Night has fallen in downtown San Fransokyo. This city is one of the most popular in the United States. Following a disaster accidentally caused by famous artist Lenore Shimamoto, the city was rebuilt thanks to the help of Japanese immigrants, and since then, this beautiful hybrid of a city grew up to be a prosperous, metropolitan city home to more than a million people, well known for its Japanese-American architecture, landscaping, and engineering. And it's especially beautiful at night, where the building's lights present a colorful world. Most of the people inside are content with living in such a place where many opportunities abound…

Well, except for one.

There is a restaurant located at the Haight-Ashbury district in Downtown San Fransokyo. The name for this particular restaurant is called the Lucky Cat Café, and is considered one of the most popular restaurants in the city…

At least, until recently.

Months ago, a new restaurant opened up a few blocks down called the Howling Howler Café. It is more or less similar to the Lucky Cat Café, but the chefs there are highly trained professionals, and not only do their food taste better, but they also serve a more diverse range of food for the customers. And not only that, but it is also more up-to-date in terms of aesthetics, but the mascot of the café, "Charles the Dog" has appealed to a bigger audience than the Lucky Cat Café owner's pet, Mochi.

Speaking of the owner, she is currently in the main dining area, pacing back and forth in frantic worry, gobbling down on a pair of donuts. This is Cassandra Hamada. Right now, she is growing worried sick. The reason why is because her only nephew, Hiro Hamada, has not arrived yet. Cass lets out a deep exhale, and ran her fingers through her hair, pacing around back and forward.

"Oh, where is that boy?" she hissed to herself, before she walked into the café's kitchen, approached her stand of doughnuts, took one out, and began to eat one. Poor Cass still hasn't gotten over her stress-eating habits; whenever a circumstance stresses her out, for example, Hiro Hamada, does something reckless, she would eat a lot of the café's food in an effort to calm herself down. There is no limit to how much she can eat; one time, she even ate more than HALF of her café's food supply when Hiro went out on his first bot fight.

"Bot fight…" Cass thought to herself once that memory came into her mind. She then exhaled deeply through her nose and furrowed her brows, clenching her fists in frustration. "I've told that boy…SO. MANY. TIMES…And he just went back on his word once again…" she hissed to herself, gritting her teeth.

Crrrrrk…

Cass straightened herself up upon hearing the back door open and turned towards the direction of the back door. There, she could see someone trying to sneak inside without being noticed. Given that she wasn't in the main restaurant, whoever snuck inside must've thought that he/she could sneak by without detection.

However, the supposed intruder didn't take into account that…well, her peripheral vision – she wasn't that far away from the back door –, the door wasn't exactly silent, AND she knew that no one else had the key to the building's back door aside from…

With a low growl, Cass approached the person, who was covered in a hood and grasped his shoulder roughly. The boy hitched his breath and almost lets out a yelp of pain from Cass's grip. Cass then used her other hand to move the hood out of the way, exposing her nephew; Hiro Hamada to her view.

Hiro flinched upon having his hood removed, and a chill went down his spine when he felt her cold breath on his ear, and a venomous voice whispered,

"Going somewhere, Hiro Hamada?"

Hiro gulped to himself, but his troubles were only just the beginning; he felt Cass violently pinch his left ear lobe, and drag him upstairs to the apartment the Hamada family lives in. During the struggle, Cass said to Hiro, "You've got a lot of explaining to do, young man! You'll be lucky if you-"

Once they made it to the apart room above the café, Cass grabbed Hiro by the back of his neck and shoved him forward. Hiro had to stretch his arms out to catch himself from landing on the couch headfirst. Once he was able to steady himself, he turned to her, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Jeez, Aunt Cass. You didn't have to grab me like that." He said. But he silenced himself once he saw Cass's glare. "Hiro…where have you been?" she persisted. Hiro flinched at her tone, gulping in fear. Cass hardly, if ever, got mad, and rarely yelled. And usually, when she does yell, she usually calms down after a few doughnuts.

But this night…this is not like those nights. This time, she is MAD! Hiro flinched again at her gaze, and fiddled with his thumbs, trying to come up with a good explanation that would hopefully get him off easier.

"I…I…I uh…" he began. Cass glared at him and crossed her arms. "Hmm?" she asked, raising a brow. Hiro took in another deep breath and gritted his teeth in fear. "Um…I was uh…busy?" he peeped out. Cass narrowed her stare once more.

"Busy? Yeah, sure, you were "busy" when it's about, oh I don't know," she said, voice seething with sarcasm, before she lifted her left wrist, showing her watch. "11:30 PM?!" she shouted, making Hiro cower down once more.

"Y-Yes. I was! It's just that…the phone died!" he said, voice briefly cracking. Cass looked at him, dumbfounded. "The phone died? Really?" she asked, before she lowered her arms, and lets out a false laugh. "That's real original, Hiro. Especially after the last 15 times you've told me that." She said, placing her hands on her waists. Hiro felt sweat dripping down as he tilted his head in confusion.

"W-What? I never said that the last 15 times." He said, voice still weak, yet growing stronger. Cass furrowed her brows. "Don't you lie to me, young man!" she said. Hiro flinched back, as Cass pinched the bridge of her forehead and closed her eyes, taking in several deep breaths, before she opened her eyes and closed both of her hands into fists. Hiro saw this and inwardly prayed to whatever entity was watching above that the worst she would do was give him another black eye.

"Now, let's start over… Hiro Hamada; Where. Were. You…" she stated, leaning forward until they were practically nose-to-nose with Hiro. Hiro took a close look at her, and he gulped, seeing how red and bloodshot they are. As he tries to come up with another cover-up, Cass noticed something in his left eye; his left eye appears to have a broken blood vessel, and there were patches of red and purple bruises around the left side of his face. Cass narrowed her eyes as a mix of confusion, fear, and anger became present on her face.

"Hiro…this is a bruise…" she said quietly. "Um…is it?" Hiro replied. Cass sighed through her nose. "Now's not the time for jokes, Hiro. Who did this to you?" she answered, inspecting the bruise. Hiro moved his eyes around.

"Y-You see, I got involved in some…activities by accident. I-It's nothing, really." He explained. Cass looked at him with a shocked expression on her face. "Nothing?! You snuck out home and came back late from God-knows-where, not calling me, nor even texting me! I was worried sick about you for the past 4 hours! And YOU have the nerve to say that "it's nothing?!" she practically shouted at him! Hiro cowered back in fear.

Cass took in several deep breaths, before she looked at him, eyes narrowing once more in suspicion. Then, a memory of one of Hiro's earlier bot-fights ended him in a similar state as right now.

"Hiro…where you bot-fighting illegally?" she asked, anxiously. Hiro hitched his breath and flinched at this again. That was all Cass needed to confirm her suspicions. "Hiro…" she began. Hiro however, shook his head.

"I-I'm not bot-fighting!" he said. Cass pulled away and crossed her arms again. "Oh really? Well, show me your pockets!" she instructed. Hiro hitched his breath again, still not wanting to give in to her demands.

"N-No, Aunt Cass." He said. Cass glared at him…before she grew a smile, which made Hiro shiver. "Hiro, darling," she said in a motherly tone, the kind that Hiro knew was a false tone. And he was right, as her tone transitioned into a degrading tone of a mother's wrath before she grabbed his chin and pulled him closer still. "If you don't do what I tell you RIGHT NOW, you will know my name when I put my wrath upon you!" she scolded.

Hiro nodded immediately and fished through his pockets. "Okay. Okay, calm down, Aunt Cass. Please!" he pleaded. Cass didn't say anything, but she did feel satisfied at that point.

As Hiro fished through his pockets, he could feel his Megabot in his left pocket, and its remote controller and a large sum of two hundred dollars in his right pocket. "Uh, h-here, here!" he whimpered out and fished out Megabot, its remote controller and two thousand dollars. Cass released him and took his items away to inspect them. Seeing these three things she dreaded to see made her stomach drop. Hiro saw her face contort into one of fear. Then, she looked at him, and asked calmly, yet sternly.

"How much money did you make…"

Hiro looked at her and gulped. "Um…around two hundred dollars." He replied. Cass gasped as she dropped everything onto the floor. Hiro expected her to be mad after seeing this.

But what will happen next, is something Hiro Hamada will never, ever, forget.

Cass looked up at him, and she gave what was perhaps the angriest look on her face Hiro had ever seen. At this point, Hiro knew he crossed the line…or rather, crossed it dozens of times, pour it on gasoline and set it on fire.

"Hiro. Fucking. Hamada…" Cass began as she approached him slowly. Hiro widened his eyes, not expecting her to curse like that. He wanted to just disappear from the face of the Earth, or just run as fast as his legs could carry him, ANYTHING to get away from his aunt's way.

However, before he could do anything else, he felt Cass grab the collar of his shirt and pull him towards her. "I can NOT believe that you went out bot-fighting illegally! AGAIN!" she shouted. Hiro whimpered as he felt his ears ring from the shouting. But Cass wasn't done with him yet.

"You went back on your word you said about NEVER bot-fighting again!" she stated. Hiro shook his head to help clear his hearing, but it didn't do much as Cass continued to scream, "Why do you even do this, Hiro? Do you not understand that what you do is VERY dangerous. People are getting worse these days and looking for a reason to come and kill you! I mean, look at that!" she pointed to the bruise on his left eye. Hiro nodded. "I-I know, Aunt Cass! B-But I survived before, and I can do it again!" he said. Cass scoffed and dropped him, sending fall down onto the floor. Once he got up, Cass was burying her hands on her face.

"You must think I am some type of ATM machine, right? You must think I have an unlimited amount of money at my disposal, huh?! Well guess what; I DON'T. Did you forget that we are going through a financial crisis right now?!" she said, pointing at him with anger that only seems to be growing. Hiro pointed back at her.

"That's why! I went out bot-fighting again for the past few weeks so I can get us some money! You should be thankful for that, you ungrateful little," Hiro replied. Cass tilted her head as a look of incredulity grew on her face. "A FEW WEEKS?! Hiro, you are an idiot!" she cried out. Hiro widened his eyes, but before he realized what would happen next, Cass approached him, with unbridled rage in her eyes. "Maybe I should've left you behind! Maybe I should've left you to rot behind bars! I doubt I will miss a criminal like you," she began before she raised her hand up…with a ring in her ring finger. "You ignorant, selfish, stupid, idiot!" Cass cried out again as,

Slap!

Cass back-slapped Hiro on the right cheek. MUCH harder than she realized, as Hiro had to reach his arms out to stop from landing headfirst. Once he was able to recuperate himself, he placed his hand on his cheek, feeling a stinging burn from the hit…as well as something leaking down. Hiro pulled back…and saw a small drop of blood coming. Hiro looked at it in shock, but then he heard,

"Hiro…are you alright?" he heard Cass ask him. Now she was no longer angry, but she now had a concerned tone on her voice. Hiro, while still on the floor, slowly turned to look at her, a look of sadness and raw fear in his eyes. He could see that Cass was no longer angry, but now very concerned for him. And that concern grew into a shock once she saw the bleeding cheek.

"Oh my gosh, Hiro…your cheek." She gasped, covering her mouth in shock. Hiro looked at his hand once he moved it out of the way; it was bleeding quite a bit. Cass stepped back as a look of terror and regret began to take her face.

"Hiro, I'm…I-I'll go get an icepack. I'll be back." She said as she ran towards her kitchen to fetch an icepack. Hiro however, just stood there, placing his hand back at his cheek, before he began to walk towards the stairs, just wanting to be alone, to contemplate what had just transpired. "She…she really did hit me…in all the years we had together, no matter how angry she got…she would NEVER lay a finger on me, or Tadashi like that…and what she said…" he thought to himself. But just before he could take a step upwards, he heard Cass running back with the icepack.

"Here, put this on your cheek." She instructed before she raised her hand out to move his hand away. However, Hiro pulled back in fright. Cass pulled her hands back upon seeing his face. "Hiro, let me help you." She pleaded, trying to step forward. But Hiro stepped back.

"N-No need, Aunt Cass. I-I can take the icepack. Baymax can fix me up." Hiro replied, shaking his head with a small, broken smile. Cass became unsure. "Are you sure, Hiro?" she asked. Hiro nodded with a smile, as he, with reluctance, took the icepack from her hands, placed it on his cheek, and sped up the stairs, leaving poor Cass by herself.

She began to take in deep breaths and covered her mouth with her hands. She then began to feel light on her legs, so she quickly took the stairs, and ran across the hallway, passed the stairs that would lead to Hiro's room, and made it to her own bedroom. She collapsed on top of her bed, and she immediately began to cry softly.

"Oh no…what have I done?" she asked to herself, crying into the bed. She then lifted her head up and looked at a picture nearby. Amongst a variety of cat pictures, there was another picture of herself with her older sister, Rita Hamada. Rita and Cass were standing next to one another, smiling at the camera, with the former holding baby Hiro in her arms, and the latter holding her arms around Rita's neck. Cass gave a slight smile; remembering that during that time the picture was taken; Rita claimed that Cass was choking her. Cass shook his head, before she frowned once more, wiping away a tear.

"Oh, Rita…" she said, standing up to walk towards the picture and placed a hand on the left frame. "I wish you were here…*sniff* You would know how to deal with a rebellious child like Hiro…*sigh*" she sighed to herself as she got on her knees, and leaned her head onto the desk, before the memory of what she did and said to poor Hiro came back into her mind;

"A FEW WEEKS?! Hiro, you are an idiot! Maybe I should've left you behind! Maybe I should've left you to rot behind bars! I doubt I will miss a criminal like you. You ignorant, selfish, stupid, idiot!"

Slap!

Cass's frown grew, and tears began to leak out of her eyes, before she buried her face in her hands again, and began to cry once more. She felt like she had failed; ten years of raising Hiro and Tadashi, and it resulted in the death of one of them, and perhaps a broken mind of the other. And it was ALL because of her inexperience with caring for children.

"I'm so…I'm so sorry, Rita…I'm such a failure of a parent…" she whimpered out, before she began to sob, feeling nothing but immense failure, sorrow, and guilt for what she felt was ten years of a meaningless time for her.

Meanwhile, Hiro was sitting on his bed, being tended to by his lovable, inflatable, robotic companion, Baymax. Hiro flinched a bit when Baymax placed the icepack on his cheek.

"I take it the last bot-fight tonight didn't go too well," Baymax asked, voice robotic, yet carrying a warm, caring tone to it. Hiro shook his head. "Not really…and even worse…" he began. But he couldn't continue; seeing the angry look on Cass's face, and what had happened afterward, made him unable to utter a word. Baymax looked at him, and with his chubby left hand, moved Hiro's head towards him.

"Hiro, what happened?" he asked. Hiro looked at him for a while, before he wiped away another tear that was about to spill from his eyes. "It's…It's Aunt Cass…she f-figured out I was bot-fighting to help give her money. And…s-she didn't like that. I-I tried to explain that I, that I was helping her, but…she didn't believe me. And…" he began to break down in tears, continuously wiping away the tears from his eyes. Baymax scanned his emotional stress and hugged the little boy in sympathy.

"There, there, Hiro. It is alright to cry." He said. Hiro leaned into his embrace, and he soon began to cry to himself. "She was right…I am an idiot." He said. Baymax looked down at Hiro and blinked.

"That is not true, Hiro. You're intellectually gifted. Your recent IQ testings," he began, before his chest screen lit up, showing various numbers, before a large number shows up. It was titled to be;

150.

"has shown that you are a genius, especially for someone of your age." He finished. Hiro shook his head. "Yeah. I know I'm smart academically, but…I'm dumb in common sense." He said, wiping his nose with his sleeve. Baymax tilted his head. "You know what is up, down, left, and right," Baymax said.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEAN!" Hiro shouted. Baymax looked at him, blinking. "Well, then what is you mean by "Dumb in common sense"?" he asked. Hiro looked at him, and sighed, looking down.

"Never mind, Baymax. Just…leave me alone, please." He said, taking the icepack for himself before he continued crying again. Baymax tilted his head again. "I cannot deactivate until you say," Baymax began, but then Hiro continued it with, "I'm satisfied with my care, Baymax." He said. Baymax stayed there for a moment before he walked back to his charging station, following what he was programmed to do.

Hiro was now alone in his room, left to grieve by himself. He then took a quick glance at a picture with him and Tadashi when Hiro was seven. He felt a pang in his heart, before he lowered his forehead, and covered his face with his free hand before he began to cry once more.

"Tadashi…I'm sorry I let you down…I let everyone down…" he said to himself, before he, much like his aunt, broke down in tears as immense failure, sorrow, and guilt consumed his mind.

So, for the remainder of the night, both Hamadas began crying over their actions that they've now begun regretting. From this moment on, however, something will happen that will change their lives, and bring them closer to one another than EVER before…

AN: Hey everyone, superkoola here.

Changes here from the original chapter; I have decided to make Cass feel remorseful immediately after the slap, rather than when she is in her room. In addition, I wanted to make her say what she said and make her slap give Hiro a cut, before I wanted to make the scene more impactful, and make the story later on, more meaningful to Cass.

Don't worry though; I don't hate Aunt Cass. I promise I will try my best and make her the lovable, bubbly aunt you all know and love.

Hope you enjoy this one, and stick around for more…when I can get to them!