Chapter 1
Goro Nyudo
Three years later…
An ten-year-old-boy traveled enough, according to the President of Shinra, but young Sephiroth could no longer be restraint from his desires. The boy had become more passionate, and deadly. His training and lessons had progressed him farther than any soldier in their military formed to a new degree. It was an amazing feat and accomplishment, most would say. A sniveling scientist would disagree.
He had grown tired of guns and found them too easy. Even simulations proved too little for him and he only wanted bigger game. It wasn't allowed, however, as he was considered precious. To a boy, almost a teen, it felt more like a trap. His mind was expanding and he wanted to know more, experience more. Being kept in a building and let out like a dog wasn't him. He hated it.
However, the boy was disciplined enough never to respect those who watched over him. And respect the annoying scientists that 'tested' him. In truth, some of his desire to know the world came to him becoming more aware of himself.
He was told little of his father except he abandoned him, and that his mother died giving birth. In theory, he assumed it was his mother's death that forced his father to leave him. Maybe he was hated, though how can he be blamed for it? Instead, his family was Shinra and the only one he had ever known. Though something was strange.
Shinra was his home, but home wouldn't be what he described it. It felt more like a prison. He never had a teacher except those who tutored him on subjects and the world itself. He had extensive knowledge of combat, science, history, mathematics, biology, and materia. Materia was an interesting subject that fascinated him, something he really wanted to explore, but Hojo insisted that any 'spiritual' or 'religion' should be thrown out of the learning process.
Combat also interested him and this was greatly encourage. As before, guns were boring but he quite liked the difficulty of facing them. It took speed and accuracy to face them and the mathematics helped more than he was willing to admit. (Who likes math?)
After requests and complaints, finally he was given a first real opportunity to meet someone he had only heard about from rumors of soldiers. A swordsman and blacksmith who lived on the other side of the world who could forge weapons so great that they could cut the very earth in half. Logically the boy thought this was just a great sells pitch, but he was revered and hired by Shinra for commissions.
The blacksmith had no ties to Shinra except through armed weapons, never guns but only the melee kind. Simple blades and swords for after when rifles lost ammo. And most of the known world didn't use guns, they were still primitively using bows and arrows. Despite the flow of time changing in terms of weapons in the world, this man still was sought after if not for specific weapons.
It wasn't just the design or how strong the weapons he crafted were. Coming from a long line of blacksmiths, this man had perfected his craft! Some have even called it the dawn of the blade.
This man was named Goro Ryudo…
The road was bumpy and that was because there were no roads. Three soldiers and a boy sat in the back of it, all to care for the boy. However, Sephiroth was too busy looking out of the truck window. This was the first time he had traveled by boat- or anything else- to a new land mass! It wasn't so different, he admitted, but the travel was well worth it.
To see Junon, the harbor town, and travel to Costa Del Sol, a resort of towns for the more wealthy was new. He had never played on the beach. And he didn't do much of it, having no friends. He did admire it enough and felt a mystical sense about the ocean and his new experience. Something he couldn't explain.
South they continued on, the truck bouncing occasionally as only a map helped lead the right way. "Have you ever heard of Goro Ryudo?" Sephiroth spoke out to one of the soldiers, who was sitting down and resting. "He's the greatest smith of our time, some people say ever."
"I've heard of him, but I wouldn't put much stock in a blade over a pistol." The soldier pulled out his handgun and showed it to the boy, who didn't show much interest. "You can only reach so far with a sword, but with a gun you can be safely away from your target and get the job done."
A smirk curved his lips. Sephiroth could have easily debated this, as the simulations had proved he was capable of avoiding and dodging from more capable guns then a handgun. "They aren't as fun."
"It's not about fun," the soldier explained, "but proficiency. In a war, swords are messy. A gun is quick and easy to clean up. And guns allow you to protect your soldiers more. War isn't fun," the soldier continued as he leaned closer to the boy, "and being able to end a war quickly is better than a bloodbath."
The boy lifts his silverfish brow up and paused to reflect. "How do you know so much?" He asked the soldier curiously.
Lifting his helmet off, the soldier's blonde hair was slick and only reached behind his neck. He had glasses on, military grade. "I have studied in Midgar," he explained, "and enlisted in Soldier specifically to learn more about war, and how to stop it."
"You're a new recruit?"
"So to speak." He replied with a sigh. "I'm happy to get an easy assignment, escorting a kid that doesn't even need our help."
"You know of me," the boy replied with a smirk, "but I know nothing about you."
"Call me Lazard." The blonde soldier said with his hand held outstretched to the boy.
For a second the silver haired boy examined the mans hand, and shook it. "Sephiroth."
"Oh, I know," Lazard replied and pressed his back against the metal wall of the truck. "Everyone who is in Shinra knows your name." A smirk soon curved his lips.
The house was humble, nothing much to it. Sizable for a single person - but he wasn't alone. A boy was outside and awaited with the older man, who had a hammer in his hand. On his back was an even bigger hammer - one used for combat. This was Goro Nyudo, the famous blacksmith known throughout the world.
A shinra soldier opened the back, Sephiroth being the first to hop out of the truck and scan around. Lazard and the other soldiers soon followed and quickly went to search for any potential problems. They would fine none, of course, but a quaint home surrounded by nothing for miles.
Solitude must have been the man's secrets. So far from any major town or city, and the closest was the famous Golden Saucer to the west. By all of the tools, the blacksmith was a survivor. He hunted his own meals, he chopped his own wood, and crafted nearly everything. The only thing he could not provide himself was materials for his creations. That was thanks to a small mining town north-west of here.
It didn't take long for Sephiroth's excitement to catch up as, in true boyish fashion, he ran to the old man and quickly introduced himself. "Sir Nyudo! I am Sephiroth. I have eagerly sent you many letters persisting to see your work!"
What was also known about Goro Nyudo is he didn't just craft his weapons. He was a master of combat, both with weapons and without. This was something Sephiroth knew well and had intended for more than just an inquiry of the man's smithing.
"Ah, I have received many letters," Goro spoke in a low voice with authority behind it, "and am glad to have such a young man interested in his work." Both of his hands clasped behind him. The other boy had followed, eager to watch the interaction and to learn from Goro.
"I was surprised you allowed me to come meet you!" Sephiroth said with such eagerness that surprise fell short. Bowing once more, the boy shifted more to business. "May I see some of your latest work?"
"Of course you can," Goro replied and motioned to the boy next to him. It became evident to Sephiroth that this was his disciple for as soon as the boy saw the gesture, he quickly ran off to make preparations. "I will have food ready for you and the soldiers to eat." The soldier's head shifted towards the master at the acknowledgement of food, a rumble in their stomachs audible to their starvation. "Come, young one." He said to Sephiroth and turned towards the house.
Behind the surface of a simple meeting, Goro offered his home freely for many reasons. Nyudo was a businessman and owed much to Shinra. Their contracts alone had kept him stable for years. If meeting a boy who is a fan is something he must do, he was willing to do so. Little did he know of the boy's importance to the world, or how a simple meeting would become his greatest student.
