So I'm starting a new story. Don't ask why, don't ask when my next chapters are going to be updated. Just accept it. My hands and my mind write as they are able, when they are able. This came vomiting out of my head and onto the keyboard, and so I just put the words on the screen and posted. I have a slight idea of where this could go, but otherwise, it was just a spontaneous scribbling. I was creating a plot as I typed.

If you can't tell, I don't really often have a plan when I write. I mean, I have an inkling of what I'm going to type and where it'll go, but planning it out ahead of time... isn't really my strong point.

I know for a fact I'm going to put a couple of chapters up for this, but beyond that, well, I'll find out as I write.

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A slight breeze ahead, cool wind blowing against my face...

Fire at my back...

A sliver of sky visible, stars shimmering against the purple backdrop of fading twilight...

An escape!

A shape went flying from a hole in the cliff face, propelled by a massive explosion that shook the enormous mountain. Impossible tongues of flame shot a full fifty feet from the rocks, illuminating the night-shrouded land as an enormous fireball spewed forth from the mouth of the tunnel, and one singed blond-haired man flew through air, smoldering bits flying off of his disintegrating cloak. Rocks and debris flew around him as he tried to maintain a sense of balance as he began a three-hundred foot free-fall towards the dense forest below, which was approaching at an alarming rate.

"Last time I listen to a god damn thing that that stupid silver-haired bastard has to say about dynamite!" Naruto yelled, wishing that he had never accepted Kakashi's advice about the best way to handle TNT. Oh yeah, dynamite's perfectly safe and easy to handle, as long as you don't light the fuse or drop it. That's what he had said. Of course, he had also forgotten to mention that it not only spontaneously detonate on its own, but that it can be set off by the gentlest knock from a kicked pebble that he had accidentally tripped over! Dammit! He should have just listened to Shikamaru's advice. Dynamite's extremely volatile. Don't fuck with it. Quick, simple, easy to understand. Of course, Naruto had thought that the lazy slacker was just trying to blow him off. Now he knew better.

Somehow, when Naruto had drifted off in thought, the ground had suddenly gotten closer. Like, holy-shit-if-I-don't-do-something-now-I'm-gonna-be-splattered close. So the blond flipped his body upright, with his feet aimed at a slight angle to the ground, and prepared to roll on impact, a simple technique that would reduce the amount of force on his body when he hit the hopefully soft mulch and soil that made up the forest floor below. Of course, if he wound up smacking into a tree or smashing through branches, he'd be fucked anyway. So here's to hoping.

It was fortunate for Naruto that he did not collide with any trees or branches as he fell, as he had been expecting. However, the blond man was not fortunate enough to land on a cushion of soft mulch and loam, as he had been hoping when he made it through the canopy unscathed. No, instead, he smashed into a packed down, stony, and obviously well-traveled path, if the piles of horse shit were any indication.

Naruto lay there, in the middle of the path, watching the sky above as flaming debris and rocks soared through the sky, still propelled by the force of the explosion. Various cuts and bruises on his head stung, and a ringing in his ears that he realized was from the explosion earlier made itself known. His ribs began to hurt, and he was fairly sure at least one of them had broken on impact. There was a sharp pain in his leg that the blond was fairly confident wasn't a break, or at least, nothing felt broken. It took more effort than it should have to lift his head off of the ground so he could look at his leg. His head hit the ground, making him wince in pain as a piece of gravel dug into his skin, sighing in exasperation. Somehow, a nice big splinter of wood, nearly the width of his forearm and almost as long, had pierced the nearly impenetrable armor that the blond was wearing. Or at least the guys in the R&D department had told him that it was nearly impenetrable, and now that theory was torn to shreds by the fucking log in his thigh. Another thing to add to his growing list of 'People I Don't Listen To', not to mention the last time he would ever accept armor that was still in the 'experimental' stage. The one good thing it had done so far was absorb most of the impact of his fall, otherwise he would've definitely broken more than just a couple of ribs... or worse.

If Naruto would've been paying attention to his surroundings, instead of griping about how he could never find people who knew what the fuck they were doing, and whining to himself about his lot in life and damn-does-my-leg-hurt-I-think-I-have-a-slight-concussion-ow-my-ribs-whine-whine-bitch-whine, he might of noticed the horse-drawn cart galloping loudly down the path. He also might have noticed the fact that the old cart driver was too busy talking worriedly to a younger girl who could have possibly been his daughter, or perhaps his granddaughter, to notice him. He also would have noticed the steel-shod hoof coming at him before it collided with his head.

His last thought before darkness engulfed his vision was "Dammit all... that fucking hurt!"

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And so ends the prologue.

What do you think? How far should I take this? Should I get my ass going on my other stories?(yes)

I'm probably going to be doing some of my own artwork for this, mediocre as my skills may be. This story produced some cool imagery in my head while I was typing.

Peace out, yo,

-ChickenDeNoodleyNoodle the Third