Konohagakure loomed in the distance, merely a grey and green fog in her eyes with how tired she felt. She had been traveling for two weeks at the least and hadn't gotten much sleep with having to be constantly alert for bandits or assassins, and especially to make sure the council wasn't anywhere near her or on her heels. Every shadow felt like a threat. It was eating at her sanity. 'Perhaps,' she thought, 'I should completely change myself. My name... my complete identity...'

She had no idea where she would go to start over. She had never even thought that this was something she would have to do. It was all overwhelming. But she had already been on her way to Konoha, it seemed a good place to start. And if the Hidden Leaf Village didn't work out, she would find somewhere else. Even if it meant living in the middle of no where, alone...

It was dawn, and the rain that had poured down on Jun and her last night did nothing to help the sullen mood she felt looming over her. She only just stopped shivering an hour ago as the cold receded from her cloak and was replaced with the warmth that her body gave off. It was true bliss after the hours of icy teeth chewing at her skin.

She tethered Jun to a tree about two hundred meters back away from the village and a ways in the forest so that he would be hidden for the time being. As she walked up to the gates, they seemed a pale yellow in the dim, morning light. Almost appearing majestic. She stared at them until she fully passed through, receiving no trouble from the guard up front, and then focused her gaze on the road in front of her.

She found a tavern at the edge of the market. 'A warm drink would do me some good' she thought. She walked inside the front doors and took a seat at the bar. A man came up to her from the opposite side, behind the counter, a mug in hand and a cloth in the other as he scrubbed the tankard clean.

"What can I get you, miss?" He asked me, friendly and inviting. It was a nice change of atmosphere

"A cup of coffee," she replied after thinking it over.

"You sure? We got some much better drinks here. You've got pretty much as many choices as you could think of!"

"I don't drink."

He shrugged and moved away to get her a cup of black coffee. A minute later he returned with a steaming mug of the delicious aromatic dark liquid. Her mouth watered as she took in the sweet scent of it. She sipped it slowly and appreciatively. Unaware of the man next to her, staring at her through the corners of his eyes, or so he thought.

Rae finished the cup and then said casually "It's impolite to stare at someone you know?"

He seemed almost startled when she turned her head to look at him but it was hard to tell. His ninja headband was covering one of his eyes and he had a mask covering half his face from the nose down. Then there was his silver colored hair that spiked in different directions. Rae's first impression was he was mysterious.

He seemed to recover from his shock in seconds and then she could make out a faint smile, only an impression against the fabric of his mask. "Sorry, it's just you don't look like you're from around here." He said.

"Understandable," She replied. Then she thought over her idea from earlier. It would be good to start fresh with a new name. If anything, it would help keep her hidden from the Priests. Maybe she could go by her real name instead? The name Rae was merely what she had told Shujin when he had taken her in all those years ago and asked what to call her. It was felt silly to think about it now, but she had always felt, as a child, that if she had given the Priests her real name, then she would lose herself completely. They killed her family, her whole village, made her relive it by ordering her to do the same thing. Despite her unquestionable loyalty all these years, in her heart she still hated them. Hated herself for not fighting against them more. But keeping her name had always brought her a small sense of comfort. They had captured a shadow of her, all the while she kept her real self hidden away from their greedy fingers. "My name is Seiri by the way," she added, holding out a hand to him.

"Kakashi Hatake," he replied, shaking her hand.

"Do you know of an inn anywhere? I'll probably just be staying for the night but I could really use a good night's rest for once."

"Not that I know of, all the spare homes or apartments are taken up. But I could take you to the Hokage and you could discuss it with her."

"Perfect."

The silver haired man then stood up and Seiri followed suit, placing some yen on the bar top before both leaving together in the direction of the Hokage mansion. It was a large building but nowhere near the size of the Temple which the red head was so used to. In fact, the Hokage mansion was dwarfed by the size of the Temple she used to live in.

A woman Kakashi called Shizune waved them into the Hokage's room when he asked for an audience with her. He held the door open for Seiri and she stepped through, him right behind her. The Hokage looked up and smiled.

"Kakashi, nice to see you. Who's this you brought with you?"