Just a Robot (Tadashi x Reader)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Jet

You studied your friend. (O/Y/N) was staring at the notepad in her hands. "What's wrong?" you finally asked after a few moments.

(O/Y/N) shook her head. "I-I don't know. . . this is just going faster than I expected." She looked up with a grin, much to your surprise. "You might finally see Tadashi again!"

You plopped down on the mattress. "Yes. . . but what if we're wrong? What if this is all for nothing?" You picked up the pillow and hugged it. "What if Tadashi is really dead?"

"Don't say that," Hiro blurted from the corner of the room where he was packing his stuff. "The stuff you said before we came here really made sense. They're all hinting that my brother is alive."

"Then where is he?" You forced through gritted teeth. "What did you bury after he 'died?' That night when you fought Callaghan, you clearly heard the splash as that professor died."

(O/Y/N) stared at you. "What is it?" you asked. "You're creeping me out."

"Hiro," (O/Y/N) said. "Callaghan could have used microbots to catch himself. But he fell."

A stunned silence fell over the group. "Why didn't I think of this earlier?" Hiro exclaimed, leaping to his feet. He paced around the room wildly, hands raking through his black hair. 

"Microbots?" you asked, clearly confused. 

"Yeah," Hiro said. "I used them to get into SFIT. Then I sold it to them because why not?" He held his thumb and forefinger a few centimeters apart. "They're black, and about the size of this. You can wear this thing that picks up your mind so basically you get to control their movement. It's so cool! You-"

"Okay, that's nice, but how did Callaghan get them?" you interrupted.

"He used them in some first encounter, I think. I forgot. But if he was loose that one night. . . he would have brought them to fight." Hiro threw himself onto the mattress. "This is making my brain hurt."

You blinked at him. "So. . .what if he didn't bring them because he knew the microbots couldn't pick up the mind messages. . ."

". . . because he wasn't human!" (O/Y/N) screamed. "Oh my God! This - this - " She made a strangled noise as she thrashed on the mattress wildly while flinging a blue pillow into the air. It rocketed across the room and knocked over the nice potted plant. 

Hiro stared at (O/Y/N). "So, what was he? A zombie?"

You raised your hand meekly. "Uh, a robot. What else? He makes lifelike robots, remember?" Another memory of (F/N) flashed through your mind, and you shuddered. 

Something lit up in Hiro's brown eyes, and (O/Y/N) scrambled for her notepad. You pondered for a moment. "So, Callaghan deliberately made a robot that looked like him. Since microbots can only pick up human minds, he didn't bring them. So when he 'died,' that wasn't him."

"Unbelievable," Hiro gaped. "But we can't confirm this is true." 

You ran a hand through your (H/L) (H/C) hair. "I know, but what about Tadashi?"

"Do you think he was a robot too?" (O/Y/N) asked quietly. 

"We'll figure that out later," you decided. "Right now, our priority is figuring out what's up between your dad and Callaghan." 

"Right!" Hiro and (O/Y/N) chorused in unison.

* * *

You stood on the beach with everything packed up. A cluster of males stood off to the side, looking quite excited. 

Hiro nudged you. "So, Detective, where are we supposed to go next?" he asked jokingly. 

"I guess Michiko, then Hoshi," you said, half to yourself. You looked down at the sand. "They're closer, anyway, and besides, I bet they have some information."