Chapter 10 (Hiro's POV)

The scene was like something out of a nightmare. The same nightmare I'd had a thousand times…

The din of police sirens and flashing lights felt like an assault on my senses. Part of me just wanted to run away from everything. But the larger part of me made me push my way through the crowd. At Chief Cruz's order, none of the officers tried to stop BH6 from getting through.

I tried to listen to the briefing as closely as I could, I needed to know what had happened. But it was difficult to keep my emotions out of it. The sight of the gaping hole in the prison wall felt like a gut punch.

"It was some sort of explosive, exactly what kind we're still trying to ascertain," the Chief explained as he walked us through the scene. "One thing we know for sure, he had help from outside. Follow me, we caught it all on the security footage."

He led us toward the security room where a wall of monitors was displayed. Gesturing toward one in particular he replayed the footage from Callaghan's cell. It showed the explosion and a familiar face walking through the rubble.

Enkei.

I wasn't surprised at this point, but I still felt my fists clench. She walked over to a control panel adjacent to the cell and lowered the field. Some small flicker of hope inside of me clung to the possibility that the professor had been taken against his will. But those hopes died in the next few moments.

He walked out with her willingly and without so much as a single question asked.

All this time he'd been playing me for a fool. He'd made a mockery of Tadashi's legacy…

I felt anger and betrayal boil through my veins like hot lead. But I forced myself to hold it together. "Thank you Chief, we've seen enough. We'll get him back, I promise…"

Chief Cruz nodded, but I didn't wait for anything else he had to say, I turned and left.

"Hey, wait up!" I heard Fred shout from behind me, but I didn't bother turning around. I just bolted outside and through the crowd that was gasping in awe at the scene. A few reports tried to stop me for questions but I brushed past them without hesitating. Soon enough their attention diverted to the rest of the team as they came bolting out after me. I was glad for the diversion, I just wanted to be alone. Not even waiting for Baymax I ran toward the first alley I could find. Darting between a maze of trash cans and old boxes, I climbed up the fire escape and onto the roof.

Dropping to my knees I pulled my helmet off. All I could hear were sirens in the distance and blood rushing in my ears. No matter how many times I thought I'd grown beyond it, that same memory burned its way back to the forefront of my mind. The sound of the explosion, the feeling of heat on my face. I could even smell the flames…

It had haunted me so I just wanted to be free. But I felt guilty even thinking about it because it meant forgetting Tadashi along with the pain, didn't it? To really leave it behind…

All this time, I thought I was doing the right thing, trying to forgive Callaghan, but everything he'd ever told me was a lie.

My mind raced as all the pieces rushed into place. The fires, the crimes that didn't make any sense. It was just to get to me. It was all just symbolism designed to drive those horrible memories back into my mind. Enkei even knew my name, she had to be working for someone close to me. But all this time…

I felt my fists clench as angry tears welled up behind my eyes.

Callaghan would pay for this, pay for everything…

"Hiro!"

I turned to see Karmi pulling herself up the firescape, clearly out of breath and flustered.

"You didn't have to follow me!" I bit into the tense air between us.

"Of course I did!"

"No, you didn't, I'm fine!"

"You're anything but fine!" she scoffed.

But it didn't matter what she said, I couldn't stop myself from pushing her away. So I stood to leave without even looking back.

"Hiro!" I felt her hand wrap around my wrist, trying to pull me backward. But shaking her off I kept on going. I was more than ten steps away when I heard her voice almost whimper.

"Hiro…please…"

I stopped in my tracks but kept my back turned. "Karmi…" I finally whispered. "Just…leave me alone…"

I was too consumed with my selfish feelings to think about how she felt. Too caught up in the past to realize that now was all that mattered. But the sound of her crying reminded me…

Looking back at her I felt a sickening dread in the pit of my stomach. As if I'd broken something profoundly beautiful and yet fragile. She'd always been so strong…so strong, sometimes I took it for granted. Thought her heart wasn't even capable of breaking. But looking at her now…

"Karmi!"

Running back, I held on to her tightly.

Looking up at me, she fought for enough composure to speak. "D-Don't shut me out…please… My entire life I've been on the outside… Now even you…I… What am I doing wrong…?!" she pleaded unexpectedly.

"I'm sorry…" I whispered. "It's not your fault… I…" Swallowing the lump of emotion in my own throat I tried to explain. "I want to hate Callaghan," I admitted. "Now more than ever… But I don't want you, you of all people to see that monster inside of me… That person that wanted to kill him, the person that probably still does!"

Gripping my arm she held her face close to mine. Looking in my eyes she didn't even hesitate. "You're not a monster, and you never will be! I won't let you slip away, Hiro, I promise!"

In her eyes were a thousand painful memories of her own. And in that instant, I saw us both so clearly. We were both still rotating in our own painful orbits, the past threatening to never let us go. We were both shattered into so many pieces, so many parts… It might have been childish to believe that just our being together could fix that. Maybe it couldn't, maybe it never would…

Maybe we'd spend the rest of our lives with these scars… The scars that told me holding on to her would just put me at risk. Risk feeling that same horrible loss all over again… The same sort of pain that must have driven Callaghan insane.

But even so…

I felt hot tears burn down my cheeks as I leaned in to meet her lips.

I couldn't let her go…

A week went by afterward with little to no developments. The trail was leading to a dead end, and only getting colder by the day. But in a way, I was glad for the time to process it all.

"I take it you're not sleeping well?" Professor Granville asked as she sat a cup of coffee on the desk in front of me.

I grinned slightly. "I look that bad, huh?"

"Looks have nothing to do with it, Hiro, I simply know you."

I took a sip, relishing the warmth radiating from the styrofoam cup. "Well, you're not wrong, but when are you ever?"

She smirked. "Many times, Mr. Hamada, many times."

"At the moment," I went on, grateful we were alone in the teacher's lounge. "We're fresh out of leads." My face darkened somewhat. "We haven't heard or seen anything about Enkei or Callaghan."

She sat down across from me, her expression somber but frank. "Do you truly believe he is behind this?"

I bit my lip, trying to manage the pain. After a moment, it subsided enough to speak. "No, I don't even know how to believe it. But what choice do I have given the evidence?"

She sat thoughtfully for a second or two. "Things may not be as they seem, Hiro. We have to remain open to that possibility. At the same time, you must also learn to accept that Callaghan may not have been the man you thought he was, that we all thought he was. Pain can cause even good men to commit unthinkable actions."

"I know…" I whispered, thinking back to what I might have done if my friends hadn't talked some sense into me.

"Regardless of what Callaghan has chosen to do now, it doesn't diminish the value of your own growth, Hiro. Your effort to forgive him is still just as meaningful, regardless of what he has become now."

I knew she was right, but it felt hard to accept that. If anything I felt like a fool for ever trusting him, for thinking he had changed…

She was silent for a few long beats. "It's a lesson we all must learn…"

I figured she was thinking of Bob Aken, of the boy he'd been at the start and not the monster he'd become. To Granville, he was just as haunting as Callaghan was to me. A thread tied to the past that could be tugged on at any time. A thread it seemed impossible to sever…

"Still," I mumbled as a start. "I've got to do something besides just sit around. I'm planning on doing a bit of investigation myself tonight."

"Where?"

I tried to smile. "Good Luck Alley, where else would leads about supervillains be?"

"I hope you're not planning on going alone?"

It was the same argument I'd already gone round and round about with the team and Karmi. But some things I had to do alone…

"This isn't a job for Big Hero 6, not yet. Hiro Hamada needs to find the information first, anything else would just draw too much attention."

Granville narrowed her eyes, clearly not liking the idea. "That may be, but the danger is still just as valid."

I nodded. "I know, don't worry, I'll be careful."

"It seems your mind is already made up," she added in a whisper.

I tried to smile again, getting to my feet. "Yeah, pretty much."

Chugging down the last of the coffee I head toward the door. But she stopped me just short.

"Hiro."

"Hmm?" I glanced over my shoulder.

She frowned. "It's true the deepest inner battles are ones we must wage alone but don't make the mistake of remaining on that battlefield indefinitely."

The evening came soon enough. Once I got off work I changed into some casual clothes and got ready to head out. Karmi was busy reading some sort of virology thesis and seemed too preoccupied to notice me slip out. I figured that was for the best, so I didn't plan on announcing it when I left. But stupid me forgot all about her ability to read minds…

I had my hand on the doorknob when I heard it…

"Hiro? Where are you going?"

I spun around on my heels to see her staring at me with a suspicious look.

"Um…out?"

She rolled her eyes. "Please, don't bother lying to me, I can already guess."

"Hey, I wasn't lying it is…out."

"Everything is out, Hiro."

I smiled. "Exactly my point!"

She crossed her arms, staring holes in me. "You're going to that creepy place again aren't you, to investigate?"

I deflated with a sigh. "It's important, Karm, you know that…"

"You not dying is important to me."

Ouch, that was a hard comeback to counter… But I tried to deflect it with humor the way I always did.

"Look, I appreciate how crazy you are over me, but I'm experienced. This isn't my first time in Good Luck Alley, I've got this."

"Right," she said not even cracking a smile. "I keep forgetting I married an ex-con with a history of illegal gambling."

"Wow, when you put it that way it sounds really bad…"

"What's bad," she added, her tone a little sharper. "Is how you think your old bot fighting hobby makes you untouchable somehow. You could have died then and you could die now!"

I ran a hand through my hair. "Karmi, I don't think I'm untouchable, I know it's dangerous. But I have to put myself in danger practically every day. It's…just something we have to accept. If I can learn something, anything, that might bring Callaghan to justice it'll be worth any risk. I have to, for the safety of the city, for…Tadashi."

"And," she added slowly. "For you, right…?"

I didn't know how to answer that. Because under it all, we both knew it was true.

"Karmi-"

But she held up her hand to cut me off. "I understand, okay…? Just be careful, please..."

Without letting me say anything else she turned and disappeared back down the hall. All in all, I felt selfish. Like I was chasing a vendetta at her expense and we both knew it. But I didn't know how to fix this otherwise… I…had to face this battle alone, once and for all. This was just a part of doing that.

So flipping up the hood of my jacket I headed out. Out into the night…