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.

Suspicions: All the clues Point to Her

Another fish came flying at her and she moved to the side to dodge, looking back at the sales cart to see Sano tossing another fish past him. His excuse? He didn't like them. She sighed and got her money

pouch out. Even though he didn't like them, they would have to pay for the ruined food. Sannai was asked by Kaoru if she could run to the market to gather some fresh food for dinner. She was weary at first,

saying that she didn't feel comfortable for the police were still suspecting her of the crimes she hadn't committed. So Kenshin offered to join her, but Sano put the male rurouni in a headlock and smiled, saying

how he'd take her. She tried to say she would be fine going alone; she would just have to be careful. She hated being a burden. But he was persistent. They were having sushi that night. It was Kenshin's

turn to cook dinner. Over the past month and a half, they had alternated when someone would make dinner that day. It was usually Kenshin, Kaoru, Sannai and repeated, unless Kaoru had training with a

neighboring dojo. Finally, the fighter-for-hire found a nice large fish he had approved of and once all the fish was paid for, they continued shopping. They still had to get more rice, eel, shrimp, seaweed,

wasabi, avocados, and some spicy sauce. She then thought, as she was following Sano around the market as he proceeded to toss food he 'didn't like', conveniently at her, if she should get something to

make for dessert. Or perhaps buy something? But she was already spending so much on ruined food and the large portions Sano 'liked'. She sighed and looked at the remaining money she had in her pouch.

If Sano kept this up, she would be so low she would have to do some side jobs to earn some more to help pay for the 'renovations' of the dojo. Perhaps that wouldn't be so bad. Only thing is that it would

postpone her departure from the Kamiya household and Tokyo. Yahiko would like that. She chuckled, catching the fighter's attention, and when asked what was so funny, she waved a hand and shook her

head. "I was just thinking that's all." "Oh yea? About something funny? Cause if it's about me I'll take you on here, right now." He said, making a fist and smirking at her.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Throwing fish at her to try and catch her off guard failed. Thinking that she was comfortable enough around him that it would ruin her clothes and she would have to change. Then he'd pretend to be a pervert

and peek on her. Though it would probably leave him to be beat, he would see if she did have the scar that the murder had. But, try as he might, she was still on guard and dodging every item of food he

threw at her. Perhaps he needed to think of a new strategy. Then he heard her laugh. An idea came to him and he held back a smirk. He looked at her and had to surprise the proud smile of his new plan.

"What's so funny, Sannai?" He asked, and she waved him off saying she was just thinking. "Oh yea? About something funny? Cause if it's about me I'll take you on here, right now." He said, making a fist and

smirking at her. Sannai blinked and backed away, putting her hands in the air and shaking her head with a nervous smile on her lips. She reminded him that she avoided violence as much as possible and he

barked out a laugh. "Well if you're friends with all of us, it'll be damned near impossible to avoid trouble. It seems to be attracted to our group of friends. This town, even." He quickly regretted his words when

he saw her eyes dull. What had she thought about just now? Regret for being their friends? Regret being there because of the 'trouble' they seem to always get into? "Ah man." Sanosuke said, throwing his

head back and groaning. "Look, we don't…really attract trouble. The police just…have a habit of asking us for help with what they're too afraid of. All the police are weaklings. I could take them all on and not

have a scratch on me!" He said proudly, pointing his thumb at himself with an overconfident smirk. His attempt to cheer her up worked for a smile and a small laugh escaped her lips. "Now, how about we get

this shopping done so we can head back to the dojo, hm?" Sanosuke asked, putting his hands on his hips and leaning towards her a bit. Sannai smiled and nodded and Sanosuke figured that he had cheered

her up. He turned with a big smile on his face as he led the way. But making her happy again didn't mean he was going to give up and try to see if she bore the scar. They didn't have much left to buy so he

would have to think quickly or continue his actions at the dojo. But even there he only had till nightfall before he left for the day and returned to his place for the night. He smirked to himself as he thought of

all the other ways he could try and reveal her arms to see if she had the scar they needed to identify her as the Battōsai.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Collapsing onto the dojo steps, Sanosuke panted in exhaustion as he recapped the recent events that had occurred. Throwing fish at her to get her to change failed. 'Accidentally' knocking a beam onto her

so she'd injure her arm and needed it treated failed, she used her sword to cut the wood before it hit her. Spilling noodles on her failed, he had missed and got it on her pants where she cleaned herself up.

Then there was an incident that he had nothing to do with where a thief had tried to use her as a hostage. The fool he was, but he had to give him props for trying. Then on the way home he 'tripped' and

tried to save himself from falling into the river by grabbing a hold of her sleeve but she fell with him and instead of ringing out their clothes, she said that she would change and hang her wet clothes when

they returned to the dojo, since they were so close anyways. Damn woman was hard to catch off guard. Just like Kenshin. He rolled onto his back and looked up at the blue sky. He heard the door to Sannai's

room open then close as she entered. He could be a pervert and peek in on her changing to see if she had the scar. But would probably be caught by one of the residence of the home and be scolded. He sat

up, hanging his head in defeat. Then a crash was heard and he lifted his head to see a woman enter through the entrance to the Kamiya household. She had brown hair, green eyes, and a sleeveless

toga-like shirt on. His eyes widened when he saw a scar on her upper arm. The female Battōsai! Evidently, everyone heard the commotion and walked out into the court yard to see the intruder, minus

Sannai, who was still changing out of her wet clothes. Kenshin was the first to speak, his eyes having that dangerous glow to them, but not the glow that signaled that Battōsai was emerging. "Who are you

and why have you come to our home?" He asked sternly not taking his eyes from her. The women smirked and unsheathed his sword, pointing it at Kenshin. "I have come to slay you, Hitokiri Battōsai. For

there can only be one Battōsai in this world, and that one should be the strongest. You have fallen and become weak by becoming a rurouni. An easy win for me, Lady Battōsai!" She said, now charging at the

male rurouni with impressive speed. Kenshin easily quick stepped out of the way, appearing behind her, his sakabatō still in its sheath. "It is true that I have put my past behind me and that I have become a

rurouni, that it is. And due to my becoming as such may mean I have become weaker because I no longer fight to kill. However, I do not intend on fighting you, that I do not. Leave this place and no harm will

become of you." He said, but it was a futile attempt. She had come for blood. "Can't you see?" Kaoru spoke up, her hands to her chest and her eyes filled with worry. "Kenshin is no longer Battōsai! That

means you are the only one in this world!" She was right, too. But Lady Battōsai would not see it as such. "Lies! I have heard that he still becomes Battōsai in dire situations! This is unacceptable!" She quick

stepped and appeared behind him, causing the rurouni's eyes to widen and quickly unsheathe his sword to protect himself.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Sannai sighed in relief when she tied the knot on her sash and placed her sword back on her hip. She was glad to be out of those wet clothes. She heard the commotion outside but knew that she didn't have

to rush to get out there. Kenshin would be able to handle whatever trouble had arrived. However, this meant she would have to repair the entrance doors into the Kamiya estate. Her shoulders sagged at

the thought, but at least they seemed to enjoy her staying there. However, Sano had been acting weird the past week. Either that or he normally acted that way and she was just now starting to see it. She

put it to the back of her mind as she headed out of her room and down the hall to see what had become of the intruder. She stood half behind the wall, watching the scene unfold. There was a girl laying

unconscious on the ground and Kenshin kneeling over her. He touched her arm and then rubbed his fingers together before telling Yahiko something. The boy then nodded and ran into the home to retrieve

what she guessed was something Kenshin had asked for. Sannai looked around and could only spot Kaoru. Sano was probably retrieving an officer to come and get the woman. Yahiko came back moments

later and handed Kenshin a cup of water. He said something to the boy, most likely thanks. He then wet his fingers and touched her arm, where the scar was, and it smeared. He wet it again and it came off.

Sannai decided now to reveal herself. She walked towards the fallen woman and Kenshin, and the ex-hitokiri turned to look at her. "She is a fake, that she is. The scar is only paint. She was skilled, but

nowhere near as skilled as the actual Lady Battōsai, that she wasn't." He said, standing up then there was a bang and Sannai's eyes widened as she felt something pierce her right shoulder and cause her to

stumble and almost fall, but she caught herself. She gripped her shoulder and gritted her teeth in pain, looking up to see Kenshin standing in front of her with his sword drawn. "You are the women I talked to

a few weeks ago." He spoke to the attacker. Sannai looked at the woman and there was something familiar about her. Yet she could not place it. The woman glared, right past Kenshin and straight at her.

"You…" Tears were falling from the woman's face as she stepped closer. "You will pay…Lady Battōsai! I tried to take you out, by hiring the best lady assassin around. To frame you…but she got cocky and

tried to take on Hitokiri Battōsai. She was a fool. But I will destroy you myself if I cannot get you behind bars like you should be!" She took aim again but when she fired she missed, hitting the dojo instead. If

the building could feel she would be sorry for it. It had gone through a lot of abuse the past few weeks. Sannai walked around Kenshin, despite his warning. "I am not Lady Battōsai, madam. She has been

dead for many years now." She explained, but the woman took aim again and called her a liar. "You have her eyes! The same…empty and lonely eyes as before…" She shot again, hitting her in the same

shoulder only an inch or so away from the first bullet wound. She heard four voices call out her surname, Sano just having gotten back with the cops to see the second shot. Police took aim and told her to

drop her weapon, and the woman, not wanting to lose her life, dropped the gun and glared at Sannai in a way that could kill. "You will pay…" Sannai smiled slightly, her vision getting blurry from the loss of

blood. "Lady Battōsai is no longer with us. I watched her…leave this world myself. My resemblance…." She never got to finish her sentence for she fell back, still fighting consciousness but barely able to stay

awake. "Sanosuke! Get me a wet cloth! Hurry!" She heard Kenshin yell out, being the first one there to support her head. He had removed his outer haori, using it as a pillow to support her head better.

"Sa…no…suke?" She managed to get out, and the teen arrived with the cloth that Kenshin pressed against the wound. "Yahiko! Get Megumi-dono!" He ordered again, desperate to get her some help. She

called out Sanosuke's name again, looking at him, slightly confused. But then she started hallucinating. She smiled as she saw her elder brother's face appear, smiling down at her and calling her a squirt. Her

eyes started to close, and she saw her brother's face turn back into the teenage Sanosuke's. "Onii…san…" She said, before the world went black.

~o~o~o~o~o~

There was blood everywhere. All over the ground, the trees, even the once clear water had blood in it. There were voices, coming closer and closer. Fear coursed through her veins as she saw the samurai.

Then in a flash they were on the ground, bleeding from the few wounds they received. She looked up to see a kind smile from a figure, hidden in a shadow. Who was he? Another flash of lightning and there

were injured women and children around her. All weeping from loss and fear, some had blood on their hands while some wore torn and battered clothing. She walked through them all to the building

entrance, to see what had become of the world beyond the building walls. However, instead of seeing a village like she had expected, there were trees, a forest? She turned to find the building gone,

replaced with samurai with blood on their swords and anger in their eyes. The sound of panting caught her attention, but no one was near her. She turned to see a man, surrounded by dozens of soldiers.

Her eyes widened in realization. "Shiroji-sama!" She called out, her late commander being the only one she gave such a title to. But her voice fell on deaf ears. She ran forward, but it seemed that everything

was in slow motion. Another flash of lightning and she skidded to a stop to a different scene. She was on a small bridge that went across a large pond. Her eyes widened. She closed her eyes tightly and

shook her head. "No…NO! Okaa-san! Otou-san!" She cried out, her eyes watering at the sight of them trying to fight off enemy soldiers, but they were slain to bleed to death from their fatal wounds. She

heard metal sliding against metal and turned to see her older brother standing in front of a young woman. His arm was firm as he glared at someone, but no one was there. Then in another flash, he was

kneeling on the ground, panting. He slowly got up, and in another flash, she was closer to him, his eyes now dull and empty of life. "ONII-SAN!" She cried out, tears threatening to fall. The sound of thunder

and four flashes of lightning, the first her brother laid alone in a field. The second, her father, thirdly her mother, and finally the fourth were their graves, lined up next to one another. Tears fell from her face

freely now as she knelled before her family's graves. Then there suddenly was fire surrounding her. She stood up quickly, turning around to find her commander, eyes wide and a sword through his throat.

"Shiroji-sama!" She yelled but no sound came from her. His eyes saddened looking at her, but a smile still came to his lips. He said something to her, but again there was no sound. Then he closed his eyes as

an enemy soldier beheaded him. Voices now became audible. Telling her how she was at fault for her family's death. How her commander died because she couldn't protect them. Their blood would forever

stain her hands. She leaned forward, still kneeling from the scene of her family's graves and bowed her head, tears now freely falling. First, her parents, then her brother, and finally the man she thought of as

a second father. All died before her. And there was nothing she could do. The voices still spoke to her, taunting her, appearing in kanji as they were spoken. She screamed out, covering her ears. But her

hands were wet and warm. She pulled them away to see them covered in blood. She fell onto her backside, her clothes also covered in blood. Four shadows appeared and she looked up to see the

half-decayed corpses of her family and Shiroji-sama, whom was holding his head at his side by his hair. They asked her why she let them die. Why she didn't do anything. And she started to cry once more,

squeezing her eyes shut, saying she didn't mean to. How it wasn't her fault. Then she felt hands on her, she opened her eyes to see the corpses attacking her, shaking her and calling out to her. "You ruined

the Sannai name." "Ruined…Sannai name." "Sannai!" "Sannai!" And her eyes shot open. No longer green but a bright yellow.

S: It's just like the time with Saitou…

k: Somebody stop them!

S: And how do you suppose we do that?

k: I…I don't know…

s: I've always wanted to fight the best of the Inshin Shishi. Now I get the privilege of killing you, Hitokiri Battōsai.

B: You shouldn't flatter yourself. I will be bringing death to you.

s: I'll show you to underestimate me. Inuyamo Mitsu Ryu! Ika Inuryu Zen!

S: Next time…on Another Battōsai: Back in the Bakumatsu: A Battle Between Battōsai

k: Kenshin!