Samuria X

The story starts off with a bandit raid going on. A young boy named Shinta is saved from death in the bandit raid by Hiko Seijuro. Hiko tells the boy to go to the nearby village and live there. Returning to the site of the attack, he finds Shinta still there, having buried all of the dead, including the bandits. Shinta expresses his regret for not being able to protect the ones he was with, so Hiko offers to properly train him to give him the power to protect. Hiko changes the boy's name to Kenshin, a name he felt was more appropriate for a swordsman.
Years later, during his time as a Hitokiri, Kenshin kills a bodyguard named Kiyosato Akira, who is the fiancé of Yukishiro Tomoe. The encounter with Kiyosato leaves Kenshin with the first half of his cross-shaped scar. After fighting with another assassin, Kenshin meets Tomoe. Kenshin takes her to the inn where he is residing, where the owner mistakes her for a prostitute and nearly sends her away. The presence of her there brings a sort of relief to the stressed men of the Choshu clan, but raises the suspicion of the leader, Katsura Kogoro, who has her investigated covertly.