| Useful | Momiji Sohma |

5 | Spread Your Wings

Hikari couldn't stop thinking about him. Everytime she thought about their interaction, a flushed smile broke out across her face. She hadn't told a soul about him, and she planned to keep it that way, even if it made it hard for her to focus throughout the day.

She had just finished wiping down the porch when Hikari started watching Tohru and Kyo make rice balls from the kitchen doorway. Tohru was telling him about the time her and Hikari helped Yuki with his 'secret base' the other day. Then the two started talking but plums, but Hikari had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn't meant for this conversation. 

-----

That was the day Hikari first met Kagura Sohma, the boar of the zodiac. It was safe to say that deep down, I mean really deep down, she too had some amazing qualities. Other than being madly in love with Kyo, of course. That was if you could even call that love, in Hikari's opinion, it seemed like a warped sense of pity.

However that didn't mean Hikari wasn't all that upset to see her go.

-----

As soon as her content life with the Sohmas came to settle, Hikari soon had to deal with another change of setting.

And if you thought Tohru's family was a bit cruel to her, that you would look in awe about how they treated Hikari. But she would deal with it. She had a promise to keep, afterall. 

Hikari was reminded of the situation after her and Tohru had been called down to be spoken too. Well Tohru had been, Hikari just walked up from her new place in the storage room of the basement. 

 "It seems like you were living with some men, is that correct?" Tohru's aunt asked, she said it as if she was convicting someone of some horrid crime.

Hikari could feel herself seeth in anger. She didn't get to hear Tohru's cousin comment on the situation. No one should be treated how they were right now, with no idea of the situation they faced, neither the circumstances. Hikari started to lose it when Tohru's uncle started to question her.

Which is probably why she slapped him in the face, but whatever.

If she didn't do it, she was sure Tohru's grandpa was going too anyways.

"All you people know how to do is make other people miserable, huh?" Hikari could feel her eyes swell up with tears because of just how angry she was. 

Tohru gazed at her in shock, as did the rest of her family, but she couldn't care less right then.

"Don't think badly of them Akame, they're just rather unpleasant people." Tohru's grandfather persuaded, calling Hikari by her mothers name as he usually did. 

"You don't have to put up with them, you know. Of course I'm not trying to kick you out, I just want my Kyoko and Akame to be happy." He preached once again.

Of course he did, Hikari thought. Her mother, Akame Kamiya, and Kyoko Honda were practically inseparable. When they were younger, the two could always be found hanging out with one another, even when Kyoko started what her family called her 'rebellious phase'.

Well the two were inseparable until  Akame turned 18 and was sold out to be wed to Naoko Hayami by Hikari's grandparents. Hikari was just happy that Kyoko found her in the end.

In the end, it was safe to say Tohru's family knew Akame Kamiya fairly well. 

"B-but I-" Tohru stuttered, not sure what to say when it came to her own feelings.

"You just aren't the type to put up with things, Kyoko." 

Hikari couldn't agree more. 

"All I'm trying to say is that if there is any place else you two would like to go, then feel free. You aren't meant to keep your wings all cooped up like this. So do it if you would like, spread your wings." Tohru's grandfather finished. Hikari felt tears in her eyes start to form again at how sincere he was, even to a partial outsider like herself. 

" I just want to stay with them..." Both Hikari and Tohru said in unison somehow. 

Hikari thought about all the fun moments she shared with the people in that house. Like the time she gave Kyo advice for Tohru, or when she helped Yuki properly harvest some of his crops. Even when she would sometimes help Shigure with the daily crossword. Not to mention she had watched as Tohru started to become someone she could be proud of. Coming back to a place like this felt like all that was being ripped away from her. 

She even thought about the bag sitting with the rest of her stuff in the basement. Hikari needed to find the boy again, and she had a feeling that staying with the Sohmas would help the chance of finding him significantly.

Hikari wanted to go back to the people who were where she felt wanted. Where she felt useful. 

And of course, on cue as always, Yuki appeared and Hikari didn't even need to hear what he said before she went and snatched her an Tohru's things, eager to get back to the Sohma house. However she did hear one thing, something that made her smile.

"Come on home."

----- 

Turns out Kyo came along with Yuki (as Hikari expected), and on the way back to the Sohma house, Hikari watched from behind as the other 3 walked hand in hand. This was how it was meant to be. Just watching the people she cared about being happy was enough for her, she didn't deserve anything more. 

"Hikari, come and walk with us!" Tohru called out from over her shoulder.

"Oh, no thanks, I'll just be-" 

"Come on Hikari, don't tell me you're scared?" Kyo taunted.

So naturally Hikari walked up and gripped his hand with the force of a thousand suns, just to spite him. He let out a grunt of pain, while Yuki tried to hold in a laugh. Hikari didn't have to look to tell that Tohru was sweat dropping. 

"You know, it was pretty cool how you slapped that guy back there, Ms.Hayami." Yuki remarked as Kyo mumbled a string of curses. 

"Oh you guys saw that?" Kyo and Yuki nodded. "He just pissed me off, so that was the natural next step." 

While Tohru just laughed it off, the other two made it a point to remember to try not and piss Hikari off. 

Hikari was going home, with the people that gave her purpose in her life. 

For the first time in a while, Hikari felt an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness. Someone like her was blessed with these people, and she couldn't be happier. 

-----

ooo the festival is next i think

yayayay

blonde man will exist more from next chapter onwards so thats fun 

neways byeee 

i'd love to hear any thoughts :DDD