So…this story has been in the works for a few months and I finally think it's ready to be presented to you, my amazing readers!

I was listening to the song Journey to the Past a lot and decided to do a little play on that with our two favorite brothers! Yes, it'll be a bit like the scenes from Anastasia, but not exactly, so no worries. However, to make everyone happy, I'm going to say this once, JUST ONCE! I do not own Big Hero 6, the ideas presented in the movie Anastasia, or the song that this story (and title) is based upon. Okay?

Lastly, if you are new to me and my writing/stories, I'm going to say that I have a fanfiction Twitter account where I post info related to my stories and writing progress and updates and such. If you're interested in following, information is on my fanfiction profile.

Now that all that's taken care of, it's time for chapter 1. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: I Don't Want To Live With Aunt Cass!

"Come on, Hiro. Aunt Cass is waiting for us," ten-year-old Tadashi encouraged his three-year-old brother, Hiro. "You love Aunt Cass. Now we're going to live with her." He pulled gently on Hiro's hand, but the toddler refused to budge.

"No! I don't want to live with Aunt Cass! I want to live with Mom and Dad!"

Tadashi sighed again for perhaps the thousandth time. His little brother could be quite stubborn when he wanted to be. "I know, Hiro. I want to live with Mom and Dad too, but we can't. They're gone."

It had been only a week since the fire. Tadashi had been at school when it happened. Hiro had been at Aunt Cass's house so that the Hamada parents could have a nice quiet afternoon to themselves. Deep down, Tadashi feared that Hiro blamed Aunt Cass for the fire. Hiro was a toddler and he did not want to accept his parents' death, so he blamed it on the first person he could think of and that person just happened to be the person who was watching him that morning.

"I don't care! I don't want to live with Aunt Cass!" Hiro yelled out again, as if hoping Tadashi would change his mind.

Tadashi stooped down to face Hiro at his younger brother's eye level. "Hiro, please understand. We don't have a choice. Everything will get better, I promise, but it'll take time."

"No! You're wrong, 'Dashi!" Hiro yelled again, this time tears sprung to his eyes. "It won't get better! Not without Mom and Dad!"

"Hiro," Tadashi shushed his brother, speaking softly while hugging his brother tightly and running a hand through the toddler's constantly-messy black hair.

Hiro did not speak. He just cried into Tadashi's shoulder. Tadashi wanted to cry too, but he also knew that he had to stay strong for his brother. The youngest Hamada usually tried to act tough, so when Hiro let his guard down, Tadashi took extra care to be there for his little brother.

When Hiro ran out of tears, Tadashi tried again to convince the boy that this move would not be as bad as he thought it would be. "Hiro, I want you to at least try to accept that we have to live with Aunt Cass, okay? If you do that, I promise that I will build robots with you after we are all moved in and have adjusted, okay?" Tadashi hated resorting to bribing his little brother, but if Hiro didn't change his mind soon, they would not make it to Aunt Cass's home before dinner; they still had to walk there, since she was busy running her café today.

Hiro pouted, but he could not turn down Tadashi's offer. The youngest Hamada enjoyed spending afternoons tinkering around in robotics mini-projects with his older brother. "Fine."

Tadashi smiled and broke the hug to stand up. "Okay, it's settled then. Come on, Hiro, take my hand and we'll walk to Aunt Cass's house."

Tightly, Tadashi clutched Hiro's hand and the brothers walked toward the Lucky Cat Café. Tadashi knew that Hiro was still reluctant to see the good in this move, but the older Hamada was certain that, someday, Hiro would understand and accept this new home.

It was growing late and the working adults of San Fransokyo were starting to leave work and commute back to their homes. As the brothers approached one of the city's many tram stations, the crowd picked up, congesting the sidewalk around the entrance to the station.

"Hold tightly to my hand, Hiro. Don't let go," Tadashi warned his little brother, afraid that, with such a large crowd, they would become separated. Hiro was so small that Tadashi feared he would never find his brother if that happened. The warning Tadashi had given Hiro was mainly so the younger knew not to break away and wander on his own; Tadashi knew that it would be his own responsibility to ensure that Hiro remained with him until they made it through the crowd.

Tadashi led the way, pushing his way through the crowd—no easy task when the adults were all so much larger than him. Being in close proximity with so many people increased the sweat on Tadashi's hands. He could feel his grip on Hiro's small hand loosening. No, please just let me get through this crowd, he silently begged.

There just seemed to be no end to this crowd. Tadashi wished he could see. Just stay with me, Hiro. We're almost there, he urged his brother even though he wasn't fully sure about that last part…and he knew that Hiro would not hear the words he had spoken in his mind.

His sweat-soaked hand slipped from Hiro's and Tadashi felt the loss instantly. "Hiro!" He turned and tried to push his way back to the spot where Hiro had been, but he could not find any hint of his brother's messy black hair. He tried to keep pushing through, but the crowd only seemed to grow in size. Why were there so many adults in San Fransokyo? Didn't they understand that he had to find his brother immediately?

The crowd was too strong and the force of the adults around him pushed Tadashi back out into the open. Without the resistance of the crowd around him, there was no one to stop Tadashi from falling back onto his butt onto the sidewalk. It hurt, but he refused to let the pain stop him. Instantly, Tadashi was up on his feet again and yelling that he needed to find his brother. Around him, the adults were all lost in their own little worlds, looking down upon their cell phones or talking on them. Some adults just looked burned out from their full days of work. None of them stopped to help Tadashi.

Tears sprang to Tadashi's eyes. He had failed. He'd failed their parents. He'd failed Aunt Cass. He'd failed himself. I'm the worst big brother ever. Tadashi just wanted to sit down, right there on the sidewalk, and cry over his failure, but he knew that would do nothing to help him find Hiro again. The police station! If I go there and tell them what happened, maybe they'll send someone to find Hiro!

Taking a slight detour, Tadashi changed course to walk to the police station right in the center of San Fransokyo. Aunt Cass will understand if we're a little late…especially if it means that she can greet both me and Hiro when we get there.

At the police station, Tadashi, distraught and close to tears by this point, explained his story to the desk clerk. The bored desk clerk informed Tadashi that he would dispatch an officer to the station to search for Hiro. He also called Cass who met her nephew at the station. Both Cass and Tadashi waited there for the dispatched officer to return. Unfortunately, they were both disappointed when the officer returned alone.

So, originally, I was going to end this chapter by returning to Hiro and showing what happened to him after he lost grip of Tadashi's hand. However, the chapter was getting overly long and it would just be more logical to begin the next chapter with that information. That means chapter two will go back in time a little before continuing on with Hiro's story. I'll say that again next chapter as well. See you all then!

Thank you all for reading and supporting Journey to the Past!

Posted: September 3, 2015