Your writing is top quality! A minor mistake- okita was the first captain and saito hajime's senior and equal in combat despite being sick (according to history) ... But it's understandable considering okita calls saitou 'master' in the english dubs

Hi,

I really like your story especially the ending, but I have a bit of a problem with Kenshin being obsessed with revenge. I don't think Kenshin would want revenge for Tomoe at least neither OVA nor Manga give any implication for it and Kenshin wanting to kill?

Otherwise I really like it and I think that it is very well written

Great fic!Do you watch Gintama?It seems like you would enjoy it.

Aah, why haven't I stumbled across this one before?

What a bittersweet ending to a fantastic story. I felt it was meticulously researched, and your attention to detail grounded the writing in reality. The action scenes were awesome; I enjoyed the whole thing immensely.

Major kudos to you... you rock!

(ROFL at Hiko cutting Kenshin's hair)

Though Hiko adopted Kenshin when he was ten, I think. (Poor runty kid looked like he was six, and he looked like he was ten when he was fourteen, and so on. ;)

I like how Inui waves to him and then gets confused.

Aw, Kenshin should have let himself smirk. Then Shunme could have died happy.

Inui's dead! That's sad, but...realistic, unfortunately.

NO! YOU KILLED HIM! I didn't expect you to actually kill him! (runs back to scratch out the "die happy" remark)

How horribly ironic, the manner of his death and the subject of their conversation...

And, I guess Kenshin did laugh for him in the end.

Argh, this is so SAD! Especially since I think Shunme is my favorite OC that I've seen. He is great all around, from his humorous to his serious sides.

Well, thank you for the very enjoyable read. I wasn't sure I would be interested in a fic that had so little to do with the story events of the series, but you gave it all a very RuroKen feel even though Kenshin is the only non-historical canon character. It is well-written and well-researched, and I think it's extremely impressive that you got me to like it so much despite how much I hate the OAV. Thanks to kokoronagomu for recommending this to me!

"If Takahata pretended to admire Nakamura so much, Kenshin would show him what it had been like to be Nakamura." Interesting. I really like the conflict Kenshin went through over trying to kill Takahata.

"Perhaps being allowed to live was the crueler fate for him, but it was Kenshin’s salvation." Just like in the rest of the series, like that one-armed guy, one of Enishi's Six Comrades.

Watsuki did not make OAV decisions! Ah! Stop before you break my heart!

Anyway, good chapter, nice balance between vengeful torture and doing the right thing in the end.

Guns vs. swords again, I like it.

“Right. You’re that one.” Ahahahaha!

That is so funny, that Kenshin would run into a lady wanting to talk his ear off in the middle of a battle.

"I kept baiting him, hoping he’d let something slip" - Ah, I see. Interesting.

I really liked how the stuff with Takahata tied in to the stuff with Tomoe.

Great chapter, loved it!

(Lol at Kenshin being the "designated driver.")

"Kenshin tried to block out the sounds, as they reminded him too much of gunfire." Interesting, I like that.

I was afraid it was going to be Shunme. I'm glad it wasn't! Though I'm also very surprised it's Nakamura. I thought he was a firm ally at least, even if he is a jerk. Nice going!

Ah, I loved The Last Samurai! Culture clashing is one of my favorite story themes. And I loved when Tom Cruise's character was learning Japanese, because then they talked slow enough for me to understand a lot of it.

I love this slowly evolving relationship between Kenshin and Shunme.

“I never laugh at your jokes either.” Haha, I was just thinking that.

Have you read the manga by now, btw? 'Cause it seemed like you had in your emails, but not here in your old review replies.

Lol, I like the way Kenshin sneaked on board and didn't reveal himself 'til it was too late for Shinsaku to kick him off.

You did a really good job describing the battle, and it was a neat idea to have Kenshin making himself useful by re-loading someone's spare rifle.

I really liked when Kenshin was comforting Midori.

(However it seems odd that she calls him by just his name - since she's female and he's an older male whom she doesn't know very well, I think it's actually pretty rude not to use an honorific or title or something. If you don't want to use honorifics, at least find a way to word it so that she doesn't have to actually use his name, or have her call him "Sir" or something.)

I'd been wondering about that, if any of the soldiers (coughKenshincough) would start helping out around the inn (maybe that's where he got used to doing laundry!), but I guess that works fine if you have Midori do it.

I agree, that's the one main flaw of RuroKen, that Kenshin's atonement/salvation comes _so close_, but doesn't quite make it to the real thing. It's pretty much impossible to write it properly in fanfiction, since he never converts to Christianity or anything. :(

I like the character development chapters a lot.

Haha, "Kenshin’s name came up a lot."

"'I am short.' he admitted. 'Though I am a samurai, people tend to underestimate me.' Since he was staring at the ground, he missed seeing Takasugi glancing at Kenshin, who was about the same height, and raising his eyebrows."

Oh, that is so great, I love it.

Aw, Chojiro...

(laughing) It's kind of funny how the leaders kind of trade their subordinates around like chess pieces ("I'd like to take Kenshin, too"). It's cute, I like it.

Nice wording, "His breath ghosted around his mouth when he exhaled."

(to the guy who accidentally shot Izo) See? That's why swords are better than guns!

Good fight scene. Each one you write gets better.

I like the name Midori, too - it means "green," which is my favorite color.

He has red hair! He should at least be familiar from somewhere.

"Having decided to keep Nakamura’s secret, Kenshin found he was protective of it." Aw, cute.