Bruce walked for hours trying to find something that could guide him to a safe place to hold up so he could figure out his next move. He scanned the horizon and saw that the sun was getting close to going down, he figured maybe an hour of daylight left. He headed up into the tree line and found a dirt road and started walking along it, even if nobody drove by he would eventually find a cabin or a small village where he could get some clothes and maybe some food. The sun started going down when he spotted lights in the distance, they belonged to a truck that was coming toward him on the road. The truck stopped and an old man looked out the window. Bruce immediately wished he had learned some Japanese while he was at the temple "Clothes" he said gesturing to his body hoping that the sign language would clue the older man into what he needed. The man replied in Japanese and gestured for Bruce to get in the truck which Bruce did hoping for some help.
The old man handed Bruce a bag of chips for him to eat which Bruce happily took and scarfed down saying thank you between bites. The truck drove for a short time until it came upon a small farm that Bruce assumed the old man owned. They got out and Bruce was brought in and was met by an older woman who was looking him up and down with a strange look in her eyes and a smile. Bruce smiled back and the old man led him into a different room where he pulled out some clothes for him. He changed into the shirt and pants and went back out to thank the old couple properly, they offered him some soup which he graciously accepted.
They all sat in a living room area watching Japanese news which was really difficult for Bruce since all he could do was look at the pictures and understand American names that were mentioned. He tried to keep up with the news the best that he could but he hadn't watched any news for almost a month. He was giddy when the news started showing a press conference involving Tony Stark. Stark was the leading mind in technology and despite the fact that he would most likely never work in a lab again he still liked to hear about the enhancements to the science world. "I am Iron Man" Stark's voice echoed over the screen prompting mouths to drop from the old couple.
"What's Iron Man?" he said to himself realizing that a lot had happened since he last had watched the news. He shook it off and gleaned from the pictures that Stark had made himself some kind of armor but he didn't have time to worry about that, he needed to leave the next morning. He asked via hand gestures to use the computer that the family had which they happily allowed as they went to bed. He booted up the computer and accessed his email account that he had set up in order to get any information he needed. His work on a cure for the Hulk was on hold thanks to Ross but now that he at least had some distance between them he could get some work done. He had gotten in contact with a doctor Samuel Sterns a few weeks after escaping New York giving Sterns all the information he could so that Sterns could create an antidote for the transformation. The last email was dated almost a month ago and it was saying that Sterns was close to a working cure. He wanted Bruce to come to New York to meet with him so that he could get his opinion on the cure itself before he would administer it. Bruce sighed and scratched his head, he hadn't been back in the states since his first transformation and emailed back saying he would try and get to him as soon as he could. Bruce logged off and went to use the phone that the small house had, he dialed a number that he had learned by heart a month after fleeing New York. The phone rang three times when the voice of Rick Jones filled the phone "Hello?" Rick Jones was on a camping trip in Canada when came upon Bruce Banner on the run from Ross. He hid Bruce and led Ross on a wild goose chase, he then gave Bruce his phone number telling him that if he ever needed transportation to let him know and Bruce had come to count on him more than anyone during his travels.
"Rick its Bruce, listen I need to get to New York" Bruce requested hoping to get moving as soon as possible.
"Dude, it's like 5 in the morning here" replied Rick trying to wake himself up.
"Sorry, but I need to get moving as soon as possible and I'm pretty sure I've called you at worse times" answered Bruce jokingly.
Rick pulled up his computer and started checking different ways to get to New York from Japan "How did you end up in Japan?" he said into the phone.
"Long story so what have you got?" asked Bruce knowing he needed to get some sleep for the journey ahead.
"Okay according to my phone tracking you have a two hour drive to the city of Sendai, there is a ship heading for San Diego and from there I can arrange for a plane to bring you to the Adirondacks and you can get to New York City from there" explained Rick rubbing his eyes.
"Alright I got it" replied Bruce.
"Call me on a pay phone when you get there and I'll let you know what ship to get on" ordered Rick.
"Understood I'll talk to you tomorrow" replied Bruce hanging up the phone. He went back to the room and laid down on the couch the couple had prepared for him to sleep on. The softness of the couch was very soothing, his thoughts returned to before the accident. He would lay with Betty in the soft bed at his apartment. He wondered if his apartment was still the way he left it four months ago but the more he thought the more he realized that the military would have torn it apart looking for clues about where he ran too as if he had a choice in the matter. He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to get a few hours' sleep and to convince the couple to give him a ride to Sendai.