Brothers

5

Ages

Hiro: 14

Tadashi: 18

Hiro's POV

"Just let it go Tadashi!" I say, raising my voice. That didn't faze him though, he was starting to get used to it. I could tell. We had been fighting quite frequently at night lately.

"I will not let it go Hiro! You're irresponsibility is going to get you into major trouble someday!" He said, raising his voice as well. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh what do you care anyway?" I say, irked. Tadashi took a step back, hurt replacing anger, though I refused to crack.

"Hiro, how could you even ask that? Of course I care about you. That's why I don't want you bot fighting bone head!" he exclaimed.

"You're not my dad, so quit acting like it." I say bluntly. I can see that that really hurt him and I almost feel bad. ALMOST. I refuse to crack in front of him now though.

Tadashi sighs. "Hiro, c'mon. Don't pull the 'dad' card. Not now." Tadashi reasons patiently. "I will too pull it. You think that just because you're older, you can tell me what to do, but do whatever you want yourself. That's hypocritical and unfair. I refuse to let you control my life any longer!" I shout in frustration. Tadashi loses his usually cool demeanor and it scares me a bit.

"You know what Hiro? Fine! If you wanna act like a kid, you can be treated like one as well. Do whatever the heck you want! But don't come crying to me if you get into trouble and need help, because so help me, I will NOT come to bail you out anymore." He shouts. I gulp. Tadashi rarely yells at me. But still, I hold my ground.

"Is that a threat?" I snort. He glares at me lightly. "That's a promise Hiro." He says seriously.

I admit that that sentence stung a bit. But he probably didn't mean it. If I was really in trouble, Tadashi would come for me. I know he would and he knows it too.

"You know you'd help me. You always do." I say smugly.

"Yeah? Well not anymore. Do whatever you want wise guy. Jump off a bridge for all I care. I won't come to save you." He says heartlessly, walking out of our room, slamming the door shut.

I wait a minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. Four minutes. Five minutes…..ten minutes. Fifteen minutes!

Where's Tadashi? I think. He's usually back in our room by now, hugging me and telling me that he didn't mean it and I say it too, though half-heartedly most of the time. He generally comes back into our room within 10 minutes. It's been over 20 now. I start to get worried and I'm tempted to go downstairs and apologize myself, but something stops me. Something in me just snaps all of a sudden. Tadashi won't be able to nag me anymore. I'm…free!
I can't go through the front door or Tadashi and Aunt Cass will no doubt see me. That leaves the window. I glance at the windows in our room. Sure, we're on the second floor, but I really wanna make some money, but more importantly want to mop the floor with older guys that think they got a match in the bag but then face me and lose. Bot fighting is life.

I open the window and look down, but suddenly wish I hadn't. It's a REALLY long way down and suddenly, I don't want to leave. I'm about to reconsider going out, but a voice changes my mind quickly.

I hear a knock on our door followed by Tadashi's ever so patient voice. I think he's about to apologize, but boy was I off. Big time at that.

"Hiro, Aunt Cass made me come up here and get you. She made extra stuff for her dessert shift and has leftovers and says if you want some, come get it." He says plainly. It was evident that Aunt Cass forced him to come up here.

My heart sunk. So that was it? If something happened to me, he'd just leave me alone? Some brother.

"Not hungry, especially if you're gonna be there." I say nonchalantly.

"Fine, whatever. She made me come here anyway. Not like I actually WANTED you to come in the first place." He says, walking back down.

I felt anger take over me. I quickly get my bed sheets off of my bed and make a rope down the window. I head into our shared closet and yank out a few stuffed animals that kept for…this is beside the point. I stuff them in my bed and cover it with the comforter to make it look like I'm sleeping in it. Grabbing a bunch of crumbled up bills and my mega bot, I shove them in my hoodie's pockets. Then I proceed to climb down. Finally, I use the bed sheet and my amazing hand eye coordination skills to close the window and leave a bit of the bed sheet out so I could climb back in when I get back.

After that, I rush to the alley where there's always a bot fight going on. Getting into the circle, some people recognize me and back up. I smirk in satisfaction. I whip out mega bot and face the poor guy that stayed in the circle, preparing to fight me. "Let's go." He says with a smug smile.

Guess he thinks I'm an easy target. Poor him. I pull out 50 bucks and put it in the betting tray. The ignorant guy puts in 50 as well. Our bots fight and mine wins in no time at all. The guy's confused and demands a re-match to which I oblige. This is gonna be a fun night.

Tadashi POV

I can't believe Hiro said that to my face. He knows how painful it is to bring up mom and dad but he did it anyway. He must really be mad. To top it all off, I tried to get him downstairs. I didn't want to admit I was wrong, because I think he should apologize first. I always apologize first and I thought he needed to learn to as well. So I went to our room and told him Aunt Cass wanted him, but in actuality I wanted him to come. Then he had to shut me down like that and make me feel worthless? Well fine. If he wants to be a baby then whatever.

I try my hardest to be the perfect older brother to him and this is how he repays me? I try not to be too hard on him and let him do what he wants, but there's a limit to this sort of thing and I draw the line at bot fighting. It's not safe. There are all sorts of ruffians lingering there and it's no place for a kid of 14 years old. Even if he IS a super genius. But if he wants to deliberately disobey me like that then so be it.

I don't care what happens to him.

…

Okay that was a blatant lie. I couldn't live with myself knowing that Hiro was hurt or in trouble. I can't be that cruel. That's why I'm relieved beyond explanation that he hasn't done irrational like try to sneak out or anything. I would've seen him because my eyes have been glued to the stairs since he refused my (Or Aunt Cass's as he sees it) offer.

I sigh and take my hat off, messing up my hair. I trudge upstairs and get to bed without even changing. Usually I'd have definitely apologized to the little guy by now, but this time, I just didn't want to bother. Aunt Cass suggested that if I leave him alone for a while after our fights (Yeah, I told Aunt Cass about them) he'd come through and apologize eventually. Well she was definitely wrong. Hiro hadn't said two words to me unless I initiated conversation. I look to his bed. He didn't even attempt to say anything to me. His smallish lump of a body was covered by his comforter. He really was trying to avoid me. I sigh and sink deeper into my bed.

I can't believe this. Lately, Hiro and I have been arguing more than ever. It's not normal sibling bickering. It's not healthy. This is starting to worry me. Hiro's the only direct family I've got left. If I lose him, I'll break. I don't know if he even cares anymore. I gotta set things straight. I love my baby brother and though he's too stubborn, arrogant, and prideful to admit it anymore, he loves me too. At least I hope he does. It's been so long since we've hung out or bonded as brothers. Maybe that sounds a bit gay and girly, but it's the truth. I miss spending time with the guy and it makes me wonder if he does too.

I figure it's time to try. I push the covers off of me and look at Hiro's small lump. "Hey Hiro?" I call. No response.

"Hiro c'mon. I know you're mad, but the truth is, I can't handle us fighting anymore. It's breaking me apart. I don't want to constantly argue with you all the time. I want us to go back to old times. You know?" I say hopefully. I wait a few seconds, hoping he'll say something, but he doesn't. I sulk for a second before looking at Hiro again.

"Hiro please?" I say with tears in my eyes. "Please Hiro. I need you. Remember? You said you needed me too once. A long time ago yeah, but you still said it. You must have meant it. C'mon bone head, I can't live like this anymore. I hope you miss those times as much as I do. We can even go get some ice cream if you want." I say pleadingly.

Still no response. I'm about to fully lose it before I notice something. Hiro hadn't moved since I walked in. maybe he was already sleeping and I was just making a fool out of myself. I face palm myself and walk toward his bed with a tired smile. I yank his covers off and immediately feel hot anger come to my face. The little rat SNUCK out! How he got passed me amazes me until I see the window in our room. Did he? No way. We're two flights up, he couldn't possibly have…could he?

I practically tear the window up and struggle to a bit actually, though I don't know why. Then I see it. Hiro's bed sheet. It's hanging down conveniently waiting for him to get home. I huff a breath of pure anger and shut the window. That boy is going to get himself killed. I rush back onto my bed and call him. One ring, two, three, four, five…and voicemail. I try again. No luck. One more time….zilch.

I began to panic. What if something happened to him? What if he's in trouble? What if…wait a second! Hiro's mad at me. If that's the case, he's probably just ignoring me. Worrying me over nothing. Well I wasn't about to just cave and search the entire city for him. If he was in trouble, he'd call.

Right?

Maybe I'll stay up till he gets home just in case.

Hiro's POV

I was in the ZONE. I was making a new record here. Nearly 1000 dollars in my hands. I stuffed it all in my hoodie pocket and started heading home. I checked my phone. Not only was it over past midnight sitting at 1:15, but I had three missed calls from Tadashi! I guess he figured out that I snuck out. I was about to hit redial, when I remembered that we were supposed to be fighting. And besides, Tadashi said himself that he wouldn't care if anything happened to me so what was the point in calling him just so he could yell at me? That's right, there isn't one. I shoved the phone in with the money and continued walking, hands in my pockets, face down.

"Little kids like you shouldn't be wandering the streets alone, let alone going bot fighting by themselves, LET ALONE striking people clear of their money." A voice said, knocking me into a mode of cautiousness.

I looked up to see one of the guys I had beaten in a bot fight a few rounds ago. "I think you need to be taught a lesson, don't you?" he asked tauntingly. I gulped and vigorously shook my head. He cracked his knuckles and started advancing toward me.

"H-Hey buddy take it easy there. That hoodie wasn't cheap." I say as he yanked me up to his eye level. He growled at me and I flinched. "You've got a smart mouth, let's fix that shall we?" he asked, serving a good clean punch right on my mouth. I quickly covered it with my hands and screamed in pain, but no one heard.

"End of the line. No one's here to save you." He said menacingly. I silently let tears fall rampant down my face. This guy had the potential to kill me. Would he?

"TADASHI!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hurting my throat, mouth, and ears. The man wacked me in the head, bringing a ringing sensation to it. I felt my vision blur, but I didn't go unconscious.

I felt him repeatedly kick and punch me. "T-T-Tada-a-ashi?" I stutter/whisper. The man laid a punch in my stomach and I groaned in pain. This was it. Tadashi really DID mean what he said about not caring. About not helping me. About not giving a flip if I was in trouble. I felt fresh tears fall down my sore and most likely bruised face. The pain hit me full force. Not the physical, the emotional. I could've avoided this were it not for my stupid prideful personality. All because I was too stubborn to apologize to Tadashi.

I certainly wouldn't have quit bot fighting, but maybe I would've stopped betting on it or something. We could've talked it out and been hanging out right now, but instead I was having brutal punches thrown at me. I moaned in misery and distraught.

The pain was coming to me now. The physical and emotional combined was too much for me to bear and I felt my eyes closing shut.

"That oughtta teach ya a valuable lesson ya little shrimp." I heard him say before I completely blanked out.

I slowly felt my eyes open and looked around. Oh yeah, I was brutally beaten the crap out of a while ago. I felt kinda sore all over and got up. I was in the middle of the alleyway. I took out my phone as I was walking. It was 2:30. Not only was it beyond late, but I had no more missed calls from Tadashi. He really didn't care. Otherwise he'd be out here looking for me. I threw my phone as hard as I could down the sidewalk and repeatedly jumped on it.

Then I fell to the ground and began sobbing like a baby. Tadashi didn't care. I could've died and he wouldn't have spared a glance. Wouldn't have shed a single tear. Wouldn't even wish I was still alive.

The aftermath of the punches and kicks came and hit me like a car. I was full blown in hysterics now. I couldn't help but break down. If only I simply had the guts to apologize. But no. my stupidity had been my downfall.

Lately, Tadashi and I had been arguing too much for my liking. He'd nag at me for the simplest little things and then some. But I couldn't help it. I know I did these things on purpose because I WANTED to agitate him, but I had a good reason to. Lately, Tadashi was hanging at school more than home. It's been bothering me ever since school started. I tried to talk to him about it, but he'd been too busy to even talk to me!

I finally manned up enough to make it home.

When I made it, I reached for the bed sheet. I yanked it down, but retrieved my arm when I felt pain surge through it. I didn't have the slightest idea what my face looked like so I covered it up with my hoodie in case Tadashi woke up before me and saw me. I tried to brace myself as much as possible and then finally climbed up to the window. Slowly and softly, I opened the window and winced in pain as my arm couldn't take much more of this torture. I snuck in, shut the window softly and turned around only to see Tadashi right in front of my face. I gulped and flinched backward.

Tadashi POV

I was waiting forever for Hiro to jump through that window all smug and happy and ready for verbal assault from yours truly, but it was when 1:00 hit that I truly became worried. I was debating whether or not to call him again or not, but I didn't, thinking he was about to come every 5 minutes.

I heard some faint rustling eventually and saw Hiro climb in, hoodie over his face. Why'd he cover his face? I walked quickly to him and positioned myself ever so close to his face, but it was dark and I couldn't see anything besides his big brown doe eyes. They were laced with fear and shock.

"Hiro Hamada! Do you have even the slightest idea what time it is and how long you've been gone?!" I whisper yelled at him, careful to keep my voice to a minimum in fear of waking up Aunt Cass. He turned away, not able to meet my glare.

"Oh what do you care anyway?" he replied, crossing his arms, but I noticed two things. When he did, he winced and uncrossed them, and his voice was more…stressed sounding than normal.

I felt a stab in my heart. This conversation sounded eerily familiar to the one we had just a few hours ago. "Hiro, how could you even ask that?" I asked. Wow, I was getting strange senses of déjà vu coming in.

"Oh please Tadashi. You said it yourself. You don't care at all. I could jump off of a bridge and you wouldn't care." He said in such a dark tone, it made me shiver a bit. "I should've just done that. Jumped off a bridge." He muttered in a voice he thought I couldn't hear, but I did.

"Hiro don't say that! I was just mad, that's all. I waited for so many agonizing minutes, waiting for you to come home safe and sound, and you have no idea how happy I am that you are." I defended, hoping to death he'd believe me.

He chuckled, but it wasn't good hearted laughing. It was malicious and it started to scare me a bit. "Hiro?" I asked. He turned around, hoodie still covering his face.

"Stop lying to me and yourself Tadashi. We both know you don't care. You said it. You made sure I heard you loud and clear, and don't worry, I did. I get it. You won't be there to help me. I read ya loud and clear." He said bluntly. I shake my head. "Hiro, I promise I'll help you if you need me." I say honestly. He shakes his head too.

"Then, Th-then where were you?" he whispered, sounding heartbroken. I blinked in confusion. "Hiro, what on earth are you talking about?" I asked.

"Never mind, I'm going to bed." Hiro said, limping toward his bed. Wait limping?!

"Oh no mister. We're finally gonna settle this." I say, grabbing his hoodie and pulling him back. In the process, I managed to get the hoodie off of his face and flinched at what I saw.

My baby bro's face was covered in bruises. His mouth a fresh purple with green poking in here and there. Black eyes, and frown so deep, I was getting caught in it.

"Hiro! What happened?!" I demand. He gulps and looks at me, helpless and at a loss. "I went bot fighting and got beaten the shit out of. What the hell did you think happened?!" he questioned smartly.

I think he was bracing himself for all the disappointment I was about to drop on him. Little did he know I was far from mad. The fact that he used curse words was enough proof for me that he was in severe pain. I raced to the bathroom, leaving a puzzled Hiro in my wake.

I came out a few minutes later. Hiro was now perched on his bed, sitting and staring down, kicking his legs about softly and ever so slightly. I took the wet cloth and ordered him to hold it to his face. He obeyed, fortunately.

My gaze shifted from his totaled face to his bony legs. They were bruised as well. The left one even looked swollen. I lightly tapped it and checked for a response. Hiro's eyes shut and then opened and then shut and opened again. I held back a laugh because he shut them in pain, and then had to open them because his black eye probably made it hurt more when he closed it. Then I wanted to slap myself. How could I think about laughing when Hiro was in no doubt unbearable pain?

I sighed and pulled out thick white bandages and coated Hiro's legs in them. Then I applied the cream on his face. He cringed multiple times, but was pretty patient throughout the whole thing. As I was finishing applying cream, I looked him dead in the eye.

"Hiro, I really don't want you to go bot fighting. I'm not trying to be dad. I just care about your safety. It tears me apart to see you like this. If I ever see the person who did this to you, I might just kill them. You don't understand what it's like to come home every day and worry about whether your brother's gone to do something dangerous that could lead to him getting hurt like this. I never meant to say that I wouldn't care Hiro. I could NEVER stop caring about you no matter what you do. I swear that on mom and dad's grave. I'm just glad you're in one piece." I said. Hiro didn't seem the least bit fazed by my confession and I felt my hopes of us patching things up drop instantly.

"Don't do this Tadashi." He said warningly.

"Do what?" I ask, oblivious.

"This! Act like you care and that you're the best brother in the whole world and then just give me the cold shoulder for the next few weeks!" he whisper shouted, voice cracking. I'm genuinely confused.

"Hiro, what are you talking about?" I ask carefully. Hiro sniffs and wipes at his eye softly.

"Ever since school started, you've been so busy hanging out with your friends. I mean, I totally get how it's your first year of college and all, but we're almost at the end of the first semester and you've been coming home late every single day. Then when I think we're gonna hang together on the weekends, you sleep in and hang out with your friends some more. I guess I just felt left out. At first, I let it happen, thinking hey, maybe Tadashi will still have time for me. But you never did. When I finally decided to talk to you about it, you waved it off as nothing so I just played along with that. Other than that, you were too busy to even TALK about how much you've been ignoring me. The only time you paid even the slightest bit of attention to me was when I did something out of line, which I admit I did on purpose sometimes because I just wanted to see you. Talk to you. Spend some time with you. Even if it wasn't sweet moments. I guess I never noticed all the anger building up and then I raged on you today. I didn't know what else to do. There was no way of getting you to pay attention to me unless I did things you hated." Hiro said softly, not meeting my gaze once more.

I stayed silent for a good minute before deciding to respond.

"Hiro, I really don't know what to say other than that I'm so sorry. There's nothing you could've done. This is my fault." I say sadly, suddenly regretting every time I yelled, nagged, or scolded him.

Hiro shrugged and laid down on his bed, lightly closing his eyes.

"W-Wait Hiro. When you were gone, I swear to god I was talking to that lump you left on your bed saying that I was sorry how we didn't spend much time together lately and that if you wanted, we could right then if you wanted to. But it turns out it wasn't you. It was just stuffed animals. Gah, my point is, I wanna make things right before we sleep Hiro." I say lamely. Hiro opened his eyes, searching my face for dishonesty.

"You mean it?" he asked. I nodded.

"Tadashi… I don't know…why would you ask all of a sudden?" he questions.

"I guess it just dawned on me that I neglected you." I said.

"So you won't do it anymore?" he asks hopefully.

"Hiro, if getting beat up is what it takes for you to understand that, then I'll take the punches next time. I can't stand to see you like this. Not now, not ever. I'll do my best not to spend too much time with my friends and make some "Hiro" time up, okay? Just you and me." I suggest.

Despite the dullness surrounding his face, Hiro's eyes light up with joy, hope, and happiness. "Yes Tadashi. Definitely okay with me." he says contently. I chuckle. "Great." I say, rubbing his tummy affectionately, though he winces uncontrollably at the touch.

"What's wrong Hiro?" I ask concerned. Hiro groans and point to his stomach in pain. Oh god, don't tell me he had bruises there too!

I lifted his shirt up to see nasty purplish bluish greenish and black marks on his belly. "Oh Hiro. Why?" I said sadly, medicating his wounds.

"I'm sorry Dashi." He whispered softly, sleep starting to take over him. I shake my head at his aloofness. Finally finished tending to his bruises I put the first aid kit back and head to my bed.

I glance at Hiro and think, "Wow he's an idiot. But he's my idiot brother. And I love him. And I always will love him." then drift off into a deep sleep.

So I'm sorry my last two stories in this story have been kinda dark. I've just been a bit moody and it's affecting my story writing. I'll make sure the next one I write is fluffy, sweet, and heartwarming. Promise! Till next time,

-Girl you wouldn't expect