Control Alt Delete (A BH6 crossover)

Chapter Forty Six: My name is Hiro Hamada.

Soon, a fourth bin was needed. Hiro was going for a big splash and knew this was just the beginning. But, after having worked another day or two, he decided it was time to take a break so he pulled out his old RC SWAT car and made it zoom around the empty spaces still available. Man was that fun. He hadn't played with the thing in quite some time. However, he had to be mindful of his time and got back to work.

The 3D printer hummed as he instructed it to keep going until he had to let it cool down. At that point, Tadashi brought over the gang and they all had pizza. Fred decided to face-plant in the pepperoni box and got toppings all over his face. GoGo couldn't help but give him a disdainful look, though Hiro and Wasabi seemed to both think it amusing. At least Wasabi was smiling, which was something.

Honey Lemon chose to hang with Tadashi near the back couch, where they chatted until the rest of the gang convinced Hiro to take another break. Having his undivided attention, they proceeded to tease each other, sharing stories from their lives, and having contests to see who was the best at doing random things.

When the pizza was all but gone, Tadashi teased Hiro with one of the last pieces, dangling it above him, just out of reach. That wasn't something the boy thought was too funny, but he endured it. After all, this was how things had gone the first time. And he did get his piece of pizza, so all was well.

Once the gang had left, Hiro took a much needed rest, lying upside down on the couch. He didn't mean to sleep another day away, but it happened. He must have been more tired than he'd realized. But hanging out with his once again friends had been super nice, and he'd definitely enjoyed it.

Back to work, Hiro had now managed to fill six bins full of microbots. With a nice break, the 3D printer was more than up to the challenge of going and going and going. Hiro only had to pause every now and again to let it cool down and to add more material for it to print with. And he had a lot of welding to catch up on as well.

Several more days passed and the gang came back to check on him, making sure he wasn't over doing things. Fred brought a comic book and sat on top of one of the bins while the others checked out Hiro's design ideas. The mascot even went so far as to hide inside the partially filled bin, trying to scare Hiro, though that didn't work out too well on his part. But it was a nice distraction.

Bin number eight followed once Hiro was working solo once more. Sometimes it was easier to get things done when he didn't have others under foot, though it was nice to have the occasional distraction, pulling him away before his brain overloaded from the amount of work he was doing. And the added reminders to get some sleep, eat something, take a breather, were nice as well.

With about a week to go, Hiro couldn't help but wrestle against the arm bot he had hanging around. That reminded him of some ideas he'd share during the showcase, mainly making the microbots turn into a hand shape. He didn't know how he'd forgotten about that but he had. And it was fun to play around a bit with the idea.

When Mochi decided to take up residence on Hiro's keyboard, however, he was less than amused. Once again, the cat took some convincing to find a different sleeping spot so Hiro could do the finishing touches on his program. He now had twelve bins full of microbots and knew it was time to stop. When Tadashi came down to check on him, he proudly held up the lid to one of the bins so his brother could see inside. The fist bump that followed was epic. And, just like before, he'd finished just in time for the showcase. It was a good feeling.

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Small blimps circled the main floor of the SFIT auditorium, their little propellers pushing them around the room's main area. Excitement filled the air as Hiro and his small group made their way inside, each pushing a blue trash bin. The crowd was encouraging, with many students, parents, and just curious people wandering around.

"Wow, a lot of sweet tech here today," Tadashi commented as they walked past a man in a tank of water, peddling a bike with some kind of breather apparatus stuck in his mouth. "How you feeling?" he nudged his brother with an elbow.

Hiro couldn't help but allow some bravado out. "You're talking to an ex-bot fighter," he bragged. "It takes a lot more than this to rattle me." But inside, he was already starting to panic. He knew the dreaded moment was coming. And no matter how much he'd thought he'd prepared himself for it, he knew it wasn't anywhere near enough. No amount of time ever would be. He'd been so busy making his microbots that the time had just flown by, but harsh reality kicked him in the teeth as everything caught up with him.

"Yep, he's nervous," GoGo quipped in a bored voice as they continued forward. And when the rest of the gang joined in, well, he had to protest, even when Honey told him to relax and that he'd be amazing.

"Stop whining. Woman up."

Then Wasabi was delivering his, by now, infamous lines about breath mints and underpants. But Hiro was getting so nervous he didn't really follow the conversation. He only looked up when Fred started on about his underwear habits, thankful when his name was announced.

He was starting to feel really nauseous now, knowing that in less than an hour, give or take, his brother would run into the burning auditorium and never come back out. But before he could get too far into such thoughts, Honey was gathering everyone together for one last photo before he climbed on stage.

"Everybody say Hiro!"

Then the camera flashed, momentarily blinding the boy as he tried desperately to not lose his dinner on Honey Lemon's shoes. It made him look like a deer in headlights, but that was unavoidable.

Once they'd all offered their own forms of encouragement from "don't mess it up" to "break a leg", they were gone, leaving Hiro alone with his brother.

This was it. The big moment. Okay, not THE big moment, but it was still pretty big. He was about to go up there and present his project. Once he did, he'd have a momentary feeling of euphoria. It had happened the first time around and he felt sure it would happen again. And then the world would come crashing down on him again. It was not an encouraging thought.

"All right, bro, this is it," Tadashi said as he held out his fist, waiting for Hiro to respond in kind.

But Hiro couldn't. His mind had already jumped to what would happen after the presentation and Callaghan and Krei's confrontation. And he was not sure he was ready for that again. In fact, he knew he wasn't. He couldn't do this.

"Come on. Don't leave me hanging." Tadashi said, circling around as Hiro turned to face the stage, the younger Hamada's face looking almost alarmingly pale. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked, more than a little concerned.

Hiro took a deep breath, willing the nausea back down. Swallowing, he didn't even look into his brother's eyes as he gave the best excuse possible, "I really want to go here." Then he looked up to see what his brother's expression was, hoping to convey to him every thought in his head, his confusion, fear, and love for his brother.

Tadashi gave him an encouraging yet understanding smile. "Hey, you got this," he said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

Hiro wished he had more time. If he could, he'd take that moment to tell his brother everything, but he knew it wasn't possible. The judges were waiting for him so he gave a sort of half nod. Then Tadashi watched him as he climbed the stairs to the stage, nervously clutching a microphone in his hands.

"Uh, hi. My name is Hiro-" Squawk! Even Hiro winced when the speakers gave him feedback. "S-sorry! My name is Hiro Hamada, and I've been working on something I think is pretty cool. I hope you like it."