made 90's on my finals so far and here I am to celebrate

Tadashi had been completely rigid ever since what happened to Hiro. Why Hiro was alone in that hallway and why the masked man chose that moment to attack, Tadashi didn't know, but it was the last straw for him.

Hiro had lied when he said that everyone should just forget about the incident at the showcase. It may have been a long time ago, but there had been more incidents besides that. The masked man had been spotted multiple times following Hiro around the city. Sometimes Tadashi would be reading the morning paper to see Hiro on the front page, walking down the street and being followed by a swarm of microbots. One incident occurred where Tadashi had woken in the middle of the night, shouting in surprise at the swarm of microbots breaking through their bedroom window and slithering toward the boy.

Hiro often slept on the couch in the living room, away from the windows.

But this time, the one time they hadn't been careful, Hiro had been targeted and required. Hurt. Broken. Beaten. Almost near no repair. And Tadashi was sick of the thought.

Tadashi sat in the waiting room of the San Fransokyo Hospital wing, hands shaking and leg thumping up and down. He tried to keep the lump out of his throat, but it wasn't working. He was nervous. He was scared. He was worried.

What was taking so long? What if the surgery went wrong?

What if Hiro was dead?

Tadashi abandoned that thought as the most paranoid of all, but it was no doubt the only thing he had been thinking of.

His mind kept wandering to when he had been in his lab and first heard the loud bang. It shook the lab. The desperate shouts had followed. Tadashi had dismissed them as himself "just hearing things." How could he have been so selfish? Hiro was screaming for him. Crying his name. Shouting "help me" multiple times, and Tadashi had ignored them. What did that say about him? Tadashi didn't know, shivering as Hiro's screams pierced through his mind.

I'm going insane, he thought.

Unfair, he knew, because Hiro had actually gone insane in the past. Reliving moments in the fiery abyss of an Exhibit Hall. Being dragged hopelessly into the death trap. Tadashi would always admire how Hiro stared death in the face and had still gotten away alive. Hurt, of course, but alive all the same. His mental issues kicked in after, and he had stopped eating shortly after, making him incredibly thin. Even when the brothers were just teasing around and Tadashi would tackle or tickle him, Hiro would suddenly grow paler, crying out "please don't do this! Help me! No!"

Tadashi still wasn't used to these break-outs.

But he was trying. And his friends had been just as protective of Hiro as he had been, walking to and from classes and driving him home. Hiro was never alone besides this one incident.

"Hamada?"

Tadashi jumped to his feet, relieved to finally be freed from his own thoughts. The nurse that had called his name was eyeing him with pity, something Tadashi didn't take as a good sign.

"I'm his older brother. Hiro's. What's going on with him?"

"He's out of surgery and we expect a recovery," she said, earning a sigh from Tadashi of relief, "but not a full one."

"What do you mean?" Tadashi asked in concern.

"He's got severe spinal and head trauma," the nurse said, flipping through her clipboard. "He'll require a wheelchair for three months and then crutches, but his legs will be incredibly weak. He will need to attend our physical therapy program here at SFH."

Tadashi took in what she had said very slowly, looking down in shock.

"I see," he muttered, shuffling his feet and letting out a long breath. "I'll...I'll let my aunt know about this. Is he allowed visitors?"

"Yes," the nurse said with a small smile. "Room 207."

"Thank you," Tadashi patted her shoulder, rushing past her and straight to room 207. The minute he saw the room number and the door, he was sprinting, reaching the metal door and jiggling the handle frantically. The door swung open, revealing a dark room that smelled thickly of hand sanitizer. Hiro was laying next to the large window of the room, overlooking the bright lights of the bustling night city. Horns honked distinctly, and suddenly Tadashi was so interested in that. Afraid to face Hiro and have to realize that this wouldn't have happened if he had just followed his instincts.

Tadashi took in a deep breath, walking over to Hiro's bed and taking a seat in the chair beside him.

Hiro's comforter swallowed him whole. He was surrounded by a variety of pillows. His breaths were slow and quiet, but at least he was breathing. His heart monitor beeped rhythmically, much to Tadashi's delight. But other than his breathing and his heart rate, he was beaten and bruised.

His eyes were both bruised like they had been after the fire. His face was littered with scars. Where the collar of his hospital gown was unbuttoned, there were large bruises staining his chest. His left arm was in a sling, and he had a black brace wrapping around his ankle. Tadashi wrung his hands together, disgusted with himself. White hot anger was protruding off of him and toward the masked man. How could someone hurt a teenager this badly and for what cause? What was all of this for? Hiro had confessed that the man needed him for his genius when he was in the burning building, but at what cost?

Tadashi shook his head, wiping a tear away and sending a quick text to his aunt, reading simply "He can have visitors," before tossing his phone on the night table and grabbing Hiro's good hand. He laid his head on Hiro's mattress, admiring the way Hiro's chest rose up and sank down with each pained breath. He drew circles with his thumb on the top of Hiro's hand, his eyes slowly fluttering shut-

Hiro's eyes fluttered open at this moment, squinting from the light of the city and turning to Tadashi, who snapped his head up and blinked at Hiro longingly.

"Hiro?" he choked out.

"What happened?" Hiro asked, voice hoarse. He took in his surroundings, panic becoming more and more evident in his features as he realized where he was and as he looked down at his body.

"You're safe, buddy," Tadashi said, voice cracking. "Jesus, you scared me so bad, Hiro..."

"What do you mean? What happened to me-"

Hiro stopped short, obviously regaining the memory of what had happened to him that day and growing pale.

"Hiro?"

Hiro licked his lips and gulped, struggling to sit up straighter.

"Is he gone?" Hiro asked with a trembling voice. Tadashi's chest hurt at the questions.

"Yes, Hiro, but we didn't catch him," Tadashi confessed. Hiro's eyes widened in fear but he nodded nonetheless. "Hiro, can you tell me what happened?"

Hiro took a deep breath, looking anywhere but into Tadashi's eyes.

"Hiro, you know you can tell me anything. You can trust me."

Hiro nodded slowly, looking into Tadashi's eyes and closing his own as he recounted the events from the previous day.

"I-I was walking down the hallway," Hiro croaked, and Tadashi was honestly shocked because why would Hiro be telling him about this and he still won't tell them what happened in the fire? "A-and I heard the sound of my microbots slithering towards m-me. And th-then they wrapped themselves around me and lifted me up-p and..."

Hiro squinted his eyes shut as Tadashi continued squeezing his small hand in his. A tear fell down Hiro's cheek and he turned to Tadashi with glossy, fearful eyes.

"Please don't make me say it."

"Hiro, I would never force you to do anything you're uncomfortable with," Tadashi reassured him. "It's okay. The Dean called me while I was waiting for you here and he said that they have security footage. I can watch it and maybe we can catch the bastard."

"Tadashi...you don't wanna watch it," Hiro muttered. "It's horrible. It was horrible. It was terrifying."

"Hiro, I'm so sorry I didn't hear you the first time you called for me in that wretched hallway," Tadashi said sadly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there the time you absolutely needed me the most. I'm sorry this is happening to you again, but I have to stop it, okay? I have to end it. This has gone too far. Twice for this to happen is far too many times for someone like you, Hiro. This is all I can take, and I'm sure you feel the same. So Cass is gonna drop by and visit with you, bring you some soup, and I'm going back to the campus to stop all of this. Okay, buddy?"

"Thank you, Tadashi," Hiro smiled warmly at him, though the gesture didn't reach his eyes at all. Hiro laid his head back and was quickly asleep again. Tadashi laughed lightly at that, rubbing Hiro's hand until a frantic Cass arrived with soup for the teen. Tadashi was off to the campus. Off to end it all.

"We found this footage in our hallway security tapes this afternoon," the Dean explained to Tadashi. Tadashi nodded, gesturing for the man to press play on the large TV screen.

The screen whirred to life, pulling up footage of an empty yellow hallway. Hiro came into view walking slowly and tiredly to class, his hands fisted on his backpack straps. Tadashi's eyes were fixated on him and nothing else.

Hiro stopped walking suddenly, turning his head behind him with a chilled look on his face, as if he had heard something. Tadashi thought he heard it too: the clanking of metal. He turned back the direction he had been walking, jumping in fear when he realized that a snake of microbots was slithering toward him. They wrapped themselves around Hiro's ankle, and he struggled to pry them off but he was falling to the floor moments later. Hiro's breathing became loud and erratic, echoing throughout the duration of the tape. Another stream approached him from behind, wrapping themselves around his torso and forcing him on his back. Hiro finally managed to get them off, yelping and leaving his bag on the floor as he ran for it. The microbots captured him again with ease, however, and dragged him all the way back. The masked man appeared from the shadows, his chuckle ringing through the abandoned hallway.

"You belong to me now, Hiro," the man hissed at him. Tadashi took a deep breath, forcing down his anger.

"NO!" Hiro cried out, struggling to get away. It hurt more every second Tadashi watched. "Tadashi! Tada-"

Hiro was yanked off of the ground and thrown to the concrete ground, causing a loud bang to reverberate throughout the hallway. The power suddenly went out, though they tape continued recording in night vision.

What happened next chilled Tadashi and nearly made him want to vomit.

The microbots wrapped around Hiro slowly, lifting him high and turning him toward the yellow, untouched lockers.

"No, no, no, no, no! Please don't do this! Somebody help me! Help me! PLEASE!"

BANG

BANG

BANG

Hiro had been smashed into the locker three times, reducing to a heap on the ground. He slowly got to his arms and tried crawling away with what he had left.

"Tadashi..." Hiro said sadly as he pushed himself. Microbots slithered and grabbed his ankles once again, making Hiro yelp and kick to get free.

"TADASHI!"

Hiro was crushed into the lockers once more before the masked man looked down the hallway and fled. Tadashi was yelling on the other end of the hallway, screaming his brother's name and rushing to cradle him in his arms. The dean pulled out the remote and paused the film. He looked over at Tadashi's tear stained face in concern.

"Son? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Tadashi said, sniffing and clearing his throat.

"Yeah. I'm okay, sir."

Hiro laughed and talked with his Aunt Cass, delighted to have the company. She had brought him chicken soup and soda, which he gratefully accepted. She was frantic at first, but after they began to talk together, they were instantly having the time of their lives.

Tadashi burst through the door, eyes glossy and nose red. Cass was alarmed by his current state.

"Why do you act so calm about everything?" Tadashi demanded. "Why do you only ask for help in death situations? Why do you play everything off like it never happened? Like everything will be fine if you just sweep it under the rug to worry about ONE YEAR LATER?! Well, I am NOT going to stand by while they put you six feet under just because you swept it under the rug. You realize we're here for you, right? But no, you hate appearing weak in front of us so you just don't tell us things. Is that it? During the fire, what did the man tell you? What did he DO to you, Hiro? How much did he MESS you up?"

Hiro blinked in shock, shrinking into his shoulders awkwardly and darting his eyes to Cass, who also seemed too dumbfounded to speak. Hiro cleared his throat, looking down at his hand.

"Why do you worry so much, Tadashi?" Hiro asked. "Siblings are usually supposed to hate each other, right? Prank each other, insult each other. Why are we so different? When you found out that I was being targeted by the masked man, you could've left me to take care of myself, or left Aunt Cass to do it, or turned me into the Witness Protection Program. Why do you care about me so much?"

Tadashi's jaw hung open dumbly, a look of hurt on his face. He slowly walked over to Hiro and pulled up a seat, clapping a large hand on his shoulder and looking at Hiro sincerely.

"Knucklehead, do you honestly think I would ever leave you alone?"

Simple, i know, but i'm so bored an honestly i don't wanna do the dishes