"Limp Ragdoll"

1.8k Words, Ninja/Black Mage. A short fic about the aftermath of the Star Cup.

Ninja sat in the main area of the Starship, leaning on the railing and overlooking the planet they were flying over. Truthfully, he wasn't very happy. He's sure it was obvious in his face even if most of it was obscured by his helmet and mask. It was the aftermath of the Star Cup and honestly he really wanted nothing more than to deck that stupid red plumber in the face right now.

Stupid Mario and his stupid brother. And, the other one. Whoever that was. He didn't exactly care to remember her features other than she was pink. He hated the pink ones special ability. Seriously with the hearts? He felt sick just remembering the feeling! Those hearts immobilized him completely with infatuation for a random lady!

.. Such thoughts were unbecoming of him. He scratched at the wood of the rail uncomfortably.

"You know, it's a little startling to see you out here so quietly." A voice from behind him called. Ninja sighed and turned his head. He'd recognize that voice anywhere, in spite of (or maybe entirely due to) the weird layers of reverb.

"What do you want, Black Mage?"Ninja asked, staring directly at the magician. They were floating in place, their cloak giving the illusion of wings flapping. One of their arms rested behind their back while the other held their staff. Their eyes were the only visible part of their face, probably the only facial features they had really. Ninja just stared at them, waiting for them to answer his question. Black Mage narrowed their eyes to sort of squint at him.

"So confrontational.. I'm simply here to check on you. Is that such a crime now?" Black Mage spoke. They twirled their staff around with a whistle.

"White Mage is still on the planet I presume?"

Ninja looked back down on the blue planet beneath them with a scoff.

"She didn't really explain why she wanted to stay for a while longer. She just had something to attend to, I guess?" He said. Black Mage hummed in response.

"I see." They floated close to Ninja, standing behind him with a head tilt. He looked up at the magician with an unamused look. Black Mage was already taller than Ninja by default, and he didn't like how much taller they got when they were floating.

"May I sit next to you?" They asked quietly. Ninja shrugged.

"Do what you want." He replied. Black Mage chuckled quietly as they moved to sit on the railing next to Ninja. They sat on the rail, crossing their legs and leaving their staff leaning on the wooden rail. Both of their hands rested in their lap, and the magician tilted their head upwards to look at the infinite abyss of space they were floating through.

"Not taking the defeat well I presume?" They said blankly. The magician couldn't exactly blame him in all honesty, it had stung pretty badly. Besides from the bitter taste of defeat, all three of them had sustained pretty sizeable injuries from their dodgeball match. White Mage and Ninja both sustained some pretty ugly bruises and scratches while Black Mage was pretty sure some of his joints had come loose or even broke during the match.

It wasn't fun to get those repaired, one of the downsides of being a doll.

"What gave it away?" Ninja replied, bitterness laced in his voice. He continued to scratch uncomfortably at the wooden railing. Black Mage turned to look at him, then shifted their expression in distain upon the sight before them. They swatted his hand away, Ninja pulled his hand back with an annoyed 'ow'.

"Stop that. You'll get a splinter." They said flatly. The smaller man waved his hand dismissively as he decided to just pick at his fingers instead. Though this also didn't last long as Ninja caught Black Mage casting a nasty glare at him in response.

"Oh, come on! What do you want from me?! Can't scratch the railings because I'll get a splinter, can't pick at my fingers because I might scratch myself.." Ninja barked, his voice rising in volume and his tone clearly pointed. He tapped his fingers nervously on the railing as he continued.

"Leave me to my nervous tics alright? I don't judge you for what you do when you're nervous." He muttered. Black Mages "wings" ceased their flapping as they stared at Ninja, cocking their head to the side.

"What do I do when I'm nervous?" They ask. Ninja rolls his eyes in annoyance.

"Don't play these games with me Black Mage, whenever you get nervous you start pacing. You actually stop floating, put both feet on the floor-" Ninja stomped his foot to emphasize his point, "and start pacing."

The magician kept their head in the same head tilted position. Curious, they pressed on.

"Well, it's not exactly hurting me is it?" Black Mage stated. Ninja snaps his head around to look at the magician, sputtering slightly in disbelief.

"What do you mean?! You're always complaining how being grounded too long makes you feel feint! You remember what happened after that dodgeball match, don't you?" He yelled, utterly exhasperated. It hadn't exactly been the best hours of Ninjas life.

Due to the nature of Black Mages very being, Ninja knew he'd have to learn how to fix and repair their body in case of injuries White Mage wasn't able to heal. This had been one of those moments. White Mage hadn't the energy to spare to fix up Black Mage, so Ninja had to be the one to tighten up and replace the broken doll joints Black Mage had.

The magician brings a hand up to their cheek, thoughtful for a moment.

"Yes, I do seem to remember you calling me a 'limp ragdoll' afterwards.." Black Mage recalled. Their tone wasn't pointed or sarcastic, just a simple recollection of a memory. Ninja didn't like it all too much.

"That's.. that's not what I—!" He started. The magician cut him off.

"Of course, you aren't wrong you know. You did graciously fix my joints and I thank you for that." They continued. Black Mage moved one of their hands to rub at their elbow, thinking carefully about their next words.

"You get so defensive about these things, Captain." Black Mage stood from where they were sitting and bent down carefully to lightly boop Ninjas nose with their finger. His face started heating up uncomfortably, both from embarrassment at the surprising tenderness of the gesture and annoyance that this conversation was still going on. He swatted their hand away.

"You keep egging me on with these things." Ninja replied, looking away with a displeased expression. His hands remained on the railing of the ship, fingers gripping onto it uncomfortably. The sound of Black Mage making a clicking sound made Ninja even more flustered.

"I'm simply asking questions, stating the things that I remember." They replied. Ninja dropped his head into his arms with a groan. This conversation would never end at this rate. The worst part? He knew Black Mage was right. Throughout this entire conversation, Ninja had never once heard Black Mage speak with a harsh tone. They were never accusatory or sarcastic, never once had a hint of anger or spoke with a pointed tone. Their voice was calm, stoic, and eerily formal. Just like they had always been.

HE was the one getting angry, the one who pointed fingers and lost his temper. It's strange, he's never like this typically. The heat of the match must've just gotten to his head. Still..

Ninja never replied to Black Mages statement. He simply stood there, head in his arms as he tried to make sense of what just happened. The taller didn't bother trying to renew the conversation if it seemed that they said all that needed to be said. They could still sense that Ninja was frustrated however, and they didn't want to just leave him like that. It would be very rude.

Black Mage reached out to gently touch Ninjas chin, moving his head so the two were looking at each other. Ninja felt his cheeks flush up intensely as he was once again caught off guard by the surprising tenderness of the action. He felt his mouth go dry as Black Mage reached out with their other hand to pull down the piece of fabric that kept Ninjas mouth hidden.

He won't lie, it did kind of feel nice. Over time Ninja had gotten use to the covering but it did feel nice every so often to just.. remove it. Made him feel less hot at least, which was appreciated. Especially given the current situation. Speaking of which, Ninja kept his gaze focused on Black Mage. It was physically impossible to look anywhere else anyways.

"Relax." They said in a hushed whisper. Ninja swallowed dryly at the command. As best as he could, he took a deep breath. He unclenched his jaw (he didn't even realize he had it clenched in the first place) and let go of the iron grip he had on the wooden railing. His shoulders slumped as he continued to inhale and exhale slowly. Ninjas mental turmoil obviously remained, but at least physically he felt better. The magician hummed in acknowledgement.

"See, that wasn't so hard now was it?" Black Mage asked. Ninja was sure he was going to collapse onto the floor if this kept up. It wasn't like Black Mage was even doing anything inherently flirtatious, their lack is social awareness was going to be Ninjas downfall. He cursed himself mentally for even thinking such things about his friend.

Friend. Right.

.. right.

Ninja was snapped out of his train of thought when he heard Black Mage laugh, immediately locking back into his current reality with a slightly offended expression.

"What's so funny?" He asked, tone accusatory as always. Black Mage attempted to stifle their laughter.

"Your face is as red as your helmet."

A long stretch of silence fell across both Ninja and Black Mage. Ninja had sat there in complete shock and disbelief, maybe even frustration at the words his friend dared to utter. He felt his heart pounding out of his chest, his ears began to ring loudly as the dizzy feeling in his head made it impossible for him to think. He might've thrown himself off the Starship if he wasn't glued to his spot right now honestly.

Black Mage simply stared, their bright yellow eyes piercing through Ninjas own. It was impossible to tell what they were thinking due to their lack of any identifiable facial features other than the eyes. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but that's a lie. Black Mages eyes are simply.. hollow. They emote, sure, but it's impossible to read their expression through their eyes.

Ninja thinks that's what makes it worse.

He can't take this.

He shoved Black Mage away, something that the other clearly expected. The magician steps back from their friend, still staring at him. Ninja pulls his mask back up and turns around.

"Don't say things like that."

Ninja storms off.

Black Mage stands there, still floating. Their expression remains blank. They turn to look at the Earth below them.

Black Mage watches the Earth spin.

BACK.

Nothing to see here yet!

The next fanfic I write is going to be another Ninja/Black Mage fic, mostly centering on the fruity ass magician himself. Stay tuned.

Nothing here either.

Stay tuned.