"See you later, Oto-san!", rang an alto-toned voice from the front room of the Suchiro household. The young daughter of the clan's head was leaving to go to work for a few hours in the small shop her father set up for her in the center of the Merchant District of Sunagakure. Slipping her black speed sandals on at the door she stepped from the building she had called home all her thirteen years of life. Once outside she sprinted to the gate and pushed it open to step out into the streets of the underground village. A small smile on her face, she broke into a full run, weaving easily between the pedestrians around her.
It only took a few minutes to reach her corner shop and she unlocked the metal coverings she had made to roll down over the openings of her forge to keep intruders and thieves from entering. Rolling them back up into the frames she pulled her leather apron from the peg on the wall next to the large forge that occupied much of the small space. Slipping the strap over her head and tying the strings around her small waist, she pulled another strip of leather from the pocket and freed her long red hair from underneath the apron strap, she twisted it into a quick braid before securing it with the leather strip. Turning around to her anvil that sat in the middle of the room, she picked up her gloves and pulled them on, making sure to cover the long sleeves of her light shirt. Dressed and ready to greet the day's first customers, she turned to light her forge, turning a large knob on the side of it to get the gas going before lighting a long wooden match and holding the small flame to the gas nozzle.
The fire had just started roaring when a man walked into the small shop and greeted the small girl. "How are you today, Amy-chan? Is my order ready to go?"
"It sure is, Arata-san! Give me a second and you can have a look at it.", she said with a smile, turning around once again to take a few steps to the corner where a tall cabinet stood that had four different locks in the door of it. Clearly the girl took great pride and care in her work. Once again, she reached a hand into the pocket of her apron and pulled a ring of keys out and quickly inserted the correct keys into each of the four locks and opened the door to reveal a small assortment of some of the finest weapons one could find in Sunagakure. Pulling a leather pouch from the shelf at the top of the cabinet she moved back to her anvil and flashed a toothy grin at her patron, setting the pouch down on the flat surface and opening the flaps to reveal a set of 9 sturdy steel kunai, all polished to a perfect sheen with edges that glittered dangerously in the light from the chakra crystal sun. The base of each blade was engraved with an intricate flame pattern that was her trademark. Each of her custom made weapons had the same design in different places, some more prominently displayed than others so that anyone viewing the weapons would know who had crafted each excellent piece of equipment.
"So what do you think?" As she spoke, she watched the man's face as he looked at the kunai, an awe-struck expression plastered across his features. Reaching a hand down, he lifted one of the superb weapons from the leather case and held it up to his eyes so he could properly examine it. Turning it every which way, his expression grew even more impressed, unable to find a single flaw. Finally, he balanced the blade on his index finger, placing his finger right at the spot between the handle and the blade, it sat perfectly parallel to the ground, only wavering a small bit as his hand trembled minutely.
"They're immaculate," he said simply, unable to find any better way to describe the fine piece of craftsmanship he held in his hand. "Thank you, Amy-chan, as always you amaze me that such a young girl could craft such a faultless piece of equipment."
At this, the girl's face lit up, her emerald eyes shining with pride at the compliment. "You're so very welcome, as always Arata-san! You're fine with the fee we agreed upon?"
"Of course, here you are, dear." As he spoke, he reached into his vest and pulled out a pouch that jingled heavily as he handed it to the girl. "There's a little bonus in there for you as well, you never fail to impress, you've really earned that."
Placing the money pouch in her weapons cabinet she turned back to her patron and said, "Thank you. You'll probably want to practice with those a bit before you take them out on a mission, you may have noticed they're a bit lighter than most standard kunai, I think you'll find they're much more efficient though." Amy added this little tip with a confident air in her voice. If it was one thing she knew about it was weapons and how her own creations compared to the standard weapons sold in most shops in Suna. "And of course, when you need them sharpened or polished bring them to me, I'll be happy to do that for you free of charge, as with any weapons you get from me."
The ninja nodded, still smiling as he folded the kunai back in their case and tucked them into the inside of his vest. "I'll be sure to do that, Amy-chan, thank you again." With that, he turned and left the shop.
Even when the man had moved out of sight, Amy had a wide grin on her face, nothing in the world made her happier than when she received praise on one of her creations.
It only took a few minutes to reach her corner shop and she unlocked the metal coverings she had made to roll down over the openings of her forge to keep intruders and thieves from entering. Rolling them back up into the frames she pulled her leather apron from the peg on the wall next to the large forge that occupied much of the small space. Slipping the strap over her head and tying the strings around her small waist, she pulled another strip of leather from the pocket and freed her long red hair from underneath the apron strap, she twisted it into a quick braid before securing it with the leather strip. Turning around to her anvil that sat in the middle of the room, she picked up her gloves and pulled them on, making sure to cover the long sleeves of her light shirt. Dressed and ready to greet the day's first customers, she turned to light her forge, turning a large knob on the side of it to get the gas going before lighting a long wooden match and holding the small flame to the gas nozzle.
The fire had just started roaring when a man walked into the small shop and greeted the small girl. "How are you today, Amy-chan? Is my order ready to go?"
"It sure is, Arata-san! Give me a second and you can have a look at it.", she said with a smile, turning around once again to take a few steps to the corner where a tall cabinet stood that had four different locks in the door of it. Clearly the girl took great pride and care in her work. Once again, she reached a hand into the pocket of her apron and pulled a ring of keys out and quickly inserted the correct keys into each of the four locks and opened the door to reveal a small assortment of some of the finest weapons one could find in Sunagakure. Pulling a leather pouch from the shelf at the top of the cabinet she moved back to her anvil and flashed a toothy grin at her patron, setting the pouch down on the flat surface and opening the flaps to reveal a set of 9 sturdy steel kunai, all polished to a perfect sheen with edges that glittered dangerously in the light from the chakra crystal sun. The base of each blade was engraved with an intricate flame pattern that was her trademark. Each of her custom made weapons had the same design in different places, some more prominently displayed than others so that anyone viewing the weapons would know who had crafted each excellent piece of equipment.
"So what do you think?" As she spoke, she watched the man's face as he looked at the kunai, an awe-struck expression plastered across his features. Reaching a hand down, he lifted one of the superb weapons from the leather case and held it up to his eyes so he could properly examine it. Turning it every which way, his expression grew even more impressed, unable to find a single flaw. Finally, he balanced the blade on his index finger, placing his finger right at the spot between the handle and the blade, it sat perfectly parallel to the ground, only wavering a small bit as his hand trembled minutely.
"They're immaculate," he said simply, unable to find any better way to describe the fine piece of craftsmanship he held in his hand. "Thank you, Amy-chan, as always you amaze me that such a young girl could craft such a faultless piece of equipment."
At this, the girl's face lit up, her emerald eyes shining with pride at the compliment. "You're so very welcome, as always Arata-san! You're fine with the fee we agreed upon?"
"Of course, here you are, dear." As he spoke, he reached into his vest and pulled out a pouch that jingled heavily as he handed it to the girl. "There's a little bonus in there for you as well, you never fail to impress, you've really earned that."
Placing the money pouch in her weapons cabinet she turned back to her patron and said, "Thank you. You'll probably want to practice with those a bit before you take them out on a mission, you may have noticed they're a bit lighter than most standard kunai, I think you'll find they're much more efficient though." Amy added this little tip with a confident air in her voice. If it was one thing she knew about it was weapons and how her own creations compared to the standard weapons sold in most shops in Suna. "And of course, when you need them sharpened or polished bring them to me, I'll be happy to do that for you free of charge, as with any weapons you get from me."
The ninja nodded, still smiling as he folded the kunai back in their case and tucked them into the inside of his vest. "I'll be sure to do that, Amy-chan, thank you again." With that, he turned and left the shop.
Even when the man had moved out of sight, Amy had a wide grin on her face, nothing in the world made her happier than when she received praise on one of her creations.
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