Looking around the shop with a cursory glance, Jae headed for the main area to order something. She looked around for one of her kind, the tell tale eye color or hair color but saw no one that fit the bill. Letting out a small sigh, Jae felt as if she had been led down a wild goose hunt. The man at the teller area flagged her over and she picked her way toward him. She was wary. This was not the first time she had come here but it had been awhile. "I need a weapon" The man smirked, rubbing polish or something over a blade he was apparently cleaning. "Most do when they come here." Jae felt slightly stupid for a second, her ears turning a slight shade of red. "I am here for a custom crafted weapon. I was hoping to meet with a Saiketsu to have them craft it for me..." She admitted, giving as much detail as was needed. The man looked up at her, coaxing an eyebrow. "You can't meet with the person but I know of a person that fits that clan title. What type of weapon do you have in mind?" He asked, clearly interested now in her reason for being here.
Handing over the blueprints to her design she waited for a reaction out of him while he read it over. He paused a few times while reading it to look her over before he continued and finished. Letting out a small sigh he rolled them up and set it on the counter. "Aiming for the stars, arent you?" Jae almost smirked in response but the feeling didn't quite make it through her mask. Instead she looked away. The man at the counter tapped his finger on the top of the counter a few times. "Can it be done?" She asked, clearly agitated now. The man's sharp gaze turned to her for a few seconds before he nodded. "I will pass this along... It should take about a day or so...If it can even be done. Come back then." He said, dismissing Jae. Nodding she headed out, moving to a location she was more familiar with.
Having been promised a blade within two days, Jae returned on the second. She was anxious and shifty as she stood before the counter. The weapons master approached her, a small scowl on his face. He looked hesitant and his manner of approaching her gave that away. Rubbing the back of his neck, he let out a loud sigh. Great... She thought to herself. Tell tale signs that her custom design had not been accepted. " He wasn't there. We don't know where he ran off to." He said, handing Jae her blueprints. Her scowl matched his own now. This was a huge waste of time. "Seriously? When will he return?" Jae asked, stubborn enough to stay a few more days if it came down to it. She needed that weapon. Her Taijutsu was s**t and she was tired of getting tossed around like a doll by stronger built fighters. The arm that was nestled cozily inside the sling that was tied around her neck was a perfect reminder of just how badly she was capable of getting tossed around. The man sighed again. "We don't know. He shows up at random, like some back alley wild cat." Eyes narrowing, Jae looked away from the man. So he was telling her he didn't know, in other words. "I'm willing to wait...This weapon is important to me." She muttered, the man looking suddenly uncomfortable. She wasn't sure why. Perhaps he wasn't used to willful females in his store or presence. "Sure. Do whatever suits you." His voice was slightly sarcastic, the dismissal apparent. Well...what the hell do I do now...? She was going to wait but for how long? She was running out of time. She needed to prepare to hit the UHV with all she had and take as many of the bastards out with her.
The ding of the bell would signal Myurai's entrance into the shop. He liked this store it was where he had trained to become a blacksmith and where he had built his first sword that could be considered a masterpiece. His hand drifted down to the sapphire hilt on his waist. Hearing the last bits of the exchange between the two his face curled into a bit of a frown," Come on now Kaza its not like you to upset your customers. Let me guess hes not in is he?" Turning his attention to the pink haired woman, who he had to admit was fairly attractive to him even the sling she wore on her arm did not detract from her beauty. He smiled and said," If you prefer I can take care of your order. Free of charge of course. I have to repair my sword anyway." He pulled the sapphire blade from its hilt and motioned with his head to the large crack in the blade as well as the pits and chips from combat.
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 8:26 am
The ding of the bell rang loudly in Jae's ears. Startling her. She flinched, mentally kicking herself for being so touchy at the moment. Casting the old man one last glance she turned to leave but was now standing a short way away from another customer. As the customer spoke, with familiarity, to the owner of the establishment she watched on with a blank expression. So her request had been so troublesome the man had tried to decline her order, despite obvious history of never doing so. Now her icy gaze rested on the owner of the shop. Her expression remained blank despite her irritation.
Now the dark haired customer was speaking directly to Jae. Something about taking her order, free of charge. Alright. He wasn't a customer, still didn't make her feel any more relieved. Her order had been taken before only to be returned to her. Jae did not trust anyone, especially dark haired men with easy going personalities. Meeting his gaze now, she stared at him in silence for a few seconds, debating what her next move was. She would lose nothing if she allowed him to commission her weapon. It beat waiting around for the person she was looking for. "Jae." She said, introducing herself curtly while she held out the rolled parchment that had her designs inside. She offered it to him with her free hand, the only one in working condition at the moment. "It's not a sword or anything like it..." She followed up. It had to be clan specific to her or there was no point in even trying to commission it. Was he truly capable of crafting it for her? Let alone for free? She didn't see why someone would do anything for free. It left a bad taste in her mouth. Made him seem even more suspicious to her.
A smile spread across his face as he nodded in return," Myurai Hattori. Lets see what you got here." He took the blueprints slowly and unrolled them upon the counter. After a moment he smiled," You were not kidding. Its rare that I get to forge a weapon like this. Now mind you I will need some help from you when doing this. Its specific to you which means you will need to imbue it with some of your chakra during the forging process." Glancing down at the blueprints he called to Kaza in the back," Get the forge ready, set it for cold steel, were using chakra steel as well. Also get the Daioxide solution ready." He looked the Jay with a bit of a smile," This ones definitely free, not every day you get a decent challenge. He shrugged his cloak off and laid it onto the counter as he removed his belt and his shirt. Making his way back to the forge he tossed on a leather apron as he began to work the bellows. Each gasp of the bellows brought the coals to a hotter and brighter sheen of red. The faint lines of cuts and gashes could be made out across his body along with one rather large on on his left shoulder from where the UHV had gotten lucky.
Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 3:34 pm
Staying silent, something that was a new personality trait of hers, she watched warily as he began to look over her blue prints and gave her feedback. So she was going to need to use her chakra for this? Made sense. She was making it a bloodline specific weapon. One that answered to her power and her power alone. Or anyone with Saiketsu blood... She thought, being pessimistic even in her own mind. As the man, Myurai, began issuing orders for the starting of a forge, he barked orders and then turned to her once more. Jae looked a little unsettled, her gaze flickering from Myurai's to behind him where the man Kaza had disappeared to. So people gave things for free if it was a challenge? That made no sense to her and it took everything in her not to say something rude. She didn't want to blow her chance at the forging of her weapon.
As Myurai shrugged of his shirt and belt, she kept her distance. She was unsure whether or not she should follow after him. He did say she needed to lend her chakra to the cause. Hesitating she didn't want to make it seem like she was a flighty creature. Deciding it was best to follow along she trailed after him. It was smoldering in the room where the weapon was to be forged, Jae welcoming the heat that seemed to seep into her bones. It had been so long since she had felt any semblance of warm. Her features seemed brighter in leu of the fires reflection around the room. Things seemed sharper under it's light. Kaza's concentrated expression, the glowing orange color of steel in it's liquid state and the arc of Myurai's back. Jae did not know why her gaze was drawn to his exposed flesh but she stared without reserve. The wounds on his person were very visible in this light. It made her very aware of her own battle scars, scars that she had despised.
Closing her eyes she tried not to get sucked into her memories. It was hard, like trying to refrain from dreaming. Harder and harder her subconscious pulled at her. She remembered being scared that Samuru would never be able to be physically attracted to her, once he saw the scars that marred her flesh. Clothing covered it easily but it had worried her once upon a time. A problem and worry so mundane and normal it seemed so foreign to her now. Like a different person had lived that life. Opening her eyes she let out a shaky breath. She had quickly pulled herself back to the present, refusing to let her mind slip away from her anymore. "Thank you... For doing this." She clutched at the sling where her arm rested, a little unsure of how to go about thanking this man she did not know. "If there is anything I can do to repay you... Name it. If it is within my power I will see it through." She said, her expression blank despite her very serious offer. She did not like owing people nor being in their debt. Even if the weapon was being offered for free, it didn't feel right to her.
The beautiful cherry of the steel noted that it was clear of impurities and that the refining had been successful. Leaving the bellows he quickly made his way to the wall and grabbed a cast. Almost jogging across the room back to the forge he set the cast upon the ground," Jae, you may want to be a bit careful when I form this. Just before it solidifies I need you to pour your chakra into the steel, its the only way to make it react to you and only you as you have requested." He pulled the jar of molten steel from the coals and began to slowly pour it into the cast. He hoped this would go smoothly and neglected to tell her that there was always a slight chance of the cast exploding.
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 6:49 am
Looking around the room now, Jae was slightly fascinated with the materials that were present. She had never put much thought into weapon crafting. It was an art she did not particularly care for. She much preferred to use what was made instead. Now that she was being given an opportunity to see firsthand how a weapon was crafted, her weapon, she was suddenly very,very interested. This tool was going to help her kill as many bastards from the UHV as she could get her hands on. Her mouth flattened into a straight line. Now she itched to head back to Kirigakure. The peace had been kept for far too long. She could sense it. Something was going to happen and soon. She had promised Sypher she would lend her aid, she needed to be on her way already. Myurai instructed her at which point she was to play her part in the crafting. Jae was at attention now, her gaze focused. "Say when..." She held up a simple hand signal with her hands intertwined, ready when he gave the cue.
As the molten steel began to cool within the cast Myurai took a deep breath the cast had held. Glancing back ovr to Jae he noticed she was ready. He took the cast with a pair of tongs and set it on a slightly higher but decently longer bench. Using the tongs he cracked open the cast to reveal a thick square block of glowing chakra steel. He took a step back and to the right and said," Go quickly, the more you use the more it will react to your touch when you wield it." His mind was racing, watching the color of the steel intently as he had to keep it above a certain temperature if he wanted to forge this piece quickly and properly. However at the same time they were going to cold forge this steel and thus couldnt get it to hot otherwise the project would be trashed.
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 7:12 am
Shifting her chakra was second nature to her now. Without any effort she activated her chakra and held out both of her hands. Large amount of raw chakra were being funneled and directed toward her hands. Slowly she began to mold it so that it wasn't licking and lashing out everywhere but in a concentrated halo around her hands. Aiming for the block, she bit down on her bottom lip, pouring as much as she could like Myurai had instructed. More than anything she wanted this to succeed. She was running out of time and needed to return to Kirigakure now. Jae needed to train with this new weapon as soon as possible in order to be able to wield it without any surprises.
At first it seemed as if she would have a bit of trouble but that was quickly and definitely swept aside as she poured her chakra into the dimming block. The light pink aura that she had accented her features as he shook his head quickly, now was really not the time for that. He nodded," Alright thats good step back please." Assuming she did Myu stepped forward with his tongs and took the block of now activated and primed chakra steel. Turning quickly he shoved the block back into the forge where it began to glow bright pink reflecting the chakra within the steel. He reached up and grabbed the bellows pumping more air into the forge. Without turning from the flames he spoke," There is several dozen different types of chains on the wall back behind you pick one that you like and I will use it. To answer your previous question the only thing you have to do is use it well. The biggest thanks a craftsman can get is to see his works put to use. But first I need to know right now. Why do you want this weapon and be honest. The very essence of the weapon depends on your answer." Her answer would determine a great many things about her weapon, type of edge, what kind of etching he used, weather to bring out the natural folds in the steel in the final piece.
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 7:56 am
As he indicated she was done, Jae took a step back, pulling her injured arm back into her sling. It ached now, her body warning her that the healing job done on her had not yet set fully yet. Being instructed to choose a chain, she walked over to the section, going through the selections. She needed a chain that was thin and light. The weapon itself would reinforce itself when it needed to. She didn't have to worry about that but for storage purposes she wanted something light weight. Finding a thin enough chain, she struggled briefly trying to coil it together with one hand. Completing the task she was about to turn and face Myurai to hand him her find but his question had her pulling up short. Staring at the wall in front of her, she fisted the chain in her hand. If there was one thing Jae despised it was people trying to pull answers out of her. Answers that really were none of their business. Clenching her jaw shut, tightly, she tried to think of a response that would satisfy his inquiry while not giving away anything else.
It was hard and she kept coming up short. Deciding she would just be blunt about it she turned around and presented him with the chain of her choice, keeping her eyes averted from his own. "For vengeance." He could fill in the gaps however he wanted to, that was all she was saying on the matter. She wanted the weapon to kill people. To be strong enough to do it. Wasn't that the reason others wielded their own weapons? Power was everything in the world of the shinobi. If you didn't have it you were easily mowed down. Setting the chain down, beside Myurai, she moved to the back of the room. Putting enough distance between herself, the forge and Myurai she issued her warning. "It's not wise to try and fish for personal answers, no matter how important they are for crafting a weapon. This weapon will evolve with me...adapt with me. It's my tool to channel my motives and it will be the only thing in this world who needs to know my reasoning for anything I should choose to do." Her expression was steely but her soft voice lacked any venom behind the words she had just spoken.
Even now with his attention focused upon the weapon he was forging he was beginning to piece together parts of her personality, she was tight lipped, reserved and no small part fiery. Normally he wouldnt despise a person like that but she was interesting something about her reminded her of someone. Picking up the tongs once more he pulled the block from the coals and set it on the anvil picking up a rather odd hammer, half the face as flat the other was also flat but at an angle. He took a deep breath as he went to work slamming the hammer into the block. Each time he struck the steel it sent sparks flying across the room. After a few minutes of hammering he stuck the block back in the forge for a few moments to get it back to cheery red. He repeated the process until the block was now a thick bar. Once he had it in a bar he stuck it back in the forge and let it sit for some time. He was waiting for something.
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:52 am
Picking at the soft material of her sling she let the silence stretch on between them. The sounds of the clinking as the hammer went to work was a welcomed break in the silence but that did not last as long as she would have liked. Small talk was not something she practiced nor participated in. Her words were blunt but they were calculated before she said them. She was less and less inclined to giving her opinions in fear of letting slip that something was different or wrong about her. Now that he had shoved the bar into the forge the silence returned, heavy and almost visible. "What next?" She asked, wanting to know why he had stopped moving and what exactly he was waiting on. Perhaps she was no longer needed in this process anymore and could make her escape from the sweltering room.
Only silence filled the air accompanied by the sound of the forge. Once the steel was back up to snuff he pulled the bar back out and set to work hammering it once more. He deliberately did not answer her question instead focused upon the shortsword he was making. Once the bar was nice and flat he set the large hammer aside and picked up a chisel of sorts. He placed the chisel in the middle of the blade and drove it into the bar. Once he had a sufficient dent in the steel he used a smaller hammer to bend the far end over the side of the anvil. Finishing that he flipped the bar and folded the steel back upon itself. Before the two halves were joined he slid a small sheet of nickle in between the two before hammering hard on the bar. As he hammered it cooled and then needed to be reheated so yet again he placed it back into the forge.
