After some treatment from Dr. Genzai, Yahiko is finally all right. Dr. Genzai is impressed with the knowledge of the person who wrote the prescription of Yahiko's medication and says that whoever that person is, he must be an expert doctor.
The following day it seems Yahiko is back on his feet. Megumi made delicious ohagi (Japanese candy type thing made of rice and red bean paste) for everyone to thank them for their hospitality. Everyone is delighted with Megumi's cooking but one person is missing... Oddly enough Sanosuke, the biggest freeloader known to man, is not present. After being asked about her family Megumi leaves the table to make some tea, answering that she has no family. Megumi is in the kitchen making tea for the gang, she thinks out loud about how Kenshin and his friends are all such good people... Sanosuke suddenly enters the room and asks her how she is going to explain to all these good people why she has this kind of thing in her possession (he throws an Opium baggy on the floor). Megumi tells Sanosuke and Kauro (who just left the table to see how Megumi was doing) that she is the one who made the Opium. Sanosuke gets really mad at Megumi, he figures out that she is the one who made the Opium that killed his friend. Kauro asks for an explanation, when Kenshin suddenly arrives and asks Megumi if she is the daughter of Takani Ryusei. Megumi asks Kenshin how he knows her father's name.
Kenshin, Megumi, Sanosuke and Kauro are sitting in a room while Kenshin explains to everyone about the Takani clan of Aizu: The Takani family is a family of doctors spanning many generations... But when they got involved in the Aizu war only the youngest daughter of the Takani family was left alive. The others were declared missing. Kenshin realizes that Megumi must have lived through many hardships... Megumi told him that what happened afterwards was much more difficult for her: She came to Tokyo 5 years ago to become an apprentice under a certain doctor, but that doctor was Kanryu's partner and made Opium for him. After an argument, Kanryu killed the doctor before Megumi's fearful eyes. She was forced to make Opium in his place. So finally, after being asked to make a new kind of stronger Opium for Kanryu, she escaped... But Kanryu won't let go of her, since she is the only one who knows how to make this new kind of Opium. Kenshin and Kauro tell her that she could stay at the dojo for a while and that she should stop blaming herself, however, Sanosuke is not so forgiving, he suddenly leaves the room with an angry look on his face. Kenshin tells Megumi that Sanosuke will eventually understand and forgive her.
After receiving a note, Megumi leaves the dojo towards the forest. Sanosuke, who just happened to be there, follows her without her noticing. A man (who looks exactly like Hiruma Kiheh from the manga!!!) suddenly appears and greets Megumi, but it seems to be a trap as the man suddenly sheds his skin and we find Hannya from the Oniwabanshu standing in his place. He grabs Megumi and takes her to where Takeda Kanryu is waiting for her. Kanryu tells Megumi that is she won't come back under peaceful terms and make more Opium for him he will be forced to set the Kammiya Dojo ablaze. Kanryu and Hannya leave Megumi alone to make her decision and continue to walk through the forest. Aoshi is standing behind a tree waiting for them, Hannya tells him that there was a rat hiding (he means Sanosuke), but Aoshi tells him that all he cares about is Himura Battousai.
Back at the Kammiya Dojo, Kauro looks for Megumi but doesn't find her... All she finds is a note from Megumi, saying that she is returning to Aizu. Kenshin realizes that it is a lie because there is no one waiting for her in Aizu.
Megumi heads towards Kanryu's estate, where she finds Sanosuke waiting for her. He tells her that she has nothing to worry about because she has Kenshin and him at her side so there is no need to hurry herself to death. He also tells her that everybody is waiting for her back at the dojo and that, somewhere, her family is waiting for her as well. Megumi says that it's all right cause even is she would find her family there is no way she could face them after making Opium. Sanosuke tells her that everyone has something in their past they wish to erase and that she needs to repent instead of wanting to die. Before Megumi could reply Sanosuke grabs her and jumps away from a huge iron ball on a chain thrown at them from above.
On one of the poles next to the gate stands a large, muscular man named Shikijo. Shikijo tells Sano that if he doesn't surrender Megumi at once he will kill him and turn his bones into dust using his iron ball. He throws the ball at Sano once again, but unbelievably Sanosuke manages to catch the huge thing with his bare hands and disconnect it from the chain that was holding it. Sanosuke yells at him to stop playing with toys, Shikijo is offended and jumps down from the pole preparing for a man-to-man fight. Sano starts punching Shikijo all over, but it has no effect! Shikijo throws Sanosuke on the wall and headbutts the hell out of him, he is impressed that Sano's skull didn't shatter under the pressure of his invincible strength and tells him that he will kill him with only one hit, to show mercy. Shikijo tries to punch Sano but Sano catches his fist, Shikijo attempts to punch him again with the other hand but Sano catches that as well. Sanosuke tells him that the Oniwabanshu, who are working for a craphead like Kanryu, has no right to brag about "invincible strength." Shikijo gets really mad and tries to punch Sano again, Sano grabs his fist, yet again, and punches him very hard in the face. The battle is over. And just when Sanosuke prepares to take Megumi back to the Kammiya Dojo, Beshimi appears and kidnaps Megumi back to Kanryu's mansion. Sanosuke, who is still tired from the fight, can't summon enough strength and fails in stopping Beshimi.
Kenshin, Kauro and Yahiko arrive at the scene. Sanosuke, who can't even stand on his feet, tells them everything that happened. They all decide to head on to Kanryu's mansion and stop him at all costs. Meanwhile, Sanosuke, using his amazing stamina, stands on his feet and prepares for the new battles up ahead.
