A/N: I know, another late update. Please, don't kill me! I just started a new semester of college and it is literally kicking my butt. All my classes are science related except for two. Plus, my health hasn't been that great lately. I think it's my gall bladder or something (don't worry about it, I'll live. It just makes me feel like crap.) Also, remember your reviews are deeply appreciated, even though I haven't had time to reply to them. On average, it takes me a little over three hours to reply to reviews and I simply don't have the time right now (I'd lose track of who I replied to as well). Anyway, let's get on with this chapter! Once again, I ask you to remember that Tadashi isn't himself right now (more will be revealed soon). Thanks for all the support! You guys are amazing!
Sophie Hamada sat in the floor, surrounded by the evil men that had taken her from her family. Unable to cry anymore, the child simply sat in silence as the seconds ticked by agonizingly slow. Fear made her continue to tremble and she found herself feeling sick to her stomach from the terror she felt. Terror that nobody should have to endure, especially a child. Sophie continued to watch the small dot on the screen until it finally stopped for a moment, then moved again.
She was confused. Why did the dot on the screen stop? Who was coming to save her? Was she even going to be rescued? She didn't know and that made her tremble even more. Then, she began to hear the footsteps approaching the room. Sophie's eyes widened when the door opened and a girl was dragged into the room, her hands bound and eyes closed. What's wrong with her? What did they do to her? Sophie thought as the guards dropped the older lady beside her.
Finally Sophie remembered where she had seen this woman. She was with Daddy's old professor when we went to the college once.
"They bringing the other one up?" One man asked.
The other nodded, "Yeah, they're bringing him up now."
Who else is here? Sophie wondered, terrified at the men in front of her. What's going to happen?
Footsteps echoed in the hallway and Sophie couldn't see who was entering the room thanks to the men in front of her. All Sophie could see were the feet of three people and one was barely walking, as if his legs refused to move. The men in front of Sophie turned to the newomers.
"It's sad we're going through all this trouble for somebody that's going to end up being a corpse." The man shook his head and chuckled slightly. "We even had to bring that professor into this mess." The man took a step toward the newcomers and Sophie was finally able to see who the new captive was. The man continued talking, "The Boss will be with you soon, brat. I'd say you only have a few more days to live." Then, the men that were in front of Sophie left the room and the other two men threw Hiro onto the ground, then closed the door. The sound of the door locking seemed to echo in the room, making everybody have a foreboding feeling.
Hiro slowly picked himself off the ground, the drug still affecting his body slightly. Finally, the teen was able to get to his feet and he stumbled toward Sophie, who had tears in her eyes. These tears were a mixture of fear, worry, and even the relief that she was no longer alone anymore. Finally, Sophie was able to snap out of her stupor and she ran to her uncle, wrapping her arms around him and crying into his shirt.
Hiro hugged her back as she cried, glad Sophie seemed to be okay. Well, as okay as she could be given the circumstances. "Are you hurt?"
Sophie shook her head, "No." She looked up at Hiro, tears still streaming down her face. "Hiro, what's going to happen now?"
"I don't know, Sophie." Hiro stated, his mind racing in confusion and even fear.
Sophie's lip trembled, "A-are they going to kill us?"
Her question snapped Hiro out of his thoughts immediately and the teen knelt in front of the child so he could be eye-level with her. "I won't let them hurt you, Sophie. Okay? As long as I'm here, they won't lay a hand on you."
With tears still streaming down her face, the young child extended her hand toward Hiro, trembling. "Pinky swear?"
Hiro's fear rivalled Sophie's. In fact, it was possibly greater than hers at the moment. Because at that moment, Hiro knew he would do anything to protect his niece, even if it cost him his own life. Inhaling deeply to make sure his voice didn't shake when he answered the child, Hiro interlocked his pinky with Sophie's. "Pinky swear."
After that, Sophie and Hiro remained side by side, Hiro's arm over Sophie's shoulders in a protective gesture. He didn't know what was going to happen, he was afraid to know. However, regardless of what was to come, Hiro knew he had to make it through it.
He looked at the child that had fallen asleep against him, exhaustion finally taking over the child. Hiro knew he had to make it through this for Sophie. He had to stay strong and try to find a way to get her out of this mess he created. He would make sure she was reunited with her mother and father and make sure these psychopaths wouldn't come after her or the family anymore.
Pinky swear, Hiro thought as he glared at the door in front of him, waiting for it to open and seal his fate.
It wasn't long before that door opened.
Sophie was startled from her sleep when the door unlocked loudly and slammed open, two men entering the room and walking quickly toward them. Sophie wimpered and held onto Hiro's arm tightly, afraid of what would happen. One of the men grabbed Hiro's arm and dragged him to his feet, Sophie still clinging to his arm.
"No! Please don't take Hiro!" Sophie screamed at the men, not wanting to be seperated from her uncle, the only friendly face in this place.
The man closest to Sophie growled and grabbed the child by her shirt, trying to rip her away from Hiro. The teen glared at the man and pulled his hand from Sophie's grasp, grabbing the man's wrist. "Don't you lay a hand on her." Then, ignoring the men, Hiro turned to Sophie. "Just go back over there and sit down. Okay?"
Sophie shook her head, "No! Don't let them take you away from me!"
"Sophie." Hiro waited until the child's gaze met his. "It's going to be okay."
The men had enough by that time and dragged Hiro out of the room, leaving a crying Sophie behind. Only when the door shut and locked once again did the woman in the room with Sophie awaken. As soon as she saw Sophie and recognized her, she wondered what was going on, but with the distraught look on the child's face, she believed now wasn't the time to ask.
Hiro didn't try to fight the men as they walked down a long hallway. After all, what was the point? If he got away right now, these people would know that he would fo back for Sophie. They would use her against him and Hiro couldn't allow that to happen.
You better think of something soon, Hiro. Imaginary Hiro whispered from the corners of Hiro's mind.
Hiro didn't bother replying to the voice inside his head.
They're going to kill you this time. They're going to kill us. Imaginary Hiro continued.
They made it to a small, dark room and Hiro's hands were tied tightly around his back, his circulation nearly cut off. The material wrapped around his wrists cut into his skin when he tried to pull free, making small cuts into the teen's skin. A short time later, another man walked into the room, but Hiro couldn't see his entire face. Only the man's eyes, nose, and mouth were visible, but Hiro knew even if he saw the man's face, he wouldn't recognize him due to the amnesia.
An eerie laughter came from the man, making him sound less human. No, this guy was no longer a human. He was a monster. "It's been a while, Hiro Hamada. A lot has happened since the last time we saw each other. What's sad is the fact that you don't remember anything." Hiro's eyes widened, wondering how this man knew about his amnesia. "We've been watching you for a long time. We've been watching you and your family. Congratualtions on becoming an uncle again, by the way. Although, it's too bad you won't live to see your nephew."
Hiro couldn't stop the small tremble in his voice, "Who are you, then, since I don't remember?"
The man chuckled, "It's not going to work that way, Hiro. No. I'm not going to tell you who I am, but I believe you'll remember eventually." The man pulled a rusted knife from his pocket and smiled wickedly. "With a little help, of course." The bandaged man turned to the other two in the room, "Untie him and hold him down. We don't want him moving too much or we'll hit something vital."
In that moment, something snapped inside Hiro. When the men grabbed his arms to untie him, the teen struggled as much as he could, trying to get his feet underneath him so he could try to escape. He managed to knee one man's ribs, but not hard enough to deal any significant damage. The man cursed but Hiro still struggled until the men finally had him pinned down. The bandaged man knelt beside Hiro and used the knife to cut the fabric of the teen's shirt until the teen's back was visible.
Why did you stop fighting? Imaginary Hiro grew impatient. Are you really going to let them do this again?!
Hiro felt the cold steel touch his back and a moment later the sharp blade dug into his back, then the warm feeling of his own blood trickling down his sides. The teen gritted his teeth and instinctively tried to move away, but he knew there was nothing he could do. The bandaged men frowned, expecting the teen to beg for his life, but Hiro remained silent even as the knife dug deeper into his back.
Angered, the bandaged man placed the knife between the teen's shoulder blades and pressed deeper into the skin, then dragged the knife down. The rusted blade ripped through the skin and began to form a jagged line down the teen's back. Hiro bit his tongue until it bled, but was unable to stop the agonized scream from escaping his lungs. Black spots danced in front of his eyes and he began to feel nauseous as the pain intensified and blood streamed from the wound. Hiro blacked out for a moment and the next thing he knew, he was being held up by the two men and the bandaged man was standing in front of him, holding Hiro's chin so their eyes would meet.
"The pain you're feeling now is only going to get worse. You'll be begging to die soon enough." The man stated.
After inhaling a shaky breath, Hiro glared at the man. "I... I won't beg."
The bandaged man laughed and placed the knife against Hiro's cheek, making a cut deep enough for blood to trickle down. "Who said you would be begging for your life? I'm sure that little brat wouldn't last long with our methods."
Hiro growled, "Don't touch her!"
"Unfortunately, I can't promise anything." The man stated, "Now, where were we?"
"Sophie hasn't done anything to you!" Hiro yelled, the anger overwhelming the feeling of pain.
The knife was placed against Hiro's throat. "No, it was all you, Hiro. You were the one who started all of this and I'm going to make you suffer like I've had to suffer!"
The man dropped the knife and backhanded the teen across the face, making the teen's bottom lip split open. A right hook caught Hiro's jaw and made his head jerk to the side and his vision darkened. However, even though Hiro's vision went dark, his mind became more clear.
After all this time, he was finally getting answers.
Because that last punch made something unexpected happen.
Imaginary Hiro smiled. It's about time, even though it's a shame how this happened. At least now you won't be confused anymore.
Finally, after all this time, Hiro was finally regaining the one thing he had lost.
His memories.
Annoyed that the teen passed out so quickly, the bandaged man growled. "Take him back to the kid. Don't bother with tying him up, he won't be going anywhere as long as I have the child as leverage and his wounds will make sure he doesn't move."
"Yes sir." The two men stated and dragged the teen out of the room and down the hallway once again.
Sophie heard the door open and rose to her feet, freezing at the sight of her uncle's motionless body being dragged by the two men. They threw the teen to the ground, then left, locking the door behind him. The woman in the room immediately rushed to Hiro's side, checking his pulse. "He's alive." She stated, making Sophie snap out of it and move toward her uncle. She got on her knees beside the unconscious teen and stared at the blood streaming from his wounds. The woman carefully removed the remains of Hiro's shirt and tore the material, using the cleanest parts she could find to hold against the deep wounds.
"This is Tadashi Hamada's little brother right?" The woman stated, "And you're Tadashi's daughter."
Sophie nodded, not taking her eyes away from Hiro as she watched the woman try to stop the bleeding. "I know you. I've seen you and daddy's professor before."
The woman nodded, "I'm Abigail Callaghan." She turned her attention back to Hiro's bloodied form, worried the bleeding wouldn't stop.
After a minute of silence, Sophie spoke up. "Hiro will be okay. He told me everything would be okay."
It sounded like the child was trying to reassure herself, so Abigail simply nodded.
She wanted the child to have hope in this situation, even though it seemed like there was no such thing as hope at the moment.
Abigail wasn't going to take that one last ray of hope away from the child.
Now, they just had to pray for the bleeding to stop and that Hiro would wake up soon.
And that somebody would rescue them from these evil people.
Hiro found himself standing in front of an old building and he could hear people cheering inside. The sound of metal hitting metal pierced the atmosphere as the botfight began. Imaginary Hiro appeared next to the real Hiro, looking toward the building.
"This is where it all began, Hiro. This is where your Hell began." Imaginary Hiro stated.
Hiro nodded and began to walk toward the building. Everything was familiar and Hiro knew this was a reality, not some dream he made up. This was an actual memory. One of the memories he had lost. The two Hiro's entered the building and walked among the crowd of people, making their way to the front. Hiro saw the past version of himself up front, a small robot in his hand.
Two people who were obviously in charge of this turnout collected the money they earned in the previous botfight, "Who's next?"
Past Hiro stepped forward, "Can I try?"
People began to laugh and ridicule the teen challenging the two most accomplished botfighters in the city. Hiro expected the teen to be pushed aside but, surprisingly, Past Hiro's challenge was accepted. The botfight began and Past Hiro's robot was immediately demolished. Past Hiro looked shocked, "That was my first fight. Can I try again?"
The men agreed and Past Hiro's small robot reassembled itself, "Megabot. Destroy."
Within seconds, Megabot completely demolished the opponent's robot and Past Hiro began to collect the money. Outraged at the loss, the man yelled, "Get him!" At that order, the crowd surged forward, forcing Past Hiro to flee. Then, the scene changed and Imaginary and Hiro were outside standing next to a road. They saw Past Hiro running as fast as he could, but he tripped over something and was sent crashing to the ground. Before he could recover, the angry botfighter was on him, wrapping his hands around Past Hiro's throat. Hiro felt his own throat closing as if those hands were still choking him currently. In sheer determination, Past Hiro managed to grab a rock and slam it into the botfighter's head, making the man lose his grip on his neck. Instinctively, Past Hiro kicked the man away from him and onto the road.
A speeding truck slammed into the botfighter's body, a sickening thud echoing in the silent atmosphere. Past Hiro stared in horror as the body rolled along the road before coming to a complete stop. Past Hiro rose to his feet and ran away from the scene as fast as he could, wanting to leave the horrors of this night in the past.
The memory disappeared and Imaginary Hiro stated, "This was only the beginning."
With that statement, they were sent into another memory.
A/N: So, hopefully the last part didn't confuse anybody. It's actually really difficult to write Hiro's memories coming back, but hopefully it works for you guys. In case anyone is confused, Hiro (the real one) and Imaginary Hiro are both in the real Hiro's memories, watching them play out with Past Hiro... I don't really know how to explain it any better, but if you're confused, just contact me and I'll try to find a better way to explain it. The next chapter, as you can guess, will continue with Hiro's memories (which you guys have been wanting to see for a while now) and, I must say, I'm excited to fill in the blanks. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Leave a review, favorite, and follow and I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I possibly can! Thank you guys for all the support! You have no idea how much it means to me as a fanfiction writer!