Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Journeys We Make

One Of Ours

Once the living signal of doom faded in the black void of space, both the representatives of the Earth Clan and the Sky Clan stared at the stars as if waiting for the nightmare to return. It was just that by then the Chaser had returned from what would have been certain doom, like a lingering, unwavering dread that would have surprised no one to see him appear and mock their combined efforts.

As more and more time passed, the collective fears proved invalidated and one by one they popped and dissolved in a bog of a complete deal of different feelings.

Mana looked around at the blood, inky entrails, and detached limbs, and lifeless stares of the poor, uncanny and majestic people that looked similar to the people she knew enough for her to feel somber at witnessing such profound carnage around her. A light press of a hand touched against her elbow. Mana turned her head without moving her eyes too far away from another signifier of their collective failure.

"Endo?" she said, feeling as if this was the last person she'd have expected to comfort her.

"Holy crap, we couldn't even stand up against one of those guys and here this guy went tearing them up like wet paper..." Endo's words cut like a razor across Mana's nerves, sliding across her throat as if trying to skin her veins and making the hairs around her neck stand up.

"This isn't what normal people take from this sight, you know," she replied with a firm tone before approaching Seikuwo, who was the last one to pull his unique pair of eyes from the cosmic void over his head.

"So, I guess my secret's out. You saw my clone, right?" Mana brushed her arm with unease, fully expecting the head of the Sky Clan to punish her and hoping that he wouldn't lash out fast enough for her not to have a chance to convince him to spare her teammates.

"Not much of a secret," Seikuwo replied, still looking at the sky. Almost as if he was hoping a little to see that horrendous, mocking entity with abstract grimaces staring down at him. "You admitted having come here to free the workers. I already presumed you've paid them a visit first. Are they okay?"

"From what memories I've got from the clone, they're waiting at the sky beam device you use to travel between Earth and the Moon," Mana took off her hat and scratched the back of her head. She was wondering how she was best to approach the subject of asking Seikuwo's permission to use the device to get home.

"I think it would be for the best if you all joined them," Seikuwo finally accepted it that the plague of his people had been gone. "You've played a major part in getting rid of the Chaser. That earned you enough of our respect for us to take your word that you aren't here to act hostile or declare war on us. You must keep in mind that the monster came from your planet, to begin with, so you shouldn't presume too much about our relations."

"As far as Earth and the Moon are concerned, the status quo is back–that of lukewarm peace. You are free to wage war on the measly barns you've built atop of that bog of scat. Given the trouble that your business usually means for everyone involved, we'd prefer you didn't involve us in it anymore," Tairunto crossed her arms.

"Huh..." Mana breathed out. "So I guess this quick beam back down is just as much a sign of gratitude and goodwill as it is your own convenience of getting us off your home."

"Sensei..." Ishikeru grumbled, chipping pebbles and rough edges off his stony forearms and fists. "If it's any consolation, I'm sad to see you go. I'd rather you teach me your craft of shits and giggles yourself."

"Well, you can always watch me. In fact, you better do!" Mana pointed her index finger at Ishikeru's mountainous ridge of a head before lightly flicking an edge that seemed the closest thing he had for a nose. "It'll be flattering to know that I'm being watched from the actual Moon, it's a new audience. In any case, I'll be holding you up to making these stiffersons lighten up. Magic has that kind of power. It lightened you up, didn't it?"