Taken

"Yay, Hiro!"

Hiro, Tadashi, their aunt, and their friends all burst out of the SFIT Showcase building in excitement as Hiro raised his acceptance letter to the school in the air. Hiro laughed as their supportive comments got lost in the evening breeze, and he couldn't wipe his satisfied grin off of his face. The events of that night played on a loop in his head, from the drive there, to Professor Callaghan handing him his acceptance letter. His older brother was beaming as well.

"All right, geniuses, let's feed those hungry brains. Back to the Cafe! Dinner is on me!"

"Yes! Nothing is better than free food! Unless it's moldy."

"Aunt Cass?" Tadashi perked up. "We'll, uh...We'll catch up, okay?"

"Sure," Cass smiled in return. "Oh, I'm so proud of you! Both of you."

"Thanks, Aunt Cass," the brothers said in unison, watching their Aunt stroll to the parking lot before Tadashi led Hiro to his favorite spot on campus: the bridge.

Tadashi has always loved the bridge at SFIT. It was peaceful, and it overlooked the rolling green hills on the campus. Over the buildings and trees you could see the outline of San Fransokyo, and every time Tadashi saw the view, it took his breath away. He wanted Hiro to be able to have that same feeling once classes started up, so he proudly led the way.

"I know what you're gonna say," Hiro said as they crossed the bridge. "I should be proud of myself because I'm finally using my gift for something important."

"No, no," Tadashi shrugged. "I was just gonna tell you your fly was down for the whole show."

"Ha-ha, hilarious," Hiro said, rolling his eyes before his eyes trailed down, just to check...

"What!" Hiro cried, zipping his pants before smacking his brother on the arm.

"Hey-ah!" Tadashi chuckled, leaning back against the bridge's railing. He sighed, looking out onto the beautiful campus. "Welcome to nerd school...nerd."

"Hey, I, um...I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, so...you know, thanks for not giving up on me."

Tadashi smiled softly at his little brother, his pride still apparent. Even though Hiro had fallen into the wrong crowd after high school, he would always be proud of him, especially now. The promise he made to his parents to keep Hiro safe suddenly echoed in his head, and his heart warmed at the thought as he continued looking into Hiro's thankful gaze. 

He could have melted in the moment if the loud ringing coming from the distance hadn't split it in two. Tadashi's smile was forgotten as he was jogging towards the noise to investigate. As Hiro and Tadashi rounded the corner, a loud gasp escaped both their lips. The showcase they had been in only minutes before was now engulfed in flames, and people were running from it screaming. Tadashi suddenly burst forward running, rushing to an older woman's side.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm okay, b-but Professor Callaghan is still in there!" the woman replied, coughing and running from the flames.

Tadashi looked up at the building in horror, contemplating his options before looking down at his little brother only to find no one. Tadashi raised an eyebrow, looking all around but Hiro had vanished from sight.

"Hiro? Hiro, where are you?!" Tadashi cried, spinning around frantically. Finally, his eyes landed on the showcase building. At first, he thought it was just his imagination, but he saw a man walking up the steps to the burning building. The man wore a black trench coat that blew in the hot breeze, and he looked like a villain out of a movie, but that wasn't what terrified Tadashi to his core.