Chapter 22 – Perfect, Part 2
Chapter notes:
• Her words had been thrown away, dismissed as nothing more than empty flattery. He still saw her as beneath him! — a twist on Sasuke’s attitude from the manga toward Naruto. Without Naruto in the story, all Sasuke’s mean behavior gets dumped on Sakura.
• “Or you could just kill each other, and save me the trouble,” he said dryly, pulling off another crate. — Sai is challenging to write the way he is presented in the manga. It doesn’t make sense if he’s such a good shinobi that he’s in Root…yet he doesn’t know how to speak to friends without insulting them. His character just unraveled into either a plot device or comic relief. So Sai gets a rewrite in this story too. He’s observant and mostly quiet, but can be cuttingly sarcastic when he wants to be. And, like all character in this story, he has a secret which loom like a dark cloud over all his interactions. More on that in future chapters.
• This ridiculously happy Sasuke stopped in front of her and threw out his arms. “Whaddya think?” He spun around. “Better?” — A twist on Naruto disguising himself as Sasuke in the manga. It’s made all the better because this time Sakura is a participant.
• Katsuro on Sakura’s medic skills and diplomacy skills — He watches her with fascination as she heals the grandmother. Similar to the manga, he thinks her skill is amazing. No one else really comments on it except him. And her diplomacy…. Instead of spending long hours in the hospital, under yellow lights with antiseptic smells treating mostly civilians, Sakura would have to be interacting more with people if she were out on missions. As a medic, she’d have to be a representative of her village, in all situations. Give orders, read the room, and sometimes tell people what they may not want to hear. So, in short, be she’s got to be a diplomat as well as a medic/shinobi.
• Sakura was wrong. Apparently, he still knew more about her own village than she did. Itachi had never been reserved about the dark side of Konoha. He knew there was a shadow group that sought out talented children to raise as weapons. Wasn’t he was living proof of that? — Reference to Root, Danzo, and some of the embellished stories that Itachi has told Katsuro to keep him from never seeking out Konoha.
• She paused for a moment. She supposed in that way he and Sasuke were alike. Both were bound by someone else’s orders. But at least here, Katsuro was able to shake free of it for a while. — No opinion here from Sakura, but a subtle recognition that Sasuke is also caught in someone else’s web. It’s a nice resolution to a chapter where he’s referenced a lot, but not often there.
Spoiler Notes
• She shook her head lightly. Sometimes his stealthiness startled her. Like Sasuke, he concealed his prowess. These little things made her wonder how much she really knew about him. — Brief moment of introspection from Sakura about Katsuro. Later, she will realized she just accepted everything at face value when she should have been questioning more.
• “Got no help,” the man barked suddenly as if they’d been having a conversation. Sakura jumped. “All the boys around here have gone off to play ninja.” — So, something’s going on that’s enticing the local young men away. Not all of them, but enough. Again, a very oblique foreshadowing to future plot twists.
• “I know. It sucks I have to look like him of all people,” he muttered, inspecting his hands, then his arms, then his clothes. — foreshadowing. This disguise will play out in some good and not-so-good ways over the chapters to come. But Sasuke will not find out about it until years later.
• “Grandfather!” a little girl called, dashing towards them. — The child is sweet and innocent, and this helps Katsuro understand a little about protecting others who can’t protect themselves. This will amplify next chapter when thinking about Sakura being in danger. And much later, the child will come to represent the village for him — like the innocent people who live within the walls and rely on the nins for protection. Sakura is his love, while Mai will symbolize the village citizens.
04 Mar 2011 No Comments
Chapter 22 – Notes
Chapter 22 – Perfect, Part 2
Chapter notes:
• Her words had been thrown away, dismissed as nothing more than empty flattery. He still saw her as beneath him! — a twist on Sasuke’s attitude from the manga toward Naruto. Without Naruto in the story, all Sasuke’s mean behavior gets dumped on Sakura.
• “Or you could just kill each other, and save me the trouble,” he said dryly, pulling off another crate. — Sai is challenging to write the way he is presented in the manga. It doesn’t make sense if he’s such a good shinobi that he’s in Root…yet he doesn’t know how to speak to friends without insulting them. His character just unraveled into either a plot device or comic relief. So Sai gets a rewrite in this story too. He’s observant and mostly quiet, but can be cuttingly sarcastic when he wants to be. And, like all character in this story, he has a secret which loom like a dark cloud over all his interactions. More on that in future chapters.
• This ridiculously happy Sasuke stopped in front of her and threw out his arms. “Whaddya think?” He spun around. “Better?” — A twist on Naruto disguising himself as Sasuke in the manga. It’s made all the better because this time Sakura is a participant.
• Katsuro on Sakura’s medic skills and diplomacy skills — He watches her with fascination as she heals the grandmother. Similar to the manga, he thinks her skill is amazing. No one else really comments on it except him. And her diplomacy…. Instead of spending long hours in the hospital, under yellow lights with antiseptic smells treating mostly civilians, Sakura would have to be interacting more with people if she were out on missions. As a medic, she’d have to be a representative of her village, in all situations. Give orders, read the room, and sometimes tell people what they may not want to hear. So, in short, be she’s got to be a diplomat as well as a medic/shinobi.
• Sakura was wrong. Apparently, he still knew more about her own village than she did. Itachi had never been reserved about the dark side of Konoha. He knew there was a shadow group that sought out talented children to raise as weapons. Wasn’t he was living proof of that? — Reference to Root, Danzo, and some of the embellished stories that Itachi has told Katsuro to keep him from never seeking out Konoha.
• She paused for a moment. She supposed in that way he and Sasuke were alike. Both were bound by someone else’s orders. But at least here, Katsuro was able to shake free of it for a while. — No opinion here from Sakura, but a subtle recognition that Sasuke is also caught in someone else’s web. It’s a nice resolution to a chapter where he’s referenced a lot, but not often there.
Spoiler Notes
• She shook her head lightly. Sometimes his stealthiness startled her. Like Sasuke, he concealed his prowess. These little things made her wonder how much she really knew about him. — Brief moment of introspection from Sakura about Katsuro. Later, she will realized she just accepted everything at face value when she should have been questioning more.
• “Got no help,” the man barked suddenly as if they’d been having a conversation. Sakura jumped. “All the boys around here have gone off to play ninja.” — So, something’s going on that’s enticing the local young men away. Not all of them, but enough. Again, a very oblique foreshadowing to future plot twists.
• “I know. It sucks I have to look like him of all people,” he muttered, inspecting his hands, then his arms, then his clothes. — foreshadowing. This disguise will play out in some good and not-so-good ways over the chapters to come. But Sasuke will not find out about it until years later.
• “Grandfather!” a little girl called, dashing towards them. — The child is sweet and innocent, and this helps Katsuro understand a little about protecting others who can’t protect themselves. This will amplify next chapter when thinking about Sakura being in danger. And much later, the child will come to represent the village for him — like the innocent people who live within the walls and rely on the nins for protection. Sakura is his love, while Mai will symbolize the village citizens.
by tricksie in Chapter Notes