we could always-
Hiro knew the exact moment his brother realized he was going to die. Staring at the flames billowing out of what was once a building filled with so many futures Hiro knows, with certainty, that Tadashi isn’t going to come back out.
I shouldn’t have—
“‘Left you behind.’” Hiro finishes, tears rising from his cheeks as wisps of steam. “Tadashi, don’t—”
'Leave me.' Oh, Hiro, I'm—
“‘So sorry.’ You had—” 'Better be sorry, jerk.'
Hiro feels a wave of desperation that isn’t his own. “Dashi, I—” 'Don't know what to do without you'. Sure you do. You'll— “‘Always know what to do. I’m so proud of you.’”
His ears ring, and Hiro doesn’t know if it’s because of the explosion or the sirens in the distance. “I—”
'Love you.' I love— “‘You too, Hiro.’”
You’re going to do—
“‘So many great things, knucklehead.’”
Goodbye.
Clutching Tadashi’s hat to his chest, Hiro speaks the first sentence his brother will never be able to complete.
"I’m proud of you too, Nii-chan."