Neji entered the small shop with Moegi and a bodyguard in tow. The shop owner, a middle aged man who had specs of grey hair from stress, rushed forward to welcome him to his shop.
"Aoya your highness, it is an honour to have the crown Prince in my humble shop." The man was surprised that the prince even knew that his shop existed but Neji was one to recognize quality from miles away.
"Do no fret over formalities. I request your assistance and your expertise." Neji eased the man up from his bowing position.
"What does my lord need my hands for? I am but an humble servant who has learnt of his family's occupation which was passed down from several generations."
"Drop the formalities for you shall be my teacher."
The man froze. "I can not possibly be the teacher of an esteemed man such as you." Neji sighed. This man was not willing to drop the formalities no matter what.
"I request your assistance in weaving a bracelet." Neji requested.
"A bracelet? Aah but of course. Is there anything in particular you have in mind sir?" The middle aged man gestured him forward. He went along with Moegi and Ko, his bodyguard, further into the shop.
"I was thinking about something flexible and with red thread." Neji said honesty.
"Flexible and red, eh your Highness? Please come forward to pick the thread of your choice." The man ushered Neji to a section of the room which had several stands arrayed with threads of various sizes, thickness and colour.
"It's beautiful." Moegi commended.
"Is it not?" Neji replied. The man removed a series of red thread from a stand and set them in front of him. Neji felt through the threads, looking for one slim yet thick enough to make a bracelet that would hold stones. He found the one that fit what he had in mind and held it up.
"The shambala thread." The man observed. "It is a very good choice for a weaved bracelet and is flexible and light." He returned the stand of bright red threads to their normal position and disappeared behind a door. Neji used the opportunity to look around the shop which despite its small appearance was surprisingly spacious. He saw an array of beautiful beads ranging from glass beads to wooden beads. "Anything that catches your interest there, your Highness?" The shop owner emerged with a spool of red thread.
"Yes. I was wondering if I could weave beads into the bracelet." Neji said.
"Of course my lord. Please come to make your choice." The man dropped the spool and ushered Neji and Moegi into yet another compartment in the shop. This one had different beads of different natures, colours, shapes and sizes. "We have here the glass beads, wooden beads, stone beads, shell beads, pearls, marble and clay beads. You have to consider the girth of the thread you have chosen for the bead but for now choose a type that you would like."
Neji cruised the shop in search for a bead that would best describe what he felt in his heart. "This one, I need two of them."
"An amethyst. Beautiful choice, your highness." The man rummaged around for a while and came back with two amethyst beads. Their holes were fairly large so that they could pass through the thread easily.
"Thank you very much but I have some business to do. Please safe keep my chosen material until I come." Neji requested.
"Yes your Highness." The man bowed.
"Now we shall go to the gold smith." Neji informed his entourage. Without question, they followed him to a goldsmith's place following Moegi's directions. The place was something akin to Lee and Gai's smithery but instead of metal forging it was gold.
"Neji-sama!" The owner, an old man, stopped what he was doing to bow but Neji feared for his back and stopped him from bowing immediately.
"Please bother not with formalities for I am but like a grandson in your eyes."
"If you say so, I shall. What brings you to this place?" The man asked. His hair was grey with age and a few wrinkles nested on his face and body but the man was strong. The fact that he could run a smithery was a proof.
"I am seeking to learn the art of gold smithing. Please accept me as your disciple." Neji bowed.
"Aah? For what reason?" The man, as if sensing something in Neji asked.
"To say the truth, I have offended somebody dear to me and so I want to give a token as well as an apology." Neji honestly answered.
"Hmm. I feel that you need this by the end of this week, if not sooner." Neji was impressed with the man's sensibility but he supposed it was from living so long on earth. He vaguely wondered for some reason how Gai would be like when he grew old. All he came up with was an old green wearing man on a chair teaching his grandchildren the 'springtime of youth'. Poor children.
"Yes sir."
"Very well, I should be able to take you on a crash course however I am of old age and can not be very good with fast teachings. For that, I shall have my grandson teach you. He should be back anytime-" He was interrupted by the sound of a man's call.
"Ojisan tadaima!"
"Genma, okaeri." The man smiled. The man that entered was older than him from what Neji could tell. He had brown shoulder length hair and sharp eyes and wore a scarf on his head. A distinct thing about him was the toothpick in his mouth.
"Eh? The prince?" Genma bowed in greeting.
"You shall be assisting Neji-sama on a crash course on gold smithing. If possible, have him learn the basics by the end of the week." Shiranui-san, the old man, informed.
"Okay." Genma turned to look at Neji. "When do you want to start your lessons, your Highness?"
"Please bother not with formalities and I shall start today if it is okay with you." Neji said.
"Of course. Please follow me." Genma instructed. "It would be wise to remove your clothing so that it would not be ruined." He gestured to Neji's beautiful green Kimono top.
"Hai." Neji stripped off his top and handed it to Moegi with a thank you and tied his long hair into a man bun before following Genma. The man showed him various instruments and gave him a summary of how gold is refined. He picked a dull stone and showed it to the prince.
"This is a gold ore. There are several types of gold ore and the process of extracting the gold from the ore is lengthy so we shall skip the process and begin with separated gold." Genma tutored.
"Eh? So that shiny gold comes from here?!" Moegi voiced her astonishment.
"Yes it does. Before we start on the gold, we should work on the mold. I suppose it is jewelry you intend to make, is it not?" Genma asked.
"Yes, a bead to be precise."
"A bead." Genma rubbed his chin. "In what form?"
"In the form of a tulip." Neji said.
"Hmm. Please wait while I search for a suitable mold." With that, Genma left the workshop. He came back after a while with several molds and asked Neji the size of his intended bead. The prince pinched his fingers together to describe after comparing it with the amethyst beads he purchased earlier. "This should suffice." The Shiranui chose a mold and set it down.
"Now we move unto the gold. You have to melt the gold into fine liquid then pour it into the mold or cast, then wait for it to cool off. Alas, it is not as simple as it sounds. The temperature at which you heat the gold must remain constant otherwise you get an undesired result."
Neji came back each day to learn how to keep the temperature of the furnace constant, how to determine when the liquid was ready and how to pour the gold into the cast. By the end of it, he made a tulip shaped bead and gained blisters in the process. Needless to say he was proud of his work.
After he had created the bead and paid the Shiranuis for their time and effort, he went back to the jewelry maker to learn how to weave the bracelet. The bracelet had drawstrings which made it adjustable on the wrists. The amethyst stones lay side by side the gold tulip on the red woven thread.
"It is beautiful!" Moegi commented.
"It is." Neji smiled triumphantly at the outcome of his hard work. Now all he had to do was find Tenten and a way to speak with her before she used one of her kunai on him.
Honestly... I am not so sure of the whole gold making process thing but it sounds smart, right? Thanks for reading! I hope to see you in the next chapter.