It was a lovely day in San Fransokyo- clear skies, light breeze and a warm atmosphere. Down at SFIT, a ceremony was being held to commemorate the opening of a new laboratory in the institute. Stood in front of a crowd of reporters and faculty members, were six people- 5 were students, while one was a woman, dressed in a lab coat with brown hair and blue eyes.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the woman announced, "thank you for joining us here today! My name is Professor Abigail Callaghan, and I am the new head of the robotics department at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. I am sure that many of you are aware of the former head of robotics here, my father Robert Callaghan, and the recent events he has caused. I cannot apologise enough for what my father has done, and while I cannot condone his actions, I hope that with time, he can find forgiveness." The massive crowd began to mumble over this. "But, of course, that is not why we are here. We are here today to finally open the brand new, redesigned robotics lab, in honour of a late student. I give to you, Tadashi Hamada Hall!"
The crowd applauded as she unveiled the new plaque above the door to the robotics lab, which was gold and read 'Tadashi Hamada Hall- in honour of a fallen friend'.
"From what I have heard, mister Hamada was a beloved student with an aptitude for technology and a bright future, before he was unfortunately taken from us in the explosion that occurred one year ago today. To speak in his honour, here today, we have his younger brother, and one of the youngest students in SFIT history, Hiro Hamada."
The now sixteen-year-old boy, who had messy black hair and brown eyes, was wearing his usual blue hoodie and brown trainers, but was also wearing grey slacks and a white shirt. He walked in front of the crowd and stood there, smiling nervously which showed the slight gap in his front teeth.
"Erm, hi," he started, "thank you all for coming. I know it would mean a lot to my brother that you all are here." He stopped for a moment, before looking over to his friends- Wasabi, Honey Lemon, GoGo and Fred- for help, and they encouraged him to take a breath and carry on. He did so, taking a deep breath before he continued. "My brother did some amazing things while he was alive. I used to joke about him being here, calling this place 'the nerd lab'," this earned light laughter from everyone, "but when I finally saw what it was like here, I realised this was where I wanted to be, and thanks to my brother, and my friends," he gestured to them, and they waved politely, "I'm now a student here. I owe a lot to my brother, and I wish he was here today.
"However," he signalled to his friends, who pulled out a large red metal box, "his last invention is still here." He pressed a button on the box and it opened, allowing a white inflatable robot to take shape, shocking the crowd.
"Hello," the robot greeted the crowd, "I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion." The robot then turned to face Hiro. "Hello, Hiro."
"Hey, Baymax," Hiro replied, before turning back to the crowd. "My brother designed both the body and the coding for Baymax, which allows him to treat wounds and check vital signs."
"Scanning now," Baymax said, catching Hiro off guard.
"No, Baymax, I didn't mean-"
"Scan complete. Your vital signs show that you are nervous. That is quite normal for a boy of your age while going through puberty." The crowd was amused by this, while Hiro just sighed.
"Thanks for that, Baymax," he grumbled, then cleared his throat. "With the technology here, and with my friends supporting me, I hope to be able to continue Tasashi's work and develop Baymax, so that he is able to help more people across the world. Thank you."
The crowd applauded Hiro, who bowed and walked over to his friends with Baymax.
"Thank you, Hiro," Abigail commended, "and with that, we officially declare the Tadashi Hamada Hall open!"
/
After this, the reporters went on their way and the professor had headed home. She had, however, given Hiro and his friends the keys to the new lab, so they decided to have a pizza party there. Hiro's friends were in their typical attires- Wasabi in a green jumper, white t-shirt and black trousers and shoes; Fred in cargo shorts, sneakers and a monster shirt over a long sleeve t-shirt; and Honey Lemon in her pink glasses a yellow jumper and jacket, white leggings and yellow socks and heels.
"You killed it up there, Little Man!" Wasabi told Hiro, smiling at his younger friend and giving him a pat on the back.
"Yeah, Hiro, you were awesome up there! Like a real hero!" Fred told him, albeit a bit loudly.
"I am so proud of you," Honey Lemon said, pulling him into a hug, "and I know Tadashi would be too."
"Thanks guys, I couldn't have done it without you." Getting out of the hug, he looked around the group and noticed GoGo wasn't there. "Hey, uh, where's GoGo?"
"I'm not sure, actually," Honey Lemon replied, looking around the room, "she doesn't look to be in her part of the lab."
"I think I saw her step outside," Wasabi explained, "I think she needed some air."
"Okay, thanks!" He started to head for the door, but Wasabi placed a hand on his shoulder.
"What's your hurry, Little Man? You sound a little worried about her!" His smirk made Hiro blush a little. "I'd venture a guess that you like her!"
"W-what? No, it's not like that."
"Uh huh, and that blush in your cheeks is, what, because you don't care."
"I didn't say I don't care, it's just-"
"So you do like her! Aha, knew it!"
"Aww, Hiro, relax," Honey Lemon smiled at him. "Go on, it's fine."
He nodded as a way of saying thanks, before heading outside. Once there, he found GoGo, wearing her typical leather jacket with a white t-shirt, and her usual dark grey ripped leggings and trainers. While she was a fair bit taller than him when they first met, he was now less than an inch shorter than her. Under the shade the new building provided, he noticed the way the purple streaks in her short black hair stood out.
She saw him as he came out and her brown eyes seemed to light up a bit as she smiled at him.
"Hey, Hiro," she said to him as he walked over to her.
"Hey, GoGo," he said in a slightly higher voice than usual, so he cleared his throat, "erm, hey. How come you're out here?"
"Because Fred's taste in music sucks," she bluntly replied, prompting Hiro to laugh. "What about you?"
"I came to see if you were okay."
"I'm good, thanks. You did good up there, genius."
"Thanks." He wasn't sure where to go from there, so he just went quiet, which she noticed.
"Don't chat your head off," she jested, making him laugh again. An idea then came to her head. "Did I tell you how I came here?" He shook his head. "I joined two years ago after just moving here, and I quickly met your brother. He liked the design of my bike at the time, and recommended I try the showcase. Sure enough, I get in."
"Really? That's kinda cool."
"And you know what else?"
"What?"
"I had just turned fifteen when it happened."
Before he could ask her what she meant, she did something that caught him off guard. She placed a light kiss on his cheeks. It was a quick one, but he liked it, even if he was in shock. He didn't move or even blink after it happened- he just stood there, trying to figure out what had happened.
"You're cute, genius," she giggled, which was something she rarely did. He felt his cheeks flare up to a bright red. "You go inside, I'll join you soon." With that, she popped a piece of gum into her mouth and began to blow it into a bubble.
Still dazed, Hiro headed back inside. The rest of the group saw him come in and watched as he collapsed onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling.
"You okay, Hiro?" Fred asked while munching on some pizza. "You look like you just found kryptonite."
"Baymax, please scan Hiro," Honey Lemon asked, a little concerned.
"Scanning now... scanning complete. Your heart rate is higher than normal and your eyes are wide and slightly dilated. This indicates you are in shock. My defibrillators are ready if needed."
"I don't think that'll be necessary, Baymax. Thank you."
"What happened out there, Little Man?" Wasabi asked, sitting down by him. "You seem a little dazed."
"I think... I think I'm in love."