Nineteen years have past and Kenshin faces his greatest challenge ever……A TEENAGE DAUGHTER! Kiriko (our heroine) goes on a quest to understand her over protective father but finds more than she's bargained for. While Kenshin finds out there's more to his little girl that meets the eye.

This was my first fanfic. I say was because I actually wrote this story a long time ago and I decided to re-issue it. I've made a lot of much needed corrections. So I hope you like the revised version of Born Battousai.

Please note that I've been told that my main character is sort of a Mary Sue and I'm fine with that however I understand that many people don't like Mary Sue characters. If you're one of those then this might not be the story for you, however, if you would like to make your own opinion please sit back, relax and enjoy a very nice story. : - )

Below are the ages of all the characters.

Kenshin (age 49) & Kaoru (age 39) - Kenji (age 19), Kiriko (age 17), Kano (age 13)

Yahiko (age 31) & Tsubame (age 30) - Yatsume (age 11)

Sano (age 40) & Megumi (age 43) - Meya (age 19), Saganno (age 18), Sanni (age 7)

Aoshi (age 46) & Misao (age 37) - The twins Meshi & Asao (age 14)

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. (Please note that this story is mainly based off of the anime series.)

The Himura Family

It is the 31st year of the Meiji Era. Ever since the Enishi incident, things have been very peaceful for the Himura family. Kenshin and Kaoru have been married for nineteen blissful years. They have three wonderful children. Kenji, their son, is the eldest of the three. Tall and handsome, he is a spitting image of Kaoru and her late father. Their youngest son, Kano, is full of life and in many ways he's like their young friend Yahiko when he was his age. Finally, Kenshin's heart and soul, his beautiful and smart seventeen year old daughter Kiriko.

It was a spring morning and the first sunny day in weeks. The air was fresh and smelled clean. Kenji and Kano woke up at the crack of dawn, so that they could get started on their swordsmanship practice. Kenshin was outside doing laundry as usual. The laundry had been tripled since the arrival of his children but Kenshin didn't mind. Kaoru was in the kitchen trying her best not to mess up another breakfast but she could see that her efforts were starting to turn into a disaster. She finally decided she'd better call for assistance.

"Kiriko!"

"Kiriko, wake up!" Kaoru yelled.

Kiriko mumbled something and rolled over away from the sound of her mother's voice.

"Kiriko, will you please wake up I need your help!" Kaoru yelled at her daughter. Kaoru couldn't quite understand how she could be so tired when the child went to bed two hours earlier then the rest of the family.

"Kiriko, get your butt up right now! Don't make me have to come in there girl!"

Kiriko's eyes opened immediately. She knew if her mother came in her room to wake her up, she wouldn't be able to sit for a good 24 hours.

"OK, OK, I UP!" Kiriko barked.

"Well come in here and help me with this breakfast," Kaoru barked back at here, "and don't you take that kind of tone with me young lady!"

Kiriko sighed and let out a huge yawn. She was so tired. I shouldn't have stay out so late last night she thought. She got up and realized that she was entangled in a mass of cranberry hair. I could have sworn I put my hair up. She looked around her futon and found another one of her hair ties snapped in two. Kiriko sighed again. This is the sixth one this week. Mom's not going to be happy about this.

"Did you go back to sleep in there!" Her mother yelled from the kitchen.

"No mom. I'm awake. I just a little tied up in my hair. I'll be out in a minute."

"Did you break another one of your hair ties?" Her mother asked sounding a little upset.

"Umm…No it just fell out." Kiriko lied. She knew her mother would be heart broken if the ties she made for her were not doing the job of keeping her hair under control.

"Well, hurry up and get in here. I don't want to mess this food up."

Kiriko knew that was too late. Once her mother touches any kind of food it was destined to be rat poison. Thankfully Kiriko got her cooking skills from her father. Cooking wasn't the only thing she inherited from Kenshin. She had a head full of shiny cranberry colored hair like her father, however, it was a darker shade of red. It flowed down her back stopping a couple of inches above her knees. Her bangs were parted in the middle like her mother but were much longer. She was the same height & size of her mother and her eyes were a deep indigo hue. Regardless of what she thought, many people said that she was a 'very pretty young lady'. She didn't particularly like this title because it meant she was supposed to dress and act prissy and lady like at all times.

"You are a beautiful young lady Miss Kiriko," Kenshin would say, "and you should act that way, that you should."

She loved wearing her light mulberry colored gi and charcoal grey hakama because she couldn't stand kimonos. Kiriko thought they were too binding. Although she would dress up now and then, it was mainly just to please her parents.

After untangling her hair, she was able to fix the tie and put her hair up in a high ponytail. She got up. As she was rolling up her futon, she noticed the kimono lying by the door. It was the one her mother had been working on for the past couple of weeks. Once Kiriko put her futon away, she went and picked up the kimono. It was gorgeous but sometimes she wished her mother wouldn't make these things for her. All it meant was that she was expected to wear the kimono all day. Not feeling like wearing it right now, Kiriko folded it up and placed it next to her rolled up futon. She put on her gi and hakama, and then walked into the hallway.

There was a pillar of smoke already floating from the kitchen. She walked in and saw her mother scrambling around the kitchen trying to put out a small fire.

"Mom… what are you doing?" Kiriko giggled. Her mother finally got a cup of water and put the fire out.

"Cooking, of course." Kaoru said. "It about time you got up."

Kaoru turned around with a big smile on her face but it quickly faded, when she saw that Kiriko wasn't wearing the kimono she made.

"Kiriko…did you see the kimono I finished for you?" Kaoru asked her daughter.

"Yes and thank you mom it's gorgeous," Kiriko smiled brightly. She sensed her mother was very upset that she wasn't wearing the kimono.

"I don't have it on because I don't want to mess it up. You know how clumsy I am. I'd get very upset if I ruined the kimono you made so special for me with grease or dirt." Kiriko said. She could see the pout forming on her mother's lips. She couldn't stand it when her mother did that. It made her feel so bad. Kiriko walked over to her and gave her a big huge.

"Thanks again mom. I don't deserve a mother as great and beautiful as you." Seeing her mother's eyes start to light up, Kiriko took this opportunity to change the subject.

"Soooo… what are you cooking for breakfast today?"

"I was trying out the recipe you gave me for the fish you and your father caught but I think you wrote this down wrong. Take a look." Kaoru handed her daughter the paper with the recipe on it.

"No… I wrote everything down right. How long did you let the fish simmer?"

"Eight minutes like it says right there," Kaoru pointed out.

"No mom, that's not an eight it's a three. I think you need glasses," Kiriko teased. She knew her mom needed glasses but her mother was so stubborn that she would rather go blind then admit that she needed glasses.

"NO I DON'T NEED GLASSES. I have the eyes of a hawk. YOU need better hand writing young lady." Kaoru said. Even Kaoru knew she needed glasses but she'd be damned if she wore those things on her face.

"O…kay, maybe it's my handwriting," Kiriko said sarcastically. "I'll take over from here. Where is daddy?"

"Oh, you know good and well your father is outside washing clothes." Kaoru said as she started to clean up the mess she made.

"Well, where are those two buttheads?" Kiriko asked with a smile.

"Don't call your brothers that…" Kaoru scolded, "they're in the dojo practicing of course."

Kiriko wished she were in the dojo instead of in here cooking for those ungrateful brothers of hers.

"Well, since your doing the cooking, I'm gonna to go outside and see if your father needs any help. Call us when the food is ready." Kaoru stated as she walked out of the kitchen.

"All right mom."

Meanwhile, outside Kenshin was having the hardest time getting a nasty grass stain out of Kiriko's kimono. He was so focused that he didn't realize Kaoru was standing behind him. She stood there for a moment to look at her darling Kenshin. Kaoru sometimes wondered would he ever look his age some day. He was still as handsome as ever but only one thing had changed during the years.

(Daydream)

One day while Kenji was playing with Kiriko and Kano in the yard; Kaoru was cleaning off the front steps when Kenshin came home from fishing. She could see that he had caught a whopper of a fish. She was so proud of him, knowing that he really wasn't that skilled of a fisherman. As she ran over to help him, she noticed something sparkling in his hair, which made her stop all of a sudden. "Kenshin what's that in your bangs?" she asked with a little concern in her voice. "Oro!" Kenshin exclaimed and strained his eyes to look up at his hair. Kaoru came closer and took a better look. "Why Kenshin…I think that's a silver streak in your hair." Kaoru pointed at the couple of strands that formed a thin silver line in his thick mane of fire. "Oh, I think you right my love. I guess I'm just getting old." Kenshin said with a smile and continued his walk towards the kitchen. Kaoru watched him go inside and wondered how did that silver streak get there. It wasn't in his hair yesterday, or maybe I just didn't notice it until now she thought. She soon dismissed it and went to help prepare the fish.

Snapping out of her daydream, Kaoru heard Kenshin grumbling about some kind of stain in Kiriko's kimono. She knelt down beside him.

"ORO!" He yelped and fell back hard on his bottom.

"OH… I'm sorry Kenshin. I didn't mean to startle you." Kaoru giggled as she helped her dear sweet husband up off the ground.

"It's all right. I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you were in the kitchen cooking breakfast." He stared in her deep blues questionably.

Kaoru started to blush. Kenshin knew right away that his darling wife had yet again ruined another meal. Kaoru was about to explain until Kenshin smiled and put his finger over her mouth. Kaoru's blush deepened. After nineteen years of marriage, he could still make her blush just like a schoolgirl. Kenshin bent down and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. She doesn't have to explain anything to me, he thought, because she could do no wrong in my eyes.

After he kissed her he asked, "So, is Kiriko wearing that beautiful kimono you made for her?"

Kaoru's smile, from the kiss, slowly turned into a small frown. "No. She said that she didn't want to mess it up, but I know she just doesn't want to wear it. She'd rather walk around in that dusty gi and hakama then wear my handmade kimonos."

"Kiriko will put it on later. Don't you worry my love." Kenshin whispered. Kaoru looked into his stunning lavender eyes and already felt better.

In the kitchen, Kiriko watched her parents put up the wet clothes on the line. Her parents were such a cute couple but they got on her nerves sometimes, especially her father. Now she loved her daddy more then anything in the world but he was too over protective. Ever since she was a baby, she has never gone anywhere alone. She was surprised that she didn't have a guard standing at her bedroom door twenty-four hours a day. She couldn't understand why her father was so protective. He wouldn't even let her run across the road to her best friend's house with out someone watching her to make sure she got there safely. When it came to swordsmanship, Kiriko was a huge fan of the art form. However, her father wanted her to be a little princess and princess's don't need to fight when there is always someone there to protect them. Kiriko couldn't even watch her brothers' practice in the dojo, let alone learn the art of swordsmanship. If her father caught her watching her brothers or even worse, using her broomstick as a bokken, he would say "Miss Kiriko your delicate hands should never hold a weapon for violence that they shouldn't." Then he would hug her and lead her away from the dojo. She couldn't stand it when he did that.

So ever since she was seven, she took it upon herself to teach herself how to use a sword. Kiriko would sneak out the house with the broom and go to the far side of the dojo where her secret spot was. She knew the basics from watching her mother and brothers from a safe enough distance. Once she had the basics down, it became harder to understand what her mother was teaching her brothers from such a long distance between them. Kiriko would try to pretend she was doing some housework or homework around the dojo, so she can see and hear what they were doing. But every time Kenshin would catch on to what she was doing and he would say his line, hug her, and lead her away from the dojo.

Unfortunately, she couldn't get all of what they were doing, so she had to improvise. She would go to the local book shops and read all the books on the different styles of swordsmanship. The style that fascinated her the most was Hiten Mitsurugi. Whenever her family went into town, Kiriko and her best friend Saganno would slither away from the group and stop by some of the other dojos to peek at what they were doing. She stayed up many late nights practicing in the woods by the house. Sometimes Saganno would come by and spar with her but most of the time she used the trees as sparing partners.

Kiriko did this for nine long years. She had the best teacher around, herself and she was a tough cookie too. Kiriko would push and push herself till she would just collapse in the middle of the woods. When that happened, she was so glad her internal clock would wake her up just before dawn so that she could run home, clean herself and change before everyone woke up. The hardest part about the practicing was hiding the blisters on her hands from her family.

One time while helping her father with the laundry, Kenshin noticed how she would clench her teeth and ease her hands into the hot water.

"Are your hands all right, Miss Kiriko?" Kenshin asked his daughter with concern in his voice.

"I'm all right, daddy. I was…uumm…running and slipped and…uuumm…strapped my hands on the..uum…gravel. But I'm fine, really." She turned her indigo eyes up to her father. Then blushed, smiled and batted her thick eyelashes. Kenshin narrowed his gaze at her but quickly smiled and said, "You should be more careful Miss Kiriko."

"I will daddy," Kiriko smiled. The smile and eyelashes thing worked every time.

Snapping out of her daydream, Kiriko realized she was starting to burn the fish. She caught it just in time. After the table was set, she went outside to get the rest of her family.

"MOM! DAD! THE BREAKFAST IS READY!" Kiriko screamed across the yard.

Kenshin and Kaoru started heading towards the house. Kenshin went inside first.

Inhaling the sweet aroma, Kenshin complimented "Miss Kiriko the food smells wonderful, that it does."

"Thank you, daddy," Kiriko blushed.

"Yes, it looks great, too. But proper young ladies don't scream across the yard to get people's attention. So instead of waking up the world, go walk down to the dojo and get your brothers." Kaoru implied with a small smile.

Kiriko rolled her eyes and ran out the house to get her butthead brothers.

"Don't run! WALK!" Kaoru screamed across the yard.