melodiesoflife | GET BACK TO WORK!

Entry tags:

GET BACK TO WORK!

Characters: MarKus and OPEN (mostly newbies?)
Where: Aqures Ixen - Haley's Anvil
When: March 7th - 11th
Summary: MarKus starts hammering out gear for the rescued arrivals. Upon request, of course!
Warning: Foul language?

After having that slacker Kugami put up new advertisements, MarKus has finally put himself back to work, at the forge where he belongs. He'll be on break from adventuring for a while, but there was a hefty handful of people who were going to be in need of gear that fit them, since they surely didn't start with a damn thing being imprisoned right away. Surely someone needed that special sword or arm guard just to feel a little more comfortable with things.

And you know, defending oneself from the creatures beyond the city walls, though by now they'd probably chumps after everyone's recent excursion. In the meantime, however, he already had someone's armor to check over, having left his employees to manage things, so he's got his nose buried in Sephiroth's armor

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"One found it being stored during the prison break," he said, giving a slight shrug. "It broke against a walking machine, that it did."

He wasn't sure what it was that he hit, but he hit it at just the right angle to break the sword. Katana were known for their flexibility, but even the most flexible blade had a point where they would break. With the unusual design of his sword, Kenshin was sure that some of the flexibility was compromised in exchange for the reversed cutting edge.

"Yes. A sakabatou has the cutting edge on the inside. It is a reversed sword that prevents me from killing. It is my pledge to never take another life again."

Saka-batou... MarKus had said it wrong but he kind of wasn't listening the best. "Yeah, trying to hit a machine with a sword will probably break it unless you hit it in the right spot." he explains but quickly moves on to Kenshin's weird ass... point.

"Prevents you from killing. There ARE monsters here you know. What's your plan for that?" he asks, raising an eyebrow at him. But that was a different part of a conversation.

"That aside, I know katana are.... different. I've never worked with one before so... show me. I know it comes apart, right?" This much he knew, at least. Otherwise MarKus would be making it wrong and so very weird... weirder than the reverse-blade edge.

He was going to have to find a different way to get a sword, wasn't he? Kenshin bit back any number of words and instead took the hilt end and used a soft cloth from his inner pocket to hold the blade in one hand while he worked on freeing the blade from the various components of the koshirae until the pieces were laid out on a piece of cloth and the blade set back in front of MarKus.

"You are not familiar with a katana?"

As pieces were laid out on the counter, everything went into a sort of scan, like mental blue prints; some mystic mix of a blacksmith's skill and his years of experience in maintaining Mecha.

"I am now. Here look, a broadsword is a way different build." MarKus took one of many generic swords meant for everyday sale and broke it down in far less pieces... Handle, pommel, hilt, blade, and the wrap. "I've seen them, giant ones even, but never made one. I want to get it right.". Hopefully these words inspired some faith from Kenshin as MarKus took a closer look and started carefully and loosely reassembling the katana.

"And if its not right the first time, Ill do it again until you're happy with it. So do you just need the blade here or the whole thing? Seems like the grip is doing just fine."

A closer examination of the blade would also reveal that it was not made from just one metal but several different grades, with the core being the strongest grade and the outer of other various grades. His sakabatou had been made by a master sword-smith and the metal had been folded and purified for weeks and months to get the right amount of bend and strength that always made a katana the pinnacle of weapons to a samurai. Kenshin wasn't exactly one by birth, but he was one by strength of arms, and his sword was a reflection of that strength.

"The blade is what I need, yes," he replied, watching him closely and dropping his polite speech. He was brought up to be polite but a sword was something serious and he could just not leave it in the hands of someone who may not know enough to make it right.

"With the edge on the inside." A slight smile that would not be at odds with the hitokiri he had once been, and not the rurouni he was now. "Going without a cutting edge completely would be suicidal."

MarKus hums, and notices the change in speech, realizing that now this is business and not just chatter. "Yeah, it would be." he agrees. "I still wonder if you intend to not kill monsters either. You might be a big help to the Beast Masters around then but... nevermind that."

He can tell the varying grades of metal in them, which, in a way, really pisses him off. He only has 3 real metals to work with; steel, silver, and gold, and having discovered damascus after some research, he at least had a more durable, lighter steel, but that shit wasn't working out with gold or silver.

"I will make you one, this is without question. But it'll take time. Time to learn, and even then, it'll take time get it right for YOU." he declares, incredibly confident. Determination burned in him. He had a commanding officer once, and he'd seen her looking after her katana, Reppumaru, once. Cleaning it, taking care for it after a battle. "I won't let you go empty handed. I have an idea, at least until I make you the right blade. I've got a lot of swords here. Standard warrior stuff. I'll be more than happy to blunt one of the edges for you so I can forge you something proper. So you'll have at least SOMETHING to protect yourself with."

He was no idiot even if he might act like one. He wasn't sure what a monster was or why he should be worried about them yet, but he also was certain that he would deal with it when the time came. He glanced around at the weapons and then looked at his hands. The Western styled blades had their own tricks and quirks, and he was fairly certain that he would not care for them anyways, even with the offer of blunting a side.

But he had Jobs and they were suppose to give him an added bonus in some form, or at least that was what he understood the other moogle had said. Koneko wasn't as sure, but she did confirm that the Jobs imparted some skills to match. So maybe he should go with the role he had been trusted into when he woke up in the familiar layers of silk and armor.

"I woke up dressed as a shinobi" he said, glancing over at his moogle. She laughed and settled on Kenshin's shoulder, patting his scarred cheek like one would to soothe a cat.

"He means he has the Ninja Job," she said. "That would mean a lighter weapon, and they usually are single-edged, right?"

"More or less... But this is going to really help me out once I get the technique down right, I can make shorter and longer ones too." he says, still obviously excited.

"But yeah, let me get you something for now." he says as he goes off and takes up a long dagger, it's a bit curved, something a bit more fantastic and foreign to both European and Asian blades.

"Hopefully this'll hold you over for now. But come see me in a few days, I'll have a few test blades for you to try out."

Test blades?

((And if you don't mind a time skip, we can also handle getting ye sakabatou here too!))

There was a slight feeling of distaste as he took the dagger from the smith. He had used short swords when he carried a proper set of weapons - of course he was samurai even if he hadn't been born one - but the idea of just a dagger really scraped against his swordsman's soul. It was just wrong, even as his fingers adjusted their grip as if born to hold it or similar weapons. He looked over at Koneko, and the moogle giggled, giving his bangs a slight tug.

"Oh, stop that frowning," she said and patted his cheek again.

Kenshin huffed, though it was probably more of a muted snort, before nodding and looking back at MarKus, eyebrows raised at the idea of a test blade.

"Are you sure of a few days?" Because even the best smiths he knew could not make a regular katana within a span of a few days unless they already had one in the making.

He nods in total confidence. "Yup. Days. Firstly, I have a good set of extra hands here. And second... well... I'm sort of GOD at making weapons. Even the shops around here are mindblown at how fast I can fill orders. Probably comes from the years I spent having to repair giant machines in days time to get the mback in fighting condition."

But he waves his hand dismissively, as that's probably not a tale Kenshin cares to hear; about the future nearly 3000+ years ahead of his.

"Anyway, that's just to get the weight and shape right of a good one. Once we find the right balance, I'll get to real work on YOUR sword. Sakabatou, right?"

He just blinked at what MarKus was saying, not even sure if he was hearing and if he was, not really sure how to picture it in his mind. He had seen a walking machine - a Magictek Armor - but that still didn't really set right in his head. It took him a moment or two to think about it, looking down at the pieces of his sword even as he fingered the long dagger in his hand.

Kenshin wasn't going to hurt people, but he needed the edge to his sword. He needed a weapon to fight but it cannot ever be a sword like what others carry. This guy seemed to think he can make a new one in days. Just purifying the steel from raw iron dust took time, but maybe there was a way in this kind of shop for the proper method. Maybe it was worth it?

"Yes, a sakabatou."

[ time skip is okay :3 ]

Or perhaps MarKus was some sort of golden god with a hammer and a slab of steel! There had been new developments since Kenshin's time, as well as some job-granted manner of simply... understanding how it was supposed to work.

--- Days later ---

MarKus sends out a letter to be given to Kenshin, to call him over to the forge for a few testings. What MarKus has for him are about 3 plain-ass katana, no Sakabatou yet, but he's calling in the expect to check quality of the blades, of which are all almost perfect when compared to the broken blade left behind. Almost because one of which has the blade taking too much of the metal, and the others having slightly different curves.

"What's up my man! I got a few experiments for ya."

Kenshin blinked at the words and automatically glanced up before giving his head a shake. It was probably a greeting from whatever world MarKus can from, even if it sounded strange to him. He nodded in return and looked down at the swords laid out on the work bench. They were no sakabatou, but they did bear some semblance of katana.

He tested them first by holding onto the hilt and feeling the balance of the blades before moving through some quick kata before putting each one back. after that, he looked down at them, running the tips of his fingers along the cutting edge before pulling away and thinking it over.

"There are some qualities that are almost right to these blades," he said, looking up at MarKus. "A lot more which is wrong. The first blade is too heavy. Katana are light and they bend; that one would not bend and will snap when hitting bone, that it would. It might work for a one time weapon or if you wish to disable a person, but not for more than one use. Second one, the curve is too much. One has heard that a katana gains its curve through the amount of heat and cooling it has, not from force. Too much of a curve and it will also snap; it is a weak spot, one easily can target that spot and force the blade to break. Third one, the curve is against the air. One needs the curve to cut cleaning through air, not against. Against slows the speed down, makes the blows hit for less, and while I am not willing to kill, I also do not wish to give any chance to misjudging a blow. That would be too dangerous for all."

"Hmm, okay okay." MarKus appears incredibly thoughtful about the situation, looking the blades over as he's explained their flaws. "Here, let's do this then. It'll ruin it, but in the end it's for the best."

Of course, reheating a treated and ready blade is stupid; it'll ruin it's integrity all over, but, it's now becoming an example! After reheating, MarKus starts hammering it, curving the blade more and more over an anvil. "It might take some work, but let me know when I've got it right, or really close." he says, giving Kenshin an active role in making his sword.

"As for the others..." he explains while hammering, "You can just have them, if you can put them to some sort of use. They were tests so there's no money to be made on a flawed blade."

"I do not need them."

He would probably take and break them, to release the souls inside of the swords to be remade then use them for anything less than what they had been made for. Kenshin was a firm believer of only taking what he needed, not taking stuff just because it was offered to him. Especially improper swords. He turned to watch MarKus pound away at that one sword and then shook his head a little, walking up and just reaching to stop him in mid-swing.

"A gentle curve. It does not need to be deep or wrong, only a soft curve like that on a swallow tea bowl."

"I've never *Thud* seen a *thud* tea bowl *twang* before." But that's not going to stop him from trying. MarKus stops when interrupted but is quick to get back to work.

He heats the blade again and hammers the metal, ruining it's edge of course, until he actually manages a proper curve; one that Kenshin approves of. "Okay, I think I can do this. I can't use this one but not bad right?" he boasts a bit.

He didn't have the same beliefs Kenshin did... no 'souls' were used to make a sword, except maybe his own? This isn't Dark Souls or anything like that!

Kenshin clicked his tongue, shaking his head but still maintaining an amused smiled. People from other worlds were just plain strange, especially ones that never seen what was to him a rather normal everyday item. He watched MarKus work the metal and then nodded as the shape looked better, closer to how it should be.

"It does look more like it should, that it does."

The hammering stopped finally as he held up the sword and then quickly sank it into a trough of water and oil. "There... okay. I can do this for sure. You'll have you Sakabatou in no time." he says, again, confident in his skills entirely.

The culture shock was far from surprising. Heck, surely Kenshin would be surprised by modern-day Japan, nevermind people who hadn't seen feudal Japan or the eras surrounding and spawning from it.

"I appreciate the help man!" And MarKus holds his hand out to shake Kenshin's

He was having some culture shock as it was just from his housing alone. The moogle is also strange and let's not even go into the whole deal with magic and jobs. He was still trying to get use to the idea of needing a Job to use his natural skills.

MarKus' hand was given a look before he remembered himself and took it. He still bowed a little over the handshake - it was a Western custom that he had seen but never really had much use for it, so he wasn't going to linger at all. Only one or two pumps before he let go and took a step back. Touching people in that kind of manner was weird, okay?

"You are welcome. Send word when one's sword is ready."

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GET BACK TO WORK!

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