Choukyu would follow Ichi into the weapons shop, looking around at the inventory as he walked in and thinking about what kind of new weapon he might want to get to add to his kusarigama before he heard the ever dull Ichiryu get straight to the point, without so much as a slight pleasantry with the shopkeeper. When the clerk said they would have to wait for the owner to return later for their quote Chou felt himself suddenly being pulled out of the shop by Sayuri, talking about getting scrolls. Figuring he’d need some too, mostly for food storage for long missions, he jogged slightly to keep up and avoid being dragged around by the girl half his size. Exit
Physical Description:
5’8”, 250lbs with solid muscular arms, legs,and chest and a fairly large belly. He has brown eyes and dark brown hair cut short and a short beard. Wearing a black martial arts gi jacket with a white belt and black pants with a pair of black boots.
Ichiryu was able to give in the request and as the deal was made, Sayuri pulled. "You didn't have to pull you know...And yes that is what the place is called" Ichiryu leaned over Cho and whispered "After that lets get soemthing to eat. It'll be on me"
Mei was up early the following morning, making sure she arrived to the Silver Forge, as she promised to Kaza and Sakana the other day. While she had some experience with blacksmithing, most of it was visual, and she was itching for some hands-on time. As luck would have it, she arrived just a few minutes before Kaza and Sakana, who were impressed with her punctuality. After formal greetings were made, the trio opened up the forge and went inside.
Mei was lead further into the shop, past the work area where the forge laid, to what looked like a receiving room. There lied a bunch of boxes and bags, filled with what she assumed to be product delivered for Kaza to work with. He guided her to one of the bags to pick up, picking up one himself and heading back toward the forge. Mei picked up the bag she was directed to, struggling with it at first, given it was filled with metal ingots, and she barely had the strength to lift its weight. But, she didn't want to disappoint Kaza, so she struggled through, nearly dropping the bag and herself once she caught up with him at the forge. "Light enough for ya? Hehe..." Mei's cheeks reddened at his remark, awaiting his next order as he began retrieving some of the ingots from the bag. She'd observe for a moment, knowing exactly what he was doing, and began to follow suit. The two of them were pulling ingots from their individual bags now, setting them out on the large table next to the fire pit that was already set ablaze with a steady flame. Kaza smiled, though Mei couldn't see it, approving of her initiative. It was one of the few things she learned when she was younger, working with some of the other family members to learn the art. The Tanaka family supplied most of the country with fantastic items of all kinds. Mei wasn't sure which she'd specialize in yet, but it wouldn't hurt to give them all a try.
After all the ingots were set out in place, she turned to Kaza for further instruction. Intuition told her to grab the set of gloves nearby and equip them along with the tongs near the fire to begin the smelting process. However, that'd be getting ahead of herself, and she didn't want to ruin whatever small likeness the great forgemaster had for her. "Alright, we're going to be doing something really basic here: metal rods. An order was placed by twins brothers down the street looking to do a construction job. I don't know how much experience you have with blacksmithing, so you're just going to assist me for now." As he turned, Mei took a couple steps to the side and reached for the gloves as Kaza inspected the fire. "It's hot enough, let's get started." When he turned around, the gloves were presented to him, and he accepted them, chuckling to himself. Quite the eager helper he had here. Not that he was complaining, it was welcomed actually. There was always room for anyone who was willing to work hard. Without further instruction, Mei headed back to the table and grabbed the long tongs off the corner, set to the side of the ingots that were laid out. She handed them to Kaza, and he proceeded with grabbing one of the ingots and holding them over the fire. The ingot began it process of melting, and during that time, the forgemaster began explaining the smelting process -- which she already knew, but listened politely anyways.
The fire was very hot, and Mei watched from a comfortable position while Kaza held the blazing ingot in the fire. Instead of standing idle for too long, she opted to make herself useful by making sure things were cleaned up and prepped to continue their work. After locating the broom, she began to sweep the floor of forge, starting at one end, and silently working her way to the other, to prevent disturbing the blacksmith at work. It was no surprise how quickly the dust began to collect with each sweep. She began to wonder how often Kaza kept it up. Though, she couldn't really judge him, for the hardworking man he appeared to be, she was positive it was difficult to maintain trivial tasks such as sweeping and cleaning. That's where a helper like her came along. Moderate sized dust piles filled the room, and Mei quickly swept them into the dust pan and emptied it into the trash bin. Inspecting her work and nodding in approval, she returned to Kaza's side just as he was removing the ingot from the flames. He placed it on the anvil, and began using various tools to shape the hot ingot into the metal rods that were ordered. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to begin smelting another ingot for me while I shape this one." "Of course." She replied, with a nod. Positioning herself with the table lined with ingots, she peeked into one of the drawers beneath in search for another pair of gloves. One couldn't work without proper safety equipment, after all.
The first drawer she opened had various tools in it; most likely replacements for the one's being used once they've worn out. Mei closed it back and opened the drawer next to it, finding just what she needed: gloves. All of them were a little bigger than her own hands, but she felt they'd serve their purpose as far as protection was concerned. So, she placed them upon her hands and grabbed the second pair of tongs laid out on the table. Her next job was to smelt another ingot, which she had common knowledge of how to do with a bit of her previous experience. It wasn't her favorite part of the process due to the intense heat. Sighing, she picked up the ingot with the tongs and positioned herself in front of the fire. The blazing temperature of the air around her was already causing beads of sweat to form upon her forehead. She remained steady in her posture, holding the ingot in the fire until it was blazing red, and began succumbing to the intense heat of the flames, melting. Even with the intensity of the flames, due to the size of the ingot it took a bit of time to melt. Or, at least it felt this way, Mei focusing more on how uncomfortable she felt in the heat than anything else. This was part of the process after all, and it was something she'd have to get used to if she wanted to discover her potential as an artisan. As if on cue, as Kaza finished the first metal rod, Mei was handing him the next smelted ingot to shape.
"Thank you." Kaza accepted the ingot with a smile, and quickly returned back to his work. Mei had a lot of respect for this man, despite only meeting him an hour or so ago. He was very hardworking; diligent in his work and always focused. She was positive all of his clients were happy, and it made a lot of sense as to why his shop might be so popular. A lot of people probably popped in here frequently for weapons and gear. Kaza's devotion to his work would always ensure his customers got the best quality. Mei was preparing to grab another ingot for the fire when a feminine voice pulled her from her concentration. "Kaza. I have to go run a few errands, so can you-- Oh." She stopped suddenly, realizing that Kaza was busy at work, with Mei's assistance. Mei turned to Kaza who remained focused on shaping the ingot on the anvil, hammering away. He briefly turned to her, gesturing with a tilt of his head to assist the young lady. "I can help you with whatever you need, ma'am. Mr. Kaza here is currently busy. My name is Mei." She preferred to keep her surname a mystery for now, unsure of how well-known it was in Takumi. She was unsure whether she'd be capable of managing whatever task this woman had for her. Outside of working with metals, Mei had a little experience in other areas, she just hoped that she wouldn't let her down.
"Great. I'm Sakana, arms dealer of the Silver Forge. I need you to run the shop for me while I'm away for a little while. I'd have my daughter do it, but she's currently in the Academy right now." Sakana smiled, and Mei greeted her with a smile of her own and a nod, following her to the front of the store. At the moment, no one was in line, but that was sure to change in a matter of seconds with as crowded as the streets were. Sakana went over the inventory with Mei, showing her were each product was, how much it cost, and how many of each product to give for the price if said product came in a bundle. Mei did her best to memorize everything, though in all honesty, the information was a bit overwhelming. After all was said and done, Sakana was on her way, and the young woman was left to man the shop on her own. For a while, the shop remained quiet, and as soon as Mei got a little too relaxed, a couple customers showed up. She jolted back into attention, putting on a friendly face and listening carefully to their requests. They wanted a couple bundles of steel ores and a worker's hammer. Mei quickly ducked beneath the counter to retrieve the ores in bundles of three, and a single worker's hammer, charging them 950 ryo. She made sure the payment was correct before handing them the items, and waved goodbye to them as they set off into the streets once again.
A few customers have come and gone since the first, and Mei was feeling very confident about how well she was managing all of this. Her first day in this new town was starting off on a great foot. She was able to find a job she was capable of doing, and was managing to help a few people along the way. Not to mention the little bit of money she'd earn for this. Sakana soon returned, happy to see that Mei wasn't a complete nervous wreck. "I see you've been handling yourself well. Keep this up, and we might have found ourselves a new part-time worker. Or, full-time perhaps." Mei welcomed her praise with a smile, "I'd be happy to help. You two work so hard around here, and there's so much that needs to be done. If my assistance could take even a little load off of you two's shoulders, it's worth it." Working full or part-time here didn't sound bad at all. She'd have a stable job for one, and secondly, this place was kind of starting to grow on her. The atmosphere was decent,and the owners of this place were very friendly. One day she'd certainly like own shoppe of her own like this. Sakana giggled, "I'm happy to hear that. Kaza is a very hardworking man, as you can see, and it's hard to find someone who's willing to work just as hard. He does not appreciate slackers, you know. But, you're far from that, Mei." Smiling, her cheeks flushed at the compliment, but before she could say anything else, Kaza's voice erupted from the forge, loud and clear, scaring the life out of the two women.
"MEI!!"
Sakana and Mei both ran back to the forge as fast as they could to see what the matter was. From the moment he yelled her name, her heart felt like it was constricted tightly with rope, and falling to the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure if she was going to be yelled at for doing something wrong... or maybe he was in some kind of distress? But, what if that was her fault too?Out of all the reasons why he could be calling her, she could only hope it was for something not too serious in nature. When the two arrived at the forge, Kaza was standing calmly in front of the raging fire, smelting an ingot. "Y-yes sir?" Mei replied to his call with a bit of uncertainty, for his current behavior betrayed the urgency in which she was summoned. "Oh, you're quite quick on your feet there. Was just testing your response time, hehe. I also need you to put away the remaining ingots for me, I'm working on the last metal rod here. Thanks for holding the storefront while Sakana was busy." Mei let out a sigh of relief, glad that he wasn't hurt or that she hadn't done anything wrong. She quickly moved to the table to put the remaining ingots away, storing them in a box and placing them under the table, while taking the bag they were originally in and folding it, placing it in the receiving room. She awaited further instructions, with their first order nearly completed. Mei was positive the construction workers would be pleased with Kaza's handy work.
Sakana had taken her place at the front of the store meanwhile, and Mei watched as Kaza finished up the final rod. Wiping the sweat from his face, he set his tools down and let out a deep sigh. "Well, that's one project out of many finished for the day. Come load these up for me, Mei, while I rest a moment, please." Mei did as she was asked and approached the table with the metal rods. They were all line up down the table much like the ingots were. They were a little rough looking, a lacked shine, but she was unsure if this was the finished product. Surely, they'd have to go through a whitesmith for some finishing touches. Mei also had some experience in that field, something she looked forward to honing in the future. Aside from the metal rod that was still pretty hot, the final one, Mei began gathering the rods and placing them in the delivery box at the other end of the table. There was a definite sign that these would need a whitesmith's touch at the moment of grasping them in her hand, however, she kept that to herself. Twelve rods were neatly placed into the delivery box, and she closed it, sealing it tightly with tape. The box already had its location and recipient stamped onto the box, so there would be no confusion as to where this was going. Kaza definitely knew what he was doing. Picking up the box, she headed out of the forge to find the man, and figure out what else needed to be done.
By 'heading out', a more accurate definition would be waddling. This box was even heavier than the bag of ingots that she carried from the receiving room! Maybe it was because of the manual labor she had been doing, that she just felt a little tired. There is no way that twelve metal rods could be heavier than a bag of ingots. Perhaps it was the box... Either way, she waddled as quickly as she could to the counter, doing her best not to slam the box on the surface. The last thing she needed was to damage the box, contents on the inside, or worse, the counter. In front of Kaza... Kaza was leaning against the counter, drinking a cup of water. There was another set beside him, which he nodded for Mei to take. She gladly picked up the cup and eagerly sipped on it. The cool water was refreshing for her dry mouth, having spent quite some time in that hot forge. "You did a very good job today, I'm really glad you found your way here to help us out." Kaza smiled, and Tsu replied, "Of course, Mr. Kaza. Maybe one day I'll be working the forge like yourself. I'll need all the experience I can get." Kaza chuckled, "With your work ethic, you're not too far off, kid. Keep up the good work." With that, he handed her a bundle of ryo. Tsu thanked him and secured it upon her person, turning to the front of the counter, as one of the construction men arrive. She presented them the box -- not daring to attempt to pick it up once again in front of everyone. After the man paid for his newly made materials, he took the box and headed on his way.
Mission Notes • Preparation and Assistance (D-rank) • -1 posts total from Mission Expert (Speed Release) • -2 posts total from Santa's Knowledge PA (Job) • 1 post per mission completion.
Strolling into the weapon shop, Theo would look around as he listened to the sound of hammering from the back rooms as he leaned against the counter, “Alrighty, same thing as the armor shop, go ahead and pick out whatever you think you wanna use.” He’d say with a smile as he started to make small talk with Kaza, the blacksmith who’d sold him many of his weapons over the years.
[
Physical Description
6’2”, 250lbs solid muscle,white hair to his mid back, held back by his Suna headband with heterochromic blue and green eyes. Wearing thermal insulated leather armor, dyed black, with patches of dull silver metal on the chest, upper back, and upper arms. A pair of steel arm guards and steel backed gloves,all painted black with a dark blue lining. Black boots, a pair of 30” broadswords hanging from his hips. The skin on the inside of his forearms, if visible, is covered in small seals. Over all his armor, generally hiding it,he wears a baggy sleeved black robe with dark blue trim and a black armored cowl hood.
Yoshi listened as she rose an eyebrow. "Huh. Maybe great minds think alike! Though your armor, even though I didn't know everything about it helped gave me ideas." Yoshi explained towards Theo with a warm smile. On the way to the weapon shop, "Actually... I will have a hooded robe. It won't be anything niffy but it belongs to dad. He said he'll give it to me when the time is right and I don't want to ... hurt his feelings with that. It's funny. Ever since I found out about my mother cheating on him, I couldn't be quite as blunt to him anymore. A bit annoying really." Yoshi grumbled towards the end, not liking the idea. When they headed towards the weapons shop, she searched around and started to realize she was getting a bit tired and hungry. It had been a long day after all. After picking some weapons which were two wires, six smoke bombs, and brawler's knuckles, she placed them onto the counter. "So, does your ryo bag hate me yet?"
Nodding along as Yoshi explained the whole thing with the robe her dad was supposed to give her at some point, “Ah, ok… still and funny coincidence that we we got the same kinda armor, basically.” He’d say with a smile towards her, thinking over what she said about her shift in behavior towards her dad, “Hmmm, ever thought he might notice the sudden change in your behavior towards him and be concerned if something’s wrongL” he’d say in a slightly concerned tone. When she came up to the counter with her few small weapons and asked if his wallet hated her yet, Theo laughed loudly as he paid Kaz’s for his wares. “It might be a bit annoyed with you for putting a dent in it, but it doesn’t change how I feel.” Once that business was taken care of,Theo would scratch his head slightly, thinking, “Well, if your armor isn’t gonna be ready over at the Silver Thread til sometime tomorrow, it doesn’t make much sense to go all the way back to the village just to have to make the round trip again tomorrow..l I guess we should see about finding a place to sleep… “ he’d look out the shop window to see the sky was turning orange and pink and red as the sun started its descent into the horizon, “And maybe some dinner too…. I’ve heard there’s two main places to stay here in town. There’s the Armistead barracks. They got some good food, but the rooms are pretty basic. And there’s the seaside inn, not sure about their food, but I’m sure it can’t be too bad, and supposedly they have a hot spring too. Which one would you rather stay in for the nightL”
[
Physical Description
6’2”, 250lbs solid muscle,white hair to his mid back, held back by his Suna headband with heterochromic blue and green eyes. Wearing thermal insulated leather armor, dyed black, with patches of dull silver metal on the chest, upper back, and upper arms. A pair of steel arm guards and steel backed gloves,all painted black with a dark blue lining. Black boots, a pair of 30” broadswords hanging from his hips. The skin on the inside of his forearms, if visible, is covered in small seals. Over all his armor, generally hiding it,he wears a baggy sleeved black robe with dark blue trim and a black armored cowl hood.
"Yes it is. Then again, I just think is great minds think alike. I wasn't sure what armor I wanted originally, then I remember how hot Sunagakure is and how cold I was with the snowball fight and I figured maybe the insulated armor wouldn't be such a bad idea so that way, wherever Lady Kazekage sends me I won't be an inconvenience." Yoshi explained softly towards him then smiled at him, "I'm sure you had the same thoughts?" She questioned softly. Theo seemed to find the comment about his ryo bag really funny while her smile brightens at hearing his laugh, then a playful roll of her pale hues. "I thought you are doing this because I'm your student, you aren't going to do this for Hikaru too?" She questioned him, knowing full well that he had some money aside for Hikaru possibly. Would he bring Yoshi along too or would it just be the two of them? "Okay. I just had a sudden odd thought. Imagine if it was just you and Hikaru. I don't even know what you two can talk about besides you trying to help her." She chuckled gently. They headed out after getting some weapons and explained that there was no point going back to the village as a sigh of relief escaped from her lips, "Good. I'm tired." Yoshi explained to him. "Hmm. Dinner first. Then we can go to the Inn? Unless the Inn has food as well? Here's the thing, Barracks would make me nervous to sleep in an open room. I rather share a room with you than sleep with a bunch of strangers.
Arriving at the silver forge, the Theodin clone would walk up to the counter, “Hey Kaz’s, sorry for the last minute order, but can you make me a pair for elemental katar with three blades on each… I’m thinking having the 2 side blades curving slightly towards the larger central one, with some kinda armored guard to protect the hand while fighting. One with lighting element, the other with wind element. Oh, and they’re for that girl I was in here with a little while ago, they’re a surprise, so please don’t mention them to us if you see us around befor we pick them up. Kaz’s would laugh for a minute than normal cheerfully, “I got you covered, but it’ll take about two days for those.” He’d say Theo would nod, “that’s fine, I can make up a reason for us to hang around an extra day, Thanks Kaz’s.” The clone would hand over the money for the order before walking out of the shop, releasing himself to let the original know the errand was done.
[
Physical Description
6’2”, 250lbs solid muscle,white hair to his mid back, held back by his Suna headband with heterochromic blue and green eyes. Wearing thermal insulated leather armor, dyed black, with patches of dull silver metal on the chest, upper back, and upper arms. A pair of steel arm guards and steel backed gloves,all painted black with a dark blue lining. Black boots, a pair of 30” broadswords hanging from his hips. The skin on the inside of his forearms, if visible, is covered in small seals. Over all his armor, generally hiding it,he wears a baggy sleeved black robe with dark blue trim and a black armored cowl hood.
