Hikari expected that to be his choice. He wanted to be alone, and she understood that. Still, she had given him the option on the off chance that he would choose it, and to avoid seeming like she was giving him orders. Had she been with her old squad, she would have simply told them what they should do, they had learned to expect such things from her, so it was a habit and one they rarely questioned. She was certain that things would go well enough with them splitting up and they would likely go faster, so it was fine by her. "Fine by me." she replied with a casual shrug, once again clearly not bothered by his bluntness.<br/><br/>She didn't need his permission, nor did she expect any objection, but he told her to go ahead anyways. He wanted to be alone, that much was obvious. Knowing he wouldn't care anyways, she didn't bother replying, instead she dropped wordlessly from the tree as he leaped higher into the trees. Without so much as a glance his way, she walked away. Not that she needed to look to know where he was, but she didn't particularly care, either.<br/><br/>She walked to the east for only a few minutes before she began making her way back west in somewhat of a loop, to avoid taking the same path as before. She walked rather casually, but still quickly through the trees until she found the stream. It was quite serene, especially with the warm sun shining down, reflecting off the surface of the water. She slipped out of her clothes and took a dip in the cool water, relaxing there for a few minutes, letting her mind wander, but not to her family, Orochimaru, or even the boy with whom she was partnered. She remained attentive and vigilant as ever, but her thoughts drifted from thing to thing. She considered what she would do when she got back, wondered briefly who they gave her previous mission to, wondered how Kakashi was doing, since she hadn't had a chance to talk to him in a while, and then cleared her mind and thought of nothing for a few minutes.<br/><br/>The serenity of it all threatened to put her to sleep, so when she felt her eyes getting heavy, she decided it was time to go. She slipped out of the water and dried herself before dressing and arming herself once more. She caught a couple of fish before leaving, deciding she wanted to eat something with some sustenance. She made her way back to the camp site, gathering some berries and some sticks as she went. It didn't take her long to get back, as she hadn't truly gone far. She set the sticks down, dropped her bag on the ground near one of the tree trunks, and placed the berries in a cloth and set them on a nearby rock.<br/><br/>She set the berries down just in time to catch the book that had come spiraling down from above. She knew who it belonged to. She glanced at it for no more than a split second before putting it down near her bag. She'd give it to him whenever he finally came down. She gathered that he was resting, so she would let him continue to rest. There was no reason to wake him and she was sure he needed the rest. Instead she started a fire, prepared the fish, seasoning it with some of the seasonings she carried with her in her bag, wrapped it in some leaves, and set it up to cook over the fire. She took precautions to avoid the smoke from the fire being seen, as they did want to keep a low profile. Even Kuro, which she decided she would call him, at least to herself, wouldn't see the smoke. Not that she needed the fire for long, anyways.<br/><br/>It didn't take long to cook the fish and then she pulled it off the fire and extinguished it. She made herself up a little plate of food, hopped up to a low tree branch, sat down, and began to eat. She'd made enough for him, too, in case he wanted some, and had put it on another of the small plates she carried in her bag and left it sitting on a rock, along with his book. The plates she carried were small, light, easy to clean, and quite convenient for situations like this. She preferred real food when possible, so if she could have something besides the prepackaged crap they were given for missions, she would. Whether he actually wanted the food or not was up to him. She didn't care either way. She'd made extra for him to be courteous, she wouldn't be offended if he didn't want it. It'd be a waste of good food, but she wouldn't be offended. Not like they'd be together long, anyways. It would be dark in an hour or so, then they could get on with this mission. And the sooner they finished, the sooner they parted ways. Once they'd parted ways, she doubted they'd see much of each other again, if they saw each other at all. Thus, she had even less reason to care about him or what he thought than she did with most people.