[Masamune no Gin]

Gin was starting to get used to this place. Though many of its little idiosyncrasies were a little irritating. For example, while she hardly expected people to bow and scrape before her, most everyone in a related trade knew of and respected the Masamune. Envious of their prowess, or eager to see their materials used in their fabled, holy blades. Here, she was forced to use her connections to the leadership of Nohara no Kuni in order to receive a fraction of the deference she was owed.

It was also a shame that the land was apparently so lawless that she needed an escort, though it fortunately tended to keep its distance. Something about being a 'national asset.' Though, considering her run-in with that Muramasa ruffian, perhaps that minor irritation was for the best.

Hohei-chō was more to her taste than Hirata. Older, more noble. A fortress, not a trap for travelers and those with a poor grasp on their own coin purse. It almost felt familiar, though the fact that most of the soldiery were mere ashigaru and these strange shinobi still struck her as decidedly odd. Especially when they tried to forge weapons.

"Again, no! How many times must we go over this?" Gin's raised voice cut through the crowd, emanating from a trade goods store, whose proprietor looked equal parts placating and exasperated.
"What appears to be the issue, Masamune-san?" The merchant was trying very hard to keep irritation out of his voice.
"The issue is that you keep trying to fill my orders with steel, instead of coke and iron! Even now!" Gin slammed her hand on the counter for emphasis. "I've seen how you people prepare the steel - typical shortcutting. If you'd read that manual I'd so kindly sent you-"
"With all due respect, Masamune-san, the foundries here aren't going to switch to an entirely new method for a single order. Especially when the results would seem to be virtually identical, just less efficient." Gin rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms.
"Then send me the iron and coke, and I'll do it myself!" Irritation was rising in both parties now.
"Don't you have swords to make...? The steel is of high quality, I assure you. I'm just concerned you'll fall behind on your quota." An impasse seemed to have been reached. Steel was easier to transport than iron and coke, and had a much higher profit margin compared to raw iron and the coke needed to carbonize it into steel. That much made sense, but it seemed Gin's talk of spiritual impurities was reaching plugged ears. These simpletons only cared about physical impurities. And knew nothing of how exacting the art of creating reactive and conductive alloys was.

"Send me the coke and iron," Gin warned, her eyes narrowed. "You know where to send the invoice." With that, Gin turned on a heel and stormed out, rolling her eyes, and flicking her hair back dramatically as she strode out onto the street.

Striking a passerby with her dyed red-and-white locks. Gin turned to them, and quelled the bit of irritation that was still within her. She wasn't some churlish noble, who trampled over her lessers without regret. "Ah, my apologies. I forget myself when dealing with the incompetent," Gin said loudly enough for the store owner to hear. "I do hope I've not caused you any distress."

[Akatsuki]

 

- Watch for me by moonlight -

"I’ll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!"

Akatsuki no longer had a taste for adventure--though, truthfully, that spirit had died the day her brother was taken from her. In the following years, she had found much joy and peace in interacting with the world as she traversed it for her search, but the goal had never been simply to explore. And, after her quest had come to a dim end and she'd retired her dreams, she found herself idling like a ghost. Not straying too far from her temple, and never seeking out any dramatic changes to the simple life she had since crafted for herself.
    Not yet, at least.
    That did not mean, however, that she was afraid to leave--and whenever she felt compelled to stray, she followed her heart as she always did.
    For now, what brought her from her home hadn't been some grandiose plan or plot for adventure, but rather seeking something specific in mind. It was what had brought her here--perhaps unorthodox and awfully brave for her to try engaging with the residents of the town, but she was never one to exhibit too much fear.
    As she walked down the street of the town of smiths, a door opened and a flip of hair smacked Akatsuki right in the face--causing the woman to halt her gait a bit in surprise. "Oh-!" It didn't hurt, of course, though the woman who had exited the building seemed to be in quite a huffy mood. Irate and temperamental, by the mere first impression at least.
    "Not at all, there was no harm done," Akatsuki spoke lightly in response to the woman's apology. Of all the first encounters she'd had with strangers, this was far from the worst. Though, of speaking of distress--the other woman certainly seemed to have something bothering her. Interacting with "incompetent" people, by the sound of it. Regardless, it certainly seemed that she had more steam to blow off than Akatsuki had. "Is anything the matter?"

Masamune no Gin | 325 Words | Notes:

Blue Text - Tsuchi Branch Kyōbō Only
Pink Text - Sign language
Violet Text - Common Language

Shin of GS + Adox

[Masamune no Gin]

"Just despairing that it seems that every land teems with the mediocre and the incompetent," Gin said dramatically, keeping her voice loud enough to carry. It seemed, if nothing else, that Gin would rather people know that she was badmouthing them, even if indirectly. "But unless you happen to be a wholesaler of raw iron, it's not something you can aid me with."

Gin looked at the woman properly, raising a hand to her chin. She was polite, and not obnoxious like many of the people she met. She seemed cultured as well - making connections in this strange land could be a good idea. Assuming, of course, that she wasn't just some nameless commoner.

"Masamune no Gin, of Tetsu no Kuni," Gin introduced herself abruptly, righting her hair in lieu of a bow. "Now, I must make up for my prior discourtesy. What refreshments does this land offer? My throat is parched from lodging complaints." It didn't sound like an invitation. Rather, Gin clearly assumed the other woman would simply drop whatever errand she was running to entertain her for a time.

[Akatsuki]

 

- Watch for me by moonlight -

"I’ll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!"

"Ah... that's... too bad," Akatsuki said awkwardly in response to the woman's explanation. Mediocre and incompetent? Akatsuki hoped she was just frustrated and lashing out verbally at those around her, but... well, she supposed there were plenty of people around who held such beliefs sincerely. A difference of opinions, perhaps. If she felt that way, there was likely very little that Akatsuki could do in the moment to change her outlook on the world. "Unfortunately, I am not," she confirmed the other woman's suspicions.
    If nothing else, at least she'd been able to vent momentarily about her frustration, so Akatsuki was content to leave it there.
    The two shared passing glances for a moment. While the other woman looked Akatsuki over, Akatsuki glanced back in return. The other woman also had long white hair--and judging by her eyes, she did not seem to be a Kyōbō. Something that probably was for the best, anyway. The other woman was dressed quite practically--while Akatsuki had begun favoring dresses with flowing skirts now that she'd settled down a bit in the land of fields--and unlike Akatsuki, the woman had her hair tied up in a high ponytail and out of her face. She was cute, and while Akatsuki did not hope to attain friendship from their brief encounter, she hoped it could stay a pleasant first meeting.
    Just as Akatsuki thought about giving her farewells--the woman instead introduced herself.
    Masamune no Gin, of Tetsu no Kuni.
    Akatsuki's eyes lit up for a moment. "Ah--Tetsu no Kuni?" Then, she smiled and a slight giggle escaped from her. "You are very far from home, then!" Giving a slight bow of her own in turn, curtseying with her skirts, Akatsuki introduced herself in turn. It only seemed polite to accept the invitation of introduction, after all! "I am Akatsuki the Bleeding Sun. I hail from Tsuchi no Kuni, but my home is anywhere the sun touches."
    Rather, her birth place meant nothing to her.
    She had traveled the world and while she resided in Nohara no Kuni for now, she understood that may change at any moment. And she would be content with that.
    "Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with this settlement, myself," Akatsuki admitted when Gin asked where she might find somewhere to drink. "I came seeking the services of the craftsmen that I heard stay here. If you seek companionship on your search, however, I would not mind accompanying you temporarily." She could keep her eye out for a workshop while also helping the woman find somewhere to get something to drink, could she not? And, besides, she hardly considered her own quest to be all too pressing a matter. 

Masamune no Gin | 446 Words | Notes:

Blue Text - Tsuchi Branch Kyōbō Only
Pink Text - Sign language
Violet Text - Common Language

Shin of GS + Adox

[Masamune no Gin]

"'The Bleeding Sun?' Quite the macabre epithet, though I confess it means little to me." Gin's interest was piqued. These shinobi had all manner of confusing titles and terms, to which Gin paid little heed. Only the clan hierarchy and the general concept of social standing meant much to her.

Gin failed to silence the annoyed clock of her tongue when Akatsuki confessed that she was also unfamiliar with the area. Just her luck that the first interesting and halfway polite person she had met was just as ignorant as she. But that mild annoyance soon passed with the next sentence.

"Well, my fair Bleeding Sun, if you are in need of arms or armor, you won't find a finer craftsman in the entirety of Nohara no Kuni." Her chest puffed up on clear pride, and she crossed her arms as she made an imperious pose. "I take it you're unfamiliar with the Masamune? A shame that tales of our surpassing blades are most confined to the samurai of my homeland." Gin turned, narrowing her eyes as she tried to find a cafe, or something. She motioned Akatsuki to follow. There was business to discuss, now! "What do you need made? A lady like yourself... a naginata? A kodachi? Oh! Armor for your husband?"