Chapter 59, everybody! Hiro's going to get into so much trouble….

Hiro's quoting Varian from Tangled: The Series there, the 1995 Casper movie as well as Pokémon 2000. Trina, meanwhile, quotes the first Hotel Transylvania movie and the original Proud Family series (again, hate that I have to specify that now). Also, while yes right there is an Arcane reference most of the bots named in this and later bot-fighting chapters come from the now-defunct game Big Hero 6: Bot Fight. Never played it and it sunsetted in 2016, but the designs are really cool.

So for one of my years at a campus college I roomed with a girl who was gluten intolerant and you'd be surprised at how much stuff actually contains gluten. And as it turns out both kids are getting busted at home.

Juxshoa, thanks for the review! I know, right? Hopefully this 'date' does (but we know better).

Big Hero 6 © 2014 Disney

"So you live in that café?"

"Yes and it's very important that you never go there," Hiro said as they sped off down the streets for Good Luck Alley.

"Do I get to ask why?" Trina asked. "Oh wait the brother, right?"

"Worse—now he's got Aunt Cass on me. She thinks we're cute."

"Does she already have my wedding dress picked out?"

"Not yet, but I'm worried she's working on it," Hiro said. "I told her I was meeting you at the library to help you study and I thought she was going to explode."

"But at least we have a cover story," she said, nodding. "So why did you change your mind? Trying to avoid the heat?"

"Eh," Hiro noised. "You remember Soto?"

"The guy who beat me? Yeah, I have plans for when I face him again."

"That's not going to be for a while, seeing as how he's been arrested."

"Bogus," she noised. "That puts a cramp in my revenge scheme."

"Yeah but Gus and Stan got arrested too—I'm thinking there's a connection."

"Yeah, they're all bot-fighters and the new police chief is totally targeting that demographic," she said. "Dad told me to be careful."

"Yeah but those three also had their robots involved in robberies, which they deny. So I was thinking…maybe someone is setting them up?"

"Why though?" Trina asked, rubbing her chin. "The cops are already cracking down on bot-fighters, so why go eff these guys in particular?"

"That's what we're going to figure out," Hiro said, nudging her. "We go in, scope the joint out, maybe do a couple rounds…."

"You're going to bot-fight?" she asked. "I figured you had forgotten how."

"What gave you that impression?"

"You know the saying those who can't do teach?"

"Okay, just for that I am totally schooling you."

"Dream on, dweeb."

The made it past Carl and Dibs with only minor complaint and bribery, stuck to the walls as they circled around inside, headed up a flight of stairs to look down on everything from the scaffolding above.

"So this is a good view," Trina observed.

"My Aunt Cass gave me a bunch of snacks before she let me leave," Hiro offered.

"Meh, I ate before I left."

"Okay but for the record I offered," Hiro said, digging in his backpack. "I have to get all this out of the way anyway I've got Megabot hidden down there."

"Who was your aunt feeding?"

"She likes to emote with food," Hiro said. "She did the same with…well she's done it before."

"No wonder you were able to bribe the door guys with food."

"You'd be surprised what people will do for a cookie," Hiro said, pulling Megabot and his controller out and transferring them to his coat pockets. "See anyone acting shifty?"

"We're at an illegal bot-fighting ring—you're going to have to be more specific."

"Like I'm going to frame someone shifty," Hiro said, putting everything back in his backpack and shouldering it.

"No, but the night's young," Trina pointed out. "Oh hey I know this one, that robot's Jinx—think its owner is called Powder? Guy she's fighting is called Don, his robot is called Blitzen."

Hiro nodded, watched with her, enjoying the companionship…found himself kind of wishing someone else was here.

"What's with the weird sigh?" she asked.

"Nothing, it's just…I kinda wish Obake were here."

"Who?"

"Obake—he's my…friend." Or so he thought. "You know that friend I told you Aunt Cass was debating on adopting, that lived in that old restaurant? That's him."

She started spluttering on a laugh. "Seriously? You're friends with a guy that calls himself ghost?"

"That's what I said—I'm gonna defeat him though, figure out his real name." Smile a bit before huffing and leaning on the railing. "We met bot-fighting, and usually he's really cool and we do a lot of robot designs…but I don't know, he got weird a couple of weeks ago and I can't shake him out of it. I'm…really honestly starting to get worried about him and I don't know what to do."

She made a pensive noise, looked back out over the floor. "Well…I mean we've barely known each other a week, but I feel like I could say that he could do worse than be friends with you."

"Mm," Hiro noised, resting his chin on his arms. "I just…I don't get this funk. I don't know if something spooked him, or-or he realized hey I got it good here and that terrifies him…I just wish he would talk to me. We went from being tight to…to him acting like I'm not worth his time." That…it just kinda hurt, asking for his time only to be denied it, especially after some of the awesome things they had done. He was willing to bet that he could ask Obake right now to come bot-fighting with him and he'd just turn him down because I'm busy. Doing what, pray tell? Scrub at his face—start at Trina leaning over, resting her elbow against his.

"If it makes you feel better, you're worth my time," she told him.

"Y-yeah," he said, clearing his throat of the tightness threatening. "Yeah that…does, actually."

She nodded, making a noise in the back of her throat as she looked back out on the ring—stiffened. "Hey, isn't that Taurus?" she asked, pointing.

Hiro looked. "Hey it is! I heard the guy operating him used to do this professionally, but got kicked back down because he kept destroying people's bots so badly it was starting to endanger the fans. His robot has fire claws, that's—you know, really something."

"Yeah," she said, bouncing up and down a little like she was winding herself up. "I'm gonna go challenge him."

"What!?" Hiro yelped—scrambled after her. "Trina NO he'll wipe the floor with you and I don't think your robot will come back from that I don't think Megabot will come back from that get back here—"

He caught her at the top step right as Dibs came running in, waving his arms frantically. "RAID! RAID! THE COPS ARE COMING EVERYONE SCATTER!"

That was enough to get everyone to drop what they were doing, bots getting packed away in record time as Carl grabbed Dibs and hauled him off on his shoulder, Hiro and Trina frozen at the top of the stairs for critical seconds as they eyed the stampede beneath them before Trina reversed course, dragging Hiro along with her—running through the upstairs scaffolding before ducking through a hole in the wall to the next abandoned building, right as the police busted in—

Had to amend going downstairs when they heard movement in the building they were in as well. Look around, frantic—

"There!" Trina hissed, pointing—tug him along, shove him forward, slip in next to him before tugging the door shut behind her.

"Okay," she breathed. "We should be fine, just don't make any noise for a while you're not claustrophobic are you?"

Not until she said something. "We're…in a closet," he observed.

"Yeah," she said. "You're not going to try to kiss me, are you?"

"I feel like we have bigger problems."

"I mean it's California, there's worse states to make the related jokes in."

"Actually I was thinking of the cops finding us, my aunt's friends with the police chief, pretty sure she'd be okay with leaving me in a cell overnight for this."

"Harsh." Silence. "I mean on the off chance we get arrested maybe Dad will bail you out too?"

"Probably not, I don't think Chief Cruz would appreciate having to explain letting me go with someone to Aunt Cass."

"Worth a shot." Quiet for a few beats, listening to rapid footsteps pounding outside—started when Trina slipped a hand in his.

"Scared?" he asked.

"Nah," she said. "Figured you might be."

"I am not."

"You sure?"

"I mean I'm reasonably sure—AAAH!"

Which was the usual reaction to the door getting ripped open, him clinging to Trina, her clinging to him—this was it they were dead they were so dead and arrested and—

And maybe just dead because that wasn't a cop.

"Okay," Tadashi said, nodding. "I so can't wait to hear this one explained."

Tadashi hauled the both of them back to the Lucky Cat, mostly because he didn't appreciate the thought of leaving some girl to wander home by herself. Besides, there was brotherly ribbing to be had.

"We're home!" he called, shouldering ahead through the door before dragging them in after him. "And by the way, meet Hiro's girlfriend."

"Wow we progressed fast," the girl said.

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND," Hiro said loudly, ears pinking. "She is a girl and she's my friend, okay?"

"Details," Tadashi said, shaking him a little.

That was Aunt Cass's opinion too, considering the speed with which she zeroed in on the girl.

"Oh hi!" she said brightly. "Nice to meet you always nice to meet one of Hiro's friends pastry? Cookie? Entire cake I might have baked a few. Dozen," she added, looking at the kitchen.

"Uhh…I'm sort of gluten intolerant, so, polite pass," the girl said, waving the plate of cookies off.

"Oh sorry—uh give me a minute I'm sure I've got something hold on—"

"That…actually explains a lot," Hiro mused.

"So I actually do gotta get home before Dad blows a gasket," she said.

"And where's home?" Tadashi asked. "I'll give you a lift."

"Yeah no Dad has a strict no boys until after you're married rule."

"How does that even work?" Hiro asked.

"I'm not sure—pretty sure I'll be able to renegotiate in my twenties." Ducked Tadashi's grip, hugged Hiro as she headed for the door. "See ya boyfriend."

"We're not dating," Hiro insisted.

"We're not, but your brother keeps making interesting faces when we say that. Nice meeting you by the way," she said, waving at Tadashi as she ducked out. "You're not quite as lame as Hiro said you were."

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment," Tadashi muttered—focused on Hiro once she was gone.

"Don't. Even," Hiro hissed, pointing.

"We either talk about her or we talk about the bot-fighting. Which mood would you rather Aunt Cass be in?"

Hiro looked over at Aunt Cass as she came back. "What happened to your friend?"

"She had to go home," Hiro said.

"Aw that's a shame I like her. Welp!" she cheered, heading back for the kitchen. "Time to start hunting for gluten-free recipes!"

"I'm starting to think the bot-fighting is the safer topic."

"Nope we're focusing on this now. So what's her name?"

Hiro grumbled a little before answering. "Trina."

"What's her last name?"

"I don't know—we haven't gotten that far yet."

"You're right, last names are like, third date material."

"Tadashi."

"Do you have her phone number?"

"She's too young for you."

"So that's a yes. You didn't meet while bot-fighting, did you?"

In response, Hiro pointed towards the garage, where it was a safe bet that Obake was. "I meet all the interesting people bot-fighting, Tadashi, get real."

"Oh we're getting real all right—remember that little conversation you had with Professor Granville at the start of the semester?" he demanded, crouching down to poke Hiro in the head. "She. Will. Can. You. And I know I don't want to explain that to Aunt Cass."

Hiro batted him away. "I was not bot-fighting—"

"Then why is Megabot with you?"

"He gets lonely?"

"Hiro."

"I'm looking into these bot-fighting robberies, all right?" Hiro demanded. "Stan is so not the guy to do that sort of thing, you'd actually like him if you ever bothered to meet these people—"

"Hiro these people have tried to stab us at least once."

Okay that was fair. "But they're still not the sort to do robberies—"

"Also the police chief is cracking down on bot-fighting I dragged you back home from a raid you're lucky I found you first you know that right?"

"Yeah how did you find us by the way do you have me microchipped? Because that's my working theory."

"Microchipped Hiro you nearly got arrested."

"That wasn't a no."

Considering Tadashi hauled him upstairs like a sack of potatoes, Hiro decided that he had won that argument.

Trina's chipper attitude didn't go unnoticed. Fair enough, she had some good news for once.

"You were hanging around with that boy again, weren't you?" he demanded. "I told you. Stay. Focused."

"And I said I had a plan working, the plan is working, let it work," she countered. "Because oh hey, I was right, the kid knows this other kid who's using obake as a handle. Sound like someone you want to get some info on, maybe?"

Squinty look told her she might have scored a point and he didn't want to admit it. "And you can tell me with certainty that you're not getting attached?"

Oi. "The kid's a kid, a means to an end, that's it." Although. "I mean you might like him if you met him, he's brainy enough and likes robots. You two could get together, hang, I've already got him dreading meeting dear old dad, I get to sit on the couch and laugh while you give him the third degree."

Okay that look got narrower so that was probably the wrong direction to go in. "I've got a lead through him, so he still has use," she tried. "Once that's done, I can totally dump him." Narrower look. "No comments?"

"I regret giving you the ability to lie," he said finally. "And no. No other comments. Either produce something more worthwhile, or find a different angle. One where you're not distracted."

Great, she got the joys of having a father who disapproved of who she was seeing. Opened her mouth to argue—subsided at his look. "Yes, father."

Well. This just meant she had to lie better, didn't it?