The Study of a Journeyman [Tutor]

[Michi]

It was 7:00 in the morning, early enough for the sun to rise but prevenient to the arousal of the average Sunan. The sun was low in the sky but it would soon climb to great heights. Long shadows reached and clawed at the streets, livelier than nature had intended but this was nothing new for either the child or the woman that accompanied him. The darkness seemed to take on a life of its own, intangible but always moving. The air at first blush was cool, brisk even. Winters on the surface reached below freezing at night but by mid day the temperature remained comfortably cool. Yet the air near Michi was always a few degrees colder, it was an odd aura that she muted to an extent but never fully. She had roused the child from his slumber in the wee hours, before the sun broke the horizon with an announcement -- today the boy would have a weapon of his own.

Perhaps they left quickly, it was in fact likely as many children are relatively unconcerned about personal hygiene and require bribery to remain cleansed. Perhaps this boy was the exception, meticulous in his self care as he appreciated every aspect of his youthful form. A breakfast of banana bread and milk, kibble for the pup. She would tell him that they were going to the Hall of Hammers, a Journeyman structure in the surface portion of the village. This was where the best weapons were made she would claim by the best of crafters. Of course they were not going to commission a weapon to be created, there was nothing to learn from such short-sighted efforts. No, they were going to make something of their own. Not that she had the brawn for such endeavors and neither did the child, but an imperfect creation would prove to be the start of something powerful in the long-term because the boy would have an intimate understanding of instrument he forged.

There was a reason she chose the early morning, she wanted to avoid known Journeymen such as the Sennin and Steward, they asked too many questions and if the truth be told the Sennin made her nervous. They would eventually see a massive oval structure made of steel and glass. The flamingo and tangerine sky reflected off its glistening exterior. "This is the Hall of Hammers," she would announce. "A recently built structure," it was a few years old so to the child it might appear to be an aged structure if he knew this as time was to an extent relative in terms of perception. "The previous Journeyman Order dissolved decades ago due to disuse, as industry developed faster, cheaper means of mass production, the efforts of artisans such as the Journeyman was forgotten. While some families maintained the legacy of a craftsman, many did not and their secrets were forever lost. It is an Oracle's duty to record their secrets as we learn them, to share them and to not only help people maintain the old ways of life if they choose to do so, but also to help future generations learn from the mistakes of their fathers." She explained as she defined the role of a Journeyman as well as how it applied to the role of an Oracle. "A plight in many ways, an Oracle often understands things beyond their physical skill to accomplish... we are also a necessary part of this world because we serve as more than scribes and historians, we are also teachers and sometimes learners." She would grip the handle of the door, it cool silver metal held within the confines of her hand seemed to take on a coat of frost for a moment as she pulled the door open.

Inside, the structure was lovely but betrayed the notion one would have predisposed their mind to. The ceiling was of stained glass, filtering in a natural light that served as a primary source of illumination besides the fires from the furnaces. The image depicted a pair of crossed hammers over an anvil. The heat was likely the first thing that Riku would notice, it came in a wave that could send someone reeling back. In comparison to the chill of the morning it was like a humid summer day inside the Journeyman Hall. There were only a few men here and a woman, yes there was a noticeable gender-gap. One was sharpening a blade, it appeared to be the head of an ax. Another was cooling a red-hit sword in a trough of water. Still others were pounding metal blades with great, massive hammers that they heaved overhead and allowed both gravity and their own strength impact the hot metal. The banging was incessant and aberrant, it was not like a metronome at all, it was a rhythm played by human hands in a discordant manner.

She would pick a corner, she avoided the center of the room. Too many eyes travel there. She would open a satchel she had carried with her. Bits of metal ore and long strips of leather, bits of fur as well as cotton and even a few pens and paper. "Today you will make your first weapon. Something to improve your hands," she announced as she handed Riku a pen and paper.

OC: Any Journeyman is free to crash, this is your house after all.

 

[Kyuuji]

A yawn left Riku. Michi had taken to waking him up so early, especially so compared to what he was used to, but today he wasn’t complaining. The two of them were going to make a weapon for him, after all! He could hardly contain his enthusiasm, ever since she had told him what they were going to do at breakfast. He hardly even tasted his food, he had wolfed it down so fast, eager as he was to go to their intended destination. He was pretty sure it was called the Hall of Ham, or something like that at least, his mind having been more occupied with the notion of weapon creation. He had been unsure of having a weapon when Michi had first mentioned it, but the idea had grown on him since.

He wanted to prove himself worthy of the assistance that Michi had chosen to give him. She had provided so much when he had nothing. Without her, he wasn’t sure what would have happened to him, left out in the darkness. Maybe he would have just wandered forever, perpetually lost in Sunagakure, forever, or something else equally horrible. Whatever would have happened, he knew that he was lucky that Michi had found him. He was going to be the best Oracle that he could be, he was determined!

Riku observed the structure with wide-eyes. It was super impressive, in Riku’s opinion! He mentally corrected the name of the place. The Hall of Hammers. That made a lot more sense, come to think of it. He listened to Michi’s words as best as he could, nodding along to indicate understanding, but he felt like he was about to explode from sheer excitement if he didn’t get in there soon. Still, he took in what Michi said, knowing that it was super important to being a good Oracle, like he wanted to be. Riku wondered if Michi had helped with the resurgence of the Journeyman Order.

Then she opened the door and his mouth hung up. It was so amazing, even more than the outside! The ceiling was colored glass, and Riku had never seen anything like it. It left him awed, and his gaze took in the whole place as he turned to see everything. It was so warm inside too, enough that it left him somewhat disorientated. The people especially made him curious, and he wondered if any of them would come by while they were here.

They were really doing this, he thought, practically skipping along as he followed Michi. He tried his best to nod seriously at her words, but his excitement likely betrayed him. Riku stared down the paper. And… nothing came to him. Suddenly, all of his ideas were gone and his mind was left blank. He glanced at Michi, then back at the piece of paper.

The best way to start off was with a hand, he supposed. He had been practicing his sketching skills, but he hadn’t really improved much yet, so he simply traced one of his hands on the page. Then he paused. What sort of weapon could one make for their hands? Maybe gloves? He started the outline of gloves, but then paused when he reached the fingertips. Maybe fingerless gloves? He drew a line showing where the gloves ended. To finish it, he added a few little scribbles meant to represent fur on the back of the gloves. But still, he couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. “...Michi? Help?” He asked quietly.

 

[Michi]

Rikuto still had an issue with using the whole word, somehow Hammer became Ham, something that would likely eternally vex the Oracle. She would correct him, but the boy seemed to have meat on the mind. Did she think she was bringing him to a deli? It would not have been a surprise to her if he thought that, but you did not know what you did not know. A simple but utterly true concept. She would explain the Order, its history and its relevance. She was far from a Journeyman and she had no desire to be one, there were facets of their craft that she was not proud of. Today was not about discussing ethics, this was about discussing the Order itself. What it stood for, what the risks were inherent in the Order and of course where they fit in. "One thing you need to be aware of is the difference between a weapon made by us and a weapon made by them," she was referring to the Journeymen. "Indeed they are talented" and strong as some continually heaved a hammer as large as the woman overhead and down onto a focal point over and over again with the ease one might carry a bag of groceries into the house. "But there is more than a talent and a mastery of the weapons that they hone. Experts in every sort of weapon they manufacture, that alone would make them impressive men and women to learn from but their weapons..." her voice trailed off as it lowered slightly. "Can be a bit different." Out of the corner of her eye she would glance at one of the Journeymen that was nearly done creating a blade.

"Watch," she instructed. The Journeymen were relearning their skillset, one taught to them by a former Merchant Lord. The actual practice was still rough, unrefined but in truth terrible. The man had a gloved hand around the cool handle of the blade and he was carrying the weapon off into a room adjacent. The blade itself still red hot. There would be a voice heard, a No followed by pleading. Then a scream. The event transpired over a few seconds, mostly muted by the sounds of industry. It was obvious what had happened in the next room as the wielder of the weapon re-entered the workfloor, bloodied weapon in hand. The metal now cool and black. "Souls can be imbued into the weapon, granting the weapon extraordinary strength as well as sentience if the soul is great enough. Some weapons have even been known to house Ancients and monsters," she explained. The scope of which still beyond the crafters here but in time they would make such revelations as they became masters of their craft. It had only been a handful of years, they still had much to learn because it took a lifetime of dedication to be a Journeyman, much like it did to become an Oracle. "What happened there is a process of blood anointing," she explained. "It is a method used to take the soul of someone and place it into a blade that is being forged. The iron is struck until it is free of flaws and then while it is red hot, to cool the blade it is plunged within the heart of a vital man. Likely a prisoner, but hard to really know for certain," she explained. There were a number of dirty secrets in Sunagakure, cruel tactics used to learn, to develop and to better oneself. Things that are not openly accepted but at the same time there is no public outcry, it is simply accepted as something that happens.

She let out a sigh, she would not live long enough to teach the boy what he needed to know about ethics. Not fully, there was simply too much to share and such limited time. She only needed to be certain that she was not making a monster. "Killing, making people suffer... is something that is sometimes necessary but it is never something that is right." There was of course the question why was she not stopping him? Why didn't she try? Why was she stopping Rikuto from doing so if he tried or muting him if he called out with a hand over his mouth? "Oracles are not heroes, we are observers... teachers... learners... and scribes," there was a defeatist tone in her voice as she said that. "Often we lack the physical prowess to make the difference necessary with our brawn, so we try to change the world with our will, our wit and what we know. Of course, I hope better for you than I in that regard," she admitted. "If you have the power and the means to do what is right, you should try." It was strange, she had spent her entire life pondering the human condition but it took losing her humanity and seeing the end of her journey to come to the simplest of conclusions -- that people needed to be kinder, to try a bit harder and if possible make a difference. "But remember, a clever mind can overcome the most powerful of opponents when used correctly. Control your passion and your anger and I will demonstrate," it was not good whatever she was planning but it rarely was. She was looking at the Journeyman out of the corner of her eye as they worked.

They needed to get to work on their weapon. The boy took the task literally and traced his hand, drawing around the perimeter of his hand a glove, the fingers removed to expose his claws. She nodded at the rough sketch. His inspiration ended at the fur. What could she add? "It looks very good," she complimented him. "Consider now how this will support or enhance your skill in combat," she instructed as she took a pencil to his paper and added something beneath. "A bit of smooth metal that matched the profile of your wrist to support you when you strike," she suggested as she drew a pair of plates along the dorsum of what would be the hand. "And perhaps blades, or hooks or metal claws to supplement your own. As long as they did not get in the way of your handseals," she explained as she added a bladed brass-knuckle structure as well to the design.

Next to it, the fur back over the brace to maintain the aesthetic proposed by the boy.

OC: Have you considered your augments or stats yet?

 

[Kyuuji]

Obedient as ever, Riku watched, not quite sure what he was looking for. He didn’t understand why the man was not letting the blade cool, it was obviously still hot, judging from its color. It could hurt someone like that. Which, as it turned out as exactly what was intended to happen. He didn’t understand when he first heard the voice, the scream. Or rather, he didn’t want to understand. But when the man entered the room once again and Michi began to spoke, it was possible to deny what had just happened. He shook his head at the way Michi explained it all away, as if it was something that could be explained away. “I-I- I dun- I don’t understand.” He wanted Michi to deny what had just happened, but she didn’t. “Killin’... Killing ain’t- isn’t-” He found himself at a loss for words. “Michi?” He wanted the last moments to have not happened, seeking reassurances.

All he got was a sigh and words that didn’t make any sense to him. “If something ain’t right, then why is it nec- nec- necessary?” He stuttered slightly over the long word, demanding an answer. “Am I going to hav’ ta- hav ta-” He couldn’t even say it. He fell quiet. What if- What if I have the… physical prowess?” His gaze became determined. “Y’said- Y’said I had the pot- potential for phys- physical stuff, so, so…” A hope blossomed. “Could I- use will and wit and str- strength? Be a hero and a- an Oracle?” He decided right then that that would be what he would do. Smarts was only good if a person used it. If one was all smart but did nothing, they might as well not be smart, right?

Despite the solemn tone of their previous conversation, Riku couldn’t help but puff out in pride at the compliment that Michi gave his work. He listened avidly as she added components, though he shook his head at the addition of claws. “‘ve already got claws,” He pointed out. He paused, as an unpleasant thought occurred to him. The thought of actually using these. It sickened him, made him pale further. “I- I dun feel so good,” He admitted quietly. What further sickened him was that a part of him liked the notion of ripping into his enemies, these things on his hands. He didn’t have enemies, and he couldn’t imagine that he was going to gain any at any time soon. He wrapped his arms around himself, wishing he had brought Isamu with him.

OOC: I was thinking Blood Rack for the ability, +1 accuracy, and -5% bonus damage. Since bleeding will cause its own additional damage, I think I can afford it, but I’m not confident enough about that to lose -10% bonus damage.

 

[Michi]

A shinobi's purpose is often a cruel one, tempered by their own suffering. What society at large would find reprehensible, was not necessarily commonplace but it was accepted in such hidden villages. The macabre tradition of transplanting to eyes of defeated allies or enemies into ones own head for the purpose of gaining their doujutsu. The augmentation of ones own body for the purpose of 'bettering' oneself to the point where there is almost nothing human that remains. It was a terrible reality but it was one that they lived in. The heroes in these settings are not the ones that a child would read about in a book, about a gilded shining hero that always does the right thing and always wins. It was not that Sunagakure did not have them, they were simply short-lived or in time they learned how to cope by being something in the middle. By picking their battles. By becoming the monsters that they once wrestled with for a supposed "greater good."

"Killing is never good," she confirmed. With an exhale she added, "but it is sometimes necessary." Her jaw was tight as she said that, she was angry, but for the most part she appeared normal, neutral in her carriage and behaviors. Like a mother teaching her son about metalcrafting. "For instance, that man is killing for his selfish gain," her voice was low enough that the words shared would not be heard beyond the two of them as she pulled a bit of metal out onto an anvil. She was going to work on a project of her own while Rikuto busied himself with his creation. "He is unlikely to stop," she continued as she visually assessed the bits of metal she had chosen for herself. Simple, inexpensive metal of a silvery hue and a small brown, earthen-hued gem. "Meaning he will either have to be ignored or he will have to be stopped," the logic seemed simple enough. "If we allow him to persist as he is, he will continue to kill people. Those people might be good... they might be bad, it is impossible to say, but most often those that are killed are those that won't be missed." A common turn of phrase when one considers their target. Targeting someone that has nobody that will come looking for them, someone so undervalued that their absence would be unnoticed or someone that people actively dislike, their destruction or suffering celebrated. "The man likely killed a prisoner from the Obsidian, but it is just as likely that he killed some other society-deemed degenerate, that being the reason why he could so brazenly do what he has," she continued to explain as she grabbed a pair of iron tongs and lifted a small bit of silver inside the pincers and placed it into the fire. A mostly flat piece of silvered metal that required tempering. "In exchange for lives others likely feel is irrelevant, a more powerful weapon is forged, making him an asset to the community," she explained the world in simple terms, or at the very least the simplest she knew. "Justice in the form of our legal system is unlikely, and that is to say if he deserves justice at all."

Everything was a lesson for Michi, if the boy realized it or not. The metal in the furnace was getting red hot. She would reach into the flames with the tongs and retrieve the bit of metal that she would place onto an anvil. There was a hammer nearby, she would relinquish her grip on the tongs, leaning them against the anvil and take the hammer into her hands. The hammer appeared too large for her, she was not built to wield large weapons and she would wobble in place as she redistributed her own weight which was not much more than the hammer itself. She would widen her grip and then with a heave she would swing the hammer over her shoulder and allow it to crash down onto the metal, pressing it into the anvil beneath. She was slower than most of the others, but she was keeping her own pace. While she worked, she continued to teach. "What do you think we should do regarding the man?"

Her hammer would crash down again.

"And how do you think we should go about it," she continued with a line of questioning between each lift of the hammer.

Would have have to do what? Her hammer fell again, but the metal was starting to cool. One more. "Have to... kill?" She completed the sentence for him perhaps. "Hopefully if it is only necessary," she admitted. It was the kindest hope she could have for him, that he would not kill for the sake of doing so, for sport or pleasure or for his personal gain but she did not know what the future held for the boy just yet, she was just going to give him some sturdy roots.

She would lift the hammer and allow it to crash down one more time, she would have to fire the metal if she wished to continue if she did not want to fracture the metal. "Maybe that day will be today, first we need to learn what necessary means," she concluded. An ominous statement.

She would take the still warm metal in the tongs back to the fire.

"If you have the strength to use your wit, you will either become a wonderful hero or a terrible villain," like her son. He was a genius but also a monster that even she feared. "And also, hopefully... you will spend most of your life free to choose and free to pick a righteous path," a hope and likely nothing more than a dream but she would have to try. She never had that luxury. "So yes, a hero and an Oracle," she nodded in confirmation as she watched the fire overtake the metal she had placed in the flames as she finished the drawing. It was time to retrieve them once again.

He noted that he already had claws. He was right. "If you prefer to use them alone," she offered erasing the claws. She would elbow her bag to hint to the boy that he should rifle through its contents to find the metal bracing he would need as she retrieved once again the metal from the flames and place it back onto the anvil where she would continue to pound at the thin metal strip until it cooled a second time,

OC: OK, very good. With that, you gain a benefit every time the opponent bleeds. This means someone can take bleed damage more than once in a round even which is a big deal. As for the accuracy thing, think about it this way. We use a 1d20 system, so if you have a -1 to your accuracy that means that you would be hitting your target 5% less often. The math seems simple, right? Well, it is not quite so simple because there are other effects that come into play besides damage. For example: secondary effects are also a consideration. If you are not hitting anm opponent you do 0 damage, not 90% of the damage and if you do not hit them fully (because you missed or you had a partial hit) there is no secondary effect as well. Accuracy is one of your most powerful stats for your character because it does not matter if you are doing 1000x damage if you cannot hit your target. So at +1 and -5% damage or at +2 accuracy and -10% damage you are fine depending on your comfort. As for your secondary effect, are we going with the ability to do handseals?

 

[Kyuuji]

The seeming confirmation of his own initial thoughts only served to confuse Riku further. If it wasn’t good, then why was everyone just standing around here like what had just happened was normal? He found himself frustrated when Michi only repeated the occasional necessity of killing, instead of answering his true question. If it wasn’t good, then why? Shouldn’t only good things be necessary? “Why?” He asked again, desperately wanting to know the answer. He didn’t understand how Michi could be so calm, like this. What did she know that he did not? It seemed at times that she knew everything, or at least that was how it appeared to him. She had all the answers.

Selfishness… That was something that was bad, he knew. He watched as Michi assessed the metal, and he wondered how she could act like this, so collected. At the same time, he could not help but feel relief that she was this steady pillar, for he had a feeling that he would have reacted quite a bit if she had lost her composure. He still didn’t comprehend fully why this was such a complicated thing, because killing was just not good. But it was more complex a situation than that, he was aware. Still, he felt as if it shouldn’t be so, that it should be simple instead. The idea of this man going on to kill more sickened him. Such a notion as ‘people that would not be missed’ made him recoil. All people’s lives should matter. They weren’t ever irrelevant.

The true question was whether the man deserved justice for this. Everyone who stood here, either actively supporting or ignoring it, therefore seemed to think that what he did was something acceptable. Michi said that justice from the legal system was unlikely, showing that even more people would accept such a thing as this. Killing was not good. That was all there was to it, he had thought, till now. If killing was not good, why could it benefit someone to do such a thing? He worried as Michi wobbled as she picked up the hammer, and he was relieved when she regained her balance easily enough. Then came that question, that somehow he couldn’t help but feel that she had been building up to.

That ill feeling that he had begun to experience worsened. He didn’t know that he wanted to do anything. What he wanted most of all was for this to have never happened. Briefly, he hopefully considered that if he walked away from this, maybe it would be like it hadn’t occurred. It was only a moment, since he could not help but feel that he had been fundamentally changed by this experience. Additionally, if no one else was going to do anything, then the only ones that had the potential to stop this was them. It made sense then, that she ask what they should do. But he didn’t want to do anything. What was there that he could do to put an end to this? Michi had said it herself that the legal system wouldn’t do anything. There was no conceivable action that he could imagine halting this.

Then Michi said… she said that maybe that day he killed might be today. And, in that one horrific moment of time, he understood. There was but one option that could put an end to this all. It was the same action that had started this. Death. The immediate thought was denial, but what came after was far worse, the realization that he could kill. Mere moments ago, though, he had thought that all people’s lives mattered. Did someone’s life stop mattering when they did something bad? He reminded himself that killing was never good. Then, ever so slowly, a thought blossomed.

“Michi?” He asked, voice hushed. “Killin’ ain’t ever good… but is it always bad?” For all that she had called it never good, she had also called it sometimes neccessary. It was enough to make him wonder, to make him doubt his fundamental beliefs. At the same time, that prompted another realization. If killing wasn’t always bad, even if it wasn’t good, was that man bad? She had said he was doing it due to selfishness, but he was here too. He also was here to get stronger. The man had killed someone to strengthen a weapon. “Is bein’ strong… wantin’ to be strong, is that bad?” He questioned. He hadn’t thought so, but here and now he was beginning to consider it.

Suddenly, he wanted to be neither a hero or a villian, because he wasn’t too sure what that meant anymore. Killing was not good, but the only way to stop this killing was to kill. It was a cycle, and he wanted it to stop, but he didn’t know how. Michi wanted him to be righteous, but… “What is right?” Suddenly, nothing felt like it was the right choice. He wanted Isamu to be here, to hug the dog until he forgot about this. But if he didn’t do anything, probably no one would. What gave the two of them the right to act, to decided another’s fate? What gave anyone the right to do such a thing? He didn’t know the meaning before. He wondered if he had ever known the meaning. So far as he had thought, what was not right was wrong. But there seemed to be something else inbetween that he had no word for.

He took out the metal bracing at her prompting, and he stared at it, gaze distant. “Could… could we… find out… more?” He needed further information, though he didn’t know what would either damn the man or save him. Like this, Riku only had questions. If he wanted to know the truth, he would have to look deeper. Surely, there was an answer to be found, somewhere. There had to be.

OOC: I think I'll keep it at +1 and -5% damage. Yes, I was planning on preserving the ability to do handseals.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward was working over at a set of armour within his workshop. The shell was complete. It was the circuitry he was working on. While Sousuke had usually been wearing finer clothes as of late, being cloth suits that were two or three piece. Today he was wearing his work clothes. He wore a black mesh shirt and pants. He paused for a moment as he heard a small commotion of sorts. The man placed down his tools and walked outside of the workshop. He looked about, his eyes glanced about the Hall of Hammers. He knew each and every Journeyman (or Journeywoman) who worked here. There was the odd time that someone who was not associated with the Order. Usually when that happened, it was an individual who wanted to become a member of the Order. When that occurred, usually a tour was involved. Today was going to be an odd day, considering who it was that was present in the Order Hall. Sousuke would not lie, it was indeed a surprise. It was Michi who was visiting the Hall of Hammers with a new recruit it would seem. The new recruit did not bother Sousuke. Rikuto was a fresh face, one that Sousuke did not know personally, but he knew him all the same. It was the Steward's responsibility to know his people.

He approached the two. The Steward held his hands behind his back. His dark eyes filled with what almost seemed like curiosity in his constant neutrality. He was approaching mid conversation. Sousuke was not loud on his feet, but he was not entirely silent. Michi had been playing at something as of late with Senju Kazuki. Did her machinations include this child as well now? "Hello Michi. Hello Rikuto."<i></i> Sousuke was not a tall man. He did assert a presence of sort. The man held a tight control of himself. He seemed more like a machine than a human. Certainly he had mechanical limbs and parts to him. Rikuto could see his mechanical arm very much in view. It may take the boy several moments and perhaps some staring to realize this, but one of Sousuke's eyes were mechanical. Sousuke's left eye had the ocassional blink to it, but not his right eye. Michi knew this, but the child did not. This would be the first time Rikuto would be meeting Takahashi Sousuke the third of his name, Steward of the Realm, and Head Journeyman.

 

[Michi]

“Michi?” Rikuto asked, voice hushed. “Killin’ ain’t ever good… but is it always bad?”

"Yes" she replied with a nod of her head. "Killing is an evil act, but it is sometimes the only means to stop a greater evil is to take on your own sin." She had hurt a lot of people and soon enough there would be many others. "That is the burden of being a hero... they may have good intentions and the outcome of a heinous act might save more than they harmed but it does not change the fact that they have done in some cases the very things they crusaded against. They need to be aware that they are also evil... hopefully a lesser evil," she tried to explain but morality was confusing because nothing was black and white. "We need to consider the needs of the many, a moral obligation that can become perverse. Vigilantism makes you judge, jury and executioner. Your decision may be erroneous. Heavy-handed. Know everything you can and be certain that if you must harm someone else that you had no other option. That you were saving more than harming."

She had a story about a man that once did something terrible and cruel for the sake of others. He went too far. "Doctor Saito Akira, a reknowned children's surgeon was the victim of going too far for the many... for the 'better.' He used to kill healthy patients in the hospital during routine procedures such as gallbladder removals. He would turn off the oxygen, causing brain death but not organ death. He would then advocate for the harvesting of their organs. A single life to save or improve the life of dozens to him was more than a fair exchange." In a way he was not wrong, but the way he did it was terrible. He was killing people that were not harming other people. He was taking their life and deciding that their life was no longer theirs to live. That their life was not as important as that of several others, and by the numbers he was not wrong. "He was removed from his station, but he is at large still... likely continuing his practice in the Black Market. But what he was doing, while by the numbers is 'necessary' it is wrong." She was not doing a great job explaining right and wrong because there were so many facets to assess. "I guess the best we can do, is the best we can. To try and stop someone that is hurting others by hurting them, to protect people that are weaker than them, to stop killers from killing but to seek a balance for this. When we harm, by the virtue of this fact we should be harmed by someone else even if we had a 'good reason.' But that would not be right." She was leading the boy to a conclusion that he would eventually come to, that they needed to learn more about this situation. To learn more about what happened in that other room and why.

Is it wrong to want to be strong? "No, it is not wrong to want to be strong and to seek a means to do such. However, it is wrong to make someone else suffer for the sake of your strength. Your strength should be used to protect yourself and protect others." That was her opinion, but her opinion was not necessarily the popular point of view. People used others frequently. People did not care who they stepped on as long as it made them seem taller.

What is right?

She half smiled. "I really do not know," she admitted. It was the one truth that she had never learned. The more she knew, the more variables there were to consider. "In an ideal world, people would not hurt each-other in the first place. People would not need to be stopped. People would not suffer or need to be saved." But they did not live in an idea world, they lived in this one. "I personally try to know everything I can, I watch and I record. I learn. I stop the ones that actively seek to harm others if I believe I can be victorious, but I have to consider who I must harm in the process of stopping them. You sometimes hurt people physically, sometimes emotionally, sometimes... you hurt people through means you never intend and sometimes you hurt the people you love." There was pain in her expression, for the past few months she was planning something. Something big. Something terrible. She could not lie, she cared about some of the people, yes people so there were more than one. She knew she was about to hurt them, but in her mind she had already determined that there would be a greater good. A reason that would make this worth the pain. Worth her efforts and her preparations.

“Could… could we… find out… more?”

She smiled as she pounded the metal on the anvil again, this time an iron bar between the anvil and the metal, she was curving the metal. "That is the right answer," there was some satisfaction in her voice. "Good job." she commended him. "After we finish your weapon, I will teach you how to hunt." She eyed the man once again and used a jutsu she would explain later -- SNAPSHOT [Mastered]. There would be no external indication of this. A lingering gaze and nothing more. "And we can try to understand ethics and the human condition."

They were being approached, which was why she was ending the discussion. There were things she did not wish to share with the Steward. Sousuke was the Head of the Journeyman Order, something that required a steep learning curve but he was doing very well. He greeted them simply and Michi would return the greeting. "Salutations Steward Takahashi Sousuke, I see you know my apprentice Minami Rikou." Yes, she called him her 'apprentice'. "I am teaching him the significance of the trinity or Orders," she offered an explanation immediately. "And allowing him a hand in weapons manufacturing to understand the efforts of your Order. Would you be willing to give us a demonstration Steward?"

OC: Sounds like a good choice. When you add augments, you simply announce in your dojo that you are adding augments to your weapon unless you want to re-make it entirely. Since you will be leveling up pretty fast, consider your other two augments because you will be using them in no-time. And like I said, consider having a back-up weapon or two that do slightly different things in case you have a special situation that warrants using more defensive tactics for instance. Having a Plan B or even C is always a good thing when you enter a fight because they do not take up inventory slots, the only limitation is the number of weapons you can have which is based on your OC rank.

 

[Kyuuji]

The tentative idea that not all killing was bad even if it was not good was shot down simply and easily with that one yes. Suddenly, he felt terrible at having considered something bad, but Michi didn’t seem upset with his question, far from it. She simply explained the way that things were. But then Michi went on to say that stuff about ‘stopping greater evils by taking on your own sin’ and he realized that while it was bad, that might not stop it from being necessary. Riku didn’t want to do something that was evil, though. She said that being a hero was a burden, and he had never thought of it like that before. Villians were evil, but so were heroes. It seemed that there was no way to do something and still be good, except wasn’t not taking an action just as evil as taking one? She talked about knowing everything that one could before acting, and that much made sense to the boy. She also talked about saving more than one harmed, and that was disquieting for Riku to listen to. Hurting anyone was bad, he knew this now. Did the compared quantities of people harmed versus saved really make a difference?

He listened to her story without saying a word. Before she had said that quantity mattered, and here quantity was saved, but it was still counted as going too far. He couldn’t quite see the difference. There was something missing to, the why he had harvested the organs. Had it been for the children? Riku didn’t ask. He wasn’t sure if it would make a difference. That he continued it as a practice for the black market suggested it was for his own gain, but Riku couldn’t be sure. Michi said that was what had probably happened, but she didn’t know for sure. Michi also outright stated that her previous reasoning could be wrong too. That only left the question, what is right?

Strength mattered too. If others were weaker, that meant that they had to be protected, and they deserved that protection. Except people did bad things for strength sometimes. Michi says that strength isn’t wrong to seek out, and this reassures Riku some, that he isn’t already bad. She said that strength was for protection, and to stop suffering. But sometimes to make suffering stop someone else had to suffer. Didn’t that make strength wrong? Wouldn’t it be better if everyone was weak and no one could hurt each other? It would be better still if anyone could be any strength and no one would hurt each other, but that didn’t seem likely. Riku felt torn on the issue of strength.

Her answer to what was right was an admittance of simple unawareness. This was what truly threw Riku off, that Michi knew everything, but even she did not have an answer to this. If Michi didn’t have an answer to this, how could Riku himself expect to ever find an answer? Michi spoke of an ideal world, and that was what had been bothering him, Riku realized. Previously, he had believed himself to be living in what was an ideal world, when this was not true at all. He understood this now. Riku still didn’t like the idea of hurting others or evil actions, but he almost understood why such things might be necessary, now.

Michi smiled at him, and Riku felt pride, despite the heavy conversation. She approved of his thoughts, and she even commended him verbally. In a sea of confusion and distress that were his feelings otherwise, this pride was the odd one out. At the word hunt, the feral part of him perked up, but he said nothing. Michi talked about trying to understand, and Riku really was, but he was beginning to feel that trying was all that one could ever do.

He was startled out of his thoughts by the approach of another. He knew Michi’s name, but more than that, he knew Riku’s name. He was pretty sure that he had never met this man before in his life, but nevertheless, the man knew him. It made him wonder what else the man knew. Surely he couldn’t have heard the conversation that preceded his appearance, or else he would have reacted quite differently. Or perhaps not. After all, there had already been a lack of reaction to killing in this place. Riku didn’t say anything at all, simply observing the man and waiting for Michi to say something, to let him know how to precede.

It took a moment, but Riku became aware that not only did the man have a metal arm, he had an artificial eye as well. The titles that Michi gave the man confused the boy somewhat, though he understood that they meant that that this guy was important. A shy smile spread across his face as Michi called him her apprentice, and even using his preferred shortened name, even if she still used his surname with it. She was teaching him more than what she said, but Riku wouldn’t counter her words. “hello,” He greeted quietly. The use of ‘your’, though, made Riku distinctly aware that these people followed this man. He wondered if this man endorsed their actions, if he did similiar things himself. His smile faded away. He was curious to see what the man would decide to do, in the same way he was curious to know more about the man who Michi had shown him. He kept quiet, not sure if he wanted to see any sort of demonstration at all, but understanding that Michi surely had asked for a reason.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

He knew of Minami Rioku. He knew that he was the first of his name. He knew of him, but he did not know him on a person level. That would be changing shortly. "It is expected that I know your apprentice, if only by name. A noble or leader who knows the people who he works for, and in turn works for him ... makes said noble or leader more approachable and respected."<i></i> Sousuke worked for people of all walks of life. One of his mantras were 'You work for the people of Sungakure, and they in turn work for you'. It was a symbiotic relationship of sorts. Few rulers understood it. Governments or Monarchs needed their people, just as much as their people needed governments or monarchs. Some considered this a dangerous belief to be had. It was not a belief held by most Nobles in fact.

He would listen to Michi explain why they were here. Michi had her hands in many pies. She was plotting a wedding, which Sousuke had some reservations about. Today she was not here for that. She claimed that she had an apprentice. She explained such rather quickly. He listened to her request. She wanted him to give them a demonstration. "I was working on an armour design, but I suppose a break in that would be allowed."<i></i> Sousuke would motion for the two to follow him. He would make a gesture with his index and middle finger for them to follow him. "The manufacturing of weaponry is dependent upon your resources."<i></i> He spoke mechanically.

He would take them to his workshop. It was not a pretty room. Maybe the contents of the room could be considered pretty as there were lines of armours in various shapes and sizes. Some of them were quite large and hulking, others were more attuned to the size of the steward. There were various blades in the room as well, swords, axes, hammers, halbeards. Each of them with an ornate design. He would open up a drawer and motion for the boy to come forward. He would see various bricks of hardened metal. "Elemental metals. From left to right."<i></i> He would point them out. "Pyreimum. Thunderon. Voidstone. Echononium."<i></i> He would make a gesture for the boy to pick them up. He would feel heat, a slight shock, a coldness, or he would hear a slight resonance when picking up each brick of elemental metals. "There are hundreds of elemental metals. Each of them carrying a characteristic or quirk."<i></i> He would pause for a moment further. "Pick one, and I will fashion something for you of your choosing. It need not be a weapon either. I am proficient in jewelry as well. I am also capable of making trinkets ... to augment weaponry. Each of these metals require a different technique to return to a liquid state, and then the mould to create an item ... also requires a particular property so the liquid state causes no great harm to one."<i></i> He was going to show them both something. Yet while observing was going to help one, there was also the act of knowing. How to melt the metal. What temperature, or what level of coldness was required to do this. All of this time, Sousuke spoke monotone. He was a man neutral in almost all things and all times. Sometimes one might be able to see a small emotional quirk here and there.

 

[Michi]

The kid noticed that she used his other name, the one he called himself. Not the one given to him. A gesture of warmth from the characteristically cold woman. She let Sousuke do all of the talking, he liked to talk, almost as much as she did. "Most appreciated Steward," she replied as they followed him into his vault. It was of course a haven for various implements of war. In her hand she carried her bit of scrap, it was a long way from being complete. She looked over the variety of weapons, noting preferences towards a certain style of combat. She was always watching and assessing, always learning and gauging. "Have you had an opportunity to contact Mirokou Akkuma regarding the details of my wedding to Sennin Senju?" she sounded as if she was making small talk but she wasn't. She was purposefully using these names to see if she would get a reaction from Sousuke as well as the other Journeymen there. The other crafters took no heed, which was good she did not want to deal with eyes or ears of either. "You would be pleased to know that Sennin Senju accepted my proposal."

Sousuke was more interested in the youth, he was showing off hunks of elemental metal. She stayed back and let him explain the various metals and perform a tactile demonstration. She was academically versed in such but there was something about hands on learning that far surpassed anything she could possibly lecture. "While we are here Steward," small talk over it would seem. "I have a question about soul tethering," she announced in reference to what the man had done just outside of their view. Of course Sousuke was not a part of the original generation, he might have used a different term for it. "The process of sealing a human soul within a weapon," she clarified. Of course they both knew better, it could seal more than simply humans but Ancients as well. She was here to do more than teach the boy, even if that was one of her objectives she was far too calculating to simply do one thing at a time. The boy had an integral part to play in her upcoming nuptials and the Journeyman Order very much had something to do with one of her many needs.

"Have you perfected this craft yet?"

 

[Kyuuji]

To Riku, the Steward did not seem particularly approachable. His voice was monotonous, showing no particular emotions that the boy could identify. Maybe the lack of skill in expressing himself was why the Steward wanted to seem more approachable, though. He wondered whether the Steward was also a noble because of the way he had worded that sentence. Actually, he wasn’t quite sure what a steward was, let alone the Steward. Maybe Riku could take a look at the book Michi had on this Takahoshi Sousuke. It was a name that seemed familiar, and he was almost certain that was because he had seen it on the spine of a book before. It would make sense for Michi to have books on important people, and he was pretty sure that this guy was important, whoever he was.

The thought of important, prompted the thought of the opposite, of unimportance. As Michi talked and the Steward listened, Riku dwelled upon the notion of importance. All people had value, he had always thought. Except he had never considered whether people who did bad things mattered as well. He had always been content with the villian being defeated, however that was gone about. Except that defeat in itself was the good guy doing a bad thing, wasn’t it? He had never doubted heroes value either, but he had to now. He wasn’t even sure that such a thing as heroes or villians truly existed. People who did good things and people who did bad things certainly existed, but there were people who did bad things to do good also. He thought those people still had value, but then again, he wasn’t so sure. He thought that people that would not be missed, those targeted, had value for certain. He just wanted all people to have value and no one to want to hurt anyone else, but it couldn’t be that easy, apparently.

He returned to awareness when the Steward began to speak once more, apparently agreeing to Michi’s request. He made a gesture for the two of them to follow, and they did of course. While they followed, he spoke, talking of resources. For his weapon, he had been working with the bare minimum of resources, he supposed. After walking into the man’s workshop, he didn’t just ‘suppose’, he knew. There was so much everywhere, and Riku didn’t even have a clue what the majority of it all was. It was a relief when the names of some of them were pointed out. When offered permission to touch, an offer that surprised the boy, he did so. Most of them felt pretty weird, with the exception of the Pyreimum which simply felt warm and therefore comforting. That offer was nothing compared to the next one, though.

His eyes widened, shock clearly visible on his face. This master craftsman, Head of the Journeymen, was willing to make something for him? He could hardly believe his ears. It was a generous offer, he knew, and he considered it as deeply as he knew how. Most of the metals had felt odd to him, but the Pyreimum he liked. That would work for the metal, he figured. As for the form, that was a harder question. He already had a weapon that he was making, so he figured that it should be something else. Which, though, he wasn’t sure. “Pyre- Pyreimum. Jewelry or a trinket, just somethin’ I won’t lose,” He decided. A bright smile lit up his face. “Thank you!”

Just when he was beginning to like the Steward, Michi asked that question. His smile fell from his face. He had nearly forgotten about that, he wasn’t sure how, and now he was reminded. Intently, he listened for the answer, hoping that the answer was no. The Steward seemed nice, going out of his way to make something for a kid like him. He didn’t quite know how to interact with people, perhaps, like how Michi had first seemed to him, but that didn’t make a person bad. He wanted to be able to like the man, he really did.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward was asked if he made an attempt to contact Akkuma about the party. "Not yet, but soon. I am preparing a list of individuals to come to this party ... as a party needs people and not two individuals."<i></i> He answered. Sousuke did not like Akkuma. He considered the concept of putting Roku and Akkuma in the same room, and letting things work themselves out. A brawl would occur, but the question is who would throw the first punch. Roku of today was not the same Roku of ten years ago. Roku had been working to get Akkuma off the streets for years. It was something of a feat really. The metaphorical ice was shrinking under Akkuma's feet in terms of doing illegal activities. Sousuke did not react, at least not in a physical way. When she spoke of Kazuki accepting her proposal there was at best a short pause. Mikaboshi hated Kazuki, but would allow Michi to do as she pleases. "That is good."<i></i> He spoke with a slight metallic resonance in his voice, with a much smaller pause. "Congratulations."<i></i> He offered.

The boy would pick the metal. He picked Pyreimum. Sousuke would take the brick of fiery metal out of the drawer and he would close it. He would place it on the table. "Pyreimum is a curious metal. In order to get it to back to a liquid state, most think it needed to be super heated. Not true. You need to subject it to extreme cold. When it is subjected to extreme cold, its internal heat gives out while attempting to maintain its head. This is when the metal is weakest and then with a bit of water... the metal returns to a liquid state. The mould one uses has to be of Fridgedsteel."<i></i> Sousuke would pick up the piece and place it in a glass box. He would place the glass box on one of the machines in his workshop. He would place the box down, and press a button. The box would descend, and then the Steward would press another button. There would be a slight chill in the room. "The Pyreimum is being subjected to extreme cold. Give it ... three minutes and forty-two seconds."<i></i> He would explain.

Michi would speak up to break the silence and the cold. His eyes would shift over to her. It was a question he was not expecting. It was a topic he was not really content to talk. There was an intense stare coming from the man. "I do not suffer from moral insanity."<i></i> He answered. It seemed like the Steward equated with the sealing of souls to objects as something wrong. "I am proficient but not quite perfected with the sealing and unsealing process. Sometimes a soul needs to be moved so that the body can heal in the most extreme circumstances."<i></i> He answered oddly. This was more for the sake of the young one. There almost seemed to be a shame in this knowledge, it was hard to tell. The Steward since he had witnessed Mikaboshi being unsealed from the Black Blade took quite a bit of time to discover how to unseal a being from an item. Little did he know that his own weaponry housed something. That something had lately been communicating with him, and encouraging him to do deeds for the greatest good. "98.75% Proficient."<i></i> He clarified. It was nearly perfect, but there was apparently something that Sousuke was allotting for to stating that he was proficient and not perfected. That being said he was perhaps the closest to getting the skill perfected. Sousuke knew he was capable of errors, and so he did not have an inflated ego of the subject. He would turn his attention back to the boy. "Ring? Necklace? Bracelet? Earring? Bracers?"<i></i> He would inquire as he would return to the original matter at hand, forging something for the youngling.

 

[Michi]

"So you are capable," Michi would state. Her voice seemed nonchalant but it was far from it. Having knowledge is only half the battle, being practiced and capable of employing the knowledge she had earned was a different story all together. "Do you use a skill that allows you the ability to evacuate a soul from the body, similar to Overlord Senju or do you commit the blade to flesh during the cooling process or do you scribe a seal capable of pulling a soul into a piece?" It was a very specific line of inquiry and strangely enough her book was not in her hand, in fact there was no book to be seen. "And how long does it take you to forge such a device?" This was not about that man at all. She had a keen interest in the Journeyman skill, the ability to tether a soul to a blade. An odd inquiry. Was she planning on using this against Mikaboshi to break the chains that bound her to the Deep Court Lord. Against Kazuki, a man she seemingly developed an interest in overnight unless one was paying attention. She had spent more than a few days, weeks or even months getting close to the Sennin and Overlord of the Senju Clan. This had developed over the course of years. Did she mean him harm still? Was there another intention?

Too many questions and not enough answers.

"I cannot thank you enough Steward for taking the time to entertain my apprentice," she offered a statement of gratitude. She wanted him to remain pleased with himself, enamored by the adorable nature that came with a small child. The boy, even in this dullard state was still a tool. Something that caused people to drop their guard around her. Something that made people want to interface with her. Of course, she could have just gotten a dog. There would be less to explain, easier to care for and clean up after. But that was not the reason she had taken him, there was something deeper. There was a truth to her words, after-all she could not lie. She did appreciate the Steward and she did consider the boy to be her apprentice. She intended to teach him much, but there was an urgency to her lesson plan. A prioritization of ethics and martial skill, followed by history and how things fit together. It was like a crash course in 'everything you needed to know.' For a woman that should have an abnormally long life, being that she was approaching her fifth decade and still had the appearance of a teen, she seemed to be in quite the hurry.

She let the boy pick the bauble, the weapon or the ornament that he desired. She would pursue his weapons, her finger gliding over the smooth, cool metal. Testing the tip with the pad of her finger. Appraising the detail, looking to see if a seal was burnt into the hilts. Speaking on occasion to the weapons --hello... morning... salutations... To some she might seem like a madwoman, but she knew what she was doing as she touched each weapon and attempted to attune to it for just a moment. "There was a man in the shop who was practicing the art of blood anointing," she was tattling it would seem. "Where a hot sword freshly forged is cooled with the blood of a vital person, in death the soul is attracted to the freshly forged sword... or so that is the belief," she explained in case he used a different term for the practice. "A troubling sight for one so young, hopefully this bauble would abate his fears." She would busy herself looking at his armor, he was an ostentatious man when it came to such things. Everyone had their works of pride and his was apparently his metal work. She would find his work impressive, better than anything she could do. "Could you show my apprentice what the seal would appear as in the pyridium you are working with?" Yes, she was asking for a soul catcher, not that either of them had the skill to use it. Of course the question would then be -- why would she want it? That answer was simple but not one she was willing to freely offer.

 

[Kyuuji]

Avidly, the boy listened as the Steward spoke of the metal that he had chosen. It was apparently a particularly strange sort, relying on a lack of heat rather than the presence of it in order to return to a liquid state. He appreciated the Steward’s explanation, and he nodded along to show his comprehension. It was with even more interest that he listened to the Steward’s response to Michi. Apparently, it went against his morals, from what Riku could understand, and the boy was significantly relieved to hear it. The Steward was able to do a similar process, though, but for a distinctly different purpose. The profiency the man quoted was amazing to the boy, though he wondered what composed the other 1.25%.

He considered his choices. A bracelet would be too easily lost, he figured, so he ruled it out. The same with a necklace. A ring would be okay, but with his gloves, he didn’t think it would work well. Bracers were an option. But an earring… “Michi, can I get m’ear pierced?” He asked hopefully. So long as Michi said yes, then that would be what he chose. He was pretty sure that was the kind of thing that one needed permission for, though, hence him asking first.

Then Michi moved the topic back to exactly what Riku didn’t want to think about. He was startled that she was reporting the man after saying it was unlikely for him to face legal action, and once again the boy took a great interest in the man’s response. He didn’t know why Michi was pointing this out, though, and he remained quiet, unsure what to say on the matter. He certainly shouldn’t talk about what he and Michi had been discussing, he was sure. He was confused, especially at her request, and he wondered whether the man would oblige. It seemed a question out of nowhere.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Quickly did Michi weave one topic of conversation into the other. Sousuke had to stop and process something. Michi did not have her trade-mark book with her. She was asking him questions about soul bindings. There was something a little concerning about this. She seemed very interested in this subject, and was throwing several questions at him. The Steward said nothing but casted a side glance over to her apprentice. Sousuke made a consideration, a long time ago Michi had told him to keep artifacts away from the deviants. He considered the words she gave him, and while for a long time he did not consider her to be a deviant, it seemed like at this particular moment in time there was the inkling of such. "Neither."<i></i> He answered at long last. Sousuke did not use blood seals neither did he use a forced method to pull out a soul like Kazuki did. It wasn't seal work either, it was something different. It was not something Sousuke was immediately comfortable with as it had to do with a form of 'sorcery' or 'magic'. When asked about how long it took, Sousuke would answer "Hard to say. It's not entirely up to me. It's based on the mental faculties of another. The one who helps me with this task, is better some days than others. Her mind is addled, because she's lived for a very long time and she gets stuck in the past."<i></i> Sousuke had a pact with Toads, and the individual he spoke of was the Elder Crone. Sousuke did not bring her out casually due to her fits and mad ramblings.

Sousuke considered something further. Michi had been inquiring about soul displacement. Yatamaru had been approached by Michi about making a number of life-like puppets. Fifty it was. Sousuke considered another thing Michi had told him long ago. You had to ask the right question. Unfortunately in this case, Sousuke had to ask the right question and not have it connect back to Yatamaru. He could not ask if this had to do with those fifty puppets. Therefore he had to ask a question which dealt with the event that was to come. "Does this have anything to do with your wedding to Kazuki?"<i></i> Puppets were considered weapons as well, and one could put a soul in a puppet. There was a concern that Sousuke had, Michi had fifty individuals with souls she wanted to put in puppets? Why though? Michi was by nature now a half ancient. She did not partake in eating human souls, but she was alright with moving them?

Rikuto would ask if he could get his ear pierced. Sousuke would acquire the moulds he needed, but before doing so he would put on gloves. He would open a compartment and pull out the moulds for a looped earring. He would do this while Michi was poking and prodding. Michi would not get a response from most of the weaponry she touched except two. A pair of twin silver coloured blades. They were kept in beyond perfect condition. The pommel of the first blade had a bird head on it. It was highly detailed. When she touched Thunder Talon, she would hear the sound of thunder in the background, and then she would hear the cry of a bird. The sound was not of pain, but it seemed like it was anger of an apex predator. Anger that was directed at her. The weapon sparked at her touch, giving her a slight jolt. Michi would then touch the weapon's twin, the pommel of this weapon was a flame. The sound of fire crackling could be heard. If Michi held the pommel for too long she would feel an intense heat. UNWORTHY AND CRUEL. NEVER IN THE TWO HUNDRED YEARS I'VE EXISTED WOULD I DEEM YOU WORTHY.<i></i> A low voice would roar into her mind. This weapon did not have any elemental change like the previous weapon did. She was rejected by both. There would be a slight clang as Sousuke seemed to have dropped the mould for a moment. He would lower himself to pick it up, as he did this he would be staring at Michi. The Steward would say nothing. The weapons spoke to him on occasion. In the face of cruelty and injustice, the latter of the two swords spoke to him more often. If Michi looked hard at the weapon she would find no seals. There was something old about the twin blades she touched. Older than Sousuke, and certainly older than herself. He looked over to Rikuto and then back to Michi awaiting the response before he was going to pour the metal into the mould.

Sousuke did not speak for some time. He was thinking and thinking hard. "It's not a seal."<i></i> He spoke. There was a pause. He would look over to Rikuto. Was this truly about the child, or more about her? "Do you truly want ... the trinket I am to be making for you to have such a grim reminder of the ... unpleasant ... side of the Journeymen?"<i></i> There was a concern in all of this. There was something in plain sight here that Sousuke was not registering.

 

[Michi]

Did this have anything to do with Kazuki's wedding?

"Yes," she answered without hesitation. There was no reason to lie, not that she knew exactly what Sousuke thought he knew. The problem with asking questions was you needed to ask the right question and you needed to connect what you already knew wit the answer. If either were in error, you would know nothing. Sousuke had no idea what he was asking, so his answer which was well defined would not answer the question that he thought it did.

She had a question of her own, Sousuke gave a non-answer. Shame, he would not be able useful in this endeavor. Well, either that or he was a liar. She would have to move onto another to get the seals she needed. They needed to be ascribed before the ceremony and they would be one way or another. It was a shame.

Can I get my ear pierced? Can I skewer my own flesh with a piece of sharpened metal so that I may impale myself routinely with shiny bits for aesthetic purposes. "If you desire it. If you are hygienic. If you are willing to commit to something that can define you," she replied. It was not a yes but it was not a no. It was a choice, because it was the boy's body... not her own. Every human and every non-human deserved autonomy, the ability to make ones own decisions and to have choices that were their own. Her job was not to say 'no' or even 'yes' but to make sure that Rikou was capable of making an informed decision. It was early in his education, she had never stressed the importance of hiding. Of remaining hidden. Of avoiding detection. She had told him that it would be dangerous, that there would be people that would try to harm him, force him to do what he did not wish to do, and those that would try to take what he knew and make it their own. "There is security in avoiding the attention of others," she warned. She had not forgotten that Sousuke was there, but it did not matter. He did not understand, it was not possible for him to. He did not know about her distaste for souls, the fact that the sin of consumption is one sin she had not yet committed. That she was starving herself slowly, that every time she got injured she lost a bit more of her vitality and that she was on a downward slide. Kazuki had offered her the sustenance that she required but she rejected him. She wanted to remain human, well as human as she could. She wanted to die as human as she could. She did not want to destroy others to be stronger, she had suffered for the sake of others becoming stronger before. She had a moral compass.

She would fondle the blades, they were smooth and hard. She would run her hands over everything that was Sousuke's. It would have been more enjoyable if she was tall, blonde and they were alone and her hands were not on his arms. Nothing. Nothing. Still Nothing... Sousuke busied himself entertaining the youth. When something spoke back, when an electrical charge zapped her hand leaving her arm numb she did not lift her fingertips immediately away. She was not a masochist, but she was curious and pain was hardly a deterrent. Then there would be a searing heat, she would not lift her hand until it scalded her hand. Then a voice would boom inside of her head -- she was unworthy. She did not particularly care, she did not derive satisfaction from being accepted or valued. It was nice. It made her soul hurt a bit less, but she did not need it. She would study the weapons, having no idea how the souls were tethered as there were only a few means by which one could bind a soul. "No seals... but they live. Slain with the masterworked blade or theirs souls withdrawn... by another then." She did not trust the Steward, she had no reason to after finding a pair of soul blades in his possession. She would not say anything about it, he did not offer and she would not ask. She would find an alternative, but speak of her want all the same: to seal the trinket.

"You fail to understand me," Michi replied after Sousuke stated that such would be a grim reminder. "Because you never ask the right question," in an attempt to obfuscate the truth from her, he failed to make a clear inquiry. He failed to learn the truth he needed to know. "And I cannot give you the right answer, because every answer requires a question." She made sure that her fingers grazed the last of his trifles. "But a weapon... a novelty... sealed... with the capacity to contain the glory of a human soul, does not grant the holder the power to bind," she would approach Sousuke. There was something dangerous and terrible about the small, mundane seeming woman. She was so much smaller than the man and the rumors were not lies, she had been quite busy these past few months. The acquisition of an apprentice being the least of these things. "So the right question is why?" She was looking him in the eye by this time, only inches from the man made more of metal than flesh. "Perhaps you are too sentimental Steward," her tone was that of ice as she said that. "The boy will be ready and you will be thankful that he has what the others may lack," there was an utter certainty in her voice as she made this claim. The Oracle could do many things, but one thing she could not was lie.

Ready for what?

Thankful for what?

OC: Mind if we finish this up this round so that Riku can get tutoring for the week. We can continue in a thread adjacent.

 

[Kyuuji]

Riku had never had something that defined him before, but it didn’t sound that bad. “Okie,” He agreed. It wasn’t a difficult thing to agree to. Additionally, she gave him a warning, about not drawing attention, and he nodded carefully. He always listened to Michi’s warnings, but he figured that one earring wouldn’t draw too much attention, though. Plenty of people had earrings.

He practically jumped out of his skin when suddenly there was a loud clang as something hit the floor. A skittish gaze scanned the room for dangers, and he was relieved when he found none. He had no clue of what was going on beyond his awareness. Michi’s comment about the swords made him a bit nervous, and he wondered how she knew such a thing about the weapons. To Riku, they looked like they could be simple, unsouled weapons. Was there a way to identify them that he had missed?

The Steward asked his opinion, and he hardly had time to think about it before Michi was chiming in with her own words. Her own ominous words. The conversation was going on completely overheard, and he was fairly confused. What he did manage to understand was that it was important that he do this. “S’okay,” He made an attempt at assuring the man.

In truth, he didn’t know what to think about it. It was grim, as the man had said, but it was also important. Not simply for the reasons Michi thought it was, whatever those were, but because it was important to Riku. Today had been quite the lesson for him. “I dun mind,” He added, hoping that would help.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Michi told him that a soul binding object had its place in her wedding to Kazuki, she then chided at him about asking the right question. He said nothing at first. He would turn his back to her and put the moulds on the table. He would then proceed to pour the now frosting liquid Pyremium into the mould. He would work and motion for the boy to come have a look. Sousuke would wave his hand and a seat would assemble itself out of the spare metal the room had. A seat for himself would also be made. Sousuke would begin working. He did not speak, but he would work. Rikuto would see little mechanisms appear out of Sousuke's finger tips. These little devices would work at the ring and the boy would see little bursts of heat. He would then acquire a pair of goggle and he would put them on. He would be focusing on creating this trinket with much dedication and focus.

Once Sousuke was done with the earring he would flip the mould over. The earring would fall and land with a thud. "This will not always be so heavy. Only when it is forged."<i></i> He spoke. He would then reach into his collar and produce a ring that was part of a necklace. He would put the necklance off with a jerk. He would put the ring down. Sousuke would put his palm on top of the ring. He would mutter a few foreign sounding words. A summoning circle would appear on the desk. Beneath the summoning circle a bag would appear. "One hopes that her mind will be sound enough for me to do this."<i></i> He spoke lowly. Sousuke with precious care would open the bag to reveal a sleeping body. It was a mixture of a Toad and a humanoid. Female looking with silver white hair and wrinkles. Sousuke would gently wake up the sleeping Toad. "Elder Maaya. Would you please dictate to me the method of the soul gem again."<i></i> He spoke clearly with uttermost respect in his voice.

The Toad creature would wake up with a shout. "It dreams. It dreams in the deep. It must always be dreaming, should it wake our reality will be broken a sunder!" The Toad's eyes were milky white with no pupils. Clearly too old for time itself, and blind before time began. Maaya would shake and then snap to. "Young Sousuke." She announced. "I had a nightmare. The Outsiders. They creep in upon us." She exhaled, and coughed. She curled up in the bag. "I saw it once. A dying star. As black as the onyx eyes of the Beholder." Sousuke snapped to and quickly acquired a black pearl from his resource drawer. "There were not enough tears in Heaven to mourn the loss of this dying star." She spoke again, Sousuke immediately began chipping at the gemstone with the little mechanical hooks and lines from his finger tips of his mechanical hand. "When I first saw it dying, I realized it had been dead for far too long. It was four lifetimes ago." Sousuke stopped chipping at the stone. It would see that the narrative being given was some sort of instruction. "From the death of that star, I saw an Evil. I saw it in its true naked form as it approached us." Sousuke placed the blackened pearl down. He raised his mechanical hand and shot it a fine beam of plasma from his hand. Maaya would then uncurl herself out and get out of the bag. She would approach the tiny gemstone. She would lower herself down to and breath ice upon it. "I saw that Evil do things. Then I knew that more tears would come. Yet there would never be enough tears in Heaven." Maaya would retreat back to the bag. She would again curl up in a sleeping position. "Be wary of that evil, Takahashi Sousuke. You will need the Burning Lord and you will need the Thunder Bird. Once did you combat it, but it will return. Such is the nature of Evil." Sousuke did nothing. He hesitated as if unsure of the instructions being given. His finger tips sparked with electricity. "There will be a time when the sky is no longer filled with Stars. They will all be dead, and that Evil will be a million million fold." Sousuke then cancelled the lightning and produced a burst of light on the gemstone. The gemstone sparkled and shone brightly. "When this world is burnt out. There will be no more tears left, for all existence will be dried up. Entirely." Maaya would curl up and go back to sleep.

The Steward would lean back in his chair. He seemed tired. "And that was one of her better days."<i></i> He spoke He took the shining black pearl and he would place it into the earring. For the first time during this meeting his face would make a grimace of sorts. Maaya the Elder Crone was a prophet, and other times she was a maddened storyteller. Her words carried meaning, but one had to listen to them. There was meaning within meaning, and a story. Maybe fragments of the future, or maybe it was just the words of a mad woman. Sousuke would with his metallic hand push the earring to Rikuto. Michi had spoken about his weaponry earlier. "Those weapons did not speak to me for a long time. I am told ... I am told that I am worthy to use them by themselves. Why or how I do not know, but I am assured they will be with me, to do what is expected of me."<i></i> He did not seem happy to be sharing these facts. Yes. The Steward was using sentient weapons. Metal spoke to him in ways that it could not speak to others. Yet he was always told that he was worthy of the Twins that Slew the Terror in Inferno. "A soul gem."<i></i> He announced. "Produced by interpretation of a narrative provided by a Sage. Not seal work. Not blood worked. Interpreted. No two soul gems are ever the same, and only a fraction of them work. The crafting isn't the hard part. It's understanding my companion. Today you were lucky."<i></i>

 

[Michi]

OC: Shorty but I am on shift and sleepy.

IC:

Being seen. Being known. Being recognized. Being remembered. It would be dangerous. It could be hell. Few grasped her position as an Oracle and as a former Cabalist. It did not matter what part she had to play in the anarchy, that she was a scribe or the person that placed those charges, she was blamed all the same. It did not matter that she had no choice and she was not the only one among them that was placed in this pressure cooker, she never knew what happened to Saiga. As the mother of a monster, some presume her union with Shouki's father was one she had a say in. There was so much blame and so much hate directed towards her, most of which she had no control over so she did the only thing she could do she embraced it. They would have hunted her down and killed her by now had she cowered, had she admitted that she was always afraid. If they did not hate her, they wanted her because she was clever, because she knew things. The boy did not realize the dire warning intended when she said warned him of being physically defined. They will recognize him, they would know him, they would hunt him and eventually they would catch him.

"If you are certain," she conceded. Mistakes are learning experiences as well, hopefully one he would learn from before she is terminated.

Sousuke apparently had an abrupt change of heart, explaining the presence of the crone. This babbling creature summoned from another world. "A contract summon" she explained. It was hardly an explanation of what happened in front of them. She was familiar because she had signed a contract with such a creature as well many years ago. "In this world, there are many sentient creatures that are not human. In fact, more than the pride of man wishes to admit..." With idle interest she would listen to the mad creature's words on what the Steward would claim is one of her better days.

The product, an earring would be passed over to her apprentice. It was unique, that was a problem. But the boy was innocent and did not know fear. He would likely be happy. Ice and a potato later today. It possessed a soul gem, not a Journeyman Craft she was familiar with in any case. "To clarify Steward before I adorn my apprentice... who or what has power over this gem?" If it tugged at the boy, it would be crushed. "How would he know it worked?" She should have elaborated without having a soul sealed within the confines of the gem but she was using short, somewhat incomplete phrases on purpose. She wanted to see where his mind went, what he answered, it told her a lot about their intentions, beliefs and aspirations. Another question she would have was more one she would have to ask herself -- could she replicate what he just did?

"Thank you Steward."