Makimachi Misao A young and enigmatic member of the Oniwabanshuu, Makimachi Misao is a darling addition to the group's trained legions of spies and assassins. Meeting Kenshin on her way back to Kyoto,

Misao realizes that the Rurouni knows something about her Okashira and decides to follow him to Kyoto. During their journey they become friends, and little by little, Misao realizes her seemingly harmless newfound friend is actually the Hitokiri Battousai. (Though she appreciates the fact the he's been trying to change his way of life since then.) Misao is a very brave young woman, but sometimes acts a little impulsively. During the battle at Aoiya, she proved herself to be a formidable fighter by defeating the Scythe-wielder of the Jupon Gatana, Kamatari. Claiming the mantle of Okashira when Aoshi joined Shishio's forces, she was forced to choose between the man she loves and the group she honored.

Shinomori Aoshi As the cold and somewhat distant Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu, Shinomori Aoshi first became introduced into Rurouni Kenshin as one of what promised to be Himura's greatest adversaries.

Known as the 'genius' spy, Aoshi was named the Okashira at only fifteen years of age. Having served and protected members of Japan's most elite politicians, the Oniwabanshuu's leader has proven himself time and again to be worthy of his title. When the Meiji restoration came about, however, several of the Oniwabanshuu members were deemed unfit to be part of the new government, and Aoshi decided to take these members (Beshimi, Hanya, Hyotoko, Shikijou) and travel as spies for their group. He did not, however, relinquish his role as the Okashira and continued to serve as their leader from a distance.

When they were hired by an dishonorable businessman (Kanryuu), however, they were pitted against the Kenshin-gumi and eventually lost. After losing his battle with Himura, Aoshi became obsessed with achieving the title of the strongest that he believed Himura laid claim to. After swearing to lay this title on the graves of his friends, he joined forces with Shishio Makoto-- the hitokiri who had taken up the Battousai's mantle. In doing so, however, he was renounced by the remaining members of the Oniwabanshuu, and Makimachi Misao became their new Okashira. When he was pitted against Himura again, however, he lost once more and realized that his path was one of folly. He returned to Misao and the rest of the Oniwabanshuu, seeking atonement and peace for the wrongs he had done. Several months passed until he felt ready to reclaim the mantle of Okashira once more, and it was then that his wounds, both emotional and physical, finally healed.

Saitou Hajime One of the greatest sword-wielders on Rurouni Kenshin, Saitou Hajime once served as the third captain of the Shinsengumi unit during the Bakumatsu Douran. As part of the Shinsengumi,

however, he was pitted again and again against the Ishinshishi-- the group of which Himura Kenshin was a part of.Their battles, however, always remained a tie because neither one could defeat the other. As a member of Mibu's Wolves, Saitou's refined gatotsu technique became certain death to all other men who would stand in his way. But when the Ishinshishi finally won the Bakumatsu and erected a new Meiji government, they approached Saitou and offered him a position in their new organization. He accepted, and began to work as a police captain under the name of Fujita Goru. (cont'd)