“Wow you really don’t eat that much, do you?” Kiyomi grinned at Mana while the two slowly advanced towards the old Yamanaka mansion where the meeting for the money that was promised the bounty hunter was supposed to take place.
“I guess not, I was pretty famished too, haven’t eaten anything for days, I needed that” Mana replied with a smile, she was used to just barely finishing a plate meant for one person, no matter how starving she thought she was or what giant animals she imagined being able to eat at those moments of weakness.
“It’s kind of odd how you can even fight as good as you do, I mean ninja should probably be eating a whole lot given how strong they are” Kiyomi wondered about the relation behind the wonderous things ninja did and the amount of calories that they consumed.
“Maybe, then again, I don’t think chakra has anything to do with calories, it’s just a force our universe has” Mana shrugged with almost utmost indifference.
“Wait, you said there were also ninja in that other universe you went to, what was that all about?” Kiyomi felt pretty curious about Mana’s tale of her adventures in another universe, invaded by godlike people from yet another universe.
“I’m not sure, I think Sasuke-san said that our universe was special, he looked really surprised by the amount of chakra I had. Come to think of it he mentioned something about some fruit, I think that ninja on that universe are merely descendants of someone who took a bite of a chakra fruit, whereas our universe is overflowing with it which is why they were all so surprised by my chakra level” Mana did her best to recall the experience, strangely enough, it wasn’t something she tried recalling that often. She kind of missed all the people she met on that adventure and thinking of what happened made her miss all of them even more, as a result Mana just filtered it all out of her mind so that she wasn’t reminded of that painful farewell.
“Hmmm… That’s pretty weird.” Kiyomi bellowed delving deep in her thoughts, trying to imagine a world as described by Mana. “I wonder if we got stronger if we went back there and ate some of that fruit?”
“I think every fruit is chakra fruit here. Just eat an ordinary apple or something…” Mana smiled.
“I think eating too many fruits is the problem as to why I’m feeling so heavy right now” Kiyomi complained tapping her full belly while breathing out her final easy breath.
Not too long after the view of the classical large Yamanaka mansion came into sight. Even from the ground level the ninja waiting for the bounty hunter could be seen. Most may have taken the presence of hooded ninja as an offensive gesture but truthfully it was a welcoming one. For a ninja to just wait around, out of the hiding was some of the most welcoming gesture they could’ve showed the bounty hunter. Hell, he wouldn’t have been too off to think of himself as an honored guest being greeted like that. Mana and Kiyomi quickly ran up the endless flights of stairs until they found the exit to the rooftop.
“Lady Heiress…” some Yamanaka bowed their heads a little or at least noted Kiyomi’s presence. Some others still didn’t even bother. Truth be told Kiyomi wasn’t an actual princess or her inheritance of the clan’s leadership wasn’t completely confirmed. Even if she did inherit the reins of the clan, she could still surrender them by getting married, even if she didn’t marry someone from the clan.
“Who is this young lady?” one of the hooded ninja inquired directing their eyes at Mana. The bright blue eyes of a Yamanaka clansman shined bright even through the evening chills and gloom. Many of the ninja had such rich and thick blonde hair that they didn’t stay in the hoods and ran wild out of the cover.
“She’s my teammate, she fought to protect me from this bounty hunter, she deserves to be here. Seeing to it that I’m OK is her personal interest, you see.” Kiyomi pointed her chin at Mana who just bowed her head for the collected circle of Yamanaka ninja.
“I do not think little of your ability to protect your heiress’ life, I just wish to be here and if possible do everything I can to help you fulfil your duty and protect my friend.” Mana affirmed the ninja who just at first appeared quite interested but then ultimately didn’t seem to make it too big of a deal.
“Well, the transaction would’ve transpired with or without heiress herself, seeing how her participation is optional, there’s no harm in letting one more optional participant stick around.” one of the folk noted.
The wait for the bounty hunter proved not as entertaining as anyone would’ve hoped, then again, it was not quite reasonable to assume that waiting for anything at all to happen was to be entertaining in the slightest. It felt a lot like waiting in an ambush “ one of the more boring and seemingly pointless experiences that then excited one for a brief moment before returning to being boring and pointless.
“So, how do you find our resort, Konoha’s Sorceress?” one of the Yamanaka hoods asked Mana while turning at her. The bright blue eyes and blonde hair of the man slipped out from under the shadow of the hood and from the pearl-like shine of the man’s teeth it could’ve been reasonably assumed that he was smiling.
“It’s really astonishing. I am a big fan of classical architecture therefore it is all quite breathtaking. Not only it is very nicely preserved but also quite functional and appearing to be flourishing even…” Mana replied politely, still uneasily looking around for the slightest sign that the bounty hunter was approaching.
“Oh, you’re spoiling us. Are you familiar with the asphyxiating traditions of the Yamanaka politics or are you speaking from your heart?” the man asked again.
“Politics? I’m sorry, I have no political agenda, Sir. I am not of any clan so I have no favors to gain from yours.” Mana politely turned her head sideways a couple of times. “I truly am loving these sights, the Yamanaka district is perhaps the second favorite of my seen classical sights, I would say that the Uchiha clan district slightly surpasses it but it may just be because of the circumstances of the visit. Worrying over the life of my friend may not be appropriate situation to absorb all the heavenly sights this place has to offer”
The man laughed, “Do not tell the heiress that, she fosters a great distaste for the Uchiha. Can you really blame her though? Whenever one is in the company of one, they let everyone else know how graced they all are to be in their presence.”
Kiyomi stepped in closer to the two squinting suspiciously, “Hey, are you two talking about me?”
“How not unlike someone else…” Mana tried to cheek her friend a little, it appeared that the man enjoyed that notion somewhat and gifted the magician with another smile.
While the conversation was about to continue the arm of a Yamanaka figure raised up all the way from its elbow signaling for total silence and attention. The figure then extended their hand and pointed at a blurry sight with its fingers. Far in the distance Mana could make out the blurry movements of a very fast and silent ninja who was so overly worried over being silent that he was not nearly as fast as he had the talent to be.
Finally the bounty hunter appeared in all his glory, stuck to the ground with one hand on his blade. After a momentary scan of the environment the bounty hunter noticed that no one was responding to his appearance which gave him an answer as to why exactly these ninja were rowed up thusly. He had been wondering for a long time as to which option it was “ were they ready for battle, or business.
“The dark skinned girl is here too, I assume she is assurance that you will play nice, therefore I’ll kill her in an instant if you misbehave. None of you will be fast enough to protect yourselves and her at the same time” the man uttered in a confident and masculine voice, one that Mana dreaded quite a sizeable amount.
“You assume a lot, bounty hunter, just be grateful that we decided to play nice” one of the hoods took a more aggressive step forward and towards the bounty hunter who straightened out in all of his size. Mana noticed a very peculiar visor device, almost like a pressure helmet that had various symbols and numbers appearing on it. The man didn’t have anything like that before “ it must’ve been a sensory device that allowed the bounty hunter to survey recorded chakra signatures if he didn’t possess innate sensing abilities.
“Play? With what toys?” the bounty hunter laughed showing the man’s ninja pouch in his hand. He moved completely unseen not only to Mana, but as the magician noticed even other ninja present at the location which confused the magician even more. There had to be a decent handful of Chuunin and at least some Jounin or Special Jounin here. For them all to fail to pick up a single movement… It painted a very sad potential picture of a failed scuffle.
“Silence! You’ve demanded a price that was too large for our future heiress to carry on her own. After some discussing we are ready to pay it, however. Please accept from us forty nine billion, nine hundred ninety nine and a half million ryo as the price you’ve named” another Yamanaka hood butt in before the younger hooded ninja could escalate a conflict further.
The attention of the bounty hunter turned at the more reasonable hooded man who was holding multiple suitcases filled with ryo.
“My deal was with the Yamanaka girl, she will be the one to pay me, even if the money is yours” the bounty hunter declared after a brief moment of silence.
“It makes no difference to me who delivers our end of the bargain to you.” the Yamanaka relented moving away from the suitcases after stacking them on the ground. Kiyomi approached them and lifted them up, briefly examining them with her eyes and sizing their weight with her arms. She then approached the man and placed them on the ground, opening each one of them, one by one.
“You don’t have to go through all of that. I’ll trust that the Yamanaka clan won’t risk tarnishing its just reputation and risk the streets of their resort being dyed red. You’ve got better things to do than to wage war against a bounty hunter like me.” The man affirmed with a slow gesture of his hand.
“Nice fishbowl…” Kiyomi bit the man after standing up and turning her back, then walking back to Mana.
“Paid by your pocket money…” the bounty hunter nodded before tapping the firm helmet he wore. He then turned around and walked up to the edge of the roof, ready to take off.
“Wait!” the Yamanaka hood shouted out, he took the luxury of taking a couple of steps further, before the realization hit him the bounty hunter was looking him right in the eye with his hand holding the grip of his strange spiked saw-like sword.
“Unless you’re willing to make further business, I recommend you to consider your words very carefully” the man grumped out.
“It is, actually…” the Yamanaka hood nodded before removing his hood, the long hair and another, even longer string of bright hair flowed free in the windy autumnal night. “We want you to kill Yamanaka Tenma!” the man declared.
“I see, so you finally figured out who is messing with your clan, huh? Well, sorry, I can’t help you there…” the bounty hunter turned around, sounding genuinely sorry to have to decline the offer for another business opportunity.
“What? Why not? You’re a bounty hunter, are you not? Tenma is a known nukenin of Konoha, we are willing to pay you his bounty twofold!” the Yamanaka ninja delved deeper.
“The creepy dude’s got some really influential circle of friends, the sort I wouldn’t be willing to mess with. Even if I managed to enter Tenma’s nesting grounds with my mind intact. He is a man capable of shattering one’s mind or taking it over without you even knowing of it, he could be giving me orders without my knowledge. What makes you think that he hasn’t planted a program within me to kill your heiress on sight? Right here and now? That is the man that is Yamanaka Tenma, if you really think he’s the one you need “ leave it alone. That’s my professional advice, free of charge.” then without listening in on the tirade of angered shouts and people yelling over one another the bounty hunter turned around and blurred before disappearing again. Mana couldn’t make out his image reappearing even once for him to leap off of another building, his speed and presence was incredible. When he left it was like a giant boulder was off everyone’s chest.
Kiyomi grinded her teeth in anger. It must’ve pained her to not be able to dispatch of this bounty hunter. She didn’t want to use him for her own gain, judging from what Mana saw blazing in the blonde’s eyes it was like she’d rather kill Yamanaka Tenma with her own hands instead of sending someone who kills for money after him. Hunter nin were different from bounty hunters, they hunted just those unfortunate enough to have their faces etched in the Bingo Book and only criminals, nukenin and such… Bounty hunters killed whoever had a sum of money on their head, common kill market or black one. A man such as this one didn’t sit well with Kiyomi’s moral principles.
“Well, at least this is over… You should stay here for a couple of days, let the heat loosen up somewhat. Once the rumor that even this guy refused to kill you spreads in the shadowy circles you’ll be golden…” Mana tried cheering Kiyomi up.
“That’s too bad, I’d like a bounty hunter face to punch, right about now” Kiyomi breathed out as well looking equally pissed off as she was relieved.
“Do not worry, Lady Heiress, we know the black market dealer that holds the bounty money. We’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse to remove that bounty or lie that it has already been claimed. We’ve got people looking over it even as we speak.” One of the hooded figures assured Kiyomi. Mana was glad to hear that this matter would be resolved so effectively and so fast. Had her own head been evaluated so highly, she’d have no family to speak of to turn to, she’d be on her own… That was just one of many advantages of being of noble origins of a well-known and respected clan like the Yamanaka.
“Oh well, let’s hid the beds then. Tomorrow will be a much brighter and more relaxing day now that this whole bounty hunter business is off our minds…” Kiyomi shrugged, pushing all of the hatred and unresolved anger issues into another compartment deep inside. “I know that you ran after me right after finding out of this bounty issue, but why did you want to see me before that?” she asked.
“Well… Wanted to see you, most of all” Mana smiled, “Then there were things I wanted to talk to you about, many of them we’ve discussed already such as our common team and all that. Then there were still things I wanted to talk about and work out. I’m glad we’ve had some time to train together before “ it was also on the agenda.”
“Well, we can talk about what would keep you awake at night on our way back. Now let’s go, remembering dealing with that dirtbag makes me feel sick.” Kiyomi playfully acted out a vomiting gesture before turning onto the passageway that lead back to the main parts of the building.
“We can escort you back, Lady Heiress, if you wish one of us can even carry you two home in an instant. Our ninja know this area well enough to move at full speed even inside this resort, they won’t be restrained by their lagging perceptions!” another one of the Yamanaka hoods butted in but Kiyomi shut him down with the gesture of her palm.
“There’ll be no need for that. Mana and me have things to talk about and I have a feeling they are of the girly variety. We’re just going to use these lovely layered with stone streets as they are meant to be used “ by having a lovely and peaceful nightly stroll. We’ll be perfectly fine…” Kiyomi calmed the hoods down.
“Be informed that there exist bounty hunters capable of sneaking into our resort, there are some that would sneak into even Konohagakure. While this place is the safest one you can be in “ you won’t be completely safe until we receive knowledge that the bounty that Yamanaka Tenma put on your head has been removed.” One of the hoods warned the blonde before the two girls set out. The streets of the Yamanaka resort at night were almost too divine to believe. The autumnal chill was also possibly one of Mana’s favorite weathers that only seldom reminded the two that it was slightly too chilly for their chosen clothing.
The short trip home would undoubtedly be enjoyed, especially when it was lit by the crystal clear shining crescent shape of the moon in the sky, as well as the local sources of illumination such as still open and glowing brightly with neon colors street vendors and various sources of relaxation, entertainment and similar purposes. Was it not for the classical architecture the nightly Yamanaka resort would’ve reminded Mana so much of her own beloved Konoha streets at night.
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