[Mushverse, I suppose? Open to all!]

[morphitudinous]

Billy's arrival in Tokyo wasn't exactly the easiest of transitions. He'd studied some rudimentary Japanese phrases the moment he'd reached a computer and coaxed it to the Internet, but he was obviously going to need more than that if he was to survive here.

Fighting the local beasts as a Ranger was one thing. Morph, make some gestures and grunt sounds, and disappear. No one ever had to know he was a foreigner. Getting by in everyday life was an entirely different matter.

Through weeks of struggling (and some pointed haggling with some perhaps-illegal tech), he eventually assembled enough parts to make two prototype translation device, tuned to produce audio translations between English and Japanese. The first one was a modification/extension of his own wrist communicator, a new dome appearing over the surface of it. The second, with red bands instead of his blue, was very similar but lacked the now-defunct teleportation code.

With some help from machine translation, he posted a sign in front of a bench at the local park in English and Japanese:

Please assist a young researcher with a new device. You will be compensated for your time.

Now, all he had to do was sit here, look friendly, and wait. Billy hoped the monsters here weren't as fond of parks as the putties at home had been.

Comments

[cookscleanskicksass]

No matter what else goes on, no matter what other things we're going through, we still have to eat.

I'm wandering back from the shops with groceries in bags over each arm, when I see a person in blue, with a sign. Hm.

I read it, look at him, then read it again. Hm. "Hello," I say politely.

[morphitudinous]

I catch the other man's eye and smile. Maybe this will finally get somewhere! Maybe he can't stay long, those groceries might need refrigeration, but even a little conversation will help.

"Hello," I answer back, pleased that my study of the language has progressed far enough for a translation to be unnecessary. (Not that that was very far.)

I lift the device and press a button, speaking to it in English. A somewhat awkward translation emerges.

"I am building a watch that will translate words while I learn the language."

[cookscleanskicksass]

He responds in passable Japanese, and I smile. Other languages are tricky!

My eyebrows shoot up when his device translates his words. I know a little English, but only a VERY little, and this is amazing. "Very clever," I say slowly and clearly, smiling at him. "My name is Don."

[morphitudinous]

"My name is Billy," I speak into the device, just as clearly. The slowed speech really helps the processing, but I hope to increase its efficiency to the point where natural dialogue rhythms are possible.

"I am testing this device. I require its assistance while I learn your language."

[cookscleanskicksass]

"Good to meet you, Billy," I say politely. "Why are you in Japan? How did you build your device?"

I'm itching to get a look at it! I can hypothesize some of the principles he's used in creating it, but some of the thinking is completely new to me.

[morphitudinous]

I lift my wrist, allowing him to see part of the mini-computer and speaker system attached.

"I was brought here two weeks ago. I don't know why. And the device is a combination of two sound databases and a matching mechanism. It finds ways to match whole sentences if it can."

[cookscleanskicksass]

"...oh," I say, stunned. His situation has overtaken my fascination at his device in my head. Oh, that's interesting.

Apart from recent events, we've never really hidden our identities, and there's no cooperation without trust, and he's a fellow scientist. It's possible -- and would be good -- that someone mysterious is gathering power on OUR side, as well as on the other.

"Billy," I say cautiously. "Do you by any chance fight evil?"

[hotshotlightning]

Walking home through the park was something of a detour but it was a nice day and for once Katsumi didn't have any emergencies going on, he could take his time.

He almost walked right past the blond man sitting on the bench, then he stopped and reversed course, tilting his head at the sign.

"Your Japanese is wrong," he said, pointing at the kanji in question. "Unless you're soliciting, in which case carry on."

[morphitudinous]

Billy hastily turned on his device. He caught 'wrong' without its help, but the second part was somewhat translated. That clarified the first part.

"I know. I am sorry about the mistakes," he fed the machine. "I was suddenly sent here without warning and I am trying to live."

[hotshotlightning]

I nod and hold out a hand. "You got a pen?" I can at least fix that so he's not giving people the wrong idea. "What kind of research are you doing anyway?"

[morphitudinous]

I offer it to him---a nice fat pen, with the name 'Angel Grove Youth Center and Juice Bar' printed on it, along with a rather tropical-looking smoothie logo. Ernie's business had finally been expanding.

"I am testing an automated translation device," I say, pausing for the prototype to do its job. I really hope it's giving the correct message. "I still plan to study the language normally, but I was not given time to prepare for...this."

I gesture to my haphazardly stuffed backpack, a clear sign that I hadn't planned my arrival very well. Or at all.

[hotshotlightning]

I nod at that, turning the pen over in my hands and trying to work out what it says. It's English, I think, but the font's not helping pick out the letters. It's a good idea though, I missed having automatic translators when I got here. Not that it would have done me much good at first, I guess, but it would have helped later. Earth is so behind in these things.

I crouch down by the board and scribble out the misleading kanji, replacing it with one with more professional connotations. "Sudden move, huh?" I can relate to that. "Although I guess you're settling in by now."

[morphitudinous]

"Yes. It happened two weeks ago. I was at home, and then I was here." I scratch at the back of my neck, trying to find a way to make that sound less unbelievable than it is.

"I suspect dimension-shifting magic---do you believe in that sort of thing being possible?"

[okashioageru]

Have candy. Will share with Mezul later. But eat candy now.

Ooh, park bench. Sit on bench and eat candy.

Other person here. "Candy?" Offer lollipop.

[morphitudinous]

Is it dangerous to take candy from a stranger?

I wondered about that again---but it appeared wrapped, and I'd seen a very similar variety in the store. It would be worth establishing trust. And I've learned a new word, if that means 'lollipop'.

"Thank you," I say without the translator's help. I then switch it on. "I am an unexpected new visitor, and I am trying to talk more quickly than I can learn." An approximate Japanese phrase emerges after the English input stops.

[okashioageru]

Other person talk lots.

Shrug. Eat candy.

"Is good candy."

[morphitudinous]

"Yes," I agree, again without the translator. It's nice to be able to say a few things on my own.

I switch it on again. "You have been very nice. Why?"

[okashioageru]

Shrug.

"Why not?"

Grab more candy, eat. This candy is blue!

...blue. I miss Mezul.

[morphitudinous]

"It's just unexpected."

I look over the candy, all different colors. Pink, yellow, red, green...it's a reminder. They're also familiar to the other warriors around here, apparently.

"My name is Billy, by the way."

[dearawesomediary]

Japan is awesome and no matter what the other Series Operators think, Gem and Gemma are having a blast.

They're doing a lot better about not skipping arm-in-arm in mixed company, but even Doctor K's insistence that they be careful not to draw attention to themselves isn't going to stop them from walking shoulder-to-shoulder.

Just in case.

Parks are always good to meet new friends and learn important information, and this is apparently holding true for Gem and Gemma today, as someone who is very obviously not Japanese is sitting on a bench, with a sign indicating he needs assistance.

Compensation isn't irrelevant, Gem and Gemma can tell with a quick glance around that they're probably the most equipped to help this young researcher with anything. They're two of the smartest people in history, in their universe and country, anyway.

And they're heroes.

"Hello!" Gem greets the stranger with a wave that Gemma quickly follows suit with.

"I'm Gemma!"

"And I'm Gem!"

"We'd be happy-"

"-To help you with your research!"

"We have a lot-"

"A lot of experience!"

[morphitudinous]

That sounds great. Billy perks up at the sound of English---so he can discard the translator for a moment while they're getting started. He smiles at them. Twins, right?

"I'm Billy. It's nice to meet you both. But if I might ask, what exactly is your research experience?" Scientists have to know these things.

[dearawesomediary]

Gem and Gemma exchange a glance, then a grin, then turn their smiling faces back to their new friend. He reminds them both, in a weird way, of their best friend, Doctor K, and for that they have no real reason to doubt his intentions at all.

"It's nice to meet you, Billy." Gemma says softly, and Gem holds his hand out for a handshake.

"We grew up in a military-run government think-tank." He says with his usual brightness.

"Tapped as subjects, mostly, but even as test subjects-"

"-Considering the experiments in question-"

"-We were chosen for our extremely above-average intelligence!"

Then they nod in tandem. That about covers it.

[morphitudinous]

Billy could definitely use their help, yes. Above-average intelligence was always helpful.

"Did you study language when you were there, by any chance?"

[dearawesomediary]

"Oh yeah!" Gem enthuses with a little bounce.

"That was just for us, though." Gemma adds.

"Something to occupy ourselves when we weren't-"

"-needed for testing."

They take a moment to bump their arms together with a proud little grin exchanged.

"We can speak Japanese, as well as English!"

"We're not great with writing it though."

"Japanese that is, we're good with English."

[morphitudinous]

"That's all right. The systems for translating written Japanese already exist, I'm concentrating on spoken," Billy clarifies. He watches them with a grin.

"Have you been here long?"