Disclaimer: See chapters 1-18. It's there in every single one.

Chapter 35

Yami sat with his eyes closed, pondering on where to begin and how much to tell them. Tea, Tristan and Joey all sat waiting for him to speak. Grandpa stood outside the room, ear firming pressed against the door. Deciding it would be best to tell them everything, Yami opened is eyes and looked at them.

"It all started five or six weeks ago. Yugi was walking home from school alone when I felt a surge of shadow magic. It was then that we found Kenshin. Yugi told you about finding Kenshin, but what he did not tell you was that Kenshin had a Millennium Item. The Millennium Mask, to be exact," Yami began before Tea interrupted him.

"You mean that egyption looking pendant that Kenshin always wears?" she asked. Yami nodded.

"Yes, Tea. Yugi visited Kenshin at the hospital to keep an eye on him, but they soon became friends. Hence the reason why Kenshin is staying with us. Neither Yugi nor myself had seen anything to indicate that Kenshin even knew about the Millennium Item in his possession. However, we weren't the only ones to notice the Mask. A certain tomb robber did, as well," Yami said. Tristan was the one who broke in this time.

"But, that's impossible, Yami. Ryou doesn't even have the Ring anymore—I got rid of it at Duelist Kingdom," he argued. Yami sighed.

"The Ring, or more appropriately, the spirit of the Ring found a way back to Ryou. No matter how he tried, Ryou couldn't get rid of the Ring. That night when we were all out at the arcade, do you remember? Joey accidentally hit Kenshin while aiming for Tristan. You hurt Kenshin more than he let on. The wound in his side he reopened and was bleeding again," Yami said, looking at Joey before he continued. "When Kenshin tried to leave early, Ryou agreed to escort him home, but his yami took over. I'm not sure what transpired between them, but when I felt the shadow magic being used, Yugi hurried over to see what happened. That was when we found Ryou unconscious in the alley. Kenshin was already home by the time we got there."

"The next day, Ryou met me after school and showed me the Millennium Ring. He told me that his yami had taken control of him and done something, but he didn't know what. Yugi had also found the card Glory of the Kings Opposite Hand in Kenshin's pocket the night before. Ryou confirmed it was his. Kenshin and Bakura had fought and Kenshin had come out as the victor."

"Somehow, Kenshin had heard about the kendo tournament and he wanted to enter. Yugi tried to talk him out of it, but he was adamant about participating in it. As you know, Yugi and Ryou had been watching the tournament together. In the last round between Kenshin and Kaiba, Bakura took over Ryou's body once again. I also took control of Yugi's body to make sure the thief didn't try anything. It was then that Kaiba landed a good hit on Kenshin's injured side. After an impressive show of skills, Kenshin won the match. However, there was something different about him. He looked at Bakura and myself almost as if he were warning us to stay away. He went back to the locker rooms, and I lost Bakura in the crowd. I decided to wait outside for Kenshin and saw him walking deeper into the park. I followed at a discreet distance. After we had reached a secluded area, he stopped and addressed me directly. I don't know how he knew I was there. I tried acting like Yugi, but he knew I was someone else. He could tell without even looking at me. I introduced myself, and guessed that he was not Kenshin, but Kenshin's yami. He confirmed my guess. Unbeknownst to me, Bakura had followed as well and was planning an ambush. Somehow, Kenshin's yami knew not only that he was there, but also the instant that he was going to attack. He pushed me out of the way, as the attack had been meant for me, and knocked out Bakura. I believe he re-opened another one of his injuries and Grandpa saw the blood on his clothes when we got home, so Kenshin went back to the hospital."

"When he got out, he told Ryou and myself about his past. You see, he's actually from the Bakumatsu. One of the powers of the Mask is time travel. Apparently, his yami didn't appreciate the amount of information Kenshin was giving out and he took over Kenshin's body and threatened us. After which Kenshin promptly removed the Mask and threw it on his bed. It was strange because almost immediately Bakura took over Ryou, but you couldn't tell by looking at him. But somehow Kenshin knew and warned him about attempting to take the Mask. Bakura retreated to the Ring and Ryou apologized."

"Kenshin, apparently still fighting with his yami, left the Mask at home on Monday. Bakura noticed, and stole it while Kenshin was detained after school. Ms. Someya wanted to ask him about his test. Anyway, when he got home, he discovered the Mask missing and went in search of Bakura. According to Kenshin, they fought and Kenshin was forced to escape because his yami had apparently told Bakura Kenshin's only weakness. Surprisingly enough, the next day at school Ryou told me he had the Mask. Kenshin's yami had been able to speak with him after Bakura had gone to sleep. Due to certain difficulties, Ryou was not able to find the Mask without alerting Bakura, so we started working out a plan to get the Mask back. However, Kenshin was one step ahead of us. He fought Bakura that afternoon. He defeated him, and asked me to banish the spirit of the Ring to the shadow realm. I did so, and we helped Ryou home. Ryou searched everywhere, but couldn't find the Mask. Kenshin didn't seem to worried and asked us to stop looking."

"The next Sunday, we noticed that Kenshin was starting to act more like his yami and decided that it was an adverse affect of not having the Mask. We enlisted Ryou's help and used the Ring to find the Mask. Surprisingly enough, Kenshin had it. I confronted him about it later. I asked him to let me talk to Kenshin and he refused, saying he couldn't. He tossed me the Mask to prove his point. Even without the Mask in his possession, he stayed in control of Kenshin's body. I noticed that the Mask was empty of souls. The current problem was finding Kenshin's soul. Now, it is almost impossible to get an explanation from Kenshin. His yami is even more secretive with his knowledge. The only person who could give me any information regarding Kenshin happened to be his yami. So, I challenged him to a shadow game."

"This shadow game was different from a normal shadow game. This one was more of a 'lie detector test', as Yugi calls them. The rules were simple. I would ask Kenshin's yami a question and then I would attack him with shadow magic. If he lied, then he would not be able to see the attack and would be hit, sending his soul from Kenshin's body to where it belonged. If he told the truth, the he would see the attack coming and be able to dodge it," Yami finished explaining.

"What did you mean, sending his soul where it belonged? You didn't send him to the Shadow Realm, did you?" Tea asked. Yami shook his head.

"No, I sent his spirit back inside of the Millennium Mask. Apparently, Kenshin's body did not want to release it's hold on Kenshin's yami's soul, so I imagine that the experience was quiet painful. He's probably unconscious right now."

"So, what was your question? I'm assuming he lied since you won the game," Tea continued.

Yami's gaze slid to the floor, confusion clouding his face. "I asked him if he knew what happened to Kenshin. He said no, but I think he told the truth because he looked right at me and smirked. He saw the attack coming, that much I am sure of. But, why did he not move? That I do not know," Yami said, his voice heavy. He was no closer to finding out about Kenshin's whereabouts than he was before.

Tristan shook his head. "Man, we sure missed a lot, huh?" he remarked. It was a little hard to believe that this had all happened right under their noses.

"So, what's his yami's name? I mean, we can't go around callin' him 'Kenshin's yami' all the time. Maybe since we call Ryou's yami Bakura, we could call Kenshin's yami Himura," Joey suggested.

"Actually, Kenshin gave his yami one of his nick names he had a few years back. He calls him Battousai," Yami explained. He had hoped that they wouldn't have noticed he hadn't said Kenshin's yami's name, but they deserved the true answer to all of their questions. Yami just hoped Kenshin was to upset with him when he found out. Of course, they still had to find him, first.

"So, Kenshin is from the Bakumatsu? That sure explains why he got so upset when Tristan was complaining about having to learn about it the other day. Did he know any of the leaders?" Tea asked, a little intrigued.

Yami smiled at her question. "Yes, I believed he worked for them."

"What did he do?" Tristan asked. Yami sighed. No, Kenshin was not going to be happy.

"He was a hitokiri for the Ishin Shishi," Yami explained.

"A hitokiri? Wait a sec—you mean he killed people?!" Joey asked, incredulously. Tristan and Tea had similar looks of shock on their faces. That is, until Tea made another connection.

"Battousai, why does that name sound familiar? Wait, didn't Ms. Someya say something in class about the legendary Hitokiri Battousai?" She looked to Yami for confirmation. He nodded and she continued, "So, they still know about his legend over a hundred years later. He must have been terrible. Hold on—it's the legendary Battousai, not the legendary Kenshin. Does that mean that Battousai was the one who killed all those people during the Bakumatsu?" Tea asked. Yami shook his head.

"Just like Bakura was given part of Ryou's name, so was Battousai with Kenshin's. Kenshin told me that he had earned the name Hitokiri Battousai long before his yami ever joined in the fighting," Yami explained. Everyone else looked a little stunned. It's not everyday you find out that you have one of the most deadly men in history in your class.

"But, he's so young! Surely, he couldn't be the Battousai?" Tea asked, having trouble accepting this at face value.

"Tea, you saw a small portion of his skill at the tournament. He is more than qualified to fulfill the role of a hitokiri," Yami explained.

They sat in silence until Yami looked at the time. "It's late and Yugi needs to go to sleep. You all have school tomorrow, so I would suggest heading home. I don't think Grandpa would mind giving any of you a ride home," Yami said. They nodded and moved towards the door.

Grandpa, realizing the meeting was over quickly stepped back and raised his hand as if he were going to knock on the door, just as it was opened from the other side.

"Oh, I see you're done. I was just coming to inform you of the time. Would any of you like a ride?" he asked. Not even Yami could tell that he had been listening in.

Tea, Joey and Tristan all shook their heads. "No thanks, Mr. Mutou. We don't live very far from here," Tea replied. Grandpa nodded and escorted them to the door, locking up after they had left. He then went into the kitchen and sat at the table, resting his chin in his hands. That was a lot to take in, and he didn't think he would be able to sleep just yet.

~*~

Kenshin opened his eyes and found himself staring at a gray ceiling. Looking around, he discovered he was lying on one of the tables in Kaiba's laboratory. He looked over to his right to see Kaiba comforting a crying Mokuba on the other table. The two scientists were working on the computer as if their lives depended on it. Which, judging by the glares Kaiba kept sending their way, it might.

A little confused as to why he was there, and not wishing to stay any longer, Kenshin slid off the table and silently made his way to the door. He tried to grab the handle and was a little disconcerted when he felt his hand go through the handle. At first, his mind didn't really register the fact that his hand was transparent. After all, everything he'd seen for the past week was transparent. But, after a quick survey of the room, he discovered that he was the only transparent thing in there.

/What's going on?/ he said aloud. Kaiba's head snapped up as though he heard something that he hadn't expected. He listened, trying to tell whether it was his imagination or not. He the looked to the side and saw a transparent Kenshin standing in front of the door. The red head looked a little confused and was staring at his hand.

/I'm transparent, and I just move right through anything I try to touch. It sounds to me like I've become a ghost./ Kenshin snapped his head around, looking for something.

/WHERE'S MY BODY?!/ he yelled in alarm. /If Battousai has gotten me killed…/ he trailed off into a growl. Kaiba was confused, to say the least.

Kenshin took off at a run, as fast as his now transparent legs could carry him. He didn't even bother with the door, opting instead to just run through it. He vaguely recalled the way out of the mansion, but he didn't realize that he couldn't use the elevator until he reached it. Fortunately for him, their was a door right next to the elevator that had a sign over it that read 'Stairs'.

Kenshin rushed through the door, and up the stairs. Every time he came to a door, he'd stick his head through to see where he was. The second door he came to was the one he wanted. It opened up into the main lobby. Kenshin ran through the door and then through the tall oak doors that led outside. He had successfully exited Kaiba's mansion. He continued running down the drive way and out the gates, pausing briefly to get his bearings before heading home. He never noticed the strange glow that seemed to illuminate his body as he passed under several black lights.

~*~

Kaiba stared at the door Kenshin had disappeared through. What was that just now? I thought I saw Kenshin, but that's impossible… Kaiba looked around. No one else had heard or seen Kenshin leave the room.

Mokuba, feeling Kaiba stiffen slightly, looked up at his older brother. "What is it, Seto?" he asked, fear creeping into his voice.

At hearing his brother's frightened voice, Kaiba looked down at him and smiled reassuringly. "Nothing Mokuba. I thought Yoita said something, but it was just my imagination," he said soothingly as he rubbed Mokuba's back. It must have just been my imagination.

Mokuba nodded and leaned back against his brother. The whole experience had been very draining for him, and he felt safe in his brother's arms. Seto won't let anything happen to me, he thought as he felt his eye lids start to fall.

Kaiba, noticing his brother falling asleep, got up and walked over to the door. "I want a full report on my desk in the morning," he said to Yoita and Kobayashi, quietly so as not disturb Mokuba. They nodded to show they had heard and he left.

Mokuba was already fast asleep by the time Kaiba reached his room. He gently laid his brother in the bed and stayed there for a few minutes in case he woke up. Mokuba remained asleep, and Kaiba left the room.

His head of security, Fumihiko Nishimura, was waiting for him outside the door. "Mr. Kaiba, we picked up something on the security camera's a few minutes ago that I think you need to see," he said.

Kaiba nodded his consent to look at it right now and followed him to the room were all the monitors were located. Nishimura walked over and started typing on the keyboard in front of one of the screens while he explained what happened to Kaiba.

"Ayoto was the first one to spot it. It seems that only the black lights are able to show it," Nishimura aid, pointing at the screen. There was a streak of purple, getting brighter as it passed under the black lights and darker as it moved further away from them.

"But here's the strange part. This—thing—passed right under a light, so we should have been able to see what it was. Let me show you."

The tapes played in slow motion, switching from camera to camera, following the purple blur. "See, it passed under a black light right here," Nishimura said, pointing at the blur, "and it entered the light here, but there's nothing there. It had to go right under that light, though because it reappears here," he said, pointing to the re-forming streak.

Kaiba was more confused than ever. He had been listening to Nishimura, so he didn't say anything, not wanted to make himself look like a fool. While Nishimura didn't see what passed under that light, Kaiba did. As a matter of fact, he even stopped as if he was considering something, giving Kaiba a good view of him before rushing on. It was Kenshin.

Nishimura, not having noticed Kaiba's reaction, continued. "What worries me, sir, is that there is no record of it's entrance. It just appeared coming out of the main doors, or rather through them, if you can believe that," he said.

Kaiba, wanting to think about what he had seen, turned and walked away, leaving a very confused Nishimura in his wake.

"Sir! What do you think we should do about this?"

"Deal with it as you see fit," Kaiba said, closing the door. He walked up to his room, and sat on the edge of the bed. He was going to have a long talk with Kenshin tomorrow.

~*~

Kenshin was lost. He had been paying attention to where the driver had turned when he was first taken there, but that was over a week ago and he had forgotten. He was walking around lost when he felt a familiar aura walking towards him. He ignored it—Ryou wouldn't be able to see him anyway. He was more than a little surprised when he heard the boy call out to him.

"Kenshin! Wait up!"

Kenshin turned around slowly. He was standing in the shadows (force of habit), making it difficult to see him if he had his body. He was nearly impossible to see as a spirit.

/You can see me?/ he asked.

Ryou stopped under a street light. "Oh, I'm sorry, were you hiding from someone? I saw your red hair as you walked under that last light and I figured that it had to be you." He paused as he considered something. "Although, that is an odd question to ask. Why wouldn't I be able to see you?"

In response, Kenshin walked towards the white haired boy. Ryou gasped when he saw—or rather saw through Kenshin's body as he stepped into the light. Ryou managed a weak smile.

"Not having a very good day, are you?" he joked.

Kenshin smiled in return. /No, not really,/ Kenshin replied, thinking back over the last day he experienced in Kaiba's virtual reality system. Kenshin almost shuddered at the memory—almost. Ryou was still present, and the boy need not know about that.

"So, what happened?"

Kenshin figured he might as well be honest with the boy—after all Ryou might be the only one could see Kenshin. The spirit sighed. /I do not know,/ he replied. Ryou didn't look like he completely believed that, so Kenshin elaborated.

/Well, when I fought Bakura after school and we helped you home, I took the Mask back without either yours or Yugi's knowledge. That Saturday, Kaiba invited me to his mansion for a rematch in virtual reality. I defeated him, but I was there for over a week. I just woke up in the real world about half an hour ago. I obviously don't have my body, so I think Battousai might have killed me in the week I was gone,/ Kenshin explained. Ryou looked a little confused.

"Kenshin, you say you went to Kaiba's on Saturday?" Kenshin nodded and Ryou continued. "Well, it hasn't been a week. It's only been one day."

Now it was Kenshin's turn to look confused. /Hm, I suppose time must flow differently there,/ he said at last. That was the only explanation.

Just then, Joey and Tristan came walking up. "Hey, Ryou—what're you doin' out this late?" Joey asked. Ryou smiled a little sheepishly.

"Well, I couldn't sleep. I often go for walks when I can't sleep, you know, to unwind," he explained. He quickly steered the conversation away from himself. "What are you two doing out this late?" he asked.

"We were over at Yugi's house—Yami was explaining everything to us that you two had been keeping us in the dark about," Tristan said, looking at Ryou pointedly. Ryou gulped." K-keeping you in the dark about?" he asked innocently. The only secrets that had been kept all pertained to Kenshin and Battousai. The former of which was standing right in front of Tristan and Joey. Ryou prayed they didn't say anything that would upset Kenshin. True, he was a ghost, but that meant he could now possess people. Ryou had no such luck, however.

"Yeah, ya know, about Kenshin? And his yami? Man, I still can't believe Kenshin was a hitokiri, though. I mean, come on! He's too nice ta have killed anybody. He couldn't even hurt a fly!" Joey said, joking.

Ryou's gaze slid over to Kenshin. He didn't look very nice at the moment. His hair was obscuring his eyes from view and his hands were clenching and unclenching at his sides, as if trying to stop himself from doing something he'd later regret. Anger practically radiated off him in waves.

/I assume that Yami just told them this?/ Kenshin asked in icy tones. Ryou suppressed a shudder, infinitely glad that it was not him who was on the receiving end of Kenshin's wrath.

"Apparently," Ryou whispered, hoping Joey and Tristan hadn't heard him. They hadn't.

They were, however, getting on Kenshin's nerves. So, Kenshin decided to do the only thing he could at the moment. He manipulated his ki in such a way that allowed them to felt it. He then put several emotions into it, including and immense amount of anger and a yearning to kill something—namely them. He did not actually wish to kill them, but he long ago learned to manipulate his emotions when trying to intimidate someone. He unleashed it in a wave, washing over both Joey and Tristan, but being careful to miss Ryou entirely.

The effect was instantaneous. Joey and Tristan both stopped laughing and grabbed onto the other, scared out of their wits.

"D-d-did you f-feel that?" Joey asked.

"Y-yeah," Tristan replied.

Ryou, not knowing what Kenshin did, looked confused. He opened his mouth to ask, but Kenshin interrupted him.

/Ryou, make up some story about evil spirits who are easily angered residing around here,/ Kenshin said, an almost evil smirk replacing his normal smile. Ryou caught his meaning and played along.

"What is it? Did you two feel something right now?" Ryou asked, growing concern in his voice. They nodded, unable to speak. Ryou visibly gulped before continuing, obviously not wanting to tell them something.

"Bakura used to tell me about all the horrible evil spirits that reside around here," Ryou said, somewhat shakily. "Little things set them off and once they're angry, nothing can pacify them until they've destroyed the source of their anger," he explained somewhat hesitantly. He turned his head sharply to the right, listening.

"Did you hear that?" he whispered. Neither Joey nor Tristan moved. Suddenly, Ryou's eyes widened in fear.

"Oh no, they're coming! RUN!!!" Ryou yelled. Joey and Tristan didn't need to be told twice. They ran out of there screaming like banshees and running at a speed that Kenshin would have envied if he were younger and not trained in Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.

As soon as they rounded the corner, Ryou couldn't help it anymore—he started laughing. He was laughing so hard that he couldn't stay standing, and he fell to his knees. Even Kenshin was chuckling a bit. After a few minutes Ryou's stomach muscles were protesting at being used so much and his lungs were screaming for air, so he tried to calm himself down somewhat. When he could talk again, he turned to Kenshin.

"How did you do that?" he asked, still laughing a bit.

Kenshin shrugged his shoulders. /It's just a manipulation of your ki that is sent towards your opponent. It's used for intimidation in sword fights. Sometimes, if done correctly, your opponent would run away in terror and you wouldn't have to fight at all,/ he explained. /Thank you for helping me. You're quite a good actor,/ Kenshin commented. Ryou raised his hand to the back of his neck.

"Oh, I just got caught up in the moment. I'm surprised they bought it—I'm a terrible lair," he admitted. Kenshin just smiled at him. Then his smile darkened as he remembered the reason for the joke.

/I think I shall go pay Yami a visit./

#126;*~