I have recently been re-reading my old favorite stories... God, I forgot how much I enjoyed this story! Your style of writing is very personable. The ending was perfect, even though it made me yearn for more. It fits this fic so well. I hope you are still writing! Happy New Year, either way, hon. You do good work!

great story, thank you!
i hope you've seen the live action movies (5 of them) that you can see on netflix if you haven't.
gin

I recently discovered this story and enjoyed it immensely!

Thank you for sharing your talent.

AM

I'm living for this drama! I wonder how else Kenshin behaves in court - Kaoru to the rescue ~

Hmmm, the king is such a character. The dinner scenes were quite amusing! I'm curious how Kenshin came to be so polite. Onwards to next chapter :)

This story seems pretty good so far. I know it's been a crazy long time (Almost 17 years, my word.) since you finished this story, but why does the font for at least these first two chapters (It might continue in other chapters, but I wouldn't know since I haven't gotten that far yet.) switch to italics partway through each chapter?

Such a wonderful story line! You’re a fantastic writer. Thank you so much for sharing your imagination, creativity, and passion. Loved it!

Absolutely loved this story!

No. Just. No. NOT SEXY. Sex that is forced, that is manipulated, that is laced with pain (not the kinky kind) is NOT GOOD SEX. Sex with someone you believe doesn't want you just ISN'T worth it. Ever. I was so enjoying this book. I really was. You write wonderfully. But this is the most tortured, DEPRESSING scene. I am so sorry that your desires are so repressed that you had to manufacture a situation where two characters who truly love each other are forced to have the worst possible sex ever. This scene was the OPPOSITE of arousing. And sad. just, really freaking sad. And not in a cathartic tragic way, more like in a "i feel used and dirty and truly PITY these characters" kinda way. Like, I feel the way I feel after I read rape scenes in other stories. It's that sad and icky. I hope in the years since you've wrote this you've learned to embrace sexuality and passion. You don't need a magical drink to give into desire, you don't need outside forces to give you permission to pursue the erotic. I'm so sorry that there was a time in your life that made you feel like you do.

And for the record, that song was inspired by an abusive relationship. Not something I care to evoke in terms of KK, passion, or love. Anyway, I'm going to go take a shower and eat a tub of ice cream now...

What's wrong with cross dress stories? I like them.

I love this story. It was one of the first stories on that really sucked me in. I've reread it many times over the years. Thank you!

I just realized That I have read this story multiple times and never left a review. It's sad because it really deserves it. What a wonderful thing you wrote. It's like someone else said a roller coaster, beautiful from begging to end, tough I wish we had seen a little more on what happened after, nevertheless, it's amazing. I have to say I loved kaoru and hiko's interactions. Keep writing, you're definitely good at it.

Wow what a rollercoaster! The feels omg... too real... actually cried. I really really enjoyed it! so well written and couldn't stop reading :)

so good!

So, ready for a weird bit of review? It's the period thing that hit me funny. And your explanation only confuses things.

The blood flow during the period comes after the fertility portion. It's the uterus shedding the unused egg and other elements that kick in when the body is preparing for potential life.

So, the bloody sheets are just as easily a miscarriage as they are the start of her cycle.

Okay, weirdness bit is done, this is a really fun read. It's a nice retelling of the Enishi arc, and the changes you made are pretty darn cool. Tomoe was handled extremely well, and I really liked how well Hiko works as Kenshin's father.

Enishi's treatment would be an interesting thing to follow because of what you've established. It seems like he has such a hard time believing Tomoe didn't choose Kenshin of her own free will is at least partly tied to his own ability to force others to do things against their will. The abandonment issues and Oedipal Complex notwithstanding, he'd be a fascinating mind to try and untangle.

I would have liked a more protracted end bit, it wraps up a little too abruptly for me, and there were a few turns of phrase in the writing that pulled me out of the story because they didn't seem to fit the era things were set in, but I definitely enjoyed myself reading this.

Thanks for writing it and I hope you're still writing - especially if it's original stuff.