Waiting for his ride;

[gamma_effect]

One day after his arrival at the internet community Dramadramaduck, Bruce Banner found himself waiting for the impossible: a god to transport him across worlds, where he'd receive help from someone he knew only as Nagato Yuki. Bruce had no idea how old Yuki was, but from what he'd been able to gather she was a logical, reliable individual that

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[sine_sole_sileo]

"You are welcome, Mr. Green. Good luck!" Apollo nodded and subsequently vanished just as subtly as he had appeared, leaving nothing behind of his presence in this world except for the crows, who cawed pleasantly at Bruce, blinking their beady eyes, curious to see what he would do next.

[gamma_effect]

Bruce stared at them for half a minute, expression unreadable, before a series of soft descending chimes denoted the end of classes. Quickly he slipped behind a tree, feeling uncomfortably like a stalker, and watched the students file out in their uniforms, chattering with each other noisily.

Sure enough, they were all speaking Japanese, and he understood none of it. He had no idea what Nagato Yuki even looked like, he realized with a mental sigh, and stupidly he hadn't thought to make a location to meet up. He glanced up at the crows Apollo had left, but they hadn't moved.

Once the stream of students died down to a trickle, he stepped out and approached the school, walking unhurriedly and easily. He definitely garnered some looks - a tall American male in ragged clothes clutching a backpack definitely stood out - but ignored them, instead trying to decide who to approach.

[smilingtransfer]

Itsuki, taking advantage of the nice weather, had decided to cut across the schoolyard on his way to the clubroom that afternoon rather than take his usual path through the hallways. Standing in the doorway of the school squinting up at the bright sunlight with his usual smile on his face, he wondered idly whether today's club meeting would involve any excursions outside school grounds, or whether it would--

He was distracted from his train of thought by the sight of a rather scruffy man heading towards the school entrance. Fairly sure that non-students weren't allowed on school grounds, he wondered with a vague sense of dread whether this was something else having to do with one of Haruhi's bizarre plans, and his smile dimmed a bit as he watched the man head towards him.

[gamma_effect]

"Do you speak any English?" asked Bruce awkwardly, sorely wishing he knew at least a little of the native language. Usually making the attempt endeared you to the locals significantly more than if you didn't. He hated coming across as a tourist, though perhaps that was less memorable than someone who seemed to know what he was doing.

In any case, he didn't have a choice here. He kept his hands on the straps of his backpack, grip tightening at the thought of losing it in another world. He'd hate to have to start all over in possessions again. A picture he'd printed from the internet of Betty was in there... And his computer.

[smilingtransfer]

"A little. Can I help you?" Despite mandatory English classes the times he'd actually had to use the language in a practical setting were few and far between, and he spoke slowly to reduce the accent he was sure he probably had.

The man seemed more like a tourist in need of directions than any kind of threat, although of course, appearances could be deceiving. For one thing, there was the question of why a lost tourist would bother climbing all the way up the hill to the school just to ask directions that he could have easily gotten in the town below; it was probably best to be friendly to the man, if he wanted to find out what he was actually planning.