<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: palatino;">The boy stopped when she greeted him, and so Midori paused as well, doubt filling her belly and making her nervous. But he seemed not to be angry, but rather surprised. Why would he be surprised, though? That didn't make sense, because he'd seen her coming, she was sure. It was a little hard to miss: she was the only one out here. But, just as she was certain that he would not answer her, he spoke up, and he sounded curious. He wasn't loud at all, and Midori thought that she probably liked that about him, this Hyga Ibiki. He seemed very calm, actually, and the little girl found herself envying him, when the only reason she was so calm was because she was exhausted.<br/><br/>But, except for his name, he did not say anything. Well, except he seemed to be thinking, which was a good sign, wasn't it? Maybe he did know the way to the gate, or to Uncle Kanetaro's shop. Perhaps she finally made it to someone who could help her to get to where she needed to go.<br/><br/>And then, eventually, he spoke up, pointing to give her directions, and she felt her tired face pull into a smile. He really was helping her, and--<br/><br/>Suddenly, someone dropped from the sky, causing young Midori to jump, though she didn't yelp, her eyes were wide as she stared up at him. He was between her and Hyuga Ibiki, to the point where she could not even see him any more, though he turned to speak to the boy, but did not address him by his name.  He called him 'young lord' which was weird. But his done was sort of super polite, like most adults didn't speak to kids. So, this boy was important, then? Midori recognized the signs, even if she had never met someone important before just now.<br/><br/>But, as Hyuga Ibiki turned to go, Midori leaned to the side a little, raising her hand to wave bye, not really noticing the sharp gaze of the man in front of her, who made her nervous, "Bye, Hyuga Ibiki. It was nice to meet you, thank you for your help!" the last little bit, she had to raise her voice to, since she was starting to feel shy and self conscious with the unknown man standing in front of her. She did not really <em>yell</em>, because that was rude and Father liked for her to be polite, but she tried to make sure he could hear her, anyway.<br/><br/>The man who had sent Hyuga Ibiki away was looking at her now, and his eyes were the same as the boy's were. Maybe they were related? Was this maybe his older brother, or... well, probably not older brother, because he looked maybe closer to Uncle Kanetaro's age than to her age. So maybe his uncle?<br/><br/>Shuffling her feet a little, Midori peered up at the man as he spoke, then brightened a bit as he said that he knew where Uncle Kanetaro's shop was. "Really? Thank you, sir. I think Father went out a different gate than we came in at, and I didn't realize it until I was lost..." quickly, she started trailing after the man, who, after walking quickly at first seemed to realize that she was having trouble keeping up, and so slowed down a bit. He did not really say anything for a while, which made the walk seem sort of lonely. And he seemed nice enough for an unknown adult. "Umm... my name is Yuhara Midori. Father told me that it is polite to introduce yourself, and you are being very nice to help me, sir, so I do not want to be rude." she ran a little so that she was walking mostly beside the man, turning her head to tilt and look up at him.<br/><br/>He seemed to glance at her a moment before looking forward again.<br/><br/>It was weirdly easier to try to talk to this man she didn't know than to kids her own age, Midori realized. Even though he'd startled her, it was easier to start to talk to him than it had been to work up the nerve to say something to Ibiki. But she had always liked talking to adults better, even if the boy had been more like an adult than a kid.<br/><br/>"Hyuga Junji," the man said finally, causing Midori to smile a little. He did not talk much, but it was enough to let her know he was listening and, probably, didn't mind that she was talking. Maybe.<br/><br/>"It is nice to meet you, Hyuga Junji, sir." what else could she say? Something polite and complimentary, right? Now was as good a time as any to practice being social like Father told her she should. "Your... um... relation?" she still hadn't figured out how the two were related, really, ".. um.. anyway, he seems nice. I don't think most kids my age are very polite, or quiet and not loud or disruptive, so it was very nice that he is different, I think. Do you have a big family? For a long time it was just Father and I, but now Father left and I am to live with Uncle Kanetaro and his wife Miss Jinmi. She's pregnant, so I'll have a cousin soon. I've never been around a baby before, so that might be interesting, I think. I've never had a big family before, and four is twice as many as two, so that'll seem pretty big. Plus Father promised he would visit," her voice wobbled a bit, but she got that sorted out quickly, "so then that will be five sometimes. That's a lot of people. I don't know if I will like it or not. Oh! And Sunako. Father gave her to me because he left, to keep me company. But she's asleep in my pocket now, and she was not very helpful in helping me find my way back, anyway. Does a kitten count as another person? She's really small, so I don't think so... maybe like.. a fourth of a person in a family?"<br/><br/>As they walked, Midori kept talking, because it had been a lonely day wandering around the village, and she didn't think that Hyuga Junji minded that she was talking. He had nodded slightly, she thought, when she was talking about big families. It took a while, and the short girl did not really notice how the other people gave them enough breadth that she did not have to weave in and out of the crowds sometimes like she had earlier. Mostly she just kept chattering away to pass the time, looking for some sort of response from the man who was leading her. Sometimes, she thought maybe he thought she was funny or weird, but he did not really make her nervous any more, at least. Well, not nervous in a way that helped her stay quiet, anyway. Now she was nervous in a way that made her talk a lot.<br/><br/>____ ___ __ _<br/><br/>Eventually, Midori began to recognize the area they were walking in, and so began to relax a little more. She even told Hyuga Junji that she recognized the area, but he kept leading her anyway. That was really nice of him, since she was taking up so much of his time.<br/><br/>As they entered Uncle Kanetaro's shop, Miss Jinmi exclaimed and rushed around the counter, pulling the startled girl into a hug. Uncle Kanetaro strode out after his wife, then bowed as he saw who had brought her back. Should she have bowed too? "Thank you, Hyuga, Sir, for bringing my niece back. I am in your debt." Miss Jinmi was fussing over her, and though she wanted to squirm away, Midori held still, though she was watching Uncle Kanetaro and Hyuga Junji carefully.<br/><br/>"Your niece was lost, wandering around near the Hyuga compound. You should be more careful that she knows where to go and where not to go in the village, some areas are not safe for an untrained child her age. She is fortunate not to have come to harm before she was found and brought back to you."<br/><br/>Uncle Kanetaro bowed again, and Miss Jinmi had stilled, pulling Midori a little closer to her and making the little girl uncomfortable. "Yes Sir, I understand. We will keep a better watch on her from now on." his voice was subdued, which was very unlike Uncle Kanetaro. Had she done something wrong?<br/><br/>"Excuse me, um... Hyuga Junji, sir?" being responsible and being an adult meant that she needed to take responsibility for the mistakes she made. At least, that was what Father always said, "I told Miss Jinmi that I wanted to see Father at the gate, and I ran off after Father's cart. I did not notice that he went out a different gate than the one we always come in at, so it was my fault that I got lost. I promise. I was not paying attention. Please don't be mad at Uncle Kanetaro. Was...was I not supposed to be over by that wall?" But he hadn't told her she'd been somewhere she wasn't supposed to be, he'd simply taken her back to her Uncle.<br/><br/>Did that mean that she couldn't go back that way? That would be sad: that boy Ibiki  had seemed nice, and since Father said she was supposed to try to make friends her own age, she'd thought he might be someone who she would like to be friends with: he wasn't loud, and had been willing to try to help her. But if she wasn't supposed to go that way, then she couldn't see him again to see if maybe he wanted to be friends...</span>