Prayers (Hyde)

A drifter had spotted the old antique shop as she drove down the roads on her motor cycle. Taking an interest in the old and lonesome looking store the woman decided to stop by and pay it a visit, so turning her bike down the nearest alley she made a U-turn so she could park easier by the store's entrance. Pulling her bike onto the sidewalk and kicking down the kickstand, the woman would turn off the bike before she dismounted and entered the store. Even though she saw no store owner, she browsed around figuring that eventually the owner would show up; however, as time ticked on and no one came, the woman wondered if the owner had accidentally left the shop open or was on break. Hmm...maybe she should come back at a later time.

Thinking this was a wise idea, the woman turned to leave when out of the corner of her eye noticed that the back door was open. Pausing in her tracks, she turned to face the opening and saw that through that back door there was a well kept pathway that led to a shrine. Shocked to see a shrine so well kept in this odd space in town, the woman drifted over to the place where a very realistic looking fox rested peacefully near a stone lantern. Eying the fox, the lady hesitated before taking a breath and moving forward and up the steps to the actual shrine.

Not sure which god this shrine was dedicated to the lady examined the fine details of the stone taking in the dragons and birds there with a light smile. Well, whoever this shrine was to, she supposed it would not hurt to pay her respects to the unknown deity while she was here.

With a light giggle to herself, she reached over to her purse and opened it up. After digging around in the purse, she pulled out some old coins her brother had given her before he had disappeared from the world. While she knew it was foolish to do such a thing, she tossed the coins into the offering pit before reaching into her purse again to grab a piece of paper and pen. Scribbling down her prayer on the paper, the woman would tear off the sticky note and after some looking around found a small hanging hook that she could place it on. Being careful not rip the prayer, she hung the pink paper up before nodding at her handy work.

Bowing lightly to the shrine, the woman turned around and left never expecting her prayer to be answered as she went back to the streets and got on her motor cycle. Kicking up the kick stand, she'd give the strange antique shop one last look before shaking her head not understanding why she had done what she had just done.

“Maybe old habits are hard to kill,” she whispered before shaking her head once more and revving up the bike. Once the bike was warmed up, she pushed off the ground and went down the road. Hopefully, the fresh air could clear her mind.

About five minutes after the woman had left, the fox who had stayed still the whole time picked its head up and looked around with its golden eyes before picking itself up and trotting over to the shrine. Standing on its hind legs, it would look into the offering pit wagging its tail with pleasure. Even when the rustling of leaves from above followed by the light kuh-thunk of boots upon hard pavement came a few seconds later, the fox continued to wag its tail as it looked up at the strangely dressed being that had joined it.

“I had thought when I saw those cats sitting out front this morning that luck was turning sour, but by some miracle it was good,” the being said in a happy tone as it looked down at the fox with cat-like eyes that were narrowed from the proud smile the being wore. It was quite pleased that someone had come to the shrine and left an offering and –

“Oh!”

A flash of pink distracted the being from its happiness as green eyes looked up to see what it was that had been left. Upon seeing the pink paper on the hook, Oki tilted its head as it saw something drawn upon it.

“What be this?” it asked as it examined the paper for a while longer before reaching up and carefully pulling it off of the hook. Flipping the paper over to see if there was anything on the back of it, Oki would eventually flip it back to the part with the scribbles upon it. Narrowing its eyes, it did its best to decipher what had been written.

“P..e..a…” Oki’s eyes narrowed even more as it tried to make out the words. “Peas?…No wait…P…e..a…Ah! We see now. Peace! Heh. Why make this so hard for us to read? Now then…Peace and proof that my brother is alive or dead?” …..and that was it? Oki blinked at what it had just read not understanding what such an incomplete sentence meant.

Pushing its hat back slightly, the being scratched its head with its free hand as its brain worked to figure out the puzzle. When the fox yapped at it, the being paused and looked over at the animal.

“Hmm? What is that, Sasha?” it asked.

The fox yapped again causing Oki to frown even more as it looked at the fox with slight agitation. What Sasha was saying was absolutely ridiculous!

“What do you mean this be a prayer to be granted? It is not even a full sentence!” Oki said as it showed the fox the paper as if the animal could read, but the fox yapped again as she wagged her tail at the being. Oki was quiet for a moment as it stared emotionlessly at the fox and then looked at the paper again.

“Sasha be sure it is a prayer to be granted, huh? Hmm....we are not sure we agree with that...” Oki said quietly as it continued to examine the paper with a suspicious eye.

“Hmmmm hmmmmm hmmmm…..” Hyde was going off of his usual routine of giving into his curiosity. He never really found himself in San Malarus island too much, but it didn’t meant that he couldn’t find anything interesting about that place. One particular store that Hyde found was an old antique shop, he wondered if there was anything inside that might be a neat decoration for his room. “Excuse me!” Hyde would say as the door creaks open and he walks in, looking around. He notices an individual in the store and walks over, thinking that the person was the store owner or something. “Hey, I was just wondering if I could take a look around. That’s ok with you right” Hyde would say with a friendly smile, his voice was warm and inviting.

“I’m especially fond of martial arts stuff, do you have anything that resembles a spear or a kunai or something? Even Chinese pottery would be pretty cool. “ So maybe Hyde was going a little overboard, but he was still a bit curious.

Strength

Spoiler:

Oki would examine the pink paper for a while longer still not convinced of what Sasha had said.

“Hmmm…” the being would let the sound out after a while before it looked down at the fox and narrowed its eyes at the creature. “We are still not convinced,” the being would tell the fox, only getting a light huff and shake of the head from the creature. Clearly the fox was slightly agitated with how stubborn Oki was being right now; however, Oki was often hard to convince, so the fox was content to simply wait until the truth bit the other in the face. When that time came Sasha would be very happy to rub the fact she was right in Oki’s face.

In any case, despite the debate and probably the inevitability of losing to the fox once again, Oki’s examination of the paper ended as Sasha’s ears twitched and she looked in the direction of the store become tensed as she sensed something. Eh? Was someone by the door or trying to come in? Lowering the paper, Oki would look through the open back door and indeed see the front door it had forgotten to leave open moving. Ah! A customer perhaps? Oh that would be good considering business was going very slowly here.

Happy that someone had decided to wander in, Oki folded the pink paper into a small, neat square before clamping one gloved hand over it and walking inside the shop as Sasha dashed off towards the woods. As soon as the being walked, the one entering opened the door speaking as the person – a male came in. Looking over at that red head that came in, Oki did a quick scan of the other as it allowed him to approach. This one was younger than its last guest and a lot more up front with emotions. This one put on a friendly air and smiled easily enough. As the other spoke, Oki who had been wearing a light smile up until this point, grinned in a friendly manner at the other.

“But of course. Feel free to look around all you like,” Oki said as it moved from its spot and moved passed the other at such a close distance that the lose fabric of its clothing was able to brush against the stranger. Oki did not seem to notice or find this invasion of personal space odd as it moved passed the counter placing the folded pink paper upon it before moving to the front door which had closed again.

Grabbing the door handle and pulling the door open once more, Oki began moving the door slightly to get it to stay open. As it worked, Oki spoke to the other.

“We do not carry much in the way of weapons currently however, if there is something specific you need, we are very sure it can be ordered and acquired in a few days’ time,” Oki would speak keeping its voice friendly and professional before it paused to get the door jam in place.

Phew! Finally.

With its missioned accomplished, the being would move from the door and then behind the counter.

“As for pottery, we have a variety of different styles along the back wall,” Oki said gesturing to a wall of various oriental style pots, sculptures, vases, and even a few pictures in the mix with one gloved hand before it was lowering its hand down once more and looking over at the red head with curious eyes.

The being would lean forward as it propped its elbows upon the old counter and rested its head upon its folded hands.

“Martial arts, huh? Any particular style, Mr.--?” Oki trailed off as it started casual conversation with its customer and left it open for the other to answer the question. For the time being Oki had forgotten about the pink slip on the counter next to it.

“My name? It’s Hyde! “ Hyde would say as he beats his chest twice lightly. “Hyde Mizumi! “ Hyde never understood why he needed to make such an introduction for himself, perhaps he watched too much anime?” Anyway, my kind of martial arts involves a spear to be honest. That’s why I brought it up. Or a three section pole, thought I haven’t been practicing much. Nowadays I think it’s nice to have as an antique to look back and remember all the things I used to do. “That was true, Hyde’s days of fighting were over in a sense, even though his naivety and rustiness almost got himself killed. “Oh neat….” Hyde would say with a soft voice as he headed over to the back wall of where the owner directed him.Hyde quietly browsed the antiques for a while with a gleam in his eyes; he was definitely interested in how antique shops usually come across the antiques. As Hyde continued to look, he noticed a small wooden box. “ Hey, what’s in that box?”

Hyde Mizumi, hmm? What an upbeat and seemingly nice fellow this one was. Oki had to admit that even though it was odd watching the other pound on his chest as he introduced himself, at the same time the action did not seem out of place for this red head. Maybe it was a show of confidence that allowed this one to do such a thing or maybe it was some other display that Oki did not quite understand. Whatever the case was, Oki found itself easily smiling at the other in amusement.

“What a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mizumi. My name is Oki Akumura at your service,” the being responded back remaining friendly all the while as it continued to observe its potential customer. When the other answered its question regarding martial arts, Oki’s smile turned into grin.

“And here I thought I was the only that had an appreciation for the past in these times,” Oki chuckled lightly quite amused that someone so young was actually interested in the antique or keeping a record of the past. Most kids these days just tossed the old out and went straight for the new, leaving the left behind for itself and…other collectors to gather. However, despite the thoughts, Oki smile would fade slightly as he heard what sort of martial arts the other was into. The being’s eyebrows would raise slightly in interest.

“Pole fighting of any sort is hard to master. Did you decide to take that path yourself?” the being questioned openly curious about the subject. It did not think it would have to dance so carefully with this child as it had done with Sharaku, but the being would have to see. After all, the circumstances here were still normal and the fact that the other had not reacted to it brushing by him earlier might’ve meant this one was pretty sturdy in the nerve department or perhaps use to such invasions.

What was true or not regarding this fellow was about to be tested as the other drifted over to the back wall where the oriental items were held. Just like any store clerk, Oki let the boy browse, but did not keep him under a watchful eye. Unlike a normal clerk who would be paranoid that their items would be stolen, Oki had no fear of this. No one had tried to steal from the shop in a long time thanks to how the last thief ended up, but that was another story for another day. Right now, Oki’s customer was asking him about a small box he had spotted.

Grabbing the pink paper off the counter and placing it in its pocket for now, Oki drifted over to the boy and took a position next to him that automatically had the being invading the other’s personal space; however, unless told to back off or the other moved away to gain space, the ancient being who found this as normal would not move to make space for the other as it reached for the box in question and pulled it off the shelf bring it out further into the light.

The box was made of fine light colored wood with various carvings stained black all over it. It’s latch was black and designed in the fashion of an ancient seal that was held shut by a small arrow that was slotted through the metal loop that acted as it lock.

“I will tell a story instead. A long time ago, a prince was having nightmares that plagued him for days on end. No matter what medicine was given to him or how many monks came to try and purify the prince’s mind, the nightmares would not cease,” Oki said as it balanced the box in one hand and traced the first set of prints that showed a picture of what it spoke about. It turned the box to another side with a picture that showed the prince with a beautiful woman as it continued.

“The prince thought that he would go insane from these nightmares until one day a goddess came to him and agreed to free him from his nightmares if he could gather for her a rare flower that grew on the tallest of the mountains within three days time. The prince told the goddess this was impossible to do as the mountain was far away, but the goddess told him she would accept no other flower and then disappeared,” the being turned the box to the back side showing the prince traveling through a strange land towards a mountain with a flower at the top.

“Left with no other choice, the prince summoned his best men to go with him on this journey to claim the impossible. They traveled as quickly as they could resting only when they had too. They faced many trails that tried to slow them down, but the prince pushed through and in two days time, he made it to the mountain and began to climb it with his men. On this mountain lived a great monster that guarded the flower and when it saw the prince and his men coming up the mountain, it howled to the sky and caused a great storm to make them lose their way. And lost they did become. The men died, but the prince struggled on until he finally had no more strength to carry on and so he collapsed in the snow,”

Oki turned the box to the last side of the box that showed the goddess again taking the prince high into the air and towards the heavens.

“The prince died, but the goddess had watched him struggle the whole time. So moved she was that a human would to such lengths to accomplish a impossible request that she took the prince’s spirit to heavens with her where she refashioned it into a creature that would save all from nightmares,”

Grabbing the box with both hands, Oki lowered it so the top of the lid could be seen more clearly. A strange beast was etched on the top.

“Baku,” Oki said as it looked at the other from under the shadows of its hat. “The dream eater. It is said he was sealed in this box and awaits release. Why not open it and see if spirits or moths greet you?” Oki said with a playful smile as it lifted the box so that its customer could easily open the box if he wished to.

“Oki? Kind of goes along with the name Oinky. Hahaha, but baby pigs can be adorable, I think that you have a pretty good name. As for my pole fighting, it was more of a necessity when it came to the past that I had. It was essential to be able to protect yourself at all times, I just wished that I practiced something a bit more generic besides martial arts. “ Hyde would say as he listened to the story with great intensity. It was a rather interesting experience to say the least, but Lagi’s interest was pretty piqued when he heard the story about the box. “I think there was a horror movie about a small box like that, but the small box contained some kind of demon that possessed someone.” Hyde would say as he foolishly opened the box, he had no idea what he was in for.

After Oki had introduced itself, it found itself stuck between reactions to what it heard the other say. Was…this one mocking it? Oki leveled a cool gaze at the other as it listened to him go on, determining if the correct action would be to be vicious or not. After all, Oki did not take well to mocking. It had had enough of that in the past and to have someone do so only opened old wounds the being tried very hard to keep closed.

Regardless of the look Oki would eventually smile as the hostility quickly melted away as the words were processed. Ah. Not an insult just a comparison to something. This was fine then.

“Hehe. I don’t think anyone can argue with that,” Oki said remaining friendly. To the words about its name, Oki nodded as it gave the other a small smile not sure how to take that one. After all, it was not like it could remember precisely who had given it the name originally. Its name and a thin figure in black that haunted its dreams filling the being with dread and fear…these were the two holes in its memories. The two holes that kept it from being fully itself again….

Agitating, but nothing that the being would show its guest as it raised a gloved hand and rubbed the back of its head.

“Thank you?“ Oki said with a sheepish laugh, truly at a lost as to what else to do or say to the subject that had brought up mixed feelings. Awkward moment aside, Oki would eventually refocus on the young man as he began to speak about his art. To his words, Oki lowered its eyes.

“Ah. That is always a tough path to have to go through. Being forced to do something in order to survive,” it said softly as it thought for a moment back to its past, but then pulling itself back to reality the being grinned at its guest.

“Heh. The generic stuff is so boring. Why even think to go that route?” Oki asked, teasing the boy lightly just to see where boundaries rested.

In any case, when the subject of the box came up, Oki would drift over to the other, invading the personal space as it came to a rest beside its guest; however, unlike some, this one didn’t seem to be bothered by the action as he instead allowed Oki to stay where it was. Taking note of this mentally, Oki got the box down and was quite pleased when its guest actually listened to the story it told with great interest.

When it was done speaking, the other spoke about a movie the being didn’t know; however, it understood the implications of such a remark as it gave the other a mischievous grin.

“Sealed boxes always have many surprises. Let’s hope what you find is not bad,” Oki teased as the other reached out and opened the box with no fear at all.

When Hyde opened the lid, a small butterfly drifted out of the box, black with blue spots on its wings. Blinking at the butterfly, Oki’s smirk faded as it watched the creature go out the open back door with a mildly surprised expression on its face.

“Now how did that get in there?” Oki wondered out loud truly curious how a butterfly had gotten in the box. It knew it had cleaned and rearranged things earlier in the morning, but had it accidently sealed the creature in there? It didn’t remember a butterfly…but then again it was cleaning half awake. Hmmm…

A bit distracted, Oki would temporarily forget its customer as it pondered the incident with the butterfly for a moment longer. As it did this, it would not notice that something was actually at the bottom of the box….
_____________________________________________________
>> There is a small shiny object at the bottom of the box. Take it? <<

Hyde looked down at the shiny object and took it. However, he seemingly picked it up and stared at it for a moment; he didn’t want to seem like a thief. After all, this was an antique store, and the owner was really nice to him. Other than that, Hyde was an honest person who had a pretty good job that he enjoyed; there shouldn’t be anything that he wouldn’t be able to get if it was at a good price. However, this trinket looked pretty amazing. “Oki, this little thing is amazing! What is it? It shining gleam is almost hypnotizing. “ Hyde would say as he walked closer to the store owner. “Does this thing have any neat stories too? It was in the box! Maybe this is a mystery related to the story? I wouldn’t doubt it if it did, this is probably one of your rare pieces that’s worth a lot of money right?

Oki remained distracted by the thought of the butterfly for a moment longer, but as soon as it heard its name the being returned to reality as its customer spoke of a shining thing. What shiny was this one talking about that Oki had missed? Curious green eyes would move to look back at the customer and to thing the other was holding, quite pleased the other had not run off with a treasure it had missed. That would’ve really ticked the being off and on top of that stealing was the last thing anyone wanted to do. The price to pay for such an offense was less than…pleasant, so it was nice to see that honest people lived in the world still. Yes very nice.

In any case, as green eyes took in the shiny object Oki would tilt its head as it looked at the odd object, examining it as it did so. The thing continued to shine for a few minutes longer probably from the light from outside playing on it, but Oki had to admit the object was quite odd and what made its appearance even more odder was the fact it had appeared in what Oki had thought was an empty box.

“Huh. How peculiar," Oki muttered to itself as it continued to study the object a while longer and then remembering the question that it had been asked, the being blinked and cleared its mind. “It looks like an old golden chess piece. The dragon, or knight to be exact,” Oki told the other before it was lowering its eyes to the box still in its hands.

Carefully flipping the box around so it could fully examine it, Oki checked the box inside and out for signs of tampering or hidden compartments it had somehow missed as the other moved closer. However, at the end of its quick examination it found nothing out of place only causing the perplexed frown from earlier to deepen as it looked over at the other listening to the words spoken. When the other finished, Oki shook its head lightly as it closed the lid to the box.

“To be honest, we don’t know the value of that item because up until know we did not even know it was even in the box. Ironic, since I was just talking about spirits and then suddenly butterfly and shining chess pieces appear in a box that we thought was empty,” Oki closed its eyes and shook its head with a light smile of amusement. This day was turning out to be more interesting than expected. Oki wondered what else may occur this day. Heh. Better continue to find out

“As for a story," Oki reopened its eyes and then placed the box back on the shelf before it turned to the other and held out its hand for the chest piece. Whether the other gave his find to the owner or not was up to him, either way Oki would continue.

“We think we would need to go back to where grandmother got the box from to find out just how deeply connected to the story this item is and also its true worth,” Oki said with a nodded as it folded its arms and bowed its head in thought for a moment before it decided on a whim that mystery hunting was exactly what it would do today rather than keep shop. Yep that was the plan…but wait! Oh yes...yes...Oki could not forget about its customer in excitement now could it?

Oki’s eyes drifted back up to the other as its lips parted and words began to come forth once more.

“Oho! Why not we go find that out together? Provided you have time that is,” Oki asked not really caring how odd or out of place the question was. Hyde had discovered something new and mysterious even to the old being and as a result the old being wanted and would find out more about the strange object. Whether its customer/guest came along or not was entirely up to him. If need be Oki would do the hunting solo, but what fun was that if a potential companion was nearby?

Hyde’s eyes lightened up when the store owner asked him if Hyde wanted to go on an adventure to find out the mystery behind the chess piece. It was the first time that Hyde was invited to do something fun like this, he’s usually the one initiating most of the activities that are even remotely related to have a good time. Sometimes it makes him wonder if he’s abnormal for attempting to do these things in vain. However, it seems that Hyde has met a person that shared in the same kind of fun that he enjoyed. “Alright! When should we get started? Tomorrow? Sometime this week? I think it would be really fun if I was to help you on this. “ Hyde would say at first , clearly excited at the current project. However, there was something that was bugging him somewhat. But hold on, where would our lead be? What’s the first place to look Oki chan?”

Oho! A kinder spirit it would seem Oki had found. As Hyde’s eyes became full of excitement at the question Oki had posed, the being found itself smirking in delight as the other began to speak in a quick fashion that matched the excitement that was within him.
As the other started in with the questions, Oki bowed its head slightly as it tapped its lip with one gloved hand.

“We can start whenever is convenient for you. Oki doesn’t has a time limit,” the being said as it looked at the ground for a second and then smiling once more it looked back up at the other as he calmed and asked a second question.

To this, Oki chuckled lightly as it moved its left hand into its pocket and pulled out the pink slip the woman had left earlier. Unfolding it and reading the strange message again with a light frown, Oki would look back at the other with a mischievous grin.

“The dead is our lead,” the being said as it folded the piece of paper once more and then moved closer to Hyde to gently take the golden chess piece out of his hand. Oki would then open the box and place both of the items within it before shutting the lid and taking the box off the shelf once more. As it did this, Oki would drift back to the counter with the box, speaking to Hyde as it moved.

“We need to go to see Andromeda, but that is a long, long…etc. on the long ride and we…tch!" Oki would pause and shake its head as it caught itself slipping back into old ways again. Correcting the error, it resumed speaking.

"I mean, I need to find the map in my…erm…unique home. If you truly want to help, then I won’t object. I suggest bringing food, water, and hiking items; however, don’t go overboard with what you pack. You should arm yourself with just enough to hold you over for many hours. Dress comfortable, but protect your skin lest you end up with all sorts of bites, rashes, and cuts you do not wish to have,” Oki said as it sat the box on the counter and then turned to the other.

“I can be ready in a few hours, but like I said before I work on your time. So then... What works for you, Mr. Mizumi?”

“How about Saturday? We could exchange numbers here and we could group together . After that, I should have my whole outfit planned out, on top of the fact that I would have most of my supplies ready. I’m not too sure how business days are for you, so I would want t pick a convenient day that wouldn’t be out of the way. I think I heard that business days are considered as Monday through Friday, so I figured we would be ok if we did something on the weekend, right?” Hyde didn’t understand much about business day, but he was trying in his own way. “Every time I call customer service for my phone company, they are never there to pick up the phone on the weekends, doesn’t that mean all businesses do that?

“Exchange numbers?” Oki repeated as the smile slid off its face and the being tilted its head one way and then the other at Hyde. “But I do not have a phone.”

The last comment was spoken in calm tones that hid nothing. It was true. Oki’s shop was antique and from a different time frame. The lady that took care of the being didn’t see any need to upgrade the place much outside of running water and electricity...and to be honest Oki liked keeping the place just the way the old lady had it before she passed away. There was no TV here. No computer. No phone. Nothing, but the bare necessities just like she would've liked it.

As far as cellphones went, Oki knew about such things, but up until this moment, the being never had the need or concern of getting one of the complicated gadgets. After all, most of the time the customers that came in and out of the shop were face-to-face folk and if they requested something they always came to get it without fail. There was no need for a phone or computer because  most customers were literally around the corner from the shop.

Was it strange for a business to not have a phone? Perhaps, but this was nothing that had harmed or hindered Oki in the past, so as this new problem occurred the being frowned as it folded its arms and bowed its head in thought.

“Hmmm…Oki has not had to deal with others' service in such a fashion, so we are afraid we don't quite understand the comparison. However, Oki runs on its own time, so Saturday will be fine for us,” Oki said as it sunk back into its old way of speaking as it continued to think for a moment longer. After a moment, the being shook its head lightly as it looked back up at the other with a sheepish smile on its face.

“Oki may not have a phone, but we can find you if you tell us where to go. Or we can meet here again. I am not sure where you live  Mr. Mizumi, but we would much prefer to not cause you to go out of your way if there is some place more suiting to meet,” the being said in friendly tones as it watched the other clearly pleased at the way things were going. Who knew maybe if things continued to flow nicely, Oki would have another friend. Only time could tell.

"Ah! Yes, we need a time, no? I would suggest early morning...unless you don't mind the dark. If that be the case, we can leave in the afternoon. Which do you like?"

“Hmmm…. Nonononoooo…time out oki chan!” Hyde would say as he does a referee pose with both of his hands. “There is no way that any young teenaged girl should be walking around with no cellphone even if you somehow became a store owner. How about… we go to penencia mall and pick out your own custom cellphone?” At this point, Hyde was a bit perplexed as to why Oki was saying we all the time, wouldn’t she say “I” or something? “We can go to together, if you don’t mind closing up a bit early today or something. I’ll make sure that you pick out the best phone for yourself, what do you say? You want to head over there right now?

OOC: Sounds interesting? this can transition into a different thread right now of us going to the mall

(Oh what have you done now? XD)

Eh?

Oki would watch as Hyde made some type of gesture as he spoke seeming to be a bit upset? Concerned? Hrmmm....maybe concern was the right word. Mmm…Yes, concerned. Hyde was concerned about Oki not having a phone. And why was he concerned about this? Because Hyde thought Oki was a girl….

…Ha..Hahahaha! This was hysterical!

While Oki didn’t laugh out loud, it did take quite a bit of restraint to do nothing more than give Hyde a perplexed look as he spoke about the phones. This was the first time in a very long time that someone had chosen female instead of male for Oki’s gender. Most assumed it was male and so it acted that way most of the time; however, the being did display behaviors that could belong to either one, so who was it to try and correct what people thought it was? Was it not better just to adjust the behavior it displayed and go along with the assumption? Maybe or maybe not.

The point here was Oki wouldn’t challenge Hyde as it instead accepted what was said as it ponder the offer made.

“Oki has not been to the mall before…” the being said quietly as it continued to think a bit longer and then making up its mind it looked back up at Hyde with a pleased grin.

“We will take Hyde’s offer. Let Oki just do a few things, then we can go,” the being said beaming at that the thought of going someplace new.

With those words spoken, Oki would begun to move again as it scooped up the box and took the item towards a door in the back. It would disappear behind this door, heading into the gloom of its home for a few moments before returning with what appeared to be a feminine purse slung over one shoulder as a fox followed behind the being.

Once at the counter, the fox would hop up on it as Oki slid around the counter and patted it on the head.

“Sasha agreed to watch the store for us,” Oki said as it introduced the fox and human to each other with a grin. After a few more pats to the fox, Oki would hop forward as one gloved hand shot out to grab Hyde by the wrist.

“Come! Come! Hyde must show Oki this mall and teach us the way of phones,” the being said excitedly as it pulled Hyde towards the door not really caring about any discomfort it may cause by such an sudden action.