As they walked towards the shop, Hotaru looked to Rin. "I wonder who's going on this next mission with us." She wondered aloud. Rin shrugged but didn't say anything. The Hokage hadn't told them who it would be, only that they would have two other members and two shadows. It was pointless to speculate, so he chose not to think about it and to just find out when they finally met with them. Hotaru, on the other hand, didn't mind speculating. "Well, whoever they are, I hope they're nice and not annoying." she spoke again. "I wish Hikari and Asami could have come instead." she playfully pouted.<br/><br/>"You heard the Hokage. Hikari is off on some important mission and Asami is with her new squad." he reminded her. "Well, yeah, I know that. It'd still be nice to have the gang back together." she mused, ignoring his light sigh, which told her that he didn't understand the point of wishing for things that couldn't happen, or wondering about things when doing so would bring no answers. But he didn't speak, as he was used to her way of thinking by now. Even if he didn't understand it, he expected it from her.<br/><br/>When they arrived at the ramen stall they took their seats and ordered some ramen. They were alone, but not for long. Hotaru looked back at the two shinobi who entered, one a tall male with pink hair and the other a girl with light-colored hair. "Hello." she greeted them with a smile. "I'm Hotaru. Looks like we'll be teammates." she said before looking at Rin, who had glanced up and acknowledged the others' presence, but said nothing.<br/><br/>Rin hadn't even acknowledged the girl's flirtatious smile. He had no real interest in romance right now, so even a flirtatious smile from a pretty girl didn't faze him. His actions weren't meant to be rude, but he wasn't exactly the most social or talkative person, so he didn't feel the need to say anything. Hotaru knew this, but she thought that the others might see it as rude. After all, when most people greeted you and introduced themselves, they expected a response. Honestly, he was hopeless. At least Hikari had known how to put on a good face. What was she going to do with him?<br/><br/>"This is Rin. Sorry, he's not the most talkative. You'll get used to it." she apologized with a smile before nudging him. He looked back at them and gave a wave, but said nothing as he turned his attention back to the ramen in front of him. Hotaru sighed and shook her head. "Honestly. It's a wonder you don't have a girlfriend yet." he mumbled under her breath to him. He shrugged and brushed off the comment, to which she dropped her head and sighed once again.<br/><br/>Hotaru then turned her attention back to the girl, who had said she hoped the person they were escorting would be a hot feudal lord. "Mmm, that would be nice, huh?" she winked and chuckled lightly. Unfortunately, she didn't think that would be the case. It never was, at least in her experience. It'd probably be some weird old guy, or a girl. That was generally her luck. Oh well. Such was life, she guessed.<br/><br/>She tilted her head a bit further to the side to see the other two who had arrived. "Hotaru. Pleasure." she greeted the newcomer, Genji, with a smile. She couldn't help but notice his appearance. The different color eyes, the tail, the ears, his teeth. Nor could she help feeling a bit curious, although she kept this curiosity to herself, for now, and avoided allowing her eyes to linger on him any longer than was necessary, as to avoid giving herself away. She then looked past them to the other boy. "Hello! What's your name? Are you joining us, too?" she asked after greeting him and giving him a warm and friendly smile. Unlike Rin, she was actually friendly and personable. One of them had to be, and it certainly wasn't going to be him.<br/><br/>Rin didn't even turn his head to look at the other two who had approached the shop, one of them taking a seat nearby. He glanced at them from the corner of his eyes but never turned his head to look at them. He knew a little about each of them, enough to know that they should make a decent enough team. So long as they didn't want him to chat or converse with them. He wasn't good with small talk or chatting about whatever. He spoke when it was necessary, rarely speaking if it seemed a silly conversation, and never speaking just to speak. Silence didn't bother him. He welcomed it. So there had never been an instance where he'd experienced an awkward silence and felt the need to fill that silence with words. It just wasn't who he was.<br/><br/>This didn't mean that he hated people. He didn't. He disliked certain types of people, and he had difficulty opening up to people, but he didn't hate them. There were even some he cared for, that he considered family and would do anything to protect. It was a trait that he and both of his teammates had shared. They would all do anything for those they loved. No matter the cost. No matter the risk. Even if it sometimes blurred the lines between right and wrong. There may not be many of those at present, but it wasn't out of the question that others would become important to him in the future.<br/><br/>For now, Hotaru, Hikari, Asami, and a couple of others were important enough to him to be considered family, and that was enough for him. He didn't need to seek out new friends or change who he was to try to make people like him. They either liked him or they didn't. It was that simple. The same was true when it came to romance. He wasn't opposed to it happening in the future, but he had little desire to seek it, and no desire to change himself to find it. He thought that, if and when the right person came along, then he would be enough as he was, or he would have a desire to become better for that person. Until then, he had no desire to pretend to be anything he wasn't, even if his bluntness sometimes came across as rude or insensitive. He just hoped it wouldn't cause too much trouble for Hotaru. Then again, she was accustomed to it by now, and she was nice and friendly enough for the both of them.