The nagging sensation didn't leave, and it bothered Hiro enough that Tadashi noticed the difference in his behavior. Hiro waved it off as having a lot on his mind. He wasn't lying, either.
There was another meeting coming up to showcase his prosthetics, hoping to secure a client that wanted a specific, and highly advanced version of what Hiro was offering. He didn't have much to worry about, as there currently wasn't another competitor that could do quite what he did, but he couldn't focus on what he needed to say.
He didn't just forget things like that. Hiro put things off until it was impossible to do in the amount of time he had left, but he didn't forget. It usually only took a minute or two of thinking to remember what he felt he'd forgotten, but even when he tried not to think about whatever had gone down at the cove, the practice was fruitless.
"Hiro?" Aunt Cass had made her way into the garage, where he had his entire set up organized and laid out. He'd been staring off into space for the last minute or so that she'd been there. "Is everything alright?"
"Oh, um…" Hiro returned to the present, smiling up at her. "Yeah, everything is fine. Sorry, did you need something?"
"Angela and Mari are in the café, they were wondering if you and Tadashi wanted to go with them to walk Scout." She smiled, hoping they could help pull Hiro out of whatever funk he was in. "The weather is lovely outside, and it would be good for both of you to get some fresh air—"
"Wait, did you leave Tadashi in the café, alone?" Hiro felt fresh panic grip his throat, and he rushed towards the door.
"Hiro…" But her nephew was already gone. She sighed, flipping off the light switch and shutting the door behind her. She remembered too well the feeling of the loss of security when Tadashi had been taken. But this… this wasn't healthy.
Hiro burst into the café, looking around until he spotted Tadashi, talking with Mari at his usual table in the back. He could breathe again, but he couldn't shake the thoughts that crowded his brain. What if he hadn't thought to check? What if he'd been right, and something else had happened? What if—
He leaned against the counter, trying to calm his racing heart and trembling arms. Hiro needed another method. He couldn't keep this up without scaring himself to death or messing up. He couldn't…
"Oh, there you are, Hiro."
Angela's voice broke through his thoughts as she approached him. "Did your aunt find you? We were all thinking about going out for a bit, and Tadashi said you'd need to tag along, so… how about it?"
It took a large measure of self restraint to keep himself from saying 'no' harshly to her question. There wasn't anything immediately wrong with them going for a walk, but… if something happened, or if they got lead into a trap or something, Hiro didn't think he had the firepower stored up to handle it. With the ghost prints from the other day, he felt that it was a sign that he should be more careful. Clearly something was going on, and he didn't know if he could defend himself or, more importantly, Tadashi, from it.
"Maybe another time, I'm pretty busy today, and, um…" Hiro petered off, seeing the disappointment in her eyes before she masked it with a smile.
"Okay then, don't let us get in the way of your work."
Hiro hesitated, glancing over at Tadashi. He really needed to wait until Aunt Cass got back before leaving, but he'd basically said he didn't have time to waste, so he couldn't just stand there. Thankfully, his aunt entered the café just then, and he made a beeline back to the garage. He really needed another project, something he could really pour himself into.
Hopefully it could help him put this behind him.
The meeting had gone well, the client requesting a prosthetic arm that could register touch and move smoothly and quickly, like a flesh arm. It would be a bit of a challenge to meet the requirements, but hopefully it would be just the distraction that Hiro needed. Hiro always overestimated the time required to complete the assignment when citing the time it would take to customers, but this time he wondered if it would be long enough.
Pulling out the rough sketch he'd been provided, Hiro rolled out a blue sheet along the table, ready to do the first draft of the blueprint. He quickly lost himself in the task, not realizing that time was slipping by until Aunt Cass knocked on the door, asking if he wanted dinner brought to him.
Cracking his knuckles, Hiro followed her up to the café, satisfied with the progress he had made. The thought that his aunt was leaving Tadashi alone more often than not passed through his mind, and he frowned. He'd definitely need to do something about that if he wanted to keep an eye on him. For his own safety, and also Hiro's peace of mind.
"What is it?" Tadashi looked up at Hiro in confusion.
"It's two things, actually." Hiro held up the first, passing it over to Tadashi. "This is basically like a life-alert pendant, but it is on its own frequency, connected directly to this," Hiro held up the second piece. "It runs off of heat, so you shouldn't ever have to charge it or anything. It can also send location information, so in case you can't press the button, I could still know where you are, and—"
"Hiro…" Tadashi looked a little uneasy. Sure he had done something similar back when Hiro was botfighting by sewing trackers into his jackets, but that was because he was actively seeking danger and still expected a rescue. It had been the only way to adapt. "Don't you think this is a bit much? I already have my phone, and it's not like you don't charge it yourself every night, so I don't really need this."
Hiro frowned, slipping the pendant over Tadashi's head and pulling the two slipknots towards each other to tighten it so that it couldn't easily come off. "There, is that such a big deal? It looks just like a regular necklace. Waterproof, too. Should also be able to withstand your temperatures, but I couldn't test that perfectly. Now I don't have to worry quite so much if someone is watching you to make sure you are still with us."
"But you don't need to, Hiro. You don't need to know where I am every blinking minute of the day!" Tadashi's irritation surfaced. He tugged at the necklace, even though it wasn't actually tight enough to cut off his air supply, it felt suffocating all the same. "Worst comes, you can just have Baymax search for me. He can actually be used as something other than some whacked out body guard, you know."
"No." Hiro scowled at his brother, not understanding why he couldn't just accept it and they could move on. "I already know there's some way to keep him from finding you, I just don't know what it is. So, until I do and can work on fixing it, this is our next best option."
"And what if the same thing that messes up Baymax messes up this, huh?"
Hiro's frown deepened. "It shouldn't. Baymax scans by sending out a wave to unknown locations, that sends one thing to one place, while this," Hiro held up his receiver, "does the same, just going the other way. Besides, he can't do a constant scan anyway, it drains too much of his power."
Tadashi sighed, looking away from Hiro. He probably wasn't going to win this one.
Standing, Hiro headed for the door again. "Whatever, like it or hate it, I'm just trying to help."
Tadashi was left standing there, and he had the urge to rip off the item and crush it underfoot. He refrained, but if he tested the true resistance against his fire, who was to say he was wrong for doing so. The metal heated under his hand, but quickly returned to its original state. He frowned, disappointed.
It looked like he would just have to bear with it for the time being.
