Don't Give Up on Me
Another dead end. Tadashi dropped the keyboard in despair. Why did all his attempts to track down information lead to dead ends? Robert Callaghan really was, as Fred had said, in prison. Tadashi was still struggling to believe Callaghan was a criminal but the supporting evidence was rather overwhelming and impossible to ignore.
Tadashi had researched the showcase fire when Fred left, reading all the articles and reports that he could find. The one detailing the dedication of an entire building to him had made him decidedly uncomfortable and he'd merely skimmed through it, quickly discarding it. His research, though informative, had been futile. The criminal was behind bars and the case was closed.
His idea to track down people Callaghan might have been in contact with had also led him nowhere. Callaghan had only had two visitors since his arrest. The first was his daughter, Abigail Callaghan. Tadashi doubted Abigail was behind the recent disappearance of his brother. She was, after all, the victim in the original series of events. She was also currently working on a project in Antarctica. The other was… Hiro. It didn't make sense. Why would his brother visit Callaghan in prison?
Quiet footsteps interrupted his racing thoughts as Aunt Cass entered Hiro's bedroom. It had once belonged to Hiro and Tadashi but no longer held Tadashi's belongings; seeing as Tadashi had been dead for three years. Tadashi had felt lost when he first entered the room. His room, a place of comfort and familiarity, no longer had any place for him. It felt like his existence had been erased but the feeling hadn't lasted long. Familiar items had caught his eye, his bookcase, the screen that has separated his portion of the room from Hiro's, the comforter that had always been on his bed, his cap, a couple of his books, baymax's case and over a dozen photographs all sporting Tadashi's face. His things may have been removed from the room but it was clear he was far from forgotten. "Hey…" Aunt Cass greeted him softly. "Your friends are here to see you." She moved to open the window blinds in order to let natural light into the room.
"Tell them I'm not here." Tadashi replied, running a hand over his face in fatigue.
"You know they won't believe that." Aunt Cass sat down on Hiro's bed. "You should come down."
Tadashi turned Hiro's swivel chair around to face her. "I don't want to see them right now."
"I know it's hard but you can't close yourself off from everyone in your life. Hiro wouldn't want that." Worry was clearly written all over Aunt Cass's features.
"What am I supposed to do?" Tadashi demanded getting up to pace, covering the room in two long strides before turning and repeating the process. "Rebuild my life? Continue each day without him? When I know Hiro is out there somewhere, captive and alone?"
Aunt Cass flinched at his words. The reaction immediately made Tadashi want to take the words back but they were already out there and there was no turning back. "Yes." Aunt Cass raised her head to meet his gaze head on, determination erasing the pain on her features. "That's exactly what you should do."
Tadashi stared at Aunt Cass in disbelief, feeling utterly betrayed. "How could you say that?" His question was soft. He wanted to scream, to rage against the very concept of what his Aunt was suggesting but the knowledge that she was suffering every bit as much, if not more than he was, held him back.
"We can't stop living, Tadashi. Things happen. Some people get sick, some get hurt, some die…" Aunt Cass paused to take a trembling breath, watching Tadashi carefully, "others go missing but life goes on. It doesn't pause in order to wait for us to catch up. It continues on and we have to continue on with it or risk losing ourselves and I don't want that. I want us to still be here, to still be whole when Hiro comes back because lord knows, he's probably going to need it when he does." Aunt Cass gave him a sad smile before wiping away several stray tears. She stood up and made her way over towards him in order to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Just… think about it, ok?" She said before departing.
Tadashi's mind reeled, his Aunt's words echoing through his mind. She was right, Hiro probably was going to need them when he came back… IF he came back and that was the ultimate catch, wasn't it? There was no guarantee that Hiro would ever come back.
Tadashi suddenly stood and marched out of the room, unable stay there any longer. It was Hiro's room, filled with Hiro's things and weight of that knowledge was suddenly too much to bear. He need to get away, to think, to sort himself out. So he did the only thing he could think of. He marched down the stairs, through the café, past his aunt and his worried friends and straight towards the door. "Don't follow me." He paused, sparing his worried Aunt and friends a glance. "I'll be back. I… I just… I need to think." The bell to the Lucky Cat café chimed softly as the door was opened and then Tadashi was gone leaving only the mournful echo of the bell to fill the awkward silence he'd left behind.
- BH6 - BH6 - BH6 –
Tadashi didn't know how long he walked, wandering aimlessly about as he fought to accept the things he really couldn't change. Fact – Hiro was gone. Fact – No one had any idea who had taken him or why. Fact – He'd tried everything he could think of to find him. Fact – Life, as Aunt Cass had pointed out, was going on whether he liked it or not. Fact – He was running out of options. Maybe it was time to throw in the towel and leave things to the professionals.
Hiro's kidnapping had been reported to the police and the police were professionals trained to deal with this kind of thing. Maybe he should just leave this to them? Then again… maybe not… Tadashi glanced at the Police vehicle that has been following him the entire time he wandered about. He was still a suspect which meant that the police were still barking up the wrong tree.
Tadashi sighed, running a hand through his hair as he took in the lights of San Fransokyo. The sun was still out when he left the Lucky Cat café and had since set. The night was deceptively peaceful. The sky was clear, a cool breeze caressed his skin and the lights appeared to sparkle merrily on the horizon. It wasn't right. Life shouldn't be continuing on like this. Not for him. Not without Hiro.
Turning, he headed back towards the café looking down at his shoes as he walked in a futile attempt to shut out the life around him. Just because he didn't see it though, didn't mean it wasn't there. He could still hear it, sense it and feel the energy it exuded all around him. Car engines purred, children laughed and people walked all around him. He could hear a stray dog barking in the distance, the sound of cutlery hitting crockery as diners enjoyed their meals, bicycle bells, car horns, the busy hum of many conversations, the sound of tires swishing by on asphalt and the clang of trams going by. The sounds of life were all around him, an unstoppable force moving ever forward and he hated it.
Arriving at the café, he slipped back inside, the doorbell announcing his return. Aunt Cass peered down the stairs. "Welcome home." She greeted him softly making no move to approach him.
"I'm home." Tadashi replied just as softly, as was the Japanese custom when returning home. He silently climbed the stairs, pausing on the landing. "I didn't mean to worry you." He said looking down at his Aunt. She looked so small and lost. Why hadn't he noticed it before?
Aunt Cass reached out to cup his cheek. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're back."
Tadashi watched her in silence for a moment before pulling her into a hug. Aunt Cass squeaked in surprised and it was a moment before she recovered enough to return the embrace. "We'll make it through this." She whispered sniffing into his shirt.
"Yeah." Tadashi withdrew from the embrace, fighting back how own tears. "We'll make it through this." He agreed with her even though deep inside, he was already giving up hope. Dropping a kiss onto her forehead, he turned and headed up to Hiro's room.
Switching on the lights he ran his eyes over the room. What had started off as unfamiliar when he'd first walked into it had become far too familiar. The room was still Hiro's. Tadashi hadn't had the heart to leave his own mark upon it when his brother wasn't around to give him grief about it. He only used the bed and the PC. Walking into the room he ran his hand over the bookcase and the mess of miniature bots scattered about on it. Hiro really had no sense of order.
Dropping his hand, Tadashi headed over towards the bed, intending to change and go to sleep when a slip of white paper caught his eye. It was stuck onto Hiro's PC screen. That hadn't been there when he left. Hiro wouldn't like that. Even though the dork was not exactly the neatest person around, his PC was sacred.
Not really in the mood to read messages his friends may have left behind, Tadashi walked over to the PC. He intended to remove and throw the note away but hesitated half way to the bin when something strangely familiar caught his attention. Tadashi's breath caught in the back of his throat. The note was written in a large all too familiar scrawl, one that he'd recognize anywhere in a heartbeat.
Hey Bonehead
Don't give up on me.
~Hiro
There was no mistaking it. His brother had written the note but how had it gotten onto Hiro's PC screen?
- BH6 - BH6 - BH6 –
A/N: I LOVE that note XD XD XD
Alexissenpai: Thanks. Your support brings a smile to my face!
Ern Estine 13624: Thanks XD
shooting2stars: Please accept my apologies for the late reply. Your review had not come through when I posted the previous chapter. I think everything is a lot for Tadashi to handle, especially finding out his brother has formed a super hero team XD
Rizard13: It's a portal :P. Functions more like a doorway than an actual transport device. Thanks for the hugs... sadly they are not Tadashi hugs so Hiro doesn't really understand them but he appreciates the heat. Those captors of his like keeping the blasted air-con set to deep freeze mode.
Rosycat: O.O. Thanks for the correction. I went through the story and realized I had mispelt it in chapters 2, 3 and 4. For some reason unbeknownst to me I corrected it in chapter 7. I have reuploaded the problem children :D
