Shopping for a phone, kinda... [Deshi]

Later on, Hyde arrived to the mall in Penencia along with Oki. IT was as big and busy as usual, people all over the place coming in and out of the mall stores. Hyde took a deep breath and spreads his arms out. “Hey Oki, do you see all of this? This I where all of the people shop around in Penecia. Some would leave the other islands that they hang around gut to go here; it’s the grand daddy of super-malls. “ Hyde would give a small explanation as he looked around for the phone store. “The cell phone store is up there, we can take the escalator up the stairs if you want to. Or we could even take the elevator too! That’s always a good view, due the fact that you can see through the glass. “ Hyde noticed that there were other stores around as well. “On that note, perhaps you would want to check out the girl clothing isle maybe you might find something you like? I like to go shopping myself sometimes, there’s always that one shirt or pants that you like the most every now and again.”

Isolation. It has its good and bad sides.

For Oki getting out of the shop with another was indeed a fun idea. The being had no issue moving down the streets with Hyde at its side. Had no issue getting a train ticket or riding the train in the first time in many years since the old lady had died. The being was enjoying itself taking in all the sites with a child-like wonder and grin as the landscapes change and they moved to a more crowded and busy place. As they entered the new place and headed towards the mall, Oki found itself hesitating as it was finally inside of the large place.

There were so many people, sounds, smells, and sites that Oki honestly didn’t know what to do at first as it instinctively moved closer to Hyde, trying to take it all in as its eyes drifted here and there as it looked at the various shops and food booths. Was there really a phone shop in this place of so much movement and noise?

Oki clutched the strap of its purse a nervously as it continued to observe the place cautiously not sure if it liked it or not. When Hyde began to speak a few seconds later, Oki turned its attention to the young man as he began to explain this place. As Oki listened, it smiled nervously.

“Super-mall?” it would repeat. “You mean there are smaller malls then this one? Are the small ones as…um…busy as this one? Or are they not visited as often due to people liking this one more?” Oki asked as it looked around once more becoming distracted by a couple eating the largest ice cream cone it had ever seen.

“Where do you get such things?” Oki muttered softly, the distraction almost enough to make it block out Hyde; however, not wanting to be rude, Oki would blink and bring itself back to its kind guide as the other spoke of elevators and escalators. Not sure what either was, Oki looked to where Hyde pointed to understand what he was saying.

The escalator looked like moving stairs, while the elevator was a room that went up and down? How strange. Looking at the options it was given, Oki would frown in thought before looking over at Hyde as he threw out a third option that only made Oki smirk in amusement.

“You know a good hat shop? I have been looking for a new hat as of late, but none the stores back home have what I am looking for,” Oki said as it watched Hyde still amused that the guy assumed it was a girl. Such an interesting human.

“Hat store…. hat store, I’ pretty sure that I know a hat store on the first floor.  How about we head on this way ? Hyde would say as he pointed at a store in a distance that had a bunch of hats on the windowsill. The hat store was called steam punk; it was quite a straightforward place. If you wanted hats, this was the store that you needed to go to. As for Hyde, he would answer Oki’s question as they headed over towards steam punk. “Well yea, there are smaller malls than this. In the suburbs maybe,  super malls usually get their name because of their size and the amount of content present in the mall, you could buy just about anything.  When Hyde led Oki into steam punk he would look around for hats himself. Not to buy, but to try on for fun. How about this? “Hyde would say as he puts on a red and white stripped top hat. “ I feel like the cat in the hat.

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Spoiler:

When Hyde pointed in a direction they should head regarding a hat store, Oki’s green eyes would follow the direction he was pointing in. Green eyes would land on the store as the being tilted its head slightly looking at what could be seen from the displays in the window. The hats looked kind of odd…Hmm. Perhaps Oki could find what it liked, but then again the style was something Oki was unfamiliar with. Still, being curious it was willing to try something new.

So with a smile, Oki nodded the other.

“Okay. Let’s go,” the being said happily and then followed Hyde towards the store. Sticking close to the other as it looked around, Oki did its best not to get too distracted by all the sights and sounds. A hard thing to do considering how most of the things around it was quite new and tempting to poke at; however, remembering it was suppose to be “normal” Oki controlled its natural impulse to run all over the place as it stuck to Hyde and listened to what he had to say about the super malls.

“Huh. It seems the only thing missing here is a place to live then. Didn’t think one place could have everything one could want. Perhaps I am too use to smaller stores,” Oki would say cheerful before they came to hat store. Pausing outside of it for a second to take in the strange array of hats in the window, Oki would eventually move to catch up with Hyde who had gone in the store. Moving around the store cautiously as it took in the hats with various pieces of machinery on it, the being remained quite as it eyed this hat or that hat carefully as it took a moment to separate facts from bad memories.

The mechanical nature of things in the store put Oki on edge for a moment as brief snippets of a past it had been trying to bury for years tried to creep up again. The machinery motifs….and some of the strange mannequins in the store… They all reminded Oki of less pleasant times and made the being want to flee at first, but as it was lead around the store by Hyde slowly Oki began to relax as its mind began to cement itself in reality again. These things…they could not harm it. There was nothing to be afraid of. It was safe.

While Oki dealt with this eternal battle, it had remained quietly looking around until Hyde’s voice drew its attention to the young man. Using the familiar face to completely bring itself to safety once more Oki would fold its arms as it observed Hyde and the hat for a moment and then with a smile, it nodded.

“I do not know of this cat in a hat, but it is definitely a unique fit,” the being said with a light chuckle that levitated some of the stress it was under. Trying to keep itself from going down memory lane, Oki would look around the store for a moment as it thought.

“Hmm…if we went to tea and you wore that. Then how about,” Oki paused as it looked at the hats nearest to it and then finding one that felt least the threatening towards it, the being would pick up a small hat from one of the displays before swapping it with its own hat.”This one for me?”


Oki would blink up at the other as it wore the hat awaiting to see if the other liked it or not….Not that it would matter, but at least being distracted Oki could remain acting normal as it kept itself safe from the past.

“Well now you kind of remind me of the mad hatter. Surely you would think it would matter, if we wore silly hats long with our chatter…. Right?” Hyde would chuckle a bit, trying to put in a small rhyme here and trying to be fun with the whole situation. “I think that hat looks really cool on you Oki chan, but it’s a bit fancy. If you wanted to wear something cute, then how about…..” Hyde was looking around for a hat that girls would like to wear. “Maybe something akin to fashion perhaps? This looks like a popular fit, it’s pretty decent in design and it covers your ear if it gets a bit cold outside. There is also a golden chain around the top, perhaps it’s a design you would like?” Hyde was trying but he never really been shopping with a girl before. Even though this was his first time at the mall with Oki, he didn’t really know what would appear to her.

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Spoiler:

The response from Hyde regarding the hat that Oki had chosen out was enough to make the being giggle with delight. While it was not familiar with all books, but it did know and love Alice’s Adventure’s In Wonderland, so the references here were not missed.

“Hehe. Perhaps what matters as we chatter is if we are truly mad as the hatter,” Oki responded back playfully as it grinned at the other truly thankful for the play. However, the playfulness would die slightly as Hyde gave his opinion of the hat before looking around for a different hat for the being. As the other looked around, Oki would take note that he was looking at the female hats still as it slipped off the smaller hat and placed it back in its place. When the other found a hat he thought Oki would like, the being looked at the chosen hat for a while with an analytical eye as it folded its arms and brought one gloved hand to its chin in thought. Leaning forward, Oki would study the hat in the other’s hand quietly.

Black with a simple design. Not too threatening at all considering the other items in the store and on top of that, it was actually a hat that Oki would wear regardless of clothing choice. It was indeed a nice hat.

“Hmm…it has potential,” Oki said as it leaned back and let its arms drop to its side once more. Stepping forward and invading Hyde’s personal space bubble for the second (or was it third?) time that day, Oki smiled up at the other.

“Let’s see how it looks on,” Oki would say as it bowed slightly to allow Hyde to place the hat upon its head if the other wished to. If not, Oki would perform the action itself after a moment.
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Oki is allowing Hyde to place the hat upon its head if he wants.
If not, it will do the action itself next post.

“Ahh…. Um…. O-ok….” Hyde put the cap on Oki with a small blush; he hasn’t had too much interaction with females before so he wasn’t too sure if he was supposed to do that to her. Once again, he wasn’t too sure about the whole shopping mall things with females. However, Hyde ended up doing it anyway and his short term embarrassment transferred to his eyes lighting up. “Oh, it’s actually fits your head quite nicely Oki chan. Check it out! “ Hyde would say as he would take her from the shoulder and gently shifted her body towards a nearby mirror n the store. “Check you out, it’s looking pretty fancy. There is a holiday sale going on as well, maybe you should pick it up for yourself?

It seemed that Hyde that had chosen to place the hat on Oki’s head after all. As the other spoke nervously and placed the hat upon the being’s head with that strange tinge of red upon his face, Oki remained in its position until the hat was fitted nicely on its head. It was amused to no end about this situation. While it did not understand the whole love and relationship deal that humans had, Oki always found it very amusing how those of the opposite sex reacted around each other. Some built walls around themselves while others tried to…what was the word used today? Hook up? Mmm. Yes. Hook up with whatever wore a dress. Then there were guys that simply wanted to hold hands and others that seemed to lavish the one they were after with gifts. The interactions were much like animals, the male always trying to impress the female. It was an interesting study, but even more fascinating than the norm were situations like this where the male did not know what to do at all.

And did Oki feel bad for what it had caused by allowing Hyde to assume it was female? Hehe. Not at all. Oki was not male or female. It honestly didn’t label itself as such. Society did that and so Oki just followed whatever role a person set for it. Not perfectly, but well enough. It didn’t see anything wrong with this at all. The action didn’t seem to harm anyone and no one was close enough to the being to make it consider choosing a male or female companion to begin exploring this thing called a relationship. Oki was just content with the company it could gain here and there regardless of the gender.

So as Hyde had his moment, Oki giggled lightly as it moved from its bowed position as Hyde seemed to recover and his eyes instead lit up as he took in the hat upon the being. As he spoke, Oki’s delight only deepened; however, instead of smiling Oki would blink as the other took it by the shoulder and guided the being towards a mirror. As Oki was placed in front of the reflective material the being would take a moment to adjust to seeing itself. It had….been a long while since Oki had taken in its form that it never really felt love or hate towards. Its form was just there and that was all…until now. Now someone saw it and said it looked fancy…nice? Hm…well, said it looked nice due to a hat.

While the being had heard many words in its days, there was something about the words coming from Hyde that made the being smile softly as it observed the hat in the mirror from different angles.

“It is a nice fit isn’t?” Oki said as it observed the hat a while longer and then spinning around to Hyde with a bright grin on its face, the being nodded as it slipped off the hat and placed its old one back on.

“Mmm. I think I shall,” Oki said and then tilting its head it looked at Hyde noticing he didn’t have a hat. “Are you not getting one too?” the being would asked the other.

Hyde blinked twice when it was asked of him if he wanted a hat. “Huh? We? Well.. I kind of like my hair to be all wild like, so I usually avoid hats so I could feel the breeze through my hair. That and when I was younger, I thought hats were just a scheme of evil people to hijack your brain or something. “Hyde would laugh playfully as he looked around for a small winter hat that covered his ears. “Well, it’s going to get a lot more colder soon. Perhaps I should pick this up. “Hyde would then shift over to the register and take out his wallet. He would then talk to Oki as he was paying for his small hat. “We should head up stairs after this; I bet you are excited to look at the phones! Right Oki?” Hyde was enjoying her company, he wondered if she noticed?

Oki watched Hyde for a moment listening to his answers before green eyes was looking him up and down. A playful smirk was on Oki’s pale lips as it nodded at the other.

“That is always a reason to avoid hats. Besides your hair is very nice,” Oki said as one gloved hand went up to push back a lose strand of Hyde’s hair. Giving Hyde a playful wink, Oki would step back from the other as he decided to pick out a hat for the winter and then moved over to the cash register to pay. Oki would wait its turn in line to pay. As it did, it heard Hyde’s words and nodded happily.

“Yes. The phone shop should be most interesting,” Oki replied back not caring if it got weird looks from such a strange comment. In any case, when it was Oki’s turn to pay, the being would mimic what it saw others do countless of times before thanking the girl behind the counter and taking its bag. With hats down and the exit of the store so near, Oki felt itself relax even more. Once it was outside of the strange store, the being felt itself go back to normal.

“Okay. Upstairs!” it would say before moving towards the elevator; however, Oki would pause as it was distracted by one tiny little thing: Free samples at a cookie shop.

“Oop. Wait a minute,” Oki said as it spotted the small sampling tray. Drifting easily through the crowds, it would go over to the cookie shop and nab two samples before coming back over to Hyde and holding one of the samples out to him. It wasn’t sure if the other liked chocolate chip or not, but it honestly didn’t know a better a way to express its thanks for the help back at the hat shop. Besides, even if the guy hadn’t helped Oki, the being had to admit he was enjoyable, so why not make the offer?

Regardless of what happened, Oki would grin quite pleased with Hyde’s company.

“Now, we can go upstairs,” Oki said with a light chuckle before resuming its walk towards the elevator. If Hyde was enjoying Oki’s company, then that was great for the old being had no issue expressing through actions just how much it was truly enjoying the young man’s; however, it was not enough to get the being to trust the other yet. Still the experience with the young man was remaining on good terms, so that was a start.

Hyde laughed as he saw Oki head on over to the cookie sample place. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt then. “ Hyde would say as he took the cookie from Oki with his mouth and munched away. “Its good right, chocolate chip cookies are pretty tasty. Even though I like all kinds of cookies, I would say that oatmeal raisin is my favorite. However, maybe that’s just me being traumatized from eating oatmeal for the majority of my childhood. “ Afterwards Hyde got into the elevator with Oki as they proceeded to head straight up the elevator, getting a clear view of the malls first floor as they gone up. “Well that’s a nice view.”

Hyde would say as he took Oki’s hand and led her to the phone store. There was a few customers there and phones of all kinds. “Personally, any kind of student would favor the carrier that only has a $40 monthly plan, simply because it’s affordable. Then again, that’s what everybody wants right? Something with a good plan and features that you are looking to use. Do you see anything you like Oki chan?” Hyde would say, somewhat unaware that he was still holding her hand. When he noticed, he let go and gave a nervous laugh. “Sorry, your hand was just…. Pretty warm…ahh anyway!” Hyde would cough as he looked around. “I’m sure there is something in here that you would like. “

Hyde’s reaction to the offered cookie was one that Oki had never seen before. Most of the time when things were offered, the receiving party would grab said thing with their hand, but Hyde did not do this. Instead when he took the offer, he took the cookie right out of Oki’s hand via his mouth. Kind of like how Sasha took treats out of the being's hand, but more neatly than the fox. The action was a surprise that caused the being to tilt its head slightly at the other in amusement; however, the light perplexity didn’t last long as Hyde began to speak on cookies.

To his words, Oki nodded as it ate its sample.

“Oatmeal cookies are nice, but I think I prefer frosted animal crackers the best. Not sure why, but they are just fun!” Oki told the other in cheerful tones as the being followed the other to the elevator. Once on the elevator, Oki would look out the glass elevator as it went up taking in the whole mall. It really was big and full of distractions. The being could easily get lost in this place if it had found this place on its own rather than being invited by Hyde and it probably wouldn’t have been as fun exploring it either. Sure, it could keep itself entertained, but fun was always better when another was nearby. Having enjoyable company was just a bonus in the long run.

“Mhmm. It is quite nice,” Oki agreed as the elevator stopped pausing long enough for anyone to get a good view of the place before the doors were opening. As this occurred, Oki felt Hyde's hand wrap around its own, but instead of resisting it simply mimicked the action and held his back. The being did not mind the action. In fact, the warmth of the other was actually quite pleasant.

Content, Oki let the action continue as they walked to the phone store and entered. Unlike the last store, this one was a bit more quieter and more open. There were various displays of phones and other things in the store that caught the being’s eyes as it looked around. When Hyde began to talk, Oki listened carefully as it absorbed the information it was unfamiliar with.

When he posed his question, Oki looked around the place a bit before turning its eyes back to the other as it gave him a sheepish smile.

“I am afraid, I am unfamiliar with these phones. I can look at one think I may like, but I am not sure what all these features and plans mean. Perhaps Hyde can be a guide, yes?” Oki said before looking back around the store trying to figure out which one it liked best. As it was looking about, it was distracted from its thought process when Hyde’s hand slipped from its own.

Looking back at the other, Oki tilted its head lightly as the other appeared to become nervous as he spoke, stumbling over his words a bit before trying to change the subject back to phones. To this, Oki smiled as it watched the other for a bit.

“You are cute,” Oki said before moving forward and brushing past Hyde. As it did, it would stop a few paces away from Hyde and look back at the other. “I don’t mind the action,” Oki held its hand out to the other. “Kind of liked it that way. Continue?”

The being would wait to see what the other would do. Regardless if he took its hand or not, Oki would eventually drift over to a dark red touch phone and look at the glowing screen up and down before reaching out to touch one of the icons. When it switched to another picture, the being tilted its head as it read the strange word there.

“Google?” it wondered out loud. What was that? Oki had never seen that before. What had it clicked? And what would happen if it clicked something else? Hmm…

Curious about the phone before it, the being would study the strange device a bit longer debating if it should continue to play with it, buy, or perhaps try another? So many choice….

C-cute?!” That was the first compliment that Hyde has heard in quite some time, it was actually comforting to hear that for once. Hyde kind of figured that his eyes gave off the impression of a personality that he didn’t have, like he was a delinquent or something. When Oki offered her hand, Hyde would take it again with a smile. “Well, I got to make sure that you don’t get lost or anything. “ Hyde was then Shifted over to a phone by Oki, who tinkered with it little bit and wondered what google was.

“Google is a search engine. Whenever you would want to find something or gather information about something, that’s one of the sites you can use. They also have an email system that you could set up, as well as google docs if you don’t have Microsoft word on your computer. It’s a pretty good search engine with a bunch of add ons.” Hyde would then use the touch phone to search for the word cakes. “You could either look for pictures, places; search the web, things like that. Oh! Do you like this phone Oki?”

Hyde’s reaction to the compliment made Oki laugh lightly in amusement. It didn’t think the other would react such a way to such words and yet he had. It was a pleasant surprise. To make things even better, Hyde decided to take Oki up on its offer to continue holding hands. Quite pleased with the action, it was easy for Oki to return the smile as it heard the comment.

“It is good to know someone has my back then,” Oki said to the other truly happy to be here and with Hyde. But was the happiness stemming from simply enjoying the other’s company or was there something else that Oki did not quite understand yet blooming here? The being was unsure of the answer, but unlike all the other information it hunted down, Oki was actually willing to let time unravel this mystery. For now, it settled with just enjoying the other’s company.

Hand-in-hand, Oki would drift over to a phone that caught its interest and after toying with a bit and asking a question regarding whatever Google was, the being would settle into thought for a bit before being pulled out of it by Hyde’s voice. As the other explained what Google was Oki listened, but found itself getting lost with some of the words. Microsoft Word? Add-Ons? Google what? And e-mail? Oki blinked a few times at this and shook its head lightly as it gave the other a sheepish smile.

“I am afraid I am as antique as my shop. I know what a computer is, but outside of that not much about what you speak of,” Oki admitted with a light chuckle. It was slightly embarrassed that it was way behind in times, but then again it had not really made an effort to get out. It was much too use to its isolation and if it wasn’t for a few events here and there and then Hyde, Oki was quite sure it would not be learning what it was learning now or even exploring a new place such as a mall. In a nutshell, it was grateful for the experience.

Being outdated aside, Oki’s embarrassment would quickly vanish as Hyde entered something into the phone and then hit something called “search” next to the box under Google. When he did this, the picture changed to various things on cakes and even had pictures of cakes too.

“That is quite amazing. I wish I had learned sooner about these things,” Oki said as it played with the phone a bit more distracted for the moment by pretty pictures; however, not allowing itself to get too deep into the distraction. Oki would eventually look away from the phone’s screen and look up at Hyde with a smile.

“Mmm. I think so. I just wonder if the color can be different. Red is nice, but….not exactly my favorite,” Oki said as it flipped the phone over in its hand. The color reminded it of blood….not a good thing. Hrmm…

Alright so maybe red isn’t too good. Even though I like the color red myself, but maybe it’s because my hair is kind of red. Hyde would say with a small laugh as he looked at Oki up and down. Hyde would then snap his fingers as if he got an idea and went over to one of the salespersons that roamed the store. Afterwards he would bring out purple version of the phone that they were just looking at. “ The phone bill is pretty cheap like mine since this phone has the same carrier as me. Also, I think that purple is a good color for you. Maybe this is just a hunch but I think you would like it, you know?” Hyde was only making a suggestion, he didn’t know whether she would like it or not.