A/N:

Hey there! Yes, I'm still alive :P. I was babysitting, and I had what I call the night shift. Luckily, I can use the family's Netflix, and I watched BH6 again. But then I noticed that Hiro has a tank of sorts standing next to his bed on the right side, and it prompted me into writing this. I hope you'll like it...

And for those who were wondering, I'm still going to finish Afterstorms. I've decided to rewrite what I've got. And, I want to have the story finished before I actually post it. That way, I can keep a regular updating schedule, and I can make sure the chapters are right before I post them.

Also, I have this other story in my head, and I've got a few chapters written already, but that's all I'm going to say about it. ;)

And now, on to the story!

It had been a long and tiring day at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, and all Tadashi Hamada wanted was to get home to his Aunt Cass and little brother Hiro, and do absolutely nothing. After working day and night on his project for this semester, which he had handed in today, Tadashi felt that he deserved it. It was his first year at the college, but knowing that things would only get worse as the years go on, Tadashi was rightfully in need of a break. What also didn't help was that his brother loved to make him worry sick. If it was not building hovercrafts for their cat Mochi, it was something else equally traumatizing for at least one party. And then there was the café. His aunt had realized her dream of beginning a bakery. The now popular Lucky Cat Café had started out small, but business had grown, and now Aunt Cass had to rely on her nephews sometimes to step in. Not that Tadashi was complaining. He loved his life, school, friends and family. Some would say that Tadashi was the kind of guy to put all those things before himself, and they would be totally right. He would do everything if it meant making his friends and or family happy.

Except for today. Today, he just wanted to get home, go to his shared bedroom and crash on his bed to go into hibernation, even though the summer season was just starting.

Finally, the familiar cat statue on to of the building they lived in came into view. Driving his moped around the building to the back, he began thinking of ways to block out his little brother so he could sleep.

Hiro was a ten year old kid, but he was already into his second to last year at the SF High School. His brother was what people would call a genius. With an IQ of 187, it wasn't that much of a surprise, really. At first, when Hiro was younger, he would make robots out of boredom, since the field of robotics had all of his interest. Tadashi could still remember the first robot Hiro had made. It had cost them the microwave, but with the parts he got from that, he turned a cheap walking dog toy from a flea market into a high tech robotdog that could shoot laserbeams from his eye and had a supersonic bark. And it could make hot dogs. Hiro was four that time.

After that they took him to a lot of tests, and not too long after that he was labeled a genius. When he started kindergarten, it became apparent that it was way below his level, and get got moved up into the first grade. He stayed there for a year, but then moved up again to third. After that he moved up some more grades over the years, and while it was good for Hiro on an educational level, it wasn't so good for his social development. Because Hiro was so much younger and smaller, his classmates began to bully him, resulting in him having no real friends. Hiro had never told Tadashi, but he knew that his brother just wanted to finish high school as fast as he could to get away from those kids. And who could blame him? Tadashi would probably have done the same thing.

After shutting down his moped, he walked into the back door of the café, which entered into the kitchen. There were two employees busy making all the confectioneries the café sold, and they only had the time to wave at Tadashi as he made his way towards the café itself.

The first thing he noticed was the bright pink blob that was sitting at a table by the window opposite of the room. Looming more closely, Tadashi realized he was looking at one of the regulars of the café. Mrs. Matsuda, a woman of 77 years old, was known for her… unique way of dressing. This time she wore a fluorescent pink tight tracksuit with a matching headband. The fact that Mrs. Matsuda wasn't really skinny made it so much worse to look at.

Luckily, he was saved from the sight by his aunt, who had spotted him and went to give him a hug.

"Hey there, college-man. How was school?" she asked while moving behind the counter to take a new order.

"Oh, you know," Tadashi started. "I've been busy finishing my project, but now that it's handed in, things should be a bit calmer for a while," he said. "Do you need any help here?" he asked, already reaching for an apron.

Aunt Cass, having seen the bags under her eldest nephews eyes, quickly took the apron from his hands and hung it back on its hook.

"Sweetie, you're exhausted. Go upstairs, get some rest. I'll manage just fine here," she said with an encouraging smile. "Go."

Tadashi looked around, and, believing his aunt, he nodded before making his way upstairs.

The first thing he noticed when he entered the living room was silence.

Most people would think this was normal, but within the Hamada household, it was a sign that something terrible was about to happen.

"Hiro?" Holding his breath, Tadashi cautiously stepped into the living room. Exhaling in relief once nothing exploded, he tried again. "Hiro? Buddy? Where are you?"

A soft mew helped him locate not his brother, but Mochi, who had crammed himself in the space between the bookcase and the wall in the corner furthest away from the stairs towards their shared bedroom. Muffled thuds could be heard coming from there.

Walking towards the somewhat fat calico cat, Tadashi noticed that the animal was shaking, and had its fur standing straight up.

This can't be good, Tadashi thought. Straightening his shoulders, he took a deep breath and walked into what could quite possible be the end of the world. No, scratch that, the end of the universe.

He closed his eyes and raised his arms in front of him as he ascended the last steps, and once again held his breath.

It could be worse, Tadashi thought as he opened his eyes. He was met with Hiro's part of the room, and if Tadashi didn't know any better, he'd think a tornado had rampaged the room. But Tadashi knew better, and knew that this particular tornado was called Hiro Hamada.

Said boy was not visible at first sight, but a double-take helped Tadashi locate his brother, who was currently half under his bed, digging through the rubbish that had gathered there over time.

"Hiro?" A thud told Tadashi that Hiro would be sporting a bump on his head for the next few days. "What are you doing?"

Hiro shuffled backwards until he could get up.

"Uhm… Hi, Dashi," Hiro said, while running a hand through his messy hair.

The use of his old nickname that Hiro called him made his suspicions rise, because Hiro only used it anymore when he had done something he though Tadashi might not like.

"All right, what have you done this time?" Tadashi asked, sighing as he rubbed his eyes.

"Whoa, wait. I haven't done anything," Hiro said defensively. Tadashi raised one eyebrow, a trick he had learned always worked on Hiro.

It didn't disappoint, as usual.

"Okay, okay," Hiro said, and the ten year old plopped down on his bed with a sigh. "I won a bet with Jeffrey, we bet on how long it would take for Miss Cosby to start dating Principal Johnson, which is totally gross, because they're both over fifty and dating in itself is just gross, and-" A cough from Tadashi prevented the younger Hamada from drifting off.

"All right. So I won this bet, so Jeffrey had to give me his snake."

Tadashi stared. "A… snake…"

Hiro, totally ignorant to his brothers speechlessness, continued babbling.

"Yeah! It's this cool one, it's sandy colored with dark brown and blackish dots, and-"

Again, Tadashi interrupted. "Does Aunt Cass know about this?"

"No, but I was going to tell her later," Hiro responded. "But I think it'll be okay, because found this aquarium in the downstairs closet, which I turned into a terrarium," Hiro pointed to the glass case on the right side of his bed. "And I will take good care of him." Hiro knelt down again, once more looking under his bed. "After I find him."

It took a second for Tadashi to register that last sentence.

"After you what? You mean, you lost it?! Oh man, aunt Cass is going to freak out…" Tadashi took of his cap to put a hand to his head in exasperation.

"No, no, don't worry, it'll be fine, believe me," Hiro said while holding his hands up placatingly. "Now… could you help me look?" he asked while putting up his puppydog eyes.

"No, no way," Tadashi responded, and he walked to his own bed. "This is your mess, so you're responsible for it. And besides, I'm really tired and would like some shuteye before dinner." That said, he got out of his cardigan and put his shoes next to his bed. Pulling the covers just far enough to crawl into his bed, he faced his little brother one last time. "And please, could you keep it quiet while I'm sleeping?" At Hiro's nod, he smiled, and laid down on the mattress. Pulling the covers around him, he made himself comfortable and closed his eyes, ready to drift off into the land of dreams.

But then he felt something. Something long, sleek and small brushed against his feet, and it didn't take long for Tadashi to figure out what exactly it was.

"Hiro?"

"Yeah? Thought you were going to sleep?"

"I was."

"Then why don't you?"

"I will, after you get that thing out of my bed!"

When his bed was snake-free, Tadashi sighed contently as he turned on his other side, ready to go to sleep for real this time.

Just before he was completely pulled under, he felt a soft kiss on his temple.

"Sleep well, Dashi."

The soft patter of feet, and then it was silent in the room. With a smile, Tadashi let himself be enveloped with the welcoming darkness that sleep brought, ready for dreams about ten year old geniuses and snakes.