[Hello! I'm sorry, but I will probably not be as quick posting new chapters as I was in my last story. I am considering taking up another story in the meantime, so...
Anyways, here is the new chapter! The answers to your reviews are, as usual, at the bottom of the page.
And I know, the song doesn't EXACTLY fit the chapter, but I found the image funny. Anyways...
Enjoy!]
"I'm covering my ears like a kid
When your words mean nothing, I go 'la la la'
I'm turning up the volume when you speak
'Cause if my heart can't stop it
I'll find a way to block it."
-La La La, by Naughty Boy
"Hello again, Tadashi, I…. Um…"
"What's up, Kyle?"
The aforementioned therapist blinked in surprise, then slowly sat down. "...You're wearing a duck costume."
"Really?" Tadashi leaned back, trying to pretend that he wasn't paying much mind to the beak directly above his head, or the bright orange, enormous feet currently housing his own… well, foot. Most importantly, he was trying to play off cool the bright yellow, feathery pants that were really starting to ride up his-
"I'm assuming there's a reason for this?"
"A dumb bet I made with my brother," Tadashi mumbled, looking up and finding Kyle's face bright red with suppressed laughter. "Yeah, go ahead, let it out. I know I look ridiculous."
Taking the chance, the relatively young doctor leaned over, resting his head on the wooden desk and trying to muffle his choking laughter with his shirtsleeves. The elder Hamada leaned back in the meantime, letting him release the pent-up laughter before finally interrupting.
"Yeah, yeah, that's enough. You can stop laughing now."
"I'm sorry," Kyle gasped, tears of mirth sliding down his cheeks. "It's just… You have to be one of the most serious-looking people I've ever met. The scars don't really help. And the image of you in a fluffy, feathery duck suit just…"
"How my friend Fred just happened to have this lying around, I'll never know, but I do look ridiculous," Tadashi admitted. "You can thank Hiro for this. I should really know better than to gamble against him."
"Isn't he the one that used to be an expert in conning seasoned botfighters?"
"That'd be him."
"You're right," Kyle replied, laughing. "You shouldn't gamble against a con artist."
"Oh, he's not a con artist any more," the man in the duck suit corrected.
"Right."
"Now, he's an annoying stick in the mud who won't let me jump off of buildings."
"So, how did your therapy session go?"
The younger Hamada's eyes sparkled with a certain mischief, and Tadashi leaned over to completely destroy Hiro's hair.
"Gah! I spent a good two minutes trying to get that out of my face! Shame on you, Tadashi," Hiro almost wailed, pushing his brother's hand off his head.
"Awh. I'm almost sorry."
"No, you're not. In all seriousness, though, how did it go?"
Tadashi sighed and leaned back, a smirk playing across his lips. "Kyle gets the impression I'm suicidal."
Hiro blinked in surprise. "What gave him that impression?"
"I said something about you not letting me jump off of a building."
"I see. No, I don't. What?"
"Long story."
Hiro gave his brother a look-the one that Tadashi had affectionately named his 'Basilisk Stare', due to how it would occasionally cause an unsuspecting freshman who'd gotten on Hiro's bad side to freeze.
There was a single incident where someone had come into Hiro's lab looking for him, and been quite loud about it while he was doing work that required maximum precision.
He left a good five minutes later, visibly shaken, without the help that he had come looking for.
Funnily enough, when the camera footage was looked over to see the cause of said reaction, the only visible movement that could be seen was Hiro jumping at the sudden noise and completely messing up whatever he was doing.
Immediately, he turned and gave the freshman a cold, furious glare, and he stopped in his tracks, mouth opening and then closing, completely speechless. Satisfied with the results, Hiro returned to what he was doing to attempt to fix the broken device, while the freshman stood in silence, staring at the 16 year old until he finally regained his bearings and left as quickly as he possibly could.
No one knew what it was that made Hiro so terrifying when he gave someone that look, but the affected individuals resolved to be very quiet and respectful toward the younger Hamada from then on.
Tadashi, on the other hand, remained as irreverent and sarcastic as he ever was. While even GoGo-the woman who everyone silently agreed was the toughest among their numbers-would be affected by the glare at times(not to the point of white terror as a few of Hiro's other victims would experience, but at least taken aback by the cold stare), Tadashi and Aunt Cass were remarkably unaffected in any sense whatsoever.
"Anyways, baka-nii, the team's having a get-together tonight at Denny's tonight."
"Denny's?" Tadashi blinked in surprise, then chuckled softly. "Why does that sound just like something Fred would choose?"
"Because it is."
"What's the occasion?"
Hiro shrugged, twirling his screwdriver in his hand as he did so. "Crime rates are low, approval rates are high, and it's karaoke night."
"Good enough for me. I guess it's a good thing that I can sing, right?"
"I've never heard you sing, actually," Hiro said with a smile. "I'm genuinely curious now."
"I can sing better than you, that's for sure," Tadashi replied jokingly.
"Unfortunately, that's probably very true."
Tadashi leaned over, putting an arm around his brother's shoulders. "So, have you decided what you're singing, then?"
"I'm not singing. You can't make me."
"Au contraire," Tadashi replied nonchalantly. "I can indeed. I have pictures of you on top of that stop sign. I wonder what would happen if I leaked them to the media…"
The table grew eerily silent as the Basilisk Glare came out. Even GoGo leaned away from the younger Hamada, who was obviously seething with anger.
"You wouldn't."
"I would. Sing something."
Hiro glared at Tadashi for several seconds before silently walking to the stage and sorting through the available songs, and, triumphantly, his older brother returned to chatting with the group.
Oh, I'll sing something. And I'll burst your eardrums in the process, but that's entirely your fault.
Several minutes later, Hiro's silent and snarky remarks proved true.
"For the love of pizza, please, Hiro, stop!"
However, instead of listening to his older brother, Hiro squeezed his eyes tightly shut, clutched the microphone tighter, and sang, if anything, even higher.
"I've got the scars from tomorrow, and I wish you could see-"
In the meantime, a good amount of the diner's occupants had their hands over their ears.
"Whose idea was it to let the little dude listen to Fall Out Boy, anyhow?!"
A few pointed glares were sent in Tadashi's direction, who raised his hands defensively-and immediately regretted it, pressing them back to the sides of his head..
"It's not my music, it's Aunt Cass'!"
"Burn everything you love, then burn the ash-es!"
"So what you're saying it that Aunt Cass, the most cheerful, kind, bubbly person we know-except for maybe Honey-got your brother into Fall Out Boy?!"
"Yes!"
"So light 'em up, up, up, I'm on fire!"
There was an especially high note as the younger Hamada attempted the vocal part, then he gave the gang an especially evil smirk before walking off the stage.
There was no applause, only a lot of soft crying as several people clutched their now-ruined eardrums.
Hiro sat down in his previously unoccupied chair, raising a single eyebrow and silently daring anyone at the table to say anything.
Eventually, it was Fred who broke the silence. "Dude, it's no wonder you don't have any weapons on your suit. Your voice is weapon enough."
"Fair enough. Tadashi, it's your turn."
"No!"
Both of the Hamada brothers jumped in their seats, turning to look at the rest of their group befores sharing a confused glance.
"Why not?"
Wasabi hesitated before answering. "Most of your guys' traits are very, very similar. If Tadashi's voice is anything like yours, you guys will have effectively deafened the entire diner in two songs-no offense, Hiro. "
"None taken, but Tadashi's voice is nothing like mine."
"You sure about that, Shorty?" GoGo popped a bubble with her teeth, leaning back in her chair. By now, the name 'Shorty' was a joke amongst the team, especially between GoGo and Hiro, seeing as he was now a good three to four inches taller.
"Positive."
Tadashi flashed his brother a smile before stepping up to the stage himself, a grin flitting across his lips at one on the list. As he got up to the microphone, Hiro smiled.
"Of course, I've never actually heard him sing, so I'm curious as to how this is going to go."
Simultaneously, the entire table put their hands up to their ears in anticipation of the impending audial torture.
"Okay, that wasn't that bad."
"Not that bad?" Honey Lemon sounded shocked, as if she could hardly comprehend what their leader-if he could be considered their leader-had said. "Your brother really should have been a Broadway singer."
An evil smile tugged at the corner of Hiro's mouth as he glanced at the bright red face of his brother. "I can kind of see that."
"Shut up."
"Can you imagine Tadashi as Cosette in Les Miserables?"
"Shut up right now."
In a horrible imitation of Tadashi's light baritone voice, Hiro fluttered his eyelashes at the elder Hamada and sang. "A heart full of love, a heart full of light-"
"Please, stop," Wasabi said loudly, his hands flying once more to his ears.
"Uncultured swine! You guys obviously don't know good music when you hear it."
"Hiro, I have no idea what that is, but it does not in any way, sense, shape or form resemble music."
The younger Hamada shot his brother an anguished glance, silently pleading for him to back him up, but all he got was a headshake and a soft chuckle.
"Fine then. You obviously can't see the raw talent underneath all this pure manliness." To emphasize his point, he attempted to flex his arms-resulting in his showing off just how small he was and earning him a good laugh.
"Admit it, otouto--for once, I'm good at something that you're not."
"I refuse to admit that. A world in which Tadashi Hamada has managed to one-up his brother is a world I do not want to live in."
A group of young women walking past with a strange assortment of colors in their hair and printed on their skin suddenly burst into laughter at this comment.
"What's so funny?" Hiro shot them a glare, and one of them rolled her eyes in response.
"It's just, somehow, the fact that a little pipsqueak like you has a ton of accomplishments is a little hard to believe, eh?"
Almost immediately, the teasing atmosphere Tadashi was creating had vanished, and he stepped in front of his little brother, giving the woman who had spoken-a pale woman a few inches taller than perhaps Hiro with black and pink streaked hair-a glare that would rival even his brother's.
"For your information, he's a junior in college at 17, and ten times smarter than you'll likely ever be-which doesn't seem to be that great a feat, considering the fact that your IQ probably doesn't even clear 17."
There was a soft 'ooh' ing from the Nerd Herd(a name they had affectionately given themselves), and the woman flushed with rage.
"Why, you little piece of-"
"Emiko," one of the other women in her group interrupted, stepping forward to place her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "It's not worth it. We have places to be, remember? He's not worth your time."
"Obviously," Emiko growled, turning away. The group relaxed, then suddenly she twirled again, catching the elder Hamada with her clenched fist in the jaw.
"Tadashi!"
He took a few steps back, staggering until his brother caught him by the arm, helping him regain his balance. The woman who had inflicted said injury shook her hand, unclenching it and smirking.
"Maybe that'll teach you not to mess with a Fujita." It was said in a low voice, her eyes bright with something resembling sadistic delight, and she turned on the heel of her combat boot to rejoin her group. "C'mon, girls. I think Sakura and the rest have got Kasumi taken care of by now-maybe we should join them."
Nodding, a young woman with electric blue hair briefly kicked the side of her boot with her other heel, and wheels smoothly slid out, increasing her height by a good inch or so. The woman who had spoken-Emiko?-made the same motion, and in a few moments they were all skating at high speed out the door and down the street, knocking over a waiter in their haste to leave.
In the meantime, Tadashi was regaining his footing, his hand cradling his injured jaw. "Well. Someone's got a nice right hook."
"Kasumi… Why does that sound familiar?" Honey Lemon frowned-something she didn't do often.
"Kasumi is Aunt Cass' full first name," Hiro reminded her. "It's probably a coincidence, but…" He stopped as Tadashi's eyes grew wide and his breath grew erratic. "Tadashi?"
"Hiro, Aunt Cass used to be a Fujita."
"She…" Hiro blinked in surprise, then put a hand to his forehead. "Why don't I find this surprising?"
"You think they might…?"
"It's too much of a coincidence not to check," Tadashi growled, moving for the door. Hiro followed almost immediately behind him, and they both suddenly froze as they heard a soft fwoom in the distance.
They turned, and were greeted with the sight of smoke and ashes from the direction of the cafe.
[So, reviews!
Sydney: Aw, I apologize for making you seem mental. I am glad you enjoyed it, and yes, it is The Phoenix.
Buttons and Horseshoes: Awh, thank you so much! And yes, there will be heartbreak material. No worries there!
That sounds great-as long as I can remember to put that up later. xD
Guest: Yes, yes it is. xD
Lady Cougar-Trombone: I dunno, he seemed pretty cocky at the beginning of the chapter. I felt like he needed a little come-uppance.
Indeed. I tried to make it as embarrassing as possible while still staying in character.
Tears Fall: No, it is not. xD Dashi is very immature.
DaydreamDepartment: Yeah, that sounds like something my friends would do as well. xD Well, the lighthearted atmosphere has diminished somewhat-I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
Th3Ph4nt0miz3r: Indeed he did. The sneaky little knucklehead. xD
Forever Me: Eeyup! I hope you enjoyed it!
Awh, thank you so, so much! ;u;
Tony18: So am I-I'm currently dealing with huge holes in the plot, but I am figuring them out as I go. *procrastinating author lady is being dumb*
Yeah, I felt bad for the emotional and physical pain in the last story, thus the lightheartedness, but...
*soft laughing*
CreativeWriter3: Thank you so, so much! ;U; You have no idea how happy this makes me. I love making people laugh. I like making them cry, too, but I also love laughter. I don't know which one I like more, but I suppose it doesn't matter. I'm glad I made you laugh!
Everyone Else: Thank you so, so much for your continued support and willingness to deal with my slow updates and shoddy authoring! I hope to see y'all again come next chapter!
Until then...
•-• I am satisfied with my care. Oblivious Out! *flings self out of frame*]