Kaede was alone. Surrounded by fire. Tomoe was alone. Tomoe was dead. He had left them alone. Kaede's face was stained with tears. Daddy, why did you leave? I didn't want to. But you did. Why?

I'm a hero.Liar.I'm not lying. You're a murderer... Kaede's face was replaced by the face of the boy. He was pleading for Kotetsu to save him. He didn't. He let him burn. He was screaming, burning, twisting, and his face... Barnaby!

Kotetsu opened his eyes and forced the dream to end. He was in a hospital bed. IV's were steadily dripping fluids into his veins and a loud beep between short intervals gave voice to his pounding heart. The room was dark. In a panic, Kotetsu tore off the sheets that had constricted around his legs. He tore out the needles that confined him to the bed. The weight of the darkness on his chest was unbearable. The line went flat and nurses came rushing into the room. "Sir, you have to lay down."

"Please turn on the lights. Please. Don't leave me in the dark..." He heard a man beg even as the nurses tried to hold him down. "Please." Suddenly, the lights turned on. Kotetsu looked down to see Alice standing at the door.

"I don't like what happens when the lights turn off either." He felt immensely grateful towards the girl, and after the nurses had gotten Kotetsu situated again. She had come over to his bed, and squeezed his he squeezed hers. Tightly. Like they were the only two people in the whole world who could keep each other from floating off into space.

In the morning, a young doctor explained in very simple terms how Kotetsu had been injured.

"It seems you have multiple rip fractures and a few breaks." No. Really?

"There are many lacerations on your back from what seems to be a whip. A few burn marks from what was most like a taser." I know. I was there when I got them.

"Your face is still swelling from all the hits you took." And this is where you say you're going to give me medicine to reduce the swelling or ease the pain or something... Right?

"That looks like it hurts a lot." &*#$%#!

"The cuts around your wrists are deep enough that they'll probably need stitches. You could probably use some skin grafts on your back. Your legs will heal just fine, and whatever drug your captors administered to you has long since left your blood stream." From behind the doctor, two large starved green eyes looked at Kotetsu. Would her scars ever heal? Would she ever get back what was taken from her?

"Oi, Doc." The doctor finally looked at Kotetsu. Surprise colored his features. Though not so much surprise at Kotetsu's ability to talk than at his choosing to do so. "I don't need the stitches. I don't need skin grafts. I'll wear my scars with pride. I've grown stronger because of them." He thought he could see a trace of a smile on the girl's face. He wondered how long it had been since she smiled. The doctor followed his gaze and sighed.

"If that girl wasn't here for you to impress, would you still make this decision?"

Kotetsu thought it over, and then proudly concluded, "Probably not." The doctor grinned at his patient's noble stupidity.

"Well then, feel better, Tiger-san." He reached Alice's bed and tipped an imaginary hat. "You too, little princess." A few people rushed into the room just as the doctor was about to open the door. Muramasa noticed how his younger brother's expression had suddenly become defensive and fierce before he recognized who had just run into the room. His back had gone up against the wall just as Alice had tried to bury her way into a corner, but they relaxed upon realizing that these people were not here to hurt them. Kaede's uncle wondered whether it had been a good idea to bring her after all, but before he could do anything; Kaede had already swung her arms around her father and begun crying into his shoulder.

"Daddy, I saw them take you. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't stop them."

"Ow ow ow! Kaede! You're alive. You're alive!" He held her out in front of him as if he still couldn't

quite believe it. She wiped her tears away.

"Of course I'm am."

"But there was a fire. It burnt down the dance studio you were in." His brother clarified.

"Kotetsu. Some of the parents had seen a suspicious looking man with a tattoo that they had recognized from Hero TV. They followed him and when they saw him trying to light the place on fire they chased him off." He looked proud of his fellow townsmen. "I heard it was a real big guy too. With hands like meat cleavers." Kotetsu recognized the description.

"I don't think you're going to be hearing from him anymore." The tone was matter of fact, but his eyes were cold. He was going to kill those children. Scum like that deserves to die... Lunatic probably feels the same way. There was something different about Kotetsu. Something was missing that hadn't been before; replaced by something harder. He would make sure to confront him about it when Kaede wasn't around.

Alice crept out from behind her curtains, and Kotetsu motioned for her to come closer. "Guys, this is Alice. Alice, meet my daughter, Kaede, and my brother, Muramasa. He's cranky because he's old, but don't let that bother you. Underneath he's a biiig-"

"Don't make me hit you when you're injured."

"...jerk." Muramasa rapped Kotetsu on the head. "Ow!" Alice almost giggled and came closer. Kaede gasped but Kotetsu gave her a look that said, "Don't say anything about it." Kaede had it covered though.

"I love your hair. It's so cute! It's like a little pixie cut. I've been thinking of getting my hair cut the same way. What do you think, Daddy?" Kotetsu gritted his teeth. On the one hand he did NOT want his little girl to cut off all of her hair. On the other, he couldn't say that in front of Alice.

"Whatever you want, honey. You know I'm behind you 75% of the way." Kaede and Alice looked confused.

"What's the other 25% for?"

"That's the part of me that's crying on the inside.", he elaborated with a bright, cheery smile. Kaede bust up laughing. Even Muramasa suppressed a smirk, but Alice did not laugh. She didn't make a sound. Even though she was shaking and her eyes were tearing up she didn't laugh. Something occurred to Kotetsu. Most of the sounds he had heard when the lights were off had probably come from her. But when the lights were on, he hadn't heard anything. "Today we're going to introduce you to your roommate. She's been here for a few days but she was told not to bother you or you know..." A young girl was dragged into Kotetsu's field of vision. "She'd lose another ear." She hadn't been allowed to speak when the lights were on. The thought sickened him, and for a moment he thought he was going to throw up. If she couldn't speak in the light, than why had she-? She did it for me.It felt strange. To know he had been protected and comforted by a child. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? He reached over and grasped her hand.

"You're safe now. You can laugh if you want to. You can cry if you want to. No ones going to hurt you." He growled, "I'll make sure of it."

"Me too." Kaede piped in. Her Next powers activated for emphasis.

"Show off." Alice began to cry and laugh and hiccup simultaneously. Kaede put her arms around her, and Muramasa ruffled her hair.

"So, is she staying at Mom's house too?" He inquired, already knowing the answer.

"Yep."

…..

A few hours later, Kotetsu's hero friends entered the room with little to no warning and no concept of indoor voices.

"Handsome! Oh, I've missed you so much... What are you two doing?" Just as before, Kotetsu had backed up against the wall and braced himself for an attack. Alice had crawled into a corner. "Oi oi. What's wrong with you guys?" By the time the rest of the heroes had filed in Kotetsu and Alice were still visibly agitated. Their heart monitors were racing. Antonio gave Alice a Get Well balloon and Teddy Bear. Keith gave her two, saying "Get Well. And Get Well."

Kotetsu was still pale. His whole chest was bandaged as well as his wrists and lower legs. Still, bandages were better than wounds. Antonio went to give Kotetsu a pat on the shoulder but he dodged it. It would have been hard not to notice but the other heroes pretended they hadn't seen it.

"Sorry Antonio. My shoulder still hurts." Sure it does.After that, if someone went to touch Kotetsu, he would stiffen and look pained but he wouldn't move. Alice hid behind her bears. It was Ivan who finally said, "Guys, I think we're crowding them." Once they tried taking turns entering the room, Alice

opened up, and Kotetsu could behave normally, or at least as normally as he was trying to behave. It went really well... until Barnaby showed up.

Kotetsu saw him enter first. Kaede. Dead. Boy. Burn. Kill. Flames. Screams. Promise. All the images came flying back when he saw Barnaby's face. He tried closing his eyes but the images kept replaying.

When Alice saw him, she started screaming.

…..

Barnabyran from the room. All he had wanted to do was bring them flowers. He hadn't done anything wrong, but Kotetsu... He had never looked at him like that before. His face twisted with fear and pain and rage the moment he saw him. And the girl! She was horrified. She got so pale and then... What was he supposed to do now?

…..

"I think someone should go after him." All eyes went to Kotetsu.

"...I don't think the nurses would be too thrilled if I ripped out my IV's again." Blue Rose was flabberghasted.

"Again?" He shrugged.

"Call it a moment of weakness. Sky High, Bunny looks up to you. He listens to you. You want to try

talking to him?"

"Sure... What should we talk about?"

"Well... uh.." How he bares a passing resemblance to Alice's older brother; the guy who tortured us? "I've got nothing."

"How about why you two freaked out when you saw him? That'd probably be a good start." Bison insisted. Kotetsu was starting to feel exhausted.

"... He looks a little like the boy who tortured us. Do you want to tell him that?" Silence filled the room. "No, huh? I didn't think you would."