Recovery

Hiro was playing around with his food. He had no energy to follow the laughing of his peers and he was just too distracted to focus on their talking. He just felt so full and it made him fee sick.The food Aunt Cass made was so oily and filling, you could see the oil pooling around the small noodles and the greasy meat slice and veggies made Hiro’s hands feel itchy. When he took larger bites, he felt nauseated.

“Aunt Cass, I gotta use the washroom for a bit.” Hiro said, leaving the table quickly to head upstairs. Both Aunt Cass and Tadashi looked at each other before they both went back to their dinner. He’s been going to the washroom a lot lately- during dinner or after dinner, it’s become a daily thing now.

Hiro enters the washroom, feet dragging to the toilet seat as he lifts the lid up and kneels, fingers already jabbing his throat. He hurls, his dinner spewing out of his mouth into the toilet seat. The pungent fumes rid the washroom, Hiro’s nose twitching from the foul scent. The acidic taste makes him shiver but he continues gagging until he rids all the food from his stomach. He washes his mouth, rinsing it with some toothpaste before spitting it out into the sink. He leaves the washroom, but right as he turns off the light he meets Tadashi, looking at him with concern and confusion.

“Are you sick?” Tadashi asks, eyes filled with concern.

“What? No?” Hiro responds immediately, Tadashi’s eyes still filled with that concerned look.

“Then why were you throwing up in the washroom?” Hiro’s eyes go wide, like a deer caught in headlights.

“I- um, no I just felt really sick for a sec’, but I’m fine now.” Hiro answers, eyes diverting from Tadashi.

“Do you need to lay down or anything? Or like, soup or something. I can get you it-”

“No! You don’t need to get me anything! I’m fine, now, really” Hiro interrupts as he laughs the look on Tadashi’s face. “Okay, I’m gonna go do something else now, but yeah I’m not sick, like at all. You don’t need to worry, Tadashi.” Hiro reaffirms, walking to his computer as Tadashi stares at him. Tadashi stares at him, thoughts running through his brain. But he knocked it off, leaving the sombre mood of the cold evening.

-

Tadashi was at SFIT while Hiro was laying on his bed. His blanket covered his whole body- just a big clump under his duvet. The air in the room was cold, like no signs of life was in the space. The dark and dull atmosphere felt like a cemetery. He felt so useless, he hasn’t done anything during the day and as more time passes by, he felt more guiltier and guiltier. He could be helping his aunt down in the cafe, or volunteer at the animal shelter, or even upgrade the Megabot, but he just didn’t have any energy. He felt so tired and exhausted from doing nothing.

-

“Hey, Tadashi! Back from school?” Aunt Cass asks, cleaning up a table as Tadashi brushes himself off while entering the bustling café.

“Yup. Just finished my classes!” Tadashi replied, walking his way to the stairs. He arrives to his room to notice the dark and gloomy aura. Was Hiro out? Tadashi walks in to see Hiro in his bed, blanket covering his body except his toes.

“Hey, Tadashi, back from school?” Aunt Cass asks, cleaning up a table as Tadashi brushes himself off while entering the bustling cafe.

“Yup, just finished my classes.” Tadashi replied, a big smile on his face.

“Can you also check up on Hiro once you get to your room? He hasn’t been down here at all, and I don’t know what he’s doing up there. Haven’t got the time to go up.” Aunt Cass chuckled, as she walks to the register to take more orders.

“Sure thing” Tadashi replies quickly before he runs up to his room. He passes the cat, Mochi, who Tadashi pets for a few seconds before continuing his journey. He runs up the stairs to see Hiro’s bed and a clump.

“What’s up knucklehead, what did you do today?” Tadashi asks, turning on the lights as he unpacks from his school day. But with time, he got no answer.

“Hiro?” Tadashi asks again, confused why he wasn’t answering. But he concludes to the no-reply as Hiro napping. Tadashi pulls out his computer quietly, working on his unfinished assignments.
-

“Dinner!” Aunt Cass yells, Tadashi stands up to stretch a little but turns around to see Hiro still asleep.

“Hey Baby Face, it’s time for dinner” Tadashi whispers, shaking Hiro. He groans, trying to get Tadashi away.

“Hiro, you’ve been sleeping for like 4 hours now. Did you stay up all night again?” Tadashi asks, smirking as he lifts him up. He still gets incoherent words from Hiro, so he lifts him up while walking down the stairs. He places Hiro down at his designated chair before sitting in his own.

“Woah, Sleepy Pants! Did you take a nap?” Aunt Cass asks, sitting down the few remaining dishes before sitting down herself. Hiro just nods and yawns. They all start digging into their meal, Hiro eating more quickly than the both.

“Might wanna slow down so you don’t choke?” Aunt Cass teases, Hiro still eating his dinner quickly. Aunt Cass and Tadashi look at each other, confused on why Hiro wasn’t talking. Hiro finishes most of his plate before excusing himself to the washroom again which makes Tadashi more dubious of Hiro.

As Tadashi finishes up his dinner and his daily catch-up conversation with Aunt Cass, he cleans his plate before running up the stairs to his room. He notices the light under the bathroom door and the retching sound coming from it. Immediately, he runs towards the door, thoughts running at the speed of light in his head, before opening it to see Hiro with his fingers in his mouth, tears down his face, cheeks puffed up and vomit littering his face.

All his thoughts stop. No sound was heard in the seconds-long time of realisation. Hiro was quickly cleaning up the scene as he messily spits out excuses but Tadashi couldn’t hear him. He couldn’t hear anything. He could only see that image in his head of his little brother shoving his fingers down his throat and puking his food out.

Tadashi snapped back into reality once Hiro grabbed his arm. Hiro was crying now, tears and snot rolling down his face as he calls for his older brother.

“I-uh what just happened?” Tadashi says, mixed emotions running through the air. Hiro kept crying though, ignoring the question as he hugs Tadashi closer. “Hiro, were you trying to make yourself throw up?” Tadashi asked, bending his knees to be more eye-level with Hiro.

“I don’t know!” Hiro yells, more tears pooling into his eyes as he tries to look away from Tadashi.

“Hiro,” Tadashi said more firmly and heavily, “I need you to honestly answer this, were you trying to make yourself throw up?”

“I.." Hiro stops for a few seconds, "yes.”