Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Journeys We Make

The Beginning Of Something Magical

"Lord Seventh will see you now," Mikapen stuck her head out. She appeared thoroughly ignorant to the ninja accompanying Mana, focusing on the young woman that she had worked with in the past and offering her a polite smile as the Hokage's assistant stepped aside, holding the door open until all the Stars had entered. At that point, Mikapen closed the door and stood by the Seventh's side, waiting until the man would need her services.

"Lord Seventh," the entirety of the Stars bowed before the Hokage, as if they worked directly for him, as was the impression that the Allied Ninja liked to portray anytime they operated within the walls of another village.

"Mana. I was under the impression that you would come here as Konoha's Sorceress to perform. These companions you've chosen... They're all Allied Ninja, aren't they? They're ones you've worked with when you visited Konoha last week, is that right?" the man scanned the room of ninja, declaring their loyalty and submission to his will for the duration of their stay in his village.

"That's right. We are here on the World Magic Tour business, that is it. I've started my career in Konoha as a stage magician, it only felt right that I would start my tour here as well." Mana answered with a polite, repeated bow.

Even though she couldn't quite see it, Mana felt Shige's eyes on her. The leader's sentiments weren't too hard to figure out–after being so adamant about the Stars' business here, Mana had made it difficult to request the village leader for any favors pertaining to their true mission here. It would have seemed odd, to put it lightly, if a party of Allied Ninja proclaimed they were here for entertainment purposes only and then requested something suspiciously non-entertainment-related in the following sentence.

"Well, if that is the case, I will gladly see the show myself. I haven't seen your show yet, as strange as that is, but I've heard many great things. I trust you will have no trouble preparing for it? You've said in your letter that you've already arranged the nitty and gritty with your contacts at Hiro Hall?" Lord Seventh wondered.

"That's right," Mana confirmed it. "You needn't worry about anything. We will just perform here once to kick the tour off, then see where the tide of entertainment takes us. It may just be that we'll return for an encore or two if all things go well, with your permission, of course."

"Understood. Encore performances after the tour gets heated will bring spotlight tourism to our village." Seventh leaned back in his chair, turning around to gaze through the window at the Hokage Monument behind him.

"Sir? Something like that will do wonders for our economy. It's a good thing, isn't it?" Mikapen wondered out loud.

"It is." Lord Seventh admitted after turning back around to face the gathered Stars. "However, it's also extra worry and pressure on our gate guard. It's already a tall task to watch the gate. I'm wondering if we will need to assign some additional heads to man the gate. It's nothing that you lot need to worry about right now. Just focus on your performance, entertaining the people and having fun yourselves. As much as ninja can have fun serving as stagehands..."

"It must look odd that Allied Ninja are accompanying Mana..." Shige-H wondered.

"Not at all. Even with the Nine Tales Gang eliminated from the picture, it is still dangerous for Mana to roam the Fire Country. The heat around this young woman still worries me to this day. She has gathered many titles that inflate her bounty on both the official Bingo Books and the black market. If anything, I'm a bit surprised this is all that Mana travels with." Lord Seventh explained his position.

"Well... A lot of time may have passed, but I don't have too many friends still." Mana pulled her tight collar with her hooked index finger.

"Really? A world-renowned starlet of the stage?" Mikapen made put out her lips in moderate surprise.