Hikari strolled out of the office once Ryuu confirmed that he was ready. They walked side by side toward the gate and Hikari couldn't help but notice how tall he'd gotten. His stride was long and even with her typical quick pace of walking, she had to speed up just a little to keep up with him. She glanced his way, wondering how he felt about this. Was he nervous? She thought he was, at least a little. He'd been very quiet when they were in the Hokage's office. Even now he was quiet, not to mention that he was pointedly avoiding looking at her, probably not wanting to seem weird or anything. Of course, she didn't really know why he was nervous, just that he was. But then, maybe she did know. Or at the very least she suspected.<br/><br/>She knew he liked her in some way or another, as a friend, perhaps, or maybe it was more than that. Although, she'd never really considered the idea of guys liking her or having a crush on her or any such things until the past few months. Unlike how uncertain she'd been about her feelings for Kuro from the very beginning, she was certain of how she felt towards Ryuu. She considered him a friend, and she knew that it was unlikely that she'd ever see him as more than a friend, comrade, or perhaps even a little brother. He was a good kid, and always nice to her. He was even cute. But she still couldn't see him the way she thought he might want her to. This made her feel somewhat guilty, but it was just the way things were.<br/><br/>Guilty though she may feel if she stopped to think about it, she generally didn't. It didn't make things feel awkward or anything, nor did it make her want to avoid him. She knew it might seem like she had been, given that she'd told him the day of the festival that they should hang out sometime and thus far she hadn't managed to find the time to, despite stopping by his house every week, or at least every other week, with packages for Kuro. She really was busy, though. She'd made sure of that. She couldn't let herself stop, even for a second. If she stopped, she thought, and if she thought then she risked being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of thoughts, questions, and feelings that loomed somewhere in the back of her mind. She was taking every mission she could get her hands on, and thankfully Lady Tsunade had been able to provide plenty of them. When she wasn't on missions, which truthfully wasn't that often, she focused on her training, aside from allowing herself a break every now and then to make the baskets for Kuro. She hadn't intentionally avoided him, but she supposed that she hadn't made an effort to hang out with him, either. She'd have to fix that. Perhaps this mission would be the start.<br/><br/>Once they left the village she looked his way again when he said he was going up before jumping up. She nodded, leaping up, flipping as she did, before jumping gracefully from branch to branch, quickly catching him and matching his pace. He did flips and acrobatics, laughing, obviously having a good time. She smiled lightly as she watched him, glad that he was enjoying himself, although she was quiet, lost in her own thoughts. She couldn't help but think back to her first mission with Kuro, how different this was from then. He was quiet, his smile barely noticeable, definitely not laughing. It was almost a stark contrast between the two.<br/><br/>And yet, despite that, he had changed, slowly but surely. And now... She felt a tightness in her chest as she thought about how they'd not spoken or seen each other in months now. It hurt, even if she wouldn't admit it. But she still wouldn't give up. Not now, or ever. She brushed the thoughts from her mind, not allowing the emotions to show on her face or in her eyes. The smile lingered, hiding the turmoil below with practiced precision. She continued on, quiet as they jumped through the trees. She allowed wind to carry her cares away, the sound drowning out her thoughts and allowing her to banish him from her thoughts, for however short a time. She closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath and then looking Ryuu's way. She needed to focus on the task at hand and the person next to her. Nothing else mattered right now. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted.<br/><br/>Their pace made it difficult to talk because of the wind that rushed by, drowning out a lot of other sounds, but that was okay. She was content with the silence, just as she had been before. She didn't need to speak. Although, she thought that, unlike Kuro, he'd likely want to talk, which she wasn't opposed to. She just wasn't quite sure what to say, so she thought that saying nothing at all was better than trying to force conversation and ending up making things awkward.<br/><br/>If he said something, she'd respond, but otherwise she didn't make any attempts to talk as she leaped through the trees, a light smile lingering on her face. Although, it would be impossible to tell whether she was actually content and happy, or if she was simply masking everything else behind a smile, even if he doubted the smile, for whatever reason. Truthfully, even Hikari wasn't entirely certain of the answer to that. Perhaps it was both. She was content, enjoying the feel of the wind against her skin, the freedom, and even being with Ryuu. And yet, the smile did mask the war that waged somewhere inside of her, unseen by anyone but her.<br/><br/>Once they neared their destination she held up a hand and slowed the pace before coming to a stop. "We should stop for a little bit and rest while we discuss our game plan." She suggested, waiting for a moment before dropping down to the ground below. She found a spot at the base of a tree to sit where she could lean against it. She then pulled out a bottle and took a drink before pulling two small containers of food out and holding one out for him to take. "Here." she offered it, giving him a smile as she did. She'd packed a meal for both of them, knowing she'd have a partner, and given that she hadn't really eaten much today. Or lately. She opened her own and took a bite of the food, swallowing before she spoke.<br/><br/>"Right. So, we're about two kilometers out, give or take. It's almost dark, so we'll make our move once the sun goes down. It<span style="font-style: italic">should</span>be a textbook intel mission. We go in and try to find out what we can and avoid getting caught. We'll try to avoid conflict if possible, but if we run into trouble, we should be able to handle it without much difficulty." she explained, even though it was mostly common sense stuff. "Are you comfortable with splitting up, or would you prefer to stick together?" she asked before taking another bite of her food as she waited. They'd cover more ground and finish up more quickly if they split up, but sticking together may be more efficient if they ran into any trouble. Although, she thought Ryuu could handle himself on his own if they did run into trouble, and she knew she could. They could always split up and just call for help if they ran into trouble. Truthfully, it didn't matter much to her either way. She was fine splitting up or sticking together, so it was really just whatever he was comfortable with. Splitting up made the most sense, she thought, but it wasn't a big deal either way. Once he decided, they could come up with an actual plan, or at least decide between those she had already thought up.