Hikari knew better than most what it was like to lose people, and to be let down by those you care about. Those who lived long enough tended to leave her, let her down, or otherwise hurt her. That was why it was just easier to keep everyone out, to trust no one, to care for no one, and hide behind the carefully constructed mask and the walls she'd spent years building.<br/><br/>She let all thoughts slip from her mind as she soared above the trees, listening to nothing but the wind as it rushed by. She flew in one direction for several minutes before adjusting her course to take her back towards the stream she knew was still close by. She stopped when she saw some birds flying ahead. She stopped, hovering in the air for a moment before a bow appeared in her hand, moments later an arrow made of ice appeared in the bow. She shot two birds and then the bow disappeared and she flew quickly towards the birds, catching them as they fell. From here she flew to the stream,  filled her bottle with fresh water, plucked and cleaned the birds, and then gathered some berries nearby, wrapping them in some large leaves and tucking everything away.<br/><br/>She flew back towards the camp, hovering above it for a brief moment before her wings disappeared and she dropped onto a tree branch. From there she dropped down to the ground, landing gracefully and silently. Kuro appeared to be sleeping so she was quiet as she built a fire, stuffed the birds with some berries and herbs she'd found, seasoning them and then placing them over the fire to roast. Once she was finished with this she leaped up to a tree branch and took a seat. This time she lay her back against the trunk and sat with both legs on the branch, one foot crossed over the other.<br/><br/>She looked up at the sky for a short time before eyeing Kuro, her mind once again wandering back to her earlier questions. Her mind was wandering but she was alert as always, enough so that even from here she noticed the tears. She wondered what it was that he was dreaming of that elicited such a response. Another piece of the puzzle, reminding her that beneath all of this, he was still a person. She'd known this, but somehow it was easy to forget. She supposed that for people like them, people who hid behind their walls and didn't show others what they were feeling, it was easy for those on the outside to forget that they were actually people beneath the masks and walls they hid behind.<br/><br/>She looked away from him. Up to the sky once more as he stirred. She saw the motion in her peripherals of him wiping the tears away, but she didn't look back his way. It would probably be easier for both of them if he didn't know that she had seen him. He might suspect, but she wouldn't say a word about it. He had seen her awaken from her own nightmares and not said a word, she would give him the same courtesy. It wasn't any of her business, anyways. And she didn't think any less of him for it. If anything, it helped her to see him in a better light.<br/><br/>She continued watching the sky, the clouds, the way the gentle breeze caused the leaves in the trees to rustle and sway. She enjoyed the feeling of the breeze as it gently tossed her white hair around her. After a few moments she finally stood, dropping to the ground and walking to the fire. She checked the birds and, upon deciding that they were done, removed them from the fire and put them on the plates she had placed nearby. She put some more of the fresh berries on the plates, taking one, along with her bottle of water, and returning to the tree branch without a word, leaving the other for him to take, if he wished to.<br/><br/>She stared down at the food, as though it held some answers to some of the many questions that ran through her mind, but it gave no answers. She sighed lightly to herself, her blue eyes flitting up and landing on him for a moment before she looked back to her food, deciding it was probably better to eat it than stare at it. She ate the bird and then the berries before leaning back against the tree trunk and looking back towards the sky, her mind swirling with a million questions she dared not ask.<br/><br/>Finally, she glanced his way once more, hesitating for a brief second before speaking, her words soft and genuine, in stark contrast to the way she had spoken the previous day, or even this morning. "I'm sorry that I was not more clear when I spoke before." She apologized, despite the fact that she never apologized. It was weakness, her brother had always told her. So why? Why was she doubting herself? She brushed the thoughts and the doubts away and smiled just a little. "I'm not always the best when it comes to talking to people, clearly. Or when it comes to people in general, really." She chuckled a little and shrugged. "Anyways." She fell silent and looked back up at the sky, wondering why she'd even bothered to say anything. He didn't care. He would have probably been happier if she'd just stayed quiet. And generally speaking, she didn't care what people thought of her, if they didn't understand her or what she meant, that wasn't her problem. If they were upset by her words, she didn't care. So why bother explaining herself, why bother apologizing for something she shouldn't care about, to someone she shouldn't care about? More questions she had no answers to. She sighed a little to herself and briefly wondered if Lady Tsunade had an ulterior motive for sending the two of them out here on this mission together. She supposed the reason didn't really matter. They were here, regardless of the reason, and the mission would carry on the same even if her motives hadn't been purely those which she had given. It was a question she didn't need an answer to, and she had enough questions as it was, so she put the thoughts from her mind and stared silently up at the sky.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Arashi held out a hand to the girl when she said that she was hungry. "Well, come on, then." He helped her up and then walked next to her, but just a couple of steps ahead of her as they went into another area to get something to eat. He didn't often eat with her but he knew the others wouldn't be the nicest today so he decided to go with her. He glared at people who made comments as they walked past. Some of them went quiet under his gaze, but others continued to carry on. "Mind your own business." He shot coldly at those few, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he spoke. The room went quiet. Good. He got his food at took a seat, waiting for her to do the same. He didn't generally speak up, but sometimes people just got on his nerves, and today happened to be one of them.<br/><br/>Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk