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

Chapter 8

Yugi awoke the next morning to the sound of Grandpa knocking on his door. "Yugi! It's time to get up and go to school!" Grandpa called through the closed door. Yugi mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over. He heard Grandpa move down the hall and knock on Kenshin's door.

"Kenshin! You need to wake up and get ready for school."

"Hai," came the muffled reply.

Yugi slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the bright light coming in through his window. He sat up and reached for the Puzzle on the corner of his desk. His hand hit something, pushing it off the desk. Yugi looked down to see what had fallen off the desk. It was the Glory of the King's Other Hand that he had taken from Kenshin's pants pocket the night before. Everything that had happened last night all came back to Yugi in a rush. He grabbed the Millennium Puzzle, dropping it around his neck, as he hurried down to the kitchen. Grandpa, who was just starting breakfast, looked up as Yugi entered.

"Grandpa, how's Ryou?" Yugi asked.

"He's fine. He actually woke up on the way to the hospital. The doctors examined him and he only had a minor blow to the head. He doesn't really remember what happened, so the doctors believed that he was mugged," Grandpa explained. Yugi was ecstatic.

"He woke up?!" \Ya hear that, Yami?! Ryou woke up! He still has his soul! Do you still think Kenshin attacked him?!\ Yugi asked, confidant of Yami's answer.

\\Yes.\\

\What?!\ Yugi exclaimed, incredulously.

\\Shadow magic was used, Yugi. Kenshin is the only other person in Domino City with a Millennium Item, and therefore, by default, the only other person capable of using shadow magic\\ Yami explained.

\That's all very logical, Yami, but it doesn't make any sense! Ryou still has his soul, so Kenshin obviously didn't banish him to the Shadow Realm. What do you say Kenshin's motives are, then? Why would Kenshin attack Ryou? Why would Kenshin attack anyone, for that matter? He's still injured, as it is!\ Yugi said, thinking back to the bloody bandages he'd seen in the bathroom the night before.

\\He's still the only other person who has a Mill-\\

\In case you forgot, Yami, we don't know where either the Ring or the Eye ended up, after Duelist Kingdom. And we haven't even found the Rod or the Tauk! What makes you think that someone with one of those Items isn't here? Why do you automatically blame Kenshin?!\ Yugi asked, vehemently.

Grandpa saved Yami from having to reply. "Yugi, I realize that you were worried about Ryou, but you can't stare off into space all morning. You need to get go get ready for school, young man," Grandpa said, sternly.

Yugi blinked at Grandpa, then looked at the clock on the wall. "Ah! I'm gonna be late!" With that, he dashed up the stairs to his room, the previous conversation with Yami all but forgotten.

~*~

There was a knock on Kenshin's door. "Kenshin! You need to wake up and get ready for school," came Grandpa's voice.

"Hai," Kenshin acknowledged.

Truth be told, Kenshin had already been up for an hour or so. He was usually an early riser, and was used to getting little sleep. He'd stayed in his room, so as to avoid waking anyone else up on accident. Now, apparently, everyone else was up, so Kenshin decided to take a quick shower and change his bandages again. He was about to open his door, when he heard Yugi rush downstairs. He opened his door, looking after him.

Wonder what that was about? Kenshin thought, as he walked to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, Kenshin emerged with a towel wrapped around himself. He had changed his bandages in the bathroom, but had forgotten his clothes. The wound in his left side had stopped bleeding and was starting to close again. Now, I just have to be careful not to do anything to aggravate it too much--or let anyone else close enough to do that, he thought, dryly, remembering the accident with Joey the previous day. Just then, Yugi came running back up the stairs, almost running over Kenshin on his way back to his room.

//What is with him this morning?!// Battousai asked, annoyed.

/I really don't know,/ Kenshin replied, also a little miffed. He entered his room and donned his school uniform. He put on his trench coat, and carefully hid his katana inside. /Don't know why I'm bringing this. I can't use it, if I want my body to heal,/ Kenshin said, absently.

//Better safe than sorry. Bet you're glad that I suggested to bring it yesterday, huh?// Battousai said, loftily. //You really should listen to my advice more often.//

/Suggested? More like begged. As for your advice, I'll pass. I would rather not kill any more people./

//They deserved it!// Battousai said, defending himself.

/You just need to learn to control your temper. You can't even remember why you wanted to kill half of those people, can you?/

//...//

/That's what I thought. What would you do without me?/ Kenshin said, smiling.

//I guess that's why you're my other half, then, isn't it? But, by the same token, you should listen to me more, as well...//

/Do I really have a choice in the matter?/

//Fine, then. Perhaps I'll just let you deal with people who want to send you to the Shadow Realm alone, from now on,// Battousai said, testily.

Kenshin laughed. /Gomen. By the way, how hard did you hit Ryou last night?/

//Not that hard. Just enough to knock him out for about a half hour or so, enough time for us to get away. I didn't want to hit him too hard because I would've caused more damage to our wounds. We're lucky that only one reopened as it is,// Battousai replied, seriously.

/Hai, and we're going to have to be careful. We can't get into another position like last night--at least until our wounds have healed enough for us to fight semi-decently./ Kenshin's stomach growled. /But for now, I think we should go and get some breakfast./

~*~

At school, Kenshin, Yugi and his friends were sitting together, waiting for the teacher to arrive and start class. Yugi kept glancing at the door, as if waiting for someone to show up.

"Who are ya lookin' for, Yug?" Joey asked, as Yugi looked towards the door for the hundredth time.

"I'm wondering if Ryou is gonna show up."

"Why wouldn't he show up?" Tea asked.

"Well, while I was walking home last night, I found him unconscious in an alley," Yugi explained.

"What?!" they all cried in unison.

Yami was paying close attention to Kenshin's reaction. Fortunately, Kenshin looked as shocked as everyone else, but for a different reason.

/How did Yugi know? Didn't we have to back-track from the alley to get back to the Game Shop?/ Kenshin asked his yami.

//Yes, Bakura led us four or five blocks past it,// Battousai confirmed.

/Then, if Yugi was walking home from the arcade, how did he find Ryou in that alley? How could he have possibly known where to look?/ Kenshin asked.

//The only answer I can come up with is that Yugi knew where to go. He and Bakura probably set it up ahead of time,// Battousai said, instantly suspicious.

/That's absurd. We left early, remember? When could they have possibly set it up?/

//It's possible that Joey did not hit us on accident. Would you normally hit a friend that hard? And that was the main reason we wanted to leave early,// Battousai replied.

/Okay, now you're just getting paranoid,/ Kenshin said. /Feel their auras. Besides, Bakura said that he wanted to steal the Puzzle from Yugi. Why would they be helping each other?/

//Well, how else do you explain it, then?// Battousai demanded, hotly.

/I don't know, but I feel I can trust Yugi./

//Trust will only get you killed. The only person you can really trust is yourself. Did you learn nothing from the Bakumatsu? Why do you think Tomoe is dead?!// Battousai said, referring to Idzuka.

/Because I made the mistake of trusting myself./

Battousai paused. He still wished desperately that he could go back and change what had happened that day. In a way Kenshin was right, but Battousai wasn't about to admit that. It was much easier to become angry and defensive, than to admit one was wrong. //Fine. Do as you please, then. But don't expect me to help you, when that trust is betrayed!// Battousai yelled, before breaking the link.

Kenshin sighed, mentally. He hadn't meant it to sound that harsh. Battousai was now mad at him with good reason, but Kenshin couldn't deal with it right now. It was better to let him cool off before trying to apologize, anyway. Kenshin tuned back into the conversation around him as Joey asked him a question.

"Did you see what happened?"

It took Kenshin a second to realize what they were talking about. "No, Ryou walked with me to the Game Shop, but said that he had to get home and left."

Just then, Ryou walked in. He took a seat near the door, but before they could even walk over to him, the teacher entered and started class. They would have to wait until lunch to talk to Ryou.

~*~

Lunch found everyone gathered at a table in the cafeteria, asking Ryou what happened.

"I'm not sure," Ryou admitted. " I remember walking to the Game Shop with Kenshin. We were about a block away, I think. Then-" he shrugged his shoulders, "I woke up in the ambulance. Mr. Mutou said that Yugi had found me unconscious in an alley. I really have no idea what happened." Ryou looked then at Yugi, as if trying to tell him something. Yugi looked confused, but nodded slightly.

Kenshin listened to Ryou, his face expressionless. He could tell that Ryou was lying. It was obvious to those who knew what to look for. Ryou refused to make eye contact and he was fidgeting and shifting in his seat. His aura also showed that he was hiding something. Kenshin didn't miss the glance, nor the nod between Yugi and Ryou. Ryou would undoubtedly tell Yugi the whole story, later. Was Kenshin really so wrong in listening to his instincts and trusting Yugi?