The Xuan Family Antique Shop

In one of the more run down areas of the city, where the streets are narrower and the buildings taller, there are shops everywhere you look. Small family owned businesses, that all seem eternally on the cusp of closing.

One such building has a clinic on the first floor, more likely to kill you than save you, but popular with the low level triads. Above it, with a platform accessible by metal stairs from the street, is The Xuan Family Antique Shop. Below the sign, on the glass window, next to the usually open door was a sign: "Fortune Telling! 3rd floor! Inquire within!"

Inside, a great many treasures, real and otherwise are stuffed into this medium sized but labyrinthine shop. However lost you get in the rows, you can usually find the front counter where the store's clerk waits for customers. Behind her is a set of stairs going up with a little sign indicating fortune telling is available up there.

Today, Hua was particularly irate with the store. It did little to allow a breeze in but if she left the counter to go stand out front, she couldn't hear mama, and then there would be hell to pay.

So whe was sitting there, even in what little clothes she wore, with a fan below the desk running, as well as fanning herself with a paper fan. It was tiring but at least she was not dying from the heat.

Antiques.

Rin had been asked to look around for interesting things by his sister that she could possibly use for her art instructor job; thus...he'd been given the address of a shop in one of the more poorer areas of town.

Sometimes these types of stores could be the best spots to find great things, and Rin had agreed to check it out and buy a few things in her place.

He looked up at the tall building when he was checking the address to compare to, reading in the note that the antique shop was up the stairs.


Xuan Family Antique Shop. This was the place then...

Nodding to himself, Rin headed up the stairs, pocketing the note Ruka had given him with the information. Look around then...

There were...certainly a lot of things here. It was almost like a labyrinth even.

Obviously, such a store held his own interests as well which was another reason he'd agreed to come for Ruka. He might find some nice things as well. The library was looking a bit plain at home, so it could use some decor.

Hua noticed someone enter. There wasn't a particular noise, just slight differences in the wind and the feel of the place. She fanned herself one more time and closed it before getting up from her seat and making her way through the rows. She heard someone looking around and walked up, in utter silence. She quietly slid the fan open and stepped up behind him, placing one hand on her hip and snapped the fan shut loudly.

"May I help you, sir?" She asked in a low voice. Mysteriously popping up always seemed to do a good job of selling authenticity.

"!" It was the snap of the fan along with the voice that had startled Rin from his silent browsing.

Hearing a voice, whom he assumed was the person minding the shop, he turned to acknowledge them and gave a smile, though a bit of a sheepish one from his startled reaction, before speaking; "A-Ah, I'm looking for some decor and such such for my home's library...my sister also needs some items for her work, so I was thinking of buying a few items from here."

He stated his business, not wanting to say he was just "looking" when he did in fact intend to buy something. There were many items in this shop, so he felt he could easily find a few things though the woman would know the shelves better...

Hua tipped her head and smiled. He was buying this crap for his home? Even the stuff that was real looked dumb. But she supposed it was just like these neuvo rich types to put a bunch of Chinese decorations in their Japanese homes.

"Absolutely. Well this piece you're looking at here is of course a fine piece." The rather solid looking dragon statue was almost as tall as she was and made of solid lead. It was old enough she didn't remember if it was authentic or not. Mostly because nobody wanted to hire movers to take it home. "A fine eye, you must have." She said, playing a bit of yoda speak.

"What does your sister do, though? " what could she possibly need antiques for at work?

That...was a rather large piece, a dragon statue anyway; "Ah well...I'm not sure if I could fit it in the library...Hm..."

It was rather large, and while the room was decently sized it was mostly covered in bookshelves along with the small seating area...

What Ruka did?

"Well, she has various jobs...but the one she needs things for is an art one; she teaches painting classes from time to time, but she needed to pick up more things to present to use as...figures basically..."

And antiques were varied with uniqueness...so they were a good source of material to reference.

"Oh. A library. Very classy." She said with bright eyes, hjding her smile behind the fan, popping it open. Only rich people had libraries! And his sister was an art teacher. They were suckers!

"Perhaps something more fitting for a library. We have some works of calligraphy here that might catch your eye." she led him to a wall with some smaller pieces hanging there.

"So she is a jack of all trades. May I ask what your profession is?" Maybe she could glean just how expensive of merchandise she should push with small talk.

"Aha... It's not a overly large one, but there's plenty in it." It was decently sized...but not giant; their biggest rooms were best suited for lounges and comfort...though the library was comforting in its own way; a nice, quiet area.

Calligraphy works? "That might work..." Rin mused, thinking about it...there was a bit of wall space...and the ones the woman was showing him weren't large so...

"Ah, yes...she has a few jobs; she finds them enjoyable." He answered, giving a small nod before he was asked about himself; "I'm an author..."

He didn't sound pompous about it, it was just something he enjoyed doing and had...perhaps become famous for; he wasn't in it for fame though, just enjoyment.

She listened intently, soaking up information. She picked up a vase that looked a little dusty while he spoke, dusting a bit of what had gathered on it. Her eyes lit up when he said what she was doing and she nearly dropped the case. She was just glad she was facing away.

Authors were either poor or very rich after all and he wasn't poor.

"What a coincidence. I just happen to be a reader." She said with a giggle, walking around in front of him, awkwardly close in the confined space, before gently tapping him on the shoulder as she slid past.

"Follow me." She said before leading him to a small bookshelf.

"Are you a purveyor of rare books, by chance?" She asked, leaning on the shelf, her body language suddenly becoming subtly suggestive.

"I-I see..." Rin answered as the woman stepped in front of him, letting her slide past him before she told him to follow; these shelves made the place seem all confined...

He did as asked, following her towards the bookshelf; rare books... "Well, we do have a lot of books kept in the library..." He explained as he was questioned, looking over the books on the shelf as the woman leaned on it.

Rare books...? There were various books he'd picked up before and purchased, and the library had a bit of a wide selection to choose from...

Hua smiled. "That's surely to be expected from a man such as yourself." She said reaching out to place a hand gently on his shoulder for a moment before she bent sideways a little to look at the shelf and pulled a text rather gently from it.

She brought the book up and stepped around, leaning against his side as she held the book in front of him.

"This is a PARTICULARLY old tome, said to be written by Wei Shen, an ancient philosopher many considered to be a wizard. Parts of the book have still never been translated, written in a dialect of chinese that nobody can quite place. It is said that no copies were made after the fall of the Han Dynasty. Even if this were not one of the originals, it would still be nearly 2000 years old."

"Certainly it must be of interest to an author such as yourself?" She said, hoping to play on his literary side. Really, though she had her doubts, the book was by most means legitimate. It was certainly as old as dust and her family had bought it, unable to find any flaws that proved it was fake.

Rin's eyes went to the book as the woman pulled one from the shelf, looking at it as she held it in front of him; he listened as an explanation was given about the book. Something like this seemed interesting enough...

"It sounds quite interesting, in all honesty." Rin answered, giving a small nod; it wouldn't be something that could be so easily read though... "Hm... there are empty spots on the shelves, smaller statues may work well there..." He added, trying to help the shopkeeper at least when it came to helping him.

She was attempting to show him things, but without many leads to go off of it might be difficult; he would not be a bothersome shopper!

"I'll keep this book set aside for now." She said, closing it and placing it atop the shelf. Hmm. Some smaller statues.

"I have just the sort of things you might be looking for. Come with me." She said. "The passages can be a little harrowing." She said with a laugh before gently taking his hand and guiding him over to a display case with a number of wooden carvings. They were of various animals and while they were fairly rough, they were very pretty.

"These were all carvings of the late conqueror Wun Shu Lan. It was a hobby of his in between campaigns. Some of them are very pretty. I'm sure they'd make lovely presents for your wife." She of course noticed he had no ring on, but it was usually a fruitful area of conversation.

"Right..." Rin gave a small nod as he was told to follow, attempting to do just that before his hand was taken and he was guided towards a display case.

In it there were various wooden carvings in the shapes of animals, all looking rather well crafted despite appearing somewhat rough.

Something like this would appear well-suited for the library, and Ruka could even use something like it as a referen- W-Wife!?

"A-Ah, well... Not... I'm not married yet; e-e...engaged..." That was a topic that was obviously...flustering to discuss; it...while he had no ring of his own yet to signify the engagement like he and Aoi planned...now that she had a ring it wasn't like it was some giant secret like it had been before...

Ahhh there we go! She was wondering why he wasn't responding to any of her flirting. Usually by now most men had taken to awkwardly bumping into her in the narrow aisles. But he was engaged and surely deeply in love with her. Especially with how flustered he got. She closed her eyes and smiled.

"That's so sweet!" She said enthusiastically. "Congratulations! Tell me about your fiance, she must be wonderful!" The easiest way to a man's wallet was through his heart. If he thought his fiance would like some things then surely he would spring extra for her.

"T-Thank you, a-ah well...she's more outgoing than I am...gives off a brighter atmosphere..." Explain Aoi? W-Well... That wasn't the easiest to do...if mostly because of the fluster that came with trying to explain, along with worries he may explain too much...

She was definitely more outgoing than him though, she... H-How was he even supposed to explain further!?

"Awww. The sunlight to your world, hm?" She asked, with a bright grin. "Well, let's see..." She scurried off for a moment, peeking around the place, trying to find something. "Aha!" She came back.

"Right this way. I have something to show you!" She said enthusiastically before leading him to another display case.

"Here we have authentic accessories from the Ming Dynasty." she said with a wave of her hand. "In particular, I've always been fond of these." She gestured to a pair of floral designed hair decorations. "I bet they'd look just beautiful on your radiant fiance." She said. She was fairly sure they would, too.

"A-Ah..w-well..." Well...that...that wasn't...w-wrong per se... His life had certainly become more lively after meeting Aoi, in the good sense; the woman's words weren't technically...wrong then.

Something to show him?

It was then that he was shown...hair decorations. They were all rather nice looking, the pair she was pointing at right now held a floral one; Aoi...rarely had chances to wear such things though, considering her job...even her ring needed to be worn around her neck due to it. They looked nice, and...would look nice, it was just a thought of Aoi wanting things like this though...

W-Wait!

"W-Well...she likes...rabbit themed things?" Perhaps while he was looking for things for Ruka and his home, he could get something rabbit themed for Aoi if there was any such merchandise here... Hm...

Hrmm.. Rabbit themed... She suddenly frowned, biting her knuckle as she thought, walking away while trying to mull over their inventory in her head. They had one or two rabbit dolls.... That one painting with a rabbit... They had a stuffed rabbit around here somewhere... Uhhh...

"Well, we have a few rabbit things.. A doll, a stuffed rabbit. A painting. The painting is nice." She led him over towards it. It was nice, but it wasn't very expensive... Paintings were... fairly hard to fake because there was SUCH a market for fake paintings. So they mostly didn't even bother. The painting was still several hundred dollars, but it was less than 50 years old.

"Hmm. Oh. There's... That.." She almost forgot about the rabbit blade.

Rabbit themed things would be good for Aoi, and the woman said there they had things; hm...a doll, a painting... The painting looked nice, though he wondered if she would want such a thing in her home? He did still need to decorate it like she wanted...

Hm? That... A blade?

"That's a blade...that actually...might be good for her; she likes items such as that as well, the painting might also...be well fit for her home, she wanted me to decorate it sometime soon..." He mused, giving a small nod.

Hrm. He'd picked up where she'd been gesturing. But.. Oh? Someone liked rabbits AND knives? She almost wanted to ask more about this woman. Knives and rabbits and authors, oh my. This was quite the intriguing couple.

"Y-yes, well." She walked over and carefully picked the sizeable combat knife up in its case before displaying it to Rin. The handle was loosely in the shape of a running rabbit, though smoothed so it would still be comfortable, with a carving on the sides of the hilt to hammer the point home. The base of the handle had a paw print on it that looked like it could be used as a stamp and the pommel had some rather fluffy white rabbit fur covering it.

"This was actually the personal blade of The Black Rabbit, an assassin in the 1400s. He was a rather feared assassin for the time until he was struck down himself. He used the bottom of the handle to stamp his personal seal, a rabbit paw with the kanji for death in the middle." She held it out for him to investigate.

As he was brought the blade to examine, Rin looked over it; Aoi...liked these things, blades...rabbits; overall it seemed...suiting even if she just put it on some sort of display.

He gave a couple of nods as a backstory was given about the blade, "This does seem like something she would like..."

Obviously, it would need to be kept somewhere safe now that Aoi had Rintoo, but he was sure she could manage something like that... He could perhaps get these things for her, and a wooden statue or so for the library, and perhaps a second one for Ruka's job...

She clasped her hands together. "Excellent! I've always felt this item was waiting for just the right customer!" She said happily. She really sort of had. It was such an odd blade. But if this woman might really want it..

"Tell you what. I will cut you a deal. If you purchase this knife for your beloved, I will include the rabbit painting AND." She snapped her fingers, raising one to point up. "I will include a complimentary Fortune Telling with our own Madam Chen." She started totalling up the numbers. Between the knife and the statues, Mama wouldn't mind the painting or the Fortune Telling.

The knife and the painting for Aoi, and a few of the statues for Ruka and him; it seemed like a plan then as the woman spoke up again and offered a deal.

"Seems like a plan." He replied, offering a smile; fortune telling though? He'd never had something like that done before... He supposed he could, it couldn't hurt anything to do so...

It seemed like they had a deal then...

"Excellent!" She clapped her hands together and placed the knife in its case on the counter before scurrying around, gathering the smaller statues, before going and carefully rolling the painting into a container. She hurried back to the counter and placed it all together.

"Would you like the Fortune Telling yourself? If not, I could give you a coupon. You could let your fiance or your sister come in for their fortunes." If Hua was a cartoon, her pupils would already have rolled into dollar signs by now.

"Actually, you said your sister teaches art. But is she an artist herself? Specifically, how does she feel about calligraphy?"