Disclaimer: If I owned either "Rurouni Kenshin" or "Yu-Gi-Oh!" then you would be seeing this in the manga or anime as opposed to ff net.

Really quick, I have one more story to recommend. For all you "Yu-Gi-Oh!" fans out there, you should check out "Spider Eyes" by firefly (it's on my favorite stories list). It focuses a little more on Yami Bakura and Ryou. This awesome story is also complete.

Chapter 43

Kenshin walked toward his shishou's home, deep in thought. He had seen over one hundred years into the future, but he now wondered if he would live to see tomorrow.

He walked, not really paying attention to the scenery around him. He had traveled this path many times and his feet moved of their own accord. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the small house he had once called home.

He stood there for a moment, waiting for his shishou to come out. Nothing happened. More than a little surprised, Kenshin cast out his senses towards the house, thinking perhaps his master was asleep. No one was in the hut. Kenshin stood there, a little confused for a moment until he realized that Hiko couldn't search for his baka deshi very well if he stayed home all the time. Smiling at his own mistake, Kenshin turned and made his way back to Kyoto.

~*~

Kenshin stopped just outside the city. Where would Hiko go to look for me? he wondered. Is there anyplace he would go on a regular basis…? Wait, I know! Kenshin hurried into the city, and new destination in mind.

He stopped outside of the sake shop Hiko used to send him to for his sake. Not detecting Hiko's ki inside, Kenshin walked up to the door. He paused at the entrance, thinking about how many years had passed since he had last been into the shop. He quickly pulled his hair out of it's binding, letting it fall loose around his shoulders. He pulled some over his left shoulder, trying to hide his scar. After all, the owner of the sake shop probably didn't know that the little child that had used to come fetch Hiko's sake had become Hitokiri Battousai.

Slightly frustrated at not being able to see if his scar was completely hidden, he decided to enter the store anyway, his head titled ever-so-slightly to the right to help keep his hair covering his left cheek. He opened the door and stepped inside.

There were many shelves lined with sake bottles of all shapes and sizes - all empty, of course - and a small counter in front of a door that led to the back of the shop where all the sake was kept. Looking around Kenshin smiled, noticing that nothing had changed since the last time he was here. The only thing missing was the shop owner.

"Shiskikura! Ebizo Shiskikura! Are you here?" Kenshin called out, waiting for the shopkeeper to appear. After few minutes, a tall, older man walked through the door from the back of the shop. His hair was light grey, balding on top, and his back was slightly hunched over from age. His clothes were rumpled slightly, and Kenshin realized that he probably fallen asleep in the back. He scowled at the young man before him, not really seeing who it was as his eyes were trying to adjust to the light. All he could tell was that it was some young teenager.

"What do you want?! I only sell the best sake here, and I think it's too strong for someone your age. Why don't you go down the street?!" he snapped at Kenshin. He had turned to go back when Kenshin's voice stopped him.

"I see your memory has not improved since I was here to see you last, Shiskikura - although your afternoon naps seemed to have lengthened. Is this how you always greet old acquaintances?" Kenshin asked, his tone slightly teasing.

Shiskikura turned back around and squinted at Kenshin, trying to think if he knew him. The boy did look familiar, but he couldn't remember here he had seen him before. "What's your name, son?"

Kenshin smiled again. "Kenshin Himura, although it is the name of my Shishou that you would know - Sejiro Hiko," Kenshin explained. Shiskikura's eyes lit up in recognition at Hiko's name and he scrutinized Kenshin a little more.

"Yes, I remember you now. Your master would always send you to pick up his sake for him, correct?" he asked. Kenshin nodded slightly, careful not to bow his head too low for fear of his scar showing through his hair. Shiskikura smiled, now knowing from where he recognized Kenshin. "You were always a polite boy. You sure have grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you. I never would have thought you'd take to poking fun at old men in their last days. You'll get old one day too, ya know, and mark my words-" he began, lecturing Kenshin.

"Oh, come off it. You're not that old," Kenshin interrupted him. "You'll get to be a grouchy old man for many years to come, so stop acting as if you're going to die tomorrow," Kenshin said, still teasing him. Shiskikura acted offended.

"That's what's wrong with kids these days. No respect for their elders." He smiled at Kenshin before becoming serious. "So, what can I do for you today? I meant what I said earlier - this stuff is too strong for someone your age."

"Actually, I was wondering if you had seen Hiko recently?" Kenshin asked, sounding nonchalant. Shiskikura scratched his chin in thought. "No, I haven't seen him in awhile. Come to think of it, I'm surprised he hasn't stopped by to stock up on his sake by now," he said.

As if on cue, Kenshin felt someone with very strong ki coming towards the shop. They paused, as if they sensed Kenshin was here. Upon further inspection, Kenshin realized that it was indeed Hiko. Now was the time to act.

"Well, thank you anyway. I've actually got to be going, but it was nice seeing you again," Kenshin said bowing a little awkwardly, still trying to prevent his hair from leaving his left cheek. Shiskikura didn't seem to notice.

"Take care of yourself, Kenshin. Would you like me to give Hiko a message for you the next time I see him?" he asked as Kenshin opened the door.

"No, that's alright. Thank you anyway." Kenshin stepped outside and closed the door. He purposefully walked down the street that led out of Kyoto and into the mountains. He had noticed that his master had masked his ki to where Kenshin could barely sense it, and was following him.

Shishou, do you really think so little of me as to think that I do not know you are there, especially after having me skills honed by fighting in the Bakumatsu? Kenshin thought to himself, a little disgusted. However, he played Hiko's game and acted to be oblivious to his master's presence.

Kenshin walked until he came to a clearing that would be big enough for them to fight in. He hoped it didn't come to that, but that was his shishou's decision, not his. He walked across the clearing and stopped, turning around. "You can come out now, Shishou," he said, his voice carrying across the clearing.

After a minute, Hiko walking into the clearing silently. He seemed to be searching Kenshin for something.

"He's not here, if that's what you're wondering about," Kenshin said, not flinching under Hiko's scrutiny.

"Not here? How do I know this isn't one of his tricks?"

Kenshin sighed, annoyed. "Shishou, you can sense him as well as I can. You know perfectly well he's not here."

Hiko smiled. "So, what are you doing wandering around on my mountain?"

"I had hoped to work this out without any violence, but if it does come down to a battle between us, this seemed like an ideal place. No bystanders will get in the way," Kenshin explained simply.

"So you came to my mountain in the hopes of finding me?"

"Master, do not insult yourself. You yourself taught me how to read ki. I sensed you when I was in Shiskikura's sake shop," Kenshin said, a little disgust evident in his voice. Apparently, he didn't like how little his master thought of him.

Hiko didn't seemed affected by this. "So, it seems that a little of my teachings actually remain in my baka deshi's head," Hiko said a little sarcastically.

Kenshin sighed. "So, why do you wish my death?" he asked, changing the subject.

"It is not your death that I am after, Kenshin, but Battousai's," Hiko explained. Kenshin was more than a little surprised that his master had called him by name. It took a moment for his words to sink in. Kenshin smiled ruefully.

"Shishou, it was not Battousai who killed all those people. I did. Why do you wish him dead?"

"No, Kenshin! You should not believe his lies! He forced you to kill those people! You would never have done anything such as this on your own!" Hiko said, vehemently. Kenshin was a little surprised at Hiko's response. He shook his head sadly.

"Shishou. I became Hitokiri Battousai of my own free will, long before I found out the spirit of the Millennium Mask could take over my body. I had no name by which to call him, so I called him Battousai. You remember that day I left your mountain and went to join the fighting? I meant what I said. I could not stand by and watch all those innocent people suffer if I could do something about it. I'm sorry you believed me weak enough to come running back to you after I had killed someone for the first time. While I do regret taking the lives of so many men, if given the choice I would fight in the Bakumatsu again. I have seen the world that we will create," Kenshin said, closing his eyes briefly in remembrance. Everyone had seemed so happy in Yugi's time. A lot of things had changed for the better because of his sins. He would gladly give up his happiness in order for that world to come about.

He opened his eyes and continued speaking. "However my yami, which I call Battousai, is already dead, nothing more than a spirit trapped in a magical item. And the Hitokiri Battousai is already gone, replaced by a rurouni who has sworn to never kill again. I live now to repent for all the lives I have taken these past few years. I ask you now, do you still wish my death? Although I would rather not, I will fight you, if that is your wish."

Hiko had been reading Kenshin's ki, which the latter had made no attempt to conceal, throughout the entire explanation. He could sense no lie, and was pained at what had become of his deshi. Kenshin was always such an innocent boy, Hiko hadn't believed him capable of taking another's life. Hiko thought back to the night he had started hunting his deshi.

He had happened to be walking through Kyoto one night when he had sensed a familiar presence. Upon further inspection, he had found Kenshin carrying out an assassination. The red head had not noticed his presence and left. Hiko had closed his eyes in sorrow at what Kenshin had become, following his ki as he left the area. It was then that he had realized that Kenshin's ki was faint, as if it was being suppressed. Ever since Hiko had saved the boy, there had been two ki signatures around the boy - one belonging to Kenshin and one to an unknown entity. Hiko had thought nothing of it, as it had created to problems, but now he wasn't so sure. What if that, thing was forcing Kenshin to kill? Hiko's felt his anger rise at the thought. By now, some townsfolk had discovered the bodies and Hiko heard one of them say, "Battousai has struck again!" Battousai, is it? Well, we shall meet again and one way or another, you will release your hold upon my deshi, Hiko thought, his cloak swirling in the wind as he turned and walked away.

He brought his mind back to the present, trying to decide upon a course of action. It appears I have no choice. I can imagine what this experience has done to Kenshin. He is no longer an innocent boy, but a bloodstained man. The repercussions of his actions will be felt for many years to come. He will have many problems, especially with his vow to never kill again. Is he strong enough to live in the aftermath of his actions, I wonder? There is only one way to find out. One of us will die today, Hiko thought, making a decision.

"Alright, baka deshi. It is high time you became a master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. Today, you will learn the final attack, or you will die."

Kenshin was a little surprised by his master's change in attitude, and answered as intelligently as he could. "Huh?"

Hiko sighed. "Baka. Don't try to understand why I do the things I do. You'll only give yourself a headache," he said, superiorly.

"But, Shishou, I already know the Ku-zu-ryu-sen," Kenshin said, a little confused. How was learning the final attack going to solve anything?

"Oh? And who said anything about the Ku-zu-ryu-sen being the final attack?" Hiko said, mockingly. He had missed not being able to tease his deshi.

Kenshin was astonished. There's an attack beyond the Ku-zu-ryu-sen? he thought to himself. Hiko smirked. "The Ku-zu-ryu-sen was originally a by-product in the creation of the final attack and it's used to test all apprentices. The process of learning the final attack is traditionally always started with learning the Ku-zu-ryu-sen. Only if the apprentice is able to break the master's Ku-zu-ryu-sen is the teaching of the final secret considered to be complete. Concentrate on the nature of the Ku-zu-ryu-sen. If you trust in that, the basic form of the Ama-kakeru-ryu-no-hirameki will come to you. Should you fail, you will die by my sword," Hiko said, advancing upon Kenshin slowly.

Kenshin's mind raced. Come up with a way to counter it? How am I supposed to do that?! The Ku-zu-ryu-sen is a perfect attack! Nine strokes in all, no way to dodge or block all of them! What does he expect me to do?! Kenshin thought, frustrated. It seemed that Hiko was intent on his death.

Would that really be such a bad thing? After everything I've done, death is no more than I deserve, Kenshin thought sadly. In his minds eye, he saw all the people he had killed in the past few years. Their dying corpses flew by in a quick succession until it stopped on one figure lying in the snow dressed in a white kimono. No! Kenshin thought, suddenly, I cannot die yet! There is still so much I need to atone for! But, how can I defeat Shishou's Ku-zu-ryu-sen?! Kenshin thought desperately.

Hiko had cut the distance between them in half and was walking towards his deshi. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Kenshin. The Ku-zu-ryu-sen cannot be blocked or dodged. That means, I have to attack before he does. My fastest attack would be battoujutsu. But, it would need to be much faster than a normal battoujutsu. What if I--

"Here I come."

Hiko charged at Kenshin, drawing his sword, giving Kenshin no more time to think. Now was not the time to be second-guessing oneself, so Kenshin attacked and hoped his theory would work.

It was over in a matter of seconds. Kenshin and Hiko were both kneeling on opposite sides of the clearing, not moving from where their momentum had carried them. A few seconds passed in silence.

"Very good…Kenshin. Your will to live…is strong," Hiko said, grinding out each word. He tried to keep the pain out of his voice, but didn't realize it would hurt this much! "I'm sorry for…doubting you, but you must remember…to live, Kenshin."

It was very difficult to remain in an upright position and his body began to sag, eliciting an involuntary gasp of pain. Hiko could feel Kenshin's ki spike in worry and smiled grimly to himself.

"Please do not worry. This is the fate of all those who master the Mitsurugi style. When I mastered the Ama-kakeru-ryu-no-hirameki…it was also my shishou…who paid the ultimate price. Think of this as something that happened…outside of your vow…to never kill again."

Kenshin stood and turned around in time to see his shishou fall to the ground. The white mantle he had so proudly worn had fallen off, and was lying in the dirt. Hiko's hair had come loose from it's binding and was partially covering his face. His sword was lying a few inches from his hand, his grip no longer containing the strength to hold it. His entire body was limp and Kenshin could see where his sword had struck his master across the chest. Kenshin could do no more than just stare in shocked silence for a few minutes. Suddenly, Kenshin screamed, his voice raw with emotion.

"MAAASTEERRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

~*~

Author's Notes: Wouldn't you guys hate me if I ended it right here? Just kidding! On with the story!

Hiko woke up and looked around. He was back in his cottage, lying in his futon. He tried to sit up, but fell back with a groan as his chest informed him that moving was a very bad idea. It was then that he realized his chest hand been bandaged to help prevent his broken ribs from moving. He briefly wondered how his ribs could possibly have been broken, when his gaze fell upon the sleeping form of his deshi. Kenshin was sitting across the room, leaning against the wall. His sword was leaning against his right shoulder and his hair was covering most of his face, hiding it from view. The memories of the fight came rushing back, leaving him wondering at the outcome. It was obvious Kenshin had defeated Hiko's Ku-zu-ryu-sen. So, why was Hiko still alive?

Gritting his teeth against the pain he knew he was going to feel, Hiko stood up, bracing himself against the wall as his vision flickered and threatened to blackout completely. After a moment, he was able to stand without leaning on anything and he carefully made his way over to his deshi. He kneeled down and reached for the sword, trying not to wake Kenshin in the process. He hadn't counted on his deshi's reflexes.

Kenshin's arm hit Hiko right in the chest, knocking the older man to the ground. Hiko cried out involuntarily at the pain Kenshin had unintentionally inflicted and did not move from the floor, preferring to wait until Kenshin had woken up.

Kenshin had unsheathed his sword and was searching his surroundings. He had woken feeling someone with very strong ki near him and he was trying to locate him or her now. His gaze landed on his master, sprawled at his feet. He was breathing a little more heavily than he should have been, one hand clutching his chest, and he looked at Kenshin disapprovingly. Kenshin's eyes widened when he realized what he had just done.

"Shishou! I-" Kenshin faltered, not being able to find any excuse to offer. Hiko just looked at him.

"A fine way to thank your master for teaching you the ultimate technique, to be sure!" Hiko said more than a little sarcastically. Kenshin eyes widened when he realized Hiko was still hurt from the last battle.

"Shishou! I'm sorry, are you okay?! I didn't upset your wound, did I?!" Kenshin inquired, noticing Hiko had not moved from his position on the floor. Hiko snorted.

"As if you could hurt me," he said scathingly, picking himself up off the floor. His chest screamed in agony, but he was too proud to show his apprentice how much damage the boy had actually caused. His vision started to black out again, so he closed his eyes to center himself. Not wanted to arose Kenshin's suspicions, he pretended to be contemplating something and asked Kenshin a question.

"You are now a master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. What are you going to do now?"

Kenshin didn't even hesitate. "I told you. I'm a rurouni. I am now going to wander around Japan, protecting people with my sakabato," Kenshin explained, re-sheathing his sword. Hiko's eyes opened quickly, looking at the blade before it was completely concealed in the sheath. Sakabato…a reverse-blade sword. That explains why I'm still alive, at any rate. Kenshin, how long can you be a swordsman wearing a useless weapon such as that? Your superior technique will allow you to easily defeat many of the weaker opponents you will face, but what about the ones that will challenge your skills? I pray you learn the error of your ways before it's too late, Hiko thought, his face betraying nothing of what he was thinking. He turned his back towards Kenshin.

"Well, I suppose you had better be going, Kenshin," he said, dismissing him. Kenshin looked up in surprise.

"But Shishou! Your wound-"

"Isn't that bad and will heal fairly quickly," Hiko replied, cutting Kenshin off. "Go. You have better things do be doing than hanging around this shack pestering me all day long. I'll be fine. Now go," Hiko said.

Kenshin smiled. He knew his master was proud and didn't want to let Kenshin see any weakness from him. However, he was also sensible. If he'd needed Kenshin to stay and take care of him, he would have allowed the boy to stay.

Being thus reassured of his master's health, Kenshin bowed, thanking him for everything and departed.

~*~

Battousai was worried. He had not been able to contact Kenshin since the boy had left the Mask in the graveyard the day before. Now. He realized it could be something as trifle as Kenshin blocking him from his mind. However, he also realized that it could be something much worse, like Kenshin's death. He had grown more worried as more time passed without word from Kenshin. Therefore, he was considerably surprised when Kenshin's voice popped into his head.

/Hello, Battousai. How have you been?/ Kenshin asked, nonchalantly. Battousai almost had a heart attack (if he had a heart to begin with).

//How have I been?! I've been worried sick! Where have you been?! Why didn't you answer when I called?! I feared the worst had happened to you!// he yelled, relieved that Kenshin was alright and angry that he hadn't contacted him sooner. Kenshin just laughed.

/I'm sorry, Battousai, truly I am. But, you know as well as I that Hiko can sense you. I wasn't sure if he'd be able to sense you, albeit faintly, if we talked and I didn't want to risk it. So, I blocked you out of my mind. I suppose, I forgot to take down the barrier,/ Kenshin explained, a little apologetically. He had arrived at the graveyard and retrieved the Mask, placing it once again around his neck, and started back towards Kyoto. Battousai immediately tried to search through Kenshin's memories of the last day and a half, when he encountered a mental shield.

//Kenshin, why do you wish for me to not know what transpired between you and your master?// he asked, confused.

Kenshin shrugged. /I just feel that it is something I would rather keep to myself,/ he answered, as if it was no big deal. Battousai, although curious, decided to drop it. He changed the subject instead.

//So, where are we headed now?//

Kenshin stopped walking as Kyoto came into view. Ahead of him lay the city. However a little ways down the road, there was a fork. The right path led to Kyoto. /Do you know where that left path leads?/ Kenshin inquired.

//No. Why?//

/Well, let's go find out, shall we?/ Kenshin said. He turned his steps towards the left path, disappearing into the forest.

~*~

The End