The current chapter length is rather short. Spanning between two and three thousand words a piece. The scenes are brief and a bit cobbled together. Much of that is avoiding any instance where I may have used redundant perspectives. Another is that I really haven't gotten all the details and nuances worked out to make the scenes and chapter intervals any larger. The character and conflict level depth isn't there yet, while the boundaries and development criteria haven't been set in stone.
In the story summary, I mentioned that I hope to remove the godlike OCs from the story. That's because they represent a simulated climax. They lack a stable background and act as tools for arbitrarily development. My original characters don't fit into the story itself so much as they project something I am familiar with into the dynamic for plot points. Figuring out how to work that process behind the scenes is the primary goal of the pseudo styles project.
The line of succession that became "Punk of flames". Writing new characters, or in the case of fanfic, adapting other people's characters into a work of fiction is a bit of a process. I have enjoyed growing up and producing works in advent of these lessons. I look forward to learning plenty more in the future, may the spirits lend me strength.
Thank you for your hospitality, and I hope you enjoy the story.
(Notice: Deep hiatus season. Chapter output will be slow for a time yet.)
===Chapter 19: Preparation I===
(Mindscape)
It had been a turbulent existence. The night it all came crashing down seemed to haunt his every waking moment. Even when he intentionally called to mind the memories he cherished, it seemed as though another false take of that traumatic night vexed him. Horrendous defeat, aimless loss, ultimate torment. Each time guilt and strain hit him in ways he did not anticipate, haunted seemingly by his own actions, and betrayed by his will.
Something changed, although it wasn't immediately apparent. As his awareness began to shift into focus, he toyed with the idea that this was in fact his existence within the seal. That his last line of defense had become so absorbed in countering the biju and preserving the seal.
It didn't fit though. The seal had that aspect set aside per a contingency, viable only in the event that it was broken under the biju's influence. Was this purgatory then? The shinigami's curse to battle the Kyubi's chakra? If so, the beast was having an easy time of it.
Stubbornness bred slowly, and as the memory of the atrocity and sacrifices it demanded recurred, he took hold of every opportunity he could find to beat back the Biju. It was the least he could do, to stand up for what it took to get here.
Pain. Finality. Resignation followed in the end, but underlying all that, a burning determination that promised to outlive all else. To do right by, and claim the fate to make it her own, that no creature, be they mortal or design could take it away.
The sensation of her chakra coils breaking down was like molten glass fibers in a blizzard. The warmth of her conviction trapped within a blanket of insulation. The stalemate was solid for a while, and that fire held out with no sign of ever degrading. Gradually though, the wool was breaking down, snapping corroding and dissolving until only a thin shell protected what it held. The warm light permeated it's shelter.
A deathly stillness came soon after. Sensation left her, as the barrier had nothing left to offer the searing storm. Be it cold or pain, pride or determination, for a spell afterwards she concluded that life itself had ceased to harbor her.
Something brushed along the shell. The fire within thundered like a heartbeat, an involuntary response that struck her as all too familiar. There was nothing to see however. No false awakening. No person to answer her concerns. Just a void, and that sheltered mass within.
She pressured to affirm the determination, furious that it might relent, and all too wary that it alone had endured.
Curved arcs appeared surrounding the shell like shooting stars. Their directions and horizons however scattered all over. They never touched, although they seemed to track to her focus until that faded back within the sphere.
Drawing on that focus again, she recreated the effect and stuck to it. The crooked ladder of light swept across the area yet again, racing forth over the distance. This time the majority congregated to one side sprawling out like a typhoon. The implication hung as the tract faded back to darkness. Whatever it was could wait, and a few seconds later, the light snaked outward toward that shape racing in any direction at a whim and seeking out whatever drew it there.
For minutes on end, those arcing ladders raced across what seemed to be a boundless horizon. Testing for limits, across that plane and about the source, until one such track cut out. Followed by another, until she began to intentionally test that boundary. A line formed well below the source. The light would creep further back from the side, but could go no further there. To her efforts, seemed to extend out endlessly in either direction, and showing no sign of Yielding. Then the plane shifted.
Opposite the barrier, the light curved away from the source. Continuing to reach further and further found other diversions like this, and gradually she began to map out the area. A few new paths later, she discovered that another barrier formed on another side opposite the source.
Gradually, over the course of a few days, the layout of some great corridors became apparent. Where it was, and what this meant of her consciousness became the subject of many of her thoughts. Where she could not find answers in exploration, she turned to speculation, and for her questions exploration again. It was an endless cycle, but frustration never met her temper. There was no shortage of ends to explore, and her 'center' was tireless.
Sunlight streamed through the window, countless aerosols carried on the drifts. An old desk, a lamp and night table, all braced against the wall by the twin bed.
At one of those posts, they twisted and danced on a curved path, the shadows blurring behind. The wayward disturbance shifted lazily as the shadow of the neighboring block ebbed. As the morning light panned across his face, the boy stirred and shifted.
A moment of silence passed, one could suggest he'd fallen back asleep. All at once he sat up - the bedsprings giving a yelp of protest - and darted. His blankets jettisoned like breaking waves.
He was taller now. Once and then knee high, he could now stand shoulder to hip with Iruka. A blur of motion, the blanket barely had time to settle when the door cracked open. An orange jacket rode low while the same arm held a fistful of a plastic bag.
He sprinted off with a murmured 'c'mon' and took to the street. It wasn't the first time he'd fallen behind, as the morning star would only get harder to rise to.
It had been a year and a half since his exposure to the chunin tournament. Some would question Iruka's judgement to expose him so soon, and sure enough, word had climbed into the ranks to make it so. Sketchy resolutions aside, it had given the blond a bit of direction in his life, and his determination became healthier when Iruka was promoted to chunin.
Despite his rough start, Naruto's endurance and stamina was something to be awed. It wasn't exactly his best known attribute, but those who kept eyes out for him began to notice the Uzumaki all over the place, albeit rarely spread thin. Naruto had begun to migrate toward people who had earned and shared his trust. He was none the less outgoing beyond reason, and partook in gatherings whenever they arose.
Naruto's entrance was a bit of a theater. Speeding into the courtyard, he stumbled at the gate, righting himself as he jogged through. Of the students attending, he was surely the youngest who wasn't a part of a clan home, as only the more aggressive tended to opt for such an early start. Even fewer his age came by choice, and he'd made a reputation for being decidedly over the top. It'd earned him a few humbling remarks thus far.
Making his way to the homeroom, Naruto lugged his pack onto a chair, stood to set up his materials and sat down on the thing. Yet another sore spot, he stood at least a head shorter than anyone else in the class. As it turned out, personal effect was even more valued among students than anything the teachers brought forth. He wasn't the only kid to get needled, but it certainly didn't help.
The thunder and shuffle of books. Introduction and outro were the same and the bell toll when he finally felt like something made sense again. Paperwork really didn't suit his temperament. Stretching to get some of the lingering thoughts moving again, he caught the eye of one of the other students.
"Still not getting enough rest, eh shrimpy?"
It wove it's way into his bag like all of the others, and thumped against his back as he hopped to the floor, "I can dream can't I? Don't you have something better to do that warm a chair all day?"
The guy sneered, "What, you too good for us?"
Naruto raised a brow and walked down the aisle, "Do I look like someone you need to compete with?"
The boy turned at that remark, brow twitching as comments rolled off his back like falling embers.
"Let it go D. You know he's got it saved for someone in his weight class."
While he wasn't a prodigy, Naruto's taijutsu had made him a reputation. It wasn't anything fancy, but there wasn't a single student yet who could break his guard without breaking a sweat or breathing heavy. Even a specialist from another class wasn't able to simply brush him off, and that was something people talked about.
Naruto made his way out to the field for lunch. His stomach growled in earnest, and he was reminded that he'd have to prepare yet another backup. If he kept oversleeping, he'd have to start somehow getting breakfast ready in advance.
His attention shifted to the sound of activity in the forest ahead. Some kids probably snuck into the range for a game. It was against academy policy, but he knew this wasn't the first time the rules were bent.
It was one thing he resented most about the academy. He wouldn't go back on the decision to start early, but it did bear on his mind that there was so little time outside of work. He would always resolve to make the best of those times. It did haunt him, that he hadn't yet discovered how to streamline his studies. Setting aside a scroll and papers, he plowed through his meal and set out to try and sort through his notes.*
Naruto was walking among giants at the academy. Few and far between were any children his age, and they often kept to themselves. The blond was outgoing as they came, and made a point to introduce himself to anyone and everyone. It was a trial at first, but he would not settle for being looked down upon… not unless it was something they had in common.
It was to the effect of a wakeup call that he'd only notice the wallflower now. Curt or indifferent, and yet there was a fire in his attitude whenever it came to personal studies or a time that was then his own. A half finished lunches snuck into their homeroom more than once.
It was more than the raven head's 'lone wolf' attitude though. His presence in the room was darker, and far removed from anything the blond would have perceived up to now. Naruto simply couldn't match that strong willed person with the stigma that resonated in their class.
That censure blocked his senses, and the implication upset him greatly. That same day Naruto noticed the raven during recess, he pulled out all the stops to confront him.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. It's nice to meet you." 'It's about time. I might have left him alone like that all year.'
The raven held his pack close and eyed the blond warily, "Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha. What did you come to me for? I've got stuff to do."
"Eh? I came here to make friends. I don't need anything." Tilting his head, "But if you're busy…" Naruto shrugged and turned to go, "I guess we can meet later." Giving the raven a once over, he nodded and split, 'He's not easy to spot, but I'll find him.' He never let a new face pass him by. There were those he didn't get along with at all, but the Uzumaki never left someone a stranger for long.
===chapter end===
I could apologize for taking so long. The chapter is short, but this is actually the third take of the academic scenes and… I really don't want to have to explain how shoddy those parts were getting. I know that the worst kind of cliffhanger is one with an unmarked hiatus. Knowing that that is what I am going through, I will try to avoid those.
*(almost mocking myself there with that "Final cut" thing. I finally used this chapter to root the mood for the next, I do a review for like, two minutes and there screamed the most abrupt finish I've written in some time. Hope this final segment helped round it out.)