Hikari Yukimura sat on the branch of a tree outside the Hokage's office, her feet dangling from the branch and swinging back and forth, much like a child, her short white hair blowing about in the breeze. She was meeting with the Hokage and another jōnin to discuss a mission they would be sent on. She had arrived earlier than she had meant to, having completed her morning training early. To avoid potentially interrupting another meeting or showing up too much earlier than the one who was to be her partner for the mission, she chose to wait outside.<br/><br/>She pointedly ignored the looks that came her way as some of the other girls her age passed by. She couldn't possibly care less about what they thought, and she had long ago grown accustomed to the disapproving looks of others, particularly the other girls in the village. Those that didn't hate her because they feared her--or rather the chakra beast locked inside of her--hated her because she was stronger, smarter, or prettier than they were, or whatever other petty reason they could find. To be fair, she didn't think that most of them actually hated her per se, they were simply wary of her. People tend to fear that which they don't understand, and no one understood her. It didn't bother her, though. She hardly cared what anyone thought of her. They meant nothing to her, so why should their words, their looks, or their opinions hurt her? She supposed that she may have cared once, but if she had, she'd long ago forgotten it. She didn't pay them any mind anymore.<br/><br/>It wasn't as though there was no one whose opinion mattered to her, there were a few, just not many. She cared to some degree what Kakashi thought of her, her old sensei and squadmates, too. That was pretty much the extent of those she cared enough about to value their opinion at all. She tended to avoid letting people in or letting herself care about anyone. She'd lost far too many people she cared about in her short life, her family, her first squad, she didn't care to lose any more people. It helped that people were afraid of her. That way there weren't many trying to find a way to get past the walls she'd built. Those few that cared, or who simply felt bad about how everyone else acted towards her, were kept at arms length. She had carefully constructed the walls that held others at bay, ensuring that no one saw any weakness, no one saw the pain that hid deep inside, or the loneliness that she might feel if she allowed herself. It was easier to put on a smile and a carefree attitude and pretend that everything was okay. That way no one asked questions, because no one really wanted to know, so they didn't care to dig deeper than the facade she portrayed. That was fine by her.<br/><br/>A few minutes passed before Hikari snapped herself from her thoughts and decided to head inside. It was only ten minutes before she was supposed to meet with the Hokage, so she wasn't worried about being too early anymore. She didn't mind waiting outside the door for a few minutes if the Hokage was otherwise occupied when she arrived. She strolled casually through the halls of the building, giving a wave and a smile to Kakashi as he passed before continuing on. She stopped once she reached the door, listening. She could hear several voices on the other side of the door when she arrived, they appeared to be discussing something of importance so she waited outside of the doors for a few minutes until they had finished and left the room, and then she entered.<br/><br/>"Lady Hokage." she greeted the Hokage with a bow before her ice blue eyes glanced quickly around the room. The other jōnin had not yet arrived. Truthfully, she didn't know who she was waiting for. The message that had been sent had been vague, not giving any details about the mission or who was to join her, only that she and another jōnin would meet here at a certain time to go over the mission with the Hokage. She found it rather strange, to be quite honest. She rarely went on missions with others anymore. Not even her old squad. Not since her time in Anbu. She had been sent on almost strictly solo missions, with a few exceptions in which she joined her old squad on a hand full of their missions.<br/><br/>She supposed she would find out why soon enough, once her partner arrived and they were given the details of the mission. For now she waited. There were still several minutes until they had been instructed to meet here so it wasn't surprising that the person they were waiting for had not yet arrived. She was certain that whomever it was would arrive shortly. After all, it wasn't Kakashi she was waiting for, of that she was certain.