State of This Fic

Hello everyone. It's been a long while, hasn't it?

I know that many of you have been waiting for this story to be updated, and have figured by this point that I have completely abandoned it, as well as the site. I don't blame anyone for thinking that, as you are, in fact, correct. A lot has gone on in my life over the past few years, which completely robbed me of my desire to write. I just stopped caring about everything, not just writing, so I ignored every email I got from FF, saying I had another review, favourite, or follow.

I needed to get myself in order, which I think I have at last, and I now more than ever want to get back to writing, as someone of you may be aware with the release of a new story called Dreams Do Come True.

So what is going to happen to this fic, as starting another story will distract me from this one and others?

That is a good question, and I hope to clarify things definitively.

I unfortunately must inform you that I won't be completing this fanfiction. I know that isn't what any of you want to hear, but I would rather be upfront with all of you. The reason for this is threefold.

1. The first is that I no longer care about the Naruto series. It shouldn't be a surprise to any of you that I really hate the series, but nevertheless used the series as a vehicle to write stories by heavily modifying the world and the characters. At this point, I just don't even think about Naruto, and to write any fanfic about it in any way, just isn't worth the time or energy. I don't have the passion so I'd rather not force myself and give you guys crap.

2. Speaking of crap, I would change a great deal of the story. Many of you have complained that the story is just a copy and paste of Bleach with the characters swapped around. You are correct. In my defense however, there was a reason for this. Behind the scenes, Madara and the creator God of the Naruto world, the Ten Tailed Wolf, were meddling with both worlds. Madara was bringing out the evil in the hearts of the Shinigami, whereas the Ten-Tails was trying to strengthen the Jinchuriki and warriors of his world for the coming war.

I fully acknowledge that I went about it horribly, and I lost a number of you early on because of it. I blame myself fully for this, and I should have held myself to a higher standard.

3. And lastly, this fic, written the way that I planned it, would take years to complete. No joke, this would end up being a hundred chapters if not more, and I just don't have it in me to do it. Please believe me when I say that I actually did think it through, created many OCs, and even took the time to properly plan out story arcs.

4. Nonetheless, I stress that I don't have the passion to undergo such a demanding project. I don't care about Naruto at all anymore, and while I still love Bleach, despite the horrible final arc, this fic would take up all the time and energy that I want to invest in other endeavors.

To get an idea how much passion plays into this, and I'm not just using it as an excuse, let's look at the raw numbers:

· A Princess Amongst Thieves: Chapters: 10 - Words: 73,584 = 4 years 5 months 3 weeks 5 days (Incomplete)

· Pirates vs Ninjas: Battles of Love and Will: Chapters: 16 - Words: 116,710 = 4 years 8 months 5 days (Complete)

· Returning the Favour: Chapters: 7 - Words: 25,190 = 1 year 10 months 1 week 5 days (Complete)

· The Soul of the Fox and the Eagle: Chapters: 19 - Words: 120,368 = 7 years 7 month 2 weeks (Incomplete)

· Dreams Do Come True: Chapters: 28 - Words: 384,752 = 9 months 6 days 23 hours 45 minutes 36 seconds (First Draft) + 1 month 1 week 3 days 9 hours 21 minutes 26 seconds (Second Draft) + 3 weeks 6 days 10 hours 4 minutes 28 seconds (Final Draft) = 11 months 2 weeks 19 hours 12 minutes (Completed before publishing)

If that isn't clear enough by how much passion and focus plays into writing, or anything in life, than I don't know what can. I have less time now than I did back then, and yet, I'm more dedicated than ever. Of course, the major reasons for this is that I care significantly more about RWBY, I'm angry at what RT and Luna and Shawcross have done to it, every scandal or controversy out of the company and the community, and the very real reality that RT and the show are going to go under. I rushed it of course, and I plan to release a second edition when I have the time, but my point still stands.

I want to say again that I am so sorry to those of you who enjoyed, and were really hoping that I would complete it. I'm disappointed in myself for not finishing what I started, but I have to be honest with you and myself that I can't. Given how it was written, I honestly would have to start over, as not only are there plot holes and spelling errors, but lifting word for word from the first two arcs of Bleach was not the way to go. If I were to write it now, I would have gone about it completely differently.

I hope that you can forgive me, and at the very least, enjoy it for what it was, as well as my current fic being published.

Stay safe out there, and may the Gods be with you.