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

Chapter 14

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for, the final duel of this year's Kendo Tournament!" The crowd's roar was deafening as they showed their enthusiasm. The announcer waited for them to quiet down some before continuing. "Let me introduce the finalists. First up, we have last year's well-known champion, Seto Kaiba!" Again, the audience screamed in support, more than a few girls screaming out their love to him, and had to be restrained by security to keep from running out onto the floor. The announcer continued.

"And facing Kaiba is the newcomer to the tournament, Kenshin Himura!" The crowd roared, and several more groups of girls shouted marriage proposals. A faint blush rose in Kenshin's cheeks as those girls also had to be restrained. Unfortunately, two of the opposing groups happened to be sitting next to each other and got in a fight over which finalist was better. They all ended up having to be escorted outside. The announcer shook his head and continued.

"Now that the sea of raging hormones has ebbed, let the match begin!" The crowd roared again, louder than the previous times if that was at all possible. Kenshin and Kaiba both stepped up onto the mat. Kenshin bowed to Kaiba.

"You know, it's still not too late to back out," Kaiba said, almost pleading. He really didn't want to hurt Kenshin. It reminded him too much of the bullies who used to pick on Mokuba when he was younger. This was why he kept trying to persuade Kenshin to forfeit the match.

Kenshin looked at him, his face expressionless. "I've been waiting to fight you for awhile. Please don't make me wait any longer," he said quietly.

Kaiba fumed. He hated being ignored. Here he was trying to help him and Kenshin just throws it back in his face! "Fine! But I warn you, I won't hold back!" Kaiba said, his anger rising.

This time, Kenshin smiled. He could feel Kaiba's angry ki and it was addicting. He felt his adrenaline surge in response to the anticipated attack. "I would be disappointed if you did," Kenshin said, his voice betraying nothing of the elation he felt inside. He felt Kaiba's anger increase. Why is he so angry? Kenshin wondered, briefly, before Kaiba rushed at him.

Yugi and Ryou sat on the edge of their seats, eyes wide, not wanting to miss anything that transpired on the mat before them. Kenshin and Kaiba seemed to be talking. Kenshin was pretty emotionless, aside from the smile on his face, but Kaiba looked like he was ready to kill someone.

"I wonder what they're talking about?" Yugi wondered, aloud.

"You got me. Oh, look! They're starting!" Ryou said, excitedly, pointing.

Kaiba rushed forward, hoping to catch Kenshin off guard. Kenshin dodged to the left, analyzing Kaiba's speed and deciding how much to use of his own. Kaiba was pretty strong, so Kenshin didn't need to limit his strength, but his speed was another matter. After all, in order for this fight to be interesting, Kaiba actually had to be able to see him.

Kaiba's back was exposed as his lunge carried him past Kenshin, but Kenshin had seen Kaiba block a blow to the back in his last fight. Instead, Kenshin thrust his bokken in Kaiba's direction. As Kenshin predicted, Kaiba turned to block a back attack, realizing his mistake too late. He took Kenshin's thrust full in the stomach, stumbling backward, but remaining standing. Kenshin's respect for the champion increased and he smiled.

/This duel will be as interesting as I thought,/ he said, excitedly.

//Gotta admit, the kid can take a hit,// Battousai said, grudgingly. He'd rather point out opponent's weak points than their strengths.

Kenshin waited while Kaiba recovered. It wouldn't do at all to end the match so soon. He knew that Kaiba would not extend the same courtesy to him nor did he expect it. Kaiba straightened up and glared at Kenshin. "Why didn't you attack me while I was vulnerable?" Kaiba demanded. He prided himself on being able to figure out his opponents, but everything Kenshin did and said confused him and he didn't like being confused.

"Because it's much too early for our duel to end," Kenshin said, simply. He felt Kaiba's anger rise again, coming close to turning into rage.

/What am I saying to make him mad? I don't want to fight him when he's too blinded by anger to keep from making mistakes,/ Kenshin complained.

//I don't know, but you do have a tendency of being really annoying,// Battousai said, helpfully.

/Thanks a lot,/ Kenshin replied, dryly. He felt Kaiba's anger rise a little higher. /Now what did I do?/

Kaiba was becoming furious. Now, not only was Kenshin mocking him by halting his attack, but he was completely ignoring him, too! He zoned out in his own little world. Fine, I'll just attack him then. I'm tired of trying to help him by warning him! Kaiba thought as he rushed at Kenshin again. This time he didn't rush past him, but stopped right in front of the redhead, turning his expected slash into a thrust. Kenshin saw this, and deflected it, moving to the right a little bit. Kaiba thrust his sword at Kenshin two more times and he deflected each, moving a little to the right each time. Kaiba slashed at him, but Kenshin blocked, their bokkens locked together. Suddenly Kaiba fell back and tried slashing at Kenshin's back as he over-balanced slightly. However, Kenshin spun and blocked Kaiba's attack again, their bokkens locked together once more. Kaiba pushed Kenshin back and jumped away, putting a little space between them. Kenshin slid back on the mat, never losing his balance and falling into his fighting stance. They stared at each other, waiting to see who would make the first move.

In the bleachers, Yugi and Ryou were spell-bound by the fight taking place before them. It was so intense that even the audience remained silent, the sounds of bokkens connecting echoing throughout the stadium. The two rushed at each other, their bokkens meeting and locking together yet again. It was at this particular point in time that Bakura decided he was tired of watching from inside the Ring, and took control of Ryou's body. Yugi, sensing the change informed Yami, who then took control of Yugi's body.

"What are you doing out here, Tomb Raider?" Yami asked, suspiciously.

Bakura glared at him. "Watching the fight, same as you," he sneered.

"And why can't you do that from inside the Ring?"

Bakura shrugged. "There's a better view out here."

Unfortunately, the two yamis picked a bad time to come out. Kenshin felt the drastic shifts in the ki of first Ryou and then Yugi. He knew that this signaled that their yamis had come out and that could be very bad for him if they double-teamed him. He held his bokken against Kaiba's, but slid his eyes towards the yamis sitting in the bleachers. Kaiba, seeing Kenshin's distraction, pulled back suddenly and swung his bokken as hard as he could towards Kenshin's unprotected left side.

Kenshin fell forward as Kaiba unexpectedly moved back, but quickly recovered himself. Unfortunately for Kenshin, he wasn't quick enough. He felt excruciating pain as Kaiba's bokken connected with the wound in his side. Oh, yeah, it was open again. Kenshin fell to his knees, eyes wide and gasping in pain. There was a general groan of sympathy from the audience. Kenshin's left hand was clutching his side. His bangs had fallen forward, hiding his eyes. It didn't matter, his vision was flickering and threatening to black out completely anyway. He sensed Kaiba coming toward him, and focused all of his energies on sensing Kaiba's attacks in order to counter them. He was right. Kaiba wasn't going to extend to him the courtesy of waiting for him to recover. Kaiba swung downwards, expecting to catch Kenshin unawares, as he was not watching what was going on. He was considerably surprised, therefore, when Kenshin raised his bokken and blocked, still not looking up. Kaiba increased the pressure, forcing Kenshin to grasp the bokken with both hands. Kaiba had the advantage as long as he was above Kenshin, so the redhead fell backwards on his back. The move caused Kaiba to over-balance and fall onto Kenshin, who was prepared. He pushed Kaiba with his feet, flipping Kaiba over Kenshin. They both got to their feet quickly, neither giving the slightest advantage to the other. Kenshin's hair was still covering his eyes. His cheeks looked a little pale, and he was shaking very slightly. Kaiba did not notice this, content with the fact that he had landed a hit on the figure before him. To tell the truth, Kenshin had impressed him, but he, like Battousai, would rather insult than praise during the battle.

"So, it appears that you can take a hit after all. Although, it did take you a while to recover from that one little blow," Kaiba said loftily. Had he been paying attention, he would have realized what Kenshin's reaction to his attack had meant--Kenshin had a wound from something else and Kaiba had found it. However, Kaiba was blinded by his emotions. He had been very angry with Kenshin at the beginning of the battle, and the fact that he could not land one single blow on his opponent had only served to increase that anger. Now, he was enjoying the small victory gained by wounding his opponent.

Kenshin looked up, making eye contact with Kaiba. The latter froze, a chill racing down his spine. Kenshin's warm violet eyes had become a smoldering amber. Kaiba saw nothing but a promise of his very slow and painful death in that amber glare. Kaiba regained his composure quickly, but he could not bring himself to meet those piercing eyes.

"You will regret that," a low, cold voice said softly.

It took Kaiba a minute to realize that it had been Kenshin who spoke. "And who's gonna make me? You?" Kaiba replied, scornfully.

Battousai was pleased to note that there was not-quite-concealed fear in his voice. "Yes," he said, the word seeming to echo, although it was spoken barely above a whisper.

Battousai stuck his sword into the mat at his feet. He channeled his ki through the bokken and into the mat, forming it into a wave and aiming it toward Kaiba.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Do-ryu-sen!" Battousai cried, pulling his bokken from the floor and directing the ki toward his opponent. As his ki traveled, it tore up the mat, throwing the pieces towards Kaiba. The pieces of stuffing and whatnot the mat was made of was not nearly as effective as the rocks when the attack was performed outside. The wave of ki knocked Kaiba off his feet, but it was not enough to finish him nor did he land off of the mat.

The audience was speechless, and even Kaiba was more than a little stunned. Kaiba stood up, trying to regain his composure, but failing miserably.

Battousai shook his head. //Looks like I get to use my favorite attack to finish him. I'm sorry Kenshin, but this is gonna hurt,// Battousai warned. He looked at Kaiba. "And now, I'll finish this. Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu..."

Kaiba blinked as Kenshin suddenly vanished. He looked around frantically, trying to locate him.

"Ryu-tsui-sen!"

Kaiba looked up just as he felt Kenshin's bokken connect with his shoulder. He heard an audible crack and felt his collar bone break, before darkness claimed him.

Battousai stood over him, visibly shaking with the pain that wracked his body. He was much paler now, making his red hair stand out. He clutched the shattered hilt of his bokken tightly in his hand--it had broken with the force of his Ryu-tsui-sen. The wound in his side protested violently with each beat of his heart, and he could practically feel the blood flowing out of it. The announcer, after staring for a few minutes, came over and checked Kaiba for a pulse. Finding one, he grabbed Kenshin's left hand and raised it high in the air triumphantly. "The Champion of this year's Kendo Tournament! Kenshin Himura!" he yelled into the microphone. Kenshin's vision swam once again as the excited announcer thrust his arm in the air. It was by sheer will power that he remained standing, and forced himself not to clutch his wound. After all, there were still two possible enemies present. He would not allow them to see any weakness from him.