[ Wow, okay. Most adults are fairly condescending with him as a given - kids should be seen, not heard, especially when they're the smartest person in the room - but that doesn't mean that he enjoys it. It grates on him and tests his patience, which is near zilch at his maturity level, so. His first thought is to write up a virus just to spite whoever this is.
Instead, though, Kon pulls up SFIT's database directory. Tapping out a few keystrokes, he works to narrow down what department this particular terminal is in. His idea is maybe a little vindictive, but at least communication lines are still open, and he can latch onto other files to serve as distractions.
It wasn't even about the contents so much as it was the locks, in the beginning. But now, the anty has been upped and he's the one that's frustrated. So if he wants to go - well, they're gonna go.
Hiro's response goes unanswered as he works, but seeing it on his screen just continues to rackle him. It doesn't remain unanswered for too long before he's typing out his reply. ]
if you were that worried about protecting your work from thieves and bored people like me, then you would've locked them up tighter. oops.
[ As if to prove his point, he takes a file he's decrypted and dumps its contents out so that it's a myriad of windows opening across the screen, obstructing his view of anything actually important until it's cleared. Underhanded, maybe, but all's fair and all that. Besides, it's personal now that he's been lumped in with boring people, and the assholes that took everything. ]
[Ironically enough, Hiro functions under the same philosophy. Even now he knows he's usually the smartest person in the room but at least he's mellowed out a tiny bit when it comes to talking to his professors and colleagues. When he was Kon's age, he would have done the same thing. But he doesn't know he's dealing with an eleven year old and instead sees no problem with this.
Sadly, he doesn't care much about files of other people. That's their problem. He's continuing to lock up his files as he goes, waiting for Kon to respond and unsure of what he's doing. The most important ones are fine. It's the insinuation that he doesn't care enough that raises his hackles, the idea that since he took the day off he wasn't worried enough. How dare they. It's no longer funny but he doesn't get a chance to say anything before the contents of one of the folders start popping up window after window, faster than Hiro can clear them. Another indignant squawk escapes him and he's aware that this is a distraction.
The scary part is that he doesn't know what Kon's actually after now that he's thrown a wrench in Hiro's plans. He gets to work on clearing the files and moving them, trying to fix the file and relock it, but if Kon looks at what he's just unlocked it should be clear to him what he's dealing with.
The particular file contains old research notes about brain waves and transmissions, how to recreate the microbots to function with only one person and their unique patterns. The thing about it is is that there's one name plastered all over those files, created back when Hiro was still young and paranoid about people stealing his work all over again.
Hiro Hamada, age 15. The files are dated three years back and he no longer needs those notes so Hiro's busy resorting them. It's when he finally clears them up that he responds.]
You don't even know what you're looking for, do you?
[It's a bluff. He doesn't know what Kon's doing, but he's hoping that maybe it'll be enough to push him back just enough until Hiro can find a new loophole himself.]
[ Now that he's thrown a good distraction into Hirto's face, even if it's more time consuming more than challenging, he works his way down from the entire system to the department, grumbling to himself as he goes along. Admittedly, Kon knows there's no way for this person to know that they're dealing with a kid, one that would be in middle school were it not for the whole "gifted" situation.
That doesn't change the fact he's annoyed now, and it just means he feels like he has to prove himself even more. Whoever this is, they're expecting the expertise of an adult. So, in his head, that means that he has to deliver and exceed. Maybe he won't be able to get right back to what he was doing before, but at least he can do something, anything, that will get back at this person.
Nevermind that he's the intruder here, but that's not the point anymore. ]
Asshole. [ But he does pause when he really gets a look at the file that he dumped out, frowning at the contents and the dates. Three years ago - and the name isn't necessarily an uncommon one, given the fact that he's touted as a child prodigy, too. But that means that his opponent is either an actual thief themselves or are, in fact, Hiro Hamada.
Still an asshole, either way. ]
i wasn't looking for anything before you started hiding things, but now i know exactly what i'm after.
[ Leaving it vague just to make him sweat, he doesn't touch anything else to make it work. After all, he's trying to find where the hell the guy is so that he can hit him with maximum effectiveness. It's not really mature, but whatever, he's a little kid, and no one said he had to act mature to reflect his intellect. ]
[He has better things to be doing than dealing with somebody who's probably just someone stuck working a late shift somewhere just wishing they were actually smart enough to be accepted to SFIT. Whoever has made themselves at home in his files clearly has nothing else to do and with that comforting thought Hiro backs down a little more, sorting and waiting for the next move.
He'd be the first to admit that he's kind of an asshole but also the first to argue that it's for a good reason. He's not like Tadashi who saw the best in everyone. He's not as much of a misanthrope as he was as a kid but he's still a little more reserved and a lot more quick to annoy. He's calm now though as he puts his files away, waiting for the reply.
And it comes. It's not what he expects though and the words give him pause.
Shit. He should have thought of that himself and now he has to wonder if his late-night hacker really does know. Is it possible that Hiro just blew the cover he'd worked so hard to keep because he couldn't let something go?]
If you did, you would've found it already instead of wasting time. What kind of a hacker are you anyway?
[Stupid, stupid, stupid. Hiro still has some growing to do, too, it seems. Maturity is overrated and it's only after he sends that message that he realizes he's 100% alone in the lab. The others left hours ago.
[ Being in the circle he is, no matter how grudging it might be, he knows who Hiro Hamada is. At first he'd just been one of the youngest students in SFIT's robotics program, some strange entity that people kept talking about whenever they were talking about child prodigies. Then his name was popping up with a lot of Krei Tech. Then it was achievements. It's all pretty impressive, in the long run, but for the most part he doesn't really care all that much.
Whatever he had planned initially, just a snoop around the files of possible classmates or people he'd be up against should he go to another school - unlikely, given the old man wanted him to go to SFIT - it's all been thrown out the window now in the face of a real challenge. In the face of someone provoking him and fighting back.
The smart thing to do would be to leave now while he has the opening. Kon could absolutely cover his tracks, send him on a wild goose chase if he went looking for him. But instead of backing down, he makes a triumphant noise as he finishes tracing his way through the system to where the hell this is all originating from. Vindictively delighted, he smirks, leaning in as he types up his reply alongside the localized lines he needs to write into.
He only has so much time, between executing the code and getting to work. ]
one that knows wasting your time with distractions is the best means of getting to what you don't want me to see.
bye.
[ Kon gives him a moment, lets that message sit with him for a minute before, on the dot, he shuts down the power to his lab. He doubts it'll stop the guy, but it sure will give him a chance to track down where he moved the files. ]
[He's not under any sort of illusion that the hacker doesn't know who he is. His name's pretty well known and practically goes hand-in-hand with SFIT. The school's pride and joy, one of the brightest to ever go through their curriculum, the model student (if you don't look at his attitude too closely.) He's aware enough and it's the one thing backing him up.
He should have backed down until he could trace the signal but they'd pressed some buttons in him early on. Hiro knows he's going toe-to-toe with someone and it's a hassle. People aren't supposed to be good.]
Wait what?
[The message gets through just as the power cuts and he's plunged into absolute darkness.] Son of a bitch!
Hiro. It is advised that you take deep breaths and calm down.
Baymax, activate the emergency generator. [The words are said through gritted teeth and he's already up, pacing his lab and silently throwing a fit. Half of the files had been moved, the others were now in limbo and he'd have to do double the work to recover them, and Hiro was nowhere closer to figuring out who they were or why they wanted in so bad.
Most importantly, now he had to worry about putting his team in jeopardy. God, he was in such trouble. He silently stews on that before he kicks his chair out of the way, continuing to pace. The squeaking of Baymax's vinyl is a little comforting and shortly after the lights flicker back on.
He'll be back on soon, but…he's not announcing his presence this time. He's going to be quiet and sign in through a proxy to go undetected and just sit back and watch. What do you think you're going to find, Kon? And while he's doing that, he's already silently working in the background. Two can play at that game.]
[ Getting the upperhand on someone that's got a lot of prestige to their name is the most satisfying thing Kon has done in a while now, and he can't help but laugh as the message pops up just as the code goes through. Messing with power that's on a grid isn't exactly an advisable hobby, because even if he's localized the shutdown to Hiro's lab and not the entire building, it's a pretty difficult thing to maneuver. At least it worked, though, so it shouldn't ring any alarms beyond, well. The ones he's already been banging like a gong since he first booted his computer up.
He shuffles some books and papers around, looking for a sucker to unwrap and stick in his mouth to chew on while he gets to work. It helps him focus as he pulls up the original source of all this trouble, looking for what systems might be connected to it so that he can figure out where the hell he sent the files to. Maybe he didn't care what was in them before, but he sure as hell does now - the guy's got his name all over the other ones, and he knows that he owns copyrights, so it's not that he's hiding things to keep them from being stolen.
No, it must be something else. And if there's one thing that will get him even more interested in what's going on, it's the whisper of a secret being kept from him. Doesn't matter if it's a secret from the masses - which he'd want to find out to either satisfy his curiosity, or make sure that the masses know - or something more personal. The hacker's manifesto certainly suits him to a T.
My crime is that of curiosity.
It's a crime that he continues to commit now, finding the system that he moved the files over to with a triumphant noise muffled by candy. Now it's just a matter of breaking in again and decrypting everything, which is going to take time, meaning he gets started as soon as he locates them. If Hiro shows again isn't really the question here, but when, so he's got a lot to do before he comes in defending his files again.
The only downside to any of this is the fact that his own irritation is blinding him to the fact that he's not the only one here that can run a trace, with or without proxies to defend himself. But he's a kid, no matter how smart he is. It's something that can only change with age. ]
[He allows the intruder some time and space to lull them into a false sense of security as Hiro watches from his end. He's going to allow them to think he's signed off entirely while he puzzles out a couple of things.
Would it be bad if someone found those files? Absolutely. But there could be another way to take care of this without involving the others…he was smart. He could handle this. Totally.
…ugh. He runs a hand through his hair, frowning as he feels how greasy it is and remembering Wasabi's earlier question about showering. Whatever, this was more important. Instead of focusing on how to lock the material he's busy setting up a trace. This guy's gonna regret messing with Hiro Hamada and he's already planning all of the ways to negotiate.
…weirdly, the location traces right back to a private school across town. A bored teacher, then? (Instinctually he knows that's wrong, but he's going to hook fast to that belief and run with it.) It would make sense. Teachers were always his biggest adversaries growing up when they realized he was smarter than them. That's okay. He could handle this. With the location pinpointed he nodded to himself before pushing away from his desk and getting back up.]
I'm satisfied with my care. [The words are quickly spit out and Baymax waddles back to his case, deflating and shutting down. He snatches it up and grabs the well-worn San Fransokyo Ninjas cap, jamming it into the back pocket of his (slightly baggy) jeans and heading out of the lab.
When Hiro got his driver's license, he also made sure to be covered for a well-loved moped that had belonged to Tadashi. Strapping Baymax's case on the back where Hiro himself used to sit and strapping a helmet on, he kicks the moped into gear and makes the trek across San Fransokyo. God, it's late. What the hell was this guy still doing, didn't he have classes to teach in the morning or something? Whatever. He could make this quick. He finds himself at the school and shuts off the bike, leaving the helmet stored under the seat and grabbing Baymax's case. He's stronger than he was and can carry it now instead of rolling it. Taking the cap he shoves it on over his messy hair, slipping it bill-backwards and scrubbing his face with his free hand to look more presentable.
He could do this.
Locks, as far as Hiro Hamada's concerned, are for people who don't know how to pick them. You pick up a few tricks as a superhero and as a precocious, curious kid, and he finds himself easily slipping into the facility the trace led him to. And then he finds himself in front of a computer lab.
The confusion's on his face, but he's quick to ignore it and keep Baymax's case clutched under his arm. Worst case scenario, he could use it as a bludgeoning weapon. A hand moves forward and finds the door unlocked though and he blinks in surprise, taking a deep breath and quietly opening it.
…and that's when he finds the "mastermind."
What the fuck. What the fuck, it's a kid. He stops in the doorway, absolutely gawking at the back of Kon's head as he tries to puzzle out exactly what's happening. At least in his older age he's learned how to move with grace and be less awkward in his body. His footsteps are quiet as he slips into the room, sneaking up on the kid and glancing at the screen.]
[ Good as he is, especially for his age, it's a different matter when he's being put up against someone else that's specifically good with technology to the same degree and the same context that he is. Maybe he doesn't specialize in robotics, but he knows that it requires programming, coding, as its foundation. Hiro's done a good job relocating the files, and they were already in possession of some beefed up defenses before he managed to get into his system and poke his nose around. It's irritating, but the irritation comes from the fact that he has to do it all over again and had the speedbump of the user showing up.
Whatever, it's still a challenge. Just more of one. Especially given the fact that there's a suspicious silence coming from the other end of things, leaving him wary and basically doing the hacker equivalent of looking over his shoulder as he breaks into the new system and queues up some files to start cracking open next. The radio silence stretches on, and he's left to sort of tentatively poke at the other end like he's poking some dangerous animal with a stick.
Maybe he's given up? That's boring, and Hiro Hamada never sounded like someone that gave up when the adults were talking about him, so he's not sure exactly what he's doing. At least he's not sweating about it yet, but he's sure cautious.
It doesn't really pay off, given the fact that he's so absorbed in what he's doing and working on the lines of code that he misses the door opening and definitely misses the fact someone walks up behind him.
And talks.
Kon makes a noise trapped between a squawk and a scream, strangling it down because it's well past curfew and he's technically not supposed to be out of the dorms right now. But he hasn't been using the room they gave him after the funeral, can't fall asleep surrounded by plain walls and the blank smell of everything when he's so used to the lived in feeling with clutter and nicknacks, the spices and aromas and taste at the back of his tongue every time he breathed in.
He bobbles and fumbles with his sucker as it falls out of his mouth, trying not to drop it on his hoodie and wind up with a gigantic sticky patch streaked across the material. Spinning in his chair, he stares a little owlishly at Hiro, looking much like an alarmed cat as he bristles up and just... stares. The decryption program makes a ping! noise behind him as it finishes with one of the smaller, easier files, but he doesn't look at it. ]
Uh. [ Usually a lot more eloquent than this, he scoots his chair back, wheeling it until it bumps the desk. If need be, he can tuck and roll under the desk to make an escape. It'd leave all his work behind, but it would be a noble sacrifice. ] Tracking down where you moved them took a little bit...
[ Oh, shit. He has never been more busted before in his life. ]
[He should probably feel bad that he'd been planning on ways to kick the guy's ass, especially now knowing that said-guy's actually a kid younger than he is. But he doesn't. He doesn't feel bad because who the hell let a kid start breaking into sensitive files and why isn't anybody monitoring him? What kind of school was this?
…no really, what kind of school was this? He wasn't familiar with this one but it's not like the Hamadas could afford to send Hiro to a private school anyway. The compromise had been to put him through the school system faster to keep him challenged.
Still, he doesn't say anything for a moment even though he's sort of reveling in the fact that Kon looks appropriately terrified. He sets Baymax's case down and folds his arms over his chest, sleeves of his hoodie bunching up a bit as he stares down at the boy before allowing his eyes to return back to the screen to see what he's doing.
It's about that point that his eyebrows raise, really taking in the code Kon's working on and noticing that the files he's collecting aren't really that life-threatening which is nice. But at the same time, he's curious about how he's managed to jump through the nice hoops Hiro had set up. The little "ping" is enough for one eyebrow to raise higher than the other.]
Word of advice? That's not what you say to somebody whose files you're breaking into. [Despite how annoyed he feels and the fact that he's internally bemoaning the loss of several hours of work thanks to Kon's little power outage, he can't help but be a little curious and also somewhat amused. There's something of a lopsided grin on his face as he stands still, eyes focused more on the screen instead.] You find all of 'em?
Edited (I don't know, mysterious eye.) 2015-12-18 23:26 (UTC)
[ Sitting back in his chair a little, Kon eyes the case in Hiro's hands - and then follows it, as he sets it down - before he looks back up at him. He's prepared to bolt still, but now that it doesn't seem like he could potentially be bludgeoned... well, he's a little less spooked. He's always ready for a fight, it comes with being a smart kid that has a metric ton of sass for every IQ point, but it's a little different when the person you're up against is a whole damn foot taller than you.
The silence stretches on, because he's not about to say more than that if Hiro's not, and part of him kind of wants to get up and close out of the program and the coding. A smaller, more ridiculous part of him wants to bodily put himself between his eyes and the monitors he'd been working on, but he remains stationary as he just. Watches him watch his work.
Slowly, he sticks his sucker back into his mouth and wipes his hands off on the sides of the armrests. He's not sure what's about to happen, but he's going to try and salvage some of his young dignity now that he's not, you know, going to die immediately of a heart attack or getting a heavy looking case dropped onto his head.
The "advice" makes him scrunch his nose up, but Kon just rolls a shoulder and looks away from him, gaze sliding to the side so that he can look at his screens out of the corner of his eyes. ] Not like you don't know what I'm doing.
[ With a swivel of his chair, not enough to turn away from him but enough to reach things, he moves the mouse to pull up the files he'd been about to add to the queue before Hiro had scared the shit out of him. ] I picked the ones with the easiest encryptions and the smallest sizes to do first, to see how you'd react.
[ He shoots him a pointed look, because this wasn't how he expected him to react. ]
[Surprisingly, Hiro recognizes the look on his face. It's one he wore a lot in his childhood in the middle of a classroom and on the outskirts of a botfighting ring. He was always prepared to fight and sure, okay, once or twice he really got his ass handed to him but he got better. That look never changed though.
He continues quietly examining the boy's work, partially to decipher it and partially just to make Kon nervous. It's a dick move, maybe, but it's the same trick Tadashi used to use on him all the time. (And sometimes he swears he can hear the wayward "knucklehead" being whispered in his ear when he does something totally stupid.
There's a sound of agreement. True, he knew what Kon was doing after a time and he allows the boy the chance to check his work.] It's not really about if I know what you're doing or not. [He even lets him get as far as touching his mouse just to see what he'll do. Those files are safe. He's sure of that much.] It's more about the why, y'know?
[And after a moment, he sighs, plopping his butt right on top of Baymax's case and bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes tiredly. This is ridiculous. He's so off his game that he's been outsmarted by a kid? Is he getting old? Why is this happening?] So. Wanna tell me why you're digging through my shit?
[…maybe he shouldn't swear around a kid, but whatever. He's not that young and Hiro's patience has always been a little thin.]
[ Making no move to close or stop anything, nor to resume his active work of decrypting and sorting through code, Kon slumps into his chair again, arms draped over the armrests and eyes locked on his new company. Hiro Hamada is talked about constantly as an example of success for most students in this school, so he figures most of his peers would be awestruck to be in his presence.
Him, he's just smug about having forced Hiro's hand more than once after having broken into his files in the first place. Is he still concerned he might get dumped in the bay? Yes, absolutely. But he's going to feign that he isn't.
Not very effectively, not completely, but he's still poised for a fight even if there's a decent chance that he'd lose. Scrappy as he is, and as well-known around his classmates as he is for getting into and winning fights with people bigger than him, this is still something different. It's not like he ever gets in fights with college-aged kids, at least not any that he expects to win when he's a pretty small preteen. Being wiry and rough around the edges his sharp mouth doesn't cover isn't necessarily going to help him here.
Not even batting an eye as Hiro swears, he rolls his sucker from one cheek to the other before he answers. It winds up being very blunt and simple, but he doesn't see a point in lying about it. So. Honesty it is. ]
I didn't target you 'cause of contents, or who you were - I hadn't even read anything 'til I dumped that file, so I didn't know anyways. I picked you 'cause your shit was the most protected shit in SFIT's databanks. Meant it'd be the hardest to get into. [ I did it for the challenge. ]
[The fact that the kid was putting on a pretty good show also didn't slip past Hiro, but he chooses not to call him on it. He's keeping his face buried in his hand for the time it takes for Kon to debate and then answer. He's tired. He's tired and he's frustrated but overall he's also mildly impressed on top of all of that.
He should be yelling. He should be scolding the kid for doing this but instead he settles on shaking his head.]
My shit's the most protected in SFIT's databanks because I make an effort to keep it on lock-down. It's important to me. [He can sort of see where Kon's coming from though.] Do you know how much trouble you'd be in if I turned you in for breeching security on our servers?
[ If he wasn't so worried about that very thing, he'd probably be laughing at Hiro right now. It's the exhausted defeat he's seen more than once because of him, though he has a feeling there's a lot of personal reasons behind it too. Guy looks like he forgot to shower before coming to the academy to heckle his personal hacker.
Plucking his sucker from his mouth, he gestures it at him vaguely like most adults would with a cigarette while they talk. ]
But not because you're worried about people stealing it. I know how many patents you have to your name. [ He eyes him thoughtfully, ignoring two more subsequent notifications - another successful decryption, and one failing because his program couldn't cut it on its own. If only Hiro wasn't there, he would love to see what modifications he'd have to make.
Except he is, and there's no hiding the fact that Kon flinches a little at his question. But he tries to play it off, sticking his sucker back into his mouth and petulantly letting his feet sway where they dangle just above the floor. ] Wouldn't be the first time.
[His hand moves to join the other at the back of his neck, linking them together and rubbing at the tense muscles as his knuckles occasionally bash against the bill of the baseball cap. The nice thing, Hiro thinks, is that he didn't have to really try to look impressive to someone like Kon. He could get away with sort of looking battered and beat up...
...though it feels weird and like he's the one being lectured instead of the other way around, especially when he waves that sucker around.]
Just how much do you know about who I am anyway? [He's sending a similar look right back. It's true he has a bunch of patents and it's true that's not what he's worried about, but he hasn't really said that in this conversation. He can see what's on Kon's screen and it doesn't take him long to pinpoint what went wrong, a small smirk flickering across his features.
It's also a little amusing to see how tiny Kon is, blissfully ignoring the fact that he used to look the same. Actually, that's probably the look he had on his face when he was arrested the first time.] And what exactly happened the first time? [Since it clearly wasn't enough to really stop him.]
People use you as an example of what anyone that applies themselves can do, no matter how young they are. [ Not that Hiro looks particularly impressive, but neither does he. Neither do a lot of the people he has classes with, ranging from younger than him to teenagers much like the boy in front of him. They're an underestimated group, and it's probably a good thing they can spring back easily from the unexpected. And all-nighters.
Case in point: tonight. But at least Hiro's not asking him about his program or his hacking, even if he feels a tick of annoyance at the smirk. Screw this guy. ] The professors all pretend they're disappointed you went to public school instead of the academy, but they talk about how you sweep every expo you participate in.
[ And that's... it's impressive, but he's not sure if it's something he wants to strive for personally. Programming and coding is a backstage thing usually anyways, but considering his specialty he doesn't want any limelight. It'd make it harder for him to work.
Which would lead to a lot more arrests, himself. At least the last one didn't get him actually charged or taken in, even if it flagged him. ] I hacked into Krei Tech to prove they had shitty defenses in place and got flagged as a black hat. They wanted to put me in juvie but we bargained out of it so I was put on probation.
[As Kon elaborates, Hiro can't help it when he makes a face. Right. Applying himself. The thing that so many people don't know about him is that he wasn't always one to apply himself. As a child when he was bored he often went the opposite route to causing trouble instead of trying to do good. Obviously things changed, but it's not a story he shares with just anybody. Sizing Kon up, he wonders if the boy would even know who Robert Callaghan is and all he's done for the robotics community, if he was old enough to remember the newscasts about the Big Hero 6 and the way they'd stopped the masked professor from destroying the new Krei structure.
But that's not important. He shakes his head slowly, a huff of laughter following.]
That's probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard, even if it's true. [He doesn't want to be an example for anybody. It's not that he doesn't believe kids need good role models. It's that he doesn't believe he can ever be one. He can save the world twelve times over, but he knows and believes he will never be as good of a role model as Tadashi was. To hear that people are touting his intelligence and using it as a bar to set for future generations...it's sort of weird.] Some of us couldn't afford private schooling when we were your age.
[But there's a flicker of pride in his features then.] But that just makes wiping the floor with the competition even sweeter. [...wait a minute though. There's a look on his face that seems sort of like recognition but he's shaking his head again.] That was you, huh? Krei was busy trying to grill me and make sure it wasn't my work until they magically caught the guy. Must've been embarrassed that it was the work of a kid. [And Hiro...actually finds it sort of hysterical, even though he really shouldn't. Alistair Krei's a decent guy and Hiro has grown to like working with him. That doesn't mean that Kon's wrong though.] I guess I should be thanking you for that then. They've bumped up security since then.
[ Eying him as he catches the face he makes, Kon wobbles his sucker in his mouth a little thoughtfully. He's always about 50% sure that the adults are blowing smoke, regardless of what they're talking about, but he's always figured that none of them have ever actually talked to any of the people that they tell their students to aspire to be like. Hiro Hamada just looks like another kid that doesn't sleep properly and works more than he eats - the old man drilled the opposite of the former out of Kon himself, at least - and has the weight of expectations resting on his shoulders.
His hard candy clacks against his teeth as he rolls it again to actually answer him, scoffing soft disdain not fitting of an eleven year old. (Or maybe far too fitting, given your understanding of children.) But he shrugs, shoulders up near his ears before flopping down again. ] I got in on a scholarship, anyways, so it's not like I'm paying for what they say.
[ And insurance money, plus some less than legal means of acquiring more, but it's not like Hiro needs to know that. Scamming adults is apparently a child prodigy rite of passage, and he's certainly not someone that skimps on it. At least he's not going down to bot fighting rings, even if he understands the appeal of it and would, absolutely, do it if it was not a risk he'd like to calculate for.
Besides, he's not going to resort to more than what he's doing now until the insurance money is gone. ] I'd pay for the looks on their faces when everybody else gets their asses kicked, though.
[ But, finally, one of his earlier grins when they'd been going toe-to-toe rears its head in response to the recognition. Cheeky and smug, a little dangerous for someone that's not even five foot even yet. ] Unless somebody else hacked them last year, then yeah. Part of the bargain we made was that I had to walk them through what I did so that they could fix all the flaws in the security, but the people Krei sent to my door looked like they wanted to drag me out by the ear and stick me in the back of a cop car instead.
[If Hiro Hamada looks just like another kid who overworks himself, then that means he's playing his part perfectly. He doesn't need the world to know what he's really doing, how he patrols the city at night and takes precaution to keep everyone safe, how sometimes he suddenly remembers at 3am that he has an essay due and has to rush through it and that's where some of his sleepless nights come from. Yeah. Hiro Hamada's a hard-working, brilliant prodigy, but there are more levels to it than that. To know people are telling kids to be like him is almost a little bit of an insult.
Still, he seems pretty impressed with the fact that the kid's on a scholarship, but he can't help but reward him with a similar look right back.] Yeah, okay, fair enough. Never really had to worry about scholarships until I got into SFIT but sounds about right.
[Growing up, he just had to worry about Cass keeping the cafe busy and the occasional hospital bill whenever he and Tadashi did something stupid. Bot fighting profits sometimes found their way into Cass's wallet, but usually he stored it for himself to take care of himself so she wouldn't have to. Looking back at it now it was a dumb way to think, but it got them by.]
You're the only one, but you kinda forced them to dump the project on me after they learned exactly what you did to mess with their system. [He rolls his eyes.] Krei's a little overboard sometimes...but I guess I can't really blame him that much. [Considering what went down four years ago.] Probably for the better though. Cop cars aren't that comfortable.
[ There were a lot of hoops to jump through, a lot of recommendations and contests, a little bit of cheating, but here he is anyways. Their beginnings aren't too different, at least as far as Kon knows, but he's not about to compare himself to Hiro when he only knows the basics, the superficial stuff that the professors feed them from the media and his academic highlights. He's honestly learned more about him in the past hour than he has from what anyone else might say, seeing how he acts now in Kon's space but also when he was defending his work from a hacker.
He shrugs again, not really that bothered by this particular conversation. There's more to it but he's not sharing the rest. ] I couldn't afford the academy without it, so it was either that or be another statistic. Juvie would've definitely happened then.
[ And despite all the trouble he'd gotten in, the old man would've had an ulcer if he didn't make something of himself. Or at least, if he didn't stay the hell out of juvie or just straight up jail. Even now, he's trying to make that something to strive for, which... could go very ass up if Hiro Hamada decides to actually turn him in for what he's done. ]
I was mostly worried about the zip ties, 'cause my wrists are too small for handcuffs. [ He rotates them where they dangle over the armrests as if emphasizing it. ] But there was a lot of complaints out of the staff when I was around, something about needing bonuses for all the stuff they'd been dealing with since Krei Tech was established. [ He was six when Big Hero 6 first showed up and saved the day - an easy thing to remember. ]
[Hiro Hamada likes to be a private person when he can, but that's a lot harder when you're constantly in the news both as yourself and your persona. Still, he finds something weirdly relaxing about talking to Kon and making mental comparisons. It's nice to just be sort of brainless and without filters up.] Being thrown into academics to save you from the system. Yeah, I think I get it.
[Through it all, he can't get the fact that Kon's work is good out of his head. He's proven himself and he's definitely not something to ignore, and Hiro's already wondering what else there is to him. He's hiding things. Is it possible Kon is, too? He's not about to outright ask it but it's also a large part of why he's still sitting here trying to get to know this boy and figure out his game. It's both brainless and stimulating and it's enough to keep him hooked.]
You're like what, nine? [He's teasing here. He knows Kon's older, but he's genuinely not sure by how much.] Don't worry, your wrists will be big enough for handcuffs someday. [He has to bite back a grin at the remark about bonuses for Krei Tech though.] The company's gone through some pretty big things in the last couple of years. Alistair told me about it when I started signing over some of my products to him. [A beat.] I've known the guy since I was fourteen when he wanted to buy one of my first bots. I turned him down the first time but turns out he's not that bad to work with.
But that's not something you want when you grow up, is it?
[ It's interesting to have the log of their exchange open in the corner of his eye, while sitting there looking at and talking to Hiro like everything is completely normal. Whoever he is, Kon's not really going to complain too much, given this is the most engaging interaction he's had with just about anyone recently. ] Something like that.
[ Both systems, really, but that's definitely his secret to keep and not to share. Maybe they're getting along now, but who knows how long that'll last and if there will be any payout of sharing secrets right now. He's already stuck his grubby hands in something that Hiro doesn't want the world to see, anyways. Interested as he is, he knows that he's toeing a line and he's just waiting to see what side of it he winds up on.
Although, Hiro keeps teetering on his. Kon waves his sucker at him again, riled. ] Eleven, thanks. [ He's pretty small, he knows it. But unlike Hiro, he hasn't actually gone through puberty yet, so he's just waiting for that day to come. In the meantime, he'll make do with what he has and what he can successfully do.
The backstory and question, though - they take his attention away from his ire, and he sticks the lollipop into his mouth and crunches it between his back teeth to consider his answer. Then: ] Hackers don't have anywhere to go in this industry, unless you're a white hat on a leash.
[Hiro's good at toeing lines even when he doesn't known what those lines are. At the boy's indignant response about his age, Hiro ends up laughing because he totally gets it. He used to argue with people about his age pre-puberty, too. ...and post...and okay, he kinda looks his age now but whatever. He listens to Kon's explanation before he hums under his breath, leaning back on his hands then still on Baymax's case.]
Lemme ask you something, kid. Why a hacker? Why do you want to be one?
Kon crunches on the hard candy quietly, until he's chewing on the stick itself, just sort of regarding Hiro before he gives him much of an answer. Why a hacker? Why not just a progammer? Why not devote himself to legal coding, because he obviously knows his way around it? His program's stop running now, the rest of the queue having failed, and he itches to just... fix it. Get it up to snuff. It's the proof of what he can do, but only the beginning of it. ]
I can write code, and it's always evolving, so it's not totally boring. But there's a real challenge in figuring out how to get through the defenses other people put up, to find what they're hiding. [ He looks at the sucker stick's remains, twisting it back and forth between thumb and forefinger. ] And there's some secrets that people're keeping that're dangerous to the rest of the world.
[ Some secrets that get people killed. Death is easy, except for the people who are left behind. ]
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Instead, though, Kon pulls up SFIT's database directory. Tapping out a few keystrokes, he works to narrow down what department this particular terminal is in. His idea is maybe a little vindictive, but at least communication lines are still open, and he can latch onto other files to serve as distractions.
It wasn't even about the contents so much as it was the locks, in the beginning. But now, the anty has been upped and he's the one that's frustrated. So if he wants to go - well, they're gonna go.
Hiro's response goes unanswered as he works, but seeing it on his screen just continues to rackle him. It doesn't remain unanswered for too long before he's typing out his reply. ]
if you were that worried about protecting your work from thieves and bored people like me, then you would've locked them up tighter. oops.
[ As if to prove his point, he takes a file he's decrypted and dumps its contents out so that it's a myriad of windows opening across the screen, obstructing his view of anything actually important until it's cleared. Underhanded, maybe, but all's fair and all that. Besides, it's personal now that he's been lumped in with boring people, and the assholes that took everything. ]
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Sadly, he doesn't care much about files of other people. That's their problem. He's continuing to lock up his files as he goes, waiting for Kon to respond and unsure of what he's doing. The most important ones are fine. It's the insinuation that he doesn't care enough that raises his hackles, the idea that since he took the day off he wasn't worried enough. How dare they. It's no longer funny but he doesn't get a chance to say anything before the contents of one of the folders start popping up window after window, faster than Hiro can clear them. Another indignant squawk escapes him and he's aware that this is a distraction.
The scary part is that he doesn't know what Kon's actually after now that he's thrown a wrench in Hiro's plans. He gets to work on clearing the files and moving them, trying to fix the file and relock it, but if Kon looks at what he's just unlocked it should be clear to him what he's dealing with.
The particular file contains old research notes about brain waves and transmissions, how to recreate the microbots to function with only one person and their unique patterns. The thing about it is is that there's one name plastered all over those files, created back when Hiro was still young and paranoid about people stealing his work all over again.
Hiro Hamada, age 15. The files are dated three years back and he no longer needs those notes so Hiro's busy resorting them. It's when he finally clears them up that he responds.]
You don't even know what you're looking for, do you?
[It's a bluff. He doesn't know what Kon's doing, but he's hoping that maybe it'll be enough to push him back just enough until Hiro can find a new loophole himself.]
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That doesn't change the fact he's annoyed now, and it just means he feels like he has to prove himself even more. Whoever this is, they're expecting the expertise of an adult. So, in his head, that means that he has to deliver and exceed. Maybe he won't be able to get right back to what he was doing before, but at least he can do something, anything, that will get back at this person.
Nevermind that he's the intruder here, but that's not the point anymore. ]
Asshole. [ But he does pause when he really gets a look at the file that he dumped out, frowning at the contents and the dates. Three years ago - and the name isn't necessarily an uncommon one, given the fact that he's touted as a child prodigy, too. But that means that his opponent is either an actual thief themselves or are, in fact, Hiro Hamada.
Still an asshole, either way. ]
i wasn't looking for anything before you started hiding things, but now i know exactly what i'm after.
[ Leaving it vague just to make him sweat, he doesn't touch anything else to make it work. After all, he's trying to find where the hell the guy is so that he can hit him with maximum effectiveness. It's not really mature, but whatever, he's a little kid, and no one said he had to act mature to reflect his intellect. ]
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He'd be the first to admit that he's kind of an asshole but also the first to argue that it's for a good reason. He's not like Tadashi who saw the best in everyone. He's not as much of a misanthrope as he was as a kid but he's still a little more reserved and a lot more quick to annoy. He's calm now though as he puts his files away, waiting for the reply.
And it comes. It's not what he expects though and the words give him pause.
Shit. He should have thought of that himself and now he has to wonder if his late-night hacker really does know. Is it possible that Hiro just blew the cover he'd worked so hard to keep because he couldn't let something go?]
If you did, you would've found it already instead of wasting time. What kind of a hacker are you anyway?
[Stupid, stupid, stupid. Hiro still has some growing to do, too, it seems. Maturity is overrated and it's only after he sends that message that he realizes he's 100% alone in the lab. The others left hours ago.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.]
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Whatever he had planned initially, just a snoop around the files of possible classmates or people he'd be up against should he go to another school - unlikely, given the old man wanted him to go to SFIT - it's all been thrown out the window now in the face of a real challenge. In the face of someone provoking him and fighting back.
The smart thing to do would be to leave now while he has the opening. Kon could absolutely cover his tracks, send him on a wild goose chase if he went looking for him. But instead of backing down, he makes a triumphant noise as he finishes tracing his way through the system to where the hell this is all originating from. Vindictively delighted, he smirks, leaning in as he types up his reply alongside the localized lines he needs to write into.
He only has so much time, between executing the code and getting to work. ]
one that knows wasting your time with distractions is the best means of getting to what you don't want me to see.
bye.
[ Kon gives him a moment, lets that message sit with him for a minute before, on the dot, he shuts down the power to his lab. He doubts it'll stop the guy, but it sure will give him a chance to track down where he moved the files. ]
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He should have backed down until he could trace the signal but they'd pressed some buttons in him early on. Hiro knows he's going toe-to-toe with someone and it's a hassle. People aren't supposed to be good.]
Wait what?
[The message gets through just as the power cuts and he's plunged into absolute darkness.] Son of a bitch!
Hiro. It is advised that you take deep breaths and calm down.
Baymax, activate the emergency generator. [The words are said through gritted teeth and he's already up, pacing his lab and silently throwing a fit. Half of the files had been moved, the others were now in limbo and he'd have to do double the work to recover them, and Hiro was nowhere closer to figuring out who they were or why they wanted in so bad.
Most importantly, now he had to worry about putting his team in jeopardy. God, he was in such trouble. He silently stews on that before he kicks his chair out of the way, continuing to pace. The squeaking of Baymax's vinyl is a little comforting and shortly after the lights flicker back on.
He'll be back on soon, but…he's not announcing his presence this time. He's going to be quiet and sign in through a proxy to go undetected and just sit back and watch. What do you think you're going to find, Kon? And while he's doing that, he's already silently working in the background. Two can play at that game.]
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He shuffles some books and papers around, looking for a sucker to unwrap and stick in his mouth to chew on while he gets to work. It helps him focus as he pulls up the original source of all this trouble, looking for what systems might be connected to it so that he can figure out where the hell he sent the files to. Maybe he didn't care what was in them before, but he sure as hell does now - the guy's got his name all over the other ones, and he knows that he owns copyrights, so it's not that he's hiding things to keep them from being stolen.
No, it must be something else. And if there's one thing that will get him even more interested in what's going on, it's the whisper of a secret being kept from him. Doesn't matter if it's a secret from the masses - which he'd want to find out to either satisfy his curiosity, or make sure that the masses know - or something more personal. The hacker's manifesto certainly suits him to a T.
My crime is that of curiosity.
It's a crime that he continues to commit now, finding the system that he moved the files over to with a triumphant noise muffled by candy. Now it's just a matter of breaking in again and decrypting everything, which is going to take time, meaning he gets started as soon as he locates them. If Hiro shows again isn't really the question here, but when, so he's got a lot to do before he comes in defending his files again.
The only downside to any of this is the fact that his own irritation is blinding him to the fact that he's not the only one here that can run a trace, with or without proxies to defend himself. But he's a kid, no matter how smart he is. It's something that can only change with age. ]
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Would it be bad if someone found those files? Absolutely. But there could be another way to take care of this without involving the others…he was smart. He could handle this. Totally.
…ugh. He runs a hand through his hair, frowning as he feels how greasy it is and remembering Wasabi's earlier question about showering. Whatever, this was more important. Instead of focusing on how to lock the material he's busy setting up a trace. This guy's gonna regret messing with Hiro Hamada and he's already planning all of the ways to negotiate.
…weirdly, the location traces right back to a private school across town. A bored teacher, then? (Instinctually he knows that's wrong, but he's going to hook fast to that belief and run with it.) It would make sense. Teachers were always his biggest adversaries growing up when they realized he was smarter than them. That's okay. He could handle this. With the location pinpointed he nodded to himself before pushing away from his desk and getting back up.]
I'm satisfied with my care. [The words are quickly spit out and Baymax waddles back to his case, deflating and shutting down. He snatches it up and grabs the well-worn San Fransokyo Ninjas cap, jamming it into the back pocket of his (slightly baggy) jeans and heading out of the lab.
When Hiro got his driver's license, he also made sure to be covered for a well-loved moped that had belonged to Tadashi. Strapping Baymax's case on the back where Hiro himself used to sit and strapping a helmet on, he kicks the moped into gear and makes the trek across San Fransokyo. God, it's late. What the hell was this guy still doing, didn't he have classes to teach in the morning or something? Whatever. He could make this quick. He finds himself at the school and shuts off the bike, leaving the helmet stored under the seat and grabbing Baymax's case. He's stronger than he was and can carry it now instead of rolling it. Taking the cap he shoves it on over his messy hair, slipping it bill-backwards and scrubbing his face with his free hand to look more presentable.
He could do this.
Locks, as far as Hiro Hamada's concerned, are for people who don't know how to pick them. You pick up a few tricks as a superhero and as a precocious, curious kid, and he finds himself easily slipping into the facility the trace led him to. And then he finds himself in front of a computer lab.
The confusion's on his face, but he's quick to ignore it and keep Baymax's case clutched under his arm. Worst case scenario, he could use it as a bludgeoning weapon. A hand moves forward and finds the door unlocked though and he blinks in surprise, taking a deep breath and quietly opening it.
…and that's when he finds the "mastermind."
What the fuck. What the fuck, it's a kid. He stops in the doorway, absolutely gawking at the back of Kon's head as he tries to puzzle out exactly what's happening. At least in his older age he's learned how to move with grace and be less awkward in his body. His footsteps are quiet as he slips into the room, sneaking up on the kid and glancing at the screen.]
Still trying, huh?
[What. The. Fuck.]
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Whatever, it's still a challenge. Just more of one. Especially given the fact that there's a suspicious silence coming from the other end of things, leaving him wary and basically doing the hacker equivalent of looking over his shoulder as he breaks into the new system and queues up some files to start cracking open next. The radio silence stretches on, and he's left to sort of tentatively poke at the other end like he's poking some dangerous animal with a stick.
Maybe he's given up? That's boring, and Hiro Hamada never sounded like someone that gave up when the adults were talking about him, so he's not sure exactly what he's doing. At least he's not sweating about it yet, but he's sure cautious.
It doesn't really pay off, given the fact that he's so absorbed in what he's doing and working on the lines of code that he misses the door opening and definitely misses the fact someone walks up behind him.
And talks.
Kon makes a noise trapped between a squawk and a scream, strangling it down because it's well past curfew and he's technically not supposed to be out of the dorms right now. But he hasn't been using the room they gave him after the funeral, can't fall asleep surrounded by plain walls and the blank smell of everything when he's so used to the lived in feeling with clutter and nicknacks, the spices and aromas and taste at the back of his tongue every time he breathed in.
He bobbles and fumbles with his sucker as it falls out of his mouth, trying not to drop it on his hoodie and wind up with a gigantic sticky patch streaked across the material. Spinning in his chair, he stares a little owlishly at Hiro, looking much like an alarmed cat as he bristles up and just... stares. The decryption program makes a ping! noise behind him as it finishes with one of the smaller, easier files, but he doesn't look at it. ]
Uh. [ Usually a lot more eloquent than this, he scoots his chair back, wheeling it until it bumps the desk. If need be, he can tuck and roll under the desk to make an escape. It'd leave all his work behind, but it would be a noble sacrifice. ] Tracking down where you moved them took a little bit...
[ Oh, shit. He has never been more busted before in his life. ]
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…no really, what kind of school was this? He wasn't familiar with this one but it's not like the Hamadas could afford to send Hiro to a private school anyway. The compromise had been to put him through the school system faster to keep him challenged.
Still, he doesn't say anything for a moment even though he's sort of reveling in the fact that Kon looks appropriately terrified. He sets Baymax's case down and folds his arms over his chest, sleeves of his hoodie bunching up a bit as he stares down at the boy before allowing his eyes to return back to the screen to see what he's doing.
It's about that point that his eyebrows raise, really taking in the code Kon's working on and noticing that the files he's collecting aren't really that life-threatening which is nice. But at the same time, he's curious about how he's managed to jump through the nice hoops Hiro had set up. The little "ping" is enough for one eyebrow to raise higher than the other.]
Word of advice? That's not what you say to somebody whose files you're breaking into. [Despite how annoyed he feels and the fact that he's internally bemoaning the loss of several hours of work thanks to Kon's little power outage, he can't help but be a little curious and also somewhat amused. There's something of a lopsided grin on his face as he stands still, eyes focused more on the screen instead.] You find all of 'em?
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The silence stretches on, because he's not about to say more than that if Hiro's not, and part of him kind of wants to get up and close out of the program and the coding. A smaller, more ridiculous part of him wants to bodily put himself between his eyes and the monitors he'd been working on, but he remains stationary as he just. Watches him watch his work.
Slowly, he sticks his sucker back into his mouth and wipes his hands off on the sides of the armrests. He's not sure what's about to happen, but he's going to try and salvage some of his young dignity now that he's not, you know, going to die immediately of a heart attack or getting a heavy looking case dropped onto his head.
The "advice" makes him scrunch his nose up, but Kon just rolls a shoulder and looks away from him, gaze sliding to the side so that he can look at his screens out of the corner of his eyes. ] Not like you don't know what I'm doing.
[ With a swivel of his chair, not enough to turn away from him but enough to reach things, he moves the mouse to pull up the files he'd been about to add to the queue before Hiro had scared the shit out of him. ] I picked the ones with the easiest encryptions and the smallest sizes to do first, to see how you'd react.
[ He shoots him a pointed look, because this wasn't how he expected him to react. ]
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He continues quietly examining the boy's work, partially to decipher it and partially just to make Kon nervous. It's a dick move, maybe, but it's the same trick Tadashi used to use on him all the time. (And sometimes he swears he can hear the wayward "knucklehead" being whispered in his ear when he does something totally stupid.
There's a sound of agreement. True, he knew what Kon was doing after a time and he allows the boy the chance to check his work.] It's not really about if I know what you're doing or not. [He even lets him get as far as touching his mouse just to see what he'll do. Those files are safe. He's sure of that much.] It's more about the why, y'know?
[And after a moment, he sighs, plopping his butt right on top of Baymax's case and bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes tiredly. This is ridiculous. He's so off his game that he's been outsmarted by a kid? Is he getting old? Why is this happening?] So. Wanna tell me why you're digging through my shit?
[…maybe he shouldn't swear around a kid, but whatever. He's not that young and Hiro's patience has always been a little thin.]
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Him, he's just smug about having forced Hiro's hand more than once after having broken into his files in the first place. Is he still concerned he might get dumped in the bay? Yes, absolutely. But he's going to feign that he isn't.
Not very effectively, not completely, but he's still poised for a fight even if there's a decent chance that he'd lose. Scrappy as he is, and as well-known around his classmates as he is for getting into and winning fights with people bigger than him, this is still something different. It's not like he ever gets in fights with college-aged kids, at least not any that he expects to win when he's a pretty small preteen. Being wiry and rough around the edges his sharp mouth doesn't cover isn't necessarily going to help him here.
Not even batting an eye as Hiro swears, he rolls his sucker from one cheek to the other before he answers. It winds up being very blunt and simple, but he doesn't see a point in lying about it. So. Honesty it is. ]
I didn't target you 'cause of contents, or who you were - I hadn't even read anything 'til I dumped that file, so I didn't know anyways. I picked you 'cause your shit was the most protected shit in SFIT's databanks. Meant it'd be the hardest to get into. [ I did it for the challenge. ]
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He should be yelling. He should be scolding the kid for doing this but instead he settles on shaking his head.]
My shit's the most protected in SFIT's databanks because I make an effort to keep it on lock-down. It's important to me. [He can sort of see where Kon's coming from though.] Do you know how much trouble you'd be in if I turned you in for breeching security on our servers?
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Plucking his sucker from his mouth, he gestures it at him vaguely like most adults would with a cigarette while they talk. ]
But not because you're worried about people stealing it. I know how many patents you have to your name. [ He eyes him thoughtfully, ignoring two more subsequent notifications - another successful decryption, and one failing because his program couldn't cut it on its own. If only Hiro wasn't there, he would love to see what modifications he'd have to make.
Except he is, and there's no hiding the fact that Kon flinches a little at his question. But he tries to play it off, sticking his sucker back into his mouth and petulantly letting his feet sway where they dangle just above the floor. ] Wouldn't be the first time.
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...though it feels weird and like he's the one being lectured instead of the other way around, especially when he waves that sucker around.]
Just how much do you know about who I am anyway? [He's sending a similar look right back. It's true he has a bunch of patents and it's true that's not what he's worried about, but he hasn't really said that in this conversation. He can see what's on Kon's screen and it doesn't take him long to pinpoint what went wrong, a small smirk flickering across his features.
It's also a little amusing to see how tiny Kon is, blissfully ignoring the fact that he used to look the same. Actually, that's probably the look he had on his face when he was arrested the first time.] And what exactly happened the first time? [Since it clearly wasn't enough to really stop him.]
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Case in point: tonight. But at least Hiro's not asking him about his program or his hacking, even if he feels a tick of annoyance at the smirk. Screw this guy. ] The professors all pretend they're disappointed you went to public school instead of the academy, but they talk about how you sweep every expo you participate in.
[ And that's... it's impressive, but he's not sure if it's something he wants to strive for personally. Programming and coding is a backstage thing usually anyways, but considering his specialty he doesn't want any limelight. It'd make it harder for him to work.
Which would lead to a lot more arrests, himself. At least the last one didn't get him actually charged or taken in, even if it flagged him. ] I hacked into Krei Tech to prove they had shitty defenses in place and got flagged as a black hat. They wanted to put me in juvie but we bargained out of it so I was put on probation.
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But that's not important. He shakes his head slowly, a huff of laughter following.]
That's probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard, even if it's true. [He doesn't want to be an example for anybody. It's not that he doesn't believe kids need good role models. It's that he doesn't believe he can ever be one. He can save the world twelve times over, but he knows and believes he will never be as good of a role model as Tadashi was. To hear that people are touting his intelligence and using it as a bar to set for future generations...it's sort of weird.] Some of us couldn't afford private schooling when we were your age.
[But there's a flicker of pride in his features then.] But that just makes wiping the floor with the competition even sweeter. [...wait a minute though. There's a look on his face that seems sort of like recognition but he's shaking his head again.] That was you, huh? Krei was busy trying to grill me and make sure it wasn't my work until they magically caught the guy. Must've been embarrassed that it was the work of a kid. [And Hiro...actually finds it sort of hysterical, even though he really shouldn't. Alistair Krei's a decent guy and Hiro has grown to like working with him. That doesn't mean that Kon's wrong though.] I guess I should be thanking you for that then. They've bumped up security since then.
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His hard candy clacks against his teeth as he rolls it again to actually answer him, scoffing soft disdain not fitting of an eleven year old. (Or maybe far too fitting, given your understanding of children.) But he shrugs, shoulders up near his ears before flopping down again. ] I got in on a scholarship, anyways, so it's not like I'm paying for what they say.
[ And insurance money, plus some less than legal means of acquiring more, but it's not like Hiro needs to know that. Scamming adults is apparently a child prodigy rite of passage, and he's certainly not someone that skimps on it. At least he's not going down to bot fighting rings, even if he understands the appeal of it and would, absolutely, do it if it was not a risk he'd like to calculate for.
Besides, he's not going to resort to more than what he's doing now until the insurance money is gone. ] I'd pay for the looks on their faces when everybody else gets their asses kicked, though.
[ But, finally, one of his earlier grins when they'd been going toe-to-toe rears its head in response to the recognition. Cheeky and smug, a little dangerous for someone that's not even five foot even yet. ] Unless somebody else hacked them last year, then yeah. Part of the bargain we made was that I had to walk them through what I did so that they could fix all the flaws in the security, but the people Krei sent to my door looked like they wanted to drag me out by the ear and stick me in the back of a cop car instead.
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Still, he seems pretty impressed with the fact that the kid's on a scholarship, but he can't help but reward him with a similar look right back.] Yeah, okay, fair enough. Never really had to worry about scholarships until I got into SFIT but sounds about right.
[Growing up, he just had to worry about Cass keeping the cafe busy and the occasional hospital bill whenever he and Tadashi did something stupid. Bot fighting profits sometimes found their way into Cass's wallet, but usually he stored it for himself to take care of himself so she wouldn't have to. Looking back at it now it was a dumb way to think, but it got them by.]
You're the only one, but you kinda forced them to dump the project on me after they learned exactly what you did to mess with their system. [He rolls his eyes.] Krei's a little overboard sometimes...but I guess I can't really blame him that much. [Considering what went down four years ago.] Probably for the better though. Cop cars aren't that comfortable.
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He shrugs again, not really that bothered by this particular conversation. There's more to it but he's not sharing the rest. ] I couldn't afford the academy without it, so it was either that or be another statistic. Juvie would've definitely happened then.
[ And despite all the trouble he'd gotten in, the old man would've had an ulcer if he didn't make something of himself. Or at least, if he didn't stay the hell out of juvie or just straight up jail. Even now, he's trying to make that something to strive for, which... could go very ass up if Hiro Hamada decides to actually turn him in for what he's done. ]
I was mostly worried about the zip ties, 'cause my wrists are too small for handcuffs. [ He rotates them where they dangle over the armrests as if emphasizing it. ] But there was a lot of complaints out of the staff when I was around, something about needing bonuses for all the stuff they'd been dealing with since Krei Tech was established. [ He was six when Big Hero 6 first showed up and saved the day - an easy thing to remember. ]
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[Through it all, he can't get the fact that Kon's work is good out of his head. He's proven himself and he's definitely not something to ignore, and Hiro's already wondering what else there is to him. He's hiding things. Is it possible Kon is, too? He's not about to outright ask it but it's also a large part of why he's still sitting here trying to get to know this boy and figure out his game. It's both brainless and stimulating and it's enough to keep him hooked.]
You're like what, nine? [He's teasing here. He knows Kon's older, but he's genuinely not sure by how much.] Don't worry, your wrists will be big enough for handcuffs someday. [He has to bite back a grin at the remark about bonuses for Krei Tech though.] The company's gone through some pretty big things in the last couple of years. Alistair told me about it when I started signing over some of my products to him. [A beat.] I've known the guy since I was fourteen when he wanted to buy one of my first bots. I turned him down the first time but turns out he's not that bad to work with.
But that's not something you want when you grow up, is it?
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[ Both systems, really, but that's definitely his secret to keep and not to share. Maybe they're getting along now, but who knows how long that'll last and if there will be any payout of sharing secrets right now. He's already stuck his grubby hands in something that Hiro doesn't want the world to see, anyways. Interested as he is, he knows that he's toeing a line and he's just waiting to see what side of it he winds up on.
Although, Hiro keeps teetering on his. Kon waves his sucker at him again, riled. ] Eleven, thanks. [ He's pretty small, he knows it. But unlike Hiro, he hasn't actually gone through puberty yet, so he's just waiting for that day to come. In the meantime, he'll make do with what he has and what he can successfully do.
The backstory and question, though - they take his attention away from his ire, and he sticks the lollipop into his mouth and crunches it between his back teeth to consider his answer. Then: ] Hackers don't have anywhere to go in this industry, unless you're a white hat on a leash.
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Lemme ask you something, kid. Why a hacker? Why do you want to be one?
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Kon crunches on the hard candy quietly, until he's chewing on the stick itself, just sort of regarding Hiro before he gives him much of an answer. Why a hacker? Why not just a progammer? Why not devote himself to legal coding, because he obviously knows his way around it? His program's stop running now, the rest of the queue having failed, and he itches to just... fix it. Get it up to snuff. It's the proof of what he can do, but only the beginning of it. ]
I can write code, and it's always evolving, so it's not totally boring. But there's a real challenge in figuring out how to get through the defenses other people put up, to find what they're hiding. [ He looks at the sucker stick's remains, twisting it back and forth between thumb and forefinger. ] And there's some secrets that people're keeping that're dangerous to the rest of the world.
[ Some secrets that get people killed. Death is easy, except for the people who are left behind. ]
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