Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Journeys We Make

Reaching Out For A Shake

Denkka walked out through a squeaky, patched, wooden door shaking her hands off of the literal gore and the figurative filth of the grisly affair she's been working on. The rest of the combined party of ninja turned to her with hopeful eyes. Shige-H was the only one noticeably absent, besides Mana.

"Any luck?" Endo raised his eyebrows with a hopeful look. "Initially, I had my doubts, but... After what I've seen, lady, if there's anyone that can make that guy talk, it'd be you..."

"No luck. I'd have better luck squeezing the juice out of a lump of rock," Denkka said with an unmoving face. Given the self-admitted series of failures that the woman had gone through, one would have expected her to show either regret for her heinous actions in that warehouse or disappointment and frustration about her lack of results. Denkka's face showed neither of those.

"Then our best course of action is still to rush to Ishigakure. If the reports are true and Kaguya Yaban has appeared suddenly, that is where the terrorists will strike next," Prim-S said with his arms crossed and his pouted lips staring at an unraveled map on the table before him.

"We can't rush it. Mana and Shige-H aren't in any condition to move yet," Prabba objected.

"Mana won't be in a fighting condition ever. Shige-H has regained enough chakra in the last few days to serve in the back lines as a medical kunoichi in a more supportive role," Endo shrugged.

"They're both your teammates!" Prabba said, looking appalled by the carelessness and dismissiveness in Endo's tone and the content of his response.

"Let's be realistic, Konoha's Sorceress' abilities were a tremendous asset to us but they're not something we can wait for, nor can we reasonably assume that they'll be back ever. Based on what you two have said, Nakotsumi Mana's physical and mental condition leaves us no choice but to sign her off of this mission. I'm not sure what retirement options the Allied Ninja have for their operatives but... At the very least, Konoha won't leave her homeless, which I know for certain. I've worked undercover in a Konohagakure squad during my time in the Black Ops, their military preparedness may be laughable but their social policies almost made me consider shifting my allegiances... That was a joke," Denkka reported with a straight face.

"Yeah, we got it from the context, thanks..." Prim-S squinted at the fellow Kumogakure kunoichi.

"Good, because if my allegiance to my village is ever questioned, I must spill my own guts," Denkka acknowledged the response with a slow and calm nod. Everyone looked at the woman, waiting for her to once again declare that she was joking, causing the lingering for an uncomfortable amount of time.

When the door that led to the operations quarters from the public quarters and offices opened, only Endo tilted his stare to acknowledge the entrant. He did so only because he was in a comfortable position to do so, the rest of the peacekeepers kept staring at the unraveled map, figuring their best options. It was only when Endo began coughing after a gulp got stuck in his throat that everyone turned to the door, seeing Mana still clutching a crutch under her armpit with a sweaty and determined face.

"Mana!" Prabba called out. "Are you sure it's okay for you to move around this much!? Endo, why did you tell her we were here? She must have been under an impression that we were expecting her to join us!"

"I was..." Endo shrugged.

"Maybe you Iwagakure ninja take your service so lightly as to sign yourselves off when you lose a limb on the battlefield. I'm glad, however, that Konohagakure ninja, our major rivals on the political and military table, are made of sterner stuff than that. Then again, perhaps it is the genetic background of Kumogakure ninja in the Sorceress' blood that pitched in," Prim-S nodded in acknowledgment of Mana joining the party with a smiling nod.