Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of What Defines Us

Two Against the World

As the two friends continued to walk the same path on and on Mana was beginning to get really riled up about the lack of a stop in sight. There were supposed to be small inns or just vendors selling junk and supplies everywhere. Maybe the world was just bigger than Mana had imagined it and where she expected these vendors and stops to be everywhere, placed as tightly to one another as they were drawn on the map, there must've been a really long walk between each of them. As someone who took such a brief time returning to the village after leaving the ship, the magician had to admit to herself having forgotten what simply moving at a casual pace felt like.

"Hmmm... You're being really silent. That's really not like you." Kiyomi pouted still looking to be in a playful mood and completely unaffected by the fact that someone put a bounty on her head and someone wishing to claim it could've been right around the corner.

"I'm just being careful. You appear to be completely unaffected by the whole damn world wishing to kill you so I must be watchful for the both of us." Mana replied still tense and doing her best to perceive and properly analyze their environment. Just being careful took the better part of her available effort, being social on top of that would've been impossible.

"We can talk like this..." the cheerful Yamanaka winked at Mana after establishing the mental link between the two.

"I'd rather not. Talking, while really distracting, is easier than filtering my thoughts and struggling to hide what I don't want you to see." Mana sighed before realizing that her friend would simply not relent and begin properly evaluating the danger to her life.

"Oh? There's something you don't want me to see? Now you're making me even more excited!" Kiyomi grinned like a little monkey having seen a simple bait and switch magic trick and questioning its primitive understanding of reality.

"Personal things, both embarrassing and painful," Mana answered trying to hint at painful memories she didn't wish to be brought up. Kiyomi somewhat settled down having gotten the hint.

"So... That mission you left on, wandering the world completely powerless, were you looking to get yourself killed? Right now your pinchy, munchling cheeks are all covered in scratches and your eye is tearing up constantly like you've been making an onion cake or something, what happened? I'm just being so needy for being social because you offer none of it." Kiyomi asked with a bit more seriousness.

"It's nothing. I've regained my chakra control and got my license working again. Now my only worry is to not lose another friend, I've already had a run-in with a bunch of bounty hunters looking for you." Mana explained.

"Wow, a bunch of vultures did these scratches? What did they throw at you, a colossal chainsaw wouldn't leave a scratch on a ninja worth their mettle..." Kiyomi shrugged.

"It was trees, they were pretty fast so I flew up and I think I did it too fast and carelessly, the branches scratched me up, one even hit my eye making it itchy." Mana recounted because she knew that her friend wouldn't back up if she didn't. To the magician it seemed like a career in the interrogation division was pretty much guaranteed for the Yamanaka heiress. After all – she could extract information even without using her clan techniques.

Kiyomi began cackling in a childish laughter. "Branches did this to you!?" she grabbed her abdomen in actual physical pain that laughing herself off to no end brought.

"I'm glad you find my pain hilarious." Mana couldn't help but smile, her warm and friendly feelings for the blonde broke through the worry for Kiyomi's well-being.

"Well yeah! People are learning to control their punches and fireballs so that they don't blow up the world their whole life and the great and mighty Konoha's Sorceress gets scratched up by some branches! I've not had a laugh like this in years!" Kiyomi kept on laughing.