OMAKE
So, this "chapter" is dedicated to explaining the process I go through of writing and planning this story. I won't spoil anything I don't want to spoil, so don't worry about that.
If doing something like this isn't allowed, I apologize in advance, but this isn't one big author's note, it's bonus material for the story.
Anyway…
As I've said multiple times, this story is not outlined. My other story, They Were Legends, is outlined in decent detail, but this is not. Why? Because I've liked what I've done so far, and it's worked out pretty well. It also allows me to easily put in scenes that you—the readers—suggest to me.
I thought I'd share some funny quirks about this story that you may or may not have noticed that are a result of that. For instance, the original premise of this story involved ONLY Naruto traveling back in time; I was actually inspired to write my own time travel fic after reading "What If?", a fantastic time travel fic, and I wanted to create something similar. I ended up deciding to take everyone in the vicinity with them, and included Hinata in the group because of how tragic and angsty it would be for Naruto to have someone he loves never exist. Plus she's got a lot of potential for changing things as well.
After deciding that, I originally planned for Naruto and Co. to be escorted to the Hokage's office and find MINATO there as Hokage, with young Kakashi and Rin there for maximum confusion and hilarity. But I quickly decided to take a different route with it, hence the meeting with the Sandaime.
I also hate how in most time travel fics, the time travelers assume that telling someone they're from the future would immediately get them thrown into a psych ward. Which honestly makes no sense whatsoever when they live in a world where you can shoot dragons of water out of your mouth and summon the dead, but I digress. In yet another example of a case where my lack of outlining was evident, I had originally planned for Kakashi to reveal his time traveler status (and true identity) right on the spot after saving his old team. But I had much more fun with the alternative, and so the ENTIRE direction changed to the time travelers keeping their identity a secret while still bonding with their family.
Which brings me to another point: I was going to have each of them avoid their families so that the Konoha 12 would be genetically identical, but found it stupid and very limiting in terms of plot.
My favorite admissions, however, are the parts where you can tell I literally just changed my mind on the spot. Examples: Remember how Naruto said that he could just bulldoze through the Suna or Iwa army and take everyone prisoner with some help? Remember how a few lines later, he just suggested that he could singlehandedly broker a peace deal? Yeah, that was me changing my mind on the spot, as I really didn't want to write a ton of action scenes. And of course, singlehandedly broker peace is exactly what he did.
Another example: Remember how Hinata was really worried that, logically, it was impossible for her to get close to her family without revealing who she was (which would have been very awkward for her)? And how Naruto showed up with a genius idea a scene or two later? Yup, the same idea occurred to me after I wrote the previous scene. Funny how that works out.
But perhaps my favorite example: The ENTIRE side plot of Jiraiya rescuing Yahiko and the Ame orphans started on a random whim/idea that I wrote as part of another scene, completely unrelated. When I wanted Naruto to say something that would irrefutably prove to Jiraiya that he was from the future, I was thinking of what he could say, and then stumbled upon the idea of him telling Jiraiya that the Ame Orphans were alive.
Basically, unless there's a specific idea, situation, or exchange that I want to do in advance, everything is written on a whim. So when a couple reviewers ask for more Kakashi/Team Minato scenes, there were more such scenes. And I enjoyed writing each and every one of them.
You'll also notice that I put a flash-forward in Chapter 9, at the beginning. Notice the date. Yes, they can see it all the way from Suna. Think about that. Keep that scene in mind, because you'll get a big "Oh yeah!" moment when you read the chapter that covers the Kyuubi attack. Which, by the way, is one of the few things in this story I actually have solidly planned out in my head, and I can't wait until I get to that part, for many reasons. Unfortunately, it's quite a ways off, so don't expect it next chapter or anything. That said…you'll get to see plenty of amazing things before then.
I also want to mention that starting next chapter (or at the latest, the chapter after that), I'll be using a plot device called the "memory room." This idea is from pharaoh-90's fantastic two-shot, "Memory Room". I highly suggest you check it out, and it will help you understand the plot device I'm probably going to be using a lot in the future.
Chapter 10 is being worked on as you read this, and there will be a very small timeskip. Stay tuned…
