Dear Readers,

I think I'll start this tradition where after I finish a huge story, I'll write a letter like this. No edit. Just one swift letter. Keep it raw haha. But anyway, I want to give a huge thank you to those who supported "Letting Us Go" from the beginning to end. I know it's one of my shorter ones, considering it's an experiment, but a good effort nonetheless. I probably always say this, but my writing in the emotional sense is improving. And I like to think it showed through this piece.

Okay, let's start with the inspiration. Honestly, it was something I've always wanted to try: the break-up category. I usually write happy stories, but the breakup sounded very interesting to me. Was it insane to jump into it right after "How Uchiha Sasuke Romanced Haruno Sakura?" Hell yeah. Then again, I rationalize that it wouldn't be a long story (or else, I would have pulled out so many hairs lol). Hence, why I wanted to do a breakup. I'm all for SasuSaku, but there's also a dark side to it too. This story was meant to explore that: an amazing pairing that isn't perfect, so imperfect that it is possible to see them not be with each other. It's difficult doing this since SauSaku is my OTP. But I did it.

Now the style. It was always my intention to write this from the beautiful perspective of Uzumaki Naruto. It's so fitting; he's their best friend and it keeps the story light-hearted. I didn't want this story to be completely miserable. The goal wasn't comedy or humor, but just a lightness to it to erase all the seriousness. Breakups are a messy and depressing event in people's life, but it's also a way to realize things about yourself. Putting it through Naruto's eyes helps with that. Plus, I love writing things from a third party's POV. It provides balance since breakups are all about "He said, she said" plots. Literally. Sai? I just gotta put him there. I feel like I don't use his character enough in my stories when he has so much potential to them. So this was how I made it up.

So the big question: Was it always my intention for Sasuke and Sakura NOT to get back together? Yes. That was something I've always known and stuck with. I keep reminding you guys that this is a "BREAKUP" story, not a MAKEUP. The point of this story was to show what it's like to be broken-hearted, how people deal with it, how it affects others, etc. Doing a makeup would take away that focus. When you break up, you are in a lot of pain and emotions. You question your self-worth as a person. You wonder what you're meant to do in this world. Maybe I didn't capture all of that properly, but that was the goal: to focus on the after effects of the breakup. And that is why I refused to put Sasuke and Sakura back together. You want them to makeup? Go read some other story. I have no plans for a sequel. Sorry. That's just how I roll.

Okay, let's talk about my life for a moment. Man, first quarter of freshman year was crazy. First of all, classes were ten times harder than high school. I failed my first math class. I'm pretty sure I didn't get a 3.0. It gave me a reality check of where I stand as a student attending UCSD. Another thing? Trying to make friends. Other people, it comes easily. But I didn't meet anybody here I could really connect. I have friends who I hang out with, but not necessarily people I could chat all night long with. And oh god, I got with a boy after 2 weeks of knowing him. That was terrible. Put me through the worst breakup ever. I don't want to go into details but he dumped me when I needed somebody the most. I was at the worst point of my life, and he left me. I should have known he was a flake. This idiot said "I love you" a week after meeting me. The way I grew up made me take love very seriously so to see it being thrown around like that carelessly, it pissed me off. But I was emotional, so I took it. Don't ever fall for that, peeps. It's a sign that he's insecure and loves the idea of love more than you. Because he left me when I needed someone the most. Ugh, pathetic of me, right? But yeah, college really does test you. I dunno what else to say about this. Just know that it was incredibly stressful on me.

Now for the future? I have a lot of story ideas, but I doubt I can get them going soon. College really did take up a lot of time. One of my ideas was to do a buddy-cop thing for Sasuke and Naruto friendship because I can only do so much SasuSaku before I crack. Another would be to do random one-shots; they require little commitment and lots of experimenting. I also had an idea to do an anthology series starring Sousuke, Kimiko, and Kenj from my original "How Uchiha Sasuke Romanced Haruno Sakura" since there were a lot of background information, stories, and characters that I took out when I started it. Who knows?

But anyway, I'm forever grateful to you readers for supporting me on this long journey. It's amazing how I wrote my first story back in middle school and now I'm a freshman in college. Another test of life. Stories will forever be my stress reliever. Who knows what's bound to happen? All I know is that I gotta live in the moment. No more time looking back and thinking of "What if's." I gotta move onward. Thank you.

Love,

Nakoujou