Whoops! It looks like Veleda beat me to the whole "Battousai" thing, but I wanna know why you haven't changed it in the earlier chapters? I think I got confused...

Battousai is a warrior-name referring to his swift-drawing of his sword from its sheath or "battou-jutsu". "Battousai" simply means that he's mastered all forms of "battou-jutsu". Calling him "head assassin" would imply that there are other assassins who take orders from him, but he worked alone with handlers who cleaned up the messes.

Kenshin is really good with little kids; such as his time in Otsu playing with the kids who really adored him, even though they only knew a little bit about him. Also, in the anime, he plays with Ayame and Suzume a lot. He's kind of a natural with them.

I didn't get the impression that Kenshin actually hated the Shoungate/Bakufu even if he didn't really like them; what he hates is the suffering he's seen people go through (slavery, banditry, etc). Remember his whole speech-thingy to Hiko about -protecting- people from suffering? Kenshin, even younger Kenshin, really just wanted to protect people from suffering. And he really saw Tomoe's death as his own fault (because she died by his blade, not someone else's), so he didn't blame them for that, either.

Omasuoniwabanshi, I just have to say it. I have a ton of respect for you. For your writing skill and the amount of research that went into writing this. I loved Shunme's jokes. They're funny and creative. And while I am heartbroken that he died, his impact on Kenshin's life (and the readers, too) wouldn't have been as strong if he had lived. In fact the different character's personalities clashing and weaving together throughout the story made this story colorful, not just dark and depressing as most Bakumatsu stories are. I thought Nakamura was the traitor so when things turned out differently, I was surprised. When the woman said that she only wanted her husband back, not a hero, I was really moved. One of my favorite scenes was Shunme and the others singing like drunks while passing underneath a bridge. I wish that Shunme would have turned to Kenshin mid singing and asked if he wanted to join in. The glare or the horrified expression Kenshin would have given him would have been hilarious! :) Thank you for writing this!

I thought this was a fantastic read! I was also very impressed with your quest for historical accuracy. I am fairly new to Rurouni Kenshin; mostly I read SciFi. I have only a modest knowledge of Japanese history and culture, mostly due to Japanese American family friends. However, I did buy the live action movie (with English subtitles) last week, and watched it twice. Your story held up very well in comparison. Thanks for making me forget the subzero temps outside.

Love your take on Hiko's approach to sake appreciation. Makes so much sense. Oh, and I love the story in general; I really like this view of Kenshin, showing his dedication to the cause as well as the somber, earnestly polite boy that he was. Glad I finally got around to reading this work I've heard so much about.

I think...yes, I think I have read this before, years ago. I remember thinking it so sad that Shunme died... and felt sad for Kenshin. Poor kid just couldn't seem to win, could he?

I don't know if I've ever read this and it's pretty good. Your attention to detail is impressive and I'm a little envious. Where did you get all this information? Like, in the manga, the inn the men stayed at in Kyoto was called the Kohagi-ya, and yet that is in Hagi... in the Choshu prefecture of the day, right? So what inn or base DID the Ishin use during the Bakumatsu years where Kenshin worked as an assassin? I'm trying to do my own fan fictions but they are seriously lacking... I want to find some information so I can do my fics as accurately as possible.

While watching the first OVA movies and reading the manga I always got the impression that most of the Bakumatsu...at least for Kenshin, was fought primarily in Kyoto. Yet here in your chapter you have written Kenshin traveling BACK to Choshu, which is where he was born, too right? Or at least somewhere in the Choshu province. I remember reading a fic once that talked about that...

I've tried looking through wikipedia but it has virtually nothing. But I am also VERY poor at knowing how to look up information. I also don't know what to look up exactly. But I want to learn so I can at least follow the story more accurately but also build it up more on fact, thus making it more interesting.

What would you recommend?

Your writing is top quality! A minor mistake- okita was the first captain and saito hajime's senior and equal in combat despite being sick (according to history) ... But it's understandable considering okita calls saitou 'master' in the english dubs

Hi,

I really like your story especially the ending, but I have a bit of a problem with Kenshin being obsessed with revenge. I don't think Kenshin would want revenge for Tomoe at least neither OVA nor Manga give any implication for it and Kenshin wanting to kill?

Otherwise I really like it and I think that it is very well written

Great fic!Do you watch Gintama?It seems like you would enjoy it.

Aah, why haven't I stumbled across this one before?

What a bittersweet ending to a fantastic story. I felt it was meticulously researched, and your attention to detail grounded the writing in reality. The action scenes were awesome; I enjoyed the whole thing immensely.

Major kudos to you... you rock!

(ROFL at Hiko cutting Kenshin's hair)

Though Hiko adopted Kenshin when he was ten, I think. (Poor runty kid looked like he was six, and he looked like he was ten when he was fourteen, and so on. ;)

I like how Inui waves to him and then gets confused.

Aw, Kenshin should have let himself smirk. Then Shunme could have died happy.

Inui's dead! That's sad, but...realistic, unfortunately.

NO! YOU KILLED HIM! I didn't expect you to actually kill him! (runs back to scratch out the "die happy" remark)

How horribly ironic, the manner of his death and the subject of their conversation...

And, I guess Kenshin did laugh for him in the end.

Argh, this is so SAD! Especially since I think Shunme is my favorite OC that I've seen. He is great all around, from his humorous to his serious sides.

Well, thank you for the very enjoyable read. I wasn't sure I would be interested in a fic that had so little to do with the story events of the series, but you gave it all a very RuroKen feel even though Kenshin is the only non-historical canon character. It is well-written and well-researched, and I think it's extremely impressive that you got me to like it so much despite how much I hate the OAV. Thanks to kokoronagomu for recommending this to me!

"If Takahata pretended to admire Nakamura so much, Kenshin would show him what it had been like to be Nakamura." Interesting. I really like the conflict Kenshin went through over trying to kill Takahata.

"Perhaps being allowed to live was the crueler fate for him, but it was Kenshin’s salvation." Just like in the rest of the series, like that one-armed guy, one of Enishi's Six Comrades.

Watsuki did not make OAV decisions! Ah! Stop before you break my heart!

Anyway, good chapter, nice balance between vengeful torture and doing the right thing in the end.