D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

Hello! I'm back with a new chapter! I must say, the number of reviews I got on the last one didn't make me very happy, but what can one do, eh? Well, anyway, I don't want to bother you people with my dilemmas, so I'll let you get on with the chapter, okay? Enjoy!

Chapter 10:

'Well, we'll see you later then, alright? And thanks again for taking Kenji in!'

With one last wave at Sano and Megumi, Kenshin and Kaoru got into the elevator. They pressed the ground floor button and waited. They were both silent. Kaoru wanted to thank Battousai for what he did back there with Sano, but she remained quiet. One reason was because she didn't know how to thank him, the second was that she wasn't sure she should be talking to him while they were still in the lift; he looked like he would definitely throw up if he opened his mouth. Sure enough, when they reached ground floor, he stumbled out and doubled over, clutching his knees. Giggling slightly, she stepped up next to him and, after a moment's hesitation, she placed a hand on his shoulder.

'Hey, you okay?' she asked him softly.

He looked up at her, a bit surprised, and then he smiled shortly. 'Yeah, I'm okay,' he replied. 'But I'm never gonna get used to these...elevators! God, are you sure there's nothing wrong with your generation, Kamiya? Elevators, and cars, and...?'

Kaoru patted his shoulder. 'Give it a rest, Battousai,' she advised him. 'That's my husband's brain you're confusing.'

Battousai chuckled. 'Yeah, you're right,' he replied.

They left the building, and climbed into Kaoru's car. She started the car and pulled out onto the road. She was gripping the stirring wheel so tightly her knuckles were becoming white. 'Um...do you think they suspected anything?' she asked him, referring to Sano and Megumi.

'Don't worry, as long as Kenji doesn't slip and tell them something about what had happened, then we should be fine,' he assured her.

She nodded. She paused for a moment before saying her next words. 'Hey...about what you did with Sano...I wanted to say thank you,' she said softly. 'You have no idea how much it means to me and to Kenshin, you apologizing to Sano about that night in the club. I know for sure that Kenshin wouldn't have been able to handle the situation properly.'

'Um...it was nothing, really,' he replied. 'I just did what I had to do. Mind you, though, Sano was quite curious about my scar.'

'I can imagine why he would be,' she said, glancing briefly at his cross-shaped scar. 'I was wondering about something...is that scar going to remain on Kenshin's face even after you've left his body, or is it going to go away?'

Battousai scratched his chin thoughtfully. 'I'm really not sure about that,' he replied. He grinned at her. 'But you wouldn't mind if it didn't go away, would you? Being the sexy thing it is?'

'Oh, please!' she said, exasperated. She couldn't help the laugh which escaped her lips though. 'But yeah, it would be really cool to have a scar like that. I'm sure Kenshin will be very happy about it if it stayed there.'

'Hmm, you think?' Battousai said thoughtfully.

Kaoru nodded. 'Hey, I've been meaning to ask...are you sure this is going to work?' she said. Battousai had told Kaoru that the only person to know the counter spell which would release him from Kenshin's body was a Yukishiro. They had looked up the phone directory for a member of that family, and had found one sole guy who happened, ironically as Battousai said, to be named Enishi Yukishiro. So, basically, their plan was to hunt this Enishi guy down and try to get the spell out of him. Kaoru only hoped that this Enishi would really have this spell. 'Are you sure this guy will be willing to help us? After all, you did go and kill his great aunt...'

'Thank you for reminding me,' Battousai said sarcastically. Kaoru opened her mouth to apologize, but he cut her off. 'You do have a point, though. I'm really not sure if Enishi will want to help us, or if he knows how to even help us in the first place, but...it's all worth the shot, right?'

'I suppose,' she murmured.

'Anyway, if that doesn't work, we can always kill him,' he said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

'What?' she cried, taking a really sharp swerve and almost hitting a pedestrian who was crossing the road. After she had apologized to the stream of swears the guy threw at her, she turned to glare at Battousai. 'What the hell did you say?'

'I was just kidding!' Battousai protested. 'God!'

Kaoru scowled at him. 'You're sick,' she spat at him.

'Thank you,' he said dryly. 'You flatter me every time.'

-

'You're weird.'

'You too, huh?' Battousai muttered, irritably.

Kenshin sighed. 'I'm serious,' he replied. 'One minute you're nice and everything, the next you're thinking of killing off people...I find it hard to believe that you're the same person, Battousai, and that's why you're weird.'

Battousai chuckled. 'I suppose you're right,' he agreed. 'But I can't help it...I've committed so many crimes in my past that killing always comes up as an option when I'm facing some sort of problem. I've always thought it was the easiest way to deal with things...saves up a lot of time.'

'So that's what people are to you, then? A waste of time?' Kenshin asked quietly.

Battousai was silent for a few moments. 'No, that's not true,' he finally answered. 'People are not a waste of time...at least, not all of them are. Tomoe wasn't a waste of time...if it weren't for her, I'd be nothing. Kaoru, too...she's special.'

'Hey! That's my wife you're talking about!' Kenshin protested, half-jokingly.

Battousai smiled inwardly. 'And you, too, Kenshin...you're not bad, either,' he told him.

'You're not going to get all emotional over me, are you?' Kenshin said, chuckling. 'Thanks, though...it means a lot coming from you. You're not bad, yourself.'

'Gee, thanks,' he murmured. 'So, is it true? Would you like to have my scar?'

'Yeah...it'd be really cool.'

-

'This is the place, huh?'

They were both standing in front of a traditional Japanese house, green bricks and white walls, a low fence over which they were able to see the paddock in the backyard. The house looked empty though. Kaoru walked around the fence and found herself standing before the gate, next to which hung a wooden sign on which "Yukishiro" was written in Japanese letters. She looked back at Battousai, and saw that he was staring at the house with a weird expression on his face.

'Er...what's wrong?' she asked him.

'This house...man, this is too much,' he murmured. He broke off, chuckling, and rubbed the back of his neck. 'It's exactly like our house back in Japan. Exactly the same. This is just too...pathetic.'

'Pathetic?' she repeated, frowning.

'I mean, what the hell are they trying to pull off?' he demanded, and Kaoru could make out a note of anger in his voice. He gripped the edge of the fence tightly with his hands. 'Tomoe won't be back! She won't be back no matter what they did! She's dead, and she's gonna stay dead! She won't come back because they've gone and built a reincarnation of her house in the States...same way she won't be back because my soul's been trapped in my sword!'

'Battousai...' Kaoru said softly. Battousai bent his head down and for a brief moment, she got the impression he was crying. She realized it mustn't be fair for him, to be beaten up for the murder of the one he loved. The murder which he hadn't even intended to commit. She stepped up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. She rested her head on his back. 'You know...you gotta stop feeling so guilty about it. I'm sure Tomoe would've wanted you to.'

Kaoru felt a bit of wetness on her hand. He was crying!

'I'm not sure that what she would've wanted,' he said hoarsely. 'She keeps haunting my dreams. She stands there, holding her umbrella and wearing her bloodied kimono...and she smiles at me, and she tells me it's okay...that she doesn't mind...but I feel like she's mocking me...like she's trying to make me feel guilty.'

'Battousai...don't you know?' she asked. 'If one loves the other...they'd never make him feel guilty at all, they wouldn't burden him with troublesome thoughts...if they did that, they'd wouldn't really be loving him...and, I don't think Tomoe would've died for you in the first place if she was going to blame you for it...am I right?'

Battousai was silent. After a few moments, he eased her arms away from him and he turned around to face her. He was smiling...and Kaoru was sure that this was the first genuine smile he had ever given her. 'Yeah, you're right,' he agreed. He took her hand in his and started towards the gate. 'Shall we go in now?'

The pushed the wooden door open and stepped inside. Kaoru held on to Battousai's hand as they crossed the front yard to the house. They paused before the porch.

'Hello! Anyone home?' Battousai called out. They waited for a reply, but none came. 'Hello?'

Battousai slipped his feet out of his shoes and climbed onto the wooden porch. He pulled the paper door open and peered inside the room. Kaoru climbed up next to him. 'Hello?' she said. 'Excuse me, we're looking for Mr. Enishi Yukishiro!'

'I doubt Mr. Enishi Yukishiro will be pleased when he sees the two of you snooping around on his property.'

Kaoru jumped. She whirled around and saw a tall, broad-chested young man with snowy-white hair, who was carrying a bokken. He was looking down at them with unmistakable hostility. She found herself gripping Battousai's arm. 'H-hi!' she stammered. 'Um...are you Mr. Enishi Yukishiro?'

'Isn't that obvious?' he replied, narrowing his eyes at her. 'I'm the only one around here, ain't I?'

Kaoru nodded. She was at loss to as what she should be saying next. Suddenly, the sentence, "We were hoping you'd help us free Battousai's spirit from my husband's body" didn't seem that appropriate. And it didn't help that Battousai hadn't said one word yet. He was silently watching Enishi, and she could feel his whole body tensing up underneath her grip. She looked worriedly at him, all the while praying that he wouldn't go and do something foolish.

Finally, to Kaoru's relief, he extended his hand towards Enishi and smiled pleasantly. 'Konbanwa, Yukishiro-san,' he said. 'My name's Kenshin Himura and this is my wife, Kaoru.'

Enishi nodded dispassionately at Battousai, but he did show some interest in Kaoru. However, he did not seem to want to shake Battousai's hand, so the latter dropped it to his side. Enishi folded his arms tightly against his chest. 'What do you want?' he asked coldly. It was obvious that this guy didn't get much visitors around here, and Kaoru could figure out why.

'Can we go inside? Talk about it?' Battousai asked politely. 'This is hardly something to be discussed out here.'

Enishi raised an eyebrow. 'Alright...let's go in,' he agreed. He stepped around them and entered the room. He beckoned for them to come inside, before sitting down, cross-legged, on the floor. Battousai and Kaoru followed suite. 'So, what is it that you want to discuss with me? Are you from the insurance company or something?'

Smiling, Battousai shook his head. 'No, I'm not,' he replied. He glanced around the room. 'This is a nice place you've got here.'

Enishi's mouth worked up into something that looked remotely like a proud grin. 'Yeah, I know, isn't it?' he said. 'This is like my aunt's house back in Japan. I've come and built one here.'

Kaoru was aware that Battousai's smile was a forced one. 'Your aunt's?' he repeated.

'Yeah,' Enishi replied. 'I've never my aunt...she died ages ago, but her house's still there; a family heirloom, y'know...I really liked that house, and that's why when I came here to the Sates, I decided I was going to have the exact same house built here.'

'I see,' Battousai murmured, nodding his head. 'Yukishiro-san...are you aware of the name Battousai?'

Enishi's featured contorted into a mask of anger immediately. 'Hell, yeah, I do!' he rasped his fists clenching against his thighs. 'He's the damn bastard who killed my aunt! My grandfather told me about it! He told me how he saw Battousai killing my aunt! He told me how he swore never to forgive him after that! And he also told me...he told me...'

Kaoru leaned forward eagerly. 'Yes? What did your grandfather also tell you?' she asked.

Enishi shook his head. 'Never mind that,' he muttered, blushing and rubbing the back of his head. 'I kind of strayed there...so, what did you want to tell me, again?'

'But...Mr. Yukishiro!' Kaoru protested, missing the sharp glance Battousai threw in her direction. 'You can't leave us hanging like that! You should tell us what your grandfather told you!'

Enishi frowned at her. 'How come you're so interested in what my grandfather told me?' he demanded. 'What's in it for you? Chotto matte! Don't tell me you're an author who've come to use my words in some stupid story of yours!' He threw a dirty glance at Battousai. 'And you! You're her publisher, aren't you?'

Battousai seemed totally unfazed by these accusations, but Kaoru was stumped. 'Yukishiro-san, I'm afraid you're mistaken,' he said calmly. 'Much as I would've loved to the one to publish this amazing story of yours, but I'm not a publisher...and my wife, is certainly not an author.'

Enishi frowned. 'Well, then? What are you after?' he demanded. 'You still haven't told me what you wanted from me.'

Battousai smiled. 'Yukishiro-san, as to what your grandfather told you next...' he said quietly. '...was it that he laid a curse on Battousai's soul...trapping it forever within his sword? Was it that he enjoyed torturing his brother-in-law for a crime he had never intended?'

Enishi stared at him, his mouth hanging open slightly. He was speechless for a while, but after a few moments, he seemed to regain his ability to speak. 'H-how the hell do you know that?' he demanded. 'My grandfather never told anyone about the curse! He only told me because I was born with white hair! He told me that that must mean we're deeply connected! How could you know about it? Unless...unless...wait a minute! Wait a damn a minute! What's that on your cheek?'

Battousai touched his scar. 'Oh, you mean this?' he asked. 'Why, it's a scar.'

Enishi's face was a mask of anger and hatred. He jumped up to his feet. 'You're him!' he yelled, pointing a shaking finger at him. 'You're Battousai! You're that bastard who killed my aunt! You killed her, didn't you?'

Kaoru gulped. She felt that everything was happening at a very fast pace, and it was all going in the wrong direction. She marveled at Battousai's ability to remain calm, even when Enishi looked ready to commit bloody murder. 'Um...actually...' she started,

'Yes, I did,' Battousai cut her off.

It all happened in an instance; one second Battousai was sitting on the floor, with Enishi towering over him, the next, Enishi had drawn a long sword out of nowhere and was charging at Battousai, who was resolutely refusing to abandon his position on the floor. Before Kaoru could react, Enishi had shoved her aside and was bringing his sword down on Battousai's head.

'NOO!'

-

Konbanwa: Good Afternoon.

Chotto matte: Wait a moment.

-

A/N: Yay! I finished my tenth chapter! That's a relief! Now I can go back to playing my computer game! Hehe. No, seriously, I bought this game two days ago and now I'm totally addicted...I wanted to get done with this chapter so I can play as much as I want, so...anyway, I'll stop babbling now, okie, if you promise to send me reviews! And remember, the more the reviews, the faster I update! Hmm...that sounded cheesy, didn't it? Oh, well.

- S. N. B.