Location: Hamada Residence, SanFransokyo
Year: 2027
The Superhero lawsuits had caused nationwide conflict and for people like Tomeo, it put his work and himself in wasn't a super, but his work could easily associate him with they were closing in. Thanks to a tip from a trustworthy friend,he was able to find out that they were coming, giving him time to find somewhere to relocate his family. At first, it was his research that was important, but now, he saw family was more important and the longer he worked on this so-called special project,the more danger they were placed in. Especially his youngest son. Hiro was young, but he was different. Nothing wrong with that, but that put him in more danger than the rest of the family. Of course,it was Tomeo's own fault for his youngest son's predicament.
Only him, his wife and the NSA knew about Hiro. His eldest son, Tadashi, was not aware of what his little brother could do and Tomeo was determined to keep it that way. The less he knew the better.
The man was now gathering as much information as he could and packing as much as he could. He though the had days, but no. Now he had hours, maybe less, before they wife looked at him in worry as he gathered his papers and them into the fireplace to let them burn. All the information was stored on locked files on his computer. Only he could access them.
"You said we had time." Maemi said.
"My sources were wrong. They're on their way right now and we have to get out!" Tomeo informed his wife. He was doing whatever it took to protect his family. Everything except destroy every last bit of detail. As long as the information existed,they were in danger. He just didn't see that as an option however and only saw run. This wasn't the life he wanted, but if it meant his family was safe, then on the run it was.
"You can't let the boys live their lives like this!" Maemi complained.
"They won't get to live a life if we stay." Tomeo argued.
That seemed to stop the woman complaining. As much as she hated this, she'd rather not see her sons hurt, or worse, dead. This wasn't the life she wanted for them. She wanted them to grow up and be happy. Go to school, meet someone, get married and have their own kids. Not this. Having to run for their lives and the worse part was, they wouldn't understand why. Before the whole anti-super protests, Tomeo was very open with his work. Tadashi had been so curious and wanted to know all about what his father did. But when she was pregnant with Hiro, that's when life began spiralling downwards. Not that having a baby was bad, it was just the timing. Tomeo became secretive with his works and no longer was Tadashi allowed in his father's office, at work or home. The man distancing himself from his son.
Aside from the secrets and up till now,things seemed fine. But then someone dangerous got hold of information and everyone involved in project's similar to Tomeo's were being hunted down. Now, they were closing in on them.
"Get the boy's ready." Tomeo ordered his wife as he went over to the phone. He dialled a number and waited for someone to pick up.
"This is Rick Diker. I'm sure you have a reason for calling me at this hour, Hamada." The man said. It was clear he was tired at the moment. Couldn't blame him giving the hour. But right now was an emergency.
"They're coming. I don't care what happens to me, but you make sure my family is okay. Especially Hiro."Tomeo said into the phone in a demanding tone. "No one must know."
Maemi made her way upstairs to Hiro's room. The boy was fast asleep in his little bed. He looked so innocent and unaware of what was going on. He was only three years old. Still so young and innocent. He didn't need to be exposed to these sorts of dangers. The only thing dangerous he needed to be worried about was the monster in his closet or whatever silly things the young mind could conjure. Not real life dangers like this. Maemi knelt down, her hand on the edge of Hiro's bed, and sobbed. She didn't even realised she had woken up her son with her cries.
"Why is mama sad?" the three year old asked, blinking curiously. "Does you have an owie?"
Maemi looked up and wiped her tears."No, my little SuperHiro." she said with the pet name she gave him. "Mama just can't believe how big you're getting." she replied, he wouldn't understand and she didn't want him to anyway."But we have to leave home and get a new one."
"Why?"
"Papa think's we might need a better place to live in. We'll be staying at Aunt Cass' for a while and then we can get a nicer home. One that's got more space you can play in."she tapped his nose playfully.
"I like Aunt Cass." Hiro nodded.
"And she likes you, SuperHiro."Maemi smiled sadly, her son didn't seem to notice. "So how about you pack what you really need and meet downstairs." Hiro nodded and quickly jumped out of bed and began grabbing his favourite toys and gadgets. Not exactly what Maemi meant by what he needed, but try telling a three year old toys weren't important. When she got up and turned around, she found Tadashi looking at her concerned. While convincing a three year old nothing was wrong was easy, convincing a ten year old, especially one as smart as her oldest son, wasn't as easy.
"What's happening?" he asked.
The woman bit her lip and approached Tadashi, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're just going to have to understand this is complicated stuff. You don't need to worry about it. Not now, anyway."
Tadashi didn't look convinced, but when his mother gestured to Hiro, he dropped any questions he was ready to ask and that had started forming. If Hiro overheard, he'd ask more than twice as much questions and wouldn't drop it until he gotanswers he understood. Although, he did understand better than most three year olds. But he was still a young child and he wasn't ready for the real dangers of the world.
"Get your things." Maemi ordered,but before Tadashi left the room, they heard the sound of the front door breaking, everyone stopped what they had been doing. Maemi quickly picked up Hiro, causing the boy to drop his bag of possessions. The woman took her eldest son's hand and then took them to the hallway closet. She moved several boxes aside, revealing a small door at the back. She pushed Tadashi in and before she passed Hiro over, she whispered something in the toddler's ear.
"Remember what I told you about how to make the monsters go away?"
Hiro nodded. "I tell them to goes away and they won't hurt me."
Maemi smiled sadly at him. "That's right, SuperHiro. I need you to do that to keep you and your brother safe. You're my Hiro." she kissed him on the forehead and passed him to Tadashi. She then knelt down towards Tadashi and kissed him on the forehead too. "You watch out for each other." she then shut the door and Tadashi could hear her moving the boxes back and closing the closet door. He looked at his little brother in his arms. Hiro was looking back at him with his large brown eyes.
"The monsters won't get us." Hiro whispered. All Tadashi could do was hold his brother tightly, while also covering the infant's ears, blocking out the violent sound scoming from outside the door. It wasn't the breaking of furniture or yells that scared him, but the screams of his mother and gunshots that were louder than anything.
But before he could mourn the lost of his parents, he heard Hiro scream and felt the house shake. Then it was silence, except for the sobs and short breaths coming from Hiro. Tadashi looked down at him, but the boy's head was lowered.
"The monsters hurt mama and papa."he breathed out. "I didn't make the monsters goes away fast enough."
What was he talking about? There was noway Hiro could've done something. If he went out and tried to stop whoever was out there, he would've been dead too. Not to mention, Tadashi would not have let him out of his sight.
"It's not your fault." Tadashi assured and brought the boy's chin up. It was then he saw his face and saw a stream of blood running down his nose. Did he do that to him when he was holding him tightly? Using the sleeves of his pyjama, Tadashi wiped the blood from Hiro's nose, also instructing him to blow his nose. He didn't care if having his brother's snot on his arm was gross. He had a three year old to look after now that his parents were gone. Tadashi really wanted to get out of the crawl space, but he was scared of what he'd see.
"The monsters don't goes away until I tell them to. I told them to. But they got to mama and papa first."
"Shh." Tadashi soothed, cradling Hiro in his arms. "The monsters are gone now. They won't hurt us. I promise. I won't let anymore monsters hurt us. It'll be you and me always."
After some time Hiro had dozed off and not long afterwards, so did Tadashi. Eventually, someone opened the small door. Some guy in a fancy suit. They assured them they were good and were friends with their father. He said his name was Mr. Diker. Tadashi knew his father talked to a Diker on the phone a lot. He must be the one.
Mr. Diker had been careful when guiding the two boys out, making sure they didn't see their parents , the youngest was asleep, so it wasn't difficult. He had to stand in the way of the oldest to block the view. But Tadashi had managed a quick glimpse of his father being zipped in a bag. They really were gone and he held back his tears until he was alone in a car with Mr. Diker and Hiro.
"We'll take you to your Aunt's." he informed. Rick then sighed. He didn't even want to know what the kid was going through. He just lost both his parents in a violent dealt with this the past couple of years. Some citizens took to dealing with supers or anyone associated with them into their own hands and it never ended pretty. Families were destroyed and people lost control. But that never made it easier when you see what was left in the back of your car. Worse, that it was a child who just lost whatever innocence they had left.
As the car started and they drove through the city, all Tadashi could do was watch his brother. What was he going on about keeping the monsters away? But he guessed this was better than the reality and Hiro was still young, so he'd eventually forget about this whole thing. Tadashi would make sure no more wrong would cross their paths. It would always be the two of them against the world.
