Check 41 - Every experience is meant to teach you something new
Suzue and Cass stood and stretched after finishing their latest Kaiju movie. There were still several on their list, but it was time to move around and possibly think of making lunch. They both exited the room they were in, Suzue making sure to not let Cass go anywhere alone.
If there was any validity to what Hiro had seen the day before about Cass being shot, chances were good the time frame would occur either that day or the next, since that was when they'd originally planned on heading back to America. With the staff currently on leave, unless there was some secret listening device they hadn't found, there was no way they'd discovered the plans had changed. And, with Cass's phone isolated, and the spyware disabled, which was one less method whoever these people were had.
There was the possibility they could simply thwart any attempts by keeping the staff on leave indefinitely, or at least until the Hamadas left, but that was one of those catch-twenty-two events. If they didn't know who was going to attack, or when, they might continue this dance indefinitely. At some point, obviously, the Hamadas would have to return to their home, regardless of whether or not everything was settled or not. But it would definitely be better if things were prior to their leaving.
As they walked down the long hallway, Cass requested they stop by her and Hiro's rooms. "I just want to check in on Hiro," Cass explained. They hadn't heard anything from Baymax, either through Suzue's phone or through HEUSC via her earring link so it stood to reason it would be a good idea to just make sure everything was okay.
"Mind if I wait just inside?" Suzue asked as they reached their destination.
Cass knocked lightly on the door to announce their presence before opening it. "Might as well," she said, entering the room.
With the rain still falling outside, and no light on, the room was dim, though not quite as dark as it had been earlier. Baymax still stood near the bed, the lump of bedding indicating Hiro was at least still on the mattress. Cass made her way over and gently pushed aside the top part of the quilt to hiding Hiro's face. The bedding had somehow ended up covering him head to toe, making her wonder how he'd been able to breathe.
With no other sound but the pelting of the rain against the windows, Hiro's breathing wasn't too hard to hear. It was, perhaps, a bit more forceful than typical, but decidedly there. Cass briefly touched his forehead, not entirely surprised to find his skin slightly warm to the touch once more. With all the blankets, he was likely sweating a bit, but she wasn't about to disturb him, possibly waking him up.
"Any change?" Cass asked the robot.
Baymax seemed to contemplate that question for several seconds before answering. "There have been no significant changes," he responded. "Brain activity would suggest Hiro is dreaming. I will alert you should there be any cause for alarm."
It was the best she was going to get, Cass supposed as she turned back to the door, noting that Suzue had indeed just stepped inside the room and was waiting by the door for her. "He's still out," she updated. "Best not to wake him."
The two women left the room, closing the door behind them. Down the hall, Daisuke, Katou, and Hoshino became visible as they rounded the corner. Deciding it best to meet them, Suzue and Cass headed their direction. Once all together, they fell into step, the three men turning around so they could all head to the elevator.
"Anything to report?" Daisuke inquired as they walked.
Suzue shook her head. "Hiro's still asleep and Cass and I were about to head down to the kitchen, though I'm not sure what she has in mind for lunch. Did you find anything in your research?"
The elevator opened, the car not having moved since the three men had made their way to the second floor. Daisuke waited for everyone else to enter before following behind them and pressing the appropriate button. "Nothing that can't wait until later," he said, not wanting to discuss it with Cass in the car.
Hoshino looked like he might say something but Katou nudged him with his foot, giving a quick shake of his head. Daisuke would inform the others about their discovery when the time was right and not before. The sooner Hoshino learned this modus operandi the better.
Now back on the main level, the small group made their way to the kitchen, where Cass looked around. "Any requests for lunch?" she asked, not sure why they'd all decided to follow her. "I was thinking I'd make some rice and we could make our own onigiri."
"I'm totally cool with that," Katou spoke up before anyone else could. "That way we can customize it however we want, and can take it back downstairs without issue if we need to."
Daisuke looked a bit uncomfortable with the idea, but didn't protest. "About how long will that take?" he asked instead.
Looking thoughtful, Cass glanced around. She wasn't sure if she'd seen a rice cooker or not and therefore wasn't sure if she needed to use the stove. But then she spotted the appliance and went over to it. "With this, no more than twenty minutes once the rice is going. In the meantime, we can make sure we have everything else we might need. And I'll use some of the rice to make porridge for when Hiro wakes up again."
About to roll up his sleeves to help, Katou was gently reminded he probably should sit this one out when Hoshino nudged him in the shoulder. The motion made his ribs constrict a bit, mostly because it was unexpected. He sucked in his breath, resisting the urge to hunch over, sure that wouldn't help matters.
Suzue decided it best to volunteer, seeing Katou's reaction to the gentle nudging. "What can I do to help?" With Cass's instructions, she found the rice and measured out an appropriate amount prior to rinsing it. The rice cooker was pretty easy to use, especially in comparison to many of the tools of her trade, and she soon had the rice cooker working.
Meanwhile, Cass had taken out the remaining fish stock from the other day and put it on the stove to heat up. There wasn't as much as she remembered, but then she recalled that Katou had used some to make miso for breakfast the day before. There was more than enough for her purposes, though, and that was all that mattered.
"Could you get out the nori, bonito flakes, and umeboshi from the pantry over there?" Cass requested from Daisuke. She sent Hoshino to the fridge for some salted salmon and whatever else he thought might go well with the rice balls.
Under Cass's careful guidance, the two men prepped the fillings, with Suzue filling in to cut the nori to size for wrapping the onigiri once it was formed. Meanwhile, she rummaged around for any additional ingredients she wanted to add to the porridge she was preparing, in the hopes of adding as many nutrients as possible.
In no time at all, the rice cooker was singing a mechanical tune, indicating it was done. Cass immediately went to transfer the rice to a bowl she'd had Suzue put out for that purpose so the rice could cool to a more reasonable temperature. She rescued a cup's worth to add to the porridge, adding that to the simmering fish broth. The liquid had reduced down, with various vegetables now simmering in the broth.
"I take it we should wait for the rice to cool," Daisuke noted, realizing no one had yet dipped into the bowl full of the cooked grain. Steam wafted up from the white contents.
Katou had taken up a seat at the table. "I'd encourage waiting," he said, "but if you like the idea of burning your hands in favor of eating sooner, go right ahead."
Not having seen this somewhat more testy side of Katou, Hoshino couldn't help but stare at him. "Was that last part really necessary?"
The question seemed to pull Katou up short as he realized what he'd said. "I apologize." He bowed his head instead of his whole torso, as he'd normally do. "I don't know what came over me."
Daisuke sort of stared at him, eyes wide, until he collected himself and straightened his waistcoat. "It's fine," he said with a faint smile. "I'm sure we're all just going a little stir crazy, and the weather doesn't help."
Suzue looked more than a little nervous at the exchange, but softened her gaze when Daisuke seemed to brush it off. "I think you're right," she said. "We'd originally planned several outings. Perhaps we could come up with something that feels less confining?"
"With this rain?" Daisuke couldn't physically indicate the weather, but his point was well taken. "Until it lets up, I'm afraid we'll have to stay put. I'm sure it's made any cleanup after yesterday's quake difficult as well."
Hoshino couldn't help but agree. "I understand the quake caused damage to several roads and buildings. Thankfully no fatalities and minimal injuries have been reported."
They all sighed in relief at that. Chances were good the epicenter had been a bit further out from them, considering how the fault lines were situated. But it was always good to know the damage was nowhere near as bad as it could have been.
Cass turned the stove down to a low simmer, making sure to stir the contents of her pot before going over and checking the temperature of the rice. "Feels about ready to me," she said. Thanks to the bowl's wide base, the rice had had plenty of room to not sit in a deeper layer, allowing it to cool faster than it might have otherwise. "I think we're good to start rolling, if you're all ready."
Remembering one last minute necessity, Cass quickly got out a bowl of water for each person, along with disposable kitchen gloves to reduce any issues anyone might have with too many hands in the rice bowl. "Make sure to wash first," she reminded, prompting a small exodus to the sink for that purpose.
Once everyone had appropriately washed and put on gloves, they took turns scooping up the rice and trying to form it into something resembling traditional onigiri. Out of all of them, Katou and Cass did the best, having had more practice. Hoshino was a close third, while Suzue and Daisuke's looked more misshapen than the others.
"Don't pack them too tight," Cass warned, noticing Suzue getting a little frustrated with hers. "You want to still be able to add anything before reaching the final form." She picked up a pickled plum and inserted it into the one she was making, shaping the rice around it. She then added a strip of nori to the outside and set it aside on a plate to eat as soon as she'd finished making hers. "It helps if you sort of toss them lightly between your palms once the rice sticks together."
Suzue tried to do as instructed but forgot to press the rice together before doing so and ended up sending rice across the table. The look on her face was more than enough to inspire suppressed laughter that quickly became more vocal. Even Daisuke let out his own sounds of amusement. After the initial surprise, even Suzue joined in on the laughter. Thankfully, the white grains hadn't scattered too far, though a few landed in various bowls of toppings and fillings.
Out of all of them, Katou had the hardest time as he tried to hold back the laughter and ended up coughing as a result. He had to turn away, head ducked as he held his ribs against the spasms until he could regain control.
Daisuke continued to chuckle, though he, too, tried to hide it behind one hand. "I'm sorry, but the expression on your face was too comical," he said as soon as he also regained control.
"At least it was just rice," Cass said as she tried to clean up any of the sticky grains on the table. It was too much effort to try and pick the individual grains from the various bowls so she didn't even bother. "But I'm sure we all needed the laugh."
For her part, Suzue had joined in, though she couldn't help but register surprise at Daisuke's reaction. He rarely laughed around others if he could help it. But she supposed Cass was right in that they'd all needed that. The previous tension had subsided. "Allow me to help you," she said as she reached for some of the scattered grains.
Between the two of them, they soon had the flung rice taken care of. In the meantime, Hoshino, Katou, and Daisuke had finished forming their rice balls. If Daisuke's looked the most unusual in shape, no one commented. There was an almost satisfied smile on his face as he bit into his first one and they weren't going take that away from him.
In no time at all, the others had finished making their onigiri as well. Good-natured chatter filled the kitchen as they ate, discussing things of no consequence. The subject of the weather was avoided, as well as anything pertaining to their current investigations. Katou did decide to share the story of how he first met Daisuke, prompting various reactions from his audience, and some scowling from the man in question. But it was all in good fun.
While Daisuke, Hoshino, and Suzue went for seconds, Cass decided she'd better check on the porridge on the stove. The rice was starting to stick a bit to the bottom so she wisely turned off the burner and set it off to one side. Turning back to the table, she noticed the as yet untouched banana bread she and Daisuke had made the day before. "Who wants to try some banana bread?" she called out in an almost sing-song voice, prompting a quick glance from Daisuke her way. "You know you want to."
…
Another bout of thunder had decided to move in, accentuating the rain. With additional electrical charge in the air, the rain fell heavier, darkening the sky even more. The proverbial heavenly drum rolled through the air with crackling energy. A bright flash of light lit up Hiro's room almost as if someone had flipped on the light. The resulting crash of thunder shook the house like an aftershock.
With no further warning, Hiro sat up in bed, shedding blankets. Almost like a puppet controlled by strings, he divested himself of any remaining bedding and slipped off of the mattress, standing next to it. And though his eyes were open, his expression was blank, jaw almost slack, his motions mechanical.
"Oh no," Baymax said as he waddled back a few steps. He had only seen Hiro like this maybe a handful of times, though it was likely less. And the result had never been good. The last time had taken Loki and Lucifer Morningstar to mediate, helping to redistribute an excess of energy that was not the teen's, but some other entity entirely.
Not heeding the voice of Baymax, or even acknowledging that he'd heard it at all, Hiro moved to the door and went into the hall, leaving the door wide open. The robot had to pick up the pace to catch up with him.
Down the hall they went, Hiro never deviating from the middle of the walkway. It was almost as if he were on autopilot. There was also a sort of energy haze around the teen as well. It might not be perceptible to the naked eye, but a normal person might be able to feel it if they got close enough. As for the robot, he could see it as a sort of fluctuating field of varying colors around his number one patient.
Instead of heading to the elevator, the teen made his way to the grand staircase at the front of the mansion. He went down the stairs, back ramrod straight. The sight would make any etiquette teacher proud. Baymax had a little more trouble going down, since the stairs weren't quite in line with his ability to go down them. He had to hold onto the railing to keep from miss stepping and rolling down the entirety.
Finally reaching the bottom, Hiro seemed to orient himself like a compass trying to find north. His steps were still measured and precise as he made his way to the back of the manor, though his progress had slowed a bit. Perhaps this was in an attempt to allow Baymax to keep up without issue. Or maybe because of some other reason. The robot didn't know but was not going to complain.
Just as they had about reached the kitchen, another loud intense flash of lightning lit the outside of the mansion. A second or two later, a crash of thunder so loud it seemed to deafen all inside sounded. And, with that, the lights went out.
