84 Times (Big Hero 6 Fanfiction)

Chapter 6: The Broken Figurine

        "Hi mom, I'm going to be heading to the Hamada household today to work on a class project.

        ...

        It's the two brothers you saw this morning, is that alright with you?

        ...

        Yes, they live nearby. Do you know where the Lucky Cat Café is?

        ...

        Yes, that's correct.

        ...

        Mom! Stop it with your weird comments!

        ...

        Fine fine, I'll see you later then. Bye mom, love you!"

        "What weird comments?" Hiro looked up at Rose curiously as the two of them walked towards the Senior High building where Tadashi was.

        "Uhm... just some things about what we saw this morning during my car ride to school."

        "You mean Tadashi and I?"

Rose pressed her lips together and swiftly looked away from Hiro before regaining eye contact. Just as she was about to protest, Hiro took the chance to speak.

        "I'll take that as a yes." He chuckled and finally turned his gaze forwards, leaving Rose to look at Hiro with her mouth agape and cheeks starting to turn a light pink.

This clever boy. Rose thought to herself, returning to a cheerful smile as she continued to watch Hiro walk with a little bounce in his step and a lovable little grin perched on his lips.

It wasn't long before Tadashi joined the two of them and their trek to the café, Hiro explaining that Rose was going to come over for a little while to start working on the class project that Mr. Owari had assigned them.

The wooden figurine they were given was placed in Rose's bag, but was quickly taken out by an excited little boy to show his older brother. Rose couldn't help but smile even wider as Hiro conversed with Tadashi. Despite being a child prodigy, he still had the heart and mind of a nine year old, and it was cute.

He was still clumsy with his actions though, and soon Rose found herself reaching forwards to quickly snatch hold of Hiro's hand before he fell flat on his face and onto the gravelly floor of the road.

        "Woah, watch out Hiro!" Tadashi exclaimed, taking hold of his younger brother's other hand to also prevent Hiro from falling. But with both of Hiro's hands occupied with the hands of others, the wooden figurine he was so ecstatically showing his brother fell onto the road.

The sound of the figurine dropping onto the road was then promptly followed by a loud CRUNCH as a car zoomed past the trio.

        "........"

The three children, still linked to one another, looked at the now mutilated and mangled looking figure, wood chips scattered all along the road. A taut silence hung above the three of them, but was quickly extinguished by the dulcet sound of Tadashi's voice.

        "I guess this means you can make an even better figure, right? And this just shows how delicate that toy was, maybe now you can make a stronger one that can withstand a car!" He chuckled softly and looked down at Hiro with optimistic eyes.

Still, Hiro had a disappointed and miserable expression, and it made Rose's heart jump out with compassion.

        "Hiro, you're brother is right! We'll definitely win that contest now, because we can use our own model. One that's better, upgraded, and more improved in general!"

Rose squeezed Hiro's hand and offered a cheerful smile. Then, with her other hand, she rummaged through her backpack and took out a small handful of assorted, wrapped candies.

What? It wasn't her fault that she had a sweet tooth and occasional craving for sweet things.

Nevertheless, Hiro nodded slowly and squeezed Rose's hand back, letting go of Tadashi's hand to accept her offer of candy with a slight smile. Hopefully his older brother wouldn't mind that she was feeding Hiro some candy. But was it rude that she didn't offer him any?

        "... D-Do you want some, Tadashi? I should have some more in my bag." Rose stammered the sentence out, her actions now a bit more flustered than before. She let go of Hiro's hand and feverishly searched through her bag. For some reason, her hands were now shaking and her whole entire face felt warm. She was so engulfed in her mission to find a piece of candy that she didn't even hear Tadashi politely decline her offer, saying that he could just share with Hiro. Finally, Rose took out a lollipop and held out her hand to offer it to Tadashi.

        "..."

He looked at the girl with a peculiar look, making Rose feel like a complete fool for acting so high-strung and jumpy.

        "..."

Her arm continued to shake as she held it out towards Tadashi. The more time that passed, the stronger her shaking became. The whole ordeal was making Rose feel silly, and she couldn't stop her mind from spinning at an incredible speed.

        "Thank you!"

At last, Tadashi spoke. And it was those two words and his customary, appealing looking smile that made Rose's stomach perform flips as if it were in the circus. She was positive her face was a blazing red by now, but she did nothing more than nod and return to gripping the straps of her backpack after Tadashi had taken the lollipop from her hand. During the whole occurrence, Hiro watched with somewhat muddled and upset eyes, but said nothing.

The three continued to walk to their destination in silence, causing Rose to feel a sense of dread burrow into the pits of her stomach.