Chapter 3
"Sanosuke! What are you doing here?" Kaoru asks.
"Oh nothing, I grabbed something to bite," Sanosuke answers.
"Figures," Yahiko says, "It's either that or gambling."
"Very funny," Sanosuke says, "Anyway where did you guys go?"
"We went to visit a patient," Kenshin replies, "He was one of-." Kenshin is cut off by the sound of a scream. "Yahiko, wait here and protect Ms. Kaoru. Sano, let's go see what's going on!"
Sanosuke nods to Kenshin and they both begin to run towards the scream. They follow the sound into a back alley. They find a man leaning onto a tree with blood dripping down his face. Kenshin and Sanosuke approach the injured man. They notice him wearing black ninja attire.
"Hey man you all right?" Sanosuke asks.
"What happened?" Kenshin asks, "And who are you?"
The man lifts his head slowly. "I am Matsu of the Sanada Ninjas. A woman struck me trying to get information out of me. I refused, struggling for my life," Matsu says.
"I don't believe you. Would you mind telling me the truth?" Kenshin assertively asks.
"What do you mean? I am telling you the truth," Matsu mutters.
"Matsu, it looks to me that the woman was struggling for her life, not you," Kenshin says. Sanosuke's eyes grow wider and listens more attentively as Kenshin continues, "Why else would there be cuts on your face? They look like they are from nails. The woman probably struck you on the head to escape."
"I should've expected the Battousai to figure it out," Matsu says as he stands up.
Sanosuke grabs Matsu's neck and pushes him against the tree. "You bastard, I should kill you for attacking a woman. Who was this woman? Was she wearing white top and black pants?" He shouts.
Matsu pushes Sanosuke away and brushes his arms. "So what if she was?"
Sanosuke shouts, "Which way did she go!"
Matsu points to his right and says, "That way. Why does it matter? Do you even know who she is?"
Sanosuke was already running that direction, missing Matsu's last comment. Matsu begins to walk away when he's stopped by Kenshin's sword in front of him. "I don't know what's going on exactly," Kenshin says, "But you are going to tell me why the Sanada Ninjas are robbing innocent people. What are you all up too?"
"We don't rob innocent people," Matsu says, "But that doesn't concern you, does it? Excuse me, but I better go tend to my wounds." Matsu walks off into the distance.
"I'm not finished with you yet," Kenshin says, "I'll find you, and I am going to make you talk."
Matsu quietly fades away into the night. Kenshin sheaths his sword and goes back to the water to meet Kaoru and Yahiko.
"What happened, Kenshin?" Kaoru asks, "And where is Sanosuke?"
"I don't know… I don't think I quite understand the situation myself," Kenshin says, "But I think he will be all right. Anyway, it's getting late, let's go… I still need to do laundry."
-
"Hey anyone out here!" Sanosuke repetitively shouts as he runs through the wooded area of town. "Anyone!" He continues to run down the road until he spots something ahead. He recognizes the figure; it's the woman he's been looking for. "Hey you!" He shouts. She stops to turn around. "Hey are you okay?" Sano asks.
The woman looks at Sano for a second. "Sanosuke, isn't it?" She asks, "What are you doing?"
"I found some ninja saying he was attacked by a woman. But he admitted that he tried attacking the woman instead. After listening to his description, I knew it was you. I had to find you to see if you were all right," Sanosuke says. He looks at the woman's right shoulder. "Your bleeding, you need to be treated," he says.
"Thank you for being concerned but I can't, I have business to take care of," the woman says.
"That can wait, you need help," Sanosuke says. He's about to grab her hand until a knife flies past him and hits a tree. Sanosuke looks around, "Whose there!" he shouts.
A voice shouts from the trees, "We are Sanada Ninjas. Leave if you know what is best for you!"
"Show yourselves!" Sanosuke shouts, "What do you want with this woman!"
Two Sanada Ninjas appear and surround Sanosuke. Sanosuke steps back closer to the woman, picks her up throwing her onto his shoulder, pushes one Ninja into the other and runs into the forest. After running for about five minutes, Sanosuke stops to catch his breath. He places the woman onto the ground and rips some bandages from his waist and wraps the wound. The woman leans forward.
"Great," she says, "Now you're involved."
"I don't know what's going on," Sano says, "but since I just risked my life saving you. The least you can do is telling me your name and why the Sanada Ninjas are after you."
The woman hesitates for a second then replies, "My name is Aneko. The Sanada Ninja's are just after my riches."
"There's more to it. Now tell me," Sanosuke says.
Before Aneko could say anything, a rock hit the back of Sanosuke's head and he immediately blacks out. The two Sanada Ninja's run towards Aneko to capture her but she quickly throws the rock back to one, knocking him out. She then quickly unsheathes her dagger, evades the second ninja and slashes the ninja's back.
"Tell your leader that I will deal with her later, unless you want to die here," she says.