The Neglected Garden
By: HiroAngelLight
Summary: Thirteen years ago, after the death of their parents, Tadashi blamed Hiro as the cause of their parents' deaths and left Hiro alone in the orphanage. Not only it broke Hiro's heart, but their relationship as well. But when Hiro needs to stay in Tadashi's house to avoid the juvenile prison, can they fix their broken relationship after years of losing contact to each other?
Adopted from Adazula.
Female!Hiro
Hiro is 16. Tadashi and Honey are 27.
Disclaimer: I don't own Big Hero 6.
Warning: Beware of typos and bad grammar. English is NOT my main language. I have this bad habit of not realizing my mistakes in my stories until days or even months after publishing the story.
-oOo-
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Hiro, can I come in?" Hiro heard Tadashi from outside her room. She didn't exactly want to see him, nor being in the same room with him. But Tadashi didn't usually come to her room. It wasn't like he didn't know how Hiro tried her best to avoid him anyway.
"Tch, whatever," she answered.
The door slide opened. Tadashi came into her room, seeing her back facing him. He sat down behind her and tried to start a conversation, "Hey, it's been three weeks now since you came here. Do you like this place so far?"
"Maybe," she shrugged. "At least I don't have to see a lot of people to bump into."
He smiled at her reply, "That's good. The air here is fresher than the cities like San Fransokyo. So, how's your life in there? I think I missed a lot."
Hiro snorted, "Why do you even want to know? It's not like you care anyway."
"Hiro, I do care."
"You care? Are you sure?" she snorted again. "That's not how it looked like years ago."
A pang of sadness hit Tadashi. He knew what she meant. "Hiro, I know, I made a terrible mistake. No, a lot of them. But, I want to change that. You're my sister. And I just want you to give me a chance. I want to fix everything after what I had done to you."
He paused before he continued, "I want us to be like the way we were before that accident happened."
A chuckled came from Hiro. But in a sarcastic way. "Fix? You want to fix everything? Don't make me laugh, Tadashi. Why should I give you a chance when there's nothing to fix?"
"Hiro, I-"
"Just face it. No matter what you do, nothing will change. The little sister you want is already dead. Died along with mom and dad thirteen years ago. And buried with the hatred and blames you gave."
"Hiro, please! Listen-" he got interrupted again by Hiro. "Leave! I don't want to hear anything from you again."
Tadashi wanted to stay and corrected her. Telling her that those weren't true. But if he tried to argue with her, Hiro would only hate him more. She already put a distance between them. Then, Tadashi remembered on what Honey said about not rushing things.
He sighed in defeat. He looked down at the two boxes of chocolate he bought for Hiro. After letting out another breath, he put them on the floor and moved it closer to Hiro. Her back was still facing him, and she didn't make any movement to turn around and see him. Tadashi stood up and took his leave. But before he closed the door, he said, "Honey said dinner will be ready in half an hour. We'll be waiting for you."
After Tadashi's footsteps were no longer heard, Hiro turned her head to see what he left for her. Chocolates. Aunt Cass really did tell him to buy her those. She might eat them later. But what he did meant nothing to her.
'If you really care about me, you wouldn't have abandoned me back then.'
-oOo-
A soft thud made Honey turned around and saw Tadashi sitting with his hands holding his head. She couldn't see his expression with his bang covering his eyes. Honey checked the pot and she guessed the stew would be ready in fifteen minutes. After that, she made her way to Tadashi and sat next to him, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Tadashi, is something wrong?" Honey asked in concern.
He shifted a little before he sighed and took a glance at her, ""I.. tried to have a small talk with Hiro earlier. And it didn't end well."
It made Honey a bit worried, "What happened?"
"I asked her about her life in San Fransokyo because I wanted to catch up with things I missed for the past thirteen years. I told her that I care for her and want to fix our relationship. But she said there's nothing to fix and the little sister I want back is already gone, along with our parents years ago." He took a heavy breath before he continued, "She also reminded me about the blames I threw and the hatred I felt for her before she told me to leave her, saying she didn't want to hear anything from me."
Tadashi sniffed, trying to hold back his tear, "Sometimes, I wonder…, if things would be different.., would be better, if I had never done those things to her. If I chose to comfort her instead of blaming her and showered her with hatred and horrible words. Maybe, our relationship wouldn't be severed like this if I chose to stay with her. But, I left her when I knew she really needed me the most. The more I think about it, the more regret I feel. I'm the worst older brother ever."
He averted his gaze. Honey could see how Tadashi's mind was somewhere else through his eyes.
"Tadashi," she started. "I know I've been telling you to be patient a lot since she came here. Trust me, your patience isn't useless. Hiro went out a lot lately. And I can see that it made her mood better. And earlier, even if she still sounded bitter to you, she responded to you, right? You've already made a progress, Tadashi. I know it's a slow one, but you still have plenty of time for that."
She went closer and hugged him, "You're strong, Tadashi. And you have to be strong for her, too. She's facing her own inner turmoil right now. Be patient, and show her that you can be someone she can lean on. Someone she needs and someone who she can trust. Believe me, you're a great older brother. Bad older siblings would never want to help their little siblings when they have problems."
Silence engulfed the room. Tadashi wrapped his arms around Honey's waist and pulled her into a tight hug, "Thanks, Honey. You really know what to say when I'm like this." Honey chuckled lightly, "I know."
"Honey?"
"Yes?"
"I'm not giving up on her."
Honey smiled softly at this, "I know. And I'm glad Hiro has a brother like you."
-oOo-
The next day, Hiro went out again. She always tried her best to avoid people on her way whenever she took a walk. She didn't want to receive another curious stares she usually got from the people. Of course, they would wonder who she was, since they had never seen her there before. Whenever she received those stares, she always pretended that she didn't notice and keep on walking.
Luckily for her, she didn't pass anyone. When she arrived at the lake area, she immediately went to her favourite spot. The grassy area under a big tree. The leaves from the tree made a shadowy area where she could lay down to sleep or stare to the sky without getting her eyes burned from the blazing sunlight. So, she laid down there and stared at the sky. Thinking about nothing in particular.
A gentle breeze blew around her, making her feeling sleepy. Hiro closed her eyes. She didn't fight the sleepiness caused by the breeze. Soon, she fell asleep.
-oOo-
"Mommy, daddy! Fish!"
"Yes, sweety. It's a fish," Hiro's mother said from beside her.
Her father warned her, "Don't get to close to the river or you'll fall, Hiro."
Small Hiro then walked away from the river and approached her brother, "Nii-chan, a fish!"
Tadashi chuckled as he ruffled Hiro's messy hair, "I know. I'm going to help dad with fishing. You want to see another fishes, right?" Hiro nodded with her eyes beaming brightly, "Wanna see fish!"
The family was having a camping on the riverside in Muirahara wood. They looked happy. The siblings played together. And their parents watched them with happy smiles on their faces. Of course, they didn't forget to take a lot of pictures there, including the siblings' cuteness.
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Red lights and loud sirens filled the air. Two fire trucks were parked near some burning cars. The fire fighters tried their best to put the fire out as soon as they could. But the shouts and cries from behind accompanied their effort. Pain, sadness, desperation, and fear, all of them could be heard in those shouts and cries. The heartbreaking shouts and cries from the victims, including the Hamada siblings.
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"I already told you to not call me that!"
"But… nii-chan…"
"Stop it! You're not my sister! If only…, if only you never asked them to go to that stupid carnival… It's because of you.. IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU THEY DIED!"
"Nii.. *sobs* ..chan.. *sobs*"
"Stop calling me that! Why don't you just die?! If I ever get adopted someday, I would never want to have anything to do with you EVER AGAIN!"
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"Please, ma'am. This little girl is Tadashi's little sister. It's not a good idea to separate them."
"She looks like a trouble maker to me. And I don't want to adopt a trouble maker like her. She would be so much pain with all the troubles she would give to us. Besides, it looks like Tadashi here doesn't want her to come with us. So, no, I don't want to adopt her."
"But, ma'am!"
"No! My answer is final. Tadashi will go home with us, but not that girl. I don't want a trouble maker like her as a child!"
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"Are you sure no one will take her?"
"Please consider this. She really needs a home."
"We have enough problems with our kids. I get that he's my brother, but we can't take on his kid. Find someone else."
"I got off with the grandparents. They won't take her since they live in an elder's community and it doesn't allow kids. Plus also the health issues were taken into consideration."
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"Let's just send her to orphanage."
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"Nii-chan…," little Hiro cried, calling for her brother who had turned his back and walked away. "Nii-chan.. please.. don't go!"
Everything turned into darkness.
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"Hiro.."
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"Hey, it's okay. I'm here."
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"I'm.. sorry.. Hiro.."
-oOo-
Hiro's eyes suddenly shot opened as she jolted up and gasped loudly. She clutched her hand to her chest, feeling as if something was clenching her lungs. She tried to grasp some air. Cold sweats ran down on her body. The dreams, the memories, they felt real. The felt so real that they made her hard to breathe.
"Hiro."
Her eyes widened when she heard that voice.
"Hiro."
That voice again. Someone called her. That voice.. as if someone was trying to reach her. Then, little by little, Hiro could breathe normally again. She brought her eyes to the lake in front of her. Even though her eyes were on the lake, but her mind was somewhere else.
After a quite some time, Hiro decided to go back to the house and take a rest. She's still trying to avoid any other people as she headed back. But when she saw two women who were chatting to each other walked to her way, she immediately went behind a tree on the roadside and hide so they wouldn't see her. She waited there until those women passed the tree. She really hoped they would walk pass the tree as soon as possible. Until something caught her ears and stole her attention.
"Hey, have you heard?"
"Heard about what?"
"I heard there is a criminal came and currently lives in this town."
"Oh my God! Really? A criminal in this small town? How could it be possible?!"
"I don't know. I heard some of us had complained on how a criminal is allowed to come and live here. But, we better be careful and make sure our families don't encounter that criminal. That person might bring danger to all of us!"
"I agree with you! We have to warn them, then. I really can't believe it. A criminal is living in our peace and safe town!"
"We better make sure to stay away from someone we don't recognize!"
"Yes! After all, this town is small, so I'm sure it will be easy to spot someone we don't recognize."
"Let's get back already so we can warn our familes."
"You're right. Let's go!"
After they were out of earshot and sight, Hiro came out from her hiding place and stomped back to Tadashi's house in rage. She knew who exactly would spread that kind of rumour. And she knew by the word 'criminal', those people meant her. Hiro swore she would punch Lisa on the face the next time she saw her.
She didn't care what Tadashi, Honey, or others would think about her for that. And she didn't care about getting sent back to the juvenile prison anymore as long as that old bitch got what she deserved!
-oOo-
Author's Note: I got writer's block and college is killing me slowly. I mostly don't have time to write because of my schedules and assignments. And this fic is an angsty one and I'm still sticking to the original idea of making Tadashi and Hiro fix their relationship through the hardship.
Also, I'm super happy that this fic got some reviews for the previous chapter. So, I post this chapter sooner than I planned. I expect the next chapter to be finished in two weeks. That if nothing holds me back and gets it delayed.
Until next time~