More and more villagers found their eyes unwillingly settling at Mana’s face for longer durations of time than they’d have considered polite which made most of them lower their stares right after they’ve been noticed. Almost everyone present in the central areas of the village noticed that Mana’s features were familiar however because it’s been a while since her last show they couldn’t put their finger on it. After they’ve realized who exactly they’ve been looking at it embarrassed those that stared forcing them to quickly look away, rinse and repeat for too many people for Mana’s company to ignore.
“Everyone’s staring at you, are you sure that you didn’t get in trouble before leaving?” Kusagoro asked with seriousness in his voice. He may have technically only partly completed his mission by failing to save Shimo but he still had sway debating that his mission was three fourths complete which was still a significant degree of success. Ultimately the judgment of success and failure depended entirely on how the Fifth Hokage would be taking the debriefing. He was genuinely getting worried over Mana’s safety due to the degree of uneasy attention coming from the villagers.
“Not really… I’m sure that my status as a well-known entertainer is catching up to me. It’s been a while since my last magic show so they must be confused” Mana pressed her elbow uneasily. Her messy appearance will surely invite rumors which would hurt her attempts to resurrect her shows after months of absence.
“Wow, I never thought you were this famous…” Meiko whistled in surprise as the attention that Mana appeared to get in her home village amused the blacksmith. “I mean I thought that some people might know who you are, not literally everybody…” she corrected herself since her own family was not entirely oblivious to Mana’s second inspiration.
“Wait… You’re a ninja and a stage magician? Are you serious? You’re a member of a secret order that fulfils missions and lurks underneath the underneath and you’re a star of entertainment?” Kusagoro looked at Mana almost begging for the girl to explain herself as his prolonging face was beginning to suggest madness wrapping its long fingers around the veteran’s neck.
“Well… You see, not many people know me as a ninja yet. I’ve not done anything noteworthy as a ninja and while people know me as the Konoha’s Sorceress, no one ever suspects me of being a ninja. I’ve actually used my status to help me blend in in the past so it’s more helpful than hindering…” Mana tried to explain herself but there was little of explaining that she could have done.
“Tsk… You have to be fucking kidding me” Kusagoro found little solace in the magician’s explanation, apparently. Mana could actually empathize with his point of view. Ninja were supposed to work secretly, they often blended in, did disguises and adopted different personalities, did some real investigative work which a career as a widely known entertainer would’ve greatly gotten in the way of. The girl could almost see what little shadow of dignity she had with her boyfriend’s father scatter away like a handful of feathers during a windstorm.
“You can be this nasty about any profession, father. I mean I plan of becoming a medical ninja soon, that means that if I get really good at it people will also know who I am throughout the village and a lot of great medical ninja like Guru Ayushi are known worldwide” Kouta tried his best standing up for Mana but judging from Kusagoro’s angry glare he didn’t really succeed.
“Yeah, but you’ll be known for something worth wasting your time with, like being able to keep people alive which while a girly ninja art, is also a very useful one. Your friend on the other hand will be known for load of bullshit like stage magic. The only enemies she’ll beat with her reputation alone will be those she’ll force to laugh at her to death” the Jugo actively tried to trigger another quarrel with Mana. The magician however just closed her eyes and decided to ignore the man. She’s been treated this way for the better part of her life, both for her ideals to preserve life and her profession. While it always hurt to be belittled by people better at your job than you are, nothing hurt nearly as much as being belittled by Tanshu-sensei. The clash of ideals with one of the most powerful ninja to have ever lived almost neutered Mana’s trust and dignity.
“I’m glad that the village is looking better. Kusagoro-san’s attempt to prove something to Shimo shook the ground quite excessively” the magician found another area to bite Kouta’s father in while also making a pleasant observation that all destroyed buildings were rebuilt and all craters repaired. Truth be told that could’ve been done the very same week it happened.
“Pffft… It was just a couple of fissures. Nothing skilled terraformers can’t handle ‘till lunch break” Kusagoro shrugged any semblance of guilt off of himself.
The Administration building was relatively empty. As empty as it could’ve been during the middle section of the day, usually by this time most missions have been issued and they would usually not be completed until later through the day. The four approached a young woman administrator who handled advanced rank mission debriefings and asked her to inform the Hokage that the team was ready to debrief two separate missions.
“I’ll let Lady Hokage know…” the woman smiled with a nod pressing a button which should’ve informed the Hokage’s assistant of a team waiting for debriefing. These were relatively advanced pieces of technology. Usually ninja relied on Yamanaka clan members and their mental link abilities to communicate however for incredibly short range transmissions they have several technological marvels capable of accomplishing simple tasks like radios and simple transmission devices that lit up lightbulbs when a button was pressed nearby. While unreliable on the field of battle these technological wonders did great for office work accomplished on a single building.
The team rushed upstairs and stopped by the closed door, after a short wait the door opened and a bulky and tall ponytail and glasses wearing man with a Kirigakure headband tied to his arm, matching Kusagoro in height left the Hokage’s office. The man had an assistant with him, a short and frail elder man with long facial hair and shriveled face but quite fancy attire made of expensive silks by fine dressmakers.
“I can’t believe how lightly Lady Fifth is taking this matter, this is Guru Ayushi we’re talking about, he’s nowhere to be found and the last place he was seen in was Konoha about two years ago!” the tall ponytail man expressed his concern completely careless if he was being heard by Mana and the team or some other ninja sitting on a bench nearby.
“Well, she is a controversial politician, only temporarily holding the seat. Apparently, it shows…” his assistant nodded while playing with his long moustache between his fingers and trying to balance the stacked books and files in his other hand.
“As a ninja I have nothing but respect for Chestnut Hanasaku but as a…” the speech of the two faded as they walked away and began descending down the stairs and frankly Mana had no interest in tracking their conversation due to her own personal disdain for Kirigakure ninja.
While Mana thought herself tolerant and caring for all life, her family’s own personal history with Kirigakure made her really feel a bitter taste in her mouth and struggle with a heavy gulp of salty tears whenever she saw one of them in front of her. What right did these people have to criticize Hanasaku when it was the Mizukage that caused the incident that ended her father’s career and destined the man for a painful life or anger and burning suffering? How could they even dare utter the name of Guru Ayushi or expect his visit when it was the Mizukage that caused the death of the Fourth and her sensei?
“Please come in…” the assistant peeked out through the partly open door and nodded with certain boredom despite seeing very unusual and long unseen visitors by the office’s doorstep. Lady Hokage on the other hand took almost no time at all to notice the missing person in the squad.
“This has been a very long morning so if you won’t mind I’d like to ditch the procedure and just ease this debriefing through. I have a very sensitive investigation to track involving Konoha’s image in the world arena so…” Hanasaku pushed aside a huge pile of files letting them simply fall off the table. The woman’s chestnut colored hair was messy and looked like stacks of hay piled one on top of the other and her eyes suggested that she’s been overworking herself and sick of her high status. Frankly her being the wrong person for the job didn’t help things…
“I have successfully completed my mission to extract the team sent for the Box of Ultimate Bliss. There were some complications as the team insisted to first complete their mission before heading home and pirates from Tako’s Reach got involved” Kusagoro began trying to put together the debriefing that would most likely end up in the total crapper. Had the Kage in charge been more tyrannical the four of them would’ve likely ended up committing suicide to salvage their family name or behind bars.
“Lady Fifth need not be debriefed about that which she saw herself through her office window. She would like for what she didn’t see to be elaborated on, however… Also you have been sent to retrieve four genin and yet there only stand three, if my Konoha High education taught me to count correctly, that is…” the Hokage’s assistant had to weave and direct the conversation to the direction he wanted it to go as he was filling the mission report by hand whereas the Lady Hokage looked to be in a state between listening to the report and napping.
“Well, the pirate that…” Kusagoro began but then Mana interrupted him.
“Lady Hokage, this question concerns our mission debriefing more than Kusagoro-san’s. You see, we had solid clues to believe that the Box was in an unmapped island deep in Tako’s Reach and the only way to get there without threatening civilian lives was in a pirate ship so we bargained with this…” Mana opened the shining with an indigo and purple glow bag and placed a full bag of Audra shards on the floor. What followed that was the explanation of what happened and how the shards were acquired in the first place and who had any number of them as necessary resources for accomplishing the objective.
“So essentially what you’re telling me is that you’ve freed the Nine Tailed Fox from its captivity, fought Sunagakure ninja on neutral grounds protected by a peace treaty and then possibly started a war between Pirate Lords to find the Box but ultimately you failed your mission?” Hanasaku’s face appeared to begin tense up and blush as if it was literally boiling as the woman clutched her hands into fists that were so tightly clutched together that they instantly made the air in the room heavier.
“That is not entirely correct, we did not fail, the Box turned out to be a trap “ it was built to automatically absorb anyone making a wish upon it into the Box, no matter the wish. By confirming that we saved a party of high ranking ninja you’d have potentially sent to retrieve it, Lady Hokage” Mana bowed her head in apology despite having a good excuse for her actions. The girl was overly respective with pretty much everyone so the Hokage deserved the upmost courtesy from her part.
Hanasaku sighed as she rubbed her face angrily. It was clear that the woman was not having the best day and that it wouldn’t be easy finishing this debriefing.
“You insolent youngling!” the Hokage’s assistant shouted out, “You’ve released a Tailed Beast into the wild, one of the most powerful and destructive one, at that. One that we have lost track of! It would’ve been a better call to simply leave it locked up and give us its location for future tracking! Then you started a squabble between Pirate Lords by removing a whole piece off the sensitive power scale! The whole world saw that stunt that Pirate Lord “Red” pulled, it’s all over the news of every village and every settlement with at least two people in it has one telling the other about it. The whole world is still feeling shaken by it. Lady Hokage herself just barely restrained herself from jumping up and punching that fool to another galaxy! She almost shattered Konoha’s reputation due to fallout of your actions!” the young man continuously scolded Mana but the magician didn’t falter.
She obediently stood bowed half way and took the verbal abuse. Frankly, Mana sort of wanted it. She almost wanted to get some sort of penance for every call she took it up to make during the mission, for letting the Nine Tails free, for interacting with Sunagakure ninja in neutral grounds and seeing the ruins destroyed and many more.
“Enough!” Hanasaku yelled out with so much power and authority that her assistance jumped up and visibly almost filled his pants, his skin paled like he was just grabbed from behind by a malicious spirit returned to life for vengeance.
“Just tell me this, Mana… Your friend… Did he die before or after the Pirate Lord threatened the Earth and enlarged himself to cosmic proportions?” the woman asked and Mana realized the nature of her question.
Lady Fifth wanted to know if Shimo could’ve been saved if the Hokage leaped into action ignoring every sensible warning and every subordinate of hers telling her not to. Hanasaku was blaming herself for Shimo’s death to some extent. It was something Mana knew and fostered deep in her heart, a dark shadowy grip that never stopped choking her and she wished no such thing to befall anyone else “ friendly or otherwise. Luckily, just this time she didn’t have to lie for that.
“No…” she sadly shook her lowered head struggling to speak through premature tears. “He couldn’t have been saved, Lady Hokage, it happened before any of us could see, he created a miniature black hole inside his palm and focused its gravitational stream on Shimo alone. It happened before Pirate Lord “Red” increased his size and mass”
Some light returned to Hanasaku’s eyes as she was easily pleased by this revelation. The woman was having it pretty hard in a chair she didn’t belong in, the last thing she needed was having the death of a young prospective ninja on her conscience.
“I see… Well then, I suppose technically you all did not fail the missions completely. A failed mission is a very frowned upon mark in a ninja’s ledger, it is a mark of complete failure that impacts their careers in a huge way and I do not believe you deserve this mark considering your performance. While you acted out of line asserting your influence as a civilian and a client, Mana, I can’t even give you a failed mission evaluation because you’re not even a ninja on a mission. The Box’s location and nature was confirmed and it was also neutralized so that an unsuspecting party did not trigger it again, you’ve also provided the village with intelligence about this legendary artefact which is info of great value. Wakizashi Meiko and Jugo Kouta, for these reasons I declare your mission hereby completed!” Hanasaku issued her decision to which Kouta bowed and instinctively pressed Meiko’s head down because he just knew in his gut that the blacksmith would not follow courtesy.
“As for you, Kusagoro, I expected a higher degree of success from someone with your experience and skills. Still, three out of four extracted ninja, all things considered, is a decent outcome for any single ninja sent to such an assignment, however I am disappointed that someone like you couldn’t do better. What is exemplary of anyone else is only tolerable when coming from you, I hope you remember that in the future” the Hokage almost smashed her stamp of approval into Kusagoro’s file confirming the completed mission. With the Lady Hokage’s lifted hand letting the team go everyone excused themselves by bowing on their knee again and leaving. Mana stayed behind.
“Will there be something else, Mana?” Hanasaku asked lifting an eyebrow.
“Actually… In this mission I’ve… Reawakened my chakra control. If I finally have my health examination by an expert in Konohagakure Hospital can I hope to return to active duty?” Mana asked fostering some hope in her voice.
“Mana…” Hanasaku’s voice softened, “You’ve just lost a teammate, you are allowed some time to deal with this. Ninja live and die with their teammates, they bond together with their teammates more than they do with their own families. It is not uncommon for ninja to even retire after a loss such as this and I know you two were particularly close. My answer is yes, but please do not rush into certain doom, as alluring as it may sound to you…” Hanasaku replied and once again flicked with her hand signaling that Mana can go.
Slowly the magician turned around and left the office.
“Lady Hokage! The way you talk and act around that girl is highly unprofessional!” the assistant began complaining about something which must’ve lead to yet another fight. Mana’s eyes closed as she sighed easier. She was glad that she fostered no dreams to ever be Hokage, she’d hardly be able to handle that job. She’d be making decisions such as she made during that mission the whole time.
After Mana descended downstairs and left the building Kouta and Meiko met her, Kusagoro had gone off somewhere. When asked where Kouta just looked to his right and sighed.
“Probably the Konoha Memorial, he was also quite close to his team…” he said.
“Oh… Well, I have some business in the Hospital, I need to get examined so that I can get my license unsuspended. I’ll be seeing you guys…” Mana waved farewell before realizing “ this was an actual farewell. For the first time in months she’d spend time completely independent from her team and completely all by herself without having other lives and opinions to consider. This was actually the end of the mission…
“Yeah…” Kouta nodded.
“I’ll try to see one of those shows of yours, but if it’s boring I’ll hold up to you treating me to a lunch!” Meiko waved goodbye for Mana with that silly full-mouthed chuckling grin of hers.
Everytime Mana saw that, it made her smile back and laugh.
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