Armor For A Beast

Raika slips into the Cosmic Menagerie herself, it being the first smithy she had seen that advertised custom armor. She has a very custom armor in mind, indeed. Her clothes were becoming... a bit on the weak side, as far as protection was concerned, and if she was going to be wielding one of the ultimate weapons, what she needed was a powerful armor to go with it. It would at least be something to help keep her safe from some attacks. She looks around the shop and sees all sorts of weapons, armors, even a bunch of ninja gadgets that would have been considered neither. None of them were really the quality that she was looking for, but they were still very good quality.

She reaches out and rings a bell on a counter, hoping to draw the attention of the owner, or at least the craftsman that ran the shop, her tattered clothing making Raika wince slightly as she compares her clothing to the craftsmanship of the armors on display. She also had Hiramekarei bandaged up for hiding on her back, though a craftsman would likely know about the Seven Swords.

"Hello? I've got a custom armor I'd like to have crafted."

The shop had been quiet the last few days, so much so that when the bell sounded someone's entry into the shop Joben rushed to the counter to greet them. "Welcome, Welcome to the Cosmic..." His voice would cut off as his eye met the one who sounded the bell, a look of distain would fall over the man's face as he looked at the woman that was before him. "Yes well, it seems that you need more than just armor by the look of those rags you are wearing. Either way, you would not be able to afford our work." Joben stated tilting his nose up at her just as Kiyoshi would arrive at the foot of the stairs behind him wearing his Mobility Suit v2, though with the helmet retracted revealing his face.

"That's quite enough of that, Joben. That is hardly anyway to speak to a customer." Kiyoshi stated as he looked up from a small notebook he held in his hand, "I will take it from here." Joben with a look of shock would turn to see his boss standing behind him, "I meant no..." the man would start to say but Kiyoshi would simply raise his hand and the man would stop talking and dismiss himself to the back room. Kiyoshi would stand there silently watching the other man as he left the room until the closed the door behind him, once he was gone Kiyoshi would look over to his customer. "My sincerest apologizes, good help is so hard to find these days. Joben is a good smith, but his manners leave much to be desired" Kiyoshi would move up to a section of the counter lifting it up to create an opening to pass through, "if you would be so kind as to join me in my office, we can discuss what you would like and how I can help you." Kiyoshi stated as he motioned for Raika to come through the pass. If Raika agreed and followed, Kiyoshi would lead the way up the stairs to his office.

Kiyoshi's office was not as grand looking as the lower half of the shop, considering the fact that he rarely entertained guests. A small wooden desk in the center of an open floor, with 2 chairs on one side, and one on the other side. To the left of the desk sat a small workshop area where Kiyoshi could work on his own crafts without occupying the one downstairs, to the right of the desk would be a small shelf that held several clay figurines that Kiyoshi had made depicting others or his puppets. Kiyoshi would move to the desk and take his seat, motioning for Raika to take one of the two seats on the opposite side of the desk. "Please, tell me what it is that I can do for you today?"

Raika stares blankly at the man who comes to greet her, thinking him the owner on first glance. She notices his sudden self-interruption in his welcoming speech, and she crosses her arms as he starts to look her over, practically already aware of what he might say and how he might think. She knows either dismissal or insults are coming next, and so her face remains placid and bored-looking as he starts telling her to go elsewhere for her needs. Raika begins to reach for her ryo pouch, feeling quite a large amount of cash bulging inside the small sack made up of both crisp paper money, with which her bonus had been paid, and several series of ryo coins she'd been saving up since the Crucible; after all, up until this point, she'd been saving up her money for improvements to the Ryuutei clan compound, but with so few of their numbers, she had decided that armor for herself as the leader of her clan should be a greater concern.

Both of them, however, have their attention redirected to the boyish presence in some form of mechanized suit with a helmet that peeled back to reveal the slightly younger man's face, and he starts lightly reprimanding the one named Joben, as well as stating his desire to take over from there. Her face maintains a barely motionless expression of disinterest, though she lets out a small, short growl that might be disguised for a clearing of the throat at Joben as he scurries away from the smaller man that was now inviting her into his office, a fairly cluttered place, clearly meant to be an actual workbench rather than something more akin to an office space. Raika, for her part, rather preferred to see that the actual owner was apparently so dedicated to working with his hands, though a cursory glance at him inside the machine likely showed why. Raika waves off his apology for his employee soon after he makes it, letting him know that she wasn't offended or even shocked at the assumptions made from her appearance alone.

"No harm done, and your actions and words show that your Joben acted on his own."

Raika coldly mentally noted that the Ryuutei clan would have left him to starve in the wilderness, had he been born that way in her clan long ago. This was thought without aggression, but simply a silent musing of cold reality. She takes the seat on the left as she spells out the requirements for her armor: that it be able to protect her, even if she were to fight in a four-legged stance, as that was one of her major styles of fighting. She describes that she needs it to be able to alert her to genjutsu, as well as capability to be used for stealth in some capacity, in keeping with her life as a shinobi. She also insists on using the best materials, and even includes a request for some way for her to deflect chakra-based attacks, as she mentally remembers how Raphael had died, her cherished mentor. She does have one final request for its appearance, that being black metal with an outer lining of gold. While she did want the blackness of night to feature prominently, gold was an important color for the Ryuutei clan, and she hoped it could be accommodated. While it was a long list, Raika felt confident that she could afford it.

"Mm. Those are all the specifications I can think to need for this armor. What's your price for this kind of armor?"

Raika waits to see what kind of number he throws out, but she'll need to really bring down the counter-offer; she only has a million ryo saved up, and she doesn't want to literally spend it all in one place.

As the woman describes what it is she is looking for, Kiyoshi begins scribbling in the small notebook again. Though it looks as though his focus is one the notebook, he doesn't miss a thing in her description. By the time she is finished and asks about the price, Kiyoshi slides the opened book across the desk to the woman. There on the two opened pages of the notebook shows small depictions of armor as she described it though without color, sitting back in his chair as he allowed her to look over it. "What you ask for is easily doable and would take me around a week to accomplish though before you leave, I will need to get your measurements to ensure that it is as formfitting as possible and won't hinder your movements. As far as price it comes down to this; You are asking for the best materials which are quite expensive on their own and due to the amount of materials that will be needed for a job like this it could run upwards of 1 million and that is not counting the cost of the enchantment which is another 500k." Kiyoshi would pause to let his guest process this information, he wasn't lying about the price either. Considering the amount of meteor metal that it would take to make an effective full body armor as well as the unique material the shop now had for genjutsu alerting, this would be a costly order. The enchantment to defend against chakra attacks, while he could do it himself, the cost of materials for it was costly in of itself. He would watch the woman's reaction and after a few seconds he would speak again. "Now due to my own connections with the other merchants, I can get the material fairly cheaper though it will still be around 500k for them. Adding to that the cost of the enchantment which unfortunately i have no control over, the total cost for you will be a flat 1 million ryo." All things considered, Kiyoshi felt this was more than a fair price for what the woman was asking for, though he would wait to hear what the woman had to say about it.

Raika is surprised at the speed with which the redheaded man performs his calculations, and even that he has enough time for sketches of what the armor would look like. Unfortunately for Raika, math was not her strong suit, and neither was artwork, though she seems entranced by one sketch that shows nearly animalistic looking armor, mostly nodding along as he mentions the need for exact measurements of her body for such form-fitting armor, which she rather expects. But then her focus is drawn from the art in order to hold a more closely-guarded conversation about the price of the armor, which, judging by the high numbers scrawled across the dual pages, she is not going to feel particularly excited for. The initial quote seems to have little effect on her facial expression, but a few facial ticks might show some disappointment, though it wasn't clearly directed at Kiyoshi, maybe more inwardly for her naivete that she could get something with that many bells and whistles with such a small amount of funds.

She turns back to the notebook, clearly picking things out that she might be able to shave off to decrease the cost of the armor before Kiyoshi speaks up again to explain that he's able to bring down the cost of materials thanks to his connections, and she can feel her heart soar with his admission that he could go as low as 1 million ryo. Raika feels the hefty of her purse and notes that it would cost her almost all of her money. She really ought to haggle, but if he was truthful about the numbers, this was likely the lowest possible cost, and from someone who, she could tell, was a master craftsman, judging by his other pieces. If she were to attempt to haggle now, she would appear extremely greedy and ungrateful for such a protracted discount. It would be better if she knew the actual value of the materials, but she didn't and would have to trust in his expertise.

"You have me at a disadvantage, since I know little of armor making and even less of the materials costs. Therefore, I simply must agree to the generous offer of 1 million ryo."

At this statement, she stands up and very nearly empties her money pouch for Kiyoshi, doing her best to keep the money neatly sorted, with a large wad of high value paper ryo easily counted, and a few coins bringing up the remainder of her million ryo debt.

"Might as well do the measuring now. The faster you get them, the sooner you can begin your hard work. And the sooner I can let others know of this high craftsmanship."

At this, she stands up from her chair, expecting that she'll probably need to be measure both standing and in her Feral Nature stance for reference.

Kiyoshi would let out a small smile as the woman dumped out the contents of her pouch stacking the million ryo on his desk before standing for her measurements. Kiyoshi would take his notebook in hand, turning the page and scribbling something down and tearing the page out before press a small button on the underside of his desk and standing. As Kiyoshi moved around the desk the door to his office would open and a young male with his face obscured by his jacket and a large gourd on his back would enter. "Akimitsu, I need you to place the Ryo here in the safe, then I need you to go and pick up a few things and bring them back here immediately." Kiyoshi would state holding out the page he tore from his notebook, the other man would nod silently taking the paper and moving his hand causing several small bugs to swarm out of his sleeve surrounding the Ryo and lifting it off the desk and floating off behind him as he took his leave. Kiyoshi would then activate his chakra strings to begin taking the woman's measurements, it was simpler this way and once he had the measurement that he needed from the various stances the woman took he would note them all down in his book.

"I believe I have everything I need," Kiyoshi began as he moved over to his work area and placed metal into the fire. "Akimitsu has gone to get the materials that I don't have on hand but it won't take very long. I will have your armor ready in about seven days, I will send Akimitsu to fetch you when it's ready." Kiyoshi would finish as he began working expecting the woman to show herself out.

---

Market run: 2 units of gold (4k -50%=2k)

Using UA to craft S-Rank item in A-Rank time: 7 Days

Crafting:

Raika watches the craftsman smile as she's stacking up the coinage to make her counting of the ryo clear, but she assumes the transaction to be complete before the door is opened by some stranger with a large jacket obscuring his body and a gourd on his back, making for an odd-looking ninja indeed. Worse, she sees bugs of all things leave his hand to pick up the money and carry it over. She didn't much care for such small insects; they reminded her of a species of ant, extremely venomous, likely because they were a swamp ant.

Regardless, she has her measurements taken via some form of light and airy chakra strings, feeling somewhat like walking into a thin cobweb that surrounds her body. She nods after he tells her that she can come back.in a week to retrieve her armor, and she nods her understanding to him before leaving through the same door that Akimitsu went through. On her way out, she gives Joben a little glare, but keeps it moving.

OOC: TEMP EXIT

Kiyoshi would wipe his brow has he stepped back from the finished product, he was more than satisfied with the appearance of the armor and after a few tests he was more than satisfied with the functions of the armor. Summoning Akimitsu to his office once more, Kiyoshi would task his Aburame companion with finding Raika and having her return to the shop for the armor. Normally he would just send Akimitsu or even Joben to make a delivery, but considering the cost of this set as well as the multiple functions of the armor it would be better if he explained it all to her rather than their second hand interpretation of it, who better to explain then the man that built it. Once Akimitsu took his leave from the office, Kiyoshi would take the armor now condensed to the back plate form and set it up on his desk in the center of his office before taking his seat to relax. Konoha was a large village, but the Aburame were expert trackers. Kiyoshi had no doubt that it would not take long for Akimitsu to find the foreigner and return with her.

Raika is quick to return to Kiyoshi's shop when she sees Akimitsu coming towards her to explain that the armor is complete and that she should return to Kiyoshi in order to receive her new armor. She follows him, keeping hidden her own giddy excitement to see the armor in person; while Kiyoshi had provided a sketch for her to look at quite a while ago, it was always somehow different to see the finished product in person. Meanwhile, she tries to ask Akimitsu how he found her, but the Aburame only replies that it's a trade secret, so she decides to leave it be. Some of the Konohans were so secretive about things, but perhaps she was just used to other Kirigakure ninja being blunt and to the point with their conversation.

She arrives at Kiyoshi's Cosmic Menagerie quite soon, and although she tries to keep a stoic expression, she can't entirely hide her excitement for her armor as she's invited into Kiyoshi's rather cluttered office by his assistant, and although she greets him with the same almost disinterested tone, her eyes keep peeking over to the hanging back plate.

Kiyoshi wouldn't have to wait long in his office before the door would open with Akimitsu returning with Raika, enough time though that he was able to relax enough to catch his breath and cool off. Once Raika was in the office, Akimitsu would nod to Kiyoshi before taking his leave once more and shutting the door behind him leaving the two of them alone in the office as they were a week prior. "It is good to see you again, Lady Ryuutei. I hope you have enjoyed your time here in the village, and that you were able to find something to pass the time for yourself. As promised my work with your armor is complete," Kiyoshi would start motioning with his left hand to the backplate armor. "If you would be so kind as to allow me to show you everything as far as how it works, well then you can be on your way if you wish it." Kiyoshi would continue as he stood and moved around the desk, picking up the backplate Kiyoshi would motion for Raika to come forward.

If Raika complied, Kiyoshi would place the backplate onto Raika's back. The first thing that would be noticed is the fact that if fit perfectly to her, with no need of straps or other materials to hold it in place. Once that was done Kiyoshi would move to face her, "Now, it is rather simple to work just focus a little chakra towards your back and the armor will activate. Once the armor is activated you should be able to move unhindered as though you weren't even wearing it, now you might notice the small crystal in the armor. At any time, you can focus a small amount of chakra into it and create a field of silence around you. There is also a function in the gloves, though it requires a slightly larger amount of chakra to be used, but will alert you to genjutsu that affects you, with the exception of the most powerful ones of course. Unfortunately, I do not have a way to test this function to show you, however I do I believe it will work without issue. The final function will allow you to stop non-physical attacks against you by creating a small barrier to block it, though I should mention that it only stops the attack from reaching you and not any aftermath that may follow. I say this as I know there are a few techniques out there that cause explosions or what have you, and the enchantment does not stop something like that anymore than it would be able to block a Doton attack."

Once Kiyoshi was done explaining everything, he would step back and allow Raika to explore her new armor, ready to answer any questions the woman may or may not have.

Raika is somewhat surprised that the armor seems the only be a backplate, but in any case, she removes the cloak from around her shoulders, a cloth armor made from what might have been thought to be some impossibly durable hide, made from the skin of a lion that might have very nearly been something like a god among the lions, if the lions of the Golden Plains had gods. Regardless, she sets the cloak aside for a moment in order to make way for the backplate that was now attached to her back, strangely with no need for straps or even for her to use the skill sometimes referred to as the tree climbing skill, but which in fact had many uses.

While Kiyoshi explains how the armor works, she listens intently, unmoving while the expert craftsman explains how this new armor functions, and function it does, in several ways. She's quite excited by the functionality of its ability to detect and alert her to genjutsu, even if it doesn't work against the best techniques, as well as a method of fully silencing her and her movements, and finally an ability to deflect at least the initial effects of non-physical attacks, although the aftermath of such techniques might cause some trouble for her.

She nods once, then focuses chakra to her backplate, and she feels her body become enveloped in segmented black armor, forming over much of her body and particularly protecting her back, chest, limbs, and head. As a test, more for herself than for the equipment really, she drops to an all-fours stance, and is somewhat surprised at how well the armor smoothly shifts with her body into an appropriate configuration. She then tests the silencing effect by focusing chakra to the crystal as instructed, and she instantly loses the sound of her breathing and her heartbeat, sounds she'd heard all her life but which were now missing. The silence was nearly unnatural, and she quickly stops feeding chakra to the crystal, returning the sound to normal. Raika stands upright again, and with a bit of focus of her chakra to the backplate again, the armor retracts, leaving her in normal clothing.

"Good work, Kiyoshi. This was a million ryo that was extremely well-spent on your craftsmanship. I'm only sad we don't have a metalshaper like you in Kirigakure; you would be able to outfit our soldiers with great man-claws and steelhides and become a very rich man in the process."

Raika ends with a little sigh, a rare sign of disappointment in her own village and pity that kidnapping was off the table.

"But I have no questions. You have done in a week what none could do in a month, and with generosity. You have my thanks, and my advertisement to others."

With that said, Raika reaches over and picks her Nemean Cloak back up, though she has no reason to wear it herself anymore; now it was a treasure to return to the Ryuutei clan.

OOC: ATTEMPTED THREAD EXIT

Kiyoshi would wait as Raika tested her armor, taking his seat back at his desk. Once Raika was done and had thanked him, mentioning that her village didn't have a crafter a thought popped into his head. "Well, I do plan on traveling fairly soon. My destination isn't far from Kirigakure and I had hoped to visit our sister village before my return home. Perhaps you could do me the favor of speaking on my behalf with your village leadership. My hope is that I will be able to open another shop there, it that were to happen then I would be able to provide my work to your village as well. Even from here, I could receive special orders from the other shop, craft the item and ship it over." Kiyoshi stated with a small smile, "either way I do not believe this will be the last time we see each other." He would add with a nod as Raika took her leave, though he hoped she would put in a good word for him to make his trip there easier if she didn't then that was her choice.

{Exit thread}