based roughly on arrested development because I fucking love that show
"Are you ready yet?"
"Would you give me FIVE minutes, please?"
Hiro rolled his eyes and laughed, going down the stairs two at a time to get to the cafe downstairs. If his brother was going to waste his precious time getting ready in their shared bathroom, he might as well wait downstairs with a cup of coffee from his Aunt Cass. Besides, he had some studying to do before his first class.
He sighed, dropping his bag on a free table and pulling out a textbook, reading it over although his brain wasn't entirely registering the given information. His aunt approached him with a mug of steaming coffee, rubbing his shoulder and kissing his cheek.
"Look at my college man! Being mature and studying!"
"I may be fifteen, but I still know how to study," Hiro said with a shake of his head. "Thanks for the coffee though, Cass."
"Of course! Where's your brother?"
"He's still up there getting ready. He's been in there for thirty minutes. I figured he got up every day and threw on a shirt and his old blazer, but no, he's got a whole routine."
"Don't tease him, he's very handsome."
"Whatever," Hiro rolled his eyes, turning back to his book and allowing his aunt to return to work. After roughly ten minutes, Tadashi came down the stairs, grinning when he spotted his brother. He ran and gave his aunt a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before rushing to his brother's table and repeatedly telling him that they were going to be late.
"Gee, don't you think I knew that?" Hiro teased, packing up and following his brother out the door. It was cloudy out, and he could smell the rain that would probably come later that day. It was his favorite kind of weather, though Tadashi enjoyed the sunshine more than the clouds and the cold.
"Ugh, I hope it doesn't rain later today," Tadashi said under his breath.
"Don't say that! I love the rain."
"That's because you're dull and weird. But I still love you."
Hiro glared at his brother, grabbing a helmet and boarding the moped. Tadashi's shoulders bounced with a laugh, and they were soon off to the college for the day. When they arrived, they went to the lab before their first classes would be starting. Fred was sitting in his green recliner as usual, and the rest of the gang sat around him, discussing something. Hiro frowned, trying to listen in on their conversation as he approached them.
"I don't know Fred...that's not a great career path."
"I wouldn't do it fulltime! But wouldn't that be even slightly interesting to any of you?"
"Maybe..."
"It depends on how you look at it..."
"No," Gogo said simply, looking down at her nails and popping a bubble with her gum.
"Hey, guys. What're you talking about?"
"Fred here wants to pursue magic."
"I could perform at children's birthday parties and I could even book some gigs at clubs!" Fred chirped up, jumping up and down in his seat.
"Oh, Fred..." Tadashi sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Just hear me out! Look, growing up, I didn't have a lot of friends, so I would practice magic tricks, and I was actually pretty good at it! So, I don't know...I just figured it would possibly be interesting..."
"You're leaving out a tiny detail," Honey Lemon whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Right...well, last year, the local news station was at my house interviewing my father for something, and I was left alone with them for five minutes, so they started asking me questions."
"And?"
"...And I may or may not have performed a card trick on camera and, in a moment of confidence, I..."
"Spit it out!"
"I told the news station to meet me at the San Fransokyo port one year from that day because I was going to make our family yacht disappear with my magic skills and they contacted me last night confirming that I was still going through with that promise and I said yes!" Fred cried, burying his face in his hands.
"Let me get this straight..." Tadashi said, looking down at the ground in confusion. "You told our local news station that you were going to make a whole yacht disappear?!"
"Yes."
"And when is this supposed to happen?"
"Tonight."
"Fred, oh my god-"
"I know, I know, but I think I might actually be able to pull this off if you guys help me. Will you maybe consider it?"
"Oh, wow, look at the time, everyone!" Hiro suddenly shouted, making everyone jump. "It's almost time for our first class! Let's continue this conversation at lunch, yeah?"
"Couldn't agree more."
"Great idea."
"Good talk, team."
"But..." Fred watched them all go with a sigh, his gut filling with butterflies at the thought of being on television with no game plan.
At lunch, it was pouring rain outside, and the group of friends was sitting at a cafeteria table discussing their day thus far.
That is, until Fred rushed in, sitting next to Hiro and breathing nervously.
"Okay, guys, I need your help."
"Fred, I think it's safe to say that none of us want to-"
"Just please hear me out!" Fred pleaded. "All I need from you guys is to show up to the event. I've already figured out how I'm going to make the yacht disappear, but I would really appreciate your support."
"Freddy, why didn't you say so! We'll all be there, right guys?" Honey Lemon asked excitedly.
"I guess..." they all said in unison, looking down in defeat.
"Thank you," Fred said gratefully. "You won't regret it. I'm gonna blow you all away!"
"Hopefully not," Tadashi whispered, grabbing Hiro's shoulder and looking at Fred with a smile. "Can't wait to see what you have in store for us, but uhm...is there any danger factored into this magic trick?"
"There always is," Fred shrugged. "But I've spent the first four hours of the morning perfecting my game plan. Don't worry, you guys will be glad you came. I promise."
"If I leave that place with even a scratch, I'm going to sue you," Wasabi said simply, standing up and disposing of his tray.
"Lovely..." Fred gulped. "Hopefully that's not the mindset of the news station..."
Hiro raised a brow in alarm, scoffing and leaving the table for his afternoon classes.
Only for Fred to run after him and grab his arm.
"Fred, what-!"
"Shh, Hiro, listen to me," Fred whispered, glancing over his shoulder and making sure Tadashi couldn't see. "I need your help tonight. With the yacht."
"I really can't imagine why you're asking me to help."
"Because you're not like the others! They aren't as open-minded as you are. They all play it on the safe side, and I know that's not the case with you! So, listen, I'm going to sink the yacht tonight."
"What?!"
"Shh!" Fred scolded. "If Tadashi finds out you're in on this, he'll kill me! I need you to wire the yacht. Make a remote that I can press while I'm on stage, and the yacht will sink. There's gonna be a curtain on the stage, so the yacht will be hidden from the audience's view. I just need you to sink the yacht. That's all."
"So I'm the magician in your little story here."
"Yes. You are. And I need you to save my reputation."
"What reputation?"
"Good talk. I'll meet you after school at the San Fransokyo docks."
Hiro rolled his eyes, watching Fred as he jogged out of sight and back to the lab.
What am I getting myself into?
Later that day, Hiro left a note on Tadashi's lab door, saying that he wasn't feeling great and that he was going to walk himself home. Immediately, Tadashi knew that something was off, seeing as there was currently a thunderstorm reeking havoc outside his window and it was absolutely not safe for on-foot travel at the moment, but he assumed that Hiro probably rode the trolley (if it was running) and decided to just leave him a text.
Meanwhile, Hiro jogged to the docks, running underneath a small booth for shelter. All he had handy was his hoody and an umbrella, which were two things that most certainly could not protect him from the rain. Nevertheless, when Fred arrived, Hiro reprimanded him for the chosen location.
"Why couldn't we work on the remote at your house?" Hiro whined.
"Because we can't exactly pick up the yacht and bring it to my house," Fred said with a shake of his head.
Before Hiro could say anything else, he felt his phone buzz several times and panicked at the realization that Tadashi was calling him.
"Hello?" Hiro said nervously, trying to remain as calm as possible.
"Hiro! Did you seriously walk home in the pouring rain?"
"Yes. I did."
"I'm not that stupid. What're you up to?"
"Nothing! I just got a little fever, that's all."
"I hope you understand that the worst thing you can do to yourself in the case of a fever is walk in the cold rain."
"I'm aware, brother, and it's okay. It cleared my head. I'll meet you at Fred's thing tonight."
"Okay. Love you."
"Love you too," Hiro said, slamming his finger on the "end call" button and turning to glare at Fred. "This better be worth enough to lie to my brother about."
"It will be," Fred chuckled, a mischevious grin on his face that unsettled Hiro in the worst way.
"Let's just get this over with. I'll sink your yacht. Where did you even find a yacht to sink?"
"My dad owns five."
"Hm," Hiro mumbled, looking up and sighing in relief to see that the rain, for the most part, had ended, but the dark clouds still lingered over the city, holding no promise of withholding any more rain. "Well, I need you to make sure Tadashi doesn't show up before the show starts, and I'll be over here making your remote."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I owe you big time!"
"Yeah..." Hiro laughed, walking to the dock and stepping inside the yacht. Just as he stepped inside, five trucks pulled into the docks and began setting up the stage for the show. Hiro scoffed but laughed nonetheless, still surprised that this wasn't a dream and was in fact really happening. He was going to sink a yacht.
Tadashi was going to kill him if he found out.
After two hours of nonstop working at the dock, Hiro had successfully wired the remote and the yacht together and, with luck, the remote would sink the yacht at Fred's command. Hiro presented Fred with the remote, and he took it excitedly.
"Did you test it out?"
"Ask me that again, but slower."
...
"Ah, right...thank you, Hiro! I don't know how I'm gonna repay you."
"Me neither," Hiro shrugged. "Well, the show starts in thirty minutes, so you'd better go get ready. I'll be in the front row. Good luck."
"Thank you! Oh, and by the way, I got us walkie-talkies while I'm backstage, just in case anything goes wrong."
"Erm...thanks, Fred. Now, go get ready."
Fred nodded and grinned at Hiro and rushed behind the curtain of the stage in the middle of the port, while Hiro simply took his seat on the front row and waited for the show to start. He couldn't help but laugh, this whole situation was one he never thought he would be apart of, but at least he learned a valuable lesson.
Fred wasn't as clueless as everyone thought. He wasn't as...well, stupid. Everyone assumed that Fred was a college dropout with no life plan, but he was a person with a dream just like the rest of them. People underestimated just how high he could fly.
Right when he had this thought, he heard a murmur from the walkie-talkie that Fred had given him, and he raised it to his ear in curiosity.
"Hiro! Red alert! Do you copy?!"
"Fred? What's wrong?"
"The show is going to air in five minutes and the remote is blinking red! What do I do?!"
"Oh...That just means that the battery will die in forty-five minutes. But you have time, so relax."
"Just to be safe, can you go grab the charger?"
"Oh, crap! I left it in the yacht-I'll go get it," Hiro shoved the walkie-talkie in his pocket, standing up and jogging to the dock to retrieve the device at the exact moment that Tadashi and his friends showed up. Tadashi searched the now-growing crowd for his little brother, deflating at the realization that he was nowhere to be seen. Shrugging, he gestured for his friends to follow him behind the stage to see Fred.
"Hey, Fred. Are you ready?" Tadashi nudged Fred's shoulder playfully.
"Are you nervous?"
"Are you gonna wet your pants?"
"Guys. I think you're the ones that are nervous. I've got the act totally down."
"If you say so," Wasabi said, walking toward the front row seats reserved for them. "Good luck."
"You're gonna do great!"
"Break a leg!"
"Wait, Fred?" Tadashi held up, grabbing Fred's shoulder and looking at the crowd.
"Hm?"
"Have you seen Hiro? He seemed to be up to something suspicious before he left school today, and he told me to meet him here but I haven't seen him."
"Beats me. He hasn't been here," Fred crossed two fingers behind his back, trying his best to stay loyal to Hiro. He had, after all, specifically requested that his older brother wouldn't find out about him being a part of the sinking of a $700,000 yacht.
"Okay...maybe he went home. Anyway, good luck out there tonight."
"Thanks," Fred said, taking a breath and realizing that it was time for him to take his place on the stage. The news station joined him, and within seconds, the show had begun.
"Welcome to the magic show of the year in San Fransokyo, where rookie magician Frederick...erhm...what's your last name?"
"Irrelevant."
"Okay, then. Fred will be making his family yacht disappear! So, anything to say before you make history?"
"Thanks for the opportunity, and I hope you enjoy the show," Fred grinned, earning excited cheers from Honey Lemon and nervous laughs from the rest of his friends.
Tadashi grinned, looking over at Hiro's empty seat and getting an uncomfortable feeling in his gut.
Where is he?
Suddenly, the show was in full swing, and Fred clipped the remote to the inside of his sleeve, playing it off as just fixing his cuffs. He smirked, gesturing to the yacht once more before the curtain closed.
"Any magician can make the Queen of Diamonds disappear, but what about a whole boat?!"
This earned wild cheers from the audience, giving Fred a newfound confidence he didn't know he had. Smoke erupted out of the fog machines next to the stage and Fred cleared his throat before pointing to the curtain once more, pressing the button on the inside of his sleeve, and nodding for the curtain to be opened.
"Where there once was a yacht, now there is naught!" Fred exclaimed, turning and sighing in relief to see that the yacht was, in fact, no longer there, and his satisfaction only grew at the realization that there were several bubbles in the water, confirming that his plan had worked and the yacht had successfully sunk. The audience roared and cheered for Fred, who bowed with a grin. Honey Lemon jumped up and down, and even the rest of them were impressed.
"He actually pulled it off," Gogo said with a scoff. "I didn't think he had the balls."
"Gotta hand it to him," Wasabi nodded. "I wouldn't have had the guts."
"He really made it disappear," Tadashi whispered, shaking his head in disbelief.
Fred ran down the stairs of the stage two at a time, rushing to his friends and jumping up and down in excitement. He was breathing heavily, and his cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. Tadashi chuckled, clapping slowly as Fred looked at him in anticipation.
"All right. So how'd you do it?"
"Tadashi, a magician never reveals his-I sunk it! I sunk the yacht!"
Tadashi's eyes widened, along with his friend's. They all stared at him dumbfounded, not sure what to say.
"At least I think I sunk it. I mean, I blew it up, and I don't see it anywhere. Oh, my god, my heart was in my throat when that curtain came down!" Fred fell into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, even as his friends continued staring.
"You sank a $700,000 yacht?!" Wasabi finally cried out.
"$900,000 worth of insurance on it!" Fred retaliated. "And got rid of the evidence. How about a 'good job'?"
"Freddy! You can't just sink a yacht! Do you know how much trouble you would've been in if someone saw you do that?!" Honey Lemon bit her nails in anxiety, but Fred simply waved a hand and scoffed.
"Please, everyone, calm down! It's not like I killed anyone, though I should probably make sure that's not the case."
"I just don't know what's more offensive," Tadashi said, "the fact that you didn't pick a safer option for the act, or that you sunk a $700,000 yacht!"
"Quit lecturing each other," Gogo scolded. "I think it's pretty bad ass."
"I'm so glad that Hiro wasn't here to see any of this!" Tadashi shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
But at the mention of Hiro, Fred's heart stopped, and his confidence was quickly morphed into panic.
"Oh, no...Oh, crap!" Fred cried, fisting his hair and turning back to the boat. "Oh, crap, crap, crap!"
"What is it now?" Wasabi asked with a roll of his eyes.
"Hiro-he was waiting on the front row before you guys got here and I asked him to go get something from the yacht!"
"What?" Tadashi looked up, all lectures stored in his mind for Fred now completely thrown out the window.
"Oh, no. He was on the yacht!"
"On the yacht?" Tadashi stiffened, turning back to the docks with wide eyes.
"You sent Hiro on the yacht that you blew up and sank?!" Gogo cried, attempting to throw a punch at Fred. "What the hell is the matter with you?! Why were you asking a teenager to run errands for you in the first place?!"
"Because HE was the one that wired the yacht to sink in the first place! He's been down here helping me all afternoon!"
"You asked my little brother to take part in the sinking of that yacht?! Fred! How could you do that?!"
"He was the only one that believed in me and the only one that would help me!"
Tadashi's eyes filled with worry, and Honey Lemon rubbed his shoulder in comfort.
"Hiro's a good kid, Tadashi. I'm sure he was in and out and got as far away from the boat as possible."
"Right," Tadashi nodded, ripping his phone out of his pocket and dialing Hiro's number. "Please, pick up..."
"Hey, this is Hiro. I'll get back to you when I can."
Tadashi slowly moved the phone from his ear, staring at the ground.
"You killed him!" Wasabi cried, pacing and wringing his hands together in panic. "I always knew you would go to prison, but not for murder!"
"I didn't kill him!" Fred cried as well. "He's not dead! He's around here somewhere..."
"Let's go find him, then," Tadashi said, his face holding simply a look of determination and concern. "Right now."
"Right, yes. Let's go find him," Fred nodded, jogging to the docks. The group split up, and even asked a few boat owners if Hiro was by any chance aboard their boat by mistake. After searching for ten minutes, they met back at the center of the port, trying to come up with a new plan. Until...
"Guys?"
Each person in the group turned their heads on a dime at the sound of Hiro's voice, and Tadashi covered his mouth at the sight of his little brother standing in front of him.
"You're alive!" Wasabi cheered.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Tadashi simply dropped every matter at hand and gave his brother a tight hug, which Hiro returned in confusion.
"What's going on? Did you guys see Fred's magic show?"
"Hiro, you can't ever run off like that again, okay? That was NOT cool," Gogo said.
"I didn't run off. I went to grab something for Fred, but before I could get to the boat it blew up and sank, and I couldn't see through the smoke and the tiny bit of rainfall. That's all. Where did you guys think I was?"
"We thought Fred blew you up on the yacht, buddy," Honey Lemon said with a sympathetic smile, and suddenly Hiro realized why Tadashi was so shaken. He looked into his brother's eyes sadly, giving him an encouraging smile.
"Well, I'm not dead, so everything is fine. The magic show was great and no one got hurt, so that's all that matters. Good work, team."
"Thank you, Hiro," Fred smiled, leading the way out of the docks. "Let's go to my place and celebrate!"
"Sounds fun."
"I'm down!"
"Will there be food?"
Hiro and Tadashi laughed lightly, falling behind the group and walking together slowly. Hiro sighed, taking a deep breath and shrugging.
"Hey, I-I'm sorry that I sank a yacht today. That's not something to be proud of."
"That's okay, at least it looked cool," Tadashi chuckled, rubbing Hiro's shoulder. "I'm just sorry you felt like you had to keep secrets from me."
"Yeah. I'm sorry you thought that I got murdered."
"I'm sorry too," Tadashi grinned. "I love you, and I'm glad you're safe. But, seriously, try to refrain as much as possible from helping Fred with any more of his little 'experiments,' got it?"
"Roger that," Hiro nodded. "And I love you too, but you can be a real prick in my side sometimes."
"Hey!" Tadashi ruffled Hiro's hair, earning an angry scowl from the teenager.
And so, after a long day of rain and explosions, the Hamada brothers and their friends walked in the rain to Fred's house, awaiting whatever adventure tomorrow would hold for them.
Even if it included rigging an expensive yacht and betraying their friend's trust.
Fin :)
anyways that's a wrap lol i just got super bored lately and since i'm not working this thanksgiving break i decided to do a little short story and i might add more to it but we'll see i make no promises. this is based on an episode of arrested development where Michael's brother makes a yacht disappear and Michael's son was allegedly on the yacht when it sinks it's very funny i 10/10 recommend anyways bye see you next time