Hiro is Gone

Tadashi ran a hand over the counter as he walked around the kitchen, carefully taking stock of all the things that had changed since he had last been here. Nothing much had changed. The cabinets had been repainted, some of the crockery appeared to be have been replaced but overall the place was just as he remembered it.

Tadashi was back home, standing in Aunt Cass's kitchen, waiting for Wasabi to fetch his Aunt. Fred, Honey Lemon and Gogo had rushed out of Fred's home right after watching the news without so much as an explanation. The only response he'd received when he'd tried to inquire as to what was going on was a "Yo, dude, please take care of Wasabi while we're gone…" from Fred and then the trio was gone.

Wasabi had woken up half and hour later. After carefully explaining that, yes, Wasabi was seeing exactly what he thought he was seeing, Tadashi had managed to convince the man to bring him home which brought him to this moment. He ran a nervous hand through his hair, moving it down to cup his neck as he waited…

"What did you want to talk about?" The sound of footsteps accompanied by Aunt Cass's voice drifted towards the kitchen, spiking the levels of Tadashi's anxiety.

"There's something you need to see. Please try not to freak out. Although I'm not sure what it could be, I'm certain there is a perfectly good scientific explanation for this." Wasabi's deep rumble answered Cass's question.

Freak out? Oh wait, Tadashi was about to give Aunt Cass the shock of her life. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, after all.

"Scientific explanation? What on earth are you going on… about?" The sound of ceramic shattering filled the tiny kitchen as Aunt Cass stepped inside before Tadashi could change his mind and flee. The coffee mug she'd been holding lay in pieces, dark liquid staining the previously clean floor.

"Hi, Aunt Cass." Tadashi greeted her nervously, giving her a small wave.

"Ta… Tadashi?" Cass cautiously stepped into the kitchen, deftly avoiding the spilled coffee and shattered cup. She was deathly pale, her green eyes were wide and she looked old, haunted and lost. She carefully walked up to Tadashi, reached up and cupped his face in her hands. She ran her fingers over the contours of his face, tracing his cheeks, his lips, his nose, his eyebrow, ending with his ears as she sought to confirm the familiarity of his features. "We thought… we thought you were dead. Where have you been all this time?" She inquired stepping back to give him space.

Tadashi shifted awkwardly on the spot. How was he supposed to explain this to Aunt Cass when he didn't really understand what was going on himself? "I don't really know, Aunt Cass." He admitted.

"You… don't know?"

Tadashi glanced at Wasabi silently searching for an explanation he could give. Wasabi was leaning against a wall beside the kitchen entrance. He shrugged in response. He didn't have an explanation to offer either.

"The last memory I have is of the showcase fire."

"Oh, my poor boy!" Aunt Cass rushed forward and pulled him down into a sudden embrace. "I'm so sorry. We'll figure it out. I'm sure." She withdrew and began to push him towards the living room. "Now go sit down while I make us some of my famous hot wings to celebrate. Hiro will be so happy to see you." Aunt Cass pushed him onto a couch before stepping back. She sniffed and wiped away some of the tears that were pouring down her face. "It's really good to see you." She said before rushing out of the living room and heading back into the kitchen.

Tadashi gave Wasabi an apologetic smile when the African man joined him, carefully sitting down beside him. The sounds of pots and pans being violently shoved around could be heard throughout the house. "I guess it could have been worse." Tadashi remarked.

"I feel she is taking it remarkably well, considering." Wasabi agreed watching Tadashi.

Tadashi ran a hand through his hair once more, sub-consciously cupping the nape of his own neck for a moment before dropping it onto his lap. He looked away from Wasabi turning his attention to the living room, placing it under the same scrutiny that he had the kitchen. It too seemed to have changed little. The TV was still across from the couch, the bookshelf was still by the wall and various pictures were still scattered around the room.

Tadashi began to look at the pictures, a fond smile settling on his lips as he recognized the moments immortalized in them. One of them pictured Hiro, five years old, running away from Tadashi while cramming large quantities of gummy bears into his mouth. In another Tadashi was getting onto the moped for his first driving lesson. Hiro, Aunt Cass and Tadashi were also pictured while on holiday posing for a family portrait. Hiro was sitting on Aunt Cass's shoulders and Aunt Cass was embracing Tadashi. In yet another family portrait Hiro, Tadashi and Aunt Cass were standing in front of the café, Tadashi using his fingers to give Hiro 'bunny' ears. All of them were really good memories but it was the fifth photograph hanging to the right of the last family portrait that really caught his attention.

Aunt Cass was standing in the Café embracing a scruffy haired boy from behind, beaming in happiness. The boy was a little bit taller than his aunt, dressed in an apron and had obviously been interrupted while waiting on tables. He was giving his Aunt a disgruntled look in what was clearly meant to be reprimand. Tadashi's smile faded away. The boy was eerily familiar.

Tadashi stood and walked over towards the photograph in order to view it more closely. He ran a finger over the scruffy mop of hair, over narrowed all too familiar dark brown eyes and down to a familiar sulk. He glanced at Wasabi in silent question.

"That's Hiro." Wasabi confirmed, watching Tadashi closely.

"He's…" Tadashi swallowed turning back towards the photograph. "He's grown." He ran his finger over the rest of the photograph silently cataloging the changes to the features he'd once known so well before turning back towards Wasabi once more. "Wasabi… How long have I been gone?"

Wasabi shifted awkwardly before silently getting up. He made his way towards Tadashi and paused a small distance away, wanting to give Tadashi a little space. "Three years."

Shock, sorrow and a deep sense of grief coursed through Tadashi at the words and all they implied. Three years. Life had gone on without him for three years and even though at first glance it seemed that nothing had changed, everything had and Tadashi was only just beginning to scratch the surface of that change.

"I… uh…" Tadashi began to tremble, his body reacting to the shock his mind had been fighting hard to ignore. "I think I need to sit down." He stumbled back towards the couch, only vaguely aware of Wasabi's large hands gently guiding him back and down. He sank down onto the seat, placed his elbows onto his knees and buried his face into the palms of his hands. Deep breathes. He needed to take deep breathes. One, two, three… Three… it had been three years. How was he going to make up for three years?

Wasabi reached out, placing a large hand onto Tadashi's shoulder. "It will work out." He said gruffly, not really sure what he could possible say to make things better.

Tadashi forced himself to take a deep breath, releasing it slowly before looking up once more. "I guess I'll need to take this one step at a time." He said wryly, fighting to convince both himself and Wasabi that he believed things really could be worked out at this stage. "No use moping about it." He said, abruptly standing up. Wasabi's hand slid off of his shoulder. "I just need to find another angle." He turned, intending to head towards the kitchen when suddenly there was a loud commotion down in the café.

The bell to the Lucky Cat rang loudly as the café door was violently shoved open. A rush of loud footsteps soon followed. The newcomers ran up the stairs and entered the private residence situated directly above the café. "Tadashi! Wasabi! You guys had better be here!" Gogo's loud cry announced the arrival of the rest of the gang. "We need to talk!"

Tadashi's jaw dropped when Gogo marched into the living room, white marshmallow in tow. Wait, was that… Baymax?! Honey Lemon and Fred were hot on her heels.

"He's gone." Gogo announced to the room at large. "We let him go alone and now he's gone!" Gogo released Baymax's arm and marched right up to Wasabi, fear and panic all over her features.

Tadashi had never seen Gogo in such a state. Honey Lemon and Fred looked no better. "Who's gone?" Tadashi asked, dread coiling thick in his gut. Something told him he was not going to like the answer.

Gogo did not appear to hear him waving her arms about in agitation. "We've looked everywhere for him. We searched the debris, we tried to follow the last traces of the micro-bots. We even tried to run a scan but Baymax has sustained too much damage. We can't find any trace of him!"

"Who's gone." Tadashi repeated his question. He reached out and grabbed Gogo by the arms urgently turning her to face him. He suspected he already knew the answer but he desperately hoped he was wrong. "Gogo, what's going on?!"

"Hiro!" Gogo replied confirming Tadashi worst fears. "It looks like Hiro has been kidnapped!"

Shatter.

Aunt Cass lost more crockery as she too heard Gogo's outcry.

- BH6 - BH6 - BH6 -

A/N: Hi All. I'm starting a Save Aunt Cass' Dishes fund raising campaign. If you would like to donate please transfer funds into Tadashi's non existent bank account. All proceeds will go to replacing the dishes Aunt Cass is dropping. :D

RazzlePazzleDooDot: Glad you're enjoying Fred so far. I feel Fred is easy to under-estimate. He may not be as technically savvy as the others but he has a different kind of intelligence and a heart of gold.

shooting2stars: I shall do my best to continue this piece as I too want to know where all of this ends up. The idea has been floating about in my head for months. I don't write fan fiction so I tried to ignore it but in the end had to give in. It's nice to be writing again even if it is in short snippets.

Dreamer: The only shock I've gotten was from the tape used to fence horses in and let me tell you it was not fun. It's a mild electrical shock but is unpleasant enough that I am now very wary of that tape and the gate that picks up the electricity on cold wet days. Information about what is going on will be forthcoming soon but the story will be deeper than that as there is a facet of the strange going ons that I will only be revealing later. Hopefully I shall give you more to ponder on ;)