'Tadashi! No!'

He tried to shout but no sounds were coming out. He stared at his brother's retreating back, the flames already hot on his face. He tried to run, but his feet were stuck stubbornly to the floor. The panic arose as he flailed his arms around wildly, trying to move. Rena ran in after Tadashi and yet he couldn't move. He screamed and screamed, yet not making a noise. They were in there. His siblings. Burning. Smoking. Dying. The smoke was everywhere, clouding his mind, making him feel sluggish. Suddenly, his parents were there. He reached out to them, desperate for comfort but their kind faces melted into fury.

'You could've saved them!' They screamed in his face, they no longer resembled the kind people framed in the doorway. They resembled demons, their faces twisted and their eyes sunken and black. They hissed in his face, terrifyingly colourless eyes inches away from his own, full of evil. The flames had consumed him, he could feel his flesh melting away. His parents laughed at his silent shrieks of pain. The pain, it was so much. Too much. He was going to die. Surely he was going to die. He wanted to die, wanted the pain to end.

'You could've saved them!' The monsters screamed, 'you could've saved them! Now they're dead! And it's all your fault!'

All your fault.

All.

Your.

Fault...

Hiro awoke suddenly in a tangle of sheets, sweating and shaking. Rena's face was inches from his own, white with fear. He sat up, and the room spun dangerously. He heaved, and she dove out of the way in the nick of time as he turned and vomited onto the wooden floor. He felt the bed sink slightly as his sister climbed onto it behind him, and put a hand on his back as he retched and spluttered. Finally, he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and turned to face her. He was still shaking horribly, and wished that it'd stop.

'You alright?' She whispered gently. He shook his head and collapsed into her, shoulders shaking with sobs. She embraced him in an awkward one-armed hug and stroked his hair carefully as he cried onto her shoulder. It had all seemed so real, the fire was so hot on his face. And his parents...

'Nightmare?' She asked him quietly, and he nodded.

'You were dead. Both of you. And I tried to stop you from running in, but I was stuck. And then... and then our parents were there. They were like monsters. They shouted at me, said it was my fault. And the fire was there, it was burning me alive.' He said in a garbled rush, voice muffled slightly by his sister. She shifted slightly, and moved his head until it was resting on her chest. He could hear her heart beating against his ear.

'Hear that? I'm alive Hiro, you're alive. Tadashi is alive. And I swear to you, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving you, ever. And neither is Tadashi.'

'But he rain into a fire.'

'I know, because he's stupid. And it's unlucky that he survived really.' He lifted his head in panic, looking at her in the darkness.

'Wha-? The hell do you mean?'

She swept the hair from his forehead and sighed. 'Because when he wakes up, I'm gonna kill him.'

Hiro snorted, he couldn't help it. They stayed there a couple of minutes in their embrace, and he finally broke apart when he could feel his hand steadying. He grimaced at the smell of vomit - it was getting stronger every passing moment. It was making his stomach turn dangerously and he swallowed anxiously. He stole a glance at his watch, 4:13am. He then realised how tired it was, rubbing his eyes blearily.

'Come share my bed.' Rena said, it wasn't a command, but a suggestion. He nodded, exhausted. Rena wrinkled her nose.

'I'll clean up the vomit first. You go, I'll come down in a minute.'

'What? No!' He exclaimed, 'I'll clean it up, I- I' he failed to stifle a huge yawn and Rena smiled at him sympathetically. She pulled him up by his arm and practically dragged him back down the stairs, ignoring his weak protests. Despite his arguing that he wasn't tired, and insisting that he would clean up the gross mess waiting upstairs, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He awoke a few hours later, lying in the darkness for a second, only faintly aware of his sister snoring gently next to him. He peered over her slowly rising shoulder and looked at the time displayed on the alarm clock. 7:30. He wondered briefly why he was up this earky, and why his whole body ached so badly...

He sat bolt upright as it came to him. The fire. The hospital. Tadashi. He ran his hands through his hair and jumped out of bed, he needed to see his brother. His eyes flicked guiltily over to his sleeping sister, but decided that she looked too peaceful to awake. He crept across the carpeted floor and into the hallway, stumbling around in the dark living room for his shoes that he had thrown off carelessly only a few hours before. Finally, he located his left shoe under the sofa and pulled it on. Practically running to the door, he swiped the keys off of the side and shoved them deep into his pocket. He turned his back on the living room and was about to slip into the cafe to escape when the room flooded with light. He stopped mid-step. Damnit.

'Going somewhere?'

His elder sister was leaning in the doorway, finger still on the light switch. Her voice was ice cold, and she failed to hide the slight shake that carried across the room. He cringed, knowing he was in trouble. Her mouth was set in a thin, hard line and her eyes were blazing. 'What the HELL do you think you're doing?' She wasn't shouting, but he knew he would've felt better if she did. She was speaking in a way that clearly communicated to him that she was beyond angry at his actions - she was disappointed. He sighed and dropped the keys back onto the counter before digging his hands deep inside his pockets.

'Do you have any idea how worried I was? How could you do that to me?'

Hiro would've loved to tell her that she was overreacting, but he knew better than that. Besides, deep down he could admit that this was nowhere near an overreaction. Tadashi had almost died, he'd woken her up in the middle of the night screaming, and now he'd disappeared without a word. He was suddenly glad that she'd found him, not wanting to even think about how she would react if he'd have gotten any further. He was flooded with shame, and bowed his head down low, not wanting to look at her in the eye.

'I thought you'd... I thought...' She took in a deep, shaky breath and continued, voice trembling slightly. 'I thought I'd find you in the bathroom again. Remember? 2 years ago? When Tadashi found you bleeding out in our own bathroom?' Hiro flinched, hating how close to tears she was. Hating himself for doing that to her.

'I- I'm sorry, alright? I wasn't thinking, I just wanted to see him. See if he's alright.' A lump was rising in his throat and he swiped away the tears that were prickling in his eyes. He looked up slightly to see her soften. She strode over to him and he wrapped his arms around her waist. She rested her chin on top of his head and sighed heavily.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lash out at you. You just scared me.' He let go of her and she grabbed his shoulder with her non-broken arm. He straightened up slightly and looked into her eyes. 'I know you're scared, I am too. But you can't be pulling crap like that.' She paused slightly and let go of him. 'Do that again, and you'll land yourself in a hospital bed next to our idiot brother.' He laughed softly, eyeing the keys on the side again. She caught him looking and shook her head.

'Please? It's not that early, I want to see him!'

'No. Not right now. Hiro, your puppy dog eyes won't work on me this time.' He huffed slightly, crossing her arms. She acted as though she hadn't noticed and continued on nonetheless.

'We can't go just yet. First of all, you need a shower. We both do.' He nearly cried out in outrage, who cared how clean he was? Tadashi was lying alone in a hospital bed, hardly breathing! Surely there were bigger concerns?! He opened his mouth to argue but she stopped him before she even got a word out.

'You're covered in soot and dried blood, you're wearing yesterday's clothes and there's so much ash in your hair it looks like you have a crippling case of dandruff! No, we're BOTH going for a shower and changing into clean clothes, I'm packing a bag for Aunt Cass and we're having breakfast. You can't walk into hospital like that, you're practically a walking infection.'

He opened his mouth to retort, but shut it quickly. As much as he hated to admit it, she made a fair point. He groaned loudly as he made his way back across the living room, kicking his shoes off and sending them skidding across the floor. He stormed past her smug face and up the stairs to the bathroom.

'And for the sake of everyone who's gonna be around you today, brush your teeth! VOMITBREATH!'

He smirked in satisfaction as he heard a yelp of pain. That was one well aimed hairbrush.

An hour later, they were both sat around the kitchen table, demolishing a huge stack of toast that was in the middle of them. He had taken the quickest shower of his life, not wanting to waste another second of time that he could be spending with Tadashi. Rena had taken considerably longer with her new cast, and even longer getting dressed. Eventually, she had joined him at the kitchen table with a bag next to her packed with clothes and a toothbrush for Cass. Hiro had Tadashi's hat on the table next to him, he had grabbed it from his bedside table whilst getting dressed, there was no way he was going without it.

'Never realised how hungry I was.' Hiro said through a mouthful of toast, he had lost count of how many slices he'd had. Rena nodded in agreement as she reached for another slice. Hiro's anxiety was mounting, he never realised how scared he was to actually see his big brother until they were almost ready to go. His stomach was in knots, and he dropped his half eaten slice of toast onto his plate. He brushed the crumbs off his hands and stood up, brining his plate over to the sink. He debated about whether or not to wash it, but deciding instead to just drop it by the side of similarly dirty plates. Rena did the same, and grabbed the keys from where Hiro had left them on the side earlier on. Hiro gripped Tadashi's hat tightly as she turned to face him, keys twirling in her fingers.

'Ready to go?' She asked him.

He nodded, never being less ready for anything in his entire life. Rena reached over and wrenched the hat from out of his grip, she pulled it on over the top of his bird's nest. She smiled at him and he returned it nervously.

The car ride to the hospital was silent, except for the music softly playing from the stereo. It was slow and sad, matching the feeling that Hiro felt slowly growing in his head the closer they got to the hospital. He could feel the familiar iron fist of panic tighten around his chest and balled his fingers into fists. He slowly let out a shaky breath, knowing how close he was to a full blown panic attack. He knew he couldn't loose his cool now, not without Tadashi. Tadashi. He squeezed his eyes shut, his head pounding. He was terrified, not wanting to go anywhere near his brother yet simultaneously needing to be sat beside his bedside. He did not want to see him, burnt and without a leg, but he needed him. Needed him like he needed the oxygen he was desperately trying to gulp in. He had never realised just how heavily he relied on his older brother, although he would never admit that to Tadashi. The result of not growing up with parents - you valued your remaining family a hell of a lot more. He glanced over at his sister, she was concentrating on the road so hard it looked as though her eyeballs would pop out of her skull. He wanted to reassure her that it was alright, that they were not going to die just because the road was suddenly a lot busier. But he couldn't, couldn't even open his mouth. His stomach lurched dangerously as they drove on, and he decided against trying to speak to her. He stared out the window, trying to quash the fear that had seized him suddenly. He was so preoccupied, he hadn't noticed that they had pulled into the car park. Rena parked the car and he undid his seat belt clumsily. Shaking, his fingers reached out and clutched the door handle, it slipped out of his grasp and fell back onto his quivering knee. Suddenly, the door was wrenched open and cool air hit his sweaty face. He was faintly aware of his sister pulling him to his feet, but his legs turned to jelly and he hit the car and slid down onto the cold, hard floor. The car was cold against his back, and he sat there for a moment or two, not having the energy to pull himself to his feet. Luckily, he didn't have to for Rena was there, hoisting him up as best as she could with only one arm. He sat back into the passenger seat with a muffled thump as she bent down to look at him, eyes full of concern. For the fourth time in two days, he was having another panic attack. He was annoyed at himself for getting so worked up as he sat there, gasping for air pathetically. What was wrong with him? he hardly ever had panic attacks anymore, he couldn't remember the last time he had gotten one, let alone one as bad as he had had recently. He squeezed his eyes shut and his mind fogged over, leaving him wondering if he would die. Surely he would, he would sit there and gasp for breath until he had none left in him, until his still delicate lungs deflated and gave up on him. He was vaguely aware of Rena still sat in front of him, and let himself fall against her. She wrapped an arm around him and placed her other wand clumsily on his back. He could feel her cast pressing against him, and realised she was using her fingers to tap on his back gently. Tap. Tap. Tap. He focused his attention on that, using it to ground himself. He was alright. Tap. Tap. Tadashi was alright. Tap. Tap. Tap. Rena was alright. Tap. Tap. Tap. Aunt Cass was alright. Tap. Tap. Tap. He could feel the fog lifting slowly and continued to use the soft tapping to ground himself, breathing out slowly through his nose. Eventually, he could feel his hands beginning to steady and his head had stopped pounding. He lifted his head and tipped it back towards the ceiling of the car, taking a final deep breath before tipping his head forwards and facing his sister.

'Sorry.'

She smiled at him and tugged at his hand, pulling him to his feet once more. 'Don't apologise, it's alright. Are you sure you're ready to go in?'

'Yeah, I think so. Can't put it off forever.'

'Are you sure? We can wait here a little longer if you need to.'

'Yeah I'm sure,' he replied, blowing his fringe out of his face. She turned away and began to walk towards the hospital, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her round to face him. 'Thank you.' He wanted to say more, but found that he couldn't find the words. He knew she understood though, and he kept a tight hold onto her hand as they strode towards the formidable building. Together.

'Aww is that your son? He's so cute!' The rosey cheeked woman situationed on the front desk leaned forward and pinched Hiro's cheek. Rena quickly turned her burst of laughter into a hacking cough. He stared at the woman, annoyed. He didn't look that young, surely?

'Err, no. He's actually just my brother. There's only 3 years between us.' Rena wheezed, sides still shaking from laughter. The woman stared down at Hiro, horrified at her mistake.

'I'm awfully sorry Miss!'

'Don't worry about it.' Rena replied, grinning from ear to ear. Hiro narrowed his eyes at her, knowing he was going to be teased about this for a very long time.

'What you need then hun?'

'We're actually here to visit our brother, Tadashi Hamada.' Rena gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and he returned it, grateful at the gesture.

'Oh you poor darlings.' The lady said, looking at them with pity, 'the kid they pulled out the fire is your brother is it? Not to worry though, I'm sure he'll make a speedy recovery!'

Hiro sighed, annoyed. He hated her optimism, and the patronising sugarness that was clear in her tone.

Rena cleared her throat awkwardly, not wanting to be rude. Though Hiro could tell she was just as ticked off as he was.

'Yep, that's our Tadashi!' She said, a little too happily. Her enthusiasm was clearly forced, but the lady didn't seem to catch onto this.

'Ok then darlings, he's in room 417. That's up in the lifts, press the button for the fourth floor, and then turn right. Keep walking down that corridor and then turn right again to get onto the ward. He's in the 17th room along, can't miss it. Need me to write it down, sugar plum?'

'Nope!' Rena said, annoyed. 'Thank you!' She pulled Hiro along with her as they made their way down the pristine corridor. As soon as she was out of sight, she made a very rude gesture to the woman's back. Hiro didn't dare think what Aunt Cass would say if she saw her doing that. He smiled weakly, and they marched towards towards the lifts. She punched the button on the wall and strode in as soon as it dinged, still tugging him along with her. Hiro watched the number slowly go up as they climbed the floors. He swallowed the lump in his throat nervously. Eventually, they reached the fourth floor and made their way swiftly down the corridors until they reached Tadashi's room. Rena knocked gently, and Hiro suddenly couldn't see anything for a blur of his Aunt Cass. She pulled them both into a tight hug, and was talking their ears off, not letting them get a word in edgeways. He was only half listening, too busy straining his neck to catch a glimpse of his brother. Finally, she let them go, gasping and rubbing their ribs. Rena placed the bag with the carefully folded pile of clothes inside into her Aunt's hand, and Aunt Cass scurried off to get changed, leaving the two of them alone outside Tadashi's room.

'Now or never.' Rena whispered, pushing the door open to the room as they stepped inside.