Rurouni Rei 3

I do not own Mega Man Zero or Rurouni Kenshin. All rights go to their respective owners. I am making nothing off this. Thank you.

Rei was the first to wake. While he got up from his position against the tree, he looked around to see if he could spot any signs that they had been disturbed late that night. As he glanced, his eyes came to rest on Ciel's still sleeping form. "Why am I doing this?" he pondered. "I've never met her, and I don't know any reason why she deserves protection. Why was my first thought to protect her?"

Satisfied that no one was around who would pose a danger to Ciel, he decided that it would be prudent to go fetch some breakfast. Listening, he heard a bird sing. Silently standing, he quickly traversed through the woods in an attempt to find the songbird in question "Eggs would make a good meal," he thought. Immediately, he went into action, whispering to himself "Rei Shiki Zaneidan". The vacuum slash travelled through the air and cut down the limb that held the nest. Quickly, Rei leaped into the air and grabbed the eggs as they fell from the nest. "Three eggs," he noticed. Silently, he shoved the eggs in the bag and fled the scene before the mother bird had time to process what had happened.

Upon returning to their campsite, he set to work cooking the eggs. Spending some time starting the fire again, he set about finding the coals. These, he placed under some new tinder. Then, he took two smooth stones he pulled from a nearby brook and set them over the fire, allowing them to heat up. While he waited for the stones to heat up, the crackling and the heat of the fire caused his camp mate to stir.

She got up with a stretch and a yawn. In her hair were a few small twigs, and her pink kimono was now stained by the dirt and grass she had been resting on. For a moment, in her sleepy stupor, she had forgotten why she was in the woods. Worry clouded her face for a fleeting instant before she remembered what had happened. A rush of emotions hit her as she it began to sink in. Milan was captured, all her men were dead, and she was alone with a stranger.

Almost as though Rei could read her thoughts, he suddenly asked, "How are you?"

This simple question seemed to crack the floodgates. She struggled to maintain control of her emotions, and her voice quivered as she replied, "I feel useless."

Rei gave a knowing look, but remained silent. His face seemed to say, "Take your time, but go on." So Ciel continued.

"It's my fault that Milan was captured. If I could defend myself, then I wouldn't have to rely on so many people to protect me. If I knew how to fight back, then maybe those resistance fighters would still be alive. Now, those men are dead. They'll never see their wives, their children, their friends…" She hiccupped, and tears began to flow. "Even you! You have no reason to protect me, but I wouldn't be alive if it was for you! I always need someone to protect me because I can never protect myself…" Then, the tears began to flow freely, and great sobs wracked her body.

Rei allowed her to cry for a while as he placed the eggs on the now hot stones. They began to sizzle, and he turned back around to Ciel. He waited, knowing that sometimes all you needed was a good cry. "Strange how a near-death experience can bond two people. I wonder if she'd tell anyone else about this right now."

After a few minutes, the eggs were cooked through, and Ciel's sobbing had become silent tears. He divided the eggs between them, giving Ciel slightly more than he gave himself, and handed her her share. "I doubt you have much of an appetite, but you do need to eat." They ate in relative silence, Ciel still picking at her food well after Rei had finished his share. After looking at her for a moment, he decided that now was as good a time as any.

"It's not your fault." Ciel turned her head and looked at him. "Those men were sent to kill you. It's their fault and theirs alone that those men's lives were taken from them. Never blame yourself for someone else's wickedness. Everyone has their own sins to worry about; you don't need to worry about anyone else's as well.

"Furthermore, you're not a fighter. You are a scientist. You make the world a better place; I kill people. You're not supposed to be a talented fighter; that's my job. You did what you had to, and they did what they were supposed to. Remember that."

Ciel smiled a sad smile. "But it's a smile nonetheless," Rei reasoned. The rest of the meal went by in relative silence. Neither said anything. Ciel spent time thinking. What was happening to Milan? What was happening with the Resistance? Was it possible that they had been defeated while she was off trying to survive? Then another, more peculiar thought struck her. "Is it possible that Rei may be able to help us? Dare I dream that he may allow us to win this war?"

Rei, on the other hand, was looking at everything that happened and was trying to find all the clues that could be found about his former life. He awoke with no memory of his former life. He had no family, no friends, no purpose… He really had no former life. His name was a testament to that fact; he was a 'Zero". Zilch, zip, empty, void. He awoke with bread that was only a day or two old at the most, a small container for water, the clothes on his back, and the sword on his lap. He had knowledge of how to fight, he knew how to start a fire and survive in the woods. He wanted to protect people. "Or is it just Ciel I wish to protect?" The more he thought about, the more he realised that she mattered to him. Maybe she had no connection to his life before, but she was the only person he even remotely knew right now.

It's not the he minded being alone, but he did not want his only connection to leave him. Something about her seemed familiar, but not in a way he could quite describe.

He watched as Ciel picked a flower from the ground and inspected it. Then, she smiled – "A little more brightly this time," Rei noted – and placed it in her hair. She turned to look at him, and he got lost in her blue eyes for just a moment. Suddenly, a memory came back to him: A brunette girl with deep green eyes, a red kimono, and a blue wrap. Her name was right there on the tip of his tongue, but it just would not come to him. In his memory, he recalled her looking at him and saying something, although he could not remember what. Then she reached down and placed a flower in her hair, "Just like Ciel!" Rei realised. Then it faded.

When he came back to, Ciel was looking at him with a most quizzical look. "What?" she asked.

Rei, momentarily too stunned for words, had no idea what to say. Eventually, he said the only thing that came to mind. "I… I remembered something."

Ciel was shocked. She was not expecting that. "What did you remember?"

"A girl," Rei replied. "I remember a girl. She put a flower in her hair, just like you did. She was a brunette with deep green eyes. She was wearing a red kimono with a blue obi. She was saying something to me, but I can't remember what. I feel like her name is just on the tip of my tongue! It's just out of reach, and I can't remember her! I can't even remember if she mattered to me or not, and it's maddening!"

Ciel saw Rei working himself up, and was a little worried. Rei had never done that before, so she worried. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she said, "Hey, hey. It'll come back to you when it does. I understand how badly you want to remember, but you can't force memories to return. You have to let them come back on their own, okay?"

This helped to calm Rei down somewhat. "You're right… It's just… frustrating!"

"I understand." She smiled. "But it'll come back to you; just give it time."

Rei sighed. Ciel was right. She was smart, he'd give her that. "Anyway," he huffed. "We need to get back to walking. If we're to make it before nightfall, then we don't have time to waste."

Ciel nodded in agreement. They worked together to smother the fire, and then started traversing their way back to Ciel's base. The rest of the day went by uneventfully. Rei was quiet. "Well, quieter than usual," Ciel thought.

After several hours of walking and talk that mostly consisted of Ciel giving Rei some more general directions, they finally reached their destination. Ciel smiled. "Here we are, Rei! This is the Resistance Base. It's a shelter for those suspected to be witches and warlocks. However, the Arcadians simply don't understand! It's not magic that we're using; it's science! Even now, Xander is trying to eradicate us."

"Wait, did you say Xander?" Rei interrupted. "That name sounds familiar… and you said that he's trying to eradicate you?"

"Yes. They shun new technology. There's a stigma among the commoners that technology are powered by demons and evil spirits. They claim that we dabble in dark magic to summon these entities. That's not true, though; not at all! It's a small problem that we weren't very concerned with. No one in power really believed it. However, then Xander was given a position of power in Arcadia. He started waging war on us, and we were overwhelmed! He easily turned the stigma into full-blown discrimination, and used the local forces to attack us… Many lost their lives, but everyone here managed to make it out. Everyone here understands that technology can be used for good, or is at least open to the idea of it. Xander has turned everyone out there against us, and we've been trying to fight back, but…" Ciel sighed. "We have to wage a war, and a campaign to turn people's minds… It's not easy, Rei."

Rei was stunned. He had no idea that things were so violent. Personally, he had no idea how this new technology worked. He did know that superstition led him to think it was some kind of magic, but he also knew it was foolish to fear the unknown. Was Xander really such a terrifying man? …And why did his name sound so familiar?

Ciel started talking again. "Anyways, it seems that the commander is saying something important. We'll talk more after, okay?"

Rei heard a voice speaking. They had started, but he missed a little bit. "Seems like they were just general greetings though."

"-to announce completion of this Resistance Base! I thank you all for accepting me as your commander. I promise to keep everyone safe, and to bring about a new era of enlightenment!"

In response to this, a number of people in the auditorium started jumping and shouting. "Yeah!" "Hoorah!" "Peace again!" and other things were shouted. A flood of people exited the room leaving Ciel and the commander alone with Rei. Ciel turned to the commander and began talking while Rei examined him.

His hair was blonde and long, although it was wavier and fuller than Rei's. It covered one eye, but his other eye was a cool blue. He was tall and fairly lean, standing a few inches above Rei. He wore a long, high-collared fuchsia coat with a cyan shirt and black, tight pants complemented by white gloves.

The Commander chuckled. "Honestly, I'm still a little embarrassed when I think about being Commander... Are you sure about this? Trusting our fate to an Arcadian like me...?"

Ciel smiled. "Absolutely. It was you who organized us to fight against Arcadia, when we were barely able to escape with our lives, Elpizo."

"I'm flattered, but remember that you helped me all along. You know how unreliable I am without you, Ciel."

"You just keep in mind that we had to organise a resistance force in order to protect ourselves..."

Elpizo's face grew more solemn. Despite his flamboyant appearance, he seemed to take his position quite seriously. "Yes, I will remember that. And now we are buying time for you to complete your research. Still... Since Xander has not been re-elected yet, we couldn't ask for a better opportunity! He's in political limbo, and has less control right now. Please, allow me to carry out my operation."

Ciel pondered it for a moment. Despite how little she knew about warfare, her opinion was weighed heavily. One of the primary goals of the resistance was to protect her; she was perhaps the most important person at the base. Having finally reached her decision, she replied, "All right... But promise me one thing. Don't be too strict."

Elpizo bowed in reply. His bow was showy, although very gentlemanly. "He was probably a noble of some sort in Arcadia," Rei mused.

"You have my word," Elpizo grinned. Then, turning to Rei, "And who might you be?"

Ciel was the first to reply. "His name is Rei. We… ran into some trouble on our way here. Golem and his men found me. My escort defended me as best they could, but… There were just so many of them!" The memories overwhelmed her, and she needed to take a moment to collect herself. "They killed everyone and captured Milan…"

Elpizo was alarmed. "Damn it! Those were some of our best men! …" Then he turned to Rei. "I take it you had something to do with Lady Ciel's safe return?"

Rei nodded in reply. "I was resting in an abandoned dojo when Ciel, Milan, and two others broke in. This Golem… he and his men easily overwhelmed the two outside. When they came in, their leader got into a little spat with Milan. He survived the fight, but was quickly knocked unconscious. I overheard them threatening Ciel and decided to step in."

Ciel, like an excited school girl who just remembered something amazing, interrupted Rei's account of the previous day. "You should have seen him, Elpizo! He quickly killed the dozen other men, and then fought Golem! It was one-sided, and I had never seen anything like it before!"

Elpizo lifted an eyebrow in curiosity. "Really? Well, Rei. If I may ask, why did you choose to help Lady Ciel?"

Rei hesitated a moment as he thought about just how much he wanted to reveal. "It just felt right," he finally stated.

Elpizo took a moment to mull over that answer before he nodded. "Very well. What are you going to do now, good sir?"

Again, Rei hesitated, although not because he had to think about his response. He honestly had no idea what he was going to do now. "I… really don't know…"

Ciel was the next to pipe up. "You could stay here with us, Rei. We could use your help." Her eyes were big like a puppy dog, and Elpizo stood there with a solemn grimace on his face.

Rei shook his head before locking eyes with Elpizo. "I'll do it."

Elpizo smiled. "Good. I have a particular request to ask you for if you're up to it. Ciel claims you're skilled. What I want to ask you is if you would do something that no one has been able to do so far... I want you to destroy the Disposal Chambers, where they torture and cruelly kill our comrades one after another. Even while I speak, they may be ending someone who is wrongly suspected of being a Witch or Warlock. To prevent any additional loss of life, please destroy the enemy facility... Will you accept?"

Rei nodded. "Alright."

I FEEL SO BAD! I'm sooooo sorry, guys! It's been two years, and I just kinda sorta maybe totally forgot about this game I'm not even sure why? You guys were so supportive, I enjoyed it so much, and I had (probably more) free time then than I do now! In those two years, I went to college and now have an associate's. Now I'm working on my Bachelor's of Music Education with one of my busiest semesters, and NOW I decide to resurrect this fic? What on Earth am I doing?

I don't know, and I do apologise, but I genuinely enjoyed writing this! And I guess that may be the best excuse I can give? I enjoyed writing it these past few days, but I can't guarantee I always will. I'll TRY to be better with this, but I'm busy, and if I stop enjoying writing this, then I'll stop writing it. Anyways, on to the reviews!

LunaClefairy wrote:

Hm, short chapter, and not much happened. However, if Rei's food and water are mostly fresh, that implies to me that he wasn't in that dojo for an extended period of time - probably a couple weeks at most.

At first, the fact that Ciel is still a scientist confused me, because I didn't think Japan had scientists during the Meiji era. I was correct to an extent, but I did a little research and discovered that Japan hired over 3,000 Westerners to teach modern science to Japanese children. So in this story, it's likely that Ciel is either a foreigner (this would also explain her French name in this universe) or a person who had graduated from this new Western education system. Oh, look at me getting all nerdy over history...

Writer's block is annoyance, but just keep trying! I'm sure this will turn out great.

My response

Yeah, Rei wasn't in there very long. Just a few days as we see in this chapter. The bigger question is, why that dojo? Remember, he was in a very specific place in the games. Does that translate to here, and if so, what does it mean?

As for the westerners teaching modern science, yeah that's a very interesting fact, isn't it? The strange thing is that great advancements are almost always shunned, and in this time when mysticism was still fairly dominant, it was actually rather strong. As you can see, that's going to play a role in the story, probably a fairly big one, in fact.

Also, yes my writer's block is gone, finally! It only took too long haha. And nerds unite!

Anyways, that's all I have to say on the matter for now! So for now, this is TOWN, aka TheOtherWhiteNerd signing off! Sayonara!