Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Journeys We Make

Bubbly Tea

A modest wooden ship spear-fronted through floating platforms of shattered ice across the sea that washed the shores of both Land of Frost and Land of Lightning. Since the wooden vessel now worked its way through Land of Frost territory, it had to deal with frigid temperatures but the captain worked his girl like he had done many times before and kept it far away from the shores, where the ice had been fragmented and his little baby could swiftly maneuver around the separate frosted plates.

It was a dangerous trip and, compared to taking a mountain ride on a carriage, it cost an arm and a leg, but it was also faster. The Allied Ninja didn't finance the trip. However, the Stars' new member seemed to have some sway with the seamen. Mana wasn't overly fond of the bitter looks on their faces whenever they sneered at her but she's been stonewalled for almost a year by the public that still wouldn't let go of the supposed crime she's committed in potentially saving the world and preventing a Ninja World War.

"Okay, I'm curious. How did you convince these men to take us all the way around to the Stone Gulf?" Shige-H crossed her arms sitting in the passenger's cabin during lunch. The entire vessel had just a single room for passengers and usually, it was filled with cargo and not people, as evidenced by the lackluster temperature and lack of commodities.

"They're not taking us to the Stone Gulf. That's too much of a hassle. Also, this ship's not fit for that kind of curve and it's not large enough to fit enough supplies for a trip so far from the shore," the blond kunoichi replied while munching on some crackers and giving it some taste with quince slices.

"You know a lot about ships and sea travel," Endo squinted while sipping on his tea. Given how Mana skipped out on an opportunity to eat crackers and quince jam for the entire trip. The only satisfaction she got out of this gloomy voyage was seeing Endo drinking tea by choice. She'd have bet on someone like Endo to take hardcore liquor, but she'd have, apparently, lost that gamble. It wasn't an issue of supply either. The sailors often wobbled as if they've properly boozed themselves up.

The last time Mana brought this up, the newbie rudely shut her down saying that seamen needed a counterbalance for the quake of the waves or else they'd get nauseous or forget themselves and get flipped overboard. If her spiteful look was of any sign–it was as if Mana had accused the rookie herself of juicing up with the devil's drops.

"Gee, it's almost like I come from a country that's essentially just an archipelago of islands floating in the middle of an ocean hundreds of kilometers deep and hundreds of thousands of kilometers wide..." the rookie stabbed at Endo with her cerulean eyes but, given how Endo had no-sold literal stab wounds many times, the focused gaze of a young adult did little to break him.

"You can't get mad at Endo for this. Not when you hardly told us anything about you," Mana noted. It felt vomit-inducing to take Endo's side on something, but it helped to keep her gut secretions down when Endo was right with his observations. "Plus, you being from Kirigakure or any other part of Land of Water doesn't really justify grand knowledge of sailing per se. Plenty of Kirigakure aristocracy never leave their homes in the high-town districts and most Kirigakure ninja don't bother themselves with their own sailing. Konoha ninja, for example, wouldn't know every type of tree there is or which one was best to make a table out of and how to polish it best."

"If I treat you to some tea, will you shut up for a second?" the blonde rolled her eyes. These mixed signals caught Mana's attention. This newbie was snobby and vain and many quite unpleasant things, but the way she spoke to Mana differed from how she dismissed Endo or Shige. It didn't take a grandmaster in social sciences to see that.

"If that will help us move past our first impressions as people who should learn to work together, sure..." Mana sighed. She had to admit, she'd love some tea right about now. Even if she could easily stonewall the temperatures of being at sea in a frozen tundra where every leave onto the deck was met with pelting blizzards or howling rains and cheek-biting frost, even if she could go on without food or water for extended periods of time as a kunoichi with superhuman metabolism, it didn't mean that she wouldn't love a cup of hot, flavorful drink. Even if Mana didn't strictly need it.