Chapter One

The Ice Queen Caught a Cold

It was Friday afternoon, and school had just been let out for the day. This was often the time that students tended to get together to chat, but on this particular day, they appeared to be more excitable than usual.

The subjects of their conversations were nothing out of the ordinary—they chatted idly about how tedious cramming for tests had been, upcoming plans they had for the weekend, and so on. Others, however, were more fixated on a certain girl who had left school early because of a fever. Asahi was one such student.

After passing the time conversing with some friends of his, he decided to go home early. He took the direct train home. As the ride normally took around 20 minutes, he contemplated what he would be having for that night’s dinner. When the train arrived at his station, he made a brief detour at the nearby supermarket before heading for his apartment complex.

Upon opening the door to his complex, he was accompanied by a strong gust of wind. A solitary figure in the long hallway leading to the apartment caught his eye—a figure that, judging by the uniform she was donning, attended the same school he did. Asahi wasn’t acquainted with her by any means, but he was well aware of who she was. She was Fuyuka Himuro—also known as “The Ice Queen”—and the focal point of several rumors at school.

She, along with her family, happened to move into this apartment complex when Asahi had just become a freshman in high school. Although they were next-door neighbors, and had several chance encounters before, they had never so much as spoken to each other.

Asahi had been planning to pass by her and enter his room without exchanging a single word, as was par for the course, but...

“You okay?” he found himself asking her. Asahi didn’t expect an answer, but he’d blurted it out nevertheless. As soon as he did, he was reminded of their first meeting after she had just moved in.

He’d pushed the button on the intercom, hoping she would open the door so he could greet her. Instead, he was met with a cold, monotonous voice from the other side of the door.

“Please go away. I’d prefer to avoid any interaction with my neighbors. Thank you for understanding.”

Ever since then, Asahi knew that she wouldn’t be the easiest person to interact with. He smiled unconsciously and thought to himself, Someone’s a little distant, huh?

Once he’d caught wind of the rumors circulating at school, he quickly understood that he hadn’t done anything wrong—she treated everyone like this. Apparently, she consistently kept everyone at arm’s length and had no friends to speak of. When he’d finally understood how she acted toward everyone in general, he’d made up his mind that it would be best to leave her be.

Even though they were neighbors, they’d never gotten the chance to talk to each other or form any sort of relationship. They were essentially strangers.

That day, however, the situation was quite different than usual. Her skin, which was usually a dainty snow-white, was flushed red. Her breathing was ragged, and her gait was uneven. Something wasn’t right, and it was clear as day that she wasn’t feeling her best.

He was aware he was sticking his nose where it didn’t belong, but something had compelled him to ask. Even after she’d ignored his first question, he decided to double down and speak up again.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“I am. Don’t mind me,” she answered with her usual tandem of terseness and trademark ice-cold expression. Her stare—or glare, really—pierced him like icicles against bare skin. It was not the friendliest of looks.

Jeez. No wonder everyone calls her “The Ice Queen,” he thought to himself. He had to remind himself that this was just how she was. Attempting to close the distance with her would only make her push him away harder. She’d created a barrier between herself and the rest of the world.

Asahi supposed that there must be a specific reason Fuyuka Himuro acted this way. Something must’ve happened in her past that caused her to grow as frigid as she was now.

On the other hand, he acknowledged that he was selfishly butting in without her approval, so he decided the best course of action would be to listen to her request. She was obviously under the weather, but if she didn’t want any help, there was no need for him to push the matter.

Actually, she left school early today because of a fever, didn’t she? he thought to himself as he headed toward his apartment.

She was heading out in her uniform as he’d crossed paths with her. Perhaps she was on the way to pick up some medicine? Regardless, he thought it a bit weird for her to go out with those clothes on. Maybe she hadn’t had the will or the strength to change into a different outfit. It would probably be for the best if she’d stayed at home, but what could he do about it?

As his thoughts darted between concern for her well-being and anticipation for his dinner, Asahi opened the door to his apartment. When he went to close the door behind him, though, he saw Fuyuka leaning against the wall, evidently on the brink of collapsing.

“Hey! Are you okay?! Keep it together!” he shouted as he rushed over to help.

She didn’t respond. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to receive the silent treatment from her, but this wasn’t exactly an ordinary situation. Perhaps she wasn’t able to respond as a result of her ailment. Even standing seemed to be a struggle for her. Her eyes were shut tight, and she was radiating enough heat off her body that he could feel it just by being in her vicinity.

As Asahi extended his hand to try and support her weak frame, the words she’d said on her first day in class reverberated in his mind once more:

“Stay away from me, if you don’t mind.”

It was as if she had cloistered herself from the rest of the world. She hid within the depths of an impenetrable blizzard, casting aside any and all human interaction.

“Can you hear me? Answer me if you can!”

“I can hear you. Too loudly, in fact,” she replied to Asahi’s shouting. She was still conscious, but it was clear she was having difficulty breathing. Her brief reply alone seemed like a gargantuan task for her in Asahi’s eyes. Despite her illness, she wasn’t showing any signs of vulnerability, nor did she allow him to come any closer.

“I’ll be fine on my own...” she continued. This time, her voice had regained some composure, and her brusque dismissal was a clear hint that she didn’t wish to continue talking to him.

She waved his hand away, refusing his help, and managed to stand up on her own after some unsteadiness. Her gaze was now vacant, and Asahi saw how she was stumbling, barely able to walk on her own.

I get it, she doesn’t want to have anything to do with anyone. Message received, loud and clear. But does she really need to take it this far? Asahi pondered to himself.

He wasn’t alone with his thoughts for long, though, before Himuro collapsed for the second time. Right as she was about to hit the floor, he managed to swoop in and catch her.

Okay. Maybe I’m going against her wishes, and maybe she sees me as a nuisance right now, but I can’t possibly leave her alone like this, he determined.

“Look at you. Nothing about you is ‘fine,’” he chided. He could tell that all her strength had been sapped, and she was at her limit. Fuyuka opened her eyes and looked off in the distance with an empty stare. After a few seconds, she closed her eyes once again. She offered up no resistance this time.

“Himuro...? Wait a second, did she fall asleep?” he asked no one in particular. His only reply was her ragged breathing—she was so exhausted that she’d collapsed right on the spot. The girl in front of him was no longer “The Ice Queen,” but a frail girl who’d been bested by her fever.

Her parents must still be out, he concluded. He gently laid her body down on the floor, using his backpack as a makeshift pillow. There was no chance her parents—or, hell, even her grandparents—would’ve allowed her to go out alone like that. Asahi tried ringing the doorbell to her residence a few times, but didn’t receive an answer.

What should he do in this situation? There were no adults around to help him. Maybe he could wake her up and bring her to his apartment to get some rest? No, that wouldn’t be a wise idea—rousing her from her sleep in itself would be bad news, but she’d most likely refuse his proposition on the spot. What if he searched for her key and took her back to her place? No, that wasn’t any better. The very thought of rummaging through her belongings to try and find her house key was already off-putting enough. Accompanied by the fact that, despite the weight of the situation, barging into another person’s house without their permission was off-limits, the idea was a bust. Those were two plans that were immediately scrapped.

“Guess there’s no other choice,” he muttered in a reluctant tone. He grabbed his key, unlocked the door to his place, and propped it open.

“Please don’t think I’m a creep because of this,” he said as he lifted her up. Of course, he wasn’t expecting a response, but he wanted to say it just in case.

Being in such close proximity to her caused him to notice the soft, warm sensation of her body for the first time. This was paired with a sweet waft of perfume. But this wasn’t the time for that—she was ill and in desperate need of help. He awkwardly hoisted her up in a clumsy attempt at the bridal carry he’d seen in movies and entered his apartment.

*

Asahi headed to the nearest convenience store, where he purchased a couple of cooling packs and a sports drink to tend to his new, bedridden guest. When he returned to his place, he was treated to a rare sight he’d never witnessed before.

“I can’t eat... but... snore...”

Himuro was out like a light. Her normally-graceful features were somewhat marred by a line of drool flowing from her lips. It perfectly encapsulated how drained she was, though—she was completely unguarded in her sleeping state.

What kind of dream is she having that’s making her sleep talk like that? Asaki wondered. He stared at her slumbering figure and continued, Damn. I gotta say, though, she really is beautiful.

Her black, silky hair made for a stark contrast to her porcelain skin. She had long, delicate eyelashes, a dainty nose, and cherry-pink lips. She possessed all the features to easily land her in the modeling industry, if she so desired.

She might be known as “The Ice Queen” at school, but I do kinda get why she’s so popular. I can’t imagine her as the type of girl that normal people would consider “girlfriend material,” though. Then again, the fact that she’s so distant is part of her charm... in some weird way.

Regardless of his thoughts, the fact of the matter was that she was sleeping like a baby. And, judging by the joyous look on her face, she wasn’t going to be waking up any time soon.

“Hrm... I always have room for dessert... Snore...”

It was a pretty ludicrous scenario—here was the fabled Ice Queen, happily dreaming away about eating sweets. Asahi could barely believe it. Even though she barely uttered a word to anybody at school, she was mumbling, unguarded, in her sleep. He would’ve never believed it if he hadn’t seen it for himself.

Her perfume wafted around the room, and eventually, it became permeated with its sweet scent, distracting him from his musings.

“So this is ‘The Ice Queen,’ huh?” he whispered. A previous conversation suddenly crossed his mind—his friend Chiaki had once told him, “If only she wasn’t a literal icicle, man. Every guy in the school would be head over heels for her.”

At the time, Asahi hadn’t really understood what he’d meant by that. But now that he’d been able to get a closer look at her, he now saw what his friend had been trying to convey. Her features were mature and almost regal, in a sense. She was so gorgeous that even her sleeping, drooling face made Asahi’s heart skip a beat. Indeed, if she were to take Chiaki’s suggestion to heart, she would most certainly amass a large group of fans.

“Anyway, I should get to making dinner.”

He was glad to have seen this side of her, but he knew he shouldn’t spend too much time gawking. That would be discourteous of him, after all. It was best to leave her to get some shut-eye and start preparing dinner.

As he left the room, the girl softly whispered, “Mommy...” However, it did not reach Asahi’s ears.

*

Three hours had passed since Asahi had brought Fuyuka to his house. He was studying for the upcoming tests in his room when he suddenly heard noises coming from the neighboring room. He decided to head over there to check it out. Based on the noises he was hearing, he assumed she had woken up.

“May I come in?” he asked while knocking on the door.

He was met with no response. The noises continued, so he interpreted that as a “yes” and opened the door. Fuyuka was sitting on the side of the bed and was glaring at him with intense hostility. Asahi had expected as much—she’d just woken up in an unfamiliar location, and the first thing she saw was a guy she didn’t care for. It went without saying that she wouldn’t be in the best of moods. She seemed to be calmer than Asahi had expected, though. Although she normally repelled people with her indifferent attitude, she wasn’t giving off the same unapproachable aura now.

“Didn’t I tell you that I’d be fine on my own?” she muttered with her typical coldness. There was a slight change in the tone of her voice, though—she wasn’t trying to push him away as she had been before. Although she knew the answer to her question, she’d opted to ask it anyway. Asahi understood her intentions and decided to give her a piece of his mind.

“Would it have been better if I left you, passed out, in the middle of the hallway? Would you have preferred that?”

She didn’t reply to his quip. Asahi realized that she likely understood the situation she was in, hence why she hadn’t freaked out when she’d woken up earlier. Maybe the cooling pack on her forehead was helping her remain calm, as well; she likely had a dreadful fever.

After a brief moment of silence, she decided to say something in return.

“Well, you helped me out. I should thank you for that.”

Asahi’s eyes widened. He definitely hadn’t foreseen her to show even the slightest sliver of gratitude, much less in such a direct way.

“Um... You’re welcome,” he answered awkwardly a few seconds later. His mind was still hazy from the weird state of affairs he’d found himself in. It was unusual to see her being so “nice,” considering the only thing he knew about her was her reputation as one of the least friendly girls in the entire school.

Fuyuka stopped staring daggers at Asahi and turned her attention to the room instead. She was most likely too tired to maintain such a high level of wariness. Seeing her acting so out of character was certainly disconcerting.

“Just stay in bed a little longer. I’ll bring you something to eat,” Asahi said. With that, he made a quick getaway to the kitchen, not even sticking around for a response.

He opened the fridge and retrieved the sports drink and jelly he’d bought earlier that day. The door behind him creaked open, and he spotted Fuyuka attempting to leave the room. She was still staggering and looked as though she was about to pass out at any moment.

“When will you realize you’re still not well enough to be walking? Can’t you do what I asked?”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You’re walking like you’ve got both shoes on the wrong feet. Just go lie down.”

“I can’t accept any more of your hospitality. If you’ll excuse m—Eek!”

A short cry rang out, followed by a muffled sound, and then silence. She had fallen against him. The sensation of her warm, soft skin against his made his heart race. He also noticed, now that she was closer, the reason behind her fever.

“Wait, you’re injured,” he observed. He tried to remain as composed as possible, but he couldn’t prevent his heart from attempting to burst out of his chest.

He stopped to consider what he’d just done—as she was about to collapse to the floor, he instinctively dropped what he was holding to quickly grab her. Now they were essentially hugging, and she was so close that he was having trouble keeping his cool. He’d held her a few hours ago when he’d carried her into his apartment, but this was a completely different sensation. She was conscious now and was reacting against him.

“Please get away from me.”

“Oh, er, sorry about that.”

He wouldn’t have minded if the moment had lasted a little bit longer, but he quickly apologized and backed away. Her complexion was now a bright red, and her body was trembling slightly.

Never would’ve imagined she could be like this too, he thought to himself.

He couldn’t take his eyes off of her—she always seemed so serious at school. The contrast between her stoic side and her flustered one was a unique experience that he got great enjoyment from seeing.

The silence was broken not by Fuyuka speaking up, but rather by a very specific sound she made.

Rumble...

“So... I’m going to guess you’re hungry?”

It hadn’t been Asahi’s intention to hurt Fuyuka’s feelings, but he most certainly had. Her face deepened in color, tears welled up in her eyes, and she stared directly at him. In that moment, she was no longer The Ice Queen—she was simply a cute, normal girl.

*

Fuyuka tried to forcibly leave Asahi’s house, but after another close brush with the floor, combined with the protests of her stomach, she ended up returning to the room as she’d been told earlier. Asahi assumed that she had finally realized her limits by herself; it was certainly not because she made the choice to finally listen to him.

It was pretty obvious that she was not feeling well, so it was shocking to see her try to move in the first place.

“Can I turn around now?”

“Yes, you may.”

He turned around after he heard both her confirmation and the beeping of the electronic thermometer that he’d handed to her. It read 38 degrees—not serious enough to rush her to the hospital, but bad enough to be considered a fever. She’d need more than just willpower alone if she wanted to move on her own as long as this lasted.

“It says 38 degrees right here, and you say you’re fine? As if.”

She looked away, unable to retort. She was quite frail, and it showed.

He sighed and, to break the awkward silence, said, “Well, you’re hungry, aren’t you? I can whip up some gruel in 10 minutes if you want.”

“You are going to cook it?” she asked, eyes wide in astonishment.

“You see anyone else here? What, you don’t trust my cooking skills just ‘cus I’m a guy or something?”

“That’s not what I was implying at all, but...”

She definitely wanted to say something, but the fact of the matter was that she was hungry. Asahi decided to cut her off before she could add anything to her awkward trail-off.

“Then just stay there and relax. I’ll make some for you.”

Maybe not the best way to say it, but I’ve always been blunt with everyone, he thought to himself.

Fuyuka seemed to be pretty blunt herself, regardless. It was a good thing, in his opinion—she wouldn’t misinterpret him this way. Understanding each other without wasting time skirting around hollow exchanges was something they could both appreciate, and that was all he needed to know. She needed his help, and he wanted to provide it. That’s all there was to it.

Maybe other people would view them as incompatible because of that similarity. Contrary to expectations, however, that wasn’t the case at all.

“I’ll leave it to you, then,” she mumbled as Asahi was exiting the room.

He headed toward the kitchen without another word.

*

“Hey, I’m coming in.”

After knocking to announce his arrival, Asahi opened the door. Fuyuka was still in bed, but now was sitting upright. Still, it seemed as if even that was an endeavor for her—her cheeks and forehead were reddened by the fever.

Good thing I called out to her before she went out. Otherwise, she would’ve been in way worse shape compared to now, he mused.

“Here’s the gruel I promised. I don’t know if you have any allergies, or if you like it made a specific way, so...” Asahi trailed off. He’d mainly used eggs, rice, and not much else. It wasn’t very complex purposefully to avoid triggering any sort of allergies she might’ve had. She didn’t respond.

She looked skeptically at the food for a moment. After she ascertained what it was, she nodded and extended her hands in a motion to accept it.

“It’s pretty hot, so be careful.”

He’d made sure to cool the food somewhat after he’d cooked it, but the white and yellow bowl containing the food still had steam rising from it, so he decided to warn her before any accidents could arise. He handed her a spoon, and once she took it, she surveyed the food with more detail.

“What’s wrong? There’s nothing weird in it, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I know that much.”

“Then eat. It’ll be good for you. Focus on getting better,” he admonished, trying to imitate what his grandfather would tell him long ago whenever he fell ill.

She took a few seconds to process what he’d said. After a moment of hesitation, she finally clasped her hands together, ready to eat.

“Thank you for the food,” she said, then spooned some gruel up to her mouth.

Asahi watched her as she ate. He didn’t think that he screwed the dish up—the process was fairly easy, and he had faith in his cooking skills thanks to his parents being chefs. His friends had liked the things he’d cooked in the past. But that didn’t prevent the anxiety creeping up on him—it was her first time trying his food, so he was antsy to hear what she thought of it.

“How is it?” he asked while she was in the middle of eating. He had tried to stay calm, but his nerves ended up getting the better of him. He really felt like he needed to hear her opinion on the matter.

There were only two answers she could give: good or bad. He’d be happy with the former, and dumbfounded with the latter. He waited with bated breath at her response.

“Huh? Why does this...?”

It was an answer he hadn’t expected. Fuyuka was speechless, and tears started to well up in her eyes, then subsequently trickled down her face. She tried fruitlessly to wipe them away with the back of her hands, but she couldn’t stop herself from weeping.

“Is it that bad?”

She shook her head and sniffled, “No, that’s not it.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“It’s just...”

He could barely hear her, but Asahi was able to make out the faint whisper that followed.

“This dish brings back memories.”

He didn’t know what she’d meant by that, but he didn’t think prying any further would be wise. As she continued to wipe her tears, Asahi concluded that the best course of action would be to leave her alone.

---

---

Her crying wasn't an act—her feelings were genuine.

*

10 minutes had elapsed. Asahi figured it was okay to finally enter the room again. Fuyuka’s eyes were still puffy and red from her crying spell, but she was calmer than before.

“That was quite unsightly of me, crying in front of you.”

“I didn’t see anything, so don’t worry about it.”

“I would appreciate it if that were the case,” she answered.

He looked away and focused his attention on the bowl she had returned, which had been vacated of its contents. She’d polished it off while he was gone.

“It was delicious. Thank you,” she informed him in a cold, calm tone. Her usual demeanor had returned, it seemed.

It was nice to hear that she enjoyed it, at least, and Asahi let out a sigh of relief.

“When are your parents coming back, by the way?”

He was aware he was only taking care of her temporarily. Her parents would have to take over sooner or later. Any way he looked at it, the best option would be to have her parents look after her. That’s how it was for normal families, at least in Asahi’s eyes.

However, he soon realized that his question was a mistake.

“They won’t be returning.”

“So you live alone?”

“That is indeed the case.”

In a way, it made sense in a way to him—of course someone named “The Ice Queen” lived by her lonesome in an expensive apartment. It suited her to a tee.

“Just like me, then.”

“What do you mean?”

“I live alone too.”

He wasn’t a rich kid or anything like that, but it was true that he lived alone, as well.

“You live by yourself in such a large apartment?” she asked dubiously.

“You literally live in the same kind of apartment.”

“Well... Let’s just say I have circumstances.”

“I do too, you know? You could say I’m special.”

Asahi proceeded to explain his reason for living alone.

When he and his parents had moved here, his parents’ restaurant happened to be thriving. After some consideration, both of them had decided it would be better to stay at their old house which was closer to the restaurant. That left Asahi in their new place by himself.

“... Basically, until things calm down over there, I’m in charge of holding the fort down here. I barely use any of the space besides this room, the kitchen, and the bathroom, though.”

Fuyuka silently listened to the whole story. It was only after he’d finished that she chose to speak up.

“It looks as though your parents hold a great deal of trust in you.”

“I guess so.”

Being left alone was actually quite a struggle, considering that he needed to balance his studies, his obligations at school, and maintain the house. He was more or less used to fending for himself even prior to the move, but he still had some trouble with said balance. If he’d ever end up in the same situation as Fuyuka, he’d probably push himself to keep up with his tasks, regardless of whether or not it was painful for him.

When he realized she was in the same boat, it grabbed his attention. He knew how difficult it was to live alone. What sort of special circumstances did she have?

Her mood had visibly worsened when the topic was brought up, so Asahi thought it unwise to delve deeper. It was a personal matter, after all, and she’d likely shy away from him. After he’d said his piece, he left the room once again.