[center][img]http://i59.tinypic.com/wvpkww.jpg[/img][/center]

"[color=007236]It's a corpse, Maquia-[i]chan[/i].[/color]"

The emphasis on the honorific was subtle, but still quite evident. Indeed, if one were to look at Haruka's usually bland expression, they would immediately note that he was attempting to stop his mouth from quirking upwards into a quiet smile. While the girl was technically the team leader for the duration of this mission, there was nothing impolite about utilising that specific suffix; after all, he was a few years older than her, and it would have been rude to address her as a person of knowledge (that was reserved for his actual teachers, and the underlying insinuations that she was old would likely be unacceptable).

The green-haired chunin crouched down next to the dead body, letting his trained eye observe it. While he was self-admittedly horrid at identifying the state of corpses, it didn't take a medic to know that the greying skin, advanced rigor mortis, and ... there was purple pooling in the lower part of the body ... that was livor mortis was it not? Still, the fact remained that it was a sign, a sign that this body had been dead for a decent while. Long before they had arrived.

Someone had set this up far in advance.

Whether or not that someone was waiting outside for them, he had little clue.

"[color=007236]It would be quite an effort if this was all simply a harmless ruse,[/color]" Haruka noted, rising to a standing position. "[color=007236]Whoever responsible has been, from the state of this body, here for quite a while, and is obviously hostile, so I do recommend-[/color]"

His chakra flared slightly, signalling his readiness to combat any possible threats.

"[color=007236]-being cautious as we proceed.[/color]"