For the Humanity Within

Disclaimer: Megaman is owned by Capcom but the names used here are meant for fictional purposes. If real names appear here, this is out of coincidence.

Note: Guess who the new characters are… Please review.

II. Dormant Memorial

Kojiro faced much for his first day. The mystery left for him to unravel in such a short notice. He shrugged the thoughts of the stranger with a scarf that passed him by as he held the notebook that Ciel lent him. He looked at the flowery design of the cover. A thought of her came to mind as he closed his eyes in attempt to clear his thoughts. He opened the notebook and read its contents and began to scribble in his notebook as the night went on. The night went with him studying for him to catch up.

Morning came from the east as it welcomes. Kojiro came to the dining table ready for school. This time, someone reading a newspaper was seated there, wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and jeans. The aroma of his cup of coffee tickled his nose as this man lowered the newspaper that blocked his face. Sporting the shoulder length hair of platinum, he smirked and reached for the coffee as he watched Kojiro take a seat with a glass of milk and a plate of French toast and pancakes.

"Morning Kojiro," he welcomed him. "Or should I say Kami."

Kojiro looked back and then turned silently to his food and smirked at the comment. Kojiro forgot to tie up his hair that he resembled a younger version of the drummer of Malice Mizer, Kami.

"Well, so much for my brother Klaha." Kojiro replied to his brother as he started eating the toast on his plate. "Who cooked these?"

"I did." Klaha answered straight away. "And so much for the Malice Mizer names that Dad gave."

Right...Kojiro thought as he began to nibble the toast. Since they're the only ones in this city that lived with their father, their elder brother went missing due to the accident that occurred 3 years ago. For Kojiro and Klaha, the anguish was still fresh. Now that they try to start anew with losses of both their mother and brother, Kojiro was transferred to this city.

"Well, I have to get going." Kojiro said to Klaha upon finishing the cup of milk, standing from his seat with a clean plate. "Anyways, the French toast that you made is better than Dad's."

"Hey, I'll tell Dad you said that." Klaha answered.

Kojiro walked away from his house with his bag hanging on his side while he tied his hair with a black strip of cloth. Upon closing the door, Klaha laughed all by himself about the thought.

"Yeah, so much for having the looks and nicknames based on those guys, even if they're disbanded." Klaha smirked as he went to the kitchen sink to wash the dishes.

Kojiro was on his way to school. But that moment never felt the same as he felt uneasy while he walked alone. It felt like someone was following him, stalking from the shadows. The wind blew and what his ears have caught from the rustling of leaves is the sound of quivering cloth like that of a scarf. His eyes seemed to have caught a shadow upon the ground, yet as he turned to his back, it was empty.

This is getting creepy for once...

Kojiro walked on as someone called his name from behind. The voice was that of a girl. As he turned, there was Ciel walking and quickly she approached him. Kojiro only watched as she gained on him, noticing the dark shades of her uniform and the way her hair danced under the morning sunlight. The floral notebook clasped within his hand was hidden on his back, waiting.

"Good morning, Kojiro." Ciel welcomed him with her cheerful glow.

"Morning," Kojiro replied as they began walking.

"So, were you able to catch up with the lessons?"

Kojiro only nodded as he handed the notebook to Ciel.

"Here, it must have been too much for me to do this favor. Thank you."

Ciel smiled but she tilted her head to hide her blushing face. Kojiro turned and started walking, halting halfway to wait. He looked back and saw Ciel standing still with her head bowed down. He began to wonder what was surging in her mind. Taking a deep breath to calm the tense self, he spoke.

"Ciel, we should get going. We'll be late for class if we didn't."

Ciel snapped back to reality, smiled and began to walk. Side by side with Kojiro, a conversation danced in the air as they walked on to class. Interests came to mind as they continued walking towards the campus.

"So, are you planning to join a club in school Kojiro?" Ciel asked

Kojiro began to ponder about that matter. Neither an idea nor a clue of what club to join to, he shook his head.

"I'm not sure…" he answered as he stared at the sky.

"I see. I can't help but notice that long hair of yours. Good thing the school allows freedom in those things. The students can't help but notice your hair. It looks like…"

"…Kami of Malice Mizer…heard that. Even my brother laughs at that comment."

Ciel smiled, "I think it looks different."

The two entered the campus and at that moment, Kojiro noticed a boy around his age wearing a blue scarf. He remembered the incident on the previous day when he crossed paths with a stranger with a scarf but he could not remember the details of his features. This one stood as he looked at the clock tower of the school and as he turned around, he saw Kojiro and Ciel. He smiled and never uttered a word. Kojiro was surprised. He noticed the features of his face and the way his hair was styled differed from that stranger. Jet black hair of shoulder length, layered and straight for a clean look, Kojiro closed his eyes and recalled the ruffled hair of the stranger. As he opened his eyes again, he knew the difference.

Whew, that's not him...Kojiro sighed.

"Kojiro, is there something bothering you?" Ciel spoke as she went in front of him.

Taken by surprise, he stepped back. A flush of crimson heightened the heat of tension of this startled form. "..I-it's nothing really. I just lack sleep from last night."

"Ok, we should go to class." She smiled as she turned to the door.

"You can go ahead, Ciel. I'll catch up." Kojiro replied, gasping for air after these words were said. His eyes searched for that young man but alas, he was no longer there.

The permeating thoughts of concern came to pass. Kojiro struggled to pay attention in class as the incident troubled him. The words that the teacher spoke passed on like fluid monologues, dancing in responses of some students. The morning class stopped for lunch break. Heading for the cafeteria, he took a beef rice bowl on that moment as he sauntered towards Akira's spot.

"Hey Kojiro, are you ready for History class?" Akira asked as Kojiro took his seat and clasped his chopsticks.

"What's going to happen on that class?" Kojiro asked.

"An oral quiz," the whole group answered in unison while Kojiro had a few mouthfuls.

"This will be tough…" Kaze stated as he shuffled his cards in a shotgun shuffle, laying five cards on the table. "I haven't done any searches yet."

"I'm not surprised if Pai and Ciel score this one easily." Mayu added as she took a spoonful of curry rice and ate.

Kojiro was silent as he continued on his meal. Alia noticed this and stared at him, seemingly reading his thoughts.

"A strange encounter with a stranger wearing as scarf...and thoughts of a girl with golden hair and azure eyes…"

Kojiro froze as he heard those words; he raised his head and turned to Alia, startled with the nature of such.

"You must be wondering what I just said." Alia said to him with a mischievous smirk. "Those are your thoughts."

Akira and Kaze cast their gazes at her. Kojiro only stared at her and noticed something strange that flickered in Alia's hazel eyes. It flickered with a strange glow of amber, yet it was only short-lived.

"What the hell was that?" Akira stared at Alia, confused and bewildered.

"How did you do that?" Kaze followed up as he opened three cards that revealed aces.

Alia replied with her smile that has been an enigma. "It's a…"

"SECRET!" The three answered, that being Kojiro, Akira and Kaze.

Meanwhile, at the classroom, Ciel was reading a small book while waiting for the bell to ring. The silent room echoed with her breathing. The whistling wind resounded within the room, the window opened with the view of the azure sky. The door slid open as footsteps were heard in ascending volume. She turned and saw her friend, the short chestnut brown hair with its highlights of crimson made her call by the name.

"Rouge," she greeted.

"You're reading again. You're really studying too hard for that." Rouge answered casually as she approached her. "Hey, is that?"

Ciel nodded as she gave her book. Rouge took a glance at the cover and turned the pages. She looked at Ciel and returned the book to her grasp. "Who could have thought of a popular girl who is top of the class to reading this novel?"

The bell rung soon after, yet they're the only students in that room. Rouge glanced at Ciel and remembered the day when Kojiro came.

"Say, I noticed something was bothering you when he came." Rouge started the conversation with her usual casual voice.

"Who, is it Kojiro?" Ciel asked.

"Yeah, and you had that blushed look on your face. It's usual for you to help other students, but that was different from the usual. Did I mention he has that…?"

"He looks like Kami alright, but I think he's just Kojiro. Nothing special about that, right?"

Rouge snickered and laughed softly, trying to hold back. She saw the look in Ciel's face that made her quickly conclude the situation.

"Oh, you have a crush on him." Rouge exclaimed her conclusion.

Ciel, startled, blushed and glared at Rouge. Her face flushed with crimson as she stood from her seat in protest. "That's not fair. That's not the point. You see…"

The door slid open and Kojiro entered. Ciel covered her lips with her hand while Rouge turned and saw Kojiro entering the classroom. Both of them were stunned to see him enter the room with that conversation running. He started to wonder what was going on.

"Did I miss something?" Kojiro asked.

"Nothing important," Rouge answered.

"Anyways, have you studied for the oral quiz?" Ciel asked

"Yeah," Kojiro replied, "Although it wasn't enough or something."

The other students entered and the teacher came in. It happened to be Mr. Graves. He greeted the students with his charisma that they responded with enthusiasm. For Akira and Kaze's case, this was going to be torture. As for Kojiro, he kept his calm resolve.

"So first off is Mikami Kojiro." Mr. Graves started with his oral quiz.

Kojiro stood with resolve. The questions came to him and answers left the lines of words uttered by his lips. The class glanced at him, Kaze and Akira wondering in disbelief. Ciel and Rouge watched him and listened, Rouge was surprised but Ciel smiled at his answers. The teacher was impressed.

The class was over on that period. Ciel smiled as she watched Kojiro take his seat. Akira and Kaze whispered at each other.

"Man that was neat. How did he do that?" Kaze asked.

"I guess he never told us. His calm state can be something. He's thought this out, that I'm sure." Akira answered as he watched Kojiro return to his seat and read his notes.

The students left as the bell rung, ending the sessions for the day. The clubs began their assemblies while the other students left for home. Kojiro left the building alone, quiet as always. Yet something caught his attention on the school grounds. A stone rolled upon his feet. His eyes caught the sight of three men cornering a student. He was surprised when he saw the blue scarf worn on his neck.

"We're here to pay you a visit. So hand over your stuff." said one who had a wooden stick in his hand. "We'll make sure that you won't get hurt."

"And if I don't, then what now?" the boy with the blue scarf asked.

"Then you're gonna get It." said the other, his fist now poised to strike. He gave out a punch heading straight for the boy's face. Yet the blow was halted when his hand was pulled from behind. He turned and saw Kojiro behind him. But on that moment it was too late when his body was slammed on the man with the stick. Kojiro took the piece of wood and pointed it at the two who are down.

"Leave now." Kojiro spoke with a harsh tone.

He felt something amiss. A blow was coming for him from his side as it descended from above. The stick was about to hit him but he had no choice. He launched his foot, thrusting towards the assailant's gut. Losing air, he dropped down. Kojiro turned towards the other two and a scared look on their faces welcomed him as if they saw a ghost. The three scurried and left, leaving Kojiro and the boy with the blue scarf. This time it felt calm.

"I can take care of those three. But thanks for your help." he spoke as he thanked Kojiro.

"Don't mention it, I was just passing by. I have to help." Kojiro replied.

"Thanks again, I'm Kamui Date."

"Mikami Kojiro. So, wanna have some snacks? I know a place for us to go to."

Kamui followed Kojiro as they left the school grounds. Akira was waiting for them at the gate and they headed for the café. Little did they know that someone has a watchful eye on them. Atop the clock tower, the stranger watched them depart. The wind brushed his ruffled jet black hair and the scarf on his neck. The scarlet coat worn grasped the breeze along with the linings of his jeans and black shirt. He watched them as he saw the westward sun set upon his gaze.

"It will soon come…The moment of the awakening. This three will see it."

The stranger turned as his scarf danced and fluttered. He turned his back and as the eyes would be deceived by the vision of light, he vanished in thin air.

(End of Chapter 2)

Author's tête-à-tête

What will happen now to the three of them? And what is this moment of awakening?

Characters…

Rouge (from the zero series, the navigator on zero 2-4 with red hair)

Klaha – try to guess (brace for the later chapters to find out who he is.)

Kamui Date – try to guess

Guy with ruffled hair and scarf – try to guess

Include your suggestions of who these two people with scarves really are. Chapter three will be up soon. Please review for the reviews are the fuel to drive the story going. They're highly appreciated. Suggestions may also be honored and are appreciated.

Sydney Grise