Hikari still didn't think she believed that smile, no matter how much she wanted to, no matter how badly she had wanted to see it while he had been avoiding her. Nevertheless, she returned his smile with a smile of her own, gentle and genuine, even if it was hiding sadness and pain beneath it. Those other things which she felt, everything but her happiness in seeing him again, in being in his arms, and the apparent peace his words had brought her, she locked away, out of sight, far below the surface, beyond what his eyes could see. There wasn't a trace of the pain and uncertainty she had felt before visible in her features. She willed those emotions away from her consciousness, so that they could not be felt for the moment, and thus not seen.<br/><br/>She felt that he, too, was hiding something behind his gaze, behind the small smile he gave her as he held her gently, although she could not say what it was. But nonetheless, it didn't matter, as they were soon interrupted by a familiar voice. She glanced back over her shoulder, pursing her lips as she did. She was going to say something, but Kuro stepped away and her attention immediately shifted to him, feeling the noticeable lack of warmth in his absence. He was basically glaring at Kakashi, although his feelings towards the older jonin were hidden from his eyes. It could be passed off as annoyance that, once again, Kakashi had interrupted them, however, she didn't believe that was the case. No. There was more to it.<br/><br/>There was something going on between the two of them, and she thought she knew what it was, although she suspected that neither of them knew that she had any knowledge or suspicions regarding this matter. She was more than happy to keep it that way, as she had no desire to be caught in the middle, even if she did wish that there was something she could do. Kuro seemed as though the thought hadn't even crossed his mind that she knew anything, although she supposed that it was possible that he had thought such things and simply kept those thoughts to himself, but she had done nothing to indicate that she thought anything of their interaction besides the obvious, so there was little reason for him to be suspicious, and nothing to confirm such suspicions. Kakashi, on the other hand, could probably guess that she would be at least a little suspicious, considering that she wasn't the type to take things as face value, not to mention that their own history was enough to bring such thoughts to mind.<br/><br/>All those years ago, when Kakashi had taken her in, it had not simply been out of the goodness of his heart. That had, perhaps, played a part in it, but it was not the only reason. No, he had been given an order by the Hokage, to keep watch over her. It wasn't that they thought her a bad person, or thought she would attack the village on her own. She was a child, and she had always been a kind child, happy, loving, and extremely loyal. But there was more to her than that. She wasn't a simple child, she was a jinchūriki, and she had just experienced a great deal of trauma. They feared that she would lose control of the beast inside of her and that it would go on a rampage, regardless of whether or not she wished it. And so, Kakashi was assigned to keep an eye on her, and the easiest was to do that was to take her in.<br/><br/>Eventually, he came to know her, to understand her, and to care for her like a little sister. He also came to understand that the risk of her losing control was minimal at best. After all, she was rather even-tempered, more prone to remaining calm and burying her emotions than giving in to them. She had cried some in the beginning, although not in front of him, but even that had quickly faded. He had been more worried that she would wall herself in, that she would push everyone away so that she didn't have to feel those things again. So, despite his mission ending, he decided to have her stay, if she would. He confessed to her what his mission had been, explaining that it was not uncommon for the village to keep an eye on jinchūriki, especially those that they see as a threat for one reason or another. He explained that they no longer saw her this way, but he wanted her to stay, if she was willing to forgive him for lying to her.<br/><br/>Clearly, she had chosen to accept the offer. But that was beside the point. The point was, she knew that the village kept jinchūriki under surveillance when they saw them as a threat, and that Kakashi was among those that they trusted with such missions. Given this knowledge and the interactions between the two that she had seen so far, she thought that it was pretty safe to conclude that Kakashi had been assigned to watch Kuro, and that Kuro suspected as much. Nevertheless, she kept these thoughts to herself, showing nothing of them as she returned Kuro's smile with one of her own, nodding. "Okay. See you later," she replied, smiling as he patted her shoulder, and turning as he walked past, watching him walk away, ignoring the fear that crept up inside as he moved further and further away.<br/><br/>She gave him one last wave as he slowly faded away, turning her attention to Kakashi, who had also been watching him, but turned his gaze to Hikari the moment she looked his way. "Hikari..." he began and she sighed, "I know," she responded before he could even get the words out. "I'm not a fool, Kakashi. I see it, too," she forced her emotions from her face, shaking her head. "But I'm not about to give up. You know that. I don't give up on the people I care about. I will do whatever I can to protect him. Even from himself. Or at least the darkness in him," she replied and he sighed. "You're going to get hurt," he retorted. "I know that. I don't care. I will still stand beside him, for as long as I can. There is good in him. Even if you can't see it. Even if he can't. I don't care if I'm the only one who sees it. I know it's there, and I'm not going to give up on that. I'm not going to let him forget it, either."<br/><br/>"Someone has to believe in him. If no one believes in him, if everyone thinks he is filled with darkness, a ticking time bomb, then that's exactly what he will be. How can he see good and light when there is no goodness, no light to see? How can he see in himself what everyone tells him doesn't exist? How can he love a village that hates him?" she asked, her brows furrowed, a determined look in her eyes.<br/><br/>"I don't care if he's hiding something. I don't care if he's lying to me. You think I don't see that? I'm not blind, Kakashi. I just don't care. It doesn't matter what he does. I will never give up. So don't try to convince me to," she added, sighing. "But don't worry. I'm not going to run away. Even if things get tough. Even if it hurts. I won't go back to the way things were. I won't lose my light again. I can't. For his sake, if not for mine," she gave him a genuine smile. He stared at her, eyes slightly wide for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, alright then," he replied, "Just be careful, okay? Getting hurt emotionally is one thing, but..." his words trailed off.<br/><br/>"You got it," she gave him another smile and a thumbs up before walking past him. "Well, I should go see Lady Tsunade. I do believe she has a mission for me," she said with a wave, "See ya." Kakashi nodded, "Good luck," he replied, watching as she disappeared. "I hope you're right, Hikari." And with that, he, too, disappeared from the streets, off on his own mission.<br/><br/>Hikari appeared outside the Hokage's mansion, a somewhat pensive look on her face rather than the smile she'd shown Kakashi. She pressed her lips together for a moment before heading into the building, banishing her thoughts for the moment. She needed to focus on the task at hand and get her next mission. The mansion was busy this morning, filled with shinobi of varying ranks, all of whom she recognized, even if she had never really met them.<br/><br/>"Captain! How's it going?" called a voice, and a half smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she tilted her head to the left and back, "I'm not your captain anymore," she replied to an anbu shinobi who walked up next to her. "I know. But old habits die hard, right?" he chuckled. "I suppose so," she smiled lightly. "Off to get your next mission?" he asked, and she nodded. "Yeah," she replied. "Well, I won't keep you. Be careful out there, alright?" he grinned behind his mask and she waved off his concern. "I always am."<br/><br/>She gave little waves or slight bows of her head to a few others she passed in the halls, but didn't speak to anyone else. After a few short moments, she reached the door to the Hokage's office, knocking lightly before pushing the doors open. Her eyes quickly darted around the room, taking in the expressions of those present. Shizune looked a little frightened, although she tried to hide it, Tsunade was tense and despite doing a better job than Shizune, her smile didn't fully mask her worry. And Kuro, his face was blank, emotionless. She could guess what might have happened, but chose to ignore it, instead walking into the room as if nothing was wrong.<br/><br/>Her own face was neutral, neither happy, nor angry, nor sad. It wasn't cold, but also not warm. It seemed as though she were both indifferent and content, unbothered by any emotions, rather than forcing them down and masking them. Whether or not that was true was anyone's guess. "Good morning," she greeted them with a calm, level tone, matching the expression she still wore. Shizune seemed surprised, and Tsunade caught between relief and worry. "So, the mission?" she asked, gathering that Tsunade had one, as she had a scroll lying in front of her.<br/><br/>"Right. It's an S-ranked mission. You'll likely run into a few highly-skilled shinobi, but I trust that the two of you can handle it," she held the scroll out for Hikari to take. Hikari took it, unrolling it and quickly skimming through it, just like she had during the first mission with Kuro. "Seems relatively straight-forward, as far as these types of missions go," she commented casually as she held it out for Kuro to take, should he desire to look it over. She wasn't sure if the Hokage had intended for the two of them to go on this mission together or if she had simply decided it on a whim, considering that she, at least, had not received a summons from the woman.<br/><br/>Either way, she guessed it didn't matter. Then again, perhaps it did, as the woman seemed particularly interested in seeing the two of them reconcile, just as she had apparently been interested in seeing them become friends before. She seemed strangely vested in the two of them, but Hikari was neither surprised, nor truly bothered by this. It was what it was. It might be frustrating that so many people seemed willing to butt into their relationship, but at the same time, at least that meant that someone out there cared about them, so there was at least that to think about.<br/><br/>"Is there anything else?" she asked, waiting patiently for an answer. She would need to go home and change and gather her things before they left, as she was sure Kuro would also have to do. While she waited for them to answer, she mentally went over all the things she would need to gather, not because it was strictly necessary to go over such a mental checklist, but to avoid thinking about anything that would distract her from the task at hand, such as the one standing next to her and all the things that had happened, or those across from her and the fact that if she didn't get out of here fast enough, she might have to face the questions she had avoided last night, and more.