Great story so far! :)

OMR! too close of an encounter with Bakura...too close... so it seems that Bakura is showing hints of liking Ryou, letting him live with his life :), and Ryou cant stop thinking about Bakura...but..he wants to kill him ... but cant pull the trigger at the same time..hmmm mixed emotions...i wonder what will happen next... please update :D

Very spiffy, I love Ryou's washed out character. He's really drifting isn't he? I can't wait for more of Bakura too!

Keep up the good work!

Oh man, I love love LOVE this AU!

I really like the concept of this story and the world you created is really interesting. However, sometimes it is a bit confusing when you jump around so much between scenes, like at the beginning of this chapter. At first, I had no idea when or where that incident was occuring.

Anyway, I hope you keep writing because it is a pretty cool story.

You're most welcome! D I am so excited that you updated!

I loved the chapter very much. As always, it was so wonderfully written and so much fun to imagine. I am just astounded at the worlds you create in your writing. They seem so carefully woven and it just amazes me how much thought you put into your work. I will be so surprised if you do not have a book deal within a couple of years, if that is what you ultimately want! Seriously, get your manuscripts ready and send those beasts out!

BUT GOING BACK TO THE STORY (because I could probably go on and on about how talented I think you are foreverrrr), I really love Ryou in this. He's just so complex and I can just feel (or think I can feel, anyways) his total determination to find Bakura. AND I was so stoked Bakura came up in the chapterrrr! ...Despite that Ryou got himself hurt again because of it. ;[ I am so pumped for more and hope you find the time again sometime soon to continue! I really want to know what happensss and wish there was more cuz I would totally sit here and read it allll night if I was able to because it is that good!

Also, I find Shizuka so cute as a mechanic. She is so fleshed out in this story and her characterization is fantastic (as is everyone's)! I just love how you paid so much attention to every little detail of EVERYTHINGGG.

But yeah. Well done and I seriously hope to be able to read more sometime soon!

Yay! 3 your writing so much :3

Wow, I love this! I am very sad there is not more to consume! I really love the way you weave in memories; it just works so well and makes me get lost in the story. The characters are all so interesting and well-developed; I crave to know more about all of them because they all have such depth and this mysteriousness to them like there is so much that is going on that is being left unsaid. Ntm, Ryou and Bakura and the deliciousness they both are! I keep reading and am like on my seat, wanting more. XD I keep waiting for Bakura to come in and fk things up for Ryou some more. This is the first story I've read in so long that I've got lost in! I seriously hope you continue though it's been a while so I think that is prolly not gonna happen BUT I LAA IT AND WISH YOU WOULD KEEP GOING. OH AND the dialogue is very funny and I just love Shizuka and Mai and the way they all interact! SO GEWDDDD.

I never thought I'd find a fanfic this cool. Muse are my favourite band (I'm pretty obsessed) and when I saw the title of this I was like omfg ASDFGHJKLL so yeah damn cool. :3

OO Wow. This story is brilliant.

Wow, this is epic. Simply outstanding writing, premise, and imagery. Although the plot is a little hard to follow at the beginning, I think you balanced comprehensibility with subtlety very well. I am enjoying this gradual reveal of both past and future events. The only concrit I can offer is about Ryou's characterization - to be honest I feel as though this Ryou is an entirely different character. However, that doesn't detract at all from the overall excellence of this fic. I think it's unique and it simply feels as though I am reading original fiction.

Thanks so much for putting this up!

If you're reading reviews and don't expect spoilers, you're a very silly reader.

Wow, I was not expecting Ishizu to be the Ishtal in question. . Complete and total surprise. She's ruthless and callous and I rather like this version of her better than the sanctimonious seer of the canon. :D She's near genderless here and I'm finding it a nice change.

On that same note, I really like your Ryou as well. He's still hesitant and polite, soft-spoken and generally a good person. He's also a hardened pilot and trained killer. :D He has a level of detachment that fits his character (even if it's not the half-forced version of the canon) and, frankly, it's nice to see him as a capable and competent soldier. He's not even a woobie! :D

I laughed when I figured out "ED0" and Ukiyo. AWESOME. Just plain AWESOME. And the way the atmosphere is gritty but not unrealistically so is admirable.

Bakura's origin revealed! :O I like it! Even though you labeled the fic as Tendershipping (which I used to advocate), the LACK of shipping is what has actually kept me around. I left the YGO fandom behind years ago; only a fic like this could bring me back for a visit.

I have to say, so far I am pleasantly tickled by this story. The short bursts of each scene make it easy to read and the world you've created doesn't fall flat. Good fight scenes, great emotion without being over-dramatic, and wonderful characterization over all.

Favorite line of the chapter: "If he fails, he's a dead man: dead and forgotten while Brigadier Ishtal continues, undisturbed, adding and subtracting, until a feather balances a lump of meat."

Ouch. Now... that was an interesting way to end a chapter.

There's really not much to say that hasn't already been said. I think the only unique thing I can come up with is that the complexities and intricate details of your story make my head spin to the point that it takes me a moment to stand.

Which is a good thing, except for people who are unfortunate enough to be beside me. :D

Eh, I saw that you won't be updating until at least June and now I'm very sad. But I give you extreme props for admitting what you can handle. Fanfiction is a hobby, never a lifestyle, right? I think some people too easily forget that!

In the meantime, I will say I am just as in love with this chapter as I was with the other two. The prose is poetic, beautiful, and mesmerizing while the plot itself is uniquely fascinating; overall an explosive combination! Since I have so much I'd like to say, I'll just make a list to help organize my thoughts and reduce the rambling:

1.) Your writing style is very adventurous. What I mean is, you take risks in your prose that I don't see very often. Particularly, you do this really neat "trick" where you insert an entire scene between two dashes to indicate what Ryou is thinking while in the midst of a conversation. This is so realistic, because obviously we are always thinking of different things as we're talking to someone. This is obviously a sort of writer's "trick" because it helps maintain the reader's attention by keeping the action fast-paced. So much is going on within limited text, forcing me to read the words closely so I don't miss anything. Additionally, in doing this, I think it also hints at how damaged Ryou might be; when he's talking to someone he is always reverting to traumatic moments or has some sort of ADD condition going on. He can't stay focused on just one thing!

2. Continuing with my assertion that your writing style is adventurous, I also wanted to point out that I admire your usage of the present tense. It's a very difficult thing to pull off, I think. Whenever I attempt it, I find that I'm naturally switching back to the past tense if I'm not careful. It's the sort of thing that gets ingrained in your mind after reading so many books in the past tense and writing in the past tense. The obvious advantage of writing in the present is the immediacy of the action. Some disagree with this notion, but I firmly believe writing in the present DOES affect the overall "feel" of the story. You pull this staggering feat flawlessly.

3. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this in my past review, but I adore your characterization of Ryou. He's amazing. This Ryou, unlike the usual depiction throughout fanfiction, is highly intellectual, brave, calculating, and humorously mild-mannered, given his circumstances. It makes me really wish that Kazuki Takahashi had put this much care into Ryou's personality; he is written off as essentially a vessel to his darker half, and you easily defy this by constructing a better Ryou. Amazingly, you still manage to preserve the scarce qualities that the canon Ryou has, such as his shyness. His interaction with Shizuka was very cute; it's amazing how he's able to go from battle mode to withdrawn/shy mode so easily. For the record, I DO think Ryou is a good match for Shizuka, given their personalities. (But, am I hardcore fanfiction gal or not? I should be saying he should be paired with Bakura...which I'm assuming will happen eventually!)

4. I particularly enjoyed the Ryou's thought, "I need guns and a wedding present." The two items are absurdly, comically different; at the same time, I'd like to think these two items are symbolic of two completely different lifestyles. On one half is the normal, average lifestyle being carried out by Ryou's group of friends back at home. This limited life involves dating, marriage, an office job (maybe), kids, and movie night on Friday. On the opposite end of the spectrum, represented by the gun, is the path Ryou chose, which definitely blows convention out of the water. His life is filled with pursuing crazy people (Bakura!), fleeing, violence, corruption, and all that jazz. All of this I seriously was able to pull out of that one musing Ryou had. Maybe I thought too hard on this (I usually do), but I think this sort of analysis is justified.

5.) I have a final comment. If you happen to get a book published, can you let me know? I'm in love with how you write, and I'm not just saying that to be generically nice. I really mean it! It always baffles me how the number of reviews a story may get is not indicative of the quality of the story or the writer's skills. I suspect that this story is so original and unique many readers can't fathom it. Keep in mind the majority of works on this site center around "fluff," "bashing," and OOC violations. So, here's to you for being a million steps ahead of the crowd!

Gosh when I checked my email today and saw an update for this I was like GASP *rolling on floor sputtering pathetically in disbelief*

ok so after reading this amazing, long-awaited update, (and recovering from my attack of hyperventilation), I finally decided to pick up my lazy ass to review already.

I really do enjoy reading the thoughts of this semi-delusional Ryou you portray here. It would certainly be impossible for him to live a normal life on Earth with Yugi and friends.

I love all the little hints you make to the original story line as well! Like Colony YG0 with a zero instead of an "O." I honestly thought that was genius. And of course the reference to Kul Eruna with the massacre. I laughed out loud when Ryou lied to Shizuka and said his name was Honda. Oh the irony...

oooooo What is Ryou gonna do now that Shizuka knows? Really look forward to finding out where you plan to go with this! I'll wait another year if I have to! (but sooner would be better...you should also think about working on that other fic you currently have on hold...)