i undestand the "first/family" naming order for your part, since i'm also American but also of Chinese heritage. hence, my Chinese name is "family/first" (but i'm called by my nickname when we're with family). talk about heritage driving you nuts. *rolls eyes*

*chuckles* just like Hiko #13 with Kenshin. so THAT'S where that cynical-sarcastic-sharp-arrogant air came from! Hiko #12 sure rubbed off of Niitsu. \ oohhhh... matchmaking time! *grins gleefully before getting bonked on the head by the backside of a katana, courtsey of a certain eyebrow twitching deshi*

on polishing a katana, Ranma1517730129 (yes, that's her penname. -\-;;) and Calger459 did "A Lesson in Etiquette", where we learn a little more on how swordsmen took care of there katanas.

steinrl/ is one site where pretty much everything asked about nihontous (Japanese swords) can be answered.

I figured he might have had a run in with females when he was young. I like how he respects his master. It's a nice change from the 'hates his guts but grudgingly respects him' stories.

Oh, thanks for the tip in writing. I've started separating points of view in the same scene with one asterisc (how do you spell that anyway?)

Two are for different yet close scenes.

Three they're probably in different cities.

Four means I either didn't lower it to three or they're really far apart.

Five probably means different time periods altogether.

Sorry for cluttering this up with junk. I enjoyed your review and your story. I'm banging my head against the wall trying to come up with the next scene in TL. Any ideas how Hiko can 'introduce' himself?_

Oooh, very interesting. Hiko is one of my favorite characters and I've often wished for a look into his younger years. And I like your original character. She seems to be quite a match for Hiko. (And having him be the baka deshi! Tee hee) I look forward to reading more!

alright a fic about Hiko and his love life! Can't wait for more!

Very intersting!

Yah, I love this story. Finally, someones thinking along the same lines I am. I mean, a geisha has to get board of flirting with guys and faking how she really feels all the time. I think that what the geisha in your story did was absolutely resonable. I know this is a loose connection but I guess if you think about it, what I'm tallking about goes along with what Yumi said about the red light district in either episode 62 or 63 I think. Sorry, I know all of that was random. I also really like this fic since it focuses on hiko's past. I've only read one other fic that's done that before. Isn't that sad. Well, uh, 2 thumbs up I guess for an original idea and great writing technique. Update soon and please visit my website at emo/rkfanfics and sign the guestbook. I sure could use some pointers on writing.

miles of smiles,

Audra

this proves interesting. i'd like to see Hikaru without makeup.

and since this still during the Edo Jidai (Era), Tokyo is still named Edo, just like the era Hiko and Niitsu are in. just a little historic fact to point out (*rubs head* waaaaay too many hours on researching about the Bakumatsu for my thesis paper before i graduated. now, all the info is stuck in my brain). i think they would've stuck close to Kyoto instead.

Cool fic! Never seen this idea before. _ Hiko when he was young.