(Killing Them All with Sincerity)

If anyone wanted to ask, it was all Antauri's fault. Normally he wouldn't be blaming the one he had been learning the most from, no, but in this case, he was the one who started it.

Honestly! Chiro thought he had more tact, but apparently he had annoyed him royally or something. That or he had always enjoyed these little things. He did not like either option.

Not that Chiro was innocent himself at this point. He admitted he hadn't been thinking at all. (And normally he was good at that! Unless stuff got personal, then he would RUIN WHOEVER DARED HURT THEM-)

Regardless, it was a small matter. The two had been doing meditation in his room, although he was, lack of a better word, struggling because letting thoughts pass by wasn't really his strong suit? He was more of a hands-on kind of guy, like Otto.

After a while, the silver monkey sighed. "I sense your struggle, Chiro."

And that made him blush. "S-sorry Antauri. I'm still trying to blank my head when I have to..."

"I understand it isn't easy, but effort would come a long way. Honestly, it's quite endearing how you try, though," He chuckled, floating up to pet Chiro's head. "You have grown, yes, but you will always remain the child in our eyes."

He felt his cheeks flush up. "I-I am not! I'm 13!"

"Still the baby some days," He answered, and wait, was he TEASING him?

Okay, now his face was red. "A-Antauri!"

"It was a joke. ... Or was it?" A cheeky smile formed on his face.

Chiro shot up and rushed to his room before burying his face into his pillow and just.

Screaming. His face was SO RED NOW.

Why. Why, Antauri???

As all things did with the Hyperforce, it spread.

And again, he should have seen it coming. Who wouldn't love to participate in a joke but Sparks?

The two had been fighting back to back against some drones. Just one of the many weird things that tried to attack Shugazoom, and that ticked him off some days. He would like some peace thank you very much. (The Skeleton King was out there, and they had to be ready. There was no peace until they beat him for good.)

"Behind you, kid!"

Chiro barely ducked as Sparks blasted the drones back, destroying them in the process, before he got back up and muttered, "I had them."

"Eh, whatever, kiddo," The red monkey snorted, levitating himself with his jetpack before patting his head. "You've gotten better, sure, but you're gonna stay our baby."

His face flushed. Oh SHUGAZOOM! ANTAURI!!! "I am NOT!"

"Leader or not, you're still the youngest~" He teased, setting himself down with a knowing grin, oh no, Antauri had told the others hadn't he?

Chiro deactivated his fighting outfit and covered his face to attempt to hide how red it had gone. "S-SPARKS!!!"

"Okay okay, kid, relax," He said while patting his back. "Don't sweat it. It's adorable how you just flush all the time."

"THEN STOP TEASING ME ABOUT IT!!"

"Nope~"

He didn't expect GIBSON to follow along with this. He thought the other was not the kind to joke around.

.... And then he remembered the other eating popcorn like an excitable child and cursed that he didn't get a picture of it because it would have been great to taunt him with.

Or when Thingy licked him. That would have been GREAT. Ignoring the entire circumstance at least. Ahhh, he did miss Thingy--

"You're spacing out again, aren't you, Chiro?"

"N... Nooooo....?" He tried, and key word on TRIED, to lie.

Gibson scoffed, but there was a small smirk on his face as he reminded him, "So, what was I just talking about?"

"About how to repair the Super Robot," He answered drily. "And then you made a remark about starting small cause I'm a baby."

"It appears we have identified the cause of your distraction then!" The other said. "You are spacing out because you are embarrassed!"

"I-I am not!" He shot up in protest. 'Why would I be?!"

"Your face says a different story, Chiro."

He immediately covered his face with his hands. Curse him and his tendency to get flustered easily! "G-Gibson!'

'Alright, alright, I won't tease you now," He chuckled, hopping off the chair to pat his head. "Honestly, Chiro, it's adorable how you just get so easily flustered!"

"GIBSON!!!"

OH HE WAS SOOO GETTING ANTAURI BACK FOR THIS!

(A chuckle came from Antauri as he meditated. Ahh, what an adorable child.)

At this point, he wasn't sure what to expect. He was already dreading Otto, so avoiding him was the name of the game. Nova, he had doubted would go along with it, and Jinmay, he was a bit more certain she wouldn't tease him, so he stuck with those two for now.

If only he remembered that Nova and Sparks were dating.

Chiro dodged a punch from Nova and tried to strike back, only for her to roll out of the way as she unleashed her Lady Tomahawk on him, but he jumped and threw his Spearo at her. She jumped up at him and tried to punch him again, but he blocked this time and then struck her with a Monkey Fu, causing her to fall to the ground and grunting. "Nice one, Chiro."

"I guess so, but it always pays to keep practicing. We can both improve on techniques AND be prepared in case Skeleton King turns one of us against the rest," He answered as he held a hand out, which she took with a smile. "You're really growing a lot faster than expected. It's almost kinda sad."

He blinked. "Huh?" What did she mean?

She shrugged. "You're still a kid, Chiro. You shouldn't be risking your life like this. Chosen One or not... When was the last time you spent time with other humans? And Jinmay's a robot, she does NOT count."

He blinked again. "Like, not being teased kind of spend time?"

"Like how we spend time with you," Nova clarified.

Huh! Well... "I... Can't remember," He admitted while leaning on the wall, detransforming to sit down. Nova followed him as he shrugged. "I don't remember my parents much, didn't have much to look forward to growing up. It's..."

He paused. What was the word? "... Weird I suppose. I know that most kids feel warm and fuzzy, and I do too! It's just... I didn't really have friends growing up, I suppose."

She gasped, eyes widening at this confession. Now that she thought about it, they didn't know much about his past before he found the Super Robot, did they? Outside of seeing him as a cute little kid (SOLIDIFIED THEIR BELIEFS OF HIM BEING THEIR BABY), his fear of water and clowns (thankfully resolved), and apparently Skeleton King had his old stuff in the Citadel of Bone (still creeped out by that), he didn't really talk about his life beforehand a lot. "Chiro..."

"Hey, don't look so sad. I'm happy with the Hyperforce! Really!" He reassured her. "Plus, that's in the past now, and I'd rather focus on the present when I can."

"Still, I feel like this kind of thing... You should talk to us about it. We won't judge you for wanting to vent out your frustrations and stuff. You ARE still a kid, whether we want to admit it or not." She looked down. "I'm honestly happy we met, Chiro, but at the same time, would we have been better off not meeting?"

"What in the world are you saying? There is nowhere else I'd rather be!" He protested, even jumping to his feet with a scowl. "Meeting you guys WAS my big break, and sure it's not easy but it's worth it. Every second of it."

And that just made her sniffle as she hugged him, surprising him. "Wait wha- Nova?"

"We're... W-we're happy to have met you too!" She sobbed. "We got to see you grow as a person, learning to use the Power Primate's power... Creating your moves... Y-You've really become our baby..."

... Wait what?!

"N-NOVA! I'M NOT A BABY!" He stammered, his face now as red as a tomato. He even tried to bury himself into his shirt! Awww!

Nova giggled, still hugging him. "Well Antauri started it, but the reactions are as adorable as always!'

He flushed even more, and the yellow monkey burst out into laughter even as her grip on him was gentle and warm. Like a campfire in the harsh wilderness.

Don't ever forget we love you Chiro, she thought. You're one of us, so you're family now. And we'll always protect our family. 

How did this keep on happening to him? Chiro just couldn't understand WHY. Why was his girlfriend joining on the chaos?

Jinmay giggled as she pecked Chiro's cheek once more. They were on a date in a cafe that recently opened, which, for some reason, had the theme of medieval times. He had read about those times once, and had somewhat visited that time (did it count if it was a crazy curator who tossed them in to get them killed?), but it definitely didn't match what this cafe apparently considered medieval. He had found a nice simple outfit while Jinmay was dressing up like a princess, so he had thought to change his outfit.

Oh he did alright.

"Why did you choose a cutesy outfit?!" He whispered, already feeling very mortified. How did she find this prince outfit with an adorable crown in the piles of clothes the cafe had given them?!

"Don't worry, it's a private booth so it's just the two of us," She reassured him with a wink that had his face flaring up. "Plus, I really wanted to see you blush."

Her metallic hand then brushed against his cheek, and he could die in peace now as a pile of goop what was going on???!? "You're really cute, Chiro, and you are an adorable baby to the Hyperforce who we appreciate and love."

Still stunned over the hand (the HAND) on his cheek, he nodded for exactly three times before he realised what he was doing. "Wait hang on Jinmay, it's not what you-"

She giggled and pecked his cheek once more, even patting his head as she said, "Don't worry, I'm not telling the others you all but admitted to it."

"I DID NOT! I WAS ONLY STUNNED FOR A WHILE!" He really did want to go bury himself into a hole. Oh, Shugazoom, his sanity was going to fall apart-

"Ohhhh Chiro!"

"Oh, look at the time, haha, I have to.... I have to g-go!" He recognised that voice anywhere; the team member he had been trying to avoid for days outside of missions, and he was not about to break that record.

But he was not fast enough. Otto grabbed him with a grin as he said, "Let's go visit the game store for some games! I think the Super Robot wants to play some for himself!"

Oh. Oh no.

If this was a trick, he really was gonna-- Otto knew that ever since the Robot had been found to be sentient, Chiro had a soft spot for him; the main reason he had been stuck with Gibson's lecturing for five hours about how to repair it in emergencies. So to use that against him!!

"Plus, it's been a while since we got to relax! Might as well have some free time together!"

Yyyeeeaashhhhh no. He was sure, just from Antauri's smile, that Otto was well and truly aware of the Baby trend and he would rather not blush AGAIN. (Flaws ruined plans. Accidents destroyed chances. He had to act the part of the strong especially with the Skeleton King now fully risen.)

"I-I can go on my own to buy the games!" he lied even when he was sweating buckets, and judging by the others' grins, he was not fooling anyone.

"But we can buy the stuff together!" He said innocently.

Except maybe Otto. Right.

"Perhaps a break would be useful, Chiro. We can keep an eye out for the next attacks." Aannddd Antauri sealed the deal.

Well.

Shugazoom, he was kinda... Doomed wasn't he?

And thus, the two were in the gaming store looking for games to play with the Super Robot. While at first, Chiro had his guard up, anticipating the dreaded moment, Otto was whistling as he looked around with a grin. This was so much fun! "Hey, Chiro, they have a new Alien Hunter Game!"

"Wait really?!" His eyes sparkled, head swiveling over to look at the shiny new game with a big grin on his face. "Awesome! Nova would be so happy to play this! We might even get Gibson to play since we need one more player!"

"Uhh, Sparks and Gibson on the same team seems like a BAD idea."

"I mean, it doesn't have to be the same team all the time right? We can always mix and match!" He answered enthusiastically.

Otto grinned, and then casually remarked, "You know, Chiro, we've all been noticing something different in you."

His hand froze just as he was about to grab another game. Huh?

He looked back, and Otto had concern in his eyes as he asked, "I get none of us can rest because of the Skeleton King, but you've been pulling away from all of us and even getting less sleep. You... You don't have to pretend to be strong or anything, you know. You should be able to do kid stuff too."

"What do you mean...? Messing up could mean the end of the world!"

"Not when it costs you your childhood!" He snapped. "Chiro, you're allowed to feel too! You don't have to be so anxious and worried all the time! You may be the Chosen One but you're also in a team, and a team works together!"

He was right. He knew he was right but... "If I don't do this--"

"We fight together, Chiro! We always have each other's back! Don't put too much on yourself cause we've got each other's backs, and that includes even when we're on break!" He said with a soft smile.

Chiro looked at him, and... And a tear fell down his cheek as he hugged Otto. And another, and another until he was finally sobbing in that video game store.

Things had escalated so quickly, he had tried to hold onto some semblance of sanity, but... But it was bound to fall apart and right now it was.

Otto patted his head with a smile. They had all been concerned when Antauri mentioned how embarrassed he had been about being called the baby, and Nova telling them about his confession had made them realise that he needed time to just be a kid...

Their baby brother, their family. That was what Chiro had become to them.

Don't ever forget we'll fight together to the end, Chiro. 

It was... Finally over. The Alchemist's soul had been released from the Dark Ones' influence, Mandarin was dead, gone.

Skeleton King... He was GONE. They had all but destroyed the biggest threat to the universe.

Sure, there were more. Ariana had mentioned that she had hunted down more of the people who played that Galactic game, and they would help her take them down. Some remnants of the Skeleton King still roamed.

But right now, as they all lied atop the Super Robot, who was smiling, Chiro, he...

"It's... Finally over," He whispered.

All this Chosen One nonsense against Skeleton King, and... It was over.

He smiled, his grip on Jinmay's hand tight as he pulled himself up.

"Chiro?" Nova blinked. "Whatcha get up for?"

He shook his head. "I just... I just can't believe it. We managed to truly destroy all of Skeleton King. We managed to win the war and save the universe from him. Really, he's gone."

He remembered, of course. The chain of events that led to this. There had been moments of laughter, moments of tears, moments of anger and utter despair.

But they had pulled through, no one... No one had been lost.

He looked them all in the eye, and...

"WE took him down. I... I'm so happy that I met you all. You've become the family I never had, Antauri-" The blue-eyed robot froze.

"-Gibson-" He let out a strangled gasp.

"-Nova-" She flushed.

"-Sparks-" The red monkey stared at him, mouth agape.

"-Jinmay-" She covered her mouth, seeing the raw feelings embedded in his eyes.

"-and Otto. So... thank you for everything. Really," He finished.

All six of them stared.

And stared.

And stared.

Until Jinmay and Nova hugged him tight, red faces clear while the boys just. Just continued staring, minds too frozen to comprehend what had happened, although their features did soften. His heartfelt words were heard, alright.

And this family would not be going away any time soon.