Hikari hadn't expected him to react, even knowing that he almost definitely felt her eyes on him. He wasn't much for reactions, after all. It didn't matter, at any rate. She wasn't staring at him or anything. At this point she wasn't even really looking at him so much as she was lost in her own thoughts, her eyes still fixed where they'd last been, on him. She was still aware of his every movement as he removed his swords and his jacket and stretched out, but her mind was elsewhere. She snapped from her thoughts when he glanced up her way for a brief moment and she wondered what he was thinking about. Perhaps about going back to Konoha tomorrow. That did seem to be what he was most interested in at present.<br/><br/>After a moment she dropped to the ground and once again shed the cloak she wore, folding it and laying it down nearby, once again leaving her with white shorts, a white top that came about halfway down her abdomen, belts, straps, and other accessories remained as well. The tattoo on her back was again visible, but this time she didn't pay any mind to it. He'd been able to see it once before, it didn't bother her for him to see it again, even if there were very few people who had ever seen it. She didn't generally allow people to see it because then they asked questions. Given that he didn't seem the type to ask questions, she figured it wouldn't matter.<br/><br/>She tossed a glance his way once more before she hopped back up into the tree and took a seat before stretching out and leaning against the trunk of the tree, cocking her head back and staring up at the sky. Her mind wandered briefly to what would happen when they returned. Would she go back to the mission she had originally been assigned? Or get a new one? Would they go their separate ways and never see one another again? It was possible, maybe even likely. She supposed it didn't really matter. At the very least it shouldn't. He seemed even less interested in becoming friends than she was. Granted, she was a lot nicer than she let on, and she cared more for people than she would ever admit, whereas she guessed he did not. She simply didn't wish to be hurt anymore, to get close to others only to lose them, whether to death or otherwise. It was just easier not to get close, to keep then at arms length and not to allow herself to care for anyone too deeply, even if it went against her very nature to do so. One way or another, they weren't exactly on track to becoming best friends forever or anything.<br/><br/>She pushed her thoughts away and let her mind wander elsewhere. She wondered briefly if he, too, thought that Lady Tsunade had an ulterior motive for sending the two of them on this mission. She also wondered what her motive could be, even though she had an inkling of an idea. It was utterly ridiculous, of course, but she wouldn't put it past her to do such a thing.<br/><br/>After a moment she tossed a glance his way, "Hey, Kuro?" she spoke up, her voice soft, almost sweet. She paused for a moment, realizing that she had given him the nickname without bothering to make sure he was okay with it. If it bothered him, he could always say so and she would stop, so she didn't worry about it, instead shifting her gaze back to the sky above, watching as the trees rustles with the light breeze. "What do you suppose Lady Tsunade's real reason was for sending us out here together?" she wondered aloud, her words again soft, light enough that if he chose not to pay attention to her, they could simply be carried off in the breeze, but loud enough that he would hear her if he were paying attention. She expected him to ignore her, to not get an answer, so she didn't look his way again unless he spoke. It didn't bother her one way or the other. She was simply wondering out loud, and wondering if he had thought there was an ulterior motive, too.<br/><br/>She thought he must have. After all, there was no reason to send two jonin on this mission, let alone two of the best. A single jonin could have handled it. Many chunin could have handled it,  for that matter. Sure, they had made a good enough team and had completed the mission rather quickly and efficiently, wrapping it up nicely with a little bow and all that, but it was hardly necessary, especially given how many other missions they could have been on, such as those they had been assigned to before she had chosen to pull them.<br/><br/>Whatever her motive was, Hikari wasn't sure she'd see any of her desired results. They were getting along well enough now, she supposed. He was tolerating her, anyways. But then, minus the few times she'd spoken, she was doing her best not to do anything that would annoy him too greatly. Was that all she was, though? Tolerable? Oh well. No sense worrying about it. Instead she let her mind wander as she stared into the sky, watching the birds fly overhead, envying their freedom, not just the freedom that came with flying, but their freedom from the cares of humans, their freedom from their fears, their pain. Was it foolish, to wish to be that free?  Perhaps not. But it would be foolish to dare to hope for such things. She, however, was no fool. She knew that she would never truly be free of these things in life. Only in death would she be free of them, and she was in no hurry to hasten her death, even if it meant she had to continue to deal with pain, loss, heartbreak, fear, and all of the other things that came with being human.<br/><br/>Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk