Chapter Three: Just a dream
It was hot and the air felt thick. It was heard to breathe, like something was covering his head. But he couldn't break free. Everything was tangled; his body feeling like someone had wrapped him up in a damp mass of fabric. Was he sinking? Or was someone restraining him?
Hiro thrashed, his arms and legs trying to break free. But then he was falling, thrown back by an explosion that was so blindingly bright he couldn't think let alone process what was going on. And he couldn't see his brother. He'd been there just a moment before, hadn't he? Where was Tadashi? He tried to call out to him, only to have hot ash flow into his lungs. He coughed, trying to disperse the embers, but couldn't. They burned, turning his body into a spasming mass of flesh as he tried to clear his airways.
He gasped, choked, and swung his arms, as if that would help. Was someone pouring the ashes into his nose and mouth? He couldn't see. Everything was dark, like he'd been blinded by the explosion. And it hurt. Everything hurt.
"It's okay."
He felt arms hold him down, making him want to struggle all the more. But they were too strong for him. Tears leaked from his eyes and he wished he could see but wasn't able to open his eyes.
"It's okay," the voice repeated. "I'm right here. You're safe. I'm safe. Nothing's going to happen to either of us."
It took a moment for Hiro to realize he was no being held down someone's arms but was actually cradled in them. His eyes fluttered open to dim lighting. Despite that, he recognized the outline of Tadashi's broad shoulders. "Tadashi!" he clung to the fabric of his brother's flannel pajamas.
Tadashi tried to smooth Hiro's hair. It was something he'd used to do when Hiro was younger. "I've got you," he reassured. "You're not in a fire and no one is burning. I'm right here."
Hiro sobbed, images of flames dancing out of the corners of his eyes. Had he dreamed of fire? He must have. And if he thought about it, he could just see the burning building, his brother running inside-
"No!" He pulled back from his brother's arms, scabs protesting, along with the bruises and abused muscles. "You died! You're dead! I saw you run into the fire!"
Taken a bit aback, Tadashi blinked in surprise before pulling Hiro closer, now just holding him in his arms like a small child. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not dead. I'm right here. And I'm not going anywhere."
But Hiro shook his head. "No. You died in the fire." Tears trickled down his face, his head feeling funny. Why did he still feel so tired? It didn't make sense.
"It was just a dream," Tadashi continued, using the same soothing voice as before. "No one's going to die. Not in a fire. Not anywhere. It's okay. Promise."
Hiro looked up, his eyes blurry from tears. He let out a hiccup, feeling rather small. "You're not dead?"
"No, bonehead. I'm not dead."
The boy seemed to settle more securely into his brother's arms. "That's a relief."
It took Tadashi a moment to realize Hiro had fallen back to sleep in his arms.
The next time Hiro woke, he actually felt refreshed. Opening his eyes, he realized it was daytime. His stomach rumbled with hunger and he moved to sit up.
His blankets were all over the place, partially twisted around his body. That explained the feeling of being trapped, he supposed. He vaguely remembered Tadashi's voice, soothing away nightmares. Only there was a part of him that knew they weren't just nightmares.
Yawning, Hiro dangled his legs over the side of the bed. He felt stiff, blaming that on the tumble at the beach. He'd jarred a great many things, after all. It took a little more effort to get the blanket away from his middle.
"Good morning, sleepy head," Tadashi greeted as he rounded the landing from the stairs. "Or should I say afternoon? You must have really been worn out."
Tadashi's words made Hiro do a double-take. "Afternoon?" He glanced at the clock. Sure enough, the digital display clearly showed they were in the PM section of the day. "What!" Hiro jumped from the bed, muscles pinging in protest. He had to grab the swivel chair for balance before making his way to the bathroom to attend to some rather urgent business. When he returned, Tadashi had taken up residence on his swivel chair.
"Your scabs and bruises look a lot better," Tadashi commented, making the chair move gently from side to side.
Hiro looked down at his knees and elbows. The dried blood was beginning to peel at the edges. "Uh, yeah," he replied, moving to the edge of the bed.
"Aunt Cass left you some lunch downstairs," Tadashi continued. "Only it's more like dinner at this point." He glanced at the clock for confirmation.
At the mention of food, Hiro was more than willing to head downstairs to the second level of the house. From the second flight of stairs leading down, he could hear the telltale sounds of the café's early dinner rush.
Tadashi reheated his brother's food while Hiro sat down at the table. He served up some for himself as well. "After you're finished eating, I have something I'd like to show you," he declared as he set a filled plate in front of the younger Hamada.
Hiro only paid half attention to that comment as he dug into the stir-fried rice and veggies. After all, it had been very twenty-four hours since he'd last eaten. And the last thing he remembered eating was hospital food. Gross!
Tadashi shook his head, eating at a more sedate pace. "You might want to slow down there," he admonished. "You're going to choke."
Setting his chopsticks down, Hiro let out a hearty belch. "I'm hungry."
"Excuse you," Tadashi said, giving him a reproving look. They'd both been taught better manners, though Tadashi was the more likely of the two to exhibit them.
Hiro gave a half-hearted apology before polishing off his plate. Still a bit stiff, he made his way over to the sink, where he rinsed off his dishes. "So, what did you want to show me?" He looked expectantly at his brother who was still eating.
Tadashi gave a slight shake of his head as he let out a sigh. "Just wait until I'm done, okay? You're not the only one who's hungry."
Ten agonizing minutes later, Hiro sat behind Tadashi on his moped. The older Hamada had insisted they wash their dirty dishes, citing that their aunt had enough on her plate to do without them adding another chore.
With Tadashi's spare helmet on his head, Hiro almost relished the drive in the open air. That is he did until he realized where they were going. Up ahead, the oddly shaped Ito Ishioka Lab building shone like a beacon in the failing light.
Hiro smacked Tadashi on the shoulder, causing the scooter to swerve just a bit. "What are we doing at your nerd school?"
Parking his moped, Tadashi removed his helmet. "Relax, you big baby. We're here so I can show you that thing I promised."
A red flag seemed to go up in Hiro's mind. Those words were vaguely familiar but somehow different from what he'd been expecting. He couldn't fathom why though.
With a sigh, he got off the scooter and followed his brother up the stairs and into the building.
A short elevator ride later brought the Hamada brothers to a long hallway. "I need to grab something," Tadashi announced as he headed towards a set of double doors and pushed one open. "You coming?" he looked back to make sure his brother hadn't wandered off.
Hiro fumed. This wasn't what he'd had in mind. A tour of the labs wasn't on his agenda and he made that abundantly clear with the expression he shot back at Tadashi.
Unfazed by the glare, Tadashi only smiled. "We'll be in and out. Promise. Besides, you haven't seen my lab yet."
Hiro rolled his eyes, a vague image of the rectangular room filing his mind. There was a large round window at the far end, but that's where the image faded. "Oh great. I get to see your nerd lab," he snarked as he followed his brother through the double-doors only a few seconds after his brother.
"Head's up!"
A blur of black and yellow flashed past Hiro before coming to an abrupt stop. A rather short woman swung off the yellow bike she'd been riding, lifting the vehicle onto a specially designed hook.
There was definitely something familiar about that, Hiro decided as he hesitantly walked towards the girl but she'd wandered off before he reached the bike. Without thinking, he passed his hands through the empty space between the wheel and the frame. "Whoa."
The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he experienced the strongest sense of déjà vu he could remember. He was so focused on this sensation that he didn't realize the bike's rider had returned.
"Who are you?"
Like a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar, Hiro froze. "I uh…"
He was saved from sounding like a complete and total idiot when Tadashi came up behind him. "GoGo, this is my brother."
The girl took off her helmet and popped her pink bubble gum. "Welcome to the nerd lab."
Despite the obvious sarcasm on her part, Hiro managed a nervous laugh. "Yeah." He paused to run his hands through his hair. "Nice bike."
GoGo moved towards the back wheel, giving it a spin. "Electro-mag suspension. Zero resistance, faster bike. But," she paused to remove the wheel, throwing it into an already mostly full recycling bin, "not fast enough. Yet."
Tadashi was grinning like the cat that ate the canary as he leaned against the nearby workbench. Seeing that expression, Hiro knew something was up. His brother looked too pleased with the whole situation.
Almost warily, Hiro began to back up. But before he got too far, he heard another familiar yet not familiar voice.
"Whoa! Do not move! Behind the line, please!"
Hiro leapt to obey, his heart pounding a mile a minute when he realized he'd crossed a striped yellow line. He looked up as Tadashi came up behind him once more.
"Wasabi, this is my brother Hiro." Tadashi was decidedly still smiling. Hiro could hear it in his voice. Was he having fun with this?
"Hello, Hiro," Wasabi said, though whether he looked at the boy or not was left to others to figure out because Hiro had turned to make sure he wasn't just hearing that sense of satisfaction coming from Tadashi. "Prepare to be amazed."
Those words brought Hiro's attention back like someone had cracked a whip. He looked up just in time for Wasabi to call out "Catch!" before tossing an apple through the induced plasma Hiro somehow knew was there.
Something was decidedly wrong. Without thinking about it, he caught a paper thin slice of fruit as he backed up, his heart pounding once more.
"Excuse me!"
A cheerful voice alerted Hiro to the need of applying his brakes, ASAP. He managed to stop just in time to avoid being run over by a giant ball of tungsten carbide as it rolled by. A rather tall girl came right behind it, her lab coat flapping behind as her high heels clacked on the tiles.
Almost as if he couldn't help it, Hiro followed behind her. He almost had a heart attack when she settled the giant ball on a spot in the ground, leaning backwards over it. "Tadashi!"
Hiro put a hand to his chest to make sure his heart hadn't actually tried to leave its customary cavity. All the same, he could feel it pounding against his ribcage like it wanted out.
"Evening, Honey Lemon," Tadashi greeted, apparently oblivious to his younger brother's physical and emotional status. He leaned casually against the workbench set against the wall, arms folded in an almost smug way.
"You must be Hiro!" the Latino called out as she rounded on Hiro, her face up in front of his as she planted a kiss on each of his cheeks. "I've heard so much about you!" She paused to pull out her ear buds, then beckoned him over. "Come here! Come here! You're going to love this!"
But Hiro wasn't about to play this game. Not with his heart trying to rip itself out of his body, his lungs trying to explode, and his head pounding. There was absolutely no way. So, instead, he turned to run away.
Only to run right into a giant lizard.
Hiro let out a half exclamation-half scream as he rapidly back-pedaled. "Tadashi!"
Tadashi's laugh only served to confuse Hiro more. Then the lizard seemed to shed its skin, only it wasn't a lizard. Instead, he found himself staring into a rather long face with a bulbous nose attached, and long hair that probably needed a good wash.
Heart still pounding, Hiro backed up even more, then turned and ran before the guy could open his mouth.
"Sorry, Fred," Tadashi called out to the mascot as he turned to go after his brother. "I gotta stop him before he does something really reckless and hurts himself."
