Universe: Big Hero 6
Summary: "To see the kid who had come to be their own brother after the loss of Tadashi, pale and lifeless in front of her very eyes had been too much. Something had broken inside her at that sight. He gave them everything; they owed it to him to help him however they could."
(rlly long, so do skip and just read) Note: I've had this idea in my head for ages, and it's taken a few days to get it all down. Basically I read a fic and came across the sentence "it was welcome during a time where Hiro nearly drowned" and just- was it now... be a shame if someone were to... write a story about that... But then it got really sad near the end because I was watching the movie at the time and I just thought that it couldn't end there so now it's super long and sad but happy too and there is friends and family and caring and everyone can pet the cat. Damn, I should have put Mochi in it. Nevertheless, here is the long-awaited (though not rlly because you didn't know about it) bit-too-long one-shot that is my art from the last few days. Please enjoy & do review if you can. Oh, and I would like to say and huge thank you to all those people who have reviewed my other stories! And a special thanks to 13BlueBananas who has been ever so kind about enjoying my stories. So glad people like them! I write stories for me, because I love writing, but it's lovely to see that people enjoy them too. So thank you! Anyway, do ignore the ramblings of your author, and do continue reading the actual story. Goodbye~
What if it make you Sad at me. What if it make you Laugh but you cry as you fall asleep. What if it takes your Breath so you can't hardly Breathe. What if it makes the Last Sound be the very Best Sound, what if what I want makes you Sad at me. Is it all my Fault so can I Fix it please? Know that I'm Always All for You...
In all of the places they could have cornered this guy, it had to be the dockyard. None of the team were particularly fond of the place Yokai had once tried to kill them, which had then resulted in a frantic car chase until they had crashed into the water anyway.
Wasabi still sometimes muttered about his poor car, stuck in the sand at the bottom of the bay. Hiro had offered to see if he and Baymax could recover it a couple of times, certain he could create some kind of underwater crane or something to help, but Wasabi didn't want them going there any more than he wanted to.
But here they were, being the dedicated crime fighters they swore they would be, having chased this guy through many back alleys - where they only kept up thanks to Hiro's knowledge from old bot-fights - before seeing him make a break for it towards the docks.
The late evening was dark and GoGo looked more menacing than usual as she advanced towards the criminal, pulling her helmet off for effect; Hiro, behind her, copied the gesture, having no need for his helmet now, as he had stationed Baymax on lookout at the entrance to the dockyard, around the corner, in case the guy did manage to get past them.
All in all, they weren't expecting much trouble now the criminal had no escape.
Indeed, he was frantically searching for an exit even as the team backed him to the edge, and he glanced down at the dark sea nervously. Hiro walked past GoGo, giving her a nod - she was the best at cornering the villains but was the worst for following the no-violence code they closely operated on - and up to the man, threatening despite being the youngest and therefore smallest there.
"I hope you're done running," Hiro stated coldly. The man had stolen from two small schools before Big Hero 6 had caught up with him, and Hiro felt that such a crime was petty and pathetic, not to mention cowardly, stealing from such an innocent place.
The man gritted his teeth. This kid was better than him and, as it used to with Hiro's bot-fight competitors in the past, that pissed him off to no end.
"Done," he growled in response, giving the teenager a murderous glare before again looking for a non-existent escape route in the water all around him. All he could find that might be helpful to use was a thin rod of wood, and that gave him a sudden, desperate, completely stupid, idea.
Hiro nodded curtly. "Right," he said, "good." Turning slightly away from the man to face the team, he addressed the others. "Get Baymax to call the police while most of us head back, apart from one or two who'll stay-"
"HIRO!"
His instructions were cut off by a yell from Honey Lemon, who was looking past him, at the criminal, with a petrified expression. Hiro's eyes widened in realisation and he whipped around, but too late; the criminal swung the wood and cracked it with a sickening crunch around the side of the boy's unprotected head.
Immediately, Hiro collapsed, and the guy kicked him viciously in the side before he hit the ground so he was shoved into the water, barely conscious, and quickly disappeared from the surface.
"Hiro!" Honey, Wasabi and Fred shouted, horrified. GoGo didn't bother to shout. In a second she furiously skated straight into the criminal, punching him as hard as possible in the face, then kicking the back of his knees to force him to the wood. She was about to throw him in the sea, too, but Fred and Honey hurried forward to stop her doing just that.
Honey produced a chem-ball that could hold the criminal's hand together like handcuffs and Fred grabbed his arm in a vice grip, giving GoGo a brief nervous look. He didn't want to intervene with her revenge, but it was their policy to keep violence to a minimum.
Meanwhile, Wasabi crouched down by the water and, quickly realising it was pointless to look in such darkness, pulled his lasers off his hands and wrists and slipped into the water to find Hiro. The criminal captured, Fred and Honey looked at each other in worry, while GoGo continued to glare with such blazing anger at the criminal in Fred's grip that if looks could kill, he would have daggers on every inch of his body.
Barely a minute later, Wasabi surfaced, the young teenager in his grip, eyes close, face pale and lips practically blue with cold. If the sea was chilly in the daytime, at night it was freezing and easily able to make an impact on anyone who fell it. Honey knelt at the edge and, face set in fear, pulled Hiro out with Wasabi's help and half-cradled the boy in her arms, not caring about the wet.
"Hiro, wake up," she whispered in a barely audibly voice, tears stinging her eyes.
Wasabi pulled himself out and, with a glance at Hiro, immediately turned and hurried to find Baymax, ignoring his own shivering from the water, barely able to think beyond the fact that the nursebot would be able to help. This was the worst that had happened to them so far, and he felt his mind had practically frozen in fear, the others surely feeling similarly too.
Honey carefully lay Hiro on the wood, stroking his messy hair from his forehead. She was terrified of making a wrong move, and her hands were shaking so much she didn't think she could help anyway.
All the months working together, they had got a few injuries each. In was unavoidable if you delved into the dark goings-on in the unlawful back streets of San Fransokyo. Many criminals had weapons as a on-hand tool, essential to deal in the arts that one can find in alleyways.
The six young adults had faced knives, guns and smashed bottles turned into weapons thrown at them as they attempted to make San Fransokyo a safer place everywhere, not just in the protected city.
But this was the first time such a devastating crisis had happened since the fire and the microbots, where, of course, Tadashi had lost his life before they even began the mission to track down and apprehend Yokai, who was revealed to be Callaghan.
Honey could feel tears slipping down her face now as she thought about all they had done together. She didn't know what to do; her mind was numb with shock and fear. Barely a minute or so had passed in the whole incident, but it seemed like forever as the team waited in silence.
GoGo didn't let such deep emotions stop her for long. Almost mechanically, she marched over to Honey and dropped to a crouch next to Hiro. She wasn't about to lose him without one hell of a fight.
She put a hand to his cold cheek, automatically pressing her fingers at his neck. Suddenly, snapped out of her disbelieving state, she slapped Hiro, once, and roughly dragged him by his shoulder around so he was lying on his side. Honey watched with fearful eyes, and without any helpful ideas in her mind, let GoGo do what she could.
With the heel of her hand, GoGo thumped the boy on his back, hard, muttering so lowly that only Honey could make it out, a clear desperation in her shaking voice.
"Come on, Hiro, you're not leaving us that easily... get up now, we need you, you can't just... come on, Hiro..."
As they heard the approaching footsteps of Wasabi and Baymax, Hiro began coughing, suddenly moving, trying to push himself up a bit as he choked and wheezed on water, desperately forcing it out of his airway.
GoGo sat back on her heels, face pale, as she watched him struggle to breathe, slowly opening his eyes, groggy from the head injury and near drowning. Honey, unable to help herself, let out a sob and gathered Hiro in her arms again, holding him to her chest as though afraid to let him go lest he get in such danger again.
Semi-conscious, Hiro blinked heavily as he drew unsteady breaths and tried to look around a little, remembering where he was and what had happened as his breathing evened out and he began to pass out from the head trauma and shock.
Standing up, GoGo backed up towards Fred, who was watching with a shocked expression, still holding the criminal in a crushing grip. The man wasn't looking so smug now. In fact, he looked faintly sick at the realisation that he had nearly killed a young boy in an attempt to get away.
Who knew, sometimes criminals have more feelings than it seems. Callaghen was the team's first example of that theory; after his actions, he realised how foolish it had been to be consumed by vengeance, having had no friends to soothe him out of his raw grief like Hiro had.
As GoGo neared where Fred was standing, she looked down at the guy with hatred again and, without missing a beat, kicked him in the stomach, making him double over in pain. She wanted him to feel a tiny bit of the screaming terror inside her that she dare not express. The thoughts about what if the criminal had really got Hiro, and he did die. What if Hiro was here alone and it had happened?
She knew that she would not be able to cope with losing Hiro too. Tadashi's death had been terrible, but at least they hadn't actually seen it. Only Hiro had been there, left with his brother's hat and a depression that cut so deep that it almost finished him, too.
But to see the kid who had come to be their own brother after that loss, pale and lifeless in front of her very eyes had been too much; more than GoGo could stand. Something had broken inside her at that sight and she had summoned courage she didn't know she had to approach him. She only hoped it was enough. He gave them everything; they owed it to him to help him however they could.
Baymax had approached Hiro as GoGo was lost in her thoughts. Wasabi had quickly filled the nursebot in on the events as they hurried back to the others, and Baymax was humanely concerned about his best friend.
Immediately scanning the boy, Baymax noted with what could only be relief, that Hiro wasn't in too much danger any more. At least, not too far for a complete recovery in about a week or so.
"Hiro has sustained head trauma in that form of a severe concussion. There is no brain damage or bleeding, but symptoms include dizziness, amnesia, headache, nausea and blurred vision, to name a few. He requires rest for several days, though to be sure I suggest taking him to a hospital," Baymax summarised, looking down at his patient.
Through barely open eyes, Hiro saw his robot friend blurrily. "No... don' wan' hospital... please, 'Dashi," he managed to murmur. The team exchanged nervous and fearful looks at the mention of his brother.
Baymax leaned over him. "Your injuries require my attention," he stated, and easily picked up the boy, so he shivered in the robot's arms.
"Will he be okay? Should we take him to a hospital anyway?" Honey asked anxiously, getting to her feet. Baymax turned on his internal heater to began treatment immediately before replying.
"It is not essential. I can monitor him from the days it will take to recover if he wishes to stay at his house." The nursebot briefly scanned the boy again. "He is in shock and body temperature is low, possibly resulting in hypothermia if he does not warm up. I have activated my heater to work against both problems on the walk back."
Honey nodded and Wasabi, standing just behind Baymax, swallowed nervously, wondering what came next now their leader was out of commission and unable to instruct them.
GoGo stepped forward in the silence, regaining her controlled manner. "Right." She glanced around the group. "Wasabi, go with Fred to turn this asshole in at the police station." She gave the criminal yet another murderous look before continuing. "Honey and I will go with Baymax back to the Cafe. Honey can talk to Cass and I'll help Baymax get Hiro settled and treated."
Another brief silence followed her words, followed by immediate action. With a salute to GoGo, Fred marched the criminal in his grip away from the docks and towards the city without a word, uncharacteristically serious, Wasabi in tow after a single worried look back.
Baymax turned and also headed back to the city, led by Honey Lemon, with GoGo behind them. It wasn't far from the dockyard to the cafe, but it felt like longer as they walked in silence, Honey glancing in fearful concern at Hiro, who was unconscious again, nestled in his robot's protective arms.
Honey swallowed as they neared their destination. She glanced back at GoGo, who met her gaze with a slight nod. Determination in her steps now, Honey opened the door of Cass' house for Baymax to edge in. They would be alright, she told herself firmly, as long as they had each other.
Hiro felt exhausted. He could hear voices around him, like a buzzing radio that wasn't tuned, and tried to focus on them through an ache in his head.
"Did Honey tell his Aunt?"
"Yeah. She was pretty scared at first but calmed down once she saw him."
"He'll be okay. But it was pretty scary."
"Hm."
"So where did Wasabi and Honey go?"
There was a sigh. "To get coffee. Honey and I have been here like an hour longer than you guys, Fred."
"Why didn't you go then?"
"...He's not come round yet. Are you sure he's okay?"
The last sentences of GoGo's, Hiro was almost certain, was directed to someone else, he felt, and sure enough, a third voice answered.
"His heart rate and breathing are stable. Hiro will be fine in a few days. His body temperature is high, however, suggesting a combination of illness and concussion symptoms are affecting him. He should wake up in the next few hours."
The calm report could only come from Baymax, who by the sound of it, was standing faithfully by Hiro's beside.
Hiro couldn't concentrate any more, though he wanted to. He drifted...
The alarm was ringing everywhere around them. They were running, but not away from the fire, but towards it... Then he was grabbing Tadashi's arm and shouting, begging him to stay... he couldn't lose his brother again... instead, he ran past Tadashi, into the fire, and there was a crash, an explosion, he was hotter than ever before and Tadashi was yelling his name...
"Hiro! Hiro, wake up!"
"He's boiling hot."
"I can see that, Honey!"
"Actually, boiling temperature is 100-"
"Baymax, shut up! What's wrong with him?"
"GoGo, it'll be okay-"
"Honey, don't patronise me-"
"Hiro;s temperature is dangerously high; 103.2. Immediately cooling is essential for his health. Such emotional fear and complexity suggests he is waking from a nightmare."
"So he's awake?"
"Hiro? Can you hear us?"
"GoGo, shush. I think he's coming round."
Hiro felt like his head was going to explode or implode from overwhelming senses and thoughts and memories... Tadashi, fire, microbots, Baymax, fighting, protecting, cornering, falling, water, drowning, hurt, burning...
He shot up in bed, gasping. He caught a glance of GoGo, Honey Lemon and Baymax watching him in fear and concern (well, Baymax just looking his normal self but seemed concerned) before he bolted out of bed and out the room at a remarkably fast speed for someone who had been unconscious for the past four hours, making them all gasp.
Honey was the first to react. "I'm getting Cass," she said fearfully, immediately hurrying down the stairs. GoGo looked at Baymax.
"I'll stay here. You go see to him."
Baymax nodded in confirmation, already halfway towards the door, following his patient. He walked down the hall a little, easily finding Hiro in the bathroom.
"Hiro?"
The boy raised his head to see Baymax, and sighed, leaning away from the toilet and against the bathtub behind him, closing his eyes in exhaustion. He heard the nursebot move closer and pat his head.
"There, there. Your neurotransmitter levels indicate you are distressed by this illness. Honey Lemon has gone to get your Aunt. It will be alright."
Sure enough, not a moment later, Cass came hurrying upstairs, Honey behind her.
"Hiro! Oh, sweetie, what's wrong?" She asked, kneeling next to her nephew. She gathered him in her arms and, as he seemed disinclined to open his mouth any time soon even to reply, she looked up at Baymax. "What is it?"
Baymax scanned Hiro again. "It seems he has woken from a nightmare and is also experiencing concussion symptoms of sickness, dizziness, vomiting and headache."
Cass drew Hiro back to look at him at arm's length. He was very pale, but finally awake and kind of alert.
"Hiro's neurotransmitter levels show fear and distress. His temperature has declined to 102, and heart rate and breathing are regulating, which is good. Dehydration is now a main concern however."
The woman nodded and looked at the doorway, where GoGo and Honey were hesitantly waiting.
"Can you two get him back to bed? I'll get medicine and a drink."
Both girls nodded and Honey took Cass' place next to Hiro, helping him to get up, while his aunt headed back downstairs to get water from the fridge and some medicine to help her nephew.
"I'm fine... just a bad dream," Hiro murmured as Honey guided him back to his room, GoGo following, watching the kid stumble his way forward with growing concern.
"Was it a dream about how dumb your friends are?" She asked sarcastically as Baymax pushed Hiro into his bed and covered him with a light blanket instead of the duvet, to keep his temperature in a better range.
Hiro blinked at GoGo with a slight frown. "Huh?" He managed to articulate.
She rolled her eyes. "Never mind, Nancy."
Maybe it was effects from his pounding head, but Hiro had no idea why GoGo would call him 'Nancy'. It was probably another way to tell him to 'woman up'. Then again, maybe he shouldn't have said he was fine when it was clearly not true.
Aunt Cass came back up a moment later, holding a medicine bottle in one hand and an ice-cool glass of water in the other, balancing the two easily from years of waitressing.
"Here, sweetie, take this, it'll help with the sickness."
Hiro wrinkled his nose a little at the pinkish liquid that was sure to taste foul, but he didn't want to continue feeling nauseous and end up throwing up again, so he took the cap of medicine and followed it with a few sips of water.
"If you two want to go now he's woken, then I'll stay," Cass addressed the two girls who were watching in concern.
GoGo started to shake her head, but Honey answered for both of them, "thank you. We'll come by tomorrow morning with the others."
Firmly, she took hold of GoGo's shoulders and began steering her out the room, rivaling the engineer's glare with a rare one of her own as GoGo shrugged Honey's hands off.
Cass gave her nephew a quick hug. He was still pale and clearly feeling the effects of the bruise he got, which was hidden by his messy hair, but was at least more alert now.
"If you want to go back to bed too, I will watch over Hiro and tell you of any dangerous changes to his condition," Baymax offered.
Initially, Aunt Cass hesitated, but she knew that she did have to be up early in the morning to start the cafe as usual, so decided to take the nursebot at his word. He was Hiro's best friend, after all.
"Alright. I'll come and check back before the cafe opens in the morning. Feel better, honey," she added, patting Hiro's wild hair.
He nodded, eyes already closing. "Thanks, Aunt Cass," he muttered as she left. He shifted into a comfortable position and looking up at Baymax, wanting to speak to his robot before he fell asleep.
"I will look after you," Baymax said simply, and Hiro just nodded again, too tired to say anything. He knew that he was safe from the fire now because his brother had put his soul into this robot, and Tadashi had always loved Hiro. Now Baymax was here to watch over him. And Hiro knew that he would be okay.
It was two days before Hiro was actually conscious enough to take in his surroundings properly. His friends had been to see him either in a group or in pairs over that time, and of course, Baymax had been there constantly, and Aunt Cass had done everything she could to help and make him more comfortable.
This morning, Hiro's sleep was broken by the sound of something like a herd of elephants climbing the stairs.
As he rolled over and did a brief self-check - thankfully noticing that he felt well enough to stay awake for more than half an hour - he heard whispered conversation that sounded like whoever was on the stairs had stopped halfway to talk.
Hiro also felt better, finally, after practically two and a half days of sleeping and rest. Baymax rather suddenly loomed over him, making the boy jump.
"Jeez, Baymax! Just say something next time!" He told his robot, taking a calming breath.
"Sorry, Hiro. I will remember that. On a good note, you appear to be better. Your neurotransmitter levels are not showing that you are in much pain and your body temperature has gone down to 99, a definite improvement."
Hiro yawned and smiled at Baymax. "Thanks, buddy. Yeah, I feel better. Bit of a headache though."
Baymax inclined his head gravely. "Understandable. It will take another few days for the concussional symptoms to ease completely."
Any reply Hiro was thinking of making was interrupted by a thumping on the stairs and a triumphant yell of "DUDE!"
Hiro blinked rapidly to focus on the school Mascot, who was jumping on the spot in apparent excitement. Just as the boy was going to greet his friend, the rest of them appeared in view, Wasabi and GoGo glaring.
"Fred! Shut up!"
"Wasabi, he's awake anyway," GoGo pointed out in a bored voice, having glanced over at Hiro before scolding Fred too.
"Oh, Hiro! How are you?" Honey exclaimed, hurrying over.
"Better, mostly-"
The rest of his reply was cut off by Honey Lemon gathering him in a big hug. "We've been so worried!"
"Yeah, and bored. I wanted to bring you a robot lizard that can jump, like, from different worlds, but," Fred sighed, dropping his hands that he had been wildly gesturing with, "GoGo said we shouldn't."
"Also, they don't exist," Wasabi added dryly.
Hiro couldn't help a smile. He had missed his friends, of course, but at the same time it wasn't exactly his fault that he had been completely out for days. At least they were all here now.
"Well, uh, thanks for, um, coming to see me," he said slightly awkwardly. Truth be told, he still wasn't completely used to having friends who cared for him this much that they seriously, well, cared.
"Duh, Hiro. Anyways, you'd better get up soon, these guys are almost insufferable without a Hamada around."
Wasabi rolled his eyes, but Fred frowned in mock offense at GoGo. "Hey, Fredzilla is totally AWESOME, not 'insuf-ra-bell'," he declared, quoting the word incorrectly.
"You don't even know what that means, do you?"
"Sure I do. Something about being in da stuff, dude!"
Wasabi facepalmed. "No. And please stop."
Honey, who had ignored the bickering going on behind her, pulled Hiro into another tight hug. "Okay, anyway, we'll let you rest. We love you, Hiro!"
"Uh, I love you guys too?" He reply, bemused, as Honey ruffled his hair with a smile.
"Yeah, bye. Woman up."
"We'll swing by later, okay, little fella."
"Fred, he's not that small."
"Aw, come on, don't take away my nickname skill, Wasabi!"
"It's been years and I still can't believe I'm called that. You have no skills."
"Shut up before I punch the both of you."
"GoGo, there's no need for violence."
"There's always a need for violence."
"Honey's right, dudette, you need to-"
"If you say 'chill', I'm going to kick you in the nuts, Fred."
"Well, I was going to suggest you come up with Hiro's nickname."
"Course you were."
"Can't Hiro's nickname just be, uh, Hero?"
"Because, Honey, that's just not inventive enough."
"Oh here we go."
"I blame you, Wasabi."
"But, GoGo, listen - what about a robot who can do really cool stuff like..."
His friend's voices faded as they went through the cafe, calling goodbye to Cass, and out, presumebly to head to SFIT to work in the labs. Hiro smiled and glanced at his robot.
"I'm so lucky to have such amazing friends," he sighed, glad he didn't take it for granted. "And you, of course. We make one hell of a team together."
Baymax nodded. "Yes. Tadashi would be proud," he said gently.
Taking a deep breath, Hiro nodded. "Yeah, he would be."
"Tadashi is here."
Hiro stared at the ceiling, a small smile on his face. "I know," he said softly. "He's never really been gone."