Flashback

Hikaru was about a year and a half when the incident happened. Baatar didn't live in the nicest area of Republic City and there were still people who deeply resented him for his involvement in the unification of the Earth kingdom. One night something happened that Baatar never forgot. Hikaru was about a year and a half old when the incident happened. Baatar didn't live in the nicest area of Republic City and there were still people who deeply resented him. On one particular night Baatar felt restless and had an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He rose out of bed to check on Hikaru just to make sure. Hikaru was asleep in her crib, a fist resting against her mouth. Baatar smiled, he loved his little girl so much. He adjusted her blankets and crib mobile then went back to bed. Sometime later he woke up with an even stronger feeling of uneasiness. On his way back from the bathroom, he thought he could Hikaru whimpering as if she was being woken up. He heard someone hiss, "Shh!" now he knew someone was in Hikaru's room. A figure was hovering over Hikaru's crib; upon being caught he started to make his way to the exit. Now Baatar wasn't a bender and he wasn't much of a fighter, but he wasn't going to do nothing.

"Get the hell out!" he yelled grabbing any object his hand could find and chucking it at the intruder and making his way over to his daughter's crib. He couldn't see very well in the dark. Luckily the intruder fled so Baatar didn't actually have to be in direct contact. Hikaru was full on crying during the incident. Baatar leaned over the crib to pick up his daughter.

"Shh baby girl, Daddy's got you. Daddy's here my sweet angel," he kissed his child's head and started rubbing her back.

Baatar didn't know if this was connected to his relation to the ex Great Uniter or a threat or something. He felt like a failure for not being able to protect his daughter. Baatar moved his daughter's crib into his room even though it made things a bit more cramped. Baatar ran a hand over his daughter's head. His daughter's cries lessened to whimpers. Cradling her, he sat down on his bed comforting her. "I'm so sorry sweetheart, no one's ever going to hurt you," Baatar said softly letting Hikaru play with his finger. Hikaru hiccupped, resulting in a bit of spit up. Baatar let out a laugh then reached over for a wipe and gently wiped her mouth. Since then he's always been more protective of his daughter.

Suyin noticed that her eldest son was troubled when he came home. Baatar sat down on the couch with a sigh.

"Is there something wrong sweetie?" Su asked.

"Hikaru ran off today and what's worse is that she was with a stranger. It brought back an unpleasant memory. Mom, something happened years ago that endangered Hikaru's life," Baatar went on to explain the incident.

"I'm so sorry that happened, honey. These are the repercussions of the decisions you and Kuvira made and bringing a child into it makes it more complicated," Su said.

Baatar's jaw tightened and he narrowed his eyes a bit at his mother. He didn't like where the conversation was headed. It seemed like the same old conversation that happened when they were discussing Hikaru's custody.

"I understand all the consequences for me and Kuvira's actions and remorseful about all the pain we've caused. However the only "repercussion" I don't regret is Hikaru. She's the best that's ever happened to me. Sure we may have more struggles than others but we'll take it one step at a time," Baatar said.

"I know son and I'm sorry if it came out the wrong way. I still regret ever persuading you to give her up because I was blinded. What I meant was at some point Hikaru is going to want to know all the details about why," Su closed her eyes, "her mother is sitting in a prison cell. She's going to be starting school in a while and the people here know full well about Kuvira. Don't be surprised when people take their resentment out on Hikaru," Suyin said.

Baatar sighed, "I know but I'm not looking forward to telling her."

Later, Baatar went to his daughter's room.

"Hi Daddy," Hikaru said somewhat subdued from the earlier day's events.

"Hi sweetie, I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier, but it's really not safe to go on your own and be with strangers," Baatar said.

"I know Daddy."

"There are bad people out there who want to hurt you especially because-," Baatar stopped himself.

"Because what Daddy?" Hikaru asked.

"Because there are just bad people who want to hurt others," Baatar said quickly. "Honey, I'm only protective because I love you. When you were little something happened to you that could've resulted in you being hurt or worse." Baatar closed his eyes as if he was reliving the memory. Hikaru crawled onto Baatar's lap.

"You were about a year and a half old. I woke up one night and found someone broke into your room. Thank the spirits I caught him in time or I don't know what he would've done to you," Baatar embraced Hikaru.

AN: This one's a bit shorter, again thank you to those who read, review, fav, or follow my stories. Hopefully this is the last flashback we'll see because I'm trying to move the story forward.