Grimalkin (Bonus Chapter written specially for Halloween)
Swish.
Tadashi pulled a box in towards himself. He was seated on the floor in Hiro's room, the boxes that contained Hiro's notes surrounding him. Lifting the lid to box Tadashi peered in to assess its contents. Stacked inside was a neat pile of Hiro's notes carefully stacked and packed by none other than Wasabi. How the African man always managed to keep things so neat, Tadashi would never know.
Reaching into the box Tadashi began to pull out some of the notes skimming their contents as he did so. They were, as expected, covered in a large variety of ideas including anti-gravity boots that combined electro-magnetic suspension with rocket thrusters, plasma cannons that could instantly cook pizza, initial design notes for Hiro's SKIN project and even a machine that could make gummy bears at home. The sheer creativity and genius of each idea was, as usual, mind boggling and Tadashi couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Hiro really was destined to change the world…. Only… They had to find him first.
Ignoring the sadness and grief that coursed through him with the stray thought, Tadashi placed the initial stack of notes down beside him before reaching into the box again only to be completely surprised by what he pulled out. His jaw actually dropped open in astonishment. The page he pulled out was not covered in Hiro's notes. It was a photograph.
A very disgruntled Hiro stared up at him off the page. Hiro had been captured mid-motion, clearly about to step out of the café. Someone must have called out to him because his head was turned towards the camera as if he'd been just about to turn completely around. The photograph was innocent enough. It was what Hiro was wearing that really caught Tadashi's attention. The black slacks and long sleeve plain shirt were a far cry from Hiro's usual jeans, khaki's, bright coloured shirts and hoodies. The black cat tail and ears were an even further stretch.
"Baymax." Tadashi turned towards the healthcare companion that had taken to following him around whenever he was home, holding the photograph up. "When was this taken?"
Baymax tilted his head to the side, quickly scanning the photograph before responding. "The photograph was taken last year on October the 31st."
Tadashi flicked the photograph back around eyeing the outfit once more mind trying to comprehend it. His brother had never been big on dressing up for Halloween. He'd always opted to stay home to tinker with his bots instead of going out to collect candy. 'It's always chocolate anyway. No one around here remembers to buy gummy bears.' The small child had stared up at Tadashi with a pout as he said those words immediately guilting Tadashi into going out to buy a large bag of gummy bears just for his little brother. "Do you have any videos of this?" Tadashi asked Baymax curiosity suddenly getting the better of him.
"Accessing historical records." Baymax turned to face Tadashi. A paused image appeared on Baymax's belly. Hiro was holding his hands up glaring up at Fred.
Tadashi tilted his head up, preparing to watch the video. "Playback the footage."
The image on Baymax's belly began to move.
"Are you happy now?" Hiro asked Fred, who, rather predictably, was wearing his SFIT mascot outfit. Hiro was sitting on the bed, a familiar hearing aid shaped device hooked onto his left ear. He was already wearing the black slacks, black shirt and tail. The tail swished from side to side indicating annoyance.
"Not yet, little dude." Fred declared reaching forward to place a headband onto Hiro's head. Attached to the headband were two fluffy black cat ears, emitting an orange glow that could be seen from the front. "Now I'm happy." Fred declared stepping back with an all knowing smirk on his face.
Hiro narrowed his eyes in an attempt to increase the intensity of the glare. Unbeknownst to him it only served to make him look more like an independent, disgruntled, hissy cat. The ears on his head moved twitching in agitation. "Just so you know, I'm not happy about this." Hiro grumbled. "Dressing up for Halloween is a waste of time. Going out to collect candy is an even bigger waste of time. No one ever remembers to stock Gummy Bears." The glare turned into a disgruntled pout. The tail and cat ears drooped.
"If you don't like dressing up, why did you go to all effort of making robotic cat ears and tail and that respond to your mood?" Fred questioned crossing his arms.
"Because you threatened to shove me into a costume whether I liked it or not." Hiro growled the cat ears moving all the way down slipping out of sight between the messy strands of Hiro's fluffy hair. "I'd hate to see what ridiculous costume you'd pick." Hiro shuddered. "If I'm going to do something I'm going to do it properly and on my terms."
"Ok, I get it, little dude. Not need to throw a hissy fit." Fred grinned in mischief as he emphasized the cat term completely ignoring both the icy glare in Hiro's eyes and the now bristling tail. "I'm glad you decided to join us. Going out to Trick or Treat is not fun if we aren't all there."
"Aren't we too old to Trick or Treat?" Hiro enquired the ears flicking straight up.
"You're never too old to Trick or Treat! Besides, you're still technically a kid." Fred declared bouncing up and down in excitement. He leant forward and grabbed hold of Hiro's arm. Using it as leverage he pulled the disgruntled teenager up and began to drag him towards the door. "Now come see what you've been missing all these years."
Hiro followed after Fred, surprise and discomfort written all over his features. Half way across the room he tripped and would have fallen flat onto his face if Fred hadn't continued to tug him along forcing Hiro to recover from the stumble simply to keep up. Hiro glanced up, his eyes looking straight at the camera for the first time since the recording began. The dark clothing and hair brought out the yellow undertones in his eyes and they almost appeared to glow. "You'd better not be recording this, Baymax." Hiro called out just as Fred pulled him out of sight.
The image paused as the video ended, displaying an empty room. Hiro was gone…
- BH6 - BH6 - BH6 –
A/N: Hi guys, in case the chapter title doesn't make sense I used it because Scottish legend makes reference to the Grimalkin as a faery cat that dwells in the highlands. As for this chapter… This is a Bonus Chapter that I wrote out of sequence in order to give you guys a Halloween surprise. I have tried to insert it into the story in a sequential manner and hope it still flows with the sequence of events that have already occurred and will occur after this. It and a hand injury have thrown off my writing schedule a little. Hopefully this won't impact future updates O.O. I originally wasn't planning on writing it as I couldn't come up with an idea that would slip seamlessly into the story. Hope you guys like it! PS: How awesome would a picture of Hiro in that outfit be? XD XD XD
Ern Estine 13624: XD
Rizard13: Tadashi and the others haven't given up on Hiro. I don't think Tadashi would be able to even if he tried. He has an over protective streak a mile wide and this situation has brought it completely to the fore. Hiro is hanging in there... for now.
Alexissenpai: I am honored that you wait for my updates to the point of reading them at 2am in the morning. Hiro really is going through a lot. There is a reason I named this story - I will not be broken. Hope the little bit of fluff in this Bonus Halloween Chapter makes up for the dark moment in the previous one.
shooting2stars: Exactly. He seriously surprised me when he decided to fight back. Part of me was going 'Good for you Hiro' while the other half was going 'Oh no'. Tadashi and the others haven't given up on Hiro. I don't think Tadashi would be able to even if he tried. He has an over protective streak a mile wide and this situation has brought it completely to the fore. Hiro is hanging in there... for now.
Dreamer: Oh please don't apologize for dumping your thoughts and experiences on me. It's the part I enjoy the most about reviews! LOL. I'm an anime fan too. Got into writing through yaoi anime actually. Sorry to burst your bubble, oh dearest reader of mine:P, but you have no power in the story. Your desperate desire to lock Inquisitor up has been duly noted but has no impact on Inquisitor himself. He scoffs at your very attempts.
Guest: In the end, torture and captivity aside Hiro is fist and foremost a genius as you pointed out and he can't help but get excited when he solves a problem. Hope you enjoyed the surprise! I am also guilty of actually enjoying the angst but thats because it makes the fluff that follows so much sweeter.