Check 9 - The best ideas emerge when different perspectives meet

After their impromptu trip to the kitchen for a mid-afternoon pick me up, Hiro and Cass had both chosen to go back to their rooms for a much needed nap. The morning had started early, and with all the activities, the downtime was needed.

Hiro had left his aunt in her room, returning to his. But he'd felt too restless for sleep. After tossing and turning on the bed, he'd gotten back up and started to pace once more. But, just like his body, his thoughts were restless and didn't want to settle down into any semblance of a pattern.

Baymax watched his companion as he paced around the room without comment. Scans indicated a fluctuation in stress hormones, which was understandable. When it looked like nothing was coming for the teen's efforts, he moved into his path, halting him. "Would you like to look for a new angle?" he inquired, head tilted to one side.

Thinking there was nothing better to do, Hiro nodded. "Might as well." He got down on hands and knees, kicking up into a handstand while Baymax supported him. Shaggy hair fell towards the ground, showing its true length. He really probably should think about getting that cut. He was always just too busy to worry about it.

Now upside down, Hiro stared at the pattern of the geometrically-designed stained glass windows lining one wall from floor to ceiling. The sun outside was no longer shining on that part of the building, at least not directly. Soon, they'd likely be called down for dinner.

Focus.

Hiro closed his eyes, breathing in and out slowly as the blood made its way to his head. His arms shook slightly. It had been a while since he'd last done this. He hadn't needed to for some time, not even for school. Of course, it helped that he occasionally just hung off the edge of the bed instead of going full out headstand. But he needed full use of all his resources at this point because nothing made sense.

Okay, so what did he know for sure, he asked himself. Someone had it out for one or more people in his party. Who the actual target was remained a mystery. Daisuke? Aunt Cass? Maybe someone else. There was always the possibility the shooter had somehow changed targets upon being discovered. It wouldn't be the first time Hiro had seen that happen in the course of his hero work. He supposed the next question was why.

Outside of recent events, their visit to Japan had been pretty uneventful. They'd not run into anyone. Their experience had been limited to the airport, the Kambe limo, and the Kambe grounds. They hadn't really been anywhere else, so chances were good the target was … was what? Was more likely Daisuke? Reason dictated that was a more logical answer. However, experience said something else was possible.

No one had expected Hiro to get kidnapped after going to a New York university's technology expo. But it had provided the necessary access for Hydra to get both him and Kally. So, reason dictated it was possible it had previously been a proximity issue. Had their going to Japan triggered something? That did necessitate the idea that there was someone out there after his aunt, though he had no idea why.

What were the typical reasons someone was targeted? If his hands weren't occupied holding up his whole body, Hiro would have ruffled his hair in frustration. People were usually targeted like that for various decided reasons, which included silencing them, taking them out of the picture permanently, from doing something. Maybe whatever party felt somehow threatened by the target. Or someone wanted to prove a point. There were likely other reasons but he was drawing a blank on them at the moment.

Cass was hardly an imposing figure, being almost the same height as Hiro. She was petite. Most of the time, she looked harmless enough that even he forgot how imposing she could be when she got upset. And, as far as he knew, she had no enemies. At least no one outside of the San Fransokyo area. Momakase might want some kind of revenge, though her getting arrested was more a happy accident than intentional action that had taken place over a year ago. Besides, he doubted Momakase had the resources or intel for such an undertaking.

When he thought of things that way, it did make it more likely the target was Daisuke. And, while he knew his cousin had more than enough resources, he'd also shown a hint of vulnerability. A person of wealth definitely had a lot of enemies just by default. And, knowing what history he did about the Kambe group, chances were good there were more than just the typical ones. Yes, it made sense that Daisuke was the real target.

A knock sounded at the door and he glanced behind him, having to turn awkwardly to do so. If it hadn't been for Baymax holding him steady, he'd have taken a tumble. "Come in!" he called. If he wasn't mistaken, the aura of the person behind the door belonged to Suzue.

This suspicion was confirmed as the door opened. Seeing the confused look on her face, Hiro decided he'd better flip himself upright. He did a sort of tucked somersault to a sitting position, the blood rushing from his head. He'd learned the hard way it was best to stay low to the ground until everything settled after he'd been upside down for so long.

Suzue hesitated, seeing the red flush of the teen as he righted himself. "Excuse me," she apologized. "I just thought you'd like to know dinner will be in ten minutes. I think Master Daisuke will have more to tell us then."

Giving her a thumbs up, Hiro pushed his hair out of his face. That gave him plenty of time to try and get the dizziness under control, as well as comb through his unruly hair. "Have you told Aunt Cass yet? I think she was taking a nap."

"Aunt Cass is still asleep," Baymax spoke up helpfully.

Seeing the hesitation on Suzue's face, Hiro pushed to his feet, swaying just a bit. He had to place one hand on Baymax's belly for support. "Maybe I'd better be the one to tell her. She can get grumpy sometimes when you wake her." Not strictly true, he amended to himself, but probably the wiser course.

"Oh," Suzue responded, her eyes open a bit wider. "Okay." She hesitated a moment longer before exiting, closing the door behind her.

Hiro went to take a step and almost swooned. Okay, maybe he needed to give himself more than a minute for the blood to settle. He closed his eyes, willing the world to stop spinning, something that had popped up in the short span between trying to stand and trying to move. He really needed to find a better way of looking for new angles. That or do it more often so he was more used to it.

He let out a huge breath, sucking air back in as he steadied himself. "You got this," he told himself as he pushed away from Baymax's support, heading to the door separating his room from his aunt's.

….

Still feeling a bit groggy from her nap, Cass exited her room and almost ran into Haru Katou. "Oh, excuse me!" She took a step back, noting that he looked probably about as tired as she felt. Wasn't he supposed to be somewhere else? She couldn't remember and so chose not to dwell on it.

Katou reached out a steadying hand. Being taller, and a bit more solidly built than the proprietress, he'd had more of an inertial reaction on her movements. "It's fine. I should have watched where I was going."

Unlike that morning, Katou wore a different pair of slacks and a more casual shirt. He also had foregone the jacket from that morning. His hair did look a bit damp, though, suggesting a shower, Cass thought. He removed his hand once she'd steadied herself, looking polite as he waited for her to gather her thoughts.

"I didn't realize you were back." Color touched her cheeks, which she quickly tried to control. Haru was good looking but definitely way too young for her. Not to mention, her heart belonged to someone else. She'd just been surprised.

Haru rubbed at the back of his neck, looking off to one side. "Yeah, well, Kambe asked that I come back after I took care of a few things for work."

Chances were good there was more it than that but Cass didn't feel it her place to pry. Those two appeared to have an interesting relationship, both as pseudo friends and work associates. Their business was none of hers. She chose to shrug it off. "Makes sense. Are you heading down to dinner, too?"

A grin not unlike one Hiro might have given her crossed the detective's face. "I am. Would you like me to escort you?"

Bemused, Cass took his offered elbow. It was obvious such courtesies were not his usual. She expected it more from Daisuke, but was more than willing to accept it. "I'd feel a bit better not going down alone," she acknowledged as she glanced over at Hiro's closed door.

After Hiro had woken her, and told her about dinner, he'd bounced back into his room, closing the door behind him. She had no way of knowing if he had already gone down or not. It stood to reason that, if he'd still been in his room, he would have heard the door and come out. So, either he'd already headed to the dining room or was taking care of something before coming down. She was sure she'd find out in a few minutes which was the case.

Cass and Katou made their way to the elevator and were soon walking into the dining room, Cass removing her hand from Katou's offered arm as soon as they reached the doorway. A quick glance told her Hiro was not already there, prompting her to look behind them just in case. But the area in question remained empty. Deciding her nephew was just taking his time, she shrugged and followed Katou to the table.

Daisuke was already at the table, waiting. He seemed to give Katou a meaningful look before offering to pull out Cass's chair for her. She noticed Haru position himself near the chair next to hers, which meant Hiro would end up sitting next to his cousin whenever he arrived. Suzue, she noticed, was not present.

"Thank you," she said, almost absently. The day had rattled her more than she cared to recall. That and what dreams she'd had while napping hadn't help. Most were filled with dark entities just out of reach. If someone would just shed a light of things, she might have been able to see them, but no one had, and she found that more than a little unsettling.

A loud crash came from the hallway the moment Daisuke pulled the chair out for Cass, prompting both males to immediately turn towards the sound. Katou was the first to head in that direction, racing to get there as quickly as possible.

Daisuke appeared to want to follow after him but chose not to as Cass stiffened. A small gasp escaped her lips as her eyes glazed over. Though the sound wasn't akin to the image that wanted to dance in her mind, the events after the fact did. They had burned into her brain with such intensity she'd had to find a way to paint over them in order to keep going on.

Seeing not a table with its various place settings in front of her, Cass, instead, saw the side of the café, two smoking cars pressed together as flames became visible under the hood of one car. A six-year-old Tadashi was forcing his way into one of the two vehicles. The sound of breaking glass filled the air.

If she didn't look, she needn't see the sight of her brother and sister-in-law's mangled forms, pinned between the two cars like the filling in a sandwich. The thought made her shudder as if with a sudden chill.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the spectators, presumably a spectator, pull the driver of the one car free, though he was unresponsive. Her mind immediately went to the other vehicle, however, as Tadashi reappeared, the limp form of Hiro in his arms. Almost out of sight, and thought, the spectator who'd extracted the driver checked for a pulse before quickly melting into the gathering crowd.

Cass had to shake herself a bit to get in motion, her feet rushing to Tadashi and Hiro's side. From the distance, sirens sounded as emergency responders approached. She pulled the two boys into her arms and away from the cars, closer to the café's supporting walls. And then the feeling came, an almost dark, inky intensity that almost took her breath away. She looked up sharply, trying to find the source of the feeling but couldn't. There were too many people around.

"Cass." Someone was shaking her, but she had a hard time trying to swim back from the memories that threatened to overwhelm her. "Aunt Cass." This was followed by a harsh, almost chemical smell infiltrating her nose.

The woman shuddered, arms pulled up to her chest as she shivered.

"I think she's coming around," Katou's voice said off to one side.

Cass felt someone take her wrist in hand and closed her eyes to the images playing out in front of them. "Haruto," she said, her voice uncertain. "Nozomi." She swallowed hard, a tear leaking out of the corner of one eye. "Tell me why."

Vision returning, Cass saw both Haru and Daisuke leaning over her, Daisuke kneeling low enough to look at her from above. Katou was a bit more off to one side and upright, a small bottle in one hand. Beneath her, she felt the press of cushions as she lay against the back of something that wasn't the dining room chair she'd expected. It took her a moment to realize they were in a different room and she was lying on a plush sofa.

Her eyes fluttered a moment as she tried to reconcile the two images her brain presented, one from the past and one from the present. She then tried to sit up, Daisuke supporting her.

"Easy now," he advised, moving to sit next to her. "I don't think you hit your head but it's better to be safe than sorry. You didn't give me much warning before passing out. I almost didn't catch you in time."

Only a little more cognoscente of what was going on around her, Cass couldn't help but look around a bit frantically. She couldn't see Hiro. "Where's Hiro?" Her voice rose with emotion, part of her still stuck in the past. "You have to get him out of the car! If you don't, he'll-"

Daisuke took one of her hands in his. "Don't worry. Katou will get him." He looked up at his partner and gave a brief nod. Katou took the hint and left the room in search of the teen, who had yet to join them.

From the corner of the room, Suzue hesitated to approach. She hadn't meant to cause current events. Having just come back from HEUSC's control room prior to their scheduled meal, the woman had felt more than a little rushed and hadn't watched where she was going. It was unfortunate that she'd managed to run into one of several large vases scattered around the mansion in a moment of distraction, breaking it. If she'd noticed the slick stretch of floor, it might not have happened. As things stood, she sported a few bruises and scrapes.

Cass's pulse still raced under Daisuke's fingers and he couldn't help but wonder where the teen and his healthcare bot were. Or why Cass had thought he was in car. It was clear she wasn't coherent enough for questions. The robot would have been useful, given the circumstances. As for Hiro, he had no idea where the teen had gone. But hopefully Katou would clear up that mystery in a hurry.

The butler entered the room, carrying a first aide box, though it didn't appear that Cass had any physical injuries. Suzue, however, looked in need of some attention so Daisuke left the butler to it. At least it wasn't anywhere near as bad as previous events. He still wasn't sure if Cass had hit her head though, and thought it best to find out. Any head bumps might be hidden behind hair, or hadn't risen yet. "Does anything hurt?"

Cass put one hand to her forehead. "I'm just a little dizzy. But you've got to find Hiro."

"It's all right." Trying to be as gentle, and as non-intrusive as possible, Daisuke took Cass's face between his hands, hoping to feel anything out of the ordinary. He wasn't sure he dared feel the back of her head but pressed on, fingers pushing through the thick hair at the back of her head. He wasn't sure but he thought he might have touched a sensitive spot as Cass shuddered again. "We'll find him. Promise."

Katou returned a lot sooner than Daisuke had expected, looking a bit out of breath and worried. "I couldn't find Hiro in his room," he reported. "Nor his marshmallow robot. I have no idea where they've gone."

Daisuke resisted the urge to cuss. Making a sudden decision, he stood, careful not to jostle his aunt, who still looked a bit out of it. "Stay with them. I'm heading downstairs."