"You would want to be friends with a bitch like me?" she asked with surprise evident in her whispered voice. She thought that Hikari would hate and despise her, especially after everything she did this morning.

Areku watched the scene play out from the corner of his eye, a light smile tugging at the corner of his face, glad to see that Hikari was trying to mend the 'bridge' that Weiss had tried destroying this morning. Hopefully Hikari would be able to change Weiss and that they would be able to be friends, especially since Naruto had a thing for Blake and that they were already friends with the rest of the team.

Kari just frowned. "You shouldn't insult yourself like that. Yeah, you acted stupid, but I don't think you're really like that. I think maybe you were just a bit insecure." She said.

"I deserve it though. It was because of me after all that we both have our punishments," Weiss said softly, not wanting to forgive herself for acting so stupid and selfish.

Hikari sighed. "Look, what happened happened. We can't change the past. But we can make things better now, so that the future will be better, too. At least if we're friends, our punishments won't be as bad. We could help each other."

"I would like that," Weiss said softly after thinking over what Hikari said. She knew that they couldn't change the past, but she was right when saying that their punishments would be easier if they were friends rather than rivals or enemies.

Hikari smiled. "Great. We're friends, then." She said, feeling a warmth of happiness at the idea that she had made a new friend.

"Um...okay?" she said, a little on the confused side, though she did notice Ruby cheer happily at the the interaction, causing the girl to shake her head lightly in amusement.

Naruto grinned and took a moment to swallow. "That's great! We can all start over now, like new." He said.

"Don't push your luck fox boy," Weiss said. "One change is good enough for today, I think" she added afterwards, not hearing Blake sigh lightly behind her.

Naruto's grin disappeared, replaced with a momentary hurt look. But that was gone quickly, replaced with indifference. "Fine, whatever. Your loss." He said.

Hikari frowned. She would have to talk to Weiss later about being nice to her friends. She wanted to be friends with the heiress, but it would never work if Weiss kept hurting the feelings of Hikari's friends.

"That isn't really fair to Naruto, Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed. She knew that the heiress was trying, but at the same time she didn't have to be so blunt and mean about it.

Naruto shook his head. "Leave it be, Ruby. It's not worth it." He said. The fox was just too used to that kind of treatment.

Blake looked saddened at how Naruto was taking this, knowing that if he was reacting as if it didn't bother him then he had to have coached himself for many years to do so. 'what happened after you left Ruto?' she asked herself softly, knowing that no one else heard her thoughts.

"It should be a big deal..." she muttered. She would have talked to Weiss some more about it, but seeing the look from Hikari knew that the girl would do it for her. "For what it's worth Naruto, I apologize for Weiss's actions," she said, getting a grunt from the ice girl.

Again, Naruto shrugged. "It's okay, really. But thanks." He said, putting on his signature thousand-watt smile.

"As long as you're sure..." Ruby said lightly. She knew that the fox was lying, but she didn't want to push the issue too much, especially if he wasn't.

'I'm gonna have to talk to Ruby...especially if she does have a crush on Ruto-kun,' Blake thought as she silently ate her lunch. She knew that if she opened her mouth now, then she would only be badmouthing the Princess. Granted she made a little headway in forgiving Hikari, she then lost it immediately thereafter by talking down to her friend.

(Well this is a pleasant surprise, seeing a response at 2 in the afternoon)

((Haha well Wolfie was alone in the house and bored to death, so she went online to see if there were any replies. Obviously, there were, and she replied.))

Sensing the tension growing around the table, Hikari cleared her throat. "Hey, let's talk about something else. How about this food? Actually, it's really good compared to the food we had back at the school I used to go to." She said in a cheerful voice.

"Where was that Hika-chan?" Ark asked, curious.

(I see. Well, it was a pleasant surprise)

Hikari raised an eyebrow. "You know it sounds like a hiccup when you say that." She said dryly, taking another bite while she considered his question. "It was a small private school reserved for old hunter families. I went there for a while before my parents realized that I was hopeless. Then they pulled me out and home schooled me, so that no one would find out what a disappointment I turned out to be." She said, giving him a look that clearly said she hadn't wanted to answer at all, but had no choice because he had asked in public.

"Sorry..." Areku said as she noticed the look that Hikari was giving him. He just wanted to know but didn't realize that the answer would cause so much grief.

Hikari smiled brightly. "It's okay. You didn't know." She said. She was an excellent actress. One would have to be incredibly observant to know that her cheer was an act.

Weiss narrowed her eyes, knowing instantly that the cheer and smile she was using was currently fake. She could see that the fox faunice could see through it as well, but didn't think anyone else knew she was currently faking it.

Naruto's ear twitched, but this was the only sign that he knew what was going on. He knew that act too well to miss it, having put on the same act every day of his life. But just as hard as he knew it was for her, he also knew that calling her out would only make it worse. The only way to comfort her would have to be in private, with the rest of her friends as well.

Areku could sense that something was wrong, but he was unable to put his finger on what exactly it was. "Are you sure you're fine?" he asked, concerned.

Hikari nodded. "Of course, I'm fine! Don't worry about me." She said brightly.

"Alright," Areku said though he felt as if she wasn't saying something. Maybe it was his imagination, but it seemed as if she was hiding something and if she was...then what?