Chapter 17: Investigation

~ Hiro's PoV ~

I was lying on my bed staring at the ceiling. It was eight o'clock in the morning and I should get up to get myself ready for my classes today.

But I didn't feel like it.

It seemed so pointless to me to visit regular classes the whole morning and early afternoon long when there were so many other things that were so much more important. After all, my best friend was missing and the guy who took her had disappeared into thin air. Maybe it was better if I didn't attend my classes today and continued with the search instead. Perhaps the others would join as well.

A knock on my door dragged me out of my thoughts and I sat up just in time to see how Aunt Cass entered my room carrying a tray.

»Good morning, sweety. I thought a good breakfast might brighten your day a little bit.« She stepped closer to me, a small but warm smile gracing her lips.

I wasn't really hungry but I knew that I needed all the nutrients I could get since we needed to continue with our work. I managed a small and thankful smile, though the movement felt foreign to me. Smiling felt so wrong.

Aunt Cass placed the tray of food on my desk and took a seat on the edge of my bed, laying a hand on my thigh – a kind and comforting gesture.

»I know this must be hard for you. But like I told you yesterday, the authorities are looking for her and won't give up until she is found. She'll be back in no time.«

Right… if I let the authorities handle this, they would find Hikari when it was way too late. No, I had to find her. Quickly.

And suddenly, I felt this determination return to my body and I was glad about it. This gave me the drive to push forward and find my friend. Like that, my decision to skip classes was made and I hoped the others would agree to my plans.

»Thanks, Aunt Cass. I think I'll stay at home, perhaps take a walk outside to get to different thoughts. I'm sure I can catch up with my classes when I have a clear mind…« And preferably Hikari in the seat next to me.

Her smile didn't waver and she ran her fingers through my messy, black hair.

»Sure. I understand. But please… let me know where you are, should you leave. Yesterday you scared me.«

The spark of guilt lit up in me and I nodded. I really didn't want to worry her – she was probably on edge since Hikari disappeared – though I wouldn't tell her exactly where I was. Obviously.

Her smile grew a little wider.

»Thanks. If you need something, I'm in the café.« She got up from my bed and left my bedroom. After I ate my breakfast – while I contacted my friends, who agreed that our mission was more important than visiting our classes – I had gotten myself ready and activated Baymax. I didn't know what was going to happen but having him with us was probably the better call.

Since we agreed to meet up at Fred's house I was on my way to him. I had informed my aunt about my plan to meet up with him so that she wouldn't worry.

I rang the doorbell and didn't need to wait long since Heathcliff opened the door shortly after.

»Good morning, Mr. Hamada. Please, come inside.« I nodded and entered the mansion just to be led to the backyard.

When I arrived, I noticed that my other friends were already there as well. Well, going by foot with Baymax took some time.

»Hello.«, I heard the robot greet the others and together we walked up to the group.

»Hey, guys.«

»Good morning, Hiro.«, they all greeted back and we took our seats to have our meeting about what was next on the agenda.

»I'd say we go to SnowElectronic Industries and take a look into the files of Gabriel Mittens. Before we don't know what is wrong with him, we can't decide which other steps are needed to be taken.«, I suggested.

»But we still don't have an appointment. Remember the situation yesterday? The lady at the reception wouldn't let us to Mr. Sunō…« Honey Lemon pulled her shoulders into a soft shrug.

But I just waved off.

»Don't worry about this. Mr. Sunō promised me yesterday that he would come to the company today. I'm sure he understands and had probably informed the front lady that we would be coming.« Now it was my turn to shrug. »But let us go in casual clothes. I don't want that anyone grows suspicious.«

»But if we are taking the car, then Baymax has to stay here. He doesn't fit into it.«

I turned my head to look at Wasabi and sighed. He was right. Even if I didn't like it.

» We will have to come back to get changed anyway. So, we still can pick him up.« GoGo interrupted my thoughts and I sighed once again. I had planned to take him with us, just in case of an emergency. But she was right. And some extra time to charge wouldn't harm him at all. How convenient I left a charging case here.

I turned towards Baymax, and he blinked at me.

»I'm satisfied with my care.« And with that, he turned around and left. »Alright let's go.«

The drive didn't take long – lucky for us – and Wasabi parked the car on the premises of SnowElectronic Industries.

»Hiro, listen. Should this lady be stubborn in not allowing for us to meet Mr. Sunō, then please don't make a scene like yesterday.« GoGo turned around from the front seat and looked me directly in the eyes. »Not that this will have consequences that hinder us in moving forward.«

»Sure.«, I agreed to this and knew at the same time that this would be a very hard task.

We all got out of the car and after Wasabi made sure the car was really locked, we entered the impressive building.

As soon as we set foot inside, noise filled the air with busy people walking by, talking on cell phones or people talking with each other and phones ringing calling for attention.

Me at the front, we walked together to the reception and in just that second the lady hung up.

Once again, luck was on our side, since this was a different lady and she turned towards me her blonde hair swaying a little while smiling brightly at us.

»Good morning, how may I help you?«

»Morning. We would like to speak to Mr. Sunō. He's waiting for us.« She nodded at my reply and turned back to her computer, starting to type away.

»Your name?«, she asked without taking her eyes off her screen.

»Hiro Hamada.« I shoved my hands into the pockets of my pants to keep myself back from drumming my fingertips on the reception counter.

»Hiro Hamada…«, she repeated and protracted my name, emphasizing the 'I', 'o' and the last 'a'. »Ah, yes. Mr. Sunō said that you would show up today.«

She turned around and opened what happened to be a drawer and pulled five visitor badges out, placing them on the counter.

»Here you go. Wear them around your neck while you are in this building and hand them over as soon as you leave. Sarah will lead you to Mr. Sunō's office.«

We all took one of the badges and put them on, and while the lady had been talking, a woman had come to us. This had to be Sarah.

»Please follow me.« And without waiting for some kind of agreement, she turned around and headed to the elevators. She probably anticipated that we wouldn't have any questions. So, without a word, we followed Sarah to our destination, and she pushed one of the buttons to call a lift.

It didn't take long until the doors opened and we all entered. But instead of pushing another button – like I anticipated she would – to select another floor, she got a keycard out of a pocket and held it in front of a card scanner. A green lamp on the device lit up and the elevator started moving upwards.

This must be one of the newer models since the ride was very smooth – I didn't feel a thing – and the interior design contained the newest tech.

A sound rang and without any hesitation the doors slid to the side, revealing a large and bright waiting room which got parted from the office by a glass pane. Sarah gestured us to leave the cabin.

»Take a seat. Mr. Sunō will be with you shortly.«

We heeded her words and entered the waiting room and stepped closer to the chairs to take our seats.

»Alright, what are we going to ask him?«, GoGo asked cutting through the silence which had been resting in this room.

»I already asked him for permission to look into Gabriel Mittens' files and he was willing to allow us to do so.«, I answered her and leaned forward, placing my arms on my knees.

»Did he say something in particular?« I shifted my gaze and my eyes met Honey's green ones.

I shook my head.

»No, he said he was so busy with work that he hadn't noticed anything. He looked pretty miserable, saying this.«

»I bet. The poor man must feel horrible.«, she gave back and I parted my lips to reply to that but then a man stepped closer to us.

»Hello, Hiro. And you must be the friends he mentioned.« I looked up and saw that Mr. Sunō has approached us. I noticed right away how bad he was looking. Dark circles underneath his eyes indicated that he didn't sleep much last night and in general he looked very tired – even though he tried to look professional.

»Mr. Sunō. Thank you for your time. I know that you must be busy.«

»Of course. Please, come inside.« He walked up to the glass door and opened it to enter.

We all got up from our seats and followed the man inside, standing in front of an expensive-looking, wooden desk. Mahogany probably.

»The reason why we are here, is, that you wanted to give us the files about Gabriel Mittens.« I made a step closer towards the desk, my fingers touching the smooth surface of the furniture.

»Ah, yes. I have the files right here.« He opened a drawer and placed a flash driver in front of me. I would let you go through them here but I have to leave for a meeting. It's important…«

I saw in his facial expression that this meeting didn't regard his company, more his missing daughter. And I understood.

»Thank you very much for your support Mr. Sunō. Hikari is our friend and we will do everything we can to get her back.«

I gazed over my shoulder to Honey and I noticed that she had read between the lines as well.

»Thanks. I appreciate your help a lot. Would you just file this document that you won't publish the information on this file? These are confidential information and they are only to use in order to find my daughter.«

»Of course.« I took the pen he offered to me and turned the sheet of paper upright and signed the document. I picked the flash drive up as soon as I had pushed the paper back to him.

»One thing I want to state. At first, I wasn't sure if Gabriel would do something so despicable but he didn't show up for work today.«

My brows shot up. This was a piece of important information. This meant we had to hurry.

»Thanks for this information. We will leave now to get to work.« He nodded and we turned around to leave his office.

As soon as we had left the entire building – of course, we had handed back our visitor badges – we got in the car but waited with driving out of the parking lot.

»Where do we head now?«, Wasabi asked, looking at us through the rear mirror.

»Let's go to Fred's house. Our gear is there as well and Baymax is charging currently. Plus, I don't want that Aunt Cass sees us. I told her that I was at Fred's.«

»Plus, we have that cool room with the large screens. I'm sure our search will go smoothly there.«, the man himself added.

»Then it's decided.«

Luckily, our ride back didn't take that long and we found ourselves in that cool room which Fred had mentioned earlier. Totally excited, he booted up the entire system and with an almost silent hum the screens lit up.

»Hiro, plug in the flash drive over there.«

I followed Fred's outstretched arm and saw that he was pointing at some kind of processor. I grabbed into the pocket of my pants to get a hold of the drive and stepped closer to the processor, doing as Fred said.

I glared at the big screen in the front and watched how the flash got installed before the folder opened itself.

I turned towards my friend, lifting one eyebrow.

»May I?« I signed at the large screen from which I knew was a touchscreen and Fred nodded eagerly.

»Of course! Go ahead.«

I walked up to the screen and opened the folder with the name 'Mittens, Gabriel'. I was anxious to get to know more about this guy who worked for Hikari's father. I opened his resume while the others checked other files. It didn't take long until something caught my eye. Something that would explain at least one question we had.

»Mittens had worked for Krei before he became the partner of Mr. Sunō.« I couldn't take my eyes off this entry. »This would explain why he was talking to Krei the other day.«

»Do you think this has something to do with this case?« Honey's voice reached my ear and I pulled my shoulder into a shrug.

»I don't know. But these things are too fitting to be coincidental. Though, I had always assumed he wanted Kari's invention for SnowElectronic Industries. But now…«, I trailed off while my thoughts were running wild.

»Now it looks like he's plotting with Krei.«, GoGo finished my thoughts and I looked at her, nodding my head.

»But Krei? Really? I mean, yes, he is weird in some ways and would do some sketchy things. But kidnapping someone? I don't think this is his style…«, I concluded and knew though, that in this case, everything was possible.

»How about we ask him about this? Perhaps, he'll even tell us what he was doing in this café yesterday?«, Honey suggested, looking at each one of us.

»This is not the worst idea…« My eyes cast to GoGo at this comment and everyone agreed to this.

»Then let's gear up and head to Krei Tech.«

With the help of the others, Baymax was quickly geared up – something which took me ages alone – and since it wasn't too difficult for us to change, we were done in no time.

And to calm Wasabi's nerves, I decided to fly on Baymax while the others were taking the car.

I glared ahead at the horizon, waiting for the familiar building that was Krei Tech to appear, hoping to gain some important information. A dead-end would be fatal since this was the only lead we had. Krei just needed to have the information for us to continue our investigation.

Since it would take the others a little longer to arrive at our destination, we took a long way around and by the time we arrived, I saw Wasabi's car drive onto the parking lot.

»The next time, I don't care if you are afraid of heights. It is so stupid to drive when it is faster on Baymax.«, I heard GoGo's voice from afar and I noticed that she wasn't happy about the decision earlier.

When they caught up with me, the Asian girl's eyes landed on me.

»I hope we aren't too late.« But I only waved off at her words.

»Don't sweat it. Five minutes – tops.« She nodded to this and we all turned to the tall building.

Entering, I noticed that all eyes were resting on us and some people were even whispering with each other. They all knew who we were and what it meant when we showed up. Heading the reception, the eyes of the receptionist immediately cast to us.

If it wasn't for all of this attention, I would feel a wave of Deja-vu since it hadn't been long that we had a similar situation in a different company.

»How can I help you?«

»We would like to talk to Mr. Krei. Is he available?«, I answered the receptionist's question with a question of mine. Different from Mr. Sunō, Mr. Krei had always time for Big Hero 6. Though, to be fair, the lady at the front desk of SnowElectronic Industries couldn't have known who we were.

»I'm afraid but he works from home today. Was talking about new projects in development.«

I sighed.

Though, I had to notice that for something that important, that guy was truly open to spilling the beans to a group of strangers. But maybe he only mentioned this information since it was us he was talking to.

»Okay, thanks.« And with that, we turned around to leave.

»So… are we going to Krei's home now?«, Fred asked but before I could even think of an answer, I felt someone tapping my shoulder.

Annoyed that I got interrupted – I truly didn't feel like dealing with a fan now – I glanced over my shoulder to hiss at this person when I saw none other than Abigail Callaghan.

»I assume you guys in full gear means that something is going on. I hope Mr. Krei is not the cause of it?«

»Abigail!«, I exclaimed and the brunette smiled at me.

»Hey guys.« Her smile only grew. »So, is it true?«

»Ah yes, something is going on. It's about the Mr. Burakku case. We had hoped that Mr. Krei could clarify some things for us.«

»I understand but it's too bad since Mr. Krei isn't in today.« She looked at every one of us.

»Yeah your colleague at the reception already told us…«, Wasabi threw in.

»Well, I was just about to take my break. How about I try my best to answer some of your questions?«

I pressed my lips together in thought. I knew her intentions were good and she could be of some help but only if she had the right information.

»Do you know Gabriel Mittens?«, I asked her instead and she gave a nod.

»Sure. Gabriel and I worked together a couple of years ago. Why?«

I exchanged a look with my friends. Maybe Abigail was of help.

»Alright. Is there a place where we can talk in private?« I tilted my head a bit to the side while looking at her in a questioning manner. She seemed to think for a moment.

»The conference room should be available. As far as I know, there are no meetings scheduled today. Plus, I could offer you something to drink.«

»How about snacks?«, Fred asked before any of us could even answer Abigail's question.

This earned him a death glare from Wasabi, a facepalm from Honey, and a punch in the arm from GoGo, while we four called out 'dude' in unison.

»What? I'm hungry!«, he just retorted and I facepalmed this time.

»Yeah, you dimwit but this has no importance now!«, the black-haired girl growled and dared to punch him again but Abigail got in between.

»Don't worry, there must be some cookies for you to eat.« This, of course, brightened the mood of our blond friend.

»The conference room sounds perfect. Lead the way, Abby.«, Fred agreed to her suggestion and we followed Abigail to a more isolated area, through an impressing glass door.

It wasn't the first time that I laid eyes on this marvelous conference room but it always astonished me how well Krei had designed that room. It was classy but still modern. Business-like but still had a casual touch to it. One could say about Alistair Krei what they wanted but he had good taste.

We all took our seats at one corner of the large conference table.

»Okay, what do you want to know about Gabriel. He doesn't work for Krei Tech anymore, though.« She said after she had poured us all a glass of water and placed a plate with cookies in front of Fred.

»That we know. We also know that he works at SnowElectronic Industries. Would you know why he would meet up with Krei?« I took my helmet off and took a sip of my water. I noticed just now how thirsty I was – which didn't surprise me since I had been too busy to drink – gladly Baymax hadn't taken any notice of it. I didn't feel like getting a lecture on how important it was to stay hydrated.

»Oh, now that is unusual. I know that Gabriel left the company because he and Mr. Krei had a heated discussion.«

I furrowed my brow at this.

»A heated a discussion? What do you mean with that?« GoGo was much faster with asking that question than I was and I looked at Abigail anticipating her answer.

»I don't know too much but he had been working on the Silent Sparrow project when it still been a mere idea. I remember talking with him about this and how excited he was. But after we had made some progress and were ready for the first physical tests, he decided to leave. Asking him, he told me that in his opinion it was still way too early for tests with humans and was angry at Mr. Krei for not listening to him.«

Hearing this, I looked once again at the others and they understood immediately what was on my mind.

As I saw it, Mittens didn't want to have Hikari's tech to save SnowElectronic Industries. This looked like to be a revenge mission.

Probably noticing what was going on Abigail spoke up again.

»But you don't really think Gabriel has something to do with this, don't you?« Her blue eyes were looking from me to the others, only to move back to me again.

I rose from my chair, having heard enough.

»Thank you very much for your help but we need to go.« I got hold of my helmet and placed it back on my head. The others did the same.

Abigail furrowed her brow, confusion written all over her face got up as well.

»You're welcome. Though, I don't know what this has to do with the Mr. Burakku case…«

»Don't worry, we got this.«, I simply waved off and the brunette just sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

»Alright, let me take you to the door.« She led the way back to the entrance door and we said our goodbyes to her before we left the building, walking towards the parking lot where Wasabi's car was waiting for our return.

»So, I assume we're going to Krei to check on him?« GoGo came right to the point as always.

»I'd say so. This sounds more and more like revenge in my ear. Especially since we don't know what they talked about yesterday. We should hurry up.« I was concerned that Krei could get harmed.

GoGo turned towards Wasabi, a wicked smirk gracing her lips while she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

»What? Why are you looking at me like that?«

A flight and a screeching Wasabi later, we found ourselves in front of Krei's house. And from the outside, everything seemed normal. Everything was peaceful. I watched how Honey Lemon rang the doorbell, waiting for something to happen. When after some time nothing happened, she pushed the button again.

»I don't know. Maybe he's not home?«, she turned around to look at us after, again, nothing happened, shrugging her shoulders at that thought.

But at that moment, something shattered and we tried to find the source of it. But from here we couldn't see it.

»Wait just a second.« Without any hesitation, the blonde generated one of her chemical balls and smashed the fingerprint scanner with it and it immediately short-circuited. A clicking noise came from the door and with that the door was open. Slowly, Honey reached for the doorknob and turned it pushing the front door open.

In the entrance hall, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Everything was quiet and everything was where it should be. It was suspicious how normal everything seemed.

But just when I was about to think that we broke into Krei's house without a reason, we all heard a loud scream echoing through the building.

»This came from upstairs.«, GoGo concluded and we all got into motion. We all ran the staircase up and I was really glad that it was wide enough for us all to fit on since we would have stumbled over each other if it had been narrower.

Reaching the hallway in the second story, I saw what had caused the shattering noise from before.

A broken window with the glass lying on the carpet graced the wall to the left and the wind which found its way through the hole let the curtains dance with it.

For a moment, I was stupefied, wondering why this image was so unsettling. But still somehow beautiful.

Another scream pulled me out of my thoughts and this time, I could clearly hear words.

»Please! I don't know what you want from me! Is it money? I have plenty! You can have it. But please, just let me go!« Krei's pleading voice reached us and I hurried along the corridor to get to the room from which the sound had emitted.

How convenient that the door had been open, so it didn't take us long to figure out which room it was.

But when I was about to set a foot into the room, I stopped abruptly, causing GoGo to almost run into me.

»What…?«, she just exclaimed but I didn't react to that and just stared at the cause of my sudden halt.

I recognized her immediately and I didn't need to see her face for that. Her long black hair was caressing her back and she was still wearing the clothes which she had worn two days ago.

But I didn't understand…

»Hikari!«, I called out to attract her attention.

She was floating mid-air, having a strong grip on Krei's collar who appeared to be stuck on a closet. What was going on?

Hearing my voice, Hikari's head snapped over to me and the glare she shot me, surprised me. There was no warmth in her black eyes but they also didn't carry this strong dislike with which she had looked at me in the beginning.

No, her eyes were just… dull. Empty.

I made a step into the room, my eyes never leaving the girl. But then, out of a sudden, she moved toward the open window, and too late, I noticed what she was about to do.

»Hey, wait!« I stumbled after her but by the time I got to the middle of the room, she had already disappeared.

Quickly, I approached the window to look out to see if I was still able to make out in which direction she had gone but she was in no sight. I even pushed myself a little out of the window to be able to look up but even there, I couldn't see her.

»Careful. Falling from large heights can cause severe injuries.« I felt a pair of large, robotic hands getting a hold on my hips and then I got pulled back into the room.

But I couldn't care less about that fact at the moment. Still coping with what just transpired I turned around and walked past Baymax only to notice that the others were currently busy with getting Krei down from the wooden closet door.

As I approached them, I saw how it was possible that the man had been stuck to the furniture. Small steel arrows.

»Do you know what these are?«, GoGo asked me, holding her palm with the arrows towards my face. Of course, I knew them.

»Yes, I've implemented them into Kari's gear.« So, Hikari had pinned Krei on his closet.

I watched how Fred and Wasabi helped the blond adult down.

»Scan complete. I detect small scratches on your arms and a higher amount of adrenaline in your bloodstream. The hormone adrenaline gets released into your system if you find yourself in a stressful situation. I recommend a soothing wound spray for your injuries and a glass of water to drink while calming down to make sure your adrenaline level decreases.«, Baymax said, looking at Krei.

But he didn't pay any attention to him and looked at me instead, rubbing his left arm.

»Wasn't that Kuro's daughter? I thought she was missing.«

»Yeah. So did we.«, Wasabi stepped to me, looking at Krei but then his eyes cast over to me. »Can you tell what was going on?«

I pressed my lips to a thin line, thinking about this.

»Hikari would never attack an innocent person.« Then I remembered her eyes and how empty they were. And I had only one explanation for this. »I think Mittens found a way to manipulate her mind, forcing her to do this.«

»Are you sure? Mind manipulation? Doesn't this sound too much like the storyline in one of Freddie's comics?«, Honey asked, quirking one of her brows.

»Mind control is a total thing! I remember…- «, Fred started to defend my theory but GoGo cut in.

»Yeah, in your comics.« She crossed her arms. It was obvious that she would doubt this theory. And so would I if I hadn't witnessed Hikari's glare earlier.

»No, I think we are on to something here. Remember? He stole Hikari's blueprints for her project. A project that involves electronic impulses of the brain. Maybe he found a way to redirect those impulses to force his commands on her.« I looked at all of them after explaining my thoughts and I could see that they didn't know what to say about this.

»Hold on. You said Mittens. You aren't talking about Gabriel Mittens, are you?«

Turning to Krei, I saw the disbelief in his eyes.

»Yes. Actually, we came to ask you a few questions about him. He is our main subject in this case.«, I answered him.

»This case? You mean this Mr. Burakku case which is all over the news?«

»Exactly.«, Fred confirmed his question and we all looked at Krei, anticipating some form of confirmation that he would be talking with us.

»I doubt that he is involved but of course, I'll answer your questions.«

»Alright. We think that Mittens is after you for what happened during the Silent Sparrow project.«, I began to lay out our suspicion but blinked when I was interrupted.

»You know what happened?« Alistair Krei seemed honestly surprised that we would know what had transpired. Didn't he know that we were taking our jobs seriously and that we would do our homework by investigating every little detail?

»Yes. We know that both of you had a heated discussion about the tests with humans. And that he had to go because of it.«, I explained.

»And now we think that he wants to take revenge because of that.«, GoGo concluded.

For a moment, silence was resting between us and I watched how Krei's stern expression changed when he understood. His brows shut up and he shook his head vehemently.

»No, you get it all wrong. Yes, Gabriel and I had an argument about Silent Sparrow but it was Gabriel who wanted to go. He had gotten an offer from Kuro Sunō and after he had been sworn to secrecy, I let him go. We parted on good terms. Thought this was better than him going to the press.« He shrugged.

»And why were you two meeting up the other day?« Wasabi, who had been listening to us until now, asked the question and I was really curious what Krei would say to that. Looking back at him, I could see the confusion about what my friend was meaning but then realization lit up in his eyes.

»Oh, you mean in this café yesterday? I had been really surprised that Gabriel had contacted me. He wanted to talk with me about something. I was confused but curious about what could be so important to him that he wanted to talk with me. So, I agreed to meet up with him.«

»And what did he want?«, I asked him immediately, being eager to get the answers we were hoping for. I hated that Krei loved to hear himself speak and that it took ages for him to explain something. It was nerve-wracking.

»Well… actually, he wanted to know how to find you guys. Said that it was important and very urgent…«

Now, my brow creased and a flood of questions formed themselves in my mind while no answers were given.

»Did he tell why he wanted to find us?« GoGo's voice reached my ear while my brain was still busy with finding some kind of explanation for this. But hearing her question caused that I pushed my thoughts aside to look at Krei attentively.

»Unfortunately no. After asking why he needed that information, he simply said that he just needed it and if I could please answer his question. I just told him that I don't know how to contact Big Hero 6 and he left afterward. He wasn't happy about my answer, though.«

I sucked in my lower lip, thinking about his words. I wondered why Mittens wanted to find us. Was he aware of the fact that we were after him? I almost wished Krei would have given him our real identities – only to have it easier to find him now.

»We need to find him. This gets more and more confusing.«, I muttered, almost to myself.

»I think I can help with that.« I lifted my gaze to look at Honey, who was currently typing on her phone, only to show me a picture. »I found his current address in his files.«

»Then it's settled.« We all turned to leave.

»Hey, wait. What's with me?« Gazing over my shoulder, I glared at Krei. »What if she returns?«

»I don't think that you need to worry. I have the feeling that Mittens won't make a move so fast again, since he will know now that we are on to him. So, you're completely safe.«

And with that, we left the room.

~ Tadashi's PoV ~

It felt like I walked through the whole of San Fransokyo – even though I knew that I only checked a small part of the city the last two days. But like earlier with Hiro, when he had been off going bot-fighting, getting himself into all kinds of danger, I had to look for Hikari. Though this time, I had no clue where to search at.

At the moment, I was sitting on a stair in front of Fred's house, trying to decide where to go next. I wasn't so sure if my plan for the last few days was so effective. Taking a deep breath, a name popped up in my mind.

Gabriel Mittens.

Of course, I had heard that name plenty of times but I recalled Hiro mentioning him once. Regarding him, he was the main subject in this case. I turned my head around to look at Fred's front door. Some time had passed since Hiro and the others left after returning from SnowElectronic Industries. As far as I knew, they had been on their way to Krei Tech, since Hiro had made the discovery that he had worked for Alistair Krei.

I knew all this stuff since I had been with them in that room full of screens. Before my death, I had never known that Fred was that rich. I was surprised the first time I had visited him as a ghost.

I sighed. Maybe I should have gone with them but I thought that I was more of a help if I stuck to my plan with searching for Hikari. But now, that I had no clue where to look, I felt more than useless. And now it was too late to tag along since they could be anywhere after finishing their business at Krei Tech.

I sighed again, contemplating what I should do. I didn't want to simply sit around, waiting for something to happen.

What could I do to help my brother…
To help find Hikari…

Gabriel Mittens…

And then, an information I read earlier appeared in my mind. I read his address. And memorized it.

I wasn't so sure if he was that stupid to hide at his own apartment but maybe there were some hints to where he was keeping Hikari hostage.

Knowing where the apartment was located in the city, I shut my eyes to concentrate on my destination. I felt how I dematerialized just to reappear again and when I opened my eyes again, I could see a building.

Though I knew that Gabriel Mittens wasn't the most braggy person on earth, I wouldn't have thought that he lived in such a modest area. At least, the house, in which he was living, seemed humble.

I walked to the stairs to the front door to check the doorbells, only to see that there were several name tags beside various buttons.

This building contained multiple apartments.

Quickly, I checked the names, and luckily, I found the name in question in the third story section, and without any further ado, I walked through the door. Since I didn't know where exactly his apartment was, I had decided to walk up the stairs until I reached the third floor. One of the perks of being a ghost was that I couldn't get out of breath, nor sweat a beat. I could have gone up ten, no a hundred stories up. It didn't matter.

I arrived on the third floor in no time. I looked at every door closely, hoping that this Gabriel Mittens had his name somehow displayed on or beside the door. It would be easier for me to be sure that I was standing in front of the right apartment.

My expression got darker with every door I checked and I slowly feared that I was forced to check every apartment without a name tag. I was so used to either seeing no name or a different one, that I almost passed the door with a small sign that read 'Mittens'.

A relieved smile graced my lips and I simply stepped inside.

It was… much simpler than I thought this apartment would look like. But then… the times I have seen him at Hikari's home, he seemed to be a person who kept everything neat and simple. This apartment was small – two rooms, the kitchen and the bathroom not included. But the furniture was of high quality.

For this, I couldn't blame the man. In this part of the city, a simple apartment was quite pricy and I would rather live in a small but decent furnished place than a large apartment with furniture, where you had to fear that they break any second.

But again… I would never be able to live on my own.

Shooing away those dark thoughts, I walked deeper into the living room, hoping that Mittens had left something on the coffee table. Or on a commode. Or a desk. Or any other furniture.

But everything was so well organized and just clean that it looked rather like one of the showrooms in IKEA than a normal apartment. I checked the other room as well, but they looked the same.

I groaned in frustration.

Yes, breaking into a house was easier as a ghost, but now I was no use again since I couldn't look through any cupboards and closets. Damnit, I couldn't even turn a page in one of those business magazines that were resting neatly on the coffee table!

I rubbed my forehead and looked around. I was in the living room again. But no, nothing appeared out of thin air. Feeling once again useless, I dropped myself on the couch, hiding my face in my hands. How should I be able to find Hikari if I couldn't investigate properly?

I didn't know how long I was sitting in this position but then, out of nowhere, I heard a faint voice.

Tadashi.

I lifted my head from my hands and looked around. I knew this voice.

But I was alone.

Tadashi.

Now, I got up from my sitting position and knew that it came from further away. And I knew who was calling me.

»Don't worry, Hikari. I'm on my way.«

And without losing more time, I disappeared right from the spot I was standing at to reappear at her exact location.

AN: Hey guys! I finally made it to type this chapter into my computer - I had written everything neatly (more or less XD) in a notebook
but getting to copy it into a Word file was difficult with the loads of work I had.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading this chapter and I hoped you enjoyed it. Writing it was quite difficult, so I really hope that it was worth your time. :D

As always, I'm eager to hear what you are thinking - I can say so much that there aren't many chapters left until we reach the end.

Hopefully, we'll see each other in the next chapter!^^

Vanessa :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Big Hero 6 or any mentioned characters - except for OC's, they're mine. :D