Broken Fragments

Chapter 10: The Eroding Cliff

"Kirika!" Yuuhi screamed as she found the little girl holding onto a root embedded in the dirt.

If the little girl was to let go, she would fall off the cliff with a high possibility of death. In a hurry, Yuuhi extended her hand down so the little girl could reach her.

"Yuuhi-nee-chan! Help me, please!" Kirika begged, tears streaming down her face.

Hiroto finally found Yuuhi, who ran a little bit earlier than him. Hiroto was hit with shock when he found Yuuhi trying to grab Kirika's hand.

"Kirika! Hold on tight! Nee-chan's coming for you!" Yuuhi yelled, her cheeks soaked in tears and her whole body, from head to toe, soaked in rain.

Without knowing that Hiroto was there, Yuuhi stepped on the rocks set in the cliff to go down and fetch Kirika. Luckily, she also found a massive rock that jutted out of the cliff that looked strong enough to hold both of their weight. She jumped onto the rock, passing Kirika. She looked up and stretched out her arms to catch the little girl.

"Yuuhi! Stop! It's dangerous, let me go, instead!" Hiroto yelled from atop.

"It's too late!" Yuuhi yelled back without looking away from Kirika even thought the raindrops that entered her eyes made them sting.

"Come, Kirika. Let go, and nee-chan will catch you, okay?" Yuuhi smiled even though her tears were still coming out.

Kirika did as she was told and let go as fast as she could, landing on Yuuhi's arms. Yuuhi put her down to the ground and squatted to give Kirika a piggy-back ride. Yuuhi commanded the little girl to hold on to her really tight and to not look down. As soon as they got ready, Yuuhi started climbing back up the cliff with Kirika on her back.

"Please…make her safe," Yuuhi thought, tears still in her eyes.

Although she looked brave, Yuuhi was immensely terrified of what was going on. Her heart was beating faster than ever especially since because Kirika's life was on the line. Yuuhi didn't care what would happen to her so long as the little girl was alright.

"Almost there, Kirika," Yuuhi smiled.

After climbing one more step, Yuuhi called for Hiroto. He grabbed Kirika's arms and pulled her up. As soon as she was held in Hiroto's arms, Kirika hugged him tight, shaking in fear.

"It's good you're safe, Kiri—" Yuuhi's eyes widened as her thought was interrupted by something horrible.

The rock she was stepping on was about to collapse and the dirt she was holding onto would also erode soon because of the pouring rain.

"Yuuhi-nee-chan!" Kirika screamed, hearing the small yelp that Yuuhi let out when she noticed the eroding soil.

Hiroto put the crying Kirika on the ground to help Yuuhi.

"Grab my hand!" Hiroto yelled.

Yuuhi slowly pulled her hand up to prevent any more soil to erode. She yelled as more soil started to erode as her hand got closer and closer to Hiroto's.

"Hurry!"

Suddenly, the soil eroded, making Yuuhi let go. She closed her eyes, knowing that she would hit the ground soon, meeting her death. However, she felt something in her hand.

It was Hiroto's hand.

"He…saved…me?" she thought in shock, looking up to see him struggling to pull her up.

With all his might, Hiroto pulled Yuuhi up and saved her life. Hiroto, after Yuuhi's feet finally touched the ground, pulled her to him, embracing her tightly.

"You worried the hell out of me!" Hiroto yelled in frustration, tightening his embrace.

Yuuhi's eyes were widened in shock, feeling Hiroto's embrace and hearing his heartbeat. Feeling weak and tired, Yuuhi didn't move even though she wanted to.

"Watch…your language…there's a child…around," Yuuhi smiled, her eyes starting to close.

When Hiroto took a look at her, Yuuhi fell unconscious, almost falling to the ground. Fortunately, Hiroto was already holding her in his arms that she didn't fall to the ground.

"Yuuhi! Yuuhi! Wake up!" Hiroto screamed in concern.

"There's…something…on my hand," Yuuhi thought, feeling something warm.

She slowly opened her eyes and found herself in a room. Without turning her head from side to side, Yuuhi looked around to find anything familiar that would give her clues on where she was. Not being able to bear it any longer, Yuuhi looked at her right hand to see what the warmth she was feeling was.

"A…hand?"

When she saw the dark, charcoal-colored head that lay on her bedside under the bright, moonlight, she knew whose hand it belonged to.

"Hiro…to?"

Yuuhi slowly sat up without letting go of his hand, avoiding any noises or huge movements that would wake him up. She looked at her nightstands, finding medicine tablets, a bowl of cold, uneaten soup, a half-full glass of water, and a small basin with cold water and white towel in it. When Hiroto started making noises, Yuuhi quickly lay back down and closed her eyes, hoping that Hiroto didn't see her awake.

Hiroto opened his eyes and looked at Yuuhi, who was still supposedly asleep. He gently let go of her hand and placed it on her bed. Hiroto carefully lifted Yuuhi's neck and placed his forehead on hers.

"Wh-what's g-g-going on?" Yuuhi thought, smelling something minty.

She opened her left eye to take a peek and found Hiroto's face really close to hers. She was lucky that Hiroto's eyes were closed because her eyes were widely opened in surprise. Yuuhi closed her eyes back as Hiroto pulled his forehead away from hers.

"She still has a fever, huh," Hiroto thought, worry written all over his face.

"Of course, she still has a fever. The medicine she took wouldn't work unless she eats something," Hiroto mumbled to himself, returning back to his seat by Yuuhi's bed.

He grabbed Yuuhi's hand and wrapped it with both of his hands.

"Yuuhi, I know you can't really hear me right now because, well, you're asleep, but doing this might actually just help me," Hiroto said, looking at the sick girl with sincere eyes.

"What's going on?" Yuuhi kept on thinking, panic in her head and nervousness in her heart.

"I'm sorry for everything I've done to you so far, and I'm also sorry for all the things I'll do to you in the future. The reason why I wanted to be your manager is so that I could make up to making you feel bad ever since the very first time we've met. You impressed me today with your courage and I'm thankful that I'll be working with you from now on. I hope you get well soon because I'm looking forward to working on your debut in the next few days," Hiroto awkwardly smiled, feeling foolish for talking to someone asleep.

He placed Yuuhi's hand on his lips and gave her a peck, making her blush.

"What are you doing? It's not supposed to be like this!" Yuuhi panicked.

"Why are you doing this?" Yuuhi thought, somehow feeling guilty.