The brownish orange colors of the leaves seemed to indicate the fall. The sky was a bit overcast; gray, likely having just rained, due to the mud in this small wooded area at the top of this small hill as Joe Gibken and Ahim de Famille of the Kaizoku Sentai Gokaigers moved through.
She stopped and looked back to him as he trailed a bit behind. She gave him a smile, "Joe-kun, how much do you know about me?" She asked him in her softer tone of voice.
But he didn't answer, he found himself questioning, "Did you just call me 'Joe-kun'?" He muttered quietly.
She either didn't hear him, or didn't answer as she continued, "I was a princess on our home planet; did you know that?"
"I didn't." He answered, walking closer to her. She smiled to him and walked ahead, through a muddy patch.
"Joe-kun…" She shook her head, "I…I want you to know, I think highly of you…you're an amazing man, and…"
As she continued to walk, her left boot became stuck in the mud as she stepped; her foot slipping out of it, but she caught herself before she walked without it.
Joe walked over to her without a word and pulled it out. He crouched before her, helping her to slide it back on. He looked up into her eyes as she looked down at him.
"Ahim-chan; we are pirates. I won't show you the respect of your former position." He said, referring to himself not calling her 'Ahim-sama', but regardless, she saw meaning in the honorific he had chosen to use, "Even if we are pirates, I will forget that for you, and I will become your knight." He came to his feet in front of her.
Joe was a man of few words, but the words he had chosen were enough for Ahim. As the two shared this moment, they could hear Captain Marvelous speaking with Luka and Doc as the three other Gokaigers came up the hill and into the wooded area.
"Joe-san; anything to report?" Marvelous questioned.
Joe glanced to Ahim, and then to Marvelous, he reported, "Nothing, Captain."
Marvelous nodded, "Ok then, let's keep going!"
As the other three Gokaigers passed, Joe and Ahim fell into place last, to which Doc leaned over to Luka, "When did they become friends?"
She shrugged, "I don't get it. How can a friendship possibly work between those two?"
Doc shrugged, "I don't see it lasting. I mean, Joe's a pirate, Ahim's a princess. That they even have anything in common to base a friendship on surprises me."
Luka nodded, "Took the words right out of my mouth." She stifled some laughter, "Can you imagine a romance between them?"
"You think…?"
"Of course not." Luka answered, "I'd wager all of the treasure in this world on that never happening. That's one certainty I know in this life."