Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Games of Body and Soul

Countdown to a Better Future

"Tanko Shigin, please come forward", Lord Sixth proceeded with the hearing procedure. The genin of a goofy face, brown spiky hair and a dopey smile that he barely ever dropped stepped forward. He moved with energy and great confidence in his abilities, his invincibility must have had such an effect on how the young man approached life. Then again, Mana could barely imagine living like that. When nothing threatened her at all, life seemed pointless and dull.

"You've shown absolutely nothing of interest to the council. Your curious ability is intriguing but as a ninja your mindset is entirely missing the mark of what the Council was looking for when promoting people. Almost unilaterally, the Council chose to keep you in the rank of genin", Lord Sixth read this rather derogatory report with the kind of indifference that made these sharp words register in a dull and toothless manner. Even if this man publically made fun of someone, as long as he delivered his tirade in that tone – the person would be none the wiser.

"I understand and agree completely!" Shigin laughed out, making Mana raise an eyebrow in an uncomfortable expression. This youth really did act and appear like an idiot. Maybe it was for the best that he had come to acquire this ability of his, that will make him losing his head somewhere impossible.

It appeared that the Sixth entirely seconded Mana's thoughts, even if he was not quite aware of them as he also gave the young man a curious and surprised glare. He had expected the youth to erupt into a forceful, bordering violent, attempt to convince him otherwise but nothing of the sort had happened and the Sixth looked to be checking if he had heard and seen things right.

"Very well, Erumo Budoki, please step forward." Lord Sixth proceeded as the young lady took a worried step forward. Mana could sense the sweat coming off of Erumo's body, she could almost hear the intense heartbeat. There was a wedge between the two. Mana was not overly fond of the girl's constant attempts to bite her and Erumo had shown to be outright hateful towards Mana but, at that moment, the magician sort of felt bad for the genin in the same manner she felt bad for a classmate in the Academy when they were called up to answer a tough question in front of the class.

"The skills you have demonstrated were impressive. The Council noted that as a support-type ninja you have done remarkably well against one of the more powerful ninja in the finalist roster. Those skills deserved praise but they were troubled to see you effectively surrender to your opponent when you felt you have shown enough. A true ninja must be ready to give up their life on the line, not just impress some objective criteria of their own design before giving up, there was a reason why surrender, as a rule, was ruled out. Even if it came through great pain and consideration, the Council chose to keep you in the rank of genin due to your approach in battle." Lord Sixth finished reading the file before closing it and placing it in another pile.

Erumo's dedication and inner fortitude were admirable as the young woman, clearly weeping, bowed to the Sixth before taking a step back. Waiting a short while before she stepped behind the line of genin to wipe her tears, choosing to hide them under her thick, hue of almond hair. The magician sighed in unease, wondering if she should maybe try and mend things with Erumo, it was painfully clear that the girl needed some company.

"Nakotsumi Mana, please step up", Lord Sixth exclaimed, for a moment Mana jumped up in fear, the tone of the Sixth implied he was repeating the request so she just shuffled forward with a careless leap before bowing her body to an extremely submissive degree.

"The Ninja Council was confused by your public status as an entertainer and first saw it as a conflict of profession. That being said, one particular member raised an interesting case that it could perhaps be utilized in infiltrating other countries effectively. While this idea seeded unease amongst the Council, their prime purpose is seeing ninja as potential chuunin and not focus on judging them as threats to their own national security", Lord Sixth began.