1 A New Day Dawns [No Kill/Invite Only. Arashi's Funeral and New Tsuchikage Inauguration] Tue Jun 18, 2013 3:57 pm
Rikimaru
D-rank
Rikimaru was bent over the anvil, driving the hammer he gripped firmly in his right hand into the glowing steel at the base of the blade. Holding it up in-front of himself, he examined the blade for a moment before placing it back inside the coals. As he left the blade to heat up for a moment, Rikimaru turned to face the Quenching trench. His reflection revealed just how badly the battle had treated him. Rikimaru's right ear was missing, and his entire face was covered in bandages. His eyelids were covered in patchy skin where they had begun to heal. Every strip of skin had been torn from Rikimaru's bones during his battle with Hao. Quite frankly, it was a miracle he didn't die. The only part of his body that was uncovered was his left arm. He was forced to remove it during the battle, but had since found a replacement. The Sarif Clan of Iwagakure no Sato was kind enough to combine Rikimaru's steel technology with their prosthetic limbs, creating a steel arm that moved and functioned like a regular arm. It wasn't as fast as Rikimaru's old arm, but it did the job.
Pulling the blade out of the fire, Rikimaru held it above the water trench before plunging it in, smiling as the water hissed and steam bellowed out. He could tell from the sound that the blade had quenched properly. "Lord Rikimaru!" a voice called, followed by the door of the forge sliding open. An Iwagakure no sato Jounin entered, bowing briefly before rising to face Rikimaru. "It's time." Rikimaru nodded silently and the man quickly left. Placing the blade on top of the anvil, Rikimaru examined his handiwork for a moment. His reforge of Izayoi was going slowly, but it was to be expected. He had recovered enough fragments of the legendary blade to rebuild it, but it would take time for this new steel to take on the required properties. Still, all he could do was wait and see.
Stepping out from the darkness of the forge into the light of the Iwagakure morning, Rikimaru found that two honour guards had been left to escort him to the event. It seemed that given his injured state, the council running Iwagakure felt he needed protection. Still, it didn't offend him. If anything, Rikimaru found it convenient. He didn't know his way around Iwagakure, and if he tried to find his own way to the Coliseum he would probably just get lost in the maze that was this city. The guards made a brief stop at Rikimaru's temporary accommodation so that he could get changed out of his forging gear into something more appropriate. Admittedly, he didn't bring anything with him, but it seemed that Councillor Arata had a sense of humour. When Rikimaru entered his room, he found that there was a suit of armour laid out for him, an ancient, outdated ornamental Samurai design, probably several hundred years old. It was well polished and there were small signs of reforging, probably to remove dents and imperfections. Something this high quality must have been taken out of some ancient vault or museum. Rikimaru took a few minutes to slide into the old armour, as it wasn't built for his frame, and he found it to be a bit of a tight squeeze with the thick bandages he had to wear. Eventually he managed to force on the dark red armour, and took a moment to admire it's beautiful gold trim before sliding on the final piece; an oni helmet. How... appropriate. Turning to the sword stand on the door, Rikimaru removed a basic Katana and Wakizashi pairing he had been given and slid them into place, letting them rest gently on his left hip.
The walk to the Coliseum was a sombre one. Civilians, Academy students and Shinobi all marched in silence towards the arena where the event would take place. It wasn't the most tasteful place imaginable, but it was the only one large enough to house the grotesquely large amount of people they had to fit in. Rikimaru and his guard quickly split off from the rest of the group, however, as they made their way to a side entrance. The off limit section of the arena was full of VIPs and people preparing for the event. Everyone Rikimaru passed smiled at him and gave a small bow, but it was clear that their respect was forced and their smiles were plastic. Eventually, Rikimaru reached the private lounge, where the Iwagakure no Sato council was gathered. Even without Rikimaru's presence, the heads in this room were worth enough gold to buy the earth country and still have enough left to build a nice castle. Every member of the Iwagakure council, as well as the Earth Country council sat in silence as they waited for everyone to arrive. In the most lush of the chairs that filled the room, the Daiymo sat, in full gold leafed attire. When Rikimaru entered, he rose from his chair and bowed slightly, before gesturing towards a free seat to his right.
Rikimaru took his place at the right side of the Daimyo, waiting a moment before asking the question that had been consuming his thoughts the entire walk over. "Have you reached a decision yet?" All eyes in the room rose in unison, and every single pair locked onto Rikimaru. The silence hung for a few moments before the Daimyo spoke. "Indeed we have. They should be arriving any second now, then we can get the proceedings underway." As the Daimyo finished his sentence, the door to the hall swung open once again, and a single figure stepped through.....
Pulling the blade out of the fire, Rikimaru held it above the water trench before plunging it in, smiling as the water hissed and steam bellowed out. He could tell from the sound that the blade had quenched properly. "Lord Rikimaru!" a voice called, followed by the door of the forge sliding open. An Iwagakure no sato Jounin entered, bowing briefly before rising to face Rikimaru. "It's time." Rikimaru nodded silently and the man quickly left. Placing the blade on top of the anvil, Rikimaru examined his handiwork for a moment. His reforge of Izayoi was going slowly, but it was to be expected. He had recovered enough fragments of the legendary blade to rebuild it, but it would take time for this new steel to take on the required properties. Still, all he could do was wait and see.
Stepping out from the darkness of the forge into the light of the Iwagakure morning, Rikimaru found that two honour guards had been left to escort him to the event. It seemed that given his injured state, the council running Iwagakure felt he needed protection. Still, it didn't offend him. If anything, Rikimaru found it convenient. He didn't know his way around Iwagakure, and if he tried to find his own way to the Coliseum he would probably just get lost in the maze that was this city. The guards made a brief stop at Rikimaru's temporary accommodation so that he could get changed out of his forging gear into something more appropriate. Admittedly, he didn't bring anything with him, but it seemed that Councillor Arata had a sense of humour. When Rikimaru entered his room, he found that there was a suit of armour laid out for him, an ancient, outdated ornamental Samurai design, probably several hundred years old. It was well polished and there were small signs of reforging, probably to remove dents and imperfections. Something this high quality must have been taken out of some ancient vault or museum. Rikimaru took a few minutes to slide into the old armour, as it wasn't built for his frame, and he found it to be a bit of a tight squeeze with the thick bandages he had to wear. Eventually he managed to force on the dark red armour, and took a moment to admire it's beautiful gold trim before sliding on the final piece; an oni helmet. How... appropriate. Turning to the sword stand on the door, Rikimaru removed a basic Katana and Wakizashi pairing he had been given and slid them into place, letting them rest gently on his left hip.
The walk to the Coliseum was a sombre one. Civilians, Academy students and Shinobi all marched in silence towards the arena where the event would take place. It wasn't the most tasteful place imaginable, but it was the only one large enough to house the grotesquely large amount of people they had to fit in. Rikimaru and his guard quickly split off from the rest of the group, however, as they made their way to a side entrance. The off limit section of the arena was full of VIPs and people preparing for the event. Everyone Rikimaru passed smiled at him and gave a small bow, but it was clear that their respect was forced and their smiles were plastic. Eventually, Rikimaru reached the private lounge, where the Iwagakure no Sato council was gathered. Even without Rikimaru's presence, the heads in this room were worth enough gold to buy the earth country and still have enough left to build a nice castle. Every member of the Iwagakure council, as well as the Earth Country council sat in silence as they waited for everyone to arrive. In the most lush of the chairs that filled the room, the Daiymo sat, in full gold leafed attire. When Rikimaru entered, he rose from his chair and bowed slightly, before gesturing towards a free seat to his right.
Rikimaru took his place at the right side of the Daimyo, waiting a moment before asking the question that had been consuming his thoughts the entire walk over. "Have you reached a decision yet?" All eyes in the room rose in unison, and every single pair locked onto Rikimaru. The silence hung for a few moments before the Daimyo spoke. "Indeed we have. They should be arriving any second now, then we can get the proceedings underway." As the Daimyo finished his sentence, the door to the hall swung open once again, and a single figure stepped through.....