Who We Are (Hiro x Reader)

chapter ten

"No," you whisper. You run to the side door of the café, where Hiro and Tadashi quickly follow suit. The creepers are all too intrigued with the noise and movement of the fire to even notice you. They trudge towards the flames, only offering deep-voiced screams as the flames engulf them. The door of the café is still hinged, just opened. Opened without a struggle. So where's Cass?

"A fire couldn't have done that," you mutter. You peek inside. And you're right. Inside of the café, in the middle of the floor, are two bodies. Each with a bullet hole in their heads. One belongs to one of the men that chased you just one day before. The next belongs to Aunt Cass. Your heart sinks to the floor.

"No!" Hiro screams, shoving you out of the way and reaching for her. Tadashi grabs the young boy and pulls him back until Hiro's imprisoned against Tadashi's chest. "No, Aunt Cass!"

Tadashi looks completely lost. You realize that you're the only one capable of saving them right now. "Look, we can't stay here. It's only a matter of time before the other guy finds us or this building explodes. You've gotta come with me." Tadashi blinks at you, his head shaking slightly. "Look, I know that this is scary. Trust me, I know. But there's nothing we can do for her. Let me help you. She would want that, wouldn't she?"

Tadashi looks down at his sobbing brother and nods. "We've got to go."

Hiro looks up at Tadashi. "What?" he mutters in disbelief.

"We've got to go," he repeats. Just then, a shot goes off and you recoil just in time.

Right in front of you, holding a gun, is the other man that chased you. "Knew I'd find ya, little girl," he says with a loud laugh. He limps out of the café, his leg bleeding out a huge amount of blood. You start to back up, tugging on Tadashi's arm as you do so. "And now look at ya. Crying, alone." He laughs again. "Your mom's dead, boys. And soon enough, you'll be, too. Or, you can give us that girl." He holds his hand up. "Come on. It's not that hard. You barely know her."

You turn your head and see the creepers making their way towards you. The gunshot must've drawn them in. Tadashi makes a note of this, too. He shoves Hiro forward, grabs his gun, and shouts, "Run!" before firing a shot at the man's feet. It hits the tip of his shoe, making him jump backwards and into the cafe.

Hiro grabs your hand and pulls you with him, running around the side of the café and ending up on the next curb. You watch as Tadashi leads the creepers into the café, escapes, and runs back to you. The man's screams are loud and ear-splitting. Tadashi encircles his arms around you and Hiro and says, "Keep walking. Don't look back. Don't look back."

"Aunt Cass," Hiro mumbles. "W-We've gotta - we've gotta-"

"Hiro, no," you whisper, your arm draping around his shoulder. "She's gone."

"We need to get somewhere," Tadashi says.

"I can take you guys somewhere. It's safe, I promise."

Tadashi nods. "Okay. Okay, take us."

Just minutes later, you're leading Tadashi and Hiro up to your attic in the funeral home. It's the same as you left it; everything had just had a quick pick over. You noticed that the empty cans you kept by the window were all scraped clean. Were those guys that hungry, that they'd clean the empty cans for a scrap of food?

Your bed, the pile of curtains, was thrown everywhere. Probably during the rapid search for anything, you think. You give Tadashi and Hiro a curtain and sit back against the wall. You stare up at the gaping hole you created before you fled. Making a note to be extra quiet since that was open, you stuff your curtain between the drywall so no one could see in.

"Hiro, you've gotta keep quiet," Tadashi mumbles to his brother.

You gulp and look over at them. Tadashi's eyes are red and puffy, Hiro's face an absolute mess. "Is there anything I can do?"

Tadashi shakes his head. Hiro pulls himself from his brother, grabs the curtain, folds it to make a pallet, and lays down. You watch as Tadashi takes Baymax out of his luggage. Baymax treats Hiro's wound. After Baymax is finished and put back, he curls up in a ball and faces the wall opposite of you and Tadashi. It's a while before he speaks again. Hiro is snoring softly when Tadashi finally moves next to you. "He doesn't usually cry like this. Even when everyone thought I was dead... after the fire. Before they found me, he was just empty. Now, I - I - don't know what to do. Aunt Cass was always good at this, you know? When my parents died, she knew exactly what to say to get me to stop crying, even though she was young and had no knowledge on how to raise a couple of kids." He smiles and little. "I can't believe that she's gone."

You purse your lips. "Look, I didn't know her for very long at all, but she was a really sweet and beautiful lady. I'm sorry that you lost her." You absentmindedly pull at a loose thread on the sweater Cass had given you just this morning. "I know how it feels. I lost everyone. At least you... at least you have your brother." With a groan, you drop your face into your hands. "Ugh! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. You just lost your aunt-"

"And you just lost your entire family," he interrupts. "Neither of us are having the greatest of luck in this apocalypse, huh?" His laugh that follows is dry.

"You should get some sleep," you insist. "I can watch over everything. I'm sorry that this isn't much, but it's all that I can offer right now."

"It's perfect," he assures you. "It's more than we deserve."

You shake your head. "No. You saved my life. Your brother saved my life. I owe you guys more than I can probably give, but I swear that I will repay you someday."

Tadashi stands up. He takes a couple of steps forward and says, "Thank you. If you want to repay me, please protect Hiro. I don't... I don't know how long I'll be here, or how long he'll be here... but I want it to be as long as possible. I want him to be happy. I think that if he sticks with you, he will be."

"What makes you think that?" you ask.

Tadashi looks back at you with a small smile on his face. "Just a feeling that I have."