Chapter 6: True Frendship
Wasabi and Gogo ran after Hikari until they got to the labs. They looked for her in the larger one that they all shared. When they couldn't find her they headed toward Tadashi's. As they approached the lab, they immediately saw her silhouette through the tinted window. They fully opened the ajared door to find her on her knees in the middle of the floor. Her shoulders shook as she cried silently.
Wasabi walked up behind her and touched her back. She turned seeing them behind her. "He's gone," she said twisting the ring on her robotic hand. They both got to her level and Wasabi hugged her. Gogo touched her shoulder, noticing her hand. "Hikari, your hand."
She pulled away from Wasabi and held out her hand, "Is that..." he asked seeing the ring.
"We were going to tell everyone after the expo tongiht. We were..."
Looking at the ring, now a broken promise, hurt too much. She quickly picked up her glove, then put it back on bringing her fists to her to her mouth.
"He promised he'd never let go," she said, " I promised I'd marry him. How could he break his promise? How could he make me break mine?!"
Wasabi and Gogo held her as she trembled, trying not to cry.
"Let's get you home, " Wasabi said.
They helped her stand up and walked her to the cafe. The door was open, so they walked right in to find that Honey and Fred were still there. Honey was in the kitchen making tea while Fred sat with Aunt Cass in the living room. Hiro was nowhere in sight.
Once they entered the living room, Aunt Cass got up and embraced Hikari. They held each other tight as they cried into each others shoulders. "Where's Hiro," Hikari asked pulling away.
"He's upstairs," Aunt Cass said drying her eyes.
Hikari turned and went upstairs, trying to keep her focus on Hiro.
"It's a bad dream," she heard as she reached the top. She peered her head in to see Hiro on his bed, facing Tadashi's side of the room. He had Tadashi's hat clutched tightly in his hands, "It's all just a nightmare," he continued not knowing she was there,"I'll wake up and he'll be there like always. Then we'll go to school together just like we used to. He's not gone. It's just a bad dream."
Hikari's legs gave out from under her as her heart broke even more. She grabbed the banister and sat herself down on the top stair.
"I wish it was Hiro," she said to herself, "I wish it was."
The funeral was three days later. Since there was no body, they burried his jacket from the fire. Hikari was excused from her classes to help Aunt Cass with the arrangements. Hiro hardly came out of his room, so Aunt Cass would bring his meals upstairs; although he hardly ate anything. For those three nights, Hikari woke up in tears, because the fire haunted her dreams.
After the service, Hikari stayed at his grave, umbrella in hand. She stayed there even after the rain had stopped, as night broke into the sky. "I was really hoping," she finally said, "I was praying that Hiro was right. That it was all just a dream. Now all I see when I close my eyes is the fire. I can't even go into your room. Shit, I can barely stay in house at all because your face is on every wall. How can I stay there when you're not? How can I live when you're gone Tadashi?!"
She fell to her knees, dropping the unbrella. She burried her face in her hands as she sobbed. She jerked forward as someone hugged her from behind. She looked over her shoulder seeing Fred. She clutched onto his arm over her chest. He held her tighter as she let out a greif stricken cry. The others came around her and joined in their embrace.
They'd stay there for as long as she needed. They had already lost a friend, they weren't about to lose another.
