The Fires of the Forge

The sun had been slowly drawing into night as the orange and blue hues began to mix into the midnight blue sky over the village. Many had been turning in for the night, closing their shops and getting ready for a long night of sleep or enjoying time with their families. Many of the shinobi were probably turning in from a long day of patrol or missions, or even were heading out to do missions, Rilo had just finished crafting another order for a customer. Just because the world around him had begun the process of going to sleep did not mean was going to. There was much work to be done and with the upcoming Nova Exams he needed to be prepared for whatever came. In passing he had heard about the previous one where the owner of the forge, Morio, had participated alongside Tsuna the Raven and achieved the title of "Nova" alongside him. The battle had been hard fought especially when he went against one of the current members of the Nova, Enishi. Now that he thought about it there was a lot he needed to prepare for the eventual combat that would occur. Judging from the last time there were a lot of strong contenders and he was unknowing of who would actually be attending this one, but his only goal in mind was to reach the top if not higher than Morio did. The rivalry between master and student had been strong, but Rilo had a lot more to prove to the Dragonling. Being a member of the same branch, it made him want to improve to the point where he could stand side by side with the Ametsuchi, but also felt like a rite of passage for him as well. Rilo had still been growing into his abilities, but still needed the challenge to find any chinks in his armor so to speak. The more he thought about it the more he lost himself to his own tasks, stopping mid hammer to look at the metal he had been working on. The thought of a new weapon came to mind, something different than just the usual swords he had been accumulating. Nothing else felt right to him, but then again he had not tried using other weapons. Enten had been his preferred and favored weapon, the two shared a bond that he could not even quantify. The blade was with him for as long as he could remember and nothing else would feel right to him. He has picked up a few of the weapons made by Morio that littered the walls from time to time and they felt...weird. Foreign, but probably because he was not the one who breathed life into them.

Setting down the hammer slowly he would walk from the back forge to the front of the shop where he sat down on a bench and grabbed a water bottle from the nearby cooling unit. Taking small sips from the bottle, he would continue to ponder on his original idea until he heard that familiar bell of the front door open. Turning his head slightly, his red eyes would look toward who had came in with wild curiosity not thinking it was a customer. His eyes began to widen as he chuckled to himself and sat the bottle down and stood up," Well the Dragon has finally left his cave after so long. What brings the Dragon's Chosen to the realm of mortals?," the sentence was full of a sarcastic tone, but one the Smith was quite accustomed to. The tall blue and white haired male chuckled as he sat a bag down near the entrance of the shop, and stepped in further to take a look around. It had been a while since the "Ice" Wyrm had been out of Kagutsuchi's Forge, and even longer since he had came into the forge itself. Rilo often spoke to him through Nidhogg or letters, but it had been some time since he had seen the male in person. The two would exchange looks before Morio pulled up a stool and sat down, adjusting the glasses that he had been wearing presumably for the aesthetic," Well I had been in the neighborhood and figured i would drop in on the forge and my pupil to see how both are doing. By the lack of cobwebs i see you are keeping the place afloat. You also seem to be doing well with your training you look stockier than the last time i saw you," his eyes never settled on Rilo fully, instead looking around the room at the old items he had made. After a moment he would finally rest his icy blue eyes on the younger Ametsuchi and smile," I also happen to have heard another Nova Tournament and figured you might be joining it. You were never one to shirk from a challenge," the words were more inquisitive than intrusive, but Rilo knew there was an underlying reason for asking this.

There was a small sigh from Rilo before he stood up and stretched a bit, opting to give it a bit of time before he answered the Elder Wyrmling," You sound like someone's father implying that their child is up to no good. I don't like it feels icky. To answer your question yes. I am going to be participating in the Tournament. I plan on exceeding your display of ability and getting first place. If not that second, but that's not the only reason you are here. There is always a reason for my "Master" to pop into the forge, even with news of the Tournament. You were never one to sit idly when there are other things you could be doing," the red eyes peered into the icy hues of the Dragon as he inspected them for any hint of the truth in his words. Morio had been one who had kept things as close to the chest as possible. He did not trust many people. He kept his circle small. In a lot of cases he was hard to read and even harder to gauge, but after a moment of silence the male chuckled. Raising his hands to his side he would place them in his lap and begin to speak," You were never one for small pleasantries or small talk. My real reason of being here is simply to test your ability. With the tournament you are bound to face a variety of opponents, not necessarily in the caliber of people I fought, but skillful in their own right. I know you are pretty strong, but i want to make sure you are the strongest. Because of that I have a challenge for you," as he said this he would stand up and summon a weapon into his hand, one Rilo knew too well. In his right hand would be Morio's trusted weapon, Cassian. He had seen the weapon a few times in passing and knew the blade was as important if not more important that Enten was to him. With one, skillful movement Morio would cleave into existence a portal and step to the right motioning Rilo to follow," Well come on. You've wanted to come to Kagutsuchi's Shrine for some time, now is your chance."

For a moment he was confused but soon he figured what he had meant. Stepping into the portal before Morio, he would find himself in his Dimension. Kagustuschi's Shine. Dedicated to the Shinto Goddess of the Forge and Flame. The Dragon herself. The landscape had remained impressive and beautiful exactly how the twins had described it. Sakura trees as far as the eyes would see in full bloom, and it seemed as if a festival was going on. Caught in his own amazement he would not notice that Morio had changed into a Yukata matching the colors of the environment and cleared his throat," You can admire the scenery later Rilo, for now we have business to tend to don't we?," the male would chuckle as he began to lead him toward a forest. Rilo nodded as he walked beside him and looked around as they did. Everyone had been going about tending to their own business, but stopped to bow to Morio before going back to their lives. They had acknowledged Rilo, but the reverence and respect they gave to Morio was unparallel. Soon after the two reached the forest that had been dimmed with blue wisps, akin to fire, and in the corners of his eyes he could see the forms of others. He did not know what he had been seeing, but given the circumstances it was probably something that Morio would explain. Stopping at the heart of the village, Rilo would begin to look around and cross his arms as he expected an answer but got nothing," So why are we here? Is this where we are going to fight? Or did you bring me here for a lecture?," Though at first glance it would seem that Morio was not going to respond to him. Instead the male would stab Cassian into the ground and cross his arms.

"You are here among those who are of our Clan, the Ametsuchi, so that they may witness your power. You stand here in the forest of the departed to leave your past self in death and a new Rilo in the present. I am going to push you to your limits and when you feel as if there is no way you can break the ceiling you will. You now stand among the Dragons of the West and the warriors of the Ametsuchi. Draw your blade, Rilo of the Splashing Carp," and as he finished Cassian would be drawn from the ground and pointed at Rilo waiting.

For a moment he had thought Morio had been joking, but he knew that the male did not dabble in jokes. He dabbled in realities. Taking in a deep breath he would hold his right hand out as he called Enten through the re-quip plane and into his hands and was dressed in his favored attire, Chihiro. With a flick of his wrist the blade would be awakened from its sheath as he took his stance. Both of his feet would be spread at shoulders length with his right hand firmly gripping the tsuba of his katana. His left hand would rest on the pommel of the blade as he waited for Morio to make the first move. A subtle wind would glide against the tail coat of Rilo as Morio made the first move, dashing forward and striking with full force at Rilo in an attempt to take him off guard. Matching his speed, Rilo would use minimal movement as he begun to block and move Cassian to the right instead of outright clashing with the male. Cassian was a bigger blade, and with Enten being a katana it was dumb for one to try to clash with a bigger weapon. Instead he would begin to use the momentum and weight of Cassian to move it out of the way. The two began to clash blades, Rilo using his deflective defense stance to control his own movements as well as making sure he kept Morio at a distance. The two fought in silence as the only words heard was the clashing of blades, but he knew that things would soon heat up. What was once the symphony of clashing blades was interrupted by the whistling of Morio, which Rilo knew could be two things. He was finally getting into the fight or he was about to surprise him. At this point, Rilo would begin to activate his Kenseigan and observe the chakra flow of Morio. As he did, he would begin to see the accumulation of chakra within Morio as well as the distortion of Space-Time chakra around him or more specifically the area around them. Sliding back 5 meters he would look to his left and right to see a sphere of space time chakra forming within the space Rilo was in.

Chuckling he would activate his Silverwing technique to aid in his escape of the sphere of space time chakra, knowing the technique too well. He saw it as an attempt to keep him in once place, but he was not going to allow Morio to just simply control the battle. "You seriously thought that would escape my eyes? You know we can see the threads of Space-Time and to think that wou-," he would be caught off guard as Morio blinked from the space he was in and appeared behind him, a second blade in his hand. With only a moment to react, he would move Enten to where the blade was flush against his back to block the oncoming attack. The sheer force from his attack would send Rilo reeling forward, but he would be quick to react. Sticking the blade of Enten into the ground he would halt his movements skidding to a stop as he looked at Morio as if he was angry. At some point he had teleported but was too preoccupied with the previous attack to see the movement. If this was a lesson he was not amused at the fact. Standing up he would remove Enten from the ground and pointed at Morio," Again."

Taking his stance, he would dash at Morio using the momentum from the wings to spin and begin to strike at Morio leaving no room for him to counter. The Elderwyrm would deflect each strike before unleashing a torrent of attacks on his own. The two began to strike with speed and power as the crashing from the steel of their blades created sparks in the nighttime sky. Rilo would continue to press forward trying to gain ground, but would occasionally be pushed back by his master as the two fought for dominance. Rilo's eyes would begin to glow a darker crimson as he dipped deeper into his battle fever attempting to overwhelm Morio and finally get the upper hand. The male realizing this would chuckle as he began to parry each of Rilo's attack only showing his mastery over the blade. No matter how hard he attempted to push, Rilo found himself pushed back further and further until he was back on the defensive. After another clash, Morio would jump backwards and take a stance as he smiled," You've grown stronger with time, but you still have more to learn. I am going to push you to your limits with this. Try to keep up and if you can't you will be swept under the current," with that he would begin to take in a deep breath. His skin would begin to take on a dark tinge, akin to black steel as he swung the blades into the air and smiled. Rilo knew this meant that he was finally serious. For a moment he would be able to see Morio for where he had been, but the male had moved faster than what Rilo could perceive at this moment. At the very last moment was he able to block the attack but not before feeling the brunt of the blade against his armor. At this moment Rilo had begun to struggle. Each attack felt like a hammer striking iron as he tried to block to the best of his ability. Using technique after technique he would attempt to isolate Morio and push him back, but the male was far too quick for his attacks to land. One moment he was there and the next he was not. Frustrated, Rilo would move to swing at Morio wildly, doing anything to be rid of the feeling he was going to lose.

Seeing this, Morio took advantage of the situation, blocking Rilo's next attack with Cassian before sliding Nidhogg between Rilo's disturbed grip and moved counter clockwise to disarm and fling the blade into a tree 15 meters from them. Taken aback by the movement, Rilo stumbled backwards and summoned his refined Katana to his hands. He was not about to lose this. He had came too far to lose, even to someone as experienced as Morio. Seeing the boys determination, he remained resolved in pushing the boy to his limits and when Rilo moved to strike, Morio would make one clean move to the blade shattering it in the process. The action appeared in slow motion for Rilo as the blade shattered into pieces, leaving only the hilt of the blade in his hands. What came after was the sandal of Morio planting in the dead center of Rilo, sending him reeling across the forest into a tree 20 meters behind him. As he tumbled, a sense of hopelessness filled his mind. His weapon had been flung across the forest and his body felt as if it was on fire. This was the gap that stood between the two of them, and yet he did not want to give up just yet. Opening one of his eyes as his vision blurred and returned to normal, he stood up slowly trying to gain his footing as he looked at Morio who had been standing there waiting.

In his mind, Morio thought this was the ceiling that Rilo needed to break in order to push further. To become something more. No weapon, and barely any chance to beat him. Rilo was determined. Enough to push his body past the limits that it had. Wiping blood from the corner of his lips," You've never pushed me to this extent nor have i ever seen you fight like this. My body is on fire. My bones are creaking..and yet i cannot find it within myself to give up. Even my body is broken... my blades rendered useles... i will continue to stand up until i beat you," as he said this he could feel a new feeling welling up inside of him. Even if his body was screaming in pain it was also screaming to push forward. Taking in a deep breath his body would begin to take on a darker hue, his Grafted Living Weapon in his arm glowing purple and causing a black casing like armor to creep up his arms. The red hue would begin to turn blue as he started walking forward, his eyes turning a deep cerulean instead of a dark purple as he held out both hands. Inside both two blades would form as he looked at Morio with new vigor in his eyes. Morio knew the technique well, he was the one that created it yet...something about this had seemed different. Unique. Taking his blades into his hands the two dashed at one another, blinking and reappearing as they clashed. At first Morio thought that he was winning due to Rilo occasionally being pushed back but he would soon find that this was according to his plan.

The shouts and cries of the dead watching fueled him as he pushed more and more, the surging of his chakra showing just how much he wanted this. Jumping back a few feet he would point both weapons at Morio smiling, "This is it!!!" as he charged a sphere of green energy. Morio scoffed at the notion that his own technique was about to be used against him, but meeting the challenge he too would do the same. As both launched their techniques and they clashed causing a swelling of Green chakra and space time energy, Morio lost sight of Rilo. In the confusion he had flew up and around the maelstrom of chakra coming down on Morio like a hawk, or a fish splashing from the water. With one fluid motion he would catch his master off guard, pointing both blades at the throat of the retired Nova member and smiling," I win...," even if morio had the desire to keep going, he knew when he had been beaten. Deactivating his technique he would desummon his blades and fall to the ground as he chuckled to himself. The spirits of the forest exclaimed happily as the now white haired male stood victorious, happy to welcome him into the fold of the Ametsuchi. This feeling...this was what Rilo strove for. The forest would be filled with his winning scream as he deactivated the technique, but found that his hair remained as stark white. For a moment Morio was puzzled as that did not happen to him, then again maybe there was a change that even he did not foresee. After a few moments more Rilo would feel the energy drain from his body as he passed out, the last thing he had seen was Morio slowly getting up to come see what had happened.


Time had passed and Rilo soon found himself waking up in the forge with Morio, Ryouma and his sister sitting and talking. The three had been discussing things in the shop, and on a positive note Rilo's growth. For a moment he simply sat and listened though eventually they had noticed that he was awake. At this point he sighed and sat up slowly, before getting up and walking over to them. Every part of his body had ached but in a good way as he stumbled over and stopped before he passed the mirror. Noticing his white hair, as opposed to his normal black hair he would shrug taking the new look as he sat with the family and stretched," You know its not fair to talk about someone, good or bad, without them being here." The family in short shared a small laugh before they all sat and discussed in length the Tournament and among other things what they would be doing going forward.

WC: 3,632
Claims via 25% Max Stat Discount:
- 3,000 WC for aminari no Zeus (雷のゼウス)
- 632 WC toward Learning Water Release, previous wc can be found Here 1,271/1500