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It seemed like there had been more to Riro than even she had known – and perhaps even more than Takeru himself had truly known at this point. It wasn't honestly surprising. Disgraceful as that comparison was at the first glance, Riro was much like an onion. The top layers were a little boring, but if you kept peeling and seeking out what was hiding behind the facade, there was some really good stuff hiding below the surface.

It had not taken long at all for her to notice that her gift had not been the only one. Seemingly all of them had shown up with objects they hadn't been seen with before – save Ichiro, but the wolf seemed all too amused by something he did not speak about. Those objects had likely been prepared a long time before this day, given the scope of the undertaking. Knowing Riro, each package had a letter and was put together in a similar fashion as her own gift had been.

And now there seemed to be a few swords missing from her mate's massive collection. Or perhaps distributed would be a better term for it ? It hadn't occurred to her that these were oniwanjin weapons he had collected over the centuries until she had seen Haruki with his new sword, and learned from him that it had been his grandmother's. It certainly made sense to make sure no one stumbled on these weapons unknowingly of the potential they contained, and it had the bonus effect of keeping them out of Izayoi's hands.

As to how everything had ended up here, well, Nuhava was quite certain that there was probably a certain cat to blame... He would want his son happy, after all.

Nuhava also knew that the whole process had been rough on her mate – physically and mentally both. She could certainly relate with the latter, even though she had yet to live though the former. Finding herself alone in your own mind had been hard for her at first, and Strength expected it was no less so for Takeru. They had started at odds with each other, but time and her influence had brought the two close enough that this could happen as it should. Losing Riro's voice was no less to Takeru than losing a friend, much like how, in losing Graff's voice, she had lost her champion.

Then there was the physical aspect of the change. Those horns gave him neck pains even now, his tail was getting caught up anywhere it possibly could, and having his room child proofed, so to speak, clearly had her mate a little irritated. And then there was that arm, which did not seem to be healing at all and was going to be a severe pain in the a** to deal with. Nuhava had little choice but to wrap up his shoulder every morning if he planned to head out. He could have simply gone shirtless, probably, but Strength could tell that the constant questions were bothering him.

It had gotten the goddess thinking about what she could do to lift her mate's spirits some – or at least a kind gesture, a gift to match the one he had given her. It hadn't taken too long to think of it. She had sat back with Takeru this morning, watching the rest of them train, the sound of the swords clashing with each other, and the idea had come to mind immediately.

Riro had gathered up everyone else's weapons. So, it seemed fitting that she give him her own. She had thought of her own swords, but dismissed the idea. They were not quite like the ones Riro and even Takeru used now, and she quite preferred her gifts to be more than simple decorative bauble. She wanted to give him something he could use, if there was a need. Something he could hold on to and remember all the love she felt for him, even though even Strength herself did not understand the true depts of that love – it seemed bottomless, infinite, in a way she had never felt or considered before.

And, it was silly, but those swords were the last things she had of herself as she once was, of a young man who came from nothing and fought his way to glory. They were her own reminders, if things even got rough enough to affect her, that no matter what, her first champion in this life would always be with her.

So, now she was wandering the market, an idea lurking in the back of her mind. The sword she would give him would be her sword – or at least as close to it as she could get, which was a blade commissioned especially for this purpose. It would require the fox brat's help to fulfill it as she wanted, and it would not be a powerful artifact or anything of the sort, but she had an eye for quality, and knew roughly what she had to look for. And she could always bother someone else – like her sister – if she held any doubt on the quality of the final product.

When Nuhava reached the forge, she simply settled to watch for a bit. Haruki had to have gotten his training sword from somewhere... Strength watched a moment, and finally caught sight of what she looked for – a row of slender blades resting against a stand to the far right. Aha.

Getting there was a bit of a process, as she had to weave herself around the various stands while making sure not to accidentally knock anything off the table, but she managed nicely enough. ”Good morning, sir.”

The sword maker looked from his work then, regarding her a moment. He had been busy wrapping up an hilt in leather. “Is there anything I can do to help you ?”

”Actually, yes. I would be interested in one of your swords. Well, to be more accurate, I was interested in a custom piece.” The man was certainly giving her a strange glance. Sometimes still looking so normal had it's advantages, as she fully planned to test him. If he tried to take advantage of her being somewhat clueless, then he would get a good slamming back in place for his troubles. If he did well, then he could say that there was a god who owned one of his swords – which was certainly an amazing selling point. She had noticed many of them seemed to flock to the place they visited.

“A custom ? That'll cost you a fair bit, I have to warn you. I do not usually do custom work.”

”I can make it worth your while.” Strength smiled. ”But only if I am pleased in the end product, of course. It is meant as a gift for someone very important to me.”

The man seemed amused, his lips quirking upward to mimic her's. “Well, you certainly seem sure of yourself. I'll hear it, for sure.”

Nuhava then talked of the details she wanted – most particularly the engraving – and also spoke of what she knew Takeru favored. She had observed him often, be it in training or in actual battle in Azeroth. His style was similar to Riro's, but at the same time, there were a few key differences that she had noticed. She also wanted a weapon that could, hopefully, withstand his force as he came into his own more.

“Hmm.” The sword maker pondered. “That sounds like a challenge in itself.” The man was playing hard to get, but Nuhava could tell he was interested – his body language was betraying him. “Still, I can't work for free.”

”Understandably.” Strength agreed, and looked though her bag, pulling out one of the large gems Takeru had given her once for barter. Hey, he had never specificed what she could barter it for ! ”I realize this is not quite your domain, but you should fetch a nice trade with this.”

“Indeed I would.” He knew this stone, it was one the jewelworkers and user of the arcanes alike particularly fancied, a kind of extremely pure crystal “Tell you what, I think we have a deal, lady. This might take me a few weeks to get it done to your exact specifications, however.”

”Time is not an issue, as long as the end result is as I want. Do as I asked, and I believe you will find it worth your while.” Strength dropped a gold pouch onto his table. ”Downpayment, so to speak.”

The man certainly seemed puzzled as to how a woman like her had so much to spend, but Strength was gone before he had the opportunity to ask.