Author's Note:

Hello and welcome to the second chapter. This one kind of got away and ended up much longer than I thought and is a bit of a family moment between kid-Hinata and Queen Mikoto. Thank you those who've followed and favourited this fic and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

I own nothing.

Training, Tea and Hair

"Hinata."

Queen Mikoto sighed when she received no answer and resumed her search through the palace.

It had been some weeks since the boy had lost his parents and been brought to the palace. Both his mother and father had been highly respected samurai in service to the Royal Family and personal friends of hers, so she'd been more than happy to bring him into the care of the palace. However, he was far too young to actually be an active member of the military or a servant, so he'd largely ended up being treated like a member of the Royal Family, much to the displeasure of one or two of her stuffier court members.

While Hinata had been grieving, they'd kept their thoughts to themselves, believing his stay in the palace to be temporary, but when his grief finally disappeared and there was no sign he would be moved on or put into some form of service, they got more vocal. They had brought up their displeasure with his position and rapidly growing familiarity with the princes and princesses in nicely spoken but harsh words, not realising that Hinata had been nearby and had heard everything. She herself had only realised when she heard a sniff and turned just in time to see the boy run away and disappear into the many corridors.

That was half an hour ago, and she'd been searching for him ever since.

"Hinata."

Again, she received no response and she frowned, thinking she may have to pull some people in to help her. She'd avoiding sending people to search, wanting to find and speak to the boy herself but there were some places he could be hiding which she just couldn't get to anymore. Despite her looks, she wasn't exactly a sprightly woman anymore and, while she wouldn't say she was old yet, she certainly wasn't in the prime of her youth anymore, plus she'd dealt with raising four step-children who were now adults or close to it

She was just about to find some assistance when Kaze approached and bowed, "Your Majesty, if you're looking for Hinata then he's in the small, private dojo."

Even as she smiled gratefully at him, Mikoto lightly berated herself, of course he was in the dojo, it was likely his most favoured place in the palace and training was his favourite pastime.

"Thank you Kaze."

He nodded once and bowed again before vanishing as only a skilled ninja could, used to this, Mikoto simply headed for the dojo, that wasn't that far from where she was. She had a suspicion that Kaze had likely been secretly keeping an eye on the boy until she appeared, and she mentally thanked him for his discretion.

Gently sliding the door open, she found Hinata armed with a training katana and swinging it methodically in a set routine.

Wild as he could be, when it came to his swordplay, he was well disciplined and dedicated. He was willing to put in the time and effort and maintain a regular training routine to hone his already considerable skills, it was a trait likely gained from his parents, both of whom had been equally dedicated to their fighting skills.

Unnoticed by the boy, she quietly watched him as he went through a series of swings and stances (some of which were certainly inspired by training under Ryoma while others bore the mark of Takumi's lesser known style), though they were edged the roughness of someone in training, she could see the same natural control and skill his father had when he'd wielded a blade.

Coming to the end of a set, Hinata lowered the wooden blade, panting heavily, and she made her presence known, "Hinata."

The boy jumped with fright and spun round, wooden sword held ready, then realised he was face to face with the Queen and lowered it hastily, "Your Majesty!"

Mikoto simply smiled, "Well you certainly react to surprise well, though I'm sure Ryoma has been teaching you to be more mindful of your surroundings."

He looked down guiltily, "Yeah, but I just get so focused when I'm training I kind of block out everything else."

As he'd spoken, she'd made her way over to a set of mats and sat down, gently she patted the spot beside her. He hesitated before coming over and sitting down next to her, fiddling with his training sword awkwardly. They sat in silence for a until Mikoto glanced at him thoughtfully, "Have you ever had tea?"

He frowned in confusion but answered regardless, "Umm…no, but mom used to say that tea drinking was a vital part of being a samurai."

The Queen chuckled lightly, "Of course she did."

His mother had always sworn by tea as the answer to just about everything and insisted that it was the reason she had been such a successful warrior, it was almost surprising that she hadn't made tea drinking a part of her son's training routine.

Mikoto nodded decisively, "Well then, perhaps we should have some tea." She spoke into the empty room, "Kaze, would you please be so kind as to ask someone from the kitchens to send us up some tea."

Like magic, Kaze appeared and bowed, "Certainly your Majesty."

He then disappeared once more, and the Queen chuckled at Hinata's shocked expression, "Our ninjas are certainly skilled, aren't they?"

He only nodded, "Yeah."

They sat in silence once more until the boy spoke, "Was he watching me the whole time?"

"Not so much 'watching' as 'keeping a protective eye on'." At his confused look she embellished further, "Kaze is dedicated to protecting the Royal Family and their close friends, so he is often around watching over people in the palace. Saizo and Kagero do something similar themselves, though one of them will always be near Ryoma."

There was a slight clinking noise and Kaze reappeared, bearing a tray with a pot and two cups. He set it down before them and Mikoto smiled at him, "Thank you Kaze, but you didn't have to bring it yourself."

He merely smiled in return, "The kitchen staff were quite busy organising dinner for tonight, so I thought it best to bring it myself." He bowed, "Do you need anything else?"

"No, thank you Kaze."

He bowed and vanished, no doubt to a place where he could watch but not hear their conversation, and she poured the tea. She showed Hinata the proper way to hold the cup but had to check him from downing it, "No Hinata, tea must be enjoyed at a leisurely pace, not downed like you're at a tavern."

She watched him take a sip and he grinned, "This is great!"

She smiled and took a sip herself. Finding it to be one of the sweeter teas she mentally thanked the kitchen staff, who'd likely selected this one because it was one most children preferred. Again, silence fell between them as they sipped their tea, Hinata obviously resisting the urge to down it. At about maybe halfway through their first cup, she finally spoke, "So what brought on the additional training session?"

He stopped, the cup halfway to his lips, before lowering it with a sigh, "Am I really not supposed to be here?"

Though she knew that was exactly what was bothering him, it still saddened her, "Of course you're supposed to be here."

"But those other court members, they keep asking about when I'm going, saying that I'm getting 'too familiar' with everyone." He cast his eyes down further, "One told me that I belong in an orphanage and should remember my place and not rely on my dad's former position to scrounge off the Royal Family."

Mikoto raised an eyebrow at this, not knowing that someone had said such a thing to him, "When was this?"

"Just after a sparring session with Lord Takumi." He frowned thoughtfully, "I think it's because I tried to tackle him when he kept winning." He briefly grinned, "I even got him down for a moment, though we did fall right into the mud." The frown returned, "But afterwards, the court member approached when Lord Takumi had gone and told me off."

Anger flashed through her, it seemed members of her court were being less than courteous whenever she or her children were not around, she would have to stop that after this talk. She pushed it down to deal with later, "Well, they were wrong, you most certainly belong here, and no stuffy member of the court is going to change that."

He looked at her in surprise and she grinned, "You're not the only one they express their displeasure to, sometimes its hard to remain polite when they come to me, airing their 'grievances'."

He blinked, "But, you're the Queen. Aren't you allowed to be rude to them?"

She smiled softly, "Being Queen requires a certain amount of discretion, otherwise you cause yourself a mess of problems."

He frowned, not quite understanding but didn't question any further, instead, he asked another question, "But what if everyone thinks the same thing?"

"Hinata." She placed a gentle hand on his head, "Of course they don't, they all think you belong here. Why do you think Kaze keeps watch over you? He does so because he considers you part of the family and doesn't want anything to happen to you and most of the staff love having you around the place as well as the retainers." She hummed thoughtfully, "Though I think Oboro is getting slightly frustrated with constantly having to repair your clothes."

He ducked his head guiltily, "Yeah, she said. She also told me that she was cutting my hair tomorrow, whether I liked it or not." He grimaced, "She can be really scary."

Mikoto eyed his hair, it was getting rather long, he could put it in a ponytail if he wanted to and it was a mess. Moving behind him, she produced a small comb she kept with her just in case and set about combing his hair, he squirmed slightly, and she lightly reprimanded him, "Sit still, this might save you from having Oboro cut your hair tomorrow."

Moving the comb through his tangles, she tugged slightly when it got stuck.

"Ow!"

She tutted at his response, "Well it wouldn't hurt if it wasn't so tangled! Do you ever comb your hair?"

There was a brief pause before he answered quietly, "No…"

She sighed, "Well, this is what happens when you don't. Ryoma found that out the hard way as well."

"Really?"

She chuckled, "When he first started growing that mane of his, he didn't comb very often either. Eventually I couldn't stand it and I attacked the whole thing with a comb, it took a couple of hours to sort it out and now he makes sure to comb it each and every day."

Hinata scrunched his face up, clearly trying to imagine the Queen combing the High Prince's hair and Mikoto couldn't resist adding to it, "Takumi was worse though, I've lost count of the times I've had to comb his for him. Every time he claims he can do it himself and yet, he still only ties it up and thinks that'll do." She sighed, "Thank goodness Sakura and Hinoka decided to keep theirs short."

The boy giggled, imagining the serious prince having his hair combed for him and Mikoto smiled fondly. Having finished combing, she pulled a spare orange ribbon from her clothes and tied his hair in the same traditional style his father used to keep it and nodded at her handiwork, that certainly looked much better and Oboro would only have to trim his bangs now.

The boy patted his new hairstyle curiously then grinned at her, "Thank you."

She couldn't help but ruffle his hair, sort of messing up its neatness, "Just try and keep it that tidy, or I'll give you a bowl cut."

Fear passed over his face, "I'll look after it, promise!"

"Good." She smiled once more and gestured to the tea set, "Now then, shall we return these things to the kitchens?"

He nodded eagerly and grabbed the tray, causing her to slightly fear for the teapot as it wobbled dangerously. He noticed and stood more carefully, and she stood along with him, saying one last thing, "Hinata, if you ever feel like you need someone to talk to, then come and find me. You belong here, and the court members are just going to have to accept that."

He smiled and nodded gratefully, and she looked thoughtful, "Shall we have tea together again sometime?"

He beamed, "Yes please!"

PS-So I ended up unintentionally writing the origins of Hinata's hairstyle but hey. Please let me know what you thought and suggestions for future chapters are welcome.