Every time that he'd come home from a mission during the two months, as brief in visits that they might be, Kuronotsurugi would find a package and a letter that had been delivered by Hikari sitting in front of his bedroom door. At first, he'd been surprised, wondering who would be giving them to him, who would send him such things, until he read the letter. It was from Hikari, her handwriting feminine but not too fancy, and easy enough to read. It wasn't much, just saying things about how she missed him, hoping he was okay, that sort of thing. He was torn between throwing it away or ripping it up and keeping it close to him, so in the end, he chose to place to letter in a small box which he slid beneath his bed.<br/><br/>The second gift was a letter and a small basket of items, including some food pills that he guessed she'd made herself, and some homemade food. He softly sighs, how was he supposed to keep her from his mind when she was so kind to him, going out of his way to keep some sort of contact with him, despite the fact that he'd shut himself off from everyone, including her? Nonetheless, he accepted the package, tucking the food pills away in his pouch, which he would use on his next mission. The letters all went in the box beneath his bed, hidden from sight.<br/><br/>After the third or fourth package, Kuronotsurugi stopped coming back home altogether. In fact, since leaving on a mission in the middle of February, he hadn't been back for quite some time. People around the village had told his mother, who had gone to ask about him, that they'd seen him, but other than that no other sign or signal could be roused up, even with all the prodding she had gone through with Tsuande. The Hokage had told her that he was fine, he was probably just going through a rough bit, and that the last time she'd seen him wasn't that long before, and when she had he seemed healthy enough.<br/><br/>Kuro felt terrible in how he was acting, but with the date looming closer, he HAD to shut off any ties with Hikari he had. He was a fool, he knew that, and he knew he was probably hurting her by acting this way...but he wasn't sure how to tell her things without seeming to hurt her even more. After all they'd been through, after the moments they shared, he didn't want to end things completely, but at the same time...it hurt him to think of her, to be around her. And now, seeing her handwriting had often had him breaking inside. She cared, she was still trying, and yet here he was, giving up.<br/><br/>As he worked, he wondered just how many letters and packages were beginning pile up by his door, how many times Hikari had come by his house, in an attempt to give him these things, but only to be let down by greeting someone else at the entrance. How many times had she wondered about him, thought about him as she wrote those letters, made that food, only to have it untouched, since being placed in the baskets she'd been using? He sighs softly, his heart tugging softly in his chest, making him feel conflicted and uneasy. This was why he'd turned off his emotions in the first place. Shaking his head to clear these thoughts from his mind, he smacks his cheeks gently. He needed to focus on the mission.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, back at the Uchiha compound and the home that Kuro lived, Ryuunosuke hears the very familiar knocking on the front door. He already had a hunch of who it was, and sure enough, when he opened the door it was Hikari. He smiles at her, accepting the basket that was handed to him for Kuro. He didn't have the heart to tell her that she was wasting her time, that her past gifts hadn't even reached him yet, that the pile by his door was so high it reached above his knees. "No problem, don't worry about it..." He replies, still smiling, hiding his pity with expertise. He waves back at her when she turns to leave, saying she had a mission to head to.<br/><br/>Watching as she left, he doesn't turn as his mother approaches, who came to a stop at his side and watches Hikari disappear. "She sure is an odd one. Normally people would have given up by now...but not her. Forget giving up...most don't even bother to try with him...I wonder what she sees in him? He's not the type I'd see having girls fawn over..." She crosses her arms over her chest as she turns away, shaking her head. Ryuu both agreed and disagreed with his mother. Kuro was a bit cold, but he knew that his older brother was unique, different, and very strong and had amazing skills. He wouldn't say it out loud, but sometimes Ryuu envied him for these things.<br/><br/>"Oh yeah!" He suddenly remembered that he was going out on a mission that day without his usual team. He needed to finish getting ready and closes the front door, heading past Kuro's room to place the gift that Hikari had given him with the others, then going on to his own room. He was pretty much ready to begin with, there wasn't much left to do except double check if he had everything he needed, including his kunai, shuriken, and other small things. Checking his image in the mirror that was on the wall, he adjusts his headband, grinning at his reflection, before grabbing his shoulder bag and rushing out the door, about to head to the Hokage's office, but his mom stops him, handing him a small bag of food, before waving him off. He was already running late, as he'd woken up later than usual, his mind on...other...things as he was trying to sleep.<br/><br/>He was in a rush, running as fast as he could to the office, and once he reached it he was out of breath, his hair a mess, as he knocks on the door and then opens it. He was surprised to see Hikari standing there in front of Tsunade's desk, and for a moment he was dumbfounded, frozen where he was, eyes wide and staring at the scene in front of him. "Good afternoon Ryuunosuke." Tsunade says, breaking him from his stupor, his eyes turning to Tsunade, though every few seconds they flick over to glance at Hikari, before turning once back to the Hokage. "Uh, hi." He replies, feeling like an idiot as his cheeks turn pink.