Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of What Defines Us

Silence Before the Tempest

The next morning both Mana and Kiyomi went to see Meiko. Mana had not had the chance to see her friend while she was awake since the Chuunin Exams. The blacksmith appeared to be in a very odd mood that happened to change from time to time from one side of the radical emotional spectrum to another. When Mana and Kiyomi first entered the ward, the blacksmith was just blankly staring through the window. A moment later, she was stuffing her face with some chicken and rice like she had not a care in the world...

"So I lost, huh"? Meiko wheezed out with a husky tone.

"Yeah, but you did really well", Mana tried consoling her friend's doubts.

"You pushed yourself way too far though, Meiko. The medical ninja told me you may not walk for up to a whole week and even when you stand back up, it might take a couple of months until you're up on your feet and fighting like you used to", Kiyomi expressed her worries, pressing Meiko. This may have been the wrong approach in all the wrong ways. Then again, given what Mana heard last night this may have been understandable...

"I... I just tried being like you two. This Salnisa girl that had her acid burns treated here earlier told me you two plowed through your opponents all by yourself", Meiko gloomily jumbled some words up.

Mana sighed, "Look, the difference between ninja ranks is tremendous. A young genin is merely just a kid out of the Academy, by the time they become chuunin they're a legitimate threat to their entire world. Jounin are stronger than chuunin proportionately, Sannin and Kage level ninja blow even those amazing ninja away. It is said that a ninja who opens all Eight Gates is capable of competing with and beating a Kage level ninja, no matter their rank. The person you faced was someone who opened three out of the eight gates, still, that person didn't beat you – it was a draw between you two. You have nothing to be ashamed of".

Meiko just glared at Mana with wet shimmering eyes before jumping back to her food. The fact that she felt hungry again and wasn't just rolling around in her bed feeling pity for herself was something that relieved Mana greatly.

"So, these Team Phobos guys... Kiyomi told me yesterday you'll be facing that chick from that team, right? Got any plans yet?" Meiko wondered with a mouth full of rice before she got a chicken bone in her throat and, in a very messy manner, coughed it out.

"It's nothing, I'll think of something. I've got full five weeks for that, it's an exciting challenge really – I know her fighting style, now all I need to do is break through it", Mana dismissed her friend's worries. As simple and naïve Meiko was, even she knew that Mana's match-up five weeks from now was trouble. By confronting it and encouraging the magician to do the same she displayed more maturity than Mana did, who until now has pushed the grim thoughts of the upcoming match deeper down.

*****

Once Mana returned home, her father turned to the door, his eyes blanked out before he jumped up on his feet and began pointing at Mana like he had seen a ghost. For a moment, the magician felt a bit confused and raised an eyebrow.

"Who's this intruder in hospital-borrowed clothes"!? The man shouted out, "Someone call the Police Force"!

Mana's eyes softened before her little pouty lips turned into a warm smile.

"Very funny, dad".

"So, you're just going to disappear again then? Where are you headed off to now? Another country, another planet, another universe or dimension? I sure hope that place has mail"! Mana's father cheeked the magician again after turning off the wooden box he had for a television in this household and sitting down at the other end of the armchair.

"So you've heard", Mana closed her eyes, she kind of wanted to surprise her parents by relaying the news about her successful Chuunin Exams.

"Oh, yeah, plenty of my old comrades are working on keeping that whole thing running. They told me the whole thing, about how amazing my girl was, beating both opponents alongside her trusty rabbit pal... "Rabbit pal" was what I asked myself because I had no idea my little girl was hanging around with rabbits", father said.