lived alone in the mountains until Aoshi finds him. Han'nya would join the Oniwabanshū, becoming a tragic figure who finds his raison d'être in fighting, saying "Only in the Oniwabanshū am I able to live as a human being." Watsuki and his editor discussed how this could be interpreted meaning "the shape of one's destiny is determined by how one is born" and whether or not this would be appropriate for a young men's magazine. Watsuki decided a change needed to be made and said that for him Han'nya was a difficult character as it made him aware of the responsibilities of writing for young people. Han'nya's personality is derived from Yamazaki Susumu, a member of the Shinsengumi. Some readers proposed that Han'nya had a handsome face under his mask, was Aoshi's kagemusha (such as his twin brother), or was a kunoichi. The design model for Han'nya was a human skeleton. His left and right eyes being two different shapes and sizes originates from the elephant man concept. Watsuki said that Han'nya is not a character one would describe as "evil." Han'nya came in fourteenth place in the series' third character popularity poll. Shikijō is the musclebound hand-to-hand fighter of the Oniwabanshū and was keeper of the Edo Castle gate. Prior to joining the Oniwabanshū, Shikijō was an onmitsu for the Ishin Shishi in the Satsuma Domain. In 1866, Shikijō infiltrated Edo Castle to gather information about an upcoming battle and was defeated by the thirteen-year-old Shinomori Aoshi, who created the scars covering Shikijō's body. Aoshi gave Shikijō a chance to join the Oniwabanshū and gain strength using their training methods and medicines. Shikijō received no prosperous government job offers because he was a traitor. Shikijō is mainly a hand-to-hand fighter but he also swings around a large ball and chain. He fights Sagara Sanosuke at Takeda Kanryū's mansion and is defeated. He is the first to die at Kanryū's hand, protecting Aoshi from the Gatling gun. Watsuki said that he modeled Shikijō after Sanosuke by giving Shikijō the same philosophy, strength, and personality. By putting them on opposite sides Watsuki intended to illustrate the differences between the two factions. Watsuki created Shikijō as a complete villain, but said that the "noble manner" of his death made the character "a pretty cool guy." The author used no specific model for Shikijō's design; giving him many muscles as the character is