AN: Here's the next one already! I couldn't wait to get this one up. So please, sit back and enjoy this crazy, emotional rollercoaster of a chapter!

(Warnings again for some graphic/ horror imagery, gun violence)


Chapter 13

The colors conflicted
As the flames climbed into the clouds.
I wanted to fix this
But couldn't stop from tearing it down.

And you were there at the turn
Caught in the burning glow
And I was there at the turn
Waiting to let you know

"Burn It Down" by Linkin Park


The campus still had some clean-up in lesser areas, but with the end of semester deadlines looming close, it was decided to open the campus for classes for the afternoon and evening hours on Tuesday, and until five pm on Wednesday evening. This time was also used to reassure many students in person, and via electronic methods, that their will be an extension on deadlines provided to those who need that extra time.

Her youngest nephew was one of those people, and he was back at SFIT again that afternoon getting what he could done. His friends verified that, when she called earlier that evening when Hiro had not come home for dinner.

Another lonely dinner by herself, with her laptop, and Mochi.

After the bewitching hour passed, Aunt Cass finally retired to her bedroom, but she still worried. It was times like this that she had appreciated just how responsible and selfless Tadashi had become to keep tabs on his younger brother. She didn't know what to make of Hiro lately. The way he started slipping out at odd hours of the night again, behind her back, really started to bother her. Even if it was just to be a vigilante, he could at least tell her where he was going and when he would be back. There was nothing more unsettling than believing that her remaining nephew was in the garage, or upstairs, only to find no one there.

The worried café owner seriously reconsidered lifting the previous ban and getting him his own phone again. Hopefully this time he wouldn't hack it, or whatever it is he does to reinvent technology, and cost her a fortune on the data charges again. However, he probably would ignore her calls, like he often does with her texts.

Aunt Cass had almost dozed off to sleep, when she was startled awake from a thunk of something dropped to the floor, most likely Hiro's backpack. Mochi stood up from his spot on her bed with ears perked. Soon they heard the sounds of the refrigerator and cabinet doors opening and closing in the kitchen. She stretched and blinked away her sleepiness before getting up to leave her bedroom.

"Hey sweetie," Aunt Cass softly greeted her nephew. Mochi jumped up on the counter also, to see what Hiro was doing.

Her presence must have given him a start, she noticed, when his hand jerked while peeling off the top from a bowl of uncooked Ramen noodles.

"Hi, Aunt Cass," Hiro turned to look once at her.

"There's some leftovers in the fridge I can heat up," she offered, stepping closer.

"S' okay, I'm fine," he shrugged. He looked tired, so tired at that point, as he struggled a moment to break the seal on the lid of the bottled water before pouring it into an electric hot pot to boil.

"Everything back on track at the Institute?" the aunt decided to ask a more general question. Sometimes she didn't have to ask him directly about how he himself was. Just looking at him often told her if her youngest was having a good day or not. She remembered then a tip she got from one of her friends who was also a mom with teenagers. Sometimes it was better to be more supportive and less threatening, all while still holding the role of authority. Sounded easy, but wow.. her youngest nephew just was not your typical teenager, even if his adventurous nature often reminded her of her sister.

Right now, Hiro didn't look very happy and the circles under his eyes were evident again from lack of sleep. His dark eyes, framed by his long bangs, were a little more shifty about actually making eye contact with her. And, she decided, it must be the dim lightening and her own tired eyes, making Hiro's eyebrows appear thinner than usual. Yep, her eyes were definitely playing tricks on her.

"Yep… no problem," the younger Hamada seemed intent on willing the pot to bowl faster by staring at it.

"Going back in tomorrow?" Aunt Cass asked, opening the refrigerator. She disregarded what he told her earlier about not making him something, to get a stalk of celery, one green onion, a hard boiled egg, and a half empty package of imitation crabmeat sticks. Just some more ingredients to make his Ramen a little more substantial.

"Yeah, I still have a lot to do," he glanced once in her direction, shifting his stance as if restless.

A part of her really wondered about that, all things considering. Since he didn't seem to be trying to evade her yet, she felt now was a good time to bring up her other concern.

"I did get an email today from your English Lit professor. He's worried about the fact that you haven't been coming to class, and missing out on some quizzes and assignments. He actually recommended that you drop his class to keep that from affecting your overall GPA," Aunt Cass paused from preparing the food to try to make eye contact with her nephew. It was something that had come up when he was in high school. English and literature was the one area he wasn't especially good at, and the jumps in grades had the unexpected effect of skipping over even more important details that would have helped him understand it. Only through some additional tutoring sessions, and homework help from Tadashi, that he was able to catch up.

"Hiro, are you having trouble with English again, now that it's at college level?"

He did pause a second before responding. "No… it's not that. Just.. really kind of early. That's the 8:30 class," he feigned a smile of innocence. He was trying to hide something again.

"That didn't stop you from going to high school, every morning before," she smartly countered that response, while reaching over to wrap an arm around his shoulders to pull him closer. "Of course, you could just not sneak out on those nights when you need to wake up early for class."

Hiro just sighed audibly, edging away ever so slightly after she released him. "Of course… sorry."

Aunt Cass noticed his unease, and reminded herself to keep her cool. "Don't think because you're in college, you can do whatever you want, mister. I still need to know!" she pointed the green onion she held at him in warning before chopping it up. After all, he was just fourteen, and college life was certainly not at all like high school. It was a whole different level of responsibility geared for those in their late teens, early twenties.

"Yes, Aunt Cass," he fidgeted with the lid from the water bottle on the counter.

Then the water finally reached boiling as the steam poured from the spout on the pot. She noticed Hiro's eyes brighten at that point, as it signaled that his awkward wait was over. Aunt Cass was quick to put the chopped veggies on top of the Ramen in the plastic bowl before he poured the boiling water in it.

"Are you going to drop the class then?" she finally asked, the sternness still in her voice.

"I… I'll find out if I can make up what I missed."

"That sounds like a better plan," Aunt Cass sliced up the peeled hard-boiled egg and a crab-leg stick to put on top of his steeping Ramen too.

"I'll ask him tomorrow… it'll be okay," he did his best to reassure her again, while finding a set of chopsticks.

"Thank you, sweetie. Let me know how it goes," she set the chopping board and knife by the sink. Then she hugged him again. "I'm going to bed. Try to get some sleep too, okay?"

"Okay… G'night."


Hiro felt much more free again after Aunt Cass went to bed. She held her temper this time, but it still didn't sit well with him that she knew about his problem with his English Lit class. Of course, she would get that email too. He was still a minor and she was required to know all those things as far as his classes were concerned. At least she didn't seem to know about what exactly he had been going out at night for. Nor was he ever going to tell his aunt about nearly getting shot or the crazy undercover stunt from the other night. He glanced to Mochi, who currently seemed more interested with what was on his ramen.

She's still pissed. Totally.. pissed… the young genius sighed, picking off a bit of crabmeat for Mochi to eat.

His failing grades were proof that he was letting his academics slide for something that he considered to be way more important again. It had gotten so annoying to have to worry about this on top of everything else.

Hiro turned off the kitchen light and carried his Ramen bowl over to the coffee table in front of the couch. The garage was still a mess, and his room was short of being a construction site. Neither place was really suitable to be in now. With a sigh, he opened up Aunt Cass's old laptop there and turned it on. The TV would be too loud to also have on, so he resorted to watching some streaming movies on the laptop while eating his Ramen.

There were a series of cheesy mega monster thrillers that Aunt Cass had in her queue. He smirked, knowing it was mostly his fault he and Tadashi got her hooked on those kind of movies.

Wait… maybe Fred could help, the thought crossed his mind after looking over the Godzilla titles. After slurping another mouthful of noodles, he clicked on the video chat app and logged in.

"Hey, wassup?" Fred asked. The background of the video showed him in his room and sitting on his crème colored couch.

"Still up?"

"Yep, reading," he nodded, holding up a book he had. "Do you guys have power yet?"

"Yeah… I just didn't turn on any lights. Aunt Cass is asleep," he slurped another mouthful of noodles.

"Oh, gotcha… no screaming banshee contests then."

Hiro just rolled his eyes. "So… I need some help with something."

"Oh, a late night noodle eating demonstration?" the hopeless fan boy rubbed his hands together in eager anticipation.

"No… with one of my classes."

"Oooh, really?" Fred actually looked flattered.

"English Lit," Hiro quickly added before stuffing some egg in his mouth.

"Are you trying to make me wish share-a-vision was really possible?" Fred finally told him.

"Sorry," Hiro apologized, but not without a come back. "But, I got for you an invisible sandwich!" he held up his hands to the web-cam on the monitor, looking like he was holding something big.

"Oh wow…. Thanks!" Fred gladly accepted the sandwich by making the same gesture in return, and then he took a big bite. "Mmm.. yea, that. That's tasty good!"

If Fred's mission was set on making him laugh, he was finally going to have that pleasure. Hiro cracked a smile, but he managed to stifle the rest of his mirth with another mouthful of noodles. Mostly because he didn't want to be too loud.

"What do you need help with, buddy?"

"Getting some assignments done, and a final report written. The final has to be an autobiography."

"Ah… let me guess: it's about some famous dead guy?"

"Exactly."

"Who'd ja pick? Do you need help with proof reading—"

"That's the problem. I haven't even picked anyone yet."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah," the tired genius rubbed his neck.

"Any ideas at least?"

"Not really," Hiro frowned. He did fancy the idea of considering his dad, being a renown scientific doctor working on the Ebola cure, but he doubted he was famous enough.

"How about Einstein?"

Hiro just gave him a flat stare that implied 'No'. "He's taken anyway."

"Okay… hmm, maybe the guy who invented the first robot?"

"Uh, which era, and which kind of robot?" he countered him.

"The one you like the most?" Fred smiled meekly.

"Well, okay… it's not that part that I need help with though. It's the how. I kind of missed the class when the prof was talking about what he was looking for when he graded the report."

"No one gave you their notes?"

"I haven't been back in yet to get any."

"Wow," Fred almost looked serious at that point. "Why?"

"I… didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal. But it is… the prof emailed me and said it might be better to drop the class, then take it again next year. To save face. I kind of forgot that with the scholarship I got, I have to keep the GPA above a 3.6."

"Ouch… that bad?"

Hiro sighed, looking off screen for a moment. "Yeah. But since they pushed back the due dates, I think I can do this."

"Yey!" Fred fist pumped in his favor.

"I gotta talk to the professor tomorrow." He looked down in thought, then finally decided to tell Fred his other problem. "I'm just not that good with writing papers."

"Really?" Fred looked completely surprised.

"I mean that sometimes.. I don't get all the rules about grammar, or the kind of guidelines to use when writing reports and research papers. Or like, since I know a lot, I have a hard time knowing what should be referenced."

Fred smiled, rubbing his chin in thought. "I'm not the best with that either, but yeah… I can check your work, good buddy."

Hiro returned the gesture with a smile.

"So.. what are your other assignments?"

"There's one where we have to looked at dated literature, and translate it into today's English style. How to write a classic letter, stuff like that," Hiro ate another mouthful of noodles when he finished explaining.

"Fun stuff!" Fred beamed.

"Right…"


The inky night sky didn't show any of the stars, or even the moon, making the dark shadows in the alley press in around him more. He didn't like the way it felt though. Voices echoed faintly, despite a subtle roar that gradually grew louder, like a raging forest fire. Something flashed, something bright and orange like glowing embers, and then they were falling around him. The brick walls of the alleyway suddenly collapsed, chasing away the darkness with so many flames.

Almost all the darkness.

There was a large solid shape, void of light or form, that walked out of the searing blaze. It pushed down what remained of a brick wall, and moved closer toward him, one slow step at a time. Fear seized his heart when he recognized which robot it resembled. The rotund robot's armor was scorched black, taking on what looked like a blood red color. Flames licked out along the seams of the armor, while the eyes inside the helmet were simply two glowing red embers inside the pitch black darkness within.

Horrified, Hiro turned to run away from the evil form of Baymax. His feet felt like lead, and he couldn't move like something was holding him back. The magnets on his super suit - was this demon trying to use them against him? He stumbled and fell while trying to take off his shoes, knee pads, and gloves as fast as he could. Why did everything feel so difficult?

Then the hell-bot said something to him in monotone Japanese and held up a hand in his direction. The four large fingers on its right hand switched out to become a rapid-fire machine gun.

"Noooo! Yame.. Yame!" he screamed at it, crawling backwards before turning to run again.

The same threatening statement in Japanese was repeated, something Hiro just couldn't quite understand. He just knew it was something bad. Panic seized him as he tried to get away, when he heard the rounds go off behind him. The pain seared through his body when the armor-piercing bullets hit him multiple times in the back. He was crying out for someone to help, but his chest seared with burning pain. He fell into darkness for a moment before the hungry, fiery flames consumed his vision. The exploding sound that came from the robot as it blew up was the last thing he heard.

His senses slowly came back to him when the younger Hamada caught his breath. His trembling body was pressed into someone, her arms caressing his back as she whispered soothing reassurances. Hiro brought his arms up to hug Aunt Cass so tight, burying his face into her shoulder to stifle a sob of relief.

More importantly, he was breathing. Breathing freely, easily. The pain was only in his mind. She felt so real, holding him safe from the threat. Hiro did not want to let go just yet, anxious that the haunting visions would come back if he did.

"His dreams have been waking him more often, but not this severely," Baymax was also there at the other end of couch.

Hiro realized they must have heard his shouts for help, and came to see why. The younger Hamada kept his eyes shut, forcing another swallow as he fought back more overwhelming feelings. Normally, this would just be really embarrassing, but right now Hiro could not have felt any more relieved to be in her embrace. His aunt continued to stroke his back with one hand to calm his nerves. Many long minutes passed by until he began to feel more at ease, and his death grip loosened.

"Are you going to be okay, sweetie?" she whispered, trying to look down at him. She ran a hand through his hair, pushing his long bangs aside.

"It was really scary, Aunt Cassie," Hiro raised his head to make brief eye contact. He was trying so hard to control his crazy swirl of emotions.

"Do you want to talk about it?" his aunt asked gently.

He just shook his head no. "Just want them to stop…" he whimpered, leaning back into her arms one more time.

"Oh, I wish I could help," she murmured, her face bent close to his head to console him. "Can you go back to sleep?"

Hiro didn't say anything, or make any effort to move from the embrace. He could not explain why he felt so clingy, but he did know sleep really was the last thing he wanted right now.

"It's okay," she held him some more, closing her eyes.

"I can stay with Hiro, if you wish for more sleep, Aunt Cass," the healthcare robot offered, apparently noticing her exhausted expression.

Getting the hint, he unwillingly moved away from Aunt Cass and curled into the couch cushions. Aunt Cass picked up the blankets that fell to the floor and wrapped them around him.

"It'll be okay.. I'll be in my room if you need anything else, okay sweetie?" she explained. A hint of guilt was still evident in her tone. She leaned in to hug him one more time for more reassurance.

Before leaving, Aunt Cass paused to pat Baymax on the arm, to show her appreciation for the robot's considerations.

Baymax sat at the end of the couch. Feeling the robot's gaze, Hiro glanced over to him, but not without a strange sense of apprehension. The boy stayed where he was and pulled his knees up close to his chest while tugging the blankets close.

"Do not be afraid, Hiro," his guardian placed a hand on his shoulder. "I will keep you safe."

Hiro looked back over to him again. He forcibly reminded himself that this Baymax could not ever, would never, want to harm him. He wouldn't. Hiro couldn't even get him to step on a spider. It had to have been the other one again. The one he left behind.

"The dream, this time… it wasn't about Tadashi. It was … me," that was all he managed to say. From what he had told Baymax before about his dreams, Hiro hoped his companion understood. The younger Hamada sighed in surrender and repositioned himself so he could lay his head on Baymax's short, pillow-like leg. He tugged the blankets up around his shoulders before Baymax helped him with those. Failing at trying to clear his mind, he sighed again. Baymax seemed to notice, by rubbing his hand on Hiro's shoulder to help ease his anxiety. Since the healthcare companion hadn't mastered the fine art of humming in a soothing manner yet, he tuned into a station that played soft instrumental soundtrack music. Previous times, Tadashi's videos were often requested. This time, however, all Hiro felt was guilt again for leaving behind the first Baymax. Many long minutes turned into an hour before sleep finally came.


Freshened from the quick shower, Aunt Cass came out to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Her first thoughts were for her dear, sweet nephew, however. It did give her a quite the scare last night, hearing Hiro yelling for help in Japanese and English. She feared someone had broken in and was attacking him. Lord knows what kind of enemies he might be making from his superhero gig. They say they try to be careful keeping their identities on the down low, but she can't help but worry.

Fortunately, it was a dream, just a really bad one. He really hadn't been like that since the fire at the expo. The brunette bit her lip, wondering if the stress from the earthquake brought this on. His apparent anxiety about her leaving him last night also bothered her, since he had become more reclusive since Tadashi's absence. That was like one extreme to the other. The fact Hiro has not really stopped having nightmares, from what Baymax told her, was news to her. Could this also be why he seemed to be evading sleep at night?

She walked over to check on Hiro, and was relieved to see he was sound asleep on Baymax's lap. Her nephew was clutching the robot's billowy hand under his arm, along with the blankets. She smiled upon noticing Mochi curled up on Baymax's other leg, against Hiro's messy head of hair. They looked so peaceful this way.

Baymax watched her in silence, apparently not saying anything as to not disturb his 'patient'. Aunt Cass paused, then stepped forward to lean close to his head. She had been around him enough to know his battery life was limited also. "Are you— your battery levels holding up okay?"

"Yes," came the short answer, then he held the index finger of his free hand to his face, making a shushing gesture.

Aunt Cass smiled knowingly, and patted Baymax on the shoulder. She turned back towards to the kitchen counter to grab some things. "Going downstairs. Meeting with some repair men," she mouthed to him, barely audible. Hopefully the robot understood that much.


It felt like it was much earlier than it should have been that morning by the time Hiro woke up. The gray, rainy, skies made the second floor dark, and he didn't hear the usual noises from the café coming up through the floor. Instead, he realized what he thought was a coffee grinder, was actually a saw blade running through something again, maybe wood. After he sat up, he remembered the café was not open yet due to more repairs being needed. The clock said it was past ten o'clock now, much to his chagrin.

"Are you feeling better?" Baymax asked him. Hiro could tell the robot was already scanning his body from way he was looking at him.

"As long as my brain's not trying to kill me," he muttered, despite how the expression would confuse Baymax. "Don't answer that... I'm satisfied with my care."

Baymax nodded without protest. The robot located his red case by the top of the staircase, then moved it over to an outlet to plug in the base before deflating into it.

After getting himself ready, Hiro got together what he needed for school and left. He left Baymax behind to recharge, and was quick in telling Aunt Cass goodbye. At this point, he somehow felt safer leaving Baymax at home.

Hiro didn't go to any classes that morning, since not many were open anyway. He went into the lab, and cut through the bigger one to get to his. The two girls were the only ones in their corner of the lab that morning. Honey was talking casually with GoGo, and did not notice him pass through, but the labs were more quiet as usual since many students left early for the holiday break.

His primary focus was to make more headway on his search and rescue robot for that day. Most of the programming looked good, when he had it in Baymax. Now he had to adapt it to Geronimo's structural design. The design had to be clearly different, since it was heavier in order to have the strength and power needed to get through different obstacles. His secondary task was to make some headway with his stupid autobiography for English Literature. He rather contend Geronimo's most stubborn bugs than deal with that, in all honesty.


That kid was clearly in his anti-social mode again, because Hiro did not stop to say 'hi' or anything when GoGo saw him walk through to his lab earlier. The café also happened to be open for lunch, and she stuck to their usual schedule to take a break for lunch there. However, this time she was left with eating her lunch alone. The sophomore figured it was because they did not have Japanese class that afternoon, that Hiro did not come. He wasn't responding to her texts either though. That part did make her worry a little. In the past he would at least let her know he was just very busy.

GoGo did know that he was worried about his project, from previous discussions. And yet, this made her reflect back on a particular instance Tadashi had with Baymax. One night she remembered getting a few slightly frantic texts from Honey Lemon, when Tadashi wasn't answering her texts or phone calls. After going up to his lab, Honey found him asleep on the floor. Somehow, the robot knocked him out earlier, and the older Hamada had the black eye to prove it.

With that in mind, GoGo went up to the Hamada lab to also check on the younger. The door was closed, glass tinted, but she did hear someone instead.

"Hey, you okay in there, Hiro?" she knocked on the door.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

And that was that. He didn't say anything more, or even open the door. GoGo pressed her lips together, debating on whether to get pushy or just let him be. She sighed, making up her mind to give him until the labs closed for the day before she took further action.

The remainder of the afternoon seemed to pass by quickly, and even though Honey Lemon and practically every other student in the lab, had left to go home, GoGo stayed. The hopeless freshman was still upstairs, last she checked fifteen minutes ago. It was then she got a call from Fred, asking if Hiro was there. Aunt Cass had called the fanboy earlier to see if he was with him, since Hiro was not responding to her texts as well.

"He's not been talking to me either, but I'll see if I can flush him out this time," GoGo spoke into the phone as she walked back towards the stairs to get to Hiro's lab. "I'll text her back. Thanks."

"Hey genius! It's go time!" she yelled a little more loudly after knocking. "Your aunt is getting super worried."

"I'm going home later. Don't worry!"

She crossed her arms this time, because that wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. Time to get pushy.

"Open the door, genius," GoGo's voice became unrelenting. "Now!"

What seemed like another minute passed, but nothing happened. He didn't even say anything in response this time. This was really beginning to annoy her, to the point she wondered if she could find and convince a security guard to open the door.

"Are you trying to make me mad? I'm not leaving until you open this door!" she tried one more time before looking for said security guard. "Please!"

After a few moments more, the door opened a crack. GoGo waited a beat longer while realizing that was it. She pushed it open a little more to slide inside, and then closed it behind her.

"What are..." the mechanical engineer began, but what she saw cut herself off. Hiro was back in his swivel chair, looking intently at his wide, green holographic monitor. His primary center of focus was a Word document, and surrounding it was various other windows from the internet, or other Word documents. He was clearly researching and writing about something. At least the genius had been eating something during the day, when she spotted some snack wrappers and a few cans of energy drinks sitting around the desk and work table. She also noticed a couple CD cases for Guns N Roses sitting on the desk next to him, and rolled her eyes. Of course this nerd doesn't listen to his brother's old music.

Hiro still didn't look up, but GoGo could tell he was ignoring her on purpose so he could stay on task. She stopped next to a half-built robotic frame standing to the other side of the room. The robot had a dark silver, human-like face, a dense torso, and slightly disproportioned legs with track wheels on the knees. The arms were not there, but she wondered if the odds and ends sitting on the work bench next to it came together to make them. Was this Mega-Z, Hiro's other battle bot? There were a few attributes about this robot that reminded her of the design details she saw from the big bot battle the other night. But now, this one had more of the features the search and rescue robots that teams from MIT and Carnegie Hall had created for the DARPA challenges. If he had used this for bot-fighting, she felt some relief he was trying to change its function and design.

"Argh! This is insane! I can't do this! I can't!" the young genius finally blurted out with great exasperation, holding his hands out in the air. "I am never going to get all this done in time!"

The sudden outburst from the nerd actually made GoGo's heart jump a beat, and she turned away from the robot to watch him lament.

"I hate writing... stupid, useless brain," he had pretty much face planted on the desk, nearly missing the keyboard.

She raised an eyebrow in thought about what could be causing this much anguish, before saying something. Certainly it wasn't for his robotic project, because that rarely requires so much report writing research. "What. Are you. Doing?"

"An autobiography for English Lit," Hiro raised his head, then swiveled around in his chair to face her. He clearly looked defeated and very exhausted now. "It's taking me a lot longer than planned!"

"English Lit?"

"Yeah."

"Can't you work on that at home?" she shifted her stance, a little more surprised. "You should have the next two weeks to get that in."

"I know," Hiro rested his elbows on his knees, shaking his head. "But.. I missed out on a lot of assignments from that class. And.. still need to clean up the garage to even get to those computers – if they still work – cuz the monitors in my room aren't working right.. which leaves me with Aunt Cass's old laptop right now."

"Better than nothing," she shrugged.

"But.. its not."

"Who are you writing about?"

"John McCarthy, the first guy to invent artificial intelligence."

GoGo smiled. "Not the first person to invent robots?" she teased him.

"Of course not…. too predictable!" Hiro said with a huff before turning back around to look at his work.

Now he's starting to worry about that, the mechanical engineer thought to herself. It didn't seem like he wanted to leave yet though. She turned to look at his robotic project again.

"Is this Mega-Z?" she finally asked him, running her fingers along the edge of the plating on its chest. Yep, she was going to bombard him with questions until Hiro gave up altogether on trying to get anything done here. If not, finally get him to come out with the truth about all of this.

"Mega-Z? N-no," Hiro sputtered in response to look at her, running a hand through his hair nervously. "That.. that's Geronimo. He's the search and rescue robot I told you about. His primary function is to go into buildings that are burning, or damaged from earthquakes…. in search of people."

GoGo looked up from the assembly of parts, nodding. Her thoughts had seized upon his words about burning buildings, repeating them in her mind. That was when it occurred to her as to why a search and rescue design was chosen. This project was in memory of his brother. Realizing that caused more anger to rise up all over again, because this frame also had been used for bot fighting. How could he honor a project for Tadashi after defacing its value like that? The quick and fast engineer recognized too much here. GoGo crossed her arms and glared at him harshly now. "But it used to be Mega-Z."

"It... I.. yes… his alias was Mega-Z," Hiro broke down and confessed, melting under her threatening look.

"Didn't you realize taking him to bot fights put your tech out there for them to steal?" she yelled at him, hands spread wide.

"They did not steal it, they just copied my ideas to make their own version. Callaghan did the same thing to make more of my microbots!" the young genius refuted.

"Hiro… that's still stealing," GoGo scolded him. "Now you're going to have a super hard time proving that the tech was your idea first, so you could patent it!"

"I know!" Hiro gripped his head, growling in disgust as he walked in a circle. The reality clearly hit him now, she decided, when he started swearing out loud.

"Your big secret is not so secret anymore, is it?" she chided him some more, selfishly telling herself that he deserved this. He just doesn't seem to get it otherwise.

"I was going to change Geronimo's physical design so it wasn't going to be the same!" Hiro faced her, his anger visibly provoked. "Like switching to nanotechnology, for morphing his arms into whatever tool to manipulate the obstacles in his way."

"Do you have the resources and time to do that?" GoGo held her intense eye contact with his shifty ones.

Hiro just gritted his teeth, not giving her an answer, and turned away to escape her scrutiny. He clearly did not.

"What did we tell you about scope creep, genius?" she could tell he was starting to make up more excuses again just to throw her off.

"I.. I didn't realize before what Yama's gang was capable of!" Hiro protested.

"Don't be a bonehea—" As soon as she said that, she was silently cursing herself for sounding like Tadashi.

Hironically glared at her, catching her slip of tongue, but then shook his head. "Look, I.. I think it's a whole lot worse. If they knew about the nuerotransmitter, then they might have looked into the situation behind Callaghan's reign as Yokai. And the portals… are the Fujita also able to figure out how to get to the first Baymax?" Hiro finally tried to explain more of this to her.

"You're asking me?"

"I'm serious, I really am. If they get a hold of that Baymax, and reprogram him, it's not going to be good.. for any of us…" Hiro looked at her, his true sincerity laced with fear from his last dream now coming through.

"Why…?"she looked more concerned. The fact he was admitting that he had a real problem was a start. But it bothered her why he worried about that Baymax. What about the fully functioning one he had with him? GoGo rehearsed his question in silence for a better answer for him. "Because the police have whatever that was left of those portals in their custody."

"Not unless they can build their own... 'cuz last night, I … my dreams are getting worse."

"How bad?"

"Baymax.. or something like him, he was scorched black and smoldering with embers on the inside. The hell-bot, he came out of a burning building to chase after me. And shot at me.. until I was dead," Hiro finished with a whisper. "It felt so real."

GoGo nodded, a twinge of sympathy going through her after hearing his last words. His moods really had been swinging so much more lately. Was this a subliminal guilt trip, wherein the portal Baymax represented Tadashi, both of which he could not save from danger? Then another piece clicked into place.

Tomorrow was Thanksgiving.

The younger Hamada was guarding all conversation about it with them. The most she knew was from what Aunt Cass mentioned, in that they weren't going anywhere, or inviting anyone. She wanted to use that time to fix up the Lucky Cat. Honey Lemon had invited the two to come to her family's house, just so the could take it easy for awhile. The tall chemist couldn't imagine them just being alone. But Hiro must be dreading it.

"I don't get it though... Why do people always want to take advantage of me, use me?" The anger returned to his voice again, his fists clenched.

"Hey…"

"Even my brother.. he.. he just wanted to help. He never did anything wrong. Why…? He didn't deserve to get caught up in it!" Hiro complained, not looking at her at all as he paced. When he stopped, it was long enough to yell at the large, round window. "It's not fair.. why?"

"Hiro..." GoGo felt that he was at his breaking point again. Rather than fight it, this time she stepped over to wrap her arms around him. He had been holding it in too long, she could feel it, his pain. The words resonated as a reminder for her as well. "It's hard to understand... so hard. But you don't have to be strong forever. It hurts so much, I know.. but .. you are important, loved.. and you are not a bad person."

Hiro held her tightly, his fingertips curling into her jacket. All she heard was his breathing change, but his shaking body was the real indication that the boy had started crying. When his knees began to give out, GoGo held onto him as they lowered down to the floor to sit together. His face was pressed against her shoulder while he continued to hold her close.

A few more minutes passed until Hiro seemed to have exhausted his lament. GoGo rested her cheek on his head, keeping him in her embrace. It was then she finally let the tears that had been welling up in her eyes roll down her cheeks. There had been so much she had been holding back as well.


Hiro still hitched his breath as he tried to regain more control over his emotions. He felt awkward for just loosing it in her arms, but her strong and soothing embrace helped him forget about that. He had no desire to let go of her right away either.

"Everything's harder without him," Hiro whispered, his cheek still against her wet leather jacket. He squeezed his eyes tight for a second, forcing out the rest of the salty tears. Then more words slipped out before he could stop himself. "I learned my lesson… why can't he come back?"

GoGo pulled away a little, shaking her head slowly. "It was never your fault, Hiro," she looked at him when he raised his head to look into her softened, compassionate eyes. Eyes that also glistened more than usual from the tears flowing out of them. He never seen her cry before.

"I gave him such a hard time, before…" he told her, looking away.

"Hey… Tadashi was proud of you, so proud," she whispered to him, to pick up his spirits. "He would brag about you so much, that we started placing bets on if you were really as smart as he claimed."

"Was I?" Hiro decided to ask.

"I'm still not sure," she teased, sniffling at the same time.

"Shut up…" he whispered. But he closed his eyes and leaned back into her. "T'da-nii.. he never gave up.. on- on me," he said, only to get choked up again. GoGo rubbed his back, the other hand cradling his head again.

"I'm not gonna give up on you either," she said softly. He looked back up to her, noticing her lips quivering before she pressed them together. She then cradled his face with her hands, gently wiping away his tears with her thumbs. The warmth and softness he felt from her hands had felt so comforting. It made his heart beat stronger.

Hiro reached up, gingerly, to trail the lines of wetness from the tears on her cheek with his fingertips, hesitating before lightly brushing across her lower lip. He had that crazy thought to try to kiss her.. somehow. Yet, her hand came up to his, palm facing palm, to bring his hand down. He hesitated after that, feeling his heart pound harder with expectation. GoGo instead whispered something in Korean, and brushed aside his bangs to kiss him on the forehead. Just on the forehead, but was something.

He swallowed, forcing down his crazy emotions before surrendering back into her arms. Feeling her steady heartbeat and the warmth of her body against his, that helped him calm down and feel strong again. At the same time, however, his new realization scared him. Because deep down, he struggled so much with his new feelings, so many shadows stubbornly battling against the invading power of light and hope. Why did being in love with her have to be so illegal?

Hiro drew in a deep breath, also making an undesirable snuffling sound from sucking back so much snot. The awkward position they were in had caused one of his legs fall asleep, painfully, and he reluctantly let go of her to shift his position.

"Leg's asleep..." he muttered as he unfolded them to shake the one affected.

GoGo also straightened up a bit and crossed her legs next to Hiro, after he stretched his left leg more. She put her arm across his shoulders, keeping him close. "But.. I'm not replacing your brother, even though it feels like it sometimes. Tadashi was one of a kind…" GoGo dropped her hand, then sighed. Hiro decided maybe that was her apology for acting like him lately, until she started talking again.

"I just know, from my own experience, why he got so worried…. Because I grew up on the streets, without a family.. didn't know my dad, and my mom left me. I was.. never loved. Instead of playing with dolls, I had to sell drugs... or jack cars. It was what I had to do to survive, or the drug dealer who took me off the streets would not give me a place to stay, or food to eat."

She shook her head, glancing downward. "But if I was caught by the police… too bad. It would be my fault. God, I hated that asshole so much… I finally got back at him when they caught me, big time. I ratted him out… 'cause I finally decided.. being in jail would be better than putting up with his assery. And that… That might have been the biggest life changer, cause when the cops realized I didn't have parents or a home… they put me in a special reform program in juvvie."

"How old were you.. when you got caught?" Hiro looked to her. All these details were completely new to him, which left him wondering how it all fit together with what he did know.

"Thirteen."

Hiro just made a face, realizing the point of her conversation. Or also why she would get edgy when it came to anything that dealt with the authorities.

"Yeah, that's why I get so upset when you get mixed up with criminals. It's not the life you want to live, really."

He nodded, looking down at his hands, thinking things through. Six years had gone by since she changed her life. "So… when did you start street racing?"

GoGo looked at him, almost put-off by that question. "After I was adopted. Yeah… I thought I could get away with it."

"See," Hiro looked back to her, a smirk playing across his lips. "It's hard to stay away."

She shoved him over in protest. "I'm trying to be real with you, nerd."

Hiro sat back up, but didn't say anything in return. He kind of figured she had a tough life, but knowing the whole truth did change a lot of things he assumed about her. Of course, it wasn't as nearly crazy as finding out that Fred was a billionaire's son, but he figured this bunch of nerds had all kinds of secrets once he knew them long enough. The realization that she was opening up to him about her life that she never talked about was a revelation on his behalf. He also wondered how hard it was for GoGo to adjust to a normal life afterwards, but decided against asking her about that now.

GoGo became aware of her phone vibrating on the workbench. She suddenly remembered she told Fred she was going to text Aunt Cass, but she hadn't yet. "It's Aunt Cass," GoGo sighed, looking at her phone. She didn't answer it, after she saw his frown. As expected, a text followed soon after.

"Thank you.. just, for everything," Hiro breathed, looking down at the floor.

"Anytime," she said, knowing what he meant and patted his back. "It was very cathartic."

"It helped…" he agreed.

GoGo dropped her arm just so she could text her response to his aunt. Then she looked to Hiro with her reserved poker face. "I'm starved. Let's go and see if that noodle stand on the way home is open."

"Thanks… but, I still need to finish—" he stood up.

"No," GoGo cut him off, also getting back to her feet. "Because I told your Aunt I'm taking you home."

Hiro looked at her rather disapprovingly. He really did have so much to do, and he wouldn't be able to get back into the labs for two whole days. "I can't… I have to finish up my report, since the labs won't be—"

"Hiro, seriously… the labs are closed now. Get your stuff together and let's go!"

He just gripped his head with both hands, anxiety building again as he tried to think out a fall-back plan in response to her demands.

"Hey, I can help you with Geronimo when I get back on Monday,"

"That's not it," Hiro sighed. There was also his other classes, and maybe talking to someone again about his grant to fund Baymax.

"What happened to your own tablet?"

"A table in the café smashed its keyboard," he sat back down at his desk, looking at what he had done so far. Then it finally occurred to him what she said. "Wait… You're leaving this weekend? Where?"

"You didn't hear the conversation from the other night?" GoGo stood behind him. He just shook his head 'no' without looking at her.

"My foster parents wanted me to go home for Thanksgiving. They have some of their family from Korea also visiting. So they made it a big deal that I go to LA to meet them."

"Oh… have a good trip," he simply told her. Why did it suddenly bother him now that she was not going to be here? It was just four days. Four long days. What if Yama's gang got restless again?

Then he found himself facing her after she spun his chair around. "Hey, I'm not leaving until tomorrow morning, genius.. so get your stuff together, and we'll all have a study session at your house, tonight. Okay?"

"O-okay," Hiro swallowed. Like this, she made it hard to say no now. "By 'we', you mean the others too?"

"Whoever's available," she shrugged.

He sighed, saving his work and then closing out the extra windows on his monitor before shutting everything down.

"You can borrow my laptop too, if that'll help. It's got a foldout screen option," GoGo also mentioned.

"Okay… you're not going to need it?" Hiro asked while getting the rest of what he needed together.

"I'll be okay over the weekend," she pulled out her phone to group text the others now. Honey might be busy with her family, but Fred and Wasabi didn't indicate any other plans for tonight.

"Just don't tell them I lost it—"

"Shit," she gasped, dropping her hands and looking at him in shock. "I just sent it."

Hiro covered his face with both hands in dismay, leaning back in his chair.

"Chill out," she bumped into him. "I was just teasing."

At that, he stared at her, before shaking his head and standing up.

"Hiro... if you need to talk, about anything," GoGo made eye contact with the young genius again, to show her genuine concern. "Talk. It's okay, really.


And when your fears subside
And shadows still remain
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain

"November Rain" by GNR


The misty, dense fog only added to the cold, overcast San Fransokyo morning, which the mood Hiro woke up with. It finally was Thanksgiving, a time that he used to be excited about. They would take turns in making the long road trip to Washington state to spend the weekend visiting with Aunt Cass's cousins, or invite them to come stay at the Lucky Cat. Either way, the anticipation of these get-togethers always made the start of the holiday season worth while.

This time, it wasn't going to happen. The stupid earthquake changed everything, and not having Tadashi around anymore diminished his desire to abandon this mess to drive up north. Aunt Cass reassured him she will do her best to make the best out if it, but he doubted that would make a difference.

That day was also the first time since late that summer that they finally agreed to go to the cemetery. Aunt Cass parked her truck in the small lot at the bottom of the garden that surrounded the cemetery and temple. More traditional Japanese who had followed Buddhist practices, would come to pay their respects during the autumnal equinox in September. Much of the grave sites were cleared and refreshed also. But clearly, he was not ready yet at that time.

Aunt Cass knew enough to teach them about Japanese traditions in regards to paying respects to their ancestors, but they never really followed any one belief. She just had a few pictures of his and Tadashi's parents on a shelf in honor of them. They also did not have an actual grave site here. Aunt Cass said it was in Japan, in their father's hometown, and so they would just go to the temple here to pay their respects.

This time, it felt completely different. His brother's gravestone was here.

Hiro really did not want to come, but he kept reminding himself of his promise he made last night that he would. He gripped the small steel bowl of still warm cooked rice, covered with a lid. Tucked carefully under his arm was the letter he wrote, and a set of disposable bamboo chopsticks. Both of these were the offering he was going to give, as part of Japanese custom.

It still made little sense though, despite the ancient customs and beliefs. The funeral service was the worse part. Try as they may to fool him, there really was nothing there. No body or ashes. An empty grave, holding an empty box. He didn't like knowing, thinking about what it meant. Saying that his brother was 'gone' sounded much better than suggesting that he became 'pink mist'.

The gravestone was simple. He told Aunt Cass to keep everything simple. No visitation at the funeral home, or a fancy service with flowers and catering. She reassured him it was not a problem to have the reception at their place after the graveside service, for their family and friends at least. He still thought it was insane how the funeral home wanted to make an extra profit from everything. This was just something none of them had been prepared for.

Hiro heavily knelt in front of the plain slab of granite flush with the lawn, forcing himself to become detached and numb from his actions. To be like a robot as he took the lid off the rice, and place it underneath the steel bowl. Then he set them carefully on the corner of gray stone. Hiro pulled out the chopsticks from the paper sleeve and broke them apart, only to pause when he looked at them. His carefully guarded emotions where suddenly exposed, when he remembered an analogy Tadashi told him once. One chopstick alone is useless, and can be easily broken. Two chopsticks, however, can accomplish many things. Many chopsticks gathered together, are impossible to break.

Dammit, why? The younger Hamada gritted his teeth, tears welling up in his eyes when he stuck both chopsticks upright in the middle of the bowl of rice. Loneliness tried to get the better of him again, reminding him of his loss.

After taking in another deep breath to regain his composure, he finally pulled out the letter to set next to the rice, and then paused briefly to trace one of the long carved strokes of Tadashi's name in Japanese characters. "Sumimasen, nii-san," he barely whispered the words of his heartfelt gratitude.

Hiro willed himself to stand up, but then had found himself in his aunt's arms. He had grow a little taller, was half a year older, but all this still felt like it happened yesterday. Just watching him must have really touched Aunt Cass. Her face was also wet with tears. He remembered his mom was her sister too, and that was the one thing they had in common. They both had lost their other chopstick, but they never were really alone.

"It'll be okay, Aunt Cass," he stepped back to look at her in consolation. "We can do this.. together."

"Oh sweetie," she hugged him again. And with the help of his brother's friends, his friends, they would become an indomitable force


November 23, 2025

Hiro Hamada

Classical Letters

ENG102

Dear Tadashi,

How have you been? I'm doing okay, I guess. The weather is total crap lately. Then on top of that, San Fransokyo got hit with a 6.5 earthquake last week, which did some major damage along the bay. Aunt Cass is okay too, fortunately. The Lucky Cat is a big mess though. We have been working on it every day to get it fixed up for business again. This is also right before finals, so they had to push back all the due dates at college too.

Everything at SFIT is different. Amazing. Challenging. Really, I can't tell you "thank you" enough for giving me that proverbial kick in the buttocks to get me to come here. It was because of your faith in me, that I kept hoping and believing I would make it in. Before, I never fully realized just how attentive and selfless of a person you were, not until that night at the expo. You did not have to go into that fire, but you did. That's what makes so many things different now.

If I had not told you how awesome Baymax was before, I am making sure I do now. Your healthcare robot is absolutely 'unbelievable'! He is a lot like you sometimes, just the way he's always there for me. Baymax has helped me understand a lot of stuff. He has helped all of us, really. I'm going to do what I can to make your plans for him come true, in more ways than one. I did have to make some more improvements on his programming and functions. Don't worry though, they were all good modifications to help Baymax become a better healthcare provider. Then next year, when I get more funding, I plan to present his prototype to SF's children's hospital. I read in your journals this was what you had wanted for him. All of your friends are helping me with making your wish come true.

I'll be honest though, Tadashi, I still miss you. You were my only brother, my partner in crime. Just knowing now that you are not there in person anymore is the hardest thing I have to get used to. Sometimes I think you'll come back, just because that's what you do. There's something else. I started to tell you that night, but I didn't get the chance. I want to apologize for lying to you, for all the times I snuck out to bot fight, and well, made you lose more sleep at night.

If it wasn't for your friends, and Baymax, watching out for me… I probably would be back out on the streets, bot fighting again. Thank you for leaving that lasting impact, that you will always be with me, in this way.

Take care of yourself, Nii-san, until I see you again.

Your Little Brother,

Hiro


The rest of the day went by much quicker, in a fortunate way. Aunt Cass had made a couple things to bring when she and Hiro went to Honey Lemon's house. Wasabi was invited too, since his family lived in New York, and they were fine with him waiting until Christmas to visit. Then Fred mentioned his parents were going to wait until Friday to celebrate, and so Honey Lemon invited him too just so he would stop giving her the puppy dog eyes.

Ironically he and Hiro ended up having to sit at one of the kid's tables, which hardly seemed to phase Fred. He played right along with their conversations about trading card games and cartoon shows. Things didn't get interesting until the two found themselves involved in a few heated rounds of virtual reality Pokémon matches. Hiro actually had to stress over winning strategies with the not so good cards he had if he wanted to save face.

Of course, Fred later invited Wasabi, Honey, and Hiro to come to his family's dinner on Friday, but they declined. It was most likely they did not want to feel obliged, after already being part of one really big feast. Hiro told Fred later he still might visit before the dinner, only to discuss Yama's gang. With that being said, Wasabi told them if they actually plan on doing anything about that, let him know.

With the video surveillance, and Hiro and Baymax flying back out to Akuma Island earlier to be sure, Callaghan did remove all the parts of the portals to make that bigger one over Krei tech. What had remained had been confiscated by the authorities. Which left Hiro to wonder about two more things. Would Yama have connections with someone on the inside, and did the Fujitas have the skills to build their own portals? It could be possible if they had their own techie gurus.

Wasabi simply reminded Hiro of the most obvious detail again. To keep Baymax grounded and at home safe. Why bother with the trouble of getting the first one, when they could steal Hiro's with a lot less effort. This didn't really help Hiro feel any more at ease. It left him wondering about any other ways that they could be tracking or watching him.

As a result, Hiro spent the rest of the weekend at home, which was fine for Aunt Cass. That just meant more hands to help her with cleaning and repairs. Wasabi offered to come over and help also. The others made one half true comment about how he enjoyed cleaning and organizing things, and that pretty much landed him the task to help Hiro straighten up the garage.

While the thought of making sense out of chaos and bringing order to the universe had brought an indescribable sense of self-gratification, Wasabi wasn't so sure if that would be achieved from helping Hiro with his garage. It was already something short of a mess before the earthquake. The whole situation was kind of awkward anyway, because it was just going to be him and the younger Hamada. Cleaning up isn't really Fred's kind of thing, and if he did come by, it would just to be a distraction. At least, according to Wasabi.

He and Hiro also were not big talkers to begin with, especially when they have a task to focus on. It was the matter of just talking casually that seemed a little more strained with the young prodigy now. Obviously, Hiro was simply under a lot of various stresses. More and more, he began wondering if Hiro also realized that he inadvertently stole Gogo from him. It was kind of apparent, ever since the Yokai incident, that she taken a liking to Hiro. Gogo pretty much kept to herself before, apart from her occasional flirtatious attempts between himself and Tadashi. But after spying the speed queen literally enjoying her lunch breaks with the younger Hamada, he knew his relationship with her was done. It was pointless to let that be an issue, but sometimes, when he found himself in situations like this, he would think about it.

Rather that forever dance around the issue, he decided to be the first to start a random topic with Hiro to loosen up the tension. They have seen how chatty the genius can be if the right topic was addressed.

"Have you seen Mt. Fuji?" Wasabi wondered, hopefully it was a fair question. The hand painted mural he had seen in the inside of the garage door prompted this opener.

"Um… yeah, few years ago," Hiro shrugged, pretty much engaged with sorting out the nuts from some bolts. The rest of his response, if he had more, was interrupted with a couple sneezes. A subtle reminder that Hiro mentioned earlier that he felt like he was coming down with something.

He nodded, quietly thankful that he was on the other side of the room working with Baymax in setting some shelving upright. "Did you live in Japan at any time?"

"Just when I was little… when my parents used to travel a lot." his answer sounded distant again.

"Aw, that's okay, little man," Wasabi smiled in an effort to keep the conversation light. However, he also realized the fact that both he and Gogo came from military families had been their common ground. "Back when my dad was active in the Army, we used to be stationed in Okinawa for about 6 years."

"You did?" the young genius looked up at him as he wiped his nose on his sleeve.

Wasabi hoped he didn't show his disgust too much upon seeing Hiro's action. "Yeah, when I was a teenager,"

"That's where you learned swords?"

"Yep," Wasabi nodded, "We lived in a lot of places, but that was my favorite one."

"Is that why you're at SFIT?"

The others had remarked a couple times why he hadn't gone to any of the prestigious east coast universities, since his family was currently from New York city's suburbs. "You could say that. I also felt I had ideas that could also make this university shine."

"By being the first to create a lightsaber," Hiro smiled a little. Yes, of all the useful things a physicist of his caliber could present, this was the one thing they had to keep reminding him of. It was a pretty cool feat, regardless.

Then the boy exploded with a series of sneezes again.

"It has been determined that a human sneeze can go 40 miles per hour, sending thousands of germs as far as 20 feet away," Baymax felt the need to educate them with his knowledge.

"And this is why I am asking you to get some tissues for him, and can of Lysol spray for me," Wasabi leaned in to the billowy robot.

"Sorry," Hiro apologized, meekly.

"Gesundheit," Baymax told him on his way out to retrieve the requested items.

Wasabi had thought about asking him where his grandparents lived in Japan, but the mood had kind of changed, and he gave up. Yep, definitely better to just focus on his work, and avoid the onslaught of germs.


Monday turned out to become so very long and tedious for Hiro. It was a full morning of classes, followed by a long afternoon in the labs. Gogo also ended up missing her classes, as she finally got back to the Greyhound bus station after they were all over that evening. The violent assortment of emojis she used in her texts pretty much summed up her feelings about her day. The most Hiro could do to keep her calm was to respond with equally absurd emojis. Somewhere in there he also managed to reassure her that at least she could make up for the exams she missed on Tuesday or Wednesday. A lot of the classes split up their oral presentations over the next few days as well. The biggest thing that upset Gogo, however, was that she could not be available to help him that evening with his project. She had been called in to work to make a crap load of deliveries since the other person called in sick.

Hiro admitted that she shouldn't worry about coming over after she finished her deliveries, because he felt pretty sick himself. His cold had gotten worse as the day progressed, and if it wasn't finals week, he would have just stayed home. The young prodigy really didn't think there was much he could effectively accomplish on anything at this point, even after the additional medicine Baymax gave him.

Aunt Cass had took it upon herself to drop him off at the campus that morning, since he had both robots with him. However, she had other commitments that evening, and so Hiro was on his own in getting back. He was fine with leaving his robots in the lab just for the night just to make getting back home easier. After blowing his nose for the umpteenth time, otherwise resorting to plugging up his nostrils to stop the constant drip of his runny nose, Hiro changed his mind about leaving Baymax there.

In his cold medicine-induced delirium, the young genius concluded that if he could just fly home on him, it would be the easiest way possible. Baymax had refused, just because Hiro was feverish and it was wet and cold outside. He tried to protest that it would be faster at least, but Baymax would not suit up no matter what he did or said.

Hiro eventually surrendered and took the subway home. It was a line he was not too familiar with, since many of the lines had not been cleared yet due to extensive damage on some of the overpasses. He still was wary about Baymax being stolen, and set the case right next to him on the seat. Other times he would push the case under his seat, if not just let Baymax travel as a robot, but he feared that would not be safe this time. It was hard to miss an inflatable robot, really, but people hardly seemed to notice when he had what looked like a carry-on suitcase. This time, the fatigued freshman also found the case comfortable enough to sleep on, after folding his arms on top of it to rest his aching head.


The opportunity really was not expected, which was all the more reason why the lanky man who had stepped on the subway car heading downtown became excited. Just to be sure, he snapped a quick picture with his phone of the bushy haired boy asleep on a red box, and sent it to one of the higher ups in his gang. Only a couple short minutes passed before his assumptions were confirmed.

This was the kid they had lost track of last week after the earthquake.

His instruction was simply to follow him, and find out why he was headed downtown. Well, once the boy woke up. The punk also concluded that Hiro was by himself, as the only other person sitting next to him on the long bench seat was an elderly African American lady. Many more stops came and went, as did the crowds of people, making it a test on the restless man's patience to wait for the kid to wake up and make a move.


Something startled him. Maybe a person bumping into him, or the lurching of the subway car starting up again from its last stop. His awareness kicked up a notch as he started to wonder how long he had been asleep. It was darker outside now, and otherwise hard to see the scenery blurring by. He wiped his nose on his sweatshirt sleeve next, becoming painfully aware of that again.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Hiro politely asked the grandmotherly woman next to him. "What was the last stop?"

Her answer confirmed his suspicions. He missed his stop, like a hundred stations ago. Hiro ran his hands through his hair in thought, going through his options. He definitely needed to get off, and on to another train headed back east. The teen stared at the diagram to see which ones were active, then got off the second stop after the next one.

All he knew was that he was downtown somewhere, and not in the more populated, touristy section. Hiro didn't like how he felt that he was the only one left on the platform as he waited either. Since it was later in the evening, he had to wait for what felt like forever for the next train.

Then he heard something odd. It sounded like something had whizzed by his head. Hiro looked over his shoulder, and somehow noticed a large red shiruken stuck in the concrete column next to him. Then from behind the column stepped out a tall Japanese lady, dressed in a modern punk style geisha outfit, and the inline skates she wore exaggerated her height. "Fancy meeting you here, Zero."

Fuck. Hiro's mind began reeling from the fact that he was in no way ready for this.

Before he was able to key in an alert on his smart watch, the teen was grabbed from behind by another Fujita who came out of nowhere. She was on roller skates, they all were. Hiro still managed to break free from squirming out of her grip, and fell to the concrete. The three of them surrounded him, keeping him away from Baymax, still in case form.

"Ow, Baymax, help!" Hiro shouted. He had to say something to get his robot guardian to activate, because he hadn't yet. The girls also kept throwing weapons and punches at him, keeping him unable to reach the robot. He blocked a strong blow, his watch taking the brunt of it. The cracked face from the watch felt off in his next evasive maneuver to dodge another attack. His hopes in getting out of this in one piece plummeted, because they also must have inactivated Baymax with something. His robot stopped inflating immediately after his command.

"Baymax, su—" Hiro yelled at him anyway. His next words were cut off when a Fujita grabbed him more tightly into a chokehold.

"He's not as much of a fighter like your other ones, eh?" she spoke with a malicious tone into the younger Hamada's ear. "Don't worry…. we can fix that."

"No.. no, no!" Hiro wheezed as he dug his fingers into her arm, trying to relieve the pressure off his windpipe. Then he quickly drove his closest elbow into her solar plexus, his adrenalin on overload. That was enough to loosen her grip around his neck, but she still held him by his other arm. The teen retaliated with a series of kicks at her feet and legs to knock her off balance.

"Take the robot," another Fujita barked to the punk who spotted Hiro earlier, lurking further back on the platform. "We gotta finish this before the next train comes!"

Hiro fought back in every way he could without his superstition to back him up, but they were just as skilled against all his attacks. It literally became a fight for his life.


AN:

I told you this chapter was going to be a trip. It was truly cathartic for me as well, since I was dealing with many unfortunate things in my life during this chapter.

Oh.. Hey, lots more favs and follows for this fic. Thanks guys!

Skyh1gh: Wow, that's very awesome to know how much you enjoyed both of my stories! Thank you so much for your review, it made my day! :D

I also like having intimate moments b/with characters, without being sexual. Because yes, Gogo is painfully aware that the legal dating age in CA is 18. But... Hiro don't care. That being said, I also had major song influences from Rachel Platten "Stand By You", Avicii "Broken Arrows" and "Wake Me Up" (all their music is good!), A Great Big World "Oasis" and "Hold Each Other", um… the list goes on! Sorry... ^^;

Since I started this fic, I've also fancied the idea that Hiro wasn't so great with English, or reading and writing a lot. Could not really find a valid reason, apart that maybe prodigies may not always be smart in every area, due to left brain/right brain reasons (aka Einstein was a dyslexic). But then I read this other fanfic, and loved the idea that was used. It was from ShippingLikeAPackage's collection of one shot stories, "How to Survive with a Big Brother: Hamada Edition". The one in question was Chapter 11. ;D

Thank you again for reading!