Shin was right, Hotaru could have been at the gate in the blink of an eye. She'd mastered the body flicker technique long ago, and on top of that she had swift release. Regardless, she didn't mind slowing down and taking her time every now and then. She had no need to prove her speed to anyone. She'd rather give him a little company so he didn't feel alone. "Great!" she replied with a smile when he said he didn't mind. She held her hands behind her back as she walked next to him, mostly quiet save her comment about this being an interesting mission, and her quiet, mumbled words to herself. She looked up at him when he asked what she wondered. Oh. Of course he'd heard her. His hearing was likely heightened, given that he was blind.<br/><br/>"Oh, well, I was just wondering about the team they chose for the mission. I'm sure everyone is capable and all, don't get me wrong. And it's an odd combination of personalities for sure, but mostly I just mean... Seven is a strange number of shinobi for a team, you know? It's usually four to a team. When it was just six of us, I would've just passed it off because two are going to be shadowing us. But now... Why seven? Why not add one more and make it two teams of four? And why do we need two teams for an escort mission anyways?" she wondered aloud before shrugging. "Anyways. That's what I was thinking about. But I suppose worrying about it won't make any difference, so there's really no point in worrying about it." she dismissed her own concerns, although she was kind of curious to see if he thought it was strange or not.<br/><br/>She examined him for a moment before giving him a light pat on the back. "Hey, don't worry about it." she smiled. "Kakashi chose you for this mission for a reason. It'll be fine. Don't worry about them." She gave him a warm, friendly, reassuring smile. Her voice, likewise, was warm and reassuring. She didn't know that it would help at all. Some people just couldn't help but worry. Still, she would be remiss if she didn't even try. "Besides, they can't be upset at you for taking a bit longer without getting upset at me, too, right?" she smiled once again.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, Rin quietly waited, leaning against the tree, keeping his distance from the others. He didn't bother to wonder where Hotaru was. She normally would've been here by now. Given that she wasn't and it was certainly not because she was incapable, that left only one option. She'd probably chosen to accompany that Shin kid. He was blind, so he wouldn't be able to use body flicker, so that meant he'd have to make his way here on foot. Hotaru, being her usual friendly, caring self, wouldn't have wanted him to have to make the journey all alone. She would've wanted him to feel like a part of the team, so she wouldn't have left him behind. They shouldn't be too much longer. It wasn't that long of a walk, even at a casual pace. None of the others seemed particularly upset by the fact that they were taking a bit longer. Then again, their squad leader still hadn't arrived yet.<br/><br/>He didn't miss the way the girl seemed upset, he gathered that she probably knew, or had a strong suspicion of who their leader would be, and she wasn't terribly fond of that person. Sakumo arrived and seemed to realize the girl's reaction, which was expected, all things considered. And the guy with the tail, Genji, was perched on the gate like a bird, watching something in the distance. He could only assume it was their squad leader. He might have chosen to wonder who it was, but he didn't bother. Wondering was pointless, especially when the answer was about to be right in front of you. Literally.<br/><br/>He didn't have to wait long before the man appeared. More pink hair. Fabulous. He ignored that, though, and focused on the man, who skid to a stop beneath the gate in a rather unnecessarily showy manner. He knew who the man was. He'd never worked with him, but he knew of him. This truly was a strange combination of shinobi. What was Kakashi thinking? Oh well. No point in wondering.<br/><br/>He didn't bother answering when the man guessed that they were the escort mission. It was obvious enough, and there were enough others around to answer, so he didn't care to. He couldn't help but crack a small smile, barely there, pretty much unnoticeable, not to mention out of place on his otherwise blank face. The smile, however, disappeared as quickly as it had come. Aiji hadn't been looking his way, so he knew that he, at least, hadn't seen it, and it was unlikely that anyone else had, given that no one paid him any mind, and it was pretty much unnoticeable anyways.<br/><br/>As if right on cue, the moment Aiji said they should have two more members, Hotaru popped up on top of the gate. "Right! We're here!" she replied with a smile. Shin would be right behind her. She'd simply heard the voice of the man and<span style="font-style: italic">poofed</span>herself over to let him know they were there. Once she'd spoken she dropped down to the ground, landing next to Genji. She glanced at him and grinned before looking to the leader, observing him for a moment. He was cute. A bit older than they were, but cute. She leaned over to glance past him to Rin, who was leaning against a tree, alone, as she had expected. Honestly. He was hopeless.