Picture is Lady Midori
Kakashi and I arrived at the Tree Village a little after noon, having travelled in relative silence. Kakashi kept glancing at me, obviously not fully trusting that I wasn't ill in some way. My mind was too heavily weighed down to think anything of it.
"Let's go see the leader, then," Kakashi said as we stepped in. We got some looks from the citizens; the Tree Village did not have any shinobi, so a visit from two very important ANBU was strange.
"Who is that, again?" I asked. Kakashi sighed; I assumed that this was another detail that he had already mentioned that I'd forgotten.
"The Feudal Lord's cousin. She was the one who reached out to the Hokage."
"Right, of course," I responded airily, as though I'd known this all along. I started walking.
"It's that way." Kakashi turned me around and pointed to a large building - more like an estate - at the far end of the village, which was barely a tenth of the size of Konoha.
"That would make more sense," I conceded, and headed off in that direction.
"Are you absolutely positive that you're okay?" Kakashi asked yet again, and I waved off his concern yet again.
"I've told you already, I'm fine." I marched confidently through the street, towards the huge estate. The Feudal Lord's cousin himself had seen my brother... How was he? Had he done anything else since I last saw him? Was he stronger than before? Had he been training all this time? Why was he back here? Why-
"Miyoshi." Kakashi sounded irritated. "You've gone right past it."
I spun around to see that he was standing impatiently by the wrought iron gates that led into the estate. Lost in my thoughts, I had unknowingly missed it.
"Sorry."
"I don't know what's wrong with you. You're not fine, but I guess if you don't want to tell me I'll respect your privacy." Kakashi turned and walked through the gates, hands casually placed behind his head. "Just let me do the talking."
"Okay." I stared into space and followed Kakashi on autopilot, feet moving without any conscious instruction from my question-addled brain. I barely noticed when a guard asked for our weapons, and as a result had a very suspicious samurai and a very irritated Kakashi glaring at me.
"What? Oh, weapons, sorry." I bowed hastily in an apology, took Hokori and Yorokobi from my back and unstrapped my ninja pack from my thigh, placing them next to Kakashi's assortment of weapons on a blanket next to the guard.
Kakashi sighed. "Come on, and please try to pay attention?"
"Sorry." I ducked my head and made a conscious effort to focus on what Kakashi was doing, although it proved to be a harder task than I had anticipated. My mind kept wandering, and I kept telling myself to focus.
A samurai guard came by and escorted us through the huge palace to a fairly small room containing only some cushions on the floor and a low table.
"You'll wait here for Lady Midori," he instructed, and stood just outside the door.
"Lady?" I had been expecting a Lord.
"They inherit power by birth order over here, regardless of gender," Kakashi explained. "If Lady Midori was the oldest, then the rule would go straight to her, even if she had a brother. I'm pretty sure she's the only child, though."
"Huh." I knew of a few places that worked that way, but not many.
A few moments later, a woman who couldn't have been older than twenty five entered the room, wearing a long, green kimono and flanked by two more guards. These people evidently valued the safety of their queen, and quite rightly.
"Are you from the Hokage?" She asked, and her voice was silky smooth if not for the edge of panic that was barely detectable.
"Yes." Kakashi bowed respectively, and I followed his lead. "We came to get information about the man you saw."
"Then will you get rid of him?" The queen's green eyes clouded with worry. I wasn't too sure if I liked her all that much; she was acting like my brother was just some spider in her room and she was calling on some big, strong ninja to get rid of it.
"We will do our best, my lady." I could tell by the way Kakashi clasped his hands tightly behind his back that he was thinking along the same lines that I was.
"Oh, good." Lady Midori visibly relaxed. "May I ask your names?"
"I am Shiko, and this is my teammate, Kaizo." Kakashi gave our code names. They changed every month, and I was amazed that Kakashi could keep up not only with his own but also with mine.
"An honour, my lady." I bowed respectively as Kakashi introduced me.
"I regret to cut this short, but we came for information. Can you give us the details of what you know?" Kakashi asked, firmly but in a respectful way that showed he was talking to a noble.
"Yes. He was tall and dark-haired, with bits of red. He was wearing a long, black cloak."
Yes, we know what he looks like. I could detect the irritation from Kakashi, but he kept his cool.
"Where did you see him? Was he going somewhere?"
"He was just on the side of the road," Midori said with an almost breathless manner. "I was in my carriage, coming back from a meeting with my fiancé, when I saw him watching from in the trees. I made my procession stop, and my guards asked who he was and what he was doing there, but he only said to tell the Hokage that Hajimaru was back." She whispered the last part, with an air of someone concluding an exciting tale.
"Where precisely-"
Boom!
A huge explosion cut off Kakashi's next question, forcing him to stand protectively next to the queen. I, on an instinct, formed a hasty Mud Wall Jutsu to shield the three of us from spraying debris as the wall next to us collapsed.
"Are you okay, my lady?" I asked.
"Yes, thank you, Kaizo dear."
I didn't mention the use of the word dear and instead directed my attention to the figure stood in the hole in the wall.
"It's him!" Midori whispered.
Cold eyes drilled into mine. He didn't have anything to do with the queen, despite the fact that she was the one being guarded by no less that five samurai. Kakashi had got into a fighting stance.
"It's me you want, isn't it," I said boldly.
"Kaizo..." He scoffed, and a kunai flashed from his hand. I caught it reflexively; there was a torn piece of a scroll tied to it.
I untied it and opened it out with shaking hands, letting the kunai clatter to the floor. North. A cave in the mountains. Run, little mouse.
I looked up, and the figure was gone.
"Shiko, we have to go. My lady, it was an honour to speak with you and I regret if we have left you at a bad time."
"What was that?" Midori asked. "Why would he want you and not me?"
"I'm afraid it's a long story, and I don't have the time to tell it. If I stay here for too long I may put you and the village in danger." I met Kakashi's gaze. I doubt he fully understood, but I managed to communicate my need to get out of there as soon as possible.
"My lady." He bowed, and we left to curious stares. The guard at the front had gone, and I assumed he had gone to guard the queen, but he had left our weapons on the blanket by the gate. I slung Hokori and Yorokobi over my back, grateful for their presence.
"Should I bother asking?" Kakashi turned to me as I led the way to the north.
"No," I replied bluntly. I picked up the speed, and we ran through the forest towards the mountains.