As much as I would've liked Kairi, Riku, and Sora to stay with Tifa and Aerith, their leaving at the end, for this story, really makes a lot of sense. It's like the three of them have their own story, and while it may intersect once in a while with other people's stories, it's still fundamentally *theirs* (if that makes any sense).

The way you've portrayed them, it's so obvious how deeply they care about each other that, well, I want them to be happy wherever they decide to go. Thanks for writing this!

Oh, and the bit with Zack was made of win ^_^

I love this story so much. It is just amazingly good. It's so... right; the characterization and tone and style. And the relationship between Kairi, Sora and Riku! So good.

This is most definitely the best Kingdom Hearts fanfiction I've ever read.

so, if Roxas is still alive (i'm not really sure since sora was upset that he was dead and didn't do anything if he was alive) will they meet up with Axel and Roxas?

That was a good, realistically brutal read

Oh, wow. The plotline of this fic is really...nuanced and compelling? I don't know if those are quite the words for it, but to put it plainly, I really like it.

And the bit with Riku, just. Was heartbreaking. I'm not being very coherent, so I'll just stop with: this was great.

You know, I don't think I ever really realized it before reading this story, but in the games, there's a LOT that Riku, Kairi, and Sora don't understand about the mess they're in. This AU does a really good job of capturing that.

They're certainly very smart, resourceful kids, but they're kids nonetheless, and they've been lured into something much deeper then they gambled for.

This story honestly frightens me. You've captured the characters so perfectly that I can practically feel the game controller in my hand at times. The level of detail is enriching without being overwhelming, again, the characterization and development is perfect, and the subtleties of the plot and foreshadowing keep drawing me further in with each chapter.

I do find myself wondering about a few things, such as how Roxas could have ever existed if Sora never became a heartless. But I remind myself that this is quite obviously an AU story, and I should keep that in mind. Which in turn of course, makes me wonder where Roxas went. It's a vicious cycle that leaves me drooling for the next chapter.

With that fanboyish comment out of the way, let me close this review before I further embarrass myself.

MAN what a plot. I'm going to have to stick it on alerts...

The storyline, the characters (I like your Sora; not to mushy, not too heroic, but also not overly hardened) and the LOVE in the house. It's so sweet to see them act like a three, rather than any relationships causing a third wheel. Even with a relationship coming to light, I can't see anything changing between them, which is refreshing.

Please update soon!

Oh this is SO amazing! :D I can't get over it. Your writing style is addictive, I swear, haha. Great plot thus far, and the chapters are so long, which makes me happy. I can tell you're putting a lot of effort into this. Please keep up the great work, thank you!

~Michi P.

O: Damn, that was an intense 3 chapters.
-whistles-

Can't wait to see what happens next!

I take back the thing I said about awkward sentence structure in my last review. D: That was just me being sleepy and having a dislike for the sound of certain words.
Other than that...

*flails*

The Awesome is blinding me you know? The plot, oh god, I love the plot even if I couldn't properly outline it but it's just so. great.

I love how you brought in the canon elements into your AU and oh, there's Marluxia working in a flower shop and all the corruption in the police and the hospital is making me giddy.

You can portray emotions so well, Sora's distress and confuzzled-ness in particular and Riku's anger and Kairi's uh...Kairi!

Everybody always likes Demyx, and he's a cute character, I guess but I've hated the fights against him... (stupid timed fights...gr.)

I'd love to see you update soon, especially with a cliffie like this but your chapters are so long, the wait would be worth it. *__* *sparkles at you* ;P

Wow, I kind of really like this story.

I like how Sora's not a naive moron on a constant sugar high, how there's no Kairi-bashing, and how Riku's not an asshole. What I want to say is, the characterizations are really good.

The AU setting seems just about right and interesting, no high school, there's the raft and ohh, Axel's there and Roxas used to be there, too and I can only suspect the guy who sometimes turns up to Riku's fights is ...Ansem, Xemnas, whatever he is called, probably, maybe? 8D

There were a few grammar mistakes/typos and some, in my opinion, a little awkward sounding sentences but nothing serious. It didn't really interrupt the story's flow (and every time I hear or think of the word 'flow' I want to make some kind of strange swinging motion with my hands...)

The fic seems well thought out, the writing style is nice and I love the way you describe their (Sora, Riku and Kairi's) relationship. So very lovely, and I'm happy to have clicked on the link and procrastinated doing my homework by reading your story. :)

I'd love to see where this goes next.

I haven't read your writing in a while, I miss it!! Looks like an interesting beginning to a great plot...yet again. I haven't read many KH stories, and I can't wait to read more! Great job, thank you!

~Michi P.

I am very intrigued by this...I certainly hope that you continue. I love the realist perspective that you've applied to the Kingdom Hearts universe. You've acclimated Sora, Riku, and Kairi to their new (impoverished) life in a natural and honest way. Some fics can't cut it with such a complex plot device(where characters are thrown into squalor), but there's a lot of promise in what you have written. :D