Broken Fragments

Chapter 13: Concert Preparations

"You've finally woken up," Hiroto smiled as Yuuhi opened his eyes.

"How long…was I asleep?" she asked, trying to sit up.

Hiroto helped Yuuhi sit up before she could overwork herself. When she was finally able to sit up on her own, he honestly answered her question.

"You were asleep for 2 days," Hiroto revealed.

"2 days? Th-that can't be!" the idol exclaimed.

"I only have until tomorrow before my debut!"

Panicking, Yuuhi got up with all her strength, almost pulling the IV connected to her arm.

"No! You can't get up! You have to rest some more!" Hiroto protested, stopping Yuuhi from walking out.

"Let me go! I have to practice! I can't just sit here and do nothing!" she yelled as she tried to get Hiroto's grasp to loosen.

Hiroto hugged her as tight as he could while she wriggled around to get away from him. He could smell her strawberry-scented, auburn hair and feel her still-cold body. He shut his eyes to try and ignore the pain she was giving him from struggling.

"You're great!" Hiroto exclaimed.

Yuuhi stopped moving around when she heard those words from Hiroto. She didn't understand why he would say something like that, so her eyes were widened in surprise and confusion. She waited for him to say something before she started to move around again.

"I saw you practicing that night…before you collapsed again. The smile on your face, your dance moves, your voice…they were amazing…and…I believe you're ready for your debut," Hiroto said, loosening his grip.

After hearing his praising explanation, Yuuhi properly stood up after Hiroto let go of her and returned to her normal composure. She lay back down on her bed without looking at Hiroto's face, her head turned to the opposite side of Hiroto.

"I better get out today," Yuuhi grouchily said before closing her eyes to rest some more.

Hiroto smiled in relief that Yuuhi obeyed him. He sat back down on the couch and watched Yuuhi fall asleep.

"I promise."

It was the day of Yuuhi Tsubasa's debut. Posters and flyers had already been unraveled and tickets had already been sold out a week before her concert. Although the people didn't know how she looked like for Yuuhi's posters only had her silhouette to make people curious and mystified, the people were still hyped and curious for the new idol's first appearance. The workers of the Muranishi Entertainment Company were also busy from answering calls from broadcasting studios and managers of different stores. Before the concert started, Yuuhi had her last rehearsal with the band, the stage crew, and the backup dancers. They discussed the concert's details, such as when, how, and where her entrance and exit was. Hiroto enjoyed seeing Yuuhi work hard for the day she'd been waiting for.

"How's life as a manager?" a man asked.

Hiroto turned around to find Seiji and Fubuki. The two came back from their 3-day concert tour around the Tokyo Metropolitan area. They weren't a duo, but they combined each other's concert to get more people to come. Fubuki was the top female idol in the country, and Seiji was the top male idol in the country, too.

"Oh, Seiji and Fubuki! You're back from the concert tour," Hiroto smiled.

"Yeah. We planned on touring for a whole week, but Chairman Muranishi said that we'll be the opening acts for Yuuhi-san," Seiji replied.

"I see. Well, being a manager's really stressful," Hiroto laughed.

"You look stressed…but there's something else," Fubuki added.

"You look happy, too."

Hiroto turned back to the stage with a gentle smile on his face. He watched Yuuhi laughed and smiled with the other people onstage as they got ready for that night's concert.

"I guess I'm just happy for her…I'm happy she's having fun while doing something she had always wanted," he smiled.

Fubuki and Seiji looked at each other. They, too, were glad to see Hiroto and Yuuhi's smiling faces, but there was something deep inside their hearts that made them want to cry. They wanted to cry not for themselves, but for Hiroto and for the painful events he might possibly encounter. Although, the two already decided to stay strong for Hiroto because they knew he'll need it.

"Well, we're going to get ready, too," Fubuki smiled.

"Okay. I'll see you guys later on," Hiroto smiled back.

After he watched the two walk away, he looked back at Yuuhi. The Yuuhi that he was watching was so different from the Yuuhi he'd always seen. Yuuhi smiled to everyone as if she's never had any kind of happiness before, but whenever Yuuhi smiles at Hiroto, her smiles turn into fake expressions that were almost impossible to read. The only reason why Hiroto was able to tell whether she was faking it or not was because she looked like the late Kirari, whose smiles gradually became fake as she hid the pain inside.

When the stage manager announced that they were finished with everything, Yuuhi was finally given the rest of the day to relax and get ready for the concert. She returned to the entertainment building where she relaxed at the lounge. Hiroto, on the other hand, returned to his office where piles of papers were stacked for him to read and sign. Most of them are contracts on brands she'd be modeling for or TV shows she'd be in for a month or more.

"Wow. I never thought that this had been Chairman Muranishi's and Kumoi-san's life for such a long time now," Hiroto mumbled.

"We're used to it."

Hiroto looked up from the piles of paper he glanced through and saw Kumoi-san.

"Kumoi-san!" he exclaimed, standing up.

"Relax. I didn't take that as an offensive statement. Yeah, I'm used to it even though it's really stressful," Kumoi-san smiled as she remembered her first years as manager for small idols.

Kumoi-san had been an idol when she was young, but her dreams were unfortunately crushed by another idol. With the help of Chairman Muranishi, she returned back to the entertainment business not as an idol, but as a manager. She managed the careers of small idols, until Kirari got her big break. Kumoi-san, although stressed, enjoyed those times with Kirari so much that she would do anything to get it back. However, she didn't want to remember something so painful like that when trying to help Hiroto, so she shooed those thoughts away.

"You'll be fine, Hiroto. Trust me. Just," Kumoi-san paused as she tried to hide her worry and fake smile.

Hiroto looked at her, unnoticing her anxiety through her glasses. He waited for Kumoi-san to finish her sentence with hopes that it was a good advice.

"Just try not to overwork yourself, okay?" she smiled.

Hiroto nodded with a smile on his face. Kumoi-san left after her quick check-up on the new manager. Hiroto got back on task and neatly piled the papers back on his desk. He quickly read the papers and signed them as fast as he could when he realized that he only had an hour left before the concert. Hiroto had been lost in reading words and signing papers for 4 hours that he didn't think it was time for him to take Yuuhi to the concert. After signing the last paper, he ran to the lounge in a rush, hoping to find her there.

"Yuuhi!" he yelled.

His voice echoed in the empty room as the setting sun shone on his face. He panted, his breaths short and heavy. Everyone in the company already left to go to Yuuhi's concert except for the guards in charge to lock up. Hiroto was panicking, knowing that he had once again let Yuuhi down. He regretfully walked inside the lounge, hearing the ticking noises of the clock that seemed to mock him. Tired and upset, he walked up to a wall and punched it once. Then, he put his head on the fist that was against the wall as droplets of sweat rolled from his forehead down to his cheeks and landing to the ground.

"Damn it!" he quietly exclaimed, all his hopes in restoring at least a little bit of friendship with Yuuhi gone.

Out of nowhere, Hiroto heard a voice that he thought wouldn't be there anymore.

"You're late!"

When he turned his head, he found Yuuhi wearing the clothes she'd been wearing, her hands on her hips while her left foot impatiently tapped on the floor and her face showing disappointment. The orange sun made her auburn hair look more vivid and joyful even though her face clearly painted an upset picture.

Hiroto's frown slowly turned into a smile that looked like it was going to stay on his face forever. He hurriedly ran to her and grabbed her hand to her surprise. They ran down the halls and stairs and to the elevator. Hiroto took her to the parking lot and strapped her down in the passenger seat of his car. He drove out of the dark, underground parking lot while speeding to the main roads. He thought they would make it in time just before the concert, but a predicament was given right in front of them.

"Traffic?" Yuuhi exclaimed, her eyes wide as she saw the bright red and orange lights from the hundreds of cars in front of them.