o Chapter 1
**Big Hero Six characters and setting are not my own creation. This is just fan fiction! This is also for my best friend who has the biggest crush on Tadashi, ever. 3 3 I think it's super cute, and so, despite the movie, he is Hiro's companion along with Baymax. This is also a universe where super heroes exist, which is where Iron comes in.**
Hiro sat on his bed, staring at the small black bot in his hands. He turned it over in his fingers. This was where it all started, he thought.
Assortments of things littered his room. Posters of movies he'd seen, knick knacks on shelves. Clothes lay half strewn on the floor. He sighed. Might as well clean up his half of the room a bit. But he kept staring at his bot.
"It's been awhile since you've been to a bot fighting match, hasn't it, Otōtosan?" Hiro glanced up to see his brother walking up the stairs to their room. Tadashi knocked teasingly on the door frame.
Tadashi sat beside Hiro, his long, gangly legs strewn out in front of himself. Hiro felt the bed beside him sink as Tadashi's weight sank into the mattress.
He took the robot out of Hiro's hands—Hiro let him, looking up at his brother curiously.
The two brothers were known for their knowledge of robots. Of technology in general. Hiro put his hands back onto the bed, lounging. Though he was not as tall as his brother, or not nearly as old, he still felt a connection to him.
"Thinking of adding spikes to it?" Tadashi asked, teasingly. He handed the robot back to his brother, who smirked and took it back.
"You have the day off from your nerd school?"
Tadashi pinched Hiro's cheek—hard. "Our nerd school, little brother. And yeah, I do."
Hiro rubbed at his cheek, though he grinned. The college had given him more time off than Tadashi, hoping to get him more used to the college life. Though Hiro objected to this vehemently, he was told that a thirteen year old shouldn't have to spend so much time up at the college.
Secretly, Hiro felt glad that he had more time to take college courses. After all, he was still middle school age, yet he had all the time in the world to get a bachelor's degree, or even a masters or doctorate degree—if he wanted to.
More importantly, he could spend more time with his brother.
As if reading his thoughts, Tadashi asked, "Do you want to go someplace, today? Anywhere you want. As long as it doesn't burn a hole through my wallet."
Hiro rested his hand on his chin, smiling coyly. "Anywhere?"
Tadashi raised an eyebrow. "Bot fighting it is."
Tadashi had been meaning to make his own bot when he had started to take Hiro bot fighting. Technically bot fighting was legal, even if taking bets on it wasn't. It hadn't stopped Hiro before—despite the countless times that Tadashi had reprimanded him about it. In the end, Tadashi gave up trying to stop him.
Knowing that convincing his brother to not go felt near impossible, Tadashi began giving Hiro rides to the bot fights on the condition that Tadashi could watch over him. Which also included Tadashi making sure Hiro didn't actually bet on any of the matches, though Hiro hoped he would give in eventually. Tadashi hadn't budged yet, and Hiro wondered if he ever would.
Hiro clasped the motorcycle helmet onto his head. Tadashi did the same and climbed onto his motorcycle and glanced back to his little brother. "Ready?"
Hiro climbed on, giving him a thumbs up. "You okay leaving Baymax here?"
"Yeah, he's just charging up for a little while. Besides, I feel a bit too protective of the big guy being too near the ring, you know?"
"Oh, so you're not overprotective of me, then?" Hiro joked.
Hiro felt his big brother chuckle, as he wrapped his arms around him to stay on the bike. "No, I am. It's just that I know I can only stop one of you. And you know which one of you that is."
"Whatever you say, Niisan." Hiro grinned—he heard Tadashi chuckle lightly before he revved the engine. Hiro felt the motorcycle start to thrum beneath him, the engine purring as it came to life as Tadashi urged it to move. Hiro buried his face into Tadashi's broad back, clutching his small robot in his hand.
The two brothers arrived at the bot fighting matches. The place looked more like an underground fight club to Hiro than any other kind of competition. Technically, fighting took place there—bot fighting. Not actual fist fighting, technically. Still, Hiro did feel a slight unnerving feeling stepping into the place sometimes. Smoke from cigarettes poignantly stung his nose, and he exhaled sharply, as though to expel it. He rubbed at his nose frantically to get rid of an insistent itch.
"Bless you?" Tadashi joked, gesturing to his brother. "C'mon, Otōtosan. You're going to miss some of the best matches."
Hiro tried to look over the shoulders of the onlookers—even between their arms or even under their legs, but still his eyes failed to see any kind of bot fighting. He frowned, placing his hands on his hips.
"Need a lift?" Tadashi asked, nudging his little brother lightly. Tadashi half knelt, half crouched to let Hiro clamber up onto his shoulders. Tadashi let out a small "Oof," and a, "What did you eat for lunch?" Tadashi then stood slowly, and Hiro felt the entire world go up and up and up as his big brother straightened.
"Woah, woah, woah," Hiro exclaimed, clutching onto his brother's forehead, holding onto his bot all the while. "Woah."
"You okay, Hiro-chan?" Tadashi asked teasingly.
"Shizukani, urusai," Hiro muttered, jutting out his lower lip slightly.
"I love you too, Otōtosan," Tadashi said. "Damare and watch the match."
Hiro did shut up, though begrudgingly. The match flashed before his eyes in movements that his eyes barely captured. Even Tadashi stepped forward eagerly to see the match. Hiro sat up taller, squinting over heads to see into the ring.
The two competitors were both girls, both staring intently into the ring and their robots. Clashes of steel from each bot sent sparks up into the air. At that particular moment, both robots struck at each other, then skidded back toward each other's owners, both dragging a robotic hand into the cement, making a loud scree noise. Hiro stared at the both of them.
The bot on Hiro's right belonged to a girl with long black and hot pink hair. She wore heavy black makeup around her eyes, with a deep hue of purple eyeshadow. Her lips matched her hair, the rims lined with black, the insides filled with pink lipstick. Sweat smeared some of this on her face. Hiro shuddered at the intense look in her eyes. They looked murderous.
The girl on the left looked worse. Brown haired and frowning, she sat cross legged and leaning forward. She hunched in on herself, staring intently at the match with beady, piggish eyes.
The second girl's bot, painted bright red and silver, stood up straight. She spoke in a surprisingly higher pitched voice: "Give up?"
The pink haired girl jerked her controller. Hiro noted a small metal piece ringing her bottom lip move as she spoke. "One more round," she spat.
The brown haired girl girl simpered, giggling. "Okay." She seemed… confident. Too confident. It unnerved Hiro. He stared at the pink haired girl who pushed a thick tress out of her eyes. She winced—from wiping away sweat, maybe. Her bot, painted pink, retreated slightly before running at the red robot, claws jutting out from its robotic hands. The crowd murmured at this new weapon coming into the ring. The brown haired girl merely smiled.
Hiro scowled at her. Make a move! he wanted to shout. The red robot stayed in its place, standing strangely upright before the pink robot charged toward it.
Fast spinning windmills with points jutted out from the red and silver robot, from its torso, and up its arms. Everywhere except from the ankles down, the red and silver robot stepped forward three steps before the pink robot could stop its momentum. A sound too close to metal dragged down a chalkboard whined in Hiro's ears, and he plugged his ears. He squinted at the bots just in time to see the pink robot jerk in its place, see the windmills stop mid-swing, and finally, see the red robot kick at the pink robot's destroyed body. It soared backward in open space before landing on its head, skidding across the cement floor to its owner, defeated. Annihilated, more like.
Hiro stared at the brown haired girl. Impossible, he thought, glancing from girl to girl. He had never seen a robot do anything like that before. The winner had already stood, and confidently walked to the money bowl and take a large wad of yen from the bowl. The woman holding it stared, her mouth slightly opened, disbelieving.
"Anyone willing to fight the victor?" the referee called out. As the crowd murmured, Hiro felt Tadashi shift underneath him, and Hiro glanced down. Tadashi seemed to be fishing for something in his pocket. He pulled out a leather wallet. He opened it to pull out several yen notes and hand it up to Hiro. Hiro didn't dare look at how much Tadashi gave him, but looked down at his big brother instead, who stared at Hiro with a confident smile.
"You sure?" Hiro asked.
"No. But get out there, anyway. I want to see if my genius little brother can beat the victor." Tadashi smiled.
Hiro finally looked at the bills in his hand, and his eyes bulged. In his hand, he realized he clutched two 5,000 yen notes.
**Author's note: 10,000 yen equals just over eighty US dollars.**
"Where did you get the money to—"
"Shut up and go before someone else does," Tadashi said harshly, and before Hiro could protest, Tadashi crouched to let Hiro clamber off. Hiro more of stumbled, and, flailing to catch his balance, Tadashi caught Hiro's arm before he fell too hard. Hiro thrust one foot in front of himself, and when he felt that his balance was steadier, he straightened and looked back at his brother. Tadashi nodded to him, and made a small shooing motion with his hands. Go, his eyes seemed to say. Hiro nodded and grasped the two yen notes in his hand, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. By now, the people around him began to look uncomfortable. No one wanted to face this girl, Hiro knew.
"Any takers? Any at all!" the referee shouted.
With more confidence than he felt, Hiro raised his arm up in the air. "Here!" he called.
The crowd parted, and Hiro winced, staring at the referee who stared back at him with a glimmer of relief in his eyes. "You, there?" he asked.
"Uh—yeah, yeah," Hiro sputtered. "M—me."
The woman with the betting bowl—Hiro wasn't even sure what to call it—lowered it down to his level, as he reached up and placed the two 5,000 yen notes into it, feeling a begrudging pit start to expand in his stomach. No time to regret the decision though, as he made his way to one side of the ring across from the brown haired girl.
He stared at her from across the ring, and she stared back, raising an eyebrow. Hiro frowned and sat, crosslegged on his end, placing his bot directly in front of him. Despite its simpleness, the robot proved deadly in most bot fights but this girl… Never had he seen a bot with that type of mechanics before. He had seen spikes sure, but this? Nothing like this, he thought, feeling a cold bead of sweat roll down the side of his head.
Hiro heard Tadashi calling from within the crowd. "Come on, Hiro! You can do it!"
Hiro turned to smile at his brother, who had taken off his cap and waved it in the air shamelessly for his little brother. Hiro felt a slight boost of confidence from this, and he turned back to the match, feeling that, in a weird way, Tadashi had his back no matter what.
He focused intently on the girl, forcing himself to take several deep breaths. The oxygen helped clear his mind as he closed his eyes slowly, then opened them again. He gripped the control panel in his hand, letting out his breaths through his nose. He already felt sweaty from all of the bodies in the room, and his arms trembled uncontrollably.
"Contestants ready?" the referee called from the outside circumference of the ring. Hiro begrudgingly nodded, though he didn't meet the referee's gaze.
"Yes, we are," his opponent called from across the ring. He met her gaze, and she smirked with that same confident smile she gave the pink haired girl. It unnerved Hiro, and he bit his lip.
"Right. Ready: three… two… one… Fight!"
The pink robot moved—and fast. Hiro's bot dodged, but only just in time before the pink robot slammed its fist into the ground where Hiro's bot just stood. A loud crack resonated throughout the ring and room—singing shrilly in Hiro's ears. Hiro stared, wide-eyed at the girl, but she barely took a breath before coming toward him again and again, as Hiro dodged and swerved.
"You're like a little monkey," the girl smirked. "Always avoiding, never fighting back. Are you a man, or not?"
Hiro grit his teeth, staring into the ring. There had to be an opening—somewhere. She had to have some kind of weak spot. The only reason he could see why she wasn't taking it easy this time was because…
Because what? That didn't matter right now. But the girl was right. He couldn't just keep avoiding her hits like this. The girl's bot swung, and upper-cut his bot's jaw. The control panel vibrated in his hands, indicating the damage his bot took.
"Come on, Hiro! You'll only get hurt if you don't hit back!" Hiro didn't have to turn around to know who shouted that. He didn't, because he couldn't afford to.
For the moment, the bots were doing a sort of dance. Lucky bots couldn't actually be dazed, Hiro thought.
There—just as the pink bot struck a side swing—her side was wide open. Hiro pressed into the control panel. Go! he thought. He feared the worst—the whirling blades, his bot annihilated. At this point, it was the only thing he could do, he thought.
One second too late, and the girl's bot swung at him again, hitting his bot square in the chest. But instead of jerking backward, Hiro's bot stuck to her's—the fist connecting into his bot's chest. As if…
The pink bot lowered Hiro's bot to the ground, and, as he watched in horror, saw the pink bot push at the bot with its foot. His bot wasn't connected to hers. No—as Hiro watched, it was much worse. A solid inch long spike showed at the end of the pink bot's fist.
He sucked in a breath as the control panel in his hands stopped vibrating, and sat dead in his hands. The pink robot, adding insult to injury, kicked hard at his bot, sending it skidding into his hands. The spike must have struck an important connection or wire. A perfect circled hole punctured into his bot's chest. It didn't move again.
The crowd erupted into a series of jeers and cheers as Hiro stood up, dejected and already forgotten. Tadashi was at his side in an instant, kneeling beside his little brother. Hiro was afraid to look at him. Was he angry? Hiro wondered.
"Look at me, buddy." Hiro did. Tadashi smiled his wide, crooked smile, the kind he got when he had a new idea. "That was a great fight."
"I lost," Hiro said, his voice a ghost of what it was before. All that money lost, he thought. Tadashi's money. His bot lay, thankfully not marred in his hands, but still injured.
"Yeah, but you don't learn anything if you win all the time."
"I'm sorry, Niisan."
Tadashi guided him through the crowd—the referee already calling for another contestant. Hiro glanced back once at the girl who defeated him. She caught his gaze and smirked.
"Don't let it bother you so much, little brother. Tell you what, when we get home, I'll fix your bot for you, okay? We can add a few mods, and test out a few move? Baymax can help if you hurt yourself," he added, jokingly.
Hiro smiled slowly at this. "Thanks, Niisan. You're the best."
"You think I didn't know that already?" Tadashi asked, teasingly. "Anyway, I'm getting hungry. I'll get us something to eat, too. C'mere." Tadashi knelt beside Hiro, indicating Hiro clamber onto his shoulders again.
"You know," Hiro said, as Tadashi stood again. "One day, I'm going to be a little too big for this."
"Today's not that day, though," Tadashi replied, and began walking again. As he stepped outside, Hiro ducking the door, Tadashi stopped and turned. Hiro turned his head to see a tall man, maybe Tadashi's height, standing there casually, wearing a T shirt with a strange circular glow in the center of his chest. His beard lined his jaw and made thin vs on both cheeks, and one from his chin. His eyebrow quirked up in a curious way.
"Are you the Hamada brothers? Hiro and Tadashi?"
Hiro felt Tadashi nod, warily.
"You're Tadashi, the elder brother?" he asked. "I'd assume so, you being big, strong, and carrying a thirteen year old boy on your shoulders."
"How do you know so much about us?" Hiro asked, feeling a scowl come over his face. "Who are you?"
"Jarvis told me," the man said. "My artificial butler. It's one of the perks of being a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, you know. Not that you should know who I am. Though you should." He shrugged his shoulders, and raising his eyebrows. To Hiro, it looked too much like arrogance. Even his posture suggested overconfidence. Hiro had never disliked someone so much on first sight.
Tadashi began taking a step out of the door, when the man spoke again.
"You might know me by another name. Does the name 'Iron Man' fire a few neurons in your heads? I did save your planet from destruction from a god, you know. Nothing big at all."