Takigakure's Border

[Akemi Yamagata]

"You probably shouldn't do this one Nicholas, Kekeya just needs to do what Kiyo asked him to do and get it over with. To answer your other question, Jysika got a minor injury but Nori was able to take care of it. However, I think its best for her to go back to the village after we get out of here. What do you think?" Akemi asked.

She looked over at Jysika who was now looking up at Nicholas sheepishly, biting her lip.

[Nicholas]

"It's up to our medical nin. I'm not exactly qualified to make that call, but she seems to be fine now."
Inwardly shrugging, Nicholas cancelled his shadow clone jutsu, a large burst of white smoke briefly appeared down the tunnel on the other side of the door before fading away.

[Kekeya Sasaki]

Kiyo hit a button by the door, and it slid open. The first thing he saw was Kekeya. His expression could be summed up... as death, and foaming at the mouth. He reached over and pounded Kiyo on the head. Kiyo grabbed his head and looked up. "What was that for you dick!?" Kekeya replied, rather angrily. "What was all that crap at the door!?" Kiyo responded. "You're gonna have to be nice one day, I'm giving you a headstart!" The two stared at each other for about a minute, when the most unexpected noise was heard. Did one of them just laugh? That was when they both started laughing. They put their arms around each others' shoulders in a real chummy fashion. "Kiyo, you bastard. How you been, 'The Mechanist'?"

[Nori Niigata]

"Its my opinion that Jysika is going back to the village. I was able to take care of her injury, but still, I dont know if there could be any future side effects of the concussion." Nori stated in a matter of fact tone, then she pushed past Kekeya, and after saying a quiet "Excuse me" to Kiyo, she walked over to Kurakuren.

"Wandering away like that when you haven't completely gained all your strength wasn't very smart Ren." She said, looking him over, and seeing that he looked perfectly fine. "Did you run into any sentries or anything getting here?" She asked finally.

[Nicholas]

Nicholas nodded in agreement before turning around.
"Since we seem to be done here, I'll go ahead and scout out the way back. Things like open trapdoors in the middle of a forest tend to draw attention, and I'd rather not get caught in an ambush while we're leaving. No reason for anyone to be after us yet, but better safe than sorry." Nicholas said before disappearing with a flash step.

[Kiyoshi Sasaki]

Kiyo looked over. "Well, you'd want to make it out in one piece. Let me turn off security. Oh, and the door, so you don't wreck more of my property." Kiyo hit a switch above some random machine with quite a grin on his face.

[Nicholas]

Less than half a minute later Nicholas was at the base of the entrance shaft. Knowing that the most dangerous moment would be the instant he climbed out, Nicholas paused and took a deep breath before propelling himself to the top with a flash step, briefly appearing for less thana second aboveground at the entrance before using another flash step to disappear into the woods. Settling down in the low brush to keep himself hidden, Nicholas produced upwards of 15 shadow clones to patrol the area, and silently waited.

[Kurakuren Shima]

After seeing Nicholas leave, Kurakuren put his attention to Nori and answered her question, "Sorry Nori, It's just I was getting kind of bored." Kurakuren gave a carefree smile and then replied to her question, "Sentries... Nope not a single one."

[Deego Horutan]

Deego began to walk out of the brush/ "I tell ya, I heard something. You can't tell me you didn't hear it too. Louder than damn thunder!" Anyone in the vacinity could notice Deego. "See? Look! There's a huge ol' trap door!"

[Nicholas]

Nicholas was tense, along with his 15 plus other shadow clones hidden in the surrounding woods. He had heard the kid long before he ever sensed his chakra, a first for Nicholas. Keeping his eyes on the boy, the other shadow clones managed to locate and surround the woman who was travelling with him without being noticed, but they held their position. There was always the chance that they were just travelling shinobi, but it always paid to be cautious.

[Tsuki Kyoushu]

"Okay fine, there's a trap door. Ooo, Though I bet there's a few trap doors around here. We are near the Takigakure after all, they are known for their underground tunnels. I'd say there are plenty of trap doors. So I'm guessing you want to go down there?" Tsuki asked Deego, crossing her arms in her usual bored fashion with one eyebrow raised. "Well you'd be doing it yourself, there's no way I'm going down there. Money or no money. Its too much trouble, they'll be coming back up eventually."

[Deego Horutan]

Deego peered inside. "Looks like it's empty. But I could swear there's someone down there." Deego stood up, about to make some wise comment about going underground, but he was stopped. Something in the air. "Wait... do you smell that?" Deego began sniffing around like a dog. "That smell... it smells... like that smelly smell..." He inhaled very loudly. "Smelly..." Deego's pupils shrank and his lips wettened. "Boouuuntyyyy..." Deego dropped to the ground, looking for tracks. "And a big one..."

[Nicholas]

Nicholas's eyes narrowed slightly as the kid knelt to the ground and began looking. While he knew he didn't leave any trace of himself on arrival or departure, that didn't mean the others didn't. Nevertheless, Nicholas suppressed his chakra, making himself invisible to any abilities similar to the byakugan or other sensory traits, and continued watching.

[Tsuki Kyoushu]

Tsuki didn't move from her spot, her frown deepened as she watched Deego looking for tracks.

"Seriously, sometimes you're worse than a dog sniffing around for scraps of food. Whoever was here is probably gone already. Now will you get over here and be quiet before they come up and hear you? How are we suppose to get them by surprise if your loud mouth travels all the way down in the tunnel?" Tsuki growled.

[Nicholas]

Nicholas had heard more than enough, and an instant later the two people in the clearing each had a sword to their throats and 3 other sword tips aimed at various other organs.
Nicholas flash stepped into the clearing 10 feet away from the two people.
"I'd stay very, very still if I were you. Who are you, and why do you want to take someone 'by surprise'?"
Below in the tunnel, a shadow clone flash stepped in and raced to warn the others.