Shimiko's Forge

Seigi had commissioned a workplace for his sister when she had shown interest in weapons crafting. It wasn't anything super fancy but it got the job done. Shimiko walked into the area with her wag on and began talking out the bars of steel. The first thing she would make is a set of kunai. The girl worked the forge and tended to the metal continuously until she had a set of five kunai. She inspected them closely and sharpened their edges as appropriate.

(Crafting a single twenty piece set of steel kunai)

1/3

Shimiko continued working in the forge. It was hot and painful work but it absolutely needed to be done. The girl meticulously created another batch of steel kunai. It was a basic endeavor but after being out of commission so long she wanted to get this perfectly right. Shimiko continued the task of forging and then occasionally took breaks. It was really hot and so she made sure she was hydrated. After a few more hours of work she would have produced ten kunai all of equal or superior quality to the first set. She set the kunai aside and then worked on the last batch deciding that it was time to try something new.

2/3

Shimiko decided that the last set of kunai would contain serrated edges that would make them particularly lethal in combat. Serrated edges tended to cut tissue deep and leave nasty gashes that were harder to deal with and infinitely more painful. The girl smiled as she gleefully finished the final five kunai each of which would contain this torturous feature. Shimiko liked to think that it was Janshin himself that inspired her to be a Weapons Crafter. What better way to demonstrate her faithfulness to him than by creating the very tools that would render souls unto him? Shimiko completed the last group and sighed with satisfaction. She blessed the set of kunai with a quick prayer and then took a longer break.

3/3

1 D Rank item created (20 kunai, 5 with serrated edges)

Shimiko would then set to working on two more sets of kunai with identical specifications to the first set. She figured this would not take too long now that she had gotten some more pep in her step. The whole affair would be over soon and when it was she'd be much more adept at the art of crafting. As Shimiko worked she reflected on her glorious it was to create instruments of death. She was glad she had picked up the skill early on. With time she'd be able to create truly fearsome weapons that rivaled the Disciple's weapons of legend.

(Crafting 2 D Rank items, 40 kunai, 10 with serrated edges. Crafting Time: Two Days).

Shimiko finished up her crafting! She now had a grand total of 60 kunai, 15 of which had serrated edges for tortuous and especially painful acts. The girl gathered up all the tools and then began to divide them into the fifteen hip punches she had bought. These would make fantastic gifts for her comrades and religious brothers and sisters. She began to neatly divide the steel kunai into the pouches she had bought earlier. She placed about three into each pouch. After she was done she had 14 pouches that were filled with three steel kunai each. These aren't care packages...these are kill packages! The other 18 (15 of which were serrated) she'd keep for herself until she could make even more improvements on them and then gift them to Ryuko and Natsuru. Speaking of which, she needed an way to show both girls she was back in the game and appreciated their support. How better to impress two rich girls with a rare and expensive weapon. Shimiko looked at the pile of jade in the corner and decided she'd put it to good use for Ryuko and Natsuru. She locked all her newly created stuff up in a safe along with her materials and then skipped out to take do something else.

(Created 60 kunai total, 15 of which serrated)

Shimiko came back to her forge and immediately set to work putting her skills to use. She needed to create some weapons for herself and her comrade. The girl heated up the forge and immediately got to work.


Crafting the following:
1. 1x Jade Tanto [C-Rank]
2. 20 Jade Arrows [C-Rank]
3. 1x Jade Baton [C-Rank]
4. Jade Papal Ferula [C-Rank]
5. 1x Jade Baton [C-Rank]

(This will all take 15 days of crafting total)

Sora would walk slowly into the Forge of Shimiko. "Hmm so it is true you have your own forge." Sora said calmly while he looked around a bit looking for Shimiko. He felt the heath though coming from it and hearing some hammer clatter on metal ones in a while. When he saw Shimiko though he would calmly lean against something that was cold enough to lean on while he looked towards her wondering how long it would take until she would see him.

Shimiko was nearing completion of the tanto when Sora walked in. Shimiko was dressed in a plain white dress shirt with black tie and black mini-skirt. The sleeves of her shirt were rolled up to her elbows and her face was caked with soot. One might say that what she was wearing was not apropriate for working in a forge but given that she was a skilled ninja with Olympic level coordination she was more than capable of creating weapons without burning herself. It was all a matter of attention to detail and knowing how one's forge operated. Sora walked into her forge and remarked that it was true she did have her own forge. Shimiko wiped the soot from her forehead and saw Sora leaning against the blueprint table where it was nice and cool. The Janshinist smiled at the unexpected arrival of her guest.

"Hi there Sora! And yeah, its a pretty nice place. Seigi gave it to me as a present"

Shimiko went back to focusing on her work but since she was nearing completion of the tanto, there was not much left for her to do. It was nice to have a bit of company and she hoped that Sora would be impressed with her skill. He might ask for her to make a weapon for himself or his friends. A good reputation went a long way even though she was not interested in the money. She just wanted to glorify her God by creating instruments of death.

Sora chuckled a bit when she said Seigi gave it to her. He didn't really know him or anything though but he heard the stories. He never met the guy in person so he never judged how the guy would be. Sora only judged someone who he met.

"That is pretty nice of him giving you such a nice place."

Sora said friendly towards her. He look a bit more around the place and took one of the serrated kunai's off the wall. He examined it for a bit before he twisted it into his hands a bit to test the balance of the kunai.

"You're pretty good at this. Mind making a couple of things for me?"

Sora asked while he made the kunai twist vertically in the air and catching it on the handle before throwing it up again.

"Yeah he was the best brother a girl could have" she smiled sadly as she kept working on her materials. Seigi was a true hero in her eyes and she believed that by being a diligent ninja she was following in his footsteps and carrying on his legacy. Sora remarked favorably on her skill as he examined a serrated kunai from the wall. She had placed the serrated kunai up earlier as more of a decoration and to help inspire her further but she was a bit surprised he wanted one for himself. The gesture touched her and caused her to pause working on Natsuru's Jade Tanto. Shimiko turned around and unlocked the staff to retrieve a ninja pouch with ninja tools. Shimiko then walked over and placed three serrated edge kunai into the pouch. That gave him a total of six kunai.  

"I'll do you one better! I'll give you six!" She grabbed a piece of iron and etched a small inscription into the pouch. The inscription was in a rare and often not used cipher that early Janshinists of her sect used to communicate in secret. Sora would probably not recognize it nor would anyone else who hadn't intensely studied the long and boring history of Janshinism in the Lightning Country. She then handed the Sora the pouch and said: "My gift to you" with a smile. She then turned around and went back to work on her forge. It was nice giving people gifts.

Sora looked at her when she gave him the pouch. He didn't mean the kunai though since he needed some stuff that wasn't for sale at the local stores. He needed something more special for his weapons. He needed something that fitted his fighting style since it wasn't the most normal style like other shinobis. Sora turned the pouch around and saw the inscription.

"I was more wondering if you could make me some special knives and maybe some ninja wire that would be as sharp as razor blades."

Sora said while he wondered what the inscription would mean. He looked up towards though before he asked.

"And what does it the inscription mean?"

Sora asked her curiously now wondering what it meant.

It appeared that Shimiko had a blonde moment. She was working so hard on the jade tanto that she had completely misheard and misunderstood Sora. He didn't want kunai, he wanted a custom made material just for himself and some razor wire to go along with it. Shimiko paused and slapped her forehead with her palm.

"Yikes! Sorry about that. When I'm working in the forge I sometimes find it hard to listen to others. But sure I can do that. Ultra sharp razor wire is easy but for the knives I'll need a bit more detail on what you're looking for"

Sora then asked about the inscription.

"It means 'May the hand of Raiun the Great Lightning Disciple bless and preserve you'" she lied. It was a corny and generic blessing she thought off on the fly which would hopefully satisfy Sora's curiosity. She didn't wasn't about to reveal her true religious affiliation to a complete stranger.

Sora thought for a few seconds on how he wanted his blades. He wanted something special with a special design. He took his trench knife out of his holster and showed it.

"I want a trench knife the same length as this one. Only I want it as feather design and be able to hold lightning together with being able to attach to my water whips. If you can make them pretty sharp and strong it would make me happy"

Sora said calmly with a small smile. When he heard what she said about the inscription he raised his eyebrow though.

"In which language is it written?" Sora asked her. He felt there was something off about it although he couldn't place his finger on it yet.

knives Sora wants:

He just wouldn't quit with the questions this guy. Shimiko smiled pleasantly to avoid suspicion but inside she was growing annoyed with his impromptu interrogation. The young man's request was simple enough though.

"Sure I can do that. I'll just need you to buy 10 lbs worth of steel. I won't charge you anything for the labor but I get to keep any extra steel left over. Deal?" If those terms were satisfactory to Sora then she would walk over to her chalkboard and make a notation of who he was and what he wanted along with a few ideas on how to accomplish its creation. Shimiko would then turn to the task of lying again.

"Its an old Chinoike Clan script...Nothing special really although very few people in the clan know it. Seigi taught it to me".

Sora nodded towards her when she made the offer. "No problem." Sora said calmly towards her.

The pouch still felt off towards him though so he thought for a few seconds before he removed 3 kunai out of it and placed it in his own pouch. He calmly walked towards Shimiko. He handed her the engraved pouch.

"here a present from me. I am blessed enough already without this." He said with a small smile. Sora wasn't someone that carried something without knowing the true meaning behind something so he gave it back to her.  

Sora calmly took off to get the materials.

-exit-

Sora rejected the pouch along with three of the kunai inside. This caused Shimiko to raise her brow in confusion but then he explained that he was blessed enough to receive the serrated ones. Shimiko would ordinarily think he was just being polite but his line of question made it seem that he was suspicious of what she had wrote. The girl really didn't expect him to think anything of it beyond what she had told him but that was not the case. His reaction made her think twice about writing future Janshinist blessings on the pouch. It was a risky move to be sure but Sora with his laid back and fairly accepting attitude was the last person she suspected would make a big deal out of it. He was wary of the thing that much was clear but did he really know more than he was letting on? Shimiko had taken a big risk writing it and the possibility that he might choose to inquire further or take what he knew and share it began to bother her a bit. Shimiko was certain she'd be able to worm her way out of trouble if it came down to it (after all it was the word of the former Raikage's little sister and the current Raikage's student against a random Inazuma) but she didn't like the attention it could bring. Shimiko would be a bit more guarded around Sora in the future and she may even keep a closer eye on him to see if the interaction left a permanent impression on him.

Shimiko accepted the pouch with the remaining kunai and locked it away in the safe before turning back towards him and saying:

"Aw, why thank you Sora. I'd say we're both blessed to have each other as comrades" Shimiko was of course speaking in the generic and broad-sense of the all Kumo shinobi being comrades. She said it partially out of obligation but also to make it seem like she harbored no hard feelings about his reservations regarding the pouch. Sora then left to procure some steel. Shimiko then went back to finishing up the Jade Tanto.

Sora would calmly walk back into the forge while he carried the 10lbs steel he bought for her in his left hand. He calmly walked in and started leaning against the table again he leaned on earlier. He placed the steel next to him before he waited for her to notice him again.

Sora had returned with the steel as promised. Shimiko by this time had finished up the Jade tanto, twenty arrows, and was on the verge of finishing up Ryuko's Jade Baton when the dark haired man returned. She was still a bit miffed at the way he had rejected her pouch after she had inscribed her Janshinist cipher onto it. In a way it was like he was rejecting the glory of God himself. Shimiko prayed to Janshin for forgiveness for not slaughtering him on the spot. When he returned however he'd still be greeted with a warm smile. Shimiko paused from her work and inspected the steel he had bought. It was market quality just as she needed. Shimiko was glad that he had not cut corners and bought irregular and cheap steel. The material was fairly high quality and with enough time and effort she'd be able to shape it into a lethal weapon.

"Welcome back Sora" Shimiko laid out the steel on a different work bench and stepped back as she analyzed the material and began to think of the best way to make use of it. Sora had already described what he had wanted and now it was just a matter of finding the right design.

"Come back in about a month or so and I should have your weapon ready by then". Shimiko went to a desk and starting up drawing the design plans based on the notes she had put on the chalkboard earlier. After she had sketched a preliminary design, she taped it to the board and went back to working on the Jade Baton.

Sora calmly nodded towards her. He was gradefull she wanted to make something for him. He didn't expect her to make something for him though since she barely knew him.

"Thank you Shimiko." Sora said in a friendly voice towards her. "If you need anything just let me know." Sora said in the same friendly tone before leaving.

Shimiko had finally finished creating all of the items. The girl locked the newly created objects in a safe and left her forge to take a break.


Shimiko has created:

1. 1x Jade Tanto [C-Rank]
2. 20 Jade Arrows [C-Rank]
3. 1x Jade Baton [C-Rank]
4. Jade Papal Ferula [C-Rank]
5. 1x Jade Baton [C-Rank]

Exit

Shimiko had returned to the forge and set about doing the work for Sora's weapon. She put all the materials on the bench, heated up the forge, and got to work crafting his order.

[Shimiko is making Weapon X which is B Rank. This will take her 10 days]

Shimiko finally finished making Weapon X. She stored the weapon on her person. Wiped the sweat from her brow and went home to get changed and see the Raikage.


[Finished making Weapon X, B-Rank Weapon]

[Exit]

Shimiko walked into her forge with a whole bunch of steel. She then started working on her Senshichi Needles.

[Making Senshichi Needles, B-Rank Weapon. 10 Days to create.]

Nariko had received correspondence from Shimiko to meet her at her forge, so she had gone to do as requested. Armed with her usual amount of weaponry, that being the nothing that she carried around, Nariko simply wore the basic Jounin outfit of a Kumogakure shinobi, the Raikage's hat draped on her back, attached to her via her neck, the Kumogakure headband placed on her forehead as it usually was.

By now, most people had gotten used to Nariko's somewhat casual appearances, as she walked around often without guards around her. After all, she was a woman of the people, and guards were off putting. Besides, Nariko could take care of herself in almost any given situation, and if she was assassinated, then Kumogakure had bigger issues. She wasn't easy beaten in a fight before taking office, and since then had become much more of a refined weapon herself, without risking nearly as much collateral damage.

It was thus that she found herself virtually unarmed and striding in to Shimiko's forge with a few stares from on lookers, wondering what sort of discussions were going on there. "Shimiko?"

Shimiko looked up to see her Raikage-sensei standing in her forge. The girl immediately paused working to give a slight bow. She was wearing a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up with a black tie and black mini-skirt. The tie loosely hung from her neck so as to give her neck a bit more breathing room.

"Hello sensei!" she said as she walked around from where she was working to face her sensei. The girl gave her teacher and leader a radiant smile before getting straight to the point. "I've been thinking about equipping myself and my team with some top tier gear. I already know what sort of weapons they like so I have all the specifications in mind. I wanted ask you for a big favor" she said clasping her hands together as though she was praying. She wasn't sure how Nariko would react but she felt that it was likely the woman would grant her request. "The total cost would be 135,000 Ryo but I'm confident that the weapons I'll be making are second to none with capabilities that would put us ahead of any squad of genin from any other village. I was hoping the village could pay for the materials since it benefits us as a whole"

It wasn't the strongest argument but it was a sound one. Nariko was Raikage and she had the discretion to take money from the village to better its top squad. Shimiko felt certain they were the strongest set of genin in the Cloud and if anyone dared to take their position she sincerely hoped they would make their ambitions known.