looked like body guards behind them.

Then, Totsuka was able to see them all. Chitose skated by with a girl on his arm, blending perfectly into the setting. Kusanagi was practicing his backward skating in one of the elongated ends. Fujishima very patiently tried to explain to Bandou how to stay on his feet, while the latter seemed frustrated as he bent over, clinging to the wall, about ready to give up.

They were all there. Even Fushimi stood disinterestedly by the door as if calling into question why he had been required to tag along to such a crowded place. At the same time, Totsuka could tell that he was discretely observant with his knives at the edge of his grasp. The boy who had been expecting a harmless date felt his temperature rise with some anxiety. If people got the impression this was a takeover by a group of boys somewhat giving the appearance of a gang, they would take their children and their girlfriends and leave.

A hush fell over the whole arena, and Totsuka realized he wasn't the only one feeling that heat. The ice had started to melt so that all their skates were standing in water up to the top of their blades. Someone must have seen the intimidating position of the four in the stands because a whisper spread through the crowd which then became a panic.

Some froze, unable to move. Others thought they could escape by moving subtly. When one of the hanging, fluorescent lights on Mikoto's side of the rink sputtered, sparked, and came crashing down, though, they ran. Screaming, everyone evacuated the scene. Only Emi remained, eyes wide with fright, staring at Totsuka for direction. He hadn't fled the building, so she stayed. The couple stood in four inches of water with their chaperon Anna horrified at how their date had been prematurely ended by his friends.

We sincerely hope you enjoyed this. We've never tried to do anything like this before, so our fingers are crossed that it turned out well. Keep an eye out for more!