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

Chapter 15

Battousai stood next to the announcer in the middle of the stadium floor. He was looking at Yami and Bakura with distrusting eyes, clearly stating that they had better keep their distance if they knew what was good for them. He was doing his best to look imposing, with no sign of weakness. But, try as he might, he could not conceal all of the pain lancing through his side behind his usual expressionless mask. So much of it was showing through, that even the announcer noticed. He took pity on the boy and escorted him back to the locker rooms to change, getting the address of where to send the prize money on the way. A small, black-haired boy ran past them, accompanied by two paramedics carrying a stretcher, all running over to where Kaiba lay. Battousai ignored them for the most part, doubling his concentration on masking his current weakened state. He could feel the yamis watching his every move, and hoped that they would not attack.

When he reached the locker room, Battousai took off the borrowed clothes, and slipped into his jeans. He noticed that the bandage on his left side was soaked with his blood, but he hadn't thought to bring along any extras. He checked the wound on his right leg and decided that the wound could do without a bandage for now. He removed the bandage on his side, replacing it with the clean bandage from his leg. It was about this time that the small, black-haired boy that ran past him earlier entered the locker room. He glared at Battousai.

"How could you do that? How could you do something like that to my brother?! You almost killed him!" the child cried, almost in tears.

//Oh, so that's Kaiba's brother,// Battousai said, darkly. He was not in the mood to deal with anyone right now, especially irate family members.

"He got what he deserved," Battousai said, coldly, making eye contact with Mokuba. Mokuba's retort got stuck in his throat, and he just stared. Kenshin's eyes were so--intense! Mokuba felt a chill run down his spine.

Battousai, sensing Mokuba's slowly growing fear, looked away. There was no need for this child to fear him. Mokuba took a few minutes to recover. Battousai walked over to the trashcan, throwing away the bloody bandages, slightly favoring his left side. He then returned to the bench and put on his shirt, inadvertently allowing Mokuba to see the growing bloodstain on his freshly bandaged side. Silently, Battousai walked past the boy, retrieving his coat and katana (keeping the latter concealed from the child's gaze), and exited the locker room.

The pain in his side was becoming less intense, allowing him to concentrate on avoiding contact with people from the audience (namely, hormonally-imbalanced girls who happened to take more than a passing interest in him). Fortunately, the exit from the locker room was strategically placed to ensure as little resistance as possible from people in the audience. The exit was located on the other side from the entrance, leading the masses to believe that the entrance was where the occupants of the locker room would emerge after the event. So, naturally, the vast majority of Kenshin's supporters in the audience were waiting there. Smiling to himself at the ingenuity of the layout, Battousai exited the building.

Not many of the people had ventured outside yet, so Battousai started walking toward the more isolated parts of the park. He still felt threatened, so he wanted to get away from people for two reasons. One, it would minimize the number of innocent people caught in the crossfire and; two, he might be able to escape from the yamis without them realizing he was gone. He still wasn't sure where he was going to go after that if Yugi's yami did prove to have less-than-honorable intentions, but he would fight that battle when he came to it.

Battousai stopped as he entered a currently deserted clearing in the park, feeling the two yamis following him also stop. //So much for them not realizing I left,// he said, darkly.

~*~

After the announcer led Kenshin to the locker room, Yami decided to wait for him outside. It was too crowded and noisy in the building. Yami walked outside and sat in the shade of a tree located in a prime position. From his viewpoint, Yami had a clear view of all of the exits. He watched the first one, waiting for Kenshin to appear, but was surprised when a flash of red caught his eye. Kenshin was taking one of the exits on the side of the building. He walked away from the building at a fast pace, traveling deeper into the park.

\\Where do you suppose he is going?\\ Yami asked, a little miffed, as he stood up and followed the red-head at a safe distance.

\I really have no idea. Kaiba really seemed to have hurt him when he hit Kenshin's left side. Why wouldn't he want to go home?\ Yugi wondered, equally confused at the red-head's actions.

\\He's obviously an experienced fighter--remember when you woke him up?--and, as a fighter, when you're injured you return to a safe place until you can protect yourself again. I would think that Kenshin's safe place would be home, at the shop. So why would he go deeper into the park? Unless...,\\ Yami trailed off, his eyes widening slightly. \\No, he couldn't...\\

Yugi was completely baffled now. \Yami...?\ Yugi prompted.

Yami shook his head. \\I think that Kenshin can tell when I am in control of your body,\\ Yami explained.

\What?! But how's that possible? He's never even seen you! And I had to explain it to all of my close friends, who've known me way longer than Kenshin, before they even noticed there was a difference! How could Kenshin tell? What makes you think that he even knows?\ Yugi was having a hard time seeing the logic behind Yami's conclusion.

\\Well, the only thing that would keep Kenshin from returning home, would be if home wasn't a safe place anymore. The only difference between now and when we entered the park is that now I am in control of your body. I'm not sure how he can tell, but he was also glaring at Bakura and I after he won the last fight. We had both taken control just before the fight had finished, remember? That and now he's avoiding everyone, including you. It seems to be the only logical explanation, to me,\\ Yami explained. Yugi was silent, pondering this new information.

Suddenly, Kenshin stopped. Surprised, Yami stopped as well. Kenshin was standing in the middle of a clearing encircled almost completely by trees. A small stone path cut through the center, and circled to the left ahead of them. Kenshin spoke, his voice low and deadly, holding an unspoken warning.

"Why have you been following me?"

Surprised that Kenshin had known he was there, Yami walked out into the clearing and pretended to be Yugi.

"Well, I was wondering where you're going. You won the tournament, so I thought you'd want to go home, but then I saw you walking in this direction and I followed," Yami said, raising the pitch of his voice a little to sound more like Yugi's.

Kenshin snorted. "Before we continue any further, I believe an introduction would be in order, first and foremost. Although I've been living with Yugi this past week, I have never met you," Battousai said, disdainfully. He hated when people tried to lie to him. Granted, Yami hadn't really been lying, but he was pretending to be Yugi, and that was close enough.

Yami paused before answering. I was right, he can tell the difference. I would be willing to bet that this is not Kenshin, but rather Kenshin's yami that I'm speaking with, Yami thought. Aloud he said, "You are correct, we have never met. Yugi calls me Yami. Am I correct in assuming that I am not addressing Kenshin, but the Legendary Hitokiri Battousai?" Yami asked, almost casually.

Battousai didn't even flinch. "You are."

\Legendary Hitokiri Battousai? Yami, what are you talking about?\ Yugi asked, getting more confused.

\\Remember your history class on Monday, Yugi? You were studying the Bakumatsu,\\ Yami prompted. He always preferred to hint and let Yugi figure it out on his own.

\Oh, that's right! I remember the teacher talking about a legendary manslayer... Are you saying it's Kenshin' s yami? Kenshin has a manslayer for his yami?! And I thought Ryou had it bad...\

While Yugi digested this new information, Yami turned his attention back to Kenshin--er, Battousai. "Why don't you turn around instead of making me talk to your back? It's called common courtesy," Yami said, a little testily. He disliked three things: losing, surprises, and rude people. Battousai had already fulfilled two of the three.

"As you wish." Battousai slowly turned around, and stared at Yami. Yami, for his part, took an involuntary step backwards before resolutely returning Battousai's gaze, unflinching.

\Wow, he has some evil eyes...\ Yugi said, his voice shaking.

\\Do not worry, aibou. I do not know if he means to attack us, but I will not let any harm come to you,\\ Yami reassured his frightened hikari.

Since Yami had started following him, Battousai had not sensed anything other than a desire to help. The other yami was still hiding in the woods, obviously plotting something against Battousai by the feel of his ki. Although, Battousai had originally thought that they had come together. However, throughout their conversation, Yami had done nothing to indicate he knew of Bakura's presence. Battousai concluded that Bakura was working alone, possibly even against Yami, now that he read his ki again. Yes, most of Bakura's anger and hatred was directed not at him, but at the figure standing in front of him. Battousai was now positive that Yami was oblivious to Bakura's impending attack. Battousai had to act quickly.

He darted forward, quickly closing the gap between himself and Yami, as Bakura released his attack. "Ha! Take that, you stupid Pharaoh! Never saw that one coming, didja?!" Bakura practically howled with glee. It was then that he noticed the tri-color haired boy sprawled to the side of where Bakura had shot. Yami was glaring at him, and Bakura knew that he wouldn't get another chance. "What? No! I couldn't have missed, it was the perfect shot! They didn't even know I was here! He couldn't have dodged that! What could have possibly gone wrong?!" Bakura practically screamed in frustration.

"What went wrong? It's very simple. You forgot about me," said the same cold voice Bakura had heard when he tried to take the Millennium Mask.

"Wha...?" Bakura started turning around as, again, something cold and hard hit the back of his head, and he lost consciousness.

Yami was confused. One minute he'd been looking at Battousai (or, rather, his eyes as he couldn't seem to look away) and the next he was on the ground listening to the tomb raider first applauding the success and then lamenting the failure of his plan. He had looked up and seen Bakura standing about twenty yards away. Then, Battousai had appeared next to him, drawn his sword from inside his trench coat and--

"No! You can't kill him!" Yami cried too late, watching as Bakura fell to the ground. Yami ran over to where Ryou's body lay, unmoving on the ground. When he reached the boy, he was surprised to notice that there was no blood. But, hadn't Battousai just attacked him with his katana? Yami looked at Battousai's sword. It was flipped. He had hit Ryou with the back of the blade, where it was dull. Yami looked at him, questioningly.

"Why? You're one of the most feared manslayers that ever lived. You've ended countless men's lives without a second thought. Why did you spare Ryou?" Yami asked, meeting Battousai's eyes.

Battousai's gaze didn't flicker, although his breathing had changed. Where it had been deep and even before, it was now shallow and ragged. Yami didn't seem to notice. "Just being a hitokiri doesn't mean I enjoy killing. I don't kill every single person who annoys me," Battousai said, simply.

/You would if you had your way,/ Kenshin reminded him.

//Yes, but you won't allow that, so what I said is true. He doesn't need to know the specifics,// Battousai said, irritated. He didn't feel like arguing just now. First pushing Yami out of the way and then dispatching Bakura had aggravated his wounds even worse. His side was again bleeding freely, and he could already see a patch of blood spread on his right leg. He had removed the bandage on his leg, and the material of his jeans rubbing against his wound had caused it to re-open. To say that he was in a lot of pain would be an understatement.

"So, I assume that you pushed me out of the way of his attack? I am indebted to you for your assistance," Yami said seriously, looking up at him. He would have been in a world of hurt if Bakura's attack had reached him. Battousai just nodded, as if speaking took too much effort. Suddenly, Yami looked at Battousai closely.

Battousai had gotten a lot paler than he had been before, his red hair standing out vividly against his skin. His forehead was soaked in sweat, making his hair cling to it, and he was shaking almost violently. His breathing was shallow and shaky, as if breathing were a painful thing to do. As Yami's eyes traveled down Kenshin's body, they widened at the spreading bloodstains on both his left side and his right leg.

"You're bleeding!"

Battousai resisted the urge to roll his eyes. //No, duh,// he said, gritting his teeth.

/Don't be so hard on him. He can't smell the blood, like we can. He didn't know,/ Kenshin said, defending Yami.

//But he sure likes to point out the obvious.// Aloud he said, "Yes, Yami, I am bleeding. Now if you will excuse me...," Battousai said as he started walking away. Try as he might, he couldn't keep from flinching with each step he took, each impact of his foot touching the ground jarring his wounds, to say nothing of the fact that the simple act of walking required the use of those injured muscles. He had taken only two steps before Yami stopped him. He glanced up, annoyed.

Yami ignored the glare, looking at him sternly. "You're hurt. Let me help you," he said, trying to put Battousai's arm over his shoulder.

Battousai snatched his arm away. "I'm fine. I can walk home on my own," he said, growling. He had determined that Yami wasn't an enemy currently, but that did by no means imply that Battousai trusted him.

Yami sighed. Battousai was a proud warrior. He probably wouldn't even admit to being wounded if the blood wasn't seeping through his clothes. Suddenly, Yugi had an idea. Yami chuckled as he listened. Battousai looked at him. "What's so funny," he growled. He did not like people laughing at him.

"Oh, Yugi just has a message for Kenshin. It's obvious that you'd never accept any help, so Yugi said that if Kenshin didn't take over and let us help you two home, Yugi's gonna tell Grandpa that you participated in the tournament. You know how mad he'll be about that; first, because of your wounds and, second, because he would've liked to watch you. And, if he finds out about your wounds being re-opened he will take you back to the hospital, meaning more bed rest under your favorite nurse's ever-watchful eye. It's your choice," Yami said, smirking. It was obvious he had won.

Sure enough, there was a flash of light from the Millennium Mask, and Battousai's amber eyes became a warm lavender. Kenshin cried out as all the pain came crashing down on him and would have fallen had it not been for Yami. Yami caught the pale boy as he fell, noting with surprise how light he was. Kenshin was skinny, granted, but surely he shouldn't be this light? Yami could have carried him home easily. He suggested as much to Kenshin, as it might be better for the wound on his leg. Kenshin shook his head vigorously, clutching Yami to remain standing upright as a wave of dizziness overcame him from the motion.

"If you do not tell Grandpa, I will allow you to assist me home. However, I will NOT be carried around like a basket of rice. I do not care what you say or do. I can, and will, walk," Kenshin said, forcefully.

Accepting the minor victory, Yami placed Kenshin's arm around his shoulder and started home. He abruptly stopped, as he remembered something.

"What about Bakura?", he asked, indicating the body on the ground with his foot.

Kenshin seemed to converse with Battousai about something briefly before turning his attention back to Yami. "Don't worry, He should wake up in about a half hour or so," Kenshin said reassuringly.

They stared walking again, Yami setting a slow pace. Kenshin said nothing, so Yami assumed that he had no problems with the speed they were walking. Yami paid close attention to Kenshin as they walked, every now and then suggesting they take a break. Kenshin would just shake his head, and they'd continue onward. Although Kenshin never made a sound, Yami could see the pain clearly written in his eyes, and he leaned on Yami heavily as they walked.