Heat and Sand (Jack)

Akina was wandering around the desert for the millionth time that week. She didn't know why she kept finding herself here, but she didn't really question it much. Once again, she'd snuck out of the house without her parents knowing because neither of them were home. Akina made a mental note to try and get back home before them.

She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, sighing. "Ugh, it's so hot here, I feel disgusting..." She quickly tied her hoodie around her waist, instantly regretting bringing it with her. It was way too hot for that.

"And...the school is still covered in sand. Great." Akina sulked. "I thought maybe it would be fixed by now...but then again, how could something like this be fixed so fast? Especially since it's a mystery as to why it's like this anyway..."

Akina frowned. She needed to stop talking to herself. She bent down to inspect some of the sand quietly, her mind full of questions.

As Akina shifted the sand more she would begin to feel something hard underneath it... Like really hard... a Rock? No it was to smooth for that. Almost felt like a bike helmet. Maybe it was a bike helmet. If she kept digging should would eventually unearth something... Red... And by jove it did kinda look like a helmet. If she tryed to pick it up she would soon realize that it was attached to a body... one that suddenly began to stir.


"Whoe! HOld on what! Where am I! What?" The man would suddenly pull away from Akina and scramble to his feet a few feet away. The guy was... Dressed like a power ranger... odd... Really... odd..."Ahch... Gah... What... happened... Where... Water.... Need... Water..." Mere moments after getting to his feet the strange man would fall to his knees and begin to wheeze. Something about water.

Akina was a bit shocked to feel something under the sand. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Well, the last time she was here her and her friends had found a large amount of Yen here, so maybe it wasn't too far-fetched for something else to be under the sand...

She continued to dig in pure curiosity. It was so odd, it didn't feel like anything she was familiar with...she kept on until the thing began to move.

What...

"AHH!" The second that it began to move, she practically leaped in the opposite direction, eyes wide in fear. She closed her eyes, using her hands and arms to shield herself, waiting for whatever monster she had unearthed to attack her.

Akina then heard what sounded like understandable english, albeit a bit wheezy and concerning nonetheless. Could monsters speak english? Or any language that she could comprehend anyway?

Okay, this train of thought is stupid. Maybe it isn't a monster...

She slowly moved her hands away from her face to see...a very sandy power ranger...? What?

Relieved she wasn't going to get killed or anything, she moved to a normal standing position. He(?) didn't look like he would try to hurt her...in fact, he looked as if he was in pain himself.

She heard something about water. Of course. If he was a normal human being that was buried under sand in this sweltering desert, he'd probably be thirsty.

Akina quietly took off the small bookbag she had taken with her that day and opened it, revealing an unopened water bottle. She had grabbed at least two or three before she left, and only one was currently open and half empty. She wouldn't give him that one, of course. Akina hated the heat.

"U-Um...Neo Featherman R Guy...? D-Do you want this...?" Her hand was trembling slightly as she held out the bottle. She was still a little in shock, but that didn't mean she would just leave the guy like this. "...you can h-have it, if you want."

"Thank you!" Without a moments hesitation Jack would toss off his helmet and grasp for the water bottle. In less then twenty seconds the cap had been tossed aside and half the water had already been guzzled down. After a moment of panting Jack would take another hearty, but much smaller gulp of water and let out a sigh of joy"Aaaaaah... So good... I can't thank you enough. If you hadn't come by when you did I would have been a goner!" Jack let out a hearty laugh as he let himself fall back into the sand. His whole body ached. It felt like he had been buried for days...

He had come here to test a new prototype for his Helmet tech. It was designed as an upgrade over the AC and Cooling systems of the old helmet. Buuuut one sand storm later and he was more lost then a simile. Night fell and he tryed to get some sleep... he must have been buried under the sands...

"Say... What... What day is it?.... Also...what brings you to the desert?"

Akina nodded, not afraid anymore because look, it was just a normal guy in a costume.

And she thought it was a monster. That was a stupid assumption.

"O-Oh...no problem..." She watched as Jack fell back into the sand, not being able to hold back a tiny laugh. This was ridiculous. But eh, just roll with it, Akina.

"The date...uh," She lifted a finger to tell him to wait as she pulled out her phone to check. "It's the 17th. Of June." She hoped he hadn't been buried under there for too long, poor guy. No one should be buried under sand like that, regardless of if they look like a character from a children's show or not.

"As to why I'm here," Akina started before pausing for a second, getting her thoughts in order. "Just exploring I guess? I was here the other day and I found some stuff, so I thought why not come back? That's probably why I was so prepared, heh. I've been here a lot the past few days..."

She looked off to the side, staring at the sand for a bit before speaking again.

"Actually, wait a minute...why were you under the sand? And how long were you there? I probably should've started with that, haha. Sorry."

Oh god he felt so much better. That Water tasted sooooo gooood to his dry throat. He let another sigh leave him as he relaxed into the soft sand... That was a close one. He very well could have died there if this girl hadn't happened along to find him. How lame would that have been? The Red Ranger... Dies of exposure in the desert... Talk about an anticlimactic ending.

"The seventeenth?... Guess that means I've beeeeen buried here for about two days...Huh... I'm surprised I'm still alive. If it hadn't been for my suits life support features I would have died heh!" Jack would let out a laugh and rise to his feet. After a moment he would bend down and pick up his discarded helmet and place it back over his head.

"I came here to test out some mods I made to my Helmet Tech. Guess I got lost and passed out... Though I'd say it was a successful test, seeing as how it kept me alive for two days heh. My Bokenger extreme condition suit is ready for the field!"

"Eh?! Two days?! So you came here on the fifteenth, and you've been under there since?!" Her eyes widened in surprise. How the hell was he okay?!

Her eyes moved down to look at the suit. "Wow...that's an amazing suit! It saved your life!" Akina was fascinated at the current situation, and at this man's suit. That's pretty...awesome.

"So you came here to test...? I get that, but even so, you came alone? This area is practically a real desert...even though it's supposed to be a school and all..." She frowned at the mention of the school, eyes shifting back to the sand. "Y-You should be more careful..."

"O-Oh, wait...how rude of me. I'm Akina, Akina Kurai, and I guess I...saved you?" She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she muttered to herself. "_{What does one even say in this situation...}"

"Why thank you! I put a lot of hard work on revamping the internal air tanks and emergency water supply. I was able to increase the longevity of the Blah Blah Blah blah techno babble blah blah blah blah blah Math and engineering talk about stuff that sounds super boring blah blah blah Screws blah blah blah max tensile strength blah blah blah Tomatoes!" Jack would look at Akina with a smile.... He momentarily wondered if she caught ANY of his techno babble or if it was utterly lost on her. Ether way he would stand and dust himself off.

"And yeah! You totaly saved my life. No doubt about that. I owe you big time Akina, the names Jack by the way." Jack would hold out his hand to shake Akina's if she wanted"If you need anything! Just let me know."

Akina had caught some of the tech talk in the explanation, she did have an interest in technology and that sort of thing but she wasn't any genius. Of course some of it confused her, but she listened intently.

She was pretty interested either way.

"T-That's pretty...cool." She watched as he stood up and dusted himself off, still studying the suit with a childish look of wonder. Once she realized she was staring, she shook herself out of it. "O-Oh, sorry! You probably think I'm weird just like looking at you. I just think that's really interesting."

"Jack..." She looked from the outstretched hand to his face (or helmet, now...) before shaking his hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you. I was expecting to get like a title as a name, like Red...I don't know, Ranger or something...haha. D-Do you have one of those?"

She grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "If you're wondering, I watched a lot of those types of kids shows when I was younger, so seeing someone in a suit like one of those just casually is kind of cool." God, she was lame. Sixteen years on this planet and she's acting like she's five.

"And as for needing anything...would you mind answering a question for me?" Akina's eyes fell to the desert in front of them once again. "Do you know why the school is covered in sand?"

"R-Red Ranger? What? You mean that wack job that's been running around San Malarus the past year beating up crooks... Keeping the streets clean. Saving lives and being a generally great guy?... I think that title is already taken. Heh" Being caught in a super hero suit that you admitted to makeing that happens to look like the super hero suit of a hero who is currently active?... Yeah quite the compromising position. But luckily Jack was smarter then the average bear. Which wasn't hard mind you. Sense bears on average were less intelligent then humans, which Jack was the last time he checked. Even if the bear was infact an above average bear, Jack was confident in his abilities to outsmart it.

"Oh really? You're a Ranger fan yourself? Heh, lets test that! What series did I base this suit on?" Jack would laugh and mimic the pose of the ranger who this suit belonged to"The Fiery Adventure! Bouken Red!...heh... As for the sand... First I gatta ask if the word Persona means anything to you." Jack didn't want to beat around the bush this time... Might as well get it out of the way ya know?

"What series? Oh, that's not too hard. Um...I believe that was...GoGo Sentai Boukenger? At least, that's what I think of when I look at you. Satoru Akashi, the Fiery Adventurer, right? That is, if my answer is actually correct." She grinned nervously, inwardly hoping her guess was right.

"S-So...I'm guessing that I'm meeting the Red Ranger himself? I highly doubt there would be two different people wearing the same suit fighting crime in the same city." Akina shrugged. She wasn't that dumb. Smarter than the average bear, no doubt. "I-If you are...you don't have to worry. I won't tell anyone your real...identity...or anything. I don't really have anyone to tell, anyway."

"Per...sona?" Akina echoed the word slowly. "It doesn't have any special meaning to me besides the definition of the word, so...no? Why?" She was puzzled. What did that have to do with the desert?

"GAH!... Er... N-No I'm not! I mean! What I mean is!... Gah you're a smart one.... Ya got me I am the handsome, heroic, and all round amazing Red Personanger..." Jack sighed and took off his helmet... Perhaps he wasn't quite as superior to the average bear as he thought... Or perhaps Akina is EVEN MORE smarter then the average bear. That to was a distinct possibility, even if it was absolutely ludicrous. Ether way she had figured him out and in record time to."You're right by the way, Took this suit right out of Boukenger. Thought the adventure theme fit a harsh environment exploration suit."

Jack would chuckle and flash Akina a warm smile in response to her confusion over the word Persona"Heh. Well then even if I did explain what was going on here you wouldn't believe me. Come back when you get a Persona, then we'll talk, and trust me. In this city, getting a persona is an inevitability."

Akina couldn't help but laugh a little when he finally admitted it. "I-I mean, not to be mean or anything, but isn't that a bit obvious? I don't think that makes me very smart."

"But anyway, nice to meet you, Red Personanger-" She stopped talking once she realized that title had the word "Persona" in it. There that word goes again...

She raised an eyebrow at Jack's chuckle. "I wouldn't believe you? I mean, the school was covered in sand last I checked. And that's pretty believable, since I'm seeing it with my own eyes, right now. Plus, how would I not have one of these Persona things already? I've been in this city for a very long time already, and I don't even know what that means." She was so confused at this point.

Akina crossed her arms with a sigh. "But, okay. I'll get a..."Persona"...and I...I'll talk to you again to find out. Definitely." She air quoted the word Persona as she spoke, but it was clear she was determined.

'Okay, what the hell am I saying?! I don't even know what Persona means, let alone how to get one! But, I guess I already said I'd get one, and apparently everyone gets one here, according to Jack. If it's possible, then I'm going to do it!' Akina's thoughts were all over the place, but she did her best to not show that.

"But, thanks. Speaking of coming back...I should probably get going, since you really won't tell me. Seriously, I'm probably dead if I don't go home now."

"Sorry to leave so suddenly, but I'll see you around, Jack. Oh, and you can keep the water, if you didn't drink all of it by now." With a smile and a wave, she turned around and started to leave the sandy school, praying that her house was still empty by the time she got back.

-Akina Exit-

"Alright! I'll talk to you later Akina! hehe. Take care and be careful... strange things are happening in this town. Things that will make even the strongest of men fall to their knees..." Jack waved as he saw Akina leave... What an odd girl. Oh well. He was sure she would awaken some time soon. Everyone he talked to did. Like the guy who ran the hot dog cart down the street from Quinn's place. His persona was Oscar Mayer. Parently it was a giant hot dog that shot smaller hot dogs.

"I hope she doesn't get wrapped up in anything unsavory... Now... where the hell am I?..." Jack said looking around... Huh... guess he was lost... Oh well! He'll find his way out sooner or later.

(Exit after another 12 hours of wandering around)