chapter i: once more

"Nothing I do seems to help with anything," groaned Hiro as he slumped down into the chair of his room, and formerly Tadashi's. It was around 2 AM, and Hiro had not been able to sleep at all since the passing of his brother. Though it had only been four weeks since Tadashi's passing, it felt like years to Hiro, as he struggled to cope with the loss of his beloved sibling.

He was always there when I needed him…

Through thick and thin, Tadashi would always care for him no matter what Hiro did, even if it involved illegal botfighting, or staying up late past his curfew. But, though Tadashi would get so upset with Hiro that he was literally steaming out of his ears, Tadashi would always give Hiro the most tender smile when the whole ordeal was over. Now, he can never see that smile again. Hiro then sighed mournfully and put his head in both of his hands, hunched over his work desk. The questions overflooded Hiro again.

Why didn't I stop him?

What would have happened if I did?

How would things be if Tadashi was here now?

Hiro always told himself not to ask himself those questions, but the more time he spent alone, the more he kept thinking about his deceased brother. The memory of him running into the burning building whilst dropping his signature baseball cap was forever burned inside his head, and he can vividly remember every second before Tadashi rushed into the uproar of flames. Hiro can clearly recall the feeling of his heart dropping into his stomach as the building exploded, and he remembered thinking when it happened:

He's gone.

"Trying to cope is hard…" Hiro murmured as he slithered out of his chair and slowly limped towards his bed. It was already 2:30 in the morning by the time Hiro was finished with his flashback of the tragic event, and he felt as though he should get some sleep before he were to start the day.

"Let's see if I can sleep again this time," Hiro thought as he plopped into his bed and gently brought the covers over his body, allowing the blankets to caress his body with their warmth and comfort. Tonight was different than all the other nights, as Hiro could actually feel himself drifting off into the wonderland that is called sleep, unlike the nights previous where he tossed, turned and had nightmares about the tragedy that occurred at SFIT's showcase.

Wow, this is pretty nice…

/

Hiro felt light. Well, more light than he was already, being a very thin boy, weighing in at about 100 pounds. But something was different. It was as though all the weight in his body disappeared, and was replaced with air. Hiro could move around freely without any care in the world. Hiro also noticed that instead of his bedroom, his surroundings were white as far as the eye can see, encompassing everything and anything with nothing else in there, a barren minimalist environment.

"Boo," said a voice from behind Hiro.

"Ah!" yelped Hiro as he jumped back and turned towards who was on his back.

"No way…" thought Hiro as he turned and saw the mysterious person. "Is it really you?"

To Hiro's surprise, Tadashi was standing right in front of him, looking as though he had never been touched by the fire at all, and still looked as fresh as he did the day they went to the showcase.

"Miss me, bonehead?" Tadashi said to Hiro while chuckling and ruffling his hair.

Flabbergasted, Hiro said, "Am I… dreaming?"

Looking dead into Hiro's eyes, Tadashi replied, "Well, you're not really dreaming. Actually, I'm from the afterlife, invading your dreams to tell you a very important message?"

Eyes lighting up, Hiro clapped his hands together and said, "Do you have money for me?"

"No." said Tadashi bluntly.

"Are we getting a new cat?"

"In the future, I guess."

"Will I MAKE a lot of money?"

"Probably in the future."

"Am I -"

"Hiro, stop!" Tadashi said as he laughed softly and touched Hiro's shoulder. "You have to promise to take me VERY seriously when I say this, okay?"

Nodding his head in agreement, Hiro replied, "Of course I will."

Taking a deep breath, Tadashi put both of his hands on Hiro's shoulder, stared into his pupils and said, "I need you to do something REALLY important, okay?"

Confused, Hiro answered, "What's so important?"

Immediately when Hiro said that, Tadashi crossed his arms and looked into the mass of white that was in front of him and said, "I kind of want you to date GoGo."

Hearing this was a shock to Hiro. Why would Tadashi want him to do something that was so out of pocket?

"But Tada-nii… why?"

Pursing his lips together and still looking upwards, Tadashi replied, "Well, here's the thing. I kind of had a thing for GoGo, and she kind of had a thing for me, and we knew that. It never really evolved because, I, uh, kind of died before I was able to get anywhere with her."

Crossing his own arms, Hiro replied, "And? What are you getting at?"

Looking directly at Hiro, Tadashi answered Hiro's reply by saying, "So, with you as my protege, I thought that you should smash GoGo. You know, to carry on the Hamada family name with your healthy seed and -"

Waving his hands in an 'x' motion, Hiro exclaimed, "Stop right there! I don't want to hear any more!"

Sighing, Tadashi said to Hiro, "C'mon now. I remembered the way you looked at GoGo when you first saw her back when you came to the lab the first time."

Hiro's eyes raised in surprise, and he said to Tadashi, "H-H-How did you know?"

Putting his hand on Hiro's shoulder, Tadashi replied, "You kept staring at her ass, bonehead. Don't worry, I did the same thing too until I learned how to keep it discreet."

Hiro was silent when Tadashi uttered those words. Almost inappropriately, Tadashi exclaimed, "Well, now that we know that you've got some form of physical attraction towards GoGo, let's try to get you two hitched! Er, dating."

"Fine. I guess I'll give it a chance. For YOU, Tadashi," Hiro answered.

"Great! Trust me, she's a LOT different than you think she is!" Tadashi said while throwing his hands up in the air for joy.

Looking puzzled, Hiro asked Tadashi, "What do you mean?"

"It means what it means, knucklehead. She might look like the tough, biker-girl, but - you know, I think you should figure it out yourself," said Tadashi with a huff. "You've got a surprise waiting for you in the morning."

Tadashi said that while smirking, and that made Hiro feel a little bit uncomfortable. Hiro then questioned Tadashi by saying, "What do you mean by -"

Before Hiro could finish his sentence, Hiro was jolted awake, and found himself in a cold sweat. He was panting heavily, and clutched his chest in an attempt to catch his breath, all the while turning over to his right side to see what the time was. His breath was slowly coming back to him, and Hiro turned his alarm clock to a position where he could see it while laying down.

5 AM. I seriously hope that was some cracked out dream instead of a 'vision'...

To Hiro's surprise, Baymax startled him by announcing quite loudly, "Hiro, you seem to have an incoming call from GoGo Tomago. Shall I accept it?"

Hiro was seriously wondering why GoGo was calling up at 5 in the morning, but before Hiro could utter a single sound out of his mouth, something in his body felt different. It had felt as though all the motor skills that he had were gone, and that he could not move. After about a second, his body started to move on his own, and Hiro was standing up, facing Baymax.

Wait, what? Why am I moving on my own?!

Against Hiro's will, he spoke out to Baymax and said, "Y-Yeah Baymax, answer the call."

And so, GoGo's icon that Hiro had saved into Baymax appeared on his stomach in a very bright light, and out of that stomach, Hiro heard, "Hey. You okay Hiro? I know you started coming to school two weeks ago, but… I just wanted to make sure you're fine."

Hiro still didn't seem to have control of his body, and more words came out of his mouth against his will, with him saying, "Y-Yeah. I'm fine GoGo. I'm glad you're here to help, y'know." He quietly chuckled as he said that, and what was happening to Hiro's body was still boggling his mind.

Did I just laugh like that? What's going on with my body? Is this what's supposed to happen during puberty?

There was a brief pause before GoGo stuttered, "Uh, yeah. Don't mention it. Anything for a friend."

The call was then cut short, and the room went very silent, until a voice in Hiro's head popped up to say a few words.

Surprise, bonehead.

Wait. No way. You can't be doing this to me?

But I am. Remember the surprise I was talking about?

And that surprise is taking over my body and doing things against my will?

You got it! I'll only do it when I see fit, so don't worry about it, kiddo.

How can I trust you? You gotta give me a warning at least!

Fine. Always gotta kill the fun, don't you…

I do NOT!

This is going to make things interesting for when you try to talk to GoGo, hehe.

Before Hiro could try to say something back to Tadashi's disembodied voice that was in his head, it disappeared as fast as fast it had came in.

Might as well get ready for school…

Hiro went to his closet and picked out some clothes, and after that, walked towards the shower to get himself ready for the upcoming school day.