Chikato Shiga

''“Playful Trickster! Pink Illusion Ranger!”''

Chikato Shiga is the Pink Ranger, with powers based on the Kitsune.

Biography
Growing up in Japan, Chikato wanted to be an escape artist ever since he was little, just like his Uncle Shoutaro. After his parents caught him performing for some of his friends by jumping into a pool while tied up (he couldn't untie himself, but he was able to swim until fished out), they gave in and sent him to his uncle for lessons, so he could learn without killing himself. He favored "escape or die" traps, even though (or because) those could potentially kill the artist. He went on tour with his uncle as an assistant, finally managing to join the act himself four months after arriving in America.

They arrived in the town of Sleepy Hollow for a show, and Chikato went to explore. He met James at the playground, and found him confusing. Out of the blue, a pink crystal floated up to him, and Ashley Jones came close behind, informing the two teens that they had been chosen. She left without telling them much else.

Chikato decided to leave, and with no reason not to, went with James. They ate at The Red Mermaid, a seafood place, and got to know each other a little better. Ashley was also there, and when pressed, told them they would need to use the gems' powers to protect the world from an army of the undead very soon.

After dinner, as Chikato was heading home, he saw smoke rising from a graveyard, and decided to investigate. There he found Ashley and James with two other teenage girls—Marina and Karen—who had also been chosen, and just finished fighting off a horde of zombies. Chikato accompanied them back to Ashley's house. He was told to focus on his crystal, like the others, and in doing so transferred his gem into a morpher, and met his Kitsune. Afterwards he explored the house, until he realized he was going to be late and fled in a minor panic.

The next morning, he practiced for the afternoon's show, and his first public performance. At the show he saw James and Marina in the audience. His uncle brought Marina and another girl named Yukiko up on stage to help out, and Marina revealed that she wasn't terribly happy with their dangerous tricks. When they bragged that they could get out of their bonds in five minutes, Marina promised him a kiss if he succeeded. He did, and was surprised, embarrassed and pleased to get one on the mouth.

He then started his first big trick, escaping from a suspended straitjacket. Partway through, zombies attacked. The kitsune morphed him, and he helped civilians flee, then switched places with Marina and fought. The smell made him queasy, and when Marina finished off his last Zombie by ripping its heart out, he almost threw up but for her hasty healing. She'd come to the hard realization that people had died, and he hugged her, almost as much for himself as to comfort her. Exhausted, he took a quick nap in the auditorium until his uncle came in and collected him. They nearly headed back to the hotel, but Ashley offered an explanation, so they accompanied the others to her mansion.

On the way, Marina's foster father Alan messed with him and jokingly threatened him for kissing Marina, embarrassing Chikato to the point that he wanted the ground to drop out from under him. To his surprise, everyone reacted as if he had, and he realized that the kitsune had triggered his special power: illusions.

Uncle Shoutaro translated Ashley's explanation for Chikato. Afterwards, George pulled Marina aside to talk about the kiss. He thought Chikato was still figuring out his sexuality, and didn't want his foster daughter to become Chikato's beard. They got into a loud argument, and Chikato soon joined in, embarrassed and struggling to communicate in English. Calming down, Marina managed to reassure him, and he explained as best he could that even though he had nothing against gays, he hated being assumed to be one purely because of his appearance. George understood.

Most of the group headed out for dinner at The Red Mermaid, since James had a gig there. The adults wandered off, leaving Chikato and Marina to get to know each other a little better. She told him about her missing brother, and he was encouraging, even though he wasn't sure whether to believe her when she said he was still alive. The waitress returned early to tell the pair that their relatives were causing havoc in the kitchen.

An alarmed and embarrassed Chikato discovered his uncle scolding the chef on his cooking abilities and the quality of his food, while Alan crusaded against trans fat and George tried to make them both stop. Chikato quietly tried to keep everyone calm, but when the newly-fired chef laid hands on Marina, intervened. He got an (accidental) elbow to the face for his troubles, and a nosebleed, which Marina quietly healed.

Returning to the dining room, the two told James about the incident. An exhausted Marina went to sleep. To Chikato's alarm, she her body was taken over by someone else, who turned out to be her unicorn. Chikato was worried about Marina, but the unicorn reassured him that she would be all right, and asked him to tell the Blue Ranger that she wanted to be named. He did as Marina woke up. After dinner, the three of them chatted until it was time to go home.

Chikato was the first to reach Hypnoza and Kurai as they launched their first attack. Unable to handle their combined power, he called the other Rangers for help, and tried to fight the hypnotized civilians without hurting them, with mixed success. When the battle ended, he found himself dragged into Marina and James's argument about the latter refusing to morph. He tried to listen without scolding, but still ended up telling James to stop shutting them out.

Later, Chikato wandered into the local high school's college fair, and found James at Kene College's display. James asked him to help, and Chikato agreed. Marina joined them, and offered to help Chikato with his English, which he gratefully accepted. Things turned awkward with James, however, since he preferred being yelled at to getting compliments and kept rejecting their attempts to talk to him. Confused and a little freaked out by his behavior, Chikato left on an excuse. Outside he ran into brand-new teacher Mrs. Robertson, who pulled him aside to sign a petition. In reality she was Hypnoza, and she put him under her spell. His kitsune noticed, but chose not to do anything about it. When Kurai came in, Hypnoza offered him to her, but she was uninterested, and the two discussed their plans. Leaving him a sleeper agent, Hypnoza released him, and he rejoined his friends, thinking he'd spaced out.

Soon after, Kurai and Hypnoza started causing trouble again, and Chikato and the others headed into battle. Chikato struggled, trying to deal with the mind-controlled squirrels and pigeons Hypnoza sent to attack them, and then the monster, Cobra Lily. After its poisonous gas made Marina faint, he dragged her to safety before succumbing to the gas himself. Both of them woke up briefly and had a woozy conversation before falling asleep again. He took a lot longer than anyone else to wake up, and Marina carried him to Ashley's mansion to recover. She went looking for spellbooks, and he became irritated by James's ongoing negative attitude. Eventually he took away the Black Ranger's phone, demanding an apology, which James grudgingly gave. Still angry, Chikato left, but the kitsune managed to get him in a better mood by introducing him to auditory illusions.

Marina found him and gave him the spellbook she'd found for him. James rejoined the group, and told them that he was considering going back to England. Shocked and angry, Chikato protested, and James screamed at him. Unused to that kind of outburst, Chikato ran off, not listening to kitsune's attempts to calm him down. James followed. Once again they got into an argument about James's behavior, and Chikato lost his temper entirely—though when he nearly struck James, he realized what he was doing and was frightened. James left, apparently for good, and a relieved and guilty Chikato returned to the mansion to tell Marina. She was more surprised that he'd made Chikato that angry than his quitting, and like Chikato, she thought it was for the best.

Personality
Outgoing and open, Chikato is an eternal optimist. Despite his work, he's ditzy and childish, though he always wants to help others if he can. Not terribly bright, and somewhat lazy, in that he doesn't try more than a few times before giving up. Thrives on danger and excitement, loves being the center of attention. The only time he shuts up is when he's serious, and that requires a really dangerous, high-concentration problem. He's a little sensitive about his Ranger color, especially since his hair and clothes already get him teased for looking gay.

Arsenal

 * Morpher
 * Illusion Fists
 * Kitsune Zord

Appearance
A 19-year-old Japanese Asian, he is 4'11 and 1/2" (he is very insistent on people remembering the half), with bleached and dyed red-gold hair hair, glittering dark eyes and a thin, lithe build. Nearly all of his clothes have secret pockets containing his lockpicking tools, and he likes to perform in deceptively simple-looking clothes like jeans and a t-shirt.