Area 11 – Highway

The air was nice and crisp that morning, it was so nice that Joseph decided to take a deep breath in of it all. He spread his arm outs to make sure the sunlight engulfs his entire being as he closes his eyes and a long smile forms on his face. He blissfully walks on the ledge of the highway leading to the vast city that is Tokyo and does a quick spin in 360-degree fashion, kicking his leg out while doing so. He could have walked on the sidewalk like any other person, but this was a lot more fun.

"Yep, today's going to be a good day." Joseph thought to himself.

Sure there was a ghetto a few miles away that had innocent people suffering, and he didn't have much of a breakfast either, but Joseph wasn't going to let that be a downer. After all, he could have some bark later if needed. What mattered is that he had his health, his coat, and most importantly…

His music.

He grabs his Walkman from the belt sleeve of his pants and opens the slot, there's a tape in there labeled "Spring Tunes Vol. 22". He decides to put the tape back in his collection for now and save the rest of it for a later time if the situation called for it, right now he needed something to go along with his one favorite activities. Walking.

Therefore, he quickly got his tape that was labeled "Walking Music". He examined the cassette to make sure it was rewound all the way to the beginning, he was glad to see he remembered to do so and inserted it into the slot of the Walkman. He was about to press the play button when he heard the faint sound of an engine coming in his direction, he turned his head and saw it was a blue motorbike. As it got closer, he could see the bike carried two occupants, one who was driving and one who was riding in a sidecar.

"Oop, I wonder if these guys will throw anything at me?" Joseph thought curiously to himself.

It was an occasion that happened a few times before. Not that it bothered him, it was just something he noticed time to time.

As the motorbike got closer, he was starting to get a good look at the driver and his passenger. The driver looked to be 16 or 17, had a tan complexion, and blue hair sticking out of his helmet. He was giving Joseph a very confused look, one that he has gotten from many people over the years, it was a look that Joseph liked to call…

The WTF face.

However, what really caught Joseph's attention was the passenger in the motorbike. He had a slender build, pale complexion, smooth black hair sticking out of his helmet, and looked to be at least 17 years old. Joseph and the passenger both locked eyes with each other, and even though he had sun visors on…

Joseph could see the purple irises that filled around the passenger's pupils.

Their eye contact was only momentarily, but it was enough to spark a recognition in both of them.

As the motorbike drove past, there was one thought that was coursing through Joseph's head:

"Lelouch…?"

It was at that moment Joseph heard another engine sound coming in his direction, and he could see it was a large truck.

"Was that…?" That was the thought that was coursing through Lelouch's head after he locked eyes with that man.

Rivalz on the other hand, was voicing his thoughts out loud.

"Jeez, talk about dangerous. Does that guy have a death wish or something walking on the ledge like that? Guess being so close to the ghettos, you're bound to spot a nut here and there. Right, Lelouch?"

Rivalz looks down and sees that Lelouch is still pondering and probably didn't hear him.

"Uh, Lelouch?" Rivalz said speaking a little louder this time, which got Lelouch's attention.

"Is everything okay?" He asked this time with confusion.

Lelouch blinked at him and realized he let his mind drift.

"Uh yeah, sorry. It's just, that man looked familiar is all."

"Huh?" Rivalz asked, now more curious about the whole matter.

But before they could continue the conversation, they heard a loud honking behind them and saw a large truck zooming in their way.

"Ah man, they drove down a hill. How am I supposed to see if that was Lelouch or not!?" Joseph grumpily thought to himself.

He knew he had to jump onto the truck if he wanted to catch up with the motorbike, but he didn't think it would completely go in a completely different direction. Thankfully he didn't slide off the top and just fell into the cargo hold they had. But now he had to get out of here if he wanted to make his confirmation, he looked up and could see the opening was a few feet higher than him.

"No problameo." Joseph thought determinedly to himself.

He was about to jump when he heard a voice outside.

"Hey! Are you all right?!"

While the voice sounded older, it had the same speech pattern that Joseph heard all those years ago. He heard the figure climbing up the truck.

"Can you hear me? Are you ok?"

His head popped over the opening of the cargo hold and Joseph was able to get a good look at his face.

There was no doubt about it, it was definitely him. A smile crept on his face when all of a sudden he felt a small stinging in the side of his head. It wasn't painful, but it was annoying.

"Are you in there?"

Joseph was about to say something when the truck decided to move again, and the figure fell inside.

…

"Stop! I'm in here!" Lelouch yelled out. He groans a bit as he rubs his sore bottom.

"Ouch, not one of my finer landings" Lelouch thought to himself as he got up and looked around.

"You think they would stick a ladder on the inside too?!"

But before he could ponder more, his nose caught onto scent that he wish hadn't. He blanched and covered his nose.

"Oh my god, did something die in here!?" Lelouch thought to himself.

"Lelouch?" A voice asked as it halted Lelouch's thinking process.

He turned around and saw where the scent was coming from and it appeared to be some homeless man staring at him wide-eyed. Lelouch eyes widen in seeing that it was same man who he saw on the highway. How did this person know who he was? Had they met before? While he looked vaguely familiar, he couldn't decipher where he had seen him prior to this day. There was no certain words Lelouch could think of except one.

"Uh…"

"LELOUCH!" The homeless man exclaimed.

He rushed into Lelouch and pulled him into death gripping hug, and considering the slender build he had, it was definitely painful and suffocating, and the stench didn't help either.

"Please let go. Can't breathe." Lelouch said in a strangled whisper.

The man did so, letting Lelouch inhale some air, and allowed some space between them but still in his grip.

"Hey! Long time!" The man exclaimed while shaking Lelouch with a big smile on his face.

Lelouch, getting a little motion sick from all the shaking, got out of the man's grip and backed up a couple of feet away, now a bit freaked out and more confused than ever.

"Okay! Look, I-I'm sorry, but…who are you?"

The man was now confused.

"Lelouch? Me, Joseph." The man said as he waved his hands towards himself with a small smile.

"Wha..?" Lelouch said as he examined the homeless man more thoroughly.

The man had long, reddish-brown, messy hair that reached down to his neck and a beard that was a couple inches long. He had a shirt and pants on that looked way past worn, and shoes that had holes and tears in them.

But what really caught Lelouch's eye was the long, black overcoat the man was wearing over his shirt. It looked worn and had a few patches in it and a little too big for the man's size, but Lelouch could have sworn he'd seen that coat somewhere before. And it was then he saw the device on the man's pants that made his eyes widen.

It was a 1986 Sony Walkman.

Though it had some dirt on it, Lelouch could recognize the rectangular box with its gray coating and black buttons. Along with the sticker of a cartoon turtle it had on it.

Lelouch knew only one person who had that particular music listening device with that particular sticker on it. He looked up at the man with surprise and recognition.

"Joseph?"

The man smiled wider and waved at Lelouch.

"Hey, little brother."

To be continued…

This is my first fanfiction, thank you so much for reading it. This is an idea I've had in my head for awhile now and I'm finally putting it onto paper. For the look of Joseph, imagine how Hugh Jackman looked at the beginning of The Wolverine (2013) along with the overcoat Keanu Reeves wore during the third act of The Matrix. Hope to have another chapter out soon, feel free to comment and share your thoughts.