Title: Tanabata Jasmine
Author: Nekotsuki
Fandom: Rurouni Kenshin
Pairing: pre-Kenshin/Kaoru (in the same vein as the anime series)
Categories: action/adventure, drama
Length: epic
Author on LJ: whiteadelphi
Author Website: n/a

Author's Summary: When Kenshin goes missing on the night of the Tanabata festival, will his friends be able to find him and bring him home?

Review:
This is one of those rare gems that I could actually see fitting into the series as an ongoing arc of episodes. Like the show, it's truly an ensemble piece, and Nekotsuki does a wonderful job of balancing the various plot threads and bringing it all together with no obvious plot holes that I could see. She pays attention to not only Kenshin in his captivity and his friends' efforts to rescue him but also to her OC villains. They are particularly human characters with realistic motivations and this is used well in the action scenes. One of the things that I loved about the original series is that there was often a psychological aspect to the fights beyond fists and swords and this story uses that to good effect. The action scenes are also detailed and most importantly, easy to understand.

A good long read featuring plenty of hurt!Kenshin but no weak!Kenshin with a strong showing from the rest of the Kenshingumi, Misao, Aoshi, and the OC villains.

Tanabata Jasmine