Big Hero 6 Plus One

Chapter 10 | Relief and Heartbreak

Word count: 1.0K

Total time (estimated): 3 days

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The next morning, the sky was cloudy, gray, and dull. Hiro was awoken by an emergency alarm from another room down the hall. He slowly sat up, stretching as he gradually woke up.

Hiro's eyes fell upon Ariyana, who remained exactly as she had been several hours earlier. He sadly gazed at her unconscious body as she lay motionless in the hospital bed.

Hiro turned his head, spotting the empty chair beside him. Aunt Cass's purse was still there, but she herself was not. Hiro could faintly hear her voice outside the door along with two unfamiliar male voices. The conversation sounded solemn.

Hiro raised his head slightly, checking the time on the clock that hung on the wall: 7:15 AM.

Hiro turned back to his unconscious sister with a sad look on his face. He held her lean little hand in his, gazing at her restful face. Ariyana had been unconscious for hours. Would she ever wake up?

"Hiro," a voice said. Hiro turned his head to see Aunt Cass standing in the doorway. Her big green eyes were glazed over with tears, and her face was tear-streaked.

'Oh no,' Hiro thought. His heart sank into his stomach. 'Tadashi.'

Aunt Cass was visibly upset. She motioned for Hiro to come to her, holding her hand out to him, so he stood up and walked over. He followed her into the hallway, where he was met by the solemn faces of two police officers.

"Are you Hiro Hamada?" one asked. "The younger brother of Tadashi Hamada?"

Hiro gave a slight nod. "Yeah." Even though he already knew the answer, he asked, "Where's Tadashi?"

The officers' faces became even more solemn, and they removed their hats. Big red flag. Hiro braced for impact. "We're very sorry to say this, but Tadashi did not survive the fire."

Hiro's heart dropped.

"Search and rescue workers combed through the entire building and the surrounding areas. They were searching all night long, but they couldn't find him anywhere. He is presumed dead, and his body is deemed unrecoverable."

"The same goes for Professor Robert Callaghan. We're afraid neither of them survived."

Hiro's caramel-chocolate brown eyes flooded with tears. He already knew Tadashi was gone, but hearing it told to him by someone else just caused him even more pain.

Hiro felt Aunt Cass's arm snake around him to comfort him. But it barely helped. Tadashi was gone, and that was the heartbreaking reality.

Hiro stood silent, his aunt's arm wrapped around him. Tadashi was gone. Dead. His body may never be recovered, most likely burnt to a crisp in the flames. It was a sickening thought. Was he thrown against a wall, killed by the impact? Was he crushed by debris? Was he suffocated and choked to death by the thick, lethal smoke? Was he killed by the fire itself, burned alive?

Hiro felt sick to his stomach. His brother was gone. Forever. Dead. His last words? "Someone has to help." Tadashi lost his life trying to save someone else's and possibly saving Ariyana's.

But then another upsetting thought crept into Hiro's mind.

Ariyana. How was she going to react to Tadashi's death? She was going to be heartbroken, that's for sure. She'd already been through an absolute nightmare. Only Ariyana herself knows what happened behind those doors inside the burning building.

Then Hiro realized something.

Ariyana may very well have witnessed Tadashi's last seconds alive. She may very well have witnessed his death.

Hiro shuddered inside. He couldn't imagine what Ariyana would have witnessed in the few moments she was inside the burning building.

Then Hiro turned his head to the door, reading his sister's name on the signage on the wall. Aunt Cass noticed where Hiro's gaze had shifted and released him from her one-armed embrace. Hiro didn't say a word as he opened the door and entered the room.

Ariyana still lay in the hospital bed, her eyes closed and her face relaxed. Hiro settled back into the chair he had been in before, gazing at his unconscious sister with sad eyes.

Hiro didn't know if Ariyana could hear him, but he spoke to her anyway. "You really scared me bad, sis." He took his sister's hand in his, giving it a small squeeze. "Don't ever do that to me again."

Just seconds later, as if on cue, Ariyana's eyelids clenched slightly, and her body slightly moved. A soft moan escaped her lips.

Hiro's caramel-chocolate brown eyes widened slightly, and he leaned in closer. "Ariyana?" he whispered.

To Hiro's relief, Ariyana's light-blue eyes slowly fluttered open, remaining half-lidded. Her eyes traveled toward him, meeting his own eyes. "Hiro...?" she whispered. Her voice sounded tired and slightly hoarse.

"Aria," Hiro whispered, tears brimming in his eyes as he moved closer, holding his sister's hand. "I'm here, Aria."

Ariyana stared at him with tired eyes, staring into his caramel-chocolate brown eyes. "Tadashi..." she whispered. "Is he okay...?"

Hiro's heart sank into his stomach. Ariyana didn't know Tadashi had died.

"Hiro," a voice said. Hiro turned his head to see Aunt Cass standing in the doorway. She gave a small nod. "I'll do it."

Hiro gave a small nod and turned his gaze back to his sister. She continued to stare at him with tired yet worried eyes. "Tadashi... where is he...?" she whispered. "Is he okay...?"

Hiro gave his sister a sorrowful look, only making Ariyana even more worried. He was silent as he stood up and walked toward the door where his aunt stood.

Cass looked just as sorrowful as he did. She dreaded breaking the news to Ariyana, but they both knew she needed to know. They knew it was going to break her heart.

Hiro stared at the floor as he silently walked past his aunt and into the hallway.

The hallway outside the room was empty; the two police officers had left. Hiro collapsed into a chair beside the door. Even though the door was closed, Hiro could hear what was being said inside the room.

"I'm so sorry, honey."

"NO!! NO!!"

Tears flooded Hiro's eyes.

"OH MY GOODNESS, NO!!"

Hiro pulled his legs up so his feet were resting on the chair, and he hugged his knees, burying his face in the sleeves of his hoodie as silent sobs slipped from his lips. He could hear Ariyana's heartbroken sobbing on the other side of the closed door as tears dripped down his cheeks.

Tadashi was gone, forever. There was nothing anyone could ever do to fix this.