Encounter In The Forest

All was quiet within the depths of the canadian forest. The moon shone brightly in the cloudless night sky. The
only real noise one could hear for miles was the chirping of the crickets and ribbets from frogs that originated from
a nearby swamp. Aside from these trivial annoyances, it was peaceful...serene even. With such nice, calm
weather and the fresh air it was ideal for taking camping trips...

Or in one rookie superhero's case, doing some practice with their powers.

James was not a big fan of doing things like training, but than again he wasn't a big lover of exercise at
all, mostly just doing it to keep fit. However, in cases like this, he, or rather she, was willing to make an
exception. She knew even having a basic grasp on what she could do would likely save her life one day.

"Ok..here goes.." He held up the hand that had the crystal stuck in it and spoke,"Valkyria, Set Up!" The crystal
shone brightly and the sound of machinery could be heard within, once it cleared he stood in the clearing transformed
into his alter-ego.

"Alright..let's see.." She took a deep breath than rushed at a tree, throwing a punch, the strength of which tore
through the tree like a hot knife through butter,"Hrmm..strength still needs a bit more control.." She didn't want to
risk tearing off some poor human's head with a single punch.

She composed herself again and whirled about with a kick, the force of which cut deep into the tree but not
all the way through. Valkyria let herself smile,"Finally..now we're getting somewhere.."

While Valkyria was out testing herself, Hana Saku was out on a leisurely walk through the forest. The crossdresser with the knee-length pale-blue hair had a wistful smile on his face, his large, doe-like greenish-blue eyes taking in the sights around him. He finally found a place to be alone after a while, not in the mood to walk back home. Besides, the sounds of nature had soothed his nerves and relaxed him after the many hours he spent around the mind-numbingly annoying fools he had been interacting with all day, though one wouldn't be able to tell he was annoyed from the calm, wistful expression on his face.

The Japanese-born crossdresser was decked out in an extravagant, and rather conservative, red dress made of the finest of silk. Long, fancy, elbow-length gloves had covered his arms, a simple pair of shoes and knee-length socks. His knee-length blue hair had a rather pretty red ribbon in it, and his hands clutched an open umbrella. His very feminine features, as well as the smoothness of his walk, made him come off as a rather high-class lady. With his feminine figure, and his outfit, it was completely impossible to tell whether or not he was a female at all.

As the expert liar, as well as actor, continued his trek through the forest, hee caught a figure out of the corner of his eyes. It was a woman, who seemed to be attacking a tree for some reason. The damage done to the tree lead Hana to guessing that this woman was some kind of Metahuman. He could have been wrong, but he was always cautious and suspicious of others because he believed that by being so, he wouldn't be caught off guard or surprised in the event he turned out to be right. It was better to be suspicious and alive, than trusting and dead after all.

After watching the woman for a moment, Hana expertly and smoothly plastered a curious expression on his face, his feminine features lightening up as he gave the woman a polite, demure smile. "Konichiwa. I did not expect to see anyone here while I was out on my trek" Hana said to the woman as his stance took on a relaxed, laid-back appearance. His stance belied his true emotions, he was cautious, on his guard, and suspicious of the individual in front of him. However, one would never be able to tell, because his expertly crafted, and well-practiced, face could not be seen through so easily. His voice was soft, smooth, flowed like water and seemed melodious. His voice, in reality, was nothing like this, but he had practiced this feminine, attractive voice to help with his facade.

Valkyria had been just in the middle of getting ready to charge Dark Energy into her fist in the hopes of testing out his/her shockwave attack when she stopped at the sound of another voice coming not far from her. She halted in place and turned her head, seeing the blue-haired figure behind her.

The armored warrior turned and tosses her cape about, briefly exposing her body before
it flowed down around her,"Errmm..yes.." Ah geez, and here she was, foolishly thinking she
would be the only one out here!

The one in armor was not use to being spoken to with kindness so while it did relax her,it
also made her a bit skeptical. After all, the truly dangerous villains always try to soften you
up with sweet talk.

Wait..Konichiwa? That was the japanese term for Hello, which meant this person must've been
of Japanese descent. Still, she figured it would be rude to not reply, so she halted practice for
the moment and smiled back,"Konichiwa to you too," She bowed politely,"What an odd coincidence to find someone else out here. Like you, I honestly thought I was the only one."

Hana's facial expression never changed from that polite, demure, but welcoming expression. However, on the inside, Hana was glaring at the woman suspiciously. The woman's armor indicated she was a warrior of some kind, though how powerful she was right now was unknown to Hana at this point in time. However, where as most would wish to know how powerful she was, Hana was not most people, as she would rather avoid having to find out just how powerful this woman was. While he could handle himself really well, in his opinion anyway, there was no need to start an unnecessary fight.

Hana's lips stretched a bit as his smile got a bit more warm and welcoming, though in his mind, he was chuckling at her embarrassment and her fumbling of words. She seemed to not know how to react to Hana's presence, and, as a result, he got a good laugh out of her temporary surprise and embarrassment. Although, he also found her outfit really amusing as well. It wasn't everyday you saw someone walking around in such a hilarious outfit after all, no matter the location. However, while he was laughing up a storm on the inside, he was still perfectly welcome and inviting on the outside, his face, eyes and stance not at all giving his inner thoughts away.

When the woman said hello back to him, he inwardly cringed at the accent that ruined the Japanese greeting. On the outside, however, he gave the woman a polite curtsey as he twirled his umbrella around in his eyes. He remembered his lessons very well, and always made sure to use them to their absolute best so that he could get someone to drop their guard around him. It made attacking them much easier in the event he had to go ahead and commit violence against their person.

"I don't come out here often. It's just the sounds of nature relax me and eases the weight from my shoulders. My name is Saku, Hana, or Hana Saku as is the proper greeting in English. How do you do?" the crossdresser said politely with another curtsey as he introduced himself. He did his absolute best to come off as a polite, well-mannered, and proper young lady. Those who appeared the least threatening could always be the most dangerous, and he always found amusement when others attempted to take advantage of him because of expertly-practiced facade.

Valkyria nodded and seemed to ease up a bit as she relaxed her shoulders while
still keeping her distance from the figure. Not that he/she didn't trust the newcomer
but it was better to be safe than sorry,right?

She than remembered she was still wearing her battle outfit. It had a tendency of
leaving quite an impression on most individuals, and she got the feeling the person
before her would be no exception. A part of her wondered for a moment why she should
even care about that, especially considering he/she wielded the strength to crush
cars, could fly, and manipulate energy into damn near anything..but she quickly shoved
that part of himself aside, as that was his ego talking again..and he tended to ignore it.

"I'm doing just fine, Saku, thanks for asking.." She looked down at her gauntlet-clad
hand for a moment, as if inspecting for any grime or dirt,"You'll have to excuse the
armor I'm wearing..trust me, I don't typically break it out unless I have good enough
reason too."

Hana nodded his head to show he understood what she was saying. To be honest, he would have been surprised if she wore that all the time, considering it would have taken a great deal of courage to wear that thing out in public where everyone could see her. Hana certainly wouldn't have worn that thing at all, considering it would detract from the facade he had set up about himself. After all, a proper lady wouldn't dare wear such a thing in any setting, not even if it was a costume party.

However, there was one thing that had made him feel a little irritated at the woman, though his facial features or stance did nothing to show that. He had politely introduced himself to her, and yet she hadn't given him her name, alias, or whatever other form of identity she had for herself. That was perhaps one of the rudest things you could ever do, not give someone your name when they had freely given you their own name without any prompting. However, Hana made sure to not show his irritation to the woman, as that wouldn't be proper.

"I understand. If it is not too much trouble, could I perhaps have your name now?" Hana asked the woman with a curious, and rather cute, tilt of her head in curiosity, which caused her long, flowing, well-taken-care-of, knee-length hair to sway a bit and cascade down the side of his body like a cape of some sort.

If her suspicion levels weren't piqued before, they were now. James knew that a superhero
protecting their identity was one of THE most crucial aspects of being..well, a real hero. He'd read
enough comic books and watched enough movies to know that if the hero's identity ever got out to the public, there would be severe consequences, not only for the hero but also for their family and
friends.

Although not all groups thought keeping the hero's identity in the dark was a good thing, he felt it
was for the best in the end. There was just too many risks to take into consideration.

Valkyria folded her arms and shook her head sadly,"I'm afraid I can't tell you my real name. If
I did, there'd be alot of trouble..all you need to know is the name Valkyria..that's all I can afford
to tell you. I tell you anymore and you and everyone you love could be put in terrible danger.."

"And I would never be able to live with myself if I allowed that to happen.." She let out a sigh,"I'm sorry, but I have my reasons."

Hana nodded his head to show he understood, not as irritated as he was before. The only thing he was irritated about in the first place was that he didn't get a name at all. He didn't particularly care what the name was, or whether it was an alias of some sort. The only thing he really wanted to know in the first place was something to call the woman by. It was a little annoying having a conversation with someone and you didn't even have anything to call them by.

Now that he had something to call her by, he was at ease. He wasn't mad at all that she didn't tell him her real name. After all, it's not like he cared what her real name was, she could have had a male's name and he wouldn't have cared. He did just meet this woman, after all, and he had no ties towards her whatsoever. It was just a little difficult for him to hold a conversation with someone and not have anything to call them by.

"I understand, Valkyria-San. I simply wanted something to call you by, is all. I hope you don't mind me intruding into your business by asking you such a personal question. If you did, I would like to apologize" Hana said with an apologetic smile as he curtsied to Valkyria in apology. In reality, he didn't care about her feelings or whether or not she was uncomfortable with his question. He only apologized for the sake of keeping up his facade.

James wasn't sure what exactly to make of this person now. She, or at least he assumed, seemed
to be polite and mannerly enough...perhaps even too mannerly. He knew mannerisms were a big
thing in some parts of the world, but this person was really taking it up to eleven.

"No, it's alright. It's only natural to ask a name of somebody you've only just met," Suddenly
she felt herself going on edge..but why? Could this Hana...not be everything they appeared
to be? She seemed so..unassuming..but than again, the unassuming folk were always the ones
you needed to look out for.

"I must say, your skill at mannerisms is very good, impressive even," She stroked her chin while
slowly taking a step back out of caution,"You must have had a excellent teacher..although.." At
this, she narrowed her eyes slightly,"If I may ask, why do you have an open umbrella with you? The
weather forecast said it's not suppose to rain this week, and it's not humid out."

While Hana inwardly didn't really care whether or not this person accepted his apology, he made sure to outwardly pretend he did. He proceeded to do that by letting out a sigh of relief and relaxing his shoulders a bit. By doing this, it would hopefully throw off any suspicions that the woman in front of him held towards him. Those that were suspicious of him tended to be the hardest to trick or attack, as they would be prepared for it, perhaps even outright expecting it from him.

Hana proceeded to make a bit of a show for the woman, by expertly plastering a blush on his face and fidget a bit in a fit of shyness. While he was prim and proper, the more feminine and unassuming he appeared to be, the better off he would be. Coming off as non-threatening as possible towards other people was always a good thing. "Ara, thank you Valkyria-San My parents taught me very well" he said to her with a thankful bow.

When Valkyria narrowed her eyes at him, and proceeded to ask him the question about his umbrella, Hana inwardly glared at the woman for her suspicions. Oh, she was absolutely right to be suspicious, but that didn't mean it wasn't annoying when someone acted that way towards him. "I've read that in one point in time, woman carried parasols with them when they went out. I thought I would try it out Valkyria-San" he said to her with a pleasant, unassuming smile on his face.

However, James wasn't stupid. There was a reason he had been among the more intelligent students in school. His intelligence also extended to social interaction, for example, he had a
tendency of telling when someone was lying to him..or wasn't being entirely truthful. The person
before her? Well, this "Hana" kinda fell somewhere between.

Some of the things she was hearing seemed to resemble truth..but a few parts just felt..a bit
off,"Interesting..I will give you that..there are still people out there who follow such practices,
although from what I hear, those who do are few and far between...that said.."

Uh oh, cue the skepticism meter going up another notch as she took one more step back as
she folded her arms and tilted her head,"That dress you're wearing..it's very beautiful..seems to
be something that a..person of high class would wear. But I'm curious, why would you bring
something like that out to a place like this?"

"Forgive me but your dress seems more suited to formal occasions than walking about in a
dark forest like this."

Hana's facial expression, nor her body stance, changed at all when James seemed to start analyzing the reason he gave her. It was still locked in that polite, demure expression, so well-locked in that not even the most-trained eye could see anything wrong with it. Hana appeared nonplussed about the suspicion and analysis James was giving him. The obvious suspicion James was directing towards his person didn't seem to shake Hana up in anyway, or even seemed to offend him at all.

However, on the inside, it was a completely different story. Hana was steaming, and was yelling some of the most vulgar, downright vile obscenities and comments at Valkyria's person. Really, what was this woman's problem with him? He had done nothing to gain her suspicion, but perhaps the woman was just like him, in that she was paranoid and cautious around other people just like he was. He had to admit, she was very smart to not trust him, but that didn't make it any less annoying for him.

When Hana turned his attention to the expensive, silky dress he had purchased with the money he had due to his inheritance from his parents, he gave it a critical gaze. True, it was far too formal to just wear out in the forest, but he did just come from a party where the aristocrats and other high society people mingled. He had to put up with a lot of snobbery when he was there, and he had decided to come out here and calm himself down, since his home was further away from here.

So, he decided to tell the woman the truth. "Well, I had come from a high-society party, and I had to deal with a lot of snobbery and arrogance, as well as a bit of fondling and groping of my person. I came here out here to enjoy the sounds of nature and calm the tenseness of my body, as I was a little high-strung after I left. This forest was closer than my home, so I decided to come here for some relaxation and calm, Valkyria-San" Hana said to her, letting a grimace temporarily take hold of his pretty face when he got to the part about the men groping him.

James wasn't about to let the "girl" off that easily..but he felt that her explanation was genuine
enough not to warrant suspicion. She felt maybe this person would reveal more if she herself
revealed a more sympathetic side.

Valkyria let out a sad sigh and nodded in understanding,"I understand perfectly. Granted, I
myself am not of high-class, nor do I desire it. I've seen what the pursuit of money and power
can do to people..the levels they'll step down to.." For a moment, she let out a grimace grace
her face before shaking it away, as if trying to remove a bad memory.

"But yes, I've seen more than a few males take a passing glance..some have even..gotten
a bit too close for comfort.." She rose her hand and clenched it, briefly letting sparks of energy
dance around it,"Needless to say..those folk won't be moving under their own power for a
while.." She/he hated having personal space invaded, or being tooken advantage of.

"..So yeah, I know how you feel. It's things like that which make it hard to trust anyone..let
alone being able to get close to them."

Hana nodded her head in agreement, genuinely agreeing with the woman's opinions. Hana did indeed know about the type of things a person would sink to for the sake of power, social standing and wealth. Hana was born into the high society and had seen what greed and desire can turn people into. Due to this, he was a little wary around people when they were aware of the relatively small fortune he had. Unfortunately, most of the outfits he had were of an expensive make, so he had an unfortunate tendency to attract unsavory people to him for the sake of greed.

However, Hana was inwardly very wary of the woman in front of him agreeing with him over this. Despite what she had planned, he wasn't going to just trust someone he just met. Holding everyone he meets under suspicion and treating them with a sense of wariness and caution had gotten him this far, and he wasn't going to change his methods for anybody, especially someone who's real name he didn't even know at this current point in time.

However, Hana wasn't about to let the woman's slip up get away from his grasp. He replaced his calm, demure expression with a curious one, cutely tilting his head to the side, raising his right eyebrow, and opening his eyes wide. "Where did you get the idea that I don't trust anyone or allow anyone to get close to me?" Hana said, making sure he didn't come off as suspicious with the question. However, in his mind, Hana was glaring at her and he, indeed, was VERY suspicious of her.

At hearing this, the pink-haired gal turned her gaze to meet Hana's and rose an eyebrow, she
would have to store that little bit of knowledge away for later. For now though, it was best to
try and keep a low profile. She shook her head,"I didn't say that. I only said I know how you feel.
It's hard yes, but not impossible to trust anyone,"

For a moment, she closed her eyes and reflected on her new family,"..No one can go through
life alone all the time. I speak from experience. Life's trails can be harsh, cruel even. If you're
not willing to trust at least some people..you aren't gonna get too far.."

She opened her eyes,"You speak in a way that few of your class do..you showed respect
even though we only just met..know this though..I don't want trouble.." She had complete
sincerity in her eyes,"And I don't like causing trouble..that's why I practice out here..so I
don't accidentily hurt others..life is precious after all."