Shelves? Dusty? Ah, perhaps a bit — mainly the ones in the back, which were seldom the target of browsing by anyone other than the occasional shinigami. Though — dust anywhere in the shop had to mean one of his assistants was shirking — well, far be it from him to do the cleaning, when he had three other people managing the minutiae. Jinta would not doubt be the target of his interrogation later that evening.
“Ah, time to rotate the stock, I suppose,” he chuckled breezily, not to be flustered by the insinuation. “But rest assured, all our food items are made fresh daily, and offered at reasonable prices!” He directed the boy’s attention to the deli counter and nearby refrigerator case. “Plenty of fresh snacks to be found here, as you can see! And I’m proud to report that this establishment has never failed a health inspection!” Though he omitted to add that most health inspectors tended to wander away, having signed the appropriate forms, with little memory of the encounter.
“Now, if you’re in the market for a Shogi board, look no futher!” he went on, full salesman mode now engaged. “Over here, we have a modest but diverse selection of games and toys for all ages!” He gestured to a corner, where such items did indeed line shelves, and a display model sat on a table flanked by two chairs. A cunning smile overtook his lips.
“You know,” he began slyly, “I play a bit myself. Would you like to join me in a game?”
¯\_(ツ)_/¯—— Ħousǝ ᵒᶠ 𝐍ɐɹɐ ——¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Standing there with one hand inside of his pocket and the other
at his side. He shifted his weight to lean on his left, pivoting his
right foot forward taking on a look of boredom. Forest tainted eyes
missed not a beat, curiosity spiked but he never questioned it.
The things in the very back were dusty, a lot. The boy had a
feeling it wasn’t candy nor any other food of that matter but
something much bigger than that. Lackadaisical glance
returned back to the man with the beach hat, that slothful
gaze like piercing daggers.
It was obvious to him there were more people who were here
since the front of the shop was spick and span. Not a single fleck
of dust. The Nara’s eyes narrowed, his mind began working and the
color of his irises glazed, turning opaque for a few brief seconds.
It was when the older man spoke did he come back to reality. Lips
pursing out as slim brows furrowed before giving a shrug of his
shoulders. Whatever was back there merely wasn’t his business
but he also had to know who and what type of guy he was talking
to let alone buying items from.
❛ Yeah, thanks but no thanks on the food.
I got it covered on my way back home. ❜
The mentioning of a Shogi board caught his attention. His eyes
seemed to spark, a fire beneath those pupilless emerald colored
eyes. Shikadai did not hesitate to move forward to the Shogi board.
He made a quick inspection of it; nice, clean, sleek as if it had
been taken care of immensely. The tips of his fingers brushed
the cool, scratched yet polished wood of the surface, and now
did his lips pull back to show a row of full pearly white teeth.
A mother’s smile tainted his facial features, soft.
{Yeah, Dad’ll like this one.
I’ll have enough for it...I think.
Or...}
Turning back to the shopkeeper his smile disappeared replaced
by a serious yet still lazy look. With his back to the game piece
and thumb pointed behind him did he confidently speak up, loud
and clear. The tone of his voice made it obvious he wanted this to
be fair and square. Shikadai knew the word sly, he heard it within
the other’s tone. Negotiations were his thing and he was top-notch
at making them.
❛ Alright old man. I win, you give me the Shogi
board along with its pieces and you tell me just
what you really do and who you really are along
with what’s back there on those dirty shelves.
It’s pretty obvious no ordinary shopkeepers
keeps weird stuff like that around. ❜
¯\_(ツ)_/¯—— Ħousǝ ᵒᶠ 𝐍ɐɹɐ ——¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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