<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: palatino;"><br/>"...Sunako, do you remember the way to Uncle Kanetaro's house?" The small girl eventually asked her kitten, who was still clinging tenaciously to her shirt up on her shoulder. 'Tenaciously' was a word that she'd learned from Father, when she had asked what it meant. He'd been talking about someone he did business with, and so the man had stopped to explain. Sunako was tenacious too. <br/><br/>When she'd been running after Father's cart, she hadn't noticed that he went out a different gate than they had come in the day before. Only as she started to make her way to where she thought Uncle Kanetaro's shop was did she realize she was not where she was supposed to be, and absolutely nothing looked familiar. After a while of walking, the short girl thought that maybe, maybe she'd found the market, and so would eventually come across the shop. But... this was a different market, none of the stalls looked familiar. Were there two markets in this village? More?<br/><br/>Why was there more than one gate?<br/><br/>"This place is confusing, Sunako. I don't know that I like it here.." some kids ran by, yelling and laughing, and they were so very loud and energetic. Eyes wide, Midori scooted backwards, bumping into a man and stumbling to try to catch herself. The man growled something mean at her, but she was already running away, weaving through the crowds while holding onto Sunako to keep her from falling. Running like that was hard, but she wanted to get away from that man and those loud kids. Too loud.<br/><br/>This market was way too loud.<br/><br/>By the time she got out of it, the stalls had thinned and there were houses again, but they were bigger than the ones in the area where Uncle Kanetaro and Miss Jinmi lived, so this wasn't right either. She should have been more adult and paid attention to where she had been going. Didn't Father always tell her to pay attention so that she would not get lost? There was a fast, panicky feeling pounding away at her chest and throat, and Midori had to fight to push it down. She needed to think clearly, to be calm. Already she was upset from Father leaving, and so close to crying again just because of that. But she was not a baby, and shouldn't be crying anyway, even if she was upset. Father had asked her not to, and she was too old to be crying.<br/><br/>If she just kept track of where she was going, and walked carefully, eventually she should find the house, right? How big could this village be?<br/><br/>____ ___ __ _<br/><br/>The short answer was: huge. Or at least it was arranged in a confusing way that made it seem huge. Midori's legs were starting to feel tired from all the walking, and so far she'd come across two other tiny market districts, a bunch more kids playing, and another housing district, this one was all apartments. But, finally, she'd found a wall. It wasn't the outside wall, but it seemed to be blocking her from it, so she decided to walk along it until she could find where it met the big wall, or gave way to a path to it. Once she made it to the big wall, she would follow it until she found the gate she was familiar with, and from there she could find her way to Uncle Kanetaro's shop.<br/><br/>This wall was pretty big, too, but it looked fancier, and wasn't quite as tall as the outside one. Not by a long shot. And even from her position on the ground, Midori thought she could see the roofs of houses on the other side. So... that was another housing district, just... one that was contained? Like a prison, or...? Maybe just super fancy. <br/><br/>She almost sat down against the wall to rest her legs, but thought better of it at the last moment. No.. the sooner she got to the wall, the sooner she could find the right gate, and the sooner she could get to the shop and not have to be wandering any longer. That seemed like the best idea. <br/><br/>Sunako had fallen asleep some time ago, and Midori held her even though her arm was getting tired, too. Maybe the kitten would like being in her pocket? It was big enough, "Hey, Sunako? I'm going to put you in my pocket, let me know if you don't like it, okay?" her shorts had a nice big pocket on the outside of the pants, a little ways down the leg, so Midori eased it open and slid the kitten inside. She plopped into the bottom and let out a soft sound. Giggling a little, Midori could feel the kitten moving around in the pocket a bit, before seeming to have made herself comfortable. The purring she felt vibrated her leg. Apparently, Sunako liked it in there.<br/><br/>With a little more walking, Midori saw a boy heading her way, and she paused, eying him. He did not seem so.. loud as those other kids. And he looked like he was maybe her age, though he was taller than her. But then, she had always been short, hadn't she? He didn't seem so loud, so... maybe it was okay to talk to him? He wasn't an adult, and she did not really want to talk with adults she did not know. Maybe he would know how to get to the shop? Or the gate, maybe?<br/><br/>But, she didn't really like kids, either. They were mean, always. He was... different-looking, though. Wearing a fancy robe, and his eyes were... different. Missing the part in the middle. If he hadn't been walking normally, Midori might have thought that maybe he couldn't see, but it was really clear that he could, so...<br/><br/>Feeling torn, the young girl, shuffled forward a little, feeling nervous and shy again. "Um... hello." she greeted carefully once she was close enough to be heard. The polite thing would be to introduce herself, wouldn't it? "I am Yuhara Midori." what else was she supposed to say? She wanted help, but how to ask? Maybe just...admit that she was lost, and looking for Uncle Kanetaro's shop?<br/><br/>That might work.<br/><br/>"I sort of.. I... I kind of don't know where I am at. Do you know where my Uncle Yuhara Kanetaro's shop is? He is a merchant. Or-or if you don't, I can maybe find my way if I can find the gate Father and I came in at." her words, suddenly, came in a rush, all at once, as she stumbled over them a bit. Really, Midori wished Father were here. He always knew where he was going. But maybe this boy would be nice and help. And if he wasn't nice, then.. well, he was only one, and she could run pretty fast, even if her legs were tired...<br/></span>