Fic: Primatech 815 - Ch. 12
Title: Primatech 815
Author: starrdust411
Fandom: Heroes (Crossover with Lost)
Characters: Ando, Bennet, Claire, Claude, Hiro, Isaac, Peter, Matt, Micah, Mohinder, Niki, Simone, Sylar (more to come)
Rating: R
Summary: A plane crash unites a group of strangers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes or Lost.
Warnings: AU, Violence, Action/Adventure, Drug use, Het, Slash, Crossover/Fusion
Chapter 1| Chapter 2| Chapter 3| Chapter 4| Chapter 5| Chapter 6| Chapter 7| Chapter 8| Chapter 9| Chapter 10| Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Peter nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Simone's scream come from within the caves. He leaped to his feet and charged towards her, ready to face a polar bear or a boar or the monster that had terrorized them in the cockpit. Instead, he saw Simone standing stalk still, her hands cupped firmly over her mouth, and staring at two dead bodies tucked away in a small, cramped corner of the cave, lying side to side.
"Who were they?" Simone gasped, trembling with fear. "How'd they get here?"
"Well I can't exactly perform an autopsy," Peter joked, hoping to sooth away her panic, "but there doesn't seem to be any trauma to these bones." He frowned, creeping in closer towards the two corpses in order to take a better look at them. Their shriveled skin and deteriorated clothes made it clear that the two had been living on this island for some time now and the way they were laid down seemed to indicate that the bodies had been placed there, not brought on their own two feet. "They must have been here for decades. It takes forty to fifty years for clothing to degrade like this. It looks like somebody laid them to rest here. This must have been some sort of grave."
Simone nodded along, but he wasn't really sure if she were actually paying attention to what he was telling her. She still looked a bit panicked, but the color was starting to return to her skin. A part of him wanted to go up to her and wrap the tanned woman in his arms, but he pushed those feelings aside. Isaac was just outside the caves after all.
"We heard screaming," Isaac said, appearing as if summoned by Peter's thoughts. Bennet was following close behind him. "What happened?"
"We found dead bodies," Simone told him, pointing towards the corpses tucked away in the corner of the cave.
Isaac raised his eyebrows in shock as he moved closer towards his girlfriend, wrapping a protective arm around her waist. "Whoa," he gasped. "Do you think these were the people here before us?"
"What?" Simone asked, confusion temporarily pushing fear aside.
"What do you mean?" Bennet jumped in.
"I... uh...," Isaac stammered, looking for the right words. Apparently the artist had forgotten that only a select few knew about the Spanish woman's distress signal. "I mean, obviously these people were here before us. I... It's possible right?"
Bennet took a few steps closer, carefully studying the dead bodies suspiciously. "Who were these two men?"
"Actually," Peter corrected, "one of them is female."
The older man smiled, adjusting his horn-rimmed glasses, never taking his eyes off the pair of corpses. "Our very own Adam and Eve."
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Hiro sighed, hugging his knees to his chest as he rested his back against the large piece of metal that had become Ando's temporary prison. The Indian man and heavy set American had come over and questioned him about the incident, but their words sounded like backwards gibberish in his ears so he was unable to respond. He had wanted to tell them that it was all a misunderstanding, that Ando was not trying to kill Isaac, but his English was terrible. He only knew simple phrases like "please", "thank you", and "where is the bathroom?" He could not help Ando even if he tried. Instead, he resigned himself to watching after his friend, since there was nothing else to do.
'Go get some food,' Ando ordered, noticing the way that Hiro's stomach was starting to rumble noisily. 'Don't be a baby. Feed yourself.'
The other man frowned at his friend’s words. Ando had been the one who'd told him to stay by his side and now he was suddenly ordering Hiro to go away? Besides, he couldn't feed himself since he couldn't fish. They didn't have rods or bait, just pointed sticks and mangled nets. And the others... he could not talk to them. How could he ask for food if he didn't know how to speak their language?
'What am I supposed to do?' Hiro snapped. 'You know I can't fish and the others don't understand me! If you hadn't been such a hot head-'
'I was trying to help you!'
'This isn't primary school Ando-kun!’ he shouted, frustration quickly seeping into his words. ‘You don't have to go around fighting battles for me! I'm a grown man! I can take care of myself.'
Ando laughed, a bitter sound that made Hiro want to punch him. 'Yeah right,' he scoffed. 'You'll always need me to look after you, Hiro-chan.'
The younger man felt his face turn bright red at his friend's mocking words. He hated the man Ando had become. Ever since his promotion he acted like he was so much better than him. He wanted to yell and scream and demand that his real friend come back from wherever this monster with Ando's face had taken him, but he couldn't. He couldn't even walk away, because once Ando was gone, he'd be left all alone.
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Hiro smiled when he spotted Ando grabbing a drink by the water cooler. He had not seen his friend around the office in quite some time and it thrilled him to find him here. His father seemed to keep Ando busy day and night. He was always rushing in and out of the building, running some errand for his father. Apparently his father wanted Ando to deliver all of his messages personally, and kept him on notice whenever one needed to be sent out to a client or employee that had displeased him.
Hiro wanted to say that he was happy that Ando was doing so well in his new job, but the truth of the matter was he missed his best friend. He remembered the days when they would leave work together and head back to Hiro's apartment to watch videos until dawn. Now Ando would not return his calls, didn't have the time to grab a beer, or even wave hello in the hall. Hiro was starting to wonder if they were even still friends.
'Ando-kun!' he called happily, gaining the other man's attention.
When Ando gazed up at him there was a far off gleam in his eyes as if he were thinking about something else even as he waved towards Hiro. He looked terrible. There were thick black bags under his eyes and his hands trembled as if he hadn't eaten in days. Yet, even through his long sleeved dress shirt, Hiro could tell that Ando had gotten bigger. Ando had always been scrawny while Hiro had been chubby, but Hiro could see that there were toned arms and well defined chest muscles underneath his friend's work attire.
'Hey,' Ando muttered, walking away even as he spoke. Hiro frowned, but followed him anyway, much to his friend's dismay. 'Shouldn't you be working?'
'I can take a break,' he shrugged. They hadn't spoken in months. Why wasn't Ando happy to be with him? 'How 'bout we have a Star Wars marathon at my house tonight? Only original trilogy!'
Ando frowned, shaking his head. 'Can't. Maybe some other time.'
'Okay. How 'bout Back to the Future, then? Or Star Trek?'
Something about his words must have upset Ando, because suddenly the other man stopped dead in his tracks and turned on him. 'I said I was busy!' he snapped. 'Now leave me alone!'
'Ando-kun?' he whispered, not knowing what he'd said to upset him so quickly. Maybe Ando was having a bad day?
'You're twenty-seven years old, Hiro!' Ando suddenly shouted. 'When are you going to fucking grow up and stop acting like a baby! I don't want to play with you anymore.' With that said, Ando turned and stormed off, disappearing around the corner.
Hiro was left standing in shock as the other office workers who had witnessed the outburst stood around muttering and nodding in agreement. The young man hung his head low, keeping his eyes to the ground as he headed straight for the Men's Room. Once inside, he allowed himself to fall to the floor and cry.
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Peter sighed, gathering up the bags of water and preparing for the long trek back to the beach. He wasn't exactly looking forward to having to haul enough water for forty-seven people to and from the beach every day. From what he could tell, things were peaceful enough out here in the jungle. There was shade, fresh water, and he was certain that Bennet would be more than able to continue hunting boar from here.
"Anybody gonna stay here and help me sort through this stuff?" Simone asked. She'd recovered from her shock by busying herself with sorting through the goods scattered across the ground.
"I'll stick around," Bennet said.
Isaac raised a suspicious eyebrow, obviously not ready to leave Simone alone in the jungle with someone like Bennet. "I could stay too," Isaac said suddenly.
"No, you should help Peter bring the water back," Simone said. "Bennet and I will be fine. I'm sure he'll be able to protect me from any wild boars that might try to attack us."
Bennet laughed softly at the young woman's joke, before disappearing into the cave, most likely to try to look for anything they might have missed before. Peter sighed, studying the spring water intensely. It seemed like such a waste to just leave.
"Something on your mind, Peter?"
The young nurse blinked, turning towards Simone's worried face. "I was just thinking," he told her. "This cave makes too good of a shelter for just burial. Adam and Eve must have lived here. They probably found this place and knew they could survive here. Unlimited supply of fresh water, tree canopy keeps the temperature down, shields out the sun; the openings are narrow, easier for protection against predators. I think we should live here."
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Mohinder sighed, gazing over at the two Asian men sitting in the blazing hot sun. He had to commend the one wearing glasses for staying by his friend's side, but he was starting to get the feeling that they were all just wasting their time with this "investigation." Matt and Mohinder had talked to everyone on the beach and no one could tell them what would have brought about the sudden burst of violence. Matt had suggested questioning Isaac again, but Mohinder couldn't really see much point in it.
"We should just let him go," Mohinder suggested. "If he stays out here like this, he'll probably get sunstroke."
"Are you kidding me?" Matt scoffed, easily brushing off Mohinder's words. "This guy tried to kill someone today! We can't run the risk of that happening again."
"Well we're not going to be able to figure out his motive," he pointed out. "The only ones who seem to know anything are that Japanese man and his friend, and unless anyone on this island can act as a translator, we're not going to get anywhere."
Matt huffed, shaking his head and getting ready to argue his point further, when Peter and Isaac suddenly appeared from the tree lines. "Back already?" Matt asked, noticing that the quartet had become a duo. "Where are the others?"
"Stayed at the caves," Peter told them, handing each man a bottle of water. "We'll be heading back soon."
"Two trips in one day?" Mohinder raised a skeptical eyebrow at the young nurse. Something about the way the younger man smiled and brushed his hair back nervously that did not sit well with him. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like what Peter was about to tell them.
"Actually," Isaac interrupted, shifting his bags as if he wasn't interested in sticking around much longer, "Peter wants to move everyone to the caves. Which I think is the best idea ever. Who wouldn't want to live in the heart of the jungle with polar bears, wild boar, and crazy jungle monsters that rip pilots apart?"
"So does that mean you won't be joining us in the caves?" Peter asked.
"No I'm coming," Isaac shrugged. "I just need to deliver this water and then grab my stuff."
Peter laughed, handing Isaac his bag before the artist slipped off towards the other end of the beach, making sure to keep his distance from the two Asians. Once Isaac was gone, Peter turned his attention back towards Matt and Mohinder. His wide brown eyes were shinning with hope and desperation. Mohinder suddenly worried that turning down his offer would crush the younger man's heart.
"What d'you guys think?" Peter asked.
"Sure," Matt shrugged. "Sounds like a good idea. Being near a fresh supply of water is the best thing for our people."
Peter smiled and his whole face was practically a glow with the success of his plan. He was like a child who had just learned to tie his shoe laces by himself. "What about you, Mohinder?"
The Indian man grew silent as he looked between the police officer and the nurse before letting his eyes fall back to the ground. "No," he said simply.
The younger man's whole face seemed to crumple in at his words. He looked as if Mohinder had just smacked him for no reason. "No?" he repeated, confusion and a small amount of hurt present in his tone. "Why not? We'd have shelter from the heat, fresh water, protection from predators..."
"Keeping the signal fire going is our best hope for rescue," Mohinder told him. "If we all go and hide in the jungle, what hope will we have of getting off this island?" It was also the best chance of getting Sylar off of this island and in a jail cell where he belonged. He sighed, shaking his head solemnly. As much as he disliked contradicting Peter's position as the de facto leader of the group, he knew that leaving the beach was not a bright idea. "I'm sorry, Peter, but I won't dig in. I'm staying here."
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Ando sighed as he watched Isaac strutting back and forth between his tent and the area where they kept their water supply. It was later afternoon now and the sun would be setting soon. His head buzzed and his mouth yearned for a drink of water, but his restraints kept him from doing little more than sitting in place, waiting for someone to let him go.
He glanced down at his side and watched as Hiro shifted in his sleep. A small smile spread across his face as he listened to Hiro's calm, even breaths and felt him adjust his weight as he pressed himself closer to Ando's side, using his shoulder as a pillow. His friend had drifted off a little while ago and Ando couldn't really fault him. He couldn't eat, there wasn't much water left to drink, and after their little fight, he had no one to talk to. Hiro had stayed by his side all day, drawing shapes in the sand and trying to figure out a way to tell the others of his mistake, yet nothing had come to him.
The Asian man felt his stomach tighten as he pulled idly on his handcuffs for the hundredth time that day. His wrist was red and raw and the rest of his skin wasn't doing much better after spending so many hours in direct sunlight. He really wasn't helping anyone by being so stubborn. Maybe he should just apologize and get it all over with?
As soon as he spotted Isaac heading back in his direction, Ando started to call out his name and wave his hands frantically in hopes of getting the artist's attention. He knew that the Hispanic man had seen him, but was merely ignoring him. He seemed to weigh in his head what the possibilities were for Ando to attack him again with his hand chained up and his other side being used as Hiro's own personal futon, before finally deciding to give in and head towards Ando.
"What do you want?" he snapped, glaring down at him. "Gonna attack me again?"
Ando rolled his eyes and motioned for the other man to come closer. He was surprised when Isaac actually did as he was directed.
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'Two tickets to Australia?'
Hiro wrinkled his nose as he studied the piece of paper Ando had handed him. He hadn't spoken to his friend in over a month, not since the incident at the water cooler, yet all of a sudden Ando was offering to go on a trip with him? Something didn't add up.
'Not just Australia,' Ando corrected, a strange look in his eyes as he flashed Hiro an awkward smile. He looked as if he were no longer used to using his facial muscles in such a way, and the smile constantly fought to turn back into his now usual scowl. 'Los Angeles too.'
'America?' Since childhood, he and Ando had talked about making a trip to America. Hiro had always dreamed of visiting the country that he had read about in so many comic books and only ever saw through television shows and movies. It was a trip he had been dying to make, with his real friend, not this new Ando who had replaced him.
'Yeah,' he continued. 'We just need to go to Sydney for a little while; I have some business to do for your father. Then we head to California and I deliver a message for Kaito-san, then we'll be free to tour the country. Think Hiro, we can rent a car, that one you like-'
'Nissan Versa?'
'Yeah. We'll see all the sights, eat lots of fatty American food, and buy tons of cheesy souvenirs. What do you think?'
Hiro frowned, squirming awkwardly in his desk chair. A part of him wanted to reject Ando. He wanted to throw the plane tickets back in his face and tell him it would take more than a trip to Australia to make up for what he'd done, for how he'd acted. Yet deep inside he knew he couldn't. This was his Ando, his true best friend, peeking out from within this stranger and offering him an olive branch. It would be foolish for him not to accept this offer.
'When do we go?'
Ando's face was practically beaming as he leaned over and gave Hiro a friendly pat on the back. 'September,' he told him. 'We'll be flying first class on Primatech Airlines.'
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Isaac let out an exasperated sigh as he crouched down in front of Ando, being careful to stay far enough away that he could not reach out and grab him. "So what do you want?" Isaac asked, before shaking his head, a bitter smile gracing his features. "Not that you even understand a word I'm saying."
"Please," Ando began, choosing his words carefully and ignoring the way Isaac's head snapped up and his eyes expanded. "I need your help."
"You speak English!" the painter gasped and for a moment, Ando feared that Hiro would wake up.
"Shhh!" he said quickly, glancing over his shoulder to see Hiro stir briefly before settling back to his peaceful sleep. "Please, I need you to stay quiet."
"You speak English," Isaac repeated, this time in a much softer tone, but shock and disbelief still colored his words. "Why didn't you say anything before? We've been on this island for a week!"
"It's complicated," he whispered. "I... I just need you to know that I am sorry for what I did. It was a mistake-"
"Mistake? You attacked me!"
"I thought you were trying to steal Hiro's book," he lied. The truth of the matter was that he was jealous. They had been on this island for a week, and in that time Hiro had not smiled at him the way he had smiled at Isaac from that one signature alone. He had snapped, and his newly acquired instincts had taken over him. In the past, he had never been so quick to violence. In fact, he had never harmed anyone in his old days, but he was different now.
Isaac rolled his eyes at his lame excuse. "Steal it? I wrote it," he snapped.
"I know," he sighed. "And I am sorry, but I need you to tell them to let me go. I can't stay here forever. Hiro needs me to take care of him."
The artist sighed, running his hands over his face wearily. "Why don't you just have him say all this?"
"Hiro doesn't speak English."
"You sure?" Isaac asked bitterly, sarcasm clear in his words.
He nodded. He knew for a fact that Hiro's English was incredibly bad. The two had gone to school together and his friend had never gotten high marks in that area (which came as a surprise to Ando since Hiro had always been very fond of American comic books and movies).
"Does he know that you speak English?"
"No."
Isaac blinked, confusion written all over his features. "Why not?"
"It was supposed to be a secret," he explained.
The artist laughed. "Speaking English is a secret?"
Ando frowned, not liking how the man kept poking fun at him. "Have you never kept secrets from someone you cared about?"
Isaac quickly fell silent as Ando's words hit their mark. A sheepish look suddenly appeared on the man's face as he slowly stood up. "I'll go get Mohinder to uncuff you," he said, before turning and walking away.
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Claire flashed Peter a weak smile as the young man came towards her, an optimistic spring in his step. She knew why he was here. She knew that he was going to ask her to move into the caves with him, and she couldn't help feeling a ball of guilt forming inside of her stomach.
"So we're getting ready to head back to the caves," Peter began a friendly smile lighting his features. "You have your stuff ready?"
She tried again to widen her smile, but it would not reach her eyes. "I'm not going, Peter," she told him, relieved that the truth was out, but fearing the repercussions.
Peter's brown eyes widened as he studied her face carefully, trying to figure out whether or not the teenager was pulling his leg. "Not going?" he repeated. "Why not?"
"Because I'm sixteen years old, Peter," she said. "I... I can't dig in. I can't stay on this island forever. I have a life and a family to get back to. If rescue comes, I want to be here."
The nurse frowned thoughtfully as he brushed his floppy brown hair out of his eyes. "I don't want you staying here by yourself," he muttered.
"I won't be by myself," she assured him. "Niki and Micah are staying and so are Mohinder and Gabriel. We'll all help keep the signal fire going."
She caught the older man's flinch when she mentioned Gabriel's name, but she pushed that aside. She waited for him to say something, hoping he would be able to forgive her for this minor betrayal. All those feelings of doubt were pushed aside as Peter closed the space between them, wrapping her in his arms and holding her close.
"This isn't goodbye," he told her giving her slight form a tight squeeze. "I'll still come to the beach everyday to bring water."
She laughed, pulling away from him. "And I'll come visit some time," she promised, yet deep inside she knew that their separation wouldn't last very long.
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Hiro frowned as he watched the newly released Ando stuffing his things into his bag quickly. The sun was about to set and the nurse was getting ready to leave and take a select group of survivors into the jungle with him. Hiro had been startled when he had discovered that not only had Ando managed to get himself released from his temporary confinement, he had also decided to relocate them to the caves.
‘I don't know about this, Ando-kun,’ Hiro sighed, gathering his iPod and his manga in his hands. ‘Living in the jungle can be dangerous. We don't know what's out there.’
‘We know that there is a fresh water supply,’ his friend reminded him.
‘And boar,’ Hiro put in, slipping his things into his bag and zipping it shut.
‘Don't worry about that,’ Ando sighed, rolling his eyes and lifting his bag onto his shoulder. Ando was only mid pull when suddenly he hissed in pain, dropping his bag to the ground and clutching his wrist to his chest.
‘Ando-kun!’ Hiro shouted; worry clear on his face as he stepped closer to his friend's side. ‘Are you alright? Is it your wrist?’
"Yeah," he admitted through gritted teeth. ‘It's just a little sore.’
‘Let me see.’ Before Ando could relent or struggle, Hiro grabbed his friend's arm and inspected his limb. He frowned, noticing that the skin had been thorn to shreds and was caked with blood and small bits of sand. He sighed, grabbing the end of his shirt and ripping a small piece of it off.
‘Hey, what are you doing?’ Ando asked in alarm as he attempted to stop him, but Hiro brushed off his efforts.
‘You should have the nurse look at this,’ he chided, wrapping the shredded cloth around his friend's wrist and tying it off tight enough to stay, but not enough to cut off circulation. ‘It could get infected if you’re not careful.’
For a moment, Ando was silent. He merely stood there allowing Hiro to cradle his wrist in his hand. The Japanese man frowned, looking up at his friend questioningly before Ando blushed and turned away. ‘You're right,’ he admitted. ‘I should... Thank you Hiro-kun.’
Hiro smiled, picking up Ando's bag and carrying it for him. He didn't have to rely on his friend only. They could rely on each other.
Next Chapter
Author: starrdust411
Fandom: Heroes (Crossover with Lost)
Characters: Ando, Bennet, Claire, Claude, Hiro, Isaac, Peter, Matt, Micah, Mohinder, Niki, Simone, Sylar (more to come)
Rating: R
Summary: A plane crash unites a group of strangers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes or Lost.
Warnings: AU, Violence, Action/Adventure, Drug use, Het, Slash, Crossover/Fusion
Chapter 1| Chapter 2| Chapter 3| Chapter 4| Chapter 5| Chapter 6| Chapter 7| Chapter 8| Chapter 9| Chapter 10| Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Peter nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Simone's scream come from within the caves. He leaped to his feet and charged towards her, ready to face a polar bear or a boar or the monster that had terrorized them in the cockpit. Instead, he saw Simone standing stalk still, her hands cupped firmly over her mouth, and staring at two dead bodies tucked away in a small, cramped corner of the cave, lying side to side.
"Who were they?" Simone gasped, trembling with fear. "How'd they get here?"
"Well I can't exactly perform an autopsy," Peter joked, hoping to sooth away her panic, "but there doesn't seem to be any trauma to these bones." He frowned, creeping in closer towards the two corpses in order to take a better look at them. Their shriveled skin and deteriorated clothes made it clear that the two had been living on this island for some time now and the way they were laid down seemed to indicate that the bodies had been placed there, not brought on their own two feet. "They must have been here for decades. It takes forty to fifty years for clothing to degrade like this. It looks like somebody laid them to rest here. This must have been some sort of grave."
Simone nodded along, but he wasn't really sure if she were actually paying attention to what he was telling her. She still looked a bit panicked, but the color was starting to return to her skin. A part of him wanted to go up to her and wrap the tanned woman in his arms, but he pushed those feelings aside. Isaac was just outside the caves after all.
"We heard screaming," Isaac said, appearing as if summoned by Peter's thoughts. Bennet was following close behind him. "What happened?"
"We found dead bodies," Simone told him, pointing towards the corpses tucked away in the corner of the cave.
Isaac raised his eyebrows in shock as he moved closer towards his girlfriend, wrapping a protective arm around her waist. "Whoa," he gasped. "Do you think these were the people here before us?"
"What?" Simone asked, confusion temporarily pushing fear aside.
"What do you mean?" Bennet jumped in.
"I... uh...," Isaac stammered, looking for the right words. Apparently the artist had forgotten that only a select few knew about the Spanish woman's distress signal. "I mean, obviously these people were here before us. I... It's possible right?"
Bennet took a few steps closer, carefully studying the dead bodies suspiciously. "Who were these two men?"
"Actually," Peter corrected, "one of them is female."
The older man smiled, adjusting his horn-rimmed glasses, never taking his eyes off the pair of corpses. "Our very own Adam and Eve."
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Hiro sighed, hugging his knees to his chest as he rested his back against the large piece of metal that had become Ando's temporary prison. The Indian man and heavy set American had come over and questioned him about the incident, but their words sounded like backwards gibberish in his ears so he was unable to respond. He had wanted to tell them that it was all a misunderstanding, that Ando was not trying to kill Isaac, but his English was terrible. He only knew simple phrases like "please", "thank you", and "where is the bathroom?" He could not help Ando even if he tried. Instead, he resigned himself to watching after his friend, since there was nothing else to do.
'Go get some food,' Ando ordered, noticing the way that Hiro's stomach was starting to rumble noisily. 'Don't be a baby. Feed yourself.'
The other man frowned at his friend’s words. Ando had been the one who'd told him to stay by his side and now he was suddenly ordering Hiro to go away? Besides, he couldn't feed himself since he couldn't fish. They didn't have rods or bait, just pointed sticks and mangled nets. And the others... he could not talk to them. How could he ask for food if he didn't know how to speak their language?
'What am I supposed to do?' Hiro snapped. 'You know I can't fish and the others don't understand me! If you hadn't been such a hot head-'
'I was trying to help you!'
'This isn't primary school Ando-kun!’ he shouted, frustration quickly seeping into his words. ‘You don't have to go around fighting battles for me! I'm a grown man! I can take care of myself.'
Ando laughed, a bitter sound that made Hiro want to punch him. 'Yeah right,' he scoffed. 'You'll always need me to look after you, Hiro-chan.'
The younger man felt his face turn bright red at his friend's mocking words. He hated the man Ando had become. Ever since his promotion he acted like he was so much better than him. He wanted to yell and scream and demand that his real friend come back from wherever this monster with Ando's face had taken him, but he couldn't. He couldn't even walk away, because once Ando was gone, he'd be left all alone.
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Hiro smiled when he spotted Ando grabbing a drink by the water cooler. He had not seen his friend around the office in quite some time and it thrilled him to find him here. His father seemed to keep Ando busy day and night. He was always rushing in and out of the building, running some errand for his father. Apparently his father wanted Ando to deliver all of his messages personally, and kept him on notice whenever one needed to be sent out to a client or employee that had displeased him.
Hiro wanted to say that he was happy that Ando was doing so well in his new job, but the truth of the matter was he missed his best friend. He remembered the days when they would leave work together and head back to Hiro's apartment to watch videos until dawn. Now Ando would not return his calls, didn't have the time to grab a beer, or even wave hello in the hall. Hiro was starting to wonder if they were even still friends.
'Ando-kun!' he called happily, gaining the other man's attention.
When Ando gazed up at him there was a far off gleam in his eyes as if he were thinking about something else even as he waved towards Hiro. He looked terrible. There were thick black bags under his eyes and his hands trembled as if he hadn't eaten in days. Yet, even through his long sleeved dress shirt, Hiro could tell that Ando had gotten bigger. Ando had always been scrawny while Hiro had been chubby, but Hiro could see that there were toned arms and well defined chest muscles underneath his friend's work attire.
'Hey,' Ando muttered, walking away even as he spoke. Hiro frowned, but followed him anyway, much to his friend's dismay. 'Shouldn't you be working?'
'I can take a break,' he shrugged. They hadn't spoken in months. Why wasn't Ando happy to be with him? 'How 'bout we have a Star Wars marathon at my house tonight? Only original trilogy!'
Ando frowned, shaking his head. 'Can't. Maybe some other time.'
'Okay. How 'bout Back to the Future, then? Or Star Trek?'
Something about his words must have upset Ando, because suddenly the other man stopped dead in his tracks and turned on him. 'I said I was busy!' he snapped. 'Now leave me alone!'
'Ando-kun?' he whispered, not knowing what he'd said to upset him so quickly. Maybe Ando was having a bad day?
'You're twenty-seven years old, Hiro!' Ando suddenly shouted. 'When are you going to fucking grow up and stop acting like a baby! I don't want to play with you anymore.' With that said, Ando turned and stormed off, disappearing around the corner.
Hiro was left standing in shock as the other office workers who had witnessed the outburst stood around muttering and nodding in agreement. The young man hung his head low, keeping his eyes to the ground as he headed straight for the Men's Room. Once inside, he allowed himself to fall to the floor and cry.
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Peter sighed, gathering up the bags of water and preparing for the long trek back to the beach. He wasn't exactly looking forward to having to haul enough water for forty-seven people to and from the beach every day. From what he could tell, things were peaceful enough out here in the jungle. There was shade, fresh water, and he was certain that Bennet would be more than able to continue hunting boar from here.
"Anybody gonna stay here and help me sort through this stuff?" Simone asked. She'd recovered from her shock by busying herself with sorting through the goods scattered across the ground.
"I'll stick around," Bennet said.
Isaac raised a suspicious eyebrow, obviously not ready to leave Simone alone in the jungle with someone like Bennet. "I could stay too," Isaac said suddenly.
"No, you should help Peter bring the water back," Simone said. "Bennet and I will be fine. I'm sure he'll be able to protect me from any wild boars that might try to attack us."
Bennet laughed softly at the young woman's joke, before disappearing into the cave, most likely to try to look for anything they might have missed before. Peter sighed, studying the spring water intensely. It seemed like such a waste to just leave.
"Something on your mind, Peter?"
The young nurse blinked, turning towards Simone's worried face. "I was just thinking," he told her. "This cave makes too good of a shelter for just burial. Adam and Eve must have lived here. They probably found this place and knew they could survive here. Unlimited supply of fresh water, tree canopy keeps the temperature down, shields out the sun; the openings are narrow, easier for protection against predators. I think we should live here."
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Mohinder sighed, gazing over at the two Asian men sitting in the blazing hot sun. He had to commend the one wearing glasses for staying by his friend's side, but he was starting to get the feeling that they were all just wasting their time with this "investigation." Matt and Mohinder had talked to everyone on the beach and no one could tell them what would have brought about the sudden burst of violence. Matt had suggested questioning Isaac again, but Mohinder couldn't really see much point in it.
"We should just let him go," Mohinder suggested. "If he stays out here like this, he'll probably get sunstroke."
"Are you kidding me?" Matt scoffed, easily brushing off Mohinder's words. "This guy tried to kill someone today! We can't run the risk of that happening again."
"Well we're not going to be able to figure out his motive," he pointed out. "The only ones who seem to know anything are that Japanese man and his friend, and unless anyone on this island can act as a translator, we're not going to get anywhere."
Matt huffed, shaking his head and getting ready to argue his point further, when Peter and Isaac suddenly appeared from the tree lines. "Back already?" Matt asked, noticing that the quartet had become a duo. "Where are the others?"
"Stayed at the caves," Peter told them, handing each man a bottle of water. "We'll be heading back soon."
"Two trips in one day?" Mohinder raised a skeptical eyebrow at the young nurse. Something about the way the younger man smiled and brushed his hair back nervously that did not sit well with him. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like what Peter was about to tell them.
"Actually," Isaac interrupted, shifting his bags as if he wasn't interested in sticking around much longer, "Peter wants to move everyone to the caves. Which I think is the best idea ever. Who wouldn't want to live in the heart of the jungle with polar bears, wild boar, and crazy jungle monsters that rip pilots apart?"
"So does that mean you won't be joining us in the caves?" Peter asked.
"No I'm coming," Isaac shrugged. "I just need to deliver this water and then grab my stuff."
Peter laughed, handing Isaac his bag before the artist slipped off towards the other end of the beach, making sure to keep his distance from the two Asians. Once Isaac was gone, Peter turned his attention back towards Matt and Mohinder. His wide brown eyes were shinning with hope and desperation. Mohinder suddenly worried that turning down his offer would crush the younger man's heart.
"What d'you guys think?" Peter asked.
"Sure," Matt shrugged. "Sounds like a good idea. Being near a fresh supply of water is the best thing for our people."
Peter smiled and his whole face was practically a glow with the success of his plan. He was like a child who had just learned to tie his shoe laces by himself. "What about you, Mohinder?"
The Indian man grew silent as he looked between the police officer and the nurse before letting his eyes fall back to the ground. "No," he said simply.
The younger man's whole face seemed to crumple in at his words. He looked as if Mohinder had just smacked him for no reason. "No?" he repeated, confusion and a small amount of hurt present in his tone. "Why not? We'd have shelter from the heat, fresh water, protection from predators..."
"Keeping the signal fire going is our best hope for rescue," Mohinder told him. "If we all go and hide in the jungle, what hope will we have of getting off this island?" It was also the best chance of getting Sylar off of this island and in a jail cell where he belonged. He sighed, shaking his head solemnly. As much as he disliked contradicting Peter's position as the de facto leader of the group, he knew that leaving the beach was not a bright idea. "I'm sorry, Peter, but I won't dig in. I'm staying here."
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Ando sighed as he watched Isaac strutting back and forth between his tent and the area where they kept their water supply. It was later afternoon now and the sun would be setting soon. His head buzzed and his mouth yearned for a drink of water, but his restraints kept him from doing little more than sitting in place, waiting for someone to let him go.
He glanced down at his side and watched as Hiro shifted in his sleep. A small smile spread across his face as he listened to Hiro's calm, even breaths and felt him adjust his weight as he pressed himself closer to Ando's side, using his shoulder as a pillow. His friend had drifted off a little while ago and Ando couldn't really fault him. He couldn't eat, there wasn't much water left to drink, and after their little fight, he had no one to talk to. Hiro had stayed by his side all day, drawing shapes in the sand and trying to figure out a way to tell the others of his mistake, yet nothing had come to him.
The Asian man felt his stomach tighten as he pulled idly on his handcuffs for the hundredth time that day. His wrist was red and raw and the rest of his skin wasn't doing much better after spending so many hours in direct sunlight. He really wasn't helping anyone by being so stubborn. Maybe he should just apologize and get it all over with?
As soon as he spotted Isaac heading back in his direction, Ando started to call out his name and wave his hands frantically in hopes of getting the artist's attention. He knew that the Hispanic man had seen him, but was merely ignoring him. He seemed to weigh in his head what the possibilities were for Ando to attack him again with his hand chained up and his other side being used as Hiro's own personal futon, before finally deciding to give in and head towards Ando.
"What do you want?" he snapped, glaring down at him. "Gonna attack me again?"
Ando rolled his eyes and motioned for the other man to come closer. He was surprised when Isaac actually did as he was directed.
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'Two tickets to Australia?'
Hiro wrinkled his nose as he studied the piece of paper Ando had handed him. He hadn't spoken to his friend in over a month, not since the incident at the water cooler, yet all of a sudden Ando was offering to go on a trip with him? Something didn't add up.
'Not just Australia,' Ando corrected, a strange look in his eyes as he flashed Hiro an awkward smile. He looked as if he were no longer used to using his facial muscles in such a way, and the smile constantly fought to turn back into his now usual scowl. 'Los Angeles too.'
'America?' Since childhood, he and Ando had talked about making a trip to America. Hiro had always dreamed of visiting the country that he had read about in so many comic books and only ever saw through television shows and movies. It was a trip he had been dying to make, with his real friend, not this new Ando who had replaced him.
'Yeah,' he continued. 'We just need to go to Sydney for a little while; I have some business to do for your father. Then we head to California and I deliver a message for Kaito-san, then we'll be free to tour the country. Think Hiro, we can rent a car, that one you like-'
'Nissan Versa?'
'Yeah. We'll see all the sights, eat lots of fatty American food, and buy tons of cheesy souvenirs. What do you think?'
Hiro frowned, squirming awkwardly in his desk chair. A part of him wanted to reject Ando. He wanted to throw the plane tickets back in his face and tell him it would take more than a trip to Australia to make up for what he'd done, for how he'd acted. Yet deep inside he knew he couldn't. This was his Ando, his true best friend, peeking out from within this stranger and offering him an olive branch. It would be foolish for him not to accept this offer.
'When do we go?'
Ando's face was practically beaming as he leaned over and gave Hiro a friendly pat on the back. 'September,' he told him. 'We'll be flying first class on Primatech Airlines.'
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Isaac let out an exasperated sigh as he crouched down in front of Ando, being careful to stay far enough away that he could not reach out and grab him. "So what do you want?" Isaac asked, before shaking his head, a bitter smile gracing his features. "Not that you even understand a word I'm saying."
"Please," Ando began, choosing his words carefully and ignoring the way Isaac's head snapped up and his eyes expanded. "I need your help."
"You speak English!" the painter gasped and for a moment, Ando feared that Hiro would wake up.
"Shhh!" he said quickly, glancing over his shoulder to see Hiro stir briefly before settling back to his peaceful sleep. "Please, I need you to stay quiet."
"You speak English," Isaac repeated, this time in a much softer tone, but shock and disbelief still colored his words. "Why didn't you say anything before? We've been on this island for a week!"
"It's complicated," he whispered. "I... I just need you to know that I am sorry for what I did. It was a mistake-"
"Mistake? You attacked me!"
"I thought you were trying to steal Hiro's book," he lied. The truth of the matter was that he was jealous. They had been on this island for a week, and in that time Hiro had not smiled at him the way he had smiled at Isaac from that one signature alone. He had snapped, and his newly acquired instincts had taken over him. In the past, he had never been so quick to violence. In fact, he had never harmed anyone in his old days, but he was different now.
Isaac rolled his eyes at his lame excuse. "Steal it? I wrote it," he snapped.
"I know," he sighed. "And I am sorry, but I need you to tell them to let me go. I can't stay here forever. Hiro needs me to take care of him."
The artist sighed, running his hands over his face wearily. "Why don't you just have him say all this?"
"Hiro doesn't speak English."
"You sure?" Isaac asked bitterly, sarcasm clear in his words.
He nodded. He knew for a fact that Hiro's English was incredibly bad. The two had gone to school together and his friend had never gotten high marks in that area (which came as a surprise to Ando since Hiro had always been very fond of American comic books and movies).
"Does he know that you speak English?"
"No."
Isaac blinked, confusion written all over his features. "Why not?"
"It was supposed to be a secret," he explained.
The artist laughed. "Speaking English is a secret?"
Ando frowned, not liking how the man kept poking fun at him. "Have you never kept secrets from someone you cared about?"
Isaac quickly fell silent as Ando's words hit their mark. A sheepish look suddenly appeared on the man's face as he slowly stood up. "I'll go get Mohinder to uncuff you," he said, before turning and walking away.
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Claire flashed Peter a weak smile as the young man came towards her, an optimistic spring in his step. She knew why he was here. She knew that he was going to ask her to move into the caves with him, and she couldn't help feeling a ball of guilt forming inside of her stomach.
"So we're getting ready to head back to the caves," Peter began a friendly smile lighting his features. "You have your stuff ready?"
She tried again to widen her smile, but it would not reach her eyes. "I'm not going, Peter," she told him, relieved that the truth was out, but fearing the repercussions.
Peter's brown eyes widened as he studied her face carefully, trying to figure out whether or not the teenager was pulling his leg. "Not going?" he repeated. "Why not?"
"Because I'm sixteen years old, Peter," she said. "I... I can't dig in. I can't stay on this island forever. I have a life and a family to get back to. If rescue comes, I want to be here."
The nurse frowned thoughtfully as he brushed his floppy brown hair out of his eyes. "I don't want you staying here by yourself," he muttered.
"I won't be by myself," she assured him. "Niki and Micah are staying and so are Mohinder and Gabriel. We'll all help keep the signal fire going."
She caught the older man's flinch when she mentioned Gabriel's name, but she pushed that aside. She waited for him to say something, hoping he would be able to forgive her for this minor betrayal. All those feelings of doubt were pushed aside as Peter closed the space between them, wrapping her in his arms and holding her close.
"This isn't goodbye," he told her giving her slight form a tight squeeze. "I'll still come to the beach everyday to bring water."
She laughed, pulling away from him. "And I'll come visit some time," she promised, yet deep inside she knew that their separation wouldn't last very long.
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Hiro frowned as he watched the newly released Ando stuffing his things into his bag quickly. The sun was about to set and the nurse was getting ready to leave and take a select group of survivors into the jungle with him. Hiro had been startled when he had discovered that not only had Ando managed to get himself released from his temporary confinement, he had also decided to relocate them to the caves.
‘I don't know about this, Ando-kun,’ Hiro sighed, gathering his iPod and his manga in his hands. ‘Living in the jungle can be dangerous. We don't know what's out there.’
‘We know that there is a fresh water supply,’ his friend reminded him.
‘And boar,’ Hiro put in, slipping his things into his bag and zipping it shut.
‘Don't worry about that,’ Ando sighed, rolling his eyes and lifting his bag onto his shoulder. Ando was only mid pull when suddenly he hissed in pain, dropping his bag to the ground and clutching his wrist to his chest.
‘Ando-kun!’ Hiro shouted; worry clear on his face as he stepped closer to his friend's side. ‘Are you alright? Is it your wrist?’
"Yeah," he admitted through gritted teeth. ‘It's just a little sore.’
‘Let me see.’ Before Ando could relent or struggle, Hiro grabbed his friend's arm and inspected his limb. He frowned, noticing that the skin had been thorn to shreds and was caked with blood and small bits of sand. He sighed, grabbing the end of his shirt and ripping a small piece of it off.
‘Hey, what are you doing?’ Ando asked in alarm as he attempted to stop him, but Hiro brushed off his efforts.
‘You should have the nurse look at this,’ he chided, wrapping the shredded cloth around his friend's wrist and tying it off tight enough to stay, but not enough to cut off circulation. ‘It could get infected if you’re not careful.’
For a moment, Ando was silent. He merely stood there allowing Hiro to cradle his wrist in his hand. The Japanese man frowned, looking up at his friend questioningly before Ando blushed and turned away. ‘You're right,’ he admitted. ‘I should... Thank you Hiro-kun.’
Hiro smiled, picking up Ando's bag and carrying it for him. He didn't have to rely on his friend only. They could rely on each other.
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