All he wanted was a protege. Without treatment, his time was limited. He was wilting, and fast.

For years he had been obsessed with finding a successor.

Of course, he dabbled with cloning but the process was tedious and the results were unsatisfactory. An exact clone held the same health repercussions that he already had. Of course, he had tried creating an exact clone without the impairment, for what better way was there to test the treatment? But with the same memories and experiences implanted, his clone experienced a paradigm shift and self outrage and disgust. Despite it being amusing to meet a remorseful version of himself, it was unsettling when the clone had decided to self-terminate.

The other option of course was to opt for a younger version of himself. Someone young and impressionable. But there were complications with this and he was forced to abandon hundreds of variants. Those with his memories up until before the accident were too confused and resentful of him. And even with tweaked memories, they was too clever and worked out they were mere copies. The self realisation had interesting but unacceptable results resulting in disobedience and even madness. He had considered biohacking, but he didn't want a mere subordinate. He wanted an equal.

The closest thing he had come to a successor was Trina, one of his earliest creations and a very impressive piece of tech.

Trina. He made her ten years after the accident. She treated him like he was her father. A curious concept, but he allowed it. It wasn't uncommon for robots to be self-learning, but Trina even had the ability to self-upgrade her tech and interface. Personally, Obake hadn't upgraded a piece of her equipment, curious to see just how far she would self-evolve.

She was free to come and go as she pleased, and much like the teenager she was modelled off she wasn't free of rebellion, sometimes leaving for months on end to start her own fires.

But despite her unlimited capacity to learn, and with the benefit of not having to worry about her mortality she wasn't a sufficient protege. For while she shared many traits with him, conniving, efficient and manipulative she thought too small. Her creativity was stunted. And to be honest… he just didn't find her fun. It seemed like a boring option. Where was the challenge?

Another option he had barely considered was having a child. But he had no time to waste on finding a suitable mate, and even if he did what promise was there that the offspring would become an intellectual equal? What use would he have with an infant?

But in Hiro Hamada he may have inadvertently found both.

For the past five years he had been looking into young geniuses and tracking their potential. Most were extremely disappointing, merely slaves to study with no plans for future advancements, wasting their talents on predetermined societal expectations.

A handful showed potential. And with those handful he put them through… some tests. This was the fun part.

What sort of tests?

Well, he had to find out what made them tick. How would they react to a complication? Did they have real world adaptability?

Out of the five candidates, Hiro certainly proved himself sufficient, although it took a while for that ball to start rolling, but once it had… what an interesting turn of events, in his home town no less!

When Obake had manipulated Callaghan originally, he only wanted to destroy Hiro's technology. Would it break him or what he rebuild making it bigger and stronger? He only wanted to test his mental capability at this stage, not physically damage the boy. Even Obake wasn't expecting the fire.

And he especially didn't expect the idiot brother to run inside and get himself killed!

Tadashi Hamada, bless his poor soul.

He had data on that kid too. He was actually one of the earlier candidates when he had first started looking into a successor. Shame he was far too pure! It was sickening, really. And according the reports he ran back inside for Callaghan? What a joke.

But he did have Tadashi to thank for one thing. Through Tadashi, he found Hiro. Fate, perhaps?

At the age of ten, Hiro was too young at the time. But he drew Obake's interest. He accelerated at school, but unlike his older brother he refused to participate in extracurricular activities and other things that would look good on a school record. In fact, unlike his older brother, he seemed to do the bare minimum. Hiro preferred to spend his time inventing, pushing his own limit in secret. He would have flown under the radar had Obake not kept tabs on him.

He had a natural draw to the dark, to the dangerous. Bot fighting wasn't a place for kids, especially for someone like Hiro. But he wasn't afraid of the illegal. There were definitely some parts in Hiro's inventions that were far out of the budget of the Hamada family.

But even though he had suspected that Hiro would be a clear frontrunner, Obake had feared he may have prematurely broken him.

Tadashi wasn't meant to die. It knocked the fight out of Hiro.

But then the fire returned in an unexpected way.

There wasn't much that Obake didn't know about San Fransokyo. His former professor, Callaghan, had been easy to manipulate because he knew all about the mishap with Krei Tech. All he had to do was plant some seeds. He didn't even recognise Obake as a former student.

Callaghan after obtaining the tech of course hatched his own schemes against that rich brat, Krei.

Obake chose to stay back and watch, and he wasn't disappointed.

Hiro had a natural thirst for revenge. And he was certainly creative, even though a little childish! A superhero team! How thrilling!

But it honestly was a shame about the rest of Hiro's little squad. All they were doing were holding him back. Hiro would have easily gotten his thirst for revenge filled without them. If he had actually managed to kill Callaghan, it would have made things a lot easier for Obake.

But now he needed to test Hiro more. And since he wanted to play superhero, why not indulge him?

And what a surprise! His old dear mentor had returned. Granville. What a perfect opportunity to reconnect!

To his disappointment, there was a huge change in Granville since he had been her student. She had set limits, intentionally holding Hiro back. He noticed that this was incredibly frustrating for Hiro. And of course it was! Growing up a boy genius made it hard for his Aunt and brother to properly discipline him. Children usually have an innate respect for adults, but when a child is at such an intellectual advantage this respect is tarnished.

Meanwhile, San Fransokyo was suddenly infiltrated with a number of villains, some acting on their own accord but ultimately coming together for Obake's master plan.

And Hiro survived all these challenges. Sometimes in a boringly predictable manner, but at times surprising him, making Obake incredibly proud. It was clearly time to recruit Hiro, but the method… how? This was going to be hard.

Aside from Tadashi, Hiro grew up lonely. Obake noticed that even when he first started keeping tabs on the boy that he had no friends. That barely functional team he had? They were just friends borrowed from his brother.

He had to somehow show Hiro something he desired.

And Trina came to him with the perfect method.

While Trina had disappointed him, she reminded Obake of what Hiro held dearest.

Tadashi had drawn Hiro out of botfighting, why not draw him back into the realm of darkness? He clearly missed the thrill.

With Halloween approaching, he had been given the most splendid idea.

Obake had been quite proud of his theatrics.

The test went well, appearing to Hiro as Tadashi through an illusion through his contacts worked brilliantly.

The plan was simple.

All he needed was Tadashi to convince Hiro that limits will slow him down, that time was precious and he needn't waste it that he shouldn't let anyone hold him back. With that deed done, Obake would be able to properly introduce himself to Hiro as a mentor.

Unfortunately the program had a noticeable glitchy effect than a plausible wispy ghost effect to touch. This meant that in order to be convincing, he needed to be present to use the augmented reality software something physical to project onto in case Hiro tried to touch him. Luckily he had enough data on Tadashi to replicate his voice bank to create a vocal modulator in real time.

Like clockwork, Hiro showed up on time.

"Hey little brother." Obake had said, turning to face Hiro.

Hiro stood shocked for a moment. Clearly not believing what he saw in front of him had been true up until the moment he spoke. To a logical thinking, science driven mind it was going to take a moment for Hiro to process that he was talking to a ghost.

But what happened next took Obake was shockingly irrational.

He watched as if in slow motion the boy running towards him.

And then he was drawn down and kissed full on the mouth.

But he barely had time to register, the kiss quick before he turned to pounding his chest with his fists in a flurry of anger and outrage. His emotions were wild, different than what he had witnessed in Hiro before.

"Why did you run back in there? Why did you leave me? Are you.. Are you real?" Questions were blurted out, almost incomprehensible in the speed they were spoken.

Obake put his arms around the boy's shoulders, bringing him into a hug. He was certainly happy that he had chosen to physically appear here, and it was lucky that he had a similar build to the person he was imitating. Hiro immediately relaxed into him, returning the hug.

"There's something different about you." Hiro uttered, his voice quiet, but clear in the dead quiet house. He drew himself back and looked up at him, bewilderment and suspicion etched on his face. "And why here, of all places?"

This wouldn't do, had he seen through the deception already?

"I'm not quite here Hiro. One would usually expect some changes. Anyway, I take you to haunted houses every year, don't I?"

"Oh!" He seemed convinced. Obake was glad he had bugged the house for that tidbit of information. "So.. are you… Baymax couldn't detect you… and you keep disappearing… just what are you, exactly? I've… I've really missed you."

Hiro grabbed both of his hands and squeezed them, as if to double check he was real. "Are you… here forever?" His imploring eyes staring deeply into his filled with hope, and something else that made him rethink their interaction.

Obake's mouth still felt hot from the brief kiss earlier. It wasn't how one would usually greet a sibling, no matter how long they've been apart. The slight intimacies and Hiro's desperation were also unanticipated. His reaction wasn't like seeing a return of his brother, it was more like a return of… a lover?

Curious, he tested the waters to see if his hunch was correct. If it was, the hold Tadashi had over Hiro was much stronger than he had calculated and a change in plan may be in order.

He decided to take a risk. The other heroes should have only just been attacked by Noodle Burger Boy, and he hadn't been alerted of their lenses activating showing their phobias that would give away his ploy to Hiro. He deactivated them with his remote neural transmitter, a perk of cybernetics. This was potentially worth losing that incessantly annoying sidekick.

"I'll be here as long as I can hold this form. It's a little strenuous. Come here."

He wrapped one arm around Hiro's slender waist and pulled him in, his other hand on his chin, their faces close, but not touching. After a moment Hiro purred, his breath warm against his skin, "What are you waiting for, 'Dashi?"

That was all the confirmation he needed. Obake smirked, kissing Hiro and claiming him as his own.

Being twenty years his senior, despite the severe damage to his temporoparietal junction blurring the lines between right and wrong, even Obake felt a small ounce of trepidation. How thrilling.

The deceit, the game, the sheer surprise of it all.

Oh the surprise! That's just what made Hiro so fun!

And oh dear Hiro, for as clever as he was, he was still only a boy.

Obake didn't doubt his intellectual prowess. Given the right resources and direction Hiro would easily surpass him. But he was far too pure to pursue his rightful destiny.

Or so he had thought.

It turned out the Hamada brothers had some secrets that even he didn't know about. Perhaps it was time for him to start bugging private quarters.

After a moment Hiro drew apart and stepped back. His face filled with uncertainty once again.

"What's wrong?" He asked, trying to add as much warmth and concern into his voice as he could muster.

"Your kiss… it's different." The distrust again. Maybe impersonating Tadashi would be harder than he thought.

Admittedly, Obake had been distracted. Perhaps he should have thought more about what was happening in the moment and focus more on the boy.

"Hiro… the only thing keeping me tethered to this world is you. You have to believe." Obake said, his voice phasing in and out. To Hiro's eyes, it looked like Tadashi was fading away like a ghost disappearing.

Threatening Hiro with leaving seemed to do the trick. His eyes wide with alarm, he grabbed at Tadashi in desperation. Obake obliged, letting Hiro see what he wanted to see and phasing back into view.

Hiro sighed with relief and released him. "I'm sorry! It's just… are you really a ghost? You feel so real, but not what I remember… there's some small changes… your smell, your taste… I mean… it's not bad, but just different."

"Maybe you should sit down?" Obake suggested. Hiro nodded meekly and agreed. Obake took the other seat, relieved by the distance between them.

"Are you really a ghost? How am I able to touch you? Why come back now?" Hiro asked, his voice now steady.

Obake had already made his choice and decided to play the long game using Hiro's connection to Tadashi as a tool, so he decided to answer calmly. It may be for the best, originally he was just going to rush and tell Hiro to look out for a mentor that could help him on the path to greatness, but in hindsight he was sure Hiro would have seen through the deception.

"I'm dead… I guess I'm a ghost? I've been trying to get in contact with you since the fire, Hiro. I've been watching you and I'm really proud of you, you've done so much! I think you could really change this world. As for why now... I think I've only gotten the strength to appear to you now because of Halloween. The spirits are more active." Obake was having fun. It looked like Hiro was taking the bait, hanging into his every word.

If need be for confirmation, he could appear to the rest of the team, as long as they didn't notice the contact lenses. That would be his trump card.

"So… you're probably only here tonight? Unless I somehow get everyone to believe in ghosts? But now that you're here, I'm sure there's something I can create to keep you here!"

Obake shook his head, "There's no need. I think… because we've made this connection that it'll be easier for me to manifest myself to you."

The both jumped. Hiro's phone went off, probably one of the Big Hero 6 members requesting backup. Hiro glanced at him, silently asking permission to answer the call. Obake nodded, curious.

"Hey Gogo, what's up?"

"We captured Noodle Burger Boy!" Honey Lemon's shrill voice could be heard clearly through the speaker. That was a pity.

"That's great news! Where are you?" Hiro said, his face lighting up in excitement. Big Hero 6 weren't the best at securing their enemies, so hearing that one of their adversaries had been caught was great news. "Noodle Burger Boy isn't acting alone! Have you questioned him?"

This time Gogo answered. Obake had to strain his ears to listen.

"We're over at SFIT. One problem… once he was captured, his programming reset. He's back to his normal self and… well, he doesn't seem to remember anything. So genius, did you want to come over and have a look at his data and see what you can get out of him?"

Hiro lowered the phone and looked over at Obake. "Hey um… there's a thing…"

Obake smiled, "You should go. I'll find you again. Don't worry, I'm always with you." Before fading from Hiro's vision.

Hiro stared at where he was sitting for a few moments before picking himself up and heading towards the door.

"That was quick! Where's Baymax?" Gogo asked him as he burst through the door.

Baymax? Oh, Baymax! That's right, he had left him at home while repairing him. Did he even close the garage door? Hopefully he was alright!

"Um… I left him at home. I haven't quite fixed him yet."

"Oh no! Was the damage that bad? Do you need any help? We can come over after this is all wrapped up." Honey Lemon piped in.

It was known that Hiro wasn't only just smart, but he was deadly efficient at solving problems and inventing technology that would usually take years. Repairing Baymax would usually be a piece of cake.

"No it's fine, I just got a little distracted with Aunt Cass things." He lied. He had a feeling they would think he had lost the plot if he started talking about Tadashi again. They had already thought he was going a little crazy when he said he was starting to see him around the place, what would they say if he said that he actually talked to him? "Anyway, where's Noodle Burger Boy."

"He's with Fred in there." Wasabi pointed in the direction of a classroom where Hiro could just make out the tune of the Noodle Burger song.

"Alright, let's get this over with." He cracked his knuckles for good measure.

He wanted to get home as soon as possible to get to Baymax… and hopefully Tadashi.

Gosh, Tadashi.

He wasn't thoroughly convinced that he hadn't made the whole experience up. He wasn't a believer in the paranormal whatsoever but… what else could possibly explain what happened?

"Hello, Earth to Hiro?" Hiro blinked rapidly to Gogo's hand waving in front of his eyes. He was caught staring at the coding on his screen, but his thoughts had wandered back to the haunted house, his finger absentmindedly tracing his lower lip. "You're all starry-eyed. You're not daydreaming about Trina again, are you lover boy? Remember she's a bad guy?"

"Huh? Trina? No… I… sorry, where was I." He forced himself off auto-pilot, trying to focus on the code in front of him instead of the kiss with Tadashi. It was nice but.. the taste… there was a hint of blueberries. It just seemed a little odd for a ghost.

Disappointingly it looked like any trace of the hacker had been completely erased from Burger Noodle Boy. He kept the the robot shut down, much to Fred's protest, and to the relief of everyone else. He announced he'd take some parts home for a more thorough investigation, but he was pretty sure that even he would be able to recover anything useful.

Wasabi dropped him off and immediately Aunt Cass came bustling out. Hiro sighed, he was going to be in a lot of trouble, already having been caught out for bot fighting just a few days earlier. He was meant to be grounded, although she never had any luck keeping him in.

"Hiro! Where were you? Not answering your phone… and the garage left open, no note, Baymax out in the open with no power! Are you okay? You need to stop doing this! What's in your bag?" She was caught between being angry and relieved. She half dragged him inside and he willingly obliged. "Sit down!" She told him gesturing to any of the cafe seats while she picked up a donut to help relieve her stress. She looked in his bag but didn't find his bot, only a CPU and some school books.

She plonked herself opposite him. "Hiro, I really need you to tell me what is going on with you. This isn't an isolated incident. I thought you were getting better, you know with SFIT and all, but I'm really really worried about you. There's all this crazy stuff going on in the city now, and I felt safer when you go out at least with Baymax but lately I'm afraid of losing you Hiro, you're the only family that I have left."

Family.

It wasn't safe to tell her that he was a part of Big Hero 6, although he really really wanted to. But maybe… he should tell her about Tadashi? Maybe she had seen him too.

"Aunt Cass I've… I've been seeing Tadashi."

"Tadashi? What do you mean you've seen Tadashi?" Or maybe she hadn't and she was going to get him committed to a psych ward. Great job Hamada.

"Like… a ghost, or something… I've seen him around the past few days and tonight… well, I followed him and I spoke to him. Has he come to you?"

"Hiro… are you feeling okay?" Any hint of anger left her voice, as it always would the few times he mentioned Tadashi. He wasn't proud to admit it, but using Tadashi was a bit of a get-out-of-jail free card with Aunt Cass. "You're no"

"Aunt Cass!" He swatted her hand away from his forehead, "I'm being serious! The other night when I went to the haunted house with the gang I saw him… and he's been everywhere since but no one else can see him but… he's real… I touched him. Look, he's right behind you!" He said, standing up so suddenly that the chair fell backwards.

Tadashi waved at him before walking silently up the stairs.

"There's nothing there, Hiro." Aunt Cass sounded spooked.

"You… you can't see him? Oh, great, of course you can't. I'm… just tired. Maybe… maybe I should go to bed."

Aunt Cass just nodded, clearly at a loss of what to do.

Once he was on the second level, Hiro bolted up the stairs. Once in his room he closed his door and shoved a chair in front of it. He had his locking rights revoked but it'd still give him some notice if Aunt Cass tried to enter. He left the light off as there was enough light coming in from outside, and he didn't want to give reason for his aunt to come in.

Tadashi was standing in his side of the room behind the privacy sliders staring out the window. He turned when he heard Hiro approach. Hiro's heart beat heavily, his emotions a mess between confusion, fright and longing. It was just so weird seeing him back there, like nothing had happened.

"I'm crazy, aren't I?" Hiro asked, opting to sit in his own bed and merely stare at Tadashi from across the room. It was more likely that he was going mad than to see a ghost, right?

"No, I don't think so. This is weird for me too. So I've noticed… you haven't really had much time to study, have you? Shouldn't you worry about the Open House Finals? Your proposal is due in two days and I'm pretty sure you have nothing."

Hiro groaned, lying into his bed and staring at the ceiling. It really was Tadashi.

"Did you really come back to grill me about academics? I'll… think of something. I've just been busy."

He felt Tadashi sit at the end of his bed. This was so weird. "I like your Mini-Max by the way. Where's the big guy anyway? I expected him to be up here."

"Baymax? He's… oh… he's downstairs… I kind of left him there when you, you know, scared the crap out of me earlier! And what was up with that? Can you at least try and not be so creepy?" He said, punching Tadashi in the arm and was rewarded with a laugh. Hiro couldn't help but smile back.

What did it matter if other people couldn't see him?

"So I was thinking… for the open day. Why don't you try making an energy amplifier? I think you might be the only one that could do it, and it would really impress Granville."

"An energy amplifier? Like… the thing on Granville's desk? You were there for that?"

"You've got no idea."

"Tadashi! You're brilliant! Come here!" He positively pounced Tadashi, pulling him back down onto the bed.

It was an awful lot to take in, but he wanted to hold Tadashi as long as he could to make sure he was real. If this was just a dream, it was one he never wanted to wake up from.

Hiro and Tadashi had barely realised their feelings for each other before Tadashi had been so cruelly taken away from him. One of his biggest regrets was not admitting how he felt a lot earlier. So much wasted time!

"God… but an infinite Energy Amplifier in a two week timeframe… and I want it to be powerful! If I had some tech to base it off of it might be doable… but to start from scratch… if I didn't have my Big Hero 6 duties I might be able to pull it off…" Hiro rambled mostly to himself, just glad that he had Tadashi there to whisper to.

"I've researched a little bit into it myself before I settled on Baymax. It wasn't really my sort of thing but, I can help you with a starting point. You're on your own from there though!"

Hiro grinned, and pecked his brother on the lips.

The hole in his heart that he had been trying to fix with had been filled again.