The Girl With Two Buns. A NejiTen Fanfic

19

"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?

Am I weird just because I like Orochimaru? I was called a creep😓 but I don't necessarily dislike any character in Naruto except Danzo and those two elders. They just don't sit well with me which says something cause I like everybody. *shrugs*

Anywho, how was your day?

I think I own Shiranui-san because Gemma's grandfather was never mentioned in the series.😅

Please vote and review!