ah, i just finished this series and god knows how much i’ve teared up and laughed every time i read a new chapter. i’m glad the two of them got the ending they deserved, wanted, needed. i’ve never read a fanfic as intense and perfect like this. i’m glad i heard about btb on twitter and i’m really, really glad i discovered shikanej. these two make me so happy. thank you for writing this!

This fic has my heart. I’m obviously late to the party.. I wanted a genius Shikamaru-centric fic and boy did you deliver. Angst is usually not my style but you write brilliantly and your plot line had me hooked. I might have to re read again to regain what I inadvertently missed when my tummy was in knots from all the angst and suspense. Which tbf, is only a credit to your writing skills.
I’ll be honest. I remembered midway through part 3 that neji dies and you were following this fic canonically. Broke my heart and I couldn’t bring myself to read the rest. But I have and I’m damn glad I did.
Seriously don’t understand how the Genin don’t see the undercurrents between neji shika .. I was hoping for a coming out reaction but oh well.. let them keep what they have while they can I guess.
Also wondering if Hizashi and shikaku had the same relationship as neji and Shikamaru or were they just friends ?
Thanks for writing; Excited to see other genres if you ever do come down to it

Ohmy... ok, that was intense. Sadistic. Amazing. I love so many things it's hard to know where to start. The characters and places feel RIGHT. The parallels in how ShikamaruNeji save/chase/betray (sort of)... split apart and are drawn back together. The fact that it isn't a story where everyone is either all straight, or all gay. The generous portion sizes on those chapters and the tasty heap of reading in general.

I am generally not a huge fan of angst and despite the fact that I called this story Angst-Angst-Angst City I couldn't stop because it was just SO WELL DONE. Sort of like a movie that isn't my taste, genre-wise, but the cast, cinematopraphy, and story are all so beautiful I love it anyway. Thank you. ️

I re read your BtB series at least twice a year. I have to wait for summer and winter breaks so that I can actually sit down and immerse myself in the wonderful plots and characterizations you’ve created. You’re my absolute favorite writer. The parallels, full circle, and witty one liners absolutely own my heart. You make me love characters I’ve never thought twice about. This will forever be my favorite piece of writing. And for that, you can guarantee you have a reader with your original pieces. Thank you so much for creating something bigger than yourself, and giving so many people this masterpiece to read and empathize with.

I've not yet read under these scars but SIS I READ THE OTHER THREE AND SKEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I've always felt myself akin to shikamaru the entire time I read the Mangaswatched the shows. I've been reeling since the beginning and I cannot WAIT to see the conclusion. my husband has been upset because I've been up at night reading w. I'll be back to review again once I've completed the series but I had to let you know that I've been ENTHRALLED for Days

While BtB was an incredible series as a whole, I don't think I've cried as much as while reading BtB. The first two had that a 'flowers in the attic' effect, ugly crying and as the series went on I found that the journey was helping me to overcome wounds which I never let heal.

A thankful reminder of what many tell me, detachment isn't healing. For that I can only thank you for putting into words something which many fail with while also bringing understanding. Not all wounds heal, but sometimes learning to live with it and finding that person who will catch you.

I don’t even know how to begin this tbh.
the way you write is just so incredible, so touching.
I genuinely felt so many emotions surging through me when I read this masterpiece of a series, whether it was happiness, nervousness, sadness.
I truly don’t know how to express my feelings about this series, but it’s absolutely amazing, incredible, totally beautiful.
I felt as if I got pulled into the fic everytime I started a new chapter, stayed up entire nights because I couldn’t stop reading...
you’re such an incredibly good writer i’m seriously amazed.
this story never once got boring, it’s so,,, original!
I really don’t know how to put it into words but i’m seriously fascinated.
the characters were brought across so,,, real and intense, the missions and fight scenes were so amazingly detailed and well thought out and my mind truly ran at high speed with me picturing the scenes.
reading this series is like diving into another world fr...
god I really don’t know what to say jsndjdjdj
several scenes(?) had me on the edge of my seat because the suspension was just so INTENSE as if I was the one fighting a chimera for example.
the way you write sex scenes is also incredible btw, i’m usually used to smut fics with incredibly vulgar language but i’ve never read sex scenes as good, as perfect as the ones u wrote seriously. blows my mind tbh
I often imagined how amazing it’d be if this got animated lol but it wouldn’t be able to reach the level of amazing ness of the writing itself.
my mind is completely wiped BLANK right now so if anything else I forgot to say still comes to mind I’ll be sure to leave that somewhere.
i’m so so glad I’ve started reading this fic, neji and shikamaru are two of my all time favourite characters(not only in naruto but all of anime tbh) and with the addition of kakagen and kibaino? absolutely aMAZING.
I can’t believe i’ve reached the end of this journey.
that mind of yours is truly a special one and you’re incredinly talented.
i’m so thankful that you wrote this, I can’t even imagine how stressful it must’ve been at times.
seriously, thank you so much for this absolutely incredible masterpiece.

this was so beautiful and i just want to say that thank you for feeling all these different kinds of emotions in this rollercoaster ride. it was fun, it was romantic, it was hard and there were a lot of ups and downs, but it was beautiful. and i want to thank you for it. shikaneji will never be the same for me again.

this was so beautiful and i just want to say that thank you for feeling all these different kinds of emotions in this rollercoaster ride. it was fun, it was romantic, it was hard and there were a lot of ups and downs, but it was beautiful. and i want to thank you for it. shikaneji will never be the same for me again.

Hi,

Okay, umm, I dont even know where to begin. First of all, is there such a thing as "binge reading"? Because that's totally what I did with all your stories, and I have absolutely no shame about it. To be completely honest, you are definitely one of the best authors i have ever come across on this platform. It is not only the way you write, your writing style, because that is undoubtedly excellent, but what really impressed be about your stories, however, was the thought that went into it. Everything was always extremely detailed and thought out, especially the characters. It amazed me how you created such unique and vibrant personalities for everyone, making everyone different. Honestly, i could go on all day about the things i loved about your writing, but I would be here all day.

I know you said you want to focus on your originals (which I will be checking out shortly to continue my binge reading streak), but I REALLY hope that you will continue BtB series in some way.

I dont even know if you come to this site anymore, but if you see this, I just want to thank you for the amazing reading experience you have me. I really do hope to hear (or more like read) from you in the future. You are a true inspiration! Best of luck with your future endeavors!

AH

I live for your Ino/Kiba! XD I know I came here for Shika/Neji but Ink/Kiba is totally stealing the show hahahaha. I love their cat meets dog dynamic, their combined sass and UST. Classic case of loving the nature but rejecting with nurture. FAV

I first found this series 2 years ago, just a few months after UtS finished, and absolutely fell in love with the whole story. I was left with a "book hangover" so to speak, and didn't read any fic for a while after. Within the last week or so I decided to re-read this series and it's just as good, if not better, the second time around. I have forever been ruined for any other shikaneji fic (tbh I haven't done much delving into other fics because, hello? This series is perfection). The characterization is spot on, the penultimate storyline is jaw dropping, and if I have to pause reading to wipe away tears or squee like a child, it's a winner for me. I love what you do and how you write, and can't wait to read the related oneshots popping up. Keep doing what you're doing and never stop writing!

Ok so I have a confession to make , after learning of Neji's fate in shippuden I stopped reading this fix , that was a few years ago. I was so scared you would give him the same fate and even worse I'd just remember what really happens and these two wouldn't be togetherr and that honestly was such a bad thing to have to live with I stopped reading this. So now I'm back after years and I'm bigger and hopefully stronger , I want to read this desperately and thought of it every year . Also I would like to offer you money in exchange for this , amazing doesn't even cover it , work . It's beautiful , so just drop me a link to ur PayPal or go fund me or whatever and I'd be happy to pay you the same as I would if I brought this in store . The reason I say this is because this fan fiction is on par and above so many books out there and I desperately wish there was a place for authors like you on the market . Best wishes

This epic masterpiece of yours has ruined me for each and every other existing naruto fanfic around. The writing style, tension, sensuality...I can't express how much I loved it. Slow burn alright.

I'm reading the whole series for the second time and this chapter is probably my favourite. The relationship between Neji and Shikamaru shifts in such a powerful way here. They don't have any more walls to put up, because they're baring themselves willingly in front of each other: they came full circle and they don't need the pretense of a game now. After all the hurt and betrayal, they see each other, hear each other, trust each other, unconditionally.
When Shikamaru gave in and let everything out in the last chapter, he also gave up up his deep-rooted fear of hurting others-and especially Neji, the one he loves and that he's already hurt so much in the past. It would be so easy for them to come to depend on each other after all they've been through, and yet Shikamaru asked Neji to live-really live-instead of falling into the trap of their consuming need.
This is so important and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing such an amazingly inspiring story.