Chapter 5: Shopping

"Dashi, wake up!"

"Huh?" Tadashi groaned blurrily as he shot upright.

Slightly confused at where he was, he looked around tiredly, sleep still weighing down his eyelids. Recognizing the layout of his living room, he realized he must've knocked out on the couch last night after he and Hir-

Oh. That's right…

He ended up falling asleep after worrying about Hiro that night. After telling the kid he had to go back to school.

Imagine his surprise when he looked down to see a very awake and very angry Hiro.

"Morning, little bro," Tadashi sighed, not bothering to hide his huge yawn as he stretched. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Better than you," Hiro commented, eyeing the couch. Despite the soft plush of the cushions, it was just a couch. Tadashi could already feel his muscles cramping from the small space his temporary bed had provided him.

"Don't get snarky," Tadashi snorted, good-naturedly ruffling his brother's hair. "So what's up?"

Hiro looked down hesitantly. He took a deep breath and murmured, "I thought about what you said last night… and I'm just gonna say… I'll try it."

Tadashi, who was already drifting off, snapped awake immediately to gape at his little brother. Hiro merely blinked back owlishly, his eyes clearly saying, "What?"

"So… you're willing to go to school?" Tadashi asked carefully, barely containing the excitement threatening to burst through his voice.

Hiro sighed, but smiled. "Yes, I'll try."

"Th-that's great!" Tadashi exclaimed, grabbing Hiro and happily spinning him around the room. A joyful laugh bubbled out of his throat while Hiro squawked at his brother to put him down. "What made you change your mind?"

Hiro shrugged. "I thought it through a bit and decided, maybe you're right. Maybe it won't be as bad as…"

"Yeah," Tadashi cut in quickly, not wanting to bring up bad memories. "Don't worry, bro, just watch. My high school years had to be one of my favorite school experiences."

"Liar," his brother huffed. "It was only swell for you cuz you were such a nice guy who picked up books and cleaned up after school with teachers."

"It'll be fine," Tadashi replied soothingly. "Now come on. Let's get you registered and call the gang to get your back to school stuff." He smiled goofily and smothered his little brother in another hug. "This'll be fun."

"Right…" was all Hiro grumbled back.

Tadashi scrambled around, grabbing any documents to school might need. Throwing a quick "eat breakfast!" over his shoulder, he ran out the door and headed to the high school (completely forgetting that he didn't even make any breakfast for his kid brother.)

Hiro sighed as he waved at his brother (who was currently stumbling onto his moped.) There was no way he was telling him why he suddenly changed his mind.

That night, as he cried himself to sleep, Hiro opened his eyes to see Peniel standing there. No tricks, no illusions, just the little girl in his head.

"Why won't you go to school?" she demanded. She looked seriously pissed, and Hiro had no idea why.

"Because, I don't want to go through all that bullying again!" Hiro yelled, his voice echoing through the empty space. "You went through my head, you saw all that! Why would I want to go back?"

Peniel was not impressed with his outburst. "You have the chance to go to school," she hissed. "Trust me, there's a small part of your brain that wants to go, and as that small part, I'm telling you, you need to go."

"No, I don't," Hiro scoffed. "What can they teach me that I don't already know?"

"Maybe why your big head is hardwired to control technology?" Peniel spat angrily. "Or why I even exist in your head? Can you tell me why, genius?"

Hiro faltered. "No…" he mumbled unsurely.

"Then that's why you need to go!" she hissed. "You may be a prodigy, but you don't know everything, brat!"

"Shut up, you don't know anything about me!" Hiro screamed, swiping at her image.

She dissipated at his touch, shimmering out of sight. Her voice eerily whispered, "I know you more than you know yourself, kid…"

He woke up immediately after her haunting words. Furious, he stormed downstairs to see his brother sleeping in the most uncomfortable looking position on the couch. As much as he didn't want to admit it, there was a small part of him that wanted to go back to school, to experience what it was like to be a normal kid. With his special skill and his enhanced brain, he knew nothing in his life would ever be "normal," so why not give it a shot now that he had an opportunity?

Well, no backing out now, Hiro chuckled to himself lightly as he watched Tadashi zoom down the street in a flustered flurry. Might as well get some breakfast and practice a bit…

A few hours later, Tadashi slowed to a halt in front of his house triumphantly. He was happy to say that, even though it took some convincing, he managed to get Hiro enrolled in the nearby highschool. His little brother would be starting his freshman year in a few short days.

"I'm back!" Tadashi called happily, throwing his keys down at the kitchen table. "Hiro, did you eat yet?"

His brother looked exhausted, head pressed down on the table. "Hey," he groaned back to his older sibling tiredly.

"Why so tired?" Tadashi asked as he opened up the fridge, pulling out the carton of milk.

"You kinda didn't leave breakfast," Hiro mumbled, turning his head to face his brother. "So I decided to practice by making bagels."

Tadashi froze. "Ohhh, shoot," he groaned. "Sorry about that, bro, I totally-"

"Forgot, yeah I know," Hiro sighed. "It's fine."

"How's practice going?" the older Hamada asked sheepishly.

"It's been better," his brother grumbled. "I managed to get the toaster on without exploding anything. But it's still super tiring…"

"Go take a nap," Tadashi offered, making himself a bowl of cereal. "When you wake up, I'll get the gang together to go back-to-school shopping."

"No thanks," Hiro said quickly. The last thing he needed was to see Peniel, especially after the argument they had the night before. "Can we just go out? I'm bored."

"Sure, that works too," his brother replied, digging through the drawers for a spoon. "Why don't you go rest up a bit on the couch and we'll go as soon as I'm done with this cereal?"

Nodding gratefully, Hiro dragged himself off his chair and slumped over to the couch, collapsing in Tadashi's temporary bed from the night before. "I'm sorry for insulting you, you're really comfy," Hiro murmured absentmindedly, sinking his face into the pillows. He closed his eyes, fighting to stay awake. He really didn't need to see Peniel gloating over her victory right now.

After a bit of waiting on the couch, Hiro heard the clatter of dishes being placed in the sink. Sighing in relief, he walked upstairs to change out of his sleeping clothes. Now that Tadashi was done eating, it was time to go shopping…

To say Honey Lemon was ecstatic was an understatement. As soon as Tadashi called her and said, "shopping," she squealed and agreed immediately. She agreed to call Gogo and promised to meet up with the boys at the local mall. Hiro went upstairs to change as Tadashi called the rest of his friends. They were all happy that Hiro wasn't feeling too down about going to school, and were more than happy to get some back-to-school materials for the kid. A few calls back and forth and they eventually set up a plan: Wasabi would go pick up Fred, then go and pick up Tadashi and Hiro. From there, they would all go to the mall and meet up with Honey and Gogo.

Hiro pulled on the sleeves of his oversized hoodie as he ran downstairs, fully dressed and ready to go. Tadashi placed two Poptarts in the toaster for Hiro (since he actually ended up burning his bagels) as he went to take a quick shower. By the time he was done, Hiro had eaten, his friends were knocking on the door, and they were all ready to go.

The high school Tadashi enrolled Hiro in had already started for a solid month. Tadashi was worried, not because his brother couldn't catch up (that kid could probably catch up in his sleep), but because he was afraid of how the other students would treat him. It's always hard to transfer schools, and it's especially hard to transfer in later in the school year. Tadashi was scared that now that the school had already started and the kids already formed their friend groups, Hiro would be isolated and excluded.

Of course, high school always has its complications. Tadashi would know, he went through high school too. It wasn't the same as Hiro, but he knew what it felt like to be gawked at as the "new kid."

And he needed Hiro to know that no matter what, he would stand behind his brother all the way.

"Okay, so what's the mission?" Gogo asked as the group walked into the mall.

"Let's get him a new backpack," Honey gushed, scrolling through a list on her phone. "And new clothes! Ohh let's go to a market and get him some new pens and pencils and-"

"Honey, chill!" Fred cut her off, waving his arms in front of his tall friend. "We'll just walk around and pick up whatever we need, okay? How's that sound to everyone?"

"Works for me," Wasabi shrugged. "Just don't forget to wash your hands after you touch everything."

"Come on, guys," Tadashi chuckled, grabbing Hiro's shoulders and steering him towards the first store. "Let's go look for a new backpack for our little high school boy, alright?"

A few hours later, Hiro got a new green backpack, along with some new clothes (per Honey's request.) They also bought him several notebooks, a binder, a pencil case filled with pencils, pens, and all sorts of writing utensils.

After literally walking around the whole day, to say they were dead tired was an understatement. After a quick dinner, the group quickly piled into Wasabi's car to go home.

The small van pulled up to the Hamada residence. Tadashi slowly shuffled out, carrying a sleeping Hiro on his back. Waving a quick goodbye and bidding his friends goodnight (Fred was passed out in the front seat and Honey was drifting off), he walked up his steps as the car pulled away.

Struggling to reach his keys without shaking his slumbering brother, he did a mini victory dance in his head when the door clicked open. Carefully balancing all of Hiro's new supplies in one hand and keeping his brother on his back with the other, he kicked the door closed and made his way to their room quietly. Gently dumping Hiro in his bed, Tadashi tucked him in and smiled. It had been a while since Hiro last looked as happy as he had today. They walked through the mall and at every tech store, he had his face press against the glass and marveling at the glorious metal robots on display. It was one of the few times Tadashi ever saw Hiro ever act his age. Like a little kid.

His brother was a genius, there was no doubt about that. But because of his intellect, he often tried to act older than he actually was. As happy as he was to see his brother interact with his friends, it still made him feel sad that the ten year old felt more comfortable around college students over kids his own age. Because of this attitude, it made it hard for people to approach the child prodigy. They were intimidated by his mind and chose to stay away. It was one of the reasons his brother never made any real friends.

Of course, there was one kid, Ciel. While they weren't exactly friends, Ciel didn't avoid Hiro either. During their breaks in middle school, despite Hiro being a few years younger than him, Ciel still spent his time with the younger child. Other kids gossiped behind their backs, and although Ciel wasn't bullied, the middle schoolers didn't exactly like him either. They day Ciel transferred to another school was the day the seven year old decided he had enough of middle school.

Tadashi walked down the stairs to lock the front door and make sure everything else was secure. After that incident three years ago, Tadashi made sure to check every night that all the windows were locked, all the doors were closed and locked, and the security system set. It was a bit overkill, sure, but now that he had news that Koetsu was back, he needed to be extra careful. After all, Koetsu got in once. What was to stop him from getting in again.

Walking back up the steps silently, Tadashi thought back to what Chiyeki said. "…keep an eye out for possible dangers…"

As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew Chiyeki was on to something with those scientists disappearing. He didn't know what Koetsu was planning, and he didn't want to find out. A nagging voice in his head even nudged him slightly in the direction that the prisoner's escaped had something to do with his old enemy as well…

After all, the prison Ripper was being transferred to was a top of the class prison cell. Located on a large rock in the middle of the ocean. The chances of any inmate escaping were so slim that guards didn't even have to stand guard on the outside. That and the fact that large waves crashed down on the side of the rock, threatening to drag any unfortunate soul into a watery death, That or get smashed to pieces on the rocks that were scattered everywhere along the shores.

And yet, this guy escaped. After taking down almost a whole squadron of armed guards. Of course, that is, if he had worked alone.

Tadashi shook his head. You're being ridiculous, he chastised himself. You're just tired, that's all… now go to bed. You have a long day tomorrow, and Hiro starts school in s few days. You don't have time to stress about overactive theories and nonsense!

Climbing into bed, Tadashi stared at the ceiling with his arms crossed behind his head. But what if… what if his nonsensical theory was true? It was worth looking into. After all, at this point, anything could be possible.

I'll talk with Honey Lemon tomorrow, Tadashi decided. Maybe she could pass a word to her dad… He wasn't the chief of police for nothing after all.

Closing his eyes, he sighed and settled in for a well-deserved sleep.

Hiro sighed, sinking his face into his palms, elbows propped on his crossed legs. "If you want to gloat, just get it over with, Peniel."

"Hey there, Mr. Genius," Peniel beamed smugly, "Seems like someone's in a rather bad mood. What's the matter, little boy?" she cackled as she poked Hiro's face.

"Stop it!" he exclaimed, smacking at her hands. "And I can't believe I actually agreed to go to some stupid school!"

"No, you do," Peniel huffed and crossed her arms. "You're happy. You want to go to school. You want to feel like a normal kid again. But you're afraid of how the brats will treat you, especially if they found out about, well, this," she gestured to the space around them exasperatedly. "Stop lying to yourself, kid."

"Fine, fine, I want to go to school," Hiro snapped. "But it's not cuz I wanna feel normal. I am normal."

"Uh-huh," Peniel sighed. "Keep telling yourself that kid, you're not fooling me."

"What do you know!" Hiro yelled, pushing himself onto his feet. "You're just some image in my head, how do you know so much?"

"You'll find out soon enough," she chuckled darkly. "Now, come on." She raised her arms and several large robots erupted from the ground. "It's training time."

The dark figure looked up, glancing around him. Not a person in sight. He grinned. Good, he smirked. Gives me more time to enjoy myself…

Hiding in the shadows, he watched as a bouncy blonde girl turned the corner, right into his awaiting trap. As she crossed him, time slowed. He reached out, grabbing her arms behind her and using his other hand to muffle her screams. A few scuffles later, he had her completely constrained, hands tied up by zip ties and knees on the ground. A dirty cloth was shoved in her mouth to muffle her cries. The night returned to being silent, save for the few muffled screams that were drowned out by the sound of traffic in the distance.

"Hello, there pretty," Ripper crooned as he stroked her face lovingly. "What are you doing out so late, doll? Didn't you hear? There's a killer on the loose."

She could only tremble and look down, refuse to look up and accept her inevitable fate. Tears streamed down her face as she squeezed her eyes closed.

"Hey, don't do that," Ripper snarled, grabbing her hair and yanking her up. He ignored her muffled yelps of indignation as she struggled to get a footing on the slippery floor. Pinning her to the wall, he wiped away a tear on her cheek and smiled charmingly. "I'm not gonna hurt you, dear."

She relaxed slightly. Big mistake.

"Of course," he continued. "If I said that, I would be lying. And what kind of gentleman lies to such a beautiful woman like yourself?" He reached into his coat and pulled out an item that made her heart stop cold.

The silver blade of the dagger gleamed in the moonlight. Ripper smiled and licked his lips. "This is gonna be fun," he chuckled, raising the blade high above his head.

The sound of the traffic on the nearby freeway drowned out her muffled screams of agony as he plunged his blade repeatedly into her body.

No one heard a thing.

He whistled his nursery rhyme the whole time, even when her blood slapped onto his face and clothes, covering his skin in a hideously beautiful dark red. Even as she screamed, tears mixing in with her blood. Even when she locked her eyes with his, begging him to stop.

He only smiled and whistled louder.

HELLO EVERYONE! MISS ME?

Thank you all for being so patient! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. It's just that school started recently for me and it's been pretty busy with juggling school and my personal life and writing. Also, ngl, I kinda lost that spark? Like, that motivation to write anymore. But, it came back to me today (YAY) and I'm back babies :)

Thank you guys so much for all the support and love! And thanks for the positive feedback on Other Worlds. It kinda just came to me, I have no idea how tbh.

The other stories will be updated soon!

Enjoy this long awaited comeback lol there will be more to come!

Review, suggestions, follow, favorite, I trust you guys to know what to do at this point ^^