Oto Border

[Nicholas]

Not much irritated Nicholas, but having to slow down in enemy territory always put him on edge. While the others simply appeared to be running and jumping through the forest's upper layer, he was simply flash stepping from branch to branch, forcing himself to wait every few seconds to stay the back of the group. Another thing that added to his frusturation was the knowledge that Akemi was now in the same position he had been in since he was 15, something that he had thought that they had managed to avoid. While he appeared calm and indifferent outwardly, he made a point of remembering the name Ryo Yamagata, and had promised himself that he would be personally paying the man a visit after all of this was done and over with.

[Sachi Akita]

Sachi started humming a song as she moved from tree branch to tree branch, she kept an eye out for anything that looked like a trap as they made their way along the border of the village. It hadn't been that long ago since she left Oto. So far everything seemed clear.

[Kurakuren Shima]

After leaving Taki Kurakuren's serious side took over. Every step they took closer to Oto he seemed more distant as if he were thinking about something.

[Akemi Yamagata]

Akemi followed 10 feet behind Sachi, keeping an eye out. She highly doubted that there would be any trouble this far away from the actual village. She let her mind wander a little, back to a while earlier to their encounter with Tsuki.

Her brother Ryo had actually taken a bounty out on her? Did he actually hate her that much? Akemi let out a sigh. There wasn't anything she could do right now. Perhaps she could make a trip back to Getsugakure at one point and request a meeting with her father.

She pushed that thought out of her mind, this was not the time to think about her own troubles. She glanced back over her shoulder at Kurakuren and Nicholas.

"Everything look okay back there?" She asked, only loud enough for them to hear.

[Kurakuren Shima]

Kurakuren seemed to have burst from his bubble looked at Akemi and said, "Huh?"

[Akemi Yamagata]

Akemi let out a soft sigh, "I said, is everything clear from back there? Other than Nicholas, we're travelling in the dark.. literally."

She smiled slightly at what she had just said.

[Nicholas]

"Everything's fine back here. We might want to stop for now, though - it's a small country, and we don't want to get too close before we know what they have set up. We have a month - we should take the time and do this right, with as little risk as possible."

[Akemi Yamagata]

Akemi looked around once more, this time looking for some sort of shelter. "I suppose we could set up camp or something." She said.

Sachi appeared right beside her, "Perfect! I'm Starving!!!" She cheered.

[Nicholas]

"Shelter shouldn't be a problem, I can take care of that. I'd advise against eating until morning, though - any fire or light we use could easily give us away to a passing patrol. Start looking for any vertical rock surface, like the base of a cliff or similar structure."

[Sachi Akita]

Sachi gave a mock salute and set out on a run. A few minutes later she disappeared from view. A few minutes later she reappeared and waved, "Hey guys, over here! I found a cliff." She called.

Her stomach growled really loudly as everyone approached and she let out a low moan. "I knew I shouldn't have skipped breakfast," She said and giggled, "I sound like a bear!"

[Nicholas]

Making a single hand sign under his cloak, a shadow clone appeared and walked over to Sachi.
"Lead the way."

[Sachi Akita]

"You got it Boss," Sachi said with a giggle and skipped on ahead to where she was now on top of a cliff, but instead of stopping, she stepped off the cliff and fell. Landing on both feet, she looked up and smiled.

"How's this?" She asked.

[Nicholas]

Flash stepping from the edge of the cliff to the bottom and turning around, the shadow clone surveyed the cliff side.
"This is perfect. Head back and tell the others to come here, I should have it ready by then."
The cliff side was perfect - it had a thick mass of small trees at the base, and was easily 25 - 30 feet high and made of solid granite.

[Sachi Akita]

Sachi made a quick handsign and disappeared. She began whistling, but that was the only trace of her as she walked to where the others were gathered. She stayed nearly invisible, keeping her kekkei genkai activated as she stood behind the real Nicholas and started making spooky ghost noises.

[Nicholas]

Nicholas didn't move, but instead spoke aloud.
"You're lucky I recognized your voice - sneaking up behind me is a very effective way of getting a few weeks off in the hospital."


Back at the cliff, the shadow clone made 5 quick hand signs, and used Stone Prison to mold the cliffside, the rock cracking and rumbling as it flexed and contracted to form a large, deep cavern level with the ground aside from a small, almost unnoticable trench across the entrance to prevent rain water from entering - the entrance itself was all but hidden from view by the thick shrub and low trees. As soon as it was finished, it cancelled the jutsu.