Disclaimer: I don't own anything of importance in this story.

Chapter 24

Kenshin severed the connection with Battousai and looked at the door. "Hai?" he asked.

"Kenshin, may I come in?" It was Grandpa.

"Hai," Kenshin replied.

Grandpa walked into the room and looked at Kenshin. "It's about time we changed those bandages," he said, gesturing for Kenshin to walk into the bathroom.

"But, Grandpa, I can change them myself. I don't need you to do it for me," Kenshin complained, as he walked towards the bathroom.

"I know you're more than capable of changing them yourself, Kenshin. I just want to make sure you haven't re-opened your wounds again," Grandpa replied, following Kenshin. They had this same discussion every night since Kenshin had been released.

"I already promised you that I'd be more careful," Kenshin persisted.

"Just humor an old man."

Kenshin sighed. "Hai," he said, defeated. Kenshin didn't expect to win the argument, but if he argued every night, Grandpa might get tired of arguing with him and leave him be. Kenshin could hope, at any rate.

~*~

Bakura was tired. He wasn't used to possessing Ryou so frequently without the boy's knowledge, plus the strain of using shadow magic when fighting Kenshin was really taking a toll on him. He needed to retreat to his soul room and get some much-needed rest. Battousai had been silent for the past fifteen minutes, which was a record time for him, so Bakura assumed he was already asleep in his soul room. Deciding it was now safe to do so, Bakura relinquished control back to Ryou. He decided he would watch for a few minutes more to see if Battousai tried to take over the body. He had cast a spell that should prohibit the hitokiri from doing so, but Bakura always liked to watch and make sure it worked. Ryou was more than a little confused to find himself not only at home, but that it was already dark outside. He sighed, wondering what his yami had done this time. Bakura decided that Battousai would not be coming out, and went to get some much-needed rest.

Battousai, for his part, had been watching and waiting for the right time. Bakura was an idiot to let Battousai have full access to his emotions like that. Battousai could feel that Bakura was tired, and he could feel when he left the body, but still stayed alert. He's probably waiting to see if I will try to come out. Burei-mono, Battousai thought to himself. Either Bakura was just plain stupid or he was so conceited that he continued to underestimate his opponents. Ah, well, he'll learn soon enough. Never take an opportunity for granted, ne? Battousai thought, as he felt Bakura falling asleep. He waited until he was sure Bakura was fast asleep before turning his attention back to Ryou. He could just take over his body by force, but Battousai was more honorable than that. He had only once taken over Kenshin's body after they had been able to communicate without Kenshin's consent to do so, and that had started the fight that led to the Mask being taken. Besides, this was one of Kenshin's friends.

//Ryou,// he called, softly, hoping he wouldn't startle the boy, //Can you hear me?//

Apparently, his yami didn't talk to him very often because Ryou dropped the book he was holding, his eyes darting around the room searching for the location of the voice he'd just heard. "Who's there?" he demanded, his tone almost threatening.

Battousai was surprised, especially since he could feel Ryou's fear radiating from the boy in waves. //Relax, I'm not technically in the room. I'm in your mind,// Battousai said, soothingly. It would not be good if Ryou accidentally woke up his yami with his strong emotions. Battousai was surprised to feel Ryou's fear replaced by curiosity.

{Who are you? Your voice sounds vaguely familiar, but Bakura is the only one who has access to my mind. What are you doing here?} he asked.

Battousai was surprised yet again at how calmly this boy was reacting to the situation. //Before we continue this conversation any further, I need you to shield your thoughts and emotions from Bakura. It won't do either one of us any good if the thief were to accidentally wake up,// Battousai commanded.

Ryou smiled a little sheepishly. {I'm afraid I don't know how to do that,} he admitted.

Battousai sighed. //Alright, now listen carefully. You need to imagine something solid, like a wall, between you and whoever your trying to block out. You must keep that wall intact for as long as you want to keep them out of your mind. Just be careful not to block me out as well,// Battousai explained.

Ryou did as he was told. {I recognize your voice, now. It's so similar to Kenshin's, but there is an underlying edge in your tone that is usually not present in his. You're Battousai, aren't you?} Ryou asked, no fear at present in his voice.

This child was just full of surprises. //Yes, I am,// he confirmed Ryou's guess.

{So, if I am now able to talk to you, then that would mean that Bakura probably stole the Mask from Kenshin. Kenshin's not hurt, is he?!} Ryou asked, as he fully realized what his having the Mask meant.

Battousai allowed himself to smile mentally at the concern he was now feeling from Ryou. //No, Kenshin had left the Mask at home. Although, I'm not sure how he found it--Kenshin is usually better at hiding things then that,// Battousai said as an after thought.

Ryou shrugged. {Well, Bakura is a thief, and a good one at that. Besides, even if he did have any trouble finding it, he could always use the Ring to help him,} Ryou said.

He had piqued Battousai's curiosity. //The Ring? What exactly is the power of the Ring?// Battousai asked.

{The Ring can hone in on the location of other Millennium Items. Once found, these spikes will point towards it,} Ryou explained, taking the Ring out from under his shirt and holding it so Battousai could look at it through his eyes.

{Well, I suppose I'd better find the Mask and give it back to Kenshin. I can talk to you, so it must be somewhere on my person,} Ryou said, as he started searching through his pockets.

//Hold on, Ryou. I believe Bakura may have cast a spell on the Mask that would alert him if you touched it. He obviously doesn't want you to know about it, so you're powerless to do anything right now. Might I take control of your body?// Battousai asked.

Ryou blinked in surprise. He had just expected Battousai to take over by force, like Bakura always did. It felt a little weird being asked for permission. {Sure,} he replied, uncertainly.

Battousai concentrated, willing himself out of the Mask and into Ryou's body. Almost immediately, Battousai felt immense pain shoot throughout every fiber of his being. He cried out at the intensity of it, but managed to shield most of it from Ryou before the pain became too much to bear and the darkness claimed him.

~*~

After Grandpa was satisfied that Kenshin's wounds were healing nicely, he sent Kenshin to bed while he went downstairs to double check and make sure everything was locked up for the night. Kenshin went to his room, but decided on trying to contact Battousai again before going to sleep.

Kenshin opened up his mind, searching for the familiar presence. He found it and opened the link. He was about to say something to alert Battousai to his presence when he was suddenly consumed with pain. It shot through his entire being like electricity, setting his nerves on fire. He cried out as he hit the floor, writhing in agony.

Yami, who had been in Yugi's room, felt shadow magic being activated in the distance. He was about to say something to Yugi about it when he heard Kenshin cry out, followed by the sound of something hitting the floor. Grandpa was downstairs so he didn't hear it, but Yami rushed out of his room and into Kenshin's.

Yami flung open the door and was more than a little surprised at the sight that greeted his eyes. There was Kenshin, lying on the floor. His face was pale, covered with beads of perspiration and he was twitching spasmodically. Yami quickly looked at Kenshin's window. Shut and locked, and there had been no one in the hallway. Yami went over to Kenshin, who had stopped twitching and was lying still on the floor. He put two fingers on Kenshin's neck, while watching his chest. Kenshin's pulse was fast, his breathing was shallow and a little ragged. Yami did a quick examination of Kenshin to find out what had caused him to pass out. He could find no wounds anywhere on Kenshin's body, however Yami noticed that Kenshin's breathing was slowly becoming deeper and more rhythmic. Deciding that he would probably be recovered in the morning, Yami placed Kenshin in his bed and exited the room, closing the door behind him. His questions would have to wait.

~*~

The next morning, Kenshin was fine. He didn't say a word about what had happened last night, and it wasn't until they were already on their way to school that Yami got a chance to ask him about it. As soon as they were out of sight of the game shop, Yami took control of Yugi.

"Kenshin, what happened last night?" Yami asked, not wasting any time. Kenshin did not seem surprised by Yami's unexpected appearance.

"What do you mean, Yami?" Kenshin asked, innocently.

"Last night, I heard you cry out. I went to your room only to find you lying on the floor, unconscious. No one was in the general vicinity to attack you, and you didn't have any new wounds on your body. What happened?" Yami asked, again. He was quickly learning that you had to be very specific with your questions to get a direct answer from Kenshin.

The red head became serious. "I don't know," he admitted. Before he could elaborate, Joey came up and joined them. Yami quickly allowed Yugi to take back control while he pondered this new lack of news. Kenshin didn't know what had happened, and Yami was fairly certain that the boy was not lying. He decided that he would have to speak with Ryou about that shadow magic he had felt just before Kenshin passed out.

~*~

At lunch, Yugi was fairly surprised when Ryou caught his eye and discreetly motioned for them to go outside. Once again, they sat under a tree outside in a relatively secluded area to talk in private. This time, however, Kenshin decided to follow them. Since he was not specifically invited, Kenshin thought it would be rude to eavesdrop openly, so he settled himself on the other side of the tree, instead.

Yugi spoke first. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" he asked.

Ryou made sure he was blocking Bakura from his mind, like Battousai had taught him, before answering. "Bakura has the Mask," he blurted out.

Yugi looked surprised, but then there was a flash of light and Yami took his place. Yami also looked a little shocked. "How do you know this? Did you see him take it?" Yami inquired. Bakura didn't usually allow Ryou to witness what he did.

Ryou shook his head. "No, I was able to talk to Battousai last night for a short while," he explained.

"If you were able to talk to Battousai, then that must mean that the Mask is somewhere on your person. Have you tried looking for it?" Yami asked. Getting the Mask back might be easier than he thought.

Ryou shook his head again. "No, Battousai seemed to think that Bakura might have put a spell on it that would alert him if I touched it. He obviously doesn't want me to know about it, and he'd probably took control of my body before I could actually do anything. I know that Bakura has put at least one spell on it," Ryou said, the last part spoken more to himself.

It caught Yami's attention. "What do you mean, you know Bakura has already put one spell on it? What type of spell?" Yami asked.

"I think it's some sort of binding spell. Last night, Battousai asked if he could take over my body. I agreed; but, when he tried, something happened. I guess he hit a barrier of some sort and isn't able to leave the Mask. I think it was pretty painful because he screamed and then I think he passed out. I'm not sure because I haven't been able to talk to him since, but I can feel that he's still there," Ryou explained.

//He was so scared of what happened to me, that he's blocking me from his mind, even though he doesn't realize it. And I can't even break through! Who would have thought that someone who just learned to put up mental barriers could make ones so strong?!// Battousai complained.

/Well, hello to you, too,/ Kenshin said. He paused. /You can hear what Ryou and Yami are saying?/ he asked.

//Well, not exactly. I'm kinda getting all of this from your mind since Ryou closed his to me,// Battousai said, a little sheepishly.

Kenshin sighed mentally. /Even when I finally get rid of you, I still have no privacy,/ he said, in a melancholy voice, even though there was a smile on his lips.

//Oh, get over it.// Battousai didn't want to miss any of the conversation between Yami and Ryou.

Yami's eyes widened at Ryou's words. "You said this happened last night?" Yami asked. Ryou nodded. "That's very strange, indeed," he muttered, to himself.

Now it was Ryou who was interested in Yami's comment to himself. "What's strange, Yami?" he asked, a little confused. It seemed to be a basic enough spell. What was so strange about that?

"Yami looked up as if just remembering that Ryou was still there. "It's just that, well, last night I felt some shadow magic. I assume it was the spell on the Mask being activated when Battousai tried to leave. The strange thing is, immediately after I felt the shadow magic, Kenshin screamed. I ran into his room to find him unconscious on the floor. By the looks of it, he had experienced a lot of pain, but there was no wound on his body and there was no way for anyone to have entered his room. He doesn't know what happened, but I wonder if the two events are connected?" Yami said, thinking out loud. Ryou was equally stunned.

//Is that true?// Battousai asked. He had shielded Ryou from the pain, but he didn't even think about Kenshin.

/Yes. I was going to talk to you some more before I went to bed, but as soon as I opened the link all I felt was the pain,/ Kenshin explained.

//I'm sorry.//

/Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault./

"At any rate, it appears that we are going to have to face Bakura sooner or later to get the Mask back," Yami said. "Kenshin is apparently still connected to Battousai somehow. This may work to our advantage. Kenshin gave me a few more days to convince him to help me get the Mask from Bakura, although he is still adamant that he does not want the Mask back," Yami explained to Ryou.

Kenshin felt Battousai's temper rise a little at the new information. /Don't even start. We already discussed this./ Battousai's anger did not completely fade, but it did decrease somewhat.

"Well then, let's meet on Saturday. I should have Kenshin convinced by then and it would be better if we were to do this somewhere secluded, to decrease the chances of bystanders getting injured," Yami said. Ryou agreed, and they went on to discuss the time and the place.

Kenshin, however, had other plans. /Battousai, Can you talk to Bakura without Ryou knowing?/ Kenshin asked.

Battousai smirked. //Easily,// he said, confidently.

/I have a favor to ask of you. I want you to tell Bakura that Ryou knows about the Mask and that Yami is planning on taking it back on Saturday./

//What?! Are you insane?! It will be that much harder if he knows!// Battousai thought Kenshin was finally starting to lose it.

/Listen to me! Tell him that I'll meet him alone after school in the alley where we first met, to finish things. It'll just be him and me./

//I still think you're crazy.//

/Trust me./

As much as Battousai trusted his hikari, he couldn't resist a peek into Kenshin's mind to see what was going through his head. He liked what he saw. //Ah, I see. Heh, heh, heh--this should prove to be very interesting indeed.//

Kenshin rose to return to the lunch room as Yami's and Ryou's conversation was coming to a close and he wanted to be back before they were. /So, will you relay my challenge to him?/ Kenshin asked, as he started walking away.

//Oh, don't worry, Kenshin. He'll be there,// Battousai said, smirking to himself. //He'll be there.//

~*~

Japanese terms:

burei-mono - insolent fool