The group had a small argument about placement, which Metou mostly ignored and stayed out of, as she did for most arguments. There wasn't any ambiguity about where Metou should stand, as the squishy sniper with no experience in close-quarters combat her place was in the back of the group. She didn't speak up until they encountered someone on the trail, someone the guide warned was strong enough to put a stop to their journey.

They were obviously connected to the relic theft in some way, unless word spread much faster than Metou thought, considering that this group already knew who they were. Somehow Metou found it unlikely that they actually had the relics considering how close they were to Shima. Unless it was all a trap from the beginning, why would the thieves simply camp out on a trail outside town waiting for Shima's forces to find them?

[color=bc8dbf]'[i]If she's as famous as Takumi implies, we can find her later and fight her on our terms, not when she's been waiting for us to show up,[/i]'[/color] Metou decided. The rest of the group had the right general idea, fighting only if they moved first, and Metou readied her gun like the others, though she wasn't pointing it at their obstacles just yet.

Stepping forward so she could be seen by the enemy, but still standing behind Yuudai, Metou added an addendum to the half-oni's threat. [color=bc8dbf]"What we mean is, there's no reason for us to fight, we're just passing through to Ru,"[/color] Metou said, [color=bc8dbf]"If you have any information regarding the stolen items, I'm sure it can benefit both of us to give it to us, otherwise let us pass."[/color] Adding to Metou's uncertainty was the playful way in which this woman had asked them if they wanted to die. She was probably just joking, right?