Epilogue: Two years later.
Wufei kept his sword in his hand. He wasn't about to let it out of his clutches for a second.
Heero just smiled fondly at him. Duo was going to be so pissed at missing this. They'd planned to come together but a last minute mission kept Duo in the field.
"So, how did you get the time off to come to Tokyo?"
Wufei blew out an annoyed breath. "With great difficulty. I didn't realize that my schedule was so full until I had to arrange for people to take over my classes and other responsibilities. The classes weren't that difficult. I have advanced students that could take over my beginning classes. Thank goodness I only have two of those. And the senior students are splitting up the intermediate students to work one on one with them. Joe is making excellent progress and will be going for his first Dan soon. And he's still beating the crap out of everyone except us at Gundam Pilot. Arranging for teachers to take my advanced classes was a bitch. Yang-Shigung doesn't take any students anymore and one of the other senior students is over extended. Trowa was coming in but something happened there so the shigung made arrangements."
"You're going to be over extended, if you're not careful." Heero looked out the window of the car then back at Wufei.
"I know. I've got three beginner classes, Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings. And two intermediated classes, Tuesday and Thursday morning. Then the advanced classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning and Preventers on Tuesday and Thursday. That leaves my afternoons free for my smithing. And research, and design. But, I've still got Saturday and Sunday as well as Tuesday and Thursday evenings totally free."
Heero smiled. "And Duo and I are going to see that they stay free. Got me?" He poked Wufei in the side, making him wriggle to keep from being tickled.
"Yes, I got it. Stop." Wufei laughed softly.
"So, how does this work?" Heero only knew that Wufei had brought his finished sword to have it registered.
"I take the sword to the judges and they examine it. They'll do everything but unravel the tsukaito. They'll give scores on everything from the lacquer on the saya to the quality of the sami. Then I'll get an origami and an inventory sheet. These will stay with the sword for the rest of it's life. And I'll get a certificate of mastery. I wonder what level I'll get."
"There's levels? I didn't know that." Heero gave Wufei an assessing look. "I hope you get a high one. You worked hard on that sword and I think it's a masterpiece. I'd be proud to own one half as nice." Then something Wufei had said made him say, "Origami? What? I'm not as up on things as I should be, being raised by wolves, as Duo says. I thought origami was the art of folding paper."
"It is. But the word is made up of the parts, oru, meaning folded, and kami, or paper. No one is really sure why they are called that but there you are. A lot of information was lost over the years and in the merging of the data bases of Nihon Token Hozon Kai and Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kai, the two main registries for years. They were merged, along with several minor registries in the late 2200's. Sword information was considered sacrosanct but any other information was entered at the discretion of the entry personnel. They also rank swordsmiths. I'm hoping for a ranking of Fujishiro Chu Jo Saku. The Fujishiro system came from the works of Fujishiro Matsuo who wrote a two volume work on the smiths of the Koto, Shinto and Shinshinto eras. It was expanded at the same time the registries were merged, and the system was named in his honor."
"Ah, and this ranking is useful?" Heero glanced out the window, he was uncomfortable riding instead of driving.
"Yes, even a second level is very hard to obtain. Some smiths work all their lives and never attain even Chu Saku. We'll see. Are we almost there?"
The driver chuckled a bit. "Nearly, young sirs. Another, five minutes."
"Thank you." Wufei sighed and shifted in his seat. He had to admit that he was very nervous. This sword was the product of two years of careful work. The lacquer on the saya had taken three months to complete. Other pieces had taken weeks of design work and several castings before he was satisfied. The Tsuba was hand cast from bronze, in a lost wax casting process that had taken him over a month to get ready for. It had failed the first time as he hadn't put on enough sprues and it hadn't cast completely, several bubbles had ruined it. So he'd had to carve another wax model and try again. He really wanted a good shinsa or judging for his sword, so he'd been obsessively meticulous in every single detail.
The car pulled up in front of the Imperial Hotel. The original building, built in 1890 had been replaced by one designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. This in it's turn had been replaced in 1968, and again in 2093, and 2260. Then this building had been completed in 103AC. The service had been the best, aspired to by every hotel anywhere, for at least six centuries. The driver held the door for them then drove away, leaving them to find their way to the judging stations.
It wasn't hard to do as there were discrete but clear signs pointing the way to the main meeting room. Heero led the way, allowing Wufei to maneuver through the crowd of observers without bumping anyone with his sword.
A monitor walked up, glanced at the papers Wufei handed him and motioned to him to follow. "We're conducting the shinsa in the small banquet hall. All the tourists in here make it impossible to think. This way."
Wufei and Heero followed him through the arrangement of glass cases that held armor, antique and modern; as well as swords and other weapons. The noise was incredible. Heero glanced at a few displays but kept close to Wufei. He felt like his friend needed all the support he could get.
The door to the small banquet room was double and tightly closed. Their escort knocked and both doors were opened quickly. Heero and Wufei walked through shoulder to shoulder. They had no idea the image they presented. Wufei was about an inch taller than Heero but Heero's shoulders were broader. They both projected an aura of power and strength, and they both moved like jungle cats all rippling muscle and silken smooth motion.
The judges looked up at them, accepted the small sheaf of papers from Wufei and passed them around, one for each judge. Then the attendant put a small pillow on the long table between Wufei and the judges. Wufei stepped forward and put the sword down on the pillow. He bowed then executed a perfect military heel and toe turn and left.
Heero mirrored him. He stopped Wufei just outside the door and asked, "We're not staying?"
"No. It's considered rather rude. And I really don't want to watch someone else disassembling my sword. My nerves won't take it. Let's look around."
"Ok. Stay here a minute, I'll see if I can't get a catalogue." with that, Heero left Wufei's side and disappeared into the crowd. He returned quickly with a catalogue.
This wasn't the slick paper, folded and stapled thing most people think of when someone says catalogue. This was a hard bound, nicely printed tome, depicting every piece in the display, with extensive notes on each.
They walked around, admiring various pieces of armor and some of the weapons. Heero was of the opinion that Wufei's sword fit in with several Muromachi swords. Wufei just blushed.
Suddenly Wufei saw a man he recognized. He jabbed Heero in the ribs. "Heero, see the man in the green windbreaker?" Heero glanced around casually then nodded, as if at something in the display. "Go arrest him." Heero didn't bother to ask any questions. He just started easing through the crowd.
It didn't take him long to get behind the man and grab him. Wufei, in touch with Preventers Tokyo, told them to get in touch with security at the hotel as it seemed that their man was going to make a fuss.
It took seconds for security to close in on the small disturbance. They grabbed both Heero and his target. Heero carefully produced his ID and security obeyed his request to quietly remove the man from the room.
Wufei met them in the security room one level down.
The head of security, Mr. Sakio, glanced at Wufei and Heero's ID then asked, "Ok, what is this all about?"
Wufei glanced at Heero then replied, "He is guilty of drug trafficking, slaving, abuse of a fellow prisoner, mutilation of a living human and several other charges that I forget off hand. That should be enough for a start, yes?"
Mr. Sakio nodded, but said, "I'd like proof of at least one of the charges."
Wufei stuck out his bifurcated tongue then asked, "Proof enough?"
One of the junior officers left quickly, the rest looked horrified, disgusted or furious, or some combination of the three.
"Yes, I do believe. How many of the charges were committed within your personal knowledge?"
"Mutilation, drug trafficking, slaving and abuse. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to return to the display room. I'm having a sword judged and I would like to be there when I'm called. If you have any more questions, speak to Preventers Tokyo. I'm sure they have all the paper work. Excuse me." And with that, Wufei turned and left the room, totally ignoring the last man on his 'List of Six'. He had better things to do.
The security crew all gazed after him in awe. Anyone else in his position would have been raving in fury. This young man just walked out without even looking at his tormentor.
"Wow, that's amazing. He's so cool."
Heero smiled slightly at the officers comment. "Yes, he's come a long way. He's got a lot more important things on his mind than that trash. I, however, do not." and with that, he punched Number Six in the solar plexus, leaving the man on the floor, gasping like a grounded fish.
As he left, he realized that the man was so unimportant to Wufei that he'd never even mentioned his name.
Wufei re-entered the room just as an attendant called his name. He motioned to the man who came to him and bowed. "They are ready for you. Please, come this way. Your companion too."
When they were back in front of the judges the first thing Wufei did was look at his sword. It was back together in perfect order. The judges had even retied the sageo although the knot was a different, very fancy one.
Heero stood at parade rest beside Wufei, who stood in a similar position.
One of the judges nodded, "A very fine blade, forged in the Soshu Kitae fashion. Excellent work. I think you'll be pleased with your shinsa. Both the origami and your ranking." They all bowed, Heero and Wufei politely allowing the judges the last bow.
Outside the door once again. Wufei handed his sword to Heero, remarking, "I need to get a good bag for that. That's the only facet of sword making that I haven't mastered, Making a bag. No sewing for me, thankyou."
Heero snorted. "There are many fine commercial bags and hard-shell cases available. Some manufactories will even put your seal on them. We'll get one while we're here."
"Ok, that's a good idea."
Heero shifted from one foot the the other. "Well, open it."
Wufei eyed the envelope in his hand like it was a snake. "I ... I'm scared. What if it's bad? What if all I have managed is an ego stroke and a piece of trash. This is ..." He drew a deep breath. "This is the basis of the rest of my life. I want so much to be a good smith and a good teacher. My advocation and profession in one, if you will."
Heero gripped Wufei's shoulder gently. "If it's bad, I'm sure they will have given you exact details of what is wrong with it. You'll just take the shinsa as constructive criticism and try again. Open it."
Wufei opened the envelope and scanned the papers. He let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, my."
Heero nearly snatched the papers out of his hand, taking them and scanning them himself.
The details were beyond him, but there was a complete description of the sword, down to the degree of the angle of it's curve. And the rating was a bit complex but understandable.
Judge 1: KANTEISHO - "Important Work"
Judge 2: JUYO BIJUTSU HIN - "Important Art Object"
Judge 3: TOKUBETSU HOZON - "Extraordinarily Worthy of Preservation"
Rank of smith: Jo Saku - "Superior Maker"
Wufei leaned against the wall then slowly slid down it to sit on the floor.
An aide hurried up, asking anxiously, "Is he alright? Can I do anything?"
"Get me a chair so we can get him off the floor." Heero smiled at the aide. "He just got his shinsa."
"Ah! Was it bad?"
Heero just handed the man the papers. He flipped through them quickly.
"OH." He gave Wufei a brilliant smile. "Congratulations. You're the youngest person ever to get a Jo Saku on the first try. I'll be right back." He handed the papers back to Wufei with a small bow.
The aide returned with several other people who brought tea, a plate of snacks and a small table. Heero pulled up another chair and settled by Wufei.
"Drink some tea, settle your nerves and we'll go in search of a case for your Mastery Sword. A work of art. I'm very impressed. You ok?"
Wufei ate a steamed bun. "Yes, it was just a total shock. I was hoping for something along the line of Shintesho. A good work. Flabbergasted is appropriate."
They drank tea and finished the snacks. They were just getting ready to go look for a nice case when a representative of a case maker approached.
He bowed very low then asked, "If it is not an imposition, could I see your master work?"
Wufei nodded. "It's no imposition. I'd be pleased to show you."
"Bring it to our booth, there's a nice stand there where you can put it out so I don't have to actually touch it."
So they followed him into the dealers area set up in the ballroom behind the display room.
The booth was front and center in the case makers section. Wufei noticed at once the case he wanted for his sword.
"That one. I want to buy that case." He pointed and the girl in the booth bowed politely and set it in the middle of the front table.
Wufei opened the case and saw that the inside of the lid folded up into a display stand. He placed the sword on the top level of the stand and stepped back.
Several people stepped forward to gaze at the sword, still in saya. Wufei let them look until one of the women approached him and asked, "Would it be possible for us to view the blade?"
"Of course." Wufei picked up the sheathed sword and glanced around. People moved away to allow him a safe area to draw in.
He drew the sword and placed it blade up in the lower level and replaced the saya in the upper. He stepped away again, but stayed closer than before. Heero moved to the other side of the table, just in case.
No one should try to touch the sword. It was incredibly bad manners but, in this crowd, there was no sense in taking chances.
The group spent several minutes looking at the sword then they moved away to allow others to see it.
While this was happening, the lady who'd asked to see the blade was talking to a man standing at the side of the booth.
"I think we should. If we give him that case, he'll feel honor bound to buy cases from us. We'll give him a good deal and, trust me, we'll keep him as a customer and other people will pay premium prices to say they have a case from the same maker he uses. But we can't try to slip it by him. Just tell him the truth of the deal and let him decide."
The man nodded shortly and agreed, saying, "It's good for both of us. He could do a few adds for us and his name will be spread far and wide. It'll make his name, and ours, a house hold word in the sword world."
So, Mr. Nakamura approached Wufei. "Excuse me. I am Nakamura Gensai, co-owner of Nakamura Cases. We make all sorts of cases, but we specialize in blade cases." He went on to explain the deal he and his wife had in mind. He emphasized the benefits to both the company and Wufei.
Wufei thought about it, glanced at Heero who mouthed, "Ask Q."
"I would like to consult with a friend of mine before I sign anything. Do you have a contract I could see?"
"Of course, I have an emailable copy. I'd be glad to send it to anywhere you say."
So Wufei gave him two email addresses. One was Quatre's legal team; the other, Preventers. Mr Nakamura blinked but sent the contract. Wufei sent an email asking each group to get back to him as soon as possible.
While they waited Mr. Nakamura offered to take them out to lunch, or dinner. Wufei nodded his agreement, Heero agreed as well.
Wufei excused himself to reclaim his sword and Mrs. Nakamura insisted that he take the case for his sword. He started to object but she insisted that it was good advertising for the company so he relented. It matched the saya so well that he just couldn't refuse.
They were just about to leave when Duo hurried up. " "Fei! I just got back. I checked in, cleaned up and here I am. What did I miss?"
Wufei smirked and handed him the shinsa. Duo read, blinked then nearly attacked Wufei. The hug Duo gave him was one of what Heero called, Duo's extra special smother the dude hugs.
"Wow! Congratulations. I'm taking you out to eat. I'm starved."
Mr. Nakamura shook his head. "I'm sorry, I got here first, but you're welcome to come along. We'll eat in the Sky Room. Very good sushi."
"I prefer tempura myself but thanks. We've got to celebrate. This is ... a great start for Wufei. Isn't it?"
They discussed details of the contract in the elevator on their way up to the 243 floor. It wasn't the top of the building, that was occupied by service areas. But it was very high up and had a wonderful view.
The host seated them in a private side room in one corner.
They were contemplating the menu when Wufei's cell rang. He apologized and pulled it from his pocket. There was a text from Quatre that just said, "TAKE IT!!!!!" Wufei laughed and showed it to the table.
He was about to put it away when it rang again. This time it was from the head of Preventers HQ Legal team and it also was nearly babbling. Needless to say, Wufei agreed to sign the contract.
They ate, they drank saki, and they talked, far into the night.
When they finally broke up the party, Mr. Nakamura made sure that Wufei had his copy of the contract, which had arrived sometime early in the evening. Wufei took it, bowed low and said, "Thank you for this fine opportunity. Get in touch with me with arrangements for filming the commercial."
Mr. and Mrs. Nakamura bowed Heero, Duo and Wufei out the door.
.
On the elevator down, Duo announced that he had gotten a suite for all three of them. Wufei glanced at Heero who gave him back a shamefaced look. "I completely forgot to verify our arrival. I'm sure they've let the room go by now."
Duo laughed. "I cancelled your room when I took this one. Come on, bed. I'm about to fall over. That saki is a lot more powerful than it seems."
So they made it into the suite and bed with a minimum of fuss. Sleep came quickly to all three of them.
The next morning found them at breakfast when Mrs. Nakamura, in full, formal kimono, approached them.
"Excuse me. I came myself because it's such an imposition. We have gotten studio time. Another client had an emergency in the family so his time is free."
Wufei just shrugged. "It's no imposition. Do we have time to finish eating?"
"Yes, of course, the time doesn't start until 9:30am. That's ... an hour and some. Please."
She bowed and started to leave but Duo jumped up, exclaiming. "Oh, no! Don't leave. Here, take my seat, I'll steal a chair from another table and be right back."
Wufei just signaled a server who hurried up with another chair and a cup. "A chair for the gentleman and a cup for the lady's tea. Would you like to order some food?"
Mrs. Nakamura accepted Duo's chair and the cup but said she'd already had breakfast.
She just sat drinking tea until they were finished, Heero paid while Wufei went up to get his sword and they were on their way to the studio.
.
Their arrival at the studio was greeted by several people who bowed, opened doors and in general made themselves useful or got in the way. The only real glitch came when someone tried to take the sword case from Wufei. This person got a tripartite glare that sent him scurrying away.
They were led up to a small room with a sign on it that declared, "Wardrobe" in gold lettering.
Wufei was astonished to find that they wanted him to wear a full formal kimono. He sneered at the wardrobe lady saying acidly, "And I'm supposed to preform tameshigiri and Iaido in full kimono. All, what? Six layers? Not a chance."
She huffed, her vision destroyed by common sense. "Well, what then?"
"Hakama. Hakamashita. Let me look around." Wufei poked through the racks until he found what he wanted. They were the most ancient form of Hakama with ties at the ankles. He brought them back to her announcing, "This is what I'll wear. See if you can't find something similar to them for Heero. Duo?" He turned to Duo. "You don't have a Preventers uniform with you and, I think it wouldn't be appropriate for you to wear it anyway, but could you find something? Maybe a completely black BDU?"
Duo nodded. "Sure, I'll poke around." And he did, finally finding what he was looking for; black BDU's in his size. Luckily his boots were black as there was no way they'd have the proper size for him.
Heero just allowed the wardrobe lady to get him into a simple white, short komono and black modern hakama. Wufei sneered at her back, but Heero just rolled his eyes and cooperated.
When they were finally dressed, the wardrobe lady, who had rather snippily informed them that she was called, Mrs. Lim tried to tie the strings of Wufei's hakama. She drew back with a start. "I don't think we should tie them. They gather far enough up your leg that your scars will show. They're bad enough that I don't think makeup will hide them."
"That's fine then just tie them in a bow so I don't step on them. Thank you."
They went to makeup next but the young man there took one look at them and announced, "They don't need anything but a closer shave and a light powder for the shine. So, barber time." They were each shaved with a straight razor, which made all three of them twitchy, powdered carefully to make sure that their skin didn't look sweaty and sent off to the actual studio.
In the studio, the director was fussing about the change in a resigned tone of voice. "I know, I know. Family comes before all. But I've still got a studio full of people who expected work. I'm not sure what to do."
Wufei approached him. "I'm here now. Where do you want me and what do you want me to do?"
"And you are?"
"Chang Wufei." He showed the man his sword. "Swordsmith."
The director sighed. "Yes, I see. I have no concept, no vision. I'm trying to come up with something. But ... I have all these people." He waived his hand at a group of about fifteen people dressed as courtiers of the Muromachi era.
Wufei glanced around. "It's fine. I'll just demonstrate in front of them and they can ooo and ahhh. It shouldn't take long, if you set the cameras up properly. Heero will act as my aide as he actually knows what to do." He turned to Duo. "I'm sorry, Duo. I was hoping to give you a small part as well but ..." he gestured to the group. "I don't think you'll fit in."
Duo just grinned. "I'll just stand by in case someone needs a heads up. Safety officer."
Wufei grinned. "Ok. Now, let's get this thing done."
So, Heero set up the tameshigiri targets and a small rectangular table for the sword stand then stood beside it. Wufei joined him and they stood around for thirty minutes while cameras and lights were set, checked and approved.
Heero nodded to Wufei, the director called 'Action', and Wufei accepted his sword from his 'aide'. He stepped to his first mark and cut the upright target, a roll of three tatami mats wrapped around a stalk of bamboo. He cut it into three sections then stepped up to the next target and did the same. He returned to Heero to accept the saya, which he bound to his belt with the sageo.
He settled in siza, kneeling on a small cushion. Heero brought a manikin and set it in front of him as if a person sat opposite him. Heero got out of the way and there was a flash of light off the blade as Wufei drew it, cut the head off the dummy and slowly re-sheathed it. The onlookers ooo'ed and aahh'ed, clapping politely, as they'd done for the cutting scene.
The director shouted, 'Cut', and it was over. Wufei re-tied the sageo into its decorative knot and put the sword in its case again.
Mrs. Nakamura came over to tell them that Wufei wouldn't have to say anything, they'd decided to use a voice over as a more effective way to handle the text. She wanted Wufei to set his sword on the case, folded out into its display mode. He did and several camera people swarmed around it. One started to touch it and Duo sprang into action, slapping his hand away none to gently, telling him, "Na-na! Do not touch. You want it moved, Wufei will do it."
There was another flurry of picture taking and Wufei moved the sword to the senior photographer's direction. He also held it this way and that.
The director and the Nakamura's all announced that they were satisfied. Wufei offered to return to a local studio if they needed more footage and they were done.
It didn't take them long to return to the wardrobe room and change back into their own clothing.
They were returned to the hotel to pack and catch a plane home.
On their arrival there was a bit of trouble at customs. The customs officer had to send for his superior because of Wufei's sword.
The supervisor arrived full of smiles and examined the case. "I'm sorry to say that there's an import fee for swords of this sort. Do you have the import papers?"
Wufei blinked at him for a moment. "No. As I'm not importing it, no papers are necessary. I made it right here in the city and took it to Japan for shinsa."
Wufei squinted at the man's metallic name tag. He noticed and apologized for not introducing himself. "Name is Harmon. May I see your papers then?"
Wufei nodded and took them from his pocket. He had put them in an inner pocket of his jacket. He'd also taken them out six times during the flight to reread.
He handed them to Officer Harmon, who carefully took them out of their envelope and opened them. He read quickly, choosing the English version. "Oh, well, congratulations. It's not every day we get something like this come through."
Wufei smiled. "I'll have to admit to a rather dishonorable level of pride. This will ... it will be a show piece for my smithy. I'll make others but I don't think any will be quite as precious to me as this one."
"I know what you mean. And it's a wonderfully beautiful piece of work. Take it and go on home. Again congratulations. And I don't think it's dishonorable to be proud of the product of hard, honest work. Now shooo."
So they shoo'ed and headed for home.
.
Wufei sighed happily. They'd been home for about three hours, during which they'd all bathed and changed. Duo had taken a nap with his head in Heero's lap while Heero wrote his mission report for him. Wufei had sat nearby, reading a paper on metallurgy and helping Heero read Duo's notes.
Wufei's phone beeped at him, waking Duo, who sat up with a mumble. Wufei glanced at the screen and bit his lip. Suddenly, he was near tears.
" 'Fei?" Duo put a hand on his thigh in concern while Heero gripped his shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I'm fine. In fact, I'm more than fine. Look." He held his phone where both of his friends could see it. He'd gotten a message from his bank that there had been two deposits to his account.
Heero whistled at the amount of one while Duo, noticing the other one first crowed with delight, "Wufei! You got a raise!"
"Yes, but look at the award I got. It's from the Japanese crown. It's the first prize I've won for a sword. And the raise is pretty nice too." He jumped as the phone beeped again. "And look! I've already gotten paid for the commercial. It's only a token as the Japanese government won't allow me to do it for free so all we got was minimum wage. Not that it makes any difference to me. But still ..." He sighed when he realized that neither Heero nor Duo understood. "I'm finally doing what I wanted to do when I was a child ... before the wars."
Duo gave him a smile blazing with joy and said, "That's so cool. I thought you wanted to write poetry and stuff."
Wufei poked Heero who laughed softly. "He does. Haiku. Very good too."
Duo hugged Wufei, who bore with it with admirable patience. "Great. Things are really looking up."
"Yes, and I realized something while in Japan. I did not, as Duo has told me a dozen times, betray my honor. My honor was betrayed by people who should have taken care of me. My shrink in prison, the guards. All of them are as nothing. My honor is intact. My life is mine to live now. And I'm going to live it very well. Thanks to you two."
Duo just grinned fit to split his face and Heero actually hugged Wufei, they broke apart quickly. Heero cleared his throat flushing slightly. Wufei just nodded and settled back in his seat, well satisfied with his life as it was now.
.....
FYI
1024 Bytes = 1 Kilobyte
1024 Kilobytes = 1 Megabyte
1024 Megabytes = 1 Gigabyte
1024 Gigabytes = 1 Terabyte
1024 Terabytes = 1 Petabyte
1024 Petabytes = 1 Exabyte - In 2000, 3 exabytes of information was created
1024 Exabytes = 1 Zettabyte
1024 Zettabyte = 1 Zottabyte
1024 Zottabyte = 1 Brontobyte - that is a 1 followed by 27 zeroes
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demonstration of tameshigiri. [for those of you reading on Fanfiction, they've removed the links just go to youtube and search for it]
.com/watch?v=RS2YcBbubs8
.com/watch?v=S0GPlb8HivA&NR=1&feature=fvwp
If you're really curious about sword physiology go watch this.
.com/watch?v=QUZ75oKkJqw
Japanese swords usually aren't actually sharpened, they're polished on special stones. But, if a blade has been abused, it might need to be reground. And you'll get a nasty dressing down from the sharpener, who is called a Master Polisher.
The ikazuchi-choto doesn't actually exist. It's a combo I created myself. The ikazuchi is a modern ninja style sword with a straight blade, edged on both sides . A choto is a traditional style sword with a straight blade and a long tang or nakago. If someone says they have a wakazushi-choto, they have a wakazushi with a straight blade. So what I've invented is a sword with a very straight, double edge and a long nakago. But with a beveled point like a waki
I could include a bunch of stuff about differentially hardened blades but I don't think you're really interested in that. If you are google 'Japanese sword, differentially hardened' You'll find more than enough information.
Wojociehowicz is pronounced wo jo ho witz. {if you're old enough to remember the old Barney Miller tv show, that's where I got it.}
Links to info that I used in the judging and origami.
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