Tadashi awoke a little while later with the uncomfortable feeling that something wasn't quite right. He didn't exactly know what, but the idea kept gnawing at him, not allowing him to fall back asleep until he looked down and realized the assumed cause-somehow, while he'd slept, the genderbend had reversed itself because he was once again a guy. Letting out a relieved sigh, he leaned his head back against the headboard. He'd told Hiro that this would probably reverse on it's own, and now it had! Part of him wants to wake his little brother up to tell him the good news, but then he decides that it would probably be best to let the poor little guy have some sleep-after everything they'd just been through together, he deserved it. Content that all was right with the world, Tadashi laid his head back down on the pillows, looking forward to his own restful night of sleep-

"You really shouldn't have don't that."

Tadashi's eyes snap open as his brain registers the sound of a voice. Sitting up in bed, he looks around, his heart pounding slightly as he tries to figure out where the sound had come from. Was he imagining things, or had he actually just heard someone talking?

"H-hello?" he calls but, hating the fact that his tone was obviously frightened. "Who-who's there?"

"Someone you really should have thought twice about before crossing," the other snarls, sounding part angry and, oddly enough, part hurt.

"H-Hiro, is that you?" Tadashi tries again, desperately hoping that his little brother was playing some sort of prank on him.

"You don't have a right to say that name," the voice growls in reply, sounding even more incensed than before. "Not after what you did!"

"What are you talking about?" Tadashi asks, cold fear squeezing his chest.

"I'm talking about when you tried to destroy me—when you tried to take me away from my son!" came the venomous reply.

This response made absolutely no sense to Tadashi, so he tries again, "Who are you?"

"As if you didn't know."

"No, I really don't!"

There's a pause in which the other doesn't respond, and then Tadashi suddenly becomes aware of movement coming from Hiro's side of the room. At first he can't really see much of the shadowy figure, but then the stranger steps into the moonlight coming through the window and Tadashi gasps.

"Recognize me now?" the other asks grimly.

"This-this isn't possible," Tadashi stammers. "You're-you're me!" And it's true. What he's looking at is and almost perfect replica of himself. The hair was perhaps a bit longer, the body a tiny bit more muscular, a pair of glasses rest on the bridge of the nose, and there are definite signs of aging on the face and in the eyes. But there's no doubt that whatever or, rather, whoever, he's looking at is his veritable twin.

"I'm a part of you, yes," the other Tadashi agrees, bringing him back to the present. "Or at least I was a part of you."

"But—why? And how?" Tadashi cries, running his hands through his hair and feeling completely freaked out. "I mean, is this even possible?"

"Well, usually different aspects of a person's personality don't manifest themselves in a visual form," the other Tadashi replies, his eyes darkening slightly as he continues, "but considering the fact that you tried to destroy me earlier today, I think I'm well within my rights to do this."

"You keep saying that I tried to destroy you," Tadashi blanches, feeling slightly panicked by the amount of raw anger he can hear in the other's voice, "but I don't remember doing anything like that—oh. Oh no." His eyes go wide as memories of earlier that night come back to him. Suddenly he knows exactly who he's dealing with. "Oh no oh no oh no. Are you-?"

"Your Papadashi side?" the other replies with a mirthless smile. "Yes."

"Papadashi…?" Tadashi asks, raising a confused eyebrow but having a pretty good idea of what the apparent figment was talking about.

"Well, that's what Hiro used to call us when he was younger," the other Tadashi explains coldly. "I'm the side of you who sees Hiro as your son." He moves closer to the younger Hamada's bed and looks lovingly down at the sleeping form. "He's so beautiful," he murmurs softly, his expression changing as he reaches down and lovingly brushes a few strands of hair off of the boy's face. "I can't believe how fast he's growing up…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you doing?" Tadashi cries, part of him worried about the idea this particular aspect of his personality being near his little brother, but the other part of him jealous of the intimacy the other was showing towards Hiro.

Other Tadashi, or "Papadashi" as he had identified himself, looks up, as if registering Tadashi's feelings, and smiles slightly. "Good," he says, his eyes flashing. "There's still hope for you if you're willing to fight for Hiro."

"Wait—hope for what?" Tadashi asks, wrinkling his brow in confusion and feeling slight frustration welling up in him. "Look, I'm sorry if you're upset about me trying to get rid of you, but I did it because it's best for Hiro. It's not safe for him to have me keep trying to be his dad!"

"Best for Hiro, or best for you?" Other Tadashi counters, giving him a scathing look.

"For Hiro!" Tadashi replies, although somehow his answer sounds weak even to him.

Other Tadashi looks at him as if disappointed. "I thought you were better than this," he says after a moment, shaking his head slightly. "I thought that you had enough sense to see the truth when it was right in front of you, but I guess I was wrong. So even though I didn't want to have to do this, it looks like you're not leaving me a choice."

"What are you saying?" Tadashi starts to feel afraid again, but then suddenly gets a boost of confidence as a thought hits him. "Wait, you're just a part of my subconscious—a figment of my imagination. I can get rid of you whenever I want." He smirks slightly. "Nice try, but you're not going to get me to change my mind that easily. I'm not going to put Hiro or myself through this again."

"Oh Tadashi." Instead of seeming to be even the tiniest bit intimidated, the other appeared to be slightly bemused. "That was your first mistake. You thought that you could just throw me away without any consequence? Well, you're dead wrong. Hiro's my son, and I will fight to the death for him if necessary. I know deep down you understand this and you feel the same way, but since you're being stubborn, I'm going to have to be creative with how I show you the truth. And while it's technically just for educational purposes, I'm not afraid to admit that I'm seriously going to enjoy it."

"What are you going to do?" Tadashi asks, his mouth going dry.

"You tried to take my son away from me, so I'm just returning the favor," alternate Dashi answers with a grim smile. "For one day, I'm taking control of the body—I'm going to have my day with Hiro, and hopefully after I'm done you'll finally get it through your thick skull just what Hiro means to us."

"And if I don't 'get it' by the end of the day?" Tadashi counters, trying to sound more confident than he feels.

"Well then, I'll just keep extending this out until you do," other Tadashi replies, giving him a mirthless look. He glances over at the clock on the wall before looking back and adding, "You know, it's not too late to change your mind. You could just let me back into your schema of how you view Hiro and we could dispense with all of this."

Tadashi battles momentarily with the concept—wouldn't it just be easier to start seeing Hiro at least partially as his son again? Would that really be so bad? But partly because of stubbornness and partly because, deep down, he really wanted to be proved wrong, he shakes his head. "Let's do this thing," he says, looking the other Tadashi directly in the eyes.

The older version of him has a funny smile on his face, as if he can see the latter part of his motivation and approves of it, before nodding and checking the wall clock again. "Let the clock state that it is 3:34 am," he announces in an official sounding voice which carries a great deal more power and authority than Tadashi would have ever pictured coming out of the other's or even his own mouth. "By the ancient laws, let the 24 hour period commence."

Tadashi feels a sort of warm sensation rushing over him, almost like being submerged by a crashing ocean wave. He closes his eyes against it, and then—

Tadashi blinks his eyes open, staring around the room in a state of shock and amazement, as if seeing it for the first time. Then he looks down at his hand and articulates each finger, as if testing out his own abilities.

"It-it worked!" he finally gets out after a moment. "It worked! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it, it actually worked!" Part of him wants to a victory dance right then and there, but he resists the urge since he needs to keep the volume down to keep from waking his musuko—oh, how amazing it was to be able to think that without being stifled! He whispers the name quietly aloud, just because he could—musuko. He can't help but smile like he'd just won a million dollars-which he sort of has, only the prize he had won was worth much more than anything money could ever buy. He'd been able to go part way before, back when he'd been a fully integrated if somewhat unwanted part of regular Tadashi's psyche, influencing decisions and occasionally overriding ideas about societal norms and codes of conduct to get Tadashi to be more loving and open towards his little brother. But now—now he had complete and total control for a whole day! Most people in his position wouldn't know what to do with themselves. Almost anyone who had found this sort of freedom after years of being ignored and stuffed away into a dark corner would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of possibilities. But no—he knew exactly what he wanted to do. He wanted to take full advantage of this one day, and that meant spending each and every second with Hiro. First thing on his list was actually being able to hug his musuko fully and of his own free will. Being as quiet as he can, he makes his way out of the corner of the room that belonged to the owner of this body and heads over to Hiro's bed. When he gets there, for a moment he just stares down at the boy, unable to fully believe that this child was truly his. And then, holding back a tiny sob as the emotions overwhelm him, he sits down on the edge of the bed and gathers the still sleeping boy up into his arms.

"Oh, Hiro," he whispers, burying his face into the raven colored thatch of hair and nuzzling him close, "I'm here. Papa's here, and you're never going to lose me again."

Hiro wasn't quite sure if he was awake or asleep, voices filtered in and out of his brain that sounded strangely like Tadashi. Why was he arguing with himself though? It didn't make any sense. Hiro felt a pair of arms lift him up and cradle him against their chest and whisper, "I'm here. Papa's here, and you're never going to lose me again." confusing Hiro. Wasn't his father dead? And the voice sounded strangely like Tadashi, but Tadashi wasn't his father, and he was a girl... Hiro tried to wake up, but he was so comfortable. He needed to figure out what was going on though. Whoever was holding him nuzzled him and started rocking him slightly. Hiro slowly pried his eyes open and looked up at Tadashi who was somehow a boy again.

"Dashi... you're a guy again..." Hiro sleepily mumbled. "That's good..." Why was Tadashi acting like this though?

"Hey." Tadashi smiles down at him, tiny thrills going through his body-his first time actually getting to talk to Hiro! "I didn't mean to wake you. I just wanted to check on you. It's okay, you can go back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

Hiro sleepily frowned and mumbled, "Check on me?... is there somethin' wrong with me?" Hiro was so tired, Tadashi's rocking was so soothing and he felt himself drifting off again. But he needed to know what was going on. Hiro snuggled against Tadashi, eyes growing heavy.

"No, there's nothing wrong with you," Tadashi answers, gently soothing him back to sleep. "You're perfect-absolutely perfect."

"M'kay..." Hiro mumbled, still slightly confused but getting too tired to care. Hiro buried his head in Tadashi's chest and let his eyes drift shut. "Love you Dashi..."

Tadashi doesn't even try to hold back the tear that rolls down his cheek. Oh, how long he'd dreamed of hearing those words! "I-I love you too Hiro," he finally whispers, hugging the boy close. Hiro was his now, and he was never, ever going to let him go.

Hiro didn't remember falling asleep, but when he opened his eyes next he felt much more awake. He felt a pair of arms tightly holding him and looked up to see Tadashi who was still a boy holding him tightly. Good that wasn't a dream.

"Morning Tadashi," Hiro greeted, wondering how long Tadashi had stayed. "Did you stay here all night?"

"Mm-hm," Tadashi agrees, looking down at Hiro with a soft smile. He had actually been awake the whole night. He didn't want to waste a second of this, and honestly he really didn't need to sleep, even in this mortal body, so he'd just stayed there holding his musuko until the little boy was ready to wake up.

"You didn't have to do that..." Hiro mumbled, slightly confused as to what prompted his brother to do that.

"But I wanted to," Tadashi replies, gently stroking his son's hair. Oh, how amazing it was to be able to do that!

"Ok... did you sleep well?" Hiro asked, wondering what was up with Tadashi. "Any idea why you're a boy again?"

Tadashi decided to neglect to answer the first question, merely answering the second with, "I told you that genderbends usually work themselves out in their own time, didn't I? It just wore off during the night."

"I guess..." Hiro agreed, still weirded out by the whole situation, "You feeling ok bro? You're acting... different."

"I'm just happy to see you, bud," Tadashi answers, ruffling the boy's hair. He plans to tell Hiro the truth-but all in good time. For now, better not to let him get too suspicious. "So, do you want breakfast?" he asks with a bright smile. "I'll make anything you want."

Hiro's stomach growled and Hiro laughed, "Hmmm I think my stomach answered that for me. Pancakes sound good though."

"Then pancakes it is," Tadashi agrees, happily nodding his head and starting to get up. "Do you want to help me?"

"Sure," Hiro agreed standing up and following Tadashi down the stairs.

"Can you get out the bowls and mixing things while I get the ingredients?" Tadashi asks once they're in the kitchen, seriously looking forward to this first time getting to make breakfast with his son.

"Sure!" Hiro replied, trying to reach the cupboard with the bowls, only to find that he was, still, too short. Huffing in annoyance, Hiro jumped up onto the counter and started to reach up to grab the bowl only to slip and fall. "Ahhh!"

"Musuko!" The word bursts out of Tadashi's mouth before he can even think about it, but there's no time to take it back. Instead he rushes forward to catch Hiro,swooping him up protectively into his arms. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" How could he have been so careless? He should have known that Hiro was too short to reach the bowls! From now on he swears that he is going to do everything in his power to make sure that Hiro never gets put into a dangerous situation again.

Hiro blinked in surprise and whispered, "You called me Musuko..." Tadashi would never call him that... unless those times Hiro had been imagining it where real... Hiro's head hurt.

Well, this had come out sooner than Tadashi had hoped, but maybe now was as good a time as any to talk to Hiro. Still, though, wanting to push it out a little bit longer, he just answers, "Hiro, you just took a major fall! We should probably get you back up to bed until we're sure that you're okay!"

"Tadashi I'm fine!" Hiro snapped. "What was that musuko thing about?"

Part of Tadashi wishes that he hadn't spilled the news so early. Another part of him, however, was somewhat glad that he was finally going to be able to talk about this-the very thing that that other coward had been too afraid to ever talk about. "Let's sit down at the table," he finally says softly, moving to set Hiro down in one of the kitchen chairs.

Hiro looked at Tadashi in confusion, why was he carrying him like a baby? "OK what's going on?" Hiro asked, once Tadashi settled him in one of the chairs.

"Hiro..." Tadashi tries to think of how to best say this, also working to keep from letting his eagerness show. How could the original Tadashi have kept this all inside for so long? Either he was stronger than he'd looked or else he'd just enjoyed inflicting pain on himself-possibly both. "There's something I need to tell you," the current Tadashi says after taking a minute to choose his words. "And before you think that I'm just going off the deep end, I want you to know that I've been thinking about this for a very, very long time-almost since you've been born, in fact. For as long as I can remember, it's mainly just been you and me. Our parents...they were always gone, even when they were alive. And Aunt Cass, bless her, she tries, but-it's never been quite the same, you know? But me-I've always been the one to take care of you. To be there for you. To love you like you were my own. Do you...think you understand what I'm saying?"

"Wha-... I... so you see me as your son?" Hiro asked, feeling had never acted so fatherly before. Where is this coming from? A part of Hiro was happy Tadashi cared so much, another felt horrible for letting Tadashi take his fathers place, and another still wasn't sure how he felt about Tadashi not being his brother. He wanted Tadashi, not a new father.

"Is that really such a bad thing?" Tadashi asks, taking Hiro's hand in his own and searching his eyes. He'd thought the boy would be happier about this! "I think we've honestly both seen this coming-I guess this just seemed like the right time to finally tell you. I mean, when we both had that same dream a couple of nights ago..."

"How do you know about the dream?" Hiro asked, yanking his hand out of Tadashi's. He'd never told him or even hinted at the dream! What was going on?

"Hiro, the two of us were just barely managing to keep from saying anything about it that morning," Tadashi responds calmly. "It wasn't that difficult to figure it out-you know that I called you musuko that morning, and I heard you calling me papa too."

Everything about this felt wrong. The way he was acting and talking just didn't feel at all like Tadashi and it scared him. "No, no way. This... no... I don't know what's going on but... y-you are not acting like my brother." Hiro stammered standing up and backing away from him.

"Hiro, please, you have nothing to be scared of," Tadashi pleads. How was this going so wrong? "I'm just being honest with you-I love you! I thought that you loved me too."

"I don't know who you are but you're not my brother!" Hiro shouted. "I love Tadashi, bring him back!"

"Hiro, I swear to you that I am Tadashi," the older boy answers, getting up out of his chair but not following Hiro-he doesn't want to scare him.

"No...you're acting nothing like my brother..." Hiro whispered, getting more terrified by the second. "Where is my brother?"

Tadsahi grimaces slightly. Apparently Hiro wasn't going to believe him-well, tough. He had told him the part of the truth that would be easy to hear-if he was going to be like this, he was going to get the full truth, like it or not. "I'm not lying to you-I am Tadashi," the elder finally answers, his voice going slightly cold. "I'm just not all of Tadashi."

"What do you mean not all?" Hiro asked, feeling sick. What had this monster done with his brother? "What did you do to Tadashi?" His body started trembling, horrible ideas flashing through his mind. He just wanted his Dashi back.

"I'm the part of Tadashi that sees you as his son-the part of him that's been taking care of you since before you were even old enough to even say my name, the part that's cared for you and loved you through everything, the part whose stayed strong for you no matter how hard things got!" Tadashi replies folding his arms over his chest. "And as for what I did to him? Oh no, I didn't have to do anything. That coward turned tail and left. He left you, Hiro! I tried to talk him out of it, but apparently he'd finally had enough. Just turned the controls over to me and that was it. For all I know, he's gone and he's never coming back." Tadashi gives the younger boy a grim smile. "You and I both know that he was having a hard time staying afloat-I guess he didn't want you to be left without anyone when he just couldn't handle things anymore."

"N-no..." Hiro whispered, eyes turning misty. "Y-y-you're lying! Tadashi wouldn't just leave me!" Hiro screamed, unable to stop the tears from falling. "I don't know who you are but let my brother go! Give. Him. Back!" This monster kept saying he loved Hiro, but Hiro could never love whatever it was that was using Tadashi's body. The twisted smile on his and the dark look in his eyes made Hiro want to run as far away as possible. But he couldn't. He had to save Dashi.

Tadashi begins to feel his resolve slip. This was all actually going fairly to plan-deep down inside he could feel the real Tadashi starting to wake up, definitely a good sign. But honestly, he hated to keep pushing Hiro like this. No, though-he'd have to keep going if this was all going to work out, both for Hiro and the real Tadashi's sake.

"Hiro, I know this is hard," he begins, stiffening his resolve and taking a few steps toward the boy, "but think about it. That Tadashi may be gone, but you still have me, and I'm much better than he could ever be! Hiro, I love you, and I would never, ever leave you! Just think of what we could do together-we could have a fresh start! We could go somewhere where it would just be the two of us, and we could have all the inventing workshops that you wanted. No more Tadashi being gone because of stupid things like school or responsibilities. No one would ever bother us again! Isn't that what you wanted?"

Hiro was immediately repulsed by the thought. What about Aunt Cass, what about his Tadashi? "Not with you," Hiro growled, glaring daggers at the thing using his brother body. "I know Tadashi, my Tadashi, would never leave me. He loves me and I-I love him more than anything and I won't give up on him, just like he never gave up on me. If you actually loved me, you'd let my brother go."

"I already told you, he's gone!" Tadashi shoots back angrily. "Get it through your head-he is gone, and he is never, ever coming back! Not unless he does something which I honestly doubt he'd ever do, and even if he did it, I don't know if you'd even want him back afterwards."

"Shut up!" Hiro shouted. "Even if he ran away, which I don't believe for a second, I'd still want him back! He's my brother and I love him more then anything in this entire universe! I won't let you take him away from me! Now Let. Him. Go! Or I'll make you!"

"Oh, he can come back as soon as he wants," Tadashi agrees with a twisted smile. "I'd even be willing to let him cut the 24 hour period we agreed to short if he fulfilled his end of the bargain-but first he has to actually be willing to do so, and I seriously doubt that he's ever going to be able to do it, which means that I'm in control indefinitely."

"Tadashi!" Hiro shouted, tears falling freely again. "If you can hear me come back! I need you! I don't want this creep, I want my brother back! Please don't leave me!"

Way deep down inside, the actual Tadashi had been drifting in a sort of state of unconsciousness. It hadn't been unpleasant, but there was no sight, no sound, just...nothingness. Then, suddenly a voice broke through the darkness-Hiro's voice. At first he couldn't hear much, but he could tell that Hiro was upset. What had him so upset? And then actual words started to trickle down-"Tadashi wouldn't just leave me!" "He's my brother and I love him more then anything in this entire universe!" "Let him go!" There was a lot of another voice-his own voice, he realized, but not exactly his own voice. It was much darker, much colder.

"Papadashi," he realizes with a start. "Oh gosh, what have I done?" He feels an intense sense of panic. What exactly was Papadashi doing? At first he didn't think that he could do anything about it, though-he was stuck for the twenty four hour period. But then he head Hiro actually start crying and calling out for him, and suddenly he couldn't take it anymore. His little brother needed him! "What are you doing to Hiro?" Tadashi cries, hating that fact that he felt so powerless-down here, he was only a voice. He had no strength, no way to force his way out, but he was going to use his voice to it's fullest extent.

Suddenly, someone appears before him-Papadashi, he realizes, who's looking at him scornfully, his arms crossed over his chest. "I think the better question is, what did you do to Hiro," he returns, a slight sneer in his voice-he seems so much darker than Tadashi remembers, even from the night before. "You left your own brother. Tsk, tsk. And here I thought that you were just terrible at being a father to him. It looks like you're just horrible in taking care of him period."

"You tricked me!" Tadashi shoots back angrily, wishing that he had some way to punch this self-righteous jerk.

"You made the decision, not me," Papadashi returns coldly.

" .go. He wants me, not you, you-you-" Tadashi has to bite back some very colorful language that he wants to use to describe this demon.

"Aw, still too sweet to even curse?" Papadashi gives him a falsely pitying look. "No wonder you're too weak to even take care of Hiro."

Tadashi felt cold fear surround him. This guy knew exactly how to push all of his buttons-how to flip every single one of his triggers and turn him into a tiny ball of insecurity. "Baka," he finally spits.

"Hm...weak, but at least it's something." Papadashi gives him a slightly amused look. "And hey, you're free to take back control whenever you want."

"I am?" Tadashi can't help but feel suspicious. It sounds too easy.

"Oh sure-as soon as you're willing to admit to the fact that Hiro's your son," the other returns with a twisted smile.

"But he's not!" Tadashi cries. Why did this guy keep insisting on that? It was true, he had felt fatherly feelings towards Hiro-if anything, now more than ever. There was nothing more that he wanted to do than to be able to wrap Hiro up in his arms and keep him safe from this jerk, just like his own father would have. But no, he fights the urge back down. He couldn't do that to Hiro! Or, if he was being honest, he could do it, but he was scared to death of what the boy would think. He could never accept him if he did that!

"Your loss," Papadashi returns with an indifferent shrug. "Say goodbye to your brother, then, because you're never going to see him again."

"No, wait!" Tadashi cries, but he's already gone. Oh gosh, what have I done...

"Well, I just spoke to your brother," Papadashi says, returning to the room with Hiro, a slight sneer on his face, "and it's just like I told you. He's too weak-he wouldn't even fight for you. He doesn't care about you, he only cares about himself. He knows exactly what he has to do to get back to you, but he won't do it. How can you still love him after that?"

"You're lying," Hiro hissed glaring daggers at the man. "Why are you trying to keep him away from me?" What did this thing want? Why was he insisting Tadashi didn't want him? A dark part of Hiro wondered if what it was saying was true but immediately pushed the thought out of his mind. No, if Tadashi didn't care he couldn't have talked to Hiro about cutting, couldn't have helped him meet Mrs. Matthews, wouldn't have cared so passionately whenever Hiro felt unworthy. Hiro could see how deeply Tadashi loved him just by looking in his eyes whenever he was speaking to Hiro. He could read his brother like a book, he could tell when Tadashi didn't like someone but was putting on a smile just to be nice, and though there were times when Hiro couldn't fathom why Tadashi so passionately loved him, Hiro knew he did and that's all that mattered. Even if he didn't really love Hiro, he couldn't just let this thing keep using his body without his consent. "Answer me know or you will pay!"

Shoot, Hiro was getting serious! Papadashi silently curses himself for letting it get this far. If the real Tadashi didn't get moving soon, both of them were in serious trouble! The last thing that he wanted was for Tadashi to have to return to an injured body-he didn't know what consequences there would be for that, but it wouldn't be good. So Papadashi pulls out the last fail safe that he had-the one thing that he knew would get Tadashi to respond. With as twisted a smile as he could muster, he answers Hiro in a deadly calm voice, "You can do what you like to me, Hiro. But like it or not, at the end of the day, you are mine. You always have been, you always will be, and I one way or another I will have you."

Back down inside, Tadashi had been wrestling with himself. He couldn't believe what this demon was saying-trying to convince Hiro that he didn't love him when that couldn't be further from the truth! But his accusations-that Tadashi was a coward for not being willing to do the one thing that would bring the two of them back together-had sent him into a flurry of guilt and self-struggle.

I can't tell Hiro that I see him as my son!

Well, that's the truth, isn't it?

But Hiro obviously doesn't want me to be his dad! He's just made that very clear!

Did he really?

He hates this demon thing that's taken over me, the one that's claiming to be his dad, so yes!

He hates it because it's not you. He wants his Dashi-all of you, his brother and his dad!

But-I'm scared that I can't be all of that on my own.

No, you know you can do that. You're just scared of being rejected!

Okay, I am! I'm scared of him rejecting me when he finds out the truth! Is that such a bad thing?

Look at where you fear has put him and you, and you tell me! You don't have time to be scared anymore! Tadashi, it's time to man up if you don't want to lose him!

Just as Tadashi's about to answer that, he suddenly hears Papadashi's voice saying very clearly, "Hiro, you are mine. You always have been, you always will be, and I one way or another I will have you."

.no. OH. HECK. NO! He had not just said that! There were few things that could trigger of such intense feelings in Tadashi, but this was probably the worst one-No one, absolutely no one was allowed to lay any claim to Hiro but him! Hiro was his brother, he was his son, and anyone who tried to get in the way of that would have to face Tadashi's fierce and raging jealousy.

Okay, fine? Papadashi wanted a fight for Hiro? That's exactly what he was going to get! All previous fear and worry disappeared as Tadashi says the one word that he knew would end all of this: "MUSUKO!"

Yes! Papadashi's eyes flash with victory as he hears Tadashi's cry. Finally, they were almost there! Just a little bit further and they would be done with all of this! But first had to come what might be the most difficult part. Tadashi had admitted the truth to himself. But now he had to admit it to Hiro. Papadashi braces himself, knowing what's coming next-it isn't going to be pleasant, but he knows it has to be done. The splitting. He can feel it coming-the real Tadashi is gaining strength, is starting to regain control of the body. But Papadashi can't actually leave until his mission is complete, so he knows that any second now, he's going to be given the one thing he's always wanted but knows is also destined to be his downfall-his own form. With a great jerking pain, suddenly, he's ripped from Tadashi's body, and then there are not one, but two Tadashi's in the room, both on the floor, both gasping for breath, the one a bit older and with a pair of glasses on his nose, but both very much real and physically present.

Your move, Papadashi thinks with a grim smile as he looks over at his counterpart.

Hiro didn't think he could be any more terrified than when he'd thought his brother had been possessed by some demon, but he was wrong. He was now staring at two Tadashi's, uncertain as to which one was real, if this was really happening. A part of Hiro was wondering if he had lost his mind because this was insane! Hiro looked between the Tadashi's and noticed one looked older than the other. Determined, Hiro raced over to the younger looking one and collapsed next to him. Hiro started to reach out to him but froze. What if this was a trick?

"Dashi? Is that you?"

"Hiro, it's really me!" Tadashi cries, never having been so glad to be able to actually say his little brother's name before. He starts to reach out for him, but before he can, Papadashi somehow gets to his feet and effortlessly drags the younger boy across the room.

"Ah, ah, ah," he says, giving Tadashi a condescending look. "You didn't think you were getting off that easy did you?"

"Give me my brother back!" Tadashi cries, fighting down an anguished scream. Seriously, why couldn't this guy just leave well enough alone and let him have Hiro? He'd done what he wanted!

"Oh, your 'brother', is it?" Papadashi gives him another one of those smirks that wanted seriously made Tadashi want to slap him right across the face. "I guess you haven't learned your lesson yet, have you?" Despite Hiro's struggling, he's somehow managing to easily keep the boy pinned against the wall. He gives Tadashi a falsely pitying look. "If that's the case, then I guess the only thing I can do is hang on to Hiro for a little bit longer-"

That does it. Something snaps, and before he can even think about what he's doing, Tadashi lunges and manages to actually knock his doppelganger to the floor. "Hiro, get out of here!" he cries, not wanting his little brother to be caught in the crossfire as he struggles to keep the older version of himself down.

"I'm not leaving you along with that thing! Hiro shouted, not wanting to find his Tasdashi gone, not when there's something he can do.

Tadashi doesn't have time to fight with Hiro-he's having to fight hard enough to just keep this other thing from getting close to his otouto. Unfortunately, the alternate version of himself is stronger and seems to know exactly what he's going to do, so trying to keep him down is near impossible. But that doesn't mean that Tadashi isn't going to do his best-either he's going to save Hiro, or die trying (which he very well may end up doing the way things are going.)

"You can fight all you want," Papadashi hisses as he and Tadashi roll out towards the middle of the living room. "But you know that in the end, I will win this. You can try everything you want, but you know that you won't be able to defeat me. You'll never be able to stop me from making Hiro my son!"

"You can't have Hiro!" Tadashi yells, fresh anger rushing through him as he manages to get on top and struggles to keep Papadashi pinned to the floor. "He will never be your son!"

"And why not?" Papadashi sneers, his tone challenging as he glares up at the younger version of himself.

Tadashi feels his chest go cold and the old fears come clawing back in as he looks over at Hiro, who's watching them with large, scared eyes. No, he can't say it—he can't—

Then he looks down at his opponent and realizes that it's this very fear that's put Hiro in this danger in the first place. Suddenly, the tiny rebellious spark that had been flickering in his heart since earlier bursts into full flame and, with passion blazing in his eyes, he says with more confidence than he's ever had in his whole life, "Because he's my son. He always has been, he always will be, and I'm just sorry it took me this long to realize it." He smiles over at Hiro, not sure how the boy was taking this but honestly not caring—he'd finally done it. He'd said what was in his heart, and nothing had ever felt so good.

Hiro could hardly believe what he was hearing. Tadashi thought he was his son? A part of Hiro was thrilled at the thought, but another was terrified that he'd lose his big brother in all of this. Hiro knew Tadashi would want him to say something in response to his declaration, but in the moment Hiro wasn't sure what he could say. So all he could say was, "I love you too Dashi."

Tadashi's about to reply, when suddenly Papadashi suddenly stops fighting him and, to Tadashi's utter amazement, actually smiles. "Well. You finally got it. It certainly took you long enough."

"Wha-what?" Tadashi stammers, confused. "But I thought you were—"

"That I was trying to take over permanently?" The other grins back at him. "No. Actually, I was just trying to get you to this point so that I could finally leave."

"L-leave?" Tadashi, in his shock, sits back on his heels, allowing his double to actually sit up. "Y-you're not making any sense!"

"It's simple, really." Papadashi looks between him and Hiro with a slightly sad smile. "My time here's up. I was only meant to be here for long enough to help you get through the rough early times—to be a source of strength for a little boy who had too much responsibility suddenly put on him by his parents' death. But I was never meant to be here forever. I was just meant to help you finally reach the point where you could do all of this on your own. And Tadashi, today you have more than proved that you are capable of loving Hiro as your brother and your son without me, and I couldn't be more proud."

"Wait, what do you mean? Where are you going?" Tadashi asks, scrambling to his feet as the doppelganger gets up.

"Like I said, it's time for me to finally take my leave," Papadashi replies with a half-smile. "I've long outstayed my welcome—I was never meant to be here for this long, and I'm more than ready to go to my eternal rest." He walks over to Hiro and gets down on one knee in front of him. "I'm sincerely sorry that I had to put you through everything I did today, but I want you to know that I never meant you any harm and that I was only trying to help the both of you. I meant everything I said about loving you, and even if it wasn't exactly what I'd hoped for, I'm so grateful that I finally got to spend a day with you. I can't be with you anymore, but I-I'm going to really miss you." His voice cracks slightly as he says this, and he gives the boy a quick kiss on his forehead before getting to his feet and turning away to briefly wipe his eyes. After a moment, he turns back and offers both Tadashi and Hiro as bright a smile as he can manage, although it's obvious that it's somewhat forced. "It was an honor working with both of you. Please, keep taking care of each other, and never lose what the two of you have. It's truly precious."

Tadashi nods to the figure, unable to find the words to express what he's feeling. For so long, he realizes, he's relied on the spirit to help him get through the hardest moments, but now, as he looks over at Hiro, he's finally ready to do this on his own. Papadashi seems to understand this as he appears much more at peace, giving the two boys one last wave before a breeze suddenly blows through the room and the figure disappears in a cloud of cherry blossoms.

As much as Hiro knew Tadashi would want him to forgive the thing that tried to take over his brother he couldn't. Despite the fact that he knew that thing wasn't going to hurt them, the terror he'd felt when confronting that thing was so real it continued to send shivers down his spine. Hiro only hoped that this thing wouldn't permanently alter his view of his brother.

"That was... terrifying..." Hiro whispered, shivering slightly. "But at least it's all over."

"Y-yeah," Tadashi agrees, shaking his head slightly. He looks over at Hiro. Honestly, as much as the whole encounter had shaken him, he was much more concerned with how it had left his little brother. "You doing okay?" he asks, afraid to reach out to him for fear of scaring him. The poor kid had been through enough, he didn't need to be traumatized further by Tadashi making sudden movements. Beyond that, Tadashi's honestly unsure of how Hiro's reacting to his confession. In the heat of the moment, it had been easy to say what was on his heart, but now... What if Hiro completely and utterly rejects him? He can't bear to think that he'd regained his otouto-his musuko-only to lose him all over again in a different but even more painful way.

"Why are you asking me that?" Hiro asked. "You where the one that was possessed!" As much as Hiro loved Tadashi, he could be an idiot sometimes. "I'm more worried about you."

"I just want to make sure that you're okay with-well, with everything that just happened," Tadashi replies, turning slightly red. "I-I'd never really planned on saying any of that stuff until I got pushed to my limits." Although, in reflection, he realizes that was probably the purpose of all of this-to get him to the point where he'd actually have to admit to his true feelings about Hiro.

Hiro ran a hand through his hair, thinking hard. He wasn't sure what he could say to his brother that wouldn't upset him. He just didn't know how exactly he felt about this whole thing, it didn't bother him, that was for sure, he just didn't know where he felt in all of this. Did he see Tadashi as a father or was he just a really really good older brother?

"Honestly it's a lot to process..." Hiro finally admitted. "It doesn't bother me that you think of me like a son... I just... you're my brother... I just... ugg..."

"Hiro, you know that I'm always going to be your brother, right?" Tadashi answers, daring to reach out and take Hiro's hand in his. "It's just...I guess I couldn't help but starting to think of you like you were mine with everything we've been through. I tried to fight it for a really, really long time, but recently it's only seemed to make things worse between us whenever I freaked out over it. So...are you okay with me sort of being both-your brother and your dad?"

Hiro threw his arms around his brother and mumbled, "Of course I'm okay with it you nerd. What did you think I'd stop loving you or something? I just... you seem to really be my brother more than anything... is that... is that okay?"

"Hiro, of course that's okay! I want you to feel comfortable and safe whatever sort of relationship we have," Tadashi quickly responds, hugging Hiro tightly back and feeling extremely relieved. "Honestly, I don't really think it changes things what we call it-it's still the same sort of love, no matter what name we put on it."

"Good," Hiro sighed, hugging his brother back tightly. "Cuz I love you... even if you're a total nerd."

"And I love you, both as my otouto and my musuko," Tadashi responds, gripping him a little tighter. "Is-is it okay if I call you that sometimes? Not on a regular basis or when anyone else is around, but like when we're doing this?"

Hiro was silent for a minute before saying. "Y-yea... it's ok if you do..." Hiro only hoped Tadashi didn't expect Hiro to call him "dad".

"Thank you..." Tadashi whispers, feeling a wave of gratitude wash over him as he hugs his brother/son closer. He doesn't know exactly how comfortable Hiro is with all of this, but he's so grateful for the fact that the boy's willing to go along with it for his sake.

"I'd do anything for you Dashi..." Hiro whispered burying his head in his brothers chest. Though it made him a little uncomfortable, seeing how happy it made Tadashi was definitely worth it.

"You know that you're the only thing I could ever want out of life, right?" Tadashi says after a minute, tenderly stroking Hiro's hair. "Seriously, I could have absolutely nothing else, not a penny to my name, and as long as I had you I'd be the happiest person in the world."

Hiro felt his face turn bright red he mumbled, "You're such a dork..." Hiro was secretly pleased Tadashi held him in such high regard. Hiro squeezed his brother so he'd know Hiro was only joking.

"Yeah, but I'm your dork," Tadashi answers with a grin, giving his otouto a quick squeeze back. Then he frowns slightly as he suddenly hears a distant beeping noise. "Hey, do you hear that?" he asks.

"Yea I do..." Hiro mumbled, as the beeping continued to grow louder causing everything around him to grow fuzzy. "Huh? Tadashi wha-?" Everything faded away and he was left in darkness.