"You don't understand mam. I absolutely have to speak with your nephew! I don't care if he's sick I need something to go off of in order to start an investigation into his case!" The officer who had introduced himself earlier as Nate glared icily at Aunt Cass, thoroughly annoyed with her overly protective behavior.
Cass rolled her eyes. "What I don't understand is why you keep badgering me about all of this. I told the department I would bring him in but now really isn't a good time. In case you didn't notice were in a hospital!"
A nurse peeked out from one of the hospital rooms and shushed the two. "We have patients that are sleeping if you would like to speak loudly please do so in one of the lobbies." With a hand the nurse indicated in the direction of the closest one.
Aunt Cass put a hand over her mouth with a sheepish look and yell whispered "Sorry!" to the annoyed looking nurse.
Nate took this moment as a cue to enter Hiro's room despite Cass's protests. "Excuse me but is Hiro Hamada in this room?"
Tadashi looked up at the officer with a confused expression. "Hiro is sleeping right now. Is something the matter sir?"
"Yes wake him up." Nate said intensely.
Tadashi frowned unsure of what to do. He'd always been taught to respect police officers but Hiro was sick and needed to sleep. As Tadashi was debating the issue in his mind Aunt Cass burst into the room looking livid.
"DO I NEED TO TELL HOSPITAL STAFF TO HAVE YOU REMOVED?!" Cass glared up at the officer.
Tadashi gave a start at Cass's outburst.
Hiro moaned quietly at the sound. "Aunt Cass?"
Aunt Cass's expression changed from angry to concerned in less than a second. "Oh no Hiro, go back to sleep. Everything's just fine. Tadashi and I are right here."
Hiro was awake though and after rubbing at his eyes for a moment noticed the policemen standing in his room. "Did I do something wrong?"
Tadashi was still confused but ultimately decided to stay out of whatever was going on.
The officer shook his head. "No Hiro, but I need to ask you some questions about when you were taken last week."
Cass huffed but ultimately gave up and sat in a chair beside Hiro's bed. "Are you feeling well enough to help the officer Hiro?"
With a weak nod Hiro agreed to answer the man's questions and Aunt Cass relented on the issue of questioning. However the man was on thin ice. If Hiro whined at all on account of the man's presence Cass would sic hospital security on him faster than he could say his own name.
Nate now feeling much calmer took out a notepad and pen. "What do you know about the people that took you Hiro."
Hiro frown and looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think it was a woman. I don't know though. The voice was kind of ambiguous and they had me blindfolded the whole time. For the entire first part I was unconscious."
Nate frowned writing some things down. "What did she say to you Hiro."
Hiro shook his head. "I don't remember much of it. The drug they gave me made most of it kind of fuzzy." Hiro cleared his throat and took a few shallow breaths. Jeez since when did just talking take so much out of him?
Nate sighed. "Is there anything definitive about what happened? What do you remember?"
Hiro bit his lip looking uncomfortable. "She said something about pictures and then seemed scared when I told her my name was Hiro. I don't think she was looking for me when she took me. I think it was another kid she was looking for."
Nate wrote this down. "Is that all you remember?"
Hiro nodded weakly and cleared his throat again.
Nate ran a hand through his hair. "Thanks for the help kid. You can go back to sleep now if you want. I'll be on my way."
Hiro watched idly as the officer left his room. He'd had that story planned out for a few days now. It kept him out of suspicion when it came to his bot fighting activities.
Hiro looked over at Aunt Cass for a minute. "Could you go get me something from the cafeteria? I'm kind of hungry."
Aunt Cass smiled. She was excited to see Hiro was getting his appetite back. "I'll be back. Do you want some gummy bears? I some in a vending machine somewhere around here."
Hiro's eyes lit up and he smiled. "Yeah!" The excitement though quickly backfired and sent him into a coughing fit.
Tadashi patted his back comfortingly and Aunt Cass left once she was sure Tadashi had things under control.
Once Hiro's breathing evened out he looked over at his brother. He bit his lip struggling over telling him what was going on. All this lying was starting to scare him.
"Are you ok Hiro?"
Hiro sighed but reluctantly nodded. Now wasn't a good time.
Tadashi frowned feeling slightly suspicious. "Are you sure?"
Hiro blushed slightly and shook his head. "I kind of have to pee."
Tadashi laughed feeling relieved. "You don't have to be shy about that Hiro. Come here little bro." Gently Tadashi lifted Hiro from his bed and set him down. Are you feeling well enough to walk yourself this time?"
Hiro blushed again. He was already feeling dizzy.
Tadashi smiled sadly at his little brother. "No worries Hiro. I'll always be here for you if you need me. Remember that."
Hiro nodded and leaned against Tadashi's side. "Thanks Tadashi."
Tadashi grinned ruffling Hiro's hair. "Don't thank me! I'm your brother. This is what I'm here for."
(I started mispelling the word Hero. I cant spell it with an e anymore gah! Tell me what you thought. Was it good? I think this next chapter is coming close to the uber (but also important to the plot) fluffy brother stuff.)
