[h1]Tatsuya Kajiya[/h1]

The loud clash of metal bearing down on metal could be heard throughout the innards of the forge that lay just a small ways away from the store that showed all of the wares that had been mad by the young man currently working a way at a bar of hot iron. Tatsuya was working in an attempt to finish out an order put out by one of his best customers, and while he was done with most of it, he already knew that he wouldn't be able to finish the last few blades in time. 

[i]I hate leaving a job unfinished like this, but it's not like I'm going to stay behind just to finish it out. I don't think I'll be able to spend much longer in this town without going a bit stir crazy. Though I'm not to stoke about having to tell my  mom about this. . . but who knows how she'll react if I just leave without saying a thing.[/i] Tatsuya halted in his work, taking the iron bar and tossing it into a vat, cooling it off in a burt of steam. He considered pulling it back out and continuing the job, but considering how he wasn't going to be able to finish it anyway, he decided it was a wasted effort to continue the order.

"Well, I'm sure that Sato can manage with just fifteen swords instead of the full twenty, though I should be sure to leave 1/4th of what he gave me with it, so he doesn't feel cheated out of his cash." Tatsuya wiped his forehead, a great amount of sweat resting familiarly on his brow as he felt the heat of the forge start to get to him. Stretching out a bit, he turned around and walked out of the forge, taking off the gloves and goggles he'd been wearing to protect his hands and eyes from stray sparks, curling and uncurling the digits on his hands to work out the stiffness from holding the hammer for so long, as well as get the blood circulating through it again. "Wonder when those guys are going to tell me how exactly we're getting out of here, though. I know Kai probably has a plan, but knowing what that plan is would be a lot more reassuring."

Tatsuya muttered to himself as he continued on his way to his house, laying the goggles and gloves on the hutch set up near the doorway as he collected his bokken from it's place in the umbrella stand. Before he left, however, he made sure to call out in a loud fashion, wanting to alert his mother to his arrival and forthcoming departure.

"Hey Mom! I'm back, but I'm going out to practice for a bit. You need anything from town or whatever?"

[sub]". . . . . I'm fine."[/sub] Was the quite reply from the woman from her room upstairs, barely audible from where he was. Tasuya sighed, once again having second thoughts about leaving his mother alone like this. As he closed the door and heads off, he looks around the village, considering how this might be some of his final moments in the place he'd basically grown up in. One his way to one of the training grounds, he took the longer scenic route, waving to those he passed by, knowing every person he bumped into by name almost, or at least knowing them through someone else. [i]It's going to be strange, going out to meet actually new people for a change. I wonder if everyone we meet we'll be as nice and welcoming as the people here seem to be. Hmmmmm . . . wonder where we'll go first . . . maybe Konoha, but then again, Mom's from Kiri and that were the Seven Ninja swordsman are supposed to be. If I could get a chance to look at even one of those blades, that would be so cool.[/i]

Tatsuya gained a little more pep in his step as this thought floated through his head, and when the training yard came in sight, with training dummies waiting to get the stuffing beat out of them. Holding his wooden sword in hand, he quickly took the stance, breathing in deep before letting out a light breath. For a moment, there was no movement at all as he stayed completely stock still. Then, as if somebody had suddenly flipped a switched, the young red-head bolted across the feel, lashing out with his traning weapon as he acted as if he was drawing it from it's sheath and striking at the dummy as if he'd been aiming a slash at it's under arm. he'd then follow this up by jumping back a bit in the mock evasion of an attack, before bolting back in, locking blades with a foe only he could see. He'd continue this as a warm up and then, if nobody came around, he'd settle into his routine, going off to practice a few katas that the old man had taught him, working on trying to increase his draw speed. He'd heard the old man talk about how some samurai were able to strike down a foe before they had even known they were dead with this technique, and he was eager to learn that same skill. He didn't care of he wasn't a samurai, he'd learn to be the best swordsman smith that ever lived, a legend on the same level as Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju. This was his dream, and he'd give it his all and then some in order to achieve it.