"How to befriend a local cryptid" - A guide by a concerned nerd

Eleven years ago.

“Okay, Tadashi, I’m going to get your parents from the airport, can you put Hiro to sleep while I’m out? It’s really late for him.” Tadashi flashed a thumbs up at Aunt Cass and smiled, adjusting his already sleepy brother in his arms. “Will do, Aunt Cass!” “Good. Okay, I’m out, be good!” With that, she left the boys at home and soon she was going straight to the airport to pick up their parents. It was a very rainy night. Tadashi spent several hours sitting at the window, watching the rain pour against the glass until he fell asleep with Mochi on his lap by 4 am. Cass never came back that night. Neither did their parents.

***

The officer said it was an accident. The road was just too slippery and the truck would have avoided their car weren’t it for that rain. He said Cass would come back for them as soon as she was out of coma and recovered enough to take the boys in. They still needed to do something about the funeral. Tadashi wished Hiro would either understand everything or nothing at all. He kept asking when Mommy was going to come back. Crying himself to sleep became a habit very quickly.

***

Tadashi had had enough of his brother whining by the end of the week in the orphanage. How could he not understand? They were gone. They lost Mom and Dad. They nearly lost Aunt Cass. They could’ve lost Mochi too weren’t it for one of Cass’ friends who took the cat in for the time being. And judging by Cass’ condition, she might never be able to fully recover, much less take them in and continue running her cafe. And Hiro couldn’t wrap his little head around it after a whole week. Tadashi was getting tired. “When is Mommy going to pick us up?” He asked for what felt like the 1000th time, climbing on the windowsill to sit beside his brother. “She isn’t.” “Why? Isn’t Daddy coming too? Is their trip taking longer again?” “You… could put it that way,” the older brother sighed, hugging his knees. “Like an infinite trip, you know…” “That’s silly,” Hiro shook his head. “Trips always end! They can’t be infinite!” “They can if you die during one,” Tadashi shrugged, feeling his throat become tight from the rising tears. He bit the feeling back, pressing his eyes shut until they stung from the pressure and not from the salty moisture in them. The younger brother scowled, tiny arms crossing on his chest with a huff. “They aren’t dead. They’re just stuck in the airport again.” “Hiro, it’s been too long to be ‘stuck’ in the airport. They took off only an hour after landing.” “Well, then you’re stupid and they are taking very long there!” “It’s been a week, Hiro. Nobody is ever stuck in the airport for an entire week.” “Then they went to talk with friends! Mommy has a lot of friends!” “And they didn’t bother to at least text me or anything? Highly doubt it.” “They forgot!” “Right. Uh-huh. Whatever you say.” “They will pick us up anytime soon!” “No they won’t,” Tadashi grunted, clenching his jaw. “They will!” “They won’t.” “They-” “They’re dead, you idiot! Dead! How can you not understand that?! They’re not coming! Ever! And that stupid d- driver, he put Aunt Cass in- in coma! Nobody’s coming for us! We’re alone!” He snapped at his brother, stuttering because of the tears getting in the way. Just a few hours later he would hate himself for that. “Just leave me alone,” Tadashi growled when the younger one tried to comfort him, like Mom always did. “Go away!” Hiro hiccuped, jumping back in horror. Tears quickly collected in the corners of his eyes, running down his cheeks. Seconds later, the boy ran away as his brother asked. Tadashi was too distracted with his anger and grief at the time to even wonder why he didn't come back after he probably calmed down.

***

“Hiro?..” “Hiro! Where are you?!”

***

Hiro didn’t know he could run for that long. Or run at all, actually. He didn’t like the rain. He didn’t know why but the rain always made him cry now. And it was starting to rain, water leaving dark stains on his clothes and shoes. He ran into someone. He was scared.

***

"Look, I know it's not the perfect solution, but we really need to lay low for the time being and…" A hit on his knee. Obake winced, his whole body ready to react to the threat at the same second and… It's a kid. Alone, from what he could tell. At… was it past midnight already? Weird. "Hold on. I'll be back with you in a minute." How come there was a child alone at this time? Unless… shit, he did not have time to deal with it. On the other hand, how could he just leave? If the kid made too much noise, startled, the police could come. What was that about laying low, again? "I'll call you back,” the man sighed and shook his head, grip tightening on his phone as he took a knee. “Hey kid, what are you doing here?" He barely had time for any of this. He was definitely not obliged to even be concerned about a random child. If anything, he was only putting himself at risk even more just paying attention. But then again… it was a child in a dark alley after midnight and there were no adults around, and they definitely weren’t anywhere close looking for him, judging by how quiet it was around. Concerning or not, this was weird at the very least. “I- I ran,” the little boy whimpered, wiping his tears with a sleeve. Obake frowned and tilted his head in slight confusion. “And what did you run from, kid?” He asked in a softer voice. Tears formed in the child’s eyes again. “T- Tadashi,” he sobbed, glancing down at his feet. “He- he hates me now… and… he said I… he told me to go and- and I ran.” “And… who is Tadashi?” “My… brother?” Okay, definitely a little concerning. But still a little early to jump to conclusions. “Huh. And where are your parents, then? Shouldn’t they look out for you two?” This time, the kid hesitated. He looked to the side, then glanced at the man, and then back down, weakly hugging his shoulders. This couldn’t be good. “Tadashi… he said they died, but… I don’t believe him! They- they will be back, right?” “Well, that might depend on how much time has passed. For how long has your brother been saying they’re dead?” The child hesitated once again. Obake bit the inner side of his cheek, already realizing that whoever this Tadashi was, he probably was right. It just rubbed something inside him in the wrong way, for some reason. “It’s okay if you don’t want to-” “A week. He said it a week ago. And still says.” Well, shit. “Oh, well… hate to break it to you, kid, but your brother is probably right and they’re dead.” There it was. The very moment he realized that he made this kid feel hurt when his brother had already done enough for that and he actually felt bad about it, for whatever reason, and then he suddenly felt even worse because he was clearly running out of time to hide before some cop on a patrol would spot him talking to a random kid and this totally wasn’t safe for him, like, at all, and even then he still stood there when- “Will you leave me too?” Little one asked with his voice already cracked on the verge of tears and that one question made Obake realize something. For some reason, he really couldn’t just abandon the kid. He just couldn’t bring himself to. Hesitantly, the man shook his head and sighed, looking him in the eyes. “Do you want me not to leave you? As in, coming with me when I’m a literal stranger to you and could be dangerous?” To his surprise, the kid nodded. “Mom and Dad, gone… ‘Dashi hates me. Auntie in co… coma? I don’t know where to go,” he shrugged and Obake couldn’t help but think that someone this small probably shouldn’t even look this broken. Kids this age couldn’t understand the concept of death yet, right? Wait. How old was he again? Also… “Well then, for starters, you could tell me your name. I can’t just keep calling you ‘kid’ in my head and if I call you that in front of people, it will draw suspicion to us.” “Sus-spi-cion?” The kid tilted his head. Actually, it was rather impressive that he almost managed to pronounce a word this long first try, he thought to himself. “Yeah, You know, when you think that something is possible. Or if you don’t trust someone and think they did something, er, bad?” Yeah, he was definitely not good at explaining things to children. “Oh. Oh! I’m Hiro!” So, Hiro then, Obake nodded and tilted his head slightly, glancing at the end of the alley with a quiet hum. Good, no cops around. Time to go. “So, Hiro,” he gestured to the said exit with a tired smile, “are you coming or not?” Hiro nodded enthusiastically and tried to reach out his hand to grab the man’s, but he was just so small he only managed to do that when he jumped, ending up hanging with a pout. With a scoff, he picked the kid up and just rolled his eyes when he realized that it wasn’t too different from holding a stray cat he managed to trick with some food. Whatever, not that he would stay longer than for a night or two, Obake thought as he walked down the streets, casually checking every foot of the way for a sign of danger. Plus, he could work as a distraction while it lasts. He was going to regret it later, wasn’t he?

***

Hiro fell asleep in his arms halfway to the hideout. Obake couldn’t help but smile tiredly at the kid as they passed the area that was usually patrolled and hid in the deeper shadows. For a three year old, he actually had a firm grip on him, or maybe it was just stress that didn’t fully disappear even as he passed out due to exhaustion. Something was telling him it wasn’t the last time he’d have to hold this kid like that.

***

“So, about why I left you hanging there… I may or may not have half accidentally kidnapped a child. Any chance you know how to deal with those?” “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you should sober up first and clarify whether it’s actually a child or you picked up a stray cat, but you really meant it and you’re clear, aren’t you?” “...so, you know how to deal with children, right?” There was a groan on the other end which made Obake reconsider his decision of calling this specific number at three in the morning, but he couldn’t help it knowing that it was his best chance. Plus, hey, they were both friends and partners in crime for a reason, right? “Give me an hour. I just… yeah. An hour and I’ll be there.” “You’re the best.” “You’re gonna owe me for this one.”

***

Three days later, Hiro still refused to go home or wherever his brother was. Obake was kind and this scary woman he called was apparently good too! Besides! There was so much stuff to play with! Obake didn’t let him get any close to his table at first, but today he was finally given parts of a robot to assemble (after his first tantrum ever he was almost sorry for) again! This time with even more details than yesterday! It took him almost an hour to get around the way he thought it should look and start connecting the parts and some time later, he ran in the kitchen to show the metal spider in his hands. “Look, look! I did it!” The boy beamed and Momakase choked on her tea, coughing, while Obake stared at him in disbelief for a long moment before carefully taking the robot in his hands. It was a really simple one, he made it last night more out of a joke than being serious about the kid so desperately trying to mess with his workshop, but he wasn’t expecting Hiro to actually assemble it without even seeing the schematics to it in just an hour and a half. Or, honestly, to assemble it at all. This clearly wasn’t what a three year old could normally do, but oh well, he was starting to see that the boy wasn’t exactly normal. Sue him, he was starting to get intrigued. “Well, it appears to look how it is supposed to,” the man hummed, tilting his head. “But we need to know if you connected everything correctly and it works, right?” With that, he flipped the tiny switch on the spider’s belly and put it on the table, waiting. The robot opened its eyes and walked across the table to stop right before the edge. Both adults stared at it for a long moment, then at the kid who looked proud of himself. Momakase broke the silence first. “The actual hell,” she muttered under her breath. Obake only managed to nod in return. “Well, it actually works,” he said in a lower voice after some time, then smiled softly at Hiro. “Good job.” The boy beamed and started jumping in place with happy noises while the other glances at each other before nodding. What if keeping him around for a little longer wasn’t such a bad idea? The boy was clearly gifted. In the same field as Obake was, too. And he already had no trouble being around them. Sure, children were a pain in the ass, but, theoretically, what if they managed to raise him for their world? Underground could always use someone smart, they both knew that. But would Hiro really be able to fit in? They had to spend years to get used to this, being thrown into the criminal world at least at early teenagehood. But the kid was three. Did that mean they should start preparing him at such a young age if they were to lead him into this? Should they wait? Should… Obake turned his head to Hiro and let out a slight huff, shaking his head. It was no use asking themselves that just yet, they didn’t even know if he wanted to stay that long. Now? Sure, he could still be bitter at the Tadashi kid. But long-term? Who knows. Well, he could try. If they were right in their suspicion, the boy could become a useful unit in the long run. “Hey, Hiro?” He asked a little hesitantly. “Yeah?” “You still don’t want to come back to your brother?” He shook his head, frowning. Would he leave him after all?.. “So, you want to stay with me?” “Yup!” The kid chirped. Obake chuckled softly at that. “So, that means you would want to stay with me for longer, right?” “I can? Really?!” “Yeah, really,” he nodded. “If you want, that is. But we may not stay here for long, you know. I have to move from time to time.” Hiro tilted his head in confusion. “Why? It’s nice here.” “Well, I could tell you later if you stay with me for long enough,” the man shrugged. “It’s just not something I could say just like that if I’m not sure if you…” “I’ll stay!” Obake blinked, taking a second to process it. He was a little surprised with the boy’s determination to stay with him and even leave his hometown just like that, vaguely knowing that here was the only connection to his family, but really? This just couldn’t have been better if they were right. “Alright, alright, no need to scream,” he smiled, shooting a glance at Momakase who nodded knowingly before getting up from the table. I’ll get the papers then, she signed, passing by the two before taking her coat from the hook. The other nodded in return. Yeah, the kid should work as a good distraction for the cops if anyone starts looking for him. Nobody suspects a parent, for some reason. Well. Time to start actually learning about parenting?

***

They haven’t stayed in San Fransokyo for much longer. Only a month of paperwork and other preparations later, everything was packed to leave the city, and Hiro was starting to fall asleep just in time. They left at night, not to step into San Fransokyo again for years.

***

When Cass had finally checked out of the hospital a whole month after the incident, she felt this annoying tingle in the back of her neck telling her that something was wrong. Aside from everything that had already happened, that is. She really hoped things weren’t about to get any worse soon. When she reached the orphanage, the tingle was replaced with a full-scaled dread. What if the boys didn’t recognize her? What if they blamed their parents’ death on her? How could she even look them in the eyes after what had happened? She hesitated for a long moment before entering. A part of her wished she had for longer. She expected everything. Tadashi defending Hiro from her in the first place. Different similar scenarios too. Not… not Tadashi staring blankly into the wall when he thought he was alone and starting crying as soon as he saw her. Alone. Cass’ heart hurt to see him like that and she had to push her confusion and fear back to reach out to comfort at least the older brother. She could ask about Hiro a little later. She didn’t even have to. She hated it. “I… I lost him,” Tadashi whimpered, hands weakly clenching on her shoulders. “I- he… he ran a- away and- and I couldn’t- I… it’s my fault! I was so s- stupid! I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m sorry please don’t hate me…” Cass only managed to hug him tightly, fighting the panic as she started to understand what he meant. It took a while before she could speak again. “How long?..” “It- almost a- a month…” She couldn’t help but feel even more broken with each sob her nephew gave out. Missing children were mostly found within three days. It’s been almost a month. The chances of Hiro found dead weren’t high, of course, but they also weren’t too high on finding him at all- No, stop it. Cass ordered herself, biting her lip. This isn’t helping. You need to at least take care of Tadashi now. “It’s not your fault, Tadashi,” she said softly, patting his back. “You couldn’t know.” The woman sighed and shook her head as she saw Tadashi hesitate at her words. He was clearly blaming himself for what happened and honestly? She could understand. She knew he wasn’t telling her everything just yet. She wasn’t going to make him talk until he was ready. “Let’s go home, Tadashi,” Cass offered, holding the urge to cry from feeling so helpless. She had to be strong. She had to… they only had each other now. She couldn’t afford being weak if she wanted to at least keep Tadashi too. “B- but… Hiro?..” “We will find him. Not now, but we will.” She knew she was probably lying right now, but how could she break it to him when he already blamed himself for Hiro’s disappearance? It’s not like he wouldn’t look the statistics up when he was ready to face it. They had to live with this now. “I’m so sorry, Tadashi.” At least she had Tadashi. And she was not letting him go anymore. “Let’s… let’s just go home.”

***

Seven years ago.

Hiro couldn’t stop himself from running around as he and Dad walked down the streets in the new city they just moved to. Well, new wasn’t exactly the right word. Apparently, he was born in San Fransokyo, but they moved out soon enough, so he didn’t even remember. But it was so cool here! And Auntie lived here too, which meant she could visit more often now! He was a little confused about why Dad would suddenly be so tense here, though. Sure, he always preferred going out at night, but he’d never really been that vigilant before. “Hey, Dad, is everything okay?” Hiro asked, looking up to see his face. The man hesitated for a second, then shook his head. “Yeah, just not a fan of the crowds, you know,” he shrugged and the kid nodded in return. He could relate. “But it’s the shortest way, right? We don’t need to be here for long.” Obake only hummed in response and he might have said something else, but Hiro wasn’t listening anymore, focused on a missing child poster on the wall. Even with the last seen date fully covered by another poster, it was clearly old, with its colors faded from long exposure to the sun and the paper itself damaged from the rains. He could still make out the name and approximate portrait, though. “Hiro Hamada,” the boy hummed, tilting his head as he stopped. “Weird. He looks just like me.” Dad whipped his head towards him and Hiro could’ve sworn he saw a glimpse of concern about something in his eyes before he shrugged again, taking his son’s hand barely tighter than usual. “Yeah, people in large cities tend to look similar sometimes and even share names. Now come on, you want to see where Aunt ‘Kase lives, right?” “Yeah!” Hiro beamed, immediately leaving the poster to follow the man. “Let’s go!” Obake gave out a slight scoff at the kid’s quickly returned enthusiasm and shook his head, trying his best not to give out the concern about the limits of Hiro’s obliviousness. The fact that the missing posters were still here was already troubling enough, but he also pointed out that he looked exactly like the missing kid. How long it would take before he figured everything out if he… Well, that only meant they should stay indoors for a while. Again. He really hoped Momakase would be okay with keeping an eye on Hiro for a while before he took care of things on his side. Which also meant he couldn’t take things any slow right now. Great. “Say, would you like to stay over with her for a couple of days?” He asked as they finally walked into a less densely populated area of the city. “I have some work to do before we’re good to fully move in.” “Okay! Ooh, I could show her my new project! Do you think she’s gonna like it?” “Of course she is, kid, who do you think she is?” Obake huffed and rolled his eyes in a dramatic way which always made Hiro giggle. “You and I both know that she loves your wits.” Hiro only gave a weak smile in response and nodded slightly. At least, he didn’t try to deny it anymore… It still was a little painful to watch him fight the remnants of his insecurity over his abilities. Who ever could’ve thought, after only one month in a public school… he would never make such a mistake again. He just needed to find another way to get him to learn to socialize. Maybe just in different circles this time. With someone who could appreciate the genius instead of making fun and beating him up. He also needed an update on the Hamada family situation, perhaps. It would be pretty inconvenient if they happened to be situated close enough for the other kid to see him at some point. Well, if he hadn’t given up at this point, that is. But still, better safe than sorry. At least homeschooling was saving them the risk of the boys accidentally meeting each other. At least, partially. So much for just not being spotted too early. Why did things need to be so complicated?

***

Tadashi barely managed to keep a straight face as he ran to the cafe just slow enough for people not to think he was running from someone dangerous. This couldn’t be happening, right? He was just seeing things. Hiro was- “Mreow!” He didn’t even notice he reached The lucky cat until startled Mochi yelled at him. “Tadashi? Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” It was a good thing nobody but them was in the cafe right now. Tadashi laughed nervously. “I- I might have,” he said quietly, just in case, “l-look, Aunt Cass, do you remember the therapist I used to go to a while ago?” “Yes? What about her?” “Do you think it’d be alright to book a couple of sessions? I really don’t like seeing things again- not that you had to! It still might be a one time thing, but…” “I’ll call her,” Cass reassured him, then pulled her nephew into a hug. “It’s alright, just go rest for a while, alright? Don’t worry about it now.” Hesitantly, Tadashi nodded, forcing himself to relax in her arms until his pulse calmed enough. He hated how even over years, he still was getting reminded about his failure as the big brother. It took him long enough to stop blaming everything on himself that much. He really didn’t want to lose all the progress on his recovery just like that. Besides, if he let himself fall into this pit again, who was going to help Cass? “I will be in my room,” he said when he felt like he calmed down enough. Aunt Cass nodded in response. “Alright, call me if you need something, okay?” “Yeah…” With that, Tadashi retreated to his room and hadn’t left it until the last visitor of The lucky cat left and Cass switched the sign for closed. He really was just seeing things, right? Hiro had been missing for years and they never found him dead or alive. Not even some part of him that implied that he was hurt. And he was finally starting to actually feel better— hell, he didn’t even have nightmares in a whole month! So why, of all days, he had to see him today? Tadashi sighed as he got up from his bed, pursing his lips. He needed to check that area again later. Just to be safe. Man, this wasn’t going to let him go, was it?