I LOVE THIS! How it was all still there, still burning but after 30 years, it just wasn't enough to rekindle anything, even if they both knew it.

deliciously bittersweet. one of my favorite pairings is jiraiyatsunade, though it's obviously one of the less written ones. even though you didn't even put jiraiya in the story, you still communicated their bond, the emotions that are always there but unspoken.
and then making sakura hokage was quite an unexpected move, but follows nicely. i'm not really a fan of narusaku, but this was written with your usual grace and i liked it.
the end was, of course, the bitter heartache. sasuke...i really can't decide if i hate him or love him half the time.
"His pale fingers twitched, fingering the tattered end of a phantom thread. Severed." Beautiful, really.

Thank you for sharing.

kiss kiss Animeaddict6

[grin]

about time some one adressed the truth of continuation throughout naruto

good on you!

and congratulations on being the first personto figure it out and have enough skill [and be bothered!] to write it

seriously this is number four of the eight possible outcomes of naruto and you are the only person i know of that got it exactly right

give yourself a pat on the back

May the darkness Protect you and the light Bless you
your friend Belle M

it was happy in a new beginning sort of way. i feel happy for naruto and sakura but sad for sasuke, but he did deserve it. great story!

So the only reason I read this non-yaoi travesty was because it was you.

Seriously. Where is Alter Ego? You tell me you're busy, and then you post a non-Alter Ego story? I should be so mad at you. Gr...

But! I shall forgive you. Lol.

Ah, this was beautiful, Bri. I love the way you showed the connection between the past and the present. And Sakura's guilt was realistic, too. I've read other fics where someone other than Naruto was Hokage, but they never addressed what that person felt. And the image of them older and careworn but still so strong was very poignant.

And sigh, poor Sasuke. It's what happens when you get what you wish for. But you conveyed the emotion of that really well.

Crit: I only have one crit for you. I actually think you used similes and metaphors a little too much in this one. It may just be a personal bias of mine, but each one was very effective, stark and conjured images in the readers' minds. It wasn't actually that you even used that many. But since each one was so visual, they almost competed with each other. Anyway, it’s not a big deal, just something small I noticed.

Good luck with your work!

Bittersweet... but beautiful nonetheless. Your talent with imagery makes itself present through every paragraph. Wonderful, wonderful fanfiction. Thank you.

*dies*
God My heart was aching at the end, I LOVE you!

It was perfect,Amazingly Bittersweet,

And now I'm happy and so so sad at the same time,
So basically I think you nailed it,

The cycle of team 7 finally breaking, all those unsaid emotions, and missed opportunities, and they way you put this together was perfect, ;-; <3 And I keep thinking about that Kiss, it was just so -raw-,

Your Poem was perfect for the story too, ending it in a way that was just right, And Sasuke's scene at the end, Wow.

'Kakashi, you were wrong.'

Thank-you so much, It was Amazing, and so so well written! I'm still thinking about it, and I'll probably re-read it many times.

I remembered part of that Langston Hughes poem, although it has been years since I read it, and it was apt to the story, as was your poem at the end. And that is a good one, I could not come up with something like that myself. As for the story itself, I think it was not happy, but it was bittersweet. So much wasted time there, as Naruto could not bring himself to listen before, and continued to chase after someone who didn't want to return. And for Sakura, who never spoke her feelings before, and should have, even if she did try to talk him out of it. Yes, they got together, but paid a high price before doing so. Bittersweet. The story was nicely done.