Hikari actually laughed at his comment about girls being boring. Generally she would have brushed it off, ignored it, or if she were in a bad mood, looked at him like he was unbelievably dumb. But for whatever reason, it actually amused her, perhaps because the idea that the fact that she was a girl and girls were boring was the reason it would be boring was ridiculous. The amused smirk that played across her face gave away that she found it amusing. "Yeah, that's why it's going be boring." she countered with another light chuckle. "I was actually going with the fact that the actual mission is boring, but sure, we can go with that." she shrugged casually, a small smirk remaining on her lips. "Can't say I disagree with you, at any rate. Most girls are boring." she gave a playful wink, the amused smile lingering as she did. "Though, to be fair, most boys are, too. People in general, really." she shrugged casually.<br/><br/>Of course, the wink actually meant nothing, it was simply her being somewhat playful and messing with him. As if she could like someone like him. She simply liked to see how people responded to such things. It was generally quite interesting, especially when she could tell people were uncomfortable. It was, admittedly, fun to watch people squirm. She didn't expect that he would, but it would certainly be more entertaining than the response she expected, which was either something boring and cold, or him ignoring her altogether.<br/><br/>Of course, he spent the rest of the time silent. Silence didn't bother her, really. It was boring at times, but if she were being honest, she would often prefer silence to the sound of certain people's voices, or having to listen to their words. People tended to be boring and annoying, often times overly emotional, irrational, and ignorant. She hated all of those things. This one was boring, but at least he wasn't outwardly emotional, though she could tell there was more going on beneath the surface than what he let on. What exactly, she couldn't tell you at this point, but there was something. If he was irrational or ignorant, which she had a feeling he wasn't, at the very least he wasn't insistent on speaking and confirming that he was these things, so there was that, anyways.<br/><br/>She didn't care to talk much, at any rate. When you talked, people expected one of two things: either they wanted you to be short and to the point, avoiding giving them any information that might make them feel obligated to carry on the conversation or ask questions they didn't really want to know the answer to, or they wanted you to be open and honest and talk about yourself. She was generally fine with the first group of people, but most of those were simply those you met in passing, said something like 'hi, how are you doing?' even if you didn't really care how they were, and moved on. The latter group were the ones she hated to converse with, and usually those who actually took the time to converse fell into the latter category. She wasn't interested in opening up, telling people about her past, her hopes, her dreams, her feelings, her desires, or any such things. She had learned how to avoid actually opening up to people without them even realizing she was holding them at arms length. She'd found that if you act open, happy, and friendly enough, people actually believe it, they will actually believe that you are being open with them even when you aren't. It was quite a handy thing.<br/><br/>Of course, in this instance, she supposed it wasn't particularly useful, considering that he didn't seem at all interested in talking, let alone actually learning anything about her. That was fine by her. Actually, that was preferable, even though it was a bit boring not to talk at all. She remained quiet as they walked, not as any particularly fast pace, considering that there wasn't really a hurry for the mission. Instead of speaking, she let her mind wander somewhat, though she stayed focused on their surroundings and where they were going.<br/><br/>Otogakure was founded by Orochimaru, who was responsible for the deaths of all of her family. He had been the one to slaughter them all. She still remembered the night like it was yesterday. The screams, the smell of blood and burnt flesh, the sight of their compound after it had been destroyed, the sight of her parents lying in pools of their own blood on the dining room floor. All of it still felt all too real. Sometimes she still relived that night when she slept, waking up in a cold sweat. No one knew any of this, as far as they all knew, she was okay. It had been years since she'd allowed herself to cry, and usually she didn't let herself think about it, except when she had no control over it, such as in her dreams. She supposed she was as okay as she could be, but she hated that man, if you could call him that, and if she ever saw him, she was certain that only one of them would walk away alive, and she wouldn't let that be him.<br/><br/>Her thoughts briefly wandered to her brother, Arashi, who had disappeared that night. Everyone assumed he was dead, and she supposed it was the most likely conclusion, but they'd never found his body, so she had never been able to shake the idea that he might be alive, that Orochimaru may have him, whether voluntarily or not. She wondered what she might say or do if she did find him. If he had gone with Orochimaru voluntarily, if he had helped him, would she kill him? Probably so. Perhaps without a second thought, at least at the time. But things were rarely that simple where family was concerned.<br/><br/>Oh well, it was pointless to wonder, so she snapped herself from her thoughts and focused on the road ahead, glancing at her traveling companion briefly before returning her eyes to the road. He really was quiet. She wasn't used to that, even if she was okay with it. It was definitely a change from the other group missions she'd done in the past, that was for sure.