ioduanlogs | (open) this got very money-focused somehow

Entry tags:

† [kamen rider drive] chase

(open) this got very money-focused somehow

Characters: Chase and YOU
Date: Mar 10 - 17
Location: the public auction, out and about
Situation: inventory drudge + public auction + lost and found
Warnings/Rating: n/a

A. Inventory Drudge (also, justice 4)
[Chase was not programmed for boredom. Which makes him practically perfect for this kind of work, counting up the store's stock of specialty novelty knick-knacks that are very small and laid out in racks that are almost impossible to keep track of. (Almost.)]

[He doesn't look it, though. His expression does look quite bored at first glance, especially as he keeps his arms crossed while he counts. It's just his resting robot face, though.]

[But as he's moving on to the next rack, a piece of paper with a number on it falls out of his pocket. Looks like someone's been smooth. ("Someone" was not in fact smooth; it's the just the contact info of the Sentry member he reported suspicious doings to last month. Shh.)]

B. Search and Seizure
[Originally, he'd scrolled past the catalogue without any real intent of reading it, but one item catches his eye. One very specific item in particular, which he instinctively reaches for, before remembering that he hadn't had the Proto-Drive Shift Car with him when he'd arrived here, only the Signal Bike that allowed him to transform into Chaser.]

[It's his. He has to get it back.]

[And so, after a quick look-up to discover how auctions work here, he's arrived at the auction with all the money he has. Which is...not a lot, since acquiring money was never a priority for him. This...might get a bit hairy.]

C. in a hurry (to give this to his Sentry buddy) (commerce 3)
[Here's a dude holding a string of rhinn, striding with purpose. Maybe a little too much purpose.]

[The real reason he's hurrying is that it's raining, and he's drenched. But anyone looking closer might notice that shine of cobalt on that string (more than a month's wages, wow!). Chase isn't the kind of guy to just keep something that somebody lost, but do you know that?]

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[In the few times Eiji's run into Chase, he hasn't seen him look...well, as far as Eiji can tell, he looks upset, maybe? Or at the very least, like he's thinking about something a lot.]

Chase? Is everything okay?

[This intense face is to discourage other people from bidding.]

[...Okay, not really. But he's doing a good job at that, anyway. Several people nearby are giving him uneasy looks, like they really want to know just what he's going to bid on so they can steer clear.]

Eiji. I am going to bid. [He holds up all the strings of rhinn he possesses, wound around his hand. He's taken off his ring and bracelet and put them into his pocket as items with which to barter, if necessary.]

[He folds his arms again.] It is the rules.

[The Proto-Drive Shift Car is technically a part of him, and can move on its own. Technically, Chase doesn't have to put up any money for it. But that would be considered a crime.]

[Eiji notices some people starting to back away, but he's not sure that holding up that string of rhinn was the best idea. Now a couple of other potential bidders know how much Chase has.]

Are you sure you have enough? I can help.

That will not be necessary. [Someone who bids against him will have to deal with him.]

[(Robot face intensifies.)]

You will need it, yourself. What are you here for?

[The auction starts in approximately two minutes; he has time to case the joint a little.]

No, I'm fine. I was only checking.

[Nothing from his world had shown up yet.]

Are you sure?

I am sure. You should spend your desire elsewhere.

[After a moment, he shifts his weight, and points vaguely at the toy car on display at the table against the back wall.] That Shift Car is a part of me. If I wish it, it will return to me.

[So there's nothing to worry about. (Other than Chase committing something wrong, but that's, uh. Something he'd be willing to live with. After he's exhausted his other options.)]

...You have a lot of rhinn?

I guess...

[It's a bit of a relief to hear both that Chase could get his Shift Car back at any time, but also that he preferred to do so by the book.]

I've got enough. I was selling a lot of knots last month.

[He's just going to be a little more cautious about admitting just how much, in case anyone's rethinking how committed Chase is to being scary.]

A hobby? [He has a knot or two that passers-by gave him during the festival, so he knows that they would have to be handmade. If Eiji's made a good amount of money off of it, he must have made a lot of them.]

[He looks like he's about to say something more, when his attention snaps to the podium.] It's starting.

[The critical moment.]

[...Okay, maybe not so much, since they have to get all the other auction items out of the way before they get to the Shift Car, so he subsides. Possibly a little disappointed.] You are sure there is nothing you need?

[Chase himself would have assumed that there wasn't anything he needed from an auction until he actually he actually saw the catalogue, so. You know.]

I'm fine. There's really nothing from home that I need, and just about anything else I could use, I can get anywhere else.

[Which is basically underwear. That's not hard to find.]

[...Well...technically Chase doesn't need the Shift Car.]

[~~Yes he does.~~]

[More to the point—] Is there anything up there you desire?

[Eiji hesitates at the specific wording--he knows that Chase is trying to help, but the fact that he hasn't managed to figure out his desire still stings a little.]

I...I don't think my desire would be as simple as that. And there's nothing up there that I really want.

It does not need to be that desire. [Wanting things may or may not be a natural state of humans; he doesn't know. But there are always the little things.]

[He does glance over, though, having noted the hesitation, before turning his attention back to the front.]

[It seems to him that Eiji had come over here because he'd wanted to. But maybe that's more of a compulsion, like Chase's purpose to defend humanity is, even if it is a purpose he accepts wholeheartedly regardless.]

[But he said before that he wouldn't force Eiji to talk about it... Maybe because Chase wants that Shift Car back so much that he doesn't even understand it. That's not even a human thing, just something he himself was feeling.]

...But perhaps it is that desire for me. It is...important.

[Eiji smiles.]

Then I'll help. If it's worth going all this trouble for, then it must be something really important.

[After a moment, Chase inclines his head. Though it's an option he has in his pocket, he'd rather not resort to crime.]

[Good timing, too, as the auction skips to the Shift Car. Probably keeping the auctioneers tense and on their toes, but Chase was prepared. In a quick motion, he unwinds all but one loop from his hand and jams it into the air.]

[To Eiji, in a quiet voice—] How much are you willing to part with?

Don't worry. I've got enough, if the stakes go high enough.

[Which he does hope it doesn't, if only for Chase's sake. He's able to get by on almost no money if he has to, but he doesn't expect that from anyone else.]

I've got a couple of strings of rhinn, so that should be fine. Just start with a low bid.

[Honestly, having to get by on almost no money isn't even a thought that occurs to Chase at all—the Dreaming Bridge hasn't charged him for using its services so far, and he doesn't urgently need anything more extravagant.]

[He starts low, as Eiji suggests. For a second, it looks like there won't be a counter-bid...but someone else raises their hand at the last second. Who gets a deadpan glance from Chase, but the other bidder is undeterred.]

[What follows is a few minutes of Chase being extremely focused, sparing no attention for anything else, until the sole other bidder backs down (did he run out of rhinn, or did he finally get intimidated? Who knows! ~~Who cares!~~), leaving Chase the new owner of his own Shift Car. Officially.]

I will make sure it doesn't get tampered with. [And there he goes, heading toward the back.]

[Eiji's not sure about the other bidder, but he was definitely intimidated by Chase's sheer focus. As much as he was willing to offer help, it's pretty clear that Chase never needed it.]

Uh, okay.

[Should probably stop him before he gets way too intimidating and actually threatens someone. Also, security might be starting to converge on his position, since he's probably not supposed to actually head to the back, where all the valuable things are.]

[Does Chase notice these things himself? Nope.]

[Oh crap. That can't be good, with security starting to close in. Eiji better stop him before this gets ugly.]

I think they're probably still busy up front with the rest of the auction. We should find somebody to ask where you can collect your item without interrupting everything, right?

[...It takes him a second to remember his own trump card—that he can call his Shift Car to him whenever he wants. But it isn't immune to damage. But it was damaged by Heart, who isn't exactly physically weak...]

...Alright.

[He subsides reluctantly. And for the first time, he notices security looking at him.] ...I would rather not use force.

[It's a reminder to himself as anything else.] ...If I did insist on proceeding, would you have stopped me? [Just checking.]

[Eiji does hesitate at the question. Of course, the fact that Chase is direct enough to ask this doesn't really surprise him, but now that he actually has to think about it, it's a little surprising.]

Yes. I don't want anyone getting hurt. I'd still help you get it back, but...not this way.

[As for Chase, he doesn't seem to think it's a big deal.] Alright.

[He opts to cross his arms, instead.]

...Sometimes, people getting hurt is unavoidable. [Doesn't apply to this case, since it's over something so minor, but if Chase were someone else, Eiji might have had to. He does think that Eiji knows that, but...]

[Something about that last comment hits Eiji hard. He knows Chase doesn't mean it the way it sounds--at least, he's pretty sure that Chase doesn't mean to sound callous--but it hits at his insecurities too precisely.]

That's not something I can accept. There's always ways to try to avoid it.

[He has to believe that, even if it means he will always blame himself for not saving people. If only because the alternative--admitting that nothing he could do would make a difference--is the same as giving up.]

[Even as a policeman, Shinnosuke had had to resort to violence. And there was no way Heart would have accepted a compromise. Chase doesn't think Eiji is being naive, precisely, but it hasn't been true in Chase's experience.]

[It's probably not a point he should make right now, though. There's a human thing (maybe even not exclusively human) thing called tact...]

Alright. ...I did not mean to argue. [The last thing he wants is to cause Eiji more distress, even if it seems like the vision loss isn’t as bad now.]

No, no, it's okay. I just...

[He doesn't know how to finish that sentence. Or what else he's supposed to do.]

[Probably a good thing, as the auction finishes up and Chase tenses up all over again, despite what they'd just finished talking about.]

[He's read enough about this auction to know that they will be brought into the back room one at a time. But that does not necessarily prevent corruption...]

[He catches himself doing it (along with the eye of one of the security guards who are still watching him), and turns back to Eiji again.] How familiar are you with this manner of transaction?

A little? I went with my father a few times when I was younger.

[His family had participated in charity auctions from time to time, when it helped their popularity with voters. He'd mostly been bored with people offering to pay more and more money to just buy stuff, when they could have just pooled their money together and donated it to charity instead.

Not that he's going to say any of this to Chase right now.]

Everything looks normal, though. And if anyone tries anything, the Sentry is right there.

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(open) this got very money-focused somehow

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