They were just trying to be helpful.

Hiro reminded himself of this repeatedly. There was nothing special about your twentieth birthday. Not really. You didn't get any more rights than you had at 19, and it was just a build up for the twenty first, a stepping stone of sorts...

But his friends insisted on making it a big thing, though they'd long passed that marker in life. They wanted to celebrate with him, and he appreciated that, but they could go a little… overboard. With their ideas and Fred's money, they could make just about anything they dreamt up come to life. Still, Hiro was having a hard time looking forward to it.

Tadashi hadn't made it to his twentieth. He'd gotten to college early, he'd worked hard, he'd been on his way to a bright future… and then he'd gone after Callaghan. To save the man who'd planned it all, which Hiro still believed, despite what lawyers and even his friends said.

Hiro hadn't really thought he'd make it to twenty. He'd not had a plan to die, nor did he really want to. He enjoyed being with his friends, even with the pain of his brother's death pulling at his heart. His brain just refused to accept the reality that one day he would be older than his brother ever was. It just didn't feel possible.

Even with his return, Tadashi was now growing up as a child again, and Hiro didn't consider him 25, despite that being how long his consciousness had roamed the earth. He had lost his brother that night. He'd gotten him back, eventually, but everything was different and he had lost him. Hiro had spent years dealing with the fact that his brother was gone, and that didn't change just because he miraculously got another chance at life. He had died.

And now Hiro was turning twenty in a matter of days.

It didn't feel right.


June 20

Tomorrow Hiro would be twenty.

His friends planned to throw a party the day of, a perk to having a summer birthday, but he didn't know how to explain why he didn't want to celebrate. Maybe the day after he would feel differently about it…

He sighed, kicking a rock towards the surf as he thought. Hiro had already expelled all the fire that he could, but it didn't help, only leaving him feeling empty.

Hiro shouldn't feel like this, he knew. He should be grateful he'd made it this far, happy to celebrate with his friends and his returned brother, who he was determined to keep safe this time. But all this thinking didn't change the mood that crept into his being. He got the feeling that after tomorrow was over, the entire thing would be anti-climactic. He was ready for it to pass.


June 21

There were so many people. There were too many people.

How was he supposed to watch out for Tadashi in such a crowd? He could just barely make out Baymax standing guard near Tadashi, a nutrition panel displayed on his stomach as he apparently lectured those approaching the snack table. Oh well, could be worse.

Hiro knew his friends had only invited people he knew or they knew and trusted, but even that didn't settle his mind completely, and he was glad for the robot. There was no feasible reason he would need to leave Tadashi's side.

He glanced up as someone approached him.

"Happy Birthday, Hiro!" Angela had stopped by, Mari darting around her legs in excitement, taking in all the sights. "Looks like someone knows how to throw a party."

"I take no credit for any of this." Hiro did admit, it was an amazing setup, and knowing his close group of friends the way he did, he could see their personal touches in the different aspects of the party. The bounce house had Fred written all over it.

Angela grinned, passing over a wrapped present. An… oddly wrapped present. "Mari was determined to help with the wrapping…" She explained sheepishly.

"Oh, well thank you." Hiro smiled over at Mari. "You did a good job."

Mari's entire face lit up like a beacon. "Open it! Open it! I helped pick it out! You'll love it!"

"I can't yet, but I'm sure I will." Hiro attempted to placate her.

Aunt Cass had made a family rule that presents were all to be opened at once, if only so that she could keep track of who they needed to send thank you cards to. Hiro knew that his hand would be cramping by the end of the week with all the ones he'd need to write for this party. Still, presents were presents, he wasn't about to complain. Not too loudly, anyway.

"Okay…" Mari glanced around. "Where's Teddy?"

"He's by the snack table-" Hiro had barely gotten the words off when she was off like a shot.

"You can have one sweet!" Angela called after her younger sister. "And… she probably didn't hear me. Oh well, maybe her sugar coma nap will be a good chance for me to get caught up on things."

Hiro laughed a little, turning the present over in his hands. "Well, we're going to have leftover desserts for at least a month, so we'll have our share of those…"

"Oh, I'm sure."

Hiro smiled, and suddenly everything felt awkward. He should… go put the present with the others. But wouldn't it be rude to leave Angela standing there? He'd never been good at small talk.

"Er, well I'm just going to put these with the others." Great going. Hiro brushed the thought off mentally, setting the gift near the others on the table. She was probably used to this by now. If she was going to get offended, she would have a while back.

That done, Hiro glanced around at those gathered. He was twenty, officially, but he didn't feel any different. It almost felt like a lie to those celebrating. He wouldn't feel too bad about it, though. They at least were having a blast.


After the party wound down, Hiro opened the multitude of gifts, some funny, others impersonal, but useful or interesting, he supposed. He thanked his friends for getting it set up and headed for the bay while they insisted on doing the clean-up.

Although he was running on empty as far as fire went, the coast just off the bay had become a vent-zone, and was calming by association. He let his feet carry him where they would, no set destination in mind, since he didn't need to be careful about his location. Hiro found himself back at the little cove he'd abandoned earlier that summer. It was a shame, really, and maybe unnecessary.

Hiro quietly traced a hand along the stone upcropping that separated this area from the rest of San Fransokyo, resting palm against it and absorbing the warmth it emanated. It was a sheer drop from the top, and if you squinted, you could almost see where the grass stopped. It worked as a good target too, if Hiro didn't feel like aiming at open air. It wasn't like his fire was going to do much damage to the stone.

The waves splashed behind him, and Hiro turned around, leaning against the rock. He let his gaze sweep over the water, and his eyes widened. Was that—?

That was definitely Rei. Unless there was another white haired person who thought swimming in super cold water was a good idea… As he approached the shore, Hiro became more certain.

Well, it looked like he'd survived, after all. Hiro nearly called out to him when he pulled himself out of the surf and onto the shore, tugging a set of clothes from behind a rock.

No way.

Hiro could hardly believe his eyes. He'd known on some level that there were others that were… different, (he pushed the memory of finding out Kyouji's particular oddity from his head) but to this extent?

Before it was covered with cloth, Hiro saw a dark, almost black filmy material begin to recede from Rei's upper back, but it currently still covered all but his uppermost torso. The apparent texture changed about where his hips would be, the film changing to a rougher looking material. Where his legs belonged was a large, single fin, much longer than his legs would have been, and it gave him almost an unbalanced appearance. Dark, smaller fins began to fold back into his pale arms as he rubbed them dry with a towel, before he began to work on what would have been his legs, drying the area painstakingly.

Hiro knew he wasn't supposed to see this.

Even with his own ability, and with those who already knew about it, he did not like to show it off. And he certainly wouldn't want someone else catching him while he was 'venting'. This didn't belong to him, but Hiro was afraid if he moved, he'd alert Rei to his presence. It was way too late now.

…Surely he'd have to get back in the water sometime, right? After all, Hiro reasoned, it wasn't like he could exactly walk around with that tail. Even if the muscles worked right, it was way too big…

And now it was shrinking? The tail was drawing back towards Rei's torso, and he could easily reach the end with his towel, before it began to split, and—

Oh.

Hiro looked away, realizing that he was going to be spotted sooner rather than later. Well, at least this explained why he hadn't wanted to get out of the water. He would wait until Rei was ready, though. Startling him when he was half… untransformed was probably not a good plan of action. It also might give Hiro a chance to think of what to say.

Hey, Rei. Didn't see you there… at all. I didn't see anything. But supposing I had, would it make it any better if I told you I was the same… but entirely different?

No, none of that would work. Hiro was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the crunch of sand before it suddenly stopped. Putting on his least judgmental face, or what he figured would pass as uninterested, Hiro looked up.

Rei stood there, staring at him in fear that was quickly morphing to borderline terror. Hiro looked down, unable to keep eye contact, and found it interesting to note that where Rei's feet peeked out of his pants, they were the exact skin tone of his arms now. A complete return to normal… or well, 'normal', Hiro supposed.

"Rei…" Hiro didn't know what to say, but he supposed that was a start. "You—"

"No." Rei's voice was quiet and strained, but grew louder with every word. "No, no, no, you can't know—"

There was panic in his eyes, and he quickly approached, stumbling a little as he grew accustomed to moving on land again. He reached out as he approached Hiro, as if to stop him, to grab him.

Hiro backed up a bit, shocked but trying to calm the guy down before he did something drastic. "Rei, it's fine, I'm not gonna—"

"I'm not going back."

Before Hiro could ask what he meant, Rei grabbed the back of his neck, tugging him forward. Hiro's mouth met Rei's painfully, before his expression blanked and Rei pulled back, looking between his unseeing eyes for something before turning and running away.


Hiro felt himself come to awareness at the cove, like snapping out of a daze or daydream. He looked around, trying to orient himself and feeling that nagging thought at the back of his mind that he was forgetting something. Something important…

Racking his brain, Hiro couldn't recall what he'd seemed to have forgotten. There was nothing at the party he was supposed to have done, they hadn't wanted his help with clean-up, and then he'd come down here and… he guessed he must have gotten lost in thought.

Frowning at his unsatisfying explanation, Hiro licked his lips, the ocean air having dried them. Huh. He thought your skin only got coated in sea salt if you actually went swimming, but the taste was undeniable. Shrugging, Hiro checked the horizon and decided he should probably head back; the sun was almost completely set.

Hiro scuffed his feet along the sand, pausing when he glanced down and noticed a pair of footprints leading away from where he'd been standing. A chill went down his spine. It was as if a ghost had visited him, leaving only footprints in its wake.

Glancing around, looking for anyone who might have left them behind, Hiro again got the sense that he was missing something important. There was a measure of fear behind the feeling now, and Hiro quickly made his way back towards the city. He needed to get home. Now.