Till I'm Gone
Sora Matasuki
Chapter Twenty
Groping around for the light switch, Tadashi blinked when the overhead lights flickered to life. He was certainly grateful to Aunt Cass; after all, she had dragged Hiro out of the house to go shopping and they would be gone for quite a while (their Aunt did love her shopping, even at the supermarket).
He took a deep breath and his gaze fixed itself on Hiro's computer. It had remained dormant since Hiro had returned home. His little brother hadn't even gone five paces near the thing. The entire desk area housing the computer seemed to have gained a Hiro-Repelling bubble around it while the boy had been in the hospital.
Not that Tadashi could blame him, he would have been afraid, too. What with all the negativity crafted to target just one person and all. Tadashi didn't want to touch the machine either but the sixteen year old had business with the computer. Business that Hiro didn't need to see.
Determination burned like a roaring fire within his chest, and he grabbed the black desk chair and spun it around. He didn't sit down. Because when your knees crumple under your weight and your butt hits the cushion with a thump, that's more like falling. His hands were trembling as he put one on the mouse.
He could do this. He had to do this. For Hiro. Tadashi wasn't letting those fiends get away scott free with hurting his little brother. His pride and his duty as an older brother demanded it.
The sixteen year old breathed in through his nose and fought back the chilling memories of an empty room so clean it seemed sterile in comparison to its natural state. It wasn't like that. It wasn't. Hiro was just fine. He was with Aunt Cass. Nothing could hurt him with her around.
He had to tell himself this firmly for several minutes just to get his courage up enough that he could wake up the computer. It opened without prompting for a password (Hiro still hadn't put it back up) and that fact made Tadashi flinch.
You took off the password so we'd find your goodbye, didn't you, Hiro? The thought pierced through Tadashi's mind and a choked whine filled his throat. The sixteen year old's hand flew off the mouse like it had been burned and he buried his stinging eyes into his palms as a wave of horror and pain washed over him. He shuddered, his hands pressing so hard into his eyes that he saw stars and they ached for another reason.
A sob escaped his lips at the realization that he could have lost his little brother. The sudden need to hold Hiro tight made him feel like a brick had been thrown at his chest, leaving him winded and sore. But Hiro was with Aunt Cass, shopping, and so, the breaking of Tadashi's heart continued without any healing balm.
Tadashi breathed in shakily; the shards of his heart piercing ever inward made his chest ache with sharp pain. He scrubbed away the budding tears with the back of his hand and took in another shuddering breath. Hiro. He needed to do this, bring justice to Hiro's tormentors. If he didn't do this now, he never would.
He opened dark brown eyes shining with held back tears and looked at his little brother's bright screen. It all lay within this small, fragile machine. It bore record of the eight months of pain and suffering of a twelve year old child brought to the edge of death's door.
Tadashi would be damned if he didn't protect his little brother from the world's evils again. If he failed the only remaining member of his family again, it would be better for him to have never been born.
The sixteen year old let out a hollow laugh at how his thoughts had turned so dark and grimly clicked on Hiro's internet history once more.
His stomach curdled as he hovered the mouse over the video entilted Genius Goes For a Swim. He didn't want to see his little brother's fight all over again. Once was enough! Tadashi swallowed but shook his head and pressed his finger down on the mouse.
The video started playing but at that same time Tadashi was already ripping it off the internet, praying that the code would transfer safely and that there weren't any bugs. The teen wouldn't know if it was safe until the process was completely done. But the sixteen year old was already moving to the next stop in his list of things he needed to catalog:
The comments on Hiro's profile.
Tadashi clicked down on the mouse with more force than was necessary and then froze at all of the comments that had sprung up in the wake of the video that had been Hiro's suicide note.
And some of them hadn't even bothered to hide their usernames. Tadashi felt a grin slide up on his face and from the way it twisted his skin, he knew it wasn't a very nice one.
RindomanL47: do u think he's actually gone? cause I mean… that video seemed pretty final dudes. Did we totally just win?
OrderOrderInCourt: his bro totaly hacked the account man said he was in the ohspital
*hospital
ForgetMeNotInYourLife: LOL lame he shouldve gone through with what he was spouting that brat is all bark and no bite ...if you know what I mean...
RindomanL47: whatcha gonna do, FMN? U got something planned or not?
Tadashi's eyes narrowed. This was a recent conversation… only a day old… what kind of idiot had a conversation on their target's public profile where everyone could see it?
Obviously this trio of bozos but still… It rankled Tadashi that this type of numbskull had managed to get under his little brother's tough skin enough to drive him to a suicide attempt. For some reason the sixteen year old had pictured them to be… well… smarter.
Tadashi shook his head to dislodge the thought, a frown slowly creeping onto his face. He'd have to analyze that train of thought later, for now… he needed to screenshot this conversation in all of it's incriminating glory. With a series of clicks of the keyboard, the deed was done for this section and Tadashi nodded firmly to himself.
Guess what, you little maggots: I've got the time, AND your usernames all in one place. Tadashi thought viciously. I just need your IP addresses and then you'll REALLY be toast.
Unfortunately, he had to continue reading back in the messages before he could go hacking for IPs. There were a lot of people involved in the conspiracy against his brother, after all. These older messages, however, brought the sick feeling to the forefront of Tadashi's mind.
wow he's so pathetic
haha not so smart now r u...
And then, the one thing that always seemed to kick him so hard in the chest seemed to emblazon itself across the screen:
You don't seem to get it, nerd boy, so lemme spell it out for you: you don't belong here. No one would care if you just died.
Tadashi wouldn't even care if you just dropped DEAD.
Tadashi buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking. But the tears had dried up by this time, and all that was left was the rage.
How dare they insinuate that Tadashi never cared? How dare they put words in his mouth (words that his little brother obviously had believed and with how distant he had been… could he blame him?) when Tadashi had very nearly broken alongside the limp form on the floor? How dare they!
His fingers hit the keyboard so hard that they ached. The teen knew that savage grin from before was back.
He was going to make these people pay.
A flashing notification brought his attention to the ripped video and his eyes narrowed. The cursor moved jaggedly as he jerked the mouse up to the top of the pad and then clicked savagely down. He needed to see if his efforts to gather evidence had proven worthwhile.
"-nerd ever consider taking a swim?"
The video played smoothly and Tadashi trembled when Hiro was nearly drowned not once, not twice, but three times.
He closed his dark eyes and pressed the heel of his hands to them as they burned. A harsh laugh bubbled up from his chest and spilled out of his throat.
It had worked. It had worked! It had transferred without any glitches! It had shown clearly two of Hiro's attackers, Andrews' name was spoken clearly and the culmination of all these things lead to one certain fact:
These maggots had just damned themselves by taking a video of their actions and then posting it into a public domain. They were caught in the act of attempted murder of a minor and Tadashi could use that as the basis of his case to get Hiro the justice he deserved.
And to cement the nail into the coffin even more, Tadashi needed to screenshot the video in it's original place. With confidence the sixteen year old clicked on the internet history and selected the link to the video Genius Takes a Swim.
Tadashi blinked. The error message wouldn't go away.
This page does not exist. :(
… Tadashi stared. ...What?
He refreshed the page.
This page does not exist. :(
What.
This page does not exist. :(
This page does not exist. :(
This page does not exist. :(
WHAT?!
Tadashi swore and slammed his fist into the table with a loud thud. There was a roaring in his ears as he stared at the white page, the little circle frowning face mocking him in it's cartoony design.
With an infuriated yell, Tadashi pushed some of the untouched tools that still littered Hiro's workspace off the table. The chair rolled away from him as he stood there, trembling with the strength of his rage. Tadashi gritted his teeth and slammed his hands down onto the table with a bitten curse. His head hung as he stared down at the dark wood of the desk.
He hated this. Absolutely hated this feeling of helplessness that welled up inside his chest. Things had been going so well but now - but now! Tadashi pushed himself upright and kicked at the desk with a roar.
The sixteen year old staggered back with another curse word already falling from his lips. His foot throbbed angrily in time to the beating of his heart.
Now his evidence for one of his brother's tormentors was gone. His eyes fell on the still alive program he had used to rip the video off the internet. At least he had gotten to the video in time.
The one he truly cared about was getting Andrews. He would make that maggot pay.
"Tadashi? Are… you alright? I heard some yelling."
Tadashi froze as his little brother's words connected with his head. "H-Hiro!" he squeaked, eyes flashing to the computer and back to his little brother who was leaning against the wall, confusion clear on his face. "Y-You're back! Already! ...Hi!"
"Hi yourself you big nerd." Hiro shot back. From the uncertain expression on his face it was clear to Tadashi that the twelve year old was trying to figure something out. The elder Hamada could see the gears turning inside the little genius' head.
The preteen walked further into the room and Tadashi backed slowly into the desk, trying to hide what was on the computer screen.
"...Tadashi? Why are my tools on the floor?"
Tadashi scrambled for an answer. "I uh… bumped them! Yeah, I bumped them! I meant to pick them up but you came home before I could pick them up! Hahaha isn't… that funny?"
Hiro raised an eyebrow, looking entirely unconvinced. "You suck at lying Nii-san." he deadpanned. "Also, what are you hiding on the computer?"
"Ahahaha! Me? Hide something? It's nothing! I'm not hiding anything….!" he squawked as Hiro tried to peer at the computer screen behind Tadashi's back. "No! No! You can't look Hiro!"
Hiro leaned back so he could look up at his older brother, a smirk on his face. "Why? Is it something Aunt Cass would hate my innocent eyes from seeing?"
Tadashi turned bright red. "What!? NO! That's not-" he took a deep breath and looked at his little brother seriously. "It's something you don't want to see, Hiro. Trust me."
"Why? I'm in highschool I think I can handle a little bit of p-"
"It's not that Hiro." Tadashi let out a pained sigh and gripped his little brother by the shoulders in an attempt to ground himself. "It's not that."
Hiro wriggled out of Tadashi's grip. "Then what is it, Tadashi?" he complained. "I wanna know!"
"Hiro."
"Whaaaat?"
Tadashi raised an eyebrow before shaking his head and getting down to Hiro's level so he could look him straight in the eyes. "Do you really want to know?" he asked seriously, dark eyes boring right into his little brother's.
Hiro blinked. "Well… yeah. It's not every day that you find your older brother freaking out about the computer."
Tadashi sighed again. "I'm gathering evidence so that Andrews and his cronies can't hurt you or anyone else again, and I didn't want you hurt by what I'm gathering."
Hiro swallowed, throat tight. "But… It was my-"
"It wasn't your fault!" Tadashi gently grabbed his little brother around the shoulders and pressed his forehead against Hiro's. "It has never been your fault! It's theirs and theirs alone!"
"But I let them hurt me! I still knew some moves that you'd taught me but I never used them! I was too scared to fight them off!" Hiro shot back, shivering. Tears were welling up in his wide brown eyes and it made Tadashi's heart break.
"Just because you were scared, doesn't mean what happened to you is your fault. They chose to hurt you and just because you didn't fight back doesn't mean you're to blame." he told his little brother sternly.
"But… I was helpless! I couldn't- I couldn't-" And then Hiro began to sob.
Tadashi rubbed Hiro's back soothingly. "Shhh… It's alright. Hiro." Hiro sniffed and looked up at his older brother through red rimmed eyes. Tadashi continued softly, "Do you want me to teach you karate again, little brother?"
And still sniffling, Hiro nodded quietly. Tadashi reached down and ruffled his fluffy hair. "Then we'll practice together from now on. You don't have to feel defenseless anymore."
Hiro suddenly clung to his older brother in a tight hug. "Thank you, Tadashi." he mumbled into his older brother's shirt.
Tadashi closed his eyes and fought back tears. "You're welcome." he whispered and pressed a kiss to his little brother's hair.
If one was to venture to the Lucky Cat Cafe in the wee hours of the evening some days latter, they would hear a very interesting commotion coming off from the upper deck.
"Your balance is off!"
"No, it's not!"
"Oh yeah? If I do this-"
There was a yelp that accompanied the thud of a small body hitting the padding laid out all over the deck amongst the flowers and other potted plants Aunt Cass lovingly cultivated.
"Tadashi! That's not fair!" Hiro protested as he scrambled back to his feet and into the position Tadashi had been showing him.
Tadashi raised his eyebrow, unimpressed. "You know fights aren't fair. If you learn a faulty way - even if it seems like the best way at first - you'll end up flat on your back." The teen nodded at the padding pointedly. " Like you just did."
Hiro's eyes narrowed as a scowl turned his face dark. Tadashi stepped back and nodded at his little brother. "Let's go back to the beginning."
Hiro slumped from his position in exasperation. "Again?!" Hiro protested. "But we've been doing the same thing for the last hour!"
Tadashi didn't move, arms folded across his chest.
"Again, Hiro."
Hiro growled but shifted his stance, and was soon moving in the kata that Tadashi had shown him. "This is stupid. I already know this stuff!"
"And yet you've been lax in your techniques. You're getting lazy, little brother!"
Hiro growled and launched himself out of the kata. "I am not lazy!"
Tadashi neatly sidestepped the blows Hiro attempted to land on his person. "Oh really? Prove it to me then."
If Hiro's temper hadn't already blown, this would have steamed it even worse. "I'll prove it, alright!" the boy growled as Tadashi easily batted his hand away once again.
Tadashi didn't look very impressed, which made Hiro even more annoyed. He attempted an upward swing, but was easily rebuffed. The twelve year old's eye twitched as his older brother grabbed his wrist and made to trip him.
Using that opening, Hiro spun on his heel and over his older brother's extended foot. Despite how his arm was crossed over his chest in an awkward position, Hiro knew he'd taken his brother by surprise, if only by a little. Step 1: Evasion was a success!
But just as the thought of achievement passed through his mind, the boy found his world turned a sickening blur. Despite being rather dizzy, Hiro pieced together that Tadashi had pulled him enough that he had been sent spinning like a dancer performing a salsa. "Ack!"
Tadashi chuckled as he let go and Hiro nearly face planted back onto the mats. At the last minute, the boy saved his balance and spun around with an upper kick.
Tadashi caught his ankle in one hand and raised his eyebrow. "Good try, Hiro."
Hiro glowered, wobbling slightly as his leg threatened to give out on him. "Shut up, Nii-san."
"By the way, your balance is still off." Tadashi pointed out, looking at Hiro's wobbling leg. Hiro stuck out his tongue and made a face. Tadashi let go.
"Nyaaaaack!" Hiro fell.
The boy lay on the padded mat, staring blankly up at the fading blue color of the sky with the breath knocked out of him. Tadashi leaned over with a wide grin.
"You okay, Hiro?"
Hiro let out a groan and glared at his highly amused brother. "Not. Funny."
"Oh yes it is, Otouto." Tadashi snickered before offering a hand to help his little brother up. Hiro grasped his older brother's hand just as a devious thought ran through his genius little head.
Instead of getting up, Hiro pulled backwards and Tadashi fell forward with a startled yelp. Hiro leaned back and began to laugh as his older brother pushed himself up and gave him a baleful glare.
AN: Hey guys! IIIIITTTT'SSSSSS WEDNESDAY! Sorry for this being unbeta-ed but Melanie had some technical difficulties. An edited version will be up sometime tonight or tomorrow. XD Also, me and Mel have started up a Facebook page if you wanna go check that out XD Its a wonderful place for you guys to ask us any questions (and see our derpy-ness).
The link is on both of our profiles, so you can check either way.
BIG THANKS GO TOOOO: Melanie-March (I can't thank you enough, Mel!), KodiakWolfe13, sherlywherlylock, BlueD, seems-pretty-legit, DreamGirll, faybird, DreamweaverAki, reagularshow565, DisneyandWildKrattfangirl, TooLazyToLogin, Narniac4aslan(...maybe? IDK she's kinda out of the picture at the moment but who knows *shrugs* right now I'm focusing on Hiro, Tadashi and Fred), anomonist (awww a song based off of chapter 13? I'M HONORED! uwu), E, The Golden Marauder, Purpalz Miner, lintuolento, Disneynerdbh6, Sabeloid, Cori, (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR READING HER STORY IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US), .ryder (I'm glad I rekindled that sparkle of magic for you! Believe me when I say that the source material is WAY better than my story ever can be…), FanGirlJen, Guest, Madness Shared, Atariel Tsukai, Luigifided531, ABreathAwayFromWhereYouAre (hugs, I am so sorry I'm glad you enjoy it even though it brings up those memories.), aaaaand BYoshi1993!
Also, 600+ REVIEWS? *faints on a mountain of tissue boxes*