Chapter Text
“I can’t believe you did this.” Tadashi hissed as he not so gently cleaned Hiro’s wounds. “This is the third time this week that I have had to rescue you from a bot fight. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Hiro remained silent. He knew it was best to keep quiet and let Tadashi wear himself out. It wasn’t his fault that he got beat up. Hiro could handle himself, he doesn’t need Tadashi to save him every time someone threatens him.
“Hiro,” Tadashi said firmly, “what would Mom and Dad say if they knew that you were doing this?”
“Shut up.” Hiro whispered, frustration evident in his voice.
“Don’t you use that tone of voice with me.” Tadashi countered, “You’re lucky that Aunt Cass is out of state, because of she wasn’t, you would have to deal with the both of us.”
Hiro was growing more and more angry with his brother’s rant. But he stayed quiet as Tadashi placed a bandage on a particularly bad scrape on the back of his hand.
“What have I told you about going to bot fights?”
“You’re not the boss of me!” Hiro snapped, making sure not to get too loud and wake the entire neighborhood. “Quit acting like you are! You don’t need to rescue me every time I get into trouble! I’m a fourteen year old high school graduate! I can take care of myself!”
Tadashi was taken aback by Hiro’s sudden outburst. But the elder Hamada’s shock was soon replaced by rage.
“Oh, really? You can take care of yourself? I have to carry you to bed every time you catch a stomach bug, and you say that you can take care of yourself!”
Hiro jumped listening to his brother yell. “What have I done?” he thought to himself
“You can’t even make toast without burning it, and you say that you can take care of yourself! If it weren’t for me rescuing you every time you piss off a bot fighter three times your size and seven times your weight, you would be dead!”
“That happened once!” Hiro retorted, voice shaking with fear.
“Don’t you dare talk back to me!” Tadashi yelled, not caring about the neighbors, let alone the time of night, “I’m sick and tired of your defiant attitude! I save your ass up to five times a week and I never get a simple ‘Thank you’! I know what’s going on inside that boneheaded brain of yours! ‘Oh, I’m so smart, I can do whatever I want! I can build a stupid robot and weasel criminals out of their money! And nobody can stop me! It so doesn’t matter that I’m wasting my brain on something illegal. It’s so much better than going to stupid nerd school.’ Well do you know what I think Hiro? I think that you are either gonna wind up in prison or in a coffin if you keep pulling this crap. I am so done.”
Tadashi turned around and began to rub his temples. Hiro’s antics were giving him a headache. He was ready to stop, but Hiro’s sigh set him off again.
“You know what, I don’t care anymore! I am so tired of trying to keep you safe, when you keep throwing caution to the wind! I don’t care what happens to you anymore! And I don’t give a damn about how much money you’re making on this! I’m so pissed off, I can’t even be in the same room as you. I’m sleeping on the couch.”
Tadashi grabbed the pillow and comforter off of his bed. He walked to the staircase before looking Hiro in the eyes.
“And one more thing,” he said, anger still flowing through his veins and clouding his judgement.
“I hope you die in your next bot fight.”
With that, Tadashi spun on his heel, and stomped down the stairs, leaving his broken-hearted little brother in his wake.
Hiro stared at the top of the stairs, where Tadashi had stood just moments ago. He couldn’t really mean it, could he? Hiro felt so broken, abandoned even. He tried to calm his racing mind, and push all negative thoughts away, but one stayed. It sat there, in the front of his mind, making him shed the tears he tried so hard to fight.
“He’s better off without you.”
With his vision still blurry from tears, Hiro grabbed his megabot and hid under the comforter of his bed. He held a flashlight with his mouth and tightened the loose screws on his robot, getting it ready for another battle.
Hiro put on his sneakers and hoodie, before looking at Tadashi’s side of the room, half expecting him to ask him where he was going. His heart sank seeing the elder’s bed stripped of it’s pillow and blanket, reminding him of Tadashi’s sudden outburst.
“I hope you die in your next bot fight.”
Hiro decided that if this is the last time he is seen (and seriously hopes it is) he might as well have a final testament. He found a sheet of notebook paper, and wrote what was on his mind, before folding it in half and writing “Tadashi” on it in bold lettering. He placed the note on his desk before making his way to the stairs, looking at his room for what seemed like the last time. He noticed the papers strewn across the floor and his messy bed, littered with dirty laundry. “Tadashi and Aunt Cass will have a hard time fixing up my side of the room after I’m gone.” He thought to himself before creeping down the stairs and onto the second floor, avoiding the creaky boards. He couldn’t wake Tadashi again. He can’t handle any more yelling.
Suddenly, a thump could be heard as the cat jumped down from the counter and onto the floor. Hiro quickly turned his head to look into the living room. The person on the couch stayed still, snoring quietly. Taking the chance, Hiro quickly moved across the room, jogging down the stairs and out the door of the cafe, unaware that his older brother was was stirring in his sleep, trapped in a nightmare.