Hikaru was extremely depressed after he couldn’t save Asuna that night. The wounds he suffered physically can’t even be compared to the injuries he suffered mentally.

--I should have been the one to save her. It should have been me. I was there, but I couldn’t do anything. I was worthless. If Alex hadn’t shown up when he did, Asuna would have been…

‘This is all because I was weak.’

Hikaru saw Asuna straying further and further away from him to the point he could barely see her.

In his fragile emotional state, Hikaru started finding his own ways to gain strength.

He started doing experiments on his own body, but there is only so much a 17-year old could do in spite of being a genius.

Hikaru’s research gained results. He did become more durable but not without side effects. After the impact of the chemicals would wear off, his body would experience tremendous pain.

Bearing all that pain, he continued to experiment relentlessly on his body. One day his body couldn’t take it anymore and broke down.

Thankfully, Hikaru’s grandmother was there and got him admitted to a hospital.

The doctor told him he was lucky he survived, or else his body could have been completely destroyed. When asked why he did those life-threatening experiment, he replied,

‘I wanted to become stronger.’

The doctors concluded there was something mentally wrong with Hikaru and decided to call him a therapist to consult him. And that’s where it all began.

The therapist was a man in his prime with an optimistic aura.

He was someone from which positiveness oozed out. With an unusual eye color and white hair, he carried a unique vibe.

People are most vulnerable when they are mentally weak. It is then that they are easily controlled. Children, on top of that, require even less effort. You give them candy, and they’ll follow you anywhere.

The man entered the room where Hikaru was and cheerfully greeted him.

‘Good day Mr. Yoshida, I will be your therapist for today, now what seems to be the problem.’

He said with a kind, friendly voice. He took out his clipboard and his pen to take notes.

‘I’m weak.’

The man put down his pen on the clipboard and put it all away.

‘I know how that feels.’

‘You do?’

‘Yes, of course.’

And that was all it took for Hikaru to start talking.

Man is driven by passion. You control the passion you control the man.

At first, Hikaru was a little hesitant, but after a few nods from the therapist, he began talking faster and faster as the therapist listened quietly.

Hikaru told him all about his life. How he was seen as a prodigy, how the other kids shunned him for that, how he was bullied, and how lonely he felt.

He told him about the girl that took his loneliness away and how he fell in love with her, told him how the girl he loved, fell in love with another guy, a guy who was better than him at everything except for the fact he was smarter than him.

He told him how this was his only hope to win back the girl he loved, but that too was stolen away from him as the guy suddenly got incredibly smart.

How he had no advantage over the guy and how the guy saved the girl he loved when it should have been his duty.

After telling his entire life story, Hikaru sobbingly asked,

‘Tell me what should I do?’

The therapist was simply in the right place at the right time.

Hikaru was desperate for a solution. The therapist was silent until Hikaru finished his story and asked the question.

The therapist took out a handkerchief and stood up and got closer to Hikaru to wipe his tears.

‘Well that’s an easy question, you have two choices either you can whine all you want…’

The therapist’s voice grew cold.

‘Detest yourself, torture yourself and watch in agony the girl you lived for, be taken away from you as you spent the rest of your sad, pitiful, pathetic life alone or…’

The therapist looked deep into Hikaru’s eyes, he made sure to crush his soul before saying this.

‘Come with me and obtain strength.’

‘What?’

‘It’s simple really, I have a way to make you stronger, stronger than that guy will ever be, better than your amusing failed experiments but with risks. Of course, you can refuse this offer if you want to.’

’Hikaru grabbed his hand and said.

‘No, No, I accept. I accept, do what you want.’

‘Now that’s what I like to hear.’

Hikaru was introduced to Jira, and they began conducting experiments on him.

Jira simply infused the DNA of a gorilla with his by using a serum. A method they perfected a long time ago.

The only side effect is if left alone for too long without transforming back, the subject starts to lose intelligence, and if left alone for even longer, the subject fully turns into an animal and cannot be turned back.

Hikaru was promised that he would have a chance to fight Alex and when Alex and Jason arrived at the island, that promised was fulfilled.