Of all the missions he could have taken on, this one hadn't been an easy decision to go through with. In all honesty, it wasn't at all his style. Collecting raw materials in a dirty, old abandoned mine? He could only imagine the type of things growing down in there. Well, he had wanted a little change of scenery, and Rinao supposed this was as good as it was going to get without actually leaving Kirigakure. The young man didn't quiet trust himself to do that yet. He felt holed up and restless when tied up via walls and a sense of duty, but that responsibility was what he had been looking for when he came to the village of his own accord. Rinao wanted to feel useful to someone other than himself.

Though as he stood there, staring down in to the thickening darkness of the mine despite the bright sun against his back...he was having second thoughts. Surely he was going to be absolutely filthy by the time he got done with this place, and the thought nearly terrified him. Making that entire journey home looking like an old fashioned chimney sweeper. Despite the fact he had never seen one himself, the thought was still not a very appealing one. Neither were the warnings about the place being haunted, and the mission details having that specifically pointed out in them. Like they were trying to scare him off from it instead of convince him to do it. It was almost enough to make him want to turn back. Almost.

Rinao pulled a small cloth from his pack and covered his mouth with it with one hand as he ventured in to the darkness. To his surprise, the sunlight reached much farther than it looked from the entrance. He followed it down until it disappeared, his dark eyes flickering nervously at rustling and cracking sounds of rats and crumbling rocks. Just get the materials and get out. That should be easy enough. He had already memorized what he needed to grab, so it was just a point about finding it first. His eyes were still having trouble adjusting to the dark when his foot caught on seemingly nothing, and he tumbled forward to his hands and knees.

Bewildered, he looked around as he scrambled to his feet and pushed his back to the wall. Where he had tripped was nothing but surprisingly smooth rock, but he was certain he had felt something hit his ankle. Or maybe something had grabbed it? The thought made him shiver and press on down the corridor. This time more mindful of where he stepped. Eventually he started noticing the materials in the mine, and focused on the task of picking through what he needed and shoving it roughly in to the sack. His initial fear was becoming annoyed as his hands changed color with the dirt coating them. The dust in the air was making his eyes burn furiously.

Satisfied with about 20 or so pounds of raw materials in the sack, he closed it up and started the trek back. It wasn't long before he started hearing an echo of his steps. At first he thought it was just a trick of the tunnels...but they were moving differently than he was. He stopped, listened. The footsteps also stopped. Rinao shrugged, turned to start on his way again when the distant sound of the foot steps started up again. Was there someone else in the mine? His mouth turned down at the corner in a frown, but he kept moving. The sound of being followed was getting under his skin. Especially because he couldn't see anyone when he looked back despite they sounded so close.

Then the steps broke in to a sudden, purposeful run. Unable to help himself, Rinao was creeped out enough that he ran as well the last couple dozen of feet to the entrance. He burst out in to the light, coughing and wheezing from the dirty air due to the fact he had lost the cloth he was using to filter it with. Looking back in to the darkness he realized there was no one there. With a shiver, he snatched up the sack and hurried on his way again. More than happy to be done with whatever it was hiding down there in the mine.