only a few find the way OPEN

[Deleted]

Charlie strolled candidly down the sidewalk that circled around the nearby park and eventually wound its way into the woods where it disappeared all together. His hands were stuck into the pockets of his neat black slacks, complimented by his typical black tailored jacket. On top of his jet black curls sat the top hat he had come to adore so much. His feet didn't make a sound but he hummed an upbeat tune as he slowly meandered between the increasingly close growing trees. The typical sounds of the small little community he found himself in soon died out, and all he heard was the sound of the breeze pushing on the branches and rustling the leaves. He took a deep breath and smiled.

Though he could catch glimpses of the fence here and there in the background, it really didn't bother him. Not because he didn't care that he was in an unknown place and couldn't leave, but because he simply chose not to think about it. No harm or danger had come to him thus far, and it was simply a new experience. Not that he could really remember any of his prior experiences. At least, he certainly couldn't make sense of what he did remember of any of them, but he chose not think about that either.

Eventually he came near the bordering fence and could go no further. But he cared little. With a small sigh he stopped and glanced around. Utterly alone. After a moment of hesitation he approached a tall, nearby tree and laid his hand on the rough bark of the trunk, enjoying the feel of it. Impulsively, he reached up onto the lowest branch and swung himself up, and higher to the next one where he was hidden by the leaves. With a slight grin he sat back and leaned across the branch, crossing one leg over the other and leaning his head against the trunk. It was then he realized that he had lost his hat. Oh dear. For some reason he couldn't quite understand, he was having difficulty getting a grasp over this whole idea of being a creature of physical being. A soft laugh escaped his lips at the thought, wondering if anyone would come by and pick up his hat.

[Ichiro Yoshi]

Hiro sighed. He was perched atop the fence, squatting and feeling rather ridiculous. He'd already been caught going over the line once, and it likely wasn't the best move to come out here and test the limits again. He wasn't even really sure why he was doing it. Not that Hiro really recalled enough about his own life to guess at motives. if pressed, he would have to admit that he was doing this because it seemed to matter to other people. They were stuck here; that made them unhappy; getting them out would solve that. So Hiro had started his own work, and he was pretty sure that he knew the boundaries of the area better than anyone else.

Still, it sucked just sitting there. Felt weird. Did give Hiro strange flashbacks... something about perching on a building with several other people or something. He sighed, shook his head, turned, and hopped off the fence. The ninja stretched for a moment, working the kinks out of his lean body. The motion disturbed the twin katanas strapped to his back just slightly, almost as if to remind Hiro that they were there. Like he needed that. He lowered his hands and looked into the trees.

"Might as well get some practice in," he murmured, rubbing at his head. He did another few stretches before almost outright sprinting for the trees. He hit the first tree, just barely touching it, his reflexes kicking in. this felt good, felt right. He still felt like everything was rusty, like he'd spent years resting, but he could do this easily enough. Just as he was giving himself a pep talk, his foot connected with a tree root. Almost simultaneously, something fluttered from above. Hiro let out a sharp cry, twisting and contorting his body. his hand lashed out, moving by reflex to seize the hat on the way down.

When Hiro finally landed, his breath wooshing out of him, he had the hat clutched in one hand, held above him as though he'd been purposefully trying to save it. 'What the..." he wondered, staring up at it. "Where did this come from...?"

[Deleted]

Before thought had even finished in his mind, he heard an unfamiliar male voice call out from the ground below. Charlie raised a brow in surprise and smirk crawled across his lips. Well that was fast. He hadn't even actually expected anyone to turn up out here, though he really hadn't been around here long enough to know what the people did in this world. Gingerly, he pushed his lithe frame back up into a sitting position and climbed down onto the lower branch.

Charlie hooked his knees over the branch he now sat on and whooshed down to greet the newcomer. Hanging upside down, he looked like some kind of wild, out-of-control kid. Before even saying anything, a huge smile split his face as he peered up at the boy who now stood there, holding his beloved hat.

"You seem to have found my hat," he said, by way of greeting. He reached out a slender hand for it and asked curiously, "Who are you?"

[Ichiro Yoshi]

Hiro stared up at the other young man who'd swung down from the tree. Somehow, this didn't surprise him. Actually, after the whole battle with the living cakes, Hiro was pretty sure that nothing would surprise him anymore. He just stared up at Charlie as if hanging upside down from trees was something that people did every day.

The smile was a bit unnerving though.

"Your... hat," repeated Hiro, spacing out the words as though not quite believing. He looked to the hat, looked to the hanging guy, and figured that it did make sense. The hat did look like it belonged with the rest of the guy's ensemble, and the guy looked like someone who wore hats (you could always tell). As for the next, Hiro saw no reason not to introduce himself. He did bother to climb up to his feet though, still holding the hat out as he dusted himself off.

"I'm Ichiro Yoshi," he greeted. He added a small bow. "But people usually call me Hiro," he paused, looked to the hat, then looked up at the dangling boy. Shrugging, he raised his hand slightly, indicating that the other guy could take the hat. There were still a few feet, and Hiro hadn't exactly done any ninja leaps or anything. He also didn't really see a point in asking for a name, not yet. He needed to try and read the other guy's intentions first...