Chapter Text
As flames painted the dark sky red, thick smoke and screams drove people into even greater panic. Everything was chaotic, everyone was in a panic, and Hiro was missing.
Tadashi's only thought was to find Hiro; nothing else mattered. The air in his lungs wasn't enough for his legs, and his whole body felt like it was burning. Despite running at full speed and knocking down a few people, he was never fast enough. Hiro must be inside; he had gone in because Tadashi wanted coffee. He was left inside because of Tadashi. When he reached the door, everything was already burning, and everyone was fleeing. Footsteps and screams echoed through the city. In this crowd, filled with people crying because their dreams were still inside, people trying to reach their loved ones, and those having panic attacks, the flames were like a nightmare. Everything was like a nightmare.
Please, someone wake Tadashi from this dream.
He pauses, gasping for breath, and then, just as he's about to go inside, someone—someone—stops him.
—Tadashi, have you lost your mind?!
It's Fred.
—Let me go! Hiro's inside! Let me go, Fred!
—No, you'll die if you go in there!
—I'd rather die than live alone!
He somehow manages to break free from Fred's tight grip and Go Go's blocking his way, and reaches the door. Through the glass door, he can see Hiro. He's lying on the floor, just three steps away. There's blood under his head—probably from hitting his head on the ground—and this makes Tadashi panic even more. He calls out inside, but Hiro doesn't stay. The door is made of iron and glass, so it's almost impossible to hold onto; he can feel its warmth without even touching it. Just a minute. He just needs one minute. . As he looks around, he sees Hiro looking at him. The boy is too weak to stand, and even if he could, he has nowhere to go. He's completely trapped. Then he notices Hiro pointing somewhere. There's a man there, masked, with Hiro's micro-robots beside him. The man starts approaching Hiro, and Tadashi somehow believes the man will open the door, but before he can get there, an explosion occurs. As Tadashi is thrown backward by the force of the explosion, the only thing going through his mind is that Hiro is gone.
Hiro had slipped through his fingers, and Tadashi was solely responsible for it.
As he tried to open his eyes, he saw Go Go standing over him, shouting at Fred. Tadashi didn't know what they were talking about, and he didn't want to know. Hiro was gone; nothing mattered anymore.
□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□
When Tadashi opened his eyes, he found himself in a hospital room. For a moment, he couldn't remember what had happened, but then memories flooded back.
Hiro was gone.
Hiro was gone because of Tadashi.
He had bandages on his head and was wearing a hospital gown. Just as he tried to sit up, the door opened and four people appeared. After a brief moment of silence, Honey Limon jumped onto Tadashi's neck.
- You crazy genius, do you want to die, huh?
Tadashi couldn't help but feel guilty as he felt Honey Limon's tears on his neck.
- My friend, you really seemed to have lost your mind!
Tadashi didn't answer, he got straight to the point.
- Did you find Hiro's body?
The room froze instantly. Wasabi looked at him with pitying eyes and began to speak.
- Tadashi...
- I know he burned to death. He was at the door, if only I could have opened it...
Honey Lemon hugged him tighter, Go Go lowered her gaze, Wasabi couldn't finish her sentence, and this time even Fred couldn't say anything.
- If only I had gone just a minute earlier, maybe...
- Tadashi, Hiro died of smoke inhalation. So he was already dead when he burned.
Go Go at least wanted him to know his brother wasn't suffering. Tadashi seemed to be struggling not to cry. A cough from behind interrupted the dramatic scene. A doctor and nurse were waiting at the door.
- We need to finish Mr. Hamada's checkups. Could you leave us alone?
Honey Limon reluctantly let go of Tadashi and whispered in his ear, "We'll be outside soon, you're not alone." Once they were all out, the doctor began the general check-ups. When he finished, he let out a deep sigh.
- Mr. Hamada, you look fine, you can be discharged today. And... regarding your brother Hiro Hamada... you need to identify the body. More than thirty bodies have been found inside.
Tadashi felt a spark of fear ignite within him. What if he couldn't recognize Hiro? What if he was in a terrible state? What if...
- Hay Hamada. Your aunt, Cass Hamada, said that Hiro Hamada's body wasn't there.
Tadashi was literally shocked. Tadashi had seen Hiro inside, he had seen him with his own eyes.
- That's why we want you to take a look too.
- Can we go now?
- Are you sure, Mr. Hamada?
- More than ever.
A minute later, Tadashi had examined all the bodies and Hiro was gone. He was certain Hiro wasn't there.
- My brother isn't here.
- Mr. Hamada, are you sure? If you are, an investigation will be opened.
Tadashi sighed deeply. He looked at the burned bodies again. The mere possibility that one of them could be Hiro was enough to terrify Tadashi. But he was sure. Hiro's body wasn't in this nauseating, trembling place.
Hiro's body was on the ground?
○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○
The body hadn't been found for a week, and the police assumed it had been burned to death. This hurt Tadashi even more. They were even having to hold Hiro's funeral without his body.
Wasabi, Fred, Go Go, and Honey Limon were incredibly helpful at the funeral; Tadashi didn't think he could have managed without them. Unbeknownst to Aunt Cass, Fred had covered all the funeral expenses, and Tadashi didn't know how to thank him. When he tried to express his gratitude, Fred and the others refused, saying it was their duty as friends.
Aunt Cass was truly devastated; she hadn't been able to save her nephew on his happiest day. She could barely lift her head, but she had to open the shop. The world had fallen apart for her, but it kept turning.
The funeral wasn't crowded, and it was quite short. Honey, Limon, and Wasabi stayed to help Aunt Cass.
Then there was a knock on Tadashi's door.
- Tadashi, someone wants to talk to you. They're waiting for you outside the cafe.
Tadashi wasn't expecting anyone, so he went downstairs with a mixture of curiosity and great sadness. It was getting dark, and the moon was illuminating the street.
- Tadashi...
Tadashi turned his head and saw Karma. Karma was the same age as him and a student at the San Fransokyo Art Institute. They had worked together on a school trip a long time ago, and had done several projects together using Karma's photography skills.
Karma's bright green eyes looked at him with great pity. He hated that look. He wished he had left sooner, he wished he hadn't pressured Hiro, he wished...
- Tadashi, I came to give you this. I thought it wouldn't be appropriate to give it at the funeral.
It was a photo album. Tadashi had borrowed Karma's camera some time ago and taken many photos, including one of Hiro. Karma had printed all these photos and made a photo album.
- Karma...
When Tadashi first opened the album cover and saw the photo of himself and Hiro, he struggled to hold back his tears.
- This is the last thing I can help you with, Tadashi.
Karma hugged Tadashi and offered some comfort. Then she said she couldn't stay long and left.
Tadashi spent that night looking at the album.