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

Voices of Mist and Cloud

The interior of the mansion was so much like one would imagine it to be after seeing it from outside that it was actually kind of boring, despite its "as high in price as it is in style" vibe. White marble columns, frescos, and mosaics, gold and gem accessories for that one last oomph when one had its mouth full of the luxury. It was not that nobody except the Feudal Lords could have afforded property like this, it was that they chose not to because there was a limit to their excess and self-importance.

The Feudal Lords often gathered in mansions just like this one, not necessarily identical in style or look but just about the same in terms of sophistication and affluence. Each one of the Feudal Lords was happy to host their peers in a place just like this, hoping to top the domicile of the last host, like a sick game overflowing with wealth and abundance from every corner.

"You must be the Konoha's Sorceress? Please, let me take you to your room, Mango-san." a wine-colored haired young lady with a forest green kimono covered with white lotuses that scattered their sewn petals across the outfit, like bleeding almost.

"Mango?" Mana squinted one of her eyes, feeling a tad confused.

"Natsumi Mango, isn't that your na... Oh! I'm so sorry, ma'am!" the servant bowed repeatedly with enough intensity and number of the motions to mimic a knife chopping vegetables. She checked the name on a sheet of paper that she carried around just in such a case. "I'm so sorry, ma'am, your stage name lulled me into a fake sense of security, I am afraid, I tried memorizing your name the least of all the representatives."

"It's fine. So are we under lockdown or something?" Mana wondered, seeing no samurai indoors made her question the security of the event. Just how long would it take for samurai to flood these rooms, just how would they sense impending danger and how quick would they be in response to one if it came to test itself against their mettle?

"Absolutely not, it's just that the Voices are each shown their rooms before being let to roam free. Some of the Voices traveled a very long distance, some of them prefer solitude and they actually self-impose a lockdown. Either way, it is up to us to provide them with this choice before anything else." The kimono girl bowed a pair more times before elegantly scurrying atop the stairs.

Even while her movements weren't followed by anyone else, nor were they observed by the kimono servant herself, Mana tried emulating the gentle yet almost flight-like strut of the kimono girl. It was so odd... The servant woman moved as if floating, making no noise or leaving little to no impact on the floor beneath her feet and yet retained the elegance of a blossoming young woman. Almost like an undead apparition of sorts... One that some would call "a ghost"...

Mana tripped over her own foot and stumbled on the steps. The servant lady turned around alarmed by the noise of the magician's knees bumping into the steps and the oddity of the young woman's breath when she fell. The magician very nearly gasped right before hitting the stairs elbow and knees first.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" the kimono servant rushed down the few stairs she had on Mana, kneeling up to the magician and extending her hand to help the young woman up.

"It's fine." Mana grinned, restricting a laugh came only with moderate effort put into it. "It's just... Forget it."

It would have been far too tedious to explain her fears, likes and dreams to a person this polite and devoted to making sure that the magician has everything she needed for the duration of the stay.

"What did you call me that time, "a Voice"?" Mana wondered in order to distract herself and the polite servant from her own fumble as well as satisfy her budding curiosity about the odd way of putting words together that the woman previously used.