Akira Kiyosato is the second son of a retainer to the shogun, placing him within the samurai class of the Bakumatsu era. He was born in Edo and was the childhood friend and fiancé of Yukishiro Tomoe. Driven by a desire to provide a better life for Tomoe, he postponed their wedding and left for Kyoto, where he joined the Mimawarigumi, a shogunate police force, and became a bodyguard for a high-ranking samurai named Shigekura Jubei. Kiyosato is remembered as a kind, caring, and hardworking individual, though not particularly talented as a swordsman or in scholarly arts. He also took care of Tomoe’s younger brother, Enishi, as if he were his own sibling. In 1864, just over a month before his planned wedding, Kiyosato was killed by the hitokiri known as Himura Battosai. Despite being outmatched, he fought back with desperate tenacity and a fierce will to live, managing to inflict a deep vertical cut on Battosai’s left cheek before being struck down. As he died, his final thoughts were of Tomoe and the future they would never have. The scar he left became the first of the cross-shaped wounds on Kenshin’s face, a permanent physical and psychological reminder. His death serves as a tragic catalyst, setting in motion events that deeply affect Tomoe, Enishi, and Kenshin, and contributing to Kenshin’s eventual resolve to never kill again.