Tracking
Present day
Kazuki crouched behind a juniper bush. The situation had taken an unfortunate turn. The men that he and Tsuki were tracking had left the woods and moved out into the open flood plains adjacent.
"This is annoying," Thought Kazuki, narrowing his eyes at his quarry, moving away at a rapid pace across the open ground. "I'll have to take the form of some kind of bird and observe them from above. That's not a problem but…" He glanced at the girl crouching next to him. "I'll have to leave Tsuki behind…"
He could see by Tsuki's sad face that she had worked it out too.
"I have to go on alone." Kazuki murmured.
Tsuki sighed. "Are you sure there's no other way?"
Kazuki shook his head. "The open ground means that you'll be spotted easily on foot. If I transform into bird form, I can still follow them fairly safely."
Tsuki looked at her feet, downhearted. Kazuki poked her, giving her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry," He said. "I'll be fine."
Tsuki smiled weakly and gave him a gentle poke back.
"You wait 30 minutes and then come after me," Kazuki instructed her, "That should put you far enough back to stay out of their view, while still being near enough to help if something goes wrong."
Tsuki nodded. "Hopefully Aya will be close enough for her to read our minds by then," she said, "Then we should be able to get something coordinated together later on."
Kazuki smiled. "Bye, Tsuki-chan."
Tsuki smiled back. "See you later 'Zuki-kun…"
With a meek wave, Kazuki disappeared from Tsuki's view. The lone female ninja watched sadly as a small speck of an eagle rose steadily towards the heavens.