Broken Fragments

Chapter 23: Her Unknown Past

After realizing that they were pressed up against each other, Yuuhi and Hiroto quickly turned away from each other, their faces warm and red.

"I-I'll give you some alone time, so I'm going downst—"

"I-I'll go with you…I…h-have to t-talk to Papa anyways," Yuuhi interrupted, trying to return her cold attitude back.

"T-then, I'll go first," Hiroto replied as he rushed out of her room.

Yuuhi was left behind with her thoughts in a mess. Her right hand was rolled into a fist and was placed on her chest. She felt her fast and strong heartbeat.

"Why do I feel this way?" Yuuhi asked herself, a little frustrated.

"I can't feel this way again," she thought as she walked towards her bookshelf to pick up a picture she hid in one of her books.

In the picture was her and a boy, whose face was scratched off. Yuuhi's hair, which extended to her hips, was still light brown. She wore a sailor uniform, the long-sleeved blouse white like the knee-high socks she wore, and the mid-thigh length, pleated skirt dark red like the ribbon and the sailor-styled collar. The boy wore a black gakuran with golden-colored buttons. Their uniform suggested that she was still a junior high school student at the time the picture was taken. Yuuhi and the boy stood in front of the school gate as snow poured down, holding hands and sharing a thick and long muffler because their height didn't have a very big difference. Yuuhi's face was red, not only because of the cold weather, but also because of her being close to the boy.

"Not after what happened before," she quietly said, putting the picture face-down.

Yuuhi gently closed her door and walked down the stairs. When she arrived at their living room, she found her father, Hiroto, and Neko enjoying their tea.

"Papa," Yuuhi called, interrupting them.

"I want to see Mama."

Ichirou immediately placed his cup of tea down and rushed to Yuuhi's side. Then, he hugged her tightly and cried, not being able to hold his tears any longer.

"Okay, Yuuhi. I-I'll show you Mama, okay?" Ichirou cried.

All four of them walked down the end of the hallway of the house to where the master bedroom was located. Ichirou knocked on the door, keeping his manners, as if his wife would open it.

"Come in," he said with a painful smile.

Yuuhi, Hiroto, and Neko quietly walked in first while Ichirou held the door for them. Neko wanted to break down in tears, but she knew that she had to be strong for Yuuhi and Ichirou. Neko stood by Hiroto while Yuuhi walked towards her sleeping mother.

The room was full of hospital equipment. There were lots of wires attached to Saeko, connecting to different monitors and machines. She was breathing normally, according to the heart monitor that beeped in constant rhythms. The IV continuously delivered medicinal liquid to Saeko's body, through the catheter attached to the vein in her arm. A breathing tube was also attached into Saeko's throat through her mouth.

"Mama," Yuuhi quietly said as she squatted down by her mother's side.

"I'm here to visit," Yuuhi painfully smiled.

"How have you been?" Yuuhi asked, continuously talking to the sleeping Saeko.

Of course, Yuuhi didn't get any replies. While Yuuhi continued to talk to her, Ichirou gently placed his hand on Neko and Hiroto's shoulder.

"Let's give them some space," he whispered to both of them before they exited the room.

Without Yuuhi's knowing, the three of them left her alone with Saeko as Ichirou softly closed the door. Hiroto, Neko, and Ichirou headed back to the living room to continue drinking their tea. It was silent between all three of them, their minds reflecting over what Yuuhi was doing. Suddenly, Neko's phone rang when she received a text message. After reading the message, Neko finished drinking the remaining tea she had and grabbed her things.

"I have to go, Ichirou-nii-san, Kazama-san. Takumi knows I'm back and he needs help with some of the wedding arrangements. Just tell Yuuhi I'll try to visit her again," Neko announced as she headed out.

"Thank you for everything, Kazama-san. Please take care of Yuuhi," she continued, bowing.

"Thank you, Kurami-san," Hiroto bowed.

"See you later, Neko-san," Ichirou waved goodbye.

After Neko left, Hiroto and Ichirou returned to the living room to continue drinking their tea. They sat there in silence, both feeling a little shy.

"So, Kazama-san, how's my daughter doing?" Ichirou asked, breaking the ice.

"She's doing great, sir. She's a natural when it comes to the entertainment busi—"

"Yuuhi encountered identity problems, didn't she?" Ichirou interrupted, placing his cup of tea down on the coffee table.

Hiroto was a little surprised that Ichirou knew something like that. Without any contact with the entertainment business or even with their own daughter, Hiroto was also curious on how Ichirou would know about the first problem Yuuhi encountered after her debut.

"Yes, sir, she did. Right after she debuted in the big stage and her face was in every magazine, she came across identity problems right away," Hiroto confessed.

"I see," Ichirou replied, taking another sip of his tea.

"We already saw this one coming. That's why we didn't let her become an idol in the first place," Ichirou revealed.

"We used to have a TV once in this living room…but we got rid of it one day," he continued, pointing at the area where the TV used to be.

"Yuuhi loved watching TV because of the idols she saw. She would dance and sing along with them, entertaining me and Saeko. She was such an angel, you know," Ichirou chuckled.

"While she was at school one day…we saw a celebrity news show…broadcasting the debut of an idol named Kirari Tsukishima. Saeko and I thought that it was our daughter at first, but she came home right away after school, like the usual."

Ichirou got up and grabbed another teapot from the kitchen counter. He refilled his and Hiroto's cups and continued his story.

"The next day, she came home after school, gloomy and upset. She went straight up to her room and didn't come down until dinner. After dinner, she returned to her room and went to bed…Saeko realized that Yuuhi was probably getting teased for looking like Kirari Tsukishima, the newly debuted idol that time…so Saeko decided to get rid of the TV, magazines, and everything else that could show anything about the entertainment business," Ichirou narrated, making hand gestures of how much things they had to get rid of.

Hiroto was intrigued of Ichirou's story, not only because it involved Yuuhi's past, but also because Kirari was included. He never thought that Kirari would bring suffering to a family without her knowing when all she ever intended to do was make everyone smile.

"A few weeks later, Yuuhi left to go out to town, which was unusual because she always went to town with us. When she came back that afternoon, her light brown hair was light auburn, and the once-hip-length hair was shoulder-length."

Before Ichirou continued with his narration, he paused to gather his thoughts and think about what happened in the past. Hiroto was speechless after he found out the reason about Yuuhi's change of hairstyle.

"Ever since then…our Yuuhi felt distant from us. Saeko and I felt as if our daughter, Yuuhi, disappeared along with her hip-length, light brown hair," Ichirou recalled as he wiped his tears away.

"Saeko had always been sickly. I've known her since we were in junior high school. She couldn't participate in PE class because she'd collapse anytime. After we got married, she got pregnant, but Saeko had to get hospitalized for many times. Then, our doctor revealed to us that if Saeko were to keep the child, she and the baby would die before it could even reach its third month," Ichirou recounted as he looked down on the floor, his face frowning in agony.

"Not wanting to lose Saeko, I told the doctor that she'd get an abortion. Saeko didn't know about it, so when she found out after she recovered, she had lost all her life. Her eyes were blank and she wouldn't talk, not even to me. It went on like that until we found Yuuhi. Saeko returned and was full of life again. We both promised that we would give everything to Yuuhi, so long as it would make her happy."

Ichirou wiped her tears and gulped down the tea that had gotten a little cooler while he told Hiroto his story. Ichirou waited for Hiroto's comments, but it seemed as if he had none. In Hiroto's mind, though, were lots of questions that he wanted to ask. He wanted answers from Ichirou, but Hiroto knew that asking them would make him an insensitive person. However, Hiroto was determined to ask Ichirou one question.

"Tsubasa-san," Hiroto called, looking at his cup of tea, fiddling with the cup's rim.

"Do you know Yuuhi's real parents?"

Ichirou looked up to see the determination in Hiroto's eyes.

"They're—"

"Papa."

Ichirou and Hiroto turned around to find Yuuhi, walking towards them with her things.

"It's getting late. Kazama-san and I have to head back to the city soon," Yuuhi announced as she closed the zipper of her purse.

"But it's only 1 o'clock, Yuuhi. Why don't you just—"

"We can't stay here tonight, Papa. We have work tomorrow, and we have to leave now before rush hour. Traffic gets bad in the city, especially," Yuuhi replied without waiting for her father's sentence to finish.

"Let's go, Kazama-san. We can't get to the city at a late time."

Hiroto got up with a puzzled look on his face. To keep Yuuhi from getting more upset, he stood up and placed his tea down, taking a bow after.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Tsubasa-san. We'll head on out, now. It was nice meeting you," Hiroto kindly greeted.

"We'll see you later, Papa," Yuuhi said as she and Hiroto put their shoes on in a hurry.

Yuuhi opened the door for Hiroto and let him walk out first. Before she could close the door, Ichirou called out to her with a hint of grief in his voice.

"Will you come back and live with us again?" Ichirou asked, hoping for a 'Yes' as an answer.

"Goodbye," Yuuhi responded, closing the door behind her.

Ichirou was left behind with an unanswered question, his heart broken by his own daughter. When he walked to his bedroom where Saeko was, Ichirou looked out the window to check on them, but their car was already almost out of sight.

"She might never come back, Saeko," Ichirou silently announced, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Meanwhile, Hiroto drove down the road heading to the highway. The usual, silent atmosphere accompanied them in the car. Hiroto would take quick glances at Yuuhi, only to find her just looking out the window. Tired of the silence that lingered around, Hiroto stopped the car in the middle of the road with no cars around. He kept his hands on the steering wheel, grasping its handle as he gathered his courage to speak up.

"Why didn't you tell me about your past?" Hiroto calmly asked, looking at Yuuhi.

"I didn't have to."

"Yes, you did!" Hiroto roared.

"Why? Is it because she was like that? Is it because Kirari revealed her past to you right away?" Yuuhi thundered back, her eyes full of anger when she lost her temper.

"Don't talk about Kirari like that!"

"And what about you, Kazama-san? You didn't tell me about the movie offer from Takada Pinau!"

"I had my reasons!"

"Like what? Is it because you didn't want me to become an actress? Is it because you want me to stay as an idol?" Yuuhi kept asking, yelling at Hiroto in anger from the top of her lungs.

Yuuhi paused as she leaned back on the seat, calming herself. She was so furious that for the first time, she wanted to cry in anger and frustration. Hiroto was angry, too, yes, but he was aware that Yuuhi had every right to be mad at him for not telling her about the movie offer from Takada Pinau. Hiroto, who was staring at his steering wheel, just hoped that Yuuhi didn't know what the movie was about.

"Or is it because the movie's about Kirari's life?" Yuuhi asked, keeping her eyes on her feet to keep her tears of frustration from falling.

When Hiroto heard Yuuhi's question, he turned his head to look at her.

"Yuuhi," he thought, seeing her unwanted tears glimmer on her cheeks.