Chapter 8: Invisible Tears
"Oh great, we're back."
Tadashi sat by Hiro's side, who speaking of which, was once again in the center of the ring, getting ready to start the fight. Tadashi sighed at the thought of another night of Hiro potentially getting beat up by bot fighters. Hiro had put on his little act and was doing an excellent job of fooling the crowd. Tadashi rolled his eyes, disinterested. His little brother had always done nothing but get himself into trouble, and Tadashi was always bailing him out.
The fight had already started, but Tadashi wasn't paying attention. He just wanted to get it over with so they could go home already. Tadashi was actually kind of depressed that he couldn't prevent Hiro from going, even though the book said that he could protect him in limitless ways. He was starting to wonder whether or not 'limitless' was just a typo.
Before Tadashi knew it, the fight had ended and Hiro reigned victorious. He accepted his money off of the tray and Tadashi just rolled his eyes. "Great, can we get going now?"
Hiro walked toward Tadashi with pride. "Hey you!"
Hiro turned to see three large bot fighters walking over, ready to beat him to a pulp. Hiro immediately tensed. Tadashi's big brother switch turned on and the first thing he did was grab Hiro by the arm and pulled him out of the building. Hiro didn't know what to make of the situation, because it felt like he wasn't the one running. Tadashi didn't think any of this, he just kept on running, determined to keep Hiro out of danger.
The two of them were faster than the bot fighters, so they were able to easily evade them. However, Tadashi didn't stop running, even when the café came into view. The doors immediately flew open and Tadashi sat Hiro down on one of the chairs while he locked the door. Hiro took his time to catch his breath and get over the strangeness of it all. It really felt to him, like he was being pulled instead of him running on his own free will.
Once Hiro caught his breath, he looked at the money he had collected, and stood. "I think I'm going to go to bed now."
It wasn't until that moment that Tadashi realized exactly what had just happened. He face palmed himself as he thought about what Hiro must be thinking. He half-heartedly walked up the stairs into the bedroom, where Hiro was lying on his bed, wide awake. Tadashi figured that he must be thinking about what just happened. He sighed and got down on his knees next to the bed. Tadashi crossed his arms and rested his head on his brother's bed.
"Hiro, I'm sorry. I just wanted to get you out of there, I never meant to freak you out. I just wanted you out of there, so I didn't even think about it. I hope I didn't freak you out too much."
Hiro didn't acknowledge him, but instead, he looked straight ahead, over to the other side of the room. Tadashi sighed and put his head back down. "Maybe..."
Tadashi looked up as Hiro spoke. He looked long and hard at his late brother's side of the room. "Maybe..."
Tadashi blinked. "What is it?"
Hiro's eyes widened. "Maybe he..." He stopped.
Tadashi noticed as a tear involuntarily fell out of Hiro's eye. "No, it couldn't be, it's not possible." Hiro immediately turned over to face the wall.
Tadashi was confused. "What's not possible?"
After a few moments, Tadashi could hear Hiro quietly sobbing into his pillow. "Hiro, what's wrong?"
Tadashi could only watch as sobs persisted. "Why did he have to run in?" Hiro asked between sobs.
Tadashi's eyes widened. "Oh, that."
Tadashi sighed heavily and rested his head on bed. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't take away the pain of his absence. He wishes that he could, but he can't. Eventually, Hiro was able to cry himself to sleep, but Tadashi just couldn't stop feeling guilty. He had caused his brother so much pain, and he wished that he hadn't been stupid enough to run into the building and leave Hiro behind.
Hiro was fast asleep, and Tadashi figured that he probably should be too. He didn't want to dwell on this any longer. Tadashi got into the bed with Hiro and pulled him in from behind. He found that he couldn't fall asleep as he kept thinking about that day. That day, he was so focused on saving his professor, that he completely forgot about Hiro.
He doesn't regret being selfless, but he made a personal vow to himself, that he would never let Hiro or Cass go through any kind of grief after their parent's death. A promise which he had obviously broken. Tadashi hadn't realized how much he had actually meant to Hiro until after he died, which didn't make things any better. Hiro was already sound asleep, and Tadashi figured that it was a good sign. He wouldn't want him having anymore nightmares about that night.
He pulled Hiro in closer and hugged him tight. "Hiro, Im so sorry."
Before he knew it, a tear of his own fell. "I never should have left."
Hiro slowly breathed in and out and Tadashi remembered that at least Hiro was still breathing and that was all that mattered. Tadashi closed his eyes and shed another tear. "I love you, Otouto."
With that said, Tadashi was about to fall asleep. "I love you too, Dashi." Hiro mumbled in his sleep.
Tadashi's eyes shot opened, and he looked back at his little brother resting in his arms. Tadashi took a deep breath then smiled. "Sleep tight baby brother, I'll see you in the morning."
With that said, Tadashi closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
