The story begins with a narrative of the same description of Kenshin we've seen many times over, his history as Hitokiri Battousai and how he disappeared into thin air at the dawn of the Meiji era.
The story is now set in Yokohama, in the foreigners' settlement area. Kenshin is walking around when a rickshaw puller, named Dankichi, crashes into him. A kid is crying by the side of the road, her mother collapsed, sick, beside her. Dankichi introduces the person he was pulling, a doctor by the name of Dr Elder. This doctor sports a bird mask and a top hat, as well as a long cape, and is notably a foreigner. Everyone is wary of letting this doctor treat the woman as he's a foreigner, wears a mask, and they don't even know his identity. Dankichi however, has much faith in him, professing him to be a world-class doctor and a friend of the sick and injured. Dr Elder instructs Dankichi to transport the mother and child to his hotel, but before Dankichi can proceed, they are stopped by some people.
It's another doctor (a Japanese this time), Ishizu Deian. Long story short, Ishizu wants Dr Elder to stop ruining his business by treating the poor. Ishizu only treats westerners or the rich, in line with his beliefs that medicine is a privilege of the rich, and that those who cannot afford it do not deserve to live. Dankichi and Elder protest, of course, which leads to Ishizu's underlings getting ready to beat them up.
Kenshin, naturally, steps in and deals quickly with the hoodlums. He tells Dankichi to use his rickshaw to bring the mother and child to the hotel, while he and Elder run there. Kenshin's actions lead Ishizu to believe that he is Dr Elder's bodyguard so later he plots to attack Dr Elder to get to Kenshin.
Before that, Kenshin and Dankichi are up in Dr Elder's hotel room. Kenshin is about to leave but Dr Elder invites Kenshin to stay. Kenshin accepts, but later walks in on her changing. Yep, Dr Elder is a girl. She wears heels and a top hat to mask her height, a cape to mask her figure, and a mask to hide her face, knowing well that she will not be able to gain the people's trust as a female doctor. Her words to Kenshin are very reminiscent of Kenshin's own, when she says that this is the path she has chosen, and that as long as through her mask, the world is one where everyone can live healthily (the sentence structure is almost exactly the same as Kenshin's line when he agrees to become a hitokiri - when he agreed on the condition that as long as through the sacrifice of the lives he takes and the blood on his sword, there can be a world where everyone can live in peace).
Kenshin decides to leave, since it's obviously inappropriate for him to stay the night with a girl. Before he leaves he reminds her that Dankichi has much faith in her skills and that the mother and child would be thankful for her help, and thus that this path she has chosen is probably the right one. Here they flashback to the time when Kenshin agrees to become a hitokiri as I mentioned before.
Later some dude with a weird drill-like sword (he calls it the Destornillador Saber... Destornillador means screw driver... go figure) ambushes Dr Elder and Dankichi, but Kenshin comes to the rescue. The dude challenges Kenshin, saying that even if Kenshin has thrown away his name "Hitokiri Battousai", if he hasn't thrown away his sword, which, to a swordsman, is akin to his soul, then he has not changed one bit and is exactly like him - they are both killers. And he wants to challenge Kenshin to see which of them is the better killer. Anyway, Kenshin makes quick work of him with a Ryuutsuisen.
Some days later Kenshin goes to send Dr Elder off when she's about to leave for America. But Kenshin isn't the only one - Dankichi, the mother and child, and other people she treated (I presume) are there as well to see her off, which makes her really happy and she takes off her mask and everyone is shocked it's a girl. Before she departs, she notes Kenshin's scar. She tells him that one's heart and body are connected in a much stronger fashion than one might think. She suggests that he go off to
Xin Tian Di (a place in Shanghai, notably one without cars... maybe that means less stress...?) and start a new life there.
Kenshin thanks her, but says that his past is one that he chose himself, and that he cannot just let go of it like that - that who he is now includes his past, and his scars. However, he says that at least, he can use his sakabatou to protect even one more person of those around him. She gives him some advice in her capacity as a doctor: that apart from medical treatment for wounds and illnesses, rest is also of paramount importance. She recommends he find a place to settle down where he can nurse his mind and body.
And so the chapter ends, just as it began - with the narrative description of Kenshin's history as a hitokiri, and how he disappeared into thin air leaving only his name as the "strongest" in the legends of that time. But this time it continues: "And so, the romantic story began 5 days thereafter, in the 11th year of the Meiji era, in Tokyo..."
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Originally Posted by Kateviardo
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I have no idea if anyone elsewhere has posted any sort of summary but if not, here goes:
But ah wells.
