Chapter 4

Hiro sank into his red sofa while his four best friends waited for what he has to say. He told them about Alicia asking him to come for dinner that day…and he didn't know what to wear. The four laughed at the young teen. Hiro was confused.

"W-Why are you guys laughing?" he asked.

Honey was the one who answered, "Oh, Hiro…you are sooooooo adorable!"

Gogo butted in, "What Honey is trying to say is that you're really sweet to be thinking about impressing her parents."

Wasabi nodded and said, "I kind of understand why he's being careful. We shouldn't be messing around with Alicia's parents. They seem strict to me. I mean, one wrong move and its byebye Alicia."

"Wasabi, don't scare him," Honey said.

"Well, I once read a comic about things like this. I think you should wear a suit," Fred spoke up.

"A suit? You mean with a tie, it had to be tucked in and wear a coat outside…that suit?" Hiro asked.

Smirking, Fred nodded. The last time they saw Hiro wore that was at the Pre-graduation Prom which was held a few days before their Graduation Ceremony. To top that, Hiro still went without a date even with all the single girls, excluding Honey Lemon and Gogo, were head over heels in love with him. Honey and Gogo wouldn't think of him wearing that again. The suit was not so 'Hiro' to them.

"Uhhhh…I think I'll ask her what I should wear…" Hiro said.

"Her? Alicia? I don't think you should do that, little man," Wasabi shook his head.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, a girl would expect you to know what to wear… Hiro, you're just going for a dinner," Gogo stated as a matter-of-fact.

Hiro sighed. They were about to discuss more when Hiro's phone suddenly rang, signing that it was time for him to go help with the café. The gang decided to stay for a donut. They went to the café together. Once they got there, Hiro hang his hoodie, took his friends' orders and served them. Alicia made an appearance when he was busy serving Honey her coffee. She entered the café and headed straight to the room she always uses to change into her uniform.

"I'll catch up with you guys later," Hiro said, staring at the room which the brown haired girl had just entered.

"Okay, lover boy. Go on ahead," Honey said while the others smirked teasingly.

Hiro gave Honey a don't-call-me-that stare before making his way to the cash register to wait for Alicia. The waited girl came out while fixing her hairpin which, Hiro noticed, she would always wear. She saw him staring at her and nodded to him as a greeting. He nodded back and then, walked up to her.

"Uhhh…" he started, rubbing the back of his head, "Is there anything specific I should be wearing to dinner tonight?"

Blinking a few times, the girl chuckled. "No, not really. Just wear what you want, but please, not your pajama…" she replied.

Hiro laughed nervously, "Heh…I'll just wear the clothes I'm wearing now then…"

Nodding, the girl said, "Yeah, that's good. Have you told Aunt Cass?"

"Yeah, she's going to dinner with some of her friends so I don't have to worry about her being lonely tonight," the boy replied.

"I'm glad. I thought she'd come along, not that i-it's wrong or anything…I'm fine with that…but, my parents…" her words were interrupted.

"Hey, I get it. You don't have to explain everything," Hiro said with a smile.

Alicia nodded. Aunt Cass called for her to mind the cash register, interrupting their chat. The girl obliged. She smiled at the customers who were lining up at the counter and started to work. Hiro sighed. He dragged himself to clean up a table. His friends were watching him.

"Hiro, I'm going ahead first. Can I trust you to close the café today? You can close up a little bit early if you want…" Aunt Cass asked.

Checking the time on his phone, he turned to his aunt and nodded. "Sure thing. My friends can help me out with that. We've got nothing better to do."

"Thanks, honey. Have fun tonight," the aunt said before leaving through the house's door.

"Okay…" he drawled.

Honey, Gogo, Wasabi and Fred stood up to help Hiro where they could. They entertained the customers, clean up tables and washed the dishes for him. It was almost 7 o'clock when they had finished. Hiro rushed to lock the entrance to the café and change the sign to 'CLOSE'. He thanked his friends and escorted them out of the house once they were ready to leave. Alicia changed back into her school uniform. Hiro waited for her outside the house. Once she exited the door, he locked it.

"Shall we get going or do you want to make stop somewhere?" Alicia asked him.

"N-No…let's get going. I'm too nervous to do anything else," the boy replied, taking a deep breath.

"Okay…" the girl nodded.

They started to walk. They took a turn to the right after the traffic light. Alicia told Hiro that her house faced the Peaceful Park where a lot of people would hangout to spend some quality time with their families. Hiro nodded as he kind of knew the park. They kept on walking until they came to a roundabout. They took another right turn and headed into the street where a lot of bungalows stood. Soon they saw the park on their right.

"My house is the third one from here," she explained.

"Oh, okay… I didn't know your family is rich," Hiro said.

"Well, my father kind of owns the neighborhood…" Alicia drawled, sensing a bit anxiety in his breathing.

"Oh…that makes me more nervous to meet him…" the boy stuttered.

Alicia's mobile phone suddenly rang. Hiro smiled to tell her that it was fine for her to answer the phone. It was one of her classmates. They started walking to her house as she talked on the phone. Alicia hung up when they were facing the front gate of her house.

She turned to Hiro who smiled nervously. "Well…here we are. Act natural, okay? My parents are human beings…they're not going to eat you…" Alicia reminded him.

"O-Okay…" the black haired boy replied.

They entered the lawn. Asch opened the door before Alicia could reach the doorknob. The oldest brother stared at his sister before staring at Hiro. Hiro gaped because he recognized Asch. Asch smiled and let them in.

"Ah, Hiro! You're here!" Kate screamed excitedly.

"Kate…" Asch said sternly.

"I don't want him to be nervous. Father's upstairs and mother's busy with dinner. Can I chat with him while waiting for dinner?" the ten-year-old asked.

"S-Sure thing… I'll take you up on that," Hiro replied, taking of his hoodie.

Alicia took it and hang it at the coat stand. She went upstairs to change her clothes. Asch told Hiro to make himself at home as dinner was still in the making. Hiro followed Kate to the living room. Joey ignored him, playing with his action figures. Hiro smiled to the three-year-old. Kate made him sit on a sofa. She took a seat on the opposite sofa.

"So, can I ask? What is your inspiration of making Baymax's suit?" Kate asked.

"Huh?" Hiro was surprised at her question.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Kate, Alicia's younger sister, ten years old and kind of have a brain like yours," she explained.

"Oh, I see. Well…" Hiro started to explain about all of the superheroes suits he had created.

Alicia came downstairs in a t-shirt and her usual black skirt. She looked at Hiro and Kate who were talking enthusiastically about their interests. She smiled. Her mother called for her to help out in the kitchen. She served the food on the dining table. There were sautéed mushrooms, fried meatballs and roasted chicken. Asch set the bowls, plates, glasses, fork and spoons. He can read Alicia's aura – she was nervous.

"Hey…father is going to like him. I promise you that…" he reassured her.

"Yeah, but…still, I'm scared. This is the first time I brought a guy home and above all, the leader of the Big Hero 6…" Alicia whispered and sighed.

Asch smiled and patted her head. When everything was ready, they took their seats. Hiro sat at one end of the rectangular table, directly facing Mr Koizumi. Asch sat on his right with Mrs Koizumi. Kate and Alicia was on his left. Joey was between his parents, in his toddler chair. The boy genius was even tenser. Asch gave out a smile to him and so did Kate. They said their prayers and started to eat.

Mr Koizumi swallowed his food and asked, "So, Hiro... I heard you're working as a hero for this town. How is work?"

Hiro glanced up at Alicia. "Uhhh…it's good. Nothing special or out of the ordinary has ever happened…" he replied, chuckling nervously.

Glancing up at the boy, the man said, "I see…"

They ate silently after that. Hiro turned to Alicia to talk to her, but the girl grinned nervously at him. He took that as a sign not to talk to her yet. Kate and Asch hated the silence occupying the air. Asch eyed his second sister. The girl took it as a signal to start talking.

She opened her mouth, "So, Hiro, is my sister a good waitress?"

"Huh? What?" Hiro snapped, staring at Kate. "O-Oh, y-yeah. She's very hardworking and she shows an acceptable level of hospitality to the customers. All of our customers l-love her.

"Hmmmm, I like the sound of that. Maybe I should work there too. Can I see your Megabot some time?" Kate asked.

"S-Sure, of course, you could. Come whenever you feel like it," he replied nervously.

When they were done with dinner, Mrs Koizumi and her husband went to the living room along with Hiro. Joey was on his mother's lap as they talked. Alicia served Hiro a glass of milked tea and her parents a cup of coffee each. She served three plates of a slice of caramel pudding as deserts. Then, she excused herself to help with the dishes. Asch and Kate were to help with the dishes too. Alicia couldn't focus at all.

"It's going to be fine…" Asch said and Kate nodded.

"I know…" Alicia sighed.

Meanwhile, Hiro was questioned by Alicia's parents. Mr Koizumi did all the questioning and his wife would evaluate Hiro's answer by listening to his words and observing his expression.

"How did you meet Alicia?" was the first question.

"Uhhh…on the day she first started working, I entered the house through the café's entrance and she thought I was a customer. So, she greeted me like one. That was the first time I laid my eyes on her… We started talking after that, but not intimately, just as two friends of sort…" Hiro explained.

"Why did you ask her on a date?" came the next question.

"Errr…it's not really a date. It's a hangout…with the other team members too…" the boy explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

Mr Koizumi nodded and asked another question, "Why Alicia? I heard that you are very popular with the girls of any age…"

"Umm…because she's sweet…uhhh…c-cute and umm…I…I…I f-feel like I…I…" Hiro drawled.

"You what?" Mrs Koizumi asked, staring into his eyes.

"I f-feel like I h-have to p-p-p-p-p-p-protect her…" the boy blurted.

Joey suddenly stood up and toddled himself to Hiro. Hiro picked the little boy up and put him on his lap. The parents watched as Joey gave Hiro one of his action figures. Hiro extended his right hand to the toddler and Joey took hold of his thumb, happily making sounds.

Coughing, the father said, "Moving on… What are you willing to give if I was to agree that you can date her?"

"Is this some kind of exchange?" Hiro asked, confused at the question.

"No. I value my daughter's heart and feelings. I don't really want love to get to her mind right now, to be honest…" the father explained.

"I understand. Education is important after all…" the boy muttered so suddenly that it surprised the couple.

"You're a prodigy. How can you understand such things?" Mrs Koizumi asked.

Hiro sighed and explained, "Well, to me, education is like ideas to invent. I need knowledge to get inspiration to invent and to construct things. I can't have talent alone… My brother taught me that."

The couple turned to look at each other, before turning back to Hiro. The boy said, "I promise I'll take good care of her, her heart, her smile…her everything."

It was 10 o'clock when they were about done. Alicia escorted Hiro to the front door. She closed the door behind her to talk to him.

"I'm sorry if they pressured you or asked you unnecessary questions," she apologized.

"N-No, not really. It was…kind of fun talking to them," Hiro replied and smiled.

Smiling too, she said, "I'm glad. The last time my brother brought a girl, the girl went home crying…"

"O-Oh…that's unlikely," the boy chuckled nervously.

"W-Well, I'll see you tomorrow, at the café…" the girl muttered, clasping her hands together.

"Yeah…" Hiro replied, he handed her the action figure Joey gave him, "I think you should give this back to Joey. He's a sweet brother."

Alicia took it. "R-Right. Ummm…will you be fine on your own?" she asked.

Nodding, he said, "Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow…"

She walked him to the front gate. She waved him goodbye and he started his walk home. She locked the gate after he was out of her sight. Alicia took a deep breath before going back into the house. Once she had locked the door, she went to sit down with her parents in the living room. She waited for what they have to say about Hiro.

"Your mother and I had just discussed and we deemed Hiro…as trustworthy. He's a good kid…" Mr Koizumi said with a smile.

"R-Really?" Alicia asked.

Nodding, her mother said, "Yes. He is very kind, I can see that in his eyes. Take good care of him."

The father interrupted, "But, never abandon your studies because of love, okay?"

"Yeas, father, mother. Thank you," Alicia nodded and obeyed.

She turned to look at her brother who was standing right behind her. He smiled, happy for her.

Late that night, on another part of the town, a man was seen, desperately running away from a shadow chasing after him. He hid himself in an alleyway, catching his breath. He thought he had lost the shadow, but suddenly it was right in front of him. It was too dark to see who the owner of the shadow was. However, it can clearly be seen that he was holding a sharp object.

"W-What do you want?" he asked.

"Revenge…" the owner of the shadow said.

"Ahhhh!" the man screamed when his throat was sliced.

The killer disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Hello. So, what do you think? Alicia's father is quite a picky type eh? My father is like that too, so it's kinda like a true story. hahaha...
So anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thank you for reading, and following! Thanks, also, to all who have made this story their favorite.

Oh, right. I got no idea for the name of the park, so I took it from the game, Simcity. So it belongs to the respective owners.

I'll share you a few facts about Alicia's parents:

*Her mother is a Western while her father is a Japanese.

*Her father is the landlord for the bungalows in the neighborhood.

*Her mother is a teacher at Kate's school.