Fire, Lava, and Steel Oh My

Masaru had been working at his desk within his study when a knock came to his ears from the doorway across the room, "Enter," was all the man would say without even looking up from what he was doing. Not that it would of matter had he looked or not, considering the large stacks of books that sat across the desk, his view point was completely blocked when the door opened and a figure would enter the study. "What is it Hansuke?" Masaru would ask still not looking up,having been able to tell it was Hansuke simply by the sound of the man's footsteps across the wooden floor of the room. "I have brought you breakfast, Masaru." For the first time Masaru would look up at the man, a puzzled look falling upon his face, having not realized that he had been working all night. Noticing Hansuke would chuckle slightly, "My Lord, you should get out of this place walk the streets talk with people. It would do the clan go to see you again and it would do you some good as well." Hansuke would state as he sat a small tray with food upon the desk and poured Masaru a cup of tea, Masaru would star for a moment before grabbing the cup of tea from Hansuke and drinking it down. He had missed his former master's tea, no one made tea like Hansuke, and he rarely spoke like this to Masaru without good reason.

"You know why I cannot do that, Hansuke. It is not yet safe, we do not know what could be watching from the shadows. Caution and patience are our only companions for the time being, until everyone has been vetted. My work with the Spectres will help in that regard, but for now the world must not know that I have woken." Hansuke would lower his head slightly before taking the cart that he had brought the tray in on and heading for the door to the study, opening the door Hansuke moved as though he would leave without another word when he would suddenly stop and look back to Masaru. "They are your family, Lord Masaru. Your Blood. If you cannot trust them then who can you trust?" And with that the elder man would take his leave shutting the door behind him.

Masaru sat there looking out the window of the study across the Tetsudashi District as the sun just began shinning over the great walls that surrounded Iwagakure, his estate sat in the middle of the estate having a clear view of the entire district from almost anywhere within the manor, such were how things where when you are the leader of an entire clan. Of course in the days since his reawakening, Masaru has not felt like much of a leader, instead he held this burning turmoil within him that he was as failure. Hansuke's words would echo through his mind once more, and Masaru would look down to the ground as he contemplated what his former sensei had said. Standin with a new conviction in his eyes Masaru would stand grabbing his cloak and throwing it over himself on his way out of the study.

With his hood covering his face, masaru would make it down the street of the Tetsudashi District looking around at all that had changed in the past four years. Seeing the construction of the armory and training area would bring a small faint smile to the man's face for but a few seconds, it would be nice to have their private armory and training area. Though as he thought about it, they were going to need to stock the armory once it's construction was completed, and for that reason he needed to speak with a blacksmith. Of course other than Diana he knew of no Smith he could trust with such a task, and she was busy enough with other things. Though Hansuke spoke of a family of blacksmith back before Masaru had fallen ill, the convenient thing about it was the family was of the Tetsudashi blood, therefore he simply needed to find the family and commission their work. The only problem was he did not know where to start or if they are still living here since he has not been around.

Fro has just finished getting ready for the day. He started walking out of his bedroom door, looking around for his mother and father. He only noticed his mother in the kitchen making some breakfast for him. "hi mom where's father? i didn't see him on the way here"  "he might be in the shop already sweetie. if you do see him, make sure you tell him breakfast is almost ready." "alright mom." Walking across the room with a spring in his step and a smile to light up the room, he headed to the shop which was downstairs. As fro made his way down a spiral set of stairs, he called out to his father " hey are you down here father" " yea I'm about to head out and try and hand out fliers so people can come to the shop. why did you need something?" "yes mother wanted me to ask if you wanted any breakfast.t" as his father Sakishi said no, he told him to set up the forge when he finishes eating. As he was about to make his way back upstairs, he took a quick look around the shop and noticed that it's really old looking and rustic. The store and forge were all in the same area and looked all cluttered and cramped. He started organizing everything and decided to put a few things back in the house that were stacked in the corner of the room. He picked up the items and noticed a hammer he hasn't seen before. Fro grabbed the handle, which broke and leaving behind this dark brown handle "it looks as though it was a well-crafted hammer. why would it be hidden in a corner just rusting away". As fro admires the hammer, his mother calls out to him saying breakfast was ready and to rush up before it gets cold. fro picks up the hammer and rushes upstairs to eat then get started to fix the hammer and get the forge going.

fro finishes his breakfast he rushes downstairs almost falling down the steps. He grabs his work jacket  and lights the forge. The strong smell of the smoke and fire gets him energized and wanting to hurry to fix this hammer. Maybe he can test it out and attempt to make something new for someone today rather then have his father asking him to run errands.

The walk through the district was quite peaceful, the large redwood trees that were spread throughout the clan district added beauty to the view, and for the first time he actually took the time to look around and enjoy the view. There was a sense of peace here, that Masaru did not expect, if he did not know any better he would have said the district had lived in peace this whole time. Of course he knew that not to be true, and the graveyard of the clan district shows that as well, still the people were happy and very few of them would even notice the cloaked clan leader as he walked the streets of the district. Passing by a few houses Masaru would wave to the families he passed, though with the hood of his cloak covering his face few responded in kind. Some ignored him, some would wave back with a questioning look upon their face, and even still there were those that he could hear whispering questions to one another about who he was. It would have been simple for the man to simply remove his cloak's hood and reveal himself to be their clan leader awoken from his four year coma, however it was as of yet too early in his return to do so, and so he remained his face hidden as he approached the house that held the blacksmith.

Seeing the sign of the store next to the door lifted his spirits as far as that the man still lived there, it was a quant shop if he remembered correctly. The man and his wife and young son lived above the shop, the boy he remembered from four years ago was aspiring to be a Smith like his father. Though he never met the boy himself, on the occasion he spoke with the boys father he was always speaking about him, at the time Masaru and the Smith had considered marriage of the families, his adopted daughter Amaya however did not support this claiming it was her choice who she married and Masaru respected her wishes. Still Masaru wondered how much had changed in the past few years, opening the door to the shop and hearing the ring of the bell as he entered he began looking around the shop. It was still early morning and he was no doubt interrupting the families breakfast however since the door was open he doubt they would mind.

"Hello?" Masaru would call out across the shop standing near the door as he awaited a response. "I have come to inquire about your services."

As the forges heat rages on, Fro seemed to get extremely excited, he started hammering away at a ember colored piece of steel, slowly shaping it. 'As I put the piece of steel into the flames, I can feel the scorching heat against my blackened skin. The feeling was almost wonderful if it wasn't for the slight tingling feeling it left. That sounds of the charcoal scraping against the steel was wonderful. The sound makes me feel alive. It's why I love the forge, the sound of the flame, raging, it makes me want to work even harder.' As Fro pulled the steel out of the flames, it starts glowing red. He hammers harder and even harder then when he started. The sounds echo loudly throughout the shop, leaking outside of the store. His mother sitting at the stairs, watching him with the biggest smile she's had in ages. She's feeling extremely proud of him. She notices that he's in what looks to be in a trance 'My baby is growing up so fast just like his father. He's lost to the steel, I should start making food for him. I know he's going to be hungry and tired after he's done he's earned it.'

Fro continues the process of forging what seems to be slowly looking like a shield. The doors to the store opened up, the bells rang. A tall shady man with a hood covering his face walked in. "I have come to inquire about your services." Fro didn't seem to notice and kept hammering away at his shield smiling. So big that it can light up the room. As brightly as when he hits that steel with his brand new hammer. As Fro was finishing his shield, his mother came downstairs smiling and noticed the man standing at the entrance. She noticed who it was. "Hey are you just going to stand around or are you going to come inside or just stand there looking foolish".

Masaru looked around the quaint shop, hearing the ping of the hammer hitting metal. Seeing a younger man where he had hoped to find Sakishi, 'this must be the son.' He would quietly watch the male as he worked on what looked to be a shield or maybe a piece of armor, though from the angle he was at he could not fully see what it was, just yet. As the male finished his project and turned around noticing Masaru, his mother would be at the end of the stairs. Her words would cause Masaru to chuckle as he removed his hood, "Forgive me Hana, I have come to see Sakishi. Is he around?" Hearing from Hana that her husband was currently out, Masaru would debate with himself about whether or not he should just wait for Sakishi to return or simply leave and give Hana a message for him to come to his manor when he has the time. He would go to speak, but stops himself, his eyes falling upon the young man who was holding what he could now see was a small shield.

He had watched him work a little bit, he seemed to know how to handle a hammer. However, the major question was 'is he actually good with it?' It was one thing to work on something that already held a shape, it was something completely different to take raw materials and shape it into something new. Masaru could give him a test, this would test the male's skills and see just how much of his father had rubbed off on him. He would think to himself for a moment wondering if Sakishi would be offended by Masaru giving the job to his son instead. Shrugging in his inner mind, Masaru supposed it wouldn't hurt. If he was the boy's father and got a job working for the clan head he would be proud, he could only assume that Sakishi would be as well. "What about you boy, you know how to use a hammer. You interested in doing a job for me?"

If Fro said yes he would place a single sheet of paper with a Fuuin seal written on it, on top of the counter. Forming a hand seal he would unseal 5 units of Iron, picking one up and holding it out for Fro to take from him. "Before we start on the job, let's cover something basic first. Let's see what you can do with this, shall we? I would like you to Smith me a basic Kunai, a simple task that while it will take some time will allow me to rate your skills as a Smith. That is as long as you don't mind an audience while you work." Masaru would smile at Fro with his words, it would almost be like a challenge. Did the boy have what it took to accept?

---

Masaru's Request:

As fro put the finishing touches on his shield he over heard a conversation with his mother and Masaru. Fro doesn't know how to react to his ideal as he has been told great things about him. He hought he ended up in a coma but this is wonderful. 'Am I one of the rare few to find out? I feel amazing' Fro thought before listening in on the conversation with his mother.


‘They're talking about father.. Do they need a job done? I wonder.’ As Masaru spoke to Hana about leaving a message for Sakishi, Fro decided to stand out, holding his hammer tightly hoping to be challenged by Masaru. He wants to show him and his father what he is finally capable of but just as that thought came to fro's mind, Masaru started speaking to him, asking him if he wanted the job he would need to show his worth first. Fro didn't like how he was asked considering he was called boy. Masaru seemed to know his parents so he should know my name "Hey, my name is Fro Tetsudashi. Have some respect for me and my parents! I'm the proud son of Sakishi tetsudashi." Just as those words came out of Fro's mouth, his mother turned red from anger "You better respect our leader and my dear friend. Watch your mouth and do as he says. This will be unpaid labor for your actions." As Hana finished those words, she punched Fro on the head so hard that he stumbled to his knees. "I'm sorry Masaru for acting out of line. I should of known better." when for said those words Hana had her arms crossed and even if she couldn't fight, you could feel a scary aura of anger and disappointment.

"I, Fro Tetsudashi, accept your challenge. I would love to have you as a spectator. It makes my blood hot thinking I might be admired for my skills." Fro grabs the iron from Masaru's hand and walks closer to the forge. As he starts heating it back up to the proper temperature, he slowly starts turning his hands black while holding the hammer tightly with one hand. As he began putting the iron into the forge with the other, Fro thought to himself. 'This is going to be fun. This heat excites me.' When he pulls the glowing red hot iron from the fire, he starts hammering away to form the shape of the kunai. With a bit of trouble, he continues until it is complete.

crafting:

Masaru chuckled at Fro's remark as well as Hana disciplined her son for how he spoke, "It's quite alright Hana, I have been away for awhile, it's only natural for there to be those that do not remember. Especially the young." Masaru stated with a smile. "This will take some time Hana, perhaps you won't mind getting some tea for while we watch your son work." Masaru added as he morphed three elegant looking chairs out of steel, before forming some cushion made of rubber for them to be comfortable, with a seat for Sakishi when he returned.

As Fro would work Masaru would make small talk with his parents catching up on the past few years that he had missed, as well as his plans should Fro pass his little test, though he would make sure that Fro was unable to hear what it was they were discussing. He wanted the male focused on his work so that he could do the best job that he could, as he would hate to distract the male and cause his work to not be as good as it could have been. Though he said he enjoys spectators, Masaru wondered if the male was just putting on a brave face in an attempt to not disappoint or if he truly wished to have recognition for his work. Was he trying to surpass his father's skill, or just trying to impress the leader of his clan. Only time would tell.

When Fro finally finished the Kunai, Masaru would inspect the man's work. He had to admit that it was better than he expected, though he should have expected more from son of Sakishi. To the normal eye it was a perfectly good Kunai, though to Masaru's vision there was a small deformation on the side. Perhaps from him hammering too hard on that spot, though the Kunai would still function and work as normal the little blemish on the side was slightly disappointing. Masaru would not say anything about it, simply handing the Kunai to Sakishi to inspect before grabbing another unit of Iron from the counter and handing it to Fro. "Again." Would be all Masaru would say to him as he returned to his seat to watch the male make another Kunai.

Fro looks at his father with anxiety ‘the kunai looks good why would Masaru pass it along to father like that.’ “Hey Fro catch and let me know what you did wrong. We can be here all day until you figure it out.” Fro scrambled to catch the kunai his father quickly threw at him. He inspected it and thought to himself, ‘It’s not too heavy. It’s holding its shape, it’s sharp and when father threw it it flew perfectly. I wonder what I did to mess something up or are they messing with me.’ Fro took longer to figure it out then Sakishi would of enjoyed. “Boy you hammered too hard. The edge of it is miss shaped slightly, I expected better. Now grab that iron Masaru is handing to you and DO BETTER.” As his father finished that sentence, fro seemed shocked. He didn’t expect his father to get so angry ‘I understand he told me to be more gentle and that I was going too hard when he was teaching me but I didn’t think it was so bad that he would get upset.’ Alright father I’ll do better let me give it another try Masaru.

Fro grabbed the iron and began to start the process again. “Hey Masaru, I’ll try to fix that issue this time. I bet I’ll blow your mind from how fast I learn!” Hana gave a stern look at sakishi after Fro started heating the metal and mouthed we’re talking upstairs when he starts. “Hey Masaru. Me and Sakishi are heading upstairs to start dinner would you like any? And please keep an eye on him he has a bad habit of getting hurt.”

Crafting:

Masaru would let out a small chuckle as Fro stated he was going to blow the man's mind with how fast he learned. "We will just have to see," would be all Masaru replied before taking his seat once more. As Hana and Sakishi headed up stairs, Hana would ask if he wanted anything to which the man would politely decline, as he could already sense Hansuke approaching the small shop. As the older man entered, Hansuke would bow to Hana and Sakishi before they departed upstairs. "I thought I would find you here, Lord Masaru. I have heard word that.." the man's voice would fall quiet as he began to speak more softly to not be over heard, should someone be trying to listen in. Masaru himself would only be half paying attention to it, as his eyes and focus remained on watching From work. Masaru would simply tell Hansuke to take care of whatever it was that he had come there for, and then adding he would look into it further when he was done here. Of course it was still going to be a while before the man at the forge passed his test and proved himself the blacksmith that Masaru needed. After Hansuke left Masaru's full attention would be back on that of the man in front of him, wondering if he was going to learn from his past mistake as quickly as he claimed he would.

Once Fro was finished with his second Kunai and handed it to Masaru to inspect, Masaru would in fact be impressed though he wouldn't say his mind was blown as the man had bet, still it was a perfectly crafted standard Kunai, without a blemish in sight. "Not bad however," Masaru would pause as he walked over and grabbed another unit of iron and walked it back to Fro holding it out, "my mind is not blown." Masaru would use his steel release shaping a shuriken into his palm before holding it out for the man. "Use this as reference, for now is your second task. I want you to turn that unit of iron into two shuriken that look exactly like this one here." The man had passed the first of Masaru's three trials, now was time to see just what his skills can do.

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Trial #2:

Fro grabbed the materials for the shurikens “this is going to be easy are you sure these are the tests?” fro had a smug look as he smiled at masaru ‘these aren’t even hard why would he test me with these I love the basics but I could do this in my sleep’

As some time passed all you could hear was fros Hammer away at the corners of the iron to get the perfect shape. Sakishi went down the stairs with a heavier step then normal *thump thump thump* as he reached the last step he stares at masaru “hey dinners ready the wife said it’s not up for debate,” he points at his own face “I’ll get the boy when he’s finishes looks like he’s almost there.”

Crating:

Masaru would smile and nod at Sakishi's invitation of dinner, standing from the chair the man would dismiss the chairs returning them to nothingness as he walked away and headed upstairs for dinner. Making small talk with Hana as they waited for Fro and Sakishi, catching up a little more on the going on of the clan and this small family over the time he had missed. It wouldn't be long before Fro and his father would join Masaru at the table for their dinner.

If Fro happened to bring the shurikens up with him, then Masaru would inspect them, though if Fro left them down stairs then he would look at them when dinner was done. As they are Masaru would laugh and talk and enjoy the company of the family, having his questions answered as well as answering their questions about him as well as his plans. Explaining that if Fro passed his little trail he would not only be gifted the necessary funding for upgrades to the shop as he saw fit or a new shop if Fro wished so that he could work to help fill the Tetsudashi Armory, and Iwagakure whenever the time was needed. With the exception of that Masaru would also explain that he planned to take from on as his pupil, training him in the arts of the Clans technique. Before finally ending with the last and probably the most important piece of information, if Fro performed well enough he could very well be granted an audience with the Tsuchikage Lady Diana.

After their meal and returning to the workshop below Masaru would truly look at the shuriken, a small crease would form on his face. One of the shurikens was a cm smaller than the other while they weighed the same and would work the same they were just slightly off, as if the male had shaved too much of the metal from one and not the other. Masaru would grab his second to last iron bar, "Once more if you would, they are not perfect matches." Masaru would say as he held the two shuriken up together in his hand, showing that one was only slightly smaller than the other, as he handed the iron bar over to Fro.

Fro continues to hammer these shurikens he’s already finished one and had a big smile on his face ‘one more left I got this let’s work to impress time is on my side.’ As another hour passed he heard his father calling him “hey you already know as well as I do that it’s already finished why are you still hammering it you’ll break it if you keep that up.” fro quickly cooled the shuriken and made sure to sharpen it and set it down next to the other one “ sorry I got distracted and wanted to try and shave some of it since I made the other one a little too small” Fro seemed very disappointing with his mess up but still he had the hopes that masaru would still be proud that they were extremely sharp and worked just as good as normal ones maybe cut even better.

“Father I know I messed up but I hope masaru comes to understand my goal for it if not I will make two more to match each of these so both of them have a pear what do you think.” Fro hands his father the shuriken to inspect and shows the size different as it not be much of a difference it wouldn’t feel correct leaving them as they are.“ That’s not a choice I can make son but it is a smarter idea then leaving them alone and not having a pair everything you make should always have it’s match and should always be put to good use, now let’s head upstairs your mother made dinner and she isn’t taking no as an answer today she’s already mad.”

Both Fro and his father walk upstairs and have small talk with masaru and talk about future plans especially about the shop and that they are proud that he picked them as the ones to craft for the clan, fro asked masaru if he was sure he wanted to make the investment it was a great sum he would be giving. Once masaru answers he’s told he cannot hand him the tools at the donning table so he would hand them downstairs to inspect.

“Hey masaru I understand they are different sizes not by much but it’s enough to bother me so with this iron if you don’t mind I would like to make a pair for both of those in your hand currently.”

Crafting:

Masaru would smile as Fro took the Iron from his hand and went to work to make a match to the two he had already created. Masaru would make another steel chair and sit down as he watched fro work his hammer and began shaping the material into the desired form. When he was done, Masaru would go and inspect the shurikens, noting that both were the same size as the two giving Fro two sets that matched but slightly different sizes between the two pairs. All in all it was good work and Masaru would be happy with it, but now came the time for the final test, probably the hardest of the test. If Fro could pull it off he would have the job, Masaru had come to offer his dad, while if he failed his father might end up with the job after all.

Grabbing the last unit of Iron, Masaru had to hope that the man was able to get it right on the first try, cuz Masaru did not bring any extra Iron for if he messed up on this one. Handing fro the Iron Masaru would form a senbon with his steel release, "Alright this will be your final test, you have to get it right on the first tries because there will be no do overs this time. I need you to turn that Iron into four senbons that match this one, think you can do that?"

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Test #3:

Fro asks masaru to put the Kumasi in the sealing scroll for him as this happens he tells masaru.“Oh don’t worry I won’t mess this one up I’ve done these hundreds of times father wouldn’t let me rest until you could make it perfectly.” Fro grabs the last piece of iron and looks at masaru with a calm and quiet smile, for once not showing great energy like he normally would. Fro turns around and rather than activating his steel he just sets it in the fire normally and has a serious face. He hammers away with calm relaxed hits they formed the senbones separately in different molds to reduce the likely hood of imperfections appearing.

Once this craft is done, he would turn around to masaru and asks him to wait until they cook. Once they do he can inspect them, all he asks for us to help his parents with the shop and to make him stronger. “I hope you can teach me how to fight. I know I hate it and I’m not the best at it but I will do everything to protect my family and village” this is the first time masaru would see fro serious with determination in his eyes and the burning fire to do anything needed for his goals. An Almost dangerous aura coming from him.

Crafting:

After watching Fro work, listening to him as he explained his own goal. Masaru like that about him, it was something the two had in common, considering he too would do anything to protect his family and his village just as fro wished to do. After Fro had finished the senbons, Masaru would inspect them just as he had done all the crafts before. Handing them back to Fro, Masaru would pat him on the shoulder. "Good work, I am impressed." He would say with a smile before offering his hand to the younger Tetsudashi, "Consider yourself hired, I have a long list of things for you to do with filling the armory within my Estate. As for the training, I will be at the training grounds every day for the next few days. You are more than welcome to join me on one of those days if you wish, and I can show you a thing or two."

Masaru would go to leave, but would stop briefly at the counter, removing something from his pockets and placing them down on the counter. "Put it to good use," would be all Masaru would say as he exited the shop.

{Exit Thread}

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Gifting Fro Tetsudashi the Following:

5 units of Iron (used for his crafts in this Thread)

10 units of Sealing paper
5 units of Chakra draining metal
Blueprints for the Chakra Draining Kunai Design
650k ryo of the purposes of opening a shop and fully funding it.

Fro feels proud for completing this and now having a job with the great masaru once masaru finishes talking he will thank him and show him ojt and grab all the gifts with great gratitude and go to his parents “mom dad I’ve done it I’m a smith on my own now I will use this money to build us a bigger smithing house don’t worry I’ll make us proud!”

Exit thread.

Claiming :