The sky was gray. Despite all of the news channels forecasting clear skies and blue, the dark gray overcast was undeniably pressing on all sides. The fact that, being San Fransokyo, it was generally warmer than most places didn't help much either. All in all, the hot humid climate made for an unpleasant morning.

Even more so when you have a team behind you, not-so-subtly pressing you to make a public appearance.

"They've already gotten interviews of the rest of us, you'd think that the team leader would be willing to step up and pitch in."

"I recognize that, GoGo, but I'm kind of busy."

"Hiro, you're lying on top of a beanbag chair with a package of gummy bears."

Hiro looked indignantly in her direction, clutching the bag of chewy confections. "This is important stuff! I've been working almost all day, and I think that warrants a break."

GoGo rolled her eyes and walked to his side until she was staring down at him-something she rather enjoyed, as it was something she wasn't able to do very often. It was rather enjoyable, she had decided, to have someone else taking all of the short jokes.
"Perhaps, but my point still stands. Everyone else on the team has made a public appearance and sworn that their only intention is to help. Can't you see the position you're putting yourself in? People are beginning to get suspicious. You can see why they'd be a little scared of a vigilante with your tech," she continued, as Hiro swallowed his rather large handful of sweets. "All they want is a statement."

"Oh, yes," Hiro muttered sarcastically, reaching for another gummy bear. "Because of course they're completely terrified of a 5'2" guy in shorts and a purple chestplate, flying around on the back of a giant marshmallow-man."

"A giant marshmallow-man with rocket fists and experience in martial arts," GoGo reminded him. "All we're asking is that you accept one of the invitations for an interview. You don't even have to do that, just stick around for five minutes after taking down a bank robber or something. Don't be so antisocial, Hamada."

"I'm not antisocial," Hiro insisted, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "I have a completely valid reason."

"Oh? What would that be?"

"For starters, if Aunt Cass saw the interview, shed know immediately it's me."

GoGo opened her mouth, ready with a sarcastic retort, but stopped, realizing that he was completely correct—his aunt was very perceptive, recognizing when he was hiding something almost immediately. "Okay, I'll give you that one. Just make sure she doesn't see the interview, then."

Hiro rolled his eyes. "It's not that simple. I tend to stick out like a sore thumb. I'd be instantly recognizable from anything—a picture, an interview, I just have a sense of 'uniqueness' that makes me stand out in a crowd."

GoGo raised an eyebrow. "Don't be so modest, Hiro, tell me what you really think," she muttered under her breath. "You say 'unique' like it's a bad thing."

"That's because it is! I have a certain way of saying things that makes my conversations obviously me. It's amazing that no one has figured out already," Hiro replied agitatedly, taking a breath before continuing. "I can't imagine there being several kid geniuses in town with the intellect to create mech-suits and being as short as I happen to be."

"But how would they know that you're a kid genius, and how would they know that you're the one who built all the mech-suits?"

"Because you guys said so in your interviews!"

That wasn't entirely true—Fred had been the only one to reveal these little tidbits. They hadn't seemed important at the time, but as he was going on about their leader's massive brainpower, he began stating that he had even created all of their tech for them: incredible, really, for someone so young. After which, GoGo had almost broken his nose.

It was a miracle that Aunt Cass had been especially busy when the news came out, and since then, comic enthusiasts were scrambling to find out what the identities of these superheroes were. Luckily, due to a knack for hacking into databases, Hiro had managed to keep his own name out of the larger fan theory sites. But it wouldn't be much longer before the pieces came together.

GoGo had a surprisingly hard time combating this argument—although she knew for a fact that the main reason he wasn't making an appearance was because of social anxiety. So, instead of arguing further, she snatched the bag of gummy bears from the fifteen-year old's hands.

"You're not getting these back until you make an appearance."

Hiro didn't respond for a few seconds, then, without breaking eye contact, reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulled out another bag, opened it, and poured a good amount into his mouth.

"Yo're goin do haf to do better zhan zhat," he announced, mouth full.

Disgusted, GoGo turned on her heel and left, throwing the bag of candy into the trashcan as she exited the room. After swallowing, Hiro leaned back again and sighed.

"What a waste of perfectly good sweets," he muttered, closing his eyes for a few seconds. "I'm going to get her back for that one day. Maybe I'll take her gum and put it on a high shelf."

"I feel the need to point out that she has a point."

Hiro's eyes shot open, and he frantically glanced around the room, his gaze finally resting on his balloon-esque robot friend.

"Baymax," he sighed with relief. "You gave me a heart attack."

"I am assuming you are referring to the expression for being startled, rather than the physical medical condition," the over-sized marshmallow replied, with something resembling sarcasm.

"Yes, Baymax," Hiro responded, amused. I think I may have been a bad influence. Baymax is actually sassing me. I'm being sassed by a robot. "That is what I'm referring to."

"In which case, I apologize for any distress I have caused you."

"Nah, it's... it's fine. What is it that were you saying?" Hiro asked, reclining back to resume his snack break.

"I was simply pointing out that Leiko Tomago's argument was a solid one as well."

"Leiko? You mean..." It took an embarrassing amount of time for Hiro to register who he was talking about, after which he let out a long "Oh" of understanding. "Right. That's her... Baymax, just call her GoGo in the future, okay?"

"Will that cause less confusion?" The vinyl robot tilted his head slightly as he spoke.

"Most certainly."

"In which case, GoGo Tomago's argument had a solid foundation."

Hiro slowly got up out of the beanbag chair, stretching. "I agree, but so did mine."

"Perhaps you should at least release a statement."

"Or..." Hiro tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I could not, and say that I did."

"But what would be that point of that?"

Not entirely sure how to respond to that, Hiro sighed, deciding to end the conversation before he got too confused. "...I am satisfied with my care."

"H-2?"

"No, too simple."

"The Flying Fuschia Fish?"

"...Fred, I graduated high school at thirteen, and I still can't make sense of that. Fish?"

"It starts with F, doesn't it?"

"Whatever," Hiro sighed, rolling his eyes.

Fred sighed, leaning back in his chair. "You're right, it's a little weird. I'm having trouble coming up with a nickname for you."

"Is it because of the fact that you can't really get a nickname out of a four-letter word, or because you can't describe me?"

"Both. But then, Honey Lemon's name is only four letters," Fred mused. "Everyone else was relatively easy."

"...Except for Tadashi, of course," Hiro said, smiling. "You never gave him a nickname, so maybe it just runs in the family."

"No," Fred replied, "I came up with one for him, too."

Hiro felt his eyes grow a little wider. This was news to him. "What was his nickname?"

Fred glanced at the kid genius, confused. "He never told you?" As he shook his head, the redhead felt a sly smirk drift across his features. "You know how whenever he gets going on something, he can't focus on anything else?"

"Yes," Hiro replied, wincing. He remembered several times walking into his brother's side of the room, only to be ignored because he was working on something. He wasn't trying to do it, he just had a severe case of one-mindedness. He literally could not notice anything once he had something in his sights. It had several benefits—being able to finish papers due the following day in merely an hour or two, and finishing projects early. But it also had it's drawbacks, like not noticing when someone was talking, or, in a few cases, not seeing trees right in front of him, resulting in several collisions.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well," Fred said thoughtfully, "After a good five minutes of intense thinking-"

"A dangerous pastime."

"I decided to call him 'Tunnel Vision'."

Hiro fell silent for a couple seconds, and Fred thought he might be offended at the fun being poked at his late brother, then the Mechanical Engineering major doubled over laughing. "That... That's very accurate."

"Of course it is," said Fred, sounding slightly miffed, but feeling secretly relieved. "Why do you think I come up with all the nicknames?"

"I don't get it though," Hiro responded, recovering from his fit of laughter. "It was perfect. Why didn't I ever hear you guys using it?"

"Because 'Tadashi' is only three syllables, whereas 'Tunnel Vision' is four," Fred explained. "Saved time, and, of course, calling him 'Tunnel' for short was kind of confusing, so it wasn't very accurate unless you used the whole name."

Hiro chuckled again, then drifted off into silence. Finally, he spoke up again. "...I kind of need your help with something."

Fred looked up from his bag of Doritos, confused at the sudden change of topic. "Of course, little man. What is it?"

Wincing at the subtle attack on his size, Hiro took a deep breath. "Well, GoGo and the others have been pressuring me into making a public statement."

"It would really help ease the tension, Hiro."

"I know," he replied. "I can see why, as well, but I'm already just barely under the radar. If I make a statement, people will recognize me."

Fred finally saw the problem, and leaned back, smiling. "Then why don't you do an online conference?"

"A what?"

"You know," the red-headed English major replied. "You'll go onto one of those fan theory sites and volunteer to make a statement there. It can all be via voice chat or even just by text, and no one ever sees your face. Even if you use the voice chat, you can use a voice modulator, so that your actual voice doesn't even come across."

Hiro blinked a few times, then felt a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth as relief washed over him. "You know what, Fred, that's the best idea I've heard all day. Why didn't I think of that before?"

"You brother had the same issue as well," Fred commented, relieved that the issue was resolved. "He'd think way too much. Looks like you have the same problem."

"Looks like it. Of course," Hiro replied with a smirk, "You don't have that problem."

"Hey, not being a nerd has perks as well."

To say it had taken a while to convince them would be an understatement. Hiro had spent hours on the fan theory site, being pelted with various trivia that only the real leader of Big Hero 6 would know... Which were mainly question evolving around his suit and rescues he had done. Finally, after answering an especially easy question revolving around Baymax's rocket thrusters, the moderators of the site were convinced that he was, in fact, the real thing.

He had had to go through a video chat with the moderators, but luckily, Hiro had the good sense to tint his visor so that it was impossible to see his face through the opaque glass. The modulator attached to it... not so much.
He had spent so much time working on the tech involving his visor that he had completely forgotten about the modulator, and thus spent the five minutes before the scheduled conference working on a very quick, simple voice modifier. As a result of this, he ended up sounding vaguely like Darth Vader.

But the fans just ate it up, thrilled that they were listening to their hero speak—even if his voice was heavily edited. In the end, after conferring with the moderators, he had opted for a voice chat, which would last for half an hour and consist of a Q&A, a statement on how he was sworn to protect the citizens of San Fransokyo, and an advertisement for Pizza Hut.

The questions varied from completely serious to extremely random and zany. And, of course, he answered each and every one with equal seriousness.

"What is your superhero name?"
"Well, to be entirely honest, the team hasn't really decided yet. Anything but 'The Purple Parasite' or 'The Flying Fuchsia Fish'."

"What was your lowest moment?"
"I had a moment while apprehending the Yokai where I lost control. I'd have to call that the lowest moment in my recent memory. Of course, I've probably had worse breakdowns before that."

"In a fight between a grilled cheese and a taco, who would win?"
"Grilled Cheese—in a fair fight. But if it were prison rules, I would have to put my money on the Taco."

Finally, after unenthusiastically stating how much he loved pizza and swearing to uphold the laws of the city, he signed off, thanking each of his fans for listening in... and secretly despising the fact that he was even there in the first place.
Relieved that the ordeal was over, Hiro took off his helmet, placed it on his desk, then walked to his beanbag chair and fell into it, face-down, before falling asleep.

The Sukōchi smiled to himself as he listened to the Leader's first—and final—public statement. The voice modulator was not a very good one, obviously hastily set up, but it was enough to disguise his tones from anyone without superior intellect.

Unfortunately for him, the Sukōchi was very, very intelligent. He ran the voice-prints through his programs, listening to each little adjustment to the original recording. Then, after a good five minutes, the modulation was erased, and he could hear everything.

"Well, I've had fun talking to you all. It's great to have your support behind me. Clear skies, everyone!"

The Sukōchi stood up straight, almost hitting his hairless head against the makeshift wooden ceiling he had set up, his eyes widening behind his gray mask. He took a step away from the screen, then quickly moved closer, pulled up a picture of the Big Hero 6, and zoomed in on the smallest member.

There's no doubt now. I had my suspicions, but... I'd know that voice anywhere. It all fits.

The Leader is Hiro Hamada.