Chapter Text
The light was on in the parlor when Ando returned to the lavish apartment Hiro had generously sold him for only a small fraction of its worth. The light puzzled him because he was sure that to save power he left nothing on when he left that morning. The puzzlement vanished as he glimpsed from the side, the outline of a human form resting in his armchair.
Someone broke in! And given the extensive security around the building, it was likely that this someone was ‘special.’ He was certain that this person had something to do with Hiro’s mysterious death.
After his friend failed to show up for work nearly ten days ago, Ando called the police, but they were unable to locate the absent CEO. Ando then contacted his American friends for help, but even they couldn’t find Hiro. On the third day, Dr. Suresh finally reported that Hiro was dead.
It came as a major blow, and for the most part the knowledge was a burden he had to bear alone. Kimiko could not be told. She operated on the belief that her brother was missing, and she would never learn the truth. Ando himself didn’t even know how it happened. He only knew some new ‘special’ conspiracy killed his best friend, and now it presented itself to him.
He let his desire to mend this blight of humanity flow down to his hands, creating a charge of crimson electricity.
“So, you’ve come to kill me too?” he called out. “Bring it on!”
“Ando-kun,” the figure said softly.
He at once let the energy drain from his hands. It shouldn’t have been possible, but he witnessed a miracle. “Hiro!”
He ran over to confirm it was his friend. It was indeed. Hiro’s very tired face emerged from a strange outfit vaguely resembling a kimono, which looked like it hadn’t been washed in days. He wished the incident could simply have been Hiro going on a bender in Akihabara dressed as a manga character, but he suspected the answer would be more complicated. He wrapped his arms around Hiro, who enthusiastically returned the hug.
“Oh, Ando-kun,” Hiro sighed. “I was afraid I would never see you again.”
“Hiro, Dr. Suresh said you were dead,” he said as he withdrew. “He said Molly Parkman couldn’t see you.”
Hiro looked startled. “Yes, of course… because of the time skip. How long have I been gone?”
“Nine days,” he said. “What happened to Hiro-kun during that time?”
“Nothing,” Hiro answered. “I wasn’t there. That’s why she couldn’t find me. I made a mistake. I went too far ahead. I skipped over that time. I’m sorry for causing you to worry, but it’s hard to be exact without grounding.”
“You were time traveling?” he asked, relieved that there was no new conspiracy after all.
Hiro nodded. “More than I ever should have. I know that now. I broke the prime directive of time travel, Ando-kun, and it brought me nothing but grief.”
“Prime directive?” He thought back to Star Trek. “You interfered?”
“Yes,” Hiro confirmed. “With the past. And what I did… A butterfly flaps its wings in Japan and causes a hurricane in America, so stepping on it before it does so can cause significant changes to the timeline. Affecting a butterfly’s flaps is nothing compared to…” Hiro looked horrified.
“Hiro-kun…” He knelt down beside his friend. “What happened? What did you see?”
“Humanity at its worst.” Tears started to flow from Hiro’s eyes, and he removed his glasses. “I tried to do the right thing, but I don’t know…”
“What happened?” he asked again. “Please tell me.”
Hiro nodded slowly. “I guess you should know… Yes, of course, you should know everything. You had better sit down, Ando-kun. This story is a long one.”