Fire and steel [Crafting]

Crafting:

Spoiler:

This was it. His...well, Hotaru wouldn't say masterpiece. There was hardly anything masterfull about the things he was forging. Still, there was a lot riding on this particular piece. This was going to be the actual armor he was going to wear during his first missions. The scrap metal armor, is what he decided to call it. Not the most impressive or intimidating name. Somewhat belittleing and denigrating, some might even say. But it was tongue in cheek, ofcourse. While yes, it was made of scraps, he was certain this project was going to look snazzy and serve him well.

Hotaru walked around the small workshop that he was assigned and started preparing the room for things to come. He stalled out his materials, fired up the forge and donned his gloves and leather apron. He had forged before. Numerous times. He'd even dare to say he was somewhat of an amateur armorsmith. Nearly all his experience had been acquired at the dingy forge in his hometown, though, which was hardly equipped to forge anything other than farming equipment and horseshoes. This publicly available Leaf Village forge, however. This "true forge". Now that was something else. He was sure having all these tools available was going to lift his work to the next level.

By the time the forge had heated, he reached for a set of pincers and took a plate of brass off the workbench. That's what he knew what it was anyway, rationally speaking. Part of Hotaru was five steps ahead of the process and saw a shin guard, or a breastplate. All it needed was a good heating and a number of well-placed strikes.

The forge cast a red hot glow on Hotarus sweaty forehead as he hammered away at the brass plates. It had been about an hour and a half, but he finally had a nice workflow going. A mannequin in the corner of the workshop wore the leather harness that would be the base of the armor, and Hotaru kept going back and forth between the forge and the mannequin as he checked the fit of the plates and hammered them into shape. His system wasn't as optimal as it would have been if he had used a mould, or if he could have fit things on his own body directly, but he would be damned if the scrap metal armor didn't look cooler with every plate he finished.

He took a step back, swiped away some of the blonde locks sticking to his forehead, stretched his painful arms and looked at his work. For a fire release expert, he wasn't dealing with the heat very well, but is was going to be worth it. He could just picture himself doing the hottest moves wearing this gear. It was going to be iconic. Synonymous with his name.

"There you go, little brass fella. Right where you belong"

The heat and hard work had gotten Hotaru, and he reached the point where he began talking to himself and his armor. The results didn't lie, though. While obviously made from bits and scraps, the fruit of his labour looked sturdy and protective. He just couldn't resist taking off his glove and giving the armor a few pats with his sweaty hand.

"A fine piece of work, you are"

As he let the forge die out and the workshop cool down again, Hotaru spent the last 30 minutes polishing the armour with an old rag and some oil. A final treatment that did wonders for the brass in particular, but one that Hotaru knew from experience was crucial for the leather as well. If left uncared for, it would eventually crack and expose weaknesses. If he was to get into the heat of the battle, he'd need as few weaknesses as possible.

By the time he was finished, he got out of his apron, washed up a bit, packed up his armor and headed home. He was tired. He was sore. But above all: He was very content.

[Exit]