Hey, it's been a while. I'm sorry! I hope you're well and happy reading this, and if you're not I hope good things come to you soon. I keep meaning to log on and write loads but I've been lacking in both motivation and time. Fortunately, term has ended so I have a glorious 6 weeks free from exams and homework so I can hopefully focus a lot more on actually getting this finished! I don't know what's coming next; the idea of leaving these characters forever lowkey breaks my heart cause I love them so much. Who knows, I may write some stuff and have them come in as cameos! I was also thinking of a couple of really short stories I could write, maybe one before all of this set when all three Hamadas were at High School? I'd really like to improve my general writing with coming up with plots that haven't just been nicked straight from a film, which is why I'm currently writing this sequel as well as the AU. Anyway, I still don't really know where I'm going with this so I'll just bullshit my way through to the ending that I have in mind.

A quick recap (seeing as it's been so long and I actually kinda need this myself!)

Rena fell ill on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. She was experiencing strange hallucinations as well as confusion and lapse in her memory. She collapsed in her kitchen shortly after Tadashi found her screaming. She was rushed to a hospital, where she subsequently suffered from cardiac arrest and died. We moved to a strange chapter of Rena and some of her worst memories, including the car crash that left her an orphan and the time her one true love moved halfway across the world (spoiler alert - she's gay! Waaaay!)

SO then we have Hiro and Tadashi waiting by her bedside. Hiro's angsty and bored and impatient (different behaviour as is what is displayed when he is in a similar situation with Tadashi. I didn't really catch on to this until after I wrote it, but there is a huge contrast between the depressed, hopeless shell of a person he was when he thought Tadashi was going to die compared to Rena. Honestly? I could write an essay on why I did this because I'm a massive English Lit nerd but the main reason for this is because he needs to be at this moment. If he simply shut down as he did with Rena, Tadashi would have been unable to handle this. Put simply, Tadashi and Rena are polar opposites. When Hiro JUST had Rena, he was able to kinda shut down and feel hopeless a bit because Rena is the stronger of the two of them. But when it is just Tadashi and Hiro, they are both about as strong as each other. None of them are particularly strong or weak, they're pretty fairly matched. They need each other to be okay or they're both gonna sink. If Hiro falls into depression, so will Tadashi. If Tadashi falls into depression, so will Hiro. But with Rena and Hiro, Hiro will allow himself to slip because he knows (or at least he thinks) his sister will be able to handle this. Really simply put, Rena is stronger than her brothers cause she's badass and I love her. (And also super good at suppressing her emotions but we won't get into that.) I feel as though that didn't make much sense but... that's just my take. I would really love to do a proper analysis of the characters properly so I may do that in the future.) ANYWAY, ridiculously long side note aside, Hiro goes outside to get some fresh air and sees a strange man. He panics and goes back into the building. We switch to a strange man and his servant, and they say some very worrying things about Hiro and his family. Then - Rena wakes up! Yay! And now, here we are.

Tl;dr - Hello, I'm back. Sorry for it being so long since the last update! I don't know what I'm gonna do after this, but I will probably continue writing these characters in some shape or form. In the last few chapters, Rena died and came back because she's strong and powerful and shit. I may write an in depth character analysis because I'm a nerd.

Alright. I hope you enjoy. As always, reviews are greatly, greatly appreciated!

:D


Jason Fournier stared at the kid sat in front of him. Bright eyed and tiny, as soon as the child sat down he knew he'd destroy him. He'd beaten many older, more experienced fighters before. He was the champion; no one dared to challenge him unless they were an experienced fighter. Fournier had spent years building and developing his robot until it was the best in the game. He had the ultimate signature moves, and they hadn't failed him yet.

'This is my first fight,' the kid said shakily, as though he'd only just realised what he'd done. 'go easy on me.'

Fournier chuckled maliciously. 'No chance. Beat it kid, before I crush you.'

To his surprise, the dark-haired teen remained firmly where he was sat. 'I have money to play!' He lifted his hand into the light and Jason could see a thick wad of notes clutched in his tiny fist. He grinned evilly.

'Alright then squirt. If you're prepared to loose, then on your head be it.'

He nodded to his brother, Matthew Fournier. Matthew stepped forwards and grabbed the cash from the kid, shoving it into a red box balanced on a table to the left of the ring. Jason handed him a roll of cash and watched his brother drop it in next to it. Jason and Matthew Fournier were pros. Their names were feared by every botfighter in town, everyone knew who they were. Everyone knew that they always, always came out on top. Jason wasn't ever worried by his competitors, even the biggest, scariest, meanest looking guys simply made him laugh. Weaklings, all of them.

Matthew stepped forwards with an old, tattered umbrella.

'3.'

The audience jeered at the kid as he placed his tiny bot in front of him. Jason let out a howl of laughter at the pathetic little thing, with its yellow smiley face plastered across the front.

'2.'

He cracked his knuckles menacingly and the kid swallowed nervously, straightening out in an attempt to look more intimidating than he actually was. Jason rolled his eyes; this was going to be easy.

'1.'

Jason could navigate his controller with his eyes shut. His gaze remained firmly on the fight at hand instead of switching back and forth between bots and remote. His bot lunged forwards, about to slice the pathetic little robot in half when suddenly it darted out of the way and zoomed to the other side of the ring. Jason blinked. He hadn't expected that one; normally this quick move finished off beginners before they even had chance to do anything. But no matter, this fight was still under his control. There was no way he was loosing to a first time fighter who hadn't even started puberty yet. His robot dodged to the side and hit the smaller robot, sending it skidding across the ring. He smiled triumphantly - time to move in for the kill. He clicked the remote and his robot loomed over the smaller bot. He paused, deciding to bask in the glory. The crowd cheered as his robot brought his arm down ready to slice this child's invention in half when-

'No, no. I can't allow that, I'm afraid.' The kid said smugly. Jason stared at him in disbelief and these few seconds cost him dearly. The kid grinned toothily at him and pulled on either sides of the remote, extending it to at least half its size. Jason pulled his robot back as the tiny smiley face changed to one that was red and angry, failing to hide the shock of the kid's sudden attack. He managed to make his robot dive out of the way just in time, but his reflexes weren't fast enough to last much longer. For the first time in a long time, his confidence wavered and the crowd began to jeer. Not at his competitor, but at him.

He was loosing. He knew he was. The kid looked bored as he eloquently swiped and sliced at Jason's carefully crafted bot. People were laughing at him and it was extremely off putting. So off putting, in fact, that he slipped for just a second. His thumb slid off the button and in the second it took for him to get a proper grip of his controller the child had managed to rip one of the arms of his bot completely off. Unbalanced, he watched as his beautiful creation slipped and fell to the side. The kid's bot swooped down on his fallen robot and disassembled, the parts surrounding Jason's bot and squeezing the parts off it one by one. With a shower of sparks, he was finished.

Jason couldn't believe it. He'd... he'd lost. In over his five years of botfighting, he'd never suffered a loss so rapid and so embarrassing. The crowd was openly laughing at him. The sound filled the older man with rage. There was no way this child was going to get away with embarrassing him, Jason Fournier, the champion of all botfighting, the most feared name in the entire botfighting scene.

'Oh dear. Listen, I'm just as shocked as you are. I've never even fought before, that must be SO embarrassing for you.'

Jason clenched his fist. Was this teen, this meagre CHILD, making fun of HIM? he rose to his feet, kicking the discarded pieces of his creation aside. The kid reached for the money but Jason shoved him. Hard. The kid went sprawling to the ground, and Jason towered over him. The crowd seemed to catch onto what was happening pretty quick and began to disperse, people running in all directions in order to escape the scene.

'Get Marissa.' He spat in the direction of a blonde haired boy attempting to hide himself away in the corner. The boy stepped forward and pushed his glasses up his nose, trying to seem more confident than he felt.

'Right away Sir.' He said, before turning quickly and pushing open the door to one of the many buildings around them.

The raven-haired teen tried to sit up, but Jason kicked him roughly in the chest. He fell back on the ground and he pressed his boot to the kid's chest, not bothering to be careful about it.

'HEY! Let me up! I won, let me have my winnings!' The kid yelled, squirming under his foot. Jason didn't budge.

The blonde haired boy returned with a strikingly beautiful woman. She sauntered casually over to Jason and handed him an elegant blade in one beautiful hand. Jason took it, smiling warmly at the woman. Marissa - the only woman he had ever loved. She planted a kiss on his cheek and winked, before turning to his brother and giving him a slightly less stunning version of the knife.

Jason took his foot off the kid's chest and seized a fistful of his hoodie, pulling him back onto his feet. All arrogance that the kid had previously displayed had vanished, only to be replaced with terror. 'You're about to learn a very valuable lesson about what happens when someone tries to embarrass me. It. Doesn't. End. Well.' He hissed, eyes alight with malice.

'C... come on! Put... put the knife down. Let's talk about this like civilised people!'

Jason laughed. 'No... I think I'd rather do this instead.'

He pressed the cold metal to his neck, pressing down gently. The knife was so sharp that even the slightest touch brought beads of blood to the surface of the child's skin.

'I'll let you have the winnings!' He whimpered, so quietly that Jason could scarcely hear him.

'What do you say, dearest brother of mine?' He purred. Matthew stepped forwards, a look of pure delight on his face as he realised what was about to go down. He always was the more ruthless out of the two, Jason was the more cunning one. 'Shall we kill him now? Or would you like to play with the food before we eat it?'

The kid's eyes widened in a panic, but he could barely move. The slightest wrong move and his neck would be slit. His doe-like eyes darted around the small alleyway and rested on the blonde haired boy. Jason turned his head just in time to see him give a small shake of the head and retreat back to the shadows. 'Cain, would you like to come and have a play?'

He chuckled at Caine's terrified expression. 'Uhhh... no. I'll uh.. I'll leave it to you, Sir.'

Jason chuckled. 'I see we still have much to teach you. No matter, I'll take plenty of pleasure in doing this myself. It's been a while since I've spilt some blood.'

He removed his arm and as his grip lessened on his hoodie, the teen neatly slipped it off and fell to the floor with a thud. Before Jason had even registered what was happening, he had stood and was already running away from them, leaving the man with the hoodie clutched in his fist.

'GET HIM!' He roared, not even bothering to let go of the hoodie before running after the teen. Marissa, Matthew and Caine were hot on his heels. Caine managed to sprint ahead and seize the kid by the back of his hoodie. The younger teenager managed to swing around and punch him squarely in the nose, curing loudly as he did so. Caine roared in agony and Jason could hear the crack of his nose breaking. Marissa stepped forwards and pinned both arms behind his back, allowing Caine to step back in order to stem the bloodflow.

Jason and Matthew Fournier advanced on the raven-haired boy menacingly, brandishing their weapons. 'So we've a slippery one here!' Matthew spat, his face twisted with rage. 'Think you're smart do you?'

'No, I just think you're stupid. AH!' The kid yelled back at him, earning a sharp blow to the back by Marissa's knee. Jason smiled in satisfaction as he crumpled. The woman pulled him back up to his feet.

'Shall we just kill him now, brother of mine?' Matthew grunted.

Jason considered. 'Hmm, shall we let the victim decide?'

The kid raised his head and stared at him, his eyes full of fury. 'I will not comply. You cowardly piece of SHIT.'

Jason stiffened. No one called HIM a coward. 'Okay, so he seems to have gone for the slow option. Fine with me.'

He stood back and took aim. He wasn't going to get this slimy kid's blood on his hands. If he aimed well enough, he'd hit a place that would not kill him but instead put him under immense pain. Good. That would teach the bastard.

The shoulder. Yes, perfect. He squinted, pointing his knife exactly where he wanted it to go. He wouldn't miss. Jason Fournier never missed. The knife went spinning through the air, heading directly towards his target.

The teenager knew what that evil man was about to do. In his mind, he calculated the angle and location at which he was going to throw it. If he timed it right, he would be able to miss the blade completely. At just the right time, he twisted sharply. The sharp metal grazed his arm and buried itself in the woman holding him.

Jason stared in horror was the kid dodged the knife. The blade whizzed right past him and buried itself deep into Marissa's chest.

Her mouth opened in a perfect O of of surprise. It was almost comical. Her grip weakened on the teenager's t-shirt and he pulled away from her, dropping to the ground and scrambling away before a distracted Caine could grab him. Marissa crumpled like a sack of potatoes and Jason rushed forwards to catch her. He bundled up the hoodie he was still holding and pressed it to her chest, but deep down he knew it was no good.

'Marissa.' He whispered, 'please, stay with me.'

'Honey...' she whispered in her gentle voice, eyes becoming duller by the second, 'I.. I love you.'

'I love you too. Please, Marissa. For me.'

'There's something... there's something I have to tell you. Before I go.' She said softly. Jason grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight, trying to ignore how cold it was. 'I am... I'm pregnant.'

'No! No! Stay, please. Stay!' Jason pleaded, his eyes tearing up for the first time in years. Marissa was the only one that really knew him. The only one that wasn't afraid of him. The only one that made his villainous life worth it. And a baby? He didn't know whether the idea disgusted him or fascinated him, but now he'd never even get to find out. The hoodie was now almost completely red, there wasn't even enough time to call an ambulance.

'I'll kill him. I will. I won't rest until I've done it, I promise.'

Marissa smiled. 'Good. Give him... give him hell from me.'

And with that, her grip slackened and her eyes went dull. Jason gently removed the blade and tossed it to the side, not wanting to look at it. He gently let go of his love's hand and closed her eyes. She could just be sleeping.

In that moment, all tender feeling that he had felt had gone. His heart had been hardened by loss already, but this was the tip of the iceberg. He didn't know who that wretched kid was, but he was going to make his life so miserable he'd beg for Jason to kill him. His face twisted with rage and he let out a roar of agony. That was it. He would never love anyone again, he was certain of that.

His hand groped for the hoodie, wet with Marissa's blood. He slung it away from her and as he did so a plastic card clattered out of the pocket. He seized it and scoffed. A library card? Christ, this kid was beyond pathetic.

But something made him stop. A name was scrawled on in biro, just neat enough that his eyes could make it out.

Hiro Hamada.

He let out a manic laugh. 'I know who we need to kill.'


Hiro awoke in a cold sweat, panting as though he really had just run away from a gang of criminals. His hand automatically reached up to his neck, fingers tracing the thin scar that the lunatic had left on him. It was so small it was hardly noticeable, but he knew it was there. Every night, he went back to that alleyway. Every time he closed his eyes he could hear the sound of the knife finding a home in that pretty woman's chest. He could hear the agonised screaming of the man kneeling in her blood as he fled. He snatched his hand away from the scar and pressed his palms to his eyes, rubbing until he could see stars. He took in a long breath and swallowed the bile rising in his throat. Briefly, he debated about waking Tadashi. He very quickly decided against this though, he swore when it happened that he would never speak of it. To anyone.

Hiro had gone back to botfighting the night after the fire. It provided a welcome distraction from everything going on and he loved it. He swore to himself that he would stop as soon as term started but decided that he wanted to continue botfighting. The beginning of term was great at first but the teen soon became bored. Instead of going over to friend's houses to complete projects like he said he was doing he instead snuck off to botfight. He loved it, the only time he truly felt alive was when he was in the midst of a fight, adrenaline coursing through his veins and the certainty that he would win yet another fight. The incident with Marissa should have put him off completely, but despite this happening at the beginning of summer he still went back for more. It was like an addiction, he couldn't help it.

He looked over at the clock on the table and read the time. It was just gone 4AM. Instead of going back to sleep, he slipped quietly out of bed and down to the stairs. He flicked the light on in the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. He looked a mess. His hair was sticking up more than usual and there were large bags under his eyes. Tadashi looked the same, though. Both Hiro and Tadashi had been spending all their free time at the hospital. Between the endless amounts of school work and visiting his older sister, Hiro found that there wasn't much time for fickle things such as sleep.

Rena had overdosed on a chemical with a name so long Hiro hadn't bothered to memorise it. At first, he doctors thought she'd tried to kill herself and for a terrifying few minutes Hiro thought she had as well. But Rena had shouted them down within seconds of them suggesting it. In an extremely Rena like-way, she yelled that it was an insult to her intelligence and that if she was going to kill herself she would have done it quickly. So that was that. The doctors put it down to an innocent mistake that had occurred in the lab. Tadashi didn't say it, but Hiro knew he was suspicious. The youngest Hamada didn't know what to think, only that he was glad that Rena was alive. He didn't like to think about what would have happened to their tiny family if she had really died. Going by Tadashi's immediate reaction at the hospital, it would be devastating for all of them.

He rubbed his eyes and his reflection did the same. His head hurt and his eyelids were heavy. Hiro decided that everything he was thinking about could be worried about in the morning. He took a deep breath. Yeah. He was fine. These criminals weren't after him and his family was alive and he was alive and nothing was going to happen. So he didn't need to tell Tadashi that he had gone botfighting again and anger him or worry him even more than he already was. Tadashi didn't need that, he was wearing himself thin enough as it was.

'Everything will be okay.' He whispered to the mirror, smiling weakly. He turned the light off and slipped quietly back into bed.

Everything will be okay.

Oh, how wrong he was.