What can I say that has not already been said. This is by far my favorite FMP fanfic around. One of my favorite aspects of it was that you did not have have read any of the novels to follow along. Yet you seemlessly integrated bits and pieces of them in a brilliant AU. I know of these bits and pieces only through spoilers, as I have not read the novels myself, having just recently found FMP.

Beautiful! Lovely! 3 A sweet story and I really like how you brought Kaname to a more mature mindset without losing her innate fire. Her overreactive tsundere act gets old after a while. Tessa also came out nicely, which I appreciated a lot. The dynamic between her and Yang is good :)

perfect characterization, brilliant writing, some of the best kurz mao dialogue I've seen, while the story was not edge of my seat thrilling, the stories aim seemed to be the characters not the conflict so the gentle, combat light pace was excellent, all in all fantastic

This story was really good. You're a fantastic writer! Thank you for writing probably the only good Full Metal Panic fanfic out there.

wonderful, cute, beautiful story! It's been a pleasure to read; thank you!

Man am I glad I found your fics XD Brilliant! I think I'm addicted. There's not much to nitpick at because I enjoyed the plot progression a lot and of course your near flawless portrayal of the characters as well. It's attention to details that makes a great story and a great writer an your attention to detail is superb. I can see how much effort went into this and it was worth it. Really good job!

I really hope you won't find my being honest upsetting, but I have to mention something that'll help drive the point of this review across: I'm a pretty picky reader when it comes to fanfics, since I've been reading them for more than 10 years now -yes, I know, sad :/-, which is why I was initially turned off by the idea that Sousuke would be willing to leave Kaname again (no matter what promotion he'd be offered), having just watched all the FMP anime seasons (with strong emphasis on TSR) and browsed through the mangas and novels; they all left me under the strong impression that the ending of TSR/'The End of Day By Day' marked an essential turning point in Sousuke's development, one that he'd actually acknowledged, albeit after some long, painful, heartwrenching moments. With the discovery that he had no will to live if Kaname was not next to him, and the determination to stop blindly following orders and start standing up for himself, came the realisation that Kaname would always be his top priority, and that he'd never give her up again. [At least that's how I interpreted it, and I do hope my love for this couple did not distort it too much]

Why did I feel the need to give that long and boring explanation? So as to express how happy I am that I went with my instincts and my previously-discovered fascination with your writing [you're the best Mao x Kurz writer out there, simply put] and ignored my weird rules and prejudices. I'm so, so glad I did- these 24 chapters have been an amazing journey, and I can't express how grateful I am to you for providing it.

So many things about this story have wow-ed and entranced me, that I'm sure I'll leave out a few. But off the top of my head, I can say that one of the reasons this story works so well is because of your freakishly accurate grasp on these lovely characters' personalities- you understand them so well, that you'd be able to do pretty much anything with them, as you demonstrated- taking Kaname from her civilian world, the one she loved so much, and placing her in Sousuke's own military jungle of a reality, is probably the best example, and also my favourite one. You made it work because you understood Kaname's natural intelligence and especially her incredible strength, her refusal to give up- she's a fighter, just like Sousuke, someone who's had to adapt to survive one way or another, for most of her life.

Of course, you've also had the creativity to flesh out this world, with the aid of such attention to detail as I hardly would've thought possible [being new to the FMP-verse, I was wondering just a couple of days ago at how is it possible that one 'civilian' (Shinji Gatou) know so much about the military world and its inner mechanisms, and now you've just confirmed to me that it can be done :) ], not to mention the -at times- incredible surprises along the way- one of my favourite parts of this story is that regarding the elimination tests, with all their sneaky, cruel mindgames.

Another batch of kudos goes to you for writing quite possibly the most believable and lovable group of OCs I've ever seen...err, read about. I usually can't stand OCs, since more often then not, they're endowed with these exaggerated traits and abilities, which only make them boring and predictable and an unwelcome distraction from the main story. You did the exact opposite of that- not only did you NOT overexpose them, but you've made the most of their 'screentime', by fleshing out their distinct personalities and helping them mesh impeccably with the main characters- it's not just Kaname and Sousuke and Melissa and Kurz and Tessa that like Yang, Del, Dibs, Bear, Yang, even Aristo, and feel at ease around them; we, the readers, feel the same.

Speaking of which, I'd also like to commend you for the respect you've shown your readers, by not babying them with unnecessary step-by-step explanations, and leaving the ending up to their imaginations. Sure, it ends on a high, optimistic note [was that SOUSUKE actually responding to Kurz's banter and cracking a joke? Quick, is the sky falling? :)) ) ], yet, like the characters, we feel that dark clouds are approaching. And, also like them, we know that no matter what, they'll be there ready for them.

...There are so many other things I could bring up, but thanks to my annoying tendency to ramble and give useless details, I'll just go into shipper-mode before I wrap this up. Like I said, you write Mao x Kurz flawlessly, effortlessly- their raw, angsty, sexy, rollercoaster of a romantic bond- and you got that down to a T.

Having known that already, I thought the real challenge for you would be the Kaname x Sousuke parts of the story- luckily for me, you've exceeded my expectations, and I was squeeing like a fangirl while seeing the slight changes in Kaname's attitude towards him [I find Kurz's advice to Kaname to find out which is more important to her, 'being right or being with Sousuke'to be, simply put, quintessential to Kaname and her usual behaviour around him, and I'm sure that it's gonna stick in my mind from now on] and their relationship gradually evolving. She needs her and he needs him, quite simply put, and you've shown that beautifully.

Also, I was delighted to see bits of the friendship between Kurz and Kaname, and, generally speaking, the one linking the entire quartet together :D

So thank you for this wonderful adventure, and I do apologise for this too-long-for-its-own-good review :/ A story as rich as this one can do that to a person :)

OMG! I practically fell in love with this story and was uber sad when it ended. It was so real and GAH! Loved it. One of my favorite pairings of FMP is Kurz and Mao. Just great my friend :D

This was splendid. Utterly and absolutely splendid. It hardly feels written . . . it feels like you know all these wonderful characters personally and have just jotted down their experiences. Rare is the fic that makes me want to go experience the source material again, but this brought so much more richness to FMP that I feel like re-watching the entire thing right now. Thank you for your dedicated effort.

Wow. Just wow. This story was hands down the BEST fanfiction I have ever read. EVER. And believe me, I've read a lot of them.

I normally don't read stories as long as this because they usually just get boring, but this one was an exception. I was hooked right from the first chapter. The only problem with that was that I SHOULD have been studying instead, but hey, it's syllabus week. XD

You have a style that makes your work very easy to read. You have just the right amount of romance without making the reader want to vomit from an overabundance of mush and fluff. I was extremely impressed by the plot and how well you made it fit with the canon. Simply incredible.

The characters - what can I say? You kept them in character so well I wanted to scream. Sousuke is militant and clueless. Kaname is violent and stubborn. Kurz is a good-hearted pervert. Melissa is tough and quite the spitfire. The way you had all the characters interact, especially with the romantic parts, was simply amazing. It feel like you could make a perfect-length season of anime using your story as a guide.

Have I mentioned that your grammar and overall grasp of the English language is wonderful? No? Well, it is. It's phenomenal. I want to hug you so much for that. You have no idea.

Simply wonderful work. I look forward to reading anything else you have. :D

AMAZING. I love this story so much. Your best work. Please continue when you can I AM HOOKED. I don't know if you are a mr fan, but if you are please look at avengingmyinnocence's stuff. You both have that magic in your stories that causes the reader to live in, and love, your writing.

i love it!

thank you!

and i love you for not killing leonard...

anyway...

i kind of didn't get what wraith said to kaname during their last conversation...

This was the most adorable and well written fmp fanfic I've read. Actually, its in my top 10 for how well written it is. I really enjoyed reading this, and souskexkaname is my favorite pairing. But thanks for being nice to tessa 2, lol. Thanks 4 posting!

Loved your fanfic! You defs have an awesome grasp of the characters as well as a great feel for the anime in general! I like how you took the characters beyond the framework of the series and had them grow and mature :)

Will we be hearing more about Leonard anytime soon? I feel like that was the only plot point that was left hanging...that and when Sousuke actually proposes to Kaname lol :P

I love the hookups. I really really do. XD Everything that happened in this work seemed to come naturally and without pushing, which really made me savour the writing all the more. The detail was light and breathless, and that of course gave me the impression of watching it all play out in front of me like an anime. (grins) I fell in love with Del and Aristo from their first interaction, and by the time the campfire scene came around I was hopping up and down eagerly. I knew it'd end up nicely, and I was right. Then of course, Kurz and Melissa, and that really caught my eye from chapter one. I remarked to my sister, who had graciously shown me the fanfiction, "They're like rabbits!". Trust me, the comment was one of praise, lol, because it's the way I imagined them all the way from episode one. Yang and Tessa was a gleeful addition I had smelled from their very first talk, and I was happy to be proven right when he stopped attending their discussions and then kissed her. That was a beautifully written scene that had the inner fangirl in me gleeking.

Of course, we finally get down to our favourite coupling. (I mean mine... XD) I was impressed with the interaction, and I enjoyed the pacing. It came slowly and sweetly, and I was giggling at pretty much all the moments because of my inappropriate nature. The last chapter had me grumbling, even though all stories must come to an end... I noticed how it was left beautifully open, but I won't ask for a sequel because I know how much of a pain that can be. Do whatever you'd like with your stories, and know that this reader was incredibly delighted to have been along for the ride. You have my thanks and appreciation.

Sky