{ how... droll. [sora]

[{ h a k u }]

Haku leaned against a tree in the park, twirling a strand of his hair; it wasn't like he had anything better to do. He had felt like getting out of the house for a while, and had really just wandered into the park without any particular goal in mind, other than to explore a bit. But there wasn't much to explore in an empty park; thus, the staring randomly while doing absolutely nothing else.

[sora]

Emptiness.

The park was thankfully empty, allowing Sora some time to walk alone. The punk dressed boy with red eyes wandered down the winding paths of the park, lost in thought. If someone were to come up and speak to him, they'd be lucky for him to even notice him.

There's no way he did it... Sora thought, going through his usual mental argument. He would never betray his friends and family, Dad would NEVER do that to us! Angrily, Sora's fists clenched in the pockets of his father's old leather jacket which he now wore.

Whatever really happened, the government took his father from him. Did they ever stop to think about things and launch a full investigation? No. Did they ever stop to think whose lives they'd destroy? God no. No one ever gave a fuck about the lives they ruined, and they never would.

[{ h a k u }]

Oh look, it was a person. Haku didn't go out of his way to talk to people, but it was something to do instead of staring at a tree. "Hello there~" he called out in a sing-song voice, smile plastered on his face. This could be entertaining, kind of. Though he was willing to hold a conversation, he wasn't going to chase after this boy if he didn't respond; he was too passive to do that. Why bother chasing a person who didn't want to interact with out? It would only make them mad.

If there was one thing Haku hated, it was making people mad. He had made his father mad once... and gotten his mother killed, and because of that he would never feel right again. As a young child, he had made many people mad when he stole to survive. And he had made Zabuza mad many times too... and somehow that hurt worst of all. He didn't want to make anyone mad. Anger led to hatred and hatred led to loss of innocence, to pain, to a dark place that Haku never wanted to visit ever again.

[sora]

Sora stopped in his tracks. Did someone just try to SPEAK with him? The park was supposed to be EMPTY right now! Looking over his shoulder, Sora noticed a...what was that? Was that a guy or a girl? A tranny maybe? Eh, who knows.

Sora may not like society much. OK, fuck it, he hated society, but he wasn't a barbarian. He wasn't rude. He still maintained a sense of humanity. Turning full circle to look at the...whatever it was. He spoke as he so rarely did. "Hi..." Was all he could manage.

Ever one to speak his mind, Sora couldn't keep himself silent anymore. "Are you a man or a woman?" He asked coldly. It had been a while since he'd communicated with anyone with emotions. Hopefully if this whatever it was felt offended by the question, they'd come to forgive him.

[{ h a k u }]

Well, okay, he had gotten a response. That was good. As long as the pleasant smile was still plastered on his face, he figured that he had gotten a pretty good start on making a friend, even though he didn't need one. One word was better than no words!

And then his face fell. A cold tone, and that question he really didn't enjoy. "I am male. Or at least, I was last time I checked." His feeble attempt at a joke probably wouldn't go over very well, but it was the best he would do. That question was just about the only thing that could truly hurt his feelings. Why couldn't anyone tell without asking? It wasn't his fault he was born to look like a lady.

[sora]

Sora scratched the back of his head. Well hey, at least he didn't assume that he was a woman and had the decency to ask, right? Or...was that a bad thing...? Ah, god damn it all.

Thinking it over, Sora decided it was best to apologize right now. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? Just been a while since I've communicated with anyone with emotion whatsoever." Sora sighed one more time, checking his watch. Yeah, there was plenty of time to burn, so he might as well try and fix the mess he made now.

[{ h a k u }]

"Oh no, it is fine. Many people mistake me for a woman at first glance." Haku told him, smile now rather fake. It hurt his feelings a lot more than he would let on; if the boy had just talked to him instead of asking that question, maybe he wouldn't have had to. "It still just shocks me a little; I don't believe I will ever get used to it."

That's right. He had to just brush it off, like he was brushing off the comment about the boy's communication issues. "My name is Haku. What is yours?"

[sora]

Sora sighed in an attempt to ease his nerves. People, ugh. Why did they have to exist at all? After all, they were the reason his life royally sucked ass in the first place. Sora figured he might as well give Haku an idea. "Well; I think the number one thing is that you have long hair, this day and age, that can mean man or woman, so people don't really know at first glance." He said, honestly just trying to help Haku out. "Anyway, I'm Sora."

[{ h a k u }]

"Oh. That does make sense; I've always kept my hair this way, though... I don't really want to cut it." Haku replied, tilting his head to the side a bit. He had never really thought about his hair like that before; he had become rather attached to it. "Nice to meet you, Sora."