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

Security Blanket

"So forgive me if I ask you, Konoha's Sorceress, but why are you in Shukuba, exactly? I've heard plenty of rumors about it a couple of days ago from my servants." Fuun wondered as he had finally grown bored of staring through the window. Mana was fine occupying her time with some small talk and forgetting all the awkwardness that traveling in the same carriage as this aristocrat made her feel.

"Just had some business here. Now that it is done, I'm working with the Shukuba Security for a brief while on something I'd rather not discuss." Mana shrugged the attempt at poking deeper into her business.

Honestly, it did not feel like Fuun was quite out of the involvement with Diamond Hand accusation woods yet. He was potentially a victim of an attempted crime, however, the crime was so random and, apparently, unskilled that Mana could not have possibly connected it to the hidden criminal syndicate. She could have easily seen Fuun as an agent of Diamond Hand though, covering himself up with a made-up crime just to get in close to Mana. Make her drop her defenses...

Fuun himself sent out a weak chakra signature, similar to that of a common man, perhaps a tiny bit larger. It was not abnormal, the man could have been fairly intelligent or had a very spiritual connection to a certain passion, elevating the spiritual aspect of his chakra above the average. Given how the man was fairly prosperous and looked cheerful it was definitely highly likely that he enjoyed fine arts or something of the sort.

"Ah, yes. The ninja thing... I've heard you've been involved in those Chuunin Exams, quite the worldwide attraction, weren't they? Sadly, I missed out on them. I don't leave my estate too much. Just the kind of person I am, even coming to the Shukuba Security for help was quite an adventurous trip for me, you see!" The man thundered through the entire carriage with his deafening laughter. Had it not been due to slight suspicions Mana had, she would have maybe found the cheer of this man rather enjoyable and contagious.

"I do plan to one day broaden my horizons as a stage magician, Shukuba could be one of the locations I'll visit with a tour." Mana tried smiling for the man as it was rather unfair of her to sulk and keep observing the surroundings for assassins or possible ambushes.

"Oh, that would be splendid! I've heard so much from so many acquaintances of your talents, you see. They make a monthly pilgrimage to your shows and enjoy them tremendously. I'd simply cherish the chance to see something that inspires that sort of glee in my companions." The man clapped his hands before shifting about in his seat rather erratically. It attracted Mana's attention and kept it.

It turned out to be just a false alarm as the man was simply overly excited to see his own estate come into the view from the thinning out collection of lowly establishments and new construction jobs that were expanding the territory of the pleasure town well into the Land of Fire forests.

The Oribu family resided in a much larger establishment than Mana had imagined it to be. A good five or six floors worth of a tower of classic architecture of constant renovation of its exterior while at the same time maintaining the classic look. A true heritage of the Settlement Period, or at least perfectly emulating it. While architecture was a part of history that Mana was less passionate about, a small fire simmered in her chest regardless of it.

Fuun lead Mana around, showing off the multiple security measures he had taken to protect his late mother's treasured memento. A great deal of decently trained guards laid outside, the magician could see that some of them were recently patched up and looked quite rowdy. Upon the most basic of inquiries, they responded to have slight headaches after being knocked out.

"They may not look like a lot, Sorceress, but I assure you they are well trained and in quite numerous quantities. Trustworthy not only for the protection of my mother's legacy but also the estate and my own life!" Fuun looked quite confident in the abilities of his own guards. That was not something Mana had expected of the man as she had taken him for someone much shallower. She'd figured that he'd go around blaming them and maybe even having fired the people responsible for protecting his home despite their relative success of keeping the necklace where it belongs. Looks and first impressions were quite deceiving in this case.