Warning: We are getting into the corruption of Hikari so this chapter will be very dark in terms of content. It's all to move the story forward but please be aware of it before you read. Thank you. Now, get your tissues ready.

Six Years Ago

Hikari: Age 13

Two Months After the Commission Attack

After saying goodbye to Touya and making sure he was alright to walk home, Hikari went on her way back to Riku's hideout, determination and passion in every step. It had grown since seeing her newfound friend, wanting to somehow prove that his choice to keep her around wasn't going to be a waste.

She was honestly surprised when the white haired boy didn't completely disown her after the foolish stunt she pulled back in that dingy old bar. It was her fault he was in the hospital in the first place so the fact that he wasn't utterly done with her was like some kind of gift, and something she wasn't going to take for granted.

Hikari meant what she said with every fiber of her being. She would get stronger so that Touya didn't have to suffer, so that no one had to suffer anymore because of her incompetence. That was what she decided and that was what she was set to do.

Even if she didn't exactly know what that meant at the time.

Balling her hands into small fists, the girl then entered the abandoned old warehouse on the side of town before seeing that Riku was there waiting for her, just as promised. This is it Hikari, you can do it. You have to do it, for Kei-chan and everyone else.

The area he chose was like some kind of ominous arena of some sort, the space completely clear except for the red headed man standing in the center in complete silence, almost like he was waiting for her to approach. What is this place?

Doing as he wanted Hikari nervously moved until the leader put his hand out in order for her to freeze in her steps as a cruel, cold smile moved into his lips. "Ah, there is the birdie of the hour. I was beginning to think I'd have to hunt you down and drag you back here myself."

His words brought a chill into her spine, the explanation she had prepared already spilling out from her lips before she could process them, almost like this man had drawn them out. "S-Sorry, my friend was getting out of the hospital and I wanted to make sure he was okay."

Riku's eyes seemed to brighten at the realization. "Ah yes, the one that you put into the hospital because of your own incompetence, I remember. No matter, I'll forgive you just this once."

His forgiveness only sounded like a hidden threat though, Hikari shifting the weight from her feet in anxiety before getting to the reason she was here and finding it the most important thing on her mind. "You said you would help me get stronger. I'm ready."

Chuckling at her eagerness to begin the process, Riku lifted his hands up in the playful fashion, knowing she would be changing her tune in a matter of minutes. "Of course. I keep to my promises, Takami. Besides, we can't have you out on missions as you are. You have to be prepped first."

The blonde haired girl couldn't help but turn her head at that, wondering what he was talking about. Her dad never had her prepare for their missions, she was usually just forced to go with them. "How long will that take?"

The leader only found amusement in her words though, lowering his arms back to his sides with extreme grace before giving a toothy grin. "However long it takes, my dear birdie. I'll decide when you're ready."

Snapping his fingers once, Hikari then watched as over thirty people seemingly stepped through the shadows, all of them wearing the same necklace design as the one she had on.

Some were female while the rest male, all of them different ages, races and sizes, and all of them looked at her with a bloodlust she had never seen before.

Wait what was going on? Were these people here to watch or something? There were so many of them. Why did they all look so scary? I don't like this..

Her fear was clearly evident on her face as Riku soaked it in with pure amusement, the man gesturing to the scary strangers immediately. "What's wrong Takami, I'm just giving you what you asked for. You want to be stronger, right? Then show me."

The leader then lowered his voice an extra two octaves before staring straight at the innocent girl and snapping his fingers once more, clear dark intent in every word. "Begin."

Then all at once, everyone in and around her seemed to spring to life, all thirty bodies racing towards her with quirks drawn as Hikari widened his eyes in pure terror. They were going to attack her, why?! What did she ever do to them?!

Feeling her heart beat into her chest, the girl quickly felt her legs running away from the scene as heavy footsteps followed her every move.

Her breathing turned heavy as she spoke with absolute confusion. "W-What, what's happening? I don't understand."

Riku remained silent though, watching as the scared little girl ran for her life with great pleasure, her eyes wild as the adrenaline crushed her innocent heart with every second.

Just then, Hikari heard something zoom past her only to feel extreme pain in her forearm, looking over only to find a piece of jagged sharp stone piercing right through her skin.

Blood poured across her arm as she felt herself scream out in agony, holding the object before feeling her body being thrown across the room by an invisible force and slamming her into the nearest wall next to her.

Gasping out a choked breath, Hikari slid to the ground, her vision blurry as she just barely registered a fist coming at her a moment later only to quickly squeak and dodge underneath it, seemingly just missing the deadly hit.

She didn't understand what was happening, forcing her dizzy mind to focus on the situation at hand before a metal chain wrapped around her ankle a second later, pulling her backwards as her body scraped against the floor in order to leave a burn.

Screaming once again, Hikari clawed her fingers into the ground with no avail before someone else seemingly kicked her in her ribs with as much focus as possible, the girl hearing the sickly sound of something snapping in the process.

She held the area in question before seemingly trying to cover her face with her other hand as hot painful tears began to flood her vision. "S-Stop it, please stop it. I don't want this, I don't understand.."

The other members of the gang didn't seem to care about her outbursts though as Hikari felt her skin light up on fire as her insides started to burn her from the inside out from the effect of another unknown quirk in the area.

It was just like back then, when those commission members ripped out her wings and left her for dead, it was just like her childhood and like when those orphanage kids used to bully her and pretend she was a villain.

How they would punish her, how they would make her less like nothing, useless and weak, pathetic and unworthy. Everything came back full force as Hikari tried to ball herself into her body in order to stop the pain.

She wanted it to stop, why wouldn't they just stop?!

Although that's when Riku's voice broke through her internal spiral, his tone as chilling and plain as it always was. "You want it to stop? Then stop it yourself. That's the only way it will stop."

What did he even mean by that, stop it herself?! No, she couldn't. She wasn't strong enough. She was just an average thirteen year old girl, she didn't have training, she didn't have the talent or skill to defend herself. That's why she was here in the first place.

Crying out brokenly, Hikari shook her head as another kick to her ribs came a moment later, the bone cracking with harmful intent as she shouted with raspy lips. "I-I can't! I can't do it. J-Just stop please.."

Yet Riku only answered a moment later, disappointment clear in his tone. "Then you'll be like this forever. I'll just have to keep hammering the lesson into you until you understand it, until all your bones are broken and shattered over and over again. I have all the time in the world Takami. Trust me."

A clear realization crossed her face then, Hikari's heart stopping in terror. She had to get out of here or else he was going to torture her forever, hurt her forever. This wasn't how she wanted to be stronger, this wasn't what she wanted. She just wanted her brother to be proud of her, to take her back.

Forcing her legs to move, the girl then used her broken wings to block the next attack before rolling over and running as fast as she could away from here. She had to keep moving if she wanted to live, if she wanted to survive.

The painful beats against her feet echoed through the space before Riku spoke back again, the girl barely even registering it, given the terror of the situation. "Fight back Takami, fight back or the results are going to be your fault."

Just then, another small spike focused itself through her leg, causing Hikari to scream before falling onto the ground once more as blood splattered across the warehouse floor.

Holding her thigh in agony, the girl gritted her teeth, willing it to move before two more spikes lodged themselves into each shoulder as Hikari began to feel blood coat the inside of her mouth.

She then whimpered out a pathetic cry before another sidekick roughly grabbed the back of her head and slammed it into the floor twice, the impact blackening her vision as more blood appeared across her face and temple.

Crying out heavy sobs, the girl lifted her hand to shoo the attackers away only to be met with one of them grabbing onto the surface and twisting it so unnaturally that her entire arm broke under the pressure.

Someone then began to push her face back into the ground as Hikari gew dizzy, her whole body feeling like lead as she desperately wished to move before another stranger aggressively stepped on her free leg, breaking it with a single amount of sheer force.

Not being able to think straight anymore, Hikari felt more hands on her as all of the pain seemingly blended into one, coating her entire body as her own eyes started to lose color and fight.

Was she going to die like this? Without meeting her brother again, without proving to Touya that she could stand beside him? How pathetic she was indeed. No one would probably even grieve her. The commission was right, she was useless.

She knew she was crying as the hot tears burned her eyes, now just wishing to put to rest and be forgotten just like everyone had ever done for her entire life.

And as she was fading in and out of consciousness, as the blood pooled into her lungs ever so slightly she thought about her brother, about what he was doing right now, about if he'd even miss her. Probably not, although she would've liked to think so for her own sake.

I'm sorry Kei-chan, I'm sorry you were ashamed of me. I'm sorry I wasn't good enough. If only you had a better sister, then you could've been happy.

Feeling her body loose motion entirely, Hikari began to fade before Riku put his hand up a moment later, snapping his fingers as everyone in the gang froze to a complete stop.

Then, she just barely heard his single footsteps make their way to her before leaning down at surveying the broken girl for himself. "That's enough for now. Any more and she'll die. Go back to your positions."

The gang seemed to take his words as law, bowing in response before Riku slowly ran a finger through Takami's blood soaked strains of hair, an action that Hikari wasn't able to register was him.

In fact, the gentleness was so comforting to her as she pictured her brother doing it, just like how he used to calm her down as kids whether their father would hurt them. Could it really be? Was he here, just he really come back for her?

"K-Kei-chan?"

Her voice was so small, almost like a plea as Riku took it in with cynical amusement, moving his hand away for a moment before shattering her perfect little bubble entirety.

"Oh little crybaby Hikari, your brother isn't here, and he's never coming back."

The leader then watched as her eyes grew clear with pure devastation and tears before Riku placed his warm hand on her shoulder as his eyes started to glow in ominous warning at the activation of his quirk.

All at once, the area where he touched turned into excruciating pain, the numb effect now completely destroyed as every injury and gash scorched and stung like she was being burdened alive.

Feeling her lips let out an ear piercing scream, Riku paid no mind as he continued his work, taking in the twisting and mangled expression on her face as Hikari saw complete white in her vision.

Her heart hammered into her chest at the fear of dying before her breathing lodged inside her throat with a choked gasp. What was he doing, was she trying to kill her? No, she didn't want to die like this!

Hikari dug her nails into the ground with extreme force before her voice grew hoarse with her own screams for at least ten whole minutes before Riku finally lifted his hand away as his eyes returned to normal.

And all at once, the pain seemingly disappeared into nothing as the feeling of her entire body returned to how it was before she entered the warehouse. Her arms and legs could move and her broken ribs didn't seem to hurt anymore either.

Wait, was his quirk some kind of healing type or something?

Widening her eyes in confusion, Riku seemed to understand her questions before running a singular finger down the tip of her left shoulder only for Hikari to grit her teeth in pain at the small mark. "Take this as a lesson, Takami. Every time you lose a fight, I'll give you one of these, as a sort of reminder…"

Riku then moved his hand away before standing back up to tower over her. "I'll have my men go through his exercise over and over, until you are at an inch of your life, and then I will heal you and we can go through it again until you finally learn."

The implication of his words brought clear fear across Hikari's face as the leader then made his leave of absence before speaking back with clear serious intent. "You decide how long you want to go through this. Like I said, I'm a very patient man, little birdie."

Then just like that, she was alone in the empty warehouse, her body completely worn out and exhausted as tears made their way into her eyes again.

She was utterly scared and traumatized now that Riku just confirmed that she would have to go through this again, that she would be beaten and almost killed over and over again until she could stop them.

But she couldn't, she couldn't stop them. She wasn't strong enough.

Moving her body inside of herself for fake comfort, Hikari then lifted a shaky hand up in order to feel a small fresh scar across her shoulder bone, the one that Riku had given her as a reminder of this fight, of how she lost.

She then felt her face completely crumble before pushing her arms around herself with heavy coked sobs and whimpers, wishing that she wasn't so alone inside of this abandoned warehouse, that someone would hug her and comfort her and tell her everything was alright.

But as much as she wanted that, a part of her knew that no one was coming.

No one would ever come to save someone like her.

One Month Later

As regrettable as it was, Riku stayed true to his promise with "training" Hikari and pushed her everyday to the breaking point before healing her, hoping that eventually she'd gain the skill that her father had.

Unfortunately, the girl was just as lost as before with no direction, gritting her teeth to let out a painful scream while the leader gave her the twentieth scar on the back.

It had become a constant routine by now, the fighting and the pain.

Although it didn't get any easier, Hikari feeling her legs give out from exertion while Riku finished his latest work and left her to lull herself to sleep like always.

And sure the brutal physical injuries were always erased but Hikari could always feel them, the memories of each break, burn and tear clearly evident in her mind. The internal torture of her own mind was screaming by now, wishing for that to be wiped clear along with her pain.

It was like a part of her died every time he had healed her and Hikari knew she was reaching her breaking point, the girl forcing her unsteady legs to take her away from this horrible arena like warehouse and into something more bearable.

Why couldn't she get better, why was she in the same spot as she was a month ago? At this rate Riku was right, she'd be tortured and beaten for the rest of her life. Yes, she wanted to fight, but Hikari didn't have the confidence for it.

After feeling her wings being ripped apart, little kids push her down to bully her, losing that fight with Touya in that bar and Riku's gang Hikari was feeling rather dejected. She couldn't win no matter how hard she tried.

Maybe she should just stop trying, maybe that was for the best. Then she'd just die on these streets and never be remembered or grieved. Maybe that was her fate from the beginning.

Sighing to herself, Hikari found herself in the spot where she first met Touya, the same villainous and unsavory people around as always before completely ignoring them this time.

If they did decide to kill her tonight then they would honestly be doing her a favor.

The girl then found her usual corner before sliding down to the ground in order to cover her legs with her arms for comfort. And once she was safe, the tears couldn't help but appear a moment later.

She learned really quickly how bad it was to cry around Riku and his gang, knowing that they would bully her and get a few extra hits if they ever saw it.

So instead she waited until she was outside, letting her silent tears coat her face in order not to risk anyone hearing and punishing her for being a crybaby or a nuisance.

She felt so utterly alone in every single way, the only company she ever saw anymore was Riku and that was less than pleasant most of the time.

Instead, she craved a warm hand, a kind word, anything that would keep her going that would make her feel loved.

Although that's when she heard his voice, almost like some kind of dream or something.

It carried from the entranceway, just as broody and uninterested as ever, watching as he followed his villain friends into the space in order for them to get drugs from the local dealer.

One of them seemed to whisper something in his ear as Touya slapped his arms off of him a second later with a sigh, obviously not impressed by the statement before his eyes found hers.

Immediately, her cheeks turned red with embarrassment, realizing that he knew she was staring before burying her face back into her knees in order for him to get the message and go away.

She was sure he didn't want to see such a crybaby anyways, it would burden him again. She already promised him she'd get stronger a month ago, if he saw her now then he'd surely be disappointed.

Shoving her tears away, Hikari then heard a pair of booted footsteps stop in front of her before she continued to stay in the same position. Just go away, I know you don't want to see this. I'm not in a good place right now, just leave me alone.

Touya turned his head to the side at her crumbled up figure before throwing out a casual insult like he always did and kicking her shoe lightly. "Hey, I guess you really have moved on to stalking now. Don't you know it's rude to stare?

The girl didn't move though, only tightening her hold on her knees before muttering back a broken and pathetic. "S-Sorry. I'll stop."

Touya seemed to recognize her change in attitude though, calling her out on it before he could even think. He didn't like it, how different she was right now.

Usually she'd be saying something super annoying or at least berate him for his comment. Her silence was new, and it was something Touya decided he didn't like. "What's up with you? You look like shit."

Hikari still didn't answer though, hoping he'd get the hint and walk away so that she could compose herself better. He caught her at the worst time and the girl felt so close to breaking.

Although, she resisted with fear of him hating her, just like her brother did.

Screwing his lips shut in annoyance at her mute attitude, Touya then heard his friends move to him, one of them throwing a lazy drunken arm around his shoulder. "Where'd you run off to Touya? Come on, I got the good stuff, now we can go."

Although, the white haired teen stood silent, just staring at the blonde haired girl's strange mannerisms before shaking his head and turning around to leave her finally, just like she wanted.

His drunk friends started to say something to him but Hikari hardly listened, only focusing her breathing so that she could remain strong until he finally left completely. Then she'd fall apart, alone as always.

Giving a small whimper until her breath, the girl then closed her eyes before that same feeling of lonely devastation and self hatred crept into her throat once more, forcing it to come out.

Yet, that's when she felt a hand pull on her arm, forcing her from her crumbled position as she looked up to find Touya's unreadable stare a moment later, silent and unchanging. Wait, she thought he left. Why was he still here..?

She heard his friend call back a moment later, obviously confused by his sudden change of heart. "Touya, what are you doing? We gotta go, everyone's waiting."

Touya didn't move though, still staring at Hikari with some kind of hidden conflict before shaking his head once in annoyance and practically dragging the girl with him to the exit, almost like he was pissed about something.

Feeling her shaky legs force themselves forward, she felt his hand on her arm tighten as she stumbled with every step. "T-Touya what are you..?"

Although that's when he stopped in front of his drunk friend for a brief moment, before finally speaking bluntly. "Plans changed. Go without me."

And that was the only explanation he gave as Touya continued dragging the poor blonde haired girl by the arm until they were out of the place entirely, letting go of his hold in the process.

Rubbing the surface once, Hikari twisted her lips into a frown before staring back at the silent boy, wondering what had gotten into him. Didn't he get the hit that she wanted him to leave? "What was that for…?"

Touya didn't seem to answer her question though, only turning around and moving down the empty dimly lit sidewalk as he barely muttered back. "Hurry up."

It was obvious that he wanted her to follow him but with everything happening, Hikari was still utterly confused, unable to take his request and choosing to just stay still as he left.

The boy seemed to notice this quickly, turning his head to find Hikari unchanged as Touya grumbled something under his breath a moment later in order to stomp back to her.

Hikari then watched as Touya aggressively reached down and grabbed her hand before pulling her down the path again, his voice groaning in exasperation.

"Ugh you're so fucking annoying. I said hurry up."

This time the girl had no choice as he pulled her through the very few strangers in the area before Hikari looked down at the hand that was intertwined with his silently.

And although his words were harsh and rather aggressive, his hand seemed to be the exact opposite, giving her a sense of warmth and comfort she never knew she needed.

This was the first time she had held anyone's hand besides her brothers after all and the very action couldn't help but bring a slight pink to her cheeks. She kind of liked it, this newfound feeling.

It wasn't long before Touya stopped at a massive old building on the edge of the city, the area surrounded by a large protective fence along with large signs that read DO NOT ENTER. In large black font.

He then led her over to the back only to find that a section of the fence had been burned off, leaving a small hole just big enough to fit through. Wait, why was this even here, did someone do this?

Moving through the fence, Hikari couldn't help but stop at the implications the action held, knowing that they would be doing something illegal by breaking into this old building. What if they got caught? "Touya wait, it says do not enter. We could get into a lot of trouble."

And the boy did stop, but it was only to give her an "are you kidding me" kind of face, his head shaking at the very question. "Yeah, that's the fun part."

Hikari didn't seem convinced though, causing Touya to let out a frustrated annoyed sigh, almost like he was explaining his next words to a child. "Look, it's fine. The place is abandoned, I've never seen anyone here in years. Would you stop being such a Princess already?"

The vague title immediately caused her nose to crinkle with distaste before nervously looking around her and finding no one in sight. Maybe he was right, there didn't seem to be anyone else here.

Feeling his hand loose on hers, Hikari felt a spike of fear enter her chest as the loss of the warmth before tightening the hold in silent confirmation that she was ready to go through with the illegal act.

Touya seemed to understand, turning around immediately before she let him drag her into the building only to lead her up a never ending staircase that seemingly took forever. Where was he even taking her?

Although, she quickly got her answer when she bumped against his back a moment later not realizing he had suddenly stopped for some reason.

She began to rub her nose at the hit before Touya gave her a small smile in exasperation of her antics. "Klutz. Watch where you're going. We're here."

Throwing the small door open to his left, the boy then stepped to the side, allowing Hikari to be the first one to enter the outdoor night air, the breeze hitting her immediately as she walked.

Almost immediately, she felt her eyes widen at the sight before her, now taking in a beautifully breathtaking view of the entire city of landscape as bright colors of lights and passing small tiny dots that resembled cars greeted her.

She had never seen anything so amazing in her entire life, the girl forcing her legs forward in order to get closer as the breeze whisked past her once more.

It was so nostalgic, a memory of what she lost and what she would never have again.

"It feels like I'm flying again."

Touya followed her slowly, shoving his hands in his pockets before humming at the sight. "I found this place years ago while fucking around. Apparently, it was supposed to be the spot for my old man's agency before he abandoned the idea. So now, it's mine."

What Hikari didn't know was that the boy found this old building a comfort because of that very fact. Because it once belonged to his father, Touya felt a connection here, something he longed for many years.

Yeah, call it stupid or whatever but even though his old man didn't want this place because it wasn't worthy enough for him, Touya couldn't help but draw the similarity between himself and this building.

They were both abandoned, forgotten by everyone, yet somehow still standing.

And although the girl could hardly understand, she felt the connection to the place also, turning towards the boy in question before speaking softly. "I don't understand, why did you show me this?"

Touya was silent for a moment, almost like he was trying to decide why he did this as well, his brow knitted together in a thousand unsaid emotions that Hikari wouldn't understand until much later.

Yet when he did decide to speak, he did it while looking away from her, his eyes fixated on the view instead of her reaction. "I know better than anyone what it looks like when someone wants to cry."

Widening her eyes at his words, Hikari felt her heart hammer inside her chest before turning to stare at the boy with pure and utter shock. How did he know she wanted to cry, how did he know how she was feeling, how did he notice the darkness in her soul?

Immediately feeling self conscious, the girl tried to deny his claims and shut them down. "I don't want to cry..."

Yet Touya wasn't fooled in the slightest, shaking his head with a bitter laugh before openly throwing her own fears in her face.

"Oh please Princess, don't try to deny it. I see that same exact god damn face in the mirror every single day so I know exactly what I am saying. The darkness behind your eyes, you're trying to hide it, thinking it will make you stronger in the long run, right?"

Yes, that was it exactly. He had read her so incredibly well, so much so that Hikari was at a loss for words. How could a Todoroki, a boy from a family of heroes understand her struggles and pain so clearly, so well? Did he really feel the same, was he hurting also?

"T-Touya.."

The boy cut her off through, finally turning to face before Hikari froze under his cerulean gaze that was only a couple inches from her own. They didn't even realize how close they had gotten until now.

"You can't hide those things from me Princess, cause I know exactly how it feels."

Feeling slightly nervous because of the distance, Hiakri's eyes unknowingly turned towards his lips for a split second before snapping herself back to reality. "S-So what if you read me. That doesn't explain why you brought me here. Did you just do it to point out our flaws then?"

Once again, the boy was silent, waiting for himself to come to a conclusion in his head before finally breaking his gaze from the girl in order to step back towards the city view. He always seemed to do that when he spoke seriously.

"No, I did it so that you could break."

Not fully understanding at first, Hikari felt her breathing completely stop, playing with the words on her tongue as she felt the emotions she shoved down start to rise ever so slightly. "B-Break?"

Humming in response, the whited teen then glanced back at her with a knowing look, silently giving her permission for her feelings. "You want to, don't you? You've been holding it back"

And all at once, all of those emotions that she had buried down seemed to come surging upwards, her chest and breathing slightly shallow and the idea of finally crying and releasing all of her hurt and anguish.

Even when she tried to speak, her voice came out choppy and shuttered, like she was forcing herself to keep the lid on before she unraveled before her friends' very eyes.

He was right, she was holding it back and it was destroying her.

"N-No, I-I don't..I haven't…"

Touya noticed her change in attitude though, silently pushing himself up from the railing before moving back over to the winged blonde haired girl as she tried to back away.

Everything was happening at once as Hikari could hardly process them, seeing his blank cerulean gaze crave through her heart. No, not here, not like this. She promised she'd be strong, for him.

"N-No, no don't look. Don't look at me. I-I'm sorry, please don't leave.."

Yet that's when she felt a silent hand touch the top of her head, the action a carbon copy of how Keigo used to comfort her as a child, how he used to give her hope and reassure her that everything was going to be okay.

She didn't know if Touya knew what kind of effect that very action would have on her, but all at once, the gentle touch seemed to completely destroy any willpower she had left.

Feeling hot tears pour down her cheeks, Hikari couldn't stop herself as she began to sob, to cry for the hellish month she was put through, for the unkempt feeling of her brother, for the fear of Touya leaving her.

She cried and cried, filling up the entire space with her loud sorrowful voice as Touya watched silently with his own lingering thoughts inside his head.

Although, he never said anything. He never teased her or picked on her for the action, he didn't yell or just leave her alone out of pure disgust and annoyance.

No, he just let her cry, let her pour out all of her feelings and devastation for what seemed like forever. His place unchanging, remaining in the same spot until she had cried herself hoarse and dry.

After what seemed like forever, her small whimpers disappeared as well, looking up to find him still staring at her while she wiped her eyes. He must've hated her now. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to.."

Yet Touya still didn't scold her, only reaching his hand down and using one of his fingers to push away a tear she had missed before finally stepping away. "You get it all out?"

Nodding her head once, the white haired boy then turned to exit the balcony, Hikari wondering if he really was bothered by her little display. So much for being strong.

Although, that's when she heard his voice, gentle and small. "Good. Now do what you said you'd do and get stronger. If you need to break again, you can do it here."

And then off he went down the stairs, Hikari watching with shock as his white hair started to disappear. Was he serious? Did he really say that she could use this place to cry? Why was he being so kind of her, she didn't deserve it.

Even so, the girl couldn't help but feel warmth from his words, already feeling her feet move towards the stairs before calling back to him. "T-Touya!"

At the sound of his voice, the boy froze, turning around slightly only to find Hikari smiling back at him, her voice soft and entirely grateful for what he had done for her.

"Thank you. I promise, I promise I'll get stronger. I'll make you proud."

Pausing ever so slightly, Touya felt his heart beat erratically inside his chest before a small bit of shame and guilt crept ever so slightly before he immediately shoved it down.

Then the boy turned back around in order to hide his expression before lifting a singular hand up as he went, signaling the confirmation of her declaration.

"Don't take too long. I don't like waiting."

Feeling her eyes light up with joy, Hikari nodded her head to herself before Touya left completely, the girl not even realizing that her words had left a small patch of pink on his cheeks in an irritating blush.

The girl then turned back towards the overlooking landscape before lifting her wings out in newfound determination.

Touya was counting on her, so she knew she couldn't let him down.

As fear and adrenaline poured through her system, Hikari quickly dodged under a reaching hand before pushing her feet across the warehouse floor.

It was another day of training as the girl could already feel herself growing exhausted from the overexertion of her body as Riku silently watched the display with watchful eyes.

Just then, Hikari felt herself receive a strong punch to her face, turning the poor girl's head to the side before she coughed out a spit of blood. This wasn't good, she was losing again.

Ducking under another round of incoming spikes, the girl then narrowed her eyes before taking in the situation at hand. From what she learned given the past battles, that guy with the spike quirk could only deliver them in a short time frame, which meant she just had to wait them out.

You see, the good part of getting beat to hell everyday was that Hikari was now able to see the patterns, thier fighting style, how they moved and what they usually attacked with.

Of course that didn't help with fighting back but Hikari found it much easier to dodge and run away now that she caught exactly how they did things. It was progress, kind of.

Suddenly, a spike longed itself into her left shoulder, the girl gritting her teeth in pain before sensing a fist coming from behind her.

Then without thinking, Hikari turned around and blindly threw a fist at her attacker only to find that it made contact with their face, the blonde haired girl's knuckles turning slightly bloody at the action.

Blinking in disbelief, the girl couldn't help but be shocked. Wait, she actually hit someone, she defended herself? No, that was impossible. She actually predicted his movements and beat him to the punch.

That had never happened before.

Although her victory was short lived when the thugs took advantage of her lowered guard as they grabbed her and pushed her onto the ground in order to beat her and torture her again.

And even though it hurt just as much as the last time, Hikari couldn't help but feel a bit of hope in her stomach. If she really punched that thug then that meant there was a chance of her. She could do it, she could get stronger.

So, Hikari began to fight back. Even though she knew she would lose, even though she wasn't good enough to beat any of these gang members yet, she still fought.

Because one day, she knew she could beat them, she knew she'd be strong.

It didn't matter how many times she was broken, how many scars and burns and bruises she received, it didn't matter if she was tortured and brought back to life. She wasn't alone, Touya was counting on her, he believed in her to change so she was going to change.

Even if it destroyed her in the end, Hikari knew she'd fight until she won.

She would save herself, she swore it.

Okay, I hope this clears some things up about Hikari being violent in the last chapter. As you can see, she's got some major trauma. Essentially Riku forced her to fight all of these people until she won, and they didn't stop until she was almost dead before he healed her. It's some messed up stuff.

But now we see how Touya and Hikari are so strong together. They each understand the need to get stronger and the desperation they have to prove something to someone.

Also that last chapter should hurt a little more, especially with that scene of Riku touching her hair Hikari thinking her brother had come back to safe her. In the last chapter, he actually did come to her. That's why she was so relieved when she saw his face back at the agency fight.

Also when Touya put his hand on her head like Keigo used to in order to get her to cry, that's not a coincidence. As we now know, Touya knew both Keigo and Hikari. Nothing is a coincidence in this story. :)

I loved writing this one and I think it really gets an inside look at Hikari's character moving forward. You gotta remember, she never wanted to be a villain, and we will see that change over the course of the story as she finds her path.

Next Chapter: Hawks talks to Hikari about the freakout in his agency.