Chapter Four

Breaking the Ice

It was the day after Asahi had run into Fuyuka at the supermarket.

He was on his way home when he noticed her standing outside of that exact same store. Just like yesterday, she seemed to be searching for something. This time, however, her demeanor was more frantic and troubled than when he’d come across her attempting to locate the cooking sake. He knew the source of her erratic behavior, since he’d heard about it from Chiaki and Hinami earlier that day—apparently, she had lost the blue ribbon that she was always wearing.

It had clearly been something she cherished a lot, so everyone in class had been quick to speculate about the reason behind its sudden disappearance. Had she simply forgotten it at home? Or perhaps she’d lost it unknowingly somewhere?

As he watched her frantic figure from afar, Asahi realized that the gossip had been true—he couldn’t see anything resembling her trademark ribbon. It was unusual to spot her without it. He was also aware of how precious it was to her, which made the situation even stranger. He contemplated the idea of aiding in her search, but quickly reconsidered.

She explicitly told me yesterday to stay away from her, so... Asahi thought as he recalled the cold words she had told him the night before.

He decided to go back home and let her be, but Fuyuka noticed his presence as he passed by her.

“Ah!” she softly gasped before quickly averting her gaze. She clearly wanted to tell him something, but she couldn’t quite seem to force the words out.

When she did, Asahi found himself stopping in his tracks and speaking up.

“Want me to help you look for your ribbon? I’m guessing you’ve lost it.”

No answer. She raised her head to look at him, but when their eyes met, she quickly looked down again. Her emotions were in a figurative tug-of-war with each other. On one hand, she wanted to find her prized possession as quickly as possible. But, on the other hand, she was incredibly reluctant to have someone assist her. She remained silent, but unconsciously reached her left hand out and brushed a strand of hair where her ribbon would normally be fixed.

Asahi let out a sigh. He knew that she was reluctant to ask him for help, but he decided to do it regardless. All he needed to do now was to steel himself for the backlash that would inevitably be wrought upon him for offering a hand.

“Just tell me the general area where you think you lost it.”

“What?” Fuyuka blurted out in surprise.

“I’m just asking in case I get lucky and end up finding it on my way home.”

“It was when I was returning home from the supermarket yesterday.”

“Oh, okay,” he said with a short nod.

The most likely scenario was that—while she had been struggling to carry the heavy bags back to her residence—she hadn’t noticed the ribbon slipping out of her hair. It had been windier than usual, so the ribbon must have been blown away somewhere. Still, there was a slight chance that wasn’t the case and that it was still in the vicinity.

“Oh, well... Hope I’m lucky and find it.”

He knew that any straightforward attempt to try and help her would lead to an instant rejection, so he figured it would be best to head home as he’d originally planned. He turned around and began walking. This time, he actually looked back and witnessed the distressed girl scouring the area, nearly on the brink of tears.

Logically speaking, it was up to chance whether she would find the ribbon or not. If it had been swept away by the wind, which was the most likely scenario, it was as good as gone. For all they knew, it could have been carried to the nearby sea or a river, and it would be impossible to retrieve. Plus, in the unlikely scenario that someone else had come across it, it wasn’t the sort of item you could turn in to the police. It would be difficult to tell who it had originally belonged to, after all. There was also the possibility that somebody considered the ribbon to be nothing more than trash, and thus was currently sitting at the bottom of a garbage can somewhere.

Even with all the odds stacked up against her, Fuyuka continued to desperately search for the ribbon. Asahi’s heart was moved, and he made up his mind—he would help her, even if she was vehemently against the notion deep down.

*

The next day, Asahi headed to the police station after school on the slim chance that he could find the ribbon in the lost and found.

“Nope, nothing,” he said after a bout of unsuccessful rummaging.

“Actually, there was a girl asking about a ribbon yesterday, as well,” one of the policemen mentioned.

The girl—who was obviously Fuyuka—had had the same idea as Asahi. She had started there before moving on to the market to continue her search on her own, which was when he’d spotted her. Following that, she had moved on to the area between the supermarket and their apartment block.

Asahi thought again about the insurmountable odds that she was now facing. It seemed that she had realized it too, because he saw her shed a few tears and occasionally bite her lip as she combed through a patch of grass on the side of the road.

It baffles me that she won’t ask for anyone’s help, even though she’s lost something that she really cares about.

She remained cold and distant from everyone at school, but when Asahi looked closer, he realized that her frigid wall had several cracks in its foundation. It compelled him to find a way to help her in a way where she wouldn’t be forced to ask. By doing that, everyone would be happy, or so he thought.

*

Considering midterms were now a distant memory, everyone at school was more rambunctious than normal. The class was bursting at the seams with lively conversation whenever it was lunchtime, rowdy students were dotted about everywhere in the hallways, and many would go out to the courtyard to play whatever sport they fancied.

Asahi basked in the afternoon sunlight that streamed in by his seat right beside the window. He had yawned several times that day, but the last one had been so strong that his eyes had begun to water slightly.

“So sleepy...” he mumbled.

“You need some sleep? C’mon, dude—you know staying up late playing video games is bad for your health.”

“Speak for yourself.”

Asahi and Chiaki were having lunch in class. Suddenly, their peaceful meal was interrupted by a sprightly individual.

“I’m joining the partyyy!”

“Hey, we’ve been waiting for you!”

Hinami popped up with her lunch box, and Chiaki greeted her with a wide smile. Asahi yawned again, stayed silent for a moment or two, and then finally muttered a noncommittal, “Hey.”

“What kind of a reaction is that?! I came here ‘cause you asked, and this is how you greet me?!” she exclaimed with a pout. She drew up a chair and sat next to them.

It was just as she’d said—Asahi had invited both her and Chiaki to eat with him that day.

Chiaki and Asahi would often eat together, being that they were in the same class. And although Hinami usually accompanied them, it was a rare occurrence that she did so because Asahi had invited her. The couple had been surprised when he’d asked them.

---

---

"What reaction were you even expecting?”

“Maybe, like, ‘Asahi’s coming in hot too!’ You know, something like that?”

“Pfft. Pass. Besides, I couldn’t imagine why I’d say that, considering I’ve been here the whole time. You’re the one who just got here,” Asahi answered. His remark riled Hinami up even more.

Chiaki, who had been munching on his sandwich during their exchange, finally managed to intervene.

“You know this is how Asahi’s always been. Lay off him a little.”

Hinami and Asahi concluded that their bickering was a wasted effort, so they both nodded and shut their mouths. After a short moment of silence, Asahi figured that it was time for him to explain why he’d set this all up in the first place.

“I’m gonna ask you two something, and you’re gonna have to give it some thought and answer seriously, okay?”

They seemed confused by what he’d said.

“If you two found an item that somebody had lost on the street, what would be the first thing you’d do?” Asahi asked.

“Why would you ask us such a weird question?” Hinami, who was still visibly perplexed, inquired.

Chiaki seemed to have realized something, because he clapped his hands together and grinned before answering, “Oh, I know what you’re doing! This is one of those psychological tests or something, isn’t it?”

“Hey, I know about those! Nice going, Chii-pie! You’re a total genius!”

“Asahi’s just trying to strip us down mentally and psychoanalyze our core!”

“Aaah! How dare you, Asahi! You pervert!”

“It’s just a simple question. No need to read into it so much,” Asahi said, shutting them down.

Their shoulders drooped at his reply. They had been pretty excited just mere moments ago, but it had dissipated in the blink of an eye.

“Aw man. And here I was all excited about what it might be...”

“I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up, even if you were the one who invited us...”

“Why are you two trying to shift the blame onto me?” Asahi grumbled. Since they were simply teasing him, he ignored him and continued with his question. “Anyway, about what I just asked—what’s your answer?”

“I mean, it’s too broad a question. It’d depend on what it was,” Chiaki pointed out.

“Yeah! If it was cash, I’d take it to the police. But if it were a pair of gloves or something, I’d probably just ignore them,” Hinami added.

“Oh, right... I guess someone can lose their clothes too, huh?”

“Yeah! But, wait... what would happen to them if they lost all their clothes?”

“They’d just go home buck-naked.”

“Nah, no way! What kind of freak would do that?!”

Both of them wanted Asahi to clarify the situation, so he began to think about how he should rephrase his question. If he was too careless, they’d find out the truth behind his motives. He wanted to avoid that if possible, since they’d never let him hear the end of it.

“Let’s just assume that it’s something precious to the one who lost it.”

“Oh, so now we’re adding someone into the equation? I thought it was just some random lost item.”

“You mean something like a diamond, for example?”

“Uh, something of the sort, maybe,” he answered half-heartedly.

Obviously, he was asking them so he could gain some insight—or, hopefully, a lead—on Fuyuka’s lost ribbon. If he knew how other people would act in such a scenario, maybe he’d be able to come up with some sort of plan on how to search for it.

“I mean, in that case... I’d probably carry it to the police station?”

“For sure. You could also try leaving it in a place nearby where it’ll stand out.”

“Oh, right, since the owner would probably go back there and try to find it. Mhm.”

“Are there any other options in the first place? The only other thing I could think of, aside from the ones we mentioned, would be to straight-up ignore it and mind my own business.”

Asahi knew they were answering earnestly, but he’d already tried the police station, and Fuyuka would have found it by now if it had been left where it was lost. He would have to go about this the hard way.

“But wait...” Hinami piped up, interrupting Asahi’s train of thought.

“What’s up, Hina? Something on your mind?”

“Well, it’s kinda embarrassing to talk about it, but...” she trailed off, scratching her head awkwardly. She blushed a bit as she continued, “Didn’t you guys ever pick random stuff off the ground when you were little?”

“Oh yeah—all kinds of pebbles and stuff with cool white stripes on ‘em. I remember picking up branches and swinging them around like they were epic swords. You catch my drift?” Chiaki answered.

“Exactly, I knew you would get it!” Hinami exclaimed joyfully, as if she had just found a kindred spirit. She wasn’t as embarrassed as she had been earlier. “When I was little, I remember I used to constantly pick up these pretty little beads that people dropped. I’m pretty sure it was over at the park. I just wanted to mention that, you know?”

The conversation that they were so enthusiastically engaged in made Asahi recall something from 10 years ago. He was still quite young at the time, so he couldn’t remember the details vividly, but he recalled a girl in his class boasting to the other kids about an accessory she’d happened to pick up. It resembled a shiny rock, and she’d gotten it from a bench at the park. She’d liked it so much that she’d decided to take it home with her.

If memory serves, her parents got pretty pissed at her for that.

He was well aware that he shouldn’t take what wasn’t his, but kids didn’t really have much of a moral compass. They couldn’t really understand what was considered “right” or “wrong” at their age, and it was difficult for them to foresee the consequences of their own actions. It was understandable if they coveted something they’d happened across because they considered it “cool” or “beautiful.”

Maybe that’s it... A kid could’ve gotten a hold of it, Asahi thought.

*

Four days had passed since the mysterious disappearance of Fuyuka’s prized ribbon. Since then, Asahi had spotted her searching for it daily while on the way home. After some time, he’d stopped paying much attention to her. Some days, he’d even chosen the long way around just to avoid seeing her at all.

The day was just like any other—classes had ended, and Asahi was heading straight home. He happened to come across Fuyuka, who was still hunting for her ribbon. This time, instead of ignoring her, he decided to speak up.

“Hey.”

“What do you want?” she asked, looking at him with distrust.

He couldn’t sense the usual coldness in her voice, however. It was clear that she was worn out and couldn’t muster the energy to summon her usual frigid façade.

“I assume you haven’t found it yet.”

Fuyuka didn’t reply—what he’d said was spot-on. Although the chances of discovering the ribbon were slim to begin with, she clung to the faint hope of being able to find it. That’s what had kept her going. Her eyes were devoid of any life, and hearing the reality of the situation from Asahi just made things worse.

“Sob...”

Her head drooped, and she started to weep heavily. Crystalline tears fell from her eyes and, one by one, traveled down her porcelain cheeks, staining the ground.

“Here,” Asahi said, figuring that it was time to interject.

She checked the item he presented her through a flurry of tears; in his hand was a shiny blue ribbon.

“Why do you have this...?” she sputtered, unable to believe her eyes.

No wonder she looks so surprised. I mean, she’s been looking for this for days on end, Asahi observed.

“A kid that lives nearby found it on her way home and took it.”

After he’d heard Hinami’s suggestion a few days ago, Asahi went around the neighborhood and asked the families that lived in the area about the ribbon. He’d had no luck two days ago, but fortune had smiled on him yesterday, and he’d finally found it.

He’d come across a girl in the area prancing around with a fairly large pouch. Inside, there had been all sorts of little trinkets: beads, badges, and one conspicuous blue ribbon. He was quickly able to identify it as Fuyuka’s lost possession. After he’d talked to the kid for a while, he’d found out that it was indeed as Hinami had suggested—she’d found the ribbon on the ground a few days prior and picked it up for herself.

“The little girl wanted me to let you know that she’s sorry,” Asahi continued as he handed it over to Fuyuka.

She was still stunned and unable to process what was occurring in front of her eyes, but accepted the item anyway. After she’d inspected it closely and ascertained it to be the genuine article, a look of relief washed over her face.

“It’s Mom’s... It truly is... I’m s-so happy right now...” she whispered through sobs. She was still crying, but this time, her tears were ones of happiness.

After wiping her eyes, she fastened the ribbon back in its rightful place and bowed at Asahi.

“I’m incredibly grateful for what you’ve done,” she said.

“Just be sure to not lose it again, especially considering how much you care about it,” Asahi replied.

Right when he was about to leave, though, Fuyuka brought him to a halt.

“Why would you go this far for me?”

“I didn’t do much, really. I just happened to stumble across it on my way home, that’s all.”

“Liar,” she replied. Judging by her tone, she wasn’t trying to admonish him, but she also wasn’t content with his explanation.

“I’ve been looking for this for several hours each day and deep into the night. You’ve been searching for it as well, haven’t you?”

“Damn, nothing gets past you,” he answered.

“You never even attempted to hide it, so it’s apparent that I would catch on. I glimpsed you around here during nighttime, as well.”

And here I thought that going a little farther from her usual spot would do the trick. I guess she had me figured out from the beginning.

“Well... I didn’t really have some deep reason to do it or anything like that.”

He wasn’t looking for any sort of compensation when he’d chosen to help her, nor was he trying to “look cool” or play the hero. He’d just wanted to help—nothing more, and nothing less.

“I’ve just been taught growing up to help others when they’re in need. That’s pretty much it,” Asahi replied. He was picturing his rather straightlaced, strict grandfather and his teachings when he answered.

“Parroting your grandfather again?”

“Bingo.”

“This is far from the first time you’ve mentioned his ‘lessons,’ so...” she trailed off with a light smile. Then she spoke up again, “I guess that wasn’t the last time.”

“What d’you mean?”

“The last time you meddled in my business, I mean.”

Asahi forced an awkward smile. It was somewhat tough for him to accept criticism; it made him rather embarrassed.

“You really ought to stay out of other people’s business more, by the way,” she added.

“Sorry, but that’s just how I was raised. At least I’m conscious of how I am.”

Fuyuka looked down at the ground, and they both fell into silence. The soft wind fluttered around them, and the sun set on the horizon, staining the scenery in a light amber.

“But, in a way, I think your meddlesome disposition is something that should be valued,” she whispered in appreciation.

Unfortunately, Asahi hadn’t caught what she’d said. “Did you say something just now, or was that my imagination?” he asked.

“It was your imagination. I didn’t say anything.” Fuyuka shook her head with her usual poker face.

Is it just me, or does she seem more relaxed and open than usual? Asahi thought to himself as he set out again.

As he took his usual route back, Fuyuka tagging behind him the whole way, Asahi noted that the path that lay ahead of him—although the same one he’d encountered countless times by then—now felt somewhat different.