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What is the difference between a manslayer and a warrior?
When should the decision to kill be made?
Is a sword nothing but a tool of death?
If so, what does that make the ones who hold it?
If not, what else could it possibly be?
Who is Kenshin Himura?
Why was he chosen to become the heir to Hiten Mitsurugi?
Is learning how to fight the same as learning how to kill?
Is an assassin's sword really the strongest?
What is a true warrior?
The answers are found in a link to Kenshin's shrouded past; someone from the mists of history, who comes to find a long-lost treasure, to warn Kenshin of the threats to come, and to show him the path followed by the warrior of peace--a path that he may never find. In a time when the safety of Tokyo--no, the entirety of Japan--is threatened by malevolent forces, Kenshin must choose: Pick up a true blade to put an end to this evil, or turn his back on his friends and family and watch them die. Either way, he sacrifices that most precious to him; either way, he must give up a part of himself. For this is one enemy where a simple defeat will not suffice--and where his unkilling mercy is an ultimate weakness. This is an evil that only Death Incarnate can stop.
Kenshin's problems are twofold, two enemies. One is a vengeance-mad holy warrior who seeks to wipe out Kenshin and all of his kind, cleansing the Earth of his "taint." The other is a shadowy group of beings who offer Kenshin the chance to join them...provided that Battousai the Manslayer's services are available to them. Both groups seek after Kenshin for a single reason: The power that he has, the power in his blood--power he does not even know that he holds.
Can a mysterious, wandering woman help Kenshin achieve the level of a true warrior, bringing to life that which sleeps within him? Her warnings may be well-heeded, but what is Kenshin to do when both enemies seek his death--when both enemies are so powerful and ruthless that there is no hope of salvation even from the police forces? Her wisdom may let him once more draw a bladed sword--having the choice to use it yet not kill. Her words direct him to a new teacher--with whom he shares much in common--and her wisdom reaches deep into his heart. Will her hard-bought advice help him reach a balance between his two warring halves--the balance he needs to save those he loves?
Kenshin must draw on the wisdom of the Wanderer and the ferocity of the Battousai to survive this battle and save his friends. But...most frightening of all...will he still be the same Kenshin afterwards?
Brace yourselves for the truth...
Prepare to face the Spirit of Fire.
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