Tap. Tap. Tap.
Was that right 'Juudaime Kazekage'? Hopefully so as it was being etched into stone. The chisel and hammer pinged endlessly through the morning with this single line amendment. It sounded easier than it actually was, the words were written in one man's script and the others that followed had to emulate it the best they could. A single miss-swing and the endeavor would be ruined, a letter too large or improperly placed much to the dismay of the artist and the potential chagrin of his employer as trepidation crept into his heart. The Kazekage Tower was only a few years old as it had been destroyed before but since the tower was constructed the two artists who preceded him had completed their task without error. He looked at the word he wrote in place of 'Masashi' with horror. Out of habit and careless error he had written 'Sunahoshi' the name of the ruling family of Sunagakure for generations.
What could he do? He could remove the brick and risk the integrity of the structure. It would be worth it. His heart was in his throat. His career was over! What would he tell his wife and kids? That he was unemployed because he misspelled the Kazekage's name? Perhaps they would not notice. It was not as if anyone read these things consciously, it was mere decoration. Yeah... that's it. Nobody would notice. Nobody would see.
"Sir?" a voice asked but failed to pull the artist from his thoughts. "Sir," a sterner voice repeated.
"Huh?" He looked around and saw a young woman wearing overalls covered in grease with pockets filled to the brim with miscellaneous items. She appeared young, perhaps early 20's. She was pretty. He shook his head.
"Sir, you misspelled the Kazekage's name," the young woman announced as she pointed at the bottom name with her free hand since the other was carrying a silvered briefcase Juudaime Kazekage Sunahoshi Katsuo. "He is a Mashashi," she explained.
"I did not do it!" the unfortunate artist shouted reflexively before she could finish whatever it was she intended to say. It was of course obvious that it was him with the chisel and hammer as well as the dust that covered the front side of his work clothes.
"Simone, replace Sunahoshi with Mashashi," the girl calmly announced.
Before the artist could say anything more, a girl or at least something that looked a lot like a young girl revealed herself from behind the young woman. It was not a little girl, it was quite obvious in how she walked -- a clicking sound came from her joints and there was no 'spark' one could say. Life could not (at least yet) be manufactured. The little girl would extend her hand, it was small like a child's and plant it over the word "Sunahoshi". Her palm would glow a fiery hue and a high-pitched whine would crescendo before it would die down. There was a smell that resembled burnt hair that wafted through the air. As she pulled her hand away the correct name in a slightly different script would be in place of the former.
It was not perfect but it was close enough.
"Technology trumps shinobism every time," she commented as she beckoned her construct to follow. The artist would look down at the name, it was better. It was not perfect, but it was correct. He was not entirely sure if he should be more scared or ultimately relieved as he looked over at the tinkerer and the strange child-like machine she had with her but they had already parted his company. They were not there to fix minor errors on the surface of the Kazekage Tower, they were in search of the Kazekage. Well, the most recent Kazekage, Katsuo. She, or rather they were familiar with Katsuo due to his part in the Bishamon Project that while experimental helped Katsuo regain his form and function since his inexplicable decline in health that defied medical logic. Of course most of them were not medics although a few had a background in medicine it was only a token understanding for the biological application and implications of their armors. She was not a part of that project, she specialized in something else entirely.
She found the Kazekage's office. It still had the wrong name on the door: Kyuudaime Takahashi Sousuke III. She did not bother to knock, not because she felt she was too good for such social graces but rather because she did not consider it. The door was unlocked and it was midday. She swung the door open and took a knee once she confirmed the presence of the Kazekage. "Juudame Kazekage Masashi Katsuo, Sir... I am here to deliver our newest prototype -- Simone." She gestured to the life-like puppet that ambled from behind her. She comes armed with chakra cannons and a self-destruction mechanism. Unfortunately we have failed to make her any more life-life without the active use of ninjutsu or genjutsu, however we felt that you would be pleased with our progress."[/b][/color] In addition..."[/b][/color] she took a breath, she was nervous. Her hand shook as she dropped a heavy metal briefcase that she had carried. It hit the floor with a hard *thud*. It was heavier than it looked. "Defensive Operations Over Rooms, also known as D.O.O.R." she depressed a button on the top of the suitcase and a massive door would fill the center of the room. "Capable of serving as a deterrent for critical areas or as an exercise for experienced shinobis," the whirl of gears and a cloud of steam would crown the massive structure hinting at something greater within would try to speak to Katsuo. "Capable of emulating a battle scenario for a brief period of time, it is my estimate that a single shinobi with rare exception will be incapable of traversing this door."
She depressed a hidden button and the door would quickly fold back into a briefcase-sized item compact and deceptively heavy. With a heave she would push the box across the room. A small vanilla envelope on top - instructions and a 'safe word.' "I bid you a good day sir, may I take my leave? If granted or there was no reply, she would depart.
Topic Entered and Potentially Left
Presiding Kazekages said:
Was that right 'Juudaime Kazekage'? Hopefully so as it was being etched into stone. The chisel and hammer pinged endlessly through the morning with this single line amendment. It sounded easier than it actually was, the words were written in one man's script and the others that followed had to emulate it the best they could. A single miss-swing and the endeavor would be ruined, a letter too large or improperly placed much to the dismay of the artist and the potential chagrin of his employer as trepidation crept into his heart. The Kazekage Tower was only a few years old as it had been destroyed before but since the tower was constructed the two artists who preceded him had completed their task without error. He looked at the word he wrote in place of 'Masashi' with horror. Out of habit and careless error he had written 'Sunahoshi' the name of the ruling family of Sunagakure for generations.
What could he do? He could remove the brick and risk the integrity of the structure. It would be worth it. His heart was in his throat. His career was over! What would he tell his wife and kids? That he was unemployed because he misspelled the Kazekage's name? Perhaps they would not notice. It was not as if anyone read these things consciously, it was mere decoration. Yeah... that's it. Nobody would notice. Nobody would see.
"Sir?" a voice asked but failed to pull the artist from his thoughts. "Sir," a sterner voice repeated.
"Huh?" He looked around and saw a young woman wearing overalls covered in grease with pockets filled to the brim with miscellaneous items. She appeared young, perhaps early 20's. She was pretty. He shook his head.
"Sir, you misspelled the Kazekage's name," the young woman announced as she pointed at the bottom name with her free hand since the other was carrying a silvered briefcase Juudaime Kazekage Sunahoshi Katsuo. "He is a Mashashi," she explained.
"I did not do it!" the unfortunate artist shouted reflexively before she could finish whatever it was she intended to say. It was of course obvious that it was him with the chisel and hammer as well as the dust that covered the front side of his work clothes.
"Simone, replace Sunahoshi with Mashashi," the girl calmly announced.
Before the artist could say anything more, a girl or at least something that looked a lot like a young girl revealed herself from behind the young woman. It was not a little girl, it was quite obvious in how she walked -- a clicking sound came from her joints and there was no 'spark' one could say. Life could not (at least yet) be manufactured. The little girl would extend her hand, it was small like a child's and plant it over the word "Sunahoshi". Her palm would glow a fiery hue and a high-pitched whine would crescendo before it would die down. There was a smell that resembled burnt hair that wafted through the air. As she pulled her hand away the correct name in a slightly different script would be in place of the former.
Presiding Kazekages said:
It was not perfect but it was close enough.
"Technology trumps shinobism every time," she commented as she beckoned her construct to follow. The artist would look down at the name, it was better. It was not perfect, but it was correct. He was not entirely sure if he should be more scared or ultimately relieved as he looked over at the tinkerer and the strange child-like machine she had with her but they had already parted his company. They were not there to fix minor errors on the surface of the Kazekage Tower, they were in search of the Kazekage. Well, the most recent Kazekage, Katsuo. She, or rather they were familiar with Katsuo due to his part in the Bishamon Project that while experimental helped Katsuo regain his form and function since his inexplicable decline in health that defied medical logic. Of course most of them were not medics although a few had a background in medicine it was only a token understanding for the biological application and implications of their armors. She was not a part of that project, she specialized in something else entirely.
She found the Kazekage's office. It still had the wrong name on the door: Kyuudaime Takahashi Sousuke III. She did not bother to knock, not because she felt she was too good for such social graces but rather because she did not consider it. The door was unlocked and it was midday. She swung the door open and took a knee once she confirmed the presence of the Kazekage. "Juudame Kazekage Masashi Katsuo, Sir... I am here to deliver our newest prototype -- Simone." She gestured to the life-like puppet that ambled from behind her. She comes armed with chakra cannons and a self-destruction mechanism. Unfortunately we have failed to make her any more life-life without the active use of ninjutsu or genjutsu, however we felt that you would be pleased with our progress."[/b][/color] In addition..."[/b][/color] she took a breath, she was nervous. Her hand shook as she dropped a heavy metal briefcase that she had carried. It hit the floor with a hard *thud*. It was heavier than it looked. "Defensive Operations Over Rooms, also known as D.O.O.R." she depressed a button on the top of the suitcase and a massive door would fill the center of the room. "Capable of serving as a deterrent for critical areas or as an exercise for experienced shinobis," the whirl of gears and a cloud of steam would crown the massive structure hinting at something greater within would try to speak to Katsuo. "Capable of emulating a battle scenario for a brief period of time, it is my estimate that a single shinobi with rare exception will be incapable of traversing this door."
She depressed a hidden button and the door would quickly fold back into a briefcase-sized item compact and deceptively heavy. With a heave she would push the box across the room. A small vanilla envelope on top - instructions and a 'safe word.' "I bid you a good day sir, may I take my leave? If granted or there was no reply, she would depart.
Topic Entered and Potentially Left