Chapter 9: Careful

"Did you hear? They found another body the other day…"

"Seriously? And the cops aren't doing anything?"

"Well, there's nothing they can really do unless they catch the guy…"

"I heard this lady's younger than the one that freshman found…"

"You think he'll start targeting kids soon?"

Dark whispers rustled through the school the next day. The usually loud hallway was dead silent, only a few hushed whispers going through the corridor. While Hiro and Vanellope walked down the hall for class, all they could hear were the gossips that passed between the students. Neither knew what was going on. After the power surge he had last night, he ended up not waking up for the rest of the night. Tadashi still didn't have the power up when he woke up, so whatever breaking news was broadcasted, Hiro didn't see. And Vanellope was out of her house early, since Ralph had to be at work so early.

"Do you know what happened," Hiro whispered to Vanellope as they both took their seats. Their teacher was busy passing back their quizzes from a few days ago. Hiro already knew he aced it, but Vanellope had already told him repeatedly that she was sure she had messed something up.

"Not sure," she whispered back, groaning under her breath at her grade. "I'm guessing they found another body, but other than that, I don't know." She sighed and rubbed her head nervously. "Hey, you think you can help me figure out these questions?"

"Here, take my quiz," Hiro handed her his answers. "Just write down the work or something."

"Wow, Einstein," Vanellope whistled, impressed. "Yet another 100%, huh?"

"Oh, shut up," Hiro grumbled. "You think you could find out why everyone's freaking out?"

"Sure, I'll ask around," Vanellope agreed absentmindedly as she wrote down Hiro's work. The teacher had said to talk with a partner, so they weren't exactly being disrupting. "Can you explain what you did for number 6?"

"Hey, what's the big deal? Why are all the roads closed?" Tadashi asked when he finally got to the lab. After taking Hiro to school, the usual road he used to go to SFIT was blocked. When he tried to go his other route, that way was also blocked. After going through the extremely traffic ridden freeway, he finally made it on campus, only to realize he had missed his first class. Deciding to just spend a day at the lab, he trudged through the puddles that came with the rainy day. The rain might've had something to do with the ungodly amount of traffic that morning…

"Not really sure," Gogo replied. She was, as always, tweaking something on her bike. Despite the calculations Tadashi had adjusted for her a few years ago, she still stubbornly tried to figure out the kinks in her bike. "Missed the morning news."

"Wasabi should know," Honey said through her facemask. She was dealing with possible toxic fumes with her chemical experiments today.

"Shouldn't he be here already?" Fred mumbled as he walked into the lab and jumped onto his armchair. "He's usually always here hours early."

"Maybe he had the same problem I did," Tadashi shrugged. "There was a crazy amount of traffic on the freeway today. All the main routes were closed."

"Still, text him," Honey insisted, looking up temporarily from her chemicals. "You never know what might've happened."

"Yeah, yeah," Tadashi sighed, pulling out his phone to message his friend. "Maybe he'll know what's going on and why all the roads are blocked…"

"Okay, here's what I got," Vanellope said secretively as they walked to their other class. "Apparently the cops found another woman's body a few blocks away from where you found your lady. And I guess everyone's scared cuz this lady was younger than the last woman, and since this sicko has a thing for adults and kids, they're afraid that he'll be targeting students next."

Hiro shrugged. "I guess," he replied. "That would explain why there are so many people absent today." In his first two classes, almost one fourth of his class was missing for both. "Guess parents are being careful too."

"Yeah, guess so," Vanellope shrugged back. "Almost half my class was missing in P.E. today. Miss Ariel was kinda upset… she was looking forward to swimming today…"

"You should've seen the look on Ms. Belle's face," Hiro snickered. "We had a quiz on Romeo and Juliet in class and she almost threw a fit when she saw how many people were in class."

"Hey Wasabi, where are you?"

"Sorry, dude," Tadashi's friend sighed. "Mom wants me to stay at home and watch the little ones for the day, since the news this morning and everything…"

"Wait, what happened?" Tadashi asked. He didn't have time to figure out the power switches that morning and missed the morning news.

"You don't know?" Wasabi asked in surprise. "Cops found another body, man!"

"Seriously?" Tadashi gaped. This wasn't good. It had only been two weeks since Hiro found the poor woman on his way home from school. If this killer already killed again… that would mean nightmares for San Fransokyo. "Where?"

"Few blocks away from where the little guy found the other woman," Wasabi said fearfully. "City's doing a search of the area, but dad says they haven't found anything yet." Wasabi's father would know. He was one of the lead detectives in the SFPD.

"Well, keep me caught up, alright?" Tadashi sighed. There was honestly nothing he could do but try to keep himself and his little brother safe.

"Roger."

After a quick goodbye, Tadashi hung up and sighed again. He leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. There was so much going on… The problems with Hiro and his… abilities, and now this serial killer on the loose who seemed to be escalating… The mere thought made Tadashi's stomach churn.

Sighing one more time, he muttered a low "ow" to activate his robotics project. Baymax inflated, but before he could say his signature phrase, blinked and slumped down. Baymax had been having troubles with his battery life recently. Tadashi was trying everything he could think of, but he honestly didn't know what else to do.

Suddenly, his phone rang, breaking the silence. Jumping slightly at the sudden sound, he picked up with a monotone, "Hello, Tadashi Hamada speaking."

"Dashi?"

"Hiro?" Tadashi said back in shock. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Uhh… it's kinda a long story," his younger brother replied. "But the school decided to make it a minimum day since there were so little students here today."

"Oh," Tadashi replied, surprised. "How few is so little?"

Hiro hesitated, before replying, "It's a long story…"

"Got it," Tadashi chuckled. "So what time do you need to be picked up?"

"Umm… right now?"

Tadashi balked. He looked at the clock on his wall. 11:35. "Don't usual minimum days end at like, 1?" Tadashi asked incredulously.

"Like I said… long story," Hiro answered sheepishly.

Tadashi sighed and said, "Well, alright, little bro. Give me a few minutes, I'll be right there."

"'Kay!" Hiro said cheerfully. "Hey, can I hang out at the lab for the rest of the day?"

"Sure," Tadashi laughed. It was Friday anyways. "Any new project you wanna work on?"

"Maybe," Hiro said mysteriously. "Just a small thought that came to me in class the other day. I'll tell you more when you pick me up."

"Alright," Tadashi smiled. At least his little brother seemed happier than he was a few days ago. "See you in a bit."

"Bye!"

Tadashi hung up and grabbed his jacket and keys. Since he was coming back, he decided to leave his bag in his lab. Putting Baymax back in his case, he left his office, telling Honey that he was going out for a bit. Hopefully the traffic wouldn't be too bad…

Hiro put his phone in his pocket and stared out the window to the rainy skies. After the teachers announced that for "security reasons" (everyone knew what reasons they were talking about), class would be cancelled for the day and that they would give the students further notice for the next week. Many students left immediately after the principal made the announcement on the speakers, although a few students stayed behind (most likely because they were getting picked up). All the teachers allowed the students to stay in their classrooms to wait for their guardians to pick them up, seeing as it was raining heavily outside, and the fact that there was a serial killer running around.

Which was how Hiro found himself back in the student council's room.

Vanellope had to take the bus home, so she had to leave immediately. Several teachers escorted the students that needed to go to the bus stop to their destination. After all, it wasn't safe for children to walk around anymore, in groups or not…

Hiro relaxed on the couch in the room as Tooth argued with North about something (it sounded like she wanted to pass out sugar free candy in their next school rally, but North was against it because he knew no one would eat it), and Jack was tinkering with something in the corner.

"What's that?" Hiro asked curiously. He couldn't help himself. With the thought of going back to his brother's lab where he could get his hands on as much tech as he wanted made his mind go to robotics mode.

"Huh?" Jack looked up in surprise. "Oh, this is nothing. Just a little something I've been making…" It was a robot. Or, that's what Hiro thought it was. To be honest, it looked like a snowflake.

"What's it do?" Hiro asked curiously.

"Nothing much," Jack shrugged. It's supposed to be a weapon for my bot, but I can't figure out some of the kinks in it…"

"Can I see?" Hiro asked politely. Jack grinned and handed the robot over to the kid. Almost as though he were on autopilot, he twisted a few parts and pressed a few buttons, and the snowflake lit up and hummed softly.

"Whoa," Jack gasped in amazement. "That was amazing," he said, impressed. "You should come out and see a bot fight some time."

"Bot fight?" Tadashi forbade him from ever going to a bot fight. His brother told him that it was dangerous and illegal. "Aren't those illegal?"

A sly grin slipped across Jack's face. "Only if you get caught." Hiro still looked unsure. Jack laughed and said, "Don't worry about it kid. How about this… next time I go to a fight, I'll tell you. You can come if you want, just check out the game and see how it is. Sound good?"

At that very moment, Hiro's phone buzzed. Tadashi was here.

"Here, I'll walk you out," Jack offered. Saying his goodbyes to Tooth and North (Aster and Sandy were talking with Mr. Mim about their next school projects), the duo walked toward the school entrance.

"How often do you go to bot fights?" Hiro asked carefully. If he were to be completely honest, he had always wanted to go to a tournament, but Tadashi never let him.

Jack shrugged. "Not very often," he admitted. "Just occasionally, whenever I'm bored… or need cash."

"Isn't it dangerous though?" Hiro asked. "My brother told me all the fighters are sore losers… and they beat you up if you beat them."

"Yea, they're all babies," Jack laughed. "But don't worry, kid. You'll be with me, so I'll keep you safe. Trust me."

Hiro hummed in wonder. Ever since he found out about bot fighting, he was always dying to go see one. To see the crowd screaming and waving around wads on betting money, the sound of clashing metal as the two bots fought…

"But yeah, think about it, alright?" Jack said nonchalantly. "Not forcing you or anything, but it would be amazing if a robotics genius like you got to see what he was missing."

"… I'll think about it," Hiro agreed. Seeing the familiar vehicle through the rain, he bid farewell to his friend and made a run for the car door.

A small smile slid across his face as he ran. Just the thought of getting a free pass into bot fights made him too giddy to function.

Tadashi parked the truck and waited for his younger brother to come out. The rain was still pouring from the sky. He could understand why his brother chose to wait in a classroom.

A few minutes later, Hiro finally walked outside. Followed by a white haired boy.

Tadashi was a little surprised to see Hiro wave at the snowy haired youth before running towards the truck. Seems as though they were pretty good friends. His brother opened the door and climbed into the seat, soaked from his short run through the rain. "Hey, Dashi," he panted, swiping at the water futilely.

"Hey, baby brother," Tadashi said cheerfully, starting the engine on the truck. "Was that the friend you told me that was from the student council?"

"Yup," Hiro replied. "They let me stay in the room while I waited for you."

"That's nice of them," Tadashi laughed. "So why did school get cut short?"

"Uhh… apparently they found another body, pretty close to here," Hiro replied hesitantly. "Principal decided to cancel the rest of the day for security reasons."

"Ahh," Tadashi replied dryly. "Wasabi told me about that," he sighed. "The police haven't found anything yet, but they said to be on the lookout.

"Yea, the teachers walked the students that needed to go on the bus to the bus station too."

"Guess you can't be too careful," Tadashi sighed. Wanting to change the topic, he forced a smile and said, "So what's this project you want to work on?"

Hiro's eyes immediately lit up. "So, I was thinking about this in class, and remember when…"

Tadashi laughed as his brother went into great detail of how he thought of this idea. Of course, the realization that there was such a huge danger lurking around just outside the car was still terrifying to the older Hamada… But for now he would just focus on keeping his younger brother happy.

To make sure he could still live a normal childhood.

The kid deserved that much.

"So," Chiyeki growled, looking around at the rotting walls of an abandoned warehouse with disgust. "What the hell did you call me here for?"

"Don't be so rude," Koetsu scoffed. "After I practically raised you as my own after you left that academy-"

"You may have watched me, but you sure as hell didn't 'raise' me," the angry girl snapped back. "Besides, you were reporting back to my sister, I know it."

"You got me," Koetsu snickered. "But still, I feel like I owe you for the amount of torture we both endured while watching Tomoe."

Chiyeki raised a brow and crossed her arms. "Watching?" she repeated in disbelief. "Don't you mean, 'working for?'"

"Small details," Koetsu shrugged, waving his hand. "But do you want to hear my offer or not?"

"No," Chiyeki growled. "I'm done with doing all this evil shit. I just want to live a normal life and stay out of all this drama." Chiyeki looked at her former guardian in sympathy. "Koetsu… it wasn't their faults, you know. You need to stop this petty game of revenge."

"Shut up!" Koetsu roared. Chiyeki flinched. His yell echoed through the empty, dark space surrounding them. "It may not have been those brother's faults, but I sure as hell can't just forgive Hiruto for what he did to me."

"That was an accident!" Chiyeki sighed exasperatedly. "Can't you just let it go? That was years ago?"

"I'm not talking about the stupid scar!" Koetsu growled. "There's so much more, you can't possibly understand!"

"Oh yeah?" Chiyeki huffed. "Why don't you explain it to me, then?"

"I… can't," Koetsu sighed. "I've already told you too much. I can't-"

"It was you wasn't it," Chiyeki quickly blurted out. "You were the one that let out Ripper."

Koetsu frowned. "I made sure to clean my tracks, how'd you find out?"

"Because I know you." Chiyeki rubbed her head angrily. "Koetsu, you know what happened the last time we let Ripper out on the streets. Are you trying to start a war?"

"If that's what it takes, then yes," the man huffed. "I'll use whatever resources I can get."

"And those resources are an experimental, crazed killer and the scientists that created him," the girl scoffed. She shook her head in disbelief and sighed. "Well, whatever you do, just leave me out of it. I don't need to be involved in all this. I really don't need to."

"Oh, but dear sister," a chilling voice that froze her to the spot spoke from behind her. "Why not dip your feet into a bit of fun with me?"

Chiyeki whipped around in disbelief and horror. There, standing disdainfully behind her, was the woman that was supposed to be locked up in a white room for the rest of her life. He long hair flowing in the wind and draping down her tall frame, Tomoe smiled coldly at her half-sister.

"Hello, sister dear," Tomoe sneered. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

So here's kinda a short filler chapter haha ^^

Sorry about not updating, a lot of stuff has been happening... TvT

But, now that spring break has started, I can take this time to plan out how I want this story to go! Hopefully that'll mean faster updates, but if not please bear with me! ^^"

Comments are much appreciated~