Midori hesitated in the doorway, hearing the honest appeal in
the older man's voice. The black haired woman turned around reluctantly,
looking over at the man who sat behind the desk. She took a steadying
breath before saying, "Explain."
Commander Hudson nodded slightly, clearly noticing that she
wasn't sitting down or relaxing at all. He was clearly no fool, no
matter what risks he might be taking. "I can't go into too much detail
but a certain noblewoman under my protection has been threatened," he
said.
"So just assign her a bodyguard," Midori shrugged casually as
she asked him, "what does any of it have to do with me?"
"I have given her a bodyguard," Hudson sighed, "but the first
was killed in action and I have concerns that another may follow him in
death."
That made Midori raise her eyebrows slightly. Any guard who was
assigned to protect a member of the nobility had to be good, so whomever
the killer was, they were even better. "Who did she annoy so badly?" she
asked bluntly.
"We don't know yet," Hudson was calm as he continued on, "but
they were wealthy enough to hire the Genin guild."
Midori kept the shock from showing on her face, but it was hard.
The Genin were assassins, killers, the best from her homeland, which
meant.... "You know."
"I know where you come from, yes," Hudson coolly agreed, "but
who you were there and why you chose to leave, that I do not know." He
smiled just slightly adding, "It's none of my business, unless you
choose to make it so."
'In other words if I turn him down he'll look into my past,'
Midori thought to herself bitterly. She stalked back towards the desk,
the heavy wool shirt, leather pants and tough vest that she wore making
her look like a warrior. "How do you know I'm not a Genin myself," her
voice was a dangerous purr, "or some outlaw on the run?"
Hudson shook his head, "I'm a pretty good judge of character,
Midori. You're no outlaw, whatever else you may be."
"I do have an obligation to the bar," Midori quietly noted, and
even to her ears it sounded like a feeble sort of excuse.
"Garrison is an old soldier," Hudson smiled at her, "he'll
grumble a bit but I think he'd be willing to lend you to me."
Midori clenched her jaw, running a hand through her short black
hair. "All right," she nodded reluctantly, "but only temporarily." She
looked at him with a scowl, "I assume I'll be paid?"
"Of course," Hudson rose, pulling a leather pouch from his desk
and tossing it to her.
Midori spilled some coins out, mildly surprise to see the gleam
of gold. "Looks like you've got yourself a deal," she offered her hand.
"Good," Hudson answered. They shook on it then he walked to a
door in the far wall, opening it up to call, "Get my lieutenant, would
you?"
"Yes sir!" the slim boy saluted then bolted down the hallway.
Midori observed that with amusement while finally sitting down.
"So who am I supposed to be protecting?" she asked curiously.
"My second in command will be bringing her in," Hudson explained
as they heard footsteps out in the hallway. "And here she is," he noted
as the door swung open. The plainly dressed young woman in the lead had
tawny brown hair and bright brown eyes that studied the room while
following behind her was a elegant looking young blonde noblewoman.
'I should have known,' was the thought that raced through
Midori's mind.
"Thank you Laur'ien," Hudson nodded to the tawny haired woman
then to the blonde he said, "Welcome, Duchess Jantha."
The woman who had called herself Lady Jane had a flush to her
cheeks as she looked at Midori, barely masking her surprise on seeing
her here. "Commander," Jantha kept her voice level as she said, "may I
ask what this woman is doing here?"
"This is Midori," Hudson kept his face carefully blank as he
continued on, "she's something of an expert on the men who slew your
first bodyguard. I've asked her to watch over you until we can find out
who hired them."
Midori rose, smiling just slightly as she nodded to Jantha.
"It's an honor to meet you," she paused deliberately before adding,
"Duchess."
"Indeed," Jantha said quietly, looking away from her gaze.
Laur'ien looked back and forth between them, clearly interested
in the exchange. Reluctantly she turned back towards Hudson, "How can I
be of service, sir?"
"I'd like you to stay with them for the time being," Hudson
nodded towards Midori and the Duchess Jantha as he explained, "they've
tried attacking her with shapeshifters once before, they may well do so
once again."
"Shapeshifters?" Midori looked over at Laur'ien, studying her
with narrowed eyes before saying, "She's one of them?"
"Yes I am," Laur'ien frowned as she continued on fiercely, "and
one who is very tired of being judged for the sins of her entire race."
"I wouldn't be here," Midori shot Hudson a dirty look, "but for
my birthplace, so I can't feel much pity." She looked at Laur'ien
thoughtfully, "But I suppose I can wait to see."
"She is a loyal officer of the crown," Hudson offered mildly,
"with years of service."
"Lovely," Jantha muttered under her breath. She cleared her
throat loudly getting both of the warriors attention as she turned to
ask Hudson, "I assume that they will both be accompanying me on my day
to day activities?"
"That is my intent, Duchess," Commander Hudson answered.
Jantha studied both Midori and Laur'ien and sighed. "They are
clearly warriors," she said, "should we try to disguise it or...?"
"Be open about it," Midori answered her simply.
"Why?" Hudson looked thoughtful.
"The Genin are trained to spot disguised bodyguards," Midori
said before smiling slightly, "and I doubt we could hide my nature
easily. At worst such a disguise might hamper me in acting, rather than
helping to protect the Duchess."
"I think she's got a point," Laur'ien agreed as the slim, rangy
woman continued, "I could pass as a maid, maybe, but not easily and it
wouldn't hold up long."
"If we've decided on this we'd best be going," Jantha said with
a regal lift of her chin, "I have duties to be attending to."
"Good luck to you both," Hudson nodded to Laur'ien and Midori,
trying to conceal a smile.
"We'll need it," Midori muttered.
"Sir," Laur'ien saluted before leaving. The young woman lead
them through the halls of the guard's barracks and out into the
sunlight, stretching in honest relief as they left the cramped
structure. "So," she beamed at the other women, "you two know each
other?"
"Something like that," Midori sighed when Jantha stayed silent.
She looked over at the noblewoman and asked, "Can we stop in at the
Drunken Bard? I need to go pick up some changes of clothes and my gear."
"Of course," Jantha answered. She frowned at Laur'ien then
looked at Midori as she quietly said, "I'm sorry for getting you
involved with this."
"I doubt it was your fault," Midori answered her softly, "I
would suspect that Hudson got the idea from visiting the Bard after that
brawl."
"The Commander asked me to look into you right after that,"
Laur'ien cheerfully agreed. Almost instinctively both women bracketed
Jantha, eyes scanning the crowd intently as they moved down the streets
towards the Drunken Bard.
"This is going to take some getting used to," Jantha sighed, the
lovely blonde looking at her two protectors rather dubiously.
"Better some discomfort," Midori smoothly moved to block someone
from bumping into her as she continued, "than being dead."
It wasn't long before they reached the bar, the three striding
inside to meet the barkeep's surprised gaze. Garrison came around the
bar with a frown as he looked them over and then asked, "Midori, what's
going on?"
"Long story, Garrison," Midori sighed.
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