oh, sirius, this is a perfect tribute! it really captures both her and her namesake, and i'm sure she's as please with it as we are--thanks.

Bittersweet in a way. I don't know why, but her death got me more than that of others who were closer to me. I can't say I knew her in any sort of close, personal sense. She has just always been there as long as I have loved anime and have been in this particular fandom. Somehow she was always a part of the sites I would join. When she added a new artwork on deviant, it was like Christmas. I was in love with her art work. Maybe I felt I knew her through that, because art is in some sense a baring of your inner soul. It is just hard to conceive of something being gone with such permanance. I am sorry. This is not helping. The poem really was beautiful.

It's beautiful.

I thought I was done crying, but your haiku got me again.

Haku Baikou was such a wonderful person. Your haiku is a very fitting tribute.

Hear, hear... a beautiful, fitting tribute.

wow, i really like this one ^^

I am beyond impressed by the insight of this one in particular (Kenshin II). While I have not read the deathfic you mentioned, the absolute truth of Kenshin being a firefly of memory struck a deep chord. I can't articulate this very properly, but it was a truth beyond truths. Again, I am awestricken and immensely impressed with your insights into this character and this series.

now that I've officially finished reading "Out of Time" I had to go back and read the haiku for your OCs. xD I love Ryu. He's awesome! Love that name too... Dragon...
Nozomi reminds me of Hinata from Naruto sort of. She is so cute and shy. =^^=
Kano is misunderstood. This is the perfect haiku for him. Loved that deleted scene about Kano and Iizuka as well (the kenshin and shishio thing...). Perfect. ^^

I love your Haiku... and I have a request.
Can you write one for the old man in the city (tomoe's dad, I haven't read the manga in a while, sorry ^^;; ) and his take on Enishi when he shows up clutching Tomoe's diary? It's at the very end of the manga, isn't it? ^^ hehehe... can't wait for your updates!

I didn't watch much of the anime past about ep 10. I read all the manga though. Then I saw an AMV and was tempted to ask what episode something was. I ended up watching this arc, that's it. ^^;; By the way, it is Magdalia, but the Japanese don't have an "L" sound, so they use "R" instead. ...they don't have "V"'s "X"'s or"Q"'s either. Okay, I'm rambling now, sorry. ^^' I love your poems both this and the acrostic Scar one. I never thought of Acrostics as being so deep! And Haiku's are awesome! You've got the characters perfectly! Keep it up!

I like it.

Sorry I'm too lazy to give Katsura his own review on this one - I like that one for all the ideas it provokes, with Katsura representing all Choshu, and poor, burdened Kenshin, fighting single-handedly for the whole state... but I adore this one of Kaoru's, really. The choice to smile is truly so hard and so powerful, and it really is what makes me adore Kaoru. And I love this poem for expressing it so well! Thanks for writing it. Those are really words to live by. :]

Heh, menagerie... They certainly are a bestial lot. And that he starved himself, voluntarily suffered just to make himself one of them! *shakes head* Sad, that. Almost gruesome symbolism here.

This just makes me sigh with all its dramatic irony & unspoken tragedy... Poor thing. Doesn't know he won't return, won't get a chance to know his sweet plum blossom's heart. Nor does he know she will give her heart to another! And that other is the one who prevented his return... The overtones of this piece keep echoing until it's just too sad. =/

Methinks I spy a double meaning to the word "dim" here... Iwanbo gives only dim foreshadowing of the Kaoru puppet, not obvious foreshadowing, and he himself is not exactly the brightest bulb in the box either. Hehe. As you know, I am entirely too fond of double entendres. ^^; With or without the double meaning, this is a crafty piece - an unexpected take on this character, its dark, creeping hints conjuring up an image of poisonous vines in my mind. Nicely done.