Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Where We Come From

Towards a Waterfall of Experience

"So you guys are leaving already?" Menna happily yelled out stopping the Konoha four from entering the long pass to the Sunagakure gate.

"We've received an answer from Konoha, Lady Fifth wishes us to further investigate the Box's location, nothing specific, just check some clues, tie up all loose ends..." Shimo shared surprisingly a lot of details with the Sand team that he didn't trust previously.

"Oh, so that's what you were doing in the desert. Did you guys seriously expect to find the Box of Ultimate Bliss in that old wreck of stone?" Tiwul laughed before sticking out her tongue rudely, acting almost like a monkey spewing air and slobber through the mouth just to playfully appear rude.

"Hmph, looking for stupid fairytales instead of training and developing real skills, is that what Konoha has become now?" Tala sarcastically bit the Konoha team as well walking out from behind Menna's shadow. Even while his personality and the content of his words could've been picked up as offensive he had a rather warm if not a little challenging smile suggesting that his bite was more of a toying nature.

"I suppose we'll see during the Chuunin Exams just which village's method is actually stronger." Kouta smiled closing his eyes and raising his fist up closer to Menna who smiled and bumped the medical ninja. Mana remained silent throughout the entire exchange but not because she was still sad, she had no right to be.

This entire short exchange of words before the four turned around and moved through the pass heading outside the village was something that the magician wished to preserve in her memory and carve into her heart. The young of old warring villages saying warm farewells after only having met less than a week ago, already having formed some sort of bonds and connections.

That was beautiful, after witnessing that moment Mana wished to experience that day countless times. Moments like this would have made the world closer to the world she wished to see, world without war or suffering. During either of the Great Ninja Wars, any Konoha ninja would have been in danger in Sunagakure, there would've been endless threats to take their lives and claim on their bounties even if as genin they weren't worth much.

"Are you OK today, Mana-chan? You seemed to have been quite distressed yesterday." Kouta noted walking up closer to the magician.

"It's alright, I just... Have you ever felt like your own body would betray you? Not only your body but also your mind, your entire essence does the opposite you wish to do and then you do not understand what you even are anymore..." Mana spoke up, shortly peeking back just to see if Meiko and Shimo weren't listening in, she didn't really wish to share with anyone but Kouta who appeared to be dealing with Mana's problems in a way that seemed most appropriate at the time for the magician.

Meiko was a person who wished to fix everything, punch through everything. She was someone who has heard of legendary heroes wielding mighty swords slashing through injustice and as someone who was looked down on, a rejected branch of an elite clan who was a reject even by the standards of rejects, Meiko wished to fix all injustices directly. If she saw a fly stuck in a spider's web she'd immediately kill that spider and free it, without having a single bit of thought about how sensitive the ecosystem is and what the correct course of action would be.

Shimo was beginning to appear like a mystery to Mana. An old friend who has been through much and after living through so many experiences changed in ways she couldn't yet put her finger on. He was a man who merely wished to become Hokage, to make sure that the strong would not oppress the weak by becoming the strong. 

Then, after realizing what the world was actually like he stopped caring that much, his core objective had become to survive and help survive to all he cared about, while still keeping parts of his old dream somewhere deep inside. And yet... His behavior in the Sand Village appeared so... Odd. Why would a young man who was a survivalist above all else interfere with that terrorist organization's goals? Was it a sign that old Shimo was breaking free through the rock hard façade of an ex-rogue? The kunoichi couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by Shimo but only because she couldn't understand him and things she couldn't understand, or obtain knowledge of, felt intimidating.