A/N; So that was intense. And guess what? It only continues here! In case you couldn't immediately tell, this is from Tadashi's POV and the story will probably return to Rena after this. It will pick up after this and we'll get into the more superhero side so just hang on. I'll be completely honest, I have no idea where I'm going with this. I have a rough plot outline in my head but I'm weighing up some different ideas and experimenting with them so bear with for now.
Rena jerked away from him and Tadashi sighed and returned to wiping the side. Some customer had spilled their coffee all over their table and had decided not to tell any of them, leaving a sticky mess behind them. He could hear his sister retreating back upstairs and decided not to ask her to at least finish her shift. Robbie and Iris were coming soon, he could handle the no customers and sticky surfaces until they arrived. He straightened out and wiped the sweat from his brow. It wasn't even hot in the cafe, he'd just done nothing but run around for the past few hours amid the mad rush of customers. Not that he was complaining, the business was great. He wandered back over to the counter and was just about to grab an ice cold glass of lemonade and a muffin to accompany him whilst he did his homework when he heard the unmistakable shattering of glass. He groaned and slid neatly back over the counter. Hiro was probably trying some stupid invention. Actually no, hang on. Hiro was still in the kitchen. Surely that wasn't Rena? She was normally so careful?
'Rena?' He called up the stairs, 'you okay?'
He heard no answer and quickened his pace, jogging up the stairs. His shoes crunched on broken glass and he winced when he realised that she'd smashed a picture. Gently, he bent down and lifted the photograph from the floor. He tipped the shards of glass onto the floor and smiled at the picture. It was a picture of Rena and Tadashi in the river when they were kids. Hiro was sitting on the banking and his tiny face was stretched into a wide grin as he watched he pair of them splash about in the water. Tadashi felt a pang of sadness. This was mere weeks before That Day in which their lives had fallen apart. He sighed and tucked the photograph into his pocket. He was about to stand up when he noticed something so tiny that no one else would have picked up on it. A smear of red amongst the glass. It was tiny, almost unnoticeable but the tiny mark of blood sent alarm bells ringing in his head. He stood up and, as if on cue, another smash of glass from upstairs and a scream.
'Rena?' He yelled up again, his heart hammering in his chest. He tucked the photo in his pocket and lumbered clumsily up the stairs. He came to the top and wiped his sweating palms on his jeans. No, he was overreacting. She was fine. But... the threat. What if they'd found her? He didn't even know who they were but ever since they'd sent him that... that thing. God, he was such an idiot. Why didn't he watch over his sister more? And Hiro! Hiro was on his own upstairs, for all Tadashi knew he was dead...
'Dashi.'
Tadashi nearly cried with relief when he heard her voice, but this relief quickly vanished when he processed what was actually happening. Her voice was so slurred that his first thought was that she'd been drinking. She was stood in the kitchen, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest and shaking. She was looking at him but Tadashi had the distinct impression that she couldn't see him. Her eyes were glassy and faraway, her pupils still as dilated as they had been down in the cafe. He forced himself to remain calm, panicking and freezing up would be no good to anyone. He had the annoying tendency to do that sometimes. His sister retched and he snapped out of his daze.
'Rena?' He said cautiously, stepping towards her. She let out a strangled kind of sob and he felt a stab of guilt. He should have picked up on this earlier. She shook her head and tried to walk towards him but she hit the table with a sharp cry. Tadashi reached forward to grab her wrist but she shrank away from him, clamping her hands over her ears.
'S...stop.' She sobbed.
'I didn't say anything.' Tadashi replied anxiously. He didn't know what was going on and that terrified him. He'd spent months poring over medical textbooks and hadn't read much like this. It was like she was having some kind of fit or hallucination. 'Rena. Look at me.
She shook her head, but Tadashi had the feeling that she hadn't heard him at all. He stood there and watched her, unsure of what to do. he hated being unsure, he wasn't used to it.
'I...I don't.. are you alright?' He asked her desperately, his mind working on overtime as he tried to figure out a solution. He didn't want to scare her by approaching any closer. The last thing that he wanted was for his little sister to be afraid of him. But she needed help. Would Hiro know what to do? But he didn't want to drag him into this if he didn't have to. Aunt Cass? No, she was down in the cafe and he knew he couldn't leave Rena there alone in this weird state. He exhaled deeply. He had to come up with something. Why was his brain failing him now?! If only Baymax was completed.
He reached for his phone in his pocket but cursed loudly when he realised that he left it on the counter downstairs. Rena flinched away from the loud noise and Tadashi cringed as she stood on the broken glass, the small crunch seemed to echo around the tiny kitchen. The air was so tense you could practically taste its bitterness.
Rena looked up at him and her face was so pale that Tadashi winced. 'Dashi... please... I-' She stepped forwards and her knees buckled. Time seemed to slow down. Tadashi lunged forwards but he was too slow. She came crashing to the floor next to the pitiful pile of glass and her eyes rolled back up into her head. She twitched once and then lay still.
Tadashi crouched on the floor next to her, still trying to process what had just happened. Then, it all hit at once and his brotherly protectiveness went into overdrive. He did exactly as he should, gently moving her so she was in the recovery position. He placed his shaking fingers gingerly to her neck and was relieved to find a pulse. But it was incredibly weak and her breathing was so faint that you could barely detect it. She was slipping fast, and the urgency of the situation heightened his senses as well as his heart rate. He crouched back on his knees, prosthetic digging uncomfortably into him but he scarcely noticed.
'HIRO!' He screamed as loud as he could. He didn't dare leave her side. Because he had no idea what had happened, this only made things about ten times more dangerous. If he left and she vomited, or had a heart attack then she would probably be dead by the time he came back. The thought terrified him enough to remain in place. 'HIRO! PLEASE! HIRO!'
His younger brother came sauntering down the stairs, rolling his eyes. 'What is it now? Need the genius of the family to help you figure out the toaster?' He materialised in the doorway and caught sight of Tadashi kneeling on the floor and trembling, Rena lying unconscious at his feet. His face paled and his grin slipped off his face. 'What the hell happened?!'
Tadashi shook his head. 'I don't know what's wrong. Call an ambulance, she's barely breathing!'
Hiro nodded and took his phone out his pocket, immediately punching the number in. 'Ambulance! Please!' He walked backwards out of the room, giving Tadashi a thumbs up sign despite the terrified look on his face.
Tadashi turned back to his sister and fought back a sob. He knew something like this was coming. He could have prevented this! Why hadn't he thought to be more careful? Ever since that warning had come in the mail he'd been more on guard than ever. Now he'd let it slip, and look where it got them! Of course he could have told her... No. This was clearly a mystery that he had to solve on his own. He did not want either of his siblings to get infused into this mess any further. Rena had done absolutely nothing and yet here she was, lying on the floor almost dead. But still, Tadashi hadn't done anything either! He hadn't understood a word of that messy handwriting... what was he going to 'pay' for? What the hell had he done? Did these people do this to his little sister? He didn't even know who they were! There was a very high chance that that letter was just a stupid prank and he was overreacting as usual. He balled his hands into fists. Why them? What had the Hamadas ever done to anyone?
Hiro came back and knelt on the other side of their sister. Neither of them said anything for a minute before he younger brother said 'I called the ambulance. They're on their way.'
Tadashi nodded wordlessly. His hands moved seamlessly, constantly checking and adjusting and moving. Rena didn't even stir and this worried him greatly. He hoped that she would have awoken by now but she was remaining stubbornly still.
'Can I help?' Hiro asked anxiously, biting his lip. Tadashi noted the slight shaking of his hands and felt tears welling up in his eyes.
'No.' Tadashi cleared his throat loudly, 'I mean, no. They should be here any second. I, uh- go get Aunt Cass. Bring her up.'
Hiro nodded meekly and scurried downstairs. Tadashi let the tears roll freely down his face for just a minute before hurriedly wiping them away. Aunt Cass appeared in the doorway, her face ashen. 'What happened?! How long has she been out?'
'About five minutes.' Tadashi replied hoarsely. 'And for the first question? I have absolutely no idea.'
Cass looked stricken. Clearly she thought at least one of her genius nephews had an answer for what had happened to her niece. 'Is she alright? I don't... I have no idea...'
'It's alright Aunt Cass.' Tadashi said, although he didn't make any move towards comforting her physically. He gave A Look to Hiro, who immediately understood and wrapped his arms around her. Cass hugged him back, the look of panic on her face still not subsiding.
'She's gonna be fine.' Tadashi said reassuringly, despite the horrible voice in the back of his mind telling him that he was wrong. He pushed it away. At least until Rena was safe. He could hold on until then.
Right?
'Only one family member allowed I'm afraid.' Said the paramedic apologetically, 'you have to decide now, we need to get her to the hospital and fast.'
Tadashi gave the guy a look of fury. He knew it wasn't his fault and yet he still couldn't help but feel angry. As soon as they'd arrived, they'd dragged Hiro and Tadashi our the room as they shouted words that he only half understood. All he knew was that his little sister was very close to death and he couldn't even hold her hand.
'You go.' He said automatically to Cass, 'I'll follow in the car with Hiro.'
Cass nodded, clearly relieved that Tadashi wasn't going to fight her on this. She stepped carefully into the ambulance. 'I'll see you at the hospital. I love you! Call me if-' But her voice was cut off by the door slamming. The lights went on and immediately the ambulance turned and sped out of sight, leaving Tadashi alone on the pavement. He ran a hand through his hair, uttered a curse word so foul that he was momentarily surprised that he even knew what it meant.
Tadashi turned and hurried back into the cafe, slamming the door behind him. Hiro immediately jumped up from the table he was sitting at. He stared up at Tadashi, his eyes wide and face pale. He was trembling from head to foot and Tadashi could see the tear tracks running down his face. The last fifteen minutes or so had been intense. Really intense. There was a lot of paramedics and a lot of shouting, which immediately freaked the kid out. And then they had refused to tell Hiro what was going on and had refused to let him anywhere near the ambulance. Probably because he was practically in hysterics.
'Is she okay? Is she dead? Please don't say she's dead I swear-'
Tadashi pulled him into a fierce hug, crushing Hiro against his chest. Surprisingly, the younger Hamada hugged him back instead of pulling away like he ordinarily would have done. 'She's not dead.' Tadashi said thickly. Don't cry don't cry don't cry don't cry. If he cried then Hiro would panic even more.
Hiro exhaled, nodding feverishly. 'What's wrong with her? Is she going to be okay?'
'I don't know. They wouldn't tell me. Get your shoes on, we're gonna follow them in the car.'
Hiro swallowed. 'What... now? I...'
Tadashi squeezed his hand. 'Yes, now. We, I, need to make sure that she's okay. I know you don't like hospitals, but we can't put this off. Okay?'
The younger boy sighed. 'Yeah, I know. You're right.'
Tadashi pulled neatly into the parking spot despite the trembling in his hands. He shared Hiro's combined fear and hatred of hospitals. They had been in there too many times, from the time that Hiro almost died to the time that Tadashi was in the fire and now Rena almost dying. Oh, and the time that their parents died. Some people may call it an irrational fear but in Tadashi's mind it was perfectly reasonable. Over the years, they'd been in hospital way too many times for it to be normal.
'Come on.' Tadashi said heavily. He got out and took a deep breath of air. He eyed the foreboding building and felt a tingling sensation in his right leg. He tried to ignore it, telling himself that it wasn't real. Not that it did any good. No matter how hard he tried, he could never quite shake the phantom limb pain. Hiro appeared without a word by his side and grabbed his hand. 'He must have been scared,' Tadashi thought to himself, 'he hasn't done that since he was a kid.'
Tadashi pulled his brother along and fished for his phone in his pocket. He had remembered to grab it off the counter before they left and he was suddenly grateful for his good memory when he read the text he had received from Cass, detailing where the room was. That was all though, no updates on Rena or anything. He quickened his pace, texting whilst he walked. He was just about to slip his phone back in his pocket when it vibrated in his hand.
Honey Lemon
Hey, you on your way?
He bit back a curse, mindful of the handful of people that were around and about. In all the chaos, he'd completely forgotten to tell his friends that none of them were gonna be able to make it to Fred's. Fred had managed to get a hold of some new gaming console a month before it had been released and they were going to waste the afternoon away playing video games together. He tapped out a brief response to the girl, not wanting to detail exactly what had happened.
Tadashi
Sorry, we're not gonna be able to make it. Will call you later or something.
He felt slightly guilty about leaving his friends in the dark but also didn't want to worry them. He'd tell them later, when he actually knew what was going on. He pushed open the doors to the hospital and they sped past a number of doctors and patients alike. Tadashi didn't take in any of their faces though, he was too busy trying to get to his sister. They rounded the corner and he punched the elevator call button perhaps a little too harshly. He leaned against the wall as they moved up through the floors, silently wishing for it to go faster.
'You okay?' He asked Hiro, feeling bad that he had momentarily forgotten that his little brother was even there. Hiro nodded but Tadashi wasn't convinced. He didn't want to push him though so they remained in silence until they had reached the fourth floor.
'Which way?' Hiro asked quietly, his voice shaking.
'I don't know, Aunt Cass just said fourth floor. I'm sure we'll find them though.' Tadashi said confidently. He turned his head to the side, weighing up the options. 'Let's just go this way, we can always ask someone if we get lost.'
They rounded the corner and took a left, and then a right. They came to a dead end more than once and had to re-trace their steps but eventually Tadashi caught a glimpse of Cass's work uniform and made a beeline directly towards her.
'Aunt Cass!' He called, forcing himself to sound cheery.
Cass turned and her worried expression melted into one of relief when she saw her nephews. She crashed into Tadashi and gave him a suffocating hug, almost making is ribs crack. 'Thank god you're here.' She murmured into the older Hamada's shoulder.
'What's happening?' He asked her, craning his neck for a glimpse of a doctor or someone that he could ask for more a better idea of whether or not his sister was dead or not.
'She's just down there.' Cass replied anxiously, pointing down the corridor. 'They won't let me go anywhere near though. I don't know what's going on but I was told to wait here and a doctor will come see me.'
'Okay.' Tadashi said, nodding. 'There's a waiting room just through here, do you wanna wait there?'
She nodded and they sat down together in the dingy little room. There was a man in the corner reading an old magazine that had been left there but apart from the that the waiting room was empty. Tadashi had no idea which part of the hospital they were even in, he hadn't bothered to read the signs as they breezed past them. Aunt Cass was working her way steadily through a pile of gossip magazines, skimming through the pages for any interesting recipes. Hiro sat with his knees pulled up to his chest, tapping subconsciously on the arm of his chair. Tadashi took his phone out for something to do to distract himself from the worry gnawing away at his insides. He drafted out a text to Honey Lemon to explain where they were and deleted it. He rephrased it and deleted it again. On and on this went for about fifteen minutes before he admitted defeat and exited out of the app completely. He exhaled slowly and tipped his head back towards the ceiling. The fluorescent lights stung his eyes and he squeezed them shut, a million thoughts and questions running through his empty head. What happened to Rena? Was she dead? Was this anything to do with the note that had been shoved through their letterbox? He was pretty certain that it had everything to do with it. His fingers moved automatically to the crumpled piece of paper he had shoved in his pocket, bitterly wishing that he'd never seen it.
Two weeks ago, it was just a normal Saturday. Tadashi awoke before anyone else, as always. He'd gotten dressed and quietly made his way downstairs. He did the same as he did every weekend. He made his toast and coffee and settled down at the kitchen table with a book. It was one of his all time favourites, the Great Gatsby. His brother and sister often made fun of him for liking 'old' books but Tadashi didn't care. It was a book that his Father had read to him when he was younger. Although Tadashi was small, the story had enthralled him. It was one that he had always kept close to his heart, he was sentimental like that. He remembered standing up to refill his glass of water and hearing the sound of the letterbox opening and closing again. Tadashi was already preoccupied with his novel and thoughts of the various equations that he would need for his homework. Otherwise, he would have immediately clocked on to the strangeness of the situation. The sun had barely arisen and already the mail was being delivered? The mail was usually delivered right before lunch. For as long as he could remember he'd run downstairs right before making his lunch and there would be the mail!
Tadashi scooped up the dirty envelope and frowned. There was no address, or a stamp. He opened the door to scan the street for any sign of the letter deliverer, but no one was about. He stepped outside and looked around but there were no signs of life. Sighing, he stepped back inside and looked at the letter again. Nope, there was definitely no address. Tadashi debated whether or not to open it. He didn't know who it was for! What if it was some kind of secret letter especially written for someone in the house? It was pretty unlikely but still. However, his curiosity got the better of him and he tore the envelope open. A single piece of paper was inside and he took it out, not immediately recognising the untidy scrawl nor what it said. He squinted at it and nearly dropped it in his horror.
YOU WON'T BE SAFE FOR MUCH LONGER. WE ARE COMING. EVERYONE YOU LOVE AND CHERISH WILL BE DEAD, STARTING WITH YOUR BELOVED FAMILY. THEN, WE WILL KILL YOU.
Tadashi stood frozen in a mix of terror and shock. Surely this was a joke? But something told him that this note was serious. Someone was planning on hurting them.
For the last couple of weeks, that note was all he could think about. He'd tried to push it from his mind but it remained stubbornly in his head, a tiny little nagging thing that refused to move. They were in danger, he knew that. And now he'd let Rena get hurt. He knew that people were coming for them and yet he wasn't competent enough to stop them. Now his little sister could die all because he didn't think to warn her. What was he thinking, keeping something like that a secret from her? He had always told her everything. After all, he had no choice. Rena had always had this annoying knack of being able to see right through him all of the time. He'd let her down, and if she died he would never, ever forgive himself for it. The question remained of who the note was intended for, but as Tadashi's eyes drifted over to the small form of his baby brother he had a nagging sensation that there was something Hiro wasn't telling him. Maybe the note was meant for him? Tadashi struggled to think of anything that Hiro had done to anyone, the kid wasn't exactly very scary. Sure, he'd got caught up in botfighting a while back but it had been months since then! Besides, Hiro had never pissed off anyone major... right? Tadashi had enough confidence in his brother's common sense. No, it can't have been for him. Then who was the note for? Or was this just some random psycho who just wanted to see their family suffer for no reason other than to get sick enjoyment out of it?
Tadashi was so enveloped in his worries that he didn't notice a doctor had entered the room until he was right in front of them. His head snapped forward and he was suddenly wide awake again.
'Guardian of Rena Hamada please.' The doctor said. Tadashi scanned his face for any kind of giveaway of news but the doctor remained pensive.
Aunt Cass stood and nervously followed the doctor out into the hallway. She didn't close the door behind her and Tadashi felt a rush of gratitude towards her. She knew that her nephews would want to be updated as well as she did. Unfortunately for them, the doctor was speaking so quietly that Tadashi had to strain his ears to hear even a couple of words. He grabbed Hiro's hand almost instinctively as the words "double kidney failure" met his ears.
'Shit.' He muttered under his breath. 'Shit shit shit.'
Hiro gave him a panicked look and Tadashi noticed the warning signs. The rapid rise and fall of his chest, the way his eyes darted frantically around the room and the beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead. His brotherly instincts jumped out and he knelt in front of the teen, suddenly uninterested in anything that the doctor had to say.
'Breathe. It's okay. Breathe. After me, yeah? Breathe.'
Fortunately, he had noticed the panic attack faster than Hiro had so the younger Hamada was quickly able to get in under control. He nodded and followed Tadashi's instructions silently. His breathing became normal a lot faster than usual and Tadashi beamed at him despite the circumstances.
'That was great. Really great. I'm so prou-'
A shout interrupted him mid-sentence and shocked him into silence. He whirled around just in time to spot the doctor bolting down the corridor after the signs of commotion. Tadashi stood quickly, heart hammering in his chest. He grabbed Hiro's wrist, not wanting to leave his brother alone and vulnerable in the waiting room.
'What's happening?' He demanded of Cass as soon as he got out of the dingy little room.
Cass shook her head, her lips pursed tightly together. Tadashi let go of Hiro's wrist and sprinted down the hall, ignoring their protests behind him.
Somehow, the oldest Hamada knew what was happening before he even heard the flatline. He burst around the corner and ran straight into a startled looking nurse.
'Sir!' She squeaked indignantly, 'I'm going to have to ask that you leave this area at once-'
'No!' Tadashi cried, trying to barge past her. He felt slightly guilty but it was nothing compared to the burning desire to reach Rena. 'That's my sister! Please! I need to see her! Please!'
The nurse shook her head, close to tears herself. 'Please get back! You're only hindering the doctors!'
'Dashi!' It was Hiro. He grabbed his older brother's wrist and pulled him backwards, staring at him in shock. 'What are you doing?!'
Tadashi felt like he was going to be sick. Nope, he definitely was going to be sick. He shook his head at Hiro and dived into the bathroom. Fortunately, there had been one right opposite them. He collapsed onto the floor and retched disgustingly, his whole body shuddering with coughs as he vomited into the stall. Rena was dead. She was dead. She'd flatlined and it was all his fault. If he had noticed then she wouldn't be dead. His fault. His fault.
He sat back onto his knees and let out a howl of misery, his hands balling into fists. It wasn't fair! Why'd life never go right for him? First his beloved parents, and now his sister? The person that knew him better than anyone was dead and it was all his fault.
'Tadashi!' Hiro was at his side, pulling at Tadasbi's arms uselessly. He never was very strong. Tadashi looked up at his younger brother through blurry eyes and fought past his instinct to curl up on the floor and simply fall asleep. He stood jerkily, barely standing on his own. Hiro flung himself at him and they remained hugging for a long time, long enough so that Tadashi's tears had dried up. Hiro pulled away from him and stared at him in the eyes.
'She's not dead.' The kid said, so confidently that Tadashi almost let himself believe it.
'Hiro... I heard the flatline-'
'I can't believe you'd give up on her so easily. It's Rena! She's not dying, I won't let her. She won't let herself, you know she won't.'
'Hiro, please.' Tadashi knew he didn't really believe it, he was just resorting to denial. It broke his heart to say that Hiro was wrong but he wouldn't set himself up for disappointment.
Tears shone in his brother's eyes but he shook his head stubbornly. 'Nope. They'll bring her back. They will. THEY WILL. Come on.'
He dragged Tadashi out into the hallway and Tadashi found himself beginning to believe him. Yeah, this was Rena! She wouldn't let a little thing like this stop her. This was the girl that twisted her ankle in the middle of a race when she was 12 and kept running until she won. He looked at Hiro with a mix of admiration and pride. Yeah. He was right. Rena was going to survive.
They both stood in the hallway together. Tadashi took Hiro's hand and squeezed it. Hiro smiled weakly back at him, his confidence already wavering. Tadashi knew he was a lot more terrified than he was letting on and fought down the urge to hug him again. They were fine as they were.
'I'm not giving up on you.' He whispered. A shiver ran down his spine and installed a new sense of confidence inside him. Deep down, Tadashi was certain that Rena was alive. Even if the pile of sick in the bathroom and the tears still in his eyes said differently.
'She never gave up on you.' Hiro said sadly, 'even when I did. After the fire, I'd given up completely. Rena never did. She always believed that you'd pull through. So I'm not shutting down again, I'm not going to stop believing. I don't care how sappy that sounds. Rena deserves someone to still believe in her.'
'Yeah.' Tadashi said, 'she does. I'm sorry I didn't do that right away.'
'You heard her flatline Tadashi, I don't blame you. But she's alive.'
Tadashi turned to see Cass running down the hallway towards her nephews, a look of upmost relief and happiness on her face. Cass opened her mouth but before she could say anything to them Tadashi smiled.
'Yeah.' He said, 'she is.'
