Terri Malinski
Published: 2006-11
Total Pages: 260
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Japan, 1864. The Tokugawa shogunate is locked in a bitter battle with Choshu rebels who desire to overthrow the shogunate and restore the emperor to power. The rebels' chief weapon is Yotoko Mizuki, a seventeen-year-old assassin with the ominous nickname of Battosai, or Man Killer. Masquerading for years as a boy, Mizuki longs for a normal, peaceful life as a girl. When she abandons her former life and mysteriously shows up in Kyoto, the killing begins anew. But a chance encounter with three ronin lead her to an unexpected match with the genius swordsman, Okita Souji, captain of the first unit of the Shinsengumi. When Souji finds that his greatest enemy is a woman, swords clash and sparks fly. Though bested by her, Souji is unexpectedly attracted to Mizuki. Their relationship grows closer by the day, and the two eventually realize they are in love. But her former leader, Toshimaru Yoshida, has other plans for the young woman. Determined to get her back at any cost, Yoshida heads to Kyoto and a violent confrontation with Mizuki and the Shinsengumi, pitting the two lovers against each other in a dangerous game of lies and accusations. Can Souji protect Mizuki from the demons of her past, or will she be lost to him forever?
