Even Heroes Need Company (Nilo) (Silent Mountain Festival)

Jack... was board... plane and simply... Board... Nothing at this festival was really catching his eye, and what did was so mundane, that what little enjoyment he could gain from them was quickly over shadowed by his growing sense of paranoia and dread. The sharp shooting tent was nice... but after dropping twenty bucks and not winning once, they kinda lose their luster. The food was good... But you can only have so many funnel cakes before your gut starts to fight back. The costume contest was rigged, he was sure of it... How else would a little girl in a hula skirt beat his Neo Featherman uniform. Sure the theme was tropical get away... but what's more tropical then Sentai? Honestly...

This brings Jack to where we find him now... sitting on a bench in the middle of the festival with a balloon on one hand and a lemonade in the other. Jack was beginning to think that maybe the trick to these things was to enjoy it with friends... yeah friends... Jack didn't have many... That's it!

Jack jumped to his feet and filled himself with righteous determination. He would use this as an opportunity to make new friends!.... Oh who was he kidding... Jack flopped back down onto the bench and watched as happy couples passed him by. If only he had someone like that....

"Or anyone for that matter... I guess... Being a ranger doesn't always mean you have companions..."

Jack seems lonely....

Nilo looked up at the beautiful exploding lights and listened to the lively music. He awed at the festivities and seemed to smile and truly enjoy his surroundings. It wasn't often he gave him the chance to go to festivals but he always made time to go to the Silent Mountain Festival. He loved everything about it especially the sweets that where displayed at some of the booths. His favorite booth was one that sold dango. He loved the sweet rice flour balls on a skewer and always made sure to buy a box of them every year at the festival.

"Thank you." he said as he received his box of dango, smiling to the lady before paying and walking off. He opened the box and smiled down at the three colored skewered balls. He took one out and began eating it, looking around for a place to sit. He noticed Jack after ending his search, smiling and beginning to walk towards him.

"Hey, Jack!" he shouted over the roar of other noises, smiling happily towards him. When he got close to the bench he noticed the loneliness on Jack's face, which caused him to frown lightly. "Are you okay?" he asked when he got to the bench.

Jack's head perked up, he could of swore he heard someone call his name over the roar of the crowds... but it was probably his own imagination. After all, he hadn't seen any one he really recognized here at all, at least none that would call out to him. So he let the moment pass, however when he heard a familiar concerned voice ask him what was wrong, he couldn't help but let himself relax a little. He looked up to see Nilo's concerned eyes looking back down at him. He couldn't help but smile in spite of himself as he straightened his poster and tried to look happy,"Oh hey Nilo! Didn't know you came! heh. Wrong?... Nothings wrong, just enjoying some people watching,"

Jack felt a little bad for lying but he knew Nilo was a very sensitive person, and the last thing Jack wanted to do was bring Nilo down or worse, ruin the festival for him. Jack patted the bench next to him and motioned for Nilo to join him,"Glad you ran into me though! I'll feel a lot less paranoid with you here."

As a fellow Ranger, Jack was sure Nilo felt it to. The foreboding sense of dread that came with large groups of people... Surely... And having two Rangers would mean having back up in case of an attack!

Yeah that was why he wanted Nilo to hang around... not... Not cus he was lonely... NO! Because he wanted to be sure the festival was safe!... yeah.

Nilo smiled and sat down next to Jack at the invitation, looking into the crowd of people. "People watching? Is that like bird watching but with people?" he asked as he took out another dango, biting into one of the brightly colored balls of rice. He stayed quiet while he ate it raising a brow at the paranoid statement.

"Paranoid? Do large crowds bother you?" he asked as he took out another dango, blinking and looking down at the box in his lap. "Oh, sorry, my manners are terrible... Would you like one?" he asked as he gestured towards it, seeming very embarrassed by his lack of manners. He began eating the new stick of dango regardless, savoring the sweet flavor. He returned his gaze to the crowd, listening to whatever Jack would say.

Jack chuckled slightly as Nilo asked his question,"Yeah, kinda like that... I like to do it every now and then so I can remind myself why I want to be a hero... I don't know these people... But I still feel driven to protect them ya know?..." Jack chuckled a little bit more as his eyes landed on a happy couple a few yards away who were happily distracted with each other's faces. Jack's happy eyes hardened a little as he eyed the pair," Except lovey dovey couples... In case of an alien attack... They're on their own, maybe the power of love will protect em I don't know... heh"

Jack eyed the Dango suspiciously... He had never had one before. Despite being a bit of a japanophile, he viewed Japanese deserts as a bit of a cultural barrier. Maybe it was all the melon flavored things or the lack of fried bread... or perhaps it was the time he heard the Japanese eat squid flavored icecream.... but he was weary of them to say the least. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, however, Jack took the desert and smiled.

"Heh, thanks! And... Yeah... They do... a lot. This is gunna sound crazy but, large groups of people make me think that... something big is coming. Like a full scale alien invasion, or robot upraising, maybe an attack by demons I don't know... To many people to protect, and I know... someone would die," Jack sighed and turned towards Nilo and flashed a smile,"But don't worry, I'm fine. Big crowds mean lots of single babes looking for love hehe. Know what I mean Nilo? Heh"

Nilo listened to Jack's explanation, smiling lightly at it. Through Jack's facade of hero-ness... If it was a facade, he saw a caring person, one that truly worried about others. He then laughed lightly at his remark on lovers, rolling his eyes in amusement. "I suppose they can be annoying... But if they're happy, they're happy I suppose." he said politely as Jack took a dango stick. He smiled happily at that, thinking something out in his head before speaking.

"Dango are treats made out of mochi, or rice flour. I love them, especially these." he said happily. He loved sweets and loved to talk about them. He hummed in delight as he ate another dango, continuing to listen to what Jack said until the last part. He quickly blushed and lowered his head.

"U-Um... Yah... Sure... Um..." he stuttered out. He had never had a girlfriend before, mist girls simply pitied him... He didn't know of any girls he like liked... Hyacinctha came to mind but he brushed it out of his head quickly, not wishing to have a 'spur of the moment love interest.' He simply never bothered to have feelings towards a girl. He just simply put it down as never finding the right girl. He always thought true love would find each other... At least he hoped.

"EEEERG! That's it Nilo! You're right! I cant just sit here and feel sorry for myself! I cant take it anymore!" Jack jumped to his feet and hopped up onto the bench," If I want to get anywhere in this life I need a girl! Every hero needs a blushing damsel in distress! How could I have been so blind before... It all makes sense now..." Jack's worries where momentarily forgotten as his own personal brand of madness took hold of him once more. He suddenly felt empowered by the "burning passions of youth" as he would come to call it. Jack felt the tightness of the his jumpsuit under his cloths as be began to strike heroic posses atop the bench.

"Nilo! Do you know what we must do? If we're gunna be super heroes we need girlfriends! I mean... who else is gunna get captured and held captive by the bad guy?" Jack smiled as he jumped down from the bench and began to scan the crowd. He absentmindedly began eating the Dango in his hand. After takeing a bite Jack stopped for a moment and turned towards Nilo once more.

"Hey... These are pretty good!"

Nilo didn't know how to respond to Jack's show... He simply took out another dango and ate it, trying his hardest to not blush, laugh, or be slightly afraid of what the future may hold now. He didn't seem to over all care until he was dragged into the situation. He simply smiled and nodded his head, hoping Jack wouldn't really bring his plan to light. He smiled as Jack liked the treat however.

"Mhm. We should go get some more before the festival ends... The lady that runs the booth only makes them for festivals... I said festival a lot, sorry." he said with a light smile as he shook his head. He didn't think Jack would be serious on his girl friend hunt but would go along with it if it led towards the dango booth... He really liked dango, that much could be deduced, but a part of him wanted to make sure Jack didn't get hurt in the process; physically and emotionally.

"Dango... Nilo... You're a genius!" Jack finished last of his Dango and wrapped his arm around Nilo's shoulders with a grin. Jack had an idea... a marvelous... devious... and all round wonderful idea. It hinged on two things. One, Nilo's cooperation, and two, these dango. If executed properly then both he and Nilo would have proper damsels in distress to save and then uh... well... To be honest Jack didn't know what to do after that... Usually at that point the credits rolled and the screen went black. Regardless of what you do with the damsel Jack knew if he was to be a hero he needed one.

"Alright Ranger Black, my friend! I have a plan! If you are willing to trust me I will lead you to victory!" Jack laughed and pat Nilo on the back as he offered a thumbs up,"I'll explain once we get more of this delicious Dango! Lead the way buddy!"

Nilo didn't quite understand what was going on but he hear dango and was okay with the plan. He got up and discarded the box of dango, smiling towards Jack. He began walking off towards the dango shop, hoping Jack would follow. "This way, okay?" he said with a jump in his step.

He found the dango stand and smiled towards the lady who int turn handed him another box of dango. Nilo gave her the money and turned to where Jack would be hopefully standing. "Okay... What's the plan?" he asked as he promptly took out a dango and began eating it.

Jack was nearly dancing with anticipation! His plan was fool proof! He knew he had said that before... Heck, he had said that about nearly everything he had ever done.... But this time it was a shoe in! Nothing... and Jack meant nothing would go wrong here.  As long as Nilo was by his side Jack was sure he could handle anything. Now that Jack thought about it...Nilo had been there for Jack when he needed him most. Heck... in the ten minutes he had been hanging out with Nilo he had more fun then the entirety of the rest of the festival... Jack smiled softly and pulled out his wallet.

"Part one of the plan is for me to pay for the dango," Jack said pulling a few bills from his wallet and handing them to Nilo,"And I wont take no for an answer! Second....I decided to change my plan a little... But it still had the same end result! It's time for our first mission as rangers! Operation, Honey Hunt!" Jack grabbed Nilo and pointed him towards a small group of young ladies who were happily chatting between themselves,"YOu are going to use your powers as the cool swave Black Ranger and offer them some Dango...Then I'll run in and grab it from you! Then you'll be all cool and chase me down, take it back. I will run from your coolness, then you come back to the girls and deliver a cool one liner! Then boom! Putty in your hands..."

The original plan was the reverse of this but... Jack wanted to thank Nilo for being there for him... So the obvious choice would be to let him have this one. Besides... The Black Ranger got all the fan girls anyway.

Nilo blinked at the plan... He was supposed to offer his dango and have Jack steal it? It didn't seem to make sense... After all, he doubted the girls would overly care in the end... But he didn't want to damper Jack's good mood and nodded and smiled, sighing quietly as he walked up towards the girls.

"E-Excuse me... Um... Would you all like to have some dango?" he asked as he looked up at the girls. He didn't know how they would react but put his polite exterior on to seem as charming as possible... If the girls actually noticed him, that is.

This was it. Jack didnt think of it as stealing... it was a deception! Heroes did this sort of thing all the time to capture the bad guy... or to trick them into trap! So Jack saw nothing wrong with the plan, in fact he was proud of himself for thinking of it. As Nilo walked away Jack shed a single tear of pride joy, such passion burned within Nilo, and if this is what it took for it to come out then this is what Jack would do.

One of the girls turned to look at Nilo as he approached and smiled. She eyed him slightly as he held out the box of Dango and smiled,"Oh! Uh... Sure! I love Dango!," The young woman began to reach out for the sweet treat thanking Nilo in the process. This was Jack's cue. He pulled his hood up and dashed forward. With the speed only found in a true wingman, Jack grabbed the box of Dango out of Nilo's hand and began to run away with it.

Everything was going smoothly, perfectly! Amazingly! Jack was sure Nilo was chasing him down right now with fire in his eyes. If this didn't awaken his burning passion, then nothing would Jack took a quick peek behind him to see if Nilo was closing in, his eyes widened in fear as his heart dropped into his gut. Yes someone was chasing after him, but it was not Nilo, it was the girl. Her fire... was clear to see.

"You son of a BIIIIII-," She shouted as she tackled Jack to the ground. A small crowd gatherd as she began to bite scratch and kick Jack in places that would defiantly leave marks.

"WAIT WAIT NO YOU DON'T AAAAAH! No no! Wait AGH! That don't bend that waAAAAH! You really should't bite thAAAAT! AGH! I'm a heraaaaAAAAH!"

She stood gave Jack one more swift kick to the jewels before grabbing the box of dongo and walking back to where Nilo stood,"Hey sorry about that, thanks for the Dango cutey... heh...," she reached into her pocket and handed Nilo a small sheet of paper seven numbers on it, She shot him a wink before walking off.

"Mission... accomplished...." Jack thought as he watched the scene from the ground.

Nilo blinked at the whole ordeal, not quite understanding how to process the whole scene. What just happened was... Most odd. Actually, what just happened was so odd Nilo was stunned into silence as he watched the ordeal. He finally snapped out of it as the girl returned and handed him a slip of paper.

"... T-Thank you. I'll text you soon." he said with a cool smile and bow of his head, taking his leave from the girl with a light skip in his step. He was excited to say the least. He walked over to Jack, smiling down at him happily.

"I got her number!" he said as he went to help him up. "Thank you... And sorry you got beat up... Are you okay?" he would ask with his concerned tone of voice. He then heard his phone buzz and took it out of his pocket, sighing as he looked back up. "Sorry. I have to head home now... Thank you though!" he said happily before turning to leave, "Hey, Jack, thanks..." he said over his shoulder before dissapearing into the crowd, laughing lightly at the whole ordeal.

[Exit]

Jack wavered in and out of consciousness, he caught about half of what Nilo said. He said he got her number so that's all that mattered... Oh hey... This ground is very comfy....Maybe... a nap would be... in order...

Jack passed out, in spite of this, Jack was happy he was able to make Nilo's festival better.

Jack remained at the scene...