City stroll

[evillurks]

The Shadow arrives at Ichi's apartment by the door, rather than by PINpoint, and his knock is distinctly different from that of Chaz Walters. He is quick to greet Ichi once the door is open, however, trusting the other man to recognize his voice. "Afternoon. Feeling recovered from yesterday?" There is quiet amusement in his tone. He carries two canes, his own with the ebony eagle's head, and another wrapped in paper. Ichi will have a proper red-tipped white cane for the city streets, and the old man has even brought him a pair of dark sunglasses.

Comments

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

"It's a box big enough to stand on, held in a vertical shaft by a rope. They used to go up and down by clever use of weights, it's mechanical now, but the same basic principle." His voice is quiet as always, but no lower than usual, but to compensate he is speaking in Japanese. The explanation is the kind that he should not have to make to a man of the Twentieth Century, and he does not wish to risk being overheard.

The long, gnarled fingers very lightly grip Ichi's elbow, and The Shadow directs him up the hall towards the lift. It's not simply an aid to guide him, but a way for him to better match his usually swift pace to Ichi's slower one. There are no obstructions in the hall, though.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

Ichi catches the low tone, ducking his head as he realizes he's asked a question that might reveal him as a strange visitor.

"Sorry." He replies lowly in Japanese. The careful grip on his elbow helps Ichi keep a straight path in the hallway as he uses the cane to familiarize himself with the hallway. It helps him speed his stride slightly as well, which puts his mind into a faster pace as he tries to catalog everything at this new rate. "Are we going anywhere specific?" The benign question is placed in English.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

"No, although I have a few ideas of areas to take you, quieter places that will let you get more familiar with the city." The Shadow intends to treat Ichi as a newcomer to the country, which covers for both his unfamiliarity with the city and the language, but certainly elevators are just as common in modern Japan.
"I brought my own car, and if it gets to be too much for you, I'll take you to the park." It seems like a fitting reward after he's had a good taste of the streets.

They step into the elevator, which Ichi will detect by the sudden change in sounds. It's a much smaller space, and The Shadow moves away from him briefly, then doors slide shut and box them in. With a little lurch, they begin to drop slowly.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

Instinctively, Ichi reaches out for one of the walls of the elevator, finding a handrail, but his grip loosens as the motion smooths. He gives a self-amused snort, it's a strange sensation, but not unlike being lowered down from a ledge.

"Shadow, how do I know where to bring the elevator? If I go alone?" He wants to know now, before he ends up exploring if he gets curious, or his first assignment. The elevator seems to be taking its time, and he has no concept of how high he is in the building. Meanwhile, his cane prods the corners of the elevator, feeling out the size of the small box.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

"Ah!" It is a noise of annoyance, but the Shadow intends it for himself. He so rarely overlooks the details, but in this case he has. The gnarled had reaches for ichi's and guides it to the button panel, putting his fingers to the braille beside each number. "This is one, two, three... the symbols besde the one stands for ground floor, and below it s basement, and this is the emergency button." By the time they have gone over these, the elevator is coming to a gentle stop, and the doors slide open. "Your apartment s the fourth floor, I'll guide you back to it later."

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

"Ah." He nods, committing the feel to memory, and sincerely impressed that the elevator has braille. He's an even faster tactile learner, and he'll have his numbers down quickly enough. A building with four floors is not unheard of, so he's not surprised by the number, but he does have his own strange fear of heights. The enclosed elevator suddenly makes him feel safer, compared to open stairs.

"I should try to lead when we come back. I'll learn faster." At the sound of the doors opening, his attention perks as he takes in any new sounds.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

"Did you count steps up the hall from your room?" That method of navigation is quite familiar to him, as he tends to navigate the Sanctum by memory of the space, and only turns on a light to read.

This time The Shadow stands at his elbow and waits for Ichi to find his own way out of the elevator, although he'll put out a long arm to keep the doors open if need be. The building is not so nice as to have a proper lobby, but there is a wide hall before them, and the muffled sounds of the city trickle through the closed double doors that lead to the street.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

"I guess." It's such a natural habit for him, and he seems to just have spacial understanding naturally in his head at this point, it's difficult to say. All his traveling means he seems to just naturally have a map in his head of anywhere he walks.

The cane and sounds of the door opening lead the way as he steps out into the hallway, keen ears picking up on the sounds of bustling city-life that are muffled through the walls and door.

"It's loud out there." He shrugs, uncertain yet, what to make of everything.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

The hall itself is empty, although there is a set of stairs. The Shadow does a brief bit of listening himself, assuring himself there is no one in the stairwell to hear. All the same he answers in quiet Japanese, in case. "Very, and the vehicles will be unfamiliar. They run on machines, and those make noise, and fumes." Poor Ichi will be assaulted with the scents of gasoline and oil in addition to the beeping and roaring and other myriad sounds of a city in motion.

The direction of that muffled noise should tell him the way out, at least. For the time being The Shadow hangs back, letting him set the pace for his own discoveries.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

He's cautious as he makes his way toward the sound, taking a mindful pace as he eventually detects the stairs. He takes them and finds the door with first his cane, and then an exploring hand. He hangs his head slightly and gives a small chuckle as he feels the door vibrating slightly from all the commotion outside.

"Heh, nerves." He pushes on the door slightly, the sounds of the city suddenly rushing in to meet him through the small crack and he pauses, taking in the cacophony as his overloaded brain tries to make sense of everything. His fall into the Nexus has certainly helped prepare him for this moment, but it's still different, and the stink of engine exhaust and machinery begins to make its way in through the door. He just stands there for the moment. He wants to go the other way, but he also finds his own curiosity edging him onward.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

His footsteps are silent on the hard floor, but suddenly there is the quiet, looming feel of The Shadow at his back. He does not push him in any way, merely waits patiently behind Ichi while he tries to take in the surge of sounds. At once he has both cut off any chance of escape, but also made himself a protective presence.

Car horns beep, engines roar, there is some distant staccato noise of road work, and of course the yells and curses and conversations of the people. If he listens carefully however, he may be able to pick out familiar phrases of English;
"I'll meet you later then!"
"Watch where you're goin' buddy!"
"Hot dogs!"
Mingled with the smells of exhaust and concrete, subtly familiar scents that sometimes cling to The Shadow's work clothes, there are also perfumes, sweat, and something unfamiliar but undeniably food wafting deliciously on the air.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

Thankfully, the glasses now serve to hide the most obvious signs of a wince to anyone simply passing by. He lets the door close, and takes a hissing breath, sighing. He can feel The Shadow blocking his escape route, and he has half a mind to swing at him with a cane, simply to alleviate the trapped feeling it gives him. He's feeling defensive, on edge, and his usual reaction is to either get out of the situation, or lash out. Neither is an option here.

He utters a low, frustrated swear in Japanese as he sets his hand on the door again, and shoves it open.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

Even from behind, The Shadow can tell how tense he is, and already anticipated that sense of being overwhelmed. Were Ichi to take a swing at him now, it would simply be lightly intercepted. He can feel the fear that underlies the blind man's body language.

"It's only sound, and scents. No one here means you any harm." This time he speaks in English, but pitched low and quiet in a way that somehow cuts through all the background noise. His voice carries a calm the din outside cannot vanquish.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

"Only sound and smell. Have a big light put in your eyes and say it's just light." Ichi snorts quietly, irritated, as he forces himself out onto the pavement, the cane tapping down. He's thankful for the quieter break as he hears it hit the hard ground, and he pulls the cane in close, to keep any other pedestrians from tripping on it. He reaches back, verifying the location of the door, and that it's closed. He takes a breath, the air in his chest is tight from the odd smells, the scent of gasoline fumes and ozone burning his unaccustomed senses.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

The Shadow moves to his side once they're out of the building, keeping a wary eye out for the things Ichi can't. This is certainly not the quietest street in Manhattan, but it's very far from the busiest, as well. After a few moments of quiet while Ichi orients himself, The Shadow murmurs back in Japanese, "I have. It's usually followed by shooting. That won't be the case here."

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

((ARGH! Ten days later, I'm so sorry for the immense time between posts, but I'm back and good to keep going.))

"Good to know." He nods, his head swiveling about as he tries to pinpoint sounds as best he can in the din. He's trying to decide what he can tune out for the moment, he's been to busy, loud cities before, but the new sounds are difficult to determine if he should ignore them, or be aware.

After a minute, he gives a rather loud sneeze, the fumes getting to his sensitive nose.

"Sorry." He sniffles, before tapping the hard cement with his cane twice in nervous fidgeting. "We go walking now?" He summons a nervous smile, swinging the tip of his cane only so far as his own feet.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

((I'm just glad to see you back! I know things have been busy for you.))

"Yes, I'll tell you when to turn." He seems willing to let Ichi take things at his own pace, but this may be only because he can see that he's trying to adapt as quickly as possible. The sounds of the cars are a near constant, and each one is subtly different.

Watching him sneeze, The Shadow has a brief moment of worry that too much exposure to the city runs the risk of dulling Ichi's senses, but there's not much to be done about it. He's managed to keep his own senses sharp despite decades in the city and the subtle damages of old age, and even his could not match Ichi's from the start. A moment later a man passes by them smoking a cigar, and The Shadow gives a few rattling coughs in response, ending in a wheeze. There are times the city is hard on him, too.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

The cigar is foreign, but the burning smell of leaves is not something new, in fact Ichi gives the air a second sniff just before The Shadow starts coughing. He tilts a worried ear toward him. Still, that scent of cigar gives him a better clue which way people are walking. He swings his cane out cautiously, before turning to walk in the opposite direction of the cigar smell. He doesn't want to follow something that's going to bother The Shadow, and distract his own senses.

"We start this way?"

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

There was certainly a time The Shadow smoked regularly himself, and the scent doesn't bother him in the least. Unfortunately his lungs themselves are no longer in the shape to handle it, and the temporary collapse of one lung has left him with the occasional twinge of pain and a cough that he will likely have to put up with for the rest of his life. He considers himself lucky, in retrospect, to have escaped cancer or emphysema.

"That's fine. We'll circle the neighbourhood a little." He winces and gives a last cough, recovering. Once Ichi has had a little time wandering the streets, he intends to aim him in the direction of the close-by Central Park, with its open spaces and greenery that will allow him to relax some.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

"Okay." He keeps a slower, but reasonable pace, the hard cement underneath his feet and the ridges in the sidewalk mark the passage of distance as his cane swings gently before him. To all appearances, he seems to be completely used to the length and weight of the cane as he walks along.

"Tell me about the things we pass. It will help with the sounds and smells."

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

Speaking in Japanese is no guarantee they won't be overheard and understood, but it seems unlikely. He'd prefer not to have the majority around them notice that he's introducing Ichi to the modern world. "Lots of cars, there's a road to your right, but we're on the sidewalk, which is slightly raised and designated for pedestrians..." He falls into step beside Ichi, curtailing his strides a little to match the ambling pace. "English is the major language here, but people from all over come to New York, so you may hear others. People who do smoke usually prefer cigarettes or cigars, tobacco rolled in paper, although there are a few pipes around. That was a cigar we passed before." He pauses at the distant boom of punk rock from somewhere ahead and across the street.

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

He perks an ear, but continues walking, a nervous smile on his face. It was so much, all so new, but it was slowly starting to become novel, rather than something to be feared. An ear briefly turns his head as a woman in heels walks by, and he seems confused.

"What about the people? I hear some, they talk like Chaz." Another turned acknowledgment of a talking couple they pass. He motions to an ear with his free hand. "Not all of them. I used to place people by their accent back home. I'm going to have to learn the new ones for English."

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

"Walters is from Brooklyn, but that's just another part of the city. There's... too many to explain right now. I can give you a sampling later, and a raised map. You'd better have some geography lessons." Accents and foreign languages are second nature to The Shadow, so he can give quite a thorough lesson. "That couple sounded like they're visiting from Massachusetts, possibly Boston. Turn left ahead." They're reaching the end of the block, and he assumes Ichi will be able to tell by sound where the building ends and the corner opens up, but he's close by his elbow if that's not the case...

[blind-masseur.livejournal.com]

Indeed, Ichi's intuition and hearing allow him to make the turn at a natural pace.

"A raised map?" He smiles. "I walk all over the countryside back home, I learn my way around by walking, but a map would be nice." Already he's building a mental map of what he can distinguish around him. He muses a moment at the description of the accents.

"Brooklyn." He does his best to sound out the name, making a note to mention it to Chaz. She might be able to help him learn a thing or two about the place, without bothering The Shadow again.

[evillurks.livejournal.com]

"And don't go trying to place my accent, I've traveled too much..." He eyes a motorcycle weaving its way up the street between cars. The engine is significantly louder than that of the other vehicles, and a few people curse at the rider as he swerves around their bumpers.

"I've been distracted, and neglecting your teaching. Raised maps of the world are easier to find than maps of smaller areas, like New York itself, but there are resources for the blind. In the meantime, you might try walking this area on your own, later, to make yourself more familiar with it."