Broken Fragments

Chapter 12: Shivering Bodies

Hiroto quickly stood up, waking up from his nap. When he looked out the window, the skies had turned a really dark shade of purple when the sun left with its orange rays. Then, he checked the digital clock on his desk, showing the red digits 9:45. Hiroto plopped back on the chair, sighing as he realized that he had taken a nap for almost the whole day. Out of nowhere, he remembered something, putting his index and middle fingers on his lips.

"Who was that? Those eyes…and those lips," Hiroto thought.

"They seemed familiar."

Hiroto's head was debating on whether it was a dream or not. They felt real, but they were too heavenly to not be considered a dream. The blue eyes he remembered from when he partially opened his eyes were still etched in his mind. The warm sensation was also still there as if the lips that touched his had branded them.

Before he could get lost in his deep thinking, the clock beeped, indicating that it was 10 pm. Hiroto got up and took all the stuff he needed and placed them in his bag. He turned off the remaining lights in his office and locked his door. Hiroto looked to his left and saw the guard, checking up on every door.

"Sir, please head on to the back door of the building. The main door's already locked," the security guard said as he drew closer to Hiroto.

"Oh okay. What about the parking lot door?"

"It's still open sir, but the doors here automatically lock. It'll close in 30 minutes, so you might want to hurry."

Hiroto nodded and gave the guard a friendly smile after he paid his thanks. Since the security guard had already turned off the elevator and escalator's power source, Hiroto had no choice but to use the stairs. Luckily, the lights were still on and he didn't need to use his phone as his flashlight.

On his way down the stairs, he heard a faint music accompanied with a light coming from one of the rooms. Curious, he walked towards the only-lighted room to find out what was going on. When he peeked through the dimmed glass window, he found a diligent idol dancing to music, her fist held in front of her mouth while pretending to hold a microphone.

It was Yuuhi Tsubasa.

Hiroto secretly kept on watching, supervising what she was doing. He heard more doors shut as the security guard did his job. Even though he knew that there was a big possibility that he could get locked in, Hiroto stayed and watched Yuuhi's graceful dance moves.

"She looks so different," Hiroto thought, seeing Yuuhi's cheerful smiles and gestures.

"But at least she's having fun," Hiroto smiled.

Out of nowhere, Hiroto's smile turned into a worried frown as he watched Yuuhi fall to the ground. His eyes widened and his heart felt a shock when he heard her small yelp. He waited to see if she would get up, and moments later, she did. However, the idol didn't last long.

Yuuhi took small steps to the small music player to turn it off, but before she could reach it, she fell to the ground with a loud thud, becoming unconscious. The music player turned off because Yuuhi's foot accidentally pulled the plug. With worry shrouding his heart, Hiroto quickly flung the door open and ran to Yuuhi's side.

"Yuuhi! Yuuhi!" he yelled, shaking her body.

After noticing her bright-red cheeks and her warm body, Hiroto realized that her fever was back. He quickly lifted her up and ran out the door. The panicking Hiroto decided to bring her to the lounge because he wouldn't make it in time before all the doors locked. Since Yuuhi was as light as a feather, Hiroto was able to quickly run down the stairs with ease.

When he reached the lounge, luckily, the door was forgotten to get locked by the security guard. A cold draft blew onto Hiroto's face when he opened the door, sending him chills.

"Why is it so cold in here?" Hiroto asked himself as he placed Yuuhi on the couch.

He ran to the air conditioner to turn it off, but to no avail. He kept on pressing the on/off button, but the flow of air from the machine never stopped. Hiroto finally remembered that the air conditioners can't be turned off so it could keep the cold temperature of the building during the summer. Even so, Hiroto didn't lose hope and kept on tapping the machine, hoping to at least damage it so it could stop working, but the new technology has improved and just simple taps can't break it. Clenching his fist, he punched the wall in anger, his knuckles turning red.

He returned to Yuuhi's side, sitting down beside her. He felt her warmth as he held her hands tightly. Hiroto tried waking Yuuhi up by calling her name, but she had gotten worse because of the cold temperature. Even if Hiroto wants to bring her to another room, she still wouldn't get better or warmer for all rooms in the building would have the same temperature.

Yuuhi's breaths were getting deeper and deeper and her body was warmer as her condition worsened. Her lips and face were pale and she was shaking like crazy. Hiroto sat there, not knowing what to do while he panicked inside.

"I know!" Hiroto exclaimed, remembering something.

He pulled out his phone and turned it on. The battery bar showed a low percentage, but it was good enough to make a call. Hiroto quickly looked for Kumoi-san's number in his phone book and pressed the 'call' button. He put his phone on his ear, hearing the ring go on for three seconds before somebody finally picked up.

"Why are you calling this late?" Kumoi-san quickly asked, not even greeting him.

"Kumoi…san…Yuuhi…Yuuhi and I," Hiroto said as his lips shivered while his and Yuuhi's body slowly froze.

"Hurry up! I'm trying to get Kirika to fall asleep."

"Yuuhi's…not doing well. We're…trapped in…the company building…and it's getting…too…cold…Please…help."

Kumoi-san's face turned from anger into deep worry when the phone hung up out of nowhere before she could even reply. Hiroto's battery had reached its limit and died. Kumoi-san hurriedly dropped her phone and kissed the sleeping Kirika goodnight. She ran to her bedroom after gently closing Kirika's door and grabbed her car keys without bothering to tell Chairman Muranishi, who was taking a shower, about the situation. She opened the garage and drove out of her home in a rushed, illegal speed.

Meanwhile, Hiroto held Yuuhi in his arms to try and conserve their body heat. He could feel Yuuhi's heartbeat along with her warm, shivering body, her fever worse than yesterday's. Suddenly, her eyes gradually opened, surprising Hiroto.

"Where…am…I?" she asked, breathing heavily.

"Yuuhi! Are you okay? Do you feel sick?" Hiroto quickly asked, not minding his feeling sick.

"I don't…feel good…and my head…feels painful," she muttered, trying to sit up.

"No! Don't get up!" exclaimed Hiroto as he pulled her to his chest.

Yuuhi's eyes widened in surprise, feeling his strong chest and hearing his heartbeat. She wanted to move, but couldn't. There was something inside her heart that made her immobile, but there was also something in her mind that made her want to punch the man holding her.

"Why?" she whispered.

Hiroto carefully listened to the faint, shivering voice that was coming from Yuuhi's cold, purple lips.

"Why…are you doing this?"

Yuuhi took a deep breath before she continued while Hiroto waited patiently.

"I've done nothing…but trouble…to you…I yelled at you…I…drove you away…and…to make it worse…I look…like her," Yuuhi said, trying to control her emotions.

"Is that…why…why you're doing this?" she said looking up to gaze into his brown eyes.

Hiroto felt a little guilty even though he didn't want to admit it himself. That was one of the reasons why the people around him didn't want to be the idol's manager.

"No…no…it's not like that. Yuuhi, listen—"

"It's okay…I understand," Yuuhi painfully smiled as a tear left her eye when she closed them.

Hiroto felt even guiltier when her tear dropped on his chest as she fell back asleep.

"Yuuhi. Yuuhi, wake up. Yuuhi!" Hiroto yelled after he realized that she had gone unconscious again.

"Hiroto!"

Hiroto turned to the door where he found Kumoi-san, catching her breath. She ran as fast as she could towards them, still panicking.

"Let's bring her to the hospital," Kumoi-san suggested.

Hiroto lifted Yuuhi in his arms again and they ran down the stairs to the parking lot. Kumoi-san drove as fast as she could while Hiroto held wrapped Yuuhi with the blanket Kumoi-san brought. As soon as they got to the hospital, Hiroto explained what happened in a rushed and worried tone while Kumoi-san waited. The doctors examined Hiroto while they took the unconscious Yuuhi somewhere else. Some time later, after Hiroto was given some medications, he started to feel better, but the idol was brought to a room where she was connected to an IV and a heart monitor. The doctor gave Hiroto and Kumoi-san permission to stay with Yuuhi after he did his last check on her for the night. He also informed them that Yuuhi was going to be alright after a night's rest in the hospital. Relieved, Hiroto and Kumoi-san went in her room while silence lingered around to give them some time to think.

"You know…I can't believe I'm in here again," Kumoi-san awkwardly smiled, but Hiroto didn't get it.

"This was the same room she was confined in after the shooting of the movie."

Hiroto now understood that before everything was sorted out, Kumoi-san was the only one there for Kirari. The late idol's manager suffered along her side, watching her with the knowledge that she couldn't do anything for Kirari.

"It's funny…cuz I'm in here again…and the person on the bed…looks just like the girl I looked after 4 years ago," Kumoi-san said, letting a tear slipped by.

However, Kumoi-san wiped her tears right away and regained her strength. She took a deep breath and looked at Hiroto with eyes full of determination.

"Hiroto, I know she's not her," Kumoi-san paused as she looked at Yuuhi.

"But you better not do the same thing I did…and don't let Yuuhi end up like her…even though Yuuhi might not be as important as her."

Kumoi-san left the room and went home, leaving Hiroto behind.

"Not as important as her…huh," Hiroto thought, holding Yuuhi's hand.