December 14th: Sunday
Theme: 16. Angel
Hiro hummed a happy tune to himself. Reviews were done and he was feeling more than confident for his finals.
"Hiro!"
Hiro stopped and turned to see Tadashi sprinting straight told him. Hiro lifted his hand in greeting. "Hey Tadashi."
Tadashi skidded to a halt; his cheeks a bright red from the cold. "Glad I caught up to you," Tadashi said, puffing for air. "You done with your reviews?"
Hiro nodded.
"Great!" Tadashi said, beaming. "Come with me to my lab? There's something I really want to show you."
A chill went down Hiro's spine at the thought of being in a lab again, even if it was Tadashi's lab. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. It was just a lab. What was the worse that could happen? Hiro smiled uneasily. "Okay."
Tadashi noticed his discomfort. "If you don't want to, you don't have to," he said in a quiet voice.
No. Hiro wanted to do better. If he didn't want to use his genius brain, he needed to improve socially at least. His life was already lonely; why force himself into further isolation? Besides, he was curious to see what Tadashi was working on. "It's okay," Hiro said.
Tadashi nodded and led Hiro back to his lab. "So, your suggestion of supercapacitors was brilliant. It not only solved my battery issue, but gave me the inspiration to figure out the other minor problems. Can you hold your arm out?"
Hiro held out his arm, curious. He didn't see anything that resembled what Tadashi had described as Baymax during their conversation. It would be hard to miss a giant white robot. He turned his attention to examine the lab. Everything was neat and orderly, nothing like the chaotic mess that Hiro's old lab use to look like. 'Figures that Tadashi would be a neat freak,' Hiro thought.
As Hiro's mind wandered off, he didn't notice that Tadashi had stuck a piece of duct tape to his arm and violently ripped it off. "OW! What was that for Tadashi!" Hiro yelped. He rubbed the skin of his arm.
Tadashi just smugly grinned. That was when Hiro heard the sound of something inflating. He watched in amazement as a giant white robot appeared from the red case in the corner. It waddled over to Hiro and lifted its arm in greeting.
"Hello! I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. I was alerted to the need for medical attention when you said 'ow'."
Hiro's eyes grew wide. This was Baymax? He had been expecting a half incomplete robot from the way Tadashi had been describing him. Not a fully functional masterpiece. Who was he kidding? This was Tadashi, the same person who told Hiro on the first day they met that he was studying under Professor Callaghan. Tadashi was good, very good at what he did.
"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" Baymax asked.
Hiro's head tilted to the side; his curiosity beginning to rage like a fire. "A one," he answered honestly. He could see the hyperspectral cameras located in Baymax's head.
"I will scan you now," Baymax said. "Scan complete. You have a slight epidermal abrasion on your forearm. I suggest an antibacterial spray." Baymax held up a finger, reaching for Hiro's arm.
"And what's in the spray specifically?" Hiro asked, probing how much Baymax could answer.
"The primary ingredient is bacitracin," Baymax said, displaying the chemical makeup on its chest.
Hiro's grin turned a little cocky. "It's a bummer. I'm allergic to that."
"You are not allergic to bacitracin. You do have a mild allergy to peanuts."
"Hmm, not bad," Hiro said. Hiro held out his arm as Baymax sprayed on the antibacterial spray. He turned to Tadashi with a wide grin on his face. "This is amazing, Tadashi," he said honestly.
Tadashi beamed with pride. "Thank you."
"I cannot deactivate until you say you are satisfied with your care," Baymax told Hiro.
"Then I am satisfied with my care," Hiro said. He watched as Baymax went back to his red storage station and deflated. "I'm really impressed," Hiro said.
"He's going to help a lot of people," Tadashi said. His grin was just as wide as Hiro's.
"I'm like convinced you're some kind of angel," Hiro remarked. "No one is suppose to be this nice." How many people, especially at Tadashi's age, actually invented things that would help people?
"Still working, Mr. Hamada?"
Tadashi turned, surprised. "Professor Callaghan!"
Hiro felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice on him. Instantly his smile strained. Right, going to Tadashi's lab meant a chance at running into Professor Callaghan. This was a good thing, wasn't it? It was the whole reason why Hiro had chosen SFIT in the first place.
"Who is this?" Professor Callaghan asked.
Hiro turned around to look at him, panic already beginning to bubble in his chest.
"This is -," Tadashi started before Professor Callaghan cut him off.
"Dr. Takachiho!" Professor Callaghan said, reaching out to shake Hiro's hand. "I must say it's nice to meet you finally."
Hiro tried to remain calm. He ignored the confused expression on Tadashi's face as Tadashi mouthed the word 'doctor'. Nausea rocked in Hiro's stomach. "Likewise," Hiro said. He took a deep breath. This was the confrontation Hiro had been avoiding all semester, the reason why he came to SFIT, a college heavily based on science and technology degrees despite that those types of degrees were exactly what Hiro wanted to avoid. If he didn't do this, Hiro would never be able to.
With a deep bow, Hiro said, "I've been meaning to tell you this in person, sir, but I am sorry for your lost and my part in it."
For you see, even though Hiro had never met Professor Callaghan before, it didn't change the fact that ultimately Hiro had killed the professor's daughter.
"Thank you," Professor Callaghan said, looking solemn. The atmosphere was tense and heavy. "But, Dr. Takachiho…"
Hiro ducked his head, eyes glued to the ground. He felt dizzy and sick to his stomach. His eyes closed as the tears began to build up. "I'm sorry," he said, interrupting Professor Callaghan. "I'm not feeling too good. I have to go."
Hiro was out the door in a flash.
And there goes Hiro running away again. :3 We've hit my favorite part of the story so far. Slowly the cards are being revealed!