Hikari tossed a glance Koji’s way before he was cut off by Seiji. She was somewhat thankful that he hadn’t been able to finish the thought, given that she could guess where it was going and it was easier if it didn’t. She gave Seiji a look that said that she appreciated him not only saving them from the potentially awkward chat, as well as his understanding why she hadn’t come back after she’d finished the training she’d meant to.<br/><br/>She’d honestly considered it a time or two, but there was always something new to learn and once she got caught up in it there was no stopping her until she was satisfied. Not that she’d ever be satisfied when it came to learning or growing as a shinobi, but she had reached a point where she was satisfied with what she had learned for the time being and she felt like, at that point, the old lady had taught her everything she could. She’d stayed a little over the year she’d planned, but not by much, and only because of the missions she’d taken on for Lady Tsunade during her hiatus.<br/><br/>Koji didn’t seem entirely convinced, or at the very least he was being as dramatic as he’d ever been, but she appreciated that he was at least trying. “Yes, it was.” She nodded in response to his statement about family. She felt a distant ache somewhere inside at the reminder that she was, for all intents and purposes, alone, and she had no real family to speak of outside of strangers in another land with whom she happened to share a name and distant blood. Prior to her clan’s destruction she’d never met any of them. And why would she have? It had been some years since her clan had split and her direct relatives had moved to Konoha. No one living had been alive during that time, not even the old lady.<br/><br/>She brushed away the thoughts and reminded herself that she wasn’t alone anymore. Not really. At least she had Kakashi, Asami, and these two, if nothing else. She only hoped that wouldn’t change anytime soon. She’d lost too many people. She didn’t know if she could stand to lose anyone else. That was why it had been so hard for her to agree to even give another squad a chance after what had happened to her last one. She still remembered it all so vividly, from the deaths of her comrades to being forced to join another squad barely a month later.<br/><br/><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">”What are we doing here?” The small voice of the eight-year-old girl asked as she looked up at the masked man who walked alongside her. <br/><br/>“I know this isn’t easy for you, and you probably don’t think you’re ready yet, but because a new class just graduated and they are short a member, everyone thought it might be a good idea if you joined them.” Kakashi replied in a soft voice, trying to be as gentle with the child as possible. “At least give them a chance.” He pleaded.<br/><br/>Hikari hesitated, stopping for a moment and looking up at him, her blue eyes wide and colored with fear and pain. “I don’t know if I can.” She shook her head as if to plead with the man not to make her do this. She’d lost her entire clan <span style="font-weight: bold">and</span> her squad all in the course of a year. As far as she was concerned at this point, she wanted nothing to do with anyone. She didn’t dare allow herself to care for anyone else for fear of having them ripped away from her, too. <br/><br/>Kakashi could see the fear and pain in her eyes. He hated to do this to her, knowing that she really wasn’t ready, but the decision had been made. He felt like it would be good for her, nonetheless, but he was certain it would take her some time to open up. “For now, at least test the waters. Who knows, you might like them. Give it a few days, if you still really feel like you can’t do it, talk to me and we’ll see if we can do something different.” He offered, hoping to convince her to try of her own free will.<br/><br/>Hikari sighed when he said she might like them, “Well that’s even worse.” She mumbled more to herself than him, but she could see the sadness creep into his eyes at the words and the realization that she truly meant that. She would rather be alone than risk losing anyone else and having to feel that pain again. “Fine. We’ll try it your way.” She resigned, although the sadness lingered in her eyes. “Not like I really have a choice… But thanks for trying to make me feel like I do.” She was grateful for the gesture, at least.<br/><br/>Kakashi smiled from behind the mask and opened the door where her new squad awaited her. “It’ll be fine. I promise.” He knew it was hard to promise that, but he had a feeling that she would take to Asami really well, and she’d probably get along with the two boys as well. They at least had one thing in common: they’d all graduated as the youngest members of their classes.<br/><br/>Hikari suddenly felt a bit shy, even though she wasn’t typically the least bit shy. She gave Kakashi a quick hug, although she was only tall enough to really hug his legs, before she entered the room, eyeing the woman who looked about Kakashi’s age and then glancing at the two boys who seemed to be around her age. “Hello.” She greeted them somewhat sheepishly. “I’m Hikari Yukimura.” She introduced herself, bowing slightly before taking a seat near one of the boys. <br/><br/>After she’d taken her seat Asami gave her a kind smile, which she appreciated. Nowadays everyone looked on her with pity and sadness, treating her as though she were a porcelain doll that might break if they said the wrong thing or looked at her the wrong way. She supposed that she understood why. What did you say to someone who’d lost everyone in a less than a year’s time? But Asami seemed different. She wasn’t insensitive to her situation, but rather than look on her with pity, she looked on her with kindness. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all? </span><br/><br/><br/><br/>The memories flashed through her mind in a matter of seconds before she snapped herself back to reality just in time to take her seat at the table. It didn’t take her long to bounce back and teasingly ask the boys about their love lives.<br/><br/>Seiji just about choked on his tea when she asked the question and she managed to hold back her laughter, although Koji didn’t bother to do the same. She looked at Seiji curiously when Koji pointed to him amidst his snickering. Of course, Seiji kept the details to himself rather than satisfying her curiosity. She pouted, purely playful instead of serious, but didn’t press him for details. She knew better than to expect him to open up, even to her.<br/><br/>She studied him for a long moment, not bothering to hide the fact that she was reading him. Her observational skills were enough to tell her all she needed to know without any help from her special talent. Whomever he had been seeing, he was no longer seeing, and she could guess that it was relatively recent. She could also guess at least part of the reason why, all things considered.<br/><br/>Once she was satisfied with what she had determined, she leaned back in her chair and eyed the older boy, giving him a knowing glance before shrugging. “Well, then. I suppose we’re all still single, then.” She observed casually, making it obvious that there was no one special on her end, either. Not that it was surprising, all things considered. She’d been gone for a year and spent most of her time with one person, an older woman, training. Not much time for romance even if she had met someone.<br/><br/>At any rate, she wasn’t exactly known for letting people get close to her, even now. She was nice and friendly enough and gave off a happy vibe, but underneath it all she was still afraid of allowing herself to grow attached to anyone. She had let the two of them and Asami close after all this time, but even that had taken months, if not longer. There were few others who had gotten close to her outside of their little group. She’d bonded some with Sasuke, given that he was one of the few others to understand what it was like to lose everything, before he decided to be stupid and go run off, which she was still mad at him for. And Naruto had become a good friend as well. He was immature as all get out and they differed greatly on many things, but she admired his stubborn determination and his will to keep fighting and to prove everyone wrong.<br/><br/>Despite her joking on the matter, however, romance wasn’t at the top of her priority list. It never had been. A few years back she swore that the majority of girl in Konoha were, for some reason, obsessed with Sasuke. She'd never really figured that one out. She cared for him, of course--perhaps more than she cared to admit--but she'd never been infatuated with him like the other girls were. But then, boys hadn't been a priority for her. Several years had passed now and that fact hadn’t changed. She wouldn’t say she was opposed to the idea, per se, but she certainly wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.<br/><br/>“Oh, hey. Has Naruto come back yet?” she wondered curiously before sipping on her tea.