~Kii~
Kii was...Tired!
He was so tired. They'd spent most of the night roaming around, trying to divine geographical locations from rocks and trees and...This one time Ryou even tried asking for directions! It was a good thing Kii managed to stop Ryou. Although a sweet kid, Ryou was too trusting. Besides, asking random strangers where a ninja village was probably was a pointless endeavor. Kii felt like he was stressing over the matter through the night. It was when night fell that everything seemed to just go wrong. Supplies went missing, strange animals were constantly lurking, and, for some reason, Kii felt like there was some growing distance between himself and Ryou with Shira. He couldn't exactly tell what, but, ever since being given this mission, Kii felt like Shira wasn't being forward with her feelings. Kii wasn't sure if that was a good thing, a bad thing or if it was a big deal or hardly anything to fret about, especially as the night provided problem after problem for the group.
However, they persevered.
The trio managed to conqueror the plains, the mountains, the highroads, and the forests and they found the Hidden Leaf Village.
It was lucky that, as if by magic, a few courier birds managed to offer some communication between Kii and his ally on the inside, Taiho. Kii had managed to send enough information to Taiho to, without giving anything away, that they were on the way and to make some means for them to get in. Kii didn't let anything on that they were coming from Iwagakure or that they were ninja. They were kids. Typical kids with a need to work for their families. The idea wasn't too far off, right? Especially seeing as Taiho himself arrived under similar circumstances. Kii even threw a few Republic bashing statements just in case the notes were monitored. There wasn't any reason for teh ninja to suspect them, Kii was certain.
When they did arrive at the gate they'd already been met by a few ninja in the forests. It was fortunate that they weren't trying to sneak in with random ninja gear else they would have been caught long ago with the sentry ninja in the woods and trees. When they got to the front the guards had already been informed that the trio were arriving, thanks to Taiho, and they were given a short list of questions and inspected slightly. Kii had told the group, long before they reached the woods of the leaf, to conceal their ninja related gear as best they could. Kii, specifically, didn't carry anything, but he knew that Ryou carried ninja tools. They had to hide them. They couldn't come off as ninja, but coming off as kids (teenagers) that liked to play ninja was fine...So long as it was marketed right.
There was a long wait at one time in which one pair of ninja went to go and get Taiho. Taiho and a woman came back. They'd been asked similar questions that Kii answered at the gate for verification purposes. It was lucky that Kii and Taiho had already practiced that situation through letter and Taiho knew Kii well enough to answer anything that was left out.
They were in.
It was early in the morning now. They'd traveled a whole day and hardly had any rest and Kii couldn't remember the last time he'd ate. Ryou brought food...But there was no way Kii was going to try it. Kii wasn't that desperate. Knowing Ryou's parents, there was probably cow brains in there to tide Ryou over just in case he truly did become a zombie.
"We will have to meet Taiho for work around dusk today. I guess this is our chance to explore the village," Kii said, emphasizing the statement in a way that hinted that he meant spy. Words were important now and they couldn't say things that could give them away or that were ill thought. They had to be incredibly cautious, "I think we would be alright splitting up in pairs. At least one of us should stick with Shira, because she tends to get lost," Kii said, though Shira had a pretty good sense of direction. Kii just said that because, if anything happened and Shira was found out she would have back-up. But there wasn't a need for them all to travel together. Spying was more effective if they could cover more ground, didn't look like they were all three suspiciously listening in on others, and if they had the chance to, as individuals, meet many different sorts of people so they could combine more information at the end of the day.
"There is a Warehouse where will be staying. It's here-" Kii would say, showing Ryou and Shira on the map, "We will meet there at Dusk. Taiho said we'd be fed and we'd have a bed, but there's a lot of work that we'll have to do. So try not to wear yourselves out too much and, if you can, get a little rest beforehand," Kii explained, looking at his friends. Kii would pause a moment, thinking everything over, "Any questions?" Kii would ask, having not exactly volunteered to watch Shira himself. Honestly, Ryou was more mellow headed and, if there ever was a situation in which Shira was in danger, Ryou would be a better talker. He could appeal to people better than Kii. Kii's overprotective nature was definitely a flaw that he was aware of, so he was kinda hoping Ryou would volunteer.
