Prompt: stolen possession
But of course, there are no stolen items in this story... all of them were definitely acquired through honest means. ~
Ronin looked up from his desk at the sound of the bells jingling on the front door. Finally, a new sucker - customer, I mean, he corrected himself.
"Welcome sir," Ronin greeted the man, "Anything particular you're looking for?"
"Nah. Just taking a look"
Oh, great. One of those.
The customer barely paid attention to Ronin, wandering over to a glass case with electronics inside. "Is that a BorgWatch?"
"Sure is. Good as new, but only three quarters the original price!"
"It has 'Geralt' engraved on the back" the man said, eyeing the piece with new disdain.
"That's.. my cousin. He gave it to me" Ronin lied easily.
"I have a cousin named Geralt. He lost his watch recently."
"What a coincidence! Almost like destiny that you would find such a nice gift for your cousin" Ronin hinted.
"What are those?" the man found something new to look at as quickly as he lost interest in the electronics.
"These," Ronin pulled one from the case to show the man, "are Jade Blades. Straight from Chen's Island."
"Whose island?"
"Used in the Tournament of Elements."
"The what now?"
Don't you watch the news? Ronin gritted his teeth and forced a smile. Customers tried his patience more than the ninja or ghosts ever had. "They were used by the ninja themselves."
"Really? How did you get them? Did the ninja give them to you?"
"...yeah, they did. I know them personally, they've... given.. me a number of products. I have more items related to them if you're interested."
This caught the man's attention and he nodded eagerly. Ronin moved from the weapons cabinet the Jade Blades had come from and opened the display case next to it. "This here is my full selection of hero-related weapons and artifacts. You should know I don't show this to just any customer.. these items fetch a high premium, but I sense you have a taste for the finer things." The man was clearly not wealthy. The cap on his head had holes in it, his jeans were tattered, and he just didn't walk like he had money. Rich people carried themselves differently, and Ronin knew how to spot them. This guy didn't have the same sense of self-importance, though he brought a different brand of trouble with him for honest shop owners like Ronin. He'd probably just waste all his time and buy nothing. Still, it was a slow day and there was a chance Ronin might be able to squeeze enough out of the man to make his efforts worthwhile.
"This is an authentic ninja hood. That right there is a wheel from a ninja vehicle. I recovered it myself, with their permission, of course. And this is an Aeroblade, also used by the ninja themselves" Ronin held up the weapon.
"These all seem pretty cool, but how much-" the customer cut himself off and walked across the shop, back to the electronics case. "Where do you get your products again? That looks exactly like my old phone."
"What? Certainly not sir, all of our stock is purchase from suppliers who are.. aware. If your phone was here, you would know."
"It is! It's cracked in the corner just like mine. I lost it last month, I could've sworn it was in my pocket but it was gone."
"I assure you sir, all of our products are acquired legally."
"Ha! I don't think I can believe a word you say, you charlatan!" The man stormed out of the shop.
I knew he would be a waste of time, Ronin chastised himself for bothering with someone who clearly had no appreciation for the types of product he carried.
Ronin looked back at the door when he didn't hear the sounds of the bells jingling to see someone new had come in.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite customer. What kind of trophies you here for today?"
~ You know with the way he comes by his goods that Ronin has surely had some run ins with the previous owners of some of his items. Even in the show the ninja recognize some of his stuff. Not really a big fan of the title for this one. Couldn't think of anything that clever or fun that I really liked.
My original idea involved Kai stealing pictures from people's homes, but I couldn't get it to work (whose homes is he getting invited into? Where does he keep them?) but maybe I'll come back to that one day.
Someday I'm going to catch up on these and actually put out the right one on the right day.