So sorry this took a little longer than usual. Not too much outside of canon happens here but... oh well. its important to the plot. And Hiro jut can't have a secret all his own anymore.
Grammar and spelling do not exist on the planet I'm from.
. .
(-)
Chapter Fourteen
"Tadashi."
It was a simple, quiet statement that came from Baymax after he recharged. How Hiro managed to sneak a seemingly drunk but almost battery dead robot past his aunt after their little illegal trespassing and attempting to tell the police about a man in a kabuki mask adventure, Hiro will never know.
The teen sat up, his heart was still pounding quite ferociously in his chest from his attack earlier, he didn't want to think about his brother at the moment. "What?"
"Tadashi." Baymax repeated, looking towards Tadashi's side of the room.
Hiro sadly looked over to the dark side of the room. He could just make out the hat on his brother's made bed. "Tadashi's gone." He muttered to the robot who was still in the charging station. Hiro got up and slowly trekked his way over to the partition.
"When will he return?" Baymax continued, oblivious to Hiro's deepening sadness.
"He's-" The young Hamada paused as he grabbed the wood edge of the divider; he glanced once more at the hat. "He's dead, Baymax." The click of the latch resounded through the room. "He's not coming back." He turned to walk back to his bed, wanting nothing more than to curl up in it, just as he has for the past number of weeks.
Baymax blinked and tilted his head to physically display his confusion. "Tadashi was in excellent health; with proper diet and exercise, he should have lived a long life."
"Yeah." Hiro shrugged and flopped face first on his bed. "Should have." He mumbled into his mattress. He was quiet for a few minutes before lifting himself up slightly to turn and look at his late brother's project. "There was a fire." He sighed and looked away. "He didn't make it out." He rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling.
"Tadashi is here." The robotic voice reached his ears and Hiro fumed.
"No he's not!" He tried so hard to yell, but it came out as a broken whimper. He ran his hands over his face to wipe a few stray tears out of his eyes. "They say he's not gone, as long as we remember him. But memories, good or bad, can just bring more pain." He felt for the Microbot in his pocket. "It still hurts." He muttered, bringing the tiny robot out of his pocket.
"I sense no evidence of a physical injury." Baymax commented.
"Different kind of hurt." He turned away from the college project to face the wall. He could hear the soft thuds of vinyl on the floor.
"You are my patient," Baymax began. "I would like to help."
"You can't fix this one buddy." Hiro wrapped his arms around himself. He just wanted Baymax to be quiet and deactivate so he could sulk and seethe about this whole thing in peace.
A soft dinging reached his ears, Hiro sat up and looked over to where Baymax was, but was no longer there. Instead the soft robotics project was standing next to one of Hiro's computers, with a plastic hand on the monitor and pictures and text flashing across the screen and Baymax's projector. "Uh, what are you doing?"
Baymax looked over to Hiro. "I am downloading a database on personal loss." A few ticked by as more images flashed on the screens. "Database downloaded. Treatment includes contacting family and loved ones." Pictures of Tadashi's friends flashed on Baymax's chest.
"No!" Hiro jumped up. "No, I don't need anyone." But Tadashi.
"Friends contacted." Baymax declared.
"Unbelievable." Brown eyes rolled in annoyance as he turned from Baymax. He was about to take a step toward his desk chair when he was suddenly enveloped in a hug from the vinyl robot. "Now what are you doing?"
"Other forms of treatment include compassion and physical reassurance." Baymax started patting his head. "There, there."
Hiro chuckled, and a genuine smile, albeit a small smile, danced across his young face. "Thanks Baymax."
(-)
"I have some concerns." Baymax voiced his thoughts as he stood in front of a giddy looking Hiro, while wearing armor Hiro made. "This armor may undermine my huggable design."
Hiro nodded, leaning his elbows against his legs. "That's kinda the idea, buddy."
"Download complete." A generic robotic voice announced. Hiro rolled his chair over to one of the computers in the garage-turned-lab. He pulled a card-chip, one that looked similar to Baymax's chip but red, out of the computer. He smiled to himself as he drew the international symbol for 'fatal' on one side. He turned toward the armored robot and opened the access port. Hiro stopped for a second when he saw Tadashi's chip slide out. Fleeting thoughts about how Tadashi didn't create Baymax to act like this, to be used like Hiro was going to use him as, crossed his mind. But he shook it off when he remembered that someone, he still thinks it was Krei, started that fire and stole the Microbots. On purpose. Making Tadashi's death a murder.
After a trial run of Baymax using his new Karate moves, after a conversation about how Baymax failed 'to see how Karate makes me a better healthcare companion', a quick snack of gummy bears, and a fist bump lesson, the duo snuck out to return to the warehouse.
Since the police weren't going to look into it, and investigate the SFIT fire further, Hiro would do it for them.
The two failed to notice that they were being followed.
(-)
Hiro's spirit was crushed when they got to the old building and found out that the Kabuki masked man had already hightailed and cleared out of there.
"We're too late." He mumbled as he looked around. That's when he noticed the soft 'pinging' sound and slight repetitive tugs on his jacket pocket. He reached his hand in and pulled out the petri dish that held the Microbot. It kept hitting the side of the container like how it did earlier.
"Your tiny robot is trying to go somewhere." Baymax stated for the second time.
Hiro looked in the direction the Microbot was trying to go. "Come on." He told Baymax, before he started running where the Microbot was leading. He didn't pay attention to anything other than the last piece of his showcase project, and he almost ran right into the bay. Had Baymax not have grabbed his hood, just like how Tadashi would grab his hood, he would have had taken a midnight swim.
Hiro didn't listen to whatever Baymax was saying as he felt himself being pulled back a few feet from the edge of the docks, he was too busy noticing how much more violent the Microbot slammed itself against the side. He should kept a better hold on the top, for the piece of technology hit it just right, and knocked the cover off and was able to zoom away to the other Microbots.
The Hamada didn't say anything as he looked out onto the foggy bay, he could swear he saw something. He squinted and looked a littler harder, eyes having to adjust to the pitch black. But he saw it.
Hiro could see the same Kabuki masked man using the Microbots to cross the body of water, right towards them.
"Come on!" His heart pounded as he lead Baymax and himself away from the edge of the dock to behind some shipping crates. From behind the corner of a crate, he watched the masked man raise himself on to the concrete using the invention that Hiro had intended to help build and transport things. The man raised himself up a little higher and glanced around, as if looking for something. Or someone. Hiro didn't think the man had spotted them, but of course, they had been under a light; but all thoughts of them being caught was shot down when the man turned back to the water and with a wave of his hand, had the Microbots bring into view a piece of a machine. What machine, Hiro didn't know, but by the way the man was acting, it must have been pretty important, and illegal.
Hiro noticed the same symbol he saw in passing when he was running out of the warehouse with Baymax when they were being chased. A red bird on a red circle.
Hiro backed up, pushing his armored covered robot with him.
"You're heart rate is increasing." The robot commented.
The teen turned toward his companion, trying to ignore the signs of an anxiety attack as well as adrenaline creeping into his chest. "Okay, Baymax, time to use your upgrades." He motioned for Baymax to wait a second while Hiro watched for the perfect time to strike.
Until a light was shone on the two.
Hiro gasped almost violently as he turned to face the light, hoping that the masked man didn't have accomplices that had just caught them. He could tell the light was actually a pair of headlights from a van.
As quick as the lights appeared, they were turned off and four doors opened.
"Hiro?" the four voices asked at the same time.
"No, no!" Hiro jumped and looked over his shoulder. "You guys have to get out of here!" He hissed as he turned back to face them.
"Dude?" Wasabi asked as the group approached the young teen. "What are you doing out here? Its late!"
"Oh, uh, nothing." Hiro's face and actions would have given away the fact he was lying, if the cracking in his voice hadn't done so already. "Just out for a walk." He gave a guilty smile. "It helps my 'pubescent mood swings'." The faux smile dropped in favour of a frown.
The group gave him a look.
"Hiro, you can't push us away." Honey Lemon quietly said after a beat of silence. "We're here for you, we want to help you." She gently placed a hand on his shoudler, giving it a firm squeeze.
"Those who have suffered a loose require support from support from friends and loved ones." Baymax added in his robotic tone.
"Okay, but I-" Hiro started.
"They can also offer support through your panic attacks." The robot blurted.
"Baymax!" Hiro jumped. He just can't seem to have his little secret a secret. It just always comes to light somehow, and not by his choice. "I can handle those on my own." He practically growled.
"You don't have to go through those alone." Gogo piped up from beside Wasabi.
"I have bigger things on my mind right now than panic attacks." The Hamada sighed.
"Holy Mother of Megazon!" Fred suddenly exclaimed, looking up and over everyone's head.
The grinding of something against metal sounded through the air as they all looked to where Fred was staring.
Mister Kabuki found them.