Chapter 10: Kiki

I woke up on the ground. My head was throbbing, and it was extremely hot.

"Ma'am… are you ok?" I heard someone above me ask.

I opened my eyes to see a group of paramedics above me, and the memories of what I had just experienced came flooding back. The Exhibition Hall. The explosion. Tadashi…

I shot straight up, but I was in so much pain, that I felt dizzy and light-headed when I sat up. A few feet in front of me, the blazing inferno that was the Exhibition Hall had collapsed. The explosion must have pushed me back.

Wait. What about Hiro?

Hiro was off to the side shouting his brother's name over and over. I looked to my right to see Tadashi's hat lying next to me. I shakily stood up, ignoring the paramedics' protests to stay, and grabbed the hat. Then I walked over to Hiro, who had fallen to his knees in front of the fire.

This part of the movie is sad enough watching it behind a screen. But now, I've experienced it, and I feel a lot more pain than I did watching it on TV. I feel the physical pain, but the emotional pain is more… painful. It's excruciating. I walked towards Hiro, and I slumped to my knees next him.

He's trying to cope, but I can tell, it's so hard for him. He just lost the most important person in his life. I held out Tadashi's hat so he could see it, and he grabbed it ever so slowly, then clutched it like it was his lifeline.

Tears welled up in my eyes as he looked up at me with a look that only a scared, sad little kid would wear. But now was an exception for him to wear that look. I could see the lines of tears falling down his face, and they never stopped flowing.

He grabbed me close and hugged me tight. I hugged him back, fully aware of the comfort he needed right now. I thought about Tadashi. I couldn't help but think about Tadashi. Even though I only knew him for a week, he treated me like family, like I was his younger sister, and I appreciated that. Now that he's gone…

I just can't hold it back anymore.

I let the tears fall. They fell onto Hiro's ash covered jacket, but I didn't care. He seemed to do the same thing to me. He cried onto my shoulder, and we both cried at the steps of the Exhibition hall together until the paramedics forcibly dragged us away because we'd inhaled so much smoke, especially me.

I had been in the building while it was burning, so all I had been breathing was smoke before the explosion pushed me out the door and I came in contact with the fresh air.

We were both hooked up to numerous machines, and we were forced to sit there while the paramedics went to look for other people that needed help. The both of us sat on the edge of the ambulance with our heads down, but we both looked up when we heard shouting.

"Let us through!" someone shouted.

"That's my niece and nephew!" someone else shouted. That had to be Aunt Cass. I'm guessing she said I was her niece so she could see the both of us. We also do look kind of similar, but that's beside the point. Suddenly we were bombarded with 2 sets of arms.

"Are you two ok?" Aunt Cass asked.

We didn't respond. I looked at Alexa, and while Aunt Cass looked around, she gave me a sympathetic hug.

"Where's Tadashi?" Aunt Cass, dreading the answer.

Neither of us responded again, just looking down at the ground. Aunt Cass could definitely tell something was wrong.

"What happened?" Aunt Cass asked in a demanding tone.

Hiro looked at me, and I looked back at him with a look that said 'I'll tell them.' He nodded and looked back at the ground. I took a deep breath and began to explain.

"He-he ran inside to save s-someone… and b-before he could get-t out… the b-build-ding…" I couldn't continue anymore. I broke down, and covered my face in an attempt to muffle the sobs coming out of my mouth. Hiro wrapped one of his arms around me and gave me a side hug.

"No…" I heard Aunt Cass gasp. I looked up just a little to see tears coming out of her eyes and her hands over her mouth. Alexa obviously knew about this already, but she put her hands over her mouth in 'shock.'

The paramedics then came and told Aunt Cass and Alexa we needed to be examined at the hospital, so the doors were shut and we sped away from the horrid scene. The only thing on our mind was Tadashi, and until we were separated at the hospital we stuck together, just the both of us, and we drowned out the sounds over everything and everyone in the ambulance trying to get our attention.

I'm upset, who wouldn't be? But I have no idea how Hiro must feel right now. He just lost his brother. His companion, his family, his mentor. I lost one of the best friends I ever had.

We were examined, and then released to Aunt Cass and Alexa. Neither of them could think of anything to say. On the car ride back to the café, Alexa sat in the passenger seat, and Hiro and I sat in the back, staring out the windows in despair.

When we arrived, we silently trudged up the stairs, and before Hiro could go up to his room, I grabbed his hood and gave him another hug before making my way to the room Alexa and I shared.

Alexa shut the door behind us, and as I sat on the bay window, we could hear Hiro's sobbing above us. That caused me to sit there with my legs curled up to my chest, and join him in the land of despair and grief.

Alexa sat next to me, and though she didn't feel as much pain as I did due to not knowing Tadashi as well as I did, she did feel some pain. She sat there, rubbing my back in a comforting way as I sat there. I was just glad she was there. I needed someone that understood.

Alexa and I eventually fell asleep at the bay window in the most awkward positions, but that didn't matter.

The only thing on my mind before I fell asleep-and someone could guess what that was if they knew our secret…

I just want to go home.