Chapter Four- AAAAH! CHIBI!

~*~

Anya made her way through the trees quietly, listening to the quiet around her. There were a few birds singing around, but that didn't mean anything. They'd know when a stranger was nearby, but Bishonen who lived around here would hardly be strangers to them. In fact, who knows? She'd read about worlds where people used birds to alert them when the enemy came. Of course, they didn't screech and attack her- if she got too near the birds, they'd just fly away without a sound. And they were awfully pretty birds...

"This is pathetic," said a voice behind her.

The teen jumped, then turned around and put a hand on her hip. "And what is so pathetic?" she asked.

Sano gave her one of those I'm-smarter-than-you looks that annoyed her. "Your attempt at capturing Bishonen. Your face must be scaring them off."

She gave him one of her I'm-a-woman-and-damned-proud-of-it looks and answered, "Oh, I'm sure there are a few at least as stupid as you that are sticking around."

He lost some of his superior look.

"Uh-huh."

Five days ago, if someone had told Anya she would be walking around talking to an anime character and trying to capture other anime characters to hang around with, she'd have quietly gotten to the phone and sent them to the hospital for a prolonged stay.

But now, it felt so right. She'd gotten so used to Sanosuke around now that her retorts to his talking were becoming second nature. It would have been nice if they were just talking, but Sano kept pointing out her faults to her and the fact that he'd do much better in her position. She offered him a skirt and the belt, but he had declined rather quickly.

She grinned at that memory. Now that had been funny. Just yesterday...

She paused.

"Eh?" Sano questioned.

Anya ignored him for a long moment, just listening intently for the sound she thought she'd heard a moment ago. Like someone was following them? She turned around to look back the way they'd come.

Something moved in the bushes, but it looked far too small to be a Bishonen or Bishoujo.

She relaxed. "Just an animal of some sort," she muttered, shaking her head. "Never mind, Sano."

"That's Sanosuke to YOU, Missie," he answered.

She snorted. "OK, Fluffy."

Anya grinned again at the sound of him clenching his fists and teeth and muttering curses. "Watch your mouth or it'll get stuck that way," she told him, and continued walking.

~*~

Later on, they were setting up camp. Well, actually, Anya was doing most of the work while Sano lounged against a rock, muttering about food. She finally got up and put a hand on her hip. "Well?"

He looked up. "Well what?"

"Are you going to help?"

"Why should I? No."

"I asked if you were going to help."

"I heard you, though I don't think you heard me. Do the two letters N and O put together mean anything to you?"

Anya raised an eyebrow at him. "Do the two words NO and FOOD put together mean anything to YOU, Sano?"

"I hate you."

"I know."

He sighed, and stood to help her spread out some blankets to sit on. Then he made the fire, though still complaining under his breath. Anya ignored the curses for now- at least he was helping!- when she heard a sound again.

She froze, listening, and glanced towards Sano. He was again lounging on his rock, right across from her. And behind him...

Was the most adorable redhead boy she'd ever seen.

Well, no, it wasn't a human boy- it was a Bishonen.

A Bishonen CHIBI.

Anya froze, trying to decide what to do. She remembered what that Professor had said, and she did NOT want to piss off a whole group of Bishonen for even being near one of their Chibis. Even if this little one ran away of his own will...

But he was so CUTE...

/A Kenshin,/ she decided, looking at the huge pile of red hair on his head and his huge violet eyes, sparkling with mischief. He ^_^ and waved his hands around a moment, asking for silence. /What's this? Maybe he knows Sano?/ she wondered.

Sano blinked at her. "What're you looking at?"

"Uh, your hair. It's amazing. You look like you've got a rooster sitting on it."

"Missie, that was uncalled for. I helped you with the damned camp."

"You never have before."

"Well, I-"

"AAAAAAAR!" the Chibi Kenshin howled playfully, jumping on top of Sano.

"AAGH!" Sano jumped to his feet, nearly knocking Chibi Kenshin to the ground. Kenshin apparently had a good grip, though, because he was still hanging onto Sano's head.

"UNCLE SAN UNCLE SAN UNCLE SAN-" the Chibi yelled happily. "I gotcha, that I did!"

/Even as a Chibi he talks that way?/ Anya blinked.

"Ah! KENSHIN?!" Sano grabbed the Chibi and held him out at arm's length. "What in HELL are you doing way out here away from home?"

"Following you!" Kenshin stated. Again, he ^_^.

Sano fell over. Anya carefully caught the Chibi, who merely looked at her with the same expression. "Are you Sano's girlfriend?" he asked innocently. "Dad says Uncle San likes girls."

Sanosuke, who had just started to stand, fell over again. Anya nearly face-faulted herself. "No, I'm not," she said. "I'm his trainer, Anya."

"Anya?" the Chibi questioned carefully.

"Yup."

"I'm Kenshin!" the Chibi introduced himself.

She carefully set him down. "Why are you following, uh, Uncle San?" she asked.

"Don't you DARE use that nickname, Missie!"

"I think it's kawaii," she said defensively.

"'Cause I'm bored," the Chibi Kenshin answered.

"You know your Mom and Dad will be mad at you for leaving, and me for finding you," she told him.

He tilted his head to one side. /Even a tomboy would want to squeal,/ she thought. "Why?"

That wonderful child's question. Even the Bishies had it. "Because you're still young, and they want you safe. I'm a stranger."

"But I know your name," he pointed out, looking pleased. "So we're not strangers!"

"No, I mean- uh, I'm not a Bishoujo."

"Are you a Bishonen? You don't look like one," he said.

"No. I'm human. I'm a trainer."

"Oh. What's a human, that is?"

Both Anya and Sano fell over this time.

"Kid, we're taking you back to your parents," Sano said shortly.

"I SO don't want to piss off a million Kenshins, or worse, a million Kaorus," Anya said nervously. "You carry him." She quickly put out the fire and shoved the blankets together, put them in a capsule, and shoved that into her pocket.

"He can walk, can't you kid?"

Chibi Kenshin held out his arms. "Carry me Uncle San!"

Sanosuke sweat dropped as Anya smirked at him, and sighed. He obediently picked the Chibi up, who laughed happily.

/He's so KAWAII!/ she thought. Then, /I am so dead! I hope his Dad doesn't become a Battousai, father like son kind of thing... that would be bad.../

"So Kenshin's let his guard down again," Sano said with a sigh. "When's he gonna learn you don't leave your kids like that?"

Anya blinked. "So there ARE multiple Bishonen out there?" she asked.

"Are you trying to be stupid? Because, if you're just trying, you're doing really, really, well!"

"Shut up. I'm still new around here."

"I noticed. C'mon, Kenshin, we don't need her stupidity rubbing off on you."

Kenshin merely tugged at 'Uncle San's' hair a little and continued ^_^.

/Maybe his mother was a friend of Xellos',/ Anya thought. /He's been grinning like that- but he's so KAWAII!/ She nearly hit herself. /STOP thinking that! Jeez. You're obsessed over a Chibi. Sure, he's cute, but his Dad's cute too and really, really deadly. I REALLY hope his Dad's not in Battousai mode and coming after us.../

For a while the group just wandered back through the woods the way they'd come. Chibi Kenshin hummed a little and kicked his feet from time to time. Anya had no problem listening to this. He had a pretty nice voice as a little kid.

/Now that I think of it, Kenshin rarely sang in the episodes... I mean, sure that drinking song thing, but... I wonder if he does as a Sama in the Bishie world?/

Anya pondered that for a while, which passed the time. After a long, long while, it was late afternoon, and Chibi Kenshin was dozing off in Sano's arms.

Anya paused. "Let's rest, hey?" she said softly.

Sano shrugged. "Whatever, Missie," he said, but also in a soft tone.

The teen girl grinned. Chibi Kenshin obviously was this tough guy's biggest weak spot right now. "Come on."

They set up camp, and Sano actually didn't object to helping. Even though it meant juggling both sleeping Chibi and other things at once. Finally, though, he gently set the sleeping Kenshin on a blanket they'd spread out and leaned against a tree.

"Well, what're you going to say?" Sanosuke said suddenly.

Anya looked at him blankly.

"What're you going to say to his folks?"

"That he followed you for some reason for the past day or two and we're bringing him back, and no I have NOT captured him. I'll even offer to let them look at my Dex and my Bish-Balls if they want."

"Hm." He grunted. "I hope you don't expect me to protect you."

"Oh no, of course not," she said sarcastically. "Why should I? You hate me."

"That was a joke."

Anya blinked and looked up at him in surprise. "Eh?"

"You heard me." He fell silent, as though he said too much.

/Well, that's special. I thought he hated me.../ "Hey Sanosuke?" she asked.

"What."

"Um. Why do you hate fangirls so much?"

He looked away. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. I want to know why, so maybe I can help fix it."

"You can't fix it." He looked at her, now somewhat angry. "You wanna know? Fine. My little brother was kidnapped as a Chibi. The trainer... I tried to stop her, but her Bishonen were too strong. It was bad enough she captured my brother, but it was worse that she was so... calm about it all. She was like, 'I caught a good bug specimen, let's go see what makes it tick' instead of 'ohmygod I caught a Bishie!' like the rest of you. I hate fangirls because of that. I have most of my life. I was only in San, so I couldn't help..." He trailed off.

Anya remained silent for a moment, then, "I'm sorry." He snorted. "No, I really am. That's like a kidnapper stealing into my house and taking my little sister away, planning to... to... molest her or something, and leave her to die on the roadside."

"You have a little sister?"

"Actually, no. But I have a little cousin I'm close with. We're almost like that."

He kept quiet.

"I shouldn't have pried, I'm sorry," Anya said. She glanced down at Chibi Kenshin, who was snoring very, very softly. "He's kawaii."

"You want to catch him?"

"Hell yes, but I don't dare. One, you'd kill me, two, his parents would kill me, and three, if you all didn't do the job, I'd feel rotten the rest of my life."

Again, he fell silent.

Anya and Sano sat there for a couple hours, perfectly quiet, watching Kenshin sleep. During this time Anya took turns watching both Sano and Kenshin. Sano had a look of worry every time he glanced at Chibi Kenshin, and obvious doubt every time he glanced at Anya and thought she wasn't looking.

What was he doubting? That she understood that pain?

/How awful, watching your little brother get torn away from you and you not being able to protect him... and then never seeing him again, from the sound of his voice earlier... Poor Sano. And by now, no doubt his brother's either San or Sama so he can't do anything about it, since now he's allowed to be a Bishonen by both Bishies and human's laws./

Finally, Kenshin woke up and looked around, focusing on Sano. "Uncle San..." Then Anya. "And Annie?"

Anya winced at the nickname while Sano grinned at her. "Yes, Kenshin?" she asked.

"I'm hungry, that I am," he said.

"Right. What do you want?"

"Mama makes ohagi for me, sometimes."

Anya made a face. "Sorry, I don't know how to make that. Uncle San?"

"I can't cook ohagi, ANNIE. Why don't you think of something else?"

"Because you're his uncle."

"And you're the host."

They glared at each other. Then there was a POOF and they both looked to see Kenshin curiously going through a refrigerator on his own, standing on tiptoe to reach things. "Hmm, how about this!"

"That's butter, Kenshin," Anya said slowly. "That goes on bread."

He looked disappointed. "Oh."

"Want peanut butter?"

"Oro?"

"Peanut butter?" Anya walked over and pulled out a convenient container of creamy peanut butter. "It tastes good, and I know a couple people who eat it right out of the container. Wanna try it?"

Chibi Kenshin tried it cautiously with a finger, then his eyes lit up and he happily went to eating his fill of the peanut butter.

"That's really, really weird," Sano said.

"What?" Anya asked.

"Giving him that stuff by itself. I thought you'd make him a sandwich."

She waved a hand. "Hey, he's hungry, it's his call. Besides, I just want to make sure he doesn't get too much of it. He'll stop soon."

Sano gave her an odd look. "You're weird too."

"At least you don't hate me anymore." Then she paused. "Or do you?"

"I don't hate you."

"But I'm a fangirl."

"You don't fit the precise definition. You're not glomping."

"Why, no, I'm not. I still captured you."

"And you're not squealing, and you're not capturing Kenshin. At least, not yet."

Anya shook her head. "You know something? I'm not weird, you are."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Kenshin put the container down. "That's good, that it is!" he said cheerfully.

"You full now, kid?" Sano asked.

"I am!" Chibi Kenshin answered.

"Then let's go. It's still an hour or so before dark."

Kenshin offered to help roll the blankets, and of course Sano put out the fire to top that. Anya smiled. Maybe he felt guilty about watching a kid he cared about work for a woman he didn't like.

/So he really doesn't hate me. What does he think of me, then? It'd be nice if all that bravado was really that he cared about me, but I think it's too soon for him to give a damn. And personally, I don't blame him. I've been kinda mean back. And I've meant it, in the past couple days./

Now she felt guilty about the whole thing.

/I'll not complain if he doesn't help putting up camp tonight,/ she promised. /And I won't pry anything out of him again./

Then, /What's that?!/

Something was moving in the bushes.

Sano heard it too. "Who's there?!" he demanded. He went into fighting stance. Chibi Kenshin merely looked curious, tilting his head to one side again. Anya stepped in front of him a little, and he grabbed onto one of her legs. Startled, she nearly fell over at that, but kept her balance. "Show yourself, dammit!"

There was a long pause, then a voice said, "So you found my little Kenshin?"

Anya frowned. "You don't sound like a Kenshin or Kaoru!" she accused.

"I'm a friend of his. Aren't I, Kenshin?"

Chibi Kenshin's wide eyes looked around. "Dad says younglings sometimes have imaginary friends, that he says," he answered slowly. "But everyone else can hear you too."

"Don't fear me, you know who I am. My voice is merely froggy."

Sano growled. "I don't believe you. I don't recognize you. You better show yourself, pal!"

Another pause, then something blurred out at them towards the Chibi. "He's MINE!" the blur shrieked in triumph.

"HELL NO!" Anya shrieked, and picked the Chibi up and started backing away. "YOU GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

"Why? He isn't YOUR Bishonen! He's free, and he's MINE!"

Anya stared at the crazed- looking girl, and blinked. "What ARE you?"

"A halfling!" Sano said in disgust.

The girl-Bishoujo smirked, then gestured towards Chibi Kenshin, who was looking at her gravely. "That's right. Now hand over that Chibi, little girl, and I won't hurt you or your Bishie."

Anya's eye twitched. "LITTLE, am I?" she asked dangerously. "I'd like you to try and say that again."

Sano blinked. Kenshin looked at her curiously.

The Bishoujo's smirk grew. "I'd love to. You're nothing but a little novice girl who hasn't a clue as to what's-"

BAM!

Anya gingerly shook her hand as she backed away from the Bishoujo, still holding onto Kenshin with one hand. Sano looked surprised, though Kenshin almost looked ready to fall asleep. The Bishoujo-girl lay on the ground, dazed.

"Missie, where did you learn to punch like that?" Sano asked, an eyebrow raised.

"At home. Ow, that hurts..."

He walked over and grabbed the hand, inspecting it carefully. "Sano...?" she questioned a little uneasily.

"Shut up. It doesn't look bad, probably just not used to that force..."

"Sano..."

"What?"

"Watch OUT!"

Sano ducked with Anya as a fist came swinging at the back of his head, and he spun Anya out of the way. She whirled in circles for a while, and she and Chibi Kenshin both had swirly eyes when they came to a stop.

Then Anya noticed that Sano was fighting the girl. "Are you OK, Kenshin?" she asked the Chibi. He nodded.

"She is odd," he said, pointing at the strange girl. "Not quite like you, but not quite like me or Uncle San."

"True," Anya agreed. "Are you fast on your feet?"

"I kept up with you and Uncle San for days, did I not?"

Anya paused. "Good point." She set him down and rubbed her arms. "You're kinda heavy, you know."

"What are you going to do?" Kenshin asked.

"Help Sano," she answered, and marched back over to where Sano had delivered a decent blow to the girl's middle. However, the girl kept on going with a kick to his head, making him lose his balance a moment. She kicked him again, knocking him over, and lunged at Anya. "AGH!"

Anya ducked the punch and blocked a kick, wincing as the girl kicked. "Damn it, why won't you GO AWAY?" Anya complained.

"Just gimme the Chibi!"

"Why?"

The girl stopped and blinked. "You don't know?"

Anya peered up at her. "There's something else besides his cuteness?"

The Bishoujo-girl snorted. "Please. That little rat's just got good genes."

"He is NOT a rat," Anya stated.

"He is to me."

"YOU'RE the rat," Sano grunted, standing up. "Back up, Missie, I can't hit her with you so close."

"Too bad for you," sneered the girl. Then she blinked again. "Where did he go?" she demanded.

"Eh?" Anya looked around. Kenshin was gone!

"Where did you hide him?" the girl demanded, pulling Anya up and threatening her with a fist. "TELL ME!"

Sano clenched his fists. "Let her go," he demanded.

"We didn't hide him, he ran!" Anya said. "Now let GO!" She kicked the Bishoujo-girl's knee.

She howled in pain and Anya punched her again with the sore hand. "Ow ow ow," she muttered, shaking the hand again. "I'm really gonna feel that... what's she got for bones, steel?"

The girl didn't look like she'd be getting up soon, so Anya turned away to look at Sano. "Do you have a clue where Kenshin went? I asked him to run if he had to," Anya said.

He shrugged, looking a little concerned. "I have no idea, Missie. Now let me see that hand again."

He gingerly picked it up and inspected it. "Yeah, you definitely need to get used to punching something if you're going to make a habit of it. Decent punch, by the way."

Anya blushed faintly. "Thanks."

Sano let her hand drop, then turned away to start searching for the Chibi.

Anya began to follow when a scream from behind warned her. She turned her head to see the girl leaping at her- with a knife in her hand this time- and her blood ran cold.

"If you won't give me that Chibi, I'll CARVE-" the girl began.

A red blur passed between the two.

A moment later, the Bishoujo-girl fell to the ground, knocked out for good this time.

Anya stared at her, then slowly looked up at the figure who'd saved her butt.

"Kenshin?"