Chapter 22 (Hiro's POV)
It had been easier to fight him. To let the adrenaline reignite the embers of old hatred.
Maybe it was still too easy to hate him…?
Some part of me might have preferred it.
But I knew what Tadashi would do. I could see it as clearly as I saw the hospital bed in front of me.
"Professor…" I whispered as I knelt beside him.
His eyes flickered open and he gazed up at me. Within a moment, a weak smile appeared on his lips.
"Hiro…"
"I'm sorry…" I whispered, even as my voice threatened to break.
"For what…?" was all he asked.
"D-Doing this to you…!"
But he shook his head with what strength he had left. "You were the one to save me from that monster inside of me. From the beginning, you've done that…"
I wasn't sure what to say, just that I couldn't lose him. I couldn't lose anyone else…
Reaching to squeeze my hand his voice sobered. "No matter what happens, it wasn't your fault, Hiro… Do you understand that…?"
"You're going to get better, you're-" But he cut me off.
"Hiro… P-Please, stop living for the past. D-Don't make the same mistake I did… Be there for the people you love today, and you'll have no regrets… I'm…" Tears appeared in his eyes. "I'm so proud of the man you've become…"
"Don't leave me, Professor!" I demanded as my own tears streamed down my face. "Dying won't fix anything! You have to believe that! Don't stop fighting! T-Tadashi wouldn't want that! I…don't want that…"
He smiled again, somehow a sense of peace in his eyes. "I'll do my best, Hiro…"
He closed his eyes and started to drift off again, but his pulse was still registering. It was faint but consistent. For a few long moments, I just sat there sobbing next to him because I could feel everything. Every bittersweet memory and all the meaning laced between them. I could hear Tadashi's voice so clearly in those memories. I thought time would never change that…
For a second, I was that kid again, and it was as raw as it had been in the first moment.
The first moment that I'd lost him…
Without a word, I felt Karmi's arms wrap around me from behind. For one silly instant, I felt confused as if the past and present were trying to live in the very same moment. But little by little, her touch brought me back, until the blinding white of the hospital room was all I could see. I was here now in this moment for the good or bad of it. Slowly I found my feet and we stood together.
As we walked toward the door I fought to accept things as they were. Whatever happened now, I had to learn to live with it. To not sacrifice the future on this altar of pain…
We were three steps from the door when it came open slowly. Standing in the doorway was a woman a bit older than us. Her brown hair framed soft and intelligent blue eyes.
Eyes just like her father's…
Without a word, she moved past us to stand by the Professor's bedside. I felt my heart clench as I slowly shut the door behind them.
Standing outside in the hallway, Karmi finally turned to me. "Was that…?"
"Abigail…?" I whispered simply. "Yes, it was."
Outside in one of the hospital courtyards I found myself sitting on a bench. In the distance I watched Karmi retreating inside the cafeteria. She wasn't wrong in thinking we both needed coffee. Closing my eyes I let my head tip back, all my thoughts vanishing. For a few long moments, I just sat there in silence, letting the reality of the last few weeks fill me. There was so much good and so much pain all wrapped into one.
In a way, I thought everything we were facing wasn't new at all. Callaghan, Tadashi, Obake… It was all the same. Those old demons inside of us can sometimes feel more familiar than our reflection in the mirror. They stay with us for years…waiting patiently for the time in our lives when we're finally strong enough to process them. To meet them without fear or judgment…
I was exhausted, but I found some comfort in thinking that I was making progress, at least. I was done running from or burying the past. I was going to face it now, and that included whatever Obake had planned next…
"Hiro…?"
Snapping back to the present I glanced behind me to Professor Granville. Etched on her face was the same weariness but also the same acceptance.
"Professor…?" I whispered softly as she sat down on the bench beside me.
"I don't need to tell you how worried I was, do I?"
A faint smile drifted to my face, a part of me feeling like that same kid being called out by the headmaster.
"No, ma'am, I can guess."
She looked at me sternly. "I also assume you know how incredibly proud I am?"
For just a second, I let myself drink in the praise. Let her words soothe what still lingered of my self-doubt. "Thanks…"
"And how is Callaghan…?" She asked, her voice some with of frankness and hesitation.
"He regained consciousness for a while, but until his vitals stabilize, it's…up in the air."
"I see…" she said.
Leaning forward I laced my fingers together thoughtfully. "But no matter what happens now, I know he'll be at peace. After all, Abigail finally came to see him…"
"His daughter…?"
I nodded. "Yes, at long last…"
A long pause filled the air between us as if it were a moment for each year that had passed. Finally, she looked over at me, her own grief anything but hidden. "And Bob…?"
"He's still in prison, with Chief Cruz ordering twice the guards than normal. I even suggested that two members of the team stay at the prison at all times. That's where Gogo and Fred are at right now. I should confront him about his connection to Enkei, but it's not like he'd tell me anything anyway…"
"You've been through enough right now, Hiro. Talking to Bob never did any good, and I doubt it would now either. Bob may be the mastermind somehow, but Enkei is the one running loose, she should be our priority."
"Agreed. As for Krei and his neural chips, I called him and explained what happened with Enkei and Callaghan. It spooked him bad enough for him to tear up his contract with Watashi and pull the chips from the market."
"At least that's some good news."
"A little, but I doubt it's that simple. Obake knew I'd do that as soon as I found out what they did to Callaghan. Yet…he let that information out through Enkei. He has us right where he wants us somehow… I don't even think it's a matter of figuring it out, we're all just waiting for his next move."
"Bob is brilliant and cunning, Hiro, but he isn't infallible. Don't underestimate your own ability or wisdom."
"I know…this isn't the time for self-doubt. I'm just…"
"Tried? You have a right to be. You've carried the weight of this entire city on your shoulders for years now. And no sooner than you begin to reach for your own life and happiness, you're met with more ghosts of the past."
"Maybe that's why I've met them now? Because to truly be happy, to move forward, I have to face them. In Obake's own twisted way, he wanted to help me, I really believe that."
"How so?"
"The crimes he had Enkei commit, they all fit into a larger pattern. The fires were meant to make me think of how Tadashi died. Even as horrible as it was to use Callaghan, it was meant for me. To force me to face the past and overcome it… He still hasn't given up that I'll join him, and those old scars were just weaknesses holding me back according to him…"
"Our scars are more than weaknesses, Hiro, they can also be a source of profound strength. And, be it for the good or ill, they make us who we are. It is only when we refuse to grow because of them, when we use them as an excuse to condone hurting ourselves or others that they truly become weaknesses. That, Hiro, is the lesson Bob has never learned. I fear it is the one he never will…"
I nodded slowly. "You're probably right… I wish I felt like these scars were a strength to me, but I won't give up on this. No matter what Obake tries to do, I won't stop fighting for this city or our future."
I felt her hand softly on my shoulder. "Of that, I never had doubt, Mr. Hamada. Just remember, none of us are in this life alone. We have each other as surely as we have ourselves…"
Our eyes met and the warmth behind her words filled me. Filled me with hope.
"Hiro!"
My head shot up at the sound of Karmi's voice. She was hurrying toward us with Baymax waddling close behind. In his hands were two cups of coffee, but neither of us seemed concerned with them. Instead, I hopped to my feet gesturing for Karmi to slow down.
"Hey, take it easy, don't run! Remember the-"
"I'm not made of glass, Hiro Hamada!" she snarked with that same tone my teenage self remembered all too well. But any trace of her annoyance was short-lived, replaced by a relieved smile. "Callaghan is awake again, and more than that, his vitals are finally stabilizing. They really think he's going to be alright this time."
For a second, I was speechless, the relief almost making my legs buckle. But Karmi wasn't shy about holding me up, she never was.
"So stop worrying for once…" she whispered as she wrapped her arms around me.
"That is sound medical advice," Baymax added as he joined in and hugged us both.
I could have stayed in that moment for the rest of my life. It made everything Professor Granville said all the clearer. I wasn't alone, I really wasn't…
"Oh okay, maybe a little less tight…" I playfully complained as I nursed my bandaged ribs.
"That's why you're going home and straight to bed," Karmi insisted. "You'll be the next one on life support at this rate."
"No arguments here… But you're not gonna wait on me, you need to rest more than I do."
She smirked. "Yeah, yeah, we'll both sit around and do nothing like the old timers we are. Anything if it'll make you take a break, Nerdboy."
"Alright, it's a deal," I agreed with a grin.
Karmi glanced at Granville. "Do you mind covering his classes next week?"
She smiled. "I was planning to suggest it myself, Karmi."
"Wait a minute, I-"
But Karmi cut me off with a stern look. "We're not asking you, Hiro."
Seeing how outnumbered I was, I decided to just keep my mouth shut. Practically speaking, I knew I needed to heal up as much as possible if I was going to deal with whatever Enkei or Obake's next move was going to be. So like it or not, I relented to taking some time off. At least a little.
Before Karmi could shove me toward home, I took one last look back at Professor Granville. She had always been there for me… Somehow it seemed like she always knew what to say. I was grateful for that… Grateful for everyone…
"Thanks…" was all I whispered.
She didn't say anything, just nodded; a soft smile on her face. Inside I knew she was wrestling with her own demons. The memory of the man Bob Aken could have become was something that still haunted her. It haunted her like "what could have been" still haunted me.
What could have been was all I'd thought about since Tadashi died…
I glanced at Karmi, taking in every nuance of her face.
Only now, was I ready to focus on what was "going to be" instead.
Because that was going to be everything…