Flames erupted all around Hiro as he scrambled through the burning building. Dodging falling beams and debris, he called to his brother. "Tadashi!" he yelled over and over again. The heat was so intense, he felt like his skin was melting off his own face. Then he saw a tall figure in front of him, running towards him.
"Hiro!" he could hear his brother call to him.
` "Tadashi!" he ran towards the voice, but he found himself sailing backwards. "No! Tadashi!"
"Hiro, go!" Tadashi disappeared in a plume of smoke.
"No!" he shouted, his back hitting the pavement outside. Suddenly, the building gave in and glass exploded from the intense heat. Debris rained over Hiro's limp body, waking him. The building was falling apart at the seams. In front of him, Tadashi's favorite baseball cap lay. "Tadashi!" he screamed over and over again.
"Hiro, wake up!" he could hear his aunt. "Hiro, please!"
"I can't leave Tadashi!" he yelled, suddenly being pulled from his nightmare.
"Hiro, please." He could feel himself being shook. His eyes snapped open and he saw his aunt over him, holding him by the shoulders. He could feel himself shaking with fear. The flames were gone. But so was Tadashi. He had been too late.
"Aunt... Cass. I... I was too late," he stammered.
"No sweetie. You're okay. You were yelling in your sleep. Nearly scared me to death. You're crying, Hiro." she placed her hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against her warm hand. Even dreaming about fire, he felt cold.
"I could have saved him." he said softly, opening his eyes.
"No. If you had gone in after him, you'd be gone too. Then I'd be all alone." Aunt Cass' eyes watered a bit as she sat on the edge of Hiro's bed.
"You don't know that. I could have gotten him out of there." Hiro said firmly, wrapping his arms around his knees.
"Hiro, it was not your fault. It was no one's fault. Don't blame yourself for it." she pushed his bangs away from his eyes. "So don't you think that for a minute."
"Sure, Aunt Cass," he looked at her and managed a small, unconvincing smile. She returned the smile and kissed him on the head. Then she stood and went for the door. "Aunt Cass..." he called.
"Yes?" she turned to face him.
"I... I almost... um.."
"You almost what, dear?"
"I almost hurt myself again." he said softly.
"Oh?" worry filled her eyes.
"But I didn't. I wanted to, but I got myself out of the situation."
"That's good. I'm so proud of you." She walked over and pulled Hiro into a warm embrace. He returned it, grateful for someone to be near him again. He leaned his head on her shoulder like when he was little. She rubbed his back and pulled away lightly. "Okay, dear. It's time to go back to sleep. It's late and I have Saturday rush tomorrow. I love you"
"Love you too." he pulled the blanket back up over his head and listened to her go down the steps and to her own room. When he heard her door click shut, he kicked the covers off him and sat up. There was no way he was going to be able to fall asleep again. He sat in his chair and turned on the desk lamp.
In front of him were the blueprints for a new bot he'd been working on. He began to draw out new concepts for it, but found himself erasing them again and again. Nothing made much sense. When he built his last bot, Megabot, he had Tadashi to approve each detail he made. Little did Tadashi know at the time that they were going to be used for illegal bot fighting. Hiro started again on the drawing, but started shaking. He stared at his vibrating hands and put down his pencil.
Taking the papers, he slowly crumpled it and tossed it in the wastebasket. Then he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, hoping another memory would come to his mind. He had gone through so many the last few days to get himself through, but he was slowly running out. When he opened his eyes, he found tears streaming down his face. He wiped them away, but they kept coming. Finally, he succumbed to exhaustion, weeping as he slept.
I am so sorry I haven't been on in 5ever. And that I only have this one chapter. Unfortunately. this story is coming to a close. I will be ending it in a chapter or so. However, if you like my writing, I will have a new story up soon. This one includes a character of my own. Mixing it up a bit. So I hope you liked this story and maybe the next one coming. Hope to get some reviews and all that jazz :) Love to all!
