Chapter Text
One Hell of a Brother
His Brother, Eerie
'Tadashi Hamada’ was not a stupid creature; did he act it sometimes? Yes, he had to give the illusion of a human, so why not put on a show? He knew Hiro was in his rebellious teen years, and he figured sooner or later, the biological Hamada would run off and so something stupid. He also knew that Hiro knew that if something were happening to just call for Tadashi, and the ‘older brother’ would come running.
Tadashi put the show on of a slightly frantic and worried older brother, bustling around the property, asking all the house workers, including Fred the gardener who never seemed to walk into the house, if they had seen Hiro since the teen was not in his room. After all that was done, Tadashi just sat back and waited.
He had glanced at the clock at some point, noting it was well into the early AM hours, and while he himself didn't need sleep, Hiro did; and the kid had to get up early in the morning. A cranky Hiro was never a fun thing, even for a demon like Tadashi.
(----)
His footsteps faltered down the alleyway as second thoughts ran through his teenaged mind. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea in the world. Maybe I shouldn’t have rushed out, what if my bot isn’t good enough? All these people look like they could break me like a small twig. But the thoughts didn’t stop him, his cocky side pushing the timidity out of the way to make room for the ego he was hoping to boost.
He stumbled a bit as he made his way to the man who seemed to stand guard of the entry way to the bot fight that was scheduled to be at the end of the dead-end.
“Aren’t you a little young to be here?” The burley man’s voice was rough, like he smoked a pack of cigarettes a day since he was born.
“May be, may be not. I saw no rule against age.” Hiro raised an eyebrow.
The man looked down his nose at the thirteen year old. He folded his arms across his chest, seemingly to try to frighten Hiro – who wasn’t budging from where he stood. “You got the cover charge, kid?” The man asked after a minute of trying to scare the teen away. He unfolded an arm and held his hand out, palm side up, gesturing for the money.
Without breaking eye contact, Hiro reached d into his pocket and pulled out the ten-dollar cover charge and dropped it into the guy’s outstretched hand.
The man with biceps the size of Hiro’s face stepped a little to the side and motioned with a flick of his head, fro Hiro to go on in.
Moments later, Hiro found himself standing in a very crowded space around a bot-fighting ring. He pushed past a few people, making sure his little bot – that he nicknamed Megabot – stayed in his pocket; just in case he didn’t think his little creature could take whatever these people made, he didn’t want people to know he came here to fight but backed out.
“Watch out kid!” “Isn’t it past your bed time?” “Does mommy know you’re here?” “Who let this kid in?” And other little sayings were thrown at him as he pushed his way to the front. He ignored them.
Two guys sat just on the outside of a ring, across from each other, both with very different controllers in their hands while two robots, both about a foot tall, seemed to just dance in a circle. At least, that’s what it looked like to Hiro, who was rather bored when that’s all the two did for a good handful of minutes. One bot would throw an attack, and the other managed to dodge each time.
The crowd seemed to get a little antsy and frustrated with the fight, they started yelling profanities at the fighters, saying things that shouldn’t be heard with young ears and Hiro’s mother, if she were still alive, would have washed everyone’s mouths out with soap.
The ‘referee’ intervened at that point. She blew her whistle and called the fight a draw and ushered the two boring opponents away from the ring before calling out for two new challengers. A man with biceps bigger than the guy who was taking cover charge stepped up, and his opponent, and equally sized bicep man, but slightly shorter.
Does anyone not work on leg day? Hiro absently thought to himself when he noticed a lot of the people there seemed to work out the arms more than anything – not that he should be quick to judge, a thirteen year old who can’t even do a pushup.
The slightly shorter man, with hair the shade of the fiery sun, seemed to have an almost bored expression on his face as he let the man across from him, wearing some sort of weird looking beanie, have the first attack.
Sun hair’s robot was about a foot tall, a bulking and heavy looking thing that seemed as if it didn’t do anything special. Bu it could take a hit from a bigger bot pretty well. The dark blue paint on its surface didn’t even seem to be scratched.
Beanie’s bot, on the other hand, couldn’t take a strike. It obviously wasn’t well put together, whenever Sun Hair would hit it, a tiny spark or two would fly, or a little bolt would fall to the floor. Physics would be the first to say that something bigger is usually stronger, and could take more of a hit. Or, that’s what Hiro thought sometimes when he’d do things. But evidently, Sun hair’s little bot decided to not follow any sort of rule except for how to play this game.
The slim little robot was fast. But Hiro was confident his little Megabot was faster, more like a snake. The bot that was winning in the ring seemed to just throw ‘punches’. Hiro’s could come apart and magnetize back together; that’s about all Hiro’s little bot could do. But the teen’s cocky side told him he could totally take down who ever won this fight.
And Hiro didn’t have t wait too long for his chance to get in the ring.
(---)
“Should we be a little more worried?” Honey Lemon asked when Tadashi suddenly appeared in the kitchen’s doorway. “He’s only thirteen and to out of the blue sneak out?” She was more than a little worried. She’d worked for the Hamada household for the past six years of her life; the Hamada’s had let her live in a nice room on the side of the house where the servants’ quarters were, had helped her pay for college – this was a job after all, and she got to eat for free! She had seen the Hamadas as an extended family to her, and Hiro as a younger brother, long before Tadashi showed up. And she knew it was not part of Hiro’s personality to just up and sneak out.
And to be honest, she was a little pissed that Tadashi didn’t seem all too concerned over the young teen’s safety.
The older brother in questioned simply shook his head. “Nah.” He stepped around her to make himself a cup a tea, a cup he wouldn’t drink. “If he needs help, he’ll call.” He cryptically, but honestly told her.
She narrowed her eyes at him for a fleeting moment. “What ever you say. At least let me know when he comes home, I won’t be able to sleep until I know he’s safe.” She got up and started walking away.
“Oh, I’m sure he’s fine.” The demonic brother told her.
She didn’t verbally respond, but didn’t like how relaxed he looked. And actually, she didn’t like Tadashi in general. Something was not right about him, and she was bound to get to the bottom of it.
(---)
The thirteen-year-old CEO was having a ball as he sat in front of the ring for his first ever bot fight. He honestly didn’t even really care if he won or not – mostly because this was his first fight and he very well could have underestimated the opponent, and overestimated Megabot’s abilities in a fighting environment.
“Fighters ready?” The tall, scantily dressed woman asked in a very announcer-esque tone of voice, her umbrella poised between the two ready-to-battle bots. She waited for a head nod from the both of them before harshly pulling the umbrella away. “Fight!” Her voice started an uproar from the on lookers, a kid playing his first bot fighting round with a very tiny little bot and going up against a well known fighter in that particular neck-of-the-woods. For the moment, the yells weren’t negative but Hiro’s potential fighting style could tip the crowd to boo – toward him. Or of course, they could continue the cheering for when he wins.
Sun Hair’s little robot proved to be a little more of a challenge than Hiro first thought. Although, then teen has to hand it to the bright orange haired man, it was smart to change up your fighting routine for each new fight. Gives a slight element of surprise and keeps the opponent on their toes.
“All right, Megabot,” Hiro mumbled to himself under his breath and the roar from the crowd all around. “Destroy.” He gave a little pull on the controller in his hand and the control pad doubled in length, revealing more controls and buttons than it originally gave the illusion of.
He missed the knowing smirk Sun Hair gave him.
Minutes later, Hiro’s opponent’s bot laid in pieces in the ring, and the crowd fell silent for a solid moment. It was long enough for Sun Hair to stand up and hold his hand out to Hiro.
“Not bad for your first game.” His voice was rough, but not as deep as Hiro thought it would have sounded.
Hiro hesitantly shook his hand. “Uh, thanks.”
With those words exchanged, the crowd cheered.
“That was pretty smart to hide your master controller like that.” Sun Hair said after he gathered up his bot pieces from the ring for the next challengers.
“I was worried at first that it would be disqualified.” The teen admitted as the two stepped away from the circle drawn on the floor. They shuffled through the crowd to get away from the middle of it all.
The man shrugged. “Not much will get you disqualified here, unless you cheat.” He said it with an airy tone. “So, how did a kid like you find out about these things?” He sat the broken pieces of metal and wire on a little table and pulled a bag off the shelves along the wall.
Hiro pocketed his bot. “Heard a colleague talking about it.”
The man nodded while he stashed his bot in the little bag he must have brought it in. “That’s how I heard about it too, they don’t do much advertising, that’s for sure.” He commented. “But of course, I was slightly older than what, fourteen, fifteen?”
“Thirteen.” Hiro corrected him.
“Wow.” Was all the man said. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “Mind if we step outside so I can smoke?”
The teen motioned for the man to lead the way. Might as well finish their little conversation so he could hurry and get home.
(----)
Turns out, the entire working force that kept up the Hamada Manor saw Hiro as family, and evidently he saw them the same way. Nobody was able to go to sleep until they knew the teen was home, in bed, safe.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t call somebody?” Wasabi asked, he stood in the parlor in his pajamas. He was dead tired, but when he tried to fall asleep, his mind kept him awake with apprehension.
“Tadashi said not to worry.” Honey Lemon crossed her arms. She leaned back in the chair and pulled a leg up and tucked it underneath her.
Fred, who normally never stepped a voluntary foot indoors unless it was absolutely necessary, had made himself comfortable on the couch. “I say we wait a little while longer before we call someone. You know how the police around here are.”
“Absolutely useless.” Aunt Cass piped up from her chair cuddled under a blanket with the Hamada cat, Mochi, snuggled on her lap.
“I don’t care what Tadashi says.” Fred nodded towards the woman they all seemed to have adopted as their aunt. “He may not be overly concerned about Hiro’s safety, but we are. And we’ll call the police for him.”
“Hey, can I get your guys’ opinion on something?” Honey’s voice was unusually soft and quiet, the volume level of that of a secret whisper, as she changed the subject.
The three adults nodded.
“Do you- has anyone-” She kept stopping herself and hesitating, trying to put the words right. “Does Tadashi creep any of you out?” She finally asked. “Or is this just a ‘me’ thing.”
Fred shook his head. “At some point during the day, the dude has a creepy factor, but other than that one daily point, not really.”
Wasabi nodded towards Fred. “Same here.” He leaned against the doorway, tipping his head back a little to make sure they weren’t being overheard. “The dude can silently appear anywhere. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost dropped or broken something because he’s startled me.”
“He doesn’t make a sound!” The blond gardener agreed.
“I don't find him so much as ‘creepy’ but he does have a mysterious air about him.” Cass told the group. “Great conversationalist, though!”
Honey was the most worried out of the group about the man they were talking about. She didn’t like something about him, but she didn’t know what it was exactly that she didn’t like. He was nice – sometimes overly so, polite, and he seemed to care a bunch about Hiro. But the way Tadashi sometimes acted- aloof and shady - when he wasn’t in the presence of Hiro, really concerned her.
“I don’t like how he just appeared one day.” She muttered.
Wasabi shifted to lean on the arm of the chair Cass was in. “I do agree with you there. That was, is too suspicious if you ask me.” He reached down to give Mochi a little pet. “Hiro goes missing for months and suddenly, he’s back and dragging Tadashi in tow.”
“I’ve worked for the Hamadas for many years, and never once did they mention anything about an older son.” Cass told them. “That is a bit weird.”
At the mention of the former heads of the house, Honey gave a little smile. “I miss them.”
Cass gave a small chuckle. “I do too. One time, I was trying to teach Maemi how to cook a simple little pizza, and somehow, somehow, she managed to catch it on fire.” She told the quick little memory.
Honey nodded. “I remember that, I had just started working here. And we couldn’t get that smell of burnt pizza out for days!” She laughed.
“Had a lot of good times with the Hamadas, lots of late night talks with Maemi, lots of secrets.” Cass continued. “But never once did she mention anything about Tadashi.” She got back on the topic of the young adult.
Wasabi caught a movement out of the corner of his eyes and he turned a little to see better, and the topic of their discussion was descending the stairs. The man turned back to the group and coughed, gaining their attention before giving a very shallow movement of his head to motion to the creature on the stairs.
The group fell silent.
“Oh, hey everyone.” Tadashi greeted when he saw them there. “What’s everyone doing down here?”
Cass gave the man a small smile. “We couldn’t sleep until we knew Hiro was home. And we somehow boarded a small trip to memory lane.” Her green eyes were slightly distant looking, when her thoughts traveled back in time to when Hiro’s parents were still alive.
A light laugh came from Tadashi. “Yeah, I know how that goes. Actually, Hiro just called, so I’m gonna go pick him up.” He said as he opened the closet door next to the parlor entrance to grab a coat.
Honey shifted in her seat, pulling her legs up underneath her body. “Is he oaky?” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
The ‘Hamada’ nodded. “”Yeah, he just needs a ride home.” He pulled the coat on. “We’ll be back soon.” With that he walked out he door.
(---)
Hiro has no idea what the hell happened. One second he’s walking out the door behind Sun Hair, and the next, women dressed like the fight’s referee were all around him, binding his hands behind his back, tape over his mouth, some sort of fabric over his eyes and was carting him away before he could so much as take a breath of the cool night air.
It was dark for a handful of time before the fabric was ripped off his eyes, showing him he was no longer outside, nor was he in the building where the bot fighters were. This was more like an old, run down office building from one of those old investigating movies.
There was a desk in front of him, and he was in one of the two little chairs facing the desk owner’s chair, a little lamp sat off to the side of the desk’s surface illuminating a mess of papers and notebooks. The shades and curtains were drawn over the windows, making the room feel smaller and more claustrophobic than it probably was.
Sun Hair sat in the chair in front of him, behind the desk, his hands were together and folded under his chin while he sat there and watched Hiro. “Hiro Hamada.”
A brown eye snapped over to the man in front of him, who wore a very giddy and frightening smile on his face. How did this man know Hiro’s name? He didn’t remember every telling anyone at that fight his name. Much less, his full name.
“Hiro Hamada. Heir to the Hamada fortune, CEO of the Lucky Cat Confections. You graduated high school last year, right?” The man said, he leaned forward on his elbows to get a better look at the teenager before him. “Does anyone know you’re out so late, and at a bot fight?” He continued when Hiro didn’t give any sort of noise as a response. “Wow, your caregivers are so good at their jobs.” His voice was condescending.
Hiro made a noise as if he were trying to respond.
“what was that? I can’t understand you when you talk like that.” Sun Hair gave a faux pout. He gave a little motion with his hand, and one of the women who were standing behind him, walked around the table to Hiro and ripped off the tape from his mouth.
The sudden stinging pain didn’t really phase the teen. He’s been through worse.
“ I said: to untie me and let me leave.” Hiro had a bored expression on his face. He really didn’t have time for whatever game this guy was gonna try to play. He just wanted to go to a bot fight, play it once then leave. He has things he has to do later. And he needs to get home to go to bed.
The man put on a show about thinking. “Eh, not at this precise moment. See,” He stood up and began stalking around the desk to look at Hiro. “I honestly don’t believe that tonight was your first bot fight.” He stopped walking when he got next to the teen, and knelt down to be more Hiro’s height. “ I think you cheated. And cheating is really the only thing frowned upon here. And that controller you made? We count that as cheating – false advertisement really. Let us believe one thing, then pull a one-eighty.” He stood back up and walked behind Hiro.
“That’s your fault for not thinking of all the angles.” The thirteen year old deadpanned.
Sun Hair gave Hiro a mockingly thoughtful look. “Okay, here’s a deal.” He leaned up against the desk, facing the young captive. “You pay me back the money you cheatingly won,” He paused to see if Hiro had anything to say, and when the teen went to say something, he continued. “Plus a million.”
The room fell silent.
Hiro raised an eyebrow from behind his eye patch. “Excuse me?”
The man didn’t say anything.
“I am not paying you back the money you lost to me. I won that fait and square.” He leaned forward just a tad to try to keep from blocking blood from reaching his tied up hands. “And I’m most definitely not paying you a million.”
A wicked grin danced across Sun Hair’s face. “Well, I guess this is gonna be a tad more difficult than I thought.” He straightened to turn to look at his girls behind him.
“What do you need a million for anyway?” Hiro asked. “Its just money.”
Sun Hair turned back to the young CEO. He bent down to look Hiro in the eye. “’Its just money’?” He turned back to his girls, but staying bent over. “’It’s just money’, he says.”
The group of ladies laughed, giggling behind their hands.
“What the hell am I missing?” Hiro asked, disgruntled.
“Remember,” The man turned back to face Hiro. “Remember that the next time you’re company is losing just a little bit of it’ s profits because of a few lazy workers. Remember that the next time you advise someone to play the mean card and fire some workers to show the workers that they mean business.”
Hiro narrowed his eye. Did this man work for his company? That could explain how he knew Hiro without the thirteen year old telling him anything other than his age. “So, this is about an issue with my company?” His voice was still holding disinterest in the conversation, while it was masking his growing fear of just what else this man knew about him.
The man stood back up. “Go a head ladies. Its just money.”
Hiro wasn’t expecting a very sharp heel to connect with his shoulder, not the suddenly fast iron fist coming at his face; nor did he expect and prepare himself to be dragged off his chair and onto the floor.
But he didn’t really do anything to stop it except move his face a little so he didn’t lose his other eye.
Hiro let it go on for a little while, how long exactly? That he wasn’t sure about, but he deemed it long enough.
“Are you done yet?” He asked between two kicks to his chest, air wheezing out of his lungs. He coughed a little when he tried to breathe in and out at the same time.
Sun Hair came back into his view. “Gonna pay?”
Hiro didn’t answer, but defiantly looked up at the man.
“Then they’re not gonna stop.”
“I think,” Hiro wheezed again. “I think you really should stop.” His sentence was punctuated by a kick to his head, knocking his eye patch loose and it falling off.
“And why, pray tell, would we do that? If you’re not gonna pay, they’re not gonna stop.” The man gave a huff. “For a genius, you really don’t seem like one.” He commented under his breath, but Hiro still heard ht.
Hiro was seeing starts for a moment, not even really paying attention to what the man was saying, other than the fact he just insulted Hiro’s intelligence
“Tadashi.” Hiro suddenly spoke aloud, startling all in the room with him. “You can come get me now.” His voice was that of a confident leader, holding authority and a commanding tone.
His normally covered eye suddenly began to glow a faint purple, telling him and anyone looking at him that his demon had been contacted. And said creature would be arriving soon.
“Of course, bocchan.”