Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Journeys We Make

Just A Little Bite

Mana moved around the area with a swift foot, pressing her palm to each of the Allied Ninja and dispelling the illusion affecting their perception of the environment at once. While she did so, Junichi watched her back just in case the cackling hag hiding in the mist decided to try and get a pound of Mana's flesh. He did not need to intervene as the woman did not allow herself to get psyched out and did not show her hand just yet.

"You were supposed to wander in circles for hours. Naughty, naughty..." the hag taunted the Allied Ninja from within the mist. Normally it would take Mana no time at all to sniff her out even inside mist comprised of chakra entirely. The chakra of a decent ninja would have stood out like a street light in an evening haze. However, with the Ten-Tails' residual chakra all around her – she was as good as blind in terms of chakra sensory.

"Too bad for you, we've decided to avoid shady inns," Junichi replied to the shapeless voice in the mist. "Your attempt to lure us inside is misguided."

"That's just rocking, Mana!" Shitaka gave the magician an energetic thumb up when she dispelled the illusion shrouding him in fake and hazy visions. "Thanks!"

Sweat was breaking through her forehead and intense pressure formed around Mana's eyes. At the time it didn't seem like that bad of an idea to squeeze a quick nap in and her hands felt intensely heavy. The young woman nodded with a pale face, her long hair fell over her face due to a sloppy motion of her head that prompted a swat of the unruly strands off of obstructing her view.

"I'll just have to trust you guys now," Mana admitted that she was too exhausted to keep fighting alongside them with a nod of her head.

"Oh, your words wound us, magician girl, it's not as if to ensure your safe arrival to the HQ is our mission or anything..." Cailar pressed the back of his hand to his face, making a jest at Mana's expense.

Mollay nodded his head in Mana's direction. It was his own way of expressing gratitude while the ninja prepared themselves to eliminate the enemy. They weren't sure how many opponents there were. So far only one old lady had spoken up from the mist but mists were notorious for their ability to hide all sorts of things. It would have been a very ninja thing to do for some deceitful lowlife to be hiding and keeping their presence away from recognition in there while he let the old woman spin a web of deceit around the Allied Ninja.

"Oh? And for how long can you wander around in circles, eventually running into my lovely little manor before you come running back to auntie Rokane? An hour? Three hours? Seven? A day?" the old hag cackled inside the mist. She spoke with assurance, suggesting that this was not her first time trapping people into such a trap. The confidence in her voice let it be known that eventually, all lost souls ended up in her nightmare house.

"I'm rather low on kunai at the moment, boss," Cailar looked at Junichi's side. "I'm afraid I'll have to improvise to hook and reel this fish in,"

"Be careful. This woman is the user of this mist, meaning she's accustomed to fighting inside it whereas we only encounter such a tactic occasionally," Junichi warned his comrade.

"Ugh... Truly it is our final day if our well-being is of your concern..." Cailar jabbed in Junichi's direction before raising his hands up and revealing flashy teeth made of steel attached to metal gadgets that had steel wire wrapped around them. The Allied Ninja gave his comrades a wayward glance before leaping off of the branch and swinging his metal yo-yos around, using the steel wires on them to make them buzz and shred through the woods that came in their way.

Despite having little to no vision of his opponent, the wide-reaching range of Cailar's attack would have made it difficult to avoid it altogether and with the old woman being quite talkative he had a vague clue as to where it was best to position the beginning of his yo-yo rush. Trees came tumbling down, bleeding splinters and wood chips in all directions and throwing shrapnel of broken branches in their downward trajectory.