"That seems to be the best solution," Matsu agreed, gathering up some of his beard between his teeth to chew on fretfully -- an absent-minded habit he sunk into when worried. He wasn't afraid of getting muddied of course, nor was he particularly concerned about climbing the rope back up the other side, but the fat old scholar was worried about how the others would perceive him. He would have thought that in his old age that others' opinions of him wouldn't matter -- but he was so conscious of being unsuited for a mission such as this, that he couldn't shake the feeling that each of the others harbored those same doubts about him.
He looked up from the ravine to see Miyazaki climbing down from the far-side tree, having safely made the crossing. "Throw me the rope!" she called, so that she could anchor it to the tree for the others to scale the steep, loose mud wall. Matsu stepped back to give Zetsumie room. "It will be difficult to bring the work horse along," he acknowledged. "I hope Akimoto-sama finds another way across." It would be hard enough for Matsu to climb the rope himself, much less haul the pack animal behind!
Gingerly, Sugahara Matsu made his way down the side of the slope -- half sliding, half crawling. Nearly tumbling as his foot sucked deep into the muck, but he was able to wrench himself free without going sprawling at the bottom of the ditch. He made his way across the thin expanse to the other side, and grabbed the rope that Mashio Miyazaki had secured. He gave it a few experimental tugs before putting his full weight into climbing.
The muddy walls made the task difficult, but Matsu was surprised and pleased by his relatively smooth ascent. Sure, none of the other three companions were likely to be getting jealous of his skills in the near future, but he hadn't embarrassed himself either. With a groan and a helping hand from the kunoichi, the old genin hauled himself out over the lip of the ravine, rolling onto his back.
"Whoof!" he exhaled, before climbing to his feet and spending a few fruitless moments using handfuls of grass to wipe the mud off his arms, legs and belly.
"I half thought we were going to have to leave you behind, Matsu-sama," the girl joked, gracing him with a quick smile.
"Perhaps that would have been wiser," he laughed ruefully. He turned to watch the others.