Myojin Yahiko is the perfect representative of an entire society in an age of total confusion. Son of a former samurai, he finds himself without the class-associated benefits he would have enjoyed a generation earlier, yet deeply committed to the code of honor his father taught him. Working as a common pickpocket when Kenshin first meets him, Yahiko soon becomes Kaoru's student and learns to focus that fire and energy in a new way.

Unfortunately, Yahiko is still just a little boy. So while he takes Kenshin's and Kaoru's lessons to heart, he needs a little more practice and meat on his bones before he'll always prevail. Here, he's taking on a hanging target in order to "be strong like Kenshin." He tries several stances, actually gets the battoujutsu left foot forward, and lands a mighty blow on the target - which comes back to smack him in the head, leaving him looking up at pretty little Tsubame in embarrassment.