back again
THE BAD BEGINNING:
PART TWO
Hello, my name is Robert Callaghan, and I'm sorry to say that the alleged entertainment that you are watching is extremely unpleasant.
"Honey Lemon, could you bring the Hamada file in here, please?" Wasabi asked on his intercom, going back to balancing his travel receipts.
From the beginning of this miserable tale to the last melancholy scene, I cannot think if a single line, a single word, that does not chill me to my deepest bones.
"Honey Lemon, could you bring the Hamada file in here, please?"
However, the sad history of the Hamada orphans did not begin in this private, somewhat ill-decorated office of Mr. Wasabi at Mulctuary Money Management.
"Honey Lemon, could you bring the Hamada file in here, please?"
Nor does their story begin on that gray and cloudy morning at Briney Park, where the Hamada children, Tadashi and Hiro, received terrible news. In fact, the tale of the Hamada orphans begins long before the fire, which left the boys with practically nothing to their names. Their story begins before their brief and unpleasant stay with Wasabi and Eleanora. It begins before the boys meet Cassandra, a lovely lady who, unfortunately, is not their guardian. The Hamada orphans were placed under the care of a terrible businessman with a terrible tattoo on his ankle which made the Hamadas sleep in an awful room, do a series of painful and irritating chores, and cook dinner for his disreputable and mostly untalented business associates. These unfortunate events resulted in an act of violence that ought not to be shown on paper.
"Why?" you may ask. Why did the Hamada orphans suffer through this series of unfortunate events? How did the capable and intelligent children of the kind and attentive parents end up in the care of Alistar Krei? That answer, at least, can be found shortly after the fire that claimed the Hamada home.
Inside the private, somewhat ill-decorated office of Mr. Wasabi at Mulctuary Money Management.
"Honey Lemon, could you bring the Hamada file in here, please?"
Alistar and his associates pulled up in front of Mulctuary Money Management, parking in a nearby alley while Alistar began putting on a coat, sunglasses, and a fake mustache.
"Do you know what the question I'm asked most is?"
"'Will you please leave the premises?'" one businessman asked.
"'Why do I do it?'" Alistar finished, ignoring his colleague. "'Alistar Krei,' they ask me, 'why are you a CEO? Why not a professional golfer? Or a model?'"
"For fame and fortune," one businesswoman added.
"No."
"For all the paparazzi?" another added.
"No. For the fame, fortune, and paparazzi," Alistar said with a smirk, getting out of the car and heading towards Mulctuary Money Management. He approached the front desk where a young, blonde woman sat, the golden plate on her desk labeled "Aiko." Next to it was a post-it note that read "Honey Lemon" with a heart. She was having a profound conversation with someone on the phone.
"Well, we've got to reach them," she whispered into the phone. "Try Tokyo...Well, try it again. Yes, it's an emergency, I'm keeping an eye on things best I can, but..."
She paused when she spotted Alistar approach her desk, eyes widening.
"Let me call you back."
She looked at Alistar with a glare, trying not to laugh at his attempt at a disguise.
"I have an appointment," Alistar said in a fake elderly voice.
"Name?"
Alistar sighed, looking down at the planner on the desk and squinting at the 1:00 appointment next to the time. He smirked.
"Haircut!"
"Haircut," Honey Lemon repeated in confusion.
"Yes...sica Haircut is my name."
"Yessica Haircut."
"Yes. Yessica."
They glared at each other for a long while before the intercom made a loud noise, making the two jump.
"Honey Lemon, could you bring the Hamada file in here, please?"
She pulled the file out of a large drawer in her desk, never taking her eyes off of Alistar's. Alistar grabbed the file, snatching it out of her hands and walking to Wasabi's office.
There are many police inspectors, concerned citizens, and television executives who have expressed confusion as to how the Hamada orphans ended up in Alistar Krei's so-called care. The scene you are reading right this second is called a flashback. That is a word which here means "taken place during the events of the last chapter, shortly after the Hamada fire, and during the Hamada's unfortunate stay with Wasabi and Eleanora."
I present it to you now in the hopes that the police inspectors, concerned civilians, and television executives might finally leave me alone.
"Hello, banker man," Alistar greeted. Wasabi raised a brow at him. "The Hamada fire is precisely why I'm here."
"File, not fire," Wasabi corrected him.
"I said file," Alistar muttered. Wasabi looked unsure but motioned him to continue. "Allow me to introduce myself, because, as you can see from my mustache, we have never met before, and as you can see from my coat, ascot, and sunglasses, I'm here on business. I'm here to consult with you on the Hamada will, for which I understand you are the executioner."
"Executor," Wasabi corrected again.
"Person who controls people's fortunes after a terrible fire has just happened. My name..."
He was about to declare that he was indeed the famous, wealthy business owner of Krei Tech when he glanced at the door to Mr. Wasabi's office, Honey Lemon standing glaring at him from it. He cleared his throat to sound elderly once again. "...Yessica Haircut."
"That's strange," Wasabi said suspiciously, rising from his seat. "I have an appointment for a haircut right now. Honey Lemon, please cancel that haircut."
"Mr. Wasabi, there's an urgent matter-"
"No, no. I wanna hear what this man Haircut has to say."
Alistar smirked at Honey Lemon, whispering "shoo" to her and waving. She snarled, slamming the door and storming back to her desk. From there, she pulled the top drawer open and pulled out a telescope, identical to the one Hiro had found in the fire. She then went out to the front of the bank, using the telescope to see Alistar's associates from across the street.
Suddenly, one of the Krei Tech employees appeared right in front of her telescope, grinning menacingly at the girl. She grimaced at his disgusting complexion.
"I'd like to make a withdrawal," he murmured, grabbing her by the throat and walking off.
"Well, I don't know, Mr.-erhm-Haircut," Wasabi said with a frown, going through multiple files. "The Hamada will states very clearly what is to happen in the untimely deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Hamada. They are to be raised by their closest living relative, who appears to be a renowned scientist by the name of-"
"It is one thing to listen to science, Mr. Banker man."
"Wasabi."
"It is another to listen to the advice of a consultant. And in my important consulting expertise business, the phrase 'closest living relative' can only mean one thing...'whoever lives nearby.'"
"Really?" Wasabi asked sarcastically. "You think so?"
"I would stake my fortune on it," said Alistar. "Or my name's not whatever it is I told you it was."
"Well, in that case, we're going to need a map of the city."
Alistar, hardly giving a thought, pulled out a large map of San Fransokyo, various locations labeled and marked.
"I think the person nearest to the Hamadas is a renowned business owner, and handsome man, Alistar Krei."
"Alistar...never heard of him."
Alistar glared at the man, rolling his eyes.
"He's been favorably mentioned in every form of social media for taking over a research lab and naming it 'Krei Tech.' And if I'm not mistaken, he lives right...here." Alistar pointed to a large circle on the map, 20 miles away from the Hamada mansion.
"Is that the closest?" Wasabi asked in disbelief.
"Yes, absolutely, for sure."
Wasabi continued staring at Alistar before pressing the button on his intercom.
"Honey Lemon, can you please bring me an enormous ruler?"
At the silence that followed, Wasabi frowned at the intercom, pressing it once again.
"Honey Lemon?"
Wasabi rolled his eyes, standing up from his desk and opening the office door, glancing at Honey Lemon's desk, which was empty.
"Guess I'll get it myself," Wasabi groaned, snatching the ruler out from the desk drawer and returning to his office.
These events at Mulctuary Money Management resulted in unfortunate events far and near, from a woman trapped in a remote park...
...
"You'll never get away with this," Honey Lemon sneered at the Krei Tech employees as they finished tying her to a tree in Briney park.
"I already did get away with it," an employee barked back, throwing the remaining rope to the ground.
...
...to two orphans in horrifying circumstances, as our story resumes.
"Put some elbow grease into it!"
Tadashi rolled his eyes at Alistar, swinging an ax at the log in the backyard. He leaned over to his brother, eyeing Alistar so that he wouldn't notice.
"Mr. Wasabi must have made a horrible mistake when he took us here," he whispered. "There's no way our parents would want us in Alistar Krei's care-if we can even call it that."
Hiro remained rather silent, clearly thinking about Tadashi's words in his head. Tadashi had been willing to give Alistar a second chance in the beginning, but ever since he had given his baby brother a black eye with the back of his hand, Tadashi had had enough. He was disgusted every time he saw Alistar, the image of him slapping Hiro playing on a loop in his head.
"As soon as Alistar Krei's head is turned," Hiro began, licking his lips and looking at the ground. "...we need to leave this house."
Tadashi stared at Hiro in concern, clearly not in favor of Hiro being in the streets.
"I'd rather take my chances on the streets than stay here any longer."
"Who knows what would happen to you on the streets, Hiro? At least we have a roof over our head."
"Ugh, I wish we could use Mom and Dad's fortune now instead of when you're twenty-one," Hiro said, picking his ax up and swinging at the wood again.
"That reminds me," Tadashi said suddenly, "do you think Alistar will let me enter in the SFIT showcase? I've always entered in it and won a cash prize, maybe he would let me...I'll need him to come on stage and sign my permission slip anyways, and we all know how much he likes attention."
"Tadashi...ask him! He will let you do it if there's money involved for sure."
"Hurry up, orphans," Alistar yelled from inside. "There's reupholstering to be done."
"Cass said her home was always open to us," Hiro added.
"And Wasabi did say we could contact him if we had any questions," Tadashi said hopefully.
"We don't have a question," said Hiro. "We have a complaint."
One of Krei's employees came outside, a cup of hot tea in his hand.
"May I offer you this tea?" the employee asked. "And also give you some atrocious news?"
"What is it?"
"It's that secretary-"
"Shh!" Alistar scolded. "Not here."
Alistar slammed the back door, leaving Tadashi and Hiro to stare at each other in confusion.
Tadashi and Hiro stood in front of Wasabi's desk, watching as he coughed violently into his handkerchief. Finally, he looked up at the Hamadas, clearing his throat.
"An emergency? Very well, but I'm quite busy. My old secretary, a distinguished professional, who showed up without fail for many years, has vanished. I've hired an unemployed artist with no prior experience who needs the occasional day off for his second job. Plus, I've already had to reschedule a haircut several times. What can I do for you?"
"Alistar Krei is a madman," said Hiro, feeling no sympathy for Wasabi. "We can't stay with him."
"He struck Hiro across the face," Tadashi added, grabbing Hiro's shoulder and pointing at his eye. "See his bruise?"
"I'm sorry you don't have a good first impression of him."
"He only provided us with one bed," Hiro snapped.
"He makes us do a great many difficult chores."
"Boys, everyone, at some point in their life, wishes they were being raised by people different than the ones who were raising you. When I was a little boy, I would have given my teeth to be raised by a businessman."
"He calls us orphans," Tadashi said.
"You are orphans," Wasabi mumbled.
"He has terrible associates."
"I have terrible associates," Wasabi shot back. "Boys, are you familiar with the term 'in loco parentis'?"
"It sounds like Latin," Hiro said.
"Latin and legal," Wasabi confirmed. "'In loco parentis' means 'acting in the role of the parent.' It is a legal term and applies to Alistar Krei. And, as your legal guardian, Alistar Krei may raise you using any method he sees fit. So I'm sorry if your parents didn't make you do household chores, or if you like their associates more than Alistar Krei's, but there are certain things you must get used to."
Tadashi and Hiro gawked at Wasabi in shock and slight hatred, not sure how they would get it through to him that Alistar had physically abused Hiro.
"Unbelievable," Tadashi muttered.
"Now, I'm sorry if I have to usher you out posthaste, but I've got work to do. I'll have my new secretary give you a ride home as soon as he's finished typing up that report."
Said secretary walked in with those words, holding a small stack of papers and placing them on Wasabi's desk.
"That man works for Alistar!" Hiro said.
"He did say Alistar was one of his professional contacts. It was good seeing you, Hamadas!"
"We're not going back to Alistar's house! Look at Hiro's face!" Tadashi yelled, outraged that the only legal authority they could trust wasn't listening to them.
"Oh, no, no, no, orphans," the Krei Tech employee said with a smirk. "Look at mine."
Shall I let them off the hook?" the employee asked, his fists clenching the boys' shoulders. Krei sat at the dining room table, six cupcakes sitting in front of him. He waved them forward, the employee shoving them toward the table. He walked away with a sneer.
"I spent all morning making these cupcakes," Alistar said, looking down proudly at the pink desserts.
"Thank you," Tadashi and Hiro said in unison, completely aware of the fact that these cupcakes were store bought.
"Aren't raspberries delicious? They were my favorite berry when I was your age."
"But we're both different ages," Tadashi said.
"I want to talk to you about something," Alistar ignored the man, walking around the table to sit closer to the boys. "I recently received a call from Mr. Wasabi."
"Is that so?" Tadashi asked smugly. "I'm sorry Mr. Wasabi bothered you."
"I'm glad he did," Alistar chuckled. "Because I want you boys to feel more at home here now that I am your father. As you know, I have been working hard with my business associates, and I'm afraid I might have acted a bit standoffish."
The word "standoffish" is a beautiful one, but it does not describe Alistar Krei's behavior towards the children. Standoffishly refers to a person who, for various reasons is not associating with others. It is a word which might describe somebody who, during a party, might stand in a corner instead of talking to another person.
Honey Lemon had managed to take the tree off the ground, walking around with it tied to her back. She made it to a telephone booth, kicking the door down and dialing a number with her foot.
"Freddy? Honey Lemon here."
It would not describe somebody who provides one toddler-sized bed for two full-grown teenagers to sleep in, forces them to do horrible chores and strikes them across the face.
"Therefore," Alistar went on...
There are many words for people like that.
"...to make you feel a little more at home here..."
But "standoffish" is not one of them.
"...I want one of you to participate in the SFIT showcase."
"Wait-really?" Tadashi asked in disbelief, straightening up and looking Alistar seriously in the eyes. "Participate how?"
"Well, I practically run the showcase every year," Alistar scoffed. "I saw you present your health bot thing last year; I want you to win it again this year. The showcase will be this Friday and, lucky for you, we live only three miles from the campus, as you may have noticed. This will give you the opportunity to build anything you please of any shape or size. Hiro, I think it best that Tadashi present in the showcase. For...obvious reasons," Alistar sneered.
"Hey, don't-"
"I've contacted Cass." Alistar went on, ignoring Tadashi. "She's allowed you permission to use her garage for the purpose of inventing something that will blow us all away. You have two days, as you know, today is Wednesday. But...there is one thing you must know before you go next door."
Tadashi and Hiro looked at each other awkwardly.
"When I go on stage to sign your papers, I will be signing something else rather than the permission slips."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tadashi asked.
"None of your business!" Alistar sneered, pulling said paper out of his suit and thumb-tacking it to the wall. "All you have to do is sign on the dotted line! Now, go talk to the cook next door. I can't stand looking at you anymore..."
You think he was trying to poison us with those raspberries?" Tadashi asked with a chuckle.
"He ate them all," Hiro pointed out. "Besides, Alistar Krei is after the fortune we will inherit. Killing us will do him no good."
"What good would it do him for me to participate in the SFIT showcase, then?"
Hiro shrugged, opening the cafe door and waving at Cass, who was serving a customer some pastries.
"Hamadas! I'm so happy to see you. Are you here to use the garage? It's just down those steps."
They thanked her, rushing down the steps and immediately setting to work.
"So, what should I build?" Tadashi asked. However, before he could look at Hiro for an answer, he tilted his head in confusion at him, realizing Hiro was wearing his old neurotransmitter around his head.
"Hiro, what are you-?"
"Shh," Hiro said, his eyes closed and squinted. "Trying to concentrate."
A sudden rumbling made Tadashi back away from Hiro, gasping as thousands of tiny microbots filed into the garage. They toppled to the ground at the garage door, making Hiro nod in satisfaction.
"No need to build," Hiro said. "You can use these."
"Hiro...how did you do that?!"
"I've always carried my neurotransmitter around with me," Hiro shrugged. "My microbots are stowed away in our old storage unit. I thought, just in case, I could use them for things like this. I know, it's stupid-"
"Hiro, you're a genius!" Tadashi said in disbelief, rushing around to the microbots and running his hand through them. "These will work perfectly! Just a few modifications here and there...Oh, Hiro, thank you!"
Hiro nodded with a grin, patting his brother on the back before walking over to one of Cass's computers and turning it on while Tadashi set to work on improving the microbots.
Hiro looked back at Tadashi cautiously, pulling a flash drive out of his pocket and plugging it into his computer.
From there, he googled "local ordinances."
When the boys got home that night, Tadashi had finished the microbots and separated them into bins, and Hiro had downloaded all the information he needed on dealing with financial security and family wills. At around bed time, Tadashi got into bed, watching as Hiro sat across the room reading a book.
"Hiro?"
"Hmm?"
"Where did you get that book?"
...
"Well, it's time for bed, knucklehead. Why don't you pause that book for another time-?"
"Not tired," Hiro said. Tadashi tilted his head at this but, nevertheless, laid down to go to sleep.
"Just go to sleep at some point," Tadashi said. "Love you."
"Love you too," Hiro said, squinting as he tried to read his book in the growing darkness. After Tadashi had fallen asleep, Hiro snuck out of the room, locking the door behind him.
Just in case Tadashi comes looking for me.
He tip-toed downstairs, making sure Alistar was asleep and making his way into the library, if you could even call it that. He sat under the light of a lamp, flipping through page after page of his book The Law and You.
He snuck into the dining room after three hours of reading, snatching the paper Alistar had pinned to the wall and reading it closely.
"I, (insert name here) give my guardian and local bank teller full permission under my parent's will to allow Alistar Krei full access to all money saved away for my family and myself."
Hiro dropped the paper in disbelief, gasping and backing away. He was going to be sick...
After a few minutes of recollecting himself, he took the paper from the ground and ran back to the library.
Hiro did not read the book for his enjoyment, but to try to rescue Tadashi from a horrible predicament. The book was not at all impressive. The book was long and complicated. He found himself reading the same sentence over and over. By night's end, Hiro had found out all he needed to know. His hopes rose with the dawn. Although, unfortunately, so did Alistar Krei.
Hiro stormed over to the dining room table where Alistar sat drinking his tea. He slammed the law book down onto the table and glared at Alistar from across it. Krei only rolled his eyes.
"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in your room."
"I was in my room for most of the night," Hiro growled. "I know what you're up to."
"Me?" Alistar laughed. "I'm just having my morning coffee, although I can't seem to find the sugar bowl."
Hiro continued glaring at the man, opening his book and reading a passage.
"The only will transfer acquirements are a statement of active acquiescence by both participants, utilizing in loco parentis is necessary, and the signing of an explanatory document in the eldest's hand."
"Let me give you a piece of advice," Alistar said. "If you use fancy-pants words first thing in the morning, you're going to end up a very lonely man."
"I figured out your scheme," Hiro scoffed. "You're not going to sign Tadashi's permission slip to join the school. You're going to make him sign a document immediately signing over our fortune. If my brother signs the piece of paper while Wasabi is in the room, which you've said he would be, he'll be giving away everything we have. It will be legally binding. You would have titular and practical control over any appropriate fiduciaries, resulting in aggregate financial dominion over any, well, finances."
"I don't think a boy your age ought to be using the word titular," Alistar snickered.
"I'm going to tell Tadashi," Hiro insisted, rushing out of the room only to be stopped by Alistar's businessmen.
"Sorry to interrupt, everyone, but that brave and talented boy with the horrible glasses has just figured out our dastardly plan."
The employees gasped in shock, scowling at the boy.
"Yes, thanks to his stupendous library book, the orphan has achieved a grand victory over our evil ways."
"Oh no!" the employees said sarcastically. Hiro panicked, escaping from their grasp and rushing up the stairs to reach Tadashi, when...
"Not so fast!" Alistar roared, chasing after him and covering his mouth, leading him to his so-called "secret tower room," where one of the Krei Tech employees awaited their arrival, smirking mischievously.
Tadashi woke with a start at the sound of Hiro screaming, sitting bolt upright and looking around the room.
"Hiro? Hiro?!"
Tadashi scrambled out of bed, jiggling the bedroom door only to find it locked. His heart began to beat faster and faster in panic, banging on the door and hoping for any sign of his little brother. Alistar Krei casually unlocked the door and strode in, smirking at Tadashi.
"Where is he?" Tadashi demanded, grabbing Krei by the collar. "Where's Hiro?!"
"Where is he indeed?" Alistar asked. "It certainly is so strange to find a teenage boy missing, and one so skinny, so helpless. When did you see him last?"
"What have you done with him?" Tadashi growled.
"Here, Hiro, Hiro! Where are ya? Did you hear that?" Krei asked, looking up at the roof. "It came from outside!"
Tadashi shoved Alistar out of his way, bolting down the steps and practically tearing the back door out of his way, running further out back and looking anywhere and everywhere.
"Hiro?" he called eagerly.
"Oh, you're not looking in the right place," Alistar smirked. "For a guy who invents and reads so much, you are remarkably unintelligent."
"He's not here," Tadashi muttered desperately, looking all over the ground for any sign of him.
"Oh, don't look so down," Alistar said in a fake pity voice. "I'd say things are looking up, up...up!"
Tadashi's eyes widened, snapping his head up and gasping in horror. Dangling not far from the roof was a large cage, Hiro tied up inside of it. He was unconscious, his black eye seemingly darker than before.
"LET HIM GO!" Tadashi roared, shoving Alistar's shoulder. "He's done NOTHING to you!"
"Well, if you want me to let him go, I will. But even a stupid man like you might realize that if I let him go, or more accurately, if I have my comrade let him go, Hiro might not survive the fall to the ground. That's a thirty-foot tower, which is a very long way for a minuscule person to fall, even when he's inside of a cage. But if you insist."
"No-DON'T!" Tadashi cried. "I'll do anything, anything, just...please. Don't hurt him."
"Anything? Anything? All this is for is to assure that you are for sure participating in the showcase."
"Of course I am!" Tadashi yelled, throwing his arms in the air.
"Good! So, you'll do exactly as I say to avoid the punishment of the loss of your brother."
"Yes, of course, now please let him go-"
"No, no, Tadashi, Hiro will remain in the tower room for safe keeping, that is all."
"You're a terrible man," Tadashi spat at him, glaring at him more threateningly than ever.
"I may be a terrible person, but I have concocted a foolproof way of getting your fortune. What have you done?"
Tadashi stuttered, watching Krei go back inside and slam the doors behind him. Tadashi fell to his knees weakly, looking up at the cage once more. Hiro was still unconscious, completely motionless. Tadashi unsnapped his ball cap from his belt loop and placed it securely on his head, looking down and his hands in shame.
This is ALL your fault.
Honey Lemon walked alone in the underground sewers of San Fransokyo, the tree still tied around her as she trudged on tiredly. She stopped at a four corner turn, sighing in exhaustion.
"I wish I had an inventor here," she mumbled.
"I was thinking the same thing."
Honey Lemon gasped, turning around to see a man holding a wrench standing where she had just come from.
"Freddy?" she asked quietly, her voice echoing throughout the sewer tunnels. The man nodded.
"Honey Lemon."
"You came."
"You sent for me."
"Things are disastrous," Honey Lemon sighed. "Everything's gone wrong."
"I thought so," said Fred. "Dr. Lee and I were expecting the Hamada boys days ago. Dr. Lee is supposed to be their new guardian. That's what the Hamada parents wanted, in case of fire. What went wrong? Why haven't we seen them?"
"Mr. Wasabi listened to the advice of a consultant," Honey Lemon sneered in anger.
"A consultant?" Fred asked baffled. "Dear god. Why would anyone listen to a consultant?"
"Are you free Friday night to attend a campus showcase?" Honey Lemon asked. "We might be able to get things back on track without drawing attention to ourselves."
"Of course," Fred smiled. "But what should we do until then?"
"Could you cut these ropes for me?"
Fred nodded, pulling out a pair of scissors and beginning to cut through the thick rope.
"The boys must be so frightened."
"We're all frightened, Freddy."
Hiro must be TERRIFIED.
Tadashi watched Hiro's cage from their bedroom window, too scared to take his eyes off of it. Although Hiro was still unconscious, there was no missing the frightened look on his face. He hardly moved, which made Tadashi even more scared than before.
When was the last time he ate? He didn't sleep last night...
"Alright, Hiro," Tadashi whispered to himself, touching the window of his bedroom. "You stayed up all last night trying to find out Alistar's plot. It's my turn."
A tear went down Tadashi's cheek as memories flooded over him from when he was younger when his parents brought Hiro home for the first time. Hiro had cried in everyone's arms, but in Tadashi's, he laughed.
"Mom and Dad made me promise to look after you. I'm gonna keep that promise."
With that, Tadashi stood, raced next door to Cass's cafe, and grabbed his neurotransmitter.
Having a brilliant idea isn't as easy as turning on a light. But just as a single bulb can illuminate even the most desperate of rooms, the right idea can shed light on a depressing situation. For Tadashi, that brilliant idea was gathering Hiro's microbots to reach Hiro's cage, an idea he'd scolded himself for not thinking of sooner. After retrieving said microbots, Tadashi rushed to the backyard, the miniature bots following him the whole way. He looked up at Hiro's swaying cage, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"'The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious,'" Tadashi quoted Hiro as the microbots slowly entangled themselves around Tadashi's waist and lifted him up off the ground. "'It is the source of all true art and science."
When Tadashi reach the top, he whirled around to face Hiro. He gently shook the cage to wake him up.
"Hiro?" he whispered. "It's me, Tadashi. Wake up."
Hiro woke with a stir, furrowing his brow at Tadashi.
"Tadashi...?" Hiro asked quietly. His voice sounded as rough as sandpaper, making Tadashi wince, and his eye was horribly bruised.
"Hiro, I'm gonna get you out of there, but you have to listen," Tadashi said. "What did you find out about Alistar this morning that made him so angry as to lock you up in here?"
Hiro's eyes widened at the question, lifting his chained hands towards the bars.
"Tadashi, don't sign that paper tomorrow at the showcase," Hiro begged. "You'll be signing over our fortune."
"What?!"
"Just listen, avoid signing it, tell Mr. Wasabi, do something, but DON'T sign that document."
"Hiro, if I don't sign it, Alistar is going to make one of his associates drop this cage and you'll die. There has to be another way."
"There isn't," Hiro said. "Don't sign it. I have a plan, I won't die."
"All it takes is one click of a button-"
"Tadashi. Don't sign it."
Suddenly, the Krei tech employee that was guarding Hiro's cage knocked Tadashi's neurotransmitter off of his head, making the microbots tumble to the ground. Tadashi grabbed the long metal bar extending out to Hiro's cage just in time.
"Tadashi!" Hiro cried, coughing violently afterward. "Tadashi-"
"How pleasant that you could join us," the employee smirked, yanking Tadashi into the tower by his shirt.
"What are you gonna do with me?" Tadashi snarled.
"I said have a seat!" the employee yelled.
"No, you didn't."
The man started toward the cage button angrily, making Tadashi put his hands up and sit down in the chair across from the window. The employee grabbed his phone and dialed Alistar.
"Hello?"
"Boss, it's me."
"Who? Be specific."
"Me. Your employee. With the blonde hair."
"What do you want?"
"Your eldest son just came outside to try and save the intelligent kid in the cage."
"Well, how'd he do that?"
"It was some sort of huge robot that helped him climb up to the kid."
"They were microbots," Tadashi corrected him.
"He says they were microbots."
"Stay there, I'll be right up."
"Okay," the businessman said, tossing the phone aside and returning to his previous glare.
"Alistar Krei is very displeased with you," he growled.
"Whatever," Tadashi sighed.
At that, Alistar came up the steps to the tower, anger tracing every feature of him.
"You know, some people say that the hardest job in the world is raising a teenager. But it is nothing compared to the work that goes behind putting on a college level showcase for the purposes of stealing your dead parents' fortune. It's a very difficult job, and I will not have any orphans mucking it up."
"You'll never touch our fortune," Tadashi said.
"Tadashi..." Alistar hissed, walking over to the cage button and placing his hand gently above it. "I'll touch whatever I want."
Tadashi said nothing, watching as Alistar and the Krei Tech employee left the tower. He raced back to the tower window, throwing it open and making sure Hiro was okay.
"Hiro, it's gonna be okay, just hang in there," Tadashi said reassuringly.
"Seriously?" Hiro scoffed. "'Hang in there'? Nice one, 'Dashi."
"I didn't mean it as a joke," Tadashi scolded.
I am certain that over the course of your own life, you have noticed that certain rooms reflect the personalities of the occupants. For instance, Alistar Krei's secret tower room was dark, cold, and dirty. The Hamada mansion was clean, warm, and bright. My own office holds precious memories from my past years and it overlooks the SFIT campus. Hiro's cage, however, would not make a good home for him, and Tadashi knew that. Home was where the other brother was when it came to the Hamadas, and Tadashi would stop at nothing to get his brother out of that god-awful cage.
"Tadashi, whatever you do, don't sign the document, do you hear me?" Hiro shouted. Tadashi looked out the window in uncertainty.
"Hiro, you should probably get some rest," Tadashi insisted.
"I've had plenty," said Hiro. "But you do need rest. Now, lay down and sleep while I come up with a plan."
Tadashi, again, said nothing, laying down in front of the window to watch his brother think.
"Rise and shine!"
Tadashi opened his eyes slowly, looking around for the source of the loud noise. Alistar was standing next to one of his employees, both dressed in their best suits.
"What...?" Tadashi asked, sitting up from where he had fallen asleep.
"You've been sleeping for hours," Alistar replied. "It's time for the showcase!"
Tadashi's eyes widened, looking at his watch.
Had he slept for almost a whole day?!
Tadashi looked out the window, Hiro still there dangling thirty feet above the ground.
Tadashi's uneasiness grew.
"My colleague here," Alistar gestured to the man that had stayed with Tadashi in the tower last night, "will be staying with your brother and will be in constant contact with me, just in case you do something I don't much like. Anything seems off, Hiro dies."
Tadashi gulped, looking outside at Hiro one last time before they left for SFIT.
"I've also done the liberty of gathering your microbots and transmitter out front," Alistar smirked, straightening his collar and gesturing Tadashi forward. "Now, shall we?"
"I won't lie, I had my doubts about Alistar Krei when I first met him," Wasabi told Eleanora while they waited for the showcase to start. "But now that I see that Alistar has put Tadashi in the SFIT showcase this year, all my anxiety is put to rest."
Eleanora smiled at him, kissing his cheek and hugging him.
Meanwhile, backstage, Tadashi got shoved in the wings of the stage by one of Krei's employees.
"You'll stay here until your name is called," the man said simply, going back out to the crowd.
Tadashi waited eagerly, looking out of the large windows of the building and watching Hiro's cage sway with the wind.
It wasn't long until Tadashi's name was called, and when he went out, Alistar followed him, a clipboard in his hand.
"I, Alistar Krei, have given permission to my son to participate in this showcase," Krei said with a smirk, signing the clipboard swiftly.
He handed it to Tadashi, his smirk transforming into a thin line as he glared at Tadashi. Tadashi grabbed the pen with a shaky hand, signing his name on the dotted line.
Alistar chuckled happily, wide eyes staring at the signature in disbelief. The people in the crowd looked at each other awkwardly as the man laughed on stage. Honey Lemon and Fred grew uncomfortable, Wasabi grew suspicious, and Cass grew concerned.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Alistar laughed. "I'd like to make an announcement. There is no need to continue with Tadashi's performance. For its purpose has been served. This paper is not a permission slip. No, it is a legal document signing over the Hamada fortune...to me!"
"Impossible!" Wasabi scoffed. "You couldn't have done it without me in the room-oh, wait..."
"It's the law of the land," Alistar laughed more. Tadashi, angered clouding all senses, stormed up to Alistar, fists clenched.
"But 'the law of the land' says I have to sign the document with my hand-my writing hand-my right hand."
"And that you did, son," Alistar said.
"No," Tadashi started, his breathing getting heavier and shakier. "No, I-I signed it with my left."
"Very funny, Tadashi, but that's not how it works," Alistar patted his shoulder. Tadashi swiped it off. "Nevermind-now, let Hiro go!"
"Where is Hiro?" Cass asked from the crowd. Alistar snickered.
"I'm afraid he's a bit 'tied-up' at the moment if you'll forgive my little joke," Alistar tried to keep back his laughing at his humor.
Tadashi, however, wasn't laughing.
"You PROMISED! You promised you would let him go!"
Cass began walking up to the stage in concern.
"Oh, and what kind of father would I be if I didn't keep my promises?" Alistar asked, reaching up to touch Tadashi's face.
Cass arrived in time to swat it away.
"You're a terrible man!" she cried.
Alistar sneered nonetheless, grabbing his phone and dialing a number.
"Drop the boy to his death," he commanded into the phone.
"NO!" Tadashi cried, dropping to his knees in terror.
Suddenly, the back door of the showcase building burst open, the Krei Tech employee that was guarding Hiro's tower running in with Hiro is his arms.
"The kid had a spare transmitter in his pocket!" yelled the employee. "Used those bots to swat the cage button and he landed on 'em! I stopped him just in time, boss-"
"You idiot!" Alistar scolded, looking over where the microbots were to find the bins empty.
"Hiro!" Tadashi exclaimed, relief flooding over him. He yanked Hiro out of the man's arms and pulled his brother into a bone-crushing hug.
"Come now, Tadashi," Alistar muttered. "I'll have my employees shoot Hiro later, now it's time to go celebrate our fortune!"
"No," Tadashi growled, holding onto Hiro tighter as he stood. "I already told you-I didn't sign the document in my own hand, as the law states."
"Don't lie to me, orphan! Everyone saw you!"
"But I'm right-handed," Tadashi objected. "I signed the document with my left hand."
"Well, that doesn't count," Alistar scoffed. "You're just trying to be a sore loser and ruin my special day."
"With all due respect, I think we ought to ask Mr. Wasabi if he knows."
All eyes were on the bank teller, making the man shrink into his shoulders.
"Erhm-that's right! That's right. I'm a bank teller. Let me think."
Nobody spoke as Wasabi tapped his chin repeatedly in thought. After what felt like hours, he took a deep breath, and...
"...I don't know."
The crowd roared in annoyance at Wasabi, making him shrink into his shoulders even further.
"You should never be afraid to admit that you don't know something! This is a very complicated case! It would take a formidable legal scholar to solve it!"
As if on cue, Hiro untangled himself from Tadashi, stepping forward and clearing his throat.
"May I have a blackboard, please?" he spoke hoarsely. Someone immediately rolled one onto the stage after his request.
Tadashi held his breath.
"In the respected legal tome, The Law and You, John Locke's 1960s groundbreaking work is cited, postulating that the law of the land rests on..."
As you can well imagine, Hiro's legal argument had all the apocryphal insight of Thurgood Marshall, and the moral aplomb of Ida B. Wells, a phrase which here means it was thoroughly impressive and utterly convincing.
"...and so, as Martin Luther King said, 'Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can resist the heartless.'"
"Ah!" Wasabi cheered from the crowd. "That moral argument! It was thoroughly impressive and utterly convincing. I am happy to say that because Tadashi, who is right-handed, signed the document with her left hand, the bank transaction is invalid."
The audience roared in applause, Honey Lemon and Fred completely overjoyed at the news.
"Well, I may not have your fortune, but you are still my son!" Alistar fought back, making some of the audience members laugh.
"Do you honestly believe that I will allow you to continue to care for these three children after the treachery I've seen here tonight?" Wasabi cried. "I'm even considering firing your associate as my secretary."
"Hear, hear!" Honey Lemon waved at Wasabi from the crowd.
"Aiko?" Wasabi gasped. "Is that you? Where have you been?!"
"I was kidnapped by Alistar's associates and tied to a tree before I could tell you that the Hamada's parents wanted the boys to stay with their close friend Dr. Lee. He was designated as their legal guardian and has been waiting to hear from you."
"Dr. Lee?" asked Tadashi, who was rubbing his brother's head in pride. "I've never heard of him."
"Well, you are hereby rehired as my secretary with an 8% increase in salary!" Wasabi smiled. "The Hamadas will be sent with a suitable guardian, and this series of unfortunate events has come to a close!"
The crowd cheered in victory, throwing their hats and their programs.
"As for you, Alistar Krei..."
Suddenly, a woman screamed from the side of the building, making the audience gasp in horror. One of the Krei Tech employees had started a fire in the showcase hall, and shortly after, turned the power out.
"Everyone out!" Fred yelled, leading the crowd out of the doorway. Tadashi grabbed Hiro's hand and lead him to the door, only to have it ripped out of his hand seconds later.
Tadashi whipped around just in time to see Alistar dragging Hiro away from Tadashi.
"No! Hiro!"
Hiro gasped as Alistar grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the wall, leaning in and whispering in his ear.
"I'll get your fortune from you if it's the last thing I do!" Alistar spat in his ear. "And when I do, I'm gonna tear you and your brother limb from limb..."
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY BROTHER!" Tadashi roared, throwing Alistar off and throwing Hiro's unconscious form over his shoulders.
Once they were outside, Cass ran up to the boys crying and pulled them into a hug.
"Boys! Quick, let's forget about this whole place and you can come live with me!" she sobbed. Tadashi nodded happily, hugging her back.
"I'm afraid not, Miss Cass," Fred said from behind her.
"Yes," Honey Lemon sighed sadly, "there's a vigorously fixed destination your parents had in mind for you, and it is not with Alistar Krei or Cassandra."
"Alistar Krei has escaped!" someone shouted. The Hamada boys were suddenly ripped away from Cass, Honey Lemon, and Fred. Wasabi lead the boys to an ambulance before immediately loading them into his car and driving towards their vigorously fixed destination.
Cass, however, couldn't help noticing a trap door-like hatch on the ground near the grass, making her tilt her head in confusion.
Had Alistar and his associates gone through there?
"Where are we going now, boss?" a Krei Tech associate asked, hot on Alistar's heels in the sewer they had escaped to.
"Where?" Alistar snarled. "To a vigorously fixed destination."
And with that, Alistar and his employees were running off, plotting their next revenge plan and laughing menacingly.
"Freddy, have the Hamadas arrived at Dr. Lee's?" Honey Lemon asked on the phone. She was currently hiding out in the sewers after taking Cass's lead on where Alistar might have escaped to. Where they had gone, she had a hunch. "Repeat, have the Hamadas arrived at Dr. Lee's?"
"Not yet," Fred sighed. "But I'm literally standing on the edge of a pond, and-ow!"
Fred, on the other line, gasped quietly as a poisonous dart flew to his neck, shooting his head back. He groaned in pain and rubbed the spot that had hit him.
"I have a lead on the missing parents. They're alive, but they've been-"
"The world is quiet here," Fred whispered into the phone before falling backward into the pond.
Dead.
"Fred?" Honey Lemon asked in fear. "Freddy?!"
Cass sat sadly on her bed, hugging her book Adoption Law and You tightly in her arms. After crying for twenty more minutes, she trudged down the stairs, opened the garage door, and placed it back inside of an old box, placing it underneath all of her personal belongings.
For a while, all she did was sit there staring at it.
The Hamadas did not understand why they were now off toward an unknown relative instead of living with Cass. But as with so many unfortunate events in life, just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean it isn't so. It seemed to the boys that they were moving in an aberrant, a word which here means "very, very wrong, and causing much grief," direction.
"Things are worse than we thought."
The woman sighed at her husband as she sewed herself a blanket in the cold prison cell.
"Things almost always are."
"Every moment the kids are without us drags them deeper into danger," the husband argued.
"Then we don't have a moment to lose," the woman mumbled in concentration. The man leaned over in further inspection to see that his wife was indeed not sewing a blanket.
"What's a woman like you building in a place like this?"
"Microbots," she grinned. "I never leave home without my transmitter. You?"
"Leave no stone unturned," the man grinned, dusting off the ground to reveal a secret passageway door, a Krei Tech "K" printed on it.