Nice one shot,now I see why Katsushiro is so adament about being the perfect samurai;because his father was'nt.

Short but speaks volumes :-) In fact, I like how this story answers questions that I've always had about Katsushiro - chiefly, why is he wandering around as an unsupervised minor, seemingly having no need to report his whereabouts to any parents? Your pre-series fic can fit right into canon. It can possibly serve as a explanation as to why Katsushiro seems to need Kanbei - because of his father void? This background would furnish the reason why he so eagerly projects his ideal of a samurai (and perhaps ideal of a father figure) onto Kanbei. He sees not who Kanbei is but who he wishes him to be. I've rambled too long, I think. But I like stories like this that set off a train of thought :-)

OK, I still can't believe you posted this on here. I've read it before, but I'm still impressed by how well you characterized Katsushiro--so idealistic, and so determined to prove himself.