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

Explosive Dessert

"The mercenaries have calmed down." Waiso sighed easier after a moment of silence spent listening in to the noises below.

"They are a primal bunch. Meiko kicking the ass of their biggest and meanest must have spoiled their mood. I'd be surprised if they still stayed at the inn to party after that." Kiyomi began her speech with a bitter expression, transitioning into a reserved and gleeful snickering as she went on to recall the separate, specific details of the fight.

"Was it really all that impressive?" Hanasaku expressed her curiosity in a tone that resembled a toddler inquiring about what the particular type of food being sold in a vendor was.

"I have to say it was. I never thought Meiko could be this strategic and impressive." Waiso vouched for it. The youth took off his glasses and placed them in a nearby cabinet. After stretching out on the bed he closed his eyes trying to cushion himself in the newly won tranquility of the inn.

"Well... In that case... Good job?" Hanasaku congratulated her student on a well-done job, with a hint of doubt in her voice. The woman felt confident about the fact she needed to congratulate the girl but still checked the pages of her book for a clarification. "Also... Don't get cocky and let this victory lull you." She added after reading from a page.

"Thanks. I know." Meiko nodded a pair of times before sitting up and crossing her legs. Trying to imitate the meditative position that Mana used to sit in when training her concentration. Her memory did not recall all of the specific details of the girl's position but she figured that some clarity was better than nothing was.

"Hey, wanna train tonight, Meiko? I need a partner..." Kiyomi inquired with a restrained and a tad bit embarrassed tone. "Maybe we can help each other out. I'm no concentration expert but I also dabble in genjutsu that require a decent amount of it."

"Yeah!" Meiko shot her eyes open and jumped off the bed. She did not achieve any progress in soothing her psyche and calming her thoughts, which kept on feeding the circle of desperation and mental anguish. "Maybe that's what I need..."

The pathway that lead further to the outskirts of the Fire Country besides the inn was all muddy and filled with large tracks. Shortly after being humiliated, the mercenaries must have all left at once. The girls moved to the little natural garden located behind the inn to the side of the forest, leaving the messed up road behind for the natural progression of time and more reserved travelers to fix.

The girls started out on some lazy exchanges of blows, just to get their blood pumping and bodies in an active condition.

"You're pretty good. I forgot how good." Meiko grinned after noticing just how many blows she had to block instead of avoiding. Kiyomi, on the other hand, parried almost every blow following each avoided strike with a slowed down and muzzled response of her own.

The wind howled as it picked up after each one of Meiko's immensely powerful but whiffed strikes while Kiyomi's weakened and slowed down responses resonated with a husky thud. After a short session of trading blows, the girls took a moment to calm their breathing a bit.

"So what are you working on these days?" Meiko smiled.

"I've learned while preparing for the Chuunin Exams that I know all of the clan hidden techniques already. What separates the good Yamanaka from the exceptional is inventing new, signature jutsu that defy the user. That's what I'm trying to achieve." Kiyomi sighed.

"You could show me the progress you've made so far. It'll be fun, I love hypnotizing tricks." Meiko grinned with confidence.

"First you should practice your chakra imbuement, my jutsu may be painful to the receiving party." Kiyomi scratched her head with a hesitance to even attempt this type of training, even though sparring was by far the most efficient way of learning and mastering new techniques also noticing and fixing their inherent flaws and weaknesses before it was too late.