Completely absorbed in your story! Hope to see it continue. Will wait for it.

I should confess this is the best fic that I read ,

The historical events, characters and their development, the depth of their thoughts and lives, it is amazing, the way you described the situations the emotions and feeling,I can picture and imagine myself as that person and really feel everything they were went through,

The foreigner and their politics, you portray them , in one word, excellent ,

The plot is a puzzle that is but by bit give the pieces to crest the whole picture, it's wonderful, it both thrilled, terrified ,and intrigued me,

There are really rare fics that truly focus on kenshin especially during Bakumatsu, some writers just want to forget this part of his life that is so important, some just cling to romance between kenshin/karou and just delete Tomoe and some even hate and despise her and want to give all credit of Tomoe's influence on kenshin to kauro, I really love Tomoe and kenshin/Tome's full of pain but amazingly beautiful love, how much I wished Tomoe was still alive, but if she was we would never see the kenshin that we knew now, I want to know your opinion on Tomoe and kauro and kenshin.

Plus I really searched for kenshin's centric fics on his lid and especially during Bakumutsu, I wanted to see his struggles, his pain and suffering, and so much more that was not showed in manga or anime, and here your fic really surpassed my expectations ,

I wonder if by any chance you are going to continue this unique story?

I would be happy to see an answer from you if you ever read my review

My Gmail: shinelilac3 at Gmail dot com

With best wishes for you

:-)

It's interesting seeing Battousai!Kenshin actually sparing a life, even if it's for his own purposes. hmmm

I've just finished re-reading this fic and I'm reminded of just how much it sucked me in the first time. You portray Kenshin as a man/boy on the edge of breaking. And that's where you stopped! There has to be more. He has a ninja woman who wants to 'meet' him. An archer who wants to 'meet' him. A man he 'pricked' who wants to meet him again. And then, there are the gaijin. I think he'll be brought back to himself if he meets the children, more so if he meets Christopher.

Here's hoping you pick this up again. It's only been...a few years.

Thank you for sharing your talent.

AM

please, please, please...update. it's too good a story to be remained uncomplete

I sent the guest review a few minutes ago. I forgot to say thanks for a wonderful read!

This fic is fantastic! One of the 10 best RK FICs ever, in my opinion. Way too good to languish uncompleted for a decade. I loved the historical detail and the English side plot. Please, please - I want to know if Kenshin rescues the Rutherford's from Hawthorne's machinations. And by the way, your description of Kenshin's gradual descent into sadness is heartbreaking. Please, I beg you (bows forehead to the tatami) finish this fic. Maybe the two new live action movies coming out this summer will provide inspiration to your muse.

This is great. Your writing is very in depth and well researched. Your characters feel real and the story flows well. Your a very good writer... wish you could update your stuff though.
I love this story. I love how authentic you make it and strongly urge it's continuation despite the very long hiatus. It would be a real shame just to leave it T_T.
If you need any help with betaing or anything I would love to help you out. Anything to get the story running again.
Your faithful reader,
-PH

EIGHT YEARS EIGHT FREAKING YEARS

WILLL YOU F$%CKING UPDATE ALREADY

this is one of the best Battousai insanity fics i have ever read

MUST READ MORE

Genius.

Absolute genius. Exquisite micro-detail and mind-blowing macro. And the Japanese usage is spot on—even in tone and characterization—which, IMHO, is hard to come by in fandom. (I found your use of "kurae" in an early chapter particularly impressive; it heralded good things to come.)

All in all, your control over language is enviable. You articulate in an economy of movement without sacrificing the artistry. Treasure this precision you have, and keep writing. :)

—ttenandayo

u r a really good writer... u capture the essence of the hitokiri

Just wanted to let you know that there are still people like myself who periodically reread 'Darkest Shadows, Brightest Lights' and hope wistfully for an update. I know how hard it can be to take up the threads again of a fic left dormant for a long time-I'm doing the same thing myself right now with one of my own fics, and it's one of the more difficult things I've ever done-but this is a work worth the doing if you still have the heart and time for it.

Hope life has been treating you well, and that other creative outlets have been available to you during this long dry spell. Even if this piece is never finished, what you have written already is a masterwork.

Well, I have to say I probably won't ever see the end of this, but I think I'm okay with that. I'd much prefer to see an end, but after almost 7 years...yeah. ;

Well, your grasp on politics is...astounding. I hate politics, and as such have a hard time really understanding them, although I do try. I get a lot of what's going on, but I don't think I could ever create something similar or really guess what will happen...I can see how this could go very wrong, though.

All in all, I'm quite impressed. :)

rele good! update soon!

OH MY GAHAHAHD- PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEZ WRITE MORE OF THIS! YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY KILLING ME-

I have waited years! I will even update my own RuroKen which pales in comparison to the mere MENTION of yours but just PLEZZE GIVE AN UPDATE? HALF A CHAPTER? AUTHORS NOTES? ANYTHING!

(*cries for a half hour*)

I just found out the author of my other favorite Kenshin fic died in a car accident a few years ago, so her beautiful work will never be finished- cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers... But OH DEAR GOD YOU CAN AND SHOULD TOTALLY WRITE JUST A LITTLE MORE? Wah...

(*sob*)