Hikari wondered if she should have simply kept her first question to herself. It had been more of an idle curiosity spoken aloud than it had been a real question. It was probably a stupid thing to ask, and he seemed reluctant to answer. That was when she decide to ask another question, which he did answer. Good, so he did like it. The lake would be a little more fun if he was willing to swim. She looked his way when he spoke again, surprisingly, answering her other question as well. So she'd been right, then. He didn't let people in. It was like his safe place. And she thought that it was somewhat symbolic. He kept people out of the room just like he kept them out of his heart. Did that mean...? She blinked, still staring at him for a moment before snapping herself back to reality and staring ahead. He had let her in, even though he didn't usually let people in. Somehow this made her happy and she felt a warmth growing inside. "I understand." she looked his way again, smiling brightly.<br/><br/>Before either of them could say anything else, another group of ninja around their age appeared. She stopped when Kuro did and glanced at him, her smile disappearing as she took in his features and got the feeling that he knew them. And for whatever reason, before they'd even opened their mouths she already didn't like them. The girl, particularly. She had an air about her, as though she thought she was better than everyone else. That kind of an attitude irked her. Even from those who might be "better" than most, but even more so when the person believed themselves to be but in reality, were not. Even the girl's outfit was flashy, despite the way it was designed to try to appear somewhat simple.<br/><br/>She may have gotten a strange feeling about them that made her wary of them, but the moment they actually opened their mouths, she definitely didn't like them. The way they talked, the way they looked down on him as if they were better than him. It was incredibly annoying. She wasn't easy to annoy or to anger, but things like this really irked her. They were pushing all of the right buttons and she had to fight not to let herself act on those emotions.<br/><br/>She shouldn't have been surprised when Kuro reacted, appearing behind the girl and holding kunai to her neck. The way he spoke, the look in his eyes... It should have scared her, yet it didn't. Perhaps she was too distracted by how much she wanted to do the exact thing he had just done, or perhaps it was because she understood why he reacted that way, because she knew how much words could hurt, no matter how hard you tried not to let them, and how infuriating things like this could be. Of course, she only understood to an extent. While some people were wary of her and many looked at her the same way they looked at him, most people who actually knew her didn't hate her or make fun of her. They weren't usually mean to her. Actually, once people got to know her or were around her long enough, most of those people liked her. Still, as a general rule, most people didn't bother getting to know her or spending any time around her, and there were still plenty of people in the village who were quick to judge and make rude, unjustified comments about her, even if few had the guts to say them to her face.<br/><br/>She clenched her fists and the air around them grew noticeably colder. She just barely kept herself in check, avoiding allowing her emotions to control her. It wouldn't be a good thing if she let her anger go unchecked. It never was. Still, even keeping it in check, she had trouble letting the emotions go. Had they been rude to her, she would have let it go. But for whatever reason, this time she couldn't let it go. She wouldn't do anything rash or stupid, of course. She was too smart to let her emotions cloud her judgment, no matter how angry she might be. She knew, even now, where the line was that she needed to avoid crossing if she wished to avoid an actual confrontation. She might toe that line, but she wouldn't cross it. Not unless they crossed it first.<br/><br/>Instead she held back until Kuro disappeared and appeared on the roof of a nearby building, his attention turning her way and telling her it was time to go. In that moment she put her hands together in a succession of hand signs that were too quick for most normal human eyes to follow. Moments later a wall of ice sprung up between them and the others, a barrier of sorts. That should keep them from following, if any of them actually tried to. As quickly as the ice had appeared, Hikari disappeared, appearing on the same roof Kuro had been on and following after him.<br/><br/>She ignored the sounds coming from the girl and focused her attention ahead. She leaped away quickly, easily catching up to him and then slowing to match his pace. She could feel the anger coming from him in almost palpable waves, and she noticed how each step he took left a scorching footprint. He was, admittedly, a little scary like this. Yet she wasn't truly afraid. If some part of her was afraid, it didn't matter. It wasn't important. If she were truly afraid, she might have just left instead of following him. Turned around and run the other way. Maybe that's what a normal person would have done. Maybe it's what she should have done, she didn't know. But it wasn't what she wanted.<br/><br/>If anything, she wanted to comfort him, to be the one to calm him and ease his pain and his anger. To protect him. It was a silly thought, she knew, the idea that she could protect someone like him. Even though she was undoubtedly one of the strongest kunoichi in the village, probably easily the strongest her age, he was no doubt stronger, at least in many ways. But it wasn't his physical self that she wanted to protect right now, but something else. And for that, her strength as a ninja was irrelevant. But was she strong enough as a person? Was she good enough? In the grand scheme of things, would anything she said or did to him really matter? Would it make a difference? Would he care? She didn't know, to be honest. But she had to try. Even if she couldn't make it all go away, she had to do something.<br/><br/>She was quiet for a short time, a few moments, really, which felt like an eternity, trying to give him the quiet and the space she thought he needed or wanted to cool down a little. It also gave her time to decide what she could say or do that would make anything better. Still, the short time didn't help to give her confidence in anything she did. In the end, it wasn't her mind that told her what to do. It wasn't a carefully devised plan with every move decidedly planned out. It was a simple action that happened without so much as a thought. Not decided, but timid and gentle. It was her heart that made her body move, not a conscious thought. Positioning herself next to his still-trembling self, she instinctively reached out and took his hand in her own, wrapping it in a gentle, warm embrace.<br/><br/>She had to fight another instinctive reaction to pull away when she touched him and it felt like a jolt through her, suddenly informing her brain of the actions her body had made without consulting with it. Her heart sped up but she fought to control it, and to not show her reaction. Instead she kept the contact until or unless he pulled away. She forced herself not to look away, even though her cheeks were now a light shade of pink, instead her blue eyes looked up at him somewhat timidly, searching his face and his eyes for a reaction. She wanted him to know that she was there, that she cared, that she wasn't going to run away, that she wanted to take away his pain, or at least ease it. She didn't know if he could tell, if he could feel all of that through something as simple as a gentle touch, or if he could see it written on her face or in her eyes, but she didn't know what else to do, and she certainly didn't have the words to express that. At any rate, she thought that actions spoke louder than words, and he'd never been much for words anyways.