It was the calm time of the night. The time when even the depressed and the wicked, the likes that were the least likely to find solace in the activity of sleeping were already asleep. Whether it be willfully or otherwise, it was the kind of sleep for those people that they would not even remember having in the morning, whether it lead to them looking into the source of the problem or addressing the ills of the soul that lead to it was a different story entirely.
With a silent clank, unlikely to be heard even by the family pet if they had one, Thumb screwed her hooked claw-like blades into the locks, beating the simple ancient lock of the mansion that the two women found themselves in. The mansion that apparently housed the Pinky Ring, leader of the Pinky and, apparently, Thumb Fingers.
After the door opened, Mana and Thumb disappeared from the realms of the human perception, blitzing past the rooms and past any feeble attempts to protect the estate. Steel wire about as thickly positioned as the raindrops during a violent storm were still a poor defense against Mana's inhuman and surpassing even the ninja range of evasive skills. Thumb danced around like a cat let out to play after a long-term of house imprisonment. Clinging to the walls and swiping her hands and feet around madly, cutting the steel wires in her way, oddly with enough finesse and soft, feminine touch to her impressive speed that the swipes did not trigger the security traps attached to the wire.
The two met together near the same room, one where a middle-aged woman was peacefully sleeping in a half-empty bed, clearly meant to bed two people. As Thumb mockingly chuckled and pointed her long and slender finger with a sharp hook attached to the end of it at Mana, the magician entered the master bedroom and turned on the light, waking up the woman bedded inside, or at least so Mana thought initially.
There was no struggle in the woman's awakening, one moment she was looking on the window, longingly positioned on her side and observing the gentle snowfall outside, the other she was up and staring at the two invaders of her home fort. Oddly enough, not only was the woman not asleep, she was also not at all worried by the presence of a young magician girl and one of her husband's known associates from his less than honorable craft.
"Trouble sleeping?" Thumb grinned with her crimson lips, making an almost creepily delighted smile as she bent her upper body closer to the woman. Strangely, the wife was not any more intimidated by Thumb's imposing approach than she was by the very fact of the two having found their way inside.
"My consciousness is not the reason for my insomnia." The woman defiantly stood up to face Thumb's playful stature with dignity. "I am worried."
"Heh, it seems like your gut instinct was right after all!" Thumb turned back at Mana, laughing out loud as she addressed the magician. The burglar found something about the fact that Mana had guessed correctly that Pinky would be skipping town tonight but did not trust her gut feeling enough to be present in the party sent to apprehend him there inherently hilarious.
"When I found out that the Pinky Ring was being paranoid about his job performance, I figured he'd try to flee the town." Mana sighed, feeling like a complete fool that she did not go on her gut instinct, instead of sending a small squad of people Shira trusted together with the Security officer to the path that lead out of Shukuba and into Konoha.
"This whole affair with the town budget. It was messier than the Middle Ring had wanted it to be. Muriya always thought his life would be in danger…" the woman bit her index finger, clearly she was working through a lot of distressful emotions.
"And he left his family behind?" Mana raised a doubtful eyebrow. "I think I noticed two children sleeping right at the end of that corridor, what sort of man would just leave his family behind like this?"
"The biggest kind of pussy you ever met, like you would not believe!" Thumb grinned with a hint of sarcasm and a healthy attempt to dirty Pinky's personality a little.
"Don't you dare!" Pinky's wife shouted out. "Muriya may not be the brawny type, but he knew full well he would not be fleeing to a happy and successful life away. There is no escaping the Diamond Hand, he had counted on at the very least distracting their wrath from back home."
"Lovey-dovey, totally skipped town on her…" Thumb whispered, leaning up to Mana's left ear.
"Please, keep him safe…" the woman pleaded, pressing her hand up to her chest before running up to Mana and almost falling to her exposed by her nightgown knees. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, as they have been for the better part of the night, whatever kind of personality this Muriya "Pinky Ring" guy was, his wife clearly loved him unconditionally.
"Well, luckily enough, people with enough guts and devotion to work overnight for no bonus pay or reward are likely booking him in right now. Seeing how Muriya-san is fleeing from the Diamond Hand, it is unlikely that he was surrounded by goons or anything. He is as good as caught as we speak. That being said, we will be arresting you and your children, ma'am, for twenty-four hours to determine your identity. You will be held in the Shukuba Security detainment facility, if you wish you can take some comfort sheets and hygiene items." Mana sighed before addressing the woman.
The wife appeared to get flustered and agitated but after a brief while she caught on to Mana's intention.
"Twenty-four hours?" the woman muttered.
"Yeah, by that point I will have torn the Diamond Hand's hideout to the ground with my bare hands." Mana smiled at the woman with warm and affection, encouraging her to gather her children and follow the two to the safer location for them. If someone of the Index Finger decided to assassinate this family and send their parts for Muriya to fret over in Konoha, Mana would much rather hold them closer to herself and within her sensory range.
Shira and a bunch of muscle-heads with mean looking physical preparation but warm and cuddly faces were congratulating each other on a job well done by the time Mana and the whole tail came back to the Shukuba Security late that night. By now the magician had given up completely on any semblance of peaceful sleep or as much as getting some rest before she headed out for the museum. At least before she left she would know that a family was reunited and being protected for all it was worth.
"I assume all went well?" Mana asked Shira directly after his friends, under her request, lead the woman and her children closer to where Muriya was being held and preparing the accommodations as comfortable as reasonably possible.
"Even better than well, he told us where he hid the money and even told us what chemicals he used for removing the traces." Shira bowed his head to Mana making her blush a little as she was not used to being addressed as a superior still.
"That was… Quick." The magician rubbed the back of her neck.
"Yeah, I do not think that man is very resistant to torture, just me entering the room made him spill everything. It took… No effort at all, ma'am." Shira reported.
"Good, so you can retrieve the money then?" Mana wondered.
"Not really, his description is a bit vague and it is too concealed to have a formal address. He also said that he would not leave the containment facility under any circumstances, even threatening him with torture did not work, as entertaining as it was to watch…" Shira bowed his head while replying again.
"That is not a problem, send a man to Burgoniya's place. One with a bonier head as she will be likely to throw punches their way, ask her to assist with locating that chemical and have Muriya assist her in tracking the money if needed." Mana rubbed her tired eyes with a somewhat delighted expression. It was a while since her desperate attempts to just smash her head at a figurative rock wall, which only kept getting colored with the magician's blood with each impact made the wall as much as crack to pieces.
"Yes, ma'am! Will be done by the morning!" Shira nodded before rushing off and initiating a conversation with one of his trusted brothers in arms.
With a little bit of luck, the contract workers and public servants alike will be paid rightly without the Diamond Hand's intervention and temptations. While initially it seemed a little dire, having given such a narrow time limit to herself and asking Yushijin to meet her in the museum so early with so much still needing to be done, as the case unraveled, little by little, Mana may have just had the Diamond Hand toppled by the time Yushijin even arrived at the museum. In which case she would have no reservations about pulling a prank on him and simply returning home with him peacefully, without the fight he desired so much…
Seeing that Muriya and his family were appropriately housed and making sure that the money retrieval operation was set in motion took more time from Mana than initially expected. By the time that the magician finished checking on Pinky's family, Burgoniya had arrived at the office, exhausted and ticked off that she was being called for outside her working hours.
"There's been a breakthrough with the stolen money. Can you trace any of these chemicals?" Mana handed the young woman a sheet of paper on which Muriya had scribbled a bunch of chemicals he had bought.
"Shit, he memorized all of that? It's so convenient that it is almost suspicious." Burgoniya yawned before speaking up in a grumpy voice.
"Not really, Pinky's pretty resourceful. He's one of the recording and memorizing, responsible types. The obsession with which he categorizes and records things is remarkable if not a bit irritating." Thumb waved her hand indifferently at the curious Security officer.
"So, you have Pinky caught as well. It appears you have the same number of Rings in your control as the leader of the Diamond Hand does…" Burgoniya sighed. "Anyways, yeah, Shirukaphol is a strong cleansing substance with a very overpowering seaweed scent, any canine can pick it up and track it without much training."
"I suppose that makes having to work for your pay take a literal sense," Thumb teased the Security officers who just gave her an annoyed glare and continued to work towards the operation of retrieving the stolen money. Even if they retrieved it as swiftly as possible, it would still take quite a while before the wheel of bureaucracy turns sufficiently enough to make the pay money work and fixes all the built-up gaps in the town's budget. Shukuba may still get rowdy and bleed a little before it all gets better…
"You're coming with us?" Burgoniya raised an eyebrow, after stroking the head of an old and very indifferent towards everything around it hound. The canine was acquired from an old man who owned a dog shelter and was quite willing to help out the Security officers even at this late time of night. "Does that mean we have a reason to be worried? Will anyone try to blow us up or cut us down before we can even see them coming?"
"No, I have some business of my own. While you will be retrieving the money, I will be attacking the Diamond Hand head-on. I suppose I shall be your distraction and guarantee that you will be safe." Mana sighed before doing her best to fire herself up before this bold attack that she was about to commence.
"What if any of the Rings see us coming and are watching the place for Security officers? Won't we get slaughtered without you?" Burgoniya wondered now that the option was on the table.
"We are Shukuba Security, the danger of death is always there, whether it is death in a blade-fight or death by being disintegrated by a fireball of a rogue ninja," Shira grumbled out looking a bit bothered by Burgoniya's desire to ensure the safety of the Security squad sent to retrieve the money, even if it affected the whole operation.
"If I notice one of the Rings are missing or find anything of the sort out, I will be there within moments, no matter how much chakra I will have to spend to rush to you or how much I will risk my network's integrity enforcing such augmentations. Human lives are still my priority, it always is." Mana tried calming down the forensics officer who appeared to be working through the same kind of emotions that many of young ninja had.
No matter how brave one was, or rather how brave they said to themselves they were, they would always feel that same feeling when things really went wrong on the field. That cruel realization that one's entire life, one's dreams, and aspirations could have all ended there. That horrendous, asphyxiating emotion that made one realize that while they may have thought they were ready for anything, they may have gotten themselves in something way above their heads.
"Don't worry, Burgoniya-san, after this you can always return to forensics. However your experience and expertise in reading the environment and locating key clues would be invaluable in locating the warehouse faster, also, I think the doggo has taken a liking to you…" Mana smiled before looking at the hound who has gotten up on its feet for a short while after seeing the hustle and bustle of the Security officers before realizing it was a false alarm and slumping its flesh and fat down, right beside Burgoniya's feet.
"Do you really have to be attacking the Diamond Hand now?" Thumb raised a doubtful eyebrow. She was really interested in keeping Mana as close as possible for as long as possible so that she would maximize her chances of saving her own behind if her ex-employers actually sent people after her.
"Sadly, yes. We told Yushijin that he is to meet me at the museum at midday. That means that by that time I need to be done there. In my current state of fatigue, I cannot beat him so I will have to go with him when he calls me out on having lied to him." Mana sighed with the all too familiar feeling of bees swarming and buzzing all over in her gut.
"I see… I still do not believe you should confront both the Index and Ring Rings. Hell, I'd have told you even Index Ring alone would give you ample trouble. You should wait for little cutiepants to come for you before tricking him into helping you with them." Thumb looked away as she spoke, Mana found that very funny, for whatever reason.
"When we first met you tried to kill me. Not just because that was a life or death decision, you edited your entire plan and defied orders of a man whose orders are not defied without consequence to kill me. It is strange to see you worry about my life now, that is all." Mana explained the source of her laughter to the burglar when she turned at the magician, surprised to hear giggling from the girl.
It was evident that Thumb tried to desperately browse for a logical and selfish reason she could have wanted to keep Mana alive and well but she then just shut her mouth and shared a smile with the magician.
"I should hope that you kick their asses. If you do I shall have to worry about them coming after me no more." The burglar nodded before turning to the Security squad and suggesting joining their efforts at locating the stolen money. They had every reason to distrust her, she was quite significantly stronger than all of them combined, faster and had a specific craving for money and material possessions that would have made allying with such a woman incredibly dangerous but… The Security squad accepted the woman's help regardless.
Seeing that, Mana could not help but think that if she was to die in that museum, at least she'd have died remembering a sight of young Security officers with loads of potential accepting a genuine offer of a hand from a criminal in need of slight attitude adjustment and reforming. At least she'd die believing in redemption before even those beliefs were inevitably shattered by the world around her. She'd die with some of her beliefs still intact.
Men in black bodysuits and mercenary-type armored jackets were protecting the yard and scouting the town for potential threats. Scoping the place through the optical equipment attached to their kunai dispensers, some of them observing the town from very comfortable vantage points that were provided by the tall and sophisticated museum.
"The magician bitch, she's here!" one of them yelled out, moving his eye away from the optic sight for just a moment after catching a glimpse of a young girl in magician's uniform just casually bouncing on top of the gate and letting everyone see her coming.
Before even those who saw the magician emerge as suddenly as she did, just phasing into the plain view, could fire a single blade at her direction, the girl moved her hand upward and revealed a yellow colored card resting in her hand with a glowing hieroglyph. A blinding flash of light, just like the one present in the typical light bombs found in a ninja kit of any genin, enveloped the yard and the balconies of the museum where the well-armed mercenaries were already waiting for Mana.
Before any of the mercenaries could recover from the irritation and the watering eyes, Mana had dispatched of every man she could hear or sense within her sensory range. One advantage of being a sensor was that she did not need to rely on her eyes to find enemies. Smoke bombs or light bombs, sealed into her cards were now fair game.
Some of the men in the upper floors did not wait around to recover, they actively tried to flee which was an odd strategy when being sieged. Usually, in their situation any grunt would have been expected to man their kunai dispensers until they could no longer do so. Luckily enough, Mana managed to subdue all seventeen men present and watching the yard before they could flee or recover. Like clockwork, a scary chakra signature lit up in the shape of a powerful and as fast as its shape lightning blast heading her way, forcing the magician to flip backwards and off the building she was scaling only to gently land in the center of the yard and open her eyes to meet the Rings who have come out from hiding to play with her.
"Usually, strategists let their footmen wear the enemy down before letting their stronger figures attack," Mana shouted at the all too familiar woman in a red leather jacket and an oddball fellow in a tight leather bodysuit cut in a way that exposed his chest from the abdomen up and a ridiculous-looking shaved sides with a long strand of hair running back down hairdo.
"Middle Ring values his men and would rather not waste them by blindly throwing them at a Konoha ninja." The woman replied before unbuttoning her jacket and reaching for a mysterious weapon held inside.
"You've been a pain in our ass for a while, it was very thoughtful of you to present yourself like that for a good, crisp fry…" the oddball gent lifted his arm up, revealing sealing glyphs crackling with lightning on his palms. He was likely the user of that incredibly fast and dangerous Lightning Release jutsu before, just as fast as natural lightning, used without hand seals or words… Dangerous did not even begin to describe it.
Thumb was right to be worried, these two were bound to make Mana have her hands completely full…
