Broken Fragments

Chapter 25: Getting Friendly

Takada Pinau discussed the rest of the movie plans, such as the venue, when the filming would start, how long the filming would take, and an overview of what Yuuhi was expected to do, with excitement in his voice. Yuuhi, Hiroto, and Chairman Muranishi were also excited even though it wasn't visible in their faces. After they finished their discussion, all of them stood up from their seats and bowed to each other with hopes of receiving care and hard-work from each other.

"Oh, and also," Takada Pinau said before he left the conference room with his assistant.

"I've already prepared the cast and film crew conference for tomorrow at the Miyabi Hotel. The paparazzi and newscasters are also going to be there. It will start at around 3:30 pm, so I'll need you to be at the hotel at least 10 minutes before it starts. I'll see you there tomorrow!"

Yuuhi, Hiroto, and Chairman Muranishi bowed again until Pinau's assistant closed the door. They could still hear his footsteps from outside, but they still stood up straight to discuss the matter again.

"He's so excited, that he's already having the meeting tomorrow, huh," the Chairman smiled, breaking the silence in the room.

"He has no choice, after all. The festival's coming soon and he started later than the other directors," Hiroto said.

The room was silent once again while the three of them reflected on the expectations that Takada Pinau conversed with them earlier. Yuuhi's eyes were closed, relaxed; Hiroto's arms were crossed; Chairman Muranishi was rubbing his chin.

"Now that I remember, what happened to Kumoi-san?" Hiroto asked in curiosity.

"N-nothing, really. She got a call from Fubuki, so she had to leave," Chairman Muranishi lied as he awkwardly laughed.

"Oh, okay. Well, I'll bring Yuuhi home since she's finished with everything she has to do for the day. We'll go on ahead, Chairman Muranishi," Hiroto replied, standing up with Yuuhi.

They both bowed to Chairman Muranishi, who stood up to see them off, before they left him alone in the conference room. Hiroto went ahead of Yuuhi to open the door for her. As Yuuhi passed by the Chairman, a smirk showed up on her face that had gone unnoticed to Hiroto.

"Liar," she whispered in Chairman Muranishi's ears as she passed by him.

Chills ran up and down his spine as Yuuhi's voice entered his ear. He clenched his fist, offended by what she called him. However, he was aware that she was right to call him a liar. Chairman Muranishi convinced himself that he needed to lie, so he didn't let Yuuhi's statement bother him anymore. Although, deep down, he felt guilty.

As soon as the door closed, Chairman Muranishi sighed and walked towards the windows to look at the setting sun. The orange rays shone on his face, highlighting the wrinkles that resulted from stress.

"Things would've been so much different if you were still here, Kirari-chan."

Hiroto and Yuuhi arrived in the parking lot in front of the apartment complex where Yuuhi lived. Before Yuuhi could get out of the car, Hiroto locked the doors from the controls he had by his side.

"Will you please open—"

"Why won't you talk to me, Yuuhi?" Hiroto interrupted, his heart pounding in nervousness.

He kept his eyes on the steering wheel, afraid to meet Yuuhi's eyes.

The atmosphere and the scene was like how it was yesterday when they were on their way back to the city from Yuuhi's hometown in the country. The mood was heavy, Yuuhi seemed upset, and Hiroto was desperate to fix things between the two of them.

"Ever since yesterday, you haven't said a word to me. After I dropped you off at the MEC building, you just walked to your car without a word. Today, I tried to make conversations with you when I took you to the places where you needed to be, but you didn't answer back. Ever since we went to the shrine festival to see the fireworks, you've been colder to me! Why are you doing this? Why are—"

"We're professionals, Kazama-san! I already told you that!"

"But that doesn't mean you can't be nice to me!"

"Any relationship above manager and idol between the two of us can raise many rumors and assumptions! I can't risk my or your career!"

Hiroto got quiet because Yuuhi was more than right. Hiroto, even though he was just a manager now, was still popular to the paparazzi. After all, he was once a member of the most popular boy band, SHIPS. He already knew that he couldn't live in peace after Kirari's passing if he was to remain in the entertainment business. He didn't want to, but he needed to return to the world of entertainment because Yuuhi needed him, and he was well-aware of that.

"So…you're saying that…we can't even be…friends?" Hiroto asked after a moment of silence.

"You know what? Fine! Let's be friends, Kazama-san," Yuuhi smiled, even though anger was clearly audible in her voice.

"Now, will you please unlock the doors and let me out? I want to go home and rest for tomorrow's movie conference, Hiroto-san," she cheerfully asked, emphasizing his first name by raising her voice.

Hiroto gulped, scared of how friendly she sounded. He unlocked the door just like how she asked. After she got out, Yuuhi slammed the door of the car before she smiled at Hiroto again. She turned around and walked to her apartment building without saying another word to her manager again.

The angered Hiroto drove away and headed to his own home. When he arrived at his condo, he quickly took off his shirt and threw it on the couch as he headed to his bathroom. He took a warm shower to refresh himself before going to bed and to try and wash away the anger he was feeling. Hiroto just let the warm water trickle down his body, from his head, down to his broad shoulders, strong chest, and toned abs and legs. After half an hour, he finally got out and changed into his pajamas. Hiroto stayed shirtless to cool his body off as he plopped down on his bed.

"The only reason why I'm doing this is because Yuuhi needs me," Hiroto said, looking up the ceiling.

Only the street lights from outside lit his room. He kept his ceiling lights and night lamp off, knowing that he was going to fall asleep soon. The moon was also out, but the summer clouds covered up most of it, hiding its rays.

"Who am I kidding?" he thought with a painful smile on his face as he turned to his side to look at Kirari's framed pictured on his nightstand.

"She needed a manager, not me."

With Kirari's face being the last thing he saw, Hiroto fell asleep without his knowing.

"Damn it, I'm late!" Hiroto exclaimed as he drove away from his parking lot in a fast speed.

His hair was still messy and he still hasn't eaten breakfast. He had his pants on, but his shirt was still unbuttoned and his shoes were still untied. As he drove to the MEC building, Hiroto kept glancing on the digital clock on the radio, which said 10:36. For the first time in his managing career, Hiroto was late. To make it worse, he was two hours late.

Hiroto fixed himself in the elevator, brushing his hair and properly buttoning his shirt. He also stopped by the lounge, hoping to grab a toast as a quick breakfast. When he arrived there, he rushed to the counter to prepare his toast, not even noticing who were in the room.

"Here you go," a girl said, passing Hiroto the loaf of bread as he busily grabbed the ingredients he wanted for his quick breakfast.

"Thank y—ah! Fubuki!" Hiroto exclaimed to find the lavender-haired beauty in front of him.

"Jeez, you're a mess! Why are you in such a hurry anyways?" Fubuki jokingly said, leaning on the counter.

"I woke up late and had no time. Yuuhi has a lot of things to do today," Hiroto replied as he continued preparing his food in a rush.

"Oh, now that you mentioned it, I ran into Yuuhi-san this morning and she said she stopped by your condo to pick you up because you were late, but you never opened the door. So, she said she was just going to take herself to the jobs she needed to do today," Fubuki recalled her encounter with Yuuhi.

Hiroto was a little taken aback, stopping to rethink about what Fubuki just told him. He was surprised that Yuuhi stopped by at his house to check on him, which was something she's never done before. He was happy, yes, but feelings of disbelief coalesced with it.

"She…came…to check up on me?" Hiroto reassured with a small smile on his blushing face.

"Did something happen between you two?" Fubuki asked with her right eyebrow up in curiosity.

Hiroto remembered what happened to them last night, but he never really thought it would work. He wanted to tell Fubuki, but when the toaster flung his bread out with a ding, Hiroto was reminded that he was already late and that he shouldn't even be making breakfast in the lounge.

"Oh, sorry! I need to go. I know where Yuuhi is, so I'll just pick her up from there. Thanks, Fubuki!" Hiroto waved as he rushed out of the lounge while juggling the hot toast in his hand.

Fubuki sat back down on the couch, crossed her arms and legs, and leaned her back to relax. Fubuki knew how Hiroto felt because she was feeling it, too. She was happy that Yuuhi and Hiroto were finally getting along, but she was scared, too. Fubuki knew why she should be scared, but she didn't want to admit it to herself.

"I've already hurt him enough, Yuuhi," Fubuki thought as if Yuuhi could hear her thoughts as Fubuki remembered what she did to Hiroto and Kirari in the past.

"So please don't break him anymore than he already is."

"What happened to you, Hiroto-san?" Yuuhi asked in a tone of concern.

"Oh, I just slept in, that's all," Hiroto awkwardly laughed.

Yuuhi just finished a radio show and Hiroto had arrived just in time to pick her up. Yuuhi informed Hiroto that she took a taxi to the radio station building, so he needn't worry about her car. Like any gentleman would do, Hiroto opened the car door for Yuuhi as she carefully sat in the passenger seat. Hiroto took Yuuhi to her jobs with the atmosphere different between the two of them.

For the first time, Yuuhi was actually tossing the conversation back to Hiroto, like they've been friends for a very long time. They were also laughing and joking around, something Hiroto had always wanted. He felt happy and Yuuhi seemed happy, too, but Hiroto wasn't sure of how she really felt. In fact, he really couldn't tell how Yuuhi was feeling, but Hiroto didn't want to overthink, so he just went with the flow.

The whole day went better than any other days, especially since Yuuhi and Hiroto's relationship was much better than before. Everything was too good to be true, that Hiroto thought he was still dreaming. He even asked Yuuhi to pinch him a couple of times, only to get hysterically laughed at. After a couple of times of being teased by Yuuhi, Hiroto accepted that he was in the real world, finally friends with her.

The time for the movie's cast and crew conference came quick and Yuuhi was excited and ready. Hiroto drove her to the Miyabi Hotel where the conference was going to be held. Takada Pinau's bodyguards led Yuuhi to the back of the platform, where she was to wait for her name to be announced by the director. Hiroto found Kumoi-san and Chairman Muranishi standing by the platform.

"Glad to see you here, Chairman, Kumoi-san," Hiroto greeted as he approached them.

The busy paparazzi took pictures of the crew that were already on the platform, waiting for Takada Pinau to start announcing the cast members that were waiting behind the white curtain background. The crew sat down on their seats while some of their assistants brought them water bottles to keep them hydrated during the conference. Due to Pinau's excitement and rush in announcing the cast and crew, the paparazzi had no time to get distracted by Hiroto's presence. Although, some of them were able to take pictures of him. As soon as Takada Pinau introduced his crew, he excitedly began his introduction of the main cast after the short summary of his movie.

"Jin Ikusaba will be played by the former SHIPS member, Seiji Hiwatari," Takada Pinau announced as Seiji waved at the paparazzi before taking his seat.

Hiroto was surprised to find out that Seiji was going to be in the movie. He was a little happy, though, that Seiji would be there to help Yuuhi out if Hiroto couldn't be there for her.

"Now, for our lead actress, who will be playing the role of Ayuna Nishizaki, please welcome…Yuuhi Tsubasa," the director ecstatically announced.

Yuuhi elegantly walked out of the curtain and walked to the middle of the platform. She kept a soft, photogenic smile on her face, giving the photographers a chance to take a good picture of her. After taking a bow, she took her seat in the middle of the long table because of her character's importance in the movie.

Many paparazzi and reporters were shocked to find out that Yuuhi was going to be the lead actress of Pinau's movie. The whole entertainment world already knew that Pinau was going to be one of the directors for the movie festival. Therefore, celebrity shows and news programs began making guesses on who his lead actress was going to be. Most of them thought that it was going to be Fubuki, who was the recent top idol of their country. Some thought it was going to be Akane Minami, Higashiyama Entertainment Company's best idol since Fubuki transferred to MEC. Even the polls they posted on their online websites showed Fubuki and Akane as their top contenders for Pinau's leading actress, but Yuuhi wasn't even included as one of the choices. It wasn't that they thought Yuuhi had no acting abilities, but most of the people thought that it would be hard for her to be an actress, especially with her 'fallen angel' persona.

"Last but not least, playing the role of Ayuna Nishizaki's fling, Makoto Hibi, let's all give a big round of applause for Higashiyama Entertainment Company's Cloudy," Pinau revealed.

After many years, Hiroto was shocked, his eyes wide and his jaw hanging, to see the man walking out from behind the white curtain. He had the same body structure as Hiroto, both of them tall and toned. His hair was a shade of violet blue, and his eyes were teal blue.

Cloudy walked to his seat beside Yuuhi, who stood up to greet her new partner. Out of nowhere, the two hugged with smiles on their faces after greeting each other, shocking the paparazzi and of course, Hiroto. The audience clapped to see the two's getting along while the photographers took pictures of Yuuhi and Cloudy.

Hiroto felt infuriated to see Yuuhi and Cloudy getting too close to each other, that without his knowing, he was slowly walking towards the platform in anger.

"Get away," Hiroto thought as he took a step on the small series of stairs to the platform.

"Get away from—"

"Stop," Chairman Muranishi quietly said to Hiroto as he grabbed Hiroto's furious clenched fist.

The Chairman looked directly into Hiroto's eyes, waking him up from his dozing off. Hiroto didn't realize that he was getting ready to walk up the platform to unleash his wrath after seeing Yuuhi and Cloudy. Fortunately, Chairman Muranishi was there to stop him with the words Hiroto needed to hear.

"She's not Kirari-chan."

Author's note:

To those who don't know, Cloudy is not my character. I didn't make him up because he's an original character from the Kirarin Revolution manga. He was also in the anime, but he didn't appear until the later seasons. If you want to see how he looks like, go ahead and search. (: If you remember who he was, you're AMAZING! :D Well, who thinks it's going to get more interesting with him in the story? Let's all see how it's going to go. Keep supporting and tune in for the next chapter! (: Don't forget to review. -Mayumi Selnia :3