Chapter 32 – Notes

Author’s Notes

Patient readers, I’m sorry there’s so much time between chapters! But to make up for it, I make sure they’re good and long. Special thanks to Witchymage and Ernie on DA — your words really keep me afloat. They’re truly a gift. And my heartfelt thanks to everyone who reviews – I try to respond to as many as I can. But if I missed you, please know that I read each and every one, and truly appreciate it!

Chapter Notes

Alright! This chapter is definitely darker than anything else so far. I told you it was going to get bumpy! But seriously, this is my exploration of aspects of the characters that are glossed over in the manga. Realistically, if Katsuro/Naruto were a shinobi in a real-world scenario, then he would be expected to kill. And if he housed a blood-thirsty demon inside, then he wouldn’t have much choice in the matter. But still, as an author who loves her characters, I find myself wishing it wasn’t so, even though this scene has been planned from the beginning. Eh, well. I’ve tried to write them honestly. But I’m curious to see how everyone receives this chapter. Too dark? Too scary? Or just right?

I don’t want Katsuro to be a hero because that’s his role — I want him to be the hero because he overcomes ridiculous odds and makes good choices where others make bad ones. I don’t want Sakura to be strong because that’s her role, but instead because she perseveres in the face of adversity that would put any else under. So to get to that end, I have to put them through the ringer. Anyway, it’s harder than I thought! I’m definitely going to have to write some fluffly one-shots to counteracts these chapters! 😉

• Chapter title – So, if you remember, the chapter titles correspond with one another. Chapter 1-Taken/Chatper 15-Returned. Chapter 18-Whole/Chapter 31-Cracked. It was meant to seem like “Cracked” was the antithesis to “Whole.” But really it was just the hairline cracks that come before something is broken beyond repair. “Shattered” is just that, when things for Sakura and Katsuro are irrevocably broken.

• Sasuke watched one scrawny boy eyeing the other suspiciously. He had a bright red ball tucked under his arm. And it was drawing a lot of attention. — So, I wrote this just as a background story, but the more I wrote, the more I realized the kid was a lot like Sasuke in this vignette. Selfishly holding onto his toy as Sasuke was selfishly holding onto his success at getting assigned missions. It was meant to be a situation to showcase Sakura’s good nature for Sasuke, thereby helping him transition to a more friendly relationship later. But it ended up reflecting quite a bit about Sasuke as well.

• “So…. See anything you like?” Sasuke fished in his pocket past the scroll and pulled out a coin. He pressed it into the man’s leathery hand. “I’ll take an apple.” — Sasuke likes apples. Katsuro likes oranges. The two are as different as…. You get the picture! 🙂 And it’s important later, when Sakura thinks she sees Katsuro because of the orange in the lane.

• Sakura leaned back against the base of the great wall, cooling off in it’s shade. Head tipped back, she watched the swallows swooping and diving, arching up over the highest stones and disappearing into the dusky sky. — This mirrors Naruto’s time as a boy in the village as a child, watching the bats swoop and dive over the wall and wishing he were as free as they were.

• The leaves rustled gently around him, and the steady knocking of the river floated up. The town was known for its hot springs, and the watery sounds permeated everything.  — This is the location of Sakura’s first big diplomatic mission, to the town with the hot springs where she met Katsuro in the bamboo thicket.

• Wiping his nose on the back of his hand, the lanky teen picked up the sacks of trash to haul out the back door of the pathetic roadside watering-hole. — This is the restaurant where Wei connects with the diplomat in Chapter 30. The line of that vignette starts “The lanky teen wiped his nose on the back of his hand.” So there is some continuity there.

• Katsuro shuddered inwardly. It was Kisame. — So, I want to paint the Akatsuki members as really being terrifying. Katsuro is surrounded by killer men/ninjas every day. But I want to convey the fact that the Akatsuki members are freakishly powerful. And utterly terrifying.

• Kisame and the others of the Akatsuki were monsters, and no matter what Itachi said in praise of their ‘unfathomable powers,’ Katsuro vowed he would never be like that. — This reference an earlier quote by Itachi, praising the Akatsuki’s powers and suggesting that Katsuro would find some affinity in them, because he also had a monster in him and was shunned by the community he came from. But also, this foreshadows the end of the chapter, when Katsuro loses control of the “monster” within. And it’s also a bit of foreshadowing for the future, when Katsuro eventually becomes member of Akatsuki himself.

• Some hours later, the pleasant sound of wind wooshed gently through the trees that ringed the fields. Sakura stirred, turning and her coverlet and stretching out in the expectation of the cool breeze to come, but she never fully wakened. — the sound of wind in the trees covers their movements. Itachi and Katsuro have both used it.

• Hot fury spiked inside. But she had the advantage. Sakura crouched low at the door and waited till the heavier footsteps were close to the door. She sprung into the room, catching the assailant from below and driving a fist straight up into his chin as she came up. — This was one of the first moves Katsuro taught her when they were in the temple together. So it’s fitting that she uses it here to knock him down.

• “NO!” he roared, and something inside of him ripped to life. It seared through his chest, burning him up from the inside out. In the heat, the scene in front of him wavered. The blackened timbers blurred into twisted bars. — Katsuro is breaking out of the debris, at the same time the kyuubi is breaking through the cage that holds him. So it is meant to look like broken-down cell doors.

• That pulsing set his heart racing at an unfamiliar pace. His teeth felt sharp and ready to bite, his hands felt ready to rip and tear…. He wanted to snuff those lives out. — So instead of going through the grocery list of physical changes, I’m going more for how it feels. Scary and feral.

• But the man’s death wasn’t enough. The demon wanted more. — So, initially Katsuro still held some tiny amount of control. But the demon takes over. And at this point Katsuro is gone and the kyuubi is in control. He is very much like the four-tails in the manga. And as with Akatusuki, I want kyuubified Naruto to be really scary. Terrifying. So it will seem like Naruto has a lot more in common with the Akatsuki members than with standard village ninjas.

Spoiler Notes

• So, in case you’re worried, Sakura doesn’t die. I don’t think it’s much of cliffhanger, but in case anyone wanted to know!

• “Katsuro,” Itachi said without a trace of pleasantness in his voice. “I have a job for you. One that I think only you can manage.” — More on this next chapter. But Itachi has discovered Katsuro’s relationship with Sakura, and he makes him pay the ultimate price. Katsuro has to go fetch the girl, and Itachi makes it clear that Sakura’s life is in the balance. Wei was just sent along to make sure Katsuro got the job done. He didn’t know Sakura would be there (nor did Itachi, for that matter). But once Wei saw a chance to finish the job he’d botched before, assassin that he is, he tried to kill Sakura.

• “No, Sakura,” she said firmly. “And I shouldn’t burden you with these concerns. I remember the end-of-summer festival was the highlight of my summers growing up. You should enjoy it…” — This festival is based on Japan’s Obon festival held in August.

• The hair sticks were old and cheap and the black lacquer was chipping, but she didn’t care. — Sakura will be given nice new hairsticks later on. So this little detail is important.

• Tsunade regarded her pale apprentice, realizing for the first time that she had matured, she was aware of much more than she was a year ago. Maybe she should tell her of Konoha’s awful predicament. — So Tsunade comes close to telling Sakura about the loss of Naruto. But she doesn’t. And immediately following, Sakura almost makes the connection about “rogue nins” but she too opts to keep her own secrets. So they come very close to stumbling on the truth, but it evades them. This theme of near-misses will come up again.

• She thanked Tsunade again for the scroll, and turned to go. But her smile masked the heart-rending doubt that had taken hold. — This line corresponds  to the last line of Katsuro’s encounter with Itachi and Kisame: Katsuro stepped inside, a queasy feeling taking hold in the pit of his stomach, and let the flap swing closed behind him. — Both bring them to the brink of their fears, and set the stage for their undoing.

• Sasuke’s pov —So, chapter starts and ends with Sasuke. Since he is important to this chapter and to Sakura’s transition as a whole, I didn’t want him swooping in and saving her out of the blue in the end. Hence the opening from Sasuke’s pov.

•  Contrasting settings — In starting with the description of Konoha, it is meant to be beautiful, peaceful and happy to contrast with just how dark, treacherous and dangerous Katsuro’s world is, and inevitably how the chapter will end up. So I’ve tried to paint those as very different worlds. One is bright and filled with sunlight, the other is perpetually in shadow. Also sets up the contrast of happiness which you know inevitably is going to be…shattered.