Chapter 5 (Karmi's POV)

It wasn't like me to be anything but thrilled by my research. But something about life lately had me way too distracted…

Not even a perfectly good mutation got me excited today. It was a fact not lost on my lab assistant. In all my time at Viro Tech, she was usually the one too distracted by her personal life to pay attention to the experiment at hand. It always used to annoy me if I was honest, but now that feeling felt just a little hypocritical. Though I wanted to believe my issues were a little more important than having another blind date stand you up.

"Dr. Hamada…are you alright?" she asked carefully, looking up from logging a point of data on the chart.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Certainly not because of being married to some mostly insane superhero who constantly puts himself at risk. No, certainly not!

"Um, I don't know you just seem…distracted?"

The funny thing about her was she was only a year younger than I was, and yet she always called me Dr. Hamada. At first, I assumed it was just her way of showing respect, but now I thought it had more to do with me being married making me seem like I was closer to fifty in her eyes than in my early twenties.

"Well, a lot has been going on lately," I said vaguely, hoping to dismiss the subject.

She hesitated in some awkward pattern of swallowing hard and shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Then finally she said exactly what she'd been thinking all morning. "Is…your marriage on the rocks?"

I leaned up from where I was hovering over a microscope. "Your mind automatically goes there?" I asked, wondering just how traumatizing this poor girl's relationships must have been up until now.

She nodded slowly, heaving a sigh. "Men are like that, I think betrayal is in their genome…"

I almost laughed, but I held back for her sake. "Um not all of them, and not all the time."

She shrugged. "Then loyalty must be a very rare mutation."

Now it was my turn to sigh because giving relationship advice did feel way too close to fifty. "It's not as rare as you think, just maybe…stop with the blind dates, you could end up meeting a serial killer."

Her eyes got bigger than Petri dishes. "I never even thought of that… You're so wise, thank you Dr. Ha-"

"Karmi," I filled in for her. "Just call me Karmi."

I'd changed my mind, I was ready to focus on my work and stop thinking about my personal life altogether. But my assistant was still looking at me like being married was the oddest viral mutation ever recorded.

"Is the secret older men?" she asked sincerely. "Like doesn't respectability come with age?"

"No, not always."

"But isn't Mr. Hamada a professor? I thought I heard you mention that?"

"I did, and he is," I grumbled, guessing what image was forming in her head. She not only thought I was old, she thought I was married to some stuffy professor old enough to be my father. I wanted to cringe inside out.

She awkwardly tapped her fingertips together, trying to get the nerve up to ask the final question. "So...h-how old is he…?"

I looked up from my work to smirk at her, knowing I was about to destroy her entire theory. "He's a little younger than me, actually."

She opened her mouth only to close it. "Older isn't better?"

I sighed. "Look, that depends on how old we're talking. If it's that much of a difference, it's just you know, creepy…"

Where the heck was this conversation even going?

She nodded, seeming to take note. Then she pulled her phone out of her lab coat pocket and tapped a few things.

I just stared at her, guessing what was happening. "Canceling a blind date with an old guy?" I asked deadpan.

She nodded sheepishly. "Yeah…"

Turning back to my microscope I sighed. This was going to be a very long night...


The first signs of daylight were out when I finally left Virotech. Normally, I enjoyed the occasional all-nighter, but I felt mostly frazzled by this one. Hiro didn't have class until the afternoon so I assumed he'd still be fast asleep. So I didn't bother to text him, just headed to buy coffee before I died.

I wasn't really in the mood for conversation, but I felt guilty buying coffee anywhere that wasn't the Lucky Cat. Still, with morning rush hour in full swing, Aunt Cass couldn't do much more than wave to acknowledge my presence. So I slid into the only empty booth I could find, letting my eyes drift out the window. In this small moment of calm, all the old thoughts came rushing back into my head. And like he always was, Hiro was at the center of them.

I kept assuming it was just the incident at the museum that had shaken him up, but in my heart, I knew it was more than that. The museum had just been the catalyst. In reality, something had been building inside of him for a while now. Maybe it only made sense.

So much had happened so quickly. I came back into his life and then before we could even figure it out the entire city was, no the world, was in grave danger. And maybe that was the true problem. He'd admitted to himself that he loved me… With that came the inescapable truth that he could lose me. Lose me the same way he'd lost his brother.

In a way, I could understand how he felt, I was certainly worried about losing him. But for Hiro, I thought it ran even deeper. It was a trauma. Now with his role in Big Hero 6, he thought it was also his responsibility to keep me, to keep everyone, safe. But that new villain, whoever she was, had made him feel powerless. That had to be playing on him in ways he didn't want to talk about. But I wasn't stupid, I could see right through him. Because he was my best friend, of course, I could see it all…

"Is this seat taken?" I heard a familiar voice say.

For a second, I didn't believe my ears, but when I turned to face him I knew he wasn't just some handsome stranger in the crowd.

"That depends…" I mumbled with a smirk. "If you don't mind taking on my husband."

Hiro grinned back at me as he slid into the seat. "He doesn't seem that tough to me."

"Looks can be deceiving…" I added softly as I noticed the dark and slightly puffy circles under his eyes. He'd been crying…

"You're up early," I said simply.

"No, I'm up late, I never went to sleep."

"Why not, you need to rest?" I asked a little upset at him.

He chuckled. "You sound like my mother now."

I rolled my eyes. "Watch it, I've been called old enough today."

He leaned into his hand, seeming amused and curious. "Who had the nerve to call you old and live to tell about it?"

"No one said they did live, Hiro," I teased. "My lab assistant did ask how old you are though. I think she thought I'd married an older man for your money and stability."

He almost choked. "Both of which I have in very little supply."

"Hey, you said it, not me."

In a way, I just wanted our banter to keep going for the rest of the morning. Almost like we were kids again. But we both got quiet instead. Our thoughts and words fell just short of taking shape in the air between us. We both seemed hesitant to breach the seeming barrier of unspoken feelings we'd erected between us. But I wasn't someone who liked playing word games. I wanted to say things simply and directly.

"Hiro…" I whispered as I reached to hold his hand.

He hesitated before squeezing mine back. "I know I must look like a wreck…"

"Something like that…" I teased softly.

He smiled faintly before it slipped away, leaving a much more honest frown behind. "I went to see Callaghan last night."

I nodded silently, waiting for him to go on.

"It was stupid, I just…needed to sort some things out in my head. I…" He took a breath before soldiering on. "I know I've been kinda distant lately. Um… I've been holding back how I feel. It's just…"

"Hiro…" I interrupted. "I get it."

"You do?"

"If I didn't I wouldn't have married you."

He smiled softly. "So I'm just a pathogen under glass to you?"

I nodded. "And all your mutations are highly predictable."

"I don't know how to feel about that statement."

"It doesn't matter if we live or die, Hiro," I said taking him by surprise. "What matters is how we feel right now. Love is an absolute that not even death can change."

"But…"

"No buts. We can't keep living in fear of what might happen. If we do it could ruin what's right here now in front of us."

Behind his brown eyes was something like a war, with parts of his emotions wanting to scream in protest at the very thought. But the truth was undeniable, even he knew that…

"I know…" he finally said. "But it doesn't make it any easier to accept…"

"We don't accept death, Hiro," I said resolutely. "It's just a temporary inconvenience. But," I added pulling his attention to the here and now. "I'm not dead, I'm right here."

I felt his hand trembling in mine, but he didn't say anything. For a while, neither did I. It was hard to admit as a writer, but words weren't always needed.

Sometimes, we could say everything we needed without saying anything at all. But even so…

"I love you," were the words that found their way.

The same simple words that had nearly lost their meaning in a world that said them far too carelessly. But I didn't use them causally or easily, instead, I'd meant them.

Meant them with all my heart.


Any plan I had to spend the rest of the morning asleep was dashed as soon as we got Honey Lemon's text. She'd found something. After pouring an extra strong cup of caffeine down my throat Hiro and I headed over to HQ. The dark circles under both our eyes said neither of us was in the mood for bad news, but it wasn't like we had much choice either way…

"Hiro, Karmi," Baymax blinked as he looked us both over. "You are sleep-deprived."

"Thanks for noticing, Buddy…" Hiro mumbled stifling a yawn.

Which made it all the more ironic that we'd been the first ones to arrive at HQ. The both of us were sitting around the conference table, while Baymax silently stared at us, his face as close to worry as he could manage.

"Sleep is important," he finally said.

"Nonesese, I feel amazing…" I snarked as I buried my face into the table.

"I could recommend several sleep-promoting herbs or over-the-counter supplements. But typically insomnia is related to heightened stress or emotional turmoil. In which case, I want you both to know that I am here to," he paused for his version of dramatic emphasis, "listen."

Hiro smiled at him. "Thanks Baymax, that means a lot, really."

"Did someone say emotional turmoil?!" Fred suddenly asked as he stuck his head around the corner of the doorway. "Wow, how much character-building did you guys have?!"

"Mind your business, Fred," Gogo quipped matter-of-factly as she brushed past him. I was guessing she wasn't big on mornings either.

"And good morning to you too, my fair Gogo," he playfully shot back, undeterred.

"Ehh…I hate when you call me that…" she mumbled, before collapsing into a chair.

"Oh really, how come you never mention that when no one else is around?"

"Because," she shot back awkwardly. "I hate other people hearing it even more than I hate hearing it…"

Sliding into the seat next to her, he just smiled, unconvinced. When it came to unexpected and complicated relationships I knew Hiro and I weren't the only ones on the list.

Another five minutes or so went by before Wasabi and then finally Honey Lemon showed up.

"Sorry, I'm late!" she said with a large smile. Somehow, she didn't seem disheveled at all, not even a stray hair out of place. I thought there should have been some sort of scientific study of morning persons. It might have been a beneficial gene mutation…

"So, what did you find, this is about the paintings, right?" Wasabi questioned.

She nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely! In fact, I've made a major breakthrough! Remember we said there could have been some sort of correlation between the paintings that were targeted?"

We all more or less mumbled in sleepy agreement.

"Well," she went on excitedly. "I found it! It wasn't any of the criteria we guessed, it was something much more obscure. It has to do with the history of all three pieces. Though they were painted by entirely separate artists during different eras, all three had at one time nearly been lost to a fire."

"Fire?" Hiro asked, suddenly seeming more alert.

Honey Lemon's face sombered. "Yes, but both had survived and were restored, until now anyway…"

"That's crazy, there's no way that's a coincidence!" Wasabi gasped. "But still, what's the point of doing it, what message is she trying to send?"

"That part is a lot harder to figure out," Honey Lemon admitted. "Without more crimes to examine it's hard to find a definite pattern."

"She used fire to destroy the paintings," Gogo added. "Doesn't that seem ironic?"

"Arson was her theme…" Hiro whispered darkly. "That has to be it."

"This time anyway," I interjected. "Each crime could have its own theme for all we know. Like Honey Lemon said, we can't establish a pattern with only one piece of data."

"Then let's add another piece," Fred said dramatically.

"Come again?" Gogo mumbled.

"It seems like this villain has a thing for fires and paintings, to test that theory, let's set a little trap of our own. But we'll do it on our own terms."

"What do you have in mind, Freddie?" Honey Lemon asked.

"A private art exhibition featuring the one other painting that fits the pattern."

"Such as?" I asked, really not following.

"There's at least one more painting in San Fransokyo that was almost lost in a fire. And it just so happens to be in the Frederickson's private collection."

"Let me guess," Gogo said rolling her eyes. "You were reheating a yaki taco when disaster almost struck?"

"Wait, I think he's on to something…" Honey Lemon interrupted. "Was it formerly hung in the Misaki exhibition downtown?"

He nodded. "It was almost thirty years ago but I've heard that's where it was before my mom bought it hang in our bathroom."

"The fire at the Misaki exhibition destroyed all but two paintings," Honey Lemon confirmed sadly. "Your painting was one of the survivors Fred, and the other was one of the three that was just destroyed in the museum attack."

"Seriously?" Gogo whispered. "That's convenient."

Fred shrugged. "Being rich usually is."

Hiro frowned. "That means if we're right, that painting is a target."

"So let's use that to our advantage!" Fred went on excitedly. "I can rent a venue and convince my mom to host some boring art party. But this time we'll be ready!"

"With pre-installed sprinkler systems and the police standing by to evacuate the citizens in case things go south…" Gogo thought out loud. "It could work."

"It will work!" Fred shot back with a confident smile. "And if our flame-throwing villain doesn't show then we know we're all wrong about our assumptions."

Gogo chewed her lip. "It kinda scares me when you actually have a good idea…"

He shook his head. "Oh, Gogo of little faith."

"Isn't it a little creepy to use all those citizens as bait?" Wasabi cringed.

"She's after the painting, not the people. And even if we do nothing she could still strike again, endangering whoever is nearby " Gogo countered. "At least this way it would be on our terms with as many safety precautions as possible. She needs to be stopped."

Wasabi couldn't refute the logic of it, but no one besides Fred seemed entirely comfortable with the idea. Still, we were out of options.

"I don't like it…" Hiro finally said after a long silence. "But we could have police and sentries in place. At the first sign of trouble, we evacuate everyone…"

"So it's a go?" Fred asked like we were secretly spies.

"I guess…" Hiro relented a worried look on his face.

I had that same foreboding feeling in the pit of my stomach. Almost all of us did. But why…?

That was the hardest question left to answer.