So, here be another chapter in this tale. A look at how Tadashi became the way he is; the evolution of a monster. And the effect (chaos) his continued existence is having on their world. Disturbing stuff ahoy...

*SYHM*

The name Hamada bred genius. Simple as that.

Dr. Daisuke Hamada was top of his field in microbiology. His father Toshiro before him credited with a new suspension system that made new and existing bridges and overpasses more stable in earthquake country. His mother Atsuko a world renowned pianist who toured in her youth. His big sister Kaguya studied at the finest culinary institutes before opening her own cafe. She returned home with the nickname Cass because she found people mangling her name in school to be irritating and confusing. His own wife Dr. Cherry 'Sakura' Gibson-Hamada the go to person on nanotechnology on the west coast.

Daisuke first realized his son Tadashi to be just as gifted when the boy made a diorama of an animal cell in crafts. His teacher gushed about how he was able to explain to her what all the parts were and how they worked. Pretty impressive for a kid who hadn't lost a tooth yet. Their son was going into the medical field for sure!

Dr. And Dr. Hamada were always praised for how smart and sweet their boy was. So helpful. So kind. So thoughtful. Never once thinking himself better than the other students.

If they only knew why.

Tadashi learned the kids who were mean and self centered little pricks got in trouble. They weren't trusted. They were watched. But if you happened to be a little angel, if you let them think you were just too innocent to do any wrong...

...you could literally get away with murder.

It became clear to Tadashi at about age 5 or 6 that his parents had no business raising a child. Much less two. This fact became glaringly obvious after Hiro was born.

It's not that they were bad people. Anyone could see how much they loved their children. It's just that they weren't the most attentive to things not apart of their research. It was then he decided to learn about the human body and medicine; so he could make sure his precious brother was okay. He would later come to understand neither he nor his brother were "planned for" but at the time, he simply took it upon himself to raise Hiro as best he could. Despite his parents' intentions. So it goes without saying he didn't hold a lot of respect for the help they hired.

Right off the bat, Tadashi hated that bubble headed twit Julep. The first au pair they found to watch them when projects ran late, some sort of function at the college was going on and just to keep the kindergartner and his infant brother out of their hair. Of course to his six year old mind, she was just evil incarnate. She began working the fall of his 1st grade year.

Firstly she wasn't very attentive. Tadashi worried about his brother being alone with her constantly. He'd come home from school and Hiro would be sticky or soaking wet. He even developed a diaper rash again. Tadashi knew that only happen if the dirty diaper wasn't changed often enough. Mainly because Hiro had them all the time unless his big brother was looking after him over the summer. Before HER.

He didn't like how she fed Hiro. She mixed his formula wrong; using tap water instead of the bottled baby water and not even measuring right. She never held his head or the bottle right so air would get in his tummy and he'd cry. Then throw up alot. Everyone thought Hiro was sick with a stomach bug. The doctor told their mother to switch water brands because the one she was using had contaminants that his young system couldn't handle.

Not once did that bitch admit it was her fault.

She had to go.

Knowing his complaints would be dismissed as him wanting to be a big boy with no nanny, Tadashi set about getting rid of her on his own.

His first attempt involved taking his mother's jade brooch (a Gibson family heirloom) and putting it in Julep's room. But being as spacey as she was, his kaa-san never noticed it gone until Julep told her about a pretty lotus pin she found in the wash. Earning her praise instead of walking papers.

Lying witch.

Strike two came when he added cleaning chemicals to the watering can she used to mind the plants his father needed for some research. How was he supposed to know they'd form an acid and eat through it (and the table, and the floor) before she could water them? He liked biology more than chemistry.

Then one day, as he played with Hiro in the nursery, he heard a thump. Kaasan was in Fresno. Otousan was in Texas the three of them were home. Making sure to latch the baby gate, he quietly made his way down the steps. Checking the living room, the dining room and the kitchen he eventually saw what was wrong. Julep crawling across the floor towards the dining room. Her normally peach skin was red, blotchy and swelling up like a balloon.

"B-b-bag..." she gasped at him. "Get...my...bag... Dashi..."

Like a good boy, he ran to fetch her purse. Then stopped two feet away from her. Recognizing her issue. Anaph- something. It happened when someone was really allergic to something. They swell so much, their throats closed up. A girl in his class was allergic to peanuts and their teacher had a special shot for her just in case. Sure enough there was an yellow thing shaped like a big glue stick among her wallet and makeup.

Hm...

"Da...shi!" Her voice grew more strained. "I...nee-!" The woman began frantically clawing at her throat while trying to lurch forward. He watched with curiosity as her movements became jerkier. Then slowly sputtered to a stop.

Well his parents did tell him things sometimes have a way of working themselves out. That definitely applied here. Looking at the stove clock he noticed it was time for Hiro to eat again. After pouring out the swill she'd made, he whipped up a bottle of formula with rice and bananas. While it warmed in the bottle warmer, he made himself a sandwich. With a cup of apple juice in his teeth, formula in one hand and a plate in the other Tadashi went back upstairs.

He'd call 911 later, his brother came first.

*SYHM*

Of all the things he expected to be doing on a Saturday night, this was certainly not one of them. Not that the man had a date with his soon to be ex-wife lined up or anything. In fact his evening routine for months had been wake up. Eat. Go to work. Come home. Shower after work. Eat something. Work on one of his art projects. Try not to think of how much of a vindictive gold digging bitch Vivian turned out to be. Feel guilty for hoping she and her new paramore die in fiery auto crash on their Italian getaway. Or at least try to feel something closer to guilt than unabashed glee at the possibility. Having failed that, catch some TV reruns. Sleep. Repeat the next day.

None of that sounded remotely like come help a shinto priest, a buddhist monk and a catholic priest exorcise a ghost and/or demon because you're on our payroll and we own you. Actually none of that was mentioned in the call (except the we own you part) he received at 12am. His employer had contacted him about an emergency that required his services at the local jail. The above information probably got left out to insure the psychologist actually showed up.

Bastards.

So, to say Dr. Masahiro Hinamoto was confused when he arrived at 2am to find two of the three holy men engaged in various rites at a cell on the second tier of the complex is an understatement. The fact that every inmate he passed was wide awake during the farce became disturbing as they appeared more and more uneasy as he neared the scene. The man right next to the location in question had his body wedged as tightly as he could between the barred door and the wall opposite the other cell, shaking like a leaf.

Chanting and shouting was directed at the temporary home a man in his late fifties. Scorch marks peppered the 6 by 8 foot space. His skin red and blistered in areas too from burns of various degree. At least what could be seen of him as he cowered under his bunk. Some looked really, REALLY bad. Why on earth were they praying over the man and not getting paramedics?!

The shinto priest took note of Hinamoto's arrival and sighed. The only person who didn't look remotely alarmed sat smoking a pipe a few feet away from his colleagues.

Then Dr. Hinamoto noticed the EMTs, two males and a female, on the other side of the cell looking just as lost as him. The woman cradling her hand wrapped in gauze. What the fuc-?!

Looking at her drew his gaze to a shadow near the burned man. Cast by another occupant casually squatting against the wall and seemingly no concern for the drama around him as he looked at the injured man. The panic probably had something to do with fact that he was not only against the wall but parallel to the floor at 10 feet up in blatant defiance of logic and gravity. Well that and he'd swear he had seen the young man's obituary a few months back.

So. Ghost. Ghosts are a thing.

Exactly why did they call him not the Ghostbusters?

"Dr I know this is unusual but we're running out of ideas! Callahan needs medical attention but touching the bars is like touching lava and the remote mechanism burned out. So we were...hoping perhaps you could talk to Mr. Hamada." The warden, Marsha Farthing looked beyond rattled as she stuttered through a recap of the events.

"Evil spirit be gone!" The young monk shouted jangling his shakujou at the irritated spectre.

"You are unwelcome in this place foul demon!" The Father, only a few years older, added waving his bible.

"That's not gonna work boys. I tell ya kids today." The elderly guiji grumbled. The smoke billowing from his nose and his long white beard lending him the appearance of a dragon. "Pissin him off ain't gonna do no good."

"Sir how can you say such a thing! That man is going to die!" The burned EMT shouted.

His red gaze shifted from the terrified man to look at her. Just staring silently. Not even making a noise. She shifted on her feet and started to back up, eyes wide with fear.

"Wha-?!" The warden started to protest.

"Young lady, I suggest you zip it. Unless you're eager for an exfoliation that ends in 3rd degree burns. Miss Farthing, I told you most o' that junk in movies is faker than them knocker o' yours." Ignoring how the red head bristled he took another drag of his pipe. "Now, as far as the kami are concerned it's in his right to do whatever he wants to Mr. Callahan. Thats why all the ofuda, sutras and verses in the world ain't gonna be much more than paper and shouting to him."

"So we just let it kill the man?!" The monk was outraged.

"Surely it can be expelled!" The Father agreed.

There wasn't any of the fanfare one would expect at a ghost's departure like in cinema. No flashing lights. No eerie sounds. No blood (other than what was already on the floor). No spooky warping of the space it occupied. Hinamoto literally blinked and Tadashi Hamada was gone from the wall.

Only to appear beside her holding the woman's wrist in a vice grip. She shrieked at such a frequency the others could do nothing but cover their ears while she fought him with all her might. But he held her, unflinching, as she kicked and swung at him. Seconds later the woman was on her ass; the force of pulling against someone no longer there sent her tumbling over herself to the floor.

.

The bandage on her hand unraveling to display unblemished skin.

"Honestly. Spirits don't give one wit about nothin but their objective. But some got just as much place here as us mortals. Kami knows what I woulda done if my dear Junko didn't have the moxy stick around an make sure I didn't screw up our baby girl after she passed on in childbirth." The old man chuckled. "Now then ima goin home. I'm old and tired. Only stayed to keep you lot from gettin spattered. Seems the lad has a high threshold for idiocy though. Idjits are just lucky he didn't come here with intent to kill."

At five foot nothing, he didn't seem imposing hobbling along with his gnarled wood cane. As he stood, just how small the elderly man was shocked Hinamoto. Him whacking the Catholic priest's shin for failing to get out of his way fast enough? Not so much. Spry old guy...

So. Again, ghosts. Ghosts are a thing.

The time it took to rerun that thought through his brain caused it to seize up like a stalled engine. Allowing the surreal, nonsensical and utterly heart stopping aspects of the situation shine through fully. Hitting him like a maglev train.

Poor guy never noticed the floor rushing up to meet his face.

*SYHM*

At only six years old, Julep was the first person Dashi killed. By doing nothing at all. Though not for a lack of trying to get her fired first. She had an allergic reaction and went into anaphylactic shock. The thing Dashi refused to give her was her epipen for emergency treatment and she suffocated to death.

Shakujou- a buddhist monk's staff

Guuji- head shinto priest in charge of running pretty much everything, the oldest and most sage. Regarded as having the most spiritual power.

I see San Fransokyo having both the culture and religion of Japan fused with American culture and religion. Not just a few odds and ends.

Maglev- magnetic levitation. The principal monorails work on. Most famously the Shingansen (Japanese Bullet Train).

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