A sword for the soul. (Private)

[Ketsueki Satou]

The leafs moved and rustled around them as they walked, the giant had guided the group out of the woodland pass that stretched across the village and gave a connected scarf of forestry about the mountainous village of Kumogakure.

The forest had always been so quiet and calming for the elder, yet the calmness has given way to an unease in the woods as of late. Deep in it's depths the tree's were lush and vibrant. as one traveled, they'd find themselves encroaching upon the Ancient wood of the forest of Kumogakure.

Where the tree's were like the giant sage. Old and withered white of branch and trunk, yet their leafs, their leafs were a sight to behold. Golden feathered leafs fluttering as if waves of gold shimmered overhead.
It was a brisk walk through this ancient grove the elder passed under. The long pipe bellowing small clouts of vanilla scented smoke. His long flowing bear raising in the cold mountain breeze. "Aye, winter is going to be fierce. I can taste it in the air this morning when fetching my ingots!" spoke the sage in a hushed voice.

He would pause a moment, glance about, then look for the trail that was rather shaped to his liking. He was a rather tall and wide man, His stride alone took fallen leafs and grass, parting with a bit more haste then before.

"We should get to the dojo before it grows dark, I dare not like the old woods at nightfall. A queer scene oucurs, the animals are scarce, and i've not seen any host of wolves,bears or smaller creatures as of late."
The forest, for all their walking, have not spotted a single forest animal. Just an eerie silence. Not even the birds sing in the tree's of gold.

The air of silence was somewhat cut deep to the faint sound of metal hitting metal. The sound came more clearly as the elder laughed and walked in the direction of the noise. "Ah, someone must have started the forge while I was gone. I wonder whom?" He sounded intrigued, as no one was to enter the forge but two people. Himself, and his grandson.

As the party reached the dojo, the ancient forest broke out in a large field clearing, occupied by a massive structure, a very modest looking temple. The temple was yards long estate, the structure was made of the fine white tree's that populated the area. But the sage had cleared the ground with his own two hands.

Walking along the ground Susumu and Kitsune could feel the earth sink a bit, the ground was soft manure. As around the estate was patches of crops, different vegetation, plants used for potions and poisons. and some pens for livestock. the main gates were just two long boards marked with Kotsurugi's name and his clans symbol etched on the board hung overhead as they passed under the gate. Kotsurugi stopped at one of the small storehouses along the main path, leaving his small wagon of Iron ingots. He motioned to follow him, if they did so they would be guided around the temple to the back where another building hid behind the dojo.

A plain house, as they approached they saw the door was open to the house. Kotsurugi did not stop in his pace. "Come Susumu, bring your ingot with you." the sage beckoned. Inside the hut was the regular looks of a blacksmiths shop.

Kotsurugi got a small cooking fir pit roaring as he set a kettle for tea, and left a dish of salted salmon for the summoned beast companion of Kitsune.
About the room a furnace that look long since unused, tools and weapons strewn about on tables and walls. "My students can come to use this room, we're going to use my furnace to make the blade." He approached what look like a solid wall at the back of the room right beside the furnace. The elder placed his hand on the wall, mumbled some words that were unrecognizable.

The wall gave way, sliding down to reveal stairs of solid stone leading down into the earth below. The path alight by torches on each side as the path was wide and tall for the elder, it had plenty of room for the young shinobi and medical ninja to traverse.

When the wall gave way, the heavy sound was back, louder then the faint pings of the distance. the heavy hammer fall sounded with such resound in such speed and fury of metal hitting metal. "My grandson had fashioned a rather brilliant tool for me to use. He says it'll speed the rate of crafting weapons. A mechanical hammer that is powered to strike the hot steel with a single precise hit . It's rather impressive what that lad does with his mind and tools at his disposal." Kotsurugi gave a warmed laugh as he found what he assumed.

When they entered Kotsurugi's workshop, it was deep in the earth. A massive cavern of black obsidian crags jutting out in a field of uneven ground, in the center of this field of stone and ores mingled about them. A geyser of molten burning flames lit the entire cavern in hot light as they screamed from the gates of the hideous furnace. A giants furnace that bellowed an even more giant clout of blackened smoke mingled with flames that roared out to a mouth in the ceiling that breathed the air of the world outside.

At the mouth of the furnace stood a single figure. He was clad in fireproof blackened blacksmiths apron and leggings. His back to the group as he pulls a length of shimmering heated steal from the flames to meet the harsh hit of the automated hammer. The machine only required the figure to tap a a foot pedal that caused a hammer head in the style of a solid flat bar connected to a steel downward arm jabbed and hammered the heated metal while the figure twisted the bar of heated metal. fashioning a longer bar then folding the metal with a hammer off a nearby wrack.

His strikes were precise and the heated metal folded under the strokes. Then another few pedal taps to hammer the bent metal into a single, thicker bar. The figure paused when the group drew in close enough of shouting distance. Looking through the blackened vizor of the face guard. The individual stopped process, and took the heated metal away from the furnace and walked away from the group, heading toward a small workstation off a distance from the furnace.

He pulled off the face guard and left it on a nearby anvil as he walked past the group without a word. His long shaggy blond hair unfurls and covers his face. Only his monotone voice could be heard as he walked away. "The furnace is all yours." And went away to hammer the heated metal by hand at his own workstation.

The elder shook his head. "Ever busy my grandson must be. Never stops creating things." He was a bit taken back as he watched Keiji work in the distance. Then down at the young shinobi. " Ah yes, would you be kind lad and throw the metal into the furnace. I'll do the rest." The mouth to the furnace open, the flames roared, one could stand a good distance and feel the heat. Almost unbearable to approach.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Leaning against Kitsune’s frame for support, Susumu adjusted his weight to ensure that both he and his backpack remained secure while Kenichi slowly followed the giant blacksmith through the various trails and paths that leaded their motley crew deeper into the woods. Some time ago on the trek, the boy decided it easier to put his precious cargo in his backpack, then strap the thing around his front so it would be comfortable for both he and his grandmother to ride on the tiger’s back together.

However, the contents originally in the satchel was not only his textbooks and scrolls from class. He also possessed a small, handheld gaming device Kitsune made for him when he was younger tucked in an inner pocket. In order not to break it with the ingot, Susumu decided to take it out and carry it in his hands. This ended up being a double benefit for the boy, as the ride through the woods soon grew dull for the restless child.

About five minutes into their stroll, he clicked the power button on the machine and for the rest of the trip entertained himself by playing a simple fighting simulation game that was programmed into the thing. Of course, knowing her grandson well, the little animated characters looked similar to that of the boy’s favorite animated superhero series, which only engrossed him more into his game.

It wasn’t until the sound of metal clashing did the boy pull himself from the electric world. Leaning forward on the tiger’s back, Susumu craned his neck around Kenichi’s head in order to get a glimpse at this mysterious man’s Dojo. The sound came more clearly as the elder laughed and walked in the direction of the noise. "Ah, someone must have started the forge while I was gone. I wonder whom?" He sounded intrigued, as no one was to enter the forge but two people. Himself, and his grandson.

As the edge of the forest gave way to the blacksmith’s clearing, Susumu couldn’t help but fidget at the fantasmal appearance of what seemed to be a temple. “Wooooah….” he awed aloud as they passed through the gates. As they approached a plain house, they saw the door was open to the house. Kotsurugi did not stop in his pace. "Come Susumu, bring your ingot with you."

Barely waiting before Kenichi came to a stop, Susumu nearly threw himself off the feline’s back. If not for Kitsune’s hold on the boy, he would have toppled off the side and landed unceremoniously on the soft ground below. “Thanks Gran-gran!” He said with a wide smile like she gave him the best present for his birthday. Honestly… she kind of did, and it wasn’t even his birthday.

Slinging his backpack around again to be in its proper position, Susumu followed Kotsurugi into the workshop on the tips of the old man’s heels. Immediately seeing the long wall of weapons, Susumu gasped before looking over each display carefully. "My students can come to use this room, we're going to use my furnace to make the blade." The blacksmith said as he prepared tea and snacks for his guests before magically opening a doorway that led down to a furnace.

The heat was both welcoming and intense, as this was Susumu’s first time in a smithy. Upon the sight of the blonde man handling the flames, Susumu regained a little more of his bashful tendencies with strangers, unconsciously getting closer to Kitsune for protection.

The man would be quick to ignore the boy and his grandmother, however, as Kotsurugi moved towards the furnace and called Susumu to bring his ingot and throw it into the flames. “Haaaaai!” the boy responded exuberantly, plopping the sack on the ground before him, and pulling out his ingot.

As he hurried to the furnace that opened with what seemed on its own, before slowing while still a good few feet away from the flames. Even though he was a good three feet near the door, the boy could feel the suppressing heat that came from the thing. This made him hesitate, as he didn’t want to be burned. But he really wanted his sword, so with a quick glance back at Kitsune for her approval to get closer, Susumu got as close as he dared before tossing the metal in as fast as he could.

The fire roared upon the contact of the new material, licking flames out at the boy, and startling him into an instant retreat. Once safely behind Kitsune again, Susumu stared into the furnace, carefully watching as his metal slowly grew a red hot color. “Can I get it to look like whatever I want?” he asked, mesmerized by the flames.

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

The sword sage's laugh echoed in the halls at the boy's reaction to the furnace yelling with it's angered flames, as it eagerly gobbled the precious metal and began to heat the ingot a bright yellow. The sage moved with quiet fluidity with prongs in just one giant hand. As he opened the furnace with a stomp of his foot, he plucked the brightened metal and brought it towards the hammer. His giant foot tapped with a rhythm as he hummed while talking.

"Good metal indeed, ah this will be a nice blade indeed." He looked over to Susumu, his honeydew eyes then peered about the station. Motioning to a rather large tome placed on a small wooden desk over a small obsidian stone. "In there be my pages of blade's I've made through my long life. Pick, let your heart and mind feel. Imagine the blade in your hands. How do you see yourself swinging it? Whence you pick, take the page from the book and bring it to me." Finished talking, Kotsurugi went back to his work. He still had to lengthen the ingot and then fold it a couple times. Once he had enough folds and a proper form in mind. The old blacksmith would follow the next steps.

But for the time he waited he hummed and whistled to the constant hammering of the contraption before the giant with taps of his foot. It took away the considerable force to the arms from constant hammering. Now it was just a twist of the wrists to angle the bar for the strike of the hammer to fall. Kotsurugi would go from heating, powdering the heated metal with what looked like silver dust. To feeding the metal back into the furnace. To rescuing the bright metal and hammer out in quick foot steps a few more folds.

The tomb of Rurou Kotsurugi was immense. Possibly hundreds upon hundreds of swords crafted over ages, days gone by or to be. Swords that have been made and are in order of possible creations. Swords, Spears, Axes and any bladed weapon under the sun and moon that Susumu could scour for hours. But luckily each weapon type was bookmarked with a strand of colored ribbons marked with the kanji to categorize each weapon. Swords were the red section. At least a hundred pages of swords to ponder and look through. The information of each blade and where or what Kotsurugi had learned of the blades origin or background. Many had tales upon tales, while some only had a page or less of info.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Susumu almost laughed out loud at Kotsurugi’s suggestion for finding his blade with his heart. Ever since he was old enough to understand what a blade was, the boy knew what he wanted it to be. Running to the tomb in the direction in which the giant pointed him, Susumu brought the tomb down from it’s perch as gently as possible.

Which, given his size and the size of the thing, it came to the ground with a loud ‘thud.’ “Sorry…” he said with a wince. Quickly understanding the catalog, the boy was on a mission. He knew what his blade was to look like in his mind’s eye, now to find it on paper.

Minutes passed, and the young academy student ended up lying on his stomach flipping through the pages. It was almost as if he was at home, hearing the constant metal clink and the smell of coal and molten metal wafted through the air. “Ah-ha!” he shouted before picking up the heavy thing and bringing it to Kotsurugi. “This one!” he shouted. It was a surprisingly dull blade. A katana with a gold and black hilt. At his current size, it would be too big for him to carry at his hip, like that of his toy bokken, but when he reached his full age, his full potential. He knew this was the blade he wanted.

A huge grin broke out on the boy’s face. “Any way to make the metal green?” he asked. Once again, red flashed in his eyes, but it could easily have passed as the flash of the red fires from the smithy. Shifting his eyes to the now molten metal, he once again became entranced with Kotsurugi's metalwork. Curiosity filled him once again as he watched the blacksmith work the metal. his metal....

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

Seeing the youths joy and eagerness to delve into the knowledge of old and new. It gave the old sage hope for the warrior to succeed in life. And with such enthusiasm he also put into his work. Quickly he folded the steel countless times. Over and over again feeding the metal into the furnace, hammering and twisting the bar till lengthened to about an arms length, chopped cleanly in the middle and then hammered till the metal folds evenly on itself. The Sages giant hands and feet worked what seemed effortlessly with the tongues, the feeding of the flames and the pace at which the hammer strikes the golden metal.

The sound of the hammer and the furnace were all one could hear in the cavern as the sage worked and the boy perused through the leaflet pages, the old dried scraps of paper. and coming upon a rather simple blade from this very land itself. Kotsurugi was quenching the metal to see how far the steel was coming along when Susumu had chosen his personal blade. "Ah yes! That can definitely be done in good timing." He paused looking at the Hilt. Then glanced over the length of the cavern at his Grandson. "Eh Keiji !" He yelled with such a voice it deafened the sound of the furnace itself.

The youth paused in his hammering of what looked like an armgaurd. He tossed it to the table. "What you want!" His voice could barely be heard from the distance. The giants voice boomed but was not tense or hold any strain. "I need a Tsuka and Tsuba crafted while I work the bla-" Keiji from the distance yelled something to cut off the booming voice, the sage heard it. "Nah I don't give an Oni's rear end whatcha doin boy! Make me the handle and guard! Number sixty eight with gold Same smooth with black Ito ! Not yellow Same like lastime!" Keiji looked like he threw up his arms in defeat and looked to be working on Susumu's handle and guard for the katana.

As Kotsurugi was drawing out the blade on a long scroll of paper by memory after he handed the page back. "Aye lad, I can make the blade green. I usually sprinkle silver powder into the blades. A little trick of mine to mix silver with the iron and get that metal nice and bright. But instead of silver, I'm going to mix in Emerald I excavated from this cavern, I crushed it into a fine powder." Just saying that alone one must imagine the amount of money Kotsurugi would have gained if he sold the jewelry. Or for more how much this blade was really worth. Kotsurugi pulled out a jar the size of the youths skull filled with shimmering emerald powder that looked fine as dust.

He took but a scoop about the cup size one would fill to take a drink of water, a cup filled with shimmering emerald sand. "Oh, I forgot." The giant mumbled as he went to heat and prep the bar to be folded with the powder sprinkled. "Susumu, would you mind going over to Keiji and tell him to make you the Saya for the Katana. I'll be busy mixing the emerald evenly into the metal while folding. Much appreciated lad." He didn't give time for a response as the giant slowly shuffled back to his furnace, fanning and feeding the roaring fire that spit at the giant and yelled for more. The giant beat the fires back with a brisk backhand to the flames and the wind from it pushed the fires back as the gate closed, the fires lapping at the metal. Waiting, the sage pondered if the eyes meant something, or was he just getting old and his mind tricking him.

Off in the distance the blonde youth was working on the handle, a solid core for the same out of some oak that looked well aged. He was in the process of smoothing it out and getting the notching for the Ito to fit snugly but not overly tight around the tsuka.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Susumu did a quick fist pump of success. Finally his sword would be complete. With Emeralds! It was crazy! His dream of being like his father one step closer to fruition. As Kotsurugi shouted to his family member, the boy listened aptly, but the meaning behind what he wanted the man to make were lost to him.

But his mother always told him that ignorance was not a right. And so he pretended to know exactly what the old smith was saying with a sagely nod of his own. Susumu began rocking on his feet, antsy for the blade to be finished, but understanding the importance of patience. The master smith must have noticed, for when the task was given to the boy, he immediately ceased his fidgeting.

“Yes, sir!” he chipped, running the length of the forge to where the blonde worked at his own station. Careful to not crash into the man, Susumu stopped just feet before crashing into his legs. Tall for his age, the young academy student came to Keiji’s chest, his messy hair giving him just enough height to reach the man’s collarbone. “Kotsurugi-ojii-sama said that he also needed a Saya for the katana.” Innocent green eyes peered at the contents of the workstation. Pieces of leather and metal in odd shapes were strewn about, waiting to be pieced together, only a master capable of solving the puzzle.

Having delivered his message, Susumu decided to hang around the blonde, the fidgeting that happened at Kotsurugi’s side beginning anew. “Ne… Keiji-nii-sama…” Susumu said after a good length of pregnant silence, “what’s a Saya?”

Curiosity was like a river that could no longer be held back by damn called a child’s patience. “And what’s a Tsuka? And a Tsuba? Do you make them with metal?” By now the boy had edged so close to the man, all he would need to do would be to twist his wrist to grab onto his pant leg. Emerald eyes gleamed once more, making them so similar, yet so different from a certain mednin he would know by name. “Is it hard to make them? Do you need a hammer like Kotsurugi-ojii-sama’s?”

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

Off in the distance the sound of the hammer echoed along the gave as the youthful blonde gave pause to his work when the young Susumu approached him in frantic pace that Keiji assumed the boy would trip over a foot sized stalagmite.

But Susumu seemed to have decent footing as he made it over to the small workshop. Books, tools, scrolls and materials of multiple variety littered the desk. Nearby a small forge and anvil to work metal, across from it a leather rack to cut and strip leather pieces.

When Susumu approached and told that Kotsurugi demanded the Saya as well. Keiji rolled his glowing ember eyes and groaned. "He wants me to craft the sheath as well? I'm not his apprentice, yet he keeps giving me more chores to do." The young blonde laughed and threw his hands up in defeat. "Yup, fine, I'll make the sheath too. He must be busy with the chemical composition if he's forging a decent sword." He shook his head mumbling. "Not like I have anything better to worry about." His lips dried, reaching across the table of mess for a bottle of water which he gave a quick swig.

Then noticed Susumu was still hanging around, more so the boy was nearing close enough that keiji almost recoiled at how sudden the kid was in his face asking a myriad of questions. the boy's impatience silenced and froze Keiji on the spot. Remembering what happens when a youth gets impatient, they get curious. Curiosity killed the cat. This one, I wonder what will happen? Shut up.

The assault of questions came out as Keiji was in the process of whittling a wooden handle. "So I take it you've never learned the parts of a katana?" He looked over at the forge in the middle of the cave. The giant hammering away, adding powders and chemicals and feeding the metal back into the forge. "So you're getting a sword from the old man, and he's probably going to teach you. But I guess while I'm only one person." His attention turned back to the soon to be fidgeting youth.

"I could use some help making the parts. Seeing as it's gonna be your sword, might as well help design it and work on it. And once you've learned a bit, maybe the old man will teach you forging so you can make your own swords later in life." He clasped Susumu gently by the shoulder and moved him to the desk. On the table were some scrolls unfolded showing the full design of the blade. Its handle measurements for a fully grown adult, it's guard width and length and a base drawing of the sheaths measurements.

Keiji took a good breath before explaining the workings of the sword. "Ok, so the Saya, as you heard me say is the Sheath for your blade. I got a rough drawing from the blades measurements from the book. If you want you can draw a design-" He paused remembering that just meant more work for him, gave a short sigh. "And i'll etch it into the Saya." He pointed to the handle gaurd and the handle of the blade.

"The gaurd is called a Tsuba, made from metal of choice, it blocks blades from hitting your hand as well as stops your hand from slipping onto the blade. A tsuba-less katana, is not something you wanna start with. And I recommend never to try using in battle, just means you're fingers getting diced off like carrots to a sharp knife." He realized he was rambling a bit. "I'll need you to draw your pattern for the Tsuba. I have stencils so you won't be completely without some ideas of what to draw."

"The Tsuka is the handle of the Katana. It's what I'm working on now. I already have some rough measurements for the tang of the blade to fit the Tsuka, but I'm going to need your hand to hold it and get a feel if I've shaped it properly for your hands." He moved on to the next part.

"Then, I'm gonna scrap the stupid idea of adding sharkskin around the Tsuka, as it's generally the idea to add extra grip. I find the sharkskin uncomfortable on the hands." He pulled out a sheet of what looked to be a marbled plastic like substance that was bumpy and rough on the hands. "I'm just gonna notch the Tsuka and finish it with tsukamaki wrapping. less coarse feeling on the hands."

He reached out for a box of materials under the desk. Filled with different kinds of straps for the handle. "The tsukamaki wrapping, I have some leather, some horse hair kumihimo, which kumihimo is just a braiding method to make strands of material. I have a few different kumihimo at another workshop, but we only got horse hair here." He handed the box over for Susumu to look through.

"While you're choosing I'll work on the handle. Also gonna need you to design the Kashira, which is the pommel of the handle to keep the tsuka on the tang of the blade." He gave Susumu some pencils for drawing. as well as several stencils to give Susumu an idea of what to draw for the pommel, guard and anything drawn on the sheath.

Sitting himself down and continuing his work on the handle, only bugging Susumu once in awhile to hold the Tsuka and see what needed shaving. "So what got you interested in swordsmanship?" He decided to throw some curiosity back at the young shinobi. His glowing ember eyes watching through strands of golden hair.