Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Journeys We Make

The Dormitory Stories

"Konoha's Sorceress!" a voice spreading through the first-floor hallways made Mana's expression lengthen as if she had just consumed the world's most sour fruit all at once. She was not used to being sought out since she's been mostly keeping it to herself until the Allied Ninja prep courses officially started and she most definitely wasn't used to being sought by her stage name from back home.

Then came the dilemma, if she should speak up and reveal her location to be in the waiting room by the language study room where, as Mana found out, the absolute best place to put her bottom down and read something was or if she should just sit low and let the overly-eager young man yell his lungs out, get tired and go about his business.

The waiting room by the language study room was a marvelous place for it boiled in a relatively active wing of the HQ but one needed to make a turn toward the language study room and do so willingly for that was the only room located in that downward leading hallway. By the room, there were ample supersized armchairs. As if designed to host those dedicating their years in studying the arts of ancient languages that were all substituted by the universal language spoken all over the world – what most saw as a meaningless devotion.

Mana wasn't sprawled out in the armchair with a book in her hands to study ancient languages, that much was for sure. She just liked the feeling of being inside of all the buzz, being all by herself while life transpired all around her but didn't bother her either since it couldn't quite find her in the long-abandoned pathway that Mana had chosen.

"I'm here...!" Mana raised her voice, knowing she'd regret it before even fully contemplating what she'd done but Shogito's voice sounded dire. It may just have been a life or death type situation troubling him.

"Whoa! What even is this place!?" Shogito peeked inside the hallway, his eyes roamed it for a few moments, and all the furniture stored and abandoned in it before his eyes found Mana's face and settled on it. "This place is so quiet, I heard you speaking from the main hallway!"

"It's early afternoon, everyone's out training," Mana replied.

"Why aren't you?" Shogito wondered, finally stepping into the hallway entirely.

"I'm already finished," Mana moved her eyes back to the book. If she misread the danger level of Shogito's distress, her time was better-spent multi-tasking.

"I never see you in the training grounds..." Shogito scratched his head, speaking as if he was casting suspicion on Mana.

"That's because I don't train at the training grounds," Mana replied without looking up from her book. "I am capable of creating the ideal training grounds inside of my mind as I meditate."

"You silly!" Shogito laughed out as if Mana cracked a joke that was in the outright hilarious category. "You can't get stronger just by thinking about training, if you could, Sekita would be a Sannin already!"

"Chakra is unity between mind and body. Comprised of both spiritual and physical aspects. You can reach both of those elements from within your own mind if you're skilled enough," Mana snapped the book closed and sashed it as she stood up and approached the confused young man. "You can simulate an entire world inside of your mind, create a dream opponent to spar with, and even make them stronger or weaker than they actually are to ideally stimulate your growth. In many ways, meditation is superior to the real deal. You sounded distressed before."

"Ah, right!" Shogito paled out when Mana brought it up. The young man clapped his cheeks with his hands as he struggled to believe how much time he had already wasted. "Sekita and Stein are going to be fighting soon, you've gotta come with!"

"What for?" Mana scowled.

"To see it! I dunno, I'd say to cheer them on but that's kind of not what our group is all about. To be honest, Stein's the only one cheering Sekita on and he can't even talk, just murmur at best..." Shogito scratched his temple as if contemplating the fact that maybe their little group wasn't seeding the most productive example of mutual friendship and support that was necessary to make it in the cruel world around them.