un: forgery; (posted 5-10).

[misclassed]

This is Muramasa.

Just before we left last month, I was given leave to keep a smithy on the premises of the base in Kyoto. It's functional now, so the lot of you using blades from our employer need to come have a proper edge put on them. Don't dawdle: you're embarrassing me, walking around like that as it is with those things. Same goes for those of you with personal blades that need upkeep.

[ now, time for the announcement of the grand opening of peepaw's sword emporium. Sort of. ]

Now, if you just want a proper blade of your own for our work here, and I've got a finished one on hand, you can have it if you pay me back for those materials. (Don't do anything stupid with it — they're swords, not toys.) Or, if katana ain't your style and you want something special, or you'd like a matching set, I can do that too. I'll have to test ya so I can see what suits you, plus I'll be charging you for materials and time away from my own work, but it's a properly forged sword made by a master, and you can't beat that price these days.

[ nobody would be so shifty as to start selling those swords on an underground, black market, right? definitely not. ]

And before I forget—Kuzunoha, Laios. You two come see me at the smithy when you're free, regarding the work we talked about before.

[ He already talked to you boys about blades, so you're exempt from this decree about payment... but only once.

And lastly, but most importantly: ]

... Tsurumaru-dono, please feel free to come visit as well. I'd like to see how you're holding up, now that there's a proper forge to work in.

Comments

[cranekin]

How optimistic!

Really? You found an apprentice already?
I'm even more surprised.
I'll have to bring more snacks, too.

[misclassed]

Well... I'll see if he ever wants to learn to make blades proper, but Okkotsu's just helping out for now. What else am I supposed to do when a wayward kid in need of something productive to do shows up on my doorstep? Send him away when there's work to be done?

[cranekin]

(Oh, so that's how it is, huh...)

You could tell them to get a hobby.
It's very generous of you to take them under your wing.
Still, a forge is a lot of work, Muramasa-kun.
Do you need anymore help?

[misclassed]

[ What's a hobby... if he teaches Yuta to forge knives does that count as a hobby? The work arrangement hadn't originally been for anything other than to give Yuta something to do after whatever happened in Egypt left his heart heavy with guilt... it just ended up lasting longer than anticipated, and he keeps showing up, so Muramasa won't chase him away. ]

Hah, yeah, there's a limit to what can be done on my own without a second pair of arms, even at my level. I'm sure I can come up with something if you need to fill your time, Tsurumaru-dono.

[ especially if you're just laying about and eating snacks... ]

[cranekin]

(Tea ceremony, flower arranging, haiku, kendama, karuta, dancing, singing, birdwatching, kendo, calligraphy... there are so many hobbies!!!)

I don't do boring or dirty work.
But if you need help, I'll see how I feel.

Now, before I forget...

You said you wanted to see me?

[misclassed]

Ah, yeah. I wanna see how your repairs are holding up after fighting that beast in Egypt. Make sure I'm still satisfied with the work.

[ people who ACTUALLY need a hobby: muramasa. ]

[cranekin]

And I want to see your forge!
Tell me where it is.
I'll bring a grand opening gift too.

[misclassed]

Kyoto base, on the western side.

Hope you don't mind that it's a little crowded at the moment.

[ Between Aventurine and Rin, or Yuta and Muramasa's new fleet of customers, he's gone from having a nice quiet hermitage to stay in on his own to a small hub of activity. He hasn't decided how he feels about it yet, but he's grateful for the chance to do proper work. ]

[cranekin]

Eh? How many are there?
I'll make sure to bring enough for everyone.

[misclassed]

Yanno, it was supposed to be just me, originally.

But Aventurine's keeping me company now, and Tohsaka keeps popping in and out for her projects, and then Okkotsu when I can get him to sit still for a bit.

[cranekin]

How lively!

I see. I'll have to buy some more sweets so wait a little longer.
I'll ask Kashiwa to help, too.

(Don't ask who Kashiwa is. Or do.)

[misclassed]

You really don't have to bring anything, Tsurumaru-dono...

1/2

[cranekin]

I want snacks.

(So of course, he's going to bring some and he cannot be stopped!!)

[cranekin]

Let me in.

(Just assuming he also got the exact coordinates and stuff... so he ran face first into a CERTAIN BARRIER.)

1/2.

[misclassed]

Oh, right.

Hold on.

[misclassed]

[ Sheepishly, Muramasa appears at the entrance to his main work area, his outline blurred slightly by the barrier's power. Without pause, he crosses the little yard and steps halfway across the barrier's threshold to offer Tsurumaru his hand, ready to personally guide him across the boundary line— he's been working the fire, if the way the sense of heat and the clear smell of burning charcoal clings to his fingers. ]

Sorry.

[ Old hermit habits die hard, right? ]

[cranekin]

(Muramasa arrives just in time to find Tsurumaru rubbing his forehead with one hand. His other hand holds a simple bouquet of irises. Next to him, a white hummingbird flutters in the air, carrying a paper shopping bag. When he sees Muramasa, hand outstretched...






Tsurumaru just hands him the bouquet and then goes to help his poor, burdened hummingbird, taking the shopping bag in hand. He's already coming over, first testing out to make sure nothing is really there before crossing over,)

I was seriously surprised... Its been a long time since I've run into a barrier like this.

(And just let him take a deep breath and SIIIIIGH,)

Aaah! How nostalgic!

(It sure does smell and feel like a forge.)

[misclassed]

[ Muramasa accepts the flowers bemusedly, and steps back as Tsurumaru forges ahead once again. The barrier ripples gently this time, responding to the unspoken invite and allowing both the spirit and the hummingbird through without any of the previous resistance. ]

People keep saying that, but it's not like I can stop it from popping up, either.

[ One of Aventurine's cats, sunning itself on the veranda, turns its head towards their commotion and blinks at them as they cross the yard. ]

So I'll just have to come up with something that lets you through if I'm tied up...

[ Yuta has a blade that the barrier recognizes as Muramasa's own work, which is why he's able to come and go as he pleases now... but that wouldn't be proper for a respected work like Tsurumaru himself. Maybe one of his tsuba drafts? Or something else small, for a little while. ]

Does it pass muster, barrier aside?

[cranekin]

Eeeh, look at it... it's almost like home.

(Really, he's so nostalgic. He never thought he'd find a place like this in this era. )

Mhmm.. right, right. It's protective, right? So I suppose I'll need a key.

(Yes, he's already inviting himself over more. In response, he nods,)

It's a fine forge, Muramasa-kun. But why are you asking? Are you shy? Is that it?

(Let him menace.)

[misclassed]

[ Consider him menaced. Muramasa's brow furrows, mouth turned down in a bothered frown — ]

Don't be ridiculous. I know it suits me, but what swordsmith wouldn't want to know how the blade feels about the workshop?

[ It's a far cry from something he'd choose himself, but considering the work he put into restoring the dilapidated building, and trying to overcome the lack of industries that would have supported a smith in his own life, he's proud of what he accomplished in such a short time. A Servant's lack of sleep is useful, when it comes to this.

He just wants... a little bit of a second opinion. That's all. ]

[cranekin]

Oh?

(He lets out a laugh, cheerful and bright. How can he not be amused? It's not every day that someone asks a sword for its opinion. Even in his current form, he's aware people mostly care because he's more human than blade. They wonder about person, Tsurumaru Kuninaga, and not the thing, Tsurumaru Kuninaga.)

It's quaint. (Old fashioned but charming,) It's lacking. From here, I can feel only a little. There isn't much, is there? You've accomplished only a small fraction but of course, you've only just begun.

(Unlike the forge back home, he can't feel the same heavy feeling of unrefined iron or the sharpness of steel. But maybe there are better ways to explain he can tell the smith is lacking proper resources.)

Ah, but even from here, I can feel the warmth of the forge. Burning and hungry and bright with promise.

(Words light, carefully chosen and reminiscent of the old poem songs than regular speech. It's less of an answer for a question and more like the beginning of a story only for his tone to drop and return to a more regular cadence,)

Very few blades care about where they're forged, Muramasa-kun. As long as you create a sword with purpose, you'll create sword that will think, "I'm proud to have been made."

[misclassed]

... That's good to know.

[ He hopes that sword, the one he shaped into existence back in the forge at the heart of the world, is proud of itself. He hopes it helped her, in the end.

When they enter, Muramasa's forge is tidy in the way only a workshop still in the calm before a prodigious amount of work is done can be. The work area is small, but the the tools that neatly line the walls all have their place. The anvil sits ready for hammering next to the hearth, which is clean of ash and stocked with fresh charcoal.

But though the tools are structurally perfect, seemingly whole, they're also hollow in a way, missing the most essential essence of a thing. The lacking presence is in nearly everything made of metal, from the tongs, to the hammers, even the anvil with it's solid weight. Rather, it's more like fragments of Muramasa himself filling in the places where metal should rightly be. The sole exception is his own hammer, which sits solidly in its home. ]

Charcoal's the one thing I haven't had trouble getting my hands on. [ The forests that have grown up around Kyoto are a blessing, with only the occasional beast stopping his and Yuta's trips out to chop firewood and set up the mounds, lit with a stray spark and a touch of mana. ] Everything else, I've had to make do with... well, I'm lucky enough that I can pay the price in advance, for things like this.

[ Every spare scrap of iron he's gotten his hands on is going into a blade, not his tools. He'll fix that later. ]