Broken Fragments
Chapter 1: Smiles of Reunion
The sun shone brightly in the sky on a breezy spring day in the middle of March. The clouds were white and puffy and the wind barely came. After a few hours of being inside a plane that floated in the sky, he finally touched the solid ground again.
He walked to the parking lot while dragging his suitcase behind him. The rolling noise used to be a bother to him, but his frequent travelling made it a normal noise. When he finally reached his car, he took out the keys and unlocked the doors. The black sports car hadn't been touched for almost four years but, the car wasn't as dusty as expected for the workers he hired tended to it. When he turned the key to start the engine, the sound made him smile as he pulled out of the airport's parking lot, bathing him and the car with sunlight once again.
He drove around town, the luggage inside his car's trunk. Whenever he would stop on a red light, he would look around and notice some changes that happened while he was gone. For example, the empty lot was now full of children for it was turned into a park; the little shops he used to see became a bigger and taller.
After half an hour, he parked his car inside a parking lot under a tall building that had changed over the time he was gone. He left his luggage inside his car and locked it. Knowing where it was, he walked to the elevator without stopping to check if he was lost. When he got inside the elevator, he saw clear buttons with black numbers on it. He pushed the button that would take him to the lobby.
Five seconds later, the elevator door opened, revealing the busy lobby. There were people walking around carrying papers or people chatting on the phone.
"This lobby's still the same," he thought with a smile, closing the elevator's door after a few people came in.
On his way up, he thought about how much the lobby had changed. The tiled floor was no longer white, but an onyx color. There were more reception desks with ladies talking to the guests coming in. What he meant when he thought about how the lobby was still the same was that the lobby was still busy as always. He thought about the reasons why the lobby was one of the busiest areas of the building. It was either because of an upcoming concert or a live performance, a new idol, or a controversy that sprung up among the top idols.
After pushing the button that would bring him up to the last floor on the very top of the building, the place was as quiet as a library. He walked down the hallway to the last door in the middle of the hallway. He read the sign on the door in his mind before knocking three times.
"Come in," a man's voice from inside said.
He turned the door's knob and walked in. He found the man signing papers on his desk while a series of beeps from the computer alarmed him about how much email he was getting.
"I'm back, Chairman Muranishi," he said.
When Chairman Muranishi, the man on the desk signing the papers, put his pen down and looked up, he saw a face that he had longed to see.
"Hi…Hiroto-kun?"
The chairman stood up and ran around his desk to give the boy a hug. He couldn't believe who he was seeing. The boy that had been away for four years that felt like forever was finally back.
Hiroto was back.
The two shared a hug like they were father and son. They embraced each other, their eyes almost tearing up. Hiroto smiled and the chairman did, too, but he was so delighted to see him again that he could feel himself crying soon.
"How was it here, Chairman?" Hiroto asked as he sat down on the couch in Chairman Muranishi's office while he called for someone to bring them tea after their long moment of hugging.
"It's been okay, it's not the same though," Chairman Muranishi replied, sitting down beside Hiroto.
"Ever since Kirari-chan's death, our lives haven't been the same. It felt empty. Then, you left three months after her death and SHIPS disbanded. You said you'd visit every summer, but you visited two years after her death only once. After that I didn't hear from you. Heck, you weren't even here for our wedding," Chairman Muranishi narrated, his smile hidden under a blanket of sorrow.
"I'm sorry, Chairman Muranishi," Hiroto sincerely said, looking down on the floor.
"I understand. I would've done the same thing if I was in your place," the chairman said, putting a comforting hand on Hiroto's shoulder.
When the Chairman heard gentle knocks on the door, he got up and opened it for he knew that it was the tea that he asked for.
"Papa!"
A little girl with auburn-colored hair similar to that of the chairman's was tied into two pigtails with white ribbons and blue eyes that sparkled as she embraced the chairman's legs. Hiroto wasn't confused on who it was, but he was surprised on how much the girl has grown. The last time he saw her was when she was still a year old with tiny feet and an always-sleepy face.
"Kirika-chan! What are you doing here?" Chairman Muranishi asked, lifting her up in the air.
"Mama told me someone wanted tea! So I came here to make tea for you!" the little girl named Kirika smiled, bringing light to the room.
Kirika's mother walked in with the tray and placed it on his desk. When she turned to her right, she saw Hiroto, the boy she hadn't seen in years.
"Hiroto!" Kumoi-san exclaimed, running to him.
When Kirika saw her mother run to the other man in the room, she was confused at first, but when she saw the boy's smile, she felt as if she'd met him before.
"I'm home, Kumoi-san," Hiroto said, smiling.
"Kirika! Come, you need to meet your Onii-chan," Kumoi-san said, wiping her tears as she invited Kirika over.
Kirika hurriedly ran to her mother and held onto her, still a little scared and shy.
"Do you still remember me, Kirika?" Hiroto asked, squatting down to get to Kirika's height.
Kirika searched to the back of her head for memories of the boy in front of her. Then, she remembered how he carried her for a whole day and took her around to the park and swung her around.
"Hiro-nii-chan?" Kirika shyly asked.
Hiroto nodded with a gentle smile on his face. Kirika was now sure that she'd met the person before. She realized that it was the boy that she always saw on pictures with a girl with brown hair and blue eyes and a boy with blonde hair in her father's office.
"Hiro-nii-chan!" Kirika exclaimed as she gave Hiroto a big hug.
Hiroto felt warm and fuzzy. Kirika's small arms were wrapped around him while he lifted her up. Kirika was like a small bundle of joy to not only her family, but to the people around her, too. Her innocent, cheerful characteristic made her cute and loveable.
After playing around with Kirika for a couple of hours and talking to Chairman Muranishi and his wife, Kumoi-san, Hiroto looked out the window and realized that time had passed so quickly that the sun was setting soon.
"Do you have a place to stay in tonight, Hiroto?" the chairman asked, picking up Kirika as Kumoi-san cleaned up the mess she made with her toys.
"Yes, sir. I still have my condo, so I think I'm good," Hiroto smiled.
"Drive safe, okay?" Kumoi-san warned, knowing what happened in the past.
One night, a couple of years ago, Hiroto got in a car accident and lost his memories. Fubuki, who was there, rescued him and kept him in their own private hospital, where she replaced his memories of Kirari with fake memories of her and Hiroto as a couple. Due to this, Kirari suffered during the last months of her life because she returned to Japan, hoping to feel Hiroto's warm love again, but instead, the opposite. It was too late when Hiroto remembered Kirari, but she was still happy that Hiroto was able to remember her even if their time together was too short. That was Kirari. A girl that can be easily happy because she'd carried others' burden without even asking for help.
"I'm leaving now, Kumoi-san—wait," Hiroto said.
"If you're married to Chairman Muranishi now, do I call you Muranishi-san?"
"No. I kept my maiden name and just hyphenated it."
"Kasumi Kumoi-Muranishi," Hiroto thought.
"So, I still call you Kumoi-san?"
Kumoi-san nodded, fixing her eyeglasses.
"Well, I'll come back tomorrow. Have a great night, Kumoi-san, Chairman Muranishi, Kirika," Hiroto said as he waved goodbye.
Hiroto got in his car and drove out of the parking lot. He drove around the city again, trying to familiarize himself with the changes. Even though the traffic was rough, he still wanted to feel home again and drive around. He enjoyed the music playing on the radio and continued driving. When he stopped on a red light, he looked around to see the shops that have emerged in the last few years he'd been gone.
Suddenly, he saw something unexpected. No, it wasn't something. It was someone.
Hiroto's eyes grew wide in shock, his hands trembling on the stirring wheel. He was looking at someone that he never expected to see. His heart beat faster and faster as memories rushed in his head. He didn't want to blink for he didn't want to lose the person he was looking at.
Then, the girl smiled. The girl's smile sent chills down his spine. Hiroto was seeing someone that he shouldn't really be seeing. He felt like he was going to explode. Was it because he was happy? Or shocked?
"Kirari?"
