Disclaimer: I Do NOT own Rurouni Kenshin, that right belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki. This story is strictly fan-based. I do, however, own Sannai Erina and her late commander, Shiroji Sasuke.

Wanted: The Legendary Lady Battōsai

"I wonder why someone would want to pretend they're Battōsai." Sannai wondered out loud as she sat down with Kaoru and Yahiko on the porch. Ayame and Suzume were napping inside, poorly covered up with blankets. Yahiko had

explained the situation to the girls and to say the least they were upset about it. When Yahiko mentioned that Kenshin used to be Battōsai he wasn't surprised that Sannai seemed unaffected by it. However, when Kaoru asked why she

was calm about the 'new' information and Sannai told her why, she started to panic. Thinking that she was after Kenshin. After a whack on the head from Yahiko, and a short fight later, she calmed down and seemed fine with her knowing.

Kaoru was more upset than the other two in the room. about the whole fake Battōsai thing that was happening again. Yahiko was annoyed that it had happened again and Sannai was confused on why anyone would want to pretend to

be him. They came to a conclusion that after they ate a late lunch they would each ask around to see if anyone knew anything about this Battōsai that was committing murders. "Hope you're not cooking, Ugly." Kaoru turned her attention

to the boy and started chasing him away, swinging her wooden sword around trying to hit him. Sannai giggled a bit and retreated to the kitchen to gather some things to make the miso soup outside, since it was nice out. She balanced

everything with one arm as she crouched down to recover Ayame and Suzume. She made her way to the pot and started to cook. Within minutes the young siblings woke up and groggily made their way over to Sannai. "Aunty Sannai.

What are you making?" For once Suzume did not mimic her sister, but merely yawned and rubbed her eyes. Sannai smiled gently and picked the tired girls up. "I was making miso soup. But it seems I should take you home now. Me, Aunty

Kaoru, and Yahiko have to go somewhere." She cradled them in her arms, managing to hold them both, one on each arm, and they snuggled close, quickly falling back asleep. She stood up and looked for either Yahiko or Kaoru. She found

Kaoru and groaned inwardly. "Kaoru. I'm going to take Ayame and Suzume back to Doctor Genzai. You eat without me. I'll get a head start. The miso soups done. Just poor it into bowls and enjoy." She smiled at Kaoru's nod and left,

feeling the mistress of the household follow her and head to the soup.

~o~o~o~o~o~

"Thank you for bringing them back. They seem exhausted. They'll have a good sleep tonight." Sannai smiled and nodded, mentioning that they had been playing almost all day. She started her search by asking him if he knew anything

about the fake Battōsai and he shook his head. The only thing he knew that he had lessened his killing dramatically. She thanked him and left. She started by asking random shoppers in the marketplace. A lot of them had avoided

answering the question, like they were afraid of answering. Some did not know anything about him, only that he had killed about 10 people. That they knew of, of course. Though a couple of people were helpful. She had learned that the

people he left alive were warned not to go to the police. He also wore a cloak to conceal most of what he looked like and two swords on his left hip. The part they noticed the most were the eyes. They were cold and distant, unable to be

read. She thanked the shoppers that had given her the information before moving to ask some shop keepers. She blinked every time a door was slammed in her face or a store owner freaked and closed up shop early. She would try one

more shop before searching for her new friends who were also searching by now. "I-I'm sorry miss. But other than what you probably already know, I know nothing." The man was the owner of a fruit stand. Sannai sighed and hung her

head a bit before asking him that if, hypothetically, she didn't know any of the rumors. The man was silent for a bit before answering her.

~o~o~o~o~o~

"Any luck, Yahiko?" Kaoru asked as she walked to meet the young boy. He shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Everyone I asked freaked out and avoid me." He admitted and his teacher nodded. "Same here. I did

get a bit of information though. It seems that the people he killed were unarmed and weren't suspecting a thing." "Sounds more like something a ninja would do. But the wounds were made by a samurai sword." Kaoru sighed and looked

around for Sannai. Perhaps she had better luck in getting information about the Battōsai. She saw an elderly man passing by and called out to him. He stopped and looked at her, asking her what he could help her with. She asked him if

he'd heard anything about the Battōsai. He looked at her like she was crazy. "You shouldn't search for the Battōsai! You could be next! Everyone else that did, including police, were killed!" Yahiko walked up the them, catching the last bit

of what the man said. He told them that Kenshin was the only Battōsai and he lived with them. He also mentioned that the old man should know that for he talked to him a few times. The man looked at them and laughed at them like he's

lost it. He then went into a coughing fit and the two panicked but once he started to calm down he waved them away a bit. "Yes, yes. I know that Himora was once a Battōsai. But this Battōsai is not Himora. I know because I have seen

someone being killed. I am lucky I was unnoticed. Either that or I was no threat at all. Whatever the reason I am glad I am alive." He paused in speaking as he purchased some goods and then turned towards Kaoru and Yahiko once

more. "Why do you still call him Battōsai if you know it isn't Kenshin?" Yahiko asked as he reached out to take the food he was offered, but his head was hit with Kaoru's wooden sword. "Owe! What the hell?" "That's not nice Yahiko.

That's his food. We have some at home." Yahiko mumbled something about Kaoru somehow ruining Sannai's soup even though it was done and Kaoru's face turned red with rage and embarrassment. "Well you shouldn't be complaining!

You're living under my roof for free you know!" She said while shaking him harshly. The elder man chuckled at them, mentioning that they acted like siblings. He regretted saying so when they turned towards them and yelled that it was

impossible to be related to the other. Clearing his throat, the man spoke up again. "As I was saying. Himora couldn't possibly be the Battōsai that has been killing. But it is a Battōsai. Himora wasn't the only one during the Bakumatsu." He

took a bite of his sweets before walking away, having the youngsters blinking in confusion after him.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Kenshin walked into a room where a light haired woman sat near a window looking down at the busy marketplace. The officer that had led him to the room informed him that he only had a short time. The rurouni nodded and once the door

was shut he spoke, the woman not even startled even though she seemed to be in a daze. "You must not be from around here. You're hair color gives it away, that it does." He stood next to her and smiled as she nodded. She was

responsive. That was a good thing. "I come from the west. I came here as a tourist and met my..." Her eyes saddened and Kenshin's eyes softened. "Tell me. What did this... Battōsai look like? We're trying to find your husband's

murderer. If you could give me a few details-" "Green eyes and long brown hair. Wore two swords and...and eyes that seemed to see into the very depth of the soul..." she started to shake a bit in fear. Kenshin put a comforting hand on

her shoulder and assured her that she'd have her revenge. Though he needed to know more about the killer. She told him all she could without breaking down. "It had all happened so quickly. We were walking down the street and..."

she paused and looked down at her lap, her hands gripping the fabric of her kimono as if her life depended on it. "He sensed her presence I guess. Because he pushed me aside and told me to hide. I did and...hid in an ally." Her eyes

opened in fear as the scene seemed to replay in her head again. "She...came at him. And he tried to pr-protect himself. But it was as if...as if she had disappeared! Blood splattered everywhere! Covering her clothes...some of it on her

face. She...looked at me...and...and..." She started to cry and Kenshin looked down at the floor in thought as he replayed what she said in her mind. "Forgive me for asking. But you said 'she'?" the woman took a breath to calm down and

nodded. "Y-yes. I recognized her from fourteen years ago. Even though she has grown much since then. I'd recognize those eyes anywhere. And that scar." "Scar?" The girl nodded. "Was it in-" The door opened cutting him off and both

occupants looked to see the officer who let Kenshin in walk in. "I'm afraid time is up, Himora." Kenshin nodded and bowed a bit to the widow before walking past the man. The sound of the chair scraping the wooden flooring caught his

attention and he turned his head to see the woman standing. "Yes, Himora. The scar was in the shape of a lightning bolt." Kenshin nodded his thanks for the information and then left, missing the smirk on the woman's face.

~o~o~o~o~o~

A loud crash was heard then Kaoru yelling Yahiko's name following. Sannai slouched and watched as the wall she had just fixed collapsed once more. She had decided that, for privacy reasons, she should pause on the dojo and fix the

perimeter wall. She was just about done when Yahiko wanted to test its sturdiness and, despite the warning that the cement had not yet dried, he hit it with his bokken with as much force as he could muster. She sighed and looked at the

seemingly-siblings to see Kaoru shaking Yahiko who had many bumps on his head. Sannai stood up and dusted her pants off. She smiled nervously at Kaoru and told her that it was fine. She would go buy more material and have the wall

fixed in no time. Yahiko, who was released from Kaoru's attacks, scratched the back of his neck in shame and offered to assist her in gathering the new materials. Sannai politely refused the money Kaoru offered her in order to pay and

soon her and Yahiko made their way to the marketplace. "Erm...Sorry about that, Sannai." Yahiko apologized as he walked away from the dojo with her. Sannai laughed lightly and said that it was fine. She needed to go shopping for more

materials for the dojo any ways. She would just be buying more than she planned. The information only made Yahiko feel worse. the whole walk there Sannai had a calm look on her face. But Yahiko sensed that something was wrong. As

they walked through the streets both friends noticed the police kept glancing at Sannai. She just smiled and acted as if she hadn't noticed. Yahiko didn't know if she had and was hiding it or if she was simply that off guard. He even saw

Kenshin look at Sannai with suspicion when they were walking around. "Yahiko. You shouldn't space out like that." Sannai scolded as she dropped some wood into his unsuspecting form. The boy yelped and grabbed the wood as best he

could, but ended up standing at an awkward position holding all but one piece of wood with his arms and the last one balancing on his foot. Laughing lightly, his friend helping him out and paid for the wood before heading over to buy

some stones. "Hey, Sannai? How are we supposed to carry all of this?" He asked as he followed her around. Her answer was a simple smile and he rolled his eyes. He then asked if Katsu knew she was still here and she froze. He saw

sweat cover the back of her neck under her ponytail and he laughed. They knew that he'd be upset that he wasn't told. She smiled widely at him and made a U-turn towards Katsu's house. Yahiko groaned and followed her. He would be

carrying the heavy load longer now. "Me and my big mouth." He grumbled to himself.

~o~o~o~o~o~

"Give it back." Sannai blinked at Katsu's demand, tilting her head to the side confused. "The painting. It's a parting gift. You're not parting with us yet." Yahiko glared at the man and went to hit him on the head but he missed when the

attack was dodged. He started after the man but Sannai grabbed the back of his shirt and held the flailing boy back, smiling nervously as she did so. "Now now, Yahiko. I can understand where he's coming from. But Katsu...I have it hung

up on the wall in my temporary room already." The young painter sighed and sipped his tea, giving in and saying that she could keep it. He looked at the pile of supplies and questioned if that was for the repairs and she nodded. It was a

lot and must have cost a bundle. But with the money she won gambling with him and the money she already had with her, he knew she could afford it. He was just curious as to why she was spending so much on the repairs on the old

dojo. She just shrugged when he asked. The visit didn't last long because Sannai wanted to finish the wall before nightfall. So Katsu saw them off and Yahiko and Sannai headed back to the dojo. They both had half of the wood tied on

each of their backs, thanks to Katsu's idea, and both held half of the stones in their arms. Yahiko collapsed when they reached the dojo, panting and complaining about the trip back was worse than Kaoru's training. Sannai laughed and

took the stones to the wall and set them in a pile then went to put the wood on her back down on the dojo floor. She smiled and went over to the tired boy, untied the wood from his back and pushed them aside. Yahiko found himself in

the woman's arms and he was being carried over to the porch. She looked down at him as she placed him sitting next to the wooden post and brushed his hair away from his face. Her expression became pained and she gritted her teeth.

She blinked when she heard Kaoru ask what was wrong. She put on a believable fake smile and shook her head. She told her that her stomach was just upsetting her and she went to get a cup of water. She took a deep breath and felt a

bit better. She walked outside and instantly two young girls latched themselves to her legs. She laughed, her heart feeling much lighter as she walked around with them on her legs. The siblings laughed and held on as she made her way

to the stone wall she was prepared to fix. She kneeled down when she reached the wall and tickled them to make them fall onto their butts. She asked them if they wanted to help and they cheered. So for the next couple of hours,

Sannai, Ayame, and Suzume worked on the wall. The female samurai would put the plaster down and the sisters would take turns placing the stones in their spots. When they could no longer reach, she picked them up so they could place

them down. "Oro? Ayame and Suzume are still here?" Asked Kenshin finally returning from visiting the widow. "Yes, they did go home, but a woman, Megumi, brought them back cause they got pretty busy." The sisters smiled and ran to

Kenshin, calling out to him. "Uncle Ken!" Kenshin smiled at the girls and crouched down to their level. "Ah, Ayame, Suzume. What have you been doing today?" Ayame smiled and hugged Kenshin's arm and looked up at him. "We've been

helping Aunty Sannai!" "We're helping." Mimicked Suzume. Kenshin smiled and looked at the other rurouni. "I'm going to start the laundry, that I am. Is there anything-" Sannai waved at him causing him to stop and tilt his head to the

side in confusion. "Nonsense. I've already collected all the laundry and have everything prepared for dinner. All I've got to do is cook it when the laundry is done. I'm not going to be able to finish this wall today." She told him as she stood

up, dusting her hands off on her pants. She turned towards him and pointed a finger at him. "Kaoru and Yahiko have already taken a bath. Would you take Ayame and Suzume home? And when you get back a bath will be ready for you.

But you have to keep your clothes out of the actual room so I can wash them. I'll have Yahiko place your night clothes in the room until I finish cleaning them." Kenshin blinked and was about to argue with her, but she picked up the girls

and placed them in his arms and ushered him out of the gate. "Goodbye Ayame and Suzume!"

~o~o~o~o~o~

Just like she had said, a bath was indeed prepared for him when he returned from taking the children home. His clothes were folded up and ready to be worn the next day. They were in his room by his rolled up futon. Everyone, except

Sannai, was eating dinner, which Sannai made. She claimed she wasn't hungry and cleaned Kenshin's sword. She was just about done actually. She wiped it down with a rag to remove any debris from the cleaning material she used and

then held it up to inspect it. She turned it to check all angles of the weapon before she put it back in its scabbard. At that moment Kenshin came out and smiled at her. "Really, Sannai-dono, you work too much, that you do." Sannai smiled

back at the rurouni and shook her head. She just felt like she was a burden to everyone for being there. Yahiko came in to the conversation to argue. To him and Kaoru, probably Kenshin as well, she was taking the load of the daily work

from their shoulders. However, to the youngest of the four, he felt that just repairing the dojo would be good enough. But again the female rurouni argued that she was eating their food and they provided her with shelter, thus she felt

responsible for doing housework as well. The apprentice of the Kamiya Kasshin sighed in defeat then retired to his room for the night. Kaoru did the same and for a moment it seemed as if Kenshin was going to question something to the

swordswoman in front of him, but Sannai stood and handed him his sword, gripping hers, still in its sheath, with her left. She bowed slightly to him and retreated to her room. Kenshin looked at his sword and pulled it out from the scabbard

a bit to inspect the blade and smiled a bit as he slid it back in the case. It would seem that the cleaning and sharpening the woman did to his sword was satisfactory. He let out a small yawn as he walked towards his room to sleep.

~o~o~o~o~o~

He would confront her today. He would defeat her and demand the answer from her. The door to Sannai's room opened but her pursuer did not continue into the room. Instead, hurried footsteps ran down the hall. Moments later a second

pair of footsteps followed back towards the female rurouni's room. One advanced into the room, which seemed to not have been touched all night. "Kenshin...you don't think that she..." Yahiko asked his idol with sadness in his voice.

Kenshin did not answer for he did not know himself. Instead, he turned and left the room. Maybe she woke up earlier than normal. They checked the bath house and saw that it was unused since the previous night. Yahiko panicked as he

turned and called out for Kaoru, but he was instantly hushed when a bowl smacked him in the face. "Quiet!" She said in a hushed yell. "You'll wake her!" She received confused looks from the males and she groaned, pointing to the wall

that surrounded her property. "I woke up late last night...for reasons. And saw that she was up. I asked her why and she said she couldn't sleep. She's been like that like that since I woke up." Her friends looked to where Kaoru pointed

and saw Sannai, sitting with her legs crossed, her sword leaning against her shoulder, and leaning against the completed wall. And she had paint on her clothes and face as well. "She's been working so hard that I decided not to wake

her to even suggest she retire to her room." Kaoru admitted before returning to the kitchen. Yahiko said a smart statement about Kaoru having to cook and Sannai would wake to find them all dead. Kaoru's short-temper with the boy

made her lose her calm and she started chasing after him scolding him on how rude it was to be insulting someone who was letting him eat and stay for fee. Kenshin smiled as he watched the teens run around before heading over to the

sleeping rurouni. He crouched down and placed a hand on the sword to move it so he could pick her up, but the hand holding the weapon tightened and the other grabbed his wrist. He looked at her face and could tell by the expression

and breathing that she was still asleep. Even in her sleep she had her guard up. He let go of her sword and she let go of his wrist. She very carefully moved to pick her up and was surprised that she did not attack her when he did this. He

stood up and carried her to her room so she'd be more comfortable.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Yahiko fell onto his back, failing at blocking an attack from Kaoru properly. He was scolded and they went at it again and again until he got it right. Kenshin sat down near the half completed wall of the dojo and watched the duo train. He

smiled and closed his eye before looking down at the wood work of the dojo floor. He ran his hand over it and was still amazed at how smooth and well put together the flooring was. "I see the wall is fixed up. She did a decent job." Said

Sanosuke as he walked into view. Kenshin greeted him and at his visit Kaoru told Yahiko to take a break. "What do you mean she did a decent job? It looks amazing!" Kaoru said defending Sannai's work. Sannai appeared and they all

greeted her when she said good-morning. Then when she asked Kaoru if there was any breakfast left Yahiko laughed, saying that she might as well wait till Kenshin made dinner. "Oh, I'm sure Kaoru's cooking is fine." She said making the

teacher smile and saving Yahiko from another beating. Without a second thought both girls made their way into the kitchen to get Sannai something to eat. "So Kenshin." Sanosuke said getting the ex-hitokiri's attention. He asked him

what he learned about the one framing him and Kenshin shook his head, telling him that it was a woman that had been killing. He told his young friend all the info he got and how he got it before Sanosuke spoke up. "What do you think?"

He looked at the red-head and smirked a bit. Kenshin sighed and shook his head. "No one else fits the description." Sanosuke's smirk grew a bit and looked over at the girls and Yahiko. "We just need proof, right?" He asked, a wicked grin

appearing on his face.

K: Green eyes, brown hair, carries a sword in broad daylight. The only thing that's missing is the scar, that it is.

S: You think it's more than just a coincidence?

K: Perhaps. But we have no proof.

S: Well then, let's find proof!

K: Are you sure what you're doing is...safe? Much less legal?

S: It'll be fine. I'll get the proof you need to see whether she's Lady Battōsai or not. Next time on Another Battōsai: Suspicions: All The Clues Point To Her