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

Tales of a Ninja Magician Annual #4

A black and flaxen blur dashed across steep, rocky hills in an attempt to reach a cover before a one-way crossing to the Twelve-Headed Mountain. The Yamanaka pressed her back against the mountain cover and waited for the rest of the squad to follow. Kiyomi glanced at the corner and almost submitted to the temptation to take a peek, who knew, maybe she'd get spotted and be forced to kill every single one of those Red Hawks.

"That was amazing, Kiyomi." A jounin in a sleeveless leather top under his flak jacket commended his temporary squadmate. For someone as flashy and rebellious-looking as him, Kiyomi should not have been the one to be commended. It was one thing to conceal someone the size of a young adult and of a frail, feminine build compared to a fit, two-meter tall man in an orange-dyed mohawk. "Although landing from above would have been ideal in this situation. Nobody's expecting a sneak landing from above while residing atop of a mountain."

"Well, I took the situation in a bit different direction," Kiyomi smirked for a blink and then observed Meiko's approach. Instead of attempting to dash around in her clanging armor, the redhead took a downward plunge. The armored plates on the blacksmith's sides lit up, the trajectory of Meiko's fall began changing drastically until it resembled more of a diagonal, crescent shape. Before long, Meiko took it to the air above the cover spot.

A dull thud of a small scroll demanded the observer's attention. A muzzled poof and a lick of smoke unveiled a buzzing windmill shuriken that despite buzzing hard enough to pick up turbulent gusts of wind remained grave-quiet. In her wild dive from the skies above, Meiko trapped herself in the current and froze her fall. It took the blacksmith a few moments to land with grace and silence befitting a true ninja but she just successfully snuck up on a handful of Uchiha guards on the other side of the crossing.

The two kunoichi have gone such a long way since their origins.

"So what now? We've faced the Red Hawks before, if these are anything like the guys we faced, taking them on would make us waste too much time and stamina." Meiko wondered. While she did seem wary of the dangers of overextending, judging from her face alone, she was ready to jump into battle just fine.

"Sneak attacks. We can't let them open their Sharingan or else we'll never get a drop on them." Momoyu Fuma, the jounin assigned to oversee Kiyomi and Meiko's mission instructed.

"Have you fought any Uchiha before, Momoyu-san?" Kiyomi wondered. She'd feel a lot braver around a jounin leader who actually had stood in front of the kaleidoscope eye and lived to learn from the experience. It was equal part frustrating as it was awe-inspiring that even a lowlife mook like these guys could have awakened genetically acquired power within them to make even stronger foes struggle against them.

"Sparred with my fair share. Never was a fan of the arrogant bastards. Always looked for an opportunity to punch a crowd of 'em in the face." Momoyu grumbled into the mental link. One thing was for certain, Momoyu was a natural when conversing on the mental link. Either that, or he was just that experienced.

"Am I the only one here looking forward to doing our job – gather intelligence?" Meiko wondered. There was no grand surprise in the blacksmith's eyes when she asked it. The redhead knew just fine the kind of situation she'd be walking into and the people walking the same path alongside her.

"Intelligence, right... Still, can't spare those guys, the last thing we need is more Uchiha flocking back to their swarm with their Sharingan active." Kiyomi brandished a polished and custom-made kunai. One incrusted with lapis dust which was entirely counterintuitive knowing that the knife would soon be stained with blood.

"I have a better idea..." Meiko shook her head.

Momoyu took a wild leap upward, this time he did not restrain the chakra augmentations whatsoever, causing an intense rumble all over the mountainous platform. The Uchiha guards could not have possibly missed the sight of a boisterous jounin performing extravagant aerial spins, flips, and vaults before he prepared his palm for a strike.