What an excellent story! It may not have been very long (well, so far as the number of words are concerned) but there was a tremendous amount of information, plot progression, and character exposition. I am duly impressed.

I absolutely fell in love with the way you portrayed the relationships. Everyone's character made sense; everyone stayed in character. Better yet, everyone's character developed as the story went on.

The style in which you wrote this really appealed to me. I've always enjoyed the surreal, and the tone/style of Ornament was right up my alley. Thank you for writing this!

I have next to no complaints about this story. It read well; your grammar and spelling were spot-on (or I was too engrossed in the story to notice); and there wa an amazing amount of cosmic and dramatic irony, poignancy, and recurring themes. (That's gramatically incorrect, I know... but SAT's are over, so I'm allowed to not care.)

I plan on writing a review for each chapter (we'll see how that goes) but I wanted to submit at least one before I run off now. (It' always bothered me that some people will favorite a story but not review. If it's a favorite, then you should review! Or so logic would tell me.) Moving on:

This was an interesting way to end the story. Up to this point you alternated between Naruto/Sasuke and Sakura/Kakashi. With phenomenal success, mind you. I like the fact that you didn't end with either of them; you chose a new route entirely. Iruka's speech, in the context of this story, is almost phrophetic. Or maybe it's not prophetic so much as a mandate to all ninjas. (But if so... boy did Kakashi take his time fulfilling it!) I'm less inclined to think of it as an order. Yet it cannot be a prophecy, simply because so many ninjas do not find love, and because this speech was given to more than just Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke. Following this line of thought, I call only see this as advice; very solid advice from someone who's "been there" and "donoe that." This makes the advice tragic, in a way. So far as I know, Iruka lives alone. Is this speech inspired by his own personal tragedy? We don't know, but it certainly leaves the reader with an ominous feeling. It actually suits the tone of the story quite well. Though the endings of booth relationships were happy, it was a bitter-sweet happiness. This speech it also bitter-sweet. The advice is solid; the language is inspiring; but the story behind it, that "underneath the underneath" layer is very sad.

Then, of coure, there's the very last line, "Don't be just a decoration." The entire speech up until this point focused o protecting someone, which will make you a better fighter for the village. That makes this a very ambiguous line. Are the graduates supposed to be extremely useful to the village? Are theysupposed to make a difference in someone's life (by finding love)? These are two very different goals. And hey, I'm probably reading into this too much, but seeing as that line ties in so well with the title, I'm inclined to think that it's important.

Once again, excellently done. Thank you for writing this story! I look forward to reading more from you.

~ PIIR-Pierrot

Except for the epilogue, which felt rather out of tone with the rest of the story and didn't really do it for me, that was absolutely brilliant. Stunning. I love the fractured writing style, and the shortness of the chapters actually really fits the brief, dreamlike quality of the style, with all the hidden things between the words. Sasuke and Naruto are beautifully described, both as individuals and as a couple, and despite not being very interested in Sakura, I'd definitely have read the story for her alone, come to that. She was made into something fascinating and wonderfully depicted, and her stunted relationship with Kakashi was excellent. Her short interaction with Sasuke was not only well-written but extremely in character. Fantastic fic.

I came here via a rec by Nuu, and was most pleasantly surprised. This fic, this fic. It was amazing. Such characterisation and feeling, especially the Saku-shi bits, which were done absolutely wonderfully. I don't usually go for KakaSaku, and usually she annoys the hell out of me, but this was just done perfectly.
The SasuNaru bits were just angsty enough, and had a raw edge to them that was very canon. Y'know, ninja life isn't all fun and games and all that. Good ending too.
This is the best thing I've read in a while, and I'm going to fave it.

I loved this story ^^ It wasnt sugar-coated or perfect ( as in cliches) and it was completely real and awesome! Ending was really touching ^^ great work !

p.s. This so deserves more reviews ^^

x_line-chan_x

I can't believe this story has a paltry 35 reviews ;--;
I actually thought I had reviewed this story already, seeing as how it has been on my favourites list for so long, but i guess I didn't.
I loved it. It feels so raw and real and I almost burst into tears at the end of it all. And you made me actually feel something for sakura, when i hate the girl with a bloody passion xP

That was different, but really good. This was a piece of art.

M. I really enjoyed reading your story. It has everything that I look for - fabulous characterizations, a unique idea and plot, and a fantastic writing style. Each chapter added a valuable piece to the story in the creation of the final message. Sakura's struggles were especially touching for me. My main pairing for this fandom is Sasuke/Naruto. Therefore, Sakura has always been a sort of limbo character for me; I can't decide if I love her or hate her or where exactly she belongs in the story (or with who). I liked this portrayal of her because it strips her down to who she really is: a ninja and a woman. We all can't relate to the ninja aspect of her life, but I found myself aching for her during her discovery of what it means to be a beautiful woman - inside and out. Her relationship wih Kakashi is also quite striking. You write it very well.

I think my favorite part of this fic is its blunt honesty. You didn't shy away from those things about real life that make us ache. I love finding a story that makes me think! Iruka's speech to the graduates is a wonderful finish for this story - it shows the roots of each ninja described in the story and it also gives meaning to the lives they have led.

Thank you for writing and for sharing - this is a brilliant story. Take care!

It's refreshing to stumble across good writing in fanfic every once and again. I'm definitely impressed. :)

My God, it has been awhile since a fanfic made me cry. The disjointed way it started portrayed the setting well, and I love the word "gore" at the end. I know that sounds stupid, but one word sometimes just catches me. I loved this.

Wah? Wuh? I can't read any further, this is far too confusing.

Sarah: well, that was interesting. i had a tiny bit of trouble understanding it at the beginning, but i believe i've got it. good job.

KYA! PERFECT ending for the kakasaku. wow. nice work. SO happy this got concluded. now i'm just worried about the fates of naruto and sasuke O_O those poor boys.

seriously the last few lines of this were SO HOT!

'"I owe you a song." He said "But I'm not much good at singing."

He slid warm muscled arms around her." O_O KYA! SO GOOD! TEH KAKASAKU SWEETNESS! (brain explodes)

and that last line? "Sasuke was never wrong." YEAH BABY!

like yeah, fantastic work. excellent. LOVED IT! XD

WHOA! having read anbure and its sequel and being blown away, i decided to have a look at this one, and DAMN that's a good first chapter.

like omgness, the unspoken words, the faint shades of implication, the innuendo...O_O i'm speechless. fantastic writing.

and man, if you made this kakasaku, i could die happy, honestly. but yeah, i see you're already up to chapter 13 and it looks like you haven't updated in a while, so i guess this is going to be one of those stories i fall madly in love with, but then i'm left hanging forever, screaming in anguish until i'm driven to write my own ending or something :P

like wow...NICE first chapter. so nice, that i'm going to pretend i don't see my unwritten, due next week 12 page assignment and i'll just read the rest of this fic instead. sound good? ^_^

i came across an artist on dA who did fanart to your fic, and i got curious of what the fic was about.
so i followed the link.
and i am pleasantly surprised.
your writing is rather nice to read -- no noticable grammar mistakes, no tasteless plotlines and wasteful dialogues.
i shall keep reading. =)

i love the kakasaku parts. sakura usually isn't portrayed the way she is in this fic, getting scarred, tortured, she's tough. i love a lot of your stories though i'm not sure if i've reviewed them. i like Anbure best.