The birth of a legend (mayhaps) [Augmentation]

The sun has just began to set, and Kouga was walking home after a long day at the practice fields. He was beat and bruised, but also happy that he met some new people who turned out to be pretty fun. Now that he was alone, his thoughts started to wander. He ordered some Senju Wood from the Crafter's Lodge quite some time ago, he wondered when it would arrive. He's been planning to make a new hilt for his blade from it, so he was practicing with some woodcarving to make it look the best he could. Since  the foxes he met saved his life and did something to the sword, he was thinking of carving the hilt to be a tribute to them. A fox tail was what he settled on. So since then his room was full of fox tail carvings, a sign of his determination.

Without noticing he was already at the door to his family's house. He entered and saw a package on the dining table. His heart jumped. "Dad is this what I think it is?" - he shouted. "I don't have any way to see through boxes, but I'd wager it is." - came the answer from within deeper in the house. He suddenly didn't feel tired at all. He wanted to start working right away. He picked up the package and turned right out the door shouting a quick "I'll be back later!". He thought he heard a sigh as he left, but he wasn't sure. And he didn't care too much either.

Kouga was running through the streets with a box in his hands and his sword at his back. He almost fell over a rock, but managed to keep himself upright and continued dashing towards his destination: his father's smithy. The sun did finally set at some point on his journey, so the bright light of the sundown was replaced by the dim lights of the lamp posts across the village. He took the last turn and stopped before the door, his breath a bit ragged from the run. He looked for his key, unlocked the door and entered this shrine of metalworking. Though this time around there wouldn't be too much of that. Really, he probably could have done this at home, but he wanted solace and quiet to work and besides, the blade was forged here, so it was only fitting that the hilt would be carved here as well.

He took a second to catch his breath. He knew there was no point in starting to work until he could calm down, and keep his hands steady. He pulled out his carving knife and opened up the box. He just realized he didn't confirm what was in it, so if it wasn't the Senju Wood, he would feel really stupid and soon too. But to his relief, it was. He took a closer look at the fabled hard wood, took in all its grains and crevices. It looked beautiful, and he could feel the chakra gathered in it. He slowly touched the wood, and felt it revitalize him. The First Hokage's blood had nurtured these trees. So much history, so much power. But it was finally time to work.

He took the rectangle shaped wood out of the box and started working on it with his carving knife, like he did so many times before. The hundreds of times he would carve the same form, the same shape from wood would now bear fruit. His body almost moved on his own, he knew the movements exactly. There was nothing random, nothing creative in it. It was purely methodical. The edges of the rectangle slowly disappeared, and the form of a bushy tail started to emerge from it. Once he was satisfied with the base form, he put down the knife, and pulled out his chisel and hammer. The longer part, the thorough crafting of every detail was just about to begin.

He slowly and meticulously carved every strand of hair, every minor detail. The chisel was moving around, the hammer was gently, but confidently hammering. He was in complete trance, only his tools and his work existed. The hours passed but Kouga didn't notice. Not when the moon climbed to the top of the world, not when it started ascending, and not even when the sun finally started to rise again, so they could begin their ancient dance anew. But just as the first rays of the new day reached inside and touched his face, he sat back and gave a satisfied sigh. He looked over his carving and smiled. It looked exactly how he imagined it.

Now the only thing left was applying it. He had made the carving hollow, with a hole on the side that was to be attached to the blade. He first had to get rid of the old hilt, which was easy enough. He heated up where they were joined, and used a blade to separate them. He then pulled the new hilt onto the blade. It was a perfect match, his calculations were correct. Next he used eight clench nails, four on both sides, perpendicular to the blade to fix the new hilt on. And with that the process was complete. He gave the sword a few swings, but suddenly felt completely spent. There's no way he could get home before falling asleep. He sat down on his working chair and closed his eyes, squeezing the new hilt of his blade.

[exit]
[claims]
TWC: 919

-4,000 ryo to make the ANT B-rank (6,000 to 2,000)
-1 Senju Wood
-1 Korei
+1 Korei (ANT)

- 9 points to Vigor
- 500 wc towards D-rank Bull Rush (500/500)
- 419 towards C-rank Bull Rush (919/1000)

Approved