{"id":928,"date":"2012-12-07T13:30:26","date_gmt":"2012-12-07T18:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/?p=928"},"modified":"2013-01-28T11:14:10","modified_gmt":"2013-01-28T16:14:10","slug":"chapter-32-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/?p=928","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 32 – Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author\u2019s Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>Patient readers, I\u2019m sorry there\u2019s so much time between chapters! But to make up for it, I make sure they\u2019re good and long. Special thanks to Witchymage and Ernie on DA \u2014 your words really keep me afloat. They\u2019re 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!<\/p>\n

\n

Chapter Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019t have much choice in the matter. But still, as an author who loves her characters, I find myself wishing it wasn\u2019t so, even though this scene has been planned from the beginning. Eh, well. I\u2019ve tried to write them honestly. But I\u2019m curious to see how everyone receives this chapter. Too dark? Too scary? Or just right?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want Katsuro to be a hero because that\u2019s his role \u2014 I want him to be the hero because he overcomes ridiculous odds and makes good choices where others make bad ones. I don\u2019t want Sakura to be strong because that\u2019s 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\u2019s harder than I thought! I\u2019m definitely going to have to write some fluffly one-shots to counteracts these chapters! \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

\u2022 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.<\/p>\n

\u2022 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.<\/em> \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cSo\u2026. See anything you like?\u201d Sasuke fished in his pocket past the scroll and pulled out a coin. He pressed it into the man\u2019s leathery hand. \u201cI\u2019ll take an apple.\u201d<\/em> \u2014 Sasuke likes apples. Katsuro likes oranges. The two are as different as\u2026. You get the picture! \ud83d\ude42 And it’s important later, when Sakura thinks she sees Katsuro because of the orange in the lane.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Sakura leaned back against the base of the great wall, cooling off in it\u2019s shade. Head tipped back, she watched the swallows swooping and diving, arching up over the highest stones and disappearing into the dusky sky.<\/em> \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0The 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.<\/em>\u00a0 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

\u2022 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.<\/em> \u2014 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.”<\/em> So there is some continuity there.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Katsuro shuddered inwardly. It was Kisame.<\/em> \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Kisame and the others of the Akatsuki were monsters, and no matter what Itachi said in praise of their \u2018unfathomable powers,\u2019 Katsuro vowed he would never be like that.<\/em> \u2014\u00a0This 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\u2019s also a bit of foreshadowing for the future, when Katsuro eventually becomes member of Akatsuki himself.<\/p>\n

\u2022 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.<\/em> \u2014 the sound of wind in the trees covers their movements. Itachi and Katsuro have both used it.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Hot 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.<\/em>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0This 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.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cNO!\u201d 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.<\/em> \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

\u2022 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\u2026. He wanted to snuff those lives out.<\/em> \u2014 So instead of going through the grocery list of physical changes, I’m going more for how it feels. Scary and feral.<\/p>\n

\u2022 But the man\u2019s death wasn\u2019t enough. The demon wanted more.<\/em> \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

\n

Spoiler Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 So, in case you\u2019re worried, Sakura doesn\u2019t die. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s much of cliffhanger, but in case anyone wanted to know!<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cKatsuro,\u201d Itachi said without a trace of pleasantness in his voice. \u201cI have a job for you. One that I think only you can manage.\u201d<\/em> \u2014\u00a0More 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\u2019s life is in the balance. Wei was just sent along to make sure Katsuro got the job done. He didn\u2019t know Sakura would be there (nor did Itachi, for that matter). But once Wei saw a chance to finish the job he\u2019d botched before, assassin that he is, he tried to kill Sakura.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cNo, Sakura,\u201d she said firmly. \u201cAnd I shouldn\u2019t burden you with these concerns. I remember the end-of-summer festival was the highlight of my summers growing up. You should enjoy it\u2026\u201d<\/em> \u2014 This festival is based on Japan’s Obon festival held in August.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The hair sticks were old and cheap and the black lacquer was chipping, but she didn\u2019t care.<\/em> \u2014 Sakura will be given nice new hairsticks later on. So this little detail is important.<\/p>\n

\u2022 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.<\/em> \u2014\u00a0So 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.<\/p>\n

\u2022 She thanked Tsunade again for the scroll, and turned to go. But her smile masked the heart-rending doubt that had taken hold.<\/em> \u2014 This line corresponds\u00a0 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.<\/em> \u2014 Both bring them to the brink of their fears, and set the stage for their undoing.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Sasuke\u2019s pov \u2014So, 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.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0 Contrasting settings \u2014 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\u2026shattered.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
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Author\u2019s Notes Patient readers, I\u2019m sorry there\u2019s so much time between chapters! But to make up for it, I make sure they\u2019re good and long. Special thanks to Witchymage and Ernie on DA \u2014 your words really keep me afloat. They\u2019re truly a gift. And my heartfelt thanks to everyone who reviews – I try […]<\/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":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-notes","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-eY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928","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=928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}