Rurouni Kenshin Vol. 20
- ISBN
- 9781421500645
- Publisher
- VIZ
- English release
- Pages
- 200
Rurouni Kenshin 20 contains Acts 168–177 and continues the Remembrance flashback begun in the preceding volume. Tomoe has witnessed Kenshin’s bloody work, leaving the young assassin with a problem he cannot treat as another duel. This book belongs inside the account of his earlier life, not at the first introduction of his present-day wandering. Its opening shifts from the act of killing to what happens when another person remains afterward. The initial encounter supplies the basis for the spoiler discussion, without requiring the later history to be disclosed here.
Spoilers — why this volume matters. Tap to reveal.
Kenshin considers silencing the witness and finds he cannot. Leaving Tomoe alone outside at night is also unacceptable to him, so he carries her to the inn. The choice has a revealing awkwardness: an assassin must deal with the ordinary needs of someone who has seen him kill. The people at the inn supply a more comfortable explanation, teasing him about a woman, while Tomoe begins helping in the kitchen the next morning. Their assumptions run ahead of what either participant has explained. This is not yet evidence of Kenshin’s later vow never to kill. It is a narrower interruption of the logic that would make a witness disposable. Once he brings her inside, the problem acquires a place in daily life.
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