She didn't mean to listen in. That conversation implied that she would have to stay away from her siblings.

Hikari's sniffles echoed in the building. Coming here was no coincidence. As this dilapidated building was where she met Crow.

She remembered just like it was yesterday.

Hikari and a bunch of other kids had barricaded themselves inside the building. They were using this place as a home since they had nowhere to go. Apparently, Sector Security had proclaimed this building as their property and were trying to evict the current tenants residing in the structure.
Eventually, the flimsy blockade gave out and the officers forced their way in.

"This place belongs to the city of Neo Domino now. You lot need to scram!"

Some kids were frozen in fear. This place was to only source of protection they had. They wanted to take it away for no reason. No way the children could give this up.
"For resisting authority you can't blame us for how we treat you." He grabbed one of the kids by the hair.

This was Hikari.

"Bullying a child. At your big boy age! All you Sector trash do is throw around you're weight around against Satellite citizens." At the entrance stood Crow Hogan. "I won't forgive any adult who bullies kids!"

The two turned their sights on the new target, dropping Hikari in the process.

Crow wiped the floor with them. That doesn't mean he went unscathed. He told them to stay away from this build for a while until its safe from Sector Security goons.
All of the kids ran away, heeding his advice. All but Hikari. She stayed and watched as Crow pillaged parts from the Sector Security bikes. He took Hikari to his then hideout before taking her to Martha.

That was how she met Crow and eventually her brothers and sister. Before then she was just some urchin looking for a family. Now, she would be told to stay away from them. Her heart ached at the thought of it.

Hikari quickly stifled her cries when she heard someone enter the building.

"No luck today," The man was on the phone. He had on a well put together outfit. It was easy to tell he wasn't from Satellite. "I promise to find some brats for you. Satellite is where no one will care that a kid is missing. Hell they would probably be happy to leave this dump. I will make sure they are presented first. It would be nice if we found a beta. The clients would love that."

He ended the call with a sigh.

Hikari pressed her hands over her mouth. She wanted to vomit. What she heard was nauseating. The man sniffed around.

"Huh? I can barely smell my scent…. I swear I marked this place…."

He continued to sniff around the area.

Hikari's heart was beating in her ears as he got closer to the desk she was hiding under.

"Is a beta squatting here?!" He said a little too excited for Hikari's comfort. "If a beta is here then I have hit the jackpot! No to catch it. Hey beta squatter. How would you like to have a better life than this?"

The man inched closer to the desk.

"Hikari!" From the entrance Crow roared out the child's name.

"Crow!" Against here better judgement, the little girl ran out in attempt to get to Crow. This led to the trafficker to grab Hikari by the hair and put a knife to her neck.

"Are you the freeloading beta here?"

'His pheromones must have been erased by Hikari, but he thinks that I did it.' Crow was very grateful for the man's miscalculation. "Let us go. We won't tell anyone. Or come back here."

"I'm not stupid. And you are not in position to make demands." He looked between Crow and Hikari. "Come back with me and work for my boss. With a pretty face like yours, you won't be without work for very long. Betas are highly sought after in this line of work. Don't you want to provide for your child?"

Crow wanted to smack the fake look of concern off his face.

"Shut up!" Crow declined the putrid offer. His stomach churned with disgust.

Hikari gripped the knife and cried out in pain. This kick started the fast defeat of the man with Crow rushing him down with a flurry of punches. The man's grip loosened on the knife giving Hikari the perfect chance to escape.

"You punk you will regret this."

Crow flipped the man over the desk knocking him out.

He walked outside to see Hikari already on is dual runner, staring at her blood staid hands.

"Hold on to me.

"But-"

"Hikari."

Crow made it back to the orphanage without further incident.

After getting cleaned up, Hikari apologized to everyone for running away. She was still punished. Martha gave her an earful about how her actions could have jeopardized her life. The young beta was sent to her room.

Crow silently entered the room.

"Go away." Hikari sniffled her eyes were puffy and red from all the crying.

"I know it will be a tough adjustment. It is not all doom and gloom." Crow sat down next to her.

"Don't lie! I can't be around my siblings. I am a danger to them."

"You are not a danger to them." Crow wrapped an arm around her. "When I presented it was scary. I had to stay away from the others. But once I got better at controlling my pheromones, things got better."

"If I can erase scents, then I can sneak past Marth to get the cookies." Hikari smiled.

"Yes, but don't do that." Crow ruffles her hair. "Come on dinner is ready."

Dinner went by smoothly. Hikari had a lot of questions about being a beta that lasted until bedtime.

"There is a beta around here. At least I think so."

"Don't get my hopes up on some theory you concocted, Phovi!"

The man named Phovi winced as his boss shouted on the other end.

"Do you remember any characteristics?"

"I think the kid called him Crow. Orange hair."

"Thank you Phovi. Continue to look for our mystery beta until further notice."

"Yes, boss Xitto."

The called ended. Xitto tapped in information in his terminal. Up came an overview of the WRPG contestants. It did not take long to find someone with a matching profile to the description he was given.

"Crow Hogan…." Xitto smirked, tapping the desk. Manic laughter filled the room. If anyone else was there, they would surely be shaking in fear.