The Silent Mountain Festival

There was a light chuckle at Oki’s words regarding the dog and cat issue causing the being to look at the other a bit perplexed before it was falling into thought at what had been said.

“Yes that is true a dog has more hazards then cats, but on the other hand, dogs never really gave me any sort of trouble. They actually are quite sweet, but cats…hmmm…I just don’t know Shaku. Nothing good has ever come my way from them,” Oki said as it rubbed the back of its head with its free hand. Cats…they truly were evil…right? Oki sighed inwardly not really knowing the answer to that at this point, but that issue wouldn’t matter for long as the subject drifted back to naming the fish.

The first response made Oki think it had stepped on a boundary once more, but when the other spoke and then said a strange word afterwards, the old being relaxed a bit. Oki heard the word and processed it and then tried to replicate it.

“Corwa…uh…no cora...” Oki tried but failed to get the word just right. It kept tongue tying the being and the accent that Sharaku had could not be replicated perfectly. Regardless of this, Oki kept trying until it was distracted by the question asked by the other.

“Uh.. Well, I will give you credit for giving me something to chew on for a while. I will get it right in time. You just wait and see,” Oki said with a smirk confident that the word would not beat it down. It would just take a bit of practice, but Oki would replicate that word and when it did, the meaning of the word would be clear to the being. With a challenge in hand, Oki put the word on hold as it instead focused on the rest of the conversation being held.

To Sharaku’s words regarding how well it could hold information, the old being gave a small smile as it shook its head.

“I suppose so. Save others quite a bit of grief to be honest,” Oki said to the other in a calm tone as its mind briefly wandered backwards in time. Yes…the life of an information gather was indeed fun, but cursed in the fact that it hindered learning to talk normally to others and on top of that the need for more information never ceased. The ordeal was a daily fight that Oki had learned to control by keeping its mind distracted by whatever it could…

In any case, the being would stay in thought for a short time before it was chuckling lightly at Sharaku’s comment regarding him being scared of something.

“Possibly, hmm? Makes me curious if I could use that fear for something useful then,” Oki said lightly in turn as they moved slowly with the line. Silence would fall between them for a moment before Sharaku asked if the being wanted something and so in turn got the offer from Oki to buy all; however, the man seemed to disapprove of this saying, he rather not have that occur. The idea was perplexing since it contradicted most observations the being had. Most of the time people liked when they didn’t have to pay and yet Sharaku preferred it the other way. The being wondered why, but it reigned in the curiosity as Sharaku took enough of its own money to buy the water.

As Sharaku was busy with ordering, Oki put away its money pouch and kept itself distracted by quietly trying to get the pronunciation of the word Sharaku had said early right. When Sharaku handed the being the water a few minutes later, the being eyes brightened with joy.

“Thank you,” it said as it took a swallow of the water. So good.

Oki was quiet for a moment as it walked away from the booth quite happy with its drink before pausing to see if Sharaku had followed.

If he had, the being would move to a empty bench away from the crowds and near a small spirit shrine that sat low to the ground. Pausing to sit the fish on the bench, Oki would switch hands the water was in so its left hand was free before it kneeled down by the shrine and began to clean away the weeds around it with a light frown. The action was simply an impulse, but Oki couldn’t stop the need to clean that shrine.

“Sorry…I just can’t leave the shrine be like this. So disrespectful to the one who lives here,” Oki said knowing it was silly in some eyes to do such a thing, but to the being this was a must do. Happy spirits meant a happy space, so why not give them some love in return for many benefits?

A small frown was the only response Oki would give as the subject of cats came to a close. It honestly just couldn’t wrap its head around a cat being a good thing, let alone a companion. Cats were always so heartless. They just watched you suffer without a care. And if they weren’t watching, they bared fangs, made strange sounds, bit and scratched. How can anything good come out of a creature like that? Oki truly didn’t understand and so was more than happy to the let the subject go as it shook its head lightly to clear it.

The downed mood would only last for a second before Sharaku had very easily distracted the being with a word it could not pronounce right off the bat. It had tried, but its tongue just couldn’t wrap around it well. When the other smile and then offered to repeat it, Oki thought about the words for a moment before nodding lightly at the other.

“Yes, we want to know,” the being said as it continued to walk along side of Sharaku with the fish in hand. It would wait for the other to speak, filling the silence with any answer the other required regarding fish or what not; however, how useful said information was to the other was unknown. Maybe like everything else, the man simply let what was said bounce off of him. Sharaku was hard to gauge...and yet that was what made him likable.

When the conversation came to the issue of fears, Oki smiled lightly and shook its head at the question.

“There are many things to use fear for, but to give examples would make us seem quite heartless; however, if you want to know. I can tell you a few uses for it,” Oki said with a faint shrug as it watched the other. It had many things it could use fear for and while it had no issue sharing such knowledge with others, it didn’t exactly want to go into territory that would break potential bounds with another. The being wasn’t cruel per se, but its logic in some situations made its loyalty questionable to those who did not understand its tactics well.

In any case, Oki would let Sharaku choose wheteher or not to jump down that rabbit hole as it fell quiet and went to the booth with Sharaku. Once it had its water and gave its thanks, it tilted its head lightly at the response back from Sharaku, but other wise simply enjoyed its water as it began to walk away from the booth.

When it became distracted by the overgrown shrine and paused to set to work on cleaning it, Oki was quite surprise that Sharaku didn’t simply walk away. It understood that the other wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of spirts if it was remembering correctly, so did he linger because Oki was good company? Hmph….interesting if it be true.

“There,” Oki said with a light sigh as the shrine was properly cleaned and the weeds knocked away. It was a strange cat shrine.

“Heh. I just can't get away from these days... Well maybe the cat will stay home, instead of following us. Sometimes my impulses are more troublesome than good,” Oki said with a faint chuckle as it stood back up and looked over at Sharaku with a faint smile.

“I am not sure what to do now. We could wander further away from the noise or go back in it,” Oki said as it looked from the crowds of people and then towards the paths and the mountain beyond. There were other things to do it was sure, but at the moment its mind was drawing a blank, but maybe that was because it was simply content with Sharaku’s company and really didn’t require much in either action or talking.

Completely contentment to be with a friend? Perhaps…perhaps that is what they were. It wasn’t sure, but it felt safe with Sharaku, but on a different level than it felt with someone it would call its other half. It was an odd feeling to name, but it did not harm the being, so Oki did not rebel against the comfort.

When Sharaku agreed to repeat the word and didn’t seemed to be too bothered by the action, Oki would listen attentively to the word and how it was pronounced when it was spoken again.

“Cor..acã..o…” it repeated slowly before nodding inwardly and repeating it again with a bit more confidence this time around. “Coração!”

The word was spoken with a bit of pride about finally getting it right, but just as soon as the being showed this bit of pride it vanished as it focused on the last part of Sharaku’s words.

“Hm? Well, what does it mean?” it asked as it continued to walk with Sharaku. While it trusted Sharaku to a degree, it was not familiar with the language he spoke and so in turn wanted to know what it had just said, For all it knew, Sharaku had just taught it a “bad word” so to speak…even though the likelihood of that seemed slim considering how well-spoken Sharaku was. Still, one never knew.

In any case, when the conversation moved back to the subject of fear and Sharaku indeed decided to go through the darker rabbit hole of what fear could be used for, Oki glanced at the other with a calm expression for a while trying to gauge if he really wanted answers or was simply yanking its chain; however, when the being saw pure curiosity within the other, it looked away as it thought for a moment.

“Situation A: Two subjects are stuck in a cave with the simple objective of just getting out of it alive. Subject A is calmer than Subject B; however, when presented with a spider like creature Subject A becomes highly afraid and decides to run. Instead of trying to calm the other down or even follow the scared subject, Subject B decides to use the noise and movement as cover as it hides in the shadows causing the spider creature to charge after the more lively of the targets and away from self. Subject B makes it out of the cave. Subject A…never came back,” Oki said its tone calm, monotone and serious as it looked at the path straight ahead for a moment. Then blinking, green eyes would look up at Sharaku.

“And that is just a mild example too,” the being said before looking away and falling silent once more as it walked with Sharaku. A strange air lingered about Oki that was neither comforting nor unpleasant. It was just an odd mix of something unnamed and yet could only be shown to someone the being trusted. The being would stay in this state for a while longer before coming out of it some time later when the idea of drinks came in to distract it.

From the drink booth, they headed to a shrine where Sharaku had patiently waited for Oki to perform the task of cleaning the shrine. When the being was done and had made its comment regarding the type of shrine that it cleaned, Oki looked over at Sharaku with an amused smile at his words.

“You would want a bakeneko in your house? Hmm…well that is quite a bold statement. Even if I hate cats to no end, I much rather have a physical one around than a spirit. At least with a physical one, they can be erased if needed,” Oki said as it rubbed the back of its head with a sheepishly. Honestly…it’s logic could seem highly cruel, but that is simply the way it was.

When it came to the issue of what to do next, Oki nodded lightly as it moved its fish out of the way and sat down on the bench before picking up it had water once more.

“We don’t have a preference for anything either. Just kind of glad to be out of the shop, you know?” Oki said lightly before becoming silent for a moment as it simply enjoyed the night air and relaxed. After a few minutes had passed, green eyes would shift back to its companion.

“Neh? Shaku, tell me about yourself. Like where you came from before here and such. I know it might sound nosy, but humor me for a bit, yes?” Oki asked in calm yet gentle tones that was devoid of the directness that may have come forward when they first met. The being was giving the other a choice rather than intentionally prying for information for some unknown purpose. It simply wanted to know about the man it kept running into within its life. Nothing wrong with that, right?

Oki blinked at the chuckle that Sharaku gave in response to its question regarding the meaning of the strange word. What was so funny about that? Did he really just teach Oki a “bad word” or something it should not be so proud of getting right? The small worry lingered as the silence stayed and when the other stuck his tongue out at Oki a moment longer, the look of dramatic despair could not be hidden. Oh no…what had it just been taught?!

However, the brief panic lasted only for a second before Oki was blinking a few times as it processed the English equivalent of the word.

“A heart,” it repeated faintly as its mind processed the word for a few seconds before Oki was grinning at the other. "That’s a really pretty word. Thank you for teaching it to me, Shaku,” the being said with a smile quite pleased and very relieved that the word was something simple and harmless. It guess it was right to assume Sharaku wasn’t a trouble maker…either that or the being got extraordinarily lucky with that one. Mhmm…best to not over think that new train of thoughts.

Eh? Oki glanced up at Sharaku as he spoke in regards to the example it had given. As it listened to the words, it bowed its head lightly as a sad smile appeared on its face.

“Sometimes theory is kinder than actions,” was all that the being would say in response to that. What it had given was not theory…or it trying to make up an experiment. No that example….that example had come from the past…and the surviving subject was standing right before the man. It was a heavy thought, but one that Oki felt a bit of relief in letting out. Despite how messed up things were, maybe it needed to simply let go some of the baggage of the past to move forward, but up until now found no one or thing to help it with such a task

Personal demons and baggage aside, the conversation would eventually turn back to cats and to what Oki heard, the being was quiet for a moment before it started to laugh.

“Oh my…you are quite a piece of work, Shaku. I’ve never found a human brave enough to actually say that,” the old being said quite amused with its companion as it calmed a bit and tilted its head at Sharaku. “Perhaps in time you can help me gain some of that courage. Personally, I’d abandon ship if a bakeneko got in the house even if I did nothing to it,” Oki said easily enough to the other, not finding any reason to be nervous or bend corners with this one. Time and familiarity had gained Sharaku that honor.

When it came to getting out more, Oki chuckled lightly at the other.

“Perhaps so. I have been a hermit much too long,” the being said stretching a bit as it sat being careful not to spill the water or knock the fish over. When it relaxed and asked about the other’s past, the being got a hmmm and a moment of silence before the other was looking back at it and giving a vague shrug. Quite used to this sort of action by now, Oki nodded lightly at what it heard.

“A drifter, huh? Seems like an interesting lifestyle. I think I’ve been a bird placed in cages most of my life. Not sure how it would’ve turned out if I was a bit braver or more free,” the being said as it sat the half full water cup down on the bench.

Was that amusement in Sharaku’s eyes? Was he actually getting a kick out of Oki panicking about the word? Well now. It was true that Oki’s reaction was a bit over the top, but who could blame it? The guy had left it in so much suspense it couldn’t help, but react the way it did. Still, it was rather interesting to find it amused the other so and luckily for Sharaku, Oki was not one to call him out for such a thing. Instead, when it saw the amusement, it pouted lightly as it poked its tongue back out at the other with a light “nnn”. It was a light playful gesture that was easily followed up with a small smirk that showed it was not offend by the amusement the other got at its dispense.

“I like the random choice,” Oki said easily as it kept step with the other before it shook its head lightly at what was said.

“I don’t know how practical that is for me. I am not sure I have anyone to say such a phrase to and even if I did I am not sure I’d express the feeling like that. I don’t think…” Oki said pondering that little issue for a bit and then glancing up at Sharaku it would blink. “But out of curiosity. How do you say “I love you?” anyway?” the being said up for another challenge. It liked to learn regardless if it was practical or not. It was simple the being’s way. Whether Sharaku humored the being or not was up to him. Regardless of what happen, Oki would continue to chat with the other becoming a bit more quieter as the subject revolving about using fear continued.

Its short answer got the other looking at it in a contemplative manner, making Oki wonder what sort of thoughts was going through the other’s head; however, what was said was a bit unexpected. Coming out of its odd mood a bit, it looked up at Sharaku watching him carefully as it processed the simple phrase. With a light nod, Oki would eventually respond back.

“Tell me about it,” it responded back calmly, glad that Sharaku wasn’t the prying type and yet seemed to know just what to say to keep the peace. This trait of Sharaku was much welcomed. Normally people would poke and pry at such a response, but maybe because Oki trusted the other not to pry was why it could say such things without worrying too much about certain doors being reopened again...unless it wanted them to be open. Thank you, Sharaku.

Ah. The cat spirit. He wanted to know about why it should be a concern, hmm?

Oki looked at the other with a light smile on its face as it study Sharaku for a moment as it did its best to tailor the explanation to something he would probably prefer.

“You don’t necessarily have to do anything to the bakeneko for them to be cruel to you. They are spirits of revenge and grudges, typically attached to families, but they have been known to give those who underestimate them or challenge them hell. Being a spirit, there are very few that win against them. They honestly make the even the large cats look like kittens,” Oki told the other. “As for what they can do…well they are very good at breaking the mind and tormenting people in the most unnatural of fashions. Scratches are the least of your concerns. I’d be more worried about my home killing me than that,” Oki said with a shudder. "Honestly, why even invite that thing in, Sharku?" it muttered quite uncomfortable with such a notion.  

When Sharaku offered to introduced Oki to his own cat, the being tilted its head lightly at the offer as it gave the other an odd look


before speaking.

“Eh-heh. You really think you can handle me in that sort of situation? While I am not denying I am up for facing my fear, I honestly don’t want harm to come to you should I overreact or something,” Oki said. “Not sure if I’d get along or be forbidden from ever coming near ya again.”

Oki let out a light chuckle more nervous at the idea of facing a cat head on, but if Sharaku was there then things would be fine…right…? Hmmm…Well, Oki suppose it would simply have to see when it came to that. It would be interesting nonetheless and who knew... Maybe Sharaku could help it with its fear.

Moving from the subject of cats to lifestyles, the conversation would continue at an easy pace until the topic of “caged bird” was mention. When Sharaku repeated the word “bird”, Oki nodded lightly back at the other. Yeah, he had heard it right. Cage bird….that was the best way to sum up most of its life.

“Hmph. Perhaps, but being out is nice regardless,” Oki said with a light smile as it it picked up the water and took a swallow of it. Then pausing in the middle of a second sip, it looked up at Sharaku over the rim of its cup before lowering it.

“…So you too, hmm? Mind me asking how long ago?” Oki asked in calm tones. It wasn’t mocking the other or even being sarcastic with its words. It was trying to come to an understanding of Sharaku without crossing lines. It would be nice to know a bit more about the other and perhaps through learning find it wasn’t so alone or out there in the world….maybe there were others like itself. People bestowed with “gifts” they didn’t want…through the most inhuman means…The other was free to pry back in turn if he found that a fair trade.

“That be true, but only the thing practical to me at the moment is asking about food places,” Oki said with a light chuckle. The way its mind prioritized things at times….was quite disturbing. While it was true Oki liked a roof over its head, it was fine without one as long as it had access to good food. The same went for clothing and other things that the normal person would not to be without. Perhaps this way of thinking meant it was broken in some fashion from its life caged up. It wasn’t sure, but did it really matter that much? Maybe. Maybe not. What mattered was that the issue didn’t really matter much here.

So it was with ease that Oki shifted from the practical things to curious ones as it asked Sharaku to say the phrase “I love you” anyway. The other did indeed say the phrase to which after listening to it for a bit Oki repeated.

“Eu..te..amo…” it said the phrase slowly at first trying it out before saying it once more. “Eu te amo. Huh…” Oki blinked a few times as the words came out easier than the first word Sharaku had given it. The pharse felt odd as it rolled off its lips, but maybe that was because this was the first time it had said the phrase in many years. Such an odd weight and yet it was kind of nice.

“Such an odd phrase, but pleasant nonetheless. Thank you again,” Oki told the other with a smile quite happy it now had two things it could say in another language. Granted, it wasn’t sure if it would ever have need for the words, but it still was quite proud to have something new added to its log banks.

Oki would remain quite content until the subject rolled around to something a little less pleasant. The pair would exchange words before Sharaku said something that caused Oki to look up at him a bit surprised at first and then letting the weight of what the other had done sink in, Oki would eventually give the other a playful smirk.

“Hehe. Nah. I don’t wanna hear it all,” Oki said as it let go of the foul mood that had gathered around it and instead reminded itself it was safe from that shadow and should be enjoying the festival. Besides, it had a friend with it so why bring down the happiness with the past?

Moving along from the bad memories to the subject of cats, Oki found itself shaking its head lightly at Sharaku with a light smile of apology. It honestly didn’t mean to rattle like that, but it just couldn’t figure a shorter way to explain itself and why bakeneko were the worst things in the world; however, it would appear Sharaku was firm in his belief of the contrary.

As Oki saw the laid-back smile and then heard the words that followed, Oki would tilt its head to the left and then right and then to the left again as it processed what was being said.

“Well….never heard of anyone taking that tactic before. I’ve always heard nothing, but bad things about the cat spirits. Hmm…while I am not suggesting you invite a bakeneko over, if you do happen to get one, I’d…I’d actually like to see how that would turn out despite my dislike for cats. You may be right or you may be wrong. Wouldn’t know without proof,” Oki said as it folded its arms and bowed its head in thought for a moment. That was a perspective it hadn’t expected. Hmm, guess it paid to talk to people of all walks of life to get true result on something.

Oki was drawn out of its thoughts on that experiment when the other snorted lightly and then made the comment of handling whatever came his way. To this, Oki raised its eyebrows at the other.

‘You seem pretty confident in this,” Oki said to the other and then closing its eyes it would nod lightly before looking back at its golden eyed companion.

“Alright then. I’ll leave you to helping me with this issue of cats, but don’t say I didn’t warn you if the area this training takes place gets a bit beat up in the process,” Oki said not sure exactly what it would do if it was trapped in a space with a cat. After all…if pushed came to shove it had no issue throwing things to scare the creature away….Yeah…that was going to be an interesting event if that ever came to pass.

Oki would remain thinking about that until Shaku’s voice interrupted the thoughts as he responded to the comment about being out rather than caged up. When he posed the question, Oki pondered it a bit as it brows furrowed and a light "hmm" escaped it.

“I suppose that depends on preferences. On one hand, neither is good and on the other, both are perfect. Personally, I rather be out with no in rather than in with no out. Being in too long is not good for what’s left upstairs," Oki said tapping the side of its head lightly with a gloved hand. "At least being out, I have a choice where I go…even if I can’t find an end to the wandering,” Oki would say to the other with a nod. Yes, being out was much, much better than being in. The old being wondered perhaps it was the opposite for Sharaku due to him being a wanderer for so long. Maybe he was searching for a place to rest and call his own?

"And you? What do you think on the matter?" it would ask the other after a moment before falling silent to see if he would answer.

When conversation instead turned elsewhere and Sharaku gave the number of years it had been since he was a caged bird himself, the number caused the being to smile faintly.

“So young…” Oki would say lightly and then shaking its head lightly it would look up at the other.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to pry with that one,” Oki apologize to the other before it went back to the water it had and drank some more. It left the atmosphere open to whatever was to occur next.

At the mention of food for something more practical to say, Sharaku gave Oki a light smile. It seemed the other understood without many words that Oki was just throwing an example out rather than actually asking him to start naming different foods. Oki knew the subject was strange, but thankfully Sharaku simply accepted things the way they were and did not pry too much into what Oki truly meant or why food was considered practical in its book. The move was much appreciated by the old being who perferred when it was not questioned for its strange sayings or actions.

When it came to the “I love you” phrase, Oki nodded lightly at the other.

“Mmm. We will agree the sound takes a bit of getting used to. At least it is much more pretty sounding in other languages rather than English. I like the art flare given to it,” Oki said with a smile. It was amused in its own way with the situation of languages and it always enjoyed learning to say old things in new fashions. While some languages sound harsher than others, at least this one that Sharaku spoke flowed off the tongue easily enough once the strange sounds were understood by the brain. Besides, the change up in languages was nice every once and a while.

In any case, Oki nodded to Sharaku when he respond back to its short comment regarding the issue of choice vs. theory.

“Easily enough,” the old being said in calm tones, quite glad to put the subject behind them. Who knew where that conversation may have lead if further prodding had been performed? …Oki didn’t even want to think about it.

Becoming distracted by the faint shrug from Sharaku when it came to cat spirits, Oki glanced up at the other as he spoke.

“Heh. I suppose that is one way to go about it. I personally wouldn’t be able to handle that without knowing I had back up should things go wrong for inviting the thing in. Still, the results of your angle on this would be fascinating,” Oki said with an amused smirk as it observed the man before it. He was very different from itself on the spirit side. While Oki had the tendency to not mess with the aggressive ones on fear of not being able to get them to leave, Sharaku did not seem to have this hang up. Perhaps it was because he did not believe in them that this occurred or maybe Sharaku was simply a skeptic until proven wrong. Whatever the case was, Oki would shrug lightly at his question.

“I won’t say that confidence is a bad or anything like that, but don’t think this will be a cake walk. The possibility of injuries is high and I am not exactly in my right state of mind when around cats, but like I said before. If you really think you have this cure for my fear under control, I can give you a chance,” Oki said as it watched the other with a sheepish look. It supposed if Sharaku prepared himself and the training ground for Oki, then things would be okay. It was one cat…so it shouldn’t be that bad….right? Hrmmm…..

The slightly serious expression on Oki’s face turned into an appreciative smile as Oki chuckled lightly at the other.

“Then it is agreed. I’ll be sure to bug you in time for the lesson, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting,” Oki told the other in slightly playful tones. It really did appreciate the other reaching out to it like this and actually being serious about helping it, even if the suggestion at first was just a partial play. It probably needed this to finally settle the score that had backed it into many corners for years now. Would it be cured completely? Probably not, but maybe the encounter with the cat would in turn give the being a new respect for the thing it feared so much.

As the subject of cats and training passed and was replaced by the preference of being inside or outside, Oki gave its side of the story before falling silent to listen to Sharaku’s response to the question when it was turned to him.

“Unsettling, huh?” Oki repeated as it pondered what was being said. He could see a valid point in his arugement, but then again depending on who you were sometimes one or the other was bad. The being assumed that perhaps this one had an encounter with both in some unfortunate situation to make such a statement. After a bit more pondering, the being would blink as it tilted its head curiously at the other.

“Then you are not pleased in or out?” it asked the other as it watched him with a quizzical expression for a moment before considering the man’s question regarding age.

“No. I can only give an estimate guest. I’d say you’re 23ish in age give or take some time. We are a lot more deciving than we appear; however, I did not mean to spark age talk with the comment. It was just a rambling from an old soul with one too many skeletons still hard to hide,” Oki said with a light smile that hide much of what it felt. In any case, after a few moments, the being felt an apology was in order for what it had started, but surprisingly Sharaku didn’t seem to mind the light poking here and there. Well that was a good thing…right?

“Interesting, hmmm…I suppose so. Either that or my sense of sound is messed up. I like things when they sound like song. Sound strange?” Oki would say as it pondered the way Sharaku described the sounds of words. Perhaps he saw words differently than Oki, but the old being always looked for a song like quality to determine if something was beautiful or not. It wasn’t sure if it was because the languages weren’t native to it that this occurred or if there was something else in its broken little mind that caused it. Whatever the case was, Oki would grin at Sharaku at the mention of the 3 languages.

“Oho. I be jealous. I only speak 2 and half,” Oki said. “Mine be English, Japanese, and some Chinese. Yours be?" Oki would fall silent as it looked over at Sharaku wondering if he would tell it such information or not. It would be interesting to see what other languages he knew besides the English and the other odd language he had been speaking in earlier. However, whether or not the curiosity was fulfilled or not was left in the air for the moment.

“Hmmm…people are more terrifying than beast or spirit. We will give the living that, but I must say a spirit is not exactly on my list of good company either if it is one that is malice. The nice ones are fine, but we don’t think our mind can begin to comprehend such disturbances,” Oki said as it closed its eyes with a light sigh.

“I honestly need to keep the last screw upstairs,” it muttered lightly with a shake of its head and a smile. Yeah Ok being completely insane would be bad news for everyone, so it was best to keep what sliver of sanity the being had open in a live. Spirits was a sure fire way for the being to snap. The thought was chilling.

Shaking its head to clear those thoughts away, Oki caught the shrug that Sharaku had given in regards to its reaction to the cat. To the other’s words, Oki chuckled lightly.

“Let’s hope I won’t do anything that extreme then, I would hate test your skills out,” the being as it lightly stuck its tongue out at the other for a brief second before nodding at the other with an appreciative smile when Sharaku agreed on a future meeting to settle the score between Oki and cats once and for all.

In any case, after the cat thing was settled more or less, Oki found itself tilting its head to the right and nodding as Sharaku explained his preference for inside or out a bit better. With this new explanation there, Oki gave a light “Ahhh” as undershooting sunk in.

“You like outside better too huh. Interesting common ground,” Oki said to Sharaku before becoming quiet as the other corrected it about his age.

“In a way, the age thing is and is not related. While age is just a number, when I compare it to myself to others, I always find myself saying things like that,” Oki said and then narrowing its eyes with a grin it coninued. “Despite my looks I am working towards a over 100 as we speak, I served my time many years ago,” Oki told Sharaku with a light chuckle as it shifted in its seat and moved the fish and water before patting the seat next to it to see if Sharaku wanted to sit.