{"id":2573,"date":"2017-10-19T13:27:08","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T17:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/?p=2573"},"modified":"2020-05-15T10:16:31","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T14:16:31","slug":"preview-chapter-41","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/?p=2573","title":{"rendered":"Preview – Chapter 41"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author’s note: Still here, still writing. I know it’s slow in coming, but don’t worry, I’m still at it! \ud83d\ude42<\/em><\/p>\n

Preview – Chapter 41 – Akatsuki\u2019s Assassin<\/b><\/p>\n

Out of the nothingness came a white light. It cut across him. He was dead. He knew it. And this was his Death:<\/p>\n

A blinding light.<\/p>\n

A cold room.<\/p>\n

A hard floor.<\/p>\n

So hard that it brought an ache into his stiff body and made his head slowly throb\u2026.<\/p>\n

Wait a second\u2014<\/i><\/p>\n

Katsuro cracked an eye open.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t dead.<\/i><\/p>\n

Light from beyond a canvas door slashed down his face. A shadow passed. His body hurt. His head pounded. He was cold\u2026colder than he\u2019d ever been before. So cold he couldn\u2019t move\u2014<\/p>\n

A voice passed overhead. The words fell down as if spoken through water. \u201cAh, you\u2019re coming around. Good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katsuro blinked slowly, feeling like his brain was filled ice. Cold pressed on him from all sides.<\/p>\n

He was in a tent. Itachi\u2019s tent. It was all beginning to come back to him\u2026.<\/p>\n

Katsuro head tipped sideways, shifting his line of vision. A blurry black shape came into focus. Beside the desk stood a black-clad figure. His blond head didn\u2019t turn.<\/p>\n

Katsuro remembered the night before.\u2026 He closed his eyes and shook his head.<\/p>\n

But this\u2026this wasn\u2019t right\u2026. He and Naruto had fought\u2026he\u2019d lost the captain\u2019s blade\u2026and then\u2026.<\/p>\n

Katsuro didn\u2019t understand how they could both be here. But he still wanted to get up, have another go at him, finish what he\u2019d started. He was so cold though\u2026. His body wasn\u2019t working right. His arm was broken. His leg was crumpled. He was nearly dizzy with pain. And instead of numbing him, the cold seemed to make every injury blare in his brain.<\/p>\n

\u201cDispel the jutsu,\u201d Itachi said. \u201cIt\u2019s gone too far already.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat,\u201d Katsuro said, his own voice echoing back to him as if through a fog. \u201cWhat are you t-talking about\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cThe jutsu. Your<\/i> jutsu.\u201d Itachi spoke slowly, as if to a child. \u201cRemember? Your clone<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d Katsuro said thickly. But Katsuro still didn\u2019t comprehend. He didn\u2019t remember a clone. He didn\u2019t remember\u2026anything. Only fighting Naruto. And\u2026and\u2026dying?<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cRelease it.\u201d Itachi was growing irritated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI-I don\u2019t understand\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cDo it!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Katsuro cringed, the sound hurting every fiber of his being, but he tried to focus.<\/p>\n

With supreme effort he brought around his arm to meet the mangled one, and pushed his hands together. They barely touched. He couldn\u2019t concentrate. The pain, the cold\u2026it was consuming him. Fragmenting his thoughts\u2026.<\/p>\n

A very different scene floated into his mind. A dark night and a low fire, and Itachi\u2019s voice. But from very long ago. Out of the blurry darkness rose a memory. It was one of his first lessons\u2026. Dispelling.<\/p>\n

\u201cPush your energy outside your body. Clap your hands together. Then, in your mind, grasp hold of what you\u2019ve made \u2014\u00a0like that sorry excuse for a clone over there. Then blow…him…up.\u201d Itachi annunciated every word, driving it home. \u201cImagine him stepping on a paper bomb. There will be a cloud of smoke. A loud pop. And he will fly into a millions of tiny pieces. But really, all those little pieces \u2014 that nobody else but me can see \u2014 will float through the air and come back to you. That\u2019s how you dispel a clone. Now practice. And no dinner until you get it right.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Katsuro\u2019s hands shook with cold. His eyes watered. His arms felt like they had frozen and would break off. But he did as the memory instructed. He pushed his energy outward and willed anything that he\u2019d ever made to disappear.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t care what it was. Because it didn\u2019t matter. It wouldn\u2019t work. There was nothing of his to dispel. It was just the three of them in the tent and\u2014<\/p>\n

Across the room there was a weak puff of air.<\/p>\n

Katsuro didn\u2019t feel it. He was spent. His arms crashed back to the mat. They felt like they were going to break into shards of ice at any moment. He shuddered once, a soundless scream forming on his lips. He was going to freeze to death, right there, and there was nothing left to save him. The demon was gone. Ripped out of him. His fire had been extinguished. He was no more than a broken vessel. Empty. Nothing but the cold left to fill him. It froze him from inside out, splintering down from the top of his head, cracking him slowly in two\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cNow dispel your<\/i> jutsu.\u201d Itachi sounded almost bored.<\/p>\n

Katsuro\u2019s frozen brain couldn\u2019t make sense of the words. \u201cI don\u2019t know\u2026what you\u2026mean\u2014\u201c he gasped.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s corrupted. It has been for a while. You\u2019ve just been fighting it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2014\u00a0I don\u2019t understand\u2014\u201c Katsuro was nearly crying with pain. Each icy breath was agony.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to understand!\u201d Itachi snapped. \u201cYou just have to obey!\u201d<\/p>\n

Katsuro struggled to get his good arm back up. His hands were cramped with cold and wouldn\u2019t meet anymore.<\/p>\n

Another memory came back to him out of the dark corner of his mind. Itachi speaking at that same fire, so long ago, telling him one word. The right word. The single key that broke nearly all ninjutsus\u2014<\/p>\n

Katsuro pushed his last bit of strength to his hands. They were numb but he still smashed them together.<\/p>\n

\u201cKai,\u201d he wheezed with his last icy breath. He could manage nothing more.<\/p>\n

His arms collapsed, his body went limp, his head fell to the side and his eyes slid shut. This was it, he thought. This was the true end\u2026.<\/p>\n

Funny how death was so comfortable\u2026even a bit warm\u2026.<\/p>\n

He relaxed into the floor, letting the inevitable carry him away\u2026. Breathing into it\u2026waiting for it\u2026welcoming it\u2026.<\/p>\n

Warmth trickled in, thawing his limbs and making them feel heavier. The cold cracked off like a shell, falling away in large pieces.<\/p>\n

Strangely, instead of leaving this world, he became more aware of it. The ridges of the tatami mat against the back of his head. The smell of the Itachi\u2019s tent, the sweet crispness of fresh scrolls and metallic tang of oiled weapons.<\/p>\n

Warmth flooded over him, pouring through his hair, sizzling over his eyelids and skin and running to his fingertips. It was glorious. He wriggled his toes inside boots he didn\u2019t realize he was wearing.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t care. He took a breath, off-handedly wondering how a dead man could still breath, while enjoying just how much his chest expanded. It was as if he hadn\u2019t been able to breath deeply before now. But this, this<\/i> was deep and delicious. Air was such a lovely thing\u2026. He was going to miss it\u2026.<\/p>\n

Something clicked. He wasn\u2019t dead. The mat, the tent, the boots\u2026breathing air<\/i>\u2026. It all meant he still wasn\u2019t dead. Not yet\u2014<\/p>\n

His eyes snapped open. He raised up slightly, craned his neck and looked back at the desk. Itachi was there, watching him of course, but folded beside him on the edge of the desk was a cloak\u2026. A black and red cloak\u2026.<\/p>\n

Snippets of memories, fragments of conversations, pieces of whole days came back to him, as if his mind was awakening from a warm haze too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember something about a plan\u2014\u201c He stopped. His voice was deeper\u2014<\/p>\n

He knew this voice\u2014\u00a0He hated<\/i> this voice!<\/p>\n

Ice gripped his heart as he realized just what it was Itachi had asked him to release.<\/p>\n

He lifted a hand in front of face to confirm it. And there it was, Naruto\u2019s square powerful hand right in front of face.<\/p>\n

He remembered it all now. How could he have forgotten? This<\/i> was Itachi\u2019s plan. The true plan. Katsuro was only the outer shell. And Naruto wasn\u2019t gone, he wasn\u2019t defeated. He had simply been there all along, inside him. It was Katsuro who wasn\u2019t real.<\/p>\n

Katsuro had to die for Naruto to take his place.<\/p>\n

Reborn, Naruto stared at the ceiling, letting himself sink into the body that was his, yet not his. It felt heavier, weighing him down. Naruto looked down at his body. He was wearing the black fatigues of a soldier. Or rather\u2026an Akatsuki member.<\/p>\n

Sitting up was awkward. His limbs and torso still felt too long. \u201cYou said\u2014\u201c But he faltered again, the strangeness of his own voice making him choke on his words.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said\u2026?\u201d A smile colored Itachi\u2019s voice, as if the thought of Naruto having an identity crisis was amusing to him.<\/p>\n

Naruto turned back to Itachi. He tried to speak again, but his throat was dry. He swallowed hard, gulping, choking and coughing all at once, making his face twist almost comically into a very boyish, very Katsuro-like<\/i> expression.<\/p>\n

Itachi laughed mirthlessly. \u201cI suppose it really is you in there after all. Shame. You were such an obedient shinobi, for a little while, at least\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naruto cleared his throat, struggling with a myriad questions. \u201cWhat\u2014 What happened\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

Itachi nodded. \u201cJust now? That was a death shell that you were breaking out of\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I did<\/i> die\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not exactly\u201d Itachi\u2019s said tightly. \u201cYou were supposed to<\/i>, but leave it to you to try and one-up your clone instead of sticking to the plan.\u201d He sighed, looking tired. \u201cNo, you didn\u2019t exactly die, but with a well-timed jutsu it looked to everyone else like you did. Naruto knocked you out with the handle of the dagger at the last moment, but they saw a different bloody end. Hence the death shell over you, suppressing all your life signs for twelve hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh\u2026.\u201d Naruto processed it, running his fingers through his hair like he always had till he realized it didn\u2019t feel the same. He dropped his hand quickly, leaving several blond chunks sticking up on the top of his head.<\/p>\n

His face twisted suddenly, remembering something. He pointed an accusatory finger at Itachi. \u201cYour plan\u2026.\u00a0 Weren\u2019t we just supposed to swap places?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were some unforeseen problems. Namely that squeezing you back into your old form took a toll on you.\u201d Itachi sighed, but continued, sounding more like a teacher reciting a lesson than a concerned mentor. \u201cIt\u2019s exactly why you should never re-henge into a disguise of that magnitude. It won\u2019t ever work right again. Your body fights with your mind to try to make the illusion whole until both sides begin to fragment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Itachi stopped himself and nodded towards Naruto\u2019s gut, sending the black wisps of hair at his face juddering along his pale face. \u201cIt\u2019s only because of your\u2026tenant <\/i>that you were able to go as long as you did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naruto looked down at his unfamiliar stomach, now longer and flatter and hidden by a black shirt that also felt foreign to him. So he had been wrong. The demon was there all along.<\/i><\/p>\n

Itachi continued, voice still flat. But that secret smile was back. \u201cBut it certainly was interesting to watch\u2026. You withstood the effects longer than I\u2019d ever imagined you could. It\u2019s good to know the current limits of the demon\u2019s power\u2014\u201c Naruto\u2019s face was going hot with anger at being spoken of like a lab rat. But Itachi didn\u2019t care. He stared back without feeling. \u201cAlthough maybe your bone-headed stubbornness contributed to some of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naruto couldn\u2019t contain himself. He pushed himself up to standing, wobbling a bit, hair out at all angles, face red. \u201cRight! If it did such a great job, then why didn\u2019t it protect me?!\u201d Naruto made the few steps to the desk before having to stop and lean hard on it. He quickly found his balance as more warmth poured into his ankles and feet, helping to stabilize him. But he barely noticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in danger! What if that guy had really tried to kill me? I thought he was going to! Isn\u2019t that reason enough for the demon to protect its host, like you\u2019ve always said it would!? I thought I was dying! I was<\/i> dying!! Yet it did nothing\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were never in any danger.<\/i>\u201d Itachi let the word drag out, still smiling coyly. \u201cThe demon knew who you were fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naruto caught on and looked disgruntled. \u201cHe thought I was fighting myself\u2026. So he knew that guy was a clone even when I didn\u2019t?\u201d He rubbed his head, thinking, but when his fingers touched his hair, he ripped them away. \u201cThen\u2026is that<\/i> why I couldn\u2019t use any of its power?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Itachi nodded, waiting as Naruto caught on\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait a second!\u201d Naruto pointed angrily at Itachi. \u201cAnd how<\/i> was that guy even a clone\u2014 He\u2019s nothing like me!<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

He finally stood up straight, raising his voice slightly over the last words. It was the most normal outburst in the world for Katsuro, but standing taller in the tent and hearing the words in a deeper, more powerful tone, gave Naruto a moment of pause.<\/p>\n

They were nearly matched in height, and Itachi looked straight across at him, but he didn\u2019t answer. Instead he just watched, surprised and curious at the self awareness playing out on Naruto\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

Naruto huffed a few times, put his hands on his hips, thinking. He went from puzzled to angry to puzzled again then finally began to pace, which was not nearly as satisfying for him as it used to be because his longer legs didn\u2019t get enough stretch in confines of the tent.<\/p>\n

Itachi still watched him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was nothing like me at all,\u201d Naruto said, sounding different but still pounding his fist into his hand just like Katsuro. \u201cNothing at all. He knew things I didn\u2019t. Techniques I\u2019ve never done\u2026or at least never done that well. He didn\u2019t know me or listen to me\u2014\u201c He stopped and threw his hands into the air. \u201cIt was like he was another person\u2014 A different<\/i> person\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

Itachi shrugged. \u201cIn a way, he was. He was you, but without any of your experiences. He was a clean slate, untainted by any outside experiences. He was a shell. A vessel, if you will.\u201d Itachi paused, but resumed with intent behind his words. \u201cAnd not just any vessel\u2026. That Naruto was the product of a\u00a0lifetime of training without the wasted energy of emotions. That<\/i> Naruto was the perfect shinobi.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Naruto in front of him narrowed his eyes. \u201cBut he<\/i> wasn\u2019t me<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Itachi didn\u2019t disagree. Naruto broke away angrily. \u201cSo it was a test after all. He was just someone else I am supposed to be. Just another disguise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naruto went to chew his fingernail, but even that felt different. He tore his hand away and cursed instead.<\/p>\n

Itachi shook his head. \u201cHe was<\/i> you. He was a perfect version of you. But\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Itachi broke off. Instead he looked the blond up and down. He didn\u2019t have to say it. They both knew the Naruto in front of him, with the one with the crumpled hair and slumped shoulders and ruddy cheeks, the one who was governed by emotion and not much else, couldn\u2019t be more different than the fearsome shinobi who had returned with Itachi and immediately become second-in-command without saying a word.<\/p>\n

Itachi sighed. \u201cBut that version is gone now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naruto grunted angrily and jammed his hands in his pockets. It wasn\u2019t as comfortable as it used to be in his body\u2014 His old body\u2014 In Katsuro\u2019s<\/i> body! He swore to himself again and just ignored the discomfort.<\/p>\n

Naruto remembered it all clearly now. The plan. How Naruto the clone was supposed to beat him. How Katsuro was supposed to fake his death in order for it to be convincing. But there was no reason it had to be so\u2026so\u2026so real<\/i>. And there was no reason to keep him in the dark about it\u2014<\/p>\n

He shifted his weight on his hip and looked up accusingly at Itachi. \u201cYou could have told me,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cYou could have just told me what to do. And when. I would have played along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Itachi looked at him with eyes that saw right through him. \u201cYou never could have played along. I knew from the start you\u2019d figure out some way to fight with him, to test him or yourself. So when I saw you fighting off the effects of the jutsu, I decided to see how far it could go. It was impressive, I admit,\u201d he shrugged one shoulder and lifted a delicate black eyebrow. \u201cBut I let it happen. I can still read you like a book, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naruto felt his face getting hot again. Itachi had planned it all out. A plan beneath a plan. The pain, the death \u2014\u00a0him nearly losing his mind \u2014 all of it was just a part of Itachi\u2019s plan. <\/i>He was petulantly angry at being so easily used, yet all the while being told it\u2019s for his own good.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich reminds me,\u201d Itachi said. He pulled out something from behind the desk. \u201cI have something that belongs to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He held out a parcel wrapped in fabric. A corner fell back, exposing the arced handle of the Captain\u2019s dagger.<\/p>\n

Naruto suddenly felt foolish. That\u2019s how all this started. As Katsuro, he was angry that \u2018Naruto\u2019 had taken it. Yet, he was always Naruto. Even the fox knew it\u2026.<\/i><\/p>\n

He took the dagger and holster and held it in his fist. But he admitted to himself it no longer felt like it was his. Or Naruto\u2019s. Or whoever he was supposed to be now.<\/p>\n

Naruto scrubbed the back of his neck. But when his fingers hit the longer softer hair he immediately pulled back. He remembered once being so happy about this powerful new body. But now, it made his stomach jolt each time he was reminded of it.<\/p>\n

It was hard to be happy about becoming someone you\u2019ve been hating. Even if it was only in your mind.<\/p>\n

Itachi said nothing more and returned to business as usual. \u201cYou\u2019ve healed quickly, as I expected. Which is good. You are needed in the Rain country immediately.\u201d Naruto scowled. Itachi ignored him. \u201cYou have a job,\u201d he cut his eyes to the cloak folded on the edge of the desk. \u201cAnd you have an obligation to fulfill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naruto\u2019s anger exploded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no way I can go out into the world like this!! I can\u2019t go on missions, or defend myself or even talk<\/i> to someone\u2026. I don\u2019t even know what my own name is\u2014\u201c Naruto looked at his hands again. They trembled in front of him, but this time from anger. \u201cAnd what about my power? What if I knock someone out? Or what if I don\u2019t hit hard enough\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

Another thought made his face go ashen. \u201cW-What if my power no longer works\u2026? There\u2019s no guarantees that it will. Or what if it goes the other way. It\u2019s too big, too powerful.\u201d His voice dropped to a whisper. \u201cWhat if I give myself away?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Itachi said nothing.<\/p>\n

But Naruto\u2019s face had morphed from desperation to resolution. His fists were tight at his sides. \u201cNo! No missions, no Akatsuki, no nothing. I\u2019m not doing it!\u201d<\/p>\n

He was fierce in the declaration, if still petulant. His blue eyes were strangely bright against his flushed face. His yellow hair stood out, like Katsuro\u2019s did. He was wild and unmanageable, just like Katsuro. He looked at Itachi, waiting, hoping he might understand.<\/p>\n

But Itachi simply shrugged a shoulder as if he expected this response. Naruto gripped the dagger\u2014 the captain\u2019s<\/i> dagger\u2014\u00a0Katsuro\u2019s<\/i> dagger tightly, then swore to himself again.<\/p>\n

Itachi continued as if Naruto hadn\u2019t spoken. \u201cYou will need to be outfitted for weapons. Report to the munitions tent. They have a list prepared for you. These will be your new weapons. In addition to your dagger.\u201d As if to stop the argument Itachi knew Naruto was forming, he added, \u201cYou will need it in any case, no matter what you choose<\/i> to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Itachi looked deeply into Naruto\u2019s face, black eyes looking straight across into blue ones. There was no jutsu there, no manipulation from Itachi to make Naruto submit. Instead it was the truth. And it made Naruto suddenly, viciously angry.<\/p>\n

Itachi acted as if it was a choice. But it wasn\u2019t. And both of them knew it.<\/p>\n

Itachi had brought them this far, and he didn\u2019t expect Naruto to disobey now. Even in the face of Naruto\u2019s impetuous revolt. Somehow it was all still part of his plan.<\/p>\n

Sudden warmth rushed into Naruto\u2019s arms. The anger spurred his urge to fight, and his body responded. The amount of power was surprising but not unwelcome. He wanted to yell. He wanted to rage. He wanted pound his fists into something. Most of all, he wanted to fight back. Against Itachi and all his plans, against the wretched camp\u2026and even against his own body, this new \u2018vessel,\u2019 this Naruto<\/i>, the perfect shinobi that he was sure to never live up to\u2014<\/p>\n

Fed up with all of it, Naruto left. He threw the canvas back in an explosion of fabric and stormed out of the tent.<\/p>\n

\n\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author’s note: Still here, still writing. I know it’s slow in coming, but don’t worry, I’m still at it! \ud83d\ude42 Preview – Chapter 41 – Akatsuki\u2019s Assassin Out of the nothingness came a white light. It cut across him. He was dead. He knew it. And this was his Death: A blinding light. A cold […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-preview","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5hctF-Fv","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2573"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2574,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573\/revisions\/2574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}