Sunshine yellow. (Oki)

Oki kept walking ignoring the uncomfortable air that Jack was giving off. It wasn’t quite sure why the other was having such a hard time recomposing himself, but on the other hand it didn’t mind. As long as the discomfort didn’t cause the other to do anything mischievous, the being had no reason to do anything to correct the situation. So being patient as usual, Oki would remain calm and relaxed around the guy as they walked.

When the other sighed and then answered Oki in a fashion that suggested he was either distracted or thinking about something else when the question was posed, Oki would give the other an even side glance as it absorbed the words being said.

“Never thought to try it? Hmmm. Well, then it will be interesting to see how you react to your first cup of tea. I am personally fond of hot tea rather than lemonade. The lemonades of the past have not always been agreeable with my taste buds,” Oki said lightly to the other as they passed a store and began to head into the more mom and pop section of the business district.

As it passed a tea house, Oki found itself quite pleased with the next question posed.

“We are going to the antique shop where the freshest tea can be made and where you can choose from more flavors not found in the ordinary tea house or café. I am quite proud of my tea collection to be honest,” Oki said with a hint of pride in its voice as it continued to lead the way to its shop with confident strides.

"Then I can't wait to see it, It must be very extensive." Jack smiled a little as they walked. He was starting to feel calm again. A good sign. His smile widdened once they entered the more "family owned" part of town. He vastly preferred this part to the more commercialized sector. This end of town had more thrift and second hand shops then anything else, and Jack loved to come by and see what odd things they had for sale... mostly to see if he could find some ancient power of uh... powerfullness to enhance his crime fighting skills.

"Oki... I must ask though... How interested are you really in joining the rangers? I only ask because we'll most likely be getting into some very dangerous stuff..." Jack thought back to what Charles, Nilo, and Sharaku had told him about what was going on... and to be honest he wasn't sure how happy he was about getting more people involved... He only wanted to involve someone if they were willing to go all the way with it," I just want to make sure you know what you would be getting yourself into... I wouldn't want to see you get hurt..." Aaaaaaaaaaaaand there's the awkward again... grrrreat.....

“I think it is impressive enough, but I’ll let you be the judge once we get there,” Oki said as it glanced at the other taking note that he was becoming calm once more. Remaining friendly, Oki would lead the way to the shop as the people that normally inhabited family oriented area chatted and made deals with customers. A few would wave at the passing pair as they moved on until they finally reached their destination.

As Oki pushed the door open, it would take note that Sky was upstairs. The sounds of a TV on low drifted from upstairs through the old floor cracks and the black cat that came to greet them was proof enough of that. As the cat came towards them, Oki tensed as the thing brushed against its leg before making its way over to Jack who had followed. Trying to walk that awkward moment off, Oki tried to act natural as it went towards a door in the back left wall of the store full of all sorts antiques and then paused as it looked over at Jack as he spoke.

“I am very curious about your group and am willing to take the risks that comes with trying to fulfill my curiosity,” Oki respond seriously to the other and then smiling as the air seemed to shift Oki continued.

“You need not worry too much about me. I am more durable than I seem and quite use to taking hard knocks. I don’t think much can break me these days… Unless what you speak of different from normal, no?”

Oki would tilt its head lightly at the other to see if he would say anything to that before turning to the side door and opening it.

“Come see my pride and joy outside of the antiques,” Oki’s voice would call to Jack as the being on the other side moved to put away the bag of items somewhere behind a second counter. After it was done, it would place its hands flat down on the wooden counter as it leaned forward.  A fox would jump up on the counter from its left and settle next to the being.

“Oh! Afternoon, Sasha. Come to see our guest, Jack?” the old being said as it petted the fox before locking green eyes on Jack if he had come in.

“Welcome to my tea shop. Here you can find whatever you wish to try. Due to you being my guest I will not charge this time,” Oki said as it watched the other with a light playful smile. If the antique shop was impressive with its wide range of items, then the tea shop was even more impressive. Seemingly stacked from floor to ceiling were all types of teas imaginable.  The scent of them lingered in this shop despite it being open to the public. It would be a wonder if Jack would be able to pick one tea out from so many, but watching customers and guests browse was part of the fun of sharing such a collection with others.

Jack nodded haply at her response as they arrived at their destination... An old Antique Shop... Cool! When Jack entered he heard the sound of a TV playing in the distance. Probably a room mate or something. Jack was distracted by the sound long enough to not notice the small cat approaching him. His attention was brought to it once it rubbed it self up against him. Jack looked down at it and smiled,"Oh! Hello there! I'm Jack, Neo Featherman Ranger Red and the Charging Red Chariot, what's your name?"

Jack was content petting the cat until Oki responded to his earlier concerns Wait... what did she mean different from normal?... Could she be a persona user as well? What would be the odds of that!? Though the shoe did seem to fit with everything else that had happened with Jack in the past few months... after Sharaku and Charles Jack was ready to believe anything. Even if that anything included the random girl that he met at the hot springs and then subsequently became his yellow ranger ALSO being a persona user. Though... he was jumping to some pretty broad conclusions based on her one off handed comment. Ether way before Jack could ask her further she called him into her tea shop.

Jack entered in time to see the fox hop up onto the counter... 'My... Quite the animal handler huh?" Jack asked with a chuckle as he began to search around the store... Quite the collection!... Jack bet there was every tea imaginable here... Surely though she didn't have... Well it never hurts to ask...,"You wouldn't happen to have ZyuGreen Tea would you?" It was a special green tea made YEARS ago to coincide with the introduction of Zyu Green in the original run og Zyuranger in japan... Jack heard it was rather gross but... hey... A ranger Fan must be ranger fan in all aspects.

Jack greeted the cat and spoke to it as he leaned down to pet it. The cat enjoyed the attention as it purred and nuzzled its head easily against Jack’s hand before walking away after a while. Oki would let the event occur without saying a word. That cat was Sky’s cat and it wasn’t like Oki had enough love for the felines to ask its rather intimidating sister about a name. Did the beast have a name?
Hmm…it was hard to say, but Oki let the event go as it slipped further into the shop and towards the side door that would lead into the tea shop. Before entering the tea shop Oki had responded to Jack’s earlier words and saw some emotion play in his eyes; however, the being only blinked as it went into the store and beckoned Jack to come in. There was no telling what the other had gathered from the rather vague and complicated information. Something being more than the norm could be various things, but which things did Jack assume the old being was talking about when he heard the words? Did he think in normal terms or was he perhaps a bit off the chart in his thinking. Maybe the outfit hinted at more than Oki thought then? Maybe, but then again maybe not. Maybe Oki was simply over thinking the reaction and nothing more.

In any case, this did not matter as the being got settled behind the counter before introducing Jack to the shop. As it did this Sasha would remain on the counter watching the other carefully. When the other mentioned Oki being an animal handler, Sasha tilted her nose up in the air as if she was taking offense to being compared to a mere animal. To this, Oki chuckled lightly.

“Sasha is the only one I care for. She be kitsune. A fox spirit, so be careful what you say lest she curse you,” Oki said sticking its tongue out playfully at Jack to show it meant no harm to by the words. Still the warning was there. Sasha was very intelligent for a fox and the slightest offense could leave the offender nursing bites or scratches if one was not careful.

“The cats belong to my upstairs housemate. I personally don’t care for the creatures, but what does one do when the one upstairs is a magnet for them?” Oki said with a shake of the head before looking up at Jack as he requested a particular type of tea.

“Zyu Green Tea… ZyuGreen Tea….” Oki muttered as it placed a finger on its chin and began to scan the upper shelves of the shop. It would do this for a moment before its eyes settled on a box behind the counter and to the left of it. Grabbing a rolling ladder, the being would climb up to the top and carefully get the box down. Holding the box like an old pro on its hip, Oki climbed down and landed on the ground with ease. Placing the box on the counter, it opened the item and began to shuffle through the glass containers there.

“Puppy dog tails, Spiderweb, Witches broth….oh…that is where I put that soup,” Oki paused and pulled out an odd colored jar and sat it on the counter before digging back through the box. “Hrmm..let me see. Ah! ZyuGreen Tea,” Oki said triumphantly as it pulled out a half full jar of tea leaves. With a grin on its face it looked at Jack.

“It has been a while since I had someone request this tea. I warn you now it is acquired taste, but I won’t stop you if you really want it,” Oki said as it moved the box to the floor after grabbing a third jar. “As for myself, I will go for old fashion english breakfast tea,” Oki said before it went beneath counter and started to hunt down cups a boiler plate and a tea kettle. When it had collected the items it took the kettle to the back to fill it with water before coming back to set it on the boiler plate. With the water going, Oki take the soup and placed it on an alter at the corner of a counter. With that was done it would return to the counter to face Jack.

“Forgot to feed the luck spirit. No wonder it was so unkind to me as of late,” Oki said with a smile before falling silent and observing Jack.

“What be on your mind?” Oki would ask after a moment of silent study of the other.

Wow.... that was.. unexpected. She actually had a container of ZyuGreen! This... this is amazing! Jack never thought he would see one in his life time. Legends state that the tea was so horrid and disgusting that they discontinued it only after once batch was made. The tea was so hard to come across that online it often went to thousands of dollars... and now Jack was going to have a cup of the rancid drink! Oki truely was an amazing person... he wondered if she knew what she had.

"Fox... spirit?" Jack eyed the fox wryly for a moment before letting out an audible gulp. Jack always made it a point not to mess with spirits... Curses were no joke, and nether was this fox..."I apologize for offending you noble fox," Jack bowed slightly to the fox. He hoped that this appeased him... Jack did not want to get a curse...

Jack watched Oki prepare the water for the tea... She seemed well practiced and elegant in it, which only made sense seeing as how she owned a tea shop...His head would perk up once she asked him a question..."Well..." Jack couldn't bring himself to meet here eyes. He was still shaken by her earlier response"Earlier you stated commented that you mentioned you were adept at fighting... Even against things that were not normal... What did you mean by that? Were you talking about sha-" Jack was cut off by the sound of the tea kettle whistling...

Zyu Green Tea…ah this little trinket was hard to come by. Oki didn’t know how many hoops it had to go through and how many bids it had to fight to top of to collect the tea that had been requested some years ago by an elderly lady that was willing to pay a fortune for the container; however, after going through the trouble of getting the blasted tea, the old lady had within drawn her deal and instead paid half of what was promised. As a result, grandmother had been pretty mad with the lady and had attempted to get rid of the tea; however, Oki being the collector it was had stopped the woman from pouring it all out. With half a jar left, Oki had tried the stuff once just to see what it was, but after that first taste, it had never went back to the tea. Sitting the horrible stuff on the shelf, Oki never thought that anyone would ask for the tea again, especially not one who never drank tea before. The request was indeed impressive.

In any case, the impressiveness would take a back seat to amusement as Oki saw the other’s reaction to its words regarding Sasha. As Oki watched the other, it grinned as the guy apologized to fox in a fashion that the old being hadn’t seen in years. Quite amused, Oki leaned against the counter as Sasha looked over at Jack from the corner of her eyes seemingly debating to accept this or not. Then turning to face the male, the fox sat down and nodded its head before moving it paw like it was expecting him to give it something.

Not interfering, Oki looked over at Jack to see what he would to that. Maybe Oki should stop the play here…but why do that when it was much more fun to see just how the other thought? Whatever occurred there was left to be seen as Oki went from its observation mode to setting up for tea and feeding the luck spirit for the month.

As the being worked, it did not mind Jack watching it as it set up things and then once the water was set to boil, it asked its question to the other. He opened his mouth, but seemed to be having difficulty saying what he wanted to say at first, but with some time he got most of his concerned off of his chest only being cut off by the tea kettle.

Glancing at the kettle, Oki would move to turn off the burner before grabbing the kettle to pour the water. As it did this, Oki was quiet as it concentrated on the art of tea pouring rather than speaking. It did everything precisely before settling onto a stool behind the counter after making sure the cup of now steeping tea was sat perfectly in front of the chair Jack could sit in if he wished.

After that event was done, Oki would play with the string on its tea bag with its left hand as it watched the water turn color before looking up at Jack.

“I am not adept at fighting. Just surviving. Life has taught me tricks here and there is all. Surviving against shades is on that lists too,” Oki said watching Jack carefully. “What did you think I was talking about. Sha- what?”

The words were calm and non-hostile as the being released the string on the tea bag and watched the tea seep for a moment before turning those cat like eyes to the other once more.

Jack eyed her suspiciously... From the way she talked she almost seemed to be goating him...  Trying to make him show his hand first. For some reason this made Jack feel very cornered. It went without saying that it unnerved him and put him on his guard. For now however he should remain calm and keep the air casual, in spite of the sudden spike in tension. Jack smiled slightly and took the seat in front of his cup of tea. He noticed the Foxes paw and reached into his suit and produced a small coin,  which he then presented to the fox,"A payment to show my gratitude for not cursing me or chewing my face off." The coin was one of those gold dollar coins. he had gotten a few weeks ago as change from a vending machine a while ago and really didn't see much use for them. So perhaps the fox would accept it as payment.

"Well Oki... What I was about to say when the tea pot interrupted me was merely this..." Jack took a moment to pause dramatically... he gently picked up his cup of tea... Oh wow he felt cool! Like some super spy or something! Dramatically sipping tea while questioning a suspect! Oh this was so cool! Now just to sip the tea and... ," Oh dear lord!" Jack shouted as he took a sip of the foul tea. His face began to turn into shade of green that matched the tea itself... to say it was the single most foul thing he had ever tasted would bring a bad name to the word "foul"

Jack smacked his fist into the counted and grunted as he strained to get the deadly liquid down. Once it finally stopped fighting and let him swallow he began to shake and pant,"R-Really goes down smooth...." He said between pants,"I was... just wondering if you meant.... shadows...." Jack said between pants, not really recognizing what he was saying.

Oki took in the way the other eyed it, but didn’t show any form of facial expression that showed it was bothered or offended by the look. Oki just let him size up how much of a threat it actually was as it looked back at its own tea and then deciding that it was brewed enough took the tea bag out and discarded in the trash bin under the counter.

As the being waited patiently for an answer, it noticed what Sasha had done and in turn the response Jack had given the fox’s actions. As the other sat down and then found a gold coin in his suit and offered it to fox, Oki raised its eyebrows lightly as Sasha examined the coin and then seeming quite pleased performed a small circle like run on the counter before taking the coin and hoping off the counter. She would trot outside and deposit the coin into the shrine offering bin out back.

Shaking its head lightly, Oki looked over at Jack with a light smile.

“It is rare people humor the spirits these days. I am glad I am not the only one that remembers them,” Oki said gently before taking a sip of the tea. It did not seem to mind at all the tension in the air. There was a moment of silence before Jack was speaking. It seemed he was about to explain himself, pausing dramatically for effect as he picked up his tea. Oki remained quiet as it watched him becoming still as the cup got closer and closer to his lips. Would this one be able to handle the tea that even Oki would not dare touch?

The young man took a sip and—

The tea was too powerful. Between the exclamation and then the color his face was turning, Oki knew for a fact that not even Jack could withstand the powerful tea. Wincing lightly, but not exactly wanting vomit all over the place, Oki was quick to act as it removed the trash bin from behind the counter and sat it on the counter next to the other that seemed to be having some difficulty with swallowing the liquid in his mouth.

The young man pounded his fist upon the counter and grunted as his fought against his body that wished to expel the liquid. By some miracle the other finally swallowed it. Shaking and panting, the other made a comment about it going down smoothly to which Oki only smiled lightly as it found a glass under the counter and moved to the back for the moment to fill it with water. Coming back, it sat the water down next to the other across from it.

“I am impressed you managed to swallow it. Are you sure, you don’t want something more milder?” Oki asked as watched the other to make sure he would be alright. Hmmm…maybe herbal tea would work for this problem.

Concerned or not, Oki found itself tensing slightly as the other said the word “shadows”. Becoming a bit more guarded and icy than before Oki’s green eyes narrowed.

“Yes. I know how to handle those too when necessary, but what do they have to do with your ranger group?” Oki asked in calm tones as it kept a neutral gaze on the other.

Jack coughed lightly and took a sip from the glass of water Oki provided for him... now he realized exactly how undrinkable something described as "Utterly Undrinkable could really be... How and why was it made to be such a combination of bitter sweet and oddly enough savory... Jack remembered the adds saying something about it being a special blend made to taste just like justice... and it that's what justice tasted like Jack was going to have to give this whole hero thing a bit of thought.... ugh....

However... Her reaction to the world shadow... was not exactly what he was expecting. Her normally cold yet some how inviting and calming stare had dropped all friendliness and turned to merely ice"Well... a friend of mine came to me with a plea... he needed my help to find himself in the darkness and well... I couldn't very well say no... I just cant say that to a friend in need. So here I am, in way over my head and looking for a way to stay above water. And don't tell me that it's to dangerous and that I should quit now while I still have my head... Because others have tryed and failed. Oki... I'm sorry if this had made you uncomfortable... I could... Leave if you want..."Jack would wait for her response before doing anything....

As Jack took a sip of the water and managed to compose himself, a cool gaze remained on the other as Oki waited patiently for an answer regarding shadows. The being wasn’t hostile, but it was hard to miss the iciness that had came with the mention of shadows. Jack felt this and in turn became uncomfortable; however, Oki did not seem to be bother by the discomfort as it eyed the other carefully wondering how such a person had learned about shadows.

When the other began to explain himself, Oki listened carefully to what was said to determine whether or not it was fact or fiction it was hearing. When the boy had finished Oki was silent for a bit before it sighed lightly as it leaned its head on a free hand and gave the other a cool, yet casual look.

“Forgive our rudeness. Shadows are not the most pleasant of subject to us at times; however, I must admit your way of being introduced to them seems to be much better than others. You do not have to leave. I am not offended. More shocked than anything to hear the word come so freely from another’s mouth. Most would keep such blackness under the rug. This friend of yours mind telling me more about the person and how it and shadows are connected?” Oki asked as it watched the other quite calmly before picking up its tea and taking another sip.

Well good news and bad news... Good news! Oki didn't kick him out... bad news she wanted to know more about Charles. Jack bit his lip and look to his how half full cup of ZyuGreen tea... perhaps if he took a big gulp and passed out he could finagle his way out of this situation... No... no if Jack wanted Oki to trust him he had to trust Oki. Yet he couldn't tell her about Charles or the fact that he was a robot... Charles had taken painstaking effort to keep people from learning his secret... and Jack had to respect that. No mater who asked him. Jack let out a small sigh and sipped his water again getting rid of the last of the rancid flavor left behind by the ZyuGreen.

"Charles.... He's... different. He's quiet and very reserved, to the untrained eye he would come off as very cold and disinterested in anything you have to say, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Well... Except for the disinterested part, hehe. He's been looking for a part of himself he lost, a part of his past, and he thinks he an get it back by completing the last thing he remembers being told to do. Defeat shadows...At first my rangers were just me and my friend goofing around... but once we met Charles things became... real. Skip ahead a few weeks and a lot of life changing events and you find me here. Sipping what I can only describe as warm piss and asking some one, for all rights I barely know, to help me fight the forces of evil... It's been a crazy couple of weeks heh."

Oki remained quiet behind the counter. The only movement from the being was the occasional movement of its arm and hand as it drank its tea at a rather normal pace this time around. It was watching Jack and waiting for an answer to its question; however, the other seemed troubled. He was biting his lip and looking down at his tea. The wheels in his head were clearly in high gear looking for a solution to the problem at hand or perhaps a well rounded lie. Regardless of taking note of this, Oki remained neutral towards the other.

When Jack did speak after some moments had passed, Oki's head tilted to left as it listened and then to the right. It was a strange tick that Oki had, but that was simply how the being absorbed information and weighed its worth in its head. The boy spoke of a friend name Charles. A friend that was different from the norm. A friend searching for something he had lost using the command to kill shadows as his only clue to press forward with….

The information was processed as Oki closed it eyes and nodded lightly what it heard.

“We understand your plight and think its rather generous and brave of you to do such a thing for a friend,” the being said and then reopened its eyes. “Oki is not sure about teams or groups. we honestly have never worked with such, but we are willing to aid if your cause is indeed true. We think we can work out a system of some sort, yes?” Oki asked the other not caring it had slipped back to its old way of speaking. Perhaps it had done this on purpose to show Jack it too was not exactly normal. That it was different and in turn could probably be trusted a bit more than some. Maybe…Or maybe Oki was just Oki. Who knew?

Jack nodded slightly and smiled at Oki's words. She seemed to understand what he was going though.... But...her odd way of speaking was mildly off putting yet some how calming. Like she had let down some wall that she had carefully constructed in order to keep others out. In some regards she wasn't that different from him. Despite his bravado, his helmet was little more then a buffer to the outside world. It helped him face the world with a brave face, perhaps the Oki he was seeing now was the real Oki. An Oki without a mask, or at least with a chipped mask. Jack couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you Oki, that means a lot to me. To be honest I don't know what if anything will come of this. Perhaps we're all just running round like chickens with their heads cut off or maybe... maybe something will come of this and we'll do some good... Untill then however," Jack stood and put on his best goofy lopsided smile"Would you mind makeing me another cut of Zyu green to go? I think I can handle it if I'm watching some ZyuRanger while I drink it..." Jack would laugh and accept whether or not Oki made him another to go cup. After a short good bye Jack would take his leave.... some how... his heart still a flutter... Oh boy... this was ether going to end in joy.... or in tears. Probably both.

(exit)

Oki watched the other for a negative reaction to its change up in speaking; however, it appeared that Jack was accepting of Oki’s oddness. The nod and smile the being got in return suggested that at least; however, this could’ve been the young’s man way of being polite after hearing what it had to say. However, as Oki watched him it couldn’t help, but think that perhaps they had come to an understanding of some sort.

Unfortunately before the being could pin this down as fact, Jack spoke. As the being listened, it nodded lightly at the first set of words.

“Mmmm. It is hard to say what may happen, but that will not stop me from poking about,” Oki said with a light smile and then tilting its head it looked at the smile given before it was staring in open shock at the other's request for more of the tea.

“Leaving so soon? How unfortunate. Yes. Yes. We can make you more of the tea. I’ll be glad to see it gone,” Oki said with a light chuckle as it went under the counter and looked for a cup the other could take. Hmm…where was a cup…? Oki looked around a bit more before going into the kitchen area to dig around. After a few moments it came back with a cup for the other. It had some robot on it that Oki did not recognize; however, that did not matter. What matter was the fact that the cup could hold the hot liquid poured in it and not melt under the power of putrid tea placed in it. Once the tea was ready, Oki handed the cup over to Jack with a light shake of its head.

“Remember to keep water nearby to save you from choking," the being said and then moving from behind the counter, Oki would walk back to the front of the store with Jack. After bidding the other farewell, Oki retreated back to the tea shop to clean up taking note the TV was upstairs was quiet now.

Thread End.