FIRST THINGS FIRST

CONGRATS TO BIG HERO 6 ON THE OSCAR FOR BEST ANIMATED FILM OF THE YEAR !

Hiro is alive.

Three simple words kept Tadashi up the whole night. He was tossing and turning every time the words dogged in his mind.

As elated as he was, it just didn't make sense. Tadashi was a man of science and refused to believe in magic or pure luck. But of course, you can't go against tangible evidence.

At 5 am, Tadashi stood up from bed and sighed. "I give up, I can't sleep." He groaned and rubbed his eyes.

"Hiro…is alive…" Tadashi whispered to himself. He looked at the large extra space in his room. "Would Hiro live there?" They would live in the same room; they hadn't done that in years, not since Hiro…

Tadashi exhaled through his nose and shut his eyes, trying his best to concentrate. "It just doesn't add up…There was no way Hiro could've survived that fire…" Did he manage to crawl out of the window? No, that's not possible, his room was on the second floor. Even if he did, why didn't he go straight to him and Cass or even the blinding police cars?

Just what happened to Hiro that he survived the fire and end up in the orphanage?

Tadashi felt a cold chill run down his spine.

Why did Hiro forget his memory?

He didn't want to imagine what Hiro went through. As safe as the neighborhood was, there are many dangerous slums in San Fransokyo. What if Hiro ended up there somehow and…

"No, now's not the time to be thinking about that Tadashi…" He scolded himself. "Think happy thoughts. You finally got your wish."

Tadashi's eyes made their way to the picture frame on his desk. He smiled softly at the photograph of him and Hiro from years ago. "You finally have your brother back."

There was never a moment of peace for the older Hamada.

The next task at hand was to tell Aunt Cass and the government that Koji is truly Hiro Hamada. As eccentric as his aunt was, he knew she wouldn't take the news well, even if it was good news.

Tadashi bit the bottom of his lip as he stood on the last step before the kitchen. In it, his aunt was happily humming to herself as she pulled out some piping hot trays of donuts out of the oven. Her green eyes brightened when she who she thought was her only nephew.

"Tadashi! You're up bright and early!" She stole a quick glance at the cuckoo clock which read 6:12.

Tadashi smiled weakly. "Yeah, couldn't sleep." Behind him he held the data from Baymax that said that the DNA samples were from the same parents.

"Well you should go back up and sleep a bit more. Don't want to be too exhausted for class!" She said. "I'll wake you up, don't worry!"

"Actually Aunt Cass," Tadashi walked near her, anxiously wrinkling the paper with his clammy grip. "I actually need to talk to you about something."

"About what, honey?" She asked without a care in the world. She reached for the bowl of vanilla icing. Some got on the tips of her finger and she gave it a quick lick.

Tadashi shuffled uncomfortably and stared at his bare feet. "You…you trust me right, no matter what?"

She looked at him oddly. "Of course Tadashi. What do you need to tell me?" She asked, completely unprepared for what would happen next. She gingerly picked up a cooled down donut and slowly dipped it in the icing.

Tadashi took a deep breath and felt the air fill in his lungs. There was a painful lump tremoring in his throat. "Hiro…is alive."

The donut slipped out of her grip and dropped into the bowl.

Cass's body shook as she gripped the corners of the counter. "Tadashi…don't make such jokes early in the morning." She tried her best to keep a smile but Tadashi knew her too well. She was clearly upset.

Tadashi gave her the crumpled piece of paper that held the truth. "I wouldn't joke about this, Aunt Cass. Read the paper! The test states that we are siblings. It…It doesn't make sense. I know but—" There were tears streaming down her flustered cheeks. Cass placed her hand over her mouth and painfully bit down on her lower lip, preventing her from crying aloud.

"…Aunt Cass?" Tadashi slowly asked. He had seen her cry only once and that was during Hiro's funeral. Even at her sister's funeral she didn't cry but was dangerously close to.

After moments of silence, she finally spoke. "Tadashi…"

"Yes!" He said surprised.

She held up the paper, which had wet dots all over it from her tears. "This paper…is it true? Please tell me it's true, please."

Slowly but surely, he nodded. "Yes. Baymax scanned our DNA, we are indeed siblings."

More hot tears pooled in her red-rimmed eyes before her legs gave in and she fell to the ground.

"Aunt Cass!" Tadashi stammered, trying to help her up.

She shook her head with a weak smile. "I'm fine, I'm fine." Her hand wiped her tear-stained cheeks. "I'm just so overwhelmed. I could scream on the top of my lungs, but I won't for your sake, Tadashi." She jested lightly.

Tadashi gave her a gentle smile as he helped her stand up. He reached for a paper towel and gave it to her.

"Thanks sweetie." She said before honking her nose into it.

She was so happy that there was no word in the entire dictionary that could define how she felt. She was elated. She was jubilant. She was ecstatic. But most of all, she was grateful.

The fire had happened due to her recklessness and that cost the life of a beautiful innocent child with a bright future. She could swear on her life that she had turned off the stove but none of it would change the concrete fact that the home she grew up in had burned to the ground and that she had to bury her precious sister's son, whom she promised she would protect.

But this was fine.

She was fine with losing her childhood home, her belongings, and a part of her. Her carelessness didn't take the life of her nephew. Hiro was alive, against all odds, and that was all she needed.

All of the boys ran down the corridor, elbowing and shoving Hiro as they passed him. Lunch had just ended and it was now free time. Most of the boys went to play in the yard with the worn out basketball hoop but Hiro chose to use him time drawing in the corner of his bed. But today was different.

There was no creative thought in his mind, all he thought about was Tadashi and Baymax.

What if Baymax says we're just strangers and Tadashi never comes back? Hiro shivered at the thought. It had been nearly a week since he last saw Tadashi. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle being abandoned by someone he trusted so much he would tell his deepest darkest secret. Hiro didn't know himself if he would be able to recover from that.

Hiro climbed into bed and fluffed his pillow before laying under the blankets.

He hadn't been able to sleep the night before and the night before. He was terrified of what the results were.

At the orphanage, they always told him that home is where the heart is. Being with Tadashi seemed to make his heart be at ease, so wouldn't that mean that he was meant to be with him?

Life isn't fair. Why did I have to end up here when there are kids with the kindest parents who give them hugs and treats?

He pulled the bed sheets over his head in disdain. His eyes strung from last night; he had been up crying and was now left with swollen bags and dark circles. He rubbed his eyes but that only made them hurt more. Hiro knew that that pain was nothing to what he would feel later if Tadashi never returns.

Hiro, stop! He castigated himself. You spent the whole night one that. At least use the available time now to sleep.

As anxious as he was, he found his eyelids becoming heavier and heavier before all he saw was black.

He finally felt at peace from all of the tumult that was going on in his head. He had to endure that storm all on his own, there was no one to divulge this secret with and simply no one he could talk to. Of course he had his notebook to draw in but all he wanted to draw was Tadashi and him.

At this point, after the long grueling night of inner conflict, all he needed was the tranquility of his bed and sleep.

It didn't feel like much time had passed before he abruptly felt a hand gently nudging him awake. His fleeting halcyon was broken as he struggled to lift his heavy eyelids.

"Hiro, honey, wake up." He heard a familiar voice. When he could finally open his eyes, he stared at the sweet smile of Mrs. Woods.

Hiro…Hiro groggily thought. How does she know my real name…?

"Pack your things Hiro."

All of his weariness seemed to fade away and he stood straight and looked at her bewildered.

She nodded and smiled wider. "You heard right. You're leaving the orphanage. You got adopted Hiro."

Wha- Is this a dream? Am I still asleep?

Hiro quickly pulled both sides of his cheek and winced from the sharp pain. He let go of his cheeks and quickly rubbed them both. This is certainly reality…but…

Mrs. Woods placed a gentle hand on his head. "I promise you, this isn't a dream. Let's get you packed up so you can go and meet your family, again."

'Again.' That one word, did she really mean it?

Was Tadashi and Baymax waiting for him in the front entrance of the building? Was he finally going to have his turn of being able to walk out of the gates, for good?

He leaped out of bed and pulled all of his belonging from a drawer and dropped them into the luggage Mrs. Woods provided.

There was a big grin plastered on his face and Mrs. Woods watched him a weak smile. As happy as she was he finally found his family, her heart ached at the fact the boy she met years ago who so broken was now able to smile so brightly that even the stars would get envious.

Hiro dashed down the stairs, nearly tripping as he skipped one, and saw the smiling faces of Tadashi and an unrecognizable older woman. Tadashi ruffled his hair and said, "Welcome back to the family, Hiro. You were right." He gestured a hand to the woman next to him. "This is your Aunt Cass, she raised you were younger."

Cass gave him an excited wave as she tried her best to hold in the waterworks. Her cheeks were flustered and she had a tight smile on.

I was right…I WAS RIGHT! Hiro thought victoriously. He was ready to start a victory dance but was halted when Tadashi embraced him with his strong arms. "I missed you so much, Hiro. So much."

It felt like his heart had stopped for a second when he finally realized he got what he wanted. Yes he finally got a family after being an orphan for years but he found his family. The family he was so adamant on finding that he rejected all other possible candidate. He knew that this family was the best out of all of them. He finally had a family that would give him everything he missed and wanted.

Hiro didn't even notice that hot tears were cascading down his cheeks and onto Tadashi's shirt. His lips trembled and he held back the urge to sob. He had spent so many previous nights sobbing and he today was supposed to be a day of jubilee. He didn't want to ruin it by crying like a baby but he couldn't. Tears kept flowing down and they showed no signs of stopping.

Cass broke into tears and dropped to her knees before wrapping her long lost nephew in a tight hug, something she had yearned to do over the years.

"It's okay baby," she cooed, gently rubbing his back. "You won't ever have to feel like this again, I promise." Hiro shook in her arms, not knowing who she was but understanding that she was certainly someone who was once important to him. His heart seemed to soar when he heard her say, "We'll protect you no matter what."

Tadashi pulled his SFIT hat off his head and gently placed it on Hiro's. He said no words but his expression said everything. Nothing in the world held greater value than Hiro and he finally got back what he lost.

Hiro used his palm to wipe the tears off his damp face but only more tears replaced them. He stared at the two loving faces; one was sobbing wildly and one had the kindest smile in the world. They belonged to people who truly loved him and would do anything for him. That was all he ever wanted.

I finally found it. I found my family.

I'm really happy that Crescendo got 88 reviews…that's one of my favorite numbers. Gotta love 8~ Best number ever! LOL Thank you guys so much!

Anyways, Tadashi wasn't the only one who blamed himself for Hiro's death. Cass was actually pretty haunted by it too. This is why the Hamada family is so precious!

**It's pretty late but I really wanted to post this so I'll update it later with corrections**

The next chapter will explain the process Tadashi had to go through to get Hiro, so stay tuned!

Please leave a review if you liked the chapter or have any predictions as to what will happen or why Hiro lost his memory~ I love hearing your thoughts C:

Have a beautiful day lovelies!