章 21: Chapter 21 - The Unusual Shop
Finding himself in front of a small and antiquated two-story building hidden by walls and larger buildings on all sides, Jin thought, 'No wonder I couldn't find it on my own. Even somebody who knows where it's at might have trouble finding this place.'
The building itself looked simple. It mixed traditional Japanese architectural style with a more modern touch. A large sign rested above the tall sliding front doors labeled 'Urahara Shōten' in bolded Kanji.
Turning his head toward the black cat sitting quietly atop the wall closest to him, Jin mumbled, "I didn't think you'd actually lead me here. Thanks, I guess."
He then nodded slightly before walking toward the front door. Even after sliding the front door open, he could still feel her gaze boring into his back. Although he knew the personalities and general character of these people, he still maintained some wariness due to his lack of history with them. Although he did not believe they would attack him for no reason, it didn't hurt to remain vigilant.
Inside, he found a line of shelving displays on both his left and right. Only a few types of seemingly normal merchandise filled the displays. Some of the items looked rather ordinary, but others gave Jin a sense of incongruence. When he focused a little harder, he noticed hints of reishi attached to those items, which also happened to be placed on higher shelves without any signs or price tags. Some of the labels had strange names, though, like a 'Chugga Jugga Mumba Juice' or 'Muddler Batta Sticks'. The names gave him zero clue toward their functions unlike the regular-looking snacks or drinks on more accessible shelves.
Tearing his eyes away from the curiosities, Jin glanced up toward the back of the main shop area. He met the gaze of a tall and burly man with black hair styled in cornrows, foggy rectangular glasses, and a spectacular mustache. The man silently nodded in greeting while sweeping the shop.
Vaguely recalling that such a person indeed existed, Jin nodded in return and politely remarked, "Nice and quaint little place you've got here."
The man jerked slightly. Then, he burst into the most comical display of tears Jin had ever seen before dashing over in a gust of wind, enthusiastically shaking Jin's hand, and saying, "Thank you, sir. Very kind of you to say so."
Unable to resist the force behind the man's grip, Jin thought his arm might pop out of its socket. He grit his teeth and persevered through the torture that lasted several seconds.
"ORYAAAH! EAT MY BAT, OUTSIDER!" A youthful voice exclaimed from the open front door behind Jin.
The man shaking Jin's hand released his grip and stepped around toward the new arrival.
"Urgh! Stop it, old man!"
"Don't bother customers."
Jin turned around to see the large hulk of a man holding a flailing redhead kid in a headlock. The kid looked wild and untamed with his sharp eyes and exaggerated hairstyle. Alongside them, a short black-haired girl with dark eyes walked inside the shop while sucking on a lollipop of some sort. Her bangs looked like an upside-down 'Y'.
"Serves you right, Jinta," She said in a quiet and near monotone voice. Then, she looked at Jin and asked, "Who are you?"
"A customer of sorts," Jin calmly replied while stretching his nearly dislocated arm.
"Do you need anything?" The man with cornrows politely asked with friendly undertones.
"I'd like to discuss something with the owner here, if that's alright."
The big guy stared at Jin, but Jin couldn't discern his expression due to the guy's foggy glasses.
"What do you need him for?"
"Well, I'm hoping for an exchange, but if he can't help me with it, then it is what it is."
"Heh~ Is that so," A lazy voice sounded out from the back of the shop. The door at the back slid open, revealing a tall, lean man wearing a black haori over a dark green samue. Untidy blonde hair stuck out from under the rims of a green and white striped hat. Some unkempt stubble marked his jawline. His gray eyes peered at Jin with hints of veiled curiosity, though Jin assumed quite a lot was going through the man's mind right now.
"What kind of exchange do you need?"
"It might take a few minutes to explain. Is that alright?" Jin replied while minding his words so as to not draw the man's ire in any way.
Urahara waved his hand casually and said, "Sure~ Sure~ No problem at all. Tessai, you mind grabbing some snacks?"
"Sure," The muscular man responded with a small nod while still restraining the flailing redhead kid.
Urahara gestured for Jin to follow him into the back of the shop. Jin quickly found himself sitting across from Urahara at a short coffee table. Tessai sat on a cushion to Jin's right with the two kids sitting on either side of him. The redhead, Jinta, sat further away from Jin with his arms crossed, while the girl quietly observed him while sucking on her lollipop.
"So," Urahara started while resting on his side and nibbling on some pocky sticks, "what exactly can we help you with, mister customer?"
"Hmm… now that I'm here, I'm not sure how to start anymore," Jin said, sighing briefly. Then, he continued, "I'll start off by mentioning that I'll be facing some troublesome things, so I want help in getting stronger, and you're one of the few options I thought I could ask right now."
Urahara stopped nibbling his pocky. His gray eyes narrowed at Jin from under the brim of his hat. A tense silence followed for a few seconds until he asked, "What brought you that conclusion? This isn't a gym."
"Well, I happen to have some abilities which lend to obtaining information, and meeting a certain orange-haired newbie Soul Reaper and his babysitter made me think of you."
"..."
Sensing an even tenser atmosphere than before, Jin smiled wryly and said, "Anyway, I do know a lot of things I don't have any business knowing, but I'm putting myself out there to offer to do some part-time work here or something in exchange for some help in training."
Urahara scratched his chin in silence for a few moments, but then straightened his hat and said, "I don't particularly need extra hands right now."
"Why not give him a brief trial period?" Tessai suggested.
Urahara and Jin both raised a brow at the man. Neither expected him to chime in like that. A second later, Urahara sighed and asked, "So, kid, before I consider your request, what exactly gave you the idea to come here?"
"You want to know about the ability I mentioned, you mean?"
Without saying anything, Urahara simply nodded while nibbling on some pocky.
"Hmm. Well, let's say I had the ability to see the memories of another individual…"
Urahara's expression hardened, but he kept listening.
"So, along those lines, what do you think would happen if I saw the memories of a person who could see the future?"
With a serious expression on his face, Urahara sat up straight and stared directly into Jin's eyes. The wild redhead kid looked confused while Tessai and the little girl quietly listened despite not understanding the conversation.
'Ah, great. I love geniuses. They are really good at coming to a conclusion with only a few words, even from lies.'
"You saw the future?"
"A possible one. I assume you know what I'm referring to if the future I saw held any accuracy."
"...I see."
"Anyway, that's why I came here. I thought you could help me train, while in exchange I could help you with things that might be more troublesome given your current situation."
"The hell are you guys talking about?" The redhead kid grumbled, obviously irritated by the dull conversation.
"Shut up, Jinta," The black-haired girl chided quietly.
Ignoring the two, Urahara glanced outside a nearby window. He then chuckled while pushing his hat further down onto his head. Beaming at Jin with a wide smile, he asked, "When do you want to start, kid?"
Sensing the eerie and ethereal disturbance off in the distance that reminded him of the last couple hollows he encountered, Jin scratched his temple and grumbled, "I guess I can start now."
"Great! Time for your first job!"
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Author Note:
Hey guys, I wasn't planning to mention this until I found time to add more content to offer, but I do have a P@treon, p@treon .com/trashheapauthor (just delete the space in there and replace the @ with an a. Guess the site doesn't like links or smth. The reason I'm mentioning this is that I recently got hit with some... life. Anyway, because I'm struggling a lot, if any of you are willing to temporarily donate so I can afford to put some food on the table this month, I'd super duper appreciate it. I wouldn't mind if it's only for the next month before you rescind donations or whatever. Honestly, I feel weird even requesting this, but I'm kinda desperate. Anyway, I'll try to find time to get some more writing done in exchange or something. If nobody donates, then that's cool. I understand. Just throwing it out there. Hope you all have a great day and hope you enjoyed the chapter. See you in the next one.
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