Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Where We Come From

All Alone Again

Loud droplets of water broke the silence of the cave, the entire structure was dead silent which combined with the total darkness illuminated only by stalactites of azure crystal formed an eerie atmosphere. Once in a while, gentle clacks of hardened and raised heels of Mana's sandals joined in, forming a lovely harmony with the aquatic noises. Slowly the girl was making her way through the cave, looking around as if running or being hunted by someone and afraid of being caught. The girl's actions proved rather fruitless as not a single heartbeat joined her in this search. Just a deadly silence, torn away by water and girl's sandals once in a while...

Come to think of it, Mana had no idea what she was running from, where she was or what she was looking for, what exactly could her destination have been or other similar details. Could this cave have had something to do with the seemingly endless quest to find the Box of Ultimate Bliss, maybe she has sidetracked once again, looking to save someone dear to her? To say that would've been to say that she was sidetracked to save absolutely anyone as the girl had probably the least selective process of finding heroic deeds that required her to push her own needs aside.

Maybe this cave held inside an easier pathway to the Box, perhaps it held salvation for someone Mana wished to save, either way, the magician didn't falter but continued to walk that rocky crystal path. She did not notice how brief claps of red eyes colored the wall beside her differently, the color of the hunt, the color of death, the color of danger. Mana called out into the eternal darkness in front but no one answered. There was absolutely no reaction to her voice, it fell silent and dead in fate's ears.

Eventually, more and more eyes joined in the initial red blink, Mana was strangely aware of their existence, almost like they registered in her own mind but she couldn't see them. She could not hear them nor, sensibly, smell or touch them for they were abstract concepts. Yet she knew of them... The magician thought that maybe, for her own safety, it'd have made reasonable sense to turn around and look at those crimson bloodshot eyes examining her, measuring her limbs and her guts to wear around their necks as accessories. Somehow the magician was aware or at least suspicious of the ill intent of those lurking in the darkness.

As much as Mana ordered her body to turn, it did not, almost like Mana was part of a movie, a movie she was a starlet in. One of those revolutionary plays of moving pictures that Konoha recently received an influx of and Hiro's Hall was making a profit of, together with Mana's stage magic, of course. She must've had the role of the dumb pampered teen in one of those horror movies, walking into the typical horror scenario despite having little to no means of protecting herself. 

For some reason, this disability to affect the environment around her or protect herself from these demons lurking in the walls of the cave scared the magician a great deal. Mana could feel her own heart pumping, beating and clawing its way out of her chest, she couldn't help but command herself to utter a scream but... She was silent. Once again the magician ordered herself to scream, this time as loud as she possibly could, as loud as she would if a madman was trying to butcher her and she was helpless to defend herself but... The kunoichi's lips were shut tight, not a single sound was made.

Suddenly, cold furry fingers wrapped around Mana's mouth, bent her head backward uncomfortably bending her body by the back around the creature's knee. The rodent-like creature shoved its twisted and rotten face right up to Mana's, despite being scared to the point of death Mana couldn't wail or scream, couldn't wave her hands or try to fight this thing off. She remained frozen and helpless in the creature's arms. The girl commanded herself to fight, summoned all the physical chakra she could've mustered up but... She remained helpless in its grasp.

"You killed us..." The thing muttered right to the girl's ear before opening its mouth to crunch on Mana's neck. The magician closed her eyes, she could feel slimy taps of the creature's slobber running down her neck all the way to her chest and below, soaking her clothes. She could feel that putrid smell of dead meat in its mouth as if Mana wasn't even amongst the first bodies this thing had munched on that day... Or night... It could've been either one...