Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of What Defines Us

Insomnia

The moon that night was humongous, its illumination put all those neon lights on restaurants, small shops and gambling houses to shame. Not for the lack of trying, however. One particular establishment – the Minakuji Casino was especially bright, shining brightly with its golden shades together with skylights of various eye scratching colors. Without those lightshows Konoha may have seemed like a depressing place, young people dying left and right, people ambitious enough to leave the protection of the village disappearing and being sacrificed for the natural darkness in wild ones' hearts...

The lights and bright colors helped shake off that impression. It did for Mana all the time... Even if Minakuji, when approached closer, smelled of vomiting alcoholics thrown out so that they didn't disturb the other clients' illusions of luxury and cheer. Even if brawls were more than common with the only concern of the staff there being that they happened off the social screen, out of sight meant as good as averted, the casino's bright colors still had that cheering effect for whatever reason. Even if people unable to express their violence yet drunk of their feet commonly harassed the small-folk. Mana could recall hearing Hisako tell her a story about that place once, how she had a mission to scatter one such group of drunkards...

Or maybe it was no mission? Maybe she said she was just beating on a bunch of lowlifes? No. The violence had a goal, Hisako needed intel from them because she was chasing some maniac. Either way, knowing Hisako there was plenty of murder and "justified" bloodshed because the blood being shed was that of filthy and drunk as a slipper scum. The less details of that story Mana remembered the better...

The door to Mana's room nudged slightly and mother's curious eyes slipped in.

"You're not asleep yet?" she whispered.

"I'm just watching the lights, I need to cheer up a little, it'll be tough acting all enthusiastic and entertaining people in tomorrow's show if I'm..." Mana didn't want to say "sad". For whatever reason whenever someone uttered that word she actually began weeping when she actually was down. Even if she wasn't down, that word being thrown around made her mood somewhat bummy.

"Oh? Need a kiss to help?" mother suggested emanating that same cheerfulness Mana was looking for.

"No." the teen cut down firmly. Somehow she'd have felt embarrassed if mother pecked her on the head, almost like that moment would've been instantly transmitted to all of her friends even if no one would've known. Mana would've known and that would've been enough.

"Suit yourself, don't stay up too long now." mother suggested and quietly closed the door.

Mana's cheek bumped against her bent knees and she burrowed in her bed cover. She wanted someone there, someone who would've understood her, someone who shared her views or at least made a genuine attempt at getting them. It seemed like with each passing day people like that were disappearing from her life. Everyone who marveled her love for all life were weighed over to the other side, changed or even died. She was becoming more and more alone every passing day.

"No, I said..." Mana whispered to herself, "What an idiot..."

*****

The magician was jumping over the tree branches, carefully positioning her leaps, moving as fast as she could. She braced for impact with the leaves that burst and scattered upon her crashing through them like a juggernaut. The girl's thighs were burning up, her dashes were becoming slower, she covered less and less distance with her leaps and her pace was becoming slower and slower until she moved at a turtle's pace. Her leaps were focusing on height instead of distance, lying that she was moving at the same pace.