Hiro opened his eyes. The last thing he had seen was Ando sitting across from him in the diner, beginning to count backwards from five. Hiro had decided to travel back in time six months to save Charlie, the girl he had met in the diner. It was his duty to save her. That's what heroes did, after all: save people. But when he opened his eyes, he was not in the diner. Nothing looked remotely like the diner, or even what little could be recognized outside the diner. After a moment of panic, he calmed down and looked around. He was standing in a half-full parking lot surrounded by untrimmed hedges. A large gray building stood in front of him. The sun had already set and the only light was coming from a neon sign that said "Casino" hanging above a door.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of voices coming from around the corner. A black pickup truck drove past him and he hid behind another car so as not to be seen. Now he could see two people walk towards each other and start talking. A woman and a man. The woman had a pretty blue dress on and the man, tall and lanky, was wearing a black sweater over a white collared shirt. Hiro watched the two talk, apparently joking around, judging by their body language. But suddenly there was a change. The man said something that made the woman stop dancing in place. A few exchanged words later and the man began walking toward Hiro. Hiro positioned himself farther behind the car, but he could still see the man's face through a window. The man was crying quietly, his head bent toward the ground and his hands shoved in his pockets. Something bad must have happened, Hiro thought. He resolved to fix it. For that is also what heroes did: fix things.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on returning to just hours before. Nine o'clock that morning, to be more specific.
+++
"Excuse me, how long is the wait for a table for two?" Jim taunted Dwight, who was wearing a ridiculously garish tuxedo. Dwight explained that he was dressed in his grandfather's tux - "He was buried in it, so, family heirloom" - and left Jim and Pam contemplating his last statement. Roy walked in the door and Jim dutifully returned to his desk after grabbing a jelly bean. Pam made a remark to Roy about being a roulette expert before Dwight interrupted her about it being purely a game of chance.
"I could always count on winning." Jim jumped at the opportunity to torture Dwight. "Ever since I was a little kid, like eight or nine, I could sort of control things with my mind."
"I don't believe you. Continue." Dwight was taking the bait. Jim inwardly rejoiced.
"It was just little things, you know, like I could make something shake, or make a marble fall off the counter, you know, little things," Jim continued.
"That's ridiculous. You know what? Uh, why don't you move that coat rack?" Dwight started yelling so all the office could hear. "Excuse me, everyone, attention in the office, please. Jim is about to prove his telekinetic powers, and he needs absolute silence. Go ahead."
With all the focus on Jim, no one had noticed the young Japanese man walk quietly through the front doors. Jim turned toward the coat rack and pretended to concentrate on moving it with his mind. When the rack did move, with the help of Pam's stealthy umbrella skills, Dwight was not the only one who gasped. The Japanese man hurried over to Jim and started talking excitedly in Japanese. Jim was flustered and laughed nervously.
"You too! You too! Uh...powers!" Hiro exclaimed. Jim began to understand.
"Oh, um, no. Pam," Jim pointed to Pam, "and I," pointing toward himself, "were, um, uh..." He made a face at Pam pleading for help.
"How did you get in here?" Dwight started grilling Hiro, whose smile faded quickly. "The security in this business park is awful," Dwight muttered. Hiro tried to explain himself.
"Uh...I'm from the future," he began. Jim glanced at Pam who shrugged.
"Right. And Jim really does have telekinetic powers," Dwight said skeptically.
"I do," Jim teased him.
"Not now," Dwight hissed exasperatedly. He turned back to Hiro. "You are trespassing on private property-"
"Oh, come on, Dwight," Jim said. "He obviously has something important to say." Hiro nodded excitedly, the smile returning to his face.
"You!" Hiro pointed to Jim. Jim nodded.
"Um, you talk to her," Hiro said, pointing to Pam. Jim was confused. He had never met this guy before.
"Yeah, she's my friend. I do talk to her a lot," Jim said slowly.
"No, tonight-" Hiro began.
"Look," Dwight interrupted again. "You need to leave. That is the law according to the rules." Jim had never been more grateful for Dwight's strict adherence to policy of any kind. He was beginning to get uncomfortable.
"Um," Nevertheless, Jim felt sympathetic for the guy. He may very well be crazy, but Jim liked to think the best of people. "I'll take him back outside. Come on," he motioned for Hiro to follow him out the door and toward the elevator. He pressed the button and stood there with his hands in his pockets, staring blankly ahead and ignoring Hiro's continually smiling face. Finally, he couldn't take Hiro's gaze anymore and tried to strike up casual conversation.
"So, what's your name?" Jim asked as he stepped in the elevator, Hiro close behind.
"My name is Hiro. I'm from the future," he repeated.
"Oh. Well, my name's Jim and I'm from the present," he grinned. Hiro's expression didn't change. Jim asked another question. "What were you going to say back in the office?"
"I don't understand," Hiro said, pushing his black rimmed glasses farther up his nose.
"Oh, um, did you want to tell me something?" Jim said slowly. Hiro's face lit up.
"Yes! In the future, I saw you talk to the girl," Hiro started.
"Pam?" Jim made a motion indicating Pam's curly hair.
"Yes! Tonight! But, uh, you were not happy," he continued as they stepped out of the elevator into the lobby.
"What?" Jim said, finally turning to face him. Hiro put his fingers up to his eyes and made a crying motion. Jim made a confused face.
"Um, ok," he started to repeat back what he understood to Hiro. "So, I talk to Pam and then I'm sad." Hiro nodded. Jim was still skeptical. "You say you're from the future?"
"Yes, the future! I have powers. Like you! You moved the...uh..." Hiro didn't know the word for "coat rack", but Jim understood. Jim looked at his shoes, shook his head and laughed. Hiro probably was crazy, but he decided to give him one more try.
"Where did you see me talking to Pam?" Jim asked.
Hiro thought a minute before enthusiastically saying "Casino," remembering the sign hung on the building and recalling the word from his and Ando's exploits in Vegas. Jim eyes widened. Could he really mean casino night? Tonight? Jim started getting nervous, but he was still interested.
"Um, this sounds so stupid, but can you take me back to the future?" Jim then chuckled at his own choice of words, wondering if Hiro had a grey car parked somewhere in the lot and if Hiro could introduce him to McFly. Hiro nodded and before Jim could say anything else, Hiro grabbed Jim's arm and made a face like he was concentrating on something really difficult. The scenery around them started to change. The sun went down and suddenly they were standing in the parking lot. Hiro rushed Jim over to the car he had hid behind in his first trip to that night. Jim crouched down low and saw Roy's truck drive out of the parking lot. Jim turned just in time to himself standing in front of Pam, beginning to say something to her.
"Hey, uh, can I talk to you about something?"
Author's Chapter Notes:
It was tough remembering how much English Hiro knows. Otherwise, just kind of a silly idea I had.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
