Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of What Defines Us

Until We Meet Again

More and more villagers found their eyes unwillingly settling at Mana's face for longer durations of time than they'd have considered polite which made most of them lower their stares right after they've been noticed. Almost everyone present in the central areas of the village noticed that Mana's features were familiar however because it's been a while since her last show they couldn't put their finger on it. After they've realized who exactly they've been looking at it embarrassed those that stared forcing them to quickly look away, rinse and repeat for too many people for Mana's company to ignore.

"Everyone's staring at you, are you sure that you didn't get in trouble before leaving?" Kusagoro asked with seriousness in his voice. He may have technically only partly completed his mission by failing to save Shimo but he still had sway debating that his mission was three fourths complete which was still a significant degree of success. Ultimately the judgment of success and failure depended entirely on how the Fifth Hokage would be taking the debriefing. He was genuinely getting worried over Mana's safety due to the degree of uneasy attention coming from the villagers.

"Not really... I'm sure that my status as a well-known entertainer is catching up to me. It's been a while since my last magic show so they must be confused." Mana pressed her elbow uneasily. Her messy appearance will surely invite rumors which would hurt her attempts to resurrect her shows after months of absence.

"Wow, I never thought you were this famous..." Meiko whistled in surprise as the attention that Mana appeared to get in her home village amused the blacksmith. "I mean I thought that some people might know who you are, not literally everybody..." she corrected herself since her own family was not entirely oblivious to Mana's second inspiration.

"Wait... You're a ninja and a stage magician? Are you serious? You're a member of a secret order that fulfills missions and lurks underneath the underneath and you're a star of entertainment?" Kusagoro looked at Mana almost begging for the girl to explain herself as his prolonging face was beginning to suggest madness wrapping its long fingers around the veteran's neck.

"Well... You see, not many people know me as a ninja yet. I've not done anything noteworthy as a ninja and while people know me as the Konoha's Sorceress, no one ever suspects me of being a ninja. I've actually used my status to help me blend in in the past so it's more helpful than hindering..." Mana tried to explain herself but there was little of explaining that she could have done.

"Tsk... You have to be fucking kidding me." Kusagoro found little solace in the magician's explanation, apparently. Mana could actually empathize with his point of view. Ninja were supposed to work secretly, they often blended in, did disguises and adopted different personalities, did some real investigative work which a career as a widely known entertainer would've greatly gotten in the way of. The girl could almost see what little shadow of dignity she had with her boyfriend's father scatter away like a handful of feathers during a windstorm.

"You can be this nasty about any profession, father. I mean I plan on becoming a medical ninja soon, that means that if I get really good at it people will also know who I am throughout the village and a lot of great medical ninja like Guru Ayushi are known worldwide." Kouta tried his best standing up for Mana but judging from Kusagoro's angry glare he didn't really succeed.

"Yeah, but you'll be known for something worth wasting your time with, like being able to keep people alive which while a girly ninja art, is also a very useful one. Your friend, on the other hand, will be known for a load of bullshit like stage magic. The only enemies she'll beat with her reputation alone will be those she'll force to laugh at her to death." the Juugo actively tried to trigger another quarrel with Mana. The magician however just closed her eyes and decided to ignore the man. She's been treated this way for the better part of her life, both for her ideals to preserve life and her profession. While it always hurt to be belittled by people better at your job than you are, nothing hurt nearly as much as being belittled by Tanshu-sensei. The clash of ideals with one of the most powerful ninja to have ever lived almost neutered Mana's trust and dignity.