Before you read on I'd like to warn you about the tons of spoilers ahead. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you find any errors or discrepancies with the information below as well as for any comments you may have. I'd really appreciate it. ^^ Enjoy! ^^

	Himura Kenshin He was born Himura Shinta on June 20, 1849. His parents died of cholera when he was just a young boy and he was sold to slave traders after their deaths. He was traveling with a group of servant traders when tragedy struck. It was then that he met Seijuro Hiko, after the brutal massacre that forever intertwined the fates of the boy and the man. Hiko decided to take him under his wing and teach him to be a swordsman. He renamed the boy “Kenshin” - heart of sword. He trained under Hiko for several years, until he decided it was time to leave and put his skills to use. With his training unfinished and against his master’s advice, he left the mountain and joined the Kiheitai. He then worked under the Choushu faction as an assassin, an invincible swordsman who fought for the Meiji Era. Armed with the lethal and strongest technique, Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu, he used his incredible prowess to usher the new era. His fighting skills were perfect and unsurpassed at such a young age. He was only fourteen then, yet his hands were already bloodstained from carrying out his duty as the Ishinshishi’s shadow assassin. He wanted to free the people from suffering and protect the weak and helpless. He believed that he could make a difference by wielding the sword and realize his dream of peace in spite of the bloodshed it entailed. He came to be known as the “Hitokiri Battousai”, his red hair and cross-scar an image of a legendary swordsman who fought swiftly and ruthlessly, and was feared by many. Yet once the new government was in place, he disappeared without a trace. In 1878, the 11th year of the Meiji Era, Kenshin met Kamiya Kaoru on the streets of Tokyo – an encounter that would change his life forever. A lethal assassin turned wanderer after years of slashing, he gave up a life of murder and chose to atone for his sins by protecting people with his sword, a sakabatou with a reverse-edged blade. With the kindness of Kaoru, he found a place to stay after a decade of wandering. Together with the many friendships he has forged, he continues to hold on to his oath not to kill, honoring the memory of those slain by his hand. He has left the name “Hitokiri Battousai” behind, yet the hitokiri lives on inside him, waiting to be provoked. He has found a new reason for being, a new meaning to his life. But beneath that warm smile of his, beneath those beautiful and gentle eyes, lay his pain - a deep scar that will never vanish. His smile comes from a place of tentative happiness as he bears the staggering burden of his sins. Kenshin had no childhood. The sword had long ago robbed him of his youth.
	Kamiya Kaoru Born in June of 1862, Kaoru is a master of Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu, a martial arts school founded by her father, Kamiya Koshijirou, who was a grave and very strict man. Her parents have both passed on, leaving her on her own to take care of herself and manage the dojo. As an only child with no relatives to depend on, it was difficult having to bear the responsibilities alone, but she was able to manage with the help and kindness of a family friend in the form of Dr. Gensai. The good doctor and his two granddaughters, Ayame and Suzume, are just about the only family left to her. Until she met Kenshin. She was chasing after the criminal responsible for the recent murders in town when she ran into a man in possession of a sword and mistook him for the culprit. Later on, the same man saved her as she came face to face with the killer who almost ended her life. The murderer proclaimed himself as the Hitokiri Battousai of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu. Kaoru is enraged at such a declaration disgracing his father’s legacy. Word spread out quickly and one by one, her students drop out, leaving her with a potent technique, with no one to teach. She learned that the man who saved her was a wanderer and invited him to stay at the now empty dojo. Since then, she has found new friends and also managed to adopt them under her care. Together they somehow manage to make ends meet while sharing the household chores amidst ceaseless teasing and bickering. Kaoru is compassionate and she won’t just stand by when she sees anyone being treated unfairly. She often pokes her nose in other people’s business in order to help them and usually gets herself in trouble, but it doesn’t deter her from setting things straight. She is strong-willed and courageous, ready to take on any opponent as she fights for what is right. She may be dressed in a pretty kimono, but she’s not someone you can just push around. She’s cheerful and optimistic, but is responsible and serious when needed. She laughs alright, but deep inside she’s lonely. The wanderer has only to look to feel the silence.
	Myoujin Yahiko He was born in August of 1868 to a samurai family. His father died defending his feudal lord and his mother worked hard to raise him. His mother became sick and they had to borrow money from the Shuei Gumi for her medication. After his parents’ death, he was forced to become a pickpocket to pay off the debts they owed. He crosses Kenshin’s path in an attempt to steal his money, but is thwarted by Kaoru. Kenshin freely hands it to him, to his surprise. He vehemently refuses, tossing back the money and saying that he’s not just a kid, but a Tokyo samurai. The Shuei Gumi had been deceiving Yahiko all this time. In truth, his family’s debt had already been paid off a long time ago but they kept him doing the dirty work since they benefited from his crimes, beating him up and saying he still had a debt to pay. He is freed from the Shuei Gumi by Kenshin and Kaoru and is carried back to the dojo. Awestruck at having seen Kenshin’s incredible skill with the sword, he decides that he wants to be just as good. Disappointed at Kenshin’s refusal to teach him, he unwillingly becomes Kaoru’s student as he learns Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu and becomes a mischievous addition to the family. Proud and headstrong, this boy had to overcome difficulties and become a delinquent just to survive. At a young age, he learned to fend for himself and be wary of those around him. He’s determined to be strong and be like Kenshin someday, grabbing any opportunity to prove himself. He’s a good kid, but at one time, his arrogance put him in danger and almost cost Kenshin his life. Despite his occasional display of conceit, he’s dependable and trustworthy. He stands up for himself and his friends, and hates being treated like a kid. He often acts like one though, but he comes around with a whack on the head by the mother he never had, none other than his sensei Kaoru. One can only look forward to this boy’s promising future, having two admirable examples to look up to. He continues to learn new lessons in kendo, as well as lessons in life as he lives each day in the Kamiya Dojo, his newfound home.
	Sagara Sanosuke Higashidani Sanosuke was born on February of the year 1860 to Higashidani Kamishimoemon and Naname. At around the age of 9, Sanosuke ran off to join a group called the Sekihoutai passing through his hometown. Together with another boy by the name of Katsuhiro, they underwent training under the Captain’s tutelage. Not long after, the infamous assassination of the Sekihoutai took place. The Sekihoutai, led by Captain Sagara Souzou, was formed by ordinary people who supported the Meiji Government, aiming to create an era of peace where people can live their dreams. The government’s representative told them to spread news about its plan to lower the price of rice, but they couldn’t live up to their word and threw the blame on the Sekihoutai, who was unscrupulously used by the government to look good in the eyes of the people. In a merciless attack, the Sekihoutai fall prey to an unremitting barrage of bullets. Captain Sagara takes a bullet for Sanosuke, pushing him off a cliff as he gets shot to death. Surviving the bloodbath ten years ago, Sanosuke grew embittered, living each day consumed with hatred for the treachery of this two-faced government, and filled with a burning desire to avenge Captain Sagara’s death. He had to suffer not only the death of his comrades, but also the agonizing pain of seeing his mentor’s decapitated head on display, crowned with disgrace instead of the honor he deserved as the leader of the defunct Sekihoutai. He adopted his mentor’s surname and came to be known as Sagara Sanosuke. He gained notoriety as a fighter of great strength and incredible endurance, challenging whoever he deemed fit. He also earned the nickname “Zanza” due to his weapon of choice - an immense sword called a Zanbatou, and together with the insignia on his shirt, he presents a formidable sight. He challenged Kenshin to a duel and lost in the end, but with it came a realization that helped melt the hatred he has harbored all those years. He came to respect and admire Kenshin for his principles and became friends despite the unbelievable bruises and injuries it took to get there. Sanosuke is stubborn, fearless, remarkably determined. He hates to be left out of the action and will do everything to protect his friends. He still doesn’t trust the Meiji government but stands by Kenshin to uphold peace in the new era. Jobless as ever, he becomes the new member of the unlikely family at the Kamiya Dojo. He still likes to drink and gamble while his tab at the Akabeko continues to reach unparalleled heights. But despite his old ways, Sano is a new man.
	Takani Megumi Born in December of 1857, Megumi is the daughter of the renowned doctor, Takani Ryusei. She belonged to a family who gained prominence in Izu for their excellent skills in the field of medicine but she lost that family in a fire during the war between Izu and the Imperial Army. With no one to rely on, she went to Tokyo and worked as a doctor’s assistant to support herself, unaware that the doctor was also producing opium for a rich mobster named Takeda Kanryu. A dispute issued between the two and cost the doctor his life, leaving Megumi in the custody of Kanryu who coerced her to make a special recipe of the drug that would sell cheaper. Knowing full well the consequences of low-cost opium, she escapes from the mansion and runs into Kenshin and Sano as she sought refuge from her pursuers. She finds temporary shelter at the Kamiya Dojo until the Oniwabanshuu blackmailed her into going back. In the end, she is rescued from the clutches of Takeda and the Oniwabanshuu by the combined efforts of everyone at the dojo. Megumi wanted so much to be like her father and but feels that she has disgraced her family by being the fire that ignited the wick of people’s lives as her opium was responsible for the death of Sano’s friend. She felt so worthless, thinking that death was the only punishment for what she had done and decided to commit suicide. Sano stepped in just as she was about to plunge the knife into her throat, saving her from the irrevocable consequence of death. She always wanted to have a family and thought she’d never realize that dream until she met Kenshin and the rest of the group. With Kenshin’s wise words and the support of everyone, she chooses to face life and atone for her sins. She decides to pursue her medical studies and make use of her knowledge in pharmacology under Dr. Genzai’s guidance so she could be a great doctor just like her father, in doing so honoring the memory of the family that was lost to her. She generally spends her time attending to her medical duties, concocting potions, flirting with Kenshin, fighting with Sano, and raising hell out of Kaoru. She has found not only a family who openly accepted her despite her past, but also a future that she almost never had.
	Shinomori Aoshi Leader of the dreaded Oniwabanshuu, Aoshi was born in January of 1853. He is a master of kenpo and Kodachi Nitou Ryuu. A highly skilled swordsman with exceptional talent, he was appointed leader of the Oniwabanshuu at age fifteen, becoming the chief spy protecting the Edo Castle prior to the restoration. At the end of the Tokugawa Era, the group split up and went on with their lives. Unable to abandon their old way of life, Aoshi chose to stay with the remaining four members - Hannya, Shikijo, Hyottoko and Beshimi and trained them to be the best. He wanted them to be known as the strongest and live up to the name of their prestigious organization. But all ended in one tragic evening. The Oniwabanshuu had been under the employ of the mobster Takeda Kanryu for quite some time. They fought Kenshin and the gang during their rescue of Megumi. In an unpredictable match, Aoshi nearly defeats Kenshin but eventually loses the fight. Takeda then barges in with his gattling gun and madly shoots at everyone. Being no match for such a weapon, the Oniwabanshuu fall to their deaths in the struggle to protect their commander, sacrificing themselves to save the man who stood by them and became their only family. Under the full moon, Aoshi lost everything he worked hard to achieve. Denied of the death sentence he demanded when he lost to Kenshin, he is left with the lifeless bodies of his comrades, consumed with a fierce resolve to avenge their deaths and realize the dream he had for them. Aoshi is a man who never betrays his emotions, an enigmatic figure sporting a deceptive calm and a cold and calculating façade that masks an unquenchable flame coursing through his veins. He is driven by an intense desire to be the strongest, relentlessly pursuing the one he believes to have the coveted title. It is for this reason that he fought Kenshin, and embarked on a journey to train himself to emerge as the victor and finally claim the title of most powerful. He closed off his heart and threw away his morals in order to draw out his inner strength, becoming a renegade as he honed his skills with each life that he took. In a battle of wills, he realizes the painful truth as metal crashes against metal in his final battle with Kenshin. With a paralyzing loss, he lets go of his dream and accepts defeat. He finds peace at last, and for the first time, he is able to smile.
	Hajime Saitoh Born in January of 1844, he was Kenshin’s archenemy during the Bakumatsu, where their long and drawn out battle ended in a draw. Also known as the Mibu no Ookami, or Wolf of Mibu, Saitou is a very skilled swordsman who is lethal just as he is ruthless. He was captain of the third unit of the Shinsengumi, a patrol group that roamed the streets of Kyoto during the chaos of the Tokugawa Era, commissioned to quell the rebellion and destroy the royalists. With the fall of the Tokugawa government, the Shinsengumi split up and Saitou chose to work as an undercover police for the Meiji government, using the name Fujita Goro for his newfound assignment. He performs his task excellently, using the network of information available to him as a member of the Shinsengumi, he eliminates corrupt officials in the new era as he abides by his long-standing principle. He comes back from the past to settle an unfinished battle. Disguised as a medicine salesman from Ishida Chemicals, he leaves an unmistakable calling card as he pays a visit to a near empty Kamiya Dojo. Originally sent on a mission to determine Kenshin’s value in terms of his fighting abilities, they almost fight to the death as they are taken back in time to where they last left off. Saitou lives by the principle of Aku Soku Zan which roughly translates to “kill evil instantly”, and it is by remaining steadfast to this principle that he has relentlessly pursued his quest of eliminating Battousai. Clever and possessing an acute sense of judgment, not to mention a deadly technique - the Gatotsu, he finishes off his enemies with skill and precision. With a stubborn streak and an unyielding resolve, he hunts his enemies like a wolf hunts his prey. He is sensitive to the scent of blood and is careful not to get drunk lest he find himself on a killing spree. He’s straightforward and downright blunt, smoking a cigar as he delivers his scathing remarks, not obliged to be on anyone’s good side. But despite his forbidding disposition, he is actually married to a woman named Tokio, and they’ve adopted Mishima Eiji who was orphaned after his parents’ slaughter in Shingetsu village. In the interest of destroying Shishio, he has joined forces with his archenemy, inevitably postponing their long overdue face off. He mysteriously disappears at the conclusion of Shishio and Kenshin’s battle, and the Juppon Gatana’s destruction. The score remains unsettled and the victor remains undetermined. But to the Wolf of Mibu, no matter what changes occur, no matter the time that has passed, a hitokiri will always be a hitokiri, and a wolf will always be a wolf.
	Makimachi Misao Also known as Itachi Musume or Weasel Girl, as dubbed by Saitou, Misao was born in November of 1863. She is the granddaughter of one of the founders of the Oniwabanshuu, and was left to the care of Aoshi, who in turn raised her and saw to her welfare. She was then entrusted to elderly Okina when Aoshi and the remaining members of the Oniwabanshuu chose to set out on a journey to train and become the strongest. Once old enough, she decided to embark on a journey to find the man she had grown to love so much, searching through towns and villages for any sign of Aoshi. She met Kenshin as she was robbing a group of thieves. Suspecting that Kenshin knew more about Aoshi than what he was letting on, she chases after him, plaguing him with questions but he only evades her inquiries, refusing to tell her of the tragedy that has befallen the group. She is a skilled fighter, moving undetected like a ninja, and uses the kunai as her weapon. She was trained by Aoshi and the Oniwabanshuu - the only family she has ever known. Thus, it was unbearably painful when she learned of their deaths. But shortly after this revelation, she would have to come to terms with Aoshi’s betrayal as he and Okina fight to the death - successor turned against predecessor. She watched in horror as Okina fell in a bloody heap, crushed by the sword of the kind and gentle man she loved and held with such respect, the man who now turned his back against her and declared that he never wanted to see her again. Misao has seen and lost a lot at her age. Brave and determined, she is a strong girl who can take charge and rise up to the challenge. She hates being underestimated, and at times makes decisions too impulsively for her own good - all because she wants to help. She has survived through the showdown of the two most important men in her life, bringing out the strength and courage to lead the Oniwabanshuu and stand up against the cruelty of the man whose love she wanted the most. In the end, she gets his smile back, and maybe - just maybe, this time he has finally noticed how much she’s grown up.
	Seta Soujiro Born in September of 1861, Soujiro is Shishio’s right hand, and the strongest among the Juppon Gatana. He met Shishio in a compromising situation, accidentally witnessing him in the act of murder. Trembling with fear for his life, he smiles instead as the severely burnt man walks toward him. The man spares his life in exchange for clean bandages and food. Thus started the fateful alliance with the shadow assassin that would forever change his life. Soujiro is the child of a prostitute. His father was a married man who managed his own rice distribution company, and he was adopted for the sake of appearances. Being a love child, Soujiro’s family treated him like a servant and worked him hard enough for a grown man. He was beaten on a regular basis, the painful whippings wringing anguished cries from the little boy’s chest. They were insatiable sadists who wanted more with each cry that tore from their helpless slave. He learned to smile instead, effectively putting an end to his tormentors’ wicked pleasures. One rainy evening, they tried to kill him upon discovering that he had been sheltering the criminal. He ended up killing them in self-defense, using the sword that Shishio had given him. He smiled at his new mentor, proving that he shed no tears. During the following years, he learned kenjutsu under Shishio’s guidance, soon after becoming the best in the Juppon Gatana. He is known as Tenken no Soujiro or Heaven Sword, moving with lightning speed and deadly precision, killing his enemies without any qualms. Shishio taught him that the strong shall live and the weak shall die - a truth that Soujiro clung to, as proven by the cruelty of his past. He never reveals his emotions, always suppressing them behind a seemingly impenetrable mask of cheerfulness, disguising the feelings he’d long since buried deep inside of him. He is a master of his own game, weaving his own quilt of deception in his bid to hide himself in a smile. He is enveloped by an unperturbed serenity, preventing comprehension of the indecipherable puzzle that he is. One has yet to reach inside him and grasp the truth that will set him free. Soujiro’s painful past left no visible scars, but inside he’s bleeding. Soujiro killed the only family he knew. On that rainy evening many years ago, tears trickled down his cheeks as blood dripped from his hands.
	Makoto Shishio A swordsman with exceptional skill and talent, he was Kenshin’s successor as the Ishinshishi’s hitokiri, operating in the shadows, his identity unknown even to his predecessor. He was tasked to perform numerous assassinations, some of which if made known, could spell the end of the Meiji government. Afraid that he might turn against them, the Ishinshishi decided to eliminate him. They shot him several times and set his body on fire, the flames licking every inch of his skin. Bleeding and writhing in pain, he was left to die in the woods. Unfortunately, Shishio didn’t die. Not that night. Swathed in bandages and burnt beyond recognition, he managed to survive his own assassination, living through the unimaginable pain and suffering of his own private hell. From this came forth his philosophy, the survival of the fittest. The strong shall live and the weak shall perish - a belief he passed on to an eager disciple in Seta Soujiro. Like a phantom, he emerges from the darkness of the Bakumatsu, the unquenchable flame of vengeance raging within him. Together with a group of extraordinary and skillful fighters, they form the Juppon Gatana - a lethal force bent on destroying the Meiji government, driven by a collective hatred against a government run by corrupt politicians incapable of leading Japan to its full potential. A clever and brilliant tactician, Shishio formulates his plot to rule Japan. He burns with the fury of Hell, the smoldering heat inside him fueling his insatiable hunger for power and supremacy. Devoid of any moral scruples, he’ll do anything to bring his plans to fruition, spilling the blood of innocents for the sake of his ambition. Using his fiery technique, Homura Dama, he fights against Kenshin as Japan’s future hangs precariously in the balance. Impervious to his enemy’s assaults, he takes them out single-handedly. Yet despite his great strength, he is not without weakness. The fire had destroyed Shishio’s sweat glands, making his body temperature unnaturally high. Without an outlet for the tremendous heat inside him, he can only fight for fifteen minutes. Seemingly indomitable, he rages on beyond his limits, refusing to let go of his imminent victory. But he forgets that he too is governed by the law of nature. Under the glare of the afternoon sun, everything goes up in smoke. Shishio lit the wick of his own existence, and extinguished the dream that was almost within his reach.