First Time in the City (OPEN)

[Ichiro Kuroki]

Central City. This was one heck of a place. Ichiro's travels had brought him to some big cities before, but they didn't compare to this. This was his first time he had ever set foot in Central City, and the Amestrian capitol exceeded all of his expectations. Walking through the streets while he admired the architecture of this bustling metropolis, it was safe to say that Ichiro was impressed. Now it might have been a smart idea for him to dress more like an Amestrian, or at least not walk around carrying a sword. Because of the looks he got from some passerby's, Ichiro couldn't help but hope that he wouldn't draw too much attention and inadvertently cause a ruckus.

Ichiro looked at the buildings he walked past, this time not admiring them but instead looking for an inn. He needed a place to stay, and hopefully he could find one. Ichiro had come here to see if there were people in need of help, but looking at the city he didn't think he'd find anyone that easily unless he went to the slums or someplace like that. He also needed a place to stay for a few days while he gathered supplies for his next trip out.

Spying a small in, he walked inside and rented a room for a few nights. Once getting the key and checking the room, he left just about as soon as he had came. Now that he had a place to stay, he wanted to get down to business. He started wandering the city, carefully noting each turn he made to make sure he wouldn't get lost. He looked around to see if he could find anyone that needed help, after all that's what he was traveling for. Of course, he also kept his eye out for anyplace where he might be able to get supplies, but his immediate concern was helping others for that was the reason he had left on his journey.

[Felix Talbot]

Now this is what Felix needed! A nice walk around the city, enjoying the sights of various people going about their day, the sound of engines of cars driving by, and even that city air! While being able to study and understand the wondrous science that is Alchemy was just life-fulfilling, sometimes the small things such as writing reports or dealing with various higher-ups tend to take their toll on a person. Sometimes it was best to just hop out for a few moments and revitalize one's self after all the energy wasted on the small things. And that's what Felix did!

As his feet led him down one of the more busier streets of the city, his mind couldn't help but drift to when he first arrived in Central City. It had to've been one, maybe two years ago, but he could remember what he felt the moment he stepped off the train and into the city. It was an odd chi radiating from below the city, like a swarm of people crawling over each other... Felix, at the time, chalked it up to being nervous of arriving in a new city, but after the battle for Central a year ago... And that one battle in the courtyard, that odd chi just vanished... Well, not all of it, but the bulk of it.

Since then the whole "coup" story of Edison and Clemin using an alchemical experiment didn't sit well with the Infinity Blade Alchemist, especially when the two of them weren't even Alchemists to begin with. But before his mind could even continue with this train of thought, his moment of absent-mindedness led Felix into a direct bumping course with another pedestrian.

 "Oof!" He grunted, and stumbling back a bit.

"Ahh, I'm sorry, wasn't watching where I was goi--" Felix stopped in mid-sentence as his eyes caught a glimpse of the sword hanging on the man's hip. "Heeey... That's a nice looking katana. It's always good to see more xingese blades around these parts."

[Ichiro Kuroki]

Ichiro was too intent on looking at his surroundings to notice the person walking right towards him. Grunting as he stumbled back a bit, Ichiro opened his mouth to apologize. The person in front of him seemed to have already started, though Ichiro was a bit surprised when he stopped mid-sentence. More importantly, he immediately recognized it as Xingese. True, anyone with a little bit of knowledge on swords could probably tell that his sword was not Amestrian, but it would take a some knowledge to recognize his katana as Xingese in origin.

That said, it wasn't exactly Xingese, though most people would consider it Xingese. Ichiro's sword was made in the traditional Zhanese fashion, though the Xingese would probably refer to it as the "south-western fashion". Ichiro wasn't sure if this person would realize that but either way it really wouldn't matter. This person obviously knew at least a little bit about Xing, but that really wasn't something that Ichiro needed to worry about.

Ichiro took a look at the person he had bumped into. To his surprise, he was looking at someone who was clearly Xingese. That was the last kind of person that he had expected to see. Ichiro had no idea that there were others from Xing in Amestris, it came to him as a surprise. He wondered just how many there were, though he imagined it wouldn't be too many people. There was probably a reason why Ichiro never knew that there were any Xingese people here. Now Ichiro had to refocus, the man has spoken to him after all it would be rude to not reply.

"You seem to have a good eye for swords." said Ichiro "Now that that's said, I have to say that I wasn't expecting to see any Xingese people here."

[Felix Talbot]

Normally, Felix wasn't one to strike up a conversation with random strangers, especially ones that he bumped into in the streets, but he couldn't help himself when around swords and their owners. While it wasn't exactly a rare sight in Amestris; swords were slowly being phased out for the more modern firearm and that just annoyed Felix to no end. It was good to see there were still those who valued the worth of a good blade, and from the looks for this stranger, he didn't seem to be one to mistreat his own.

Speaking of the stranger, the State Alchemist took a moment to look over the man. As far as Felix could tell, the man was obviously from Xing. Now talk about a rare sight, it wasn't everyday that Felix saw someone from Xing in Amestris, not since his mother.

"Thanks, I've always had an appreciation for swordsmanship." He answered, before smiling slightly. Felix wished he could see the actual blade of this man's sword, but the more he examined it from the outside, he began to notice the nuances that differed from a regular Xingese blade, at least from his own anyway.

"Ahh, I'm only half Xingese on my mother's side, and I can certainly say the same for you." Felix pointed out. While he has never been, Felix remembered his mother's account of how treacherous the journey across the desert between Xing and Amestris was. "It's pretty rare to see someone from Xing around here, especially in Central City. I hope no one's giving you any trouble or anything."

[Ichiro Kuroki]

Ichiro couldn't help but be a bit happy when the man said that he had an appreciation for swordsmanship. "It's good to meet someone who shares that appreciation." replied Ichiro. Among the Zhanese people there were many who were abandoning traditional martial arts and weapons in favor of firearms, and after coming to Amestris Ichiro learned that the trend wasn't unique to the Zhanese people. His family was one of few that tried to adapt traditions for modern times instead of completely abandon them. It was good to see someone who seemed to share at least a little bit of Ichiro's appreciation for swords.

Ichiro was a bit surprised when the man said that he was only half Xingese.  Ichiro wasn't surprised when his comment on how it was rare to see Xingese people in Central was hit right back at him. It was something that was true, but his circumstances could be said to be out of the ordinary. He remembered the journey to Amestris, it was treacherous. Considering how young Ichiro was when he made the journey, he probably wouldn't have made the journey without his parents.

"I haven't had any trouble in a long time." said Ichiro. Suddenly he realized that he hadn't introduced himself. It was looking like he'd be having a conversation with this guy so he might as well do it now. "I'm Ichiro Kuroki, I've been traveling Amestris for the past few years. Who are you?"

[Felix Talbot]

Felix could probably count off a list of people on a single hand that still carried a sword and ACTUALLY treated it with respect in the military, not like the various soldiers that are given a sword and treat it like children with a sharpened stick. It was a shame that not many people followed the late Fuhrer Bradley's example when it came to swordsmanship, but it was always good to add another onto that small list.

But such thoughts were best saved for possible conversational starters with this new acquaintance, Ichiro. "That's good to hear, Ichiro. The people in Central are pretty friendly, and shouldn't give you much trouble." The Zhanese Swordsman was quite lucky to have his visit to Central at this time, and not a few years earlier... News of the turbulent events that occurred in Central and Amestris' government two years ago must've circulated to the rest of the world by now. Felix was merely less than a footnote in the whole thing, but he was there during that chaotic civil battle in Central Command, and that supposed "Alchemical Experiment" but that was long ago, and it seemed like Amestris became better for it. Yep, Ichiro was certainly lucky to come to Central now.

"Oh yeah, I'm State Alchemist Felix Talbot. Pleased to meet you, Ichiro." Felix finally introduced himself. When was the last time, Felix actually said 'pleased to meet you' to another human being? He'll admit it was a long time since he met someone that he actually wanted to know better. The Infinity Blade Alchemist guessed it was more his fault than anything, but he just couldn't be chummy with new people so quickly. Thankfully, Ichiro was wearing a guaranteed ice-breaker on his waist. Speaking of which...

"Ichiro, I couldn't help but noticing your sword... Originally I thought it Xingese, but the more I look at it, the more I notice that the style seems to be different from what I've seen." Felix questioned, showing off his own Xingese short blade that hung opposite of his Amestrian fencing sword.

[Ichiro Kuroki]

"I've noticed." said Ichiro when Felix said that the people in Central were friendly. Ichiro had walked through enough of the city to gather what it was like, and he was happy to see that at least this part of the city looked like a friendly place. To be honest, Ichiro had meant to come to Central earlier but the news of the turbulent events had prevented him from doing so. News of the coup had reached him fairly quickly and he was surprised to find out just what in all it had involved. Sure he wanted to help rebuild, but he knew that in the immediate days following the event security would be heightened and he didn't want to risk causing a ruckus with his sword.

When Felix introduced himself as a State Alchemist, Ichiro couldn't help but be interested. He didn't know of any other Xingese alchemists. Hell, it had been a while since he had run into any other alchemists at all. To be honest this was all a little refreshing for Ichiro. "Pleased to meet you too, Felix." replied Ichiro. It had been a while since the last time Ichiro had met someone who he actually wanted to sit down and have a conversation with. To be honest, in the past few weeks the only conversations he'd had with people happened when he had been helping them out with something. This was a nice change of pace for him.

Felix seemed to be quite interested in Ichiro's sword. It was something that Ichiro hadn't expected, but it didn't surprise him. Ichiro was a little surprised when he found out that Felix could tell the small differences between a Xingese blade and a Zhanese blade, but Ichiro understood why when Felix showed Ichiro his sword. "It's made in the traditional Zhanese style." said Ichiro "You'd probably know it as the south-western style. I'm from the land of Zhan, what is today the South-Western Outlying Territory of Xing." Ichiro hoped that his ethnicity wouldn't cause any problems. The Zhanese people didn't exactly have the best reputation in Xing. They were known for their mercenary work, and the Zhanese clans that took all the dirty work had done a real good job of sullying the Zhanese name.

[Felix Talbot]

"Zhanese Style, huh?" Felix could recall hearing about the land of Zhan from one of his mother's history lessons about Xing. How it was annexed by the current or previous emperor of Xing, he couldn't remember quite exactly. Felix wasn't surprised though, Amestris was known throughout its history to annex the various lands surrounding it until the country is what it had become today. He could remember that the annexing of Zhan hadn't been a very productive one for the former land due to a bloody civil war that weakened them to the point of near annihilation. 

Still, it was very interesting to see a new style of sword from another country, and despite the growing mercenary lifestyle to come from Zhan, Felix wasn't one to judge a person for what others might have done, there was no point in wasting energy for petty hatred. "I think I remember my mother telling me about the nation of Zhan. I'm glad to see that Xing hasn't completely absorbed it until it lost all individuality." As he talked about it, Felix wondered how many nations and their history were lost after Amestris claimed them.

"Ichiro, would it be alright if I were to see the blade of your sword?" The State Alchemist asked. Even though he said that the sword itself was expertly made, only by seeing the blade itself will Felix know the true answer. Sure, you could make the handle, the guard and the sheath as beautiful as the most precious diamond, but it all came down to the blade... A blade forged with care and patience was more beautiful than the fairest rose.

[Ichiro Kuroki]

When Felix said that he was glad Zhan hadn't completely lost it's individuality Ichiro couldn't help but think back to history. Much of Zhanese culture was influenced in some way by Xingese culture so assimilation hadn't really been necessary. Of course, Zhan's warrior culture was something that was different from Xingese culture, but other than that there were many similarities. That and Ichiro didn't think that many Zhanese clans would abandon their swordsmithing style, at least initially. Zhanese blades were something that, until recently, were a very important part of Zhanese culture. For a time the pride of the Zhanese people was their swords, but then guns were invented and that seemed to have changed things quite a bit. "Yes, it is." said Ichiro after thinking about it for a moment.

But it was interesting to see that Felix didn't have many prejudice against Zhanese people. Most Xingese people saw the Zhanese as a warlike people who care only about a fight. It didn't help that many Zhanese clans had taken up mercenary work. There were a few clans which took on dirty work, not to mention the fact that Xingese royalty feared that Zhanese mercenaries might one day be hired to kill them. This effectively caused the Zhanese people's reputation to be quite negative among most Xingese people, Ichiro was glad that Felix wasn't one of those people.

When Felix asked if he could see the blade of Ichiro's sword, Ichiro was surprised. He hadn't expected that to be asked, but he had nothing to lose by showing it to Felix. "Sure." said Ichiro as he drew his blade to show it to Felix "Just be careful with it, it was once my fathers." As Ichiro showed Felix the blade, Ichiro himself couldn't help but admire it. The blade was crafted by one of Zhan's finest swordsmiths and it didn't come cheap. Ichiro could see the hamon clearly, it almost resembled the ocean's waves. The sword itself was crafted in the Soshu Kitae method, which used seven layers of differentially hardened steel to craft the blade. This method was used only by Zhan's greatest swordsmiths due to the difficulty involved. The method allowed for a blade that was razor sharp and extremely resilient to battle damage and because of it swords made through this method were of extremely high quality. Proof of the use of differentially hardened steel was visible as a grain (hada) on the sword. It would be difficult for a beginner to recognize, and even harder for someone to recognize the use of the Soshu Kitae method by looking at this. Though not visible because of the grip, the tang of the blade was signed by Sadamune, the swordsmith who created the blade and widely regarded as one of the best living Zhanese swordsmiths. The sword itself was in great condition, those countless hours of his parents training him in proper sword maintenance seemed to have payed off in the end.

[Felix Talbot]

Like a child in a toy store, Felix's eyes lit up with excited joy and wonder when Ichiro drew his blade. The blade was far more beautiful than he could've imagine. The craftsmanship was spectacular, perhaps some of the best Felix had seen in quite some time, but he didn't recognize the crafting style however as Felix wasn't very familiar with the Zhanese method of swordsmithing, let alone the intricate method used to craft such a work of art. He assumed it being similar to Xingese, but this was quite different from what he's use too.

"This is a thing of beauty, Ichiro! What kind of forging method was used to make this? How times was the steel folded?" He couldn't help but ask question after question like a knowledge starved university student, it was rare to see foreign forging this expertly handled in Amestris. There were the few blades from Creta or the even rarer Aerugo blade that came through the country, but they were usually either in the possession of collectors or in the hands of brutes with no proper sense or worth to actually hold one. 

Looking at this sword reminded him of home, and how he'd spend his days with his father at the forge, learning the Talbot family secrets of forging a perfect blade, according to the Talbot family anyway. When Felix had time, he had to give his father a call and tell him about this, he'll be sure to get a kick out of this. "You know, my father came from a long line of bladesmiths. If he saw this, he'd probably ask you even more questions than I did, and probably plan a trip to Zhan to find the person who forged this blade." He laughed, letting Ichiro take back his sword.

If there was anyone who had a stronger love of swords than Felix, it was his father. Much like Alchemy was Felix's passion, forging an excellent sword was his father's. He could only smile in thought that if his father had became an Alchemist with that same passion, he'd probably be one of the greatest Alchemists the world had ever seen. "You have to be one of the luckiest people in the world to have such a sword like that, Ichiro. A sword like that has got to come once in a lifetime. You gotta tell me the master artisan that made this." Felix chuckled, a bit envious of the blade. Perhaps, Felix himself will one day visit Zhan and seek out this swordsmith.

[Ichiro Kuroki]

Ichiro could tell that Felix was excited to be able to see his sword. Ichiro could tell by the expressions on Felix's face, the way Felix asked the questions about the forging method, and his overall attitude towards the sword. There was no way that Ichiro could not answer Felix's questions. "It was forged using a method that we call Soshu Kitae. The Soshu Kitae method requires a lot of skill, and is only used by the most skilled of Zhanese swordsmiths." started Ichiro "It uses seven layers of differentially hardened steel. The core is a soft, flexible steel. A layer of a slightly harder steel is bonded to each side of this core, adding support. Finally, hard steel is bonded to top, bottom, and both sides forming the cutting edge, back edge, and the blade flats."

"It's rare to see a blade like this, even in Zhan." Added Ichiro "Most Zhanese blades are made using the Honsanmai method, which only uses four layers of differentially hardened steel." This was very true. While you could find a fair amount of Zhanese swordsmiths still around, most of them used some variation of the Honsanmai method. Rarely did you find one trained in the Soshu Kitae method. This was because typically to learn it, you needed to attend the Soshu school of swordsmithing. It was rare for someone to learn it outside of that school.

Ichiro couldn't help but chuckle when Felix said that his father might go as far as planning a trip to Zhan to find who made the blade. "Well, the man who made this sword might be a bit hard to reach." said Ichiro as he took his blade back and sheathed it.. He remembered that Sadamune lived near the top of a mountain. He had two reasons for being there. Firstly, he could reportedly find the best ores where he was located. Secondly, it made sure that only the most dedicated of Zhanese swordsman or sworsdsmiths would be willing to go through the trek to meet him.

"I guess I am lucky to have this sword."

"The man who forged this blade is named Sadamune." said Ichiro, answering Felix's question of who made it. "He's one of Zhan's most skilled living swordsmiths. He lives on a mountain though, so it's hard to reach him. My father was one of few people who were willing to make the trek up the mountain."

[Felix Talbot]

"Sadamune, huh?" Felix made a mental note of the the Zhanese swordsmith's name and the fact that he lived on a mountain. It would make sense that such a master of his craft would live somewhere not easily accessible by those of less constitutions. It wasn't a surprise to the State Alchemist that it also served as a test for those seeking this Sadamune's skill, a way to separate the undedicated from those dedicated to the way of the sword. Sadamune sounded like a man that understood the weight of carrying something such as a sword, and how dangerous it can truly be.

"From what you told me, this Soshu Kitae method and the master's skill sound extraordinary." Felix replied in awe of this master's ability.  "Though that'll probably interest my father even more, he always loved a challenge." He chuckled softly, imagining his father climbing relentlessly through the wilderness to find this Sadamune and learn his secrets. Though when Felix actually thought about it, the chances of his father going through Xing and into Zhan might be low if Felix's mother had anything to say about it.

It wasn't Zhan that was the problem with his mother, but Xing. Even to this day, Felix still had no idea why the woman practically abandoned Xing, or at least its ideals. "Hmm... Ichiro, I know you've been in Amestris for a few years, but have you heard any news from Xing?" He asked, wondering what was going on in the country in the east. All Felix knew was what newspaper have told him, that Amestris and Xing's new emperor, Ling Yao had agreed on numerous projects that'll bring the two countries closer. Maybe some more good news would lighten his mother's mood towards her former homeland.