Tadashi: Hey guys! Welcome to our story, Deviant Week. This was probably one of the craziest weeks the two of us have ever been through together, and also arguably either the best or the worst. But, before I get ahead of myself, I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm Tadashi-Tadashi Hamada.

Hiro: And I'm Hiro! Yea, this week was...pretty interesting. We came up with some pretty epic inventions, though, and we really wanted to share them. Dashi over here though also insisted on sharing all the mushy gushy emotional stuff (I'm still not sure we should...) and so here we are!

Tadashi: Sorry, Hiro, a story isn't complete without all of the detail being in it! Anyways, we really hope that you guys enjoy our story. And now, without further ado, Deviant Week!

0o0

Hiro Hamada was exhausted after a long night of bot fighting. There had been some pretty intense moments-he definitely had a new bruise or two that he'd have to figure out how to hide from his older brother, Tadashi-but he'd gotten a lot of cash though which made the whole experience worth it. As he walked by the lake in the park, though, he noticed something odd-there was someone in the water.

"Hello?" Hiro called, curious. What on earth was someone doing, going swimming so late?

"Help! Help! Someone please!" a voice screamed from the lake, although it was too dark to see them very well.

"What's wrong?" Hiro shouted trying to see through the darkness

"Help! I can't swim! Help!"

Hiro's first instinct was to run into the lake to help the person, but Tadashi's voice filled his head. Slow down, knucklehead, it said. There is no way you'd be able to drag whoever this is out of the water on your own. You're way too small! Well, all right, if he couldn't do it on his own, Hiro needed to find something to help pull this person out of the water. He quickly spotted a rope nearby, probably left over from some child's game of tug-o-war. It wasn't perfect, but it was his only option at the moment.

"Here!" Hiro cries, tossing the end towards the stranger. "Grab hold!" The person reached to take it but then suddenly disappeared beneath the surface.

Hiro started to panic when the person went under. Did he completely ignore all of Tasdashi's warnings about getting in the water with a drowning person, or did he leave this poor person to a watery grave? Growling in frustration, he threw caution to the wind and ran into the lake, desperately searching the dark water for any sign of someone. But, oddly enough, where before there had been a splashing, struggling body, there was nothing-no one in sight. And then when the boy was waist deep something tangled on his ankle.

Hiro thrashed, trying to get away from whatever was tangled around his legs, completely forgetting about the person he was trying to save. I should have listened to Tadashi... he thought desperately, realizing that he'd been caught in some sort of trap.

Just as he came to this conclusion, the horrible thing around his ankle dragged further out of his depth towards the center of the lake.

I'm going to die... Hiro thought with a sinking feeling in his chest. This person is going to make me drown...

Darkness surrounded him the deeper he got, yet there was strange cackling. He fervently wished Tadashi would come and make one of his last minute rescues…

0o0

Tadashi, who'd been lying on his bed studying, suddenly jerks up as he hears the alarm on his phone going off. It was linked to the tracking app he had for Hiro, and it went off any time that his little brother went somewhere that he had deemed dangerous, including the rougher parts of the city. Lately it had been going off a lot, and Tadashi was beginning to worry that his brother was involved in something that he really shouldn't be. There was no time to think about that now. Instead, he grabs his blazer from off of the bedside table and rushes down the stairs. Out in the back alley, he hops onto Bae, his motor scooter, and takes off. Following the map on his phone, he starts towards the destination where Hiro was currently at. When he was most of the way there, the little dot started moving and he was forced to course correct towards the city park. Before long, he sees his little brother walking near the pond, and he pulls up short, parking his bike near a light pole. What was Hiro doing out in the park in the middle of the night? Surely the parents of the friend that he was supposed to have been visiting could have driven him home. How irresponsible of them to let a kid Hiro's age walk home by himself! Before he even gets a chance to call out to Hiro, though, for some reason his brother suddenly starts wading into the pond. "What the hay?" Tadashi wonders, too frozen with shock to try to stop him. And then, suddenly, Hiro goes under and Tadashi lets out a cry of alarm. Someone or something was trying to drown his brother! Fortunately his instincts finally kick in and he races towards the lake, but not before grabbing the small knife that he keeps for emergency protection from out of his bag. Head first he dives into the lake, piercing the water with the skill of someone who had spent hours playing personal life guard for Hiro at the community pool. It's dark in the water, but he still manages to spot Hiro. Unfortunately, he also catches sight of some sort of weird, twisted octopus-like creature with its tentacles wrapped around the small frame. It reminds him of one of the kaiju monsters he had been a fan of when he was little, but now it filled him with terror. Still, he can't turn back now. He would put his own life on the line if it meant protecting Hiro, and he was prepared to do just that tonight. Kicking as hard as he can, he speeds through the water until he's close enough to grab Hiro's hand. Once he makes sure that he has a firm grasp on his brother, he pulls out the knife and starts attacking the tentacle that's wrapped around the tiny frame.

Hiro could have cried out of joy when he saw Tadashi dive into the water. How Tadashi always managed to find him when he was in trouble he would never know, but right now more than ever he was extremely grateful for it. He felt the tentacle loosen momentarily when Tadashi hit it with his dagger, and Hiro wasted no time in kicking it off of him.

Tadashi feels relief as Hiro pulls free and starts scissor kicking towards the surface, dragging his little bro along with him.

Hiro desperately gulped air once they broke the surface. He wanted to thank Tadashi for saving him, but he knew that right now they needed to concentrate on getting out of the water and fast. He desperately started swimming towards the shore, weakly trying to pull his brother with him, but Tadashi, a lot stronger than the younger, ends up dog paddling along, dragging Hiro, until they reach the shore and he slings the younger over his shoulders like a soggy sack of potatoes. "Come on, we need to get out of here NOW!" Tadashi cries, heading towards Bae and wanting to put as much distance between the two of them and the pond as possible.

Hiro was too tired to protest being gracelessly flung over his brother shoulder like a doll. He weakly tried to scan the darkness to see if that thing was following them, but he could barely keep his eyes open. And then, suddenly, the wooden pier began to crack beneath them, catching up fast on Tadashi's heels. "T-T-Tadashi!" Hiro weakly stammered, watching in fear as the pier crumbled.

"Hang on!" Tadashi cries, taking notice of the danger and making a leap for the dry land. A pair of tentacles surfaced in an attempt to snatch them back into the miry depths, but missed the boys just by a nose hair. The two crashed onto the land, Hiro letting out a grunt of pain as they landed. There was no time for a respite, however. The tentacles reached out of the water to snatch them so Tadashi picked Hiro up again and started running towards his moped.

"Get on!" Tadashi says as soon as they reach the bike, unceremoniously dumping Hiro onto the seat while trying to simultaneously mount up himself and put the keys in the ignition. Before he could successfully do either of these things, however, with an angry screech the creature came out of lake and latched its tentacles onto the back wheel.

"Oh my gosh!" Tadashi cries in terror, more concerned for Hiro's safety than for his own. He finally manages to get the key into the ignition and floors the gas, trying to gain enough momentum to break free of the tentacle's grasp.

Wanting to help, Hiro whipped out Megabot, his fighting bot, and its remote, sending the bot onto the tentacles that had wrapped around the wheel. It attacked visciously, and soon the tentacles are forced to let go. Writhing in pain, the tentacles finally released and, released from its constraints, the bike lunges forward. As they two boy drove away, however, a dark voice echoed in their minds, like nails over a black board: "You may have escape this time...but next time you won't be so lucky"

Feeling intense anger at the being who had almost killed Hiro, Tadashi finds his mouth opening and himself shouting back in Japanese, what he would never have dared to in English, but meaning it with all of his heart, "Ima made watashi no musuko ni te o furenaide kudasai! (Do not ever touch my son!)"

Wait, what? Had he just called Hiro his son? That made absolutely no sense. Hiro was his brother, not his kid! Still, he doesn't have time to think about the odd choice of words as he feels Hiro trembling against his back, tightly clinging to him like a lifeline. "It's okay, otouto," Tadashi says, trying his best to soothe his little brother as he speeds out of the park, reaching back to rub the boy's back. "You're going to be okay now. I've got you. Dashi's got you."

Hiro barely registered Tadashi's words, tightening his grip around his brother and trying to calm himself down. He refused to loosen his grip even when they were blocks away from the park.

"I'm sorry..." He finally whimpered, burying his head in Tadashi back.

"It's not your fault," Tadashi reassures him, wishing that he could stop to properly comfort his brother but wanting to put as much distance between them and the park as possible. "I'm just can't believe that your friend's parents would let you walk home on your own!"

"It is..." Hiro whimpered. "I-I heard someone in the water asking for help... I-I threw a rope but they went under... I-I w-w-was so s-s-stupid!" He tried to fight back tears but failed, grateful his brother's clothes where already soaked so he wouldn't feel the tears. "I-I-I-I can't believe I-I-I f-f-fell for it..." He would never go near water again—ever. The mere thought of doing so made him start trembling uncontrollably and bury his face in Tadashi's back once again, trying desperately just to feel safe.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tadashi can't put up with this for a moment longer and he pulls off to the side of the street. Once he's sure that the bike is properly parked, he turns back around to address his otouto. "Hiro, you did absolutely nothing wrong!" he says firmly. "You were trying to save someone who you thought was in danger, even at the risk of your own safety. That isn't something to be ashamed of, that's something to be proud of! I can't even begin to tell you how impressed I am right now."

Hiro flung himself at Tadashi and whispered, "Thank you for always being there..." He wasn't sure if his shaking was from the fear or from the cold, but he didn't care. Tadashi made him feel safe. He wished they were off the streets though, Hiro didn't want to think about what other horrors hid in the shadows.

"Hey, I'll always be there for you," Tadashi reassures him, gently caressing his brother's hair. Then, realizing just how much Hiro's shivering, he adds, "Now come on, let's get you home, okay?"

Hiro nodded his head and they were off. Even with the promise of home, the younger boy was still trembling and his fingers were taking on a slight blue tinge from being exposed to the cold for so long. "What if…what if that thing comes back?" Hiro asked, voice wobbling slightly with fright.

"If it does, we'll be ready for it," Tadashi replies firmly. Honestly, he doesn't have much of a plan for if that creature does reappear, but he knows he'll do whatever it takes to protect his little brother. About ten minutes later, they arrive at the café and Tadashi parks around back. Then, not caring how weird it might be, picks Hiro up bridal-style and carries him up to the back door that leads into the kitchen. "Here we are," he tells Hiro with a satisfied smile, setting the little boy down on a chair before heading back to make sure that the door's locked good and tight (he makes a mental note to looking into getting deadbolts for all of the doors and windows-the ones that he hasn't already done so, that is.) "Now, how does some of my world famous hot chocolate sound?" he asks, turning back to his brother and trying to sound as chipper as possible.

Hiro wanted to complain about being carried like a baby, but he was just so tired he didn't have the energy to care.

"Warm..." Hiro muttered in answer to Tadashi's questions, wrapping his arms around himself to try to warm up some and wondering how Tadashi wasn't freezing. "And really good..."

Tadashi was secretly freezing, but he'd learned over the years how to hide signs of physical discomfort or pain on his own part from Hiro. He didn't need his little bro to be worried about him when he needed to be more worried about himself. "Here you go," he says a few minutes later, sliding a mug of the warm drink onto the table in front of Hiro. "You drink that, and I'll be back in a minute with a blanket and some dry clothes for you, okay?"

"That's nii-chan" Hiro whispered, gratefully drinking the hot cocoa. It was just as good as he remembered. He hoped Tadashi would be back soon, though. The hot cocoa was helping, but his freezing clothes where making him freeze him at all.

Tadashi feels guilty for taking the time to get dressed in dry clothing before returning to Hiro, but it won't do either of them any good if he gets a cold and isn't able to take care of his little brother. So he quickly changes and then heads back downstairs, loaded for bear with a thick stack of blankets and some warm clothes for Hiro. "Here we are!" he announces as cheerfully as he can, hoping that Hiro hadn't gotten sick during the time that he was gone. Locking the kitchen door behind him, he brings the fresh garments over to Hiro and starts undressing him like he would have if he were five. "C'mon, let's get you out of those wet things," he says, soothingly rubbing Hiro's back as he pulls the soaking t shirt off over his head

Hiro didn't fight as Tadashi pulled his wet shirt off, but right after that he grabbed the clothes Tadashi brought and shuffled into the bathroom to put them on. He was freezing but he wasn't comfortable changing in front of his brother. He quickly pulls of the soaked clothing and dries himself off before pulling on the warmer clothes. He sighed with relief once they were on and he was finally dry. Dumping the clothes into the hamper, he shuffled back into the kitchen and wrapped a blanket around himself. Then, trying to warm himself some more, he latches onto Tadashi, enjoying the feeling of the warmth radiating from his niisan's body.

"Is my little man feeling better?" Tadashi asks, snuggling Hiro up close and trying to warm him as best he can. It concerns him that Hiro's little hands still feel like ice, but he's able to relax slightly when he feels them slowly but surely growing warmer.

"I'm not a little man," Hiro grumbled, trying to pull away from his brother only for Tadashi to tighten his grip around Hiro. He hated how sappy his niisan was getting, but then the image of the tentacles trying to drag him into the lake to his watery death flashed through his mind and caused him to shudder involuntarily. What was that thing? What did it want?

Tadashi feels the shudder and looks down at Hiro. "Hey, you okay?" he asks, feeling worried.

"I know it's stupid but... I'm a little freaked out by the whole thing... I really thought I heard someone calling for help..." Hiro admits.

"I don't know who or what that was," Tadashi answers carefully, hating that he has to lie but not wanting to scare Hiro any further and so trying to downplay the terror that he'd felt himself. He'd heard rumors recently—strange creatures showing up around the city, rumored to be the escaped experiments of one of the many genetic labs that San Fransokyo housed. It was a terrifying thought, to be sure—but there was no need to put those horrifying ideas into the mind of his impressionable younger brother, and so he just continues more mildly, "But you know as much as I do that there are some really messed up people out there who just take pleasure in hurting others. That's why I tell you to stay away from some parts of the city where there are people like that. As long as I'm with you, I'll be there to protect you from those guys." This was the truth—he would always be there to keep Hiro safe if at all possible. However, now seemed as good a time as any to hammer a warning into his adventurous otouto's head. "But from now on, especially when you're out on your own, I want you to promise me that you be out this late at night or go to those dangerous places, all right?"

Hiro frowned slightly, unsure of what to say. Most of his bot fights were in the bad parts of town, but tonight's events had shaken him up pretty badly. He didn't want to stop bot fighting completely, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to take a break.

"Ok..." he finally mumbled, hating himself even more for not being completely honest with his brother.

"Good." Tadashi hugs his little brother even closer, glad that they'd been able to have this talk. He'd been worried recently about Hiro's tendency to go into dangerous parts of the city, but he knew he could trust Hiro to be good to his word and so for now he could stop stressing out at least a little bit. Of course he'd never fully stop worrying about his brother, but this was at least a temporary reprieve.

Hiro hated to think about what Tadashi would say when he found out what he was truly up to. But there was no way that he could ever stop. Nothing else presented a challenge or held any interest for him-what else was there for him to do?

A thought strikes Tadashi as he remembers where Hiro was supposed to have been that evening. "Hiro," he begins slowly, "about school-you're doing okay there, right? I mean, things are getting better since you're actually going to visit friends and everything, right?"

Hiro tensed slightly, uncertain as to what to do. A part of him wanted to lie and say everything was ok, but another part was sick of the lies and trying to act like he was ok. Maybe he could twist it so he didn't have to tell him everything but it all didn't have to be a lie.

"I thought so..." he admitted. "But... well... we got into a fight... I realized they were just friends with me so that I'd do their homework. That's why I decided to walk home alone. I was just so upset I wanted to clear my head." For the most part, this tale was true. Hiro had made some friends recently—or he thought that he had. More and more of late, though, his so called "friends" asked him for help on their work which soon turned into them just copying everything he did to eventually them telling Hiro that he to do their work or they wouldn't be friends anymore. Hiro had been furious when this had happened and had started to purposefully mess up their work so they'd fail. He'd gotten a royal beating for pulling that stunt, but he didn't regret it.

"Oh my gosh, Hiro, I am so sorry!" Tadashi gasps, his arms instinctively moving to a more protective position around Hiro's tiny frame even though there was no immediate threat. He hadn't realized how bad things had been getting for his little bro since he'd graduated. "Have you gone to any of your teachers or the school administration about this?"

"Yea..." Hiro admitted. "They didn't believe me, though... I'm 'too young to be smart enough for people to want to cheat off of me'," Hiro spat, giving a sarcastic impression of the very thing he'd been told time and time again by the adults he'd sought out for help and feeling sick. Why did no one take him seriously just because he was younger than everyone?

"What the flamin' hay-?! Oh, that is so wrong!" Tadashi cries, instantly feeling an intense anger overtake him. Usually he didn't allow himself to get worked up about anything, but if it involved his brother, well, whoever was responsible for the suffering had better pray for mercy. "Seriously, I think I'm going to go down there and speak to those teachers myself," he finally growls. As Tadashi Hamada, straight-A student with an absolutely perfect record, he'd gained quite a positive reputation with the school faculty. He might be able to have some pull in making sure that people actually started believing Hiro.

"No!" Hiro shouted, fear filling his chest. "What if that only makes things worse?" People hated him enough as it was. He didn't need the added weight of being a tattle-tale. He'd rather avoid making any friends and only get teased for being smart than have the school force people to be nice to him and be hated even more.

Tadashi knows that tone of voice-it's the same one he'd used himself so many times when Aunt Cass had questioned him about his own struggles with bullies at school and he hadn't wanted her to know just how bad things had been. True, at least he'd had the teachers on his side so it wasn't quite as horrible as what Hiro's experiencing, but he knows enough to understand why Hiro wouldn't want him to go to the teachers. "All right," he agrees quietly, softly stroking Hiro's hair. "I won't do anything that you don't want me to do. But tell me-why didn't you come to me sooner?"

"Thanks..." Hiro mumbled. "I-I guess I was embarrassed. You had it so good in school and I... well I can't make any real friends..." He hated knowing his brother was so much better than him in every way, even socially. Tadashi had been popular at school and everyone respected him, unlike Hiro who was always laughed at and teased.

"Hey, I know how you feel," Tadashi admits with a slight grin. Seeing Hiro's disbelieving expression, he adds, "No, I'm serious! I bet you didn't know this, but I actually got bullied a lot back when I was in school too."

"No way!" Hiro exclaimed unable to believe it. There was no way he had been bullied, his brother was loved by everyone! "But... you have so many friends..."

"Friends?" Tadashi raises an amused eyebrow. "Yeah right. Posers, maybe. Seriously, I went through exactly the same thing as you did-everyone wanted me to 'help' them with their homework or to try to help them get away with stuff that the teachers normally wouldn't let them do but might let slide because I was the 'teachers' pet'. When I wouldn't, people would turn on me. No one ever noticed because they found very good ways of hiding what they were doing and I guess they were too scared to try to actually try to beat me up. But believe me, I got more hate letters stuffed in my locker and pencil leads jabbed in my back than I care to admit." He winces slightly at the memory. "I've still got a few scars from that. And did you ever wonder why I was forever staying after classes to work with teachers on extra credit and projects? That was my form of protection-of escape. I was safe as long as I was with the teachers, and honestly, I felt like I was in a lot better company with them. I mean, do you know what it's like being the only kid who was actually excited to go to college or who read Callaghan's Laws of Robotics for the fun of it? Even if the others had actually liked me, I wouldn't have known how to interact with them. I was one of the most socially awkward nerds to ever walk the halls of SFHS!"

"Really?" Hiro asked, amazed. "I guess all anyone will ever see us as is a quick way to get an A..." He sighs before continuing, "Consider yourself lucky-people don't hesitate the use me as their punching bag. Not that the teachers care, even if they do know. They actually hope that I'll realize how silly I'm being and want to go back to elementary school where I belong..."

"Ugh, that seriously ticks me off." Tadashi puts his head in his hands. "It is so stinkin' wrong. You have as much a right to be in high school as anyone else-more, actually. You've got five times the brains of any of those doofuses. And it's good to know that the teacher's I looked up to were just as bad as the rest of the school. I'm guessing that they were probably just using me to look good for the school board, huh?"

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised," Hiro sighed. "But…you really think I'm that much smarter than the other kids?"

"Are you kidding me?" Tadashi gives him an incredulous look. "You were reading the encyclopedia when I was just starting on chapter books! You were solving problems that had been stumping the world's top mathematicians when I was still trying to figure out how to multiplication! Hiro, you are brilliant, and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise!" He ruffles his little brother's hair before adding, "Oh, and for the record, you are amazing just the way that you are, and I wouldn't change a thing about you for the world."

Hiro ducked his head, a blush creeping up on his face. "I, uh... Thanks nii-chan. And I think you're great the way that you are too..."

"Aw, is someone getting embarrassed?" Tadashi teases with a slight smile.

"You're being a dork..." Hiro mumbled, face getting even redder. He loved his brother, but he was so embarrassing sometimes.

"Hey, for the record, I prefer 'nerd'," Tadashi replies, starting to tickle the boy behind his left ear where he knew the boy to be extremely ticklish.

"Cut it out, 'nerd'!" Hiro exclaimed, trying to squirm away from his brother who continued to tickle him mercilessly.

"But I love you," Tadashi responds, being over-the-top dramatic, squeezing Hiro closer like he's trying to hold onto a squirming fish.

Hiro sighed in defeat, knowing he'd not be able to escape until Tadashi was satisfied. If he was honest with himself, he really could use some sort of comfort after nearly getting drowned, so he wrapped his arms around Tadashi, tightly hugging him back.

Tadashi never knows exactly what to expect whenever Hiro actually hugs him. Sometimes it's relief. Sometimes it brings painful memories and feelings. Sometimes it's pure joy. Other times, though, he just freezes, not sure what to do. That's what happens this time. Maybe it's just that he wasn't expecting this hug after all of the banter they'd just had. Maybe it was the sudden clashing of two walls of feelings that met with such power that they almost canceled each other out so that for a moment Tadashi is left with absolutely no strength or even will to move in his whole body. But then, slowly but surely, he's finally given back control of his faculties, and he begins gently stroking Hiro's hair and softly singing one of their favorite songs: "Aloha `oe, aloha `oe, e ke onaona noho i ka lipo..."

Hiro smirks slightly when he hears Tadashi softly singing. Lilo and Stitch had always been their favorite movie, and Tadashi would always get extremely emotional during the scene with Nani singing to Lilo, which was why he knew the lyrics so well. The younger of the two boys rolled his eyes and let himself enjoy his brother's soft singing before fondly whispering when he was finished, "You're such a nerd..."

"Well, I'm your nerd," Tadashi responds playfully, ruffling his hair again just for the sake of getting to feel it.

"That's true," Hiro laughed. It was nice being able to kick back and enjoy being with his niisan, although he would never admit to that fact out loud.

"And you're my little guy," Tadashi adds, hugging Hiro closer.

Hiro rolled his eyes again, a smile on his face. Apparently he'd never get away from being Tadashi's little guy no matter how much he grew. "Wanna watch a movie or something?" he asked after a few minutes of contented silence, wanting to do something to take his mind off of what happened.

"Sounds good," Tadashi agrees, glad to do anything to help Hiro forget the terrifying events of earlier that evening. He wanted Hiro to be able to get past those and think of it as nothing more than a bad nightmare as soon as possible. For himself, he knew that the experience was going to be forever seared into his memory, but instead of letting it terrify him, he was going to try to find ways to be prepared in case that...thing ever came back. And if it did, he was going to turn it into sushi before it could ever lay another tentacle on his brother.

Hiro and Tadashi moved into the living room, the pair sitting on the sofa, the older pressed protectively against the younger. For once,, though, Hiro wasn't complaining about the contact. "So...what movie?" he asks.

"Hm..." Tadashi considers this. "How about you pick?"

Hiro though it over for a moment. He really wanted something funny and they hadn't seen it in such a long time... "Lilo and Stitch?" he finally suggests.

"Sounds perfect," Tadashi agrees, getting up to find the DVD. "You go get some popcorn while I get this started?"

"Ok," Hiro agreed grabbing a bag of popcorn and throwing it in the microwave while Tadashi started the movie. Once the popcorn was done, he dumped it into a bowl before returning to the living room and snuggling up against his brother.

Tadashi smiles as his little brother cuddles up against him, but decides not to say anything that would potentially ruin the moment, instead pushing play to start the movie. As soon as the title screen starts to roll and the castle shows up, only to suddenly start glowing green, Tadashi lets out an over-the-top gasp. "Oh my gosh, the aliens are abducting Cinderella!" he cries, pretending to freak out.

Hiro couldn't help but burst out laughing at his brother's ridiculousness and elbowed him.

"Oh come on, we're not even thirty seconds into the movie!" he exclaimed, unable to stop his laughter. It had been too long since he'd laughed so hard. "Nerd," he adds affectionately.

"Hey, nerds are going to rule the world someday," Tadashi replies, elbowing him lightly back but secretly pleased that he'd gotten Hiro to laugh. It had been too long since his little brother had actually had a good time.

"We are the ones with the brains to do it," Hiro agreed, settling beside Tadashi and throwing a piece of popcorn into his mouth.

"Absolutely," Tadashi agrees, nodding proudly. "I mean, seriously, without people like us, we wouldn't have awesome movies like this!" He gestures to the screen where a little furry blue alien is happily causing mayhem.

"And there would be no flying cats!" Hiro exclaimed when he noticed Mochi, their aunt's cat, sneaking up onto the sofa next to them, referencing a pet project the two brothers always joked about doing where they would strap rocket boots to the family cat to see how well he could fly.

"Exactly," Tadashi agrees with a slight grin. "Seriously, what sort of world would it be without crazy brothers to create flying cats?"

"Boring, very boring!" Hiro declared with a giant grin on his face. "Nothing interesting would ever happen."

"Exactly," Tadashi agrees, secretly thrilled to see his brother grinning. It had been so long since Hiro had done that, and it was honestly worth more to Tadashi than a whole bookshelf full of awards just to see his brother smile.

Hiro smiled and turned his attention back to the movie. When it got to the part where Lilo wanted to adopt Stitch Hiro asked, "What would you do if I tried to adopt a blue dog?"

"Well, I wouldn't have an issue with it," Tadashi replies with a slight smile. "But somehow I get the feeling that Aunt Cass wouldn't allow it since we have Mochi and the two probably wouldn't get along that well."

Hiro smirked and asked, "So the only problem with all of this is that the possibly alien dog is a dog and wouldn't get along with the cat and not the fact that the dog is blue?"

"Well hey, I think that a blue dog would be pretty cool," Tadashi returns with a slight smile. "He'd make an awesome mascot for the Hamada bros, don't you think?"

"Better than Mochi?" Hiro asked.

"Hm... that is true, I guess a flying cat is hard to beat," Tadashi agrees after a moment's thought.

"Imagine a flying blue dog though..." Hiro said after a few minutes of contemplative silence.

"Now that would be epic!" Tadashi grins, and then, hearing the injured meow from the cat sitting next to him adds, "No offense, Mochi."

"Well, that settles it, if we ever get a blue dog, we will have to have a competition to see who is more worthy to be our mascot!"

"Oh yeah!" Tadashi agrees, putting up his hand for a fist bump

Grinning Hiro bumped Tadashi's fist with his own for the Hamada explosion.

"Seriously, though, no one could ever be cooler than my little bro," Tadashi adds, pulling Hiro back in for some more snuggling.

Hiro rolled his eyes but didn't fight Tadashi, settling down instead to enjoy the movie.

Eventually they hit the part of the movie where Lilo talks to Stitch about her and Nani's deceased parents. Tadashi always does his best to try to keep himself from losing it during the scene, but he never can. It's too similar to their own story-the parents dying in a car crash, the older sibling having to take responsibility for the care of the younger-that it's almost impossible for it not to strike a nerve. Not wanting to upset Hiro, though, he merely hugs his little brother a little tighter, quietly burying his face in the younger's thatch of raven hair and letting the tears fall.

Hiro knew that this part always got to Tadashi, it being painfully similar to what they had gone through themselves. He honestly hardly remembered what happened that day, but he knew that Tadashi remembered it all too well. Knowing how much his brother needed it, Hiro wrapped his arms tightly around Tadashi as best he could and let his niisan silently cry.

Tadashi was grateful to feel Hiro hugging him-somehow his little brother's hugs could always make him feel better about anything. They had gotten him through some of his worst days, especially in the weeks following their parents' deaths. He still has vivid mental images of everything that had happened back then, although for the most part he was able to keep those memories locked away and mainly forgotten so that he didn't have to deal with the pain. Bu,t as he thinks about it now, he wonders just how much Hiro's actually able to recall about their parents.

Hiro knew he did the right thing when Tadashi's grip around him tightened. A part of him felt guilty for not remembering anything and leaving his brother to suffer alone, but the selfish part of him was grateful he didn't have those memories. He just wished he knew better what he could do for his brother. Should he ask? Or would asking only make things worse? Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he finally asked, "Umm... Dashi... H-... I mean...what ca-...I'm sorry..." He hated himself for not being able to get the question out, but he just didn't know what else to say.

"Hey, you okay?" Tadashi asks, looking down at Hiro in concern, wiping his eyes quickly on the sleeve of his shirt and wondering if the movie's upsetting his little brother too.

"Yea I just... feel bad... I don't remember our parents at all and... I feel bad seeing you upset over something and I don't know how to make you feel better..." Hiro eventually said. "You don't have to pretend to not be upset, you know..."

"Whoa, don't feel bad that you can't remember for my sake!" Tadashi cries, feeling terrible for apparently making Hiro feel worse. Way to keep the mood cheerful, Dashi he mentally chides himself. Still, now that the subject is out on the floor, he might as well take advantage of the situation to start asking Hiro some of the questions that had been bothering him. "I was actually thinking about how hard it must be for you-you didn't really get much of a chance to know our parents, did you?"

"No..." Hiro admitted. "But... I guess it's hard to miss something you never really had, you know?" He looked up at Tadash,i who seemed to look even more upset. Good job Hiro, making him even more upset Hiro mentally scolded himself.

"I wish that you had gotten to spend much time with them," Tadashi says after taking a minute to collect his thoughts, feeling more sorry for Hiro that he hadn't gotten to experience what it was like having parental figures in his life than upset with him for not remembering. The poor kid had only been three when they'd died, after all-how could he be expected to remember that far back when even Tadashi's memories of those times were somewhat fuzzy? "I think you really would have liked them," he continues, going back in his mind to his early years. "I mean, I can see a lot of both of them in you."

"You can?" Hiro asked, movie forgotten. "Like how?" A part of him didn't really need to know about his parents-he honestly couldn't even recall their faces. But another part did want to know what about him reminded Tadashi of them.

"Well..." Tadashi considers this. "Looks wise you've got a lot from mom-she was always on the smaller side, if you catch my drift, and you definitely have her ears and face shape, plus you have her smile and eyes. Personality wise, I'm a lot more like mom on the quiet, thinking everything through a million times before actually doing anything about it side, but you've definitely got her determination-if she put her mind to something that she really believed in, she would find a way to get it done, no matter what the odds. As for dad, I think we've both got Hamada hair, although you seem to have it worse than me." Tadashi smiles slightly as he mentions the incessant bed head that seems to be genetic in this family. "Seriously, if he combed it and put some time into it like I do, it was pretty much like mine usually is, but on the days he just let it have its own way, he looked like this epic mad scientist or something-which, he sort of was. He absolutely loved robotics, and he could build whatever machine he needed out of whatever stuff was around him. You would have loved hanging out with him in the lab-I think you would have had a lot of fun getting to invent things with him. Oh, plus he was just a natural genius like you, although truth be told I think you surpass even him on that front."

"Wow..." Hiro mumbled. They sounded like pretty cool parents. As hard as Hiro tried to though, he just couldn't feel anything other than a small pang in his chest that he never really got to meet them. "I... I kind of wish I'd met them but... I... I don't really miss them you know? I-I'm sorry..."

"Hey, don't be sorry for my sake," Tadashi says, stroking his little brother's hair. "And if anything, I'm glad that you're able to live your life without having to be held back by memories or regret."

"Regret?" Hiro asked confused. What did Tadashi have to regret about them?

"Well..." Tadashi turns slightly red, hating to say anything against his parents' memories, especially since Hiro didn't remember them that well and he wanted his little brother to think of them in a positive light. But, wanting to be honest, he admits with a slight sigh, "I mean, as awesome as they were, Mom and Dad spent a lot, a lot of time at the lab. The time they spent with me was amazing, but, honestly, I didn't get near as much as I wanted to. Sometimes if I was lucky I got to go with them and hang out with Fred and Abigail, the kids of mom and dad's friends at the lab. But more often than not I was left on my own in the house. It was actually pretty lonely until you came along and changed everything."

"That must have been lonely..." Hiro muttered, the whole thing painfully familiar to him. He knew what it was like to feel left out and alone, especially since Tadashi had started college. "I know what that's like."

Tadashi instantly felt guilty upon hearing that. He knew that he'd been really busy with school-now that he thought about it, though, he'd really been neglecting Hiro of late. "I guess I take after our parents a little too much, huh?" he finally says sadly after a minute.

Hiro winced, hating that he'd made Tadashi feel guilty. His brother loved school, something he had once as well. He couldn't blame him for loving it so much. "It's ok to love school," he finally says slowly. "But... if you feel bad about being gone so much, maybe we could try and do stuff like this more often? Minus the mushy gushy feeling stuff and nearly getting drowned, of course. We could go back to just inventing and other fun stuff."

"Absolutely," Tadashi agrees, mentally making a promise to himself that he was going to try to find opportunities to spend more time with his otouto. "Maybe we could even go out and have some adventures like we used to when we were younger," he suggests after a minute's thought. "Like, I know there's this awesome comic convention coming to the area this weekend! Maybe we could go to that together?"

Hiro did not like the sound of a going to a nerd convention, but it seemed like Tadashi really wanted to go, and since he was making an effort to spend more time with him, how could he say no? "Sure, why not?" he agrees. "Just don't expect me to dress up in some nerd outfit!" Hiro was definitely more interested in robots and inventing than in comics and cosplay, but he'd do almost anything as long as it was with his nii-chan.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't want you to feel like you have to do anything you're not comfortable with," Tadashi responds, secretly celebrating because he'd expected Hiro to reject the idea flat-out.

"Then it's a deal," Hiro agreed, raising his fist.

"It's a deal," Tadashi agrees, raising his own fist for the fist bump. Then, feeling silly because he was in a good mood, instead of making the usual explosion sound at the end, he said, "Ba-la-la-la-la!"

"What was that?" Hiro asked, making a face at his brother.

"Eh, just thought I'd mix it up a little," Tadashi says with a slight smile.

"Ok, whatever, nerd." Hiro said, shrugging.

"Yeah I'm a nerd, and don't you forget it," Tadashi replies, grinning and poking his brother lightly.

"You're my nerd though," Hiro added, elbowing him back.

"Yes I am," Tadashi agrees, snuggling his little brother again.

Hiro rolled his eyes and hugged his brother. Tadashi was a dork, but he was his dork. "That's why I love you."

Tadashi can't help but feel a complete and total feels overload at that. Had his little brother just said, "I love you"?! The hug quickly turns into a full-on glomp fest, complete with happy squeaking noises.

Hiro couldn't help but laugh slightly at his brother's reaction to what he'd said. His brother sure got excited easily. He frowned slightly when he realized how long it had been since he had actually told Tadashi how much he cared about him, which was probably why he was crushing him at the moment. It was time to change that, just in case it became too late.

"I love you too, otouto," Tadashi finally says, realizing that he'd given all of the physical signs of affection but not expressed it verbally yet.

Hiro smiled and tightened his grip around his brother, a wave of emotions hitting him suddenly. He had always rationalized keeping his emotions hidden because he was a boy and as such he shouldn't openly say that he loved his brother, like, ever. He was realizing, though, that that was cruel to his Tadashi, and he resolved to fix this pattern of behavior as soon as possible.

"I'm never going to want to let you go at this point, you know that?" Tadashi finally mumbles into Hiro's hair as the closing scenes of the movie flash across the screen.

Hiro tightened his grip around him and mumbled, "I honestly don't mind right now." He was so tired, drained physically and emotionally, that he appreciated just being able to be there with his brother and feeling safe.

"Good, because I'm not going anywhere," Tadashi responds.

"You better not," Hiro mumbled clutching his brother tightly.

"Nope, I'm staying right here with the best otouto in the world!"

"Good, cuz I don't want to lose the coolest nii-chan in the world."

"Aw, you actually think I'm a cool niichan?" Tadashi asks with a smile.

"Don't let it go to your head or else you won't be cool anymore."

"I won't," Tadashi promises, "because when it comes to coolness, my otouto totally has me beat."

Hiro's face turned bright red at Tadashi's comment and all Hiro could stammer out was "T-t-thanks..."

Tadashi can tell that Hiro's embarrassed, but honestly, his little bro needs some confidence-boosting, and that's exactly what big brothers were there for.

Hiro honestly had no idea how Tadashi thought he was so amazing, but he really appreciated it.

"Oh, look!" Tadashi points to the screen, smiling as he does so. "It's the part where Stitch get to go home with Lilo for good!"

"Not gonna cry on me, are you bro?" Hiro teased, curling up against Tadashi.

"Hey, real men aren't afraid to cry in movies," Tadashi retorts with a grin.

"Because you are such a manly man," Hiro teased a grin on his face.

"Well...reasonably," Tadashi responds after thinking this over for a moment. "I like to think that I'm also in touch with my feminine side."

"No offense, but I think you make a much better brother than a sister," Hiro replied jokingly.

"A brother who knows how to sew just about anything and is a total boss in the kitchen," Tadashi agrees with a slight smirk.

"Better not say that in front of Aunt Cass," was all Hiro would say to that.

"Hey, she's the one who taught me how to cook, so she should take it as a compliment," Tadashi returns, enjoying the friendly banter.

"Or she'll take it as a threat of her place in the house," Hiro countered teasingly, loving getting to hang out with his brother like this.

"Don't worry, I know better than to challenge the master," Tadashi reassures him with a light laugh.

"Good, cuz I do not want to have to choose between you and Aunt Cass when she throws you out," Hiro laughed.

"Hey, you'd better pick me, because if you don't I will seriously kidnap you and take you somewhere no one will ever find you," Tadashi shoots back, hugging him protectively.

Hiro grinned and laughed, "Well it looks like I don't have a choice in the matter does it? Would you at least take my tool box so I could build stuff?"

"Are you kidding me? I'd make us the coolest inventing center ever!" Tadashi returns with a grin. "We'd have all sorts of workshops and we could build stuff all day!"

Laughing, Hiro declared, "Sorry Aunt Cass, but Hamada Bros Inc must live on! It would be so cool! We could invent epic stuff and sell it to make millions! Oh man, is it bad I want us to get kicked out so that can happen?"

"Well, maybe we don't want to get ourselves kicked out, but one day, we're going to make it a reality," Tadashi promises.

"Yea, and when we do it's going to be amazing! It'll just be you and me making incredible things and reaching for the flying cats!"

"Absolutely," Tadashi agrees, nodding his head in satisfaction. "And we'll change the whole world."

Hiro grinned up at Tadashi nodding his head. "No, how about the whole universe?"

"Oh yeah!" Tadashi agrees enthusiastically. "Because that's how the Hamadas do things!"

"Exactly" Hiro agreed raising a fist for a fist bump.

Tadashi returns the fist bump, and then suddenly lets out a yawn. "How late is it?" he asks. When he checks the clock on the wall, he feels vaguely panicked. "1 am?! Oh my gosh, we need to get you to bed, you have school in the morning!"

Hiro huffed in annoyance before taking on an innocent look, "But nii-chan, I almost drowned, do I have to go?"

"Yes, it's a school day, and you don't need to be missing classes unless it's absolutely necesarry," Tadashi returns. Still, overprotective brother syndrome kicking in, he realizes that Hiro might be afraid of nightmares after what happened (heck, he was probably going to be having nightmares after this!), so he softens a little bit and decides to offer his younger brother something that he knew had always helped when they were little and the boy had been frightened by thunderstorms or the idea of monsters in the closet. "Hey," he says, giving Hiro's shoulder a gentle nudge, "do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?"

Hiro wanted to tell him that he wasn't a child anymore, but another part desperately wanted his nii-chan to be near him in case that creature came back, or, worse, nightmares. He nodded his head and mumbled, "That- that sounds good..."

"Great." Tadashi grins, glad that Hiro's agreeing to this-honestly, he doesn't exactly want to let the boy out of his sights either. He puts his arm around his otouto's shoulders. "You ready to head up?"

"Yea," Hiro agreed, following Tadashi up to their room.

"You go ahead and start getting ready," Tadashi tells him, giving him a gentle shove towards the bathroom. "I'll be there in a minute." As soon as Hiro's gone, Tadashi heads over to the closet and starts moving boxes. It's been a while since he'd pulled this out, but tonight he feels the need for having a little added protection. He finally finds what he's looking for behind an old hockey stick and a baseball bat. Blowing the dust off of the sheath, he pulls the blade of his father's katana out and tests it against his finger. A thin line of blood instantly appears on his skin-it's as sharp as if it had just been sharpened yesterday. Maybe he's being paranoid, but he'd like to have it on hand just in case. Still, as he starts to turn back towards the main room he decides that it's probably best if Hiro doesn't know about this. What would he think if he knew that his older brother actually knew how to use a sword?

Hiro was almost positive Tadashi was up to something, he was acting very strange. A part of Hiro was curious, another was just grateful that Tadashi was probably doing something to protect them from whatever that monster had been. He finished getting ready and walked back into their bedroom, collapsing onto Tadashi's bed.

Tadashi freezes as he starts across the bedroom, only to find that Hiro's already back out. "Oh shoot..." he cries under his breath.

Hiro heard Tadashi gasp and sat up, eyes wide. "Is something wrong?"

"Um..." Tadashi isn't sure how to answer that, considering the fact he's standing in the middle of his bedroom holding a deadly weapon and he had no idea how to explain this to his little bro.

"W-where did you get that?" Hiro stammered once he noticed the sword in his brother's hand.

Tadashi tries to think of a good reply to that, but his brain has chosen to freeze up on him so he's actually completely immobilized for a full minute. Then he finally has enough sense to lower the sword so that at least it doesn't look like he's gone psycho and is planning on actually using it on anyone (at that moment, anyway.) "Uh... I guess I have some explaining to do," he finally manages to get out, turning red and rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

"You think?" Hiro asked, glancing warily at the sword in his brother's hand. How had he never known about that thing?

Tadashi comes over and sits down on the bed next to Hiro. He hopes that his brother doesn't mind that he hasn't put the katana down yet, but he's somehow unwilling to let it go-he'd honestly forgotten how right it felt for there to be the hilt of a sword in his hand. The very fact that he's so comfortable around the blade is yet another thing he's going to have to explain to his otouto-seriously, what is Hiro going to think once he knows the truth about all of this? Realizing that being silent was probably only freaking Hiro out more, though, the older Hamada finally forces himself to start speaking. "Um, you know how I was telling you about Dad earlier?" he begins awkwardly.

"Yea..." Hiro slowly replied, eyeing the sword warily. "Did...did Dad teach you to use that?"

"He did," Tadashi agreed, carefully turning the blade over in his hand. "That among many other things. The truth is...I've never told you this before, but we come from a long, long line of Japanese warriors. Some of them were even samurai back in the day. Of course there isn't really that much of a need for those sorts of fighters anymore, and vigilantism is frowned upon, but that doesn't mean that our family stopped being prepared in case the day ever came that they were needed again. They kept training in secret, one generation teaching the skills to the next. And Dad-he was probably one of the best ever. He was seriously amazing- I don't think there was a single form of Japanese fighting that he hadn't mastered. I wish you could have seen him in action, it was incredible! Before he died, he started teaching me." He gives Hiro a sad smile. "He wanted to teach you too, y'know, but, well, I think you know why that couldn't happen."

"Wow..." Hiro whispered. "That's sick! I never thought you'd be one to use a weapon but... it works for you...really well actually."

Tadashi blushes slightly. "T-thanks," he stammers out. "I mean, I've never actually used it to hurt anyone or anything, but I guess it is sort of useful to know how to use it just in case."

"I honestly feel a little safer knowing you have this," Hiro admitted. Knowing his brother had something that could hurt the monster from earlier was definitely reassuring.

"So, you're not freaked out that your brother's secretly an amateur samurai?" Tadashi asks, wanting to make sure but feeling a relieved smile beginning to cross his face.

"...A little shocked but it's really cool!"

"I'm glad," Tadashi laughs. "Believe me, it hasn't been easy keeping it a secret for this long."

"What, have you been training in secret or something?" Hiro asks, meaning it as a joke.

Tadashi turns slightly red. "Um...maybe?"

"When...how...where?" Hiro stammered, unable to comprehend how he missed his brother pulling out a weapon like this.

"I mean, I haven't picked up a sword in years," Tadashi quickly reassures his little brother. "But I have to say that it is a bit of a rush to fight muggers off when they're attacking vulnerable girls or old ladies on the street." He turns scarlet as he realizes that he'd just admitted to that out loud. "Not-not that I actually go into dangerous parts of the city looking for fights! I mean, that would be completely irresponsible..." Oh gosh, he was getting in waaaaay over his head.

"Riiiight," Hiro agreed sarcastically. "I totally believe you. I mean you are the responsible one who would never ever do anything stupid like that."

"Of course I wouldn't," Tadashi agrees, fidgeting a little since he can tell that Hiro can totally see through him. Shoot, this totally was going to blow up in his face at some point…

"Right" Hiro agreed. "Because lying to your innocent otouto would be very bad for such a great nii-chan to do."

Tadashi puts his head in his in his hands. "Oh gosh, I'm such a horrible role model," he groans.

"Hey, you could be doing something really bad like drugs or something!" Hiro hurries to reassure him

"What makes you think I'm not?" Tadashi returns, completely straight faced.

Hiro eyed Tadashi carefully before declaring, "You're right I don't. I should probably get you drug tested just to be sure."

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Tadashi quickly assures him, laughing at his little brother's reaction.

"You sure?" Hiro asked, eyebrows raised.

"Hamada bros honor," Tadashi promises, raising his right hand.

"Alright, I believe you," Hiro responded, grinning.

"Good." Tadashi gives him a relieved look. "Seriously, I wouldn't lie to you about something as important as that. I may not always be the best role model, but I am trying." He ruffles Hiro's hair affectionately. "At least I know I don't have to worry about you going off and doing anything stupid, right?"

"Right!" Hiro exclaimed, tensing slightly as he lies right through his teeth. He quickly hurries on, trying to comfort his conscience, "You try so hard nii-chan. That's all anyone could ever expect!" Once again he was hit with the intense desire to tell Tadashi about the bot fighting, but he managed to hold back, although just barely.

"Well, I don't know about that, but thanks," Tadashi says with a slight smile. He'd honestly never truly feel like he was doing enough as an older brother, but Hiro's reassurances were enough to at least make him feel slightly better about everything.

"No, I'm serious!" Hiro assured. "I just...you're my best friend and... the best brother I could ask for."

"I couldn't ask for a better brother either," Tadashi says, pulling Hiro in for another hug.

Hiro smiled contently, shutting his eyes and enjoying being tightly held. He didn't like to admit it, but he was lonely. Somehow, though, his nii-chan was always able to chase away the dark thoughts.

Tadashi gently begins to rock Hiro back and forth like he always did when they were little and his little bro had a hard time falling asleep.

Hiro felt himself slowly relaxing, his exhaustion creeping up on him.

Tadashi gently moves the katana with his foot to rest against the bedside table, and then, feeling content that at least for now he's done everything he can to protect his little brother, he leans his head up against the wall so he can at least try to get in a couple of hours of shuteye. "Good night Hiro," he whispers.

"Night Dashi..." Hiro mumbled. If he was being honest with himself, he was still a bit unsettled. Ever since Tadashi brought up their parents crash earlier that night, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He desperately wanted to remember something about that day, anything, but it was all just a blur to him. The only image he could conjure up was Tadashi holding him in the hospital, crying.

Frustrated, Hiro let his tired eyes drift shut and fell into a restless sleep.

0o0

((Hey guys! We hope that you're enjoying the story so far! :D Just real quick, we're going to take a moment to recognize some of the awesome RP'ers who also contributed to this story! By order of appearance:
((Lake Kaiju: WDisneyRP-Ursula
((Professor Callaghan/Abigail: WDisneyrRP-Yokai
((Honey Lemon: WDisneyRP-HoneyLemon
((GoGo: WDisneyRP-GoGo/ u/4645321/Rebeccafairy
((Please check them out, they are all seriously amazing! If you'd like to be involved in our RP group, please visit the DisneyRP-Old-and-New group homepage on DeviantArt-it will give you all of the information about how you can join this awesome community of RPer's! Anways, thanks again so much for reading, and we'll see you next chapter! ^w^))