Brothers

11

Ages

Hiro: 4

Tadashi: 12

Tadashi's POV

We were having enchiladas for dinner, one of my favorites. Hiro wouldn't touch his food though and Aunt Cass noticed as well as I did.

"Hiro honey, are you alright? You haven't touched your food at all." Aunt Cass asks. Hiro looks upset, but Aunt Cass doesn't press the issue.

It had only been a week or two since we moved in with her and Hiro was still pretty traumatized about the whole no more parent's thing. The only person he felt comfortable around nowadays was me.

"Well, thanks for a great dinner Aunt Cass, but I think Hiro and I are just about ready to hit the sack, right bro?" I ask him. Hiro cocks his head to the side. "What sack? Why are we gonna hit it?" he asks, confused. Aunt Cass giggles at his comment, making Hiro blush in embarrassment and hide behind me. I smile at him. "Not a literal sack bro, I mean let's get to bed." I explain. Hiro's mouth makes an 'oh' shape and he nods sheepishly.

"Night Aunt Cass." I say, nudging Hiro, hinting that he do the same. "Night." He says almost inaudibly. Aunt Cass hugs me goodnight and pats Hiro on the head before heading to bed herself.

"C'mon Hiro, let's go to our room." I say. Hiro doesn't move. "C'mon Hiro." I say. He doesn't budge. "Up Dashi." He demands adorably, putting his hands in the air. I chuckle and pick him up. "Wow Hiro, you're getting heavy." I joke. He punches me in the chest lightly. "Nuh UH!" he says, pouting. I just smile and carry him up.

When we get to our room, I throw Hiro onto his bed and he shrieks in surprise. Then I turn to go to my bed, but Hiro's one sneaky kid because by the time I turn around to get to my bed, he's in front of me. "Wow, what's up Hiro?" I ask, kneeling down to his eyelevel. He just blinks, hiding what he wants to tell me.

He's been awfully quiet lately and it worries me. "yOu wanna sleep with me tonight?" I ask. He remains silent. I don't know what he wants so I shrug and go to bed. No more than two minutes later, I feel tugging at the sheets. Sighing, I lean down to face Hiro. "What's wrong Hiro? Something bothering you?" I ask. He nods shyly, sticking his thumb into his mouth in nervousness. "What is it?" I press. He ushers for me to lean down closer and I do. "There's a monster in here Dashi." He whispers secretly, as if the monster might hear.

"Hiro, don't worry. There's no monster in here. Go to sleep." I say. Hiro retreats to his bed, though unhappily. A few minutes later, he's back at my bed. "Dashi. It's still there!" he whispers, frightened. I see that reassuring him isn't going to help, so I go to plan B.

"Alright Hiro, where's the monster?" I ask, playing along. Hiro looks relieved that I believe him and grabs my hand, taking me to his bed. "He's under there." He says seriously. I decided to keep this going on. I sneak a peek under his bed and come back up, looking shocked.

"Oh my gosh Hiro, you were right! There IS a monster in there." I say in fake fear. Hiro's eyes widen in alarm. "What're we gonna do Dashi?" he asks anxiously. We have to get rid of it!" I say as it were obvious. Hiro nods and waits for me to continue. "So, what are monsters scared of?" I ask him. Hiro thinks for a moment. "Hmm, they're scared of peanuts! And also perfume." Hiro says in a dead serious tone.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Hiro's listing things that he hates. Peanuts because of his allergies and perfume because of…well, that's a story for another time.

I nod in agreement. "Alright, well let's go get some peanuts and perfume." I say. Hiro nods eagerly and drags me downstairs with delicate tiptoes. "Okay, you get the perfume from the bathroom and I'll grab some bags of peanuts." I say, heading to the pantry. We meet back by the stairs and then head up.

"Now what?" Hiro asks curiously. "Now, we shove the peanut packets under your bed along with a few sprays of perfume and then he'll go away." I say. "Oh, that's right." Hiro says, as if what I just said is perfectly logical. We proceed to the plan and wait.

God, I'm so tired right now.

"What if it didn't work Dashi? I mean, this is a tough monster. Maybe the peanuts and perfume just isn't enough?" Hiro asks, scared. I brace him reassuringly. "Don't worry Hiro, I won't go to sleep till this monster is gone for good, okay?" I tell him. Hiro nods and clings onto me. "Bad monster." I hear him mumble. I want to laugh, but I don't want to risk Hiro crying for me making fun of him so I keep quiet.

"Dashi, check. Check if it worked. I don't think it worked. I still hear him under there." Hiro says, letting me go. I check under the bed and gasp in mock horror. "What is it Dashi?!" Hiro asks. I cover my mouth with my hands. "Oh no Hiro, he's still there. And he's getting angry. Hurry, we have to work fast." I say, picking him up and taking him downstairs.

Hiro holds on to me tight and doesn't let go. "Dashi. Make it go away." He begs me. I hug him tight back. "Don't worry Hiro, I'll make sure he stays away. He doesn't look 100% sure, but he still listens to what I have to say.

"Okay, I read somewhere that if you eat something sweet, the fumes from your mouth will make the monster go away." I say, grabbing some cookies off of the counter and handing one to Hiro. "Fumes?" Hiro questions. "Yeah, the smell." I explain. "Oh." He says, biting into the cookie gleefully. We finishes and head back upstairs.

When we get there, Hiro starts breathing heavily. "Dashi, c'mon. Breathe a lot so the monster smells the sweetness." Hiro says. "Oh, of course." I say, breathing heavily alongside my baby bro. "Check if he's still there Dashi!" Hiro urges. I do as he says and come back up with a faux sad face. "Sorry Hiro, he's still there." I say dejectedly.

Hiro's eyes well up with frightened tears. "Dashi, make it leave me alone. It's mean and scary. Make it leave forever! He's scaring me! Please Dashi!" he begs, burying his head into me, tears decorating his face. I decide to wrap this up for three reasons. One, I REALLY wanted some sleep. Two, I can't seeing Hiro cry. Three, this monster was getting on my last nerve. Anything that scares Hiro needs to be taught a lesson.

I need to remind myself that I'm trying to get rid of a fake monster for a second before continuing this crazy night endeavor.

"Alright Hiro, don't worry. I always keep my promises don't I? This monster is as good as gone. This last idea is full proof." I assure him. Hiro sniffles and looks up at me with hopeful eyes. "Okay Dashi, whatever you say." He says, putting his faith in me.

We head downstairs once again, but this time I tell him to wait by the staircase. "Alone?" he asks sadly. I reluctantly nod and tell him I won't be long. He stays reluctantly and puts his head down. I hurry up and do what I have to and come back about five minutes later.

Hiro notices my presence and hugs me. "Dashi, you were gone forever. Don't leave me alone next time when there's a monster ever again, okay?" he commands. I nod and chuckle. "What's behind your back Dashi?" he asks. I pull out the spray bottle I got and show it to him. "What's that?" Hiro asks with a wrinkled nose. "Monster repellent." I reply, opening the door to our room. Hiro widens his eyes in happiness. "Where'd you get it from?" he asks me in bewilderment. "Secret." I respond.

I take the spray bottle and squirt a good amount under Hiro's bed. "There we go." I say satisfied. "Is it really gone?" Hiro asks carefully. "Lemme check one more time just to make sure." I say cautiously, checking under the bed. "Well?" Hiro asks anxiously. I give him a thumbs up.

"We scared him off knuckle head. He's definitely hightailed his way outta here for good. And if he ever shows his ugly face here again, you spray this on him and he'll go away." I say, handing Hiro the 'monster' repellant. Hiro grins widely, showing his teeth gap. "Thanks, you're the best brother ever!" Hiro exclaims, clinging onto me once more. I blush a bit and ruffle his hair. "You're not so bad yourself bone head." I say back. He laughs and jumps into bed.

"Hey Dashi, you can sleep with me tonight if you want. You know, in case you're scared that there's a monster under your bed or something." He says to me as if he's doing me a huge favor. I chuckle and get into his bed with him. "Thanks lil bro. I think I'll take you up on that offer." I whisper, drifting off. I feel Hiro lay down on top of me, but I'm too tired to tell him to get off, so I allow it.

"Night Dashi." He whispers softly, tickling my arm with his breath.