Kiyomi’s speed faltered a couple of times during her trip to the Yamanaka resort. She was given two days to pay up the bounty hunter but that wasn’t a problem. As an influential figure in her clan she’d be able to access even more sizeable resources than she was asked for. That was what troubled Kiyomi “ to place a large enough bounty on her would’ve taken a really influential figure. Granted, knowing the amount of influence one had to have to place a bounty sizeable enough to interest even hunters gunning after Chuunin and Jounin also tightened the loop around much fewer throats of potential suspects. The location of Kirigakure did so even more.
Mana didn’t look good, she wasn’t bleeding excessively or vomiting blood anymore but she was simply knocked out, her skin was pale and her weight changed from being difficult to drag around to being light as a feather “ Kiyomi’s own faltering chakra levels must’ve influenced the dramatic shift in the weight she carried. It was unlikely that the magician herself shifted her weights so drastically.
It was because of her that Mana got involved, the magician just wanted to meet up with her future teammate and catch up, maybe train a little together seeing how the two would end up in a team in the future. And then she got dragged into this whole story of bounty hunters of varied power levels, all going for the outrageous bounty on Kiyomi’s head. Even more, the magician already placed the responsibility on her shoulders to keep everyone around her alive at all times. As long as Mana could help it no one was supposed to die. Feeling as Mana’s older sister made Kiyomi take up some of her silly “sibling’s” responsibilities on herself as well.
There it was, the Yamanaka resort “ a giant district of classic buildings built around a large beach resort, like an entire port town all by itself. One main stone paved street extended throughout the grassy plain and then over a sandy hill that lead to the majestic beach. It was, in a way, a halfway point between both branches of the clan “ Konoha and Kirigakure and while there may have been Yamanaka in other villages in small numbers, their numbers weren’t important enough to warrant such sentimental architectural decision.
Two guards rushed up to Kiyomi and took Mana from her hands. The duo almost instantly recognized the young lady who may possibly one day inherit the rule of the clan and be the most important person. Even if she did not fulfil that role, that was to say she’d have gotten married or there would’ve been someone else with a better claim to be the clan’s heir and rightful leader “ her influence would still be immense.
“Please make sure Mana is OK…” Kiyomi managed to utter before losing her footing. She didn’t pass out, that’d have been too much of a mercy for her on fate’s part. The blonde wished to pass out but she remained downed on the ground, huffing and struggling to breathe with a painfully pulsing chest that hurt evermore with each draw of breath.
One guard picked the unconscious magician up and rushed her away, the other one called for reinforcements and carried Kiyomi away to have her taken care of.
“Can we muster up fifty billion ryo for my holiday funds?” Kiyomi cheeked at her carrier who just smiled back at her.
“That is excessive but not beyond reasonable. We’ll talk of it later, Lady Heiress” the Yamanaka ninja nodded.
*****
By the time Mana woke up it was morning. A male Yamanaka ninja was watching over a bunch of medical machines that surveyed her condition and ran through various diagnostics without requiring the medical ninja spend an ounce of chakra. After the medical ninja noticed that the magician was awake he turned around and nodded.
“Well, it seems your recovery went smoothly, Lady Heiress shall be glad to hear it” he noted. “Granted, it was so close to being the opposite case entirely” the man complained to himself.
“Wait… I almost died?” Mana asked, if her worst fears were to be confirmed she wanted to know just how injured her chakra network was. With it having been completely torn to shreds once it was probably very susceptible to being damaged once more.
“Oh, no, your injuries merely knocked you out. Lady Heiress did not tell us you’ve ingested medical pills at least a day before, meaning any further attempts to chemically treat your condition would’ve lead to excessive kidney damage and poisoning of your entire body. It would’ve required an immediate transfer to Konohagakure Hospital which, I assume, Lady Heiress doesn’t want” the medical ninja bowed his head slightly to Mana informing the girl that she had some moderate respectful standing with the local folk, likely due to being a friend of their elite figure. The man then left to attend other patients and inform of the updates on Mana’s condition
Mana relaxed and closed her eyes, laying her head down and preparing to meditate a bit, maybe find out if her chakra system and her body didn’t take any damage the medical ninja missed. After all, her Ego stage of meditation allowed her to examine her body perfectly, seeing any damage it has sustained, the state of her chakra network etc. If only she could reach the space entity she once spoke to in her own mind, she’d have a direct contact with her own body, almost like it was a separate entity.
Mana continued to meditate and look for wounds in her body but there didn’t appear to be anything notable to spot. She may have missed some minor aching spots or healing small-time wounds but even while her careless glance over wouldn’t pick them up, they weren’t nearly notable enough to care about them.
Only a moment after her meditation concluded did Mana remember what knocked her out in the first place “ a bounty hunter with a skill rank high enough to go after Jounin and Chuunin. Someone who toyed with them and didn’t even bother acting like a real assassin. He was the first to underestimate Mana and not regret it in the end, he was so powerful and experienced that even while underestimating Mana’s skill he still beat her. Mana clutched her fists together but then relaxed “ the Yamanaka medical ninja spoke of Kiyomi as if she was still alive “ that meant all was OK.
Being the strongest meant little to Mana. She didn’t care if she lost a fight or was not the strongest ninja around. She had almost no pride in her power and carried no ill feelings to those that bested her in battle and yet she felt pathetic recalling that encounter with the steel faced bounty hunter. Whatever his mask was made of, whatever the exact level of skill the man possessed, he was certainly beyond anything Mana had seen before, save some exceptions that would’ve applied to any powerful ninja. He was capable of matching high ranking ninja and able of accurately calculating and showing just the amount of strength and speed needed to best his opponent. It felt painful having lost to him, not because he was stronger but because Mana failed to protect her friend once again. Why was it that she only managed to surpass her own limits once her friends died, why were revenge and rage her strongest motivators?
Kiyomi walked into the ward pushing the door rudely with her shoulder and leaping up to Mana with a single bound. Mana’s body braced for impact with her excited friend but then Kiyomi just stopped right up to the magician’s face. Kiyomi just grinned.
“Happy to see you’re OK!” she declared, “Welcome to the Yamanaka Resort!”
“I feel kind of dirty…” Mana admitted politely, “It’s not the amount of luxury I am used to or deserve”
“Oh, shut it!” Kiyomi laughed out, “Don’t even go to that “I’m just a clanless ninja, no one important” bullcrap, you’re my friend, that amounts to something, right?”
“I guess, are you OK? I assume you’ve beaten that bounty hunter? If so it makes for a pretty interesting story.” the magician desired to know.
“Hell no, that man was on a whole other world, not quite Hanasaku or Sannin level but way above my or your paygrade. I remembered what you told me “ all that talk about your new way” Kiyomi scratched her elbow nervously, it was likely that she also felt some moderate embarrassment over losing to that hunter, even if he was immeasurably more experienced and stronger than the two put together and elevated by the nth degree.
“My way?” Mana looked surprised, she viewed Kiyomi as someone who would’ve never agreed to make her opponent think they’ve won, she was someone much more likely to just overpower them and be done with it. The blonde was a kunoichi with a very prevalent sense of justice after all.
“Yeah, you know, when you beat your opponent by letting them win on your conditions. I paid the bounty hunter off” Kiyomi admitted looking even more embarrassed by how that ended up. To someone who took pride in the might of justice eradicating villainy and killing the scumbags alike to those that killed her brother such outcome must’ve been worse than death.
Mana tried moving up and hugging Kiyomi. “It’s OK, you found out what motivates your enemy and you used it to beat them while making it seem like they’ve won. That’s being charismatic for you, that’s how you’ll have to solve situations as a clan leader in the future. You beat that man, you hold power over him now “ money. He acted on your terms. Is that not the same as catching him in one of your Yamanaka techniques?”
“Wow, you’re crafty, you should be a saleswoman or something… Seriously, I bet you can make a surrender sound like a dominating victory” Kiyomi appeared to cheer up somewhat, even if it was more because of Mana’s personality than improving her thoughts of how the bounty hunter in her way was beat.
“So, for how long was I out?” Mana asked, she wanted to know everything she had missed.
“A couple of days, my chakra returned by now so yours must’ve as well. We’re paying the bounty hunter tonight, he’s a pricy little shit, asked for fifty billion ryo, could buy a whole bag of black medical pills for that much, or a pretty good house” Kiyomi coldly explained.
“Oh…” Mana looked away still feeling bad herself that she was so weak that her friend had to resort paying the enemy off. Heroes weren’t like that, while Mana would’ve been completely fine by paying a cutthroat off to avoid hurting someone, when her friends had to do the same it was somehow different. It felt like it was all Mana’s fault. It was just how Mana was “ everything always seemed like her fault and like she could’ve done something to change it. Truth be told she couldn’t have known how fast and strong and skilled the assassin was “ it was quite possible that he’d have infiltrated Konoha and killed Kiyomi in her own home as well. His skill implied he had the capacity to do so.
“It’s fine, some of my more pompous clansmen spend more per single weekend spent here. Once my uncle gambled away ten times more and got into trouble with the clan elders. Yamanaka are one of the most influential and powerful clans in Konoha “ we can handle paying a single expensive cutthroat. I mean if one of us in another village, without access to the clan’s funds could do it “ it won’t even be a mark on our budget, I guess.” Kiyomi tried mending Mana’s foolish guilt.
“So you’re not gonna try to take him out or anything?” Mana asked surprised.
“Nah, I also thought that catching him would be the right idea but… The clan elders even wanted to give him a counter-offer to off whoever hired him. Either way, he’s skilled enough to make paying him the better option to do. I don’t want the ire of someone like him hanging over my head “ better to pay and be done with it” Kiyomi admitted once again feeling really dirty about the whole deal. Paying the bounty hunter seemed like a really dirty and cheap thing to do, even when it was anything but cheap in a more common meaning of the word.
“Oh, also your clothes were ruined, we have some of ours here, it’s not quite what you wear but… No one really wears what you wear so… You know… Don’t go all diva on us…” Kiyomi laughed out, Mana looked aside and saw a lovely light blue kimono with depictions of a lovely lakeside with pink lotuses and cherry petals. Mana knew that it would render her tricky stage magician maneuvers useless as the girly kimonos had no pockets in general and they were too loose to fit any of the hidden compartments from her uniform in it. She’d just be made more reliant on her ninjutsu and genjutsu in battle as the kimonos were also not too comfortable to fight in.
“Sometimes I ponder why our clothes are so shitty to fight in when at least one third of ninja are female” Mana sighed, “It’s really beautiful though”
“True, it was made to be beautiful though so… Try to use it for its intended purpose, you shouldn’t have a problem with that, despite your chewy cucumber-cheeks you’re a pretty sightly girl” Kiyomi sarcastically tried to bite Mana while pinching her cheeks again. At this point Mana didn’t even got riled up as she had gotten used to her cheeks being called “cucumber-cheeks” whatever that meant in Kiyomi’s mind.
“So have you found out who actually wants you dead?” Mana wondered just due to curiosity, after all, in the resort her friend was totally safe. Or at least was supposed to be “ no one would’ve dared to invade the resort of a clan notorious for their techniques that made them take over one’s mind at the speed of thought.
“We’ve got a couple of possible contenders. One of them is Yamanaka Tenma, a nukenin that hates our clan. He’s a real handful though, extremely dangerous so it’s unlikely I’ll even be involved when they go after him… We’re not sure if he’s in Kirigakure currently but he’s a nukenin so he could be wherever he goddamn wants. Makes more sense than accusing an important village figure too.” Kiyomi shrugged
“Could he have paid that much though? Sounds like a lot for a nukenin…” Mana faded into thoughts.
“The elders said that Tenma was capable of mental control far beyond the Yamanaka level. He has cybernetic augmentations and surgeries implanting his brain with chakra signal emitters that makes him able to control other people like their brains were his own. He was working on some forbidden experiments for years and he had the whole clan and the village fooled by just playing a game of puppets with the officials watching over him. I think for someone like that controlling rich settlement landlord would be as easy as peeing on two fingers, the elders share that thought… Maybe not with the same metaphor but… You get the idea…” Kiyomi shrugged.
“Wow… I never would’ve imagined that someone like that could’ve existed! Makes me wonder just what kind of world is still unexplored out there…” Mana looked through the window and admired the jolly Yamanaka Resort in a festive mood.
“One more reason to rank up to Chuunin and get access to the Bingo Book, huh? Everyone with a bounty on their head in your fingertips… Just imagine that” Kiyomi dreamingly looked away, sharing Mana’s dreamy attitude.
“Wait, so that’s why you’re so hyped about ranking up?” Mana suddenly returned to reality, “You wish to have access to the Bingo Book to treat it as a kill-list?”
Kiyomi shook her head, “Don’t be stupid, Bingo Book has both good and bad people in it. Criminals put bounties on village ninja, people they fear and village officials put bounties on scum. I’m only after the scum. Slay-Evil-Immediately doesn’t sound that bad to me.”
“Slay-Evil-Immediately? That’s the principle hunter-nin used centuries ago during the war, when prisons were overstuffed and the war made it difficult to give people courts and properly execute justice. It was a dull principle of the time “ Aku-Soku-Zan” Mana tried reminding her friend of the origins of the principle, she was horrified that her friend strived to go to such extremes in her hunt for justice. She wasn’t really sure which hurt more “ the fact that Kiyomi was striving for Aku-Soku-Zan or that she was perfectly within the limits of the law to do so…
Kiyomi rubbed her temples and shook her head in a raging headache, “Can we continue this existential debate some other time? When you feel better I’d like for us to chill out, have some fun. Visit the resort and really let it rip, then maybe tear through the beach. May be our last childish days, plus we don’t get to just kick back and relax too often” she suggested.
“Childhood died long ago… I don’t think I was ever a child after tying up the headband protector and wearing the Konoha insignia, despite what people tell me.” Mana lowered her head recalling her earliest days and how difficult they were, even if the present was infinitely more so, now Mana was more experienced and stronger. She had seen plenty of the ninja life so it was merely a matter of adapting. “Though visiting the resort and experiencing your clan’s culture is too alluring to refuse” she then bowed her head in gratitude for the offer.
Kiyomi smiled, happy to see her friend so hyped to experience her clan’s culture and see the rich and relaxing Yamanaka Resort which was the resting ground of choice to anyone able to access it.
“Great, now I just need to take part in meeting that bounty hunter, I assume he’d not show himself unless he sees me.” Kiyomi breathed in uneasily, she was clearly a bit intimidated by the upcoming challenge.
“Oh, I would like to participate as well. I want to see that man again, see what makes him so strong so I could match his strength if I ever had to protect anyone from his like again. Also I’d really feel bad about it if I was not there to help out, even if I’d be completely out of my league” Mana smiled politely asking her friend who just shrugged.
“Fine, that’s in the evening though, what do you say about some training until it’s time? There are a bunch of dojo that are open and all ours “ very few come here for the training facilities anyways…” Kiyomi suggested to which Mana agreed, getting up and slipping into the lovely and slick silky attire she was given. The magician’s hands froze for a moment while she was trying up the belt but Kiyomi butt in to remind her that she’d be given a gi at the dojo and needn’t worry about the clothing.
“This is a holiday resort after all “ if you need more clothes you can always buy any you like” the Yamanaka stretched out like she was trying to hug the entire world. A busy day of training awaited Mana right after she woke up, granted she’d not have woken up if she hadn’t been completely recovered. She still felt a bit rusty and aching on the sides but a ninja had no luxury to slack about. She was just shown how little she meant in this world, it was Mana’s duty to catch up and tell the world otherwise!
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