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The
Legendary Samurai... The Man Who Fights For Love.
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The
Hitokiri Battousai departs from Kyoto.
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One hundred
and forty years ago, near the end of the Edo Dynasty,
a samurai named the Hitokiri Battousai went to Kyoto,
where he turned the tide for the people of Japan, leading
them into the new Meiji Era. However, near the end of
the conflict, the samurai vanished, and no one saw or
heard of him again, thus becoming a legend in Japan. Downtown
Tokyo, Meiji 11 (1878), a girl runs through the streets
after spotting a samurai, noticing mainly his sword. A
brief confrontation occurs, and this wandering samurai,
a rurouni, is not the man she is looking for. This girl
is looking for the man known as the Hitokiri Battousai,
the one who had slain three men the night before, but
such a killer cannot be this boy, one who bears a cross-shape
scar and carries a reversed sword known as a Sakabatou.
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Policemen confront the "Hitokiri
Battousai" nearby, but they are no match for his strength.
The girl, armed with a bokken, a wooden sword, tries to
defeat the killer in close combat, but her bokken is cut
in half. Before the killer can finish the girl off, the
rurouni, using intense speed, saves her. With that, more
policemen arrive, and the "Battousai" flees the scene, mentioning
that he is the Hitokiri Battousai of Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu.
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Hours
later, the girl wakes up in bandages. Kaoru, the girl's
name, had been taken back to her home, the Kamiya Kasshin
Ryuu Dojo by the rurouni, whose name still remains a mystery.
Already, the rurouni had made friends with Kaoru's "family",
a wise old doctor and his two young granddaughters. Kaoru's
father had begun the Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu Dojo many years
ago. Their Budo is for self defense, and involves no killing.
However, recently, because of the "Battousai" running
around, saying he's the assassin of the dojo, students
of Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu have been dropping out. The rurouni
has learned much in his short stay, but he gets into trouble
fast when he accidentally runs in during one of Kaoru's
baths.
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Master
Kamiya defeats Gohei.
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The following
day, the rurouni had left. The night before, he and Kaoru
had a disagreement when the rurouni said that Kaoru's
father wouldn't expect her to die protecting his name
and honor. Kaoru feels terrible that she shouted at him,
but as she looks through a list of the Kamiya Kasshin
Ryuu students, past and present, one name is crossed out
- Hiruma Gohei. Gohei had gotten expelled because he was
too violent. Kaoru had witnessed the day Gohei's thumb
was dislocated by her father because he was too cocky,
proud of his killing Budo. Suddenly, the doors of the
dojo open up. Standing at the entranceway is Gohei and
his loyal followers.
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Feel
the wrath of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu.
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Gohei begins
to pick on Kaoru, planning to take revenge on her because
her father had completely destroyed the usage of his right
arm. Enter the rurouni. A few words are exchanged, including
the rurouni mentioning he does prefer Kaoru's Budo over
any other style out there. Gohei's men attack the rurouni
with full force, but with ease, he beats them all with
his Sakabatou. No man is killed, they are just all knocked
out. Gohei tries his hand next, but before he gets too
arrogant, there's one thing he notices. Red hair, a scar
in the form of an X on his left check, and the style named
Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu; this rurouni is the true Hitokiri
Battousai. Gohei, however, stays calm, but eventually
gets beaten by one of the rurouni's techniques, a jumping
slash. Gohei and his men are later arrested, and it is
decided, the rurouni named Himura Kenshin will stay with
Kaoru and help rebuild her dojo to the glory it once had.
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