Name: Yukishiro (Himura) Tomoe
Age: 18
Style: None
Other: She...smells like HakuBaikou.


Basics
   Tomoe is a very quiet character, she is quite seriously "dead". She shows less emotion than Soujirou D:! Tomoe's character is very internal, and obviously this plays a major role in what she sets out to do later in the series. She has long beautiful black hair and black pupils. She dresses and acts very "proper" and is educated. And she smells like white plums (HakuBaikou). Later on in the series, we see Tomoe's true self and emotions show, which make her a totally different character than she started out with. It's interesting to see this transformation. She first makes her appearance in the Jinchuu-Rememberance Arc at the end of Volume 19.

History
  Tomoe serves as one of the most important characters in RK. After her fiancee, Kiyosata Akira, was killed in Kyoto (by Kenshin) she sets out to take revenge. To state plainly, she joins a group to plot against "Battousai" by finding his weakness. Instead, Tomoe becomes the "sheath of his madness" and sort of converts Battousai into Kenshin, making him appreciate the lives he took as individuals. Tomoe saves Kenshin, by giving her life for him, and becomes his "weakness". After Kenshin slashes through her, Kenshin vows to finish the war and then never kill again (not stop right away since his cause would have been lost, and lives he taken be thus so). So ya... Tomoe the character that only stayed for approximately 2 volumes, who made Kenshin-Battousai ^_^.

Watsuki's Character Notes
The following is quoted off of Shonen Jump's RK graphic novel translations of Watsuki:
  "I really don't want to say much about her, but 'without lies and deception--no hiding' is the intent of this corner, so I will talk. There was originally no model for Tomoe. The plot for the rememberance episodes was already finished before the series started, and at that point, Tomoe was just going to be a 'super beautiful woman whose intent was unclear.' To put it simply, 'cool beauty.' (By the way, when I talked to a friend about this cool beauty concept, he laughed hard. Maybe the idea of a cool beauty is off?) During the three and a half years until she appeared, there was nothing concrete other than what is stated above, and she became an Ayanami look-alike from Eva. The basies of drama are the expression of emotions and changes in emotions, but a cool beauty is a cool beauty because she does not reveal her emotions. I didn't realize the important fact that once she revealed her true feelings, it negated all of this, thus turning her into a completely different character towards the end. On top of that, the way she dies is the same way Yumi died. I am not only regretting what I made her into, but also feel disgusted with myself for it. However, it was fun, during the first half, to portray her as a cool beauty. And I do like the character itself, so I would like to bring her back in a different series. At that time, she will be Watsuki's original cool beauty..."
  Her design, as stated above, turned into an Ayanami look-alike. The only thing original about her is the black pupil, which I put in because I thought, 'This way it is easier to create an effect of not knowing her true feelings.' But that's it. To be honest, after doing this series at full tilt for four years, the will, energy, and time to develop my senses rather than just using them-- and to nurture a good idea or material, making it my original-- are very lacking. Tomoe is a character that reflects my state right now. I am painfully aware that there is a need for me to find a way to write manga, and am already on the search. For those of you who are angry about Tomoe's character, I would be honored if you would stick with Watsuki's manga a little longer."