Tadashi will later remember the fight as trivial.
At the time, though, it seemed like the most important thing in the world, and with the mixture of the constant rain for a week straight and lack of sleep due to Hiro's late night experimentations Tadashi literally felt his patience snap and it wasn't his fault Hiro reacted like such a brat.
It was, however, his fault that he allowed his low tolerance get the better of him and words were said. Painful words Tadashi knew would cut deep and hurt his brother because that's all he wanted to do. He wanted to hurt Hiro, punish him for being so incredibly difficult to live with because, seriously, how hard was it to pick up after oneself?
He succeed and the triumphant feeling he felt when Hiro stormed out of their room, eyes glistening with unshed tears, was never meant to last because he forgot nothing good comes after they fight. Yet he didn't move to chase his brother, he didn't even go downstairs to ask Aunt Cass if he remembered to grab a rain jacket because it might not currently be raining but the clouds were gray and dark and it would only be a matter of time.
He just went and sat on his bed and awaited for his brother to return then- depending on how angry Tadashi still was- he might consider apologizing because he had been a jerk. He knew that but there was only so much tolerance one person can have and all Tadashi had asked was for Hiro to clean their room up a bit.
It turned out, he was right.
Several hours later, it started pouring. He couldn't even look out the window, the rain falling in thick heavy sheets, the sound of it hitting the roof sounding like the bullets in those cheesy movies Hiro was so fond of. Then several hours more passed and still no Hiro. Confused, but not yet worried, Tadashi went downstairs to see if he was pouting in the café- wouldn't be the first time.
No Hiro.
When he asked, Aunt Cass confirmed that Hiro had left earlier that morning with a sour expression on his face so that meant he did storm out after their fight. No big deal, wasn't the first time, but Hiro's always came back. He- Tadashi was quick to learn- couldn't stay long at his brother for very long and should've returned already to apologize, shamed face. There was no reason he would've been out this long, he wouldn't worry them like that.
"It's probably nothing," Tadashi told their aunt, voice as thin and fragile as a sheet of ice, "He probably just ducked in somewhere to get out of the rain."
Aunt Cass nodded though they both knew that if that was the case then he would've called, texted, something. He wouldn't leave them wondering what had happened.
"I'll go search for him," Tadashi decided, resolve made of steel as he moved to go out in the rain to search for his missing brother.
"No. Don't," Aunt Cass denied, reaching out to catch his arm before she swallowed and explained still not looking at him, "You'll do no good to him out in that weather."
It took a second before Tadashi realized she was gazing out the window, at the grey rain, and he swallowed because he knew she was right. He'd do no good to his brother with the way it was currently raining so he stayed downstairs, helped Aunt Cass manage the last remaining customers, and by the time they closed the rain still hadn't cleared, Hiro still hadn't returned, and a very bad feeling was starting to fill Tadashi.
What if something had happened to him?
He blinked, shaking that thought immediately from his mind, as he tried focusing on anything but the thought of his little brother lying in a ditch somewhere hurt or worst.
"Tadashi?" a gentle hand touched his forearm and he jumped, heart racing, as he focused pale features on his aunt's worried expression.
"What?" Tadashi asked trying to push back the overwhelming sensation of panic and she blinked before looking at the café's home line.
"Should I call the cops? Report a missing child?" she asked in a voice that sounded too lost and helpless Tadashi couldn't help but to wrap both his arms around her supportively.
"Yes, though I don't think they'll be able to do anything," he told her in a gentle tone, "Not until he's missing for more than 24 hours."
Missing.
The word left a foul taste in his mouth. He could tell it affected Aunt Cass by the way she stiffened within his hold, barely keeping it together as she nodded pulling away.
"You're right," she whispered in a tone that conveyed she was a split second away from losing it completely, "but I'll feel better afterwards."
She ended up calling, the police arriving while Tadashi was hiding upstairs under the farce of cleaning their room; a move that could've avoided the whole thing yet he had a feeling would still upset Hiro anyways. He no longer cared, just ached for his brother to come home so he could frown and complain and drive Tadashi up the wall.
The police left sometime close to midnight, the rain having cleared up some by then.
Aunt Cass was still down in the café when he went to leave to search for his brother, knowing sleep would be nonexistent without Hiro in the bed across the room from him speaking in hushed tones to himself. She frowned at his attire, already shaking her head as she moved to intersect him.
"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded though not unkindly.
"To find my brother," Tadashi responded like it was obvious though he understood why she would be hesitant: it was dark and one of her nephews had already disappeared. If the roles were reversed he would've acted the same.
"No," she replied firmly with a finality she rarely used.
The one (and only, according to Tadashi) fault the woman had was her soft spot for her nephews. She was capable of being firm when needed but 10 times out of 10 she'll be the first one to apologize with something sweet from her café. Not that Tadashi blamed her, he knew he could be too gentle to Hiro sometimes.
If, however, Hiro turned out to just be being a brat and is fine then he's totally going to kick his butt. After he crushed him in a tight hug and beg for him to never scare him like that ever again.
Something told him that wasn't the case; that something had truly happened to his brother.
"Aunt Cass," he sighed gazing at the woman who had maneuvered herself between him and the door, arms folded and eyes burning for him to go back up to bed, "I've got to find him."
"I'm not letting you out there alone," she spoke though her gaze softened considerably because they were feeling the same thing, just dealing with it in different ways.
"Please," and he actually begged, his pride meaningless with Hiro missing and the last memory his little brother carrying being a stupid, stupid fight.
"I don't care," and she shook her head despite the fact Tadashi was taller and could physically move her with ease.
He didn't, though, because his largest weakness was his family and he would never hurt one even if it meant getting to the other. So he stepped back, feeling something icy knot his stomach as he gazed out the window and realized the only option they had was to wait for something. Anything.
"Tomorrow in the morning you can go out and search for him," she decided turning her gaze to the phone hanging over his shoulder, relenting slightly but not as much as Tadashi wanted, "Just not tonight. Please."
Tadashi swallowed, nodded and went back upstairs to wait for the sun to come up. Sleep was impossible and his eyes kept drifting over to the empty spot his brother left, now tidy though Tadashi knew he would prefer messy and Hiro being there then clean and Hiro out. Missing.
"Oh God," he cursed in a rare lapse of character as he buried his face in his hands at the thought of the gap-toothed kid that he swore to protect his aunt's words repeating itself over and over again in his head.
She'd let him search for him in the morning, where it was safer, though at the time he hadn't had the heart to voice what he had been thinking knowing it would crush her; it nearly crushed him.
By then, it'd already be too late.
xXx
Hiro didn't show up the next day and Tadashi couldn't find anything. The police hadn't either, when the 24 hours were finally over, and they started searching. It was like his little brother just up and disappeared.
Hiro was just gone, leaving behind no leads or evidence, and Tadashi remembered searching all his brother's favorite spots with an increasingly growing heart. He wasn't at any local bot fights nor the library. He wasn't at any candy shop in town nor hidden in an alley or inside an abandoned warehouse near the outskirts of town.
The day passed too soon, and Tadashi felt something heavy and cold settle inside him.
He didn't get any sleep that night either.
xXx
On day three the police expanded their search to smaller local towns near the large city with no more luck while Tadashi and Aunt Cass spent the majority of the day phoning any hospital within a hundred mile radius.
Nothing and Tadashi couldn't decide rather or not he was relieved.
Night fell quickly and no one was any closer than they had been when Hiro first disappeared and the lack of sleep was starting to wear on Tadashi.
Aunt Cass quickly ushered him to bed with a firm (yet gentle) command to get some sleep. He'd be no good to his brother half dead on his feet and Tadashi relented easily enough.
He slept a total of three hours.
The other five was plagued with nightmares.
xXx
It wasn't until day five when the police gave up. Tadashi doesn't think he's ever seen Aunt Cass so mad before.
The had just waltzed in the café like everything was normal, though the grim faces they were all wearing alerted Tadashi to something he knew he didn't want to hear. He just wasn't expecting what they actually said.
"Have you ever considered your nephew doesn't want to be found?" the brave one asked Cass once they cornered her alone in the kitchen and something sour settled inside Tadashi.
Hiro was a lot of things: young, smart, overconfident but he'd never let his family worry. Not for as long as they had but there had also been no ransom note, no other form of contact and Tadashi hasn't seen a single shady person since his brother just left and seemingly disappeared.
Aunt Cass just pursed her lips in a thin pale line as she spoke in a voice that was too quiet and too reserved, "I think it would be best that you gentleman left now."
"Just consider this from our point of view," they tried anyways, not heeding her warning and Tadashi would've felt bad for them if they didn't just insinuate that Hiro ran away.
"I will not," she snapped, temper finally breaking as she grabbed the nearest object (a silver tray) and swung it at them like a mad woman as she screamed, "My nephew didn't run away and if you're not going to help find him then get! Out!"
"Alright. Sorry for wasting your time," the officer apologized in a platinizing tone before they filed out of the café.
Tadashi watched them go, wishing Cass had hit at least one of them.
xXx
A week passed and Tadashi suspected that neither him nor Aunt Cass got that much sleep anymore. He would just lay in Hiro's bed for long hours, smelling the familiar scent that's already started to fade. And whenever Aunt Cass snuck in their room to check on him, he feigned sleep.
Neither one of them would mention it the next morning.
xXx
White.
Hiro woke up to a blinding whiteness that was as disorientating as it was strange considering his room wasn't white. Then he blinked again and realized that he wasn't in his room but what appeared to be a hospital room with a serious migraine.
Groaning, he pressed the call button and was surprised when his door instantly opened and a pretty blond nurse strolled in. She didn't seem all that surprised upon seeing him, strolling to his side to check his pupils and vitals.
"About time you woke up," a voice- masculine and unfamiliar in every way- said as the nurse stepped aside so he could clearly see the new figure standing in the doorway.
He was a tall man with broad shoulders, dressed in green scrubs and white doctor's coat. Nothing about him seemed unfriendly but the sight of him left Hiro squirming in distress.
"Where am I?" he demanded in a tone that might've been too harsh if it wasn't for the fact that he still had no idea where he was, why he was there or how he got there, "Where's my family?"
"We don't know," the doctor admitted, the nurse silently going to stand beside him like an obedient shadow, "You just appeared three nights ago in pretty bad shape. We did everything we could though you had seemed to slip in a coma. What was the last thing you remembered?"
Thinking hurt, Hiro soon realized as he tried to recall.
"A bright light," he remembered, voice vague and distant, "and dark shapes hovering over me. Someone's talking though his words don't make sense. I-"
A sharp jolt stabbed his brain, causing him to wince. Both his hands reached up to grip his temple as if to claw the pain and memory out from his skull. Bright tubes stuck out from pale skin making him blink dumbly, observing them like a new life form.
"What's this for?" he asked the stunned doctor and nurse.
"You were dehydrated," the doctor explained smoothly before narrowing his gaze and demanded, "Do you have any idea where you were before you arrived here."
"No," Hiro denied with a shake of his head before he glanced back up at them and asked, "Can you call my family. I'm sure they're worried by now."
"Of course."
Hiro recited the café number, surprised he still remembered it despite his inability to recall anything past the bright light.
The doctor smiled and left.
xXx
His family arrived several hours later, the clock by his bedside indicating that it was way past midnight when they rushed in pale and dark eyed- the way people got when sleep deprived. He squirmed, realizing that he had done that to them.
"Guys I'm-"
He didn't get to finish, Aunt Cass scooping him up in her arms almost instantly. Tadashi soon followed and he allowed himself to relish in the safety they seemed to bring.
"Where have you been?" Aunt Cass demanded first, pulling away as if to access him herself eyes wide and seemingly ancient, "Why did you never come home?"
The bright light flashed back through his brain, searing itself somewhere deep within his soul as he hissed in discomfort. He doubled over, hands clawing at his hair while Tadashi screamed for a doctor. His door opened and something cold entered his body, making him drowsy and darkness filled him.
And it frightened him how safe and comforting the darkness felt.
xXx
The doctor said Hiro had amnesia though it only seemed to affect whatever happened to him in the last week- a common side effect for someone who had just experienced something traumatizing.
Aunt Cass paled as Tadashi's knees swayed underneath him. He felt weak but forced himself to keep it together because they had found Hiro, and he was seemingly fine as long as he didn't concentrate too much on whatever happened to him while he was missing.
They kept him overnight for observation before checking him out the next day to drive him back home.
No one mentioned how Hiro had ended up halfway across the country in some remote town they've never heard of before.
xXx
Hiro returning had been easier than expected- for Hiro, at least. He didn't have any nightmares and seemingly just returned back to normal, like he never disappeared to begin with. Tadashi and Aunt Cass's transition wasn't so seamless.
Tadashi spent the next week staying up late just listening to Hiro breathing from across the room while Aunt Cass buried him under his favorite everything while Tadashi agreed to anything Hiro wanted to do. If Hiro wanted to stroll around town then Tadashi would set aside whatever he would be doing to follow; if Hiro wanted to watch a movie then Tadashi would change whatever he had been watching for some pointless action film with no plot or believable characters.
It was worth seeing Hiro's face bright up, a sight that had Tadashi squeezing his brother tight against his side. Safe. Protected.
Hiro never seemed to question it, though he undoubtedly noticed. Tadashi couldn't decide if his brother was just basking in their endless love and patience for as long as it lasted or if he allowed it because he suspected that that was what they needed to heal. Not him because, as long as anyone could tell, he was fine.
That still didn't stop Tadashi from wondering: what had happened to Hiro the week he was missing?
xXx
Hiro opened his eyes, thankful Tadashi had finally managed to drift asleep and not fake it like he had been recently. He sat up, allowing his cover to fall around his waist as he just stared at the lump of his brother across the room.
He remembered their fight and storming out of the café but then nothing. He was waking up in the hospital with a missing week and terrible headaches neither his brother nor aunt knew about. And no matter how much he tried, he couldn't recall anything past the bright light without nearly passing out from exhaustion.
Sighing, he carefully climbed from bed to tip toe to their window. He sat down on the seat beside it, one leg curled underneath him while the other dangled off lazily swinging back and forth as he gazed out at the night.
The moon hung bright in the sky, illuminating the entire city with its warm glow; beside it sprinkled dozens of stars, reassuring the world that they weren't alone. Hiro wasn't really interested in either of those things though, his focus on something else.
He first noticed it two days after they had finally returned home, and he was convinced everything had settled back into normal. Brushing it off as insanity the first time it happened before going about his daily life of being coddled and adored by his family.
Then it happened more frequently and Hiro knew he wasn't crazy. Or if he was it was a very convincing type of crazy.
Fluttering over the city, unseen but to one, were bright orbs illuminated by a fire Hiro couldn't identify. Each of them varied in color: white, purple, green but all of them seemed endless with energy, round and bright and everywhere.
They were most frequent at night and Hiro couldn't count how long he just sat there, staring out the window as the danced around, reassuring himself that he wasn't crazy. That whatever those people had done to them in his lost week had caused whatever this was.
One orb shot by his window closer than any of the other ones he saw before, causing Hiro to jerk back and blink in surprise. On the side of the orb he could've sworn he saw a face, laughing silently.
He blinked again before going back to bed.
So this is a start to (yet again) another idea I've come up with though I'm uncertain when- or if- I'll continue this. It's marked complete because this is a prequel sort of story, setting up the rest of the story though, at the moment, I find it rather complete. I don't know, tell me what you think.