Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Journeys We Make

New Allies

"Good, you're here," Mana recognized Junichi's voice. She turned toward the pink, morning sky to face the small party of Allied Ninja gathering by the gate. She had been used waiting here in the early hours of the morning. She even used to chat up with the gate guards that were on the shift that time every now and then. Now there was only embarrassment. Fearful glances and craving to not be noticed in order for her waiting period to not become much more upsetting.

"Junichi-san," Mana bowed expressing her politeness as she once used to. With all the people projecting their flaws in insecurities and making a scapegoat out of her lately, sometimes it became difficult to believe in one's own decency as a result. Being polite and kind toward even those that did not answer it in kind and keep the promise she made to her mother were the only two ways at the moment to make Mana's faith in her own decency stand tall.

"Hmph, appalling that you would notice that lug and not me!" Cailar, another one of the Allied Ninja pouted with his arms crossed over his chest. "What's he got that I don't?"

"Don't start this now, Cailar. It's natural that the girl would remember me first, I've known her father for some time, after all," Junichi met Cailar's caprice with a grumpy look. "In any case, we figured that this transition and journey would be easier for you if you were accompanied to the HQ by a pair of familiar faces."

"Naturally, we couldn't get the entire band of Spliced-Splitters back together but this will have to do," Cailar posed with his arms reaching out. With a rugged, brown cloak covering his shoulders, the man almost looked like a normal person with only his face paint and eccentric hairdo being visible while his outfit of clashing colors remained hidden.

"These two are Mollay and Shitaka, they're Allied Ninja too if the forehead protectors aren't a dead enough giveaway," Junichi moved aside and gestured toward a pair of Allied Ninja that supplemented the squad. It made sense that it would take more than just a pair of skilled Allied Ninja to escort Mana, one of the most hated people worldwide, from Konoha to the Allied Ninja HQ. Frankly, the Allied Ninja weren't all that well-liked in many circles either so that would have made Mana a squared measurement of hatred on everyone's shit-list.

Mollay was a tall and thick man. Pale and chubby though his attire was a bit on the eccentric side as well. His outfit seemed somehow both ahead and behind its time at the same time. The stare of stone-shaded eyes was as cold as the pale skin of the chubby giant and his face didn't seem to be much for translating the inner state that the man was in. From what Mana could see of this one, he didn't seem to care much about who Mana was. The only proof that the man could move at all was when he bowed lightly in acknowledgment of his introduction and closed his ever-focused gazers for just one, light blink.

Shitaka was another personality, short, dark hair that fell over the right half of the man's face. When looking at the Allied Ninja, Mana thanked her mother for talking her into leaving her rebellious features and outfits at home because she'd have provided Shitaka with the idea that she was a kindred soul to him if she had applied excessive ink on her face and donned the spiky, black leather. Judging from the opening of his jacket, the man's build was quite frail though his thick jacket made him seem bulkier than he actually was.

"Yo, Nakotsumi Mana, huh? Big fan, the stiff institution of the Allied Ninja can use a little bit of our fiery, rebellious hearts!" Shitaka gestured with the devil horns, formed with his hand, and stuck out his tongue that had a glistening, metallic piece stuck in its core. The man's glove had a few tears and cuts, one of them was meaningful and intended as it gave the observer a clearer view of Shitaka's pentagram tattoo on the back of his hand.

"I look forward to working together as well," Mana nodded with an uncomfortable, forced smile. Junichi couldn't contain his grin from cracking his iron façade when he saw the magician's reaction to his quirky comrade.