Forgotten Melody

Chapter 21: Passionately

"Hiroto, are you feeling better?" Fubuki asked as she closed the door after entering Hiroto's hotel room.

Hiroto didn't answer for he was thinking about something in his mind. A few moments after Seiji left him after their argument, memories started flooding his mind once again, but they weren't the usual memories that he would remember.

Fubuki was in it.

"Are you really my girlfriend?" Hiroto asked, still staring at the blank wall as he remembered the memories that flowed in his mind earlier.

"Of course, I am. What are you talking a—"

"Don't lie to me, Fubuki," Hiroto interrupted.

Fubuki's awkward smile changed to a shocked face as if Hiroto knew that Fubuki was lying. To make it worse, Hiroto looked into her eyes like he could see through her. Fubuki was on the verge of giving up, but of course, she was stronger than that.

"I'm not lying to you, Hiroto," Fubuki replied.

"Of course, you're not. How could you lie to me when all you've done is love me and be the perfect girlfriend?" Hiroto weakly smiled, holding Fubuki's hand.

Fubuki hugged Hiroto tightly with a smile however, Hiroto had something else in his mind.

"I'll find out the truth one way or the other."

"Kirari," Seiji said, lifting her chin up so that their eyes would meet.

"Don't give up. I'm here. Don't you forget that," Seiji continued as he wiped Kirari's tears away.

Kirari tried her best to smile for the person that loved her so dearly. She knew Seiji well enough that she could tell he was also in pain because of her hurting. Kirari doesn't want Seiji to feel bad for her, so she decided to smile for him because she knew that it was the least she could do to make him feel better.

The two proceeded to walk downtown to eat their lunch where they ate their food quietly. Seiji was still able to tell that Kirari wasn't feeling well, so he decided to take her to fun places so that she would get her mind off of it.

"Let's go, Kirari," Seiji said, taking her hand after she finished sipping her drink.

"To where?"

"Just come," Seiji smiled.

Kirari didn't know where they were going, but she wasn't scared to go anywhere with Seiji because she knew that Seiji would never bring her to any place where she could get hurt.

When they finally reached their destination, Kirari was amazed to see a big Ferris wheel that rotated in front of her. The village they were in was holding a little fair which included rides and small stalls that sold food and souvenirs.

"Wow!" Kirari exclaimed.

"I remember going to a fair when I was in America," Kirari continued as they entered the fair.

Before they went on the rides, they decided to get their pictures taken at the photobooth as a remembrance. After that, they walked around and played some arcade games. Seiji even won a stuffed toy for Kirari. The two also shared a cotton candy on their way to their last ride which was the Ferris wheel.

Before getting on, Seiji whispered something to the operator of the ride.

"Hey mister, can you do me a favor?" Seiji asked.

"Sure thing. What is it?" the ride operator kindly replied.

"When we reach the top, can you stay there for a little longer than usual?"

"I see. You want to have a romantic moment with your girl?"

Seiji nodded, his face red.

"Ok. I understand. Don't do anything rash, okay?"

Seiji nodded and thanked the operator and gave him money for his tip. He grabbed Kirari's hand and they went on the ferris wheel. On their way there, they were able to see the greenery and the majestic setting sun.

"Wow, it's so beautiful," Kirari exclaimed.

Seiji nodded in agreement with Kirari, also looking at the orange ball that gradually sunk behind the mountains.

"Seiji-kun, thank you for making me feel better. And for the stuffed toy, too. It looks just like Naa-san," Kirari smiled as she tightly hugged the Naa-san-look-alike.

"Now that you mention it, where's Naa-san? He's always with you before you left for America and I haven't seen him since," Seiji asked while he looked at the stuffed toy.

Seiji had been wondering about that ever since Kirari came back, but never had the time to bring it up. When he turned his head up to look at Kirari, her eyes were showing pain and sadness.

"He's gone," Kirari forcefully smiled to keep her tears from overflowing.

"I…I'm so sorry," Seiji said in shock.

"I haven't told you why I returned back to Japan, did I?" Kirari asked, her hands trembling in fear as she remembered the reason why she came back to Japan from the beginning.

"When I got there, people already knew about me. Maybe because I was friends with Tina-san," Kirari recalled.

Seiji knew who Kirari was talking about because when they went to New York, Tina's bodyguards mistook them for her fans and kidnapped them. They became friends and even asked Kirari and Seiji to perform with her on her concert.

"I became a big hit when I got there. I was taught how to speak, read and write English. Before I even knew it, I was becoming an American. Even the way I lived was replaced by the American culture. I no longer ate Japanese food or drank tea. I'm so ashamed now that I think about it," Kirari continued, her face blushing in shame of how her moving there changed her.

"One day, Naa-san and I got in a fight because I refused to eat the Japanese food he prepared for me. I also threatened him that I was going to put him up for adoption and buy a dog because that's what most of the Americans have as a pet. To make it worse, I told him that he was the one holding me back from doing the things that I really want to do."

Kirari was still trembling in fear, but was still strong to keep her tears from coming out.

"I hurt his feelings and he ran away. I didn't bother to look for him because I was busy with my friends and my career. I thought he would return like always, but he never came back."

Seiji was shocked to hear about his not returning. Since he didn't return, Seiji was able to figure out that his feelings were really hurt; more hurt than ever before.

"A month later, when I was walking down the streets at night, a group of punks asked me to go with them and of course, I refused. They didn't let me go easily so they held my arms really tight and tried to harass me, but someone came to my rescue."

Seiji expected Kirari to smile since someone came to her rescue, but her expression was starting to look worse. Seiji was also able to tell that Kirari was going to give up soon and just let her tears roll out.

"It was Naa-san," Kirari revealed, tightly holding onto the stuffed toy.

"He was able to fight them and defeat them easily, but they didn't give up and kept on chasing us with their motorcycles. Naa-san was starting to get tired, but he still kept on running to find us a safe place. We hid in tight alleys and dark streets and endured the cold night. After running for so long, we finally found a police station to run into and report them, but they had found us and chased us again with their motorcycles. 'We're almost there, Naa-san,' I smiled in relief. I saw Naa-san smile, but he had teardrops coming out of his eyes."

Kirari was now crying without her knowing. She still held onto her stuffed toy as they finally reached the top of the Ferris wheel.

"I didn't know why he was crying, but when we were starting to cross the street, Naa-san pushed me so I'd be able to walk further. I fell to the ground because I lost control. Then after that, all I heard was a screeching noise so loud that it made me close my eyes. When I looked back at the middle of the road, I saw Naa-san."

Seiji didn't want her to continue any further because he knew she was already hurting.

"Naa-san died. He…H-he…got ran over by…the m-motorcycle that was chasing us. He died…just to protect me. Now…I'm all alone," Kirari sobbed.

Kirari couldn't continue anymore and cried her eyes out. She covered her face with her trembling hands, still not being able to accept the fact that Naa-san was gone. Seiji couldn't do anything to stop her hurting, but he helped comfort her by hugging her tightly so she could share her trembling with him.

"I'm sure Naa-san's in a better place now. He died to protect you, Kirari. He died so he wouldn't have to see you suffer. Do you think he wants to see you crying?" Seiji asked, slowly pulling Kirari's hands away from her face.

Kirari stopped her sobbing to listen to Seiji as the Ferris wheel started moving so the passengers could get off.

"I know I shouldn't be saying things like this, but Kirari, this is a part of life. We're going to lose people in our lives and sometimes, it would be hard to accept, but we're going to keep going because I'm sure they're still watching us from above. They wouldn't want to see us crying, would they?" Seiji comforted, full of determination.

"Kirari, I'm still here. I'm not planning on replacing Naa-san, but I'll be here for you all the time. You'll never be alone," Seiji continued.

Kirari hugged him tight in relief of what Seiji said. She didn't want to let go, her hands still trembling.

"Thank you for everything, Seiji-kun," Kirari smiled, the last drop of tear falling down her cheeks.

"I love you so much, Kirari."

Kirari let go of Seiji to look at his face that was illuminated by the orange rays of the sunset. Seiji lifted up her chin and slowly moved his face towards hers. Kirari gradually closed her eyes as she felt Seiji's nose touch hers. Seiji closed his eyes when he felt Kirari's slow breaths.

Finally, their lips touched, making their hearts beat as one. Seiji's heart beat faster and louder, knowing that the soft sensation that he was feeling was Kirari's lips touching his.

Kirari felt the same, too. She was nervous, yet overjoyed because she knew she wasn't alone at all. Seiji was still thinking about her even if she had left the country.

"I'm so glad…that I have Seiji-kun," Kirari thought, her heart racing and her mind full of bliss.

"Oh! Didn't I tell you not to do anything rash?"

When Kirari and Seiji's lips separated and opened their eyes, they saw people taking pictures of them while the ride operator helped them out. They were drowned in each other's kiss that they didn't realize that it was time for them to get off the ride. Their faces were red when they realized that the people there saw their kissing and were even given the opportunity to take pictures.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Kirari and Seiji both yelled as they ran away from the crowd with red faces.

They continued running on their way back to the hotel, thinking that the crowd was still chasing them to take more pictures. Before they reached the hotel, they stopped to catch their breaths and watch the sun finally sink down the mountains, leaving no orange rays. When they looked at each other's red faces, they started laughing as if there was no tomorrow.

Seiji grabbed Kirari's hand and pulled her to him to give her another hug.

"I really love you, Kirari," Seiji said, passionately looking at her.

Kirari closed her eyes again and shared another passionate kiss with Seiji.

"I really love you, too, Seiji-kun. Stay by my side forever."