Broken Fragments

Chapter 9: Scream of Horror

Hiroto and Fubuki quickly stood up as Seiji knocked on the lounge's door. They opened the door for him as he entered with a tray that held three plates with a slice of cake on each. He made his way in with a glowing smile on his face, knowing that everything had been finally resolved after 4 years of waiting.

"Everything's alright now, right?" he asked, placing the tray of snacks on the coffee table.

Fubuki and Hiroto looked at each other and then looked back at Seiji with smiles on their faces. They all laughed together as if all three had imagined the same hilarious thought. They sat down on the couch while Seiji distributed the plates with the slice of cake and cups of tea. The three appreciated the amazing taste of the velvet cake that was covered with chocolate icing.

"So, what made you do it?" Seiji asked, looking at Hiroto after gulping his piece of chewed-down cake.

"Did I miss anything?" Fubuki asked, wiping her mouth.

"He's Yuuhi-san's manager now," Seiji replied.

"What? Why?" Fubuki exclaimed, almost spitting out the tea she just took a sip of.

Hiroto looked down at his cake, trying to think of a way to express his feelings. There was something deep inside his heart that hurt him, but he wasn't ready to dig down deep enough to face it. After sipping some of his tea, he wiped his face to prepare to talk.

"I already got on her bad side," Hiroto jokingly smiled.

"What do you mean?" Fubuki asked.

"I mistook her for Kirari for so many times. I think she's offended."

The room was filled with silence, all three not knowing what to say. They could only hear the sound of their nervous heartbeats because they all don't want to admit something that would cause more heartbreak on them.

"Don't do it."

It was the lavender-haired Fubuki that the selfish-sounding statement. The two boys turned to her as she stood in anger. She walked towards the huge glass window and looked out to see the shining sun that was hidden by the fluffy clouds.

"Why not?" Hiroto asked.

"Because!" Fubuki protested, turning back to Hiroto and Seiji, who also stood up.

"Because what, Fubuki?"

"Because...because," she cowered.

Hiroto looked at his feet, ashamed that he made Fubuki feel bad after the resolution they just had moments ago. Seiji walked towards Fubuki and gently put his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and saw his kind, sincere eyes that gave her a little courage.

"I…I mean we…we don't want you to get hurt," Fubuki revealed.

Hiroto looked at Fubuki and Seiji, his heart beating a little fast. He knew the reason why she said something like that. Hiroto knew the reason why everybody told him the same thing Fubuki said, but then again, he wasn't ready to dig deep down in his heart to find the answer to why they said those words to him. Hiroto looked strong outside with his well-developed, muscular body, but inside, his heart was still weak from mourning for Kirari. His heart was still longing for her even though it knew that it was impossible.

"I'll…I'll be fine," Hiroto hesitantly said, unsure of his answer.

After a few moments of silence, Seiji was able to change the topic, inviting everyone to sit back down and eat their cake. They talked about how Seiji and Fubuki had been. They talked about how Hiroto's travels were around the world. They laughed, giggled, were shocked, and happy. It was just like the old times they had before they lost Kirari. They were still having a hard time even if years had already passed since her death, but each and every day, they were learning to cope through it.

"Hmm?" Hiroto thought, noticing Seiji's smile after Fubuki had just said a joke.

Hiroto smiled as he grabbed his cup of tea, realizing that Seiji had changed. It wasn't a tremendous change, but his smile gave it away. Moments later on, Fubuki got a call from Kumoi-san, who was now her manager. She got up and excused herself from her companions.

"Hello?"

"Fubuki, you and Seiji have to go to the Higashi radio station. You two have to get ready for your interview. Leave the building now. I'll meet you there," Kumoi-san quickly directed.

"Okay."

"Bye."

Kumoi-san hung up, implying that they needed to hurry up. Fubuki returned her cellphone back in her pocket and walked back to Hiroto and Seiji.

"We have to go, Hiroto. Seiji and I have to get ready for our radio interview."

"I thought that was tomorrow?" Seiji asked with a confused look on his face, his right eyebrow raised up.

"Guess not. Well, we better get going, Hiroto. We'll see you later," Fubuki smiled as she grabbed Seiji's hand to walk out of the lounge.

"We'll talk more later, Hiroto," Seiji also smiled.

"Fubuki, wait!" Hiroto interrupted right before they walked out the door.

"Hm?" Fubuki asked, turning her head back to look at Hiroto.

"You're doing great," Hiroto smiled, looking at Fubuki and Seiji's holding hands.

Fubuki smiled while Seiji, again, looked confused. They hurriedly walked to the elevator and pressed the button that would take them to the ground floor where the parking lot was located. Hiroto waved goodbye as the metal doors closed, separating him and Seiji and Fubuki. He sighed in happiness, feeling as if some of the burden he'd been carrying on his shoulders had been lifted away.

"Hiro-nii-chan!"

Hiroto turned to his left before entering the lounge to find Kirika running towards him. He bent his legs and spread his arms, catching Kirika and lifting her up in the air. She let out a series of laugh while Hiroto watched her glow under the light, her smiles making his day much better.

"What are you doing here, Kirika?" Hiroto asked, holding her in his arms.

"Kumoi-san left her with us."

Hiroto looked at the direction where Kirika came from and found Yuuhi walking towards him, her arms crossed as if she was frustrated.

"So…you mean, we're babysitting?"

Yuuhi nodded, her face frowning.

"Let's go to the park! No, let's go and have a picnic! No, actually, let's go to the amusement park! No, the beach! No, hiking! Waah!" Kirika exclaimed while spreading her arms wide open to indicate that she wanted to do a lot of things today with her two babysitters.

"It's too hot outside, Kirika. We should stay in here so you wouldn't get sunburns, right?" Yuuhi suggested, smiling at the little girl.

"No! I want to do something else! Let's have a picnic, Hiro-nii-chan!"

Yuuhi rolled her eyes, getting more and more frustrated. She let out a sigh of frustration and walked in the lounge, declaring that she'll get the food ready.

"Well, I guess we're having a picnic since Yuuhi-nee-chan's preparing the food, right?"

Kirika nodded happily, her cheerfulness and innocence brightening up the day. The two went to the lounge to help Yuuhi prepare for the picnic. It seemed as if the day was planned for they all coincidentally wore picnic clothing.

"Let's go," Hiroto said as he started his car.

Yuuhi sat beside him in the passenger seat while Kirika sat in the back with the picnic basket. The three looked for good spots to hold a picnic. It was a hard task for they lived in the city. Skyscrapers were everywhere and it was rare to see trees and grasses. If they were lucky enough to find one, people would've already packed the place. Hiroto then decided to go out in the country near the city. He didn't go too far so that they could go back to the city in time.

"Wow! It's so pretty here!" Kirika exclaimed, seeing the greeneries after running up a small hill.

Hiroto and Yuuhi finally caught up with the little girl and set up the picnic. Hiroto spread the picnic cloth and Yuuhi took the food out. They sat under a tree that gave them enough shade to be cool. After eating the food they brought, they lay down and rested on the picnic cloth while looking at the puffy white clouds passing by.

"That looks like a bunny!" Kirika pointed at one of the clouds, making Hiroto and Yuuhi smile.

A couple of minutes later, after resting, Hiroto and Kirika played with the kite they bought from the shop they passed by. It soared in the sky as if it was a free bird. Its beauty amazed the three of them, their moods getting better.

As they sat back down to rest, the clouds started getting darker. The white, cotton-like clouds were replaced by ominous, grey clouds.

"We should go. It'll rain soon," Yuuhi suggested.

"Yeah," Hiroto replied, still looking at the clouds.

They returned the food containers back in the basket including the picnic cloth. After looking around to see if they left any trash, they hurriedly placed the basket in Hiroto's car.

"Kirika, let's go!" Yuuhi called.

During their busy preparation to go home, they didn't realize that Kirika had gone somewhere else. There were no traces of her except for the kite she dropped by the tree.

"Kirika! Where are you?" Hiroto called.

"Kirika! Kirika! Come on! We need to go home!" Yuuhi yelled.

Before they knew it, the rain started pouring down hard. Their clothes, skin, and hair got wet and everything looked unclear because of the pouring rain. They ran around and stepped on puddles, still calling out the little girl's name.

"Kirika! Where are—"

"Help!"

Yuuhi and Hiroto looked towards the direction where the scream came from. They knew it was Kirika screaming in horror. With the overwhelming feeling of worry, Yuuhi and Hiroto hurriedly ran through the bushes, their clothes getting dirty and slowly getting ruined.

"Kirika!" Yuuhi yelled with worry in her mind and heart.

"Hiro-nii-chan! Yuuhi-nee-chan! Help!"

"We're coming, Kirika!" Hiroto determinedly thought, his heart throbbing rapidly.