Japan

Prologue

Kenshin knew he was lost. Somewhere between Kobe and Kyoto, looking for citizens to help, he had gotten himself lost in the woods. Maybe it was a wrong turn at a fork in the road, or he had managed to snag bad luck, but either way, there was no trail in sight. The woods were unusually quiet for so late in the day. Eight years wandering Japan, and yet, somehow his sense of direction was failing him. As he hiked through the expanse of forest, it became evident that he was going in circles. He'd occasionally pass by the same clearing, or stump, or group of trees, that he had just seen mere minutes ago. It was getting darker, and he would have at least liked to find some shelter.

Finally, just as the sun set below the horizon, when he could still make out most of his surroundings by the light of the gloaming, he came upon a cave buried into a hillside. The floor of the cave was flat stone tile. Obviously someone had built this cave. Either way, it looked and felt empty; and he needed somewhere to sleep.

This should be a good place to rest for the night. He began to walk inside, the cave becoming so dark as he walked, he could not see his own hands. For some reason he kept walking, slowly, to see exactly where he would be staying. It wasn't until several minutes he thought he saw light at the end. A minute later, he realized the light was two torches, burning brightly. There was an opening up ahead.

Kenshin reached the end. It was still pretty hard to see, but it looked like there was dark, shallow water on the ground in front of him. But it was odd. The light of the torches didn't reflect on the surface, and neither did he. It was very strange, and he was curious. Water normally reflected light...

He took a cautious step forward, and fell through with a loud cry.

Chapter 1

Welcome to Hyrule

Kenshin flew through the air, his long, red hair fluttering behind him. He was plummeting fast, and he started to wonder if this blackness was going to be the last thing he didn't see. With much difficulty, he managed to sheath his sword, so in case if he survived the landing, he wouldn't be impaled. He braced himself, as he saw bright green grass below him. He closed his eyes, preparing for the worst...

He landed.

That was it?

No stumbling, or broken bones?

It was if some sort of strange force and made him land saftely. He looked up, and saw blue sky. He gasped. He looked back in front of him, and saw that he was in a great, grassy plain. Had he died? Was his landing actually fatal, and he was now in some sort of afterlife? Surely this was not the case!

He checked himself over. He looked exactly like he had before he fell down the hole. Maybe this was some sort of magic. He did not believe in such a thing, but maybe in a situation as strange as this, it was safe to assume and consider things. It wasn't magic, most likely, but maybe a well-designed trap. He starting pacing in all directions, looking for some sort of wall. But looking off in the distance, he could see the grass moving, and feel the wind.

This was very weird, indeed. Perhaps an illusion? Someone set up an intricate lighting system that would... no, magic almost seemed more probable.

He eventually just accepted he was out in the daytime, in the middle of a grassy field, without a clue as to how or why. He began to wander, looking for any signs of people. He kept one hand near his sakabattou at all times, making sure there wasn't going to be an ambush.

Link was on Epona, riding away from Death Mountain. His tunic was torn in many places, and he had a new collection of bruises and burns from the mountain to add to his injuries from the forest. The desert leader would stop at nothing. Ever since he had sent the beasts to infect the sacred forest temple, Link had fought them off. And now he tried the Mountains. It only made sense that now he would go to the Lake Hylia.

Especially after the Goron traitor's last words:

You were right... Hylian... save... my... people, and get the final... blue... stone...

Blue stone had to represent the lake. He took out the Goron's Ruby and Forest Emerald and looked them over. The emerald was round, with a swirling gold design imbedded in the bottom. The ruby was pointed, and seemed to sprout from it's golden design, like some sort of plant. The Gorons were famous for eating bomb plants, so maybe that was where whoever designed it got the idea. He thought back to the matter at hand, tucking the two stones away.

First forest, then mountain, it was only reasonable to at least check on the Zoras. The Gerudos were probably making lots of enemies so they could take everyone's land. For thousands of years they had lived in the scorching desert, banished for theiving and pillaging. This man, Ganondorf, was planning to take over. He knew it. The sages knew it.

For miles he traveled, not stopping, even when the sun started to set. He had to find some sort of shelter or town. Night in the fields was a bad time to be out, indeed. It was then he noticed a silouhette against the setting sun, walking towards him. He eyed him suspiciously, putting a hand on his sword, sheathed on his back, just in case...

Link stopped a few feet away from the man, Kenshin. They were about at equal heights though Link was a bit taller, and their appearances were different. Link was more muscular from his rough village living, his tunic green and torn. He also had a perculiar green pointed hat to match. On his feet were a pair of messy brown boots. They were old, but durable. On his back was a sword and shield, always ready. His hair was shaggy and blond, and his eyes a deep blue.

This man, however, was not evidentially strong, but Link had known many to seem small, but be effective in a fight. He went right to sizing the man up, in case he was hostile. His hair was unusually grown out for a man, and a light shade of red. He seemed young, and his skin showed no sign of wrinkling. He wore some sort of dress, and had a curved sword. A noticeable scar had been planted on his cheek, in the distinct shape of an X... Sizing him up took mere seconds, and he used the time to dismount.

He took a step forward, talking in a seldom-used voice, "Who are you?"

The strange red head held up his hands and smiled apologetically, "This one is just a wanderer, and has gotten himself hopelessly lost, Do you happen to know the way back to Kyoto from here?" If the way the young man was looking at him was any indication, he had done a good job sizing him up and probably did not like what he had seen. So Kenshin put on his best, most sincere rurouni act to put the boy at ease.

Link raised a brow, "Wanderer, do you take me as a fool? I know there is no such thing as Kyoto. Are you a minion of Ganon? You look like you'd be one of his messed up priests." he snapped.

Link was tensed and ready, while Kenshin stood, almost relaxed. Only one of power would act so calm. He could only suspect Ganon.

Kenshin sighed inwardly. This was not going well as it seemed obvious Link was just looking for someone to fight, or at least take out his frustrations on.

"This one does not want to fight you, that he does not." The sun was dangerously low now, and Kenshin was hoping for some sort of shelter or town before nightfall. Time did not quite seem right here, and he was starting to feel a little on edge.

Link frowned," How can I trust you? I have seen no one in Hyrule in such strange attire. I should only suspect you to be from the Gerudo Desert!" he accused. He had never been to the desert before, and he had no idea what they dressed in.

"I have never heard of such a place," Kenshin said softly, but slipping out of his overly polite tone. "And you need to calm down before something happens."

Something clicked inside of Link. 'Before something happens?' This could only be a threat! he realized, drawing his sword, "I should have known!" he cried, jumping high into the air and raising his sword up. He began bringing it down. A small part of him, covered up behind a suspicious side, wanted to act like the playful villager he used to be, and accept this man as a friend. But after the many horrors and monsters he had seen in barely a month, that side of him was covered. He was attacking.

Kenshin waited, and then suddenly wasn't there, the boy was lunging toward earth with no way to change the direction of his fall, and no clue where the man had disappeared to. It was as if he had vanished.

He moved his sword quickly and hit the ground hard, crying out. He rolled a few feet and stood up, partly dazed. He regained his balance and posture, and turned around, searching for the stranger.

"Din, Ganondorf, why can't you just leave Hyrule alone?" he muttered.

Link began to turn, and saw that the wanderer was behind him, swinging his curved blade. Link's shield, still strapped to his back, was in the way, mainly because he had not completed his turn, so the blade bounced harmlessly off. He's fast,Link noted. He then flexed his muscles and prepared himself, and unleashed a full-scale spinning attack, which was sure to get him, that is, if he was going to dodge from the sides...

Kenshin, though, had already jumped high into the air and landed on Link's sword in mid-spin. Link yelled helplessly and tipped over, his sword being driven into the ground. He saw that the man had now jumped into the air a second time, and was bringing his sword down. Link drew his sheild and raised it up, blocking the attack. Kenshin bounced back; off-balance.

Link yanked his sword out, and glared at the man. And then he realized something as his horse reared back and whinnied. He stopped, his eyes widened, and his hair stood on end.

Silence.

"We're not safe here..." he said in a hushed tone. A second later, a wolf howled in the distance. Regardless of them being enemies, they were both in serious trouble.

Darkness settled over the land...

A/N: Hey everyone! My sister recently suggested that I make a Rurouni Kenshin and Legend of Zelda crossover. After doing the prologue, I sent it to her. She then said we could work on the story together. We both did chapter one, but she will be doing chapter 2, then me 3, then her 4, and so on.

Well, it's my first crossover, and the site's first RK LoZ crossover (Not much competition, huh?), so sit back and, uh... I guess enjoy?

-Sam

A/N: I'm going to make Sam do most of the work. Hehe. But in other news I don't know much about LoZ and he doesn't know much about RK so we're trying to help each other and correct each other, but we might miss something. Don't try and crucify us in your comments. The nails just ruin your monitor and kinda tick us off. Other than that, we're pretty nice if you tell us something's not quite right, and we'll either fix or explain it.

Seriously? The only RKLoZ Xover? OMGWTF? Forget competition, who's going to read it? ^_^

- The Sister