Adjusting to the New (Sharaku)

The last few days had been rough for Oki. Ever since that awakening thing had occurred, Oki had been adapting to the new things that its eyes could see as it did what it could to ward off the new nightmares the event had caused to occur. It might’ve been able to settle easier if it was not for the sudden invasion of cats that was quickly followed by the arrival of his long sibling. As soon as the girl with snow white skin had showed up, a cat would show up without fail near or sometimes in the shop daily.

Oki had tried to be nice and politely tell its sibling not to do anything to make the cursed creatures feel welcomed, but the girl had said the being had nothing to be afraid…that she would protect it from harm as she did the opposite of what the being had requested. She fed the cats and loved them, so naturally they came in. The arrival of the cats made Oki’s skin crawl making it hard for it to stay in the shop or inside for that matter. It found itself hiding out near the shrine or sometimes in the attic or the basement just to avoid the girl and her cats.

Rude? Perhaps, but Oki’s stressed and exhausted mind did not know how to do much more than run off the instinct to survive at the moment. Oki remained the worst house host ever over the days following the girl’s arrival; however, instead of packing up and leaving, Sky had decided to settle into Oki’s space and actually be quite kind to it despite its behavior.

Take this morning for example. While Oki was an early bird, it had been so tired the night before that it had actually crashed on the couch inside of its home rather than make an effort to go outside. It had slept next to a cat and didn’t care!

When it woke up some hours later, super groggy and sore, it found it had been wrapped in blankets and its shoes and hat had been taken off and placed neatly in a corner of the old room. The cat was gone and there was even a breakfast waiting for it.

Oki should’ve been happy for all this, but instead it found itself felling miserable as conflicting emotions clashed within. With a groan, the being had rolled out of the warm covers and began to clean up both the room and itself. Still, feeling like its bones had been replaced with bricks, it had looked over at the breakfast debating about eating or not before giving up. Grabbing the plate, it plopped on the sofa and ate the breakfast that was surprisingly wonderful and gave it back some much needed energy.

In any case, once it was done with the food, it had cleaned up the plate before drifting downstairs and after an very awkward good morning to Sky it left the shop and began to wander San Malarus in a zombie like state. When it couldn’t handle home anymore, the being drifted to the train station planning to get on the train to go elsewhere, but instead found itself settling on a bench in the station and not moving.

As it sat leaned forward with its head bowed and hands hanging loosely between its legs, most people in the station ignored the quiet being while others gave it concerned stares. There was no denying that something was off about the usually energetic being as it remained still with the brim of its hat covering its green eye.

Oki was in a half sleep state as its mind mulled over the events that had occurred, trying to make logical sense of it all. Perhaps if it was more awake and had a bit more energy to spare, the stressors in its life wouldn’t seem so large, but alas the being did not have such luck today. So it sat quietly on the bench, ignoring the odd looks it was given. It didn’t care what other’s thought. As long as it wasn’t approached by someone, it wouldn’t have to worry about using up energy to make up some–

The sound of someone approaching cut its thoughts short. Great…this was the last thing it needed to deal with at the moment; however, as the one approaching spoke, Oki would find itself slowly looking up at the one before it. Tired green eyes would look up at the familiar form of Sharaku who the being had met a few days ago at its shop. Heh. What were the chances they would encounter each other again and like this no doubt? Slightly amused by the situation at hand, but having no energy to express it, Oki would give the other a faint smile.

“Hello, Shaku. It is nice to see you again,” the being said calmly and then hearing the question the smile faded as it bowed its head as it shook it lightly.

“Life is deciding to be a pain in the ass at the moment,” it responded the tone calm even if the wording was not its usually one. After a second, it would look back up at the other the faint smile returning. “Boring stuff, right?” it said with a light snort before it tilted its head at the other. “How about you? Doing well?”

Despite being tired and a bit off in mannerism, Oki didn’t seem to mind the familiarity before it. If Sharaku wanted to stay and chat that was cool and if not well it suppose it could go back to its thoughts on its own.

Sharaku’s comment about life would get a tired smirk from Oki as it caught the joking side within the truth. To some life was indeed a pain, but typically Oki could push the bad away and just go with the flow of things. Life was simpler that way and more enjoyable. Sure bumps came up, but they were bearable….unless they were like the current ones facing Oki at the moment. Ones that made it feel as if it had been rung out one too many times, the world expecting something from up, but Oki having no clue what it wanted from itself. It was rare that life got to an uncomfortable point for the being, but now it had.

“I guess it depends on who is looking at it. Typically, it just flows on nicely for me, ” Oki said as it moved its hand mimicking a wave for a moment before letting it drop back down. “But now? I honestly don’t know how to describe life in any other fashion,” Oki told the other with a smile devoid of warmth before the being was falling silent once more.

When the other questioned it about the comment it made on the boring stuff, Oki would look up at Sharaku for a moment as its eyes narrowed at the other. It was true they had met in the antique store and more or less left on good footing, but….could it really tell him what it how it felt? Oki debated on this for a moment as it watched the other cautiously before sighing lightly inwardly as eyes lowered to the ground once more. It supposed letting some of what bother it out in the open would help. Even if Sharaku thought the being was insane….at least some of the stress would be off its chest right?

Oki would hesitate a moment longer before it leaned back on the bench to get a better look at Sharaku as it heard the other respond to its question on how he was doing.

“Well, alive definitely beats the alternative in my book. Glad life is more or less a typical pain for you,” Oki would respond with a light smile before it became silent for a second longer trying to find the right words to express what it wanted to say.

“On my end…I have unexpected family issues and hallucinations. If you have the time, I can blab your ear off a bit more if you’d like,” Oki said slightly playful as it patted the open spot next to it if Sharaku wished to sit, but in all honesty it would not force anyone to listen to it. Even if it would be a relief to get some of that crude out, what it had locked up was surely madness right….?

Oki looked over at Sharaku with a raised eyebrow when the other spoke about life and luck. That was definitely an unexpected answer.

“Luck, huh?” the being would say softly before shaking its head. “I think it’s pretty fair weathered when it comes to myself. Some days it is great and then others….” Oki made a light explosion sound as it used its hands to emphasis life being blown out of control. While the being was adaptable, it liked structure and order in its life to a degree. It liked being able to understand what it was dealing with rather facing something it couldn’t quite see, but life was life and unfortunately not everything was rainbows and butterflies. Like Sharaku said, there comes a time from things to go wrong in everyone’s life. This just simply was Oki’s time.

“Heh. Yeah, but does it really need to hurt when things do get out of hand?” Oki asked not really expecting an answer. To be honest, there was no true answer for the question. It was just a rhetoric question used at times to try and make light of something difficult. While Oki pulled the words off well enough, its tired state didn’t allow it to put enough enthusiasm in the small smile that followed.

Whether this dry humor was noticed or not did not matter to Oki as the subject shifted to what bothered it the most. At first, the being was silent as it debated about opening up to Sharaku or not; however, when it finally did reach a conclusion, the being didn’t directly jump into the problem as it instead worked off of what the other had said regarding his own well-being.

When Oki became quite after speaking, the old being would fold its arms lightly as gloved one hand went up its chin as the index finger tapped its lips in thought.

“Overrated, hmm? Never considered that side of the coin before,” the being said in thoughtful tones before letting the thought go as its body resume its neutral position. From there, Oki would remain quiet a few moments longer before giving Sharaku the extremely short version of what was bothering it before asking in its own way for the guy to stay and listen.

When the being had done this, it wasn’t really expecting the other to comply or bother even sitting, so when the guy did exactly what it was not expecting. Oki glanced over at the other with mild surprise as it listened to the words spoken in such a chilled manner.

In response, Oki blinked as it looked away from Sharaku and towards the clock across from it. It wasn’t reading the time. It was simply taking a second to put its thoughts together.

“Alright then. I will. I am not sure how to put all the mess upstairs into terms that make any logical sense, so I guess I can start with the semi-normal here,” Oki began and then paused for a second to get the words it wanted to say in order. “Remember when you first met me, I was up a tree and telling you that cats were cursed beings? Well, that didn’t come from superstition or anything like that. Every time a cat appears something bizarre or just wrong happens in my life. By some miracle you broke the trend, but outside of that seeing a cat has gotten the same old results. I got an invasion of the beasts a few days back and following the cats came a long lost sibling from out of nowhere. You’d think I’d be happy about this, but to be honest there is just something off about her that makes it hard for me to be comfortable. I don’t think she’d harm me, but I don’t know what she may or may not do to others. Perhaps I am paranoid and not used to living with another, but her arrival has really been messing with the energy flow around home. Her love for cats doesn’t help anything either….and you know what is even sadder being paranoid? I don’t know how to get rid of her without feeling like a prick of some sort,” Oki said with a sigh and a shake of a head. Oki didn’t know why it was having such a hard time telling another to get off its turf, but there was something about Sky that made Oki back down from doing such a simple and logical thing. Such was the way of life at the moment.

After Oki had said that, it would pause for a moment as it gave the other time to make any input he wanted to as it collected the next round of thoughts. When a few moments of silence had passed Oki spoke again.

“As if family issues wasn’t trying enough, another thing had to occur around the same time. I…ah…met this strange girl outside of my shop a few days before the sibling showed up. She was talking about some odd things, like aliens and the peace surrounding Azores. She was causing quite the scene and annoying my neighbors, so I thought by giving her some sort of attention she would pipe down...but instead odd stuff starting happening. Colors evaporating from the world, time stopping, and…shadows coming out of nowhere to attack….” Oki would trail off for a moment as it rethought the whole situation what it had seen and how it had survived. It all seemed like a bad dream and yet its body and still felt the end results of the event. When it came back to reality, it let out a light sigh as it continued. “I managed to survive and the girl disappeared after speaking about more strange things. From there, everything around me went back to normal, but not me. I started seeing snippets of alternate realities wherever I go, but surprisingly here is the only place those strange holes don’t appear,” Oki glanced over at the other as a tired smile crossed its face. “Needless to say with all of that running in my head and having to deal with family on top of that has mentally exhausted me. To be honest, I am wondering if I am simply losing my mind at this point.”

Oki finished what it had to say and fell silent allowing the other to make his own call upon what he heard. While it was true that saying what bothered it did help relieve a little bit of pressure, Oki still felt vulnerable and exposed right now. It wasn’t every day it opened up to people like it just had, but there was something about Sharaku that made the being want to try and trust him….It just prayed that by acting on this instinct it hadn’t made a mistake.

Oki would give a small smirk to Sharaku as it heard his first set of words.

“Perhaps one day I can learn do the same,” Oki responded softly before falling silent and giving a light nod to Sharaku’s second set of words. There was no arguing there…life and the bumps it dealt to a being...They could be painful, but maybe the pain is what made one stronger in the end. It was hard to say and no one on this plain of existence had the answers to unravel the mystery.

In any case, when the other sat down and began to listen to its words Oki would pause as it glanced at Sharaku catching the light frown when it came to its first issue at hand. Oki couldn’t tell if that was a thoughtful frown or one of disapproval for its actions towards said sibling. When the other spoke, Oki would tilt its head lightly at the other as he spoke on the matter.

He said he couldn’t relate and yet the solution he came up with was sound enough and simple on paper at least. To this, Oki would sigh lightly as it reached one hand up and to scratch its head in thought.

“I suppose that is one way to deal with it...” it began before looking over at the other with a half smile. “I suppose the real question is where does on get the courage to face such a being? My sibling is…quite terrifying in my eyes…Kind of envy you for being an only child….Must be nice…” Oki would say before trailing off and falling into thought. Sky and its relationship…was a complicated mess for sure, but maybe only time could fix the problem. Or maybe it couldn’t be fixed at all. Oki wasn’t sure and for now it would push that issue aside.

“Anyway, I won’t burden you with personal messes. Thanks for the second view,” Oki said with a small appreciative smile. The words that Sharaku said really did help out. Even if Oki couldn’t show it now, it was very grateful for what it heard. That was until the subject came to cats. As the other asked his question, Oki’s smile faded as it shook its head.

“…I have learned to associate cats with pain and misfortune through a variety of personal experiences over time. I have a very hard time undoing that conditioning or understanding how others can like the creatures,” Oki said to the other in a hesitant manner that showed it was not use to sharing its personal story with anyone. In fact, up until now no one even knew that vague fact about Oki and quite frankly even if it gave the small bit of information to the other. It highly doubted it would dive much deeper into that darkness. Sharaku was still a stranger to it and only had a small portion of its trust.

When the subject moved to the second matter at hand, Oki took notice of the narrowing of the eyes from Sharaku and the displeased air that surrounded him and the area. As the other remained displeased for quite a while as he listened, a sigh would disperse some the uneasy air as Sharaku began to speak. He started off by hesitating after a set of words that automatically got Oki thinking that what it had said was indeed madness and Sharaku was looking for a nice way to tell it this truth, so when the next words came out, Oki found itself frowning in slight confusion.

Wait a minute…was Sharaku saying what it had witness was indeed real and not some bad hallucination or dream? Oki’s eyes would narrow as the confusion deepened as Sharaku continued to talk. As the being heard the words it would take a moment to swallow them as it mind whirled.

Shadows…were a common occurrence nowadays? They were coming around for unknown reasons? Or were they’re around to haunt Oki for trying to bury its past and live a normal and peaceful life? Was there really no escape? Was the nightmare repeating again?

“Is that so…”Oki whispered as its mind took in the information. It didn’t think Sharaku was lying. Between the annoyance and the fact that not just anyone knew about Shadows, Oki took the words as truth.

Unlucky indeed…Now what to do?

Oki was pulled out of its thoughts as the other spoke about the place they were in. As he spoke of the view around the place, Oki took note of the way things were worded. Ah! Sharaku saw the holes…er, rifts too? So that is how he knew about shadows? Oki was quiet for a moment as it took in this new information.

“I wonder…if that means this place has some significance or perhaps was forgotten,” Oki would state thoughtfully before green eyes looked over at the other. “You call th e holes rifts…Do you know why they occur? Or what exists in those other realities they show?” Oki asked before it could stop itself. Now that the curiosity was out in the open, the being could only wait to see what would happen because of what it had done.

A few moments of silence would pass before Sharaku shook his head and then looking at Oki asked a question. To his words, Oki blinked as it bowed its head in thought.

“Hmm…the image is kind of fuzzy but I remember distinctly that she was a young girl. Maybe in high school or something. She was a blonde wearing a brownish color hat and yellowish clothing. She was odd in the fact that she seemingly came out of no where and acted like a reporter,” Oki said reflecting back on the strange girl. She…didn’t seem like a threat, but if Sharaku knew her then perhaps its hunch was right that she had more than just a little to do with this issue at hand. It couldn’t help thinking about her words about what she had planned to do. It made the being uneasy, but it would not show the emotion here as it thought for a moment longer before looking at Sharaku. He said it could ask questions, so maybe he really did know what was on the other side, but before questioning the other side Oki was more curious about the current subject.

“…Alright. Let’s start with the girl. How is that you think you know her provided this is the same chick?”

A nod and a few words later, Oki was shaking its head lightly at Sharaku as he responded on the issue of siblings.

“If it was only that, I don’t think she would bother me so much, but it is unfortunately something I will have to dig around a bit more to figure out fully…” Oki said before falling silent for a moment as Sharaku began to speak on the situation of having siblings or not having them. To his words, Oki smiled lightly.

“Maybe you’re right. Would you like to swap places for a day to see if your view on that changes?” Oki teased very lightly. It meant no harm by the words and honestly wasn’t looking to stir any pots by the comment. It was simply trying to pull itself out of the dark hole it was currently in and while progress was not being made quickly, the light jab showed that the talking was helping the being deal with at least one situation in its life a bit better. In any case, when the being pretty much said it didn’t wish to talk about the subject any more, Oki was quite thankful that Sharaku respected its wishes.

With family issues out of the way for a moment, the subject turned back to the cats.

“Habit…I guess that is one way to look at it,” Oki said it pondered the words for a moment. Perhaps that was the right word for the issue. While cats never harmed Oki personally, it did not change the fact that their presence always brought chaos in its life. Maybe it was from their cold ways in the past that caused the being not like them, or maybe it was something deeper. The fact remained that ever since its unfortunate encounter with the creatures, the being had not given the cats a chance to redeem themselves or prove its ideals wrong. Sure, the cat that came with the arrival with Sharaku was different, but Oki chalked that up to chance. In any case, Sharaku didn’t seem to have an issue with them. He said nothing ever bad had happened to him around them, except getting his haired pulled of course.

“Heh. Maybe your luck is better with them than my own. Good things and cats haven’t really set up nicely for me,” Oki said with a sheepish smile. The being knew the fear of cats was silly, but…the things that happened when they appeared. It couldn’t be coincidence, right? It was hard to say…Perhaps this was another mystery for the being to figure out. In any case, that was a wandering for another time.

Pushing cats aside for the time being, Oki would instead focus on Sharaku’s simple statements that would mean nothing to the ordinary person; however, to Oki they meant a lot considering what it had seen and experience. When it gave Sharaku silence in response, the man gave Oki patience as it collected what it wanted to say before speaking once more. To its comment about the station, the other had given it a simple enough answer in turn. Alright, so the station was strange. It would be noted for now, but not pondered to heavily as Oki let out a light “Hmmm…”,

Sharaku said he didn’t know enough to make such an assumption, huh? So…did that mean he was looking into the problem at hand? Or that he simply hadn’t bothered to look further into the matter to know? When it asked about the rifts a few minutes later, the being got a little insight into its earlier thoughts as it gave the man the time he needed to collect his words and speak them. When Sharaku began speaking, Oki listened carefully as it mentally took notes on these rifts.

So these rifts did lead to other realities that varied from their real world counterparts. Each island had their own rifts, but not the station. On top of this was the matter of other people living in those realities were the shadows made their home….and someone or something trying to meld the two realities together….All this was similar to what the reporter had said.

Someone was messing with the world…answers laying on the otherside….the friends that were there…and the purple world….

“I would think if someone was trying to mesh these worlds together, then the most sound strategy is to make openings in places that it would believe would be most helpful in carrying out the plan…Assuming this is not a natural reaction to something else occurring…” Oki said as its mind analyzed the clues that were steadily getting more and more complicated.

When it told Sharaku about the girl and got a sigh in response, Oki saw the displeasure and knew without a doubt that the girl it had spoken of was the one Sharaku had mentioned too. When Sharaku told the being what he knew of the girl, Oki’s eyes would narrow as it contemplated this carefully, so she had appeared at a school…and a friend of Sharaku’s ended up fighting shadows because of her appearance…The situation was the same as its own even if numbers and locations were different.

“She is probably more involved than you think….” Oki began hesitating a bit as it wondered if this was a good idea or not, but then deciding to simply allow itself to actually trust someone for once in its life, it continued on. “I tried questioning her after the shadow had been defeated. She was saying some strange things about a world changing event and what not, but more so than that she mentioned that if I wanted answers, I should go to the other side and seek out her friends that were waiting there….she also mentioned something about a purple world…though I have no clue what any of that means at the moment,” Oki said as it closed its eyes and leaned its head back. This was becoming a headache to contend with…still it need to push through if it wanted the truth.

Oki was quiet for a moment as it opened its eyes and looked at the ceiling of the station.

“I am not sure how helpful that is to you, but I don’t think the girl is bad even if she did say some things that made concerned as to what she may be plotting to give those like us an “incentive” to move. I think she really wants to help, but in order to do that needs help of her own. This is just speculation that can’t really be confirmed without facts, but that is simply the vibe I got from her,” Oki said as it turned its head towards Sharaku.

“Any suggestions on how to tackle this mess?” Oki asked the other. Supernatural stuff and learning what was on the other side was something it figured it would learn in time. Still, if Sharaku knew a better way of handling the mess they both seemed involved in now, then Oki rather hear another’s input on the matter than to rush blindly into things…The question was…would Sharaku be open with the being or not? Oki guess it would have to see the results of this gamble.

“Yeah,” was the simple response back as Oki gave the other a weak smile. It honestly didn’t know how long it would take to figure out the mess with its sibling, but hopefully things would get better rather than worse. At any rate, all Oki could do with that situation was pray and face the problem when its mind was more stable. For now the problem was simply tucked away, the being feeling lighter now that topic was coming to a close. When Oki teased the other lightly about swapping places, the other had given it a sheepish glance before speaking. To Sharaku’s words, Oki let out a soft whistle.

“I give you props for even daring to attempt to hold your ground against her. It would indeed be interesting to hear the results of such a thing,” Oki said lightly as he gave the other a smile that said it did not mean what it said. While the study was indeed a fascinating one to ponder, Oki had enough respect for Sharaku to not put him into a situation where he’d be confronted with something that could potentially harm him or would frustrate him unnecessarily. Still it was nice the other could joke about the situation. It helped levitate some of the stress Oki had and ended the subject of siblings quite nicely.

When the subject came to cats and luck once more, Oki would nod lightly at the other’s response. It was true. There was always a stroke of some bad luck in a person’s life whether it was cats or something else, so there was really not much else to say on the subject, so the being gave its simple response of agreement before the subject shifted to the rifts and what may cause them.

As Oki gave its analysis, the being remained quiet contemplating the implications of such a suggestion. If someone was strategically plotting these things to merge the worlds, then what else did say plotter have in mind? Sharaku’s response only deepened this curiosity.

“Oh? What makes you lean towards the ulterior motive path?” Oki asked automatically responding to the information it had heard like it had been trained to do. If someone or something was using the merging of worlds as a cover for something more….did that mean a war or something worse was on its way? And if so, what did the shadows and that girl have to do with it all? What did it all mean?

Questions, but no answers. They cropped up the more Oki ponder this issue and depending on what Sharaku said or didn’t say would only leave the being more in the dark or perhaps on a different path than it already was on. In any case, what happened there would be left to Fate to decide as the conversation turned to the other matters.

Closing its eyes, Oki would lean its head back as it responded to Sharaku.

“No, she just said mentioned her friends, turmoil in San Maralus, and the purple world. The only things she said about the purple world was that it was deserted and had something within it that could help all of humanity. Whatever that is supposed to mean,” Oki said before reopening its eyes. “Outside of that, she simply said I’d know the world if I saw, but if you haven’t seen anything of the sort on your travels…then this could be one of two possibilities: a piece of information that is indeed useless and only there to pull one further away from the truth. Or it could suggest that the mystery has secrets within the secrets. Maybe the purple world is hidden world in some fashion. And maybe said friends of the reporter could be of some aid. Both are probable...an frustrating. Unfortunately is all I have for you there,” Oki said with a light sigh as it pondered how on earth it was going to make any progress with such vague and unconnected clues…

When Sharaku questioned the being about the girl, Oki gave the other a smile devoid of warmth. It wasn't hiding its agitation with this bit.

“That is just the thing. I asked her at point blank for a name or way to find her again, but she gave me the friends and purple world data instead,” Oki said and then frowning lightly as it looked up at the ceiling, it spoke another thought. "Unless she was saying she is hidden in this mysterious purple world…..”

That was a thought, but without digging the being would not know if this was a fact or not, but could it really dig and trust what it got?

In response to this circling, Oki had looked to Sharaku from some help; however, the answer it got back only caused the being to chuckle drily in response.

“Sounds like there is a lot of circling going on here then. How lovely,” the words were as dry as the chuckle. The being didn’t like playing games of chase that lead nowhere, but then again it wasn’t one to leave a challenge untried. Even if this was giving it headache or confusing it, it still wanted the truth.

“So then…let’s try to untangle the ball then,” Oki said after a long moment of silence and thought. Green eyes would turn to Sharaku. “I’ve got friends, turmoil in San Maralus, and purple worlds… You and I both seem to have the reporter girl as a common ground, so what do have that is different from what I know outside of more experience with the other side?” Oki asked its voice calm and serious as it watched the other.

While it was true the being was tired, it was also not one to waste its time doing nothing. It wanted to figure the mess out and it seemed Sharaku did too; however, the being could only attempt to aid Sharaku if the other wanted such a thing to occur and shared. On the other hand, Sharaku could just end this here and not say anything. Or maybe even a unexpected possibility could come from this.

Whatever the case was, Oki would take any possibility without holding any malice towards Sharaku. The guy had already helped its mood considerably just for hearing it out, so it could appreciate that and leave this conversation content enough. Whether it was alone or not, it would continue forward and make good on its words to the girl. It would indeed figure out what was going on and attempt to undo whatever insanity was threatening its turf.

Oki blinked at what Sharaku said as it looked the other up and down impressed and amused at what had been said.

“I would never have thought you were that sort of fighter. Sure, I can see you being quite ruthless in the verbal arena if you wanted to be, but your mannerism suggested you wouldn’t necessarily fight physically. Heh. You are very different than us and yet similar. I prefer to avoid conflict myself, but when forced to I do what I can to survive. It’s easier when said thing is a creature. People are a bit more complicated to handle for us,” Oki said with a light shake of its head. Shadows it could wrap its mind around. It understood them as an animal understood a predator. You either fought or die. Simple and straightforward. People, on the other hand, were not that way making it always hard to determine the right course of action. Unlike some, Oki was not willing to take a fist to someone’s face without being backed into a corner. Did that make it a coward or more submissive than others? Maybe…but then again maybe not. It was hard to say and for the moment Oki was in no mood to ponder that aspect of itself further.

As the subject shifted back to rifts and questions about what made Sharaku think that there was an ulterior motive involved, Oki looked over at the other with a light smirk.

“That is pretty vague Shaku. Can’t you give me a bit more insight than that? I am not asking you to spill everything here, but, the important details would be nice to know,” Oki said its ending words coming out more serious than it began. It understood that Sharaku was still a stranger in a fashion even if they had met on various occasions. The man had no reason to trust Oki or give it information. Just as Oki had no reason to gamble its luck with this one, but…having Sharaku here was indeed a much needed thing. It was nice to know that at least someone else experienced what it experience. Even if it would have to dig harder than ever to figure out things on its own, Oki was willing do what it took to keep the peace on its own turf. Alone the task would be harder, but if that was the path it had to take so be; however, the being hoped that wouldn’t be the case. While it was not one to cling onto things just because it was in need of something, Oki could only hope that Sharaku would at least become someone it could at least talk to when things got of whack….but just like with everything in its life, Time, Fate, and Luck were the only ones to determine such things.

“Time…I wonder how much of that we have left to get the pieces right. I don’t even want to consider the what if’s if we don’t make on time,” Oki said as it kept its head leaned back and looked at the ceiling of the station. If the other worlds were complicated...then how would it even begin finding what it was told to search for?…and if it found said things could it trust said things not to turn into something bad? Ms. Reporter…she was something else that was for sure, but the mystery around her and these other worlds... could it really be found at all?

As it thought this, it heard Sharaku’s words and looked over at the other.

“Agreed. Maybe her friends can help out, but then again maybe not. All I know is that something has to be done and digging is the only thing at the ready,” Oki said with a light meh at the end. What other options were there? Oki highly doubted she would just pop up at random again and even if she did, the chances of either them being nearby when it happen was unlikely. All they could do was keep their eyes open for her next move.

When Oki mentioned going in circles, the dry response back was enough of a confirmation for the being to understand that despite what had been gathered, nothing was really coming clear. When it came for the information exchange, Oki looked over at Sharaku with a raised eyebrow.

“I am not one to test if I can grow roots, however, I can stand a good summary to see if this all connects in some fashion. I…don’t exactly want to run anymore blindly into this…and don’t take this wrong way, but…You are the only one I know of that could help me out,” Oki said with a sheepish smile as it rubbed the back of its head. Its answer was honest enough and the being hoped Sharaku could understand that it wasn’t trying to use him or anything. It simply needed some footing in the mess, so it could in turn help out in any way it could. It didn’t need every detail. Just the important stuff that could help it go forward in this mess….and hopefully not backwards.