(A/N) Well, I've seen plenty of 'Tadashi's alive' stories, but nothing's quite hit all the selling points for me, so I thought I'd try my own hand at it. Let's go for a drive and see where we end up.

Warnings: There will be copious amounts of brother torture in this story. This particular chapter contains hints of suicidal thoughts and the beginnings of mind rape.

Love Don't Die Easy

Chapter 1: An Arrow Through the Heart

Tadashi had to forcibly shut out Hiro's desperate cries as he raced into the burning building. It wasn't long before the sounds of the roaring fire and the crumbling structure drowned it out, though. There wasn't much time. The center had just about had it. He had to find Callaghan now!

"Callaghan!" he shouted as he ran through the fire, the acrid scent of smoke overwhelming his senses. "Where are you? Answer me!"

"Tadashi," a calm voice answered his cries. The young man spun around to see a figure cloaked in some sort of black wave.

"Hiro's...microbots?" he murmured in quiet confusion, slowly recognizing the individual shape and motion of the tiny bots.

"I knew you'd come," the figure said in the same unnervingly calm voice. The wave of microbots slowly rolled back to reveal the person underneath.

"Callaghan?" he called out uncertainly, frightened by the look in his professor's eyes. "What- what are you doing? We need to get out of here."

"Oh, we will, Tadashi. You see...this will be the tragedy that liberates you and I."

"Professor...I don't understand what you're talking about. This place is about to go," he explained, as if the man couldn't already see this. Every instinct told him to step back from this man...to run as fast as he could, scoop up Hiro, and get as far from Robert Callaghan as humanly possible...but those instincts also clashed with his own nature. Someone needed help. He had to save him...even if it was from himself.

"Trust me, Tadashi, I know exactly how much time we have left. I set this explosion myself."

"You...you what?" Tadashi demanded in shock. "People could have died, Callaghan! Have you lost your mind?" He couldn't believe it. His mentor, the man he looked up to...trusted...had deliberately endangered hundreds of innocent lives? This couldn't be real.

"No one's in any danger, I promise you. They've all evacuated. It's just you and me now. Come on. Join me," he said, holding a hand out to him.

Tadashi took a step back, eyeing the hand with apprehension. "If you planned this...how did you know I'd even be here?"

"I knew you'd be here because I know you, Tadashi Hamada. All it took was one word from that girl. The moment you heard your mentor was in danger, you came running. I knew you'd come to rescue me. That's exactly the kind of conviction I need."

Tadashi shook his head, taking several more steps back, further into the burning building. "What are you saying? This isn't right!"

"We don't have much time, Tadashi. You need to understand...this is all for a higher purpose. If you want to know the truth, you need to come with me now!" Callaghan insisted as he followed the young man's retreat, still holding his hand out.

"No way," Tadashi said, shaking his head again. If this man he'd thought was his friend thought it justified to risk human life this way, he wanted no part of this. "I'm getting out. Hiro's waiting for me."

Tadashi started to run, moving to make a wide arc around the professor and the writhing mass of microbots, but as he hurried past, he heard the man calling out to him.

"Oh, Tadashi...that really was the wrong answer."

At that, Tadashi suddenly felt something wrap around his ankles. Almost before he was aware of it, he was yanked off his feet and dragged across the floor. Still disoriented, he found himself pulled upright, face to face with Callaghan.

"Let me go!" he shouted, struggling futilely against the microbots. "If you don't let me go right now, I'll-"

"You'll what?" Callaghan spat in his face. "You don't have the stomach for that sort of thing, Tadashi, but we can easily do something about that. I'm sorry to do this to you, but I need your help. It's time for us to disappear."

Tadashi fought, but it was in vain. When he finally had to admit he was helpless, he did the only thing he could do. He called out for help...to the only person who might hear him.

"Hiro!"

He would never know if his little brother heard him or not. Several things happened all at once. There was a giant explosion of light and heat all around them and Tadashi screamed in agony as he felt the flames searing through his clothing and his skin, straight down to the bone. The pain didn't last long, though, because something heavy impacted with the side of his head and everything faded to blessed darkness...but as the world slipped away around him, he could have almost sworn he heard a voice.

"Tadashi!"

Hiro...Hiro...I'm sorry.

XxX

For a long while, all he knows is darkness and silence. That harrowing blackness is broken only occasionally by visions of fire. Flames lick at his hands and feet...all the way up...slowly consuming him. He screams, but there's no sound.

"Tadashi!"

Who...?

"Tadashi! Tadashi, help me!"

Hiro...Hiro needs me! Have to...help...

"Nii-chan...please...I'm scared."

I'm coming, Hiro! Hold on!

But then he hears Hiro screaming...and no matter how hard he tries, he cannot reach him. He's trapped...burning and dying...while his baby brother screams in agony.

"HIRO!"

Only when he's sure he'll go crazy with the sound piercing his heart does the blackness overtake him once again, leaving him frozen and nonexistent.

Hiro...

"Tadashi?"

"No...no more..." he whispers, his throat dry and scratchy...as if from disuse...or from screaming.

"I know you can hear me, Tadashi."

"Leave me alone," he pleads. He can't take it anymore. He can't burn again. He can't listen to Hiro die again.

"I know you're with me, Tadashi Hamada, so you may as well wake up and listen."

"I-" Tadashi tried one more time before his eyes finally blinked open. He didn't yet know it, but he'd exchanged one hell for another.

The first thing he became aware of was the fact that he was sitting in a darkened room. He couldn't see much of anything beyond the single spotlight that shone down on him, but he did soon become aware that he was sitting in a chair. Well...not sitting. He was actually tied to the chair pretty thoroughly. He could feel the lengths of rope digging into his wrists, arms, and chest, as well as his ankles. When he looked down, he found he was clothed in nothing but a pair of black pants.

"Where...where am I?" he finally made himself ask, still not fully able to focus. "What's happening?" The last thing he remembered was...congratulating Hiro on his presentation.

"I'm sorry about all this, Tadashi, but you've been heavily sedated for the better part of two weeks. I couldn't risk your reaction to the situation," the familiar voice said as its owner stepped into his view.

"Professor Callaghan?" he mumbled in confusion. "I...what's going on? Why am I tied up? Where are we? Where...where's Hiro?"

"You don't...remember anything?" Callaghan asked slowly, glancing sideways at him...and as Tadashi looked at the now strange, steely expression on his mentor's face, it all started to come back to him in fragmented bits and pieces.

Fire...explosions...the microbots...Callaghan...pain...

"I knew you'd come."

"What are you saying? This isn't right!"

"Oh, Tadashi...that really was the wrong answer."

"Hiro!"

"Tadashi!"

"The fire," he whispered as it all came rushing back with painful clarity. "What...what happened? Hiro! Is he all right?" he demanded.

"As all right as can be expected...seeing as how he's been mourning your death for two weeks," the professor said harshly.

"Oh, God," Tadashi whispered in horror. He remembered the pain of losing his parents. He could barely imagine the pain of losing his little brother. What Hiro must have been suffering these last two weeks...

At the thought of his brother in pain, rage flared up in Tadashi's heart and he turned sickened, angry eyes up to the man who had been his mentor, demanding, "Why, Callaghan? Why would you do this? The fire...the microbots...Hiro...why?"

Callaghan sighed heavily as he began to pace. "Tadashi...you are, inarguably, my best student. I've always thought that you and I understand each other better than any of the others do. If anyone would understand my situation, I felt certain it would be you."

"What situation?"

"For all I know about your personal life, I don't believe I've told you very much about mine. Did you know I had a daughter?"

"Had?" Tadashi asked, latching onto the word with a touch of foreboding in his heart.

"Abigail was very brave and very smart. She worked as a test pilot for Krei Tech several years ago. They'd come out with a sort of teleportation technology...but when they were demonstrating it for their investors, something went wrong. The technology wasn't ready. The test pilot...Abigail...she was lost," Callaghan explained as he turned away from Tadashi.

"I'm so sorry," Tadashi said after several moments of pained silence. "I understand what you're going through."

"Yes," Callaghan interrupted before he could say any more, though he still didn't look at him. "I thought if anyone would, it would be you. And if your parents had been murdered...surely you would want to do everything in your power to see that the murderer was brought to justice."

"What do you mean murdered?" Tadashi asked, feeling a chill steal across his heart. "Abigail wasn't murdered. It was an accident."

"Krei knew his technology wasn't ready!" Callaghan snarled as he turned to face him. "He knew...and he let her go anyway. It's his fault she's dead! His fault!" the professor screamed, his eyes wild with rage. "He killed her and they didn't punish him! What did the government do? They covered the whole thing up! They buried it deep and they let that monster off with a slap on the wrist. And me...what was I left with? No body to bury, a letter of condolence, and her last paycheck. That's all my precious girl was to them! A few god damn pieces of paper! If they have their way, Krei will never see the inside of a jail cell...or a hangman's noose."

"What...what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I mean to make him pay, Tadashi...and I need your help to do it," he said, leering maniacally as he knelt in front of the elder Hamada.

"What?"

"I'm an old man, Tadashi...much too old to be carrying out this revenge. I can control Hiro's microbots, certainly, but I just can't take the risk that I might not have the strength to finish this. If I die before this is over, it will mean Krei goes unpunished and Abigail died for nothing. I need a young pair of legs and a strong back to help me finish this task. I thought if anyone would understand my situation...would sympathize and be willing to help me punish a murderer...it would be you...Tadashi Hamada. Please...will you help me?"

For a long while, Tadashi just stared at his former professor in horror. He could feel pity for the man and sympathize with what he'd been through, certainly, but this...Robert Callaghan was asking him to help him commit murder. He was asking him to turn his back on everything he believed in for the sake of some crazy revenge scheme. Slowly, he shook his head.

"Callaghan...I can't. You can't. What happened was awful, but Krei doesn't deserve to die for it. My whole purpose in life is to help people. I can't kill another human being. I'm sorry. I just can't do that!"

Callaghan's expression twisted at this, his eyes growing dark and harsh as he got to his feet. "We'll see about that. What would you do if it was your own brother?"

Tadashi felt fear grip his chest at the insinuation. "W- what are you talking about?"

"Think about it. Krei propositioned Hiro the night of the explosion. What if he'd taken Krei up on his offer? What if he'd given away the microbots and allowed that man to twist them into something they weren't...something that would have destroyed your brother. What would you do then?"

"No. I don't believe you. Hiro's too smart for that," he said, the words a low growl in his throat. If this man even hinted at threatening Hiro...

"It still might happen. What sort of decisions might young Hiro make...lost and alone without his nii-chan?" Callaghan mocked. "What will you do when that man tries to tell you he's sorry over your brother's dead body?"

"Shut up!" Tadashi screamed at him, trying to lunge forward, but held back by the ropes. "If any of you hurt so much as one hair on his head, I'll tear you all to pieces!"

At this, Callaghan began to sneer. "That's what I thought. You play at being a saint, Tadashi, but underneath that, there are untapped reservoirs of rage. We just need the right pressure point to break the dam."

"No," Tadashi hissed as he turned away from his former mentor in shock, eyes squeezing tightly shut. "That's not me. It's not."

"You should stop lying to yourself, Hamada. You see...the thing about people who claim to want to help everyone...that's only true because only they know how to cause real pain. They're desperate to try and fix the world because only they know how truly depraved it can be. That's what you really are, Tadashi. It will be less painful for you if you embrace it," he said, taking hold of Tadashi's hair and forcing his head back.

"Stop it. Stop it," the young man hissed, still not looking at Callaghan. He would never admit it, but the professor's words called up things he'd managed to forget...playground days...beating up kids who'd bullied his baby brother...and that tiny spark of glee he'd felt at causing them pain.

"What would dear Hiro think if he could see what lies just beneath this skin?" he taunted, running a thumb along Tadashi's cheek. "What if he could really see the monster you keep hidden? Would your brother still love you?"

"Please...stop," Tadashi begged, feeling tears he refused to shed burn at his eyelids. "I can't...I can't."

"Just what do you think you can do if you won't help me? You can't go back to your family. You're dead to them. They've buried you. What would you do? Where would you go? In a world without your family, what are you? Even if you could go back, you can never erase the pain you've caused them. In fact, why don't we have a look at just what sorts of nightmares little Hiro's been dealing with," Callaghan said, slipping a controller from his pocket and pointing at the darkness beyond them. A screen immediately flared to life, playing some sort of video feed. Tadashi nearly threw up what little was in his stomach when he realized that the feed was of his and Hiro's bedroom.

He couldn't ask how Callaghan had gotten a camera in there. He couldn't focus on things like that right now. All he could see was the tiny, nearly unrecognizable figure lying on Hiro's bed, burrowed under a mountain of blankets.

Hiro wasn't even trying to hold back his tears. Great, heaving sobs wracked his small body, wringing out every last drop of grief he had to give before finding even more to drain away from him. He sobbed as if his heart had shattered, because it had. He wasn't very tall to begin with, but now he just looked impossibly small, lying helpless and grief-stricken on the bed.

"Tadashi...damn it...Tadashi!" he sobbed in anguish, beating at his pillow. "It's not fair! Nii-chan!" he cried out before burying his face in the pillow and screaming.

Tadashi was too stricken to even plead with Callaghan to stop. He was so horrified by his baby brother's agony, all he could do was sit there and stare as tears poured silently down his own face.

You did this to him. This is your fault.

Before Tadashi had even a prayer of pulling himself together, the feed changed. It showed a different night. Hiro was lying with his head at the foot of his bed, eyes red and puffy from crying. He was wearing one of Tadashi's jackets wrapped tightly around him while he kept his nose buried in one of the sleeves, laughing bitterly as several more tears slid down his face.

"Damn it, man...you have a scent. Did you know that? I didn't...and in a few weeks, it's gonna be gone...just like you. Tadashi...how many more times can I lose you, damn it?"

"Hiro..." Tadashi whispered, feeling his throat constrict around the word. He swallowed painfully as more tears squeezed their way out of his eyes. He wasn't sure how much of this he could take.

I'm sorry, Hiro. I'm so sorry.

A different night now. Hiro was sitting at his desk, staring blankly at his computer.

"Why the hell did I let you go in there? It should have been me! The microbots...maybe I could have actually done something."

Hiro...please. Don't do this to yourself!

"Tadashi...I don't know if you can hear me...but I don't know if I can do this," Hiro said softly. Then he picked up a knife he had lying on the desk - a paring knife he'd probably taken from the cafe. Slowly he began to trace his wrist with the blade's sharp edge, not drawing blood...just lingering on the surface...on the edge...

"Hiro, don't!" Tadashi couldn't stop himself from crying out, trying to reach for his brother, but unable to. "I'm here! I'm right here! You don't have to do this! Hiro!"

Then, almost as if he'd heard him...as if he'd suddenly realized what he was doing...Hiro shoved the knife away, out of his reach. Then he buried his face in his hands and started to cry again.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Hiro sobbed, and Tadashi had no idea if he meant he was sorry for considering suicide...or if he was sorry for not being able to go through with it. Either way, it tore him in two. "Damn it. Why aren't you here?"

"I am here," he whispered to the screen as the tears continued to fall. "I'm here for you. I'm not dead. I'm sorry. Please...don't cry."

With this, the screen finally went dark and Tadashi slumped in the chair, barely feeling the harsh pull of the rope against his skin. He didn't even look up when Callaghan began to speak again.

"I have all the nights since the fire...and I don't doubt there will be more. He's doing no better. You'll see every moment of the pain you've caused him," he said, slowly lifting Tadashi's face up by the chin so he could look him in the eye.

"Please...you don't have to do this," Tadashi repeated desperately. He knew he couldn't bear this. It would break him.

"No. I'm afraid I do. You've proven you're in need of...reeducation. I'm sorry this is necessary, but I can't let anything stand in my way. I promise you, Tadashi, you'd do the same if it was Hiro."

Tadashi wanted to deny him, to tell him he was wrong about him...but he was no longer so certain. He couldn't be sure of what was inside him. Was there a monster...just like Callaghan...just waiting for the right trigger to be set free? He didn't know...and he was terrified to find out.

"You don't feel it yet, of course, but your back was badly burned in the escape. You've got some very nasty scar tissue back there. The pain killers will start to wear off before too long, though. You'll start to feel it. Be thankful I kept you unconscious for the worst part of that, because we've only just begun. Reeducation also requires...reconstruction," Callaghan explained, holding up a hand. Tadashi cringed when he saw what was lying in it.

A microbot.

"I can be very inventive, Tadashi. You saw what I could do with only a moment of practice. Imagine what I could do to your body. Imagine what it will do to Hiro...to know I used his own invention to break you," he said, running the bot down the side of the young man's face...and it was in that moment that Tadashi Hamada knew he was already lost. He would do his best to fight back, but Callaghan had already won. He couldn't fight this.

He'd survived the explosion that should have killed him, but that made little difference. Tadashi knew he was dead already.

XxX

(A/N) So...any interest in seeing what happens next?