Night falls. After kidnapping Kauro, Jine sits down to have a nice cigarette while Kauro stares at him angrily. Kauro tells him that she knows he only kidnapped her because he can't beat Kenshin otherwise. Jine smiles, he claims to be able to beat Kenshin before finishing one cigarette... But he says that it would be meaningless and that's why he kidnapped her- This way Kenshin will get angry, reverting to his former self, Hittokiri Battousai. Kauro tells him that he is underestimating Kenshin and that he doesn't know how strong Kenshin really is. Jine claims that she is the one who doesn't know how strong Himura Battousai really was... Back in the days of the Bakumatsu both of them served in Kyoto, Jine was serving as a member of the Shinsengumi and Battousai fought on the Ishin Shishi side, however they never got to meet, so he wants them to battle to the death now, in the Meiji era.

Back at the Kammiya Dojo Yahiko and Sano are reading a note written by Kenshin, explaining that Kauro was abducted. Kenshin writes that if he doesn't come back he wants them to contact the police chief and rescue Kauro. Yahiko and Sanosuke realize that they have to go after Kenshin and help him with defeating Jine, they start running towards the forest, where the battle is about to take place.

The hour is midnight, the promised battle is about to start. Jine is waiting for Kenshin with Kauro in the middle of the forest. Kenshin arrives. Kauro seems very glad to see him but her happy expression soon turns frightened when she gets a glare at Kenshin's face... The usual, smiling face of the rurouni has turned into an angry, murderous face of an assassin. Jine realizes that Kenshin is angry by looking at his eyes. Kenshin says that he really is angry at both himself and Jine... But something is not right, that voice... It's not Kenshin's usual tone, it's as if he's someone else...

Both of them take out their swords, Jine commands Kenshin to reverse his Sakabatou so he would be able to kill him. Kenshin refuses and the battle has begun. They exchange blows for a while, but each of them is able to block the opponent's attacks. Jine tries his luck with the Shin No Ippo, but as expected Kenshin snaps out of it with ease. Jine provokes Kenshin and continues to attack, but Kenshin seems to know the technique Jine is using... He manages to predict all of Jine's movements: First, a one handed thrust... He dodges it. Then, a side slash... Kenshin jumps away. And finally, a straight slash down... Kenshin blocks it using his sakaba's hilt. Kenshin storms forward to attack Jine who's stance had been broken. But Jine just smiles and pulls a second sword from his belt, stabbing Kenshin in the shoulder. Kenshin is on the ground...

Sanosuke and Yahiko continue to search for Kenshin and Kauro... They might not know it but things don't look too good for Kenshin. He is lying on the ground after receiving a wound in the shoulder. Jine seems disappointed, he says that Kenshin is far from being how he was during the Bakumatsu and that he could kill him before finishing three cigarettes. So he decides to anger Kenshin even more. He uses his Shin No Ippo on Kauro, but this time he's using a much stronger version of it that could kill a human being within 5 minutes... There are only two ways to defeat it, either the user of the technique dies or the girl snaps out of it herself, which is virtually impossible. Kenshin is down, he can't believe what he's hearing. Jine looks at him and tells him that he better hurry up and kill him. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Kenshin leaps in the air and hits Jine in the nose with his Sakabatou. Jine laughs, he is impressed by that attack, but the one thing that is now clear is that Kenshin is not "Kenshin" anymore. He is back to being Hittokiri Battousai. Kenshin looks at Jine, "I will kill you," he says.

Kauro looks at them from behind, frightened. At the edge of suffocation she still seems to understand what's going on. Jine is pleased, But he isn't going to be taking this battle lightly. He uses the Hyoki No Jutsu, a technique where the user looks at his sword and then uses Shin No Ippo on himself, thus making him stronger and faster. Kenshin isn't impressed... "You can use all the skills you want. However... Now that I've said I will kill... Your death is inevitable." Kenshin stands at the stance of the Battoujutsu, a technique where the user unsheathes his sword with godlike speed, thus making the slash a lot more faster and powerful than an ordinary slash. Jine knows that this move is Kenshin's specialty, but he also knows about the weakness of this move... The Sakabatou isn't a good sword for the Battoujutsu so Kenshin will probably leave an opening and would be easy to attack after that one strike of the Battoujutsu is over. Jine runs towards Kenshin, knowing that he has a chance to win. Kenshin unsheathes his sword fast, but not fast enough. It just manages to cut a few of Jine's hairs but nothing more. Jine leaps towards Kenshin screaming "I win Batousa..." Before he could finish the sentence, Kenshin's sheath hits him in the elbow. That is the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Sou Ryu Sen, a technique that uses the sheath as well as the sword. With it even a Sakabatou could become the ultimate Battoujutsu sword. Kenshin's attack crushed Jine's elbow and tore his ligaments, his life as a swordsman is over. And now Kenshin prepares to end Jine's life as well, he flips his sword and places the sword above Jine's head. He hesitates, but for the sake of Kauro he says he has no problem returning to being an assassin once more.

Just when the sword is about to hit Jine's head you can hear Kauro's voice shouting for Kenshin to stop. She was able to release herself from the Shin No Ippo! Kenshin runs to her, catching her before she falls. She is fine... However, it appears that Jine is ready to resume the battle. Kenshin tells him that is of no use because he can hardly hold a sword with his fractured elbow. Jine says that it is not quite over yet and commits suicide using his short sword. Before finally dying, Jine tells Kenshin that he can recognize a hittokiri when he sees one, and that there is no doubt in his mind that Kenshin's true self is a hittokiri. With those words Udo Jine leaves this world.

Sanosuke and Yahiko manage to arrive at the scene just at the right time... When everything is already over. They fall in the mud and make fools of themselves just in order to find out that the awful Kurogasa had already been defeated.

Kauro, Kenshin, Yahiko and Sanosuke are going back to the Kammiya Dojo. Kenshin remembers that he has to give Kauro back her favorite ribbon, but when he hands it out to her something odd is revealed... It is completely soaked with Kenshin's blood that he got from his wound. Kauro is angry with him and starts chasing him around followed by Sanosuke and Yahiko who also chase Kenshin because they don't understand what happened just now. During this playful run Kenshin thinks to himself that even if he is a hittokiri inside he has no need to let that personality surface. With these friends, he will be happy to stay a rurouni until his death.

This episode starts with a murder scene. A man with a large hat is assassinating a bunch of people. There is only one remaining person left alive... He begs for his life, offering the murderer money. The man with the large hat just smirks and prepares to kill him. The terrified man starts running away but suddenly he freezes for no reason, allowing the assassin to easily slay him with his sword.

Back at the Kammiya Dojo, Ayame, Suzume, Yahiko, Kenshin and Sanosuke are all having lunch as prepared by Kauro. Sanosuke seems to be the only one who doesn't mind giving negative comments about Kauro's food which, as he says, is disgusting. Kauro gets annoyed with Sano's freeloading and starts throwing random things at him, while he uses Kenshin as a protective shield. Suddenly, the brawl is interrupted by the police chief (see episode 3), he reports that there is an assassin called the Kurogasa, who's been killing countless Ishin Shishi over the past ten years. He says that they need Kenshin's assistance in defeating him because he is no pushover opponent. Kenshin realizes that this man is probably a hittokiri from the Bakumatsu just like himself, thus it is a battle he cannot avoid.

It's night time. Kenshin is inside a house surrounded by armed police officers. He and a bunch of other people are body guarding a man called Tani, he is an important politician and Kurogasa threatened to assassinate him exactly at midnight. Sanosuke also arrives at the scene, he just can't give up a good fight, now can he? It is now midnight and a scream is heard from outside. Kenshin and Sanosuke look outside the window to find three bodies lying on the ground. Inside, there is no sign of the assassin. Everybody seemed relaxed, thinking it was a prank, just then the Kurogasa enters through the window, slaying a man who stood in his path. Tani commands his personal body guards to attack Kurogasa, giving them promises of high rank positions and big money. Being greedy, they run towards the Kurogasa but get slain before being able to attack. The men attempt to escape but Kurogasa appears to be using some kind of witchcraft with his eyes and paralyzes them all on the spot, none of them is able to move.

Everyone is frozen on the spot. Kurogasa says that it is wrong for one to run away after he has already drawn his sword. Sanosuke seems to be the only one who can even slightly move, Kurogasa is impressed by him and is about to "reward" him by killing him first. Just then Kenshin leaps from behind Sano, cutting the Kurogasa's hat in half. Kenshin knows this technique, it isn't witchcraft but hypnosis, The Shin No Ippo. He also knows the name of the assassin- Udo Jine. Jine seems pleased, he also knows who Kenshin is, he recognized him by his trademark cross shaped scar. Jine says that he no longer cares for the pigs and their money, he now changes his target to Kenshin- the legendary Hittokiri Battousai. He uses the Shin No Ippo on Kenshin but it is no use, Kenshin quickly breaks free of it. It appears that if one's spirit is equal or surpasses that of the user's, the opponent could easily evade being paralyzed. Suddenly, Sanosuke realizes the trick as well and also breaks free of the Shin No Ippo! He gets pissed at Jine and throws a statue at him, Jine easily moves aside and gives Sano a nice cut on both hands. Kenshin gets annoyed and runs towards Jine. After a short battle Jine realizes that Kenshin is nothing compared to what he was in the days if the Bakumatsu and decides to give him some time to practice before the real battle. He releases all the body guards out of his Shin No Ippo and escapes into the shadows.

After Jine leaves Kenshin and Sano sit down and chat about the situation. Sanosuke realizes that Kenshin planned all along to become Jine's target in order to save the life of Mr. Tani. Kenshin tells Sano that there is no way he could defeat Jine in his current situation And asks him to deliver a message to Kauro.

The next morning at the Kammiya Dojo Sanosuke tells Kauro that Kenshin needs to be alone until his big fight with Jine, he says that seeing her would have caused his heart to soften and he would lose the battle for sure. Kauro goes to look for him, remembering Kenshin's words: "I don't know when I'll start wandering again, because I am a rurouni." Yahiko and Sanosuke chase her but it is of no use, they can't find her.

Kenshin is sitting next to a river bank, thinking about his odds of winning with his no killing attitude. Suddenly Kauro arrives at the scene, very mad. She says that she will stay with him, but Kenshin tells her that there is no way he will win like that. Kauro understands the situation and agrees to leave, however, before she leaves she gives Kenshin her favorite ribbon, saying that she won't forgive him if he doesn't bring it back. Kenshin doesn't understand what she wants at first, but then he realizes that she just wants him to come back after the fight and not go wandering again... He smiles and promises to bring the ribbon back. They both exchange smiles but then out of nowhere Jine appears on a boat, kidnapping Kauro from behind! He tells Kenshin to get mad and return to his days as Hittokiri Battousai. Kenshin stands there and looks at him with murderous eyes.

Kauro and Yahiko are worried about Kenshin, as we can remember from the previous episode he has a pledge to fight against Zanza, a tough gangster. However, Kenshin doesn't seem to be worried at all as he greets Kauro and Yahiko with his usual ear-to-ear smile. Kauro tells him that he should not battle such a person, Kenshin agrees but says that it is inevitable. He can't imagine why Zanza hates the Ishin Shishi so much...

Flashback: Zanza is sitting at his house, playing dice as he thinks about past days... In the flashback we see Zanza as a young child and another man, who Sanosuke refers to as "Taicho" (captain) are standing at the edge of a cliff. The man tells young Sanosuke about how the Tokugawa regime is finally going to end after 300 years and how all people will finally be equal. Sanosuke asks the captain if when all people are equal he could have the honor to wear his last name, Sagara. A man named Tatewaki Shindou arrives to the cliff ridden on a horse, he is an official of the government army, and he brought orders from the government. Flashback end.

Hiruma Goheh arrives to Zanza's house to remind him that he has a fight to finish, Zanza tells him that he will complete the fight but that under no circumstances must he interfere. Zanza grabs his Zanbatou and sets off to fight Kenshin once more.

Back at the Kammiya Dojo, Yahiko, Kauro and Genzai Sensei are sitting and chatting. Genzai Sensei tells them that Zanza was a member of the Sekihoutai, a fake government army back in the days of the Bakumatsu. They lied to farmers, saying they would halve taxes thus causing much confusion. They were punished for that by the Ishin Shishi. So that is why Zanza is picking on Kenshin... Ayame and Suzume get to the scene just then, they tell Genzai, Yahiko and Kauro that Kenshin went away with that weird haired man from yesterday. Hearing that, Yahiko and Kauro run off to find Kenshin.

Kauro and Yahiko find Kenshin and Zanza next to the river just when the fight is about to commence. Zanza jumps up the air and hits with his Zanbatou hard, however Kenshin easily dodges it. Seconds later Zanza is on the ground after being dealt a blow from Kenshin's Sakabatou. However, he stands up and plans to carry on with the fight! Zanza hits Kenshin the exact same way, but again he misses. He now hits him diagonally as well but, yet again, misses. But what's going on? Where is Kenshin? He is standing on top of Zanza's huge sword! Kenshin reveals that there is no way the Zanbatou will possibly defeat him, due to it's sheer size it could be swung either down or to the side but nothing more... Very easy to predict. He slides down the Zanbatou, hitting Zanza on his head and since one blow will not work against him he uses the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryu Sou Sen... An attack where the sword hits the opponent very swiftly at multiple areas, not giving him the time to recover. Zanza falls on the ground and does not appear to be able to stand, Kenshin tells him he should get some medical attention and calmly accept his defeat. While on the ground Zanza gets another flashback.

Flashback continue: We see the Ishin Shishi/Sekihoutai meeting where the Ishin Shishi officially declared the Sekihoutai to be villains. Tatewaki Shindou says that the punishment for this is an execution. The Sekihoutai members do not understand what's going on... they have spread the word of low taxes just as the government told them to. And then Sagara Taicho understand that the Ishin were just using the Sekihoutai as a scapegoat and pretend nothing had happened. Just then tens of soldiers with guns appear, shooting all over the place... The Sekihoutai have no chance against them. Sagara Taicho shoves Sanosuke to the ground in order to protect him while the rest of the Sekihoutai are being murdered by the Ishin army. A few survivors run to the forest, Sagara Taicho and Sanosuke are among them. Unfortunately for them they are few against too many and they are murdered until only Sanosuke and the Taicho, who is severely wounded, are left alive. They end up above a cliff, where the Taicho finds his death, not before throwing young Sanosuke off the cliff, thus saving his life. Flashback end.

While Sanosuke was thinking of the past he was mumbling some things, Kenshin heard the word Sekihoutai and immediately understood why Sanosuke has a grudge against him. Suddenly, seeing as how the man he hired was on the ground, Hiruma Goheh appears out of no where and shoots Kenshin using a gun. Incredibly Kenshin manages to block the bullet with the hilt of his sword! Goheh is amazed but he won't give up! He grabs Kauro and Yahiko, threatening to murder them if Kenshin takes even one step forward. But before Goheh manages to do anything Zanza's huge Zanbatou hits his leg, causing him to drop Kauro and Yahiko. Zanza gives Goheh a friendly reminder to not interrupt his fight. Miraculously, even after all those hits from Kenshin, Zanza stands on his feet ready to continue the fight. Goheh intends to shoot Kenshin from short distance but Kenshin prevents him from doing so by using the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Dou Ryu Sen.

Yahiko and Kauro are mad at Zanza for picking a grudge against Kenshin, after all the Sekihoutai were the ones that were evil. Zanza is amazed that society today can still believe the lies of the Ishin Shishi. Kenshin explains everything to Kauro and Yahiko... But they still don't understand, after all the present Kenshin is nothing more than a Rurouni, he's not Hittokiri Battousai anymore. Kenshin flips his sword so the sharp side that could kill is now facing upwards. Zanza hits Kenshin from above but it is of no use, Kenshin cuts the Zanbatou in half using the back of his sword. And for the final blow Kenshin uses the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryu Tsui Sen. Amazingly, Zanza is still standing although it seems he will die without the proper medical attention... Zanza tells Kenshin that there is no way he will lose to an imperialist, no matter what happens, Kenshin reply is a quick punch to the face. Kauro explains to Zanza that Kenshin is no longer the assassin Battousai and that in this day and age he protects people with his sword freely, with no political affiliation. Zanza detects the similarities between Kenshin and his Sekihoutai captain, he falls down on the ground without Kenshin touching him. Defeated at last.

Walking on the way to the Akabeko Kenshin, Kauro and Yahiko hear noises from the inside. When they get a bit closer they see the democrats from the day before escaping with fear... Out comes Zanza all beaten up. Kenshin asks him if he's going to take the aku character off his back, but Zanza replies that it will always be a part of who he is. Also, he notes that from now on his name isn't Zanza, much like Kenshin's name isn't Hittokiri Battousai anymore. From now on he is to be known as just Sagara Sanosuke. And so Sano joins the group as Kenshin's friend, rather than his enemy.

95 to go

The episode starts off with a scene of some dude carrying a large device beating up some people to a bloody pulp... However, this man does not appear to be just a mindless goon who fights for blood thirst as he quickly gives up the fight, saying that his opponents are way too weak.

Back at the Kammiya Dojo, Yahiko and Kauro are fighting as usual but they stop the fight when they notice Kenshin is about to prepare lunch. Unfortunately for the residents of the dojo there is a shortage on money and they can't afford to have any good food. They can't until Kauro finds an old Chinese ink painting drawn by her grandfather, that is. So Kauro decides to sell the painting and Kenshin, Yahiko, Genzai-sensei, Ayame, Suzume and herself go to the Akabeko for lunch.

At the Akabeko everyone is having fun until they hear a dispute between three loud mouthed drunks, arguing about the values of democracy, who eventually throw their plate at the back of Kenshin's head for no apparent reason (oro?!). The mysterious man from before seems to be watching from afar. The three drunks just continue on arguing like nothing happened without even noticing that they almost crushed somebody's skull. Yahiko stands up and gives the drunks a piece of his mind, he tells them to apologize immediately. Tae, the manager of the Akabeko, politely asks them to stop fighting in order to not disturb the other costumers. A big drunk slaps her away, telling her to shut up. Just then the spiky haired mystery man catches Tae and gives the drunks a little speech. He says that democracy is for the weak and that they should not oppress them and then blame it on their drinking. The drunks are mad and so a match has been declared.

Outside of the Akabeko it's the mystery man in the white outfit versus the tall drunken maniac. The man tells the drunk that he wants to test his strength and gives him the opportunity to charge at him straight forward, the drunk doesn't hesitate and runs fast towards him, it looks like he was hiding a hidden dagger between his fingers! He hits the mystery man on the forehead, however it has no affect. The drunk finds his arm broken and when the other two drunks try to help their friend Kenshin asks them to leave before he will have to get involved. After the drunks leave the man asks Kenshin for a match, Kenshin declines and as the man walks away we see the writing "aku" (evil, wicked, bad) written on his back. Hiruma Goheh (see episode 1) walks out from the shadows, he says that that man is Zanza, a strong fighter for hire and that maybe he will be strong enough to finally get rid of Kenshin.

In the evening Goheh and Zanza meet. Goheh gives Zanza the job to kill Kenshin, However, as we soon find out, Zanza does not kill for money unless he enjoys the fight against a strong opponent. Goheh promises that he will indeed enjoy his fight since the opponent is non other than the legendary Hittokiri Battousai. Zanza seems thrilled at the prospect of the upcoming fight because the opponent is an Ishin Shishi, he takes the huge object (seen in the first scene) and goes to the Kammiya Dojo.

Kenshin and Zanza meet at the backyard of the Kammiya Dojo. Kenshin declines the fight but Zanza says that since he was hired he must perform his duty. He seems to know everything about Kenshin's past as Hittokiri Battousai... Well, almost everything. He reveals his real name, Sagara Sanosuke, and his trusty companion, a huge weapon called a Zanbatou, to Kenshin. Sanosuke attacks Kenshin, and does it fast even with the huge weapon he's carrying. He tries to hit him twice but misses both times. That's when Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan wake up from their nap. Zanza says that real fights should not be fought in front of children. He leaves, for now, but this fight cannot be avoided, it seems.

Looks like things are going better for the Kammiya Dojo now that Himura Kenshin and Myojin Yahiko are there. Yahiko is now in his third day of training but it appears he isn't taking the Kammiya Kasshin Ryu very seriously... Instead he decides that making fun of Kauro is a much more enjoyable way of passing one's time. He makes goofy faces at her while she's innocently trying to teach him how to meditate properly. she is very frustrated with him and starts chasing him around, it seems Yahiko isn't interested in "the sword that protects life," he is more interested in beating his opponents up. Bumping into Kenshin, Yahiko asks him why he can't teach him his style of fighting. Kenshin declines politely and tells him that he does not wish to pass on his style to future generations.

Yahiko and Kauro are eating onigiris (hand rolled sushi balls), they start talking and Yahiko admits that Kauro is strong, however he is still very interested in Kenshin's style of Kenjutsu. Furthermore he starts speculating on why such an excellent swordsman is staying at a no-name dojo like the Kammiya Dojo. He asks Kauro what Kenshin is, but she doesn't reply... Yahiko starts guessing Kenshin's true identity, maybe he's actually a gangster or some sort of criminal? Kauro is also curios as to what exactly happened in Kenshin's past... And just when's she's about to ask him why he is a rurouni, Kenshin goes out to buy some tofu.

While Kenshin is away the police arrive at the Kammiya Dojo searching for Himura Battousai. Yahiko, who was incidentally standing near by, hears them and understands that Kenshin is indeed the famous assassin. They attempt to investigate but Kauro won't let them, she notices Yahiko and tells him to run and warn Kenshin to not come back, Yahiko does that while two police men start to chase him. There is a man waiting outside of the dojo in a carriage, he's the one who sent the police after Kenshin...

Meanwhile Kenshin, Ayame and Suzume are walking back from the store after buying tofu. Three members of the armed police notice Kenshin and tell him that he has some nerve to wear a katana in front of the police in broad daylight. They offer him a match but Kenshin refuses saying that he would rather not battle around children. Besides, his sword is merely a Sakaba that can't even hurt a fly. The armed police mock him and cut the bucket of tofu he was holding in his arms.

The armed police are now near a shop where they beat the crap out of a shoplifter who stole a hand-towel. A regular police officer interferes and tells the armed police officers that there is no need for them to take part in a small affair such as this one. An armed police officer gets mad at the policeman for telling him what to do and breaks his nose. Yahiko arrives at the scene while searching for Kenshin, he sees the armed police arresting the shoplifter, his father and his sister (the latter two for no apparent reason). He tries to stop them but he isn't strong enough and he gets defeated. So the senior armed police officer gives an order to execute them all and starts laughing with that "I'm-an-evil-fiend" laugh. The crowd who gathered at the scene doesn't seem to be pleased with the cops' decision but when policemen threat to start killing people in the crowd as well no one is brave enough to say another word. And just when Yahiko is about to be chopped into pieces Kenshin arrives to save the day. At first he does not wish to battle, but when the policemen try to start executing random people for no reason he gets ticked off and agrees to battle. A bunch of officers attack Kenshin, but he obviously defeats them all without even trying. And then there was one, the only policeman left standing is the senior one who gave orders to the rest. Kenshin asks him to swear to never be oppressive again, but the cop is stubborn and just tells him to shut up (he is shaking from fear at this moment). Just then Kauro arrives to the place of battle to see Kenshin easily defeating the senior police officer. The cops and the mysterious carriage follow her. The cops try to arrest Kenshin but they stop suddenly after the man in the carriage tells them to halt. He says that judging by the crowd's reaction (who was cheering for Kenshin) you could only assume that he was the good guy who just serving justice. The officers release Kenshin, Kauro and Yahiko.

The man is Yamagata Aritomo, the politician that stands at the top of Meiji Japan. He's been searching Kenshin for ten years and he has come to offer him a job as a key official in the army. Kenshin smiles and declines, saying that he has no wish to be rewarded for acts of murder. Yamagata-san understands that Kenshin's disappearance was a show of determination to never kill again. However, he says that the acts of murder Himura Battousai committed were for the sake of Japan and for those who can't admit this he will... "Use your authority to silence them..." Kenshin continues his sentence. Kenshin says that these kind of thoughts create people like the rotten armed policemen. Yamagata does not seem convinced and tells Kenshin that at this times one person with one sword can't do anything without political power. Kenshin smiles kindly towards him and pats Kauro and Yahiko on the back, "even if it's just the people I see as I walk by, I could protect them with one sword," he says. Yamagata-san seems impressed with Kenshin's determination but he swears that he won't give up.

Kenshin, Kauro and Yahiko are walking back home. As they cross a bridge, Yahiko thinks about the day's events. He thinks about what Kenshin said and about how he wants to protect the people he sees as he walks by. It seems Yahiko has finally understood the essence of the Kammiya Kasshin Ryu and is ready to accept Kauro as his master.

The episode starts off with Kenshin doing laundry with Ayame and Suzume and Kauro practicing by herself inside the dojo. Kauro starts screaming about the fact that no new students are coming to study with her even though the fake Battousai incident has already been cleared up. Kenshin enters the inner room of the dojo where Kauro was loudly complaining and tells her that these things require time and that she should just wait patiently. She tells him that at times like these it is good to do something to cheer up, so she volunteers Kenshin to treat everyone to a nice meal at the Akabeko, the local Sukiyaki (beef fondue type thing) restaurant.

Kenshin, Kauro, Ayame, Suzume and Genzai Sensei (who magically appeared when the words 'free food' were first heard) walk towards the Akabeko. Kenshin suddenly stops, he notices a young man walking along the road and stealing a person's wallet from his pocket. A very young child standing next to the gentleman who has just been robbed seems very happy because his grandfather (the man who's been robbed) is going to buy him a present. The thief seems to have a change of heart and returns the money to its rightful owner. Kenshin pats the boy's head, and when the boy asks angrily what he's doing Kenshin replies that he thinks he is a very kind kid.

As Kenshin is dragged by the angry Kauro (who's been wondering why the hell he stopped to pat some kid all of the sudden), the young pickpocket notices that Kenshin is wearing a sword. Being the adventurous type, the kid tries to steal Kenshin's wallet. Kauro leaps and catches the kid just before he could run off with Kenshin's money. Kenshin returns the money to the boy, saying that he can't help it if his pocket got picked and continues on walking. The kid throws the wallet at Kenshin's head while screaming various insults and saying that he was just testing him because he had a sword. The kid's name is Myojin Yahiko, a descendant of Tokyo Samurai.

Yahiko is sitting next to a lake and thinking about the things Kenshin told him... A few men arrive and start beating the crap out of Yahiko because he didn't manage to earn any money pickpocketing today.

At the Akabeko a waitress tells the group about Yahiko and about how his parents died and that he must pay his mother's debt to the Shuei Yakuza. Kauro realizes that Yahiko is forced to pickpocket in order to survive and she decides to take action. She goes to the Kanto Shuei, the residence of the Shuei yakuza, in order to free Yahiko from the criminals.

At the Kanto Shuei, the yakuza men decide to treat Kauro to a game of dice, if she wins then she gets to take Yahiko with her, but if she loses she must be their servant as well. In this game the player must call either Cho (evens) or Han (odds), however there is a catch... The dice are illegally made (this is the Yakuza, y'know) and they will always show Cho. So Gasuke, a Yakuza with really freaky hair, calls Cho. And before Kauro notices anything she is forced to call Han. So they throw the dice and it ends up being 5 and 6, Han. How is that possible? Well it appears Yahiko can use his pickpocketing skills for positive things as well; While the man with the dice was preparing to throw them Yahiko switched the rigged dice with regular ones. So Kauro wins, but can she take Yahiko? Fat chance. Yahiko pleads with the Yakuza to let Kauro go. Kauro doesn't understand what he wants... She won, didn't she? He explains to her that they never meant to let her leave the place alive. After realizing that Yahiko switched the dice, Gasuke starts beating him up. However, this time Yahiko is standing up for himself and saying that from now on he is cutting his ties with dirty Yakuza and that he will pay his debt in legal ways. Gasuke starts laughing like a maniac and tells Yahiko that there was no debt and that it was all a lie to keep him as the Yakuza's dog, but with or without a debt he will always stay with them. Yahiko gets pissed and tries to land a punch or two on the yakuza but eventually he is too weak and gets completely beaten up by all of the Yakuza together. And that's where Kauro steps in, she uses her swords skill in order to protect Yahiko and she does it well, until she reaches Gasuke, who is obviously superior to her. He causes her to drop on the floor and he is about to kill her. Suddenly the boss's voice is heard, he asks Gasuke not to kill Kauro, cause it will ruin his launch. And then he asks Yahiko some questions about how he is going to live... Even with the boss trying to persuade Yahiko to stay, Yahiko does not change his mind and decides to stay away from Yakuza business. A Yakuza standing above Yahiko gets annoyed because Yahiko isn't talking nicely to the boss, he starts insulting Yahiko's parents. Yahiko gets really really mad and kicks the Yakuza directly in the nuts (ouch!). After seeing that display of disrespect the boss asks "Hittokiri" Gasuke to kill Yahiko. Suddenly the door opens with a kick.

Kenshin makes it just in time... He had already defeated all the Yakuza waiting for him outside and with one quick hit he makes Gasuke fly through the ceiling. Yahiko looks real impressed with Kenshin's swordsmanship abilities. He takes Yahiko and Kauro home and that ends that.

On the way home Yahiko cries because he wants to be strong in order to protect his parent's name. The decision has been made, from this day on Yahiko will study the Kammiya Kasshin Ryu with Kauro and train to be the strongest.

The episode begins with a short introduction to the tale of Hittokiri Battousai, the notorious assassin from the days of the 19th century Japanese revolution. We are told on how he was the best swordsman in those days but how he disappeared once the chaos came to a close, never to be seen again.

Our story begins in 1878, the 11th year of the new Meiji era in downtown Tokyo...

A young lady chases a short, red-headed man down the street, thinking that he is the legendary Hittokiri Battousai. He manages to quickly dodge her wooden sword but he isn't able to land correctly and falls flat on his butt... The girl is surprised to see the famous Battousai in such an awkward situation and asks him if he is really the Hittokiri who killed 3 men the previous night. The man explains that he is not the famous assassin and that he is just a mere Rurouni (vagabond, wanderer), he then shows her his sword as proof, the girl looks shocked to discover that the blade on his sword is reversed, thus rendering his sword unable to kill anything (a Sakabatou.)

A police whistle is heard. The young girl leaves the Rurouni behind and goes to check what the commotion is all about. A very tall man, claiming to be Battousai, is attacking the police. The girl leaps in the air, trying to hit the man, but she does no succeed. Instead she receives a wound on her arm. The Battousai then attempts to kill her but unfortunately for him the Rurouni makes it there just in time to save her. Hittokiri Battousai then runs into the shadows while shouting that he is Hittokiri Battousai of the Kammiya Kasshin Ryu. The girl tries hopelessly to run after him but the Rurouni holds her tight and tells her that it useless to try, she then passes out, not before telling him that the Kammiya Kasshin Ryu is in fact her and her family's style of Kenjutsu and that the murderer is just killing people in their name for no reason.

A day passes. The girl wakes up in the Kammiya Kasshin dojo, where she lives. At first she does not remember what happened to her last night, but as she soon recalls the brave Rurouni saved her life. Outside, the Rurouni is making soup with the help of two little kids, Ayame and Suzume. After tasting some of his cooking she proposes that he stays at her dojo for a while. After all, he did save her life. (also, we now know that the girl's name is Kammiya Kauro.)

The last remaining students of the Kammiya Kasshin Ryu arrive at the school and tell Kauro that they wish to quit... It appears that no one wants to stay at a school that sides with an assassin like Hittokiri Battousai. Kauro looks extremely sad and disappointed while the Rurouni looks at her from afar.

After the Rurouni accidentally peeks on Kauro while she was taking a bath to ease her troubled mind she locks him in a room in the dojo as punishment. He asks her if one of the students of her school was left handed with a paralyzed right thumb. She can't believe how rude he is to actually believe that the Battousai went to the Kammiya Kasshin dojo, which whole purpose is to teach the sword that protects life rather than the sword that takes life. She tells him that he is just the bloodthirsty Battousai and that she will risk her life to save her father's ideals. The Rurouni replies that he doesn't think her father would have wanted his ideals protected at the price of his daughter's life. She yells at him and says that he doesn't understand anything, and then heads to bed. Trying to sleep, she can't forget the words the Rurouni told her. She goes to where he stayed in order to apologize but he is not there anymore. She didn't even ask for his name... She goes back to sleep.

Flashback: The very young Kauro watches as a tall man, attending her father's dojo, is violently attacking the other students while rambling on about how swords are meant to kill. Kammiya Koshijiro, Kauro's father, proceeds to punish the young student (named Hiruma Goheh) by hitting his right thumb, paralyzing it, and banning him from the Kammiya Kasshin dojo forever.

Kauro wakes up from her dream. She now realizes that the "Battousai" is in fact Hiruma Goheh! Just then the dojo's doors open and in steps Goheh, smiling evilly, accompanied by his band of followers. Kauro bravely attacks him, but it is no use, for he is much stronger than her. He breaks her wooden sword and grabs her, lifting her high up in the air and asking his followers who of them wants to hurt her first. A second later the dojo doors open again and the Rurouni steps in and asks Goheh to remove his hands from her. Kauro warns him that Goheh is very powerful but it is of no use. Goheh commands his followers to kill the Rurouni who dared interrupt with his plan, but as they jump towards him for the kill, he just hits all of them with a few simple moves, sending them to sleep for a while. The Rurouni adds that the REAL Battousai didn't use one of the new original styles of fighting developed more recently, he used the ancient Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, an ultrasonic style of fighting that defeats all opponents, even when using a Sakabatou. All present in the room then realize that the Rurouni is in fact the real Hittokiri Battousai. Goheh, thinking he has a chance, says that there is room only for one Battousai. The Rurouni seems to agree with him and within a second hits him from above, burying his entire upper body in the floor and paralyzing his left thumb as well.

The Rurouni apologizes for all the troubles he has caused and prepares to leave the dojo forever. Kauro tells him that she wishes he will stay and continues to tell him that even if he doesn't stay she still wants to know his name, his real name. "Kenshin, Himura Kenshin" is the name he tells her. He will stay, however he warns her that as a Rurouni he shouldn't stay at one place for a long time and that he never knows when he will go on wandering again.

And so our story begins...

Rurouni Kenshin is a Japanese manga series turned TV show that takes place over 100 years ago in Japan. It tells the story of a swordsman with trademark red hair and a cross shaped scar on his left cheek named Kenshin Himura. Kenshin fought valiantly during the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate and played a huge role to bringing about the Meiji Restoration. He became known as the greatest swordsman of all time, earning the nickname 'Hitokiri Battousai' which means 'the man who slashes as he draws his sword'. However, once the Restoration was over Kenshin made a vow to never kill again, became a wanderer and disappeared without a trace. His whereabouts remained unknown for around 10 years, during which he spent wandering around all of Japan assisting people who needed help in some way.

The story actually begins when Kenshin finally resurfaces in Tokyo after 10 long years of wandering. There he meets a young girl named Kaoru Kamiya, who is the owner of a local swordsmanship dojo. Kenshin is pleased when Kaoru says that she doesn't care about his past as the 'Hitokiri Battousai' and when she invites him to live at her dojo, he decides to stop wandering and stay with her. Although Kenshin no longer wanders, he still manages to affect peoples' lives positively. After a short while of living with Kaoru, Kenshin gains two other close allies. One is a gangster/freeloader named Sanosuke Sagara, who's angry outlook on life is turned around after being defeated in a fight by Kenshin. The other is Kaoru's only dojo student, a boy named Yahiko Myojin who was forced to work as a pick-pocket until being rescued by Kenshin and Kaoru. The group is soon joined by Megumi Takani, a 'foxy' female doctor who was rescued by the Kenshin and the others. As time goes by Kenshin becomes aquainted with a whole cast of interesting characters, both friend and foe. Although Kenshin has finally settled down his legendary reputation follows him, and the results are often chaotic. Kenshin often struggles to protect Kaoru and the other people around him from assorted enemies while still trying to maintain his vow to never kill again. The story of Rurouni Kenshin is jam-packed with action and adventure, although it also contains humor, romance and an underlying message about the value of human life.