Yup, same one who reviewed this way back in 2002.

And reading this again as a much older fan. The whole question of whether the knife is good or bad rather reminded much of a conversation I had with a friend's friend. Said friend knew connections with the... less savory side of society and recounted of how he was invited to a journalism class as a guest speaker before I interviewed him for my English class. He gave the same demonstration, except instead of a knife, he used a stapler, whereas the sword which Kaoru refers to were guns. To my chagrin, I wanted to laugh badly when he gestured at the stapler and commanded it to kill someone. Of course, he said the exact same thing in that the stapler is no different than the gun, being inanimate objects, and hammered in that very lesson: weapons don't kill people, PEOPLE kill people.

It's a bit of a refreshing read, I have to admit. :)

I know this story isn't romance and all and it is really deep, but the knife-indirect kiss is keeping me from thinking about anything else, but how it is so romantic *squeals* and refreshing from those eating tongue- i mean kissing that others seem to prefer.

Good thing I am scared of the knife. I never knew using one can give you so much power.

I don't understand how you don't have a thousand plus fifteen-thousand reviews for this. I'm reading this almost seven years later after I first put this on my favorites, and it is still one of most elegant pieces I've encountered in fanfiction.

My writing preference tends to be complex and twisty, style-wise, and sometimes I forget how powerful simplicity is. How striking and beautiful. You don't need elaborate descriptions to get your point across, and even though the message applies easily outside of fandom, you still keep all the characters voices intact. It's so much bigger than fanfiction, but still about the story that inspired it.

I love this. I loved it when I was fourteen, and now when I'm twenty-one. This is what all fanfiction should be. Bravo.

I second what Sano said at the end. I really never thought about it that way. An insightful read. Yay for Kaoru-sensei!

I loved it!

I love this story. Not only does it show the not-often-portrayed teacher side of Kaoru, but it shows her as wise where others would see her as naive. Wonderful piece of work!

whoa, this was awesome! i absolutely loved it! The logic and everything was great! ]

Wow. That was pretty deep; I love how all she mused about was a knife. Literally, something so simple, just wow.

I'm also pretty happy you showed Kaoru's intellect & mature side. A perfect combination to shush up the usual group teasing on her. :) How Inspiring.

O-O Amazing story!

It's actually Suzume, not Suzumi. And you left off the "tou" in "sakabatou."

Lol, "She had effectively grabbed everyone's attention, even if they were probably questioning her sanity at the moment." And I love Sano's reaction to it being a "good" thing for Kaoru to prepare vegetables for dinner. XD

And lol to, "The young doctor had just insulted her, insulted her father's teaching, undermined her authority over Yahiko, and was currently flirting with Kenshin. A dangerous combination."

The idea of Jin-e cooking amused me, too.

I really like, "The other part was fixated on the knife pressing against her lips, silently willing it not to pierce her skin. He had the sudden urge to take it from her, to fling it away so it couldn't harm her." And that indirect kiss, yay.

very well written. I loved it. great job!

Oh god.. that was deep _ Great job XD Did you notice how she just "kissed" Kenshin with the knife and he to her? Lol.

ARi chan

Positively lovely. Thank you.

Wow...