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

One Man War

"The bizarre symbolism of tunnels was not lost on me. The whole life and death thing, I tried to brush it all away. Acknowledge the existence of these thoughts while I calmly keep walking on and under an arching bridge that formed a long tunnel underneath. After sundown, it did not look nearly as afterlife-like, more like the center of the void, like a black hole, almost. More like what I imagined dying to be like."

"I couldn't see Mika waiting but I knew he was there. We've arranged a meeting because I needed information. He needed to meet me even more than I needed him so I was completely certain he'd show. Seeing this cone of oblivion stretching out in front of me made me grip my kunai dispenser tighter to my side and wonder if it was a good idea to pull it out and hold it even tighter."

"Mika was undercover for some time. We had some in the Security like that, how many of them were trustworthy and didn't get drowned in that swamp of shitshow they encountered on a daily basis was beyond me. How many of them did things that they were not allowed to do and incriminated themselves forcing them to cut ties was known only to old man Chontai."

"I had to dive myself deep into it. Remind me of what Kita's last moments must have been like. I lied to myself that she was afraid, I had to. I lied to myself that she begged for someone to be there because that was what would have motivated me to take the step and let myself get drowned out by the darkness of the tunnel. Kita was better than that. She knew what was coming and accepted it but I'd be better off not thinking about that."

"Walking forward in all of that gloom was next to impossible. It was so dark that telling straight from the left was as fun as bumping my shoulder or elbow against the mossy stone was. There was one little light, one that I created, my raft in the sea of shadows. The light from my match soon went out as the smoky smell of tar filled the air. As my smoke smoldered it spread a pleasant sparkle that was enough to calm my aged chest."

"You still talking to yourself, Itemi?"

"Mika addressed me from the dark. The bastard must have been as scared of the dark as I was. No one ever stopped fearing the dark, the contents of that fear changed, sure, but standing all alone with nothing but pitch black to each side as far as the eye could see could not ever be not scary. I was almost tempted to snap back at him, take a stab at his weight the last time I saw him but I was not nearly amused enough to partake in this childish nonsense."

"Fair enough, what's with all the noise coming from your end?"

"My contact was worried about the whiffs he got coming from the Shukuba Security, rightly so. The Security was his salvation if ever things undercover got too hot, if ever he got what he went down for. It was quite lucky that Shukuba Security getting dismantled kept its head down at the rumor level, it won't stay that way for long. The kid was better off rushing along with her little war."

"Wait, what? Shukuba Security has been dismantled?"

"It's not like it made any difference to Mika. His operation was not authorized nor was it by the book, he went undercover hard, so under the cover that not even his superiors knew he was doing it. Mika smelled the filth reeking off of Security for a while, he was a lot like the magician brat that way, including his actions. Regardless, I needed him doing his thing until this war thing of ours was done. If he had one way of escaping the burning building it would be when it is all crumbling down around him and the people there too busy trying not to die to throw hellfire at his fleeting feet."

"Fair enough. I have something for you. Have in mind that once this goes out, it'll be on. Whoever is in charge of the Diamond Hand, they'll be kicking you in the nuts, you'll have their full attention."

"It was a fair warning. Up until now, the Diamond Arm may have been curious about the state of Shukuba Security, wondering why so many of their lapdogs came running back at them begging for work and cover from the rising storm. I suppose all this curiosity had to grow into a full-on rage at some point, whatever the contents of the storm were we'd have to weather it."