Testing Boundaries {open}

[Ichiro Yoshi]

Hiro thought curses fiercely as he sprinted among the trees. His tennis shoe-clad feet slammed against the hard ground, nearly sliding on the wet ground. It had been raining when Hiro had set out; he'd actually prepared for that with a poncho, which now fluttered behind him like a cape. He'd thought that the rain would keep the patrols down to a minimum. They'd all been good little VRD's lately, except for the whole BBQ incident, and even then, most of them had behaved themselves there. So why not take it easy? Relax inside instead of roaming the woods in the rain?

But no, that would have made this too easy. Instead, Hiro had nearly blundered into a patrol. He'd barely left what he thought was the official borders of the area when suits had popped out no where. There was no talking his way out of that, and in all honesty, Hiro figured it was probably better to run. He had ninja training, even if he couldn't quite remember it as clearly as he would like. Ninjas were good at escaping from people. Especially when there was so much cover.

So much for that brilliant idea Hiro thought, glancing over his shoulder. He still had a lead on the suits, but he wasn't gaining. In fact, he thought he saw the lead one getting closer. That fact did cause him to spit a few curses under his breath, before twisting his body forward. He nearly plowed into a tree branch, his reflexes just barely saving him. Hands slapped wood, and Hiro spun into the tree, taking several deep breaths. sometimes, it was really, really nice having that unconscious ninja training.

He could still hear the shouts though... he needed a plan. Hiro hurriedly looked around. Head up? Hit the ground and start running again? Turn and fight? He needed something, anything...

[Henry Charmant]

After a day of rain, Henry had begun to feel cooped up in his big empty house. There wasn't much that he could do there--he didn't have many books, and he didn't have any responsibilities. What did people do all day at home? So as soon as the rain let up he decided to head into the woods. It was the one part of Tenebrae that he hadn't really explored yet. And he did want to see the entire estate.

He dressed in a pair of jeans and tennis shoes that were already starting to get worn. It wasn't the nice travel gear he'd arrived in, but it should be good for going through the woods after a shower. He also debated bringing his sword in case he found a place to practice, but in the end he left it. If he had to do some serious hiking, it would be better not to worry about it.

He wandered aimlessly through the woods for a short while, but very soon he heard a commotion forward and to his left. Wondering what was going on, he ran toward the noise. As he got closer, he began to see glimpses of some of the suits hunting through the trees. He had no idea what they were searching for, but it had to be something interesting. If the suits were interested, he was definitely interested.

It didn't seem right to just approach the suits right off the bat. Instead of running forward to meet them, he stood next to a tree, just out of their sight. He needed time to figure out the correct course of action.

[Ichiro Yoshi]

Hiro heard Henry coming, and he'd turned, tensing. His hand fell back, the fingers resting on the hilt of the sword. Images of someone... him? swinging down and latching feet around a neck. Then hold, just long enough for the breath to let out. Then release. Then hearing someone say how cool that was...? Yeah, that was definitely some weird ninja-memory left over in the back of Hiro's always foggy brain. He took a deep breath, fighting it off as he often did.

Which meant that by the time Hiro regained complete control, Henry had come near the tree. The ninja slid very slightly to get a quick look, studying the guy below. He didn't look like a suit. In fact, Hiro thought he dimly recognized the guy from the bruhaha that the barbecue had become. The guy down there didn't look like someone who'd been covered in dessert and panting at the end of that truly sweet battle, but, well, he hadn't been hiding on the edges.

"Hey!" hissed Hiro. He leaned forward, extending a hand. "Get up here! You're going to give away our position!"

Which was the last thing Hiro needed. He really, really didn't want to put his sometimes-working ninja skills up against a group of people who were trained to bring in people just like him. That sounded like a suicide mission.

[Henry Charmant]

Henry heard the hissing above him and looked up in surprise. There was a person up there, someone about his age. He didn't recognize the guy, but that didn't mean much. There were plenty of VRDs that Henry hadn't met yet. He glanced up at the guy, then over at he suits who were combing the forest. Putting two and two together, he frowned.

"I can't climb trees that well," he hissed back. "I'll just make a lot of noise." Seeing one of the suits glance over in that direction, he shut up and stood perfectly still for a moment behind the tree. He tried to think of a different plan as he waited, his mind casting through different possibilities.

If this guy was running from the suits, then he might know something that they were trying to keep him from telling anyone. Or he might be a criminal they were trying to bring to justice. But he certainly didn't look like a criminal. Henry decided to take the chance. He would try to help this guy out.

He darted back into the forest away from the suits a little bit, hoping not to catch their eye. Then he began whistling, at first faintly, then more loudly. When he was at maximum pitch, he started walking toward the suits, hands in his pockets, looking around completely innocently. When the first suit saw him, he stopped short.

"Oh," he said, faking surprise as well as he could. It was actually mostly nerves. "I'm sorry, is this the boundary? I didn't realize I'd traveled so far away...Could you please direct me back toward the houses? I think I might have gotten lost."

Deciding this might not be enough of a distraction to be of any real assistance, he tried to push further. "And uh, can you tell me which way my friend went? We were supposed to meet out here and go for a hike, but I haven't seen him. Maybe he wandered too far, too, and you saw him out here?" It was a long shot, and he wasn't even sure if it would do any good. But at least it kept their attention on him for a little bit longer. And he hadn't officially been doing anything wrong. They couldn't get mad at him, right?

[Ichiro Yoshi]

It took all Hiro had not to start spitting curses. Couldn't climb trees that well? Hiro was more than willing to scramble down a bit and help the guy up, if it came to that. Though the ninja supposed that he couldn't very well do so without drawing some attention to them, which was exactly what Hiro didn't want. He was already silently cursing his luck. It was just like when his brothers messed up all over again. The plans never seemed to work out like they were suppo--wait, brothers? Stupid memory and its stupid flashing. Hiro tapped his head with his closed fist a few times, as though the memories had a mute button.

By the time he finished and looked down, Hiro saw that the boy had moved on. Moved on and... what was he planning? Hiro narrowed his eyes, bracing himself. Sure, he might have almost been caught because of this guy, but Hiro would be damned if he would leave someone alone to face a trap, especially if that someone was springing the trap to help save Hiro's skin. But the guy was... whistling? Hiro blinked, needing a second to realize the plan. When he did, he had to smile. Brilliant! He should have thought of that. Much better to lie and use subterfuge than dash through the woods. Of course, the suits were still likely to collar them and drag them back toward the Estates, but still: not half bad.

Even better: Henry had mentioned a friend. Easy enough for Hiro to fulfill that role, should it come to that. He watched the approaching suits, trying to figure out if he should fall in step with Henry's plan or try something else. There were four of them: three males and a female, and they looked a little winded. They also looked armed with batons of some kind, which made Hiro wince. They were closing in on the guy now, and Hiro adjusted his position. Four. He could probably take one before they realized he was there, if it came to it. Easily another before they rallied, which left one for him and one for the guy. Not bad odds, and definitely doable... if the guy had combat training.

"Can't take that chance," muttered Hiro. He began silently working his way down the tree, nearly slipping a time or two. The unconscious ninja skills were a lot harder to use consciously than he'd have liked.

The suits, meanwhile, were looking Henry over. "Identification," demanded one of the men, extending a hand, motioning. Each of the VRDs had ID cards of some sort, of course.

"You say you got lost in the woods?" asked another of the guys, a rather shaggy looking guy with scraggly blonde hair. He scratched his head with his baton. If anything, he, and the rest of them, looked a strange mixture of put out and pleased, as if they were disappointed that their hunt wasn't going great, but sort of happy that it might all be a misunderstanding.

[Henry Charmant]

Henry blanched when the guy asked for his identification. "Right. The..." He dug in his back pocket, which he'd found conveniently sized for holding the small card. "It..." This would be the time that he forgot it at home. "My name is Henry Charmant," he said to the man. "Prince Henry Charmant. I'm going to be a welcomer here, I'm in training. And I put my ID card..." He envisioned it now in his head, even as he was busy checking all of his pockets, including that stupid little one in the front that couldn't hold anything. He could almost see the card, sitting at home on his dresser. Had he managed to grab it before heading out?

"Well I'm not very used to the foliage around here," he said, still searching for the card, though he couldn't think where else it had gone. At the very least he might be stalling enough for the other guy to get away. "The vegetation at home is very different, not to mention the background. I'm used to orienting based on the mountains surrounding the area. I just haven't had a chance to familiarize myself with everything here."

He could feel a trickle of sweat running down his temple. These people wouldn't be very patient, and he doubted that his story could hold up without something to prove that he wasn't lying about his identity at least. "You'd think I'd remember to grab the card, you know?" he tried to joke. "Mum used to say I'd lose my head...Hopefully whoever I marry doesn't ever lose things, right? Heh..."

[Ichiro Yoshi]

Hiro very nearly started smacking himself on the forehead. Really? No identification? Even Hiro, who had wanted to stay somewhat confidential, had thought of keeping his ID tucked away in a back pocket. True, that was mostly in case he got killed and they needed to identify his body, but still. Why was it that every time there was a plan, it had to go wrong? Hiro thought about cursing Fate, but figured that nothing much would happen of it.

Besides, it seemed like the suits weren't really that upset. They exchanged looks as Henry failed to produce a card, and the sternest of them, the same guy who'd asked for the ID in the first place, folded his arms impatiently. There was very much an aura of impatience about them, but it was also mixed with an aura of familiarity. The scraggly haired guy even leaned in slightly, speaking loud enough for even Hiro to pick up what he said: "Guy totally forgot his ID card. Happens all the time."

The female elbowed him, and all of them generally gave Henry that patient look that teachers gave students who totally forgot their homework but were obviously faking it. The female, at least, tried to help put Henry at ease: "People get lost in here all the time. That's part of the reason we're out here, to make sure you don't--"

"There you are, Henry!" called Hiro. He'd finally caught up, and figured this was his best bet. Smiling, he jogged till he was coming up alongside Henry. Yeah, sure, he could, and arguably should, have been long gone, but Hiro just couldn't leave the guy. He pulled his own ID out of his pocket. "Ichiro Yoshi. Henry said he wanted to take a look around, get used to the area so he wouldn't be totally lost when he had to do the greeter training or whatever. Wanted me to tag along. You know, case things got weird," he jerked a thumb at his weapons, then turned and clapped Henry on the back a time or two.

The suits looked over Hiro's ID badge, scanning it. Captain Stern looked to Henry. "Really should take him in. No ID badge, wandering on the borders..."

"C'mon!" protests Scraggly. "That's gonna be a crap-ton of paperwork! His story checks, and why else would anyone be out here?"

Captain Stern gave a look that suggested that he could think of several reasons, and his cold eyes were swiveling back toward the others. It really looked like he was considering pulling rank and taking them both in...

[Henry Charmant]

Henry smiled apologetically at the four suits in front of him as he continued searching. At the very least, he'd done enough to distract them for a while, and even if they pulled him in forgetting the ID that wasn't going to be too big a penalty, he was sure. Especially if people were doing it all the time as one of the suits mentioned.

He turned on hearing someone call his name and saw the boy who was up in the tree. His eyes widened slightly in surprise--he wasn't even sure if the guy would stick around--but he masked it quickly with another smile. "Hey there!" he said cheerfully. "I was looking for you." He left off the name and hoped the suits didn't notice. He turned back to the suits when the guy--Ichiro--began speaking, nodding at everything he said.

Biting his lip nervously, Henry wiped at his shirt, trying to make himself look as presentable and innocent as possible. As he did so, though, he felt something strange on his chest. Looking down, he realized that there was actually a pocket on this shirt. Digging in it, he pulled out his ID card and stared at it blankly. "I didn't even think I had a pocket there," he said, still looking at the card. Then he mutely handed it over.

He smiled again at Ichiro. "Thanks for coming with me. I already got lost just walking out here on my own." He turned to the suits and smiled again, bowing slightly. Not enough to show deferential rank, but the sort of thank-you-bow reserved for respected servants. "Thank you for helping me to find my way. It's so good to know that there are people out here looking out for us." All right, maybe he was pushing it, but Henry had recently learned that his world was a lot nicer than most, almost sugar-covered compared to what many people experienced. He figured that with his innocent face on, he could probably get away with being that sappy.

[Ichiro Yoshi]

Hiro nearly slapped his hand to his forehead as Henry discovered his ID card in a shirt pocket. Sure, it meant that he actually had it, and that the suits were now looking it over and running it through their system and whatnot. But really, he couldn't have checked his pocket before now? Hiro might have even been able to avoid detection entirely. Now at least three suits were going to know exactly what he looked like. He could have kicked Henry.

But he didn't. The guy had done it to save him, after all, and they were both in this. Instead Hiro dropped into a bow of his own. Stiffer, slightly deeper than Henry's, but with roughly the same level of deferential respect. When Hiro came out of it, he was smiling in a slightly abashed manner, a sort of "what can you do?" expression, as it were.

The suits looked to one another, before the only one without a handy nickname offered up a nearly cheery: "It checks out." Captain Stern handed the ID card back to Henry, nodding. "It's good to see that some of you have some respect. We do a lot for you VRD's, more than you know," he paused for a moment, looking as though he wanted to say more but couldn't quite figure out how much was too much. Scraggly coughed behind Captain Stern, and the older suit nodded. "Right, town's that way," he pointed in a direction parallel from the course Hiro had been running before he'd scampered for the tree. "Think you two can manage to get there on your own?"

"We can manage," said Hiro, speaking almost too fast. He quickly dropped into another bow. "Thank you very much for the directions and time. C'mon, Henry," he waved for the other guy, then paused for a moment, making sure they both had their IDs. The moment this was confirmed, Hiro was on his way, trusting in Henry to keep up with him. They both wanted to get out of there, after all.

[Henry Charmant]

Henry smiled again at the suits and waved as he turned and followed Ichiro away. He tucked his ID into his back pocket (where it actually belonged) and jogged to catch up to Ichiro and walk beside him. He waited a moment until they were a little bit farther away and then whispered, "I'm so sorry. I can't believe that whole mess about the ID. And I should've told you not to stick around. Even if I hadn't found it, I don't think it would have been that big a problem. I didn't want you to have to get into trouble. But thanks for sticking around." He smiled, slightly apologetically, at the guy.

As they walked, Henry rubbed his head and looked around the woods, checking to see if anyone else was around. "So, uh. Do you often like to climb trees?" he asked, just in case anyone was listening in. He'd never been very good at spotting when someone else was around. Just because he didn't see a suit didn't mean they weren't there. "Myself, I prefer to spend my time talking to people instead of being out in the woods looking around. But then, I guess that would be why I get lost all the time." He laughed slightly.

He wasn't really sure what else to say. He certainly had questions, but he wasn't really sure if this was the time or place to be asking them. Maybe he should wait until they got back into town...But he also really didn't like silence. Unless they could find something to talk about here in the woods, he'd have to find an innocent-seeming question to fill up the space. Maybe he could say something about the swords. Henry did like swords, after all. He found himself eyeing them anyway in admiration, already thinking about potential practice sessions. Nothing like getting beaten on the fencing field every once in a while to keep yourself healthy.

[Ichiro Yoshi]

Hiro shrugged, as of to say that these things happened. As for the rest of Henry's excuse, this didn't seem to bother the other guy that much. "No plan survives contact with the enemy," he offered, continuing the nonchalance. "Besides," he smiled, "you're more competent than at least on of my brothers, and I worked with them a lot."

Hiro kept walking then, moving easily through the underbrush. There was almost a grace to him, as though the teen was used to his body obeying him completely. He practically glided, with the swords on his back hardly disturbed. The only time his demeanor altered was when Henry spoke. Then Hiro looked over to the other guy. The stupid question, and Hiro couldn't think of it as anything but, made the young Asian quirk a brow slightly. Henry did realize that Hiro had been up that tree because he was avoiding the suits, right? Had to; Hiro had offered to pull Henry up with him, after all. Henry must be thinking that the suits were still about.

Which, unlike that question, wasn't stupid. Hiro kept his silence for several more paces, listening intently for the slightest disturbance. In his experience, the suits weren't looking to be stealthy; they didn't have to be. When you were the baddest thing in the forest, you could stomp wherever you wanted. The only thing Hiro could hear were the standard forest sounds. Well, that and the clomping of the guy next to him, who was clearly only a little used to the whole forest thing.

"They're gone," offered Hiro. His eyes flicked to Henry. "Or, well, I can't hear them moving, anyway. I don't think they're that good at hiding," he paused again, then nodded. "So thanks. For what you did. Back there," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, as if Henry couldn't figure it out. Hiro kept trudging after that. He had this feeling that Henry was about to explode, and Hiro had essentially handed over the wick to light the fuse.

[Henry Charmant]

Henry flushed slightly at the compliment...at least, he thought it was a compliment. He nodded at the comment about brothers. He couldn't really say the same; he didn't have any siblings, so he wasn't really sure what it would be like working with them. "But at least you can trust them, yeah? That must be nice."

The question was terrible, and he knew it, but he was still a little nervous, and he wasn't really all that good at acting casual, especially when more was involved than just looking ignorant. He was frankly glad that Ichiro ignored the question and moved on to the real part of the conversation.

He let out a sigh and said, "Thanks. I mean, it was no problem, you know. Just trying to be nice...so what were you doing up that tree, anyway? Why were those people after you?" Glancing furtively around, he said quietly, "Were you trying to get out? Did you see anything?"

Realizing that he had just delivered a flood of questions, he moved back and covered his mouth with one hand. "Sorry," he said. "I'm just...I'm part of a group here, and we're all trying to find a way home. I've been trying to learn everything I can."

[Ichiro Yoshi]

Hiro nodded. Trust was one issue that the brothers didn't have, or at least, not that often. They'd grown up together, trained together, and knew they could count on each other. Hiro didn't even remember his siblings that much, but he remembered that much. Though... he had this feeling, this strange creeping sensation that there was something that had thrown a wrench into that. He felt the memories flash across his mind, making focusing on the present difficult, though not impossible.

It likely went some way toward explaining why Hiro remained silent when Henry shot out his questions. Hiro heard them, mostly. Something about why he was there and what he was doing. Hiro wasn't entirely sure he should trust some guy he'd essentially just met. Sure, they had, well, they had some sort of common goal. But Hiro wasn't one to just show his entire hand on the first round.

"Not a fan of groups," he offered, his distraction leaking into his words. "It's that one with the flyers and stuff, right? Saw those. I think my roommate's in with you guys," Hiro shrugged, then hazarded a glance over his shoulder. The goal wasn't so much to look at Henry as look beyond Henry, back toward the boundary. "I don't want to leave," Hiro sad flatly. He'd stopped walking and looked to Henry now, giving a moment for that to settle in. "So, yeah, not leaving."

[Henry Charmant]

"Er." Henry stopped abruptly when Ichiro paused. He looked around the woods, somewhat startled at the immediate refusal and even slight mockery of his group. "Well..." he began, trying to be diplomatic. He'd managed it with the suits, hadn't he? He just hadn't expected to need the politics again so soon. "It's fine that you don't want to leave. I mean, there are plenty of other people who don't want to leave, too. Even Jasmine doesn't really want to go home, and she's a part of our group. We're more about, uh, about finding a way home." He resisted an urge to shrug, a terrible habit he had recently come into and one that had never worked well at home. Instead he gave a sort of shoulder roll and a small smile.

"You said your roommate was in the group? And he seems pretty cool? Wait." Henry was doing a mental check to see who all was in C.A.U.S. As far as he could remember, it was mostly girls. There was also Zoro, who had been pretty cool despite wanting to kidnap everyone, and then that loud kid... "Who is your roommate?"

Feeling the need to defend C.A.U.S. and his role in it, Henry said, "We really just want more information. You don't have to join the group, that's fine. But don't you want to know what's going on? And don't you want to help everyone who does want to go home? It's not right for them...us...to be stuck here, when there are people at home that need us."

[Ichiro Yoshi]

Hiro listened. He even paused in walking and turned to look at Henry. Sure, he still didn't want anything to do with the group; there was just something about it that didn't quite sit right with him, but that didn't mean he shouldn't treat Henry with respect. That was just part of what you did. Though he could still feel a part of him wanting nothing to much as to toss out a few more sarcastic remarks about the acronym. Honestly though, CAUS? It was like they wanted people to chuckle when they heard that.

And no, Hiro wasn't overreacting because he thought it sounded cool and he wished he'd thought of it first.

"Robin," offered Hiro, nodding, "Robin's my roommate. Robin... Wayne, I think," Hiro shrugged, "he mentioned something about being at the meeting or something," he sighed, rubbing at the back of his head. He'd been shorter than he really wanted. There was just... something about this whole group thing. Plus, he kept getting flashes, and right now they were practically blaring at him, threatening to overwhelm his sense of the now. Stranger still, he thought he kept seeing, well, himself. Only he was... green.

"Look," he said, raising a hand and gesturing toward Henry, "I get it. There's weird stuff going on. But it's just... I don't remember anything, at least, nothing definite. I don't have anything to go back to. And what I do remember is... weird," Hiro looked away for a moment, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. Green skin, scaly? "And I'm sort of helping someone already," he waved, "he thinks his friend might be out there somewhere. But, yeah, I'm willing to help with what I find. I just... I don't really want to work with you guys."

Hiro paused, then he nodded. That seemed to sum things up well. It took a lot more words than he'd really wanted to use, but he couldn't figure out a more concise way of saying all that. If he could, he would have done so. He took another deep breath, turning to look back toward the Estates proper.