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Disclaimer: *Calger-san hisses and growls, Disclaimer backs into a corner*. I think the point has been made ;)

Ahhh smell the romance in the air! Um...well, sort of -_-;; This is Battousai's chapter, I hope you like it ^_^ This is the last chapter before I go back to work, though never fear, I will finish this fic! I love writing it too much, and I've gotten very encouraging responses so far, arigatou! On with the fic!

Prism - Chapter 7

Sano returned to the dojo the next morning in high spirits. He didn't have any new info on Yanagi, but his dice game has been great, and his handful of yen was definitely burning a hole in his pocket.

Not even the sight of Battousai in the yard as he swaggered in through the gate could spoil his good mood, though he did a double take when he saw what the young hitokiri was up to. "Hey uh...hi there."

Battousai pulled a white gi out of the wash tub and tossed it over the laundry line to dry. Pulling the fabric straight he glanced over his shoulder at Sano. "Ohayou," he greeted neutrally.

Back to his usual cold self I see. Sano came closer. "Hey, why are you doing the laundry? I thought that was the rurouni's thing."

"And what would you know?" Battousai asked quietly. His tone wasn't angry or joking; instead it was completely flat and toneless, betraying no emotion whatsoever.

Sano hesitated, unsure how to interpret the comment. "Well I...I don't, I guess, it's just that laundry's kind of a woman thing you know?"

"Sorry if I'm effeminate," the hitokiri said, a trace of annoyance creeping into his tone.

"Nothing of importance," Battousai snapped icily, dumping the used water out of the tub.

Well that could mean any number of things. Sano thought as he followed the young Kenshin into the house. He spotted the rurouni and Shinta together in the kitchen preparing breakfast and he wandered in to join them. To his relief Battousai continued on in the direction of Kaoru and Kenshin's room. "Mornin'! Smells good."

The rurouni smiled at him in greeting and tipped the vegetables he'd been cutting into the large soup pot. "Hopefully it will be good, though I'm running low on ingredients. I'll have to go to the market later today."

Sano chuckled and ruffled the child's hair. "Hey kiddo, you helping out your 'niichan here?"

Sano winked at the rurouni, who was looking a little pale. "Yeah I know, I was just kidding. Hey, what's with the other one? He just about bit my head off a minute ago."

The smile vanished from the rurouni's face and he turned back to the miso. "He's angry with me again."

"So what else is new? If he's not yelling about something or other he's as cold as a stone. What'd you do now?"

"Battousai-san wanted to sleep with Kaoru-san but Rurouni-san wouldn't let him!" Shinta blurted out very, very loudly.

Kenshin let out a panicked yelp and clapped his hand over the child's mouth. "Quiet, you!"

Sano doubled over laughing, tears of mirth leaking out of the corners of his eyes. He had to lean on the doorframe for support. "Oh man, no wonder he was so pissed off! Whew, poor guy!"

"Hey, that's not what happened!" the rurouni said defensively, his violet eyes narrowing.

Sano kept laughing, grinning widely. "Oh really?" Coughing, he brought himself a little more under control. "Now that I think about it, your condition would cause a bit of marital strife wouldn't it?" He was about to say more but Sano wasn't quite prepared for the bokken that connected hard with his skull and sent him reeling. "Oi, Jou-chan!"

"That is none of your business, Sanosuke!" Kaoru said, poking him meaningfully in the chest with her weapon.

Sano frowned and rubbed his head, taking note of the rather nice kimono she was wearing. "Hey, you going out?"

Kaoru nodded, handing the bokken off to the speechless rurouni. "Yes, we are, right after breakfast. We're running low on supplies, and there are some things I wanted to look at in town."

"We?" the rurouni asked curiously. That's when he let his gaze slide past Kaoru to the nicely dressed man standing behind her. He had to look twice to confirm what his eyes told him. "Wait, with him?!"

"You have a problem with that, Rurouni?" Battousai moved to stand beside Kaoru, dressed in a clean pair of white hakama and the green silk gi. Everyone in the room was surprised and a bit impressed to see Kenshin dressed so nicely. The gi set off his hair beautifully, and the flame-colored locks looked as if they had been freshly combed and tied into a high ponytail.

The rurouni opened and closed his mouth several times, looking in confusion between the pair. Seeing his growing alarm and uncertainty, Kaoru stepped forward and spoke quietly in his ear for a minute. Sano raised an eyebrow in surprise when the rurouni slowly nodded and relaxed. "All right, koishii."

"Hey, what was that?" he asked, but got no response. Kaoru gave him a look, which clearly said: "this is a husband and wife matter, keep out of it". Right, I'll just be quiet then. Hmm, if the hitokiri can get the girl then I wonder what would happen if I dressed like that for the Fox... Grinning devilishly, Sano followed the rest of the Kenshin-gumi into the dining room for breakfast.

Kaoru walked into town with Battousai, and as they grew further away from the dojo she could feel him slowly relax beside her, his cold mask softening just a bit.

"Thank you for coming with me, Kenshin," she said softly, carefully reaching out to touch his hand. Her eyes widened a little in surprise when he curled his fingers around hers so that they walked hand-in-hand down the road. He nodded slightly, looking over at her with gentle eyes.

"That this whole thing must be so hard for you. And yet you put up with our petty arguments and keep smiling through it all. I wonder how you do it."

"Because I love you." Kaoru wasn't quite prepared for the utter shock in his golden eyes.

Kaoru sighed. "No, baka, I mean you. All of you: hitoriki, rurouni, and Shinta. You're all my Kenshin, and I love you all equally." She could see the doubt in his face. "Why do you feel that you can't be loved?"

Battousai looked away sharply, muttering something. "What?" Not answering, he fell silent and Kaoru let it go for the moment, looking up into the bright morning sky above them. "It really is going to be a beautiful day."

Battousai let Kaoru set the pace as they wandered through the crowded market. She looked briefly through one clothing shop but decided that none of their kimono quite suited her. After that she took them to a perfume stall, then to the booth of a man who made handcrafted dolls. Kenshin found a smile tugging at his lips as she admired the small wooden doll of young girl, dressed in a tiny red kimono with a flowered obi. Kaoru sparkled with young innocence and delight, cradling the doll to her chest and talking with the owner excitedly about his techniques for sewing such small outfits. I wonder if I was ever like her, able to laugh and smile so easily. I think that I must have been once; otherwise Shinta wouldn't exist. The tiny, cheerful boy was certainly proof that Himura Kenshin still had some innocence left in him. Battousai however couldn't remember ever feeling that way himself, and until very recently he had considered such emotions fit only for naïve fools who had never seen the horrors human beings were capable of inflicting on each other. He himself had been one of those who had deliberately hurt people again and again, and while he knew Kaoru loved him he still had trouble understanding why. The feeling was even more pronounced now that he was separate from the rurouni; the way he looked at it, he had very few if any good qualities of his own. The rurouni was always optimistic and understanding, looking for the good in everyone. He, on the other hand, trusted no one, analyzing the words and actions of others with suspicion. He was a warrior and a killer, not a people person. Kaoru though...she was different. He trusted her.

Kaoru picked up another doll and turned to him, holding it up for his inspection. "What do you think of this one?" The doll she held now was of a swordsman, his hand poised ready to draw his katana, his tiny gi and hakama perfectly made.

The doll maker grinned. "You are a swordsman then, sir? That is wonderful, there are so few left nowadays."

"You were a swordsman?" Kaoru asked in surprise, carefully setting the doll back in its place.

"Aa, during the Boshin wars, though in truth I saw little combat. But I still practice now and then; I am a great admirer of kenjutsu."

"Are you interested in learning more about the sword?" Kaoru asked eagerly. "I run a dojo not far from here and we are currently seeking students."

Kaoru chatted with the man for several more minutes, and Kenshin found himself smiling affectionately at her. Just being near her relieved some of the irritating feeling of emptiness in his soul. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and when she asked if it was all right to buy the doll of the little girl, he couldn't say no. They closed the deal by the man agreeing to think seriously about coming to visit the dojo some time that week. Waving goodbye to him, Kaoru moved on, the box with the doll held to her chest.

"Yes, and more students are always welcome. I hope he makes good on his promise."

Kaoru nodded, then reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards yet another booth. "Oh Kenshin here it is, what I wanted to show you!"

He blinked at her in surprise and turned to examine the shop. It appeared to be a stall run by a gaijin, and his shelves were filled with a bizarre assortment of objects from the West. Everywhere he looked he saw a bewildering profusion of glass and metal contraptions, each one stranger that the last. But the object that Kaoru pressed into his hand was even stranger: a glass triangle.

"I was looking at this the other day, and when I thought about it this morning I realized what it reminded me of."

Kenshin lifted the object and stared at it curiously, turning it over in his fingers. "What is it?"

"It's a prism," the shopkeeper said in perfectly fluent Japanese. "It is an object of scientific curiosity, I explained to this fine lady how it worked the other day. Maybe now she can explain it to you."

Kaoru nodded and grinned, taking the prism from him. "Here Kenshin see, when you hold it to the light just right--" she tipped it in the sun, watching its reflection on the side of the stall "--you can make a rainbow. There!"

Kenshin looked and felt his eyes widen in amazement. What had before been a patch of white light on the wood of the stall was now a splash of rainbow color. Mesmerized, he reached out to touch it, watching the way his fingers turned colors themselves in the light. "Pretty," he whispered, blushing a little when he realized he sounded like a little kid. He really was curious though. "How does it work?"

Kaoru laughed. "I knew you'd like it! The shopkeeper explained it to me; sunlight is made up of all the colors, and when that light shines through the prism it's broken up into its many parts, which we see as a rainbow."

It took a moment for the information to sink in, and when Kaoru's reason for showing him this became clear he stared at her in open astonishment. "You see," she said quietly, seeing that he understood. "All the parts are equal, and all come together to make one. You are no more and no less than the others." Tilting the prism she made the rainbow colors merge back together, until there was once again a patch of white light on the wood.

Kaoru handed the prism back to the shopkeeper and looked at Kenshin expectantly. She wants to know what I think about this. Battousai searched his heart for an answer, but found himself at a loss for words. When had she become so wise? Baka, she was always wise. She tempers her intelligence and wit with innocence and fun, living life to its fullest. You could learn a lot from her. All she wants is your happiness, and for you to stop torturing yourself over events that are decades old. Isn't that why you love her so much? "Kaoru...I..."

She smiled, but there was a touch of sadness to her eyes. "I...just wanted to show you that. No matter what you're like or what you do and say, you are still Himura Kenshin to me, the man I love. You are part of a whole, right? So you are just as important as them, and just as worthy of happiness and love."

"I know." Giving into impulse, Kenshin stepped forward and gently cupped her face in his hands. He heard her breath catch as his mouth hovered tantalizingly close to hers. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her right there on the street, but it simply wouldn't be appropriate. Settling for brushing his lips across her forehead instead, he released her, finally allowing his smile to show. "Thank you, koishii."

Kaoru gave a sigh of relief when she heard the endearment; it was the first time Battousai had used it with her. She looked up at him, happiness shining in her eyes. "Hai."

Battousai suddenly became aware of the bemused expression of the shopkeeper. "Those are some nice words kid, hope you remember them."

Kaoru watched as Kenshin's cheeks flushed in embarrassment at his display. She was about to tease him a little about it when suddenly he just withdrew. His eyes grew flat and cold and all emotion left his face, the hitokiri's mask falling like a shutter over the passion he has displayed only seconds before. Kaoru was startled by the transformation; for several moments it had felt like she had been talking to her Kenshin, the normal whole man she'd married. She'd seen it in Battousai's face and eyes, and knew it was no lie. But now it was as if that man had never existed. He regarded the shopkeeper with cold eyes. The gaijin, for his part, looked bewildered, obviously at a loss as to what he'd done wrong. "Pardon us sir, good day!" Kaoru said hastily, guiding Kenshin away from the booth.

Back out in the crowd she kept one hand on his, all too aware of the tense set of his shoulders and jaw. "Kenshin, what's wrong? What did he say to make you upset?"

"That's not the reason!" she began, then stopped herself. No, don't get angry with him, Kaoru. That's the wrong way to handle it. "I mean...it's okay for you to show a little affection, you know. You didn't do anything wrong."

He sighed, and she could feel him struggling for control over himself again. "I-I know that I just...I'm sorry, Kaoru. Sometimes it feels like my body and mind act before my heart does." That and it's naïve, innocent emotions like that which cause me to drop my guard. Yanagi is out there somewhere, and I have to be ready for when he shows himself. I can't afford to act like a lovesick child, no matter what I really feel. Battousai said none of this aloud. Kaoru would only berate him for being a silly worrywart, and however true it might be he was afraid of his unstable temper flying off the handle again. He needed to calm down. "Let's...go to the Akabeko and sit down a bit. Would that be all right?"

"Of course." Kaoru looked at the teenager in concern. He had relaxed a little bit as they walked, but she could hear his breathing, which was just a little too fast for the pace they were walking. He almost sounded panicked, and she honestly could not imagine what would cause the hitokiri to have such a bad reaction to one shopkeeper's innocent comment. There's still so much I don't understand about him. For a few minutes, I actually managed to get him to relax enough to show me what he's feeling. I think, in those moments, he would have talked to me, and I could have asked him to explain what's really going on in his mind. How do I get him that way again? Kaoru pondered this as the Akabeko swung into view.

Oh no, I forgot! Kaoru waved at Tae to be quiet but the restaurant owner plunged ahead, oblivious, stepping up to Kenshin. "It's been a little while Kenshin-san, how is everything at the dojo?" Kenshin stood frozen on the spot as she looked at him a little closer. Oh Gods I should have thought of this...Tae-san, please don't look to close!

"Oh you look so handsome in that outfit!" she crowed happily, looking him up and down. "And that hair, Kaoru-san when did he start wearing it in a topknot? It looks stunning on him!"

"Th-thank you," Kenshin stuttered, visibly recoiling from the woman's exuberance.

Kaoru's heart sank even further when Tsubame appeared in the doorway, presumably to lead them back to their table. She took one look at Kenshin and her eyes grew huge. "K-Kenshin-san, your scar is gone!"

"Tsubame-chan!" Kaoru hissed, stepping close to her. "I know, but please be quiet! There's a very good reason for it; I'll explain later, okay?"

Tsubame looked extremely puzzled, but she trusted Kaoru and nodded without further comment. If Tae noticed the difference in Kenshin's appearance she didn't let on about it. Waving them in with a smile, she turned back to the other potential customers passing by on the street. Tsubame led them to a table and then let them be, dismissing herself with a quick bow.

Kaoru sighed and relaxed, relieved to be off her feet. "Well that was a close one."

"Indeed," Kenshin said in a low voice, staring at the tabletop. Kaoru could almost see the invisible wall he'd erected between himself and everyone else in the restaurant, including her. She couldn't be sure what was going through his head, but if his thoughts at all resembled the crippling guilt she knew plagued her rurouni then this was going to require drastic measures. More often than not, bluntness worked better than subtlety with Kenshin.

"I know," he said softly, still not looking up from the table. They sat in silence for many long moments until Tsubame delivered tea and lunch. Kaoru ate hers gratefully, her stomach growling with hunger, while Battousai picked at his. Kaoru watched him as she ate, looking for some sign that he was finally starting to relax. As the meal dragged on though he remained very tense, staring into his rice with clouded eyes.

He shook his head. She expected him to remain silent, so he surprised her when he began to speak. "I forgot that I look different like this. I didn't even think...and now Tsubame-dono will have to know what's happened. I feel like I shouldn't have gone with you today."

"What are you afraid of?" she asked quietly. She moved carefully as she reached for her soup, so as not to startle him. His posture was rigid, like a wary animal ready to run at the first sign of danger. No, in his case he would fight. It's not Kenshin's way to flee, no matter how great the threat. "You can't stay cooped up in the dojo forever. I knew looking at you this morning that you needed to get out a bit; that's why I asked you."

"I know and...thank you," he murmured, still unable to meet her eyes. "But I'm endangering everyone by revealing myself. I'm sure Yanagi will be back; he was watching the dojo for a reason. There's no telling what he might do, especially if he learns who else I know around town..." he didn't finish his statement, but Kaoru knew he meant Tsubame, Tae, and the group at the clinic.

"I think you're right to be cautious Kenshin, but I know you and I know you're more than capable of defending yourself and us at a moment's notice if you need to."

Kenshin raised his gaze slightly, his face uncertain. "Are you so sure about that? Megumi-dono was right about what she said about me, about my health. And with my ki hampered like this I'm even weaker."

"You really are worried aren't you," Kaoru said. "I've never heard you doubt yourself like this before."

He shrugged and stared out at the restaurant. "What was Tae-dono talking about when we came in?"

"The fish," he clarified, still not looking at her. "She asked if we enjoyed the fish. What did she mean?"

"Uh...OH, oh that!" Kaoru laughed nervously and waved her hand at him. "Oh that was nothing, just something she donated for our dinner the other night."

Now Battousai looked over at her, his eyes piercing in their intensity. "Kaoru."

She sighed, defeated. There was no fooling him sometimes. "I wanted to celebrate the anniversary, so she gave us fish."

"It's been a year since you came...since you saved me from Gohei." Kaoru murmured, staring into her lap. She didn't see the look of alternate looks of surprise and anger that flashed across Kenshin's face.

Kaoru nodded and Kenshin scowled, finding himself both touched and indignant on her behalf. That bastard. It would have been a good dinner too...

The rurouni glanced at Sano briefly before turning back to the garden. After Battousai and Kaoru had left that morning Sano had chosen to hang around with the rurouni, who had been unusually quiet and withdrawn all day. Sano knew why of course; despite Kaoru's reassurances Kenshin was obviously quite jealous of his younger half. Sano found it amusing, though part of him sympathized with his friend. Sano found that he truly disliked the younger Kenshin. The teenager was arrogant, rude, and had an explosive temper capable of deeply wounding anyone in its path. Sano honestly wondered why Kaoru would ever agree to spend the day alone with someone like that. He couldn't understand it, and it was only inevitable that his conversation with the rurouni would bring up the young hitokiri. Sano blinked in astonishment at Kenshin's reply. "I know," the redhead said simply.

"What do you mean 'you know'? You say it like it's fine that he treats everyone like scum! I mean, Kenshin you're a nice guy! Even when I've seen you mad you never act like he does."

The rurouni smiled a bit at Sano's frank honesty. He shrugged. "I suppose not, though I think that's just because I've mellowed with age, that's all."

Sano frowned. "So you're saying that when you were a teenager you were that much of a prick to everyone?"

"He's not that bad," Shinta said quietly, not sounding very convinced himself. He had joined their conversation some time ago when he got bored watching Yahiko practice. He sat across the small garden from the rurouni, pulling weeds with unchildlike expertise.

Kenshin smiled slightly. "Only sometimes, usually when Shishou wasn't around to correct me. Behaving that way with him usually got me on the receiving end of his katana. It wasn't pleasant."

"I can imagine." Sano cocked his head thoughtfully. "Huh, the real Kenshin revealed then, no rurouni mask of politeness or anything."

Kenshin looked up at him and just stared for several long moments. Sano squirmed under the other's intense gaze. "Sano, you're oversimplifying it. He is a part of me, just as I am a part of him. I'd like to think that I know how to behave with proper manners, despite the thoughts that may sometimes run through my mind. Can't you say the same?"

The rurouni shook his head and suppressed a groan. "No, Sano, that's not what I meant." He stood and faced the younger man. "Why is it that you don't like him?"

"Why are we friends?" Kenshin moved to stand only a few feet from him, his expression earnest.

"What kind of question is that? I don't know, we saved each other's butts a few times... and I guess you're one of the few guys I know who'll put up with me."

Sano sighed in frustration and ran his hands through his spiky hair. "I don't know! Jeez, you can be so weird sometimes! Where the hell are you going with this? Look, I'm not saying you're the jerk Kenshin, Battousai is."

"Don't call him that," the rurouni reminded him quietly. "And you still seem to be missing the fact that he and I are one and the same, despite a few minor differences." Kenshin could see that Sano still wasn't catching on. He tried another tack. "Why do you feel it's hard for others to 'put up with you', as you phrased it."

Sano scowled for a minute. He wasn't going to reply to that but something about Kenshin's expression said that he honestly expected an answer; besides, he was curious to know just what the rurouni was getting at. "'cause, I get into fights all the time, I gamble all my money away so I freeload off Jou-chan and a bunch of other people, I'm not real good at being nice to people...I'm not real likable most of the time, I guess. I'm a tough guy, I don't go for all that sissy make-nice crap."

Sano felt understanding creeping at the edges of his mind; he tried to ignore it. "Sure you do, you're always so polite and refined and everyone likes you..."

"That's right, Saitou has a secret fanclub devoted to me, and the Juppongatta and Enishi are all happy members. They follow me around and pick fights because they think I'm so incredibly nice and cool with my sword."

Sano blinked in astonishment. "Did...did I just hear that come out of your mouth?!"

Sano could feel his mouth hanging open. The rurouni locked eyes with him. "You and I are very much alike, Sano. I just handle things differently now that I'm older. When I was your age I wasn't popular with anyone. Trust me on this one. On the other hand though," he continued, ignoring Sano's poleaxed expression, "the other Kenshin isn't normally so agitated. He's acting like this because of the situation we're in, not because it's in his nature to be vicious. His behavior has been much, much worse than usual."

Sano slowly sank down to sit on the porch. "'Worse than usual'? I don't understand, you say that like he...like you're...damn it! What the hell is he then?"

The rurouni crouched back down among the plants, dropping seeds carefully into one of the holes he'd dug in the soft soil. "Something I thought I had abandoned and grown out of long ago, until Saitou came and showed me that it was still there."

Kenshin sighed. Sano wasn't the exactly the quickest of thinkers, but he seemed to be particularly dense today. It seemed he really was going to have to spell it out for the younger man. Kenshin didn't mind this though; he found that he wanted to explain himself to his friend, to make him understand. For the first time, I can share this with someone else. It's strange, to have a friend I can confide in. "Sano, do you remember what I told you during my fight with Soujirou? About how Battousai broke free in my fight with Saitou?"

Sano nodded slowly. "Yeah, but why did you say it like that? You made it seem as if you had two people in your head instead of one."

Kenshin shrugged. "Crazy or not, that's the way it is. I've been like this for so long I can hardly remember a time before it. It doesn't seem strange to me anymore, though I can see how it would to you. That younger Kenshin, the one you dislike so much, is for the most part a mask, a persona I adopted to do what I knew I normally could not. At the same time though, he's also me...as I was before I learned a lot of hard lessons about life."

Sano felt his eyes widen as he stared at his friend. I've never heard him talk like this before. He's being so...open. "So you mean the assassin part of you is...fake?"

"I wish he was," the rurouni muttered under his breath, so quietly Sano almost missed it. Kenshin gave a sharp shake of his head, continuing as if he hadn't spoken. "Yes, and no. He is complicated; as I said, you're oversimplifying him. He is a part of me that was originally harmless, just a boy like any other. But when he had to assume the assassin's role, he become something dark and dangerous, a killer in the shadows. At the time he had no choice; it was either kill or be killed himself. As time went on though, that darkness in him grew stronger, and for a while I lost control over him. Even all these years later, he still sometimes manages to break free. We are the same man, and yet not."

Sano tried to work his mind around the concept. As bizarre and insane as the idea seemed, it fit with the Kenshin he knew, and explained a lot of his strange and often contradictory behavior. "How...I mean, what happened to do that to you?"

Shinta had been silent throughout the conversation. He'd continued to weed the garden, his head bowed as he listened intently to the exchange between the two men. Now he lifted his head, his large eyes sad. "War," he said softly.

The rurouni nodded in agreement. "You know the horrors of war, Sano. You've seen it for yourself. You've seen what it does to those involved."

"Yeah," Sano murmured. "Yeah, I sure do." The image of his taichou's head severed and put on display for the crowds to jeer at flashed through his mind, just as vivid now as it had been the day he'd stood as a young boy outside the gate, hardly able to believe that his mentor was really gone. Anger had sparked within him then, rage towards the Imperialist pigs that had so brutally betrayed and murdered the man who had become like a second father to him. From that day forward he had vowed to become strong, and for ten years he'd lost himself in the violent life of a street fighter, fighting to escape the pain of his anger and loss. For a long time, he realized, it was as if there had been another Sagara Sanosuke within him. "Zanza" had taken on almost a life of his own; it had taken getting his ass kicked by Kenshin to bring him back to his senses again. So that's how it must have been for Kenshin...only for him Battousai had become so strong it took the death of his own wife to wake him up to what he'd become. And even then, Battousai never disappeared. Suddenly, it was as if a light had gone on inside Sano's head, and he looked up at the rurouni in growing alarm. "Wait, Kenshin, that other you...is he dangerous? He wouldn't do anything you wouldn't, right?"

The rurouni's expression was grave. "I don't know that, Sano. What worries me about him is his lack of control over his own emotions...he's never been free like this before, so he is frightened and confused. He has no self-control because I am his self-control. That is where the split occurred, I think."

"Oh...oh shit," Sano whispered, comprehension dawning. "So at any moment that kid could just snap?"

Now even Shinta looked worried, biting his lip nervously. "Rurouni-san, what if he does? What do we do?"

Kenshin stared off into the yard, no longer trying to hide the worry and fear etched into his features. "I really don't know, and that's what frightens me."