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

Runaways by Circumstance

Mana and Kouta ran into Usuzoku somewhere on their way to the Rabbit Caves. The rabbit warrior must have been coming to their aid. He was carrying a sizeable bag alongside his too massive for his size sword. Once the two blitzed the rabbit and kept on moving the opposite direction, Usuzoku quickly changed directions and caught up with them.

"What happened out dere?" He growled out. The mammal was visibly peeved by the fact that he was left behind in this battle.

"This Brownback was the snake that attacked the bunnies earlier. He was toying with the kits he'd kidnapped in the abandoned caves. He was incredibly rude as someone close to another animals' borders." Mana recounted.

"Brownback, huh? I guess dere's no use ta da poisons I took." Usuzoku grunted to himself. "Brownback's a pretty nasty specimen. Yer mate's a pretty tough guy to slay him. You were right to select him from the rest."

Despite her irritation at the topic of romance being brought up this way and in this context, Mana somehow managed to swallow it and focus on more important topics.

"That's not the point. The snakes appear to completely defy any decency or your borders. They're right in your backyard this time. Brownback mentioned that he listens to Yamata no Orochi but something like this does not sound like something he'd order." Mana replied.

"Yer right. Seems a bit beneath de big serpent." Usuzoku nodded with an unintelligible grumble.

"Who is this Yamata no Orochi?" Kouta wondered. He looked a little surprised to see Mana mention him meaning he expected that when Brownback mentioned him the first time, it was the first time both of them had heard of the name. Then again, being completely out of the loop was a social hazard of hanging around her.

"Da big king 'a da snakes." Usuzoku's eyes turned grimly sour just after a thought of the man. "Usually a ninja animal species has one or two big guys: A-Rank or even S-Rank monsters dat make them a force ta be reckoned with. Snakes are one of the more revered species so they have a lot more dan usual, Yamata no Orochi is da worst of dem all".

"It is a serpent that is so massive it sleeps inside the planetary mantle and its outer core. Its heads span across the entire world, all eight of them. If it ever took steps on the surface it would most likely ring in the end of days." Mana shared Usuzoku's respectful awe at merely the tales of the legendary beast.

"I guess I know why you poor things give snakes this much leeway. If I was bullied by people who were friends with an eight-headed world serpent, I'd be pretty scared too..." Kouta exclaimed in surprise.

"Why didn't you contact me and tell me things were this dire?" Mana turned at Usuzoku with a stern look.

"Cause it's nothing new for us. We've been pushed deeper 'n deeper every time someone wandered further into our territory." Usuzoku stonewalled Mana's sternness with a cold dismissal.

Something about this still didn't make sense to the magician. If this was the same old tale, why didn't the rabbits pack up and move against earlier, not when one of the more established minions of Yamata no Orochi was sacking their borders and eating their young whole.

A whole pack of rabbits met the returning trio. Some of them looked happy to see Mana, Kouta and Usuzoku return. Others looked afraid, most likely by the implications what this clash with Brownback would bring. The most dominant emotion in the eyes of everyone was the irritation. These poor mammals looked like classmates scolding their troublemaking peer after the whole class got punished.

"May you explain what happened out there?" An older rabbit of bright yellow fur that was no longer as slick and fluffy as even that of middle-aged ninja rabbits in their prime was hopped out in front.