Broken Fragments

Chapter 33: Happy Birthday to You

When Yuuhi and Cloudy arrived at the Grandiose Auditorium, they were immediately surrounded by the paparazzi to shower them with questions and camera flashes. Of course, since it was an important day in the celebrity world, Yuuhi and Cloudy posed for pictures on the red carpet of the auditorium's entrance. The two looked charming and romantic while they held hands with smiles on their faces. However, no one noticed that Yuuhi was wearing a fake smile. It didn't make a difference or bothered Yuuhi if the media didn't notice the mask she was wearing. After all, she had been keeping that same, bogus smile on her face since forever.

After Yuuhi and Cloudy entered the hall, they were escorted by a staff of the festival production to their designated seat. Since they were a little late, the show was actually already getting ready to begin. A couple of minutes had passed and it was 5 o'clock, the selected time for the show to start. The hall was quiet as they dimmed the lights to a faint a glow and the host walked out from backstage. The spotlight turned on and it shone on the host of the movie festival. The cameras started rolling and the host, with a smile on her face, started the show.

"Welcome to 'Japan's 23rd Annual Movie Festival!'"

"Damn it!" Hiroto punched the handle of his steering wheel, frustrated at the traffic.

Tanabata had always been a busy day in Japan. Many festivals occur during that day, may they be shrine festivals, firework festivals, or a simple festival in honor of Tanabata. The streets, too, were packed as ever as people made their way back home to celebrate it with their families. Hiroto would go home, but he had something more important to do. His family was aware of that and they didn't mind.

Hiroto knew that going back to find another way to the memorial park would be useless since all the roads were jammed. Even if he tried to look for an alley he could just pass to, people would still be there. Hiroto, though he had all the time in the world to get to the memorial park, was in a rush to get there, especially when he started thinking about Yuuhi's expression earlier.

"I don't think I'm going…to the movie festival," Hiroto said, stopping Yuuhi just before she could walk out to the parking lot under the summer heat.

Silence lingered around and Hiroto could feel the tension between them. His heart pumped fast in fear and worry that he had hurt Yuuhi once again. Not wanting to keep the awkward silence, Hiroto decided to explain to the auburn-haired idol why he couldn't go.

"I—"

"It's fine."

Yuuhi clenched her clasp purse in front of her waist. Since Hiroto couldn't see it, he didn't know how she felt or how she looked when she answered him with the two words she let go. Because of the atmosphere around them, Hiroto didn't even notice that a white sports car had pulled up in front of the apartment. Without saying anymore, Yuuhi walked towards the sports car that pulled over.

"Wait—"

"It's fine. Just…go," Yuuhi interrupted once again.

"Did you really want me to go?" Hiroto thought, dazing in the midst of the traffic jam.

"Yuuhi."

People outside the auditorium rejoiced while the celebrities inside the auditorium gracefully applauded the main cast and crew of 'Blue Moon' when they stood on the stage to receive the 'Best Movie of the Festival' award.

The 'Best Production' award didn't go to Takada Pinau's movie, but they did win the 'Best Storyline' award. 'Blue Moon' also received the 'Favorite Movie' award and 'Best Music Scoring' award. Since they won three out of the six movie awards being handed out, 'Blue Moon' having the most out of the four movies that entered, they also automatically won the 'Best Movie of the Festival' award.

The film crew that worked on 'Blue Moon' also won more awards than the other film crews, expected from the staff that worked on the best movie of the festival. Takada Pinau also won 'Best Film Director' for the 12th time, being one of the only three directors, who had won more than 10 of the award Pinau just received. After the crew's category finished, the host advanced immediately to the performance category.

"For the next award given tonight…the 'Best Dramatic Scene' award goes to," the host announced, the hall silent as they all awaited for the results.

After more than four hours of watching the movies that were entered by four of the greatest directors in Japan, the host of the movie festival gave thanks to the people who participated, sponsored, and helped make the movie festival a success. The host also explained that while the movies were being broadcasted to the whole country, including in the Grandiose Auditorium, the audiences were given the opportunity to vote online for the movie that they think deserved the award for each category. There were four main division for the awards begin given, which were the awards for the movie, the crew, including the director and producer, performance, and individual awards.

"Blue Moon's Final Scene of Ayuna Nishizaki and Makoto Hibi!" the host finally announced after a few seconds of silence.

Yuuhi and Cloudy both stood up to receive their award, also obtaining applause and cheers from fellow idols, actors, and film staffs. On their way up the stage, the final scene of 'Blue Moon' showed again on the screen. Yuuhi's graceful playing on the piano was the reason why their movie won the award, according to the comments posted on the website where the voting was calculated.

"Thank you so much for this award. We couldn't have done it without our fans, Takada Pinau-san, our fellow actors, and of course, my partner," Cloudy smiled, looking at Yuuhi right away.

More people cheered after they lovingly gazed into each other's eyes, hugging right after. As soon as they took a short bow, they made their way back down to their seats with their trophies. The trophy that Yuuhi and Cloudy each received was gold with the well-known, sad and happy, drama masks. After they took a seat, the host began to give out the awards once again.

That wasn't the last time Yuuhi and Cloudy both had to go back to the stage to take their awards. The two of them also won 'Most Romantic Kiss' award and 'Best Performance' award. The couple were now harboring three trophies with them on their seats, which wasn't a surprise, since they were in the best movie.

For the individual awards, Yuuhi won 'Best Breakthrough Performance' award since it was her first time playing in a movie. Even the 'Best Villain' award went to Yuuhi. The final individual award for the females, 'Best Actress,' was also given to Yuuhi, as expected from the girl who played the main character in the best movie of the festival. Though she was the main actress in 'Blue Moon,' her breaking Cloudy's heart in the movie made her an antagonist. After receiving the award, Yuuhi gave a quick appreciation to her fans and supporters before she was asked a question by the host.

"Takada Pinau-san informed us that the title of the movie, 'Blue Moon,' came from the song you played on the last scene. Tell us about this song?" the host inquired.

"There's nothing much to say about the song, really. I wrote it myself, like the other songs I've done. I wrote 'Blue Moon' a long time ago, before I even became an idol. It was only supposed to be an instrumental for the scene, but I thought the lyrics fitted perfectly well with the movie's plot, so I decided to sing, too. I thought I was going to get yelled at for doing something unexpected as to sing, but I'm thankful that Pinau-san let me convey the song's message," Yuuhi charmingly smiled, capturing everyone's hearts and attentions with her phony smile.

"Wow. That's amazing. Is this going to be sold in an album?" the host asked the final question.

"We are still negotiating on whether I should release it. If I do, I'll make sure everyone will love it."

The audience clapped for Yuuhi, some of them standing up to praise her. Yuuhi, though new to the show business world and the world of acting, managed to surprise everyone with her song, acting talent, and of course, her smile. It was a shock to most of the people that she won so many awards that night, but they agreed with the decision given.

The night continued and Cloudy also won the same awards as Yuuhi, but the 'Best Breakthrough Performance,' since this wasn't his first movie. After the festival was done, the couple gave the paparazzi and journalists some time to take their pictures. Yuuhi and Cloudy were surrounded by many, making them the brightest stars.

"Now, where the hell am I?" Hiroto angrily thought, looking around while he drove.

After being stuck in traffic for almost four hours, Hiroto found himself lost after taking many detours to look for a faster way and getting more gas for his car. Hiroto had been looking for the memorial park for almost two hours, but he couldn't seem to find it. The place had changed so much from the last time he visited Kirari, making it harder for him. As much as he wants to ask directions to the memorial park, there was nobody around. His phone, too, was out of battery from getting many calls from Fubuki, and he also had just uninstalled his GPS.

"The festival's probably over now," Hiroto mumbled when he saw that the time on his car's digital clock was 10:23 pm while slowing down.

Even though he was tired of driving around, Hiroto didn't want to give up on looking for the memorial park. After all, everything he was doing was for Kirari. Luckily out of nowhere, the memorial park's gate finally showed up in front of Hiroto's headlights. He jumped in joy and surprise with a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"I finally found you, Kirari," he said, entering the park.

Even though it was already dark, the light posts brightened up the place, which made it look less scary. Hiroto's imaginations used to run wild and scare him when he was near a graveyard when he was little, but he had grown up with the thought that he should only be scared of humans that are alive. He always told himself that the dead couldn't hurt you, but live humans can. Live humans can not only hurt physically, but they can also hurt the heart…badly.

After Hiroto parked his car nearby, he took the flowers, incense, and necklace he bought for Kirari from the passenger's seat. He shut his door and immediately made his way to where Kirari was. On his way there, it felt as if he was being enlightened. He felt as if he could forget all of his problems while the light posts, which seemed to make way for him and make the surroundings around him turn white, guided him to Kirari.

When he made it there, Hiroto knew that Seiji and everyone else already left because of some of the trash they accidentally left. Kicking some of the garbage away, Hiroto squatted down and placed the incense sticks he bought on both sides of the flowers he placed in the center of Kirari's headstone. Before he started praying, Hiroto read the beautiful, yet saddening engravings on the headstone.

"Kirari Tsukishima. July 7, 1989 to August 15, 2009. 'Her heart was made of gold and her smile shone kindly to the world.' The best daughter, sister, and friend," Hiroto read in his head.

Closing his eyes and pressing his hands together, Hiroto left reality to pray to Kirari and meet her in his mind. The incense stick's scent was relaxing, especially with the flowers he bought. The faint light from the light post also helped him concentrate. Before he even knew it, Hiroto's mind was in a white, blinding place to meet Kirari.

"Hiroto-kun," Kirari called out to him from behind.

Hiroto quickly turned around and found the girl in his dreams standing in front of him. Kirari wore the same white sundress she wore that day she said her goodbye through a letter in their visit to the beach. Although the wind wasn't blowing, Kirari's brown tresses flowed gorgeously to match her angelic glow.

"Kirari!"

Hiroto ran to her as fast as he could and hugged her as tight as he could. He didn't want to let go of her and neither did she. Even though it was just all in Hiroto's head, the warmth of Kirari's embrace felt real to him.

For the rest of the time, they hugged each other while Hiroto continued conversing with Kirari in his head. He talked about how much he missed and longed for her, and how he hasn't gotten over his feelings for her. He reminisced the times he had with her, may they be painful or blissful. Every memory he had with Kirari, word he told her, hugs and kisses he gave her, Hiroto treasured all of them.

Time felt slow in Hiroto's thoughts, but was quick in reality. Before he even knew it, an hour had already passed. Not wanting to say goodbye, Hiroto let go of the Kirari he imagined in his head and kissed her passionately in the lips. Both of them had tears flowing from their eyes as she slowly turned to golden dust and disappeared.

"Thank you for the time you spent with me tonight, Kirari. Even though it was short, I hope you still enjoyed it, and I'm truly sorry I was late. Here," Hiroto softly said, placing the box that contained the necklace he bought for Kirari by the flowers.

"This is for you. I hope you like it," he gently, yet achingly smiled.

"Until later, Kirari. I love and miss you so much more than you'd ever know."

Wiping the tears that ran down his cheeks and stroking Kirari's name's engraving on her tombstone, Hiroto said his goodbye and returned back to his car. Satisfied with the time he spent with Kirari, though short, he drove away with no regrets on the choice he made.

"I love you, Kirari."

Right after the movie festival, Cloudy and Yuuhi went out to have a small celebration. They ordered a glass of wine with a shot of vodka from the four-star bar they went to, near the Grandiose Auditorium.

"Cheers to us," Yuuhi and Cloudy clinked the rim of their wine glasses before they drank the glass.

The two of them started out chatting casually, deciding only to drink a glass. However, Yuuhi got carried away and ordered two more glasses of wine, but without the shots of vodka. Cloudy, too, ordered another glass and tried not to drink anymore because he was the one driving them. In only half an hour, Yuuhi was already drunk, but Cloudy was still good even though his cheeks were a little red.

"Cloudy…did…did…I…wait—I want…I want," Yuuhi kept talking though she was already drunk, asking for more alcohol.

"I think we should go, Yuuhi. You're already at your limit," Cloudy caringly said as he took the glass away from Yuuhi and signaled the valet to get his car.

Picking her up like a bride with his strong arms, Cloudy went out after leaving the payment on their table. The valet had arrived quickly and helped Cloudy carefully place Yuuhi on the passenger's seat. While Cloudy drove down the road, Yuuhi was half-asleep beside him. Everything was going smoothly until he reached the road that led to Yuuhi's apartment. In the corner, a police car was parked with two cops standing by.

"Tch," Cloudy sounded, irritated.

Cloudy could still see very well since his alcohol tolerance was high, which made the two glasses of wine and a shot of vodka almost nothing to him. After successfully passing the cops without getting pulled over, Cloudy parked his car in Yuuhi's apartment's parking lot and took her his arms to head into her home. He was able to find the key in Yuuhi's clasp purse, since there weren't many things inside. After kindly placing Yuuhi on her bed, Cloudy took off his blazer and tie.

"Clou…dy," Yuuhi seductively called out his name just as he was unbuttoning his shirt.

Coming to her call, Cloudy stroked Yuuhi's face to see if she was alright. Her skin was smooth and soft, and her auburn hair, though short, was voluminous and shiny. Her lips were peach-colored lips kept calling Cloudy's name with a tempting tone hinted.

Cloudy gave in and kissed Yuuhi on the lips. He knew that it was wrong to take advantage of her, but he had the right to show his love for her since they were lovers. Their tongues danced around with each other and before he was aware of it, Cloudy had been engulfed and taken over by the desires he had always saved and kept away.

Cloudy began to kiss Yuuhi's neck, to her still permissible. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he kept showering her neck with his kisses. Yuuhi, still not knowing what was going on, kept the cold smile on her face with her eyes closed in joy.

"Hiroto," she muttered out of nowhere, making Cloudy stop.

Yuuhi's boyfriend was enraged to hear another man's name come out of her mouth. Cloudy's eyes were widened in anger and his eyebrows were arching inwards in madness. Clenching his fist, the normal Cloudy disappeared, and the alcohol and his anger helped with his desires' taking over his control. Deeply angered by Yuuhi, Cloudy roughly unzipped her dress from the side while aggressively kissing her lips.

"S-stop it," Yuuhi begged, feeling the change in Cloudy.

Cloudy kept violently kissing Yuuhi's lips while he took his shirt off. He threw it off the bed and proceeded to pry Yuuhi's clothes off.

"Stop it!" Yuuhi loudly begged when he felt Cloudy's cold hands on her skin.

He returned to kissing Yuuhi's neck, but this time, more wildly. Cloudy's mind was blank, thanks to the alcohol, but Hiroto's name coming out of Yuuhi's lips were stuck in his head.

"Stop it, Cloudy! Stop!"

Yuuhi was now aware of Cloudy's anger and aggression. He continued to try and take her clothes off, but Yuuhi kept pushing him away. The thought of 'rape' suddenly rushing into Yuuhi's head as soon as Cloudy successfully took her dress off, revealing her bra and chest. Scared of what was going to happen next, Yuuhi slapped Cloudy in the face.

"Oh, so you're going to do this to me?" Cloudy asked, his hair hiding his furious eyes while he looked down, still on top of Yuuhi.

"Not only do you look like her," he quietly said after a couple of silence.

"But you act like her, too. Both cunning and smart, playing around with other people's hearts and feelings," looking into Yuuhi's eyes with his furious, teal-blue eyes, Cloudy said.

Yuuhi's eyes grew wide in shock and anger. She felt inferior to him because he was on top of her, his arms both towering by her face. However, Cloudy's position didn't stop Yuuhi from showing her wrath once again.

"Don't compare me to her!"

Raising her hand, Yuuhi attempted to slap Cloudy once more, only to be stopped by his hand. Cloudy tightly grabbed Yuuhi's wrist and pinned it down on the bed.

"You'll never be her," Cloudy coldly uncovered the truth that Yuuhi had been trying to cover.

Overwhelmed by everything, Yuuhi's mind blanked out and Cloudy gently kissed her. She couldn't do anything as Cloudy continued to release his desires on her. Yuuhi's eyes were still cold, but they've also turned lifeless. There were no feelings expressed in her icy and stormy ocean-colored eyes. All she could think of was that what Cloudy said was a lie. Yuuhi didn't want to accept the truth in front of her. Yuuhi was no longer in the real world, where she was being taken advantage of, by her own boyfriend.

Yuuhi lit the small candle that came along with the cupcake she bought from the bakery earlier during the day. She squatted down and cupped her hand by the candle to prevent the wind from blowing the fire out.

It was 11:47 at night and Yuuhi left her apartment after more than half an hour with Cloudy. After he finished with releasing his desires and anger by taking advantage of Yuuhi, Cloudy fell asleep from tiredness aided by the alcohol's effects. Yuuhi took the train by herself, sore and exhausted from taking on Cloudy.

In all honesty, Yuuhi was a mess. She only wore a large hoodie jacket, which had a big enough hood to keep her face from being seen, black tights, and slippers. Her makeup-less face was gloomy, with the dark circles under her eyes from the stress she had to deal with, and the smudged lipstick on her face from the rough kisses she received from Cloudy.

After the wind settled down, Yuuhi took her hand away from the candle and embraced her knees while squatting down. There were light posts outside, but it wasn't very bright, maybe because her lifelessness also affected the mood and atmosphere around her.

"Happy birthday to you," Yuuhi started singing, her eyes still lifeless and her heart still wounded.

She continued singing the song, not saying the name of whose birthday it was on the part where the celebrant's name was supposed to be included. After singing the last 'Happy birthday,' Yuuhi stared at the fire that danced on the candle's fuse. Without saying a wish, she blew it out before the wind came by again.

Continuing to sit and stare at the cupcake she brought under the dark night sky with a blank mind, Yuuhi noticed a box sitting by the flowers behind her cupcake. When she opened it, a necklace peacefully and elegantly shone under the moon's rays. It was a silver necklace with a pendant shaped like a water lily. The petals were made of ruby gems and the center were shards of pearl.

"Wow," Yuuhi emotionlessly said, her eyes staring blankly at the ruby gem.

"It's so pretty," she continued with a voice still dull.

"But it's not for me," she mumbled while returning it in the box the way she found it after staring at the necklace for a longer time.

"It's for her."

Yuuhi stared at the box again after placing it back to where it was originally placed. As another wind blew by, Yuuhi got up and decided to go back to her apartment without even touching the cupcake. However, before she could turn, she felt and knew that someone was behind her.

"Are you a fan of hers?" the unfamiliar voice asked, not knowing who Yuuhi was from how her face was hidden by the hood.

"Oh…uh…yeah," Yuuhi lied.

"I see," the person commented as he got closer to where Yuuhi was standing.

He squatted down while Yuuhi kept standing. Even though he was right next to her, Yuuhi couldn't tell who he was because she was standing next to him, only getting a view of the top of his head.

The unknown person lit up some incenses and pressed his hands together. He bowed his head, closed his eyes, and prayed. Yuuhi didn't want to be rude and leave while he was praying, so she stayed a little longer. When she looked at the time, however, on the clock post, it was already 12:03 midnight.

Turning around to leave, Yuuhi quietly walked away from the unknown person, who just finished praying. He noticed that Yuuhi was leaving, so before he could lose sight of her, he quickly bowed his head to the gravestone he was praying to and ran after Yuuhi.

"Wait," he said, stopping Yuuhi.

He didn't want to walk any further just to follow her because he knew that he'd be an inconvenience, so he stopped and decided to ask her his question from behind, instead.

"Was she happy?" the unknown man asked.

Yuuhi knew that he was talking about the owner of the marble memorial he was praying to. However, with all the truth she had, Yuuhi didn't know how to answer. Therefore, she walked away with eyes still colder and lonelier than the dark side of the moon.

Author's note:

Tanabata- a Japanese star festival, originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively). According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar.