Max_Striker
patreon
Chapter 72: A Perfect Day in Tokyo
🕑 Added 2025-09-06 15:39:05 +0000 UTCJay flopped onto his hotel bed, exhausted in the best possible way. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Tokyo's neon skyline painted the night in electric blues and pinks. Past midnight now—thirteen hours since he'd left the Yashida compound with their butler Shiro acting as his chauffeur in one of the family's understated Mercedes sedans.
Thirteen hours of pure, unfiltered fun.
The first stop had been DiverCity Tokyo Plaza. Seeing the life-sized Gundam statue was everything his inner mech-obsessed teenager could have wanted. The RX-78-2 stood eighteen meters tall in perfect 1:1 scale, white and blue armor gleaming in the morning sun. Jay spent nearly an hour walking around it, taking pictures from every angle while Shiro waited patiently nearby.
"It's... really just a statue, Jay-san," Shiro said, adjusting his tie nervously while tourists streamed past them. His formal posture never wavered, but Jay caught the slight bewilderment in his voice.
"It's not just a statue," Jay replied, running his hand along one of the massive feet reverently. "This is the RX-78-2 Gundam. Eighteen meters of pure engineering perfection. Do you know how many kids dreamed of piloting one of these?"
Shiro blinked slowly. "Many... children, Jay-san?"
"Exactly!" Jay grinned, pulling out his phone for another dozen photos. "And now some mad genius actually built one. Life-sized. Just because they could."
From there, they'd hit Akihabara—electric town, the beating heart of otaku culture. The sensory overload hit Jay immediately: flashing neon signs advertising the latest anime series, electronic beeps and chirps of arcade games bleeding through storefront doors, crowds clutching shopping bags filled with figurines and manga. The air itself seemed to hum with electricity and excitement.
Jay went completely overboard. First edition volumes of Bakuman and Death Note went into his growing pile, followed by Blu-ray box sets of Durarara!!, Steins;Gate, and about a dozen other series. At a specialty shop, he found limited edition figurines still in their original packaging.
"Jay-san," Shiro said quietly, watching the growing mountain of purchases with barely concealed alarm, "perhaps we should arrange for shipping? The car may not... accommodate..."
"Good thinking," Jay laughed, pulling out another rare manga volume. "I'm definitely going overboard, but when will I get another chance like this?"
The look on Shiro's face when shopkeepers started rattling off prices in rapid Japanese was priceless—his formal composure cracking as he frantically tried to convert yen to dollars. The poor butler kept trying to translate, stumbling over technical terms and anime titles.
"Ano... Jay-san, he says this figure is... rokujū-man en?" Shiro's voice pitched higher with confusion, sweat beading on his forehead. "I believe that is... very expensive?"
"Shiro-san," Jay said gently, switching to fluent Japanese mid-conversation with the excited shop owner, "I've got this. And yes, sixty thousand yen is worth it for a first-edition Rei Ayanami figure."
The butler's jaw actually dropped. "You... speak Japanese? Fluently? When did you...?"
"Among other languages," Jay replied in perfect Japanese.
One month of preparation for his world tour had been intensive language immersion. Jay had crammed years of linguistic study into weeks with the help of Sage’s Kinetic memory.
The real entertainment came at the Maidreamin café for lunch. The moment they walked through the door, Jay was hit with a wall of pink décor, frilly uniforms, and the enthusiastic greeting of "Welcome home, Master!" delivered by three maids in perfect unison.
"Shiro-san," Jay whispered as they were led to their table, "you look like you're about to have a stroke."
"This is... not my usual dining establishment, Jay-san," Shiro replied stiffly, sitting rigidly like he was facing a firing squad.
The maids absolutely lost their minds when Jay responded to their kawaii routine in perfect Japanese. When their server—a bubbly girl who couldn't have been older than twenty—started the traditional "kyun kyun" heart pose photo session, Jay jumped right in.
"KYUN!" Jay called out, making exaggerated heart shapes with his hands while posing next to the delighted maid, who squealed with genuine delight.
Shiro slumped progressively lower in his seat, his face burning crimson. "Jay-san... please..." he muttered desperately from behind his menu, his years of butler training barely saving him from complete mortification.
"This is why I don't come to these places," he whispered as their maid bounced over to announce: "MASTER SPEAKS JAPANESE AND LOVES OUR PERFORMANCE! EVERYONE COME SEE!"
Jay gamely posed for photos with bunny ear headbands while Shiro looked ready to crawl under the table. The poor man's professional composure was hanging by a thread.
"Come on, Shiro-san!" Jay called out cheerfully. "Just one photo!"
"I... I must decline, Jay-san. Professional... dignity..." Shiro managed, though Jay caught him discreetly taking a picture when he thought no one was looking.
And the food—Jay ate enough to feed a small army, much to the kitchen staff's amazement. His Heavy Eater Drwaback working overtime, watching the maids' expressions as plate after plate disappeared was comedy gold.
But the real adventure started when they were heading to Tokyo Tower for the evening finale.
On the way walking to the tower, Jay's danger sense buzzed, then exploded.
Jay saw a truck flying, spinning end-over-end through the air with devastating force. Metal shrieked against itself as the vehicle tumbled, leaving a trail of sparks and debris. Below it, a cluster of evening tourists stood frozen in that terrible moment of realization that death was hurtling toward them.
Time slowed down as his mind went on autopilot, and he analyzed only way to save the casualties was action.
Jay absorbed an adamantium bullet from his pocket, feeling the molecular absorption flood through his system like liquid metal coursing through his veins. His skin shifted, cells restructuring themselves into an unbreakable alloy matrix as he planted himself between the flying death trap and the screaming civilians.
The impact was catastrophic. The truck hit Jay like a freight train, the sound of metal meeting adamantium creating a thunderclap that shattered windows for blocks. His feet carved deep trenches in the asphalt as the kinetic force tried to drive him backward, but his enhanced strength held firm.
The twisted metal groaned and shrieked as Jay's grip compressed the truck's frame into scrap. Steam hissed from the ruptured engine block, and the smell of burnt oil filled the air. Behind him, he could hear the shocked gasps of people who'd been seconds away from death.
That's when his enhanced senses picked up the real threat.
At Tokyo Tower's base, a figure in what looked like a cobbled-together Iron Man suit was wreaking havoc against a team that made Jay's comic book perk light up with recognition.
Hiro Hamada, now clearly older and more battle-hardened, moved with practiced precision in his purple and gray armor. His helmet display flickered with targeting data as he coordinated with his team.
"Go Go, flank left! Wasabi, cover her!" Hiro's voice crackled through external speakers.
The speed-demon Go Go Tomago shot past on her mag-lev discs, her yellow armor a blur as she dodged energy blasts that left scorch marks on the pavement. "On it! This guy's tougher than the usual wannabe villains!"
Wasabi's plasma blades hummed to life, their green energy casting eerie shadows as he moved with methodical precision. "Careful, everyone. His targeting system's more advanced than it looks."
Honey Lemon bounced behind cover, her chemical purse already producing combinations with practiced efficiency. "Working on something special! Just keep him busy!"
Fred, in his kaiju-inspired suit, was living his absolute best life despite the mortal danger. "Dudes! This is just like issue #47 of Robot Fighter Supreme! Except with actual death rays!"
And floating above it all was Baymax—but something was fundamentally wrong. The healthcare companion's movements were too tactical, too strategic, coordinating the team like a military commander.
The knockoff Iron Man was clearly outmatched skill-wise, but he had raw firepower. Each blast from his repulsors sent hairline fractures spreading up Tokyo Tower's support structure, the metal groaning ominously.
"The tower!" Hiro shouted over the chaos. "If he brings it down—"
"Half the district gets pancaked," Jay came to the same conclusion, his adamantium form shifting as he prepared to intervene. "Not happening on my watch."
Jay's adamantium hand reshaped itself mid-motion, molecular structure flowing like liquid metal until he had become a blade, and then applying his latest power from silver samurai, a tachyon layer over his arm/blade. He closed the distance to the knockoff Iron Man in heartbeats.
The pilot never saw death coming. One moment, he was lining up another devastating shot at Tokyo Tower's foundation, the next his arm cannon was gone—severed so cleanly the metal edges gleamed like mirrors.
"What the hell—" The pilot's panicked voice cut off as Jay's second strike took out the chest repulsors, leaving him in free fall.
"Incoming package!" Honey Lemon called out, her chemical sphere already in flight with perfect timing.
The gelatinous ball expanded on impact, completely engulfing the falling terrorist in what looked like translucent amber. He was trapped but breathing—classic hero work with zero casualties.
"Holy efficiency!" Fred whooped, his enthusiasm undimmed. "That was like watching a surgical strike! Who are you, mysterious metal dude? Are you like The Thing’s cousin?"
Jay shifted back to human form, the metallic sheen fading from his skin as Big Hero 6 regrouped around him. "Just a guy who doesn't like seeing landmarks get knocked down."
Hiro removed his helmet, revealing features that had matured from the movie Jay remembered—sharper cheekbones, more serious eyes, but still unmistakably the tech genius. "Thanks for the save. I'm Hiro Hamada."
"No kidding," Go Go said, her mag-lev discs powering down as she touched ground. Her voice carried that same dry sarcasm, but aged with experience. "Tower comes down and with it three city blocks minimum."
Fred bounced over in his monster suit, practically vibrating with excitement. "Dude, you just morphed your hand into a blade! That's so metal! Literally! Get it? Because—"
"Fred," Wasabi sighed, his plasma blades retracting with a soft whir, "maybe save the puns until we're not standing next to structural damage?"
That's when Fred's expression shifted behind his helmet's visor, recognition dawning. "Wait. You're that guy from the American news feeds. The Power Broker, right? Aren’t you like a viallan?"
"Among other things," Jay said with a shrug. "But I prefer 'Doctor' when I'm not doing the villain stuff."
That's when Baymax approached, and Jay's enhanced hearing caught something that made his comic book knowledge click into place.
The voice coming from Baymax wasn't the gentle, healthcare-focused AI from the movie. It was deeper, more human, tinged with the kind of weariness that came from prolonged suffering.
"Hiro," the voice said with obvious affection that made the younger Hamada's entire face transform, "we retreat! He’s a villain."
Jay's comic book memory supplied the context immediately. Hiro's older brother Tadashi, had died in the university fire that destroyed Professor Callaghan's lab in the movie. But apparently, in this reality, death hadn't been quite so final.
"Weren't you supposed to be dead?" Jay asked bluntly, looking directly at Baymax's inflated form.
Hiro's expression shifted to pure panic. "I don't know what you're talking about. We should really get going—"
"Kid," Jay interrupted gently, "if you want to keep a secret identity, maybe don't use a glass visor. Also, your brother just called you by name. In public. While fighting crime."
The voice from Baymax—Tadashi's voice—let out a tired chuckle that carried years of pain and resignation. "He's got a point, little brother. We're about as subtle as a neon sign."
Go Go snorted behind her helmet, crossing her arms. "I've been telling you that for months. Woman up and get a proper mask."
"We could get you a proper mask," Fred offered helpfully. "I know a guy who knows a guy—"
"Can we focus?" Wasabi interrupted, though his voice was gentle. "We're standing next to a crime scene, police sirens are getting closer, and you’re really trying to explain yourself to a known villain."
Tadashi's voice carried a weight that made the whole team go quiet. "The official story is that I was caught in the university fire but survived. The unofficial truth is that my body was... extensively damaged. I can't exactly walk around in public anymore."
The mood shifted immediately, becoming heavy with shared grief. Jay could see it in their postures—the way Go Go's shoulders tensed, how Fred stopped bouncing, the way Wasabi's hands clenched into fists.
"Hey," Jay said, his tone becoming genuinely warm, "what if I told you I might be able to fix that? All of it."
The entire team went silent. Even the distant sounds of Tokyo traffic seemed to fade.
Fred was the first to break it, his voice uncharacteristically serious. "Wait, you mean like... actually heal him? Make him whole again? Just like the Castle family from Central Park?"
"I've got a track record," Jay said simply. "People called me the Doctor for a reason—it's something I'm genuinely good at."
Hiro's eyes were wide behind his visor, hope and disbelief warring across his features. "You... you're serious? You could really...?"
"I can try," Jay said honestly.
Tadashi's voice carried a note of desperate caution. "Hiro, we should be careful. We don't know his motive, and if something goes wrong—"
"Nothing's going to go wrong, we need to take risks," Hiro interrupted fiercely, his voice cracking with emotion. "Tadashi, this could give you your life back. Your real life."
The pain in his voice was raw, unfiltered. This was a kid who'd been carrying the weight of his brother's suffering for years.
"Please," Hiro whispered, and the word carried everything—hope, desperation, love, and the kind of faith that only existed between brothers.
"Okay," Tadashi said softly through Baymax's speakers. "Okay, let's try."
Despite continued protests about evacuation procedures filtering through Baymax, Hiro had made his choice. They loaded onto Baymax, which was awkward, and flew to the Hamada residence.
The house was a fascinating blend of old and new—traditional Japanese architecture seamlessly integrated with modern technology. But Hiro led them straight to what had clearly been Tadashi's old room, now transformed into something that looked more like a medical facility than a bedroom.
Banks of monitoring equipment lined the walls, their screens displaying vital signs and neural activity. Multiple computer workstations showed real-time diagnostics and remote control interfaces for Baymax's systems. Cables snaked everywhere, and the constant beeping of medical equipment filled the air.
"Jesus," Jay breathed, taking in the setup that represented years of desperate improvisation. "How long have you been living like this?"
"Three years, four months, sixteen days," Tadashi's voice answered with the kind of precision that spoke to counting every single one. "Not that I'm keeping track or anything."
Despite everything, there was still humor there. Still, the Tadashi that Hiro remembered.
Jay didn't need to see the extent of the injuries to understand. His healing aura was already showing him everything—burns covering sixty percent of Tadashi's body, damaged organs, scarred lungs from smoke inhalation. Survivable, but barely.
"This is going to take some time," Jay said, approaching the bed where Tadashi lay connected to a maze of tubes and wires. "Fair warning—it's going to feel really weird. Like your whole body being rebuilt from the inside out."
The healing process pushed Jay to his limits for the second time today.
He had to rebuild Tadashi's respiratory system from scratch, regenerate nerve pathways severed by scar tissue, and restore organ function that had been compensated by machines for years.
Jay poured everything he had into the healing, sweat beading on his forehead as his power worked overtime. He could feel Tadashi's body responding, damaged tissue sloughing away and being replaced by healthy cells. Lungs that hadn't drawn clean breath in years began to clear.
By the time the rest of Big Hero 6 arrived, Tadashi was sitting up in bed under his own effort for the first time in over three years.
"Holy shit," Go Go stopped mid-sentence as she pulled off her helmet, staring at Tadashi like she was seeing a ghost. "You're actually... you look exactly like you used to."
"Better, actually," Wasabi said quietly, his usually nervous demeanor replaced by genuine awe. "The scars are completely gone."
Fred bounced into the room still wearing his monster suit, took one look at Tadashi standing and stretching, and promptly sat down hard on the floor. "Dude. This is actual magic. Medical magic."
"It's not magic," Jay said tiredly, slumping against the wall. "Although I appreciate the compliment.”
That's when Aunt Cass arrived home from the café.
She walked into the room carrying groceries, probably expecting to see the same medical setup she'd lived with for years. Instead, she saw her nephew—whole, healthy, standing on his own for the first time since the fire—laughing with his friends like nothing had ever happened.
The grocery bags hit the floor with a crash, apples rolling everywhere.
She took one long look at Tadashi, her face cycling through disbelief, shock, hope, and then pure, overwhelming joy. Her composure—the strong front she'd maintained as the guardian who'd raised two genius boys through tragedy—shattered completely.
"Oh my god, TADASHI!" She launched herself at him, and what followed could only be described as the most soapy reunion Jay had ever witnessed. She kissed his cheeks, his forehead, his hands, anywhere she could reach while sobbing and laughing simultaneously.
"I can't believe it, I can't believe you're okay, really okay, how is this possible!" The words tumbled out in a mixture of English and rapid Japanese, her voice breaking with years of suppressed grief and sudden joy.
Hiro was crying too, unashamed tears streaming down his face as he watched his family being put back together after years of being broken. "Aunt Cass, this is Jay. He... he gave me my brother back."
Jay found himself trapped in the emotional tsunami of a grateful aunt who clearly saw him as nothing short of a miracle worker.
"You brought him back," she whispered through her tears, gripping Jay's hands. "You gave me my boy back. How do I even thank someone for giving me back my family?"
"Hey, I'm just glad I could help," Jay said gently, carefully extracting himself from the celebration while smiling despite his exhaustion.
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a business card. "If you really want to be heroes—and I mean real, professional heroes—you're going to need better equipment than homemade suits."
Hiro read the card aloud. "Stark Industries?"
"Tell them I sent you," Jay said with a grin. "Prove you're worth the investment, and Tony will set you up with proper gear. Kid genius to kid genius—he'll appreciate your work."
Back in present as Jay settled into his hotel bed, the day's events played through his mind like highlights from the perfect vacation. But underneath the satisfaction was a question that had been nagging at him.
Was it okay to have this much fun? To take time off from the larger conflicts and just... enjoy himself?
Tomorrow would bring its own challenges. Jay had a bullet train to catch to Osaka, and a very specific shrine maiden to find.
Tonight, he was just a guy who'd seen a giant robot statue, bought way too much anime merchandise, and helped a superhero team save Tokyo Tower.
Life didn't get much better than that.
Comments
Gemaxter
It really doesnt. But it did for me when Big Hero 6 showed up that was unexpected. Good stuff.
