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

Interview With a Poacher

"Chimo, Okyuri. Three-seven-seven-two-four-three. Self-employment license." The slightly scratched up and bruised man mumbled out to Mana shortly after her entry and settling down with the intention to see what she could find out from this hawk-slayer.

Mana pouted her lips before shifting them to the right side of her face while her eyes squinted instinctually. She was confused by the man's choice of words so she hesitated to answer anything, instead choosing to look back at the door she entered through.

It did not instantly register to the magician that Shukuba law enforcement appeared to have a thing for identities. That was, technically, what she was offered by the man and it did not appear like he was offering anything else. Seeing Mana's confusion, the man repeated his routine a couple of times before shutting up and lowering his head as if he was preparing to go to sleep in his tight and uncomfortable position.

"He identified himself, gave me some vague number and then his occupation." Mana thought to herself before standing up and leaving the room.

"What's he doing?" She lifted an eyebrow at Sora and Toiyo. She was surprised that these two decided to stick around instead of preparing to end their workday. It could not have been much farther away before Mana would have no moral reason to ask them to stay with her for any longer and their own moral compass would be the only thing binding them.

"He's giving you his name, registry number in the registry of legal and natural persons and his occupation, in other words – where he can be found during the day by law enforcement if the need arises," Sora explained with a bland face, he appeared really bummed by hearing this information being supplied for whatever reason.

"It's what he has to tell us by regulations that govern the Security procedure. Anything beyond that he is under no obligation to say. Someone in the Diamond Hand taught him to deal with clear-minded officers..." Toiya sighed, running her hand up her sweaty and bruised forehead and down her shoulder-length ginger hair.

"Which is why having you around is so comfy, go poke him some more, preferably literally..." Sora jested following Mana back into the interrogation room with his eyes.

The magician settled back down into the chair opposite to the detained poacher, for a short while she stared right at him with serenity and complete calm but then the magician approached the man and leaned up to reach for his lower body.

The man did not waver. He did not as much as move his eyes to follow Mana's hands, he just defiantly stared right at the girl's face as her hands, strong enough to punch out the very matter he is made of right out of him, moved down, close to the area behind him where his heart slowly pounded blood all across the body. The sheet of metal that protected the man's back in the shape of the chair would have been no barrier at all for Mana's hand to bust right through the man's chest from behind. The magician weaved a hand seal with her other hand. Even knowing the full range of incredibly painful ways someone like Mana could have made silence difficult to maintain, the poacher was defiant to the very end of the loud clanging sound.

The sound that signaled the breach of the protective seal and the steel of the man's cuffs.

Without saying a word or receiving one from the man in return, Mana slowly walked back to her chair and sat down comfortably. She may be held up in this room for a while now.

Rubbing his hurt hands and feeling what little chakra he had running in him, as usual, mostly comprised of the physical aspect of it, the man glared back at Mana with bemusement. Delve as deep as Mana did, she saw no gratitude or desire to cooperate whatsoever.

"You're fucked. All I have to do is stay silent until the morning, maybe around twenty-four hours until the townsfolk really get riled up. You lost." The man finally said something that was not his name, registration number or occupation or the combination of the three in any particular order.