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

...What With the Magics and the Smuggles

"Alright, so this just about does it with the tour of the place. My name's Kuribira Mikapen, I'm one of several assistants here. It's been my assignment to show you around a bit. If you have any questions, I'd appreciate them because I'm sort of running out of things to say..." the cheerful VP officer got a little embarrassed at the end.

"So I'm assuming you will want me to be plugged into that thing?" Mana wondered, pointing at the Liquid Village Sensory System.

"Ummm... Well... Not really, you see, you will need to read through and sign a bunch of manuals before you can do that. There's just too much that can go wrong. We also need to test your instincts and sensory before plugging you in." Kuribira replied. She was reacting with a sip of vibrancy to her gestures, which was both refreshing and a little bit nostalgic to see as it reminded the magician of an old friend somewhat.

"Truth be told, we had no idea just how familiar you'll be with what we do here and how skilled you will be. Obviously, someone of your experience and skill shouldn't be used for the menial labor we normally use the genin that come to work here. I should probably show you to the boss. He'll know what to do with you." The woman smiled ecstatically before firing off at the direction of an office far to the east and higher up, making her way through a couple of floors of stone stairs in cases lit entirely by torches.

"Boss, we have our recruit. Just one but what a recruit it is! Mana, this is Uzumaki Midoben" The woman grinned before turning and gesturing at Mana with an open hand as if showcasing the magician girl to her superior.

A man with a massive and spiky hairdo extending slightly past his shoulders turned at Mana, having been staring at a blinking colorless screen positioned on a space etched into stone. It appeared like a much cruder and more primitive version of the computers Mana saw around in Naruto's universe from way back.

"Hmph, indeed." The man closed his eyes. "It is troubling. The Golden Child and the star of the Chuunin Exams is an unexpected aide."

While the man turned around and let the long coat tied around his neck by its sleeves flip about, Mana noticed his formal wear and the peculiar striped vest that covered it instead of the usual flak jacket. Despite the fact that it may have just been a stylish fashion statement, the magician had an odd feeling about the piece of clothing. She also noticed a teacup-sized contraption hanging around the man's ear extending a small rod with a microphone grill at the end extending almost to the middle of the man's mouth.

While the boss of VP crossed his arms and lowered his head, allowing his slightly longer brown hair to cover his closed eyes as he pondered in thought Mana noticed the man's build. The chief village protector was a tall individual, a good head and a bit taller than the magician, even though the general fact was not much of a feat but the amount by which this fact was proven true was indeed notable in this case. His musculature also suggested at least adequate knowledge of physical combat or body training.

"Well... It cannot be helped. Give her the base briefing and let her out with some of the field operatives to work the streets just for today. Then we'll see where we can use you from there..." the man shrugged in a very undignified and un-leader-like manner. It seemed that even the usually goofy Kuribira looked a bit bemused and embarrassed by the odd gesture of her boss.

"With all due respect, Sir." Mana stepped out. This was pretty unorthodox from a lowly aide of an institution to do so boldly but all the cues told Mana she may have had a bit more bargaining space than usual. "I'd like to work on something pretty important to both of us. It is a possible threat to the village security and it is very important to me that it is dealt with."

"Oh?" the boss of VP called Mana's move letting Kuribira breathe a little bit easier after the scare that Mana gave her initially with her boldness. "I don't believe that you would have intel that the VP does not possess but humor me. In the case that you do, it may just prove to be interesting."