Chapter 9
Everyone heard the first and the second explosion, and when Hiro, Akari, and Tadashi still hadn't returned, they began to panic. The group of young adults-and Aunt Cass-ran back to the exhibition hall to see it collapsed on the ground in flames.
They spotted the paramedics taking a few people to the ambulances, and they walked over to see if Hiro, Akari, and Tadashi were there. When they spotted Tadashi, they knew that Hiro and Akari had to be with him. They ran towards them, only to be stopped by the paramedics.
"Let me through!" Gogo shouted angrily.
"Do you know them?" the paramedic asked.
"Yes. That's my brother and my sister, and that's one of my best friends. Can I go through now?" Gogo asked impatiently.
"Yes," the paramedic said and let Gogo and Aunt Cass through after she explained Tadashi was her nephew.
The 3 of them were covered in ash and soot. Akari had suffered a blow to the head, knocking her unconscious instantly. They all had burns on their arms and lower part of the legs. They all also suffered severe smoke inhalation.
It broke Gogo's and Aunt Cass's heart to see their family in this way. Gogo felt like this was all her fault, because her parents weren't able to make it to Hiro's presentation that night, so she was left in charge. She was scared for her brother and sister, and she hoped they'd be ok.
The sudden sound of someone coughing startled the 2 of them out of their thoughts. They looked up to see Tadashi coughing up a storm. The paramedics placed a mask on his face, and he calmed down.
"Tadashi, sweetie are you ok?" Aunt Cass asked.
Tadashi felt too tired to speak, so he nodded tiredly. But he was instantly shaken wide awake by his Aunt, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING YOU KNUCKLEHEAD!"
"AH! Ow!" Tadashi cried as she yanked on his ear, "Hiro was still in the building, and I went in instead of Akari, but then she followed me in."
"Hiro? Akari? Tadashi, have you lost it?" she asked, concerned, "Hiro and Akari are gone."
"No he hasn't lost it," Gogo spoke up, "Those are the names of my brother and sister. And what do you mean 'gone?'"
"He never told you?" Aunt Cass asked.
"Told me what?" Gogo asked.
"Tadashi had a younger brother and sister named Hiro and Akari when he was 4, but on the day they were born, they were stolen from the hospital, and he never saw them again."
Gogo's eyes widened, and she stiffened slightly, "Well that explains why he got upset on Akari's first day here."
"You know I'm right here, right?" Tadashi asked, annoyed.
"Yeah, we're just having a conversation between the 2 of us," Aunt Cass said.
"How come you never told any of us?" Gogo asked.
"Because it was painful to talk about," Tadashi replied. Gogo nodded her head in understanding.
A violent coughing fit, much like Tadashi's, startled the three of them. Hiro had awakened, and a mask was put on his face, but Akari still laid on a gurney unconscious.
"Hiro! Are you alright?" Gogo asked.
"I'm fine Leiko," he answered.
Gogo sighed in relief and hugged him tightly. She had learned that Hiro had been in the building longer, causing him to inhale more smoke than Tadashi or Akari.
But she was still worried about Akari. She'd taken a nasty blow to the head on the wall during the explosion, so bad that her head was bleeding just a little bit.
"What about Akari?" Hiro asked.
"She's over here," Gogo said, and gestured over to Akari.
"She hasn't woken up yet?" Hiro asked.
"No," Gogo said fearfully.
"Excuse me, we have to take him and his sister to the hospital now," the paramedic said.
"Ok," Gogo said quietly. While the paramedics put Hiro, Akari, and Tadashi in the ambulances, she called her parents.
-Hello?-
"Hi mom, hi dad."
-Leiko what's wrong? You sound like you've been crying.-
"There was an explosion at SFIT."
-What?! Are Hiro and Akari ok?-
"Kind of. Hiro and Akari were in the building when the explosion happened, but Hiro got out with some burns and severe smoke inhalation."
-What about Akari?-
"She hit her head really bad in the building during the explosion, and has yet to wake up."
-Ok, ok, ok…um…we'll meet you at the hospital ok?-
"Ok. Bye mom, bye dad."
-Bye Leiko.-
Gogo hung up the phone, and Aunt Cass approached her, "Do you wanna ride with me to the hospital?"
"Yeah, thanks," Gogo said.
The ride to the hospital was silent, and Gogo stared out the window the entire time. Despite the fast speed she was moving at, she was extremely worried for Akari. She hadn't woken up when they left SFIT, so when will she wake up?
They finally arrived at the hospital, and walked up to the front desk.
"Who are you here to see?" the woman asked.
"I'm here to see Tadashi Hamada," Aunt Cass stated.
"Are you his legal guardian?" she asked.
"Yes I am," Aunt Cass answered.
"Alright. He's on floor 3 room 26," the woman checked on the computer.
"Thanks," Aunt Cass replied, and she rushed down the hall.
"I'm here to see Hiro and Akari Tanaka. My parents will be arriving soon," Gogo explained.
"What is your relation to Hiro and Akari Tanaka?"
"I'm their older sister," Gogo replied.
"Akari is on floor 3 room 23, and Hiro is on floor 3 room 24," the woman informed her.
"Thanks," Gogo said, and ran towards the elevators.
She made it to the 3rd floor, and decided it was probably best to see Hiro first, because he was awake. She opened the door, and saw Hiro, sitting on the bed, bored out of his mind.
"Leiko, get me out of here, I'm bored!" he complained after Gogo walked into the room.
"Sorry buddy, I can't do that. You've got a couple bad burns, and they need to be treated," Gogo said sympathetically.
"Have you seen Akari yet?" Hiro asked suddenly.
"No…why?" Gogo asked.
"I'm just wondering. They won't let me leave the room, and I want to know what's wrong with Akari," Hiro stated.
"I'll go check on her, and I'll tell you, ok?" Gogo asked, and Hiro nodded, "I'll be right back."
Gogo walked into Akari's room, where she was still unconscious. She had a mask on her face, and gauze wrapping around the upper part of her head, likely to stop the bleeding. She didn't even notice the doctor that came in behind her.
"Do you know her?" he asked.
"Yeah, she's my sister," Gogo replied, "Will she be ok?"
"She'll be fine. She woke up on the way to the hospital, but she fell back asleep because she was tired. She mumbles something every once in a while too. do you know someone named Tadashi?"
"Yeah, that's our friend. He was also brought here. They care about each other a lot, like family," Gogo explained.
"Ah," the doctor said in understanding. Akari started to stir, tossing her head from side, and squeezing her eyes shut tightly. When she opened her eyes, she looked carefully around her surroundings.
"Huh?" she mumbled.
"Akari, you're in the San Fransokyo General Hospital," the doctor said slowly. Akari rolled her eyes.
"I know where I am, and if you're going to ask me if I know why I'm here, I was involved in an explosion at SFIT," Akari snapped.
"Akari!" Gogo said, shocked at how rude she was. Akari turned her head and looked at Gogo, giving her an annoyed look.
"Where's Tadashi?" Akari asked.
"Down the hall," Gogo answered.
"Can you bring him in here? Please?" Akari asked, returning to her usual attitude.
"Why?" Gogo asked.
"I want to talk to him, alone," Akari emphasized 'alone.'
"Alright…" Gogo trailed off and walked down the hallway to Tadashi's room. She knocked on the door, and Aunt Cass opened it.
"Hi Gogo. Come on in," she said, and Gogo walked into the room. She observed Tadashi. He was pretty much good as new-besides the burns from the fire.
"Hey Tadashi," she greeted.
"Hey Gogo, what's up?" Tadashi asked.
"I'm playing messenger right now," Gogo said sarcastically, "Akari can't leave her room, and she said she wants to talk to you alone."
"Why?" Tadashi asked.
"I don't know. She wouldn't tell me," Gogo replied. Tadashi looked up at his Aunt, who gave in and let him go down the hall to Akari's room.
He walked in and closed the door, leaving Gogo and Aunt Cass to wonder what the conversation is about.
"So…what did you need to talk to me about?" Tadashi asked.
"It's about the whole… you know…sibling thing?" Akari tried to explain.
"Go on," Tadashi urged.
"What are we going to do now? My 'parents' are going be babying me forever because of this incident. How are we going to tell everyone? And when?" Akari asked.
"I don't know honestly. I can see that they would baby you, but they don't know you know, which might make them baby you more. Maybe if you told them, we could get the truth out of them," Tadashi offered.
"I guess…but what if they think that I'm delusional or something from this?" Akari asked, pointing to her wrapped up head.
"You have the paper right? The test results?" Tadashi questioned.
"No. After I dropped it at the lab, I never picked it back up. It's still on the floor in my lab," Akari explained.
"I can get it for you," Tadashi offered.
"Really?" Akari asked.
"Yeah. When the school opens back up, I'll go get it for you," Tadashi stated.
"Thanks Tadashi. I just…I want to know the truth. And obviously, they've been hiding it from me," Akari said quietly.
"Do you think Gogo knows?" Tadashi asked.
"Possibly. I'm not really sure, but if I was found on the day I was born, Gogo would've been 6. So there's a possibility," Akari stated.
There was a knock on the door. Tadashi opened it, and in came Hanako and Takashi Tanaka, Hiro and Akari's 'parents.'
"I'm gonna go now. Get well soon Akari," Tadashi said.
"Thanks Tadashi, you too," Akari replied as the door closed after Gogo walked in.
"Are you alright Akari? Are you hurt?" Hanako asked frantically.
"Just peachy," Akari responded flatly.
"Akari, what's wrong? You've been acting like this for so long now," Takashi asked.
"Nothing's wrong," Akari replied flatly once again. Not with me anyway.
"Please tell us Akari. We know you're not acting like yourself, and you know it too," Gogo observed.
"I said nothing's wrong!" Akari shouted, "Just leave me alone."
"How are you feeling Akari?" Hanako asked, deciding to change the subject.
"My head hurts," Akari complained, not tearing her gaze from the door ahead of her.
"Are you thirsty, or hungry?" Takashi asked.
"No," Akari said flatly once again.
The Tanakas sighed. She wasn't going to budge and they know it. They wished she would tell them what was wrong.
Little did they know though, that it was something they would've never expected.
So there's chapter 9! The big secret comes out in the next chapter, so stay tuned! I'll be posting it either Friday or Saturday...most likely Friday. Akari is really hostile right now, and you all could imagine why. All she wants is the truth, and she's about to get it.
Also, what do you guys think about me doing a one-shot series on Hiro, Akari, and Tadashi's life before "7 Intrepid Friends?" Let me know in the reviews!
Follow and Review! See you in the next chapter!
~Krypie
