Disclaimer: I have not, do not, and will not ever own either "Yu-Gi-Oh!" or "Rurouni Kenshin."

Chapter 5

Monday and Tuesday passed rather uneventfully. Kenshin had somehow gotten hold of one particular person's work schedule for the week, and was able to avoid another unfortunate encounter with the strict nurse. Ms. Horishi had told Kenshin that she would be back to check in on him Wednesday afternoon.

Kenshin looked at the clock on the wall. It read 4:27. Yugi sat next to Kenshin's bed, looking at the door. "What time did she say she'd get here?" Yugi asked.

Kenshin sighed. "As I told you two minutes ago, she said she'd be by sometime this afternoon."

\\You need to be patient, aibou,\\ Yami chided, gently.

Yugi ignored him. "Well, I wish she'd hurry up. Grandpa didn't want the shop to be closed for the rest of the afternoon, but at this rate... Where did Grandpa go, anyway?" Yugi asked.

"I think he went to get something from the cafeteria," Kenshin replied. Mr. Mutou had accompanied Yugi to the hospital to meet Kenshin, and to talk to Kenshin's social worker. As if talking about the man had summoned him, Mr. Mutou walked into Kenshin's room, carrying three bags of chips.

"The cafeteria didn't have anything good, so I opted for the lobby vending machine, instead," he explained, handing both Yugi and Kenshin a bag of chips. Yugi took his eagerly, ripping the bag open and devouring its contents. Kenshin took his a little more hesitantly and, after watching Yugi, opened the bag and peered inside.

//I doubt it's poisonous,// Battousai said, chuckling at his hikari's wariness of the food.

Kenshin jumped almost imperceptibly at Battousai's unexpected comment. Yami, who was watching through Yugi's eyes, noticed Kenshin jump, but didn't say anything.

/It's not that, it's just none of the food I've received here has been very good, and I'm not eager to try more,/ Kenshin said dryly.

//Well, whether it's an acquired taste or not, you're going to draw unwanted attention to yourself by opening a bag and starting a staring contest with it.//

Kenshin looked up and both Yugi and his grandpa were looking at him. "Do you not like potato chips, Kenshin?" Mr. Mutou inquired.

"No, it's not that. I was just...thinking." Kenshin winced inwardly at how lame his excuse sounded. Yami had his suspicions, but Yugi trusted Kenshin so Yami didn't say anything.

However, Mr. Mutou, thinking Kenshin was nervous about whether or not Ms. Horishi would let him live at the Mutou's residence, smiled encouragingly at Kenshin. "Don't worry. I'm sure it'll all work out."

Kenshin blinked. Then he smiled back at Mr. Mutou. /Did I just miss something?/ he asked his yami.

//Not unless we both did,// came Battousai's equally confused reply. //At any rate, now that you said you like them, you have to eat these potato chips, unless you wish him to be suspicious of you.//

/.../

Kenshin reached into the bag, pulling out a chip, and popped it into his mouth. Salty, crunchy, basically tasteless. He rubbed his fingers together. Greasy. Nope, he definitely did not care for hospital food.

Fortunately, Kenshin was spared from forcing himself to finish the package by the arrival of Ms. Horishi.

"Oh, Kenshin, I didn't realize you had visitors. I'll come back later," she said, turning to go.

Yugi jumped up, practically latching himself on her arm to keep her from escaping. "No, wait! Don't go! We need to talk to you!"

Kenshin and Ms. Horishi just stared at Yugi.

"You'll have to forgive my grandson. He can be a little excitable at times," Mr. Mutou said, chuckling. Yugi, realizing what he had just done, let go of Ms. Horishi's arm, blushing in embarrassment as Yami laughed in his mind.

//No kidding. And you want to move in with him because...?// Battousai asked, sarcastically.

"Did you find out anything new, Miss Horishi?" Kenshin asked, ignoring Battousai, and trying to steer the conversation in the right direction.

Ms. Horishi shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid not, Kenshin. It looks as though you'll be put in a foster home this Saturday."

"Actually, that's why we're here," Mr. Mutou said.

Ms. Horishi looked at him. "And you would be...?"

"Oh, forgive me. You haven't yet been introduced. Miss Horishi, this is Mr. Mutou, Yugi's grandfather," Kenshin explained.

"Pleasure to meet you." Ms. Horishi extended her hand.

Mr. Mutou shook it. "Likewise. The reason I'm here is that I was wondering if it would be possible for Kenshin to come and live with my grandson and I."

Ms. Horishi crossed her arms, putting one finger on her chin while she thought about it. "Well, I don't see why not. I will, of course, have to run it by my superior. And there's a lot of paperwork to fill out..."

"Of course. When would you like me to come by?" Mr. Mutou asked.

"Are you busy right now? It'll probably take several hours." Ms. Horishi replied.

"Right now would be fine. Yugi, are you fine riding the bus home, or would you rather I drop you off along the way?" Mr. Mutou asked, turning to his grandson.

Yugi, however, was too busy telling Kenshin about how cool it was going to be living together to hear his grandfather's question. Fortunately, Kenshin was following the adults' conversation and, since he already had Yugi's attention, posed the question himself.

"Yugi, your grandfather wants to know if you want to stay and take the bus home or if you want him to drop you off," Kenshin quickly asked as Yugi paused for breath.

"Uh? Oh, yeah, I can take the bus home, Grandpa. So anyway, Kenshin..."

Mr. Mutou smiled at his grandson as he turned and followed Ms. Horishi out of the hospital.

~*~

Three days later, Kenshin was released from the hospital. Doctor Kagarashi strode into Kenshin's room, carrying a bundle of clothes. "Here are your clothes. They've been cleaned for you. You are finally free to get out of here. From what the nurses tell me, you can't seem to get out of here soon enough. Is our hospital really that bad?" the doctor asked.

"Uh...," Kenshin stammered as he tried to find an explanation. As an assassin, he never stayed in one place for too long for fear of the enemy finding him. His instincts were telling him he had to move and, although he knew they were no longer in a war, it would take some time before that concept completely sank in.

The doctor, however, couldn't read Kenshin's mind and assumed that he, like all patients, just couldn't wait to go home. "Don't worry about it, Kenshin. None of my patients ever want to be here, and all are eager to leave when they are released. Considering how well you followed my orders, I'm a little surprised that you didn't just walk out of here by yourself..." Dr. Kagarashi said, referring to Kenshin's walks around the hospital when he was supposed to be on strict bed rest.

Kenshin scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "Gomen..."

The doctor waved away his apology. "I don't mind, you didn't re-open any of your wounds. Although, I'm sure at least one nurse won't be sorry to see you go..."

"Hai," Kenshin said, smiling.

"Well, I'll let you get dressed," the doctor said, exiting the room. Kenshin quickly changed into his uniform. It felt good to be back in his old clothes, but he doubted that he would be able to wear them much longer. His clothes were too different from the clothes in this era, and he would draw too much attention to himself. Besides that, the clothes hadn't been mended, allowing you to see the bandages on the wounds from Hiko's last attack.

/I guess the clothes will have to go,/ Kenshin said, a bit sadly. They were almost all he had from his own time.

//Yeah. It feels weird wearing this without my swords, anyway,// Battousai said.

/Speaking of which, we still need to ask Yugi about that./

//Yeah, that'll go over well. Yugi, I know I just moved in and you really don't know me, but can I have my swords back? I know you took them. Don't worry, I don't want to kill you or anything, I just want them back because I feel naked without them and I need them to kill my enemies. Why are you backing away from me...?// Battousai said, mimicking Kenshin's slightly higher voice.

/I didn't say you would be the one asking Yugi. It needs to be handled more delicately than that. You'd end up getting us arrested. I'll ask him. You needn't be so sarcastic...,/ Kenshin said, muttering the last part to himself. Battousai smirked mentally.

Further conversation was interrupted by a very excited Yugi bursting through the door. "Kenshin! Are you ready to-- Whoa! I had forgotten. We need to get you some new clothes! We'll stop by the store on our way home. Are you ready?" Yugi asked, excitedly.

Kenshin just smiled. "Yes, Yugi, I'm ready to go."

//So when are you going to ask him about the swords? Now, or after you've gotten a new wardrobe?// Battousai asked, innocently.

/Shut up./ Kenshin followed Yugi to the elevator, Battousai's laughter echoing in his mind.