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

Chapter 9

After school, Kenshin walked home by himself. Joey and Tristan had detention again (who would've thought that Mr. Tsunioko wore a toupee?) and Tea had dance class. Yugi was planning on walking Kenshin home and then going to meet Ryou, but Kenshin, needing time to think, had declined, insisting that he knew his way home. Yugi finally relented (Kenshin would have to walk home by himself sometime) and left with Ryou. Kenshin decided to take a round-a-bout way home, to familiarize himself with the city. While he was walking, he noticed a dojo.

//You know, we haven't practiced in awhile,// Battousai said, trying to keep the eagerness out of his voice.

Kenshin stopped walking, and looked at the dojo. /While my injuries need time to heal, I still need to keep my skills sharp. Let's at least have a look around,/ Kenshin agreed, walking up to the door and knocking on it. A short blonde woman with small glasses in front of gray eyes answered the door. "May I help you?" she inquired.

"I'm new in town and I noticed your dojo while passing by. I was wondering if you'd be kind enough to let me practice in your dojo for a little bit," Kenshin explained.

The woman looked at a clipboard that she was carrying. "Normally, we don't let anyone use the dojo who is not a member, but since there are no groups in there now, I don't see why not. Follow me," she said, as she turned and walked into the courtyard. Kenshin followed her in, shutting the door behind him.

Meanwhile, Yugi and Ryou had gone to the park. There weren't that many people there and they could talk freely. They sat at a picnic table across from each other. They were both silent for a few minutes, until Yugi spoke up.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Yugi asked, a bit apprehensively. Yami was listening intently as well.

"Well, like I told you guys earlier, I don't remember what happened. But I don't think that it was a mere mugging incident because I found this when I changed my clothes last night," Ryou said. He reached beneath his sweater and pulled out a ring that had several spikes hanging off of it. Inside of the ring, was a triangle with an Egyptian eye in the middle of it. It was made entirely of gold.

"The Millennium Ring! But, where did you get it? I thought you didn't want it!" Yugi exclaimed, confused. Yami was also confused. Didn't Tristan say that he had thrown it away? And why would Ryou even go looking for it? Yami wondered.

"I'm not sure myself. But, I don't think that I can get rid of it. I've already tried." As if to prove it to them, Ryou took off the ring and threw it as hard and as far as he could. They couldn't see where it landed. After a moment, Ryou reached under his sweater again, and pulled out the Millennium Ring. "I just can't get rid of it. No matter what I do, it always comes back, like someone is refusing to let it leave me," Ryou replied, sullenly.

Yugi pondered this new turn of events, and then he had a thought. /Yami, could Bakura be returning the Ring to Ryou?/ Yugi asked.

//I suppose so// Yami said, slowly.

/But, if that's true, could you do the same thing with the Puzzle? If I threw the Puzzle away, could you return it to me?/

//I think it depends on whether or not I was willing to leave you. If right now, for example, you threw the Puzzle with my consent, I don't think that I could bring it back to you. But, if the Puzzle was taken from you or you gave it away without my consent, I think that I could return the Puzzle to it's most recent owner, which would be you. However, if you give the Puzzle to someone else with my consent and then they steal it, I don't think that I would be able to return to you,// Yami explained.

Ryou waited for Yugi to finish his conversation. "What does Yami think?" he asked.

"Yami says that it's probably because Bakura doesn't want to leave you, and that's why you can't get rid of the Ring. He keeps bringing it back," Yugi said, summarizing Yami's explanation.

Ryou sighed. "I thought it would be something like that. But the question remains: What did he do? Kenshin got home all right, so I don't think Bakura did anything to him, but what happened? What was he trying to do and who or what stopped him? I don't know of anyone who could sneak up on the tomb raider, but the only injury I have is a bump on the back of my head. There wasn't a fight, no shadow powers because it's obvious that I lost, and Yami is the only other one who can use them--"

Yugi interrupted Ryou. "Actually, Kenshin has the Millennium Mask. I'm surprised you didn't notice it, but it's obvious that Bakura did. Also, shadow powers were used. That's how I found you. Yami sensed the magic and we came to investigate," Yugi explained.

Ryou looked a little surprised. "Kenshin has shadow powers as well?"

"Actually, we're not sure. He hasn't said anything about Millennium Items at all, and he hasn't done anything to arouse suspicion. I'm not sure if he realizes what he has. I think he has a yami, 'cause I walked in on him in the hospital and he was all zoned out, but that could have been just the medication, so I really don't know. I think that we can trust him, but Yami is of the opposite opinion. Yami is adamant that it was Kenshin who attacked you," Yugi explained, sullenly.

"Well, it was after I'd passed the Game Shop. Is there any other proof that it was Kenshin?" Ryou asked. He liked Kenshin, and would rather have another friend than a potentially dangerous enemy.

Yugi pulled out Ryou's Glory of the King's Opposite Hand card. "He had this when he came back last night. I found it in his jeans pocket. He doesn't even have a duel deck, so I don't think it's his. Do you still have yours?" Yugi asked, hoping that the card was Ryou's.

Ryou pulled out his deck, and flipped through it. He didn't play with the card in his desk, but he did keep all his cards together. "Actually, I think that card may be mine, but why don't you keep it. I don't want to give Bakura something to help steal souls with," Ryou said, handing the card back to Yugi. Yugi put it back in his pocket.

"Okay, so Kenshin was with Bakura. Bakura tried to use this card on Kenshin, but that failed and Kenshin took the card, knocking Bakura out. How? Bakura, even without his shadow powers, is gonna be tough to beat. His skills as a tomb raider aren't just stealth. He's a pretty good fighter, too. And besides that, Kenshin is injured! I think Joey might have reopened the wound in his side when he punched him," Yugi said. It just didn't make sense.

By now, it was late afternoon. Deciding that they wouldn't be able to figure anything else out at this point, they turned and left the park, each going their separate ways.

Kenshin followed the woman across the courtyard and into the main dojo.

"You may practice in here. The bokkens are on the wall--" she pointed, "and just make sure everything is put back when you leave." With that, she turned and left Kenshin alone in the room. Deciding that it would be better to practice with a bokken (there would be awkward questions if someone walked in on him practicing with a real katana) he placed his trench coat and katana on the floor by one of the walls, carefully concealing his katana underneath the coat. He then walked over to the bokkens and picked one to practice with.

/These are light... But it doesn't matter. I'm just testing my flexibility, anyway./

Kenshin got into his beginning stance. He closed his eyes, relaxing himself, and slowed his breathing. He pushed everything to the back of his mind as he focused on the bokken in his hand. He opened his eyes and began his practice. Normally, he would use his speed and strength while executing these moves, but today they were slow. He wanted to see how his wounds reacted when he used his attacks. Although the moves were slow, they did not lack any of the power he normally put into them. They were slow and controlled, allowing him to better estimate what using these moves in a battle would do to his wounds. His body flowed smoothly, going flawlessly from one attack into the next. He moved gracefully with each attack, focusing only on his bokken and his wounds' responses. It wasn't until after he had finished that he realized that someone else had entered the room. He cursed himself for his lack of awareness--such a mistake would have cost him his life a few weeks ago. A man, half a head taller than Kenshin, was standing in the doorway, just staring at Kenshin. The man had a well-toned body and a strong presence of ki, obviously a good fighter, and probably the master of this dojo. He wore loose clothes, to allow for freedom of movement, and he carried himself as a swordsman. He bowed to Kenshin in apology.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to interrupt you when I came in. You've obviously had a lot of training. Your form was perfect, the moves flowed, it was poetry in motion," the man said, straightening up. He walked forward and introduced himself. "My name is Fujita, Kiyni Fujita. I'm the master of this dojo," He said, bowing again.

That's what I thought. Aloud he said, "Kenshin Himura." He returned the bow.

"You've got a lot of talent. What style is that? I've never seen anything like it before," Fujita asked, intrigued.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu," Kenshin replied.

"Well, if you ever need a place to practice, feel free to use my dojo. Normally, you'd have to be a member, but I've never seen any style as impressive as yours, and that's saying something, so I'll let you use it for free, as thanks."

Kenshin was a bit surprised at this unexpected turn of events. "Arigatou." //Impressive? He hasn't even seen the speed at which they are executed!// Battousai laughed. Kenshin glanced out the window. The sun had dropped in the sky while he had been practicing, and Grandpa would start to worry, if he didn't get back. "It's getting late. I must be leaving now." Kenshin said, bowing. "I thank you for the use of your dojo." With that, he turned to leave.

"Hey, wait a minute! There's a kendo tournament this Saturday. They hold one every year, and it's open to anyone who wants to test their swordsmanship. The first place winner gets 50,000 yen and the runner up gets 25,000 yen. Are you interested?"

Kenshin turned back around. "A tournament? It sounds interesting. Where can I find out more about this?" he inquired.

Fujita pointed to a table that Kenshin hadn't noticed before, just to the left of the doors leading to the courtyard. "There are flyers on the table. You can take one your way out. Well, I'll see ya around, Kenshin." Having said that, Fujita disappeared back into the dojo. Kenshin, not exactly sure as to what a flyer was, walked over to the table. There was a stack of blue papers that seemed to be advertising the tournament. Kenshin took one. /These must be what he was talking about. Flyers... I don't know where they came up with all these strange words,/ Kenshin said, shaking his head.

//Who knows. But what does it say about the tournament?// Battousai sounded like a child on Christmas morning.

/This tournament is for anyone who wants to participate, regardless of age. They even have a junior division for kids. It's on this Saturday. It starts at 9:00, and it's probably an all day event. Last year's champion, one Seto Kaiba, will be defending his title. Oh, you won't like this, there are no real swords allowed, only bokkens and shinai.../ Kenshin said, skimming the paper.

//I'll beat him using a bokken, then,// Battousai said, smirking.

/You're assuming that we are going,/ Kenshin put in.

//Oh, come on, Kenshin, you know you want to fight as badly as I do. Don't worry, I won't kill anyone--they'd probably disqualify us anyway. I need a challenge!// Battousai was practically begging.

/I doubt there would be anyone challenging for us to fight there, but I'm not the person you have to worry about. It's Grandpa. We just got out of the hospital two weeks ago. Do you honestly believe that he's going to let us participate?/

//So don't tell him. Problem solved.//

/I'm not going to lie to him./

//I didn't say lie. Tell him you're going to go watch the kendo tournament, which is true. You'll just be fighting in some of the matches you watch.//

/We'll see,/ Kenshin said, folding up the paper. He retrieved his sword and coat from where he had left them by the wall, placing the flyer inside his coat pocket and started walking home.