Chapter 2

Tadashi spotted a girl making her way out of the building. He rushed up to her through the crowds of people. "Are you okay?"

The girl nodded, clutching her arm in pain. "Yeah, I'm okay." She glanced backwards at the building, worry evident in her features. "But Professor Callaghan's still in there..."

Tadashi frowned noticeably. Callaghan had been more than just a teacher to him. He had inspired Tadashi on countless occasions and taught him things that the teachers would never have pointed out.

Professor Callaghan was like the father he'd never had.

Tadashi ran towards the building, his heart pounding fiercely in his chest. He was going to save Callaghan, no matter what it would take.

He was nearly at the entrance when someone grabbed his arm. He turned around, only to find himself face to face with his brother.

"Tadashi, NO!"

The sheer force of Hiro's voice made Tadashi stop in his tracks. He could see the flames reflected in his brother's eyes, as Hiro tightened the grip on his arm.

Tadashi wanted so badly to give in to those brown eyes. To stay in the comfort of his brother's arms as the building went down in flames. But he couldn't. Callaghan was alive in there. Tadashi couldn't leave him there when he knew he could have saved him.

So instead, the older boy jerked his arm away from his brother. "Callaghan's in there. Someone has to help."

He raced towards the building. There was the sound of something snapping, a sound that Hiro knew better than to ignore.

He knew exactly what the sound meant. The building was about to collapse on his brother and Hiro was not going to let that happen. So he sprinted up to Tadashi, pushing him to safety.

He was standing right in front of the building when the explosion happened.

BOOM!

The whole building exploded in a display of fiery gold. Sparks rained down on them as Tadashi was thrown to the pavement.

He felt the cold cement against his skin and wished that he could stay like that; enclosed in its icy comfort. He felt his eyes drift closed, as the world around him slowly faded away...

Then it struck him.

Hiro.

He forced himself off of the ground, ignoring the pain that devoured every bit of his energy. "Hiro!" He yelled, before breaking off into a harsh fit of coughs.

Through the ashes, he could make out a figure lying on the ground.

All of a sudden, saving Callaghan didn't matter to him anymore.

He ran towards his brother. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, making the moment a million times more painful. He felt the sparks burn painfully against his skin.

But he didn't care.

His legs gave way beneath him as he knelt down in front of his brother's body. "Wake up, Hiro."

There was no response.

"WAKE UP!" He repeated. His voice broke, tears blurring his vision. He could hear the wail of a siren in the distance, as the blinding lights of an ambulance flooded over him.

Good.

They would save Hiro. They would bring him to the hospital and then everything would be okay.

Despite his blurred mind, Tadashi remembered the medical procedures he had programmed Baymax with. He placed his hand on Hiro's chest, feeling for a pulse.

Nothing.

Despite himself, Tadashi laughed. It was probably just because his mind wasn't entirely clear at the moment. Yes, that had to be why. Hiro couldn't be dead. He couldn't be.

Tadashi laughed until his laughter turned to sobs and tears flowed freely down his cheeks.

He felt lifeless. It was as if the last drop of blood had been drained from him; the last drop of color taken from his life.

All of those times he had saved Hiro in the past... had they all been meaningless? All of the happy moments they had shared... were they all meant to be forgotten?

Inventions. His friends. College. None of it mattered to him anymore. All that he could see; all that he could think was that Hiro was dying. And more importantly, that it was all his fault.

If he hadn't been so desperate to save Callaghan, none of this would have happened. If only he had just listened to his brother for once...

But he hadn't.

He was the one who was supposed to die. He was the one who was supposed to be swallowed by the flames. Not Hiro. Not Hiro, the one with a bright future awaiting him. Not Hiro, the boy who could have been so much more. Hiro should have survived. But instead, he had pushed Tadashi aside so that his brother could live. He had given his life for Tadashi.

He shouldn't have, Tadashi thought bitterly. He should have saved himself. He should have just let me die…

He felt suffocated. He couldn't breathe; couldn't think. His heartbeat seemed to drown out all the noise around him... the crackling of the fire; the voices of the people around him; they all ceased to exist.

The fire charred his skin, leaving burn marks all over his hands and legs. His injuries filled him with a searing pain. But he didn't care. It took his mind off of the pain in his heart; awakened him from the numbness that had so lovingly engulfed him.

People surrounded him and his brother. One of them spoke up; presumably a doctor. "Sir, we'll have to separate you from... him... on the ride to the ambulance."

Tadashi felt like he was choking. Not because of the smoke, but because of the things the fire had taken away from him. "No!" he yelled forcefully. "You can't take him away from me. Not again..."

The people exchanged stoid glances. Finally, the doctor nodded. "Fine. Suit yourself."

Tadashi took a seat at the back of the vehicle, still carrying Hiro in his arms. Guilt flooded his heart, preventing his bitter tears from subsiding. Please, he pleaded silently. Don't let this be the end.

He turned his gaze to the window, watching the blurred outline of the university through the tears in his eyes. As the ambulance drove away, the building became smaller and smaller until it all faded to nothingness.

Please leave a review if you can! I'll try to continue this soon.