Another chapter guys, please enjoy!
The sun's light cast a ongoing shadow over the large buildings of Tokyo, cars moving across the highway as masses of people walked the sidewalks. A young woman could be seen behind the counter of a local bakery, her fair skin and rosy cheeks a welcome sight to the people who walked in.
"Welcome to the Lucky Cat Cafe! I'm always here to help!" she called out, walking around as some of her servers took orders at the register. She looked down as she felt her pants pocket begin to vibrate, reaching in and taking out her phone as she pressed a finger to the screen.
"Hiro? It must be almost eight over there. . .what's wrong sweetie?" the woman said aloud, jumping over a wet spot in the floor as one of her workers mopped up a spill. She continued walking around the cafe, smiling at everyone as she greeted everyone with a smile before heading up the stairs to her personal apartment.
"Sweetie. . .if you hate it so much over there then why not come back home? I'm sure Tadashi could send money over to help me take care of you, or you could get a job here, Mrs. Matsuda sure misses seeing your handsome face behind the counter every morning. . .I know. . .Hiro I'm just joking. . .yes I am well aware that she is a eighty year old woman. . .where was I even going with this?" the woman said as she reached down and ran her fingers across a fluffy cat's back before walking into her own kitchen and peering out into the city beyond the glass.
"Hiro. . .you did decide to go with Tadashi. I asked you before you even left if you wanted to stay but you said that you didn't want to be away from Tadashi. . .yes I know. . .I'm sorry that your not enjoying yourself over there. . .listen sweetie, I don't mean to cut this short but I do have to get back to work. I'm getting a early morning rush today. . .I love you too. . .of course I'll call you both later. . .goodbye Hiro." the woman said before hanging up, sighing as she took one last glance out of the window before looking around the empty home and frowning slightly.
"I guess it's just us now Mochi. . .God I'm gonna turn into a old cat woman aren't I?" the woman said as she looked down at the cat who was now purring around her legs before walking back to the stairwell and heading down to the cafe once more.
Hiro stood there by his bedroom window, drumming his fingers across the cold glass as he sighed to himself and watched the light of the moon glisten off of the thick blanket of snow that covered Los Angeles. He could see snow plows moving their way through the streets below, smiling mischievously to himself before he turned around and ran to his walk in closet. Clothes could be seen being flung out of the door, some landing into a pile as others flung around the room and landed on different objects. Hiro finally popped out of the closet adorning some heavy clothing, he knew Tadashi would be pissed that the room was destroyed but he could care less at the moment as he made his way to the window. Opening it up, he could see the fire escape as he looked back at the doorway to the room. He couldn't leave by the regular door, the others would ask questions and he did not want to deal with that at the moment. Snickering to himself, Hiro stepped out onto the fire escape and closed his window quietly. Pulling out his phone, Hiro opened up a app before smiling to himself once more.
"Looks like they do practice bot fighting here. . .let's go Megabot." the teen said, reaching into his jacket pocket before pulling out the small robot he had used to conquer many others before.
Ethan giggled as he watched Benny slip on the ice, reaching down as he held out a hand for his fiance to grab onto.
"God, you'll laugh at anything won't you? I could fall down a flight of stairs and you'd laugh!" Benny said, Ethan trying his best to still his laughter as he bit the interior of his cheek to keep himself from bursting into another fit of giggles.
"I'm sorry. . .but watching you trying to walk on this stuff is too funny." Ethan said truthfully, still holding onto Benny's hand as they continued their walk down the sidewalk.
"Uh huh. . .jack ass. Anyways, what do you think of our new tenants?" Benny asked, looking up at the US Bank Tower as it's lights twinkled over the glistening city streets. The sounds of the city echoed around them both, cars trudging through the snow covered streets as people cautiously walked by as they tried to keep their balance on the ice.
"I think they seem nice, Hiro is a lot less talkative than his brother. I don't even think I've gotten but one sentence out of him since they moved in. Tadashi told me that Hiro is a genius, he graduated high school at thirteen!" Ethan said enthusiastically as Benny shook his head and smiled down at him with rosy cheeks.
"That's all fine and dandy. . .but have you seen how they act with one another? I don't know, seems more than just brotherly if you ask me." Benny questioned, Ethan remembering the few times he had seen the brothers together in the week since they had moved in. He could recall many times he had seen the brothers extremely close to one another, never leaving each others side almost when they were both home.
"Well. . .I mean. . .who are we to judge how they act with one another. If that. . .makes them happy then that makes them happy, end of story. You know Benny, I'm not one to judge others based on where they come from or who they love." Ethan remarked, the taller of the two nodding his head in agreement before staring off once more.
"I'm not saying anything bad about it, just making a observation is all. On another topic, did you enjoy the movie tonight?" Benny asked, turning his gaze back to Ethan as the slightly younger male just nodded his head before leaning his head onto Benny's shoulder.
"Of course I did, packed full of action and comedy, what more could I ask for?" Ethan said, feeling as Benny wrapped a hand around his waist as they walked.
"I did promise you that we'd go on a dinner and movie date back in Disney World. I'm glad I could make it worthwhile." Benny whispered, nuzzling his face into Ethan's mop of brown hair before they turned down another road. Ethan's head whipped around at the sound of a desperate cry echoing down a nearby alleyway. Looking up towards Benny, he arched a brow in question as the other just looked back down at him.
"Let's just keep moving." Benny said, both of them turning their heads once more as another cry rang out through the crisp night air. Ethan looked around, noticing that the only other pedestrians were out of hearing range. Letting go of Benny's hand, he moved towards the alleyway as Benny followed after him. A few shadows moved through the alleyway, clearly running the opposite direction as the shadow of someone sprawled across the snow covered ground came into view. Ethan took off into a jog, noticing blood had been spilled into the snow and ice as it trickled down from the person's body. He could hear labored breathing come from the person as he knelt down into the snow, his eyes going wide as he turned the body over.
"Hiro?! Benny, call a ambulance!" Ethan screamed, barely picking up on the small whimpers coming from Hiro's mouth as he looked down at a small metal bot still laying in the snow where it had fallen.
"Just hang on Hiro. . .help's on the way!" Ethan whispered, Benny's voice ringing out from behind him as he spoke into his phone.
Tadashi walked out of the college building, waving to a few other people as he wrapped a scarf around his neck. He could feel the wind whipping around, Los Angeles glistening in the distance as more flurries began to fall from the sky. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone as he turned it on.
"Five missed calls! Damn Hiro, you just don't know when to quit do you? What did Aunt Cass want?" Tadashi said to himself, dialing his voice mail before bringing the phone to his ear with a chuckle.
"You have five unheard messages. First unheard message." came the automatic voice as Tadashi waited.
"Tadashi! I need your help! Please pick up!" came Hiro's voice through the voicemail, Tadashi's face falling instantly.
"Next message."
"Tadashi, please pick up! I'm in trouble, I don't know what to do!" came his brother's voice again, the color beginning to drain from his face.
"Next message."
"God. . .where are you!? Please pick up, I need you! Tadashi!" came Hiro's voice again, the wind picking up around him as he felt his heart sink further and further into it's chest.
"Next message."
"Tadashi, it's Ethan! I'm calling from Hiro's phone, you need to get to St. Elizabeth as soon as you can! Something's happened to Hiro!" came Ethan's frantic voice, Tadashi breaking out into a sprint as he continued to hold the phone to his ear.
"Next message."
"Tadashi, it's Cass! I just got a call from a hospital in Los Angeles, Hiro's in critical condition! You need to get over there as soon as you can, I'm rushing to the airport to board the next plane to America!" came his aunt's voice, clearly crying and frantic.
"End of messages."
Tadashi hopped onto his moped, shoving the key into the ignition before peeling out of the parking lot. He hadn't even bothered to put on a helmet, his mind flooding with thoughts on what could have happened to put Hiro in critical condition, to hurt his Hiro. He could feel his blood pumping a mile a minute, the cold and icy air rushing past his face as he sped off the college lot.
A Short While Later
Running through the front entrance, Tadashi sprinted up to the front desk. The nurse looked up from her computer as he slammed his hands onto the counter, his breath coming in short and jagged bursts before he finally caught up with himself.
"Hiro Hamada! Where is he, what happened!?" Tadashi cried out, the woman quickly typing away into her keyboard.
"He's currently in ICU at moment sir, may I ask who's inquiring?" the woman asked, Tadashi shooting her a glare as he opened his mouth to erupt on her. He turned his head as he felt a hand grip his shoulder, seeing Ethan and the others all walking up to him.
"Tadashi. . .he was stabbed. The little I got out of him before he was taken away was that he was at a bot fight. . .one of the opponents did not take the loss well." Ethan muttered, the older Hamada suddenly losing control of his legs as he tumbled forward. He felt as Duncan and Ethan quickly took hold of him, his legs wobbling as he felt his heart sink further and further.
"I need. . .I need to see him, I need to see Hiro!" he hollered out, Duncan holding him back as he tried to break free and run through the doors to the ICU across the room.
"They are still working on him bro! You can't see him just yet. . .I'm sorry." Duncan said, Tadashi's eyes erupting with tears as he tried to hit and shove the older male away before finally collapsing onto the floor. Duncan could only offer a look of sympathy as he stared down at the nineteen year old, the rest of the group standing off in the distance as they all shared the same solemn look.
"Why are you guys even here?" the older brother asked after several minutes of sobbing, looking up at the rest of the gang as they looked at one another before returning their gaze to him.
"Your part of our family now dude. . .we all look out for each other and help one another when we can." Ethan said quietly, Tadashi only casting his gaze back down as he felt more tears topple out of his eyes.
The Next Day
Snow had finally quit falling as clear skies cast a sunny disposition over the City of Angels, the city hospital alive with activity as Tadashi sat at a bedside and listened to the steady beat of a heart monitor. He drummed the back of his head into the room wall repeatedly, looking up suddenly as he heard the soft click of heels enter the room. There in the doorway was aunt Cass, her eyes down trodden as she gave him a look before walking over and embracing him in a hug as she felt tears of her own run down her cheeks.
"How did this happen Tadashi!" the woman asked, leaning back as she turned around and pulled up a chair next to Hiro's bed.
"That damn bot fighting he's into. . .he must have pissed off the wrong person and they. . .they. . .stabbed him and took his money." the older teen admitted, his gaze falling as he watched his aunt take Hiro's hand in hers out of the corner of his eye.
"I didn't even know they practiced that. . .fucking waste of time over here!" Cass said, her teeth clenched as she thought of the scum who hurt her nephew. Tadashi looked up, having never seen his aunt this angry before except when his parent's died from a drunk driver accident.
"The police will be here to ask questions once Hiro wakes up. . .he lost a lot of blood. I can't help but feel. . . . .that this is all my fault. I knew I shouldn't have even gone to school, the roads were to dangerous anyway. Then maybe I could have been home and stopped him from going out, or. . .I don't know. . .gone with him! He called me time after time and I didn't even pick up, I just kept working on my project. This is my fault!" Tadashi cried out, the salty tears erupting from his eyes once more before he felt two slender arms wrap around him and pull him into a hug.
"No Tadashi, none of this is your fault sweetie! This is all that. . .low life who ever did this, it's their fault. Don't ever, not even for a minute, think this is your fault." Cass said as the older teen sobbed into his aunt's shoulder.
"I've already lost mom and dad. . .I can't lose him too!" Tadashi whined, his voice muffled by Cass's shoulder and his own sobs.
"He's going to be okay, I just know he is!" the woman said as she rubbed her other nephew's back and held him in place. Tadashi eventually leaned back as he looked to the side, reaching out a hand and grasping Hiro's smaller hand into his big one.
"We will pull through this together, as a family." Cass said, placing her hand atop of Tadashi's as they both looked down at the unconscious teen. The two of them were too fixed on the small teen before them to notice the six pairs of eyes staring inside from out in the hall.
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