Chapter Five

A Forced Draw

There have always been two important events that took place at Asahi’s school once the second semester began—the first was the cultural festival, which was hosted at the beginning of summer and spanned for two days. Each class would prepare specific events for the festivities. Guests, in turn, were welcome to attend for the allotted time and enjoy the student’s efforts. This made it one of the school’s grandest events. However, the school’s custom had developed and changed over time to the point where it was now widely accepted that the first-years were to take on the majority of the workload, while the second and third-year students were relieved of such responsibilities.

The second notable event was the sports festival. The boys were pitted against each other in softball and soccer competitions, whereas the girls competed in basketball and volleyball. Once the tourneys were finished, each respective victor was awarded a prize. There were also rumors that a special prize would be given to the team MVPs, and that was something everyone highly anticipated. The fervor for the sports festival was palpable—it was a great opportunity for hopeful boys to impress their crushes, and those who belonged to a sports club were excited at the prospect of showing off.

Asahi’s class was no different from the rest—the class was in a fever pitch over what was to come. The festivals were an excellent opportunity to blow off some steam.

“Maybe it’s just me, but you might wanna try toning your excitement down a notch. I know you’re eager to win, but using your face to block the ball isn’t exactly what I’d call a pro strat.”

“Would you shut it already?”

“You’re the one who needs to shut it. Seeing as you’ve got blood filling your mouth at the moment, I’d say that’d be for the best.”

Asahi had suffered an unfortunate accident while his class had been practicing in the lead-up to the sports festival, and he was already regretting choosing Chiaki to escort him to the infirmary. As they walked through the hallways, he mused that it was likely too late to lament his decision. Chiaki, on the other hand, was oblivious to his friend’s regrets and continued to babble on.

“I gotta say, the dude who shot that ball was such a try hard...” Chiaki joked in an attempt to lighten up the mood. It was a bit difficult for Asahi to smile while his nose was steadily bleeding, so all he could offer was a slight curve of his mouth as he pinched his nostrils shut.

The sports festival was to be held in a week on the dot, and so, in PE, everyone made sure to practice the sport they were thinking of competing in. Classes that had PE at the same time made sure to practice together by playing against each other. During their mock competitions, they played in earnest, all the while eagerly anticipating the real confrontation.

In Asahi’s case, he and his class had been participating in a mock soccer match. Although this particular sport was by no means Asahi’s strong suit, he had managed to coast by... until the end of the first half, that is. That was when the ball had been kicked directly into his face. The one responsible for the shot was a boy from the soccer club. He clearly knew his way around a ball, so the impact had been quite serious. And with all the blood profusely flowing out of Asahi’s nose, he had little choice but to go seek immediate medical attention from the infirmary.

“I’m fine from here. You can go back and keep playing. I think halftime’s almost over, anyways.”

“Oh right—second half’s starting soon, huh? Well, be sure to return to us in one piece. I’ll be waiting with baited breath.”

Way to blow things out of proportion, dude. It’s just a nosebleed, Asahi thought to himself.

As he neared the infirmary, though, he began to stagger. He looked down at his hand, realizing it was now stained a deep crimson, and wondered if he’d be able to reach the infirmary before passing out. Eventually, he pulled through and entered the room.

“Is there someone—?”

As soon as he walked in, his eyes widened in surprise. He was expecting to see the nurse—an old lady clad in a white medical coat—but someone else caught his eye first. This someone was a girl with distinctly long, black hair that was partially tied back with a blue ribbon.

“What are you doing here, Himuro?”

“I was injured, just as you were.”

Asahi quickly rushed to the sink to rinse the blood from his hand and nose. After he had finished doing so, he turned back to Fuyuka. She was sitting on the infirmary's sofa and firmly applying ice to her right wrist, so it was easy for him to tell where she’d been injured.

“What happened in your case?”

“I sprained my wrist during our class’s basketball practice.”

That was when Asahi realized that their classes had PE at the same time. While he and the rest of the guys were playing soccer, the girls were obviously participating in their own separate activities.

Fuyuka’s wrist was painted with blue bruises. She continued to press the bag of ice against it and occasionally let out a soft groan of pain.

“You’ve really had your share of bad luck lately, huh?” Asahi noted.

“I can’t deny that.”

Fainting from an awful fever, losing her cherished ribbon, and now spraining her wrist—Lady Luck clearly wasn’t smiling down upon her. She sighed and narrowed her eyes as she looked at him.

“And why are you bleeding from your nose?”

“I happened to catch the ball with my face while we were playing soccer.”

“Are you sure I’m the unlucky one here...?” she muttered with a grimace, likely as a result of picturing what he had recently gone through.

Asahi was fairly sure their situations were incomparable—Fuyuka seemed to be in a great deal of pain, and what he had suffered was an entirely different ball game.

“Ah! Some blood is still pooling on the floor!” she exclaimed.

“Shit, I didn’t realize it was still going,” Asahi cursed, snapping out of his musings. “Where’s the nurse?”

“Apparently she was called to the staff room, so it’s likely she won’t be here for a while.”

“Seriously? Well, whatever. I’ll just patch myself up,” he replied, irritated. He began searching through one of the shelves for some cotton padding to soak up the blood. Despite rummaging around for a while, he was unable to find anything of use.

“Tch, where’re the damn cotton pads?”

“It’s on the shelf located at your lower right side.”

“Oh, you’re right—there it is. Thanks,” Asahi replied. He grabbed what he needed and eventually managed to stop the bleeding. “You sure know the ins and outs of this place.”

“Naturally—I’m a member of the infirmary committee.”

“You signed up for that? My condolences.”

“Of course not. I was lumped together with the others who didn’t want to join and happened to get the short end of the stick.” “Oh, I feel that.”

At their school, participation in the class committee wasn’t compulsory—rather, it was a position that was determined by class consensus. Students elected a few of their own class to become members. It went without saying, but if there happened to be volunteers at the beginning, then there were no issues. Most students were reluctant to join, however, as they considered it to be a waste of time. It detracted from time that could be spent studying or joining a club they were actually interested in. As a result, a majority of the classes had to resort to luck-based games to choose the unfortunate individuals.

“It was all my fault—I knew I should’ve chosen rock,” Fuyuka mumbled to herself.

Asahi stared at her and chuckled, to which she responded with a frigid, piercing glare. “You look quite stupid right now. Were you aware of that?” she added, clearly focusing on his cotton-stuffed nose.

“Oh, shut up. I had to stop my nose from recreating the Red Sea,” he snapped back.

Fuyuka giggled lightly. Perhaps it was in retaliation for his laughter just moments prior, but in tandem with that, she was also showing him a different side of herself. She didn’t seem to care much about letting her guard down at this point—likely due to Asahi having helped her out when she’d dropped her treasured ribbon.

In fact, ever since that incident, she had changed how she composed herself around him. Whenever they crossed paths in their apartment complex, they would exchange greetings. From time to time, they even stopped to chat briefly.

I really wonder why she doesn’t act this way around everyone else, though, Asahi puzzled.

She was still as cold and composed as ever when interacting with others, but he received a little of what could be considered preferential treatment. This made him feel that he was considered special to her, even if it was only slightly.

“There you go, ogling my face again. Is there something wrong with it?” she asked in a frigid tone.

“Nothing really, no. Something was just bugging me a little, and I ended up zoning out. That’s all.”

Asahi hadn’t realized that he had been unconsciously staring at her. Despite their improved relationship, he knew that there were certain aspects about her that would likely never change.

“You think you’ll be able to participate next week with your wrist like that?” he wondered as he averted his eyes. He was hoping to change the flow of the conversation before it grew to be too awkward.

“I’m not sure, to be honest,” she answered simply. It was a marked improvement—at least now she didn’t outright ignore him.

“You should probably take the week off either way.”

“I guess so,” she replied with a crestfallen expression. “I hope I can participate next week...”

“And here I expected you to be thrilled. I never pictured you to be the sporty type or someone who liked these kinds of things.”

“I enjoy playing basketball, so...” she trailed off. Her hazelnut eyes seemed mournful.

Asahi had heard rumors that Fuyuka was very adept at the sport. She didn’t attend any particular clubs based around it, but there were still many people who were excited that she was to play at this year’s event.

“Well, here’s to hoping that heals quickly,” Asahi muttered, unable to think of a better or more sensitive reply. He looked at her pained face and immediately rued his lack of tact—it was clear she was suffering both physically and emotionally.

“Thank you,” she replied, then fell silent. This silence soon enveloped the whole room.

Asahi had already managed to stop the bleeding, so there was no longer a reason for him to stay. He turned around and made his way to the door. As he was about to leave, he heard Fuyuka pipe up behind him.

“Take care,” she said. For whatever reason, it caused his stomach to flutter slightly.

*

Asahi had received a message from Chiaki urging him to join his friend for some more soccer practice the next day. He was reluctant to do so, however. It wasn’t because he disliked sports or anything like that—the weekends were his time of rest, so he wasn’t keen on the idea of doing anything strenuous. Since his friend cared so deeply about it, though, he ended up agreeing to his proposition. It would just be one day, after all. It wasn’t as if he had anything better to do at his place. If he stayed at home, he would likely just be a couch potato all day. Plus, he figured any sort of training he could get in would be preferable to simply shrugging and saying he was bad at soccer.

And so Asahi spent the entirety of his Saturday practicing soccer with Chiaki.

Chiaki was also a member of the soccer club, so there was an obvious disparity between their skill levels. As Chiaki continuously dribbled the ball, shuffling it around and between his feet, Asahi looked at him and let out an exasperated sigh.

“Weren’t we supposed to practice together today?” he grumbled.

“Uh, we are practicing right now, aren’t we? Check this out,” Chiaki replied between dribbling the ball and dodging two guys who futilely attempted to block his path. He ran straight for the goalpost, lining himself up for the perfect shot. Now, the only thing that was in his way was the goalkeeper.

“Take this!” he shouted as he smashed the ball. It flew over the goalkeeper’s head and rattled the net behind him. He turned back around to face his friend and added, “We just gotta do it like this, and we’ll win. Easy-peasy.”

“Um... When I was referring to practice, I meant practicing by actually playing soccer—not a video game.”

“I mean... just copy whatever the characters are doing, and you should be good, right?”

“You expect me to be able to pull something like that off? Nah, man. Plus, I’m on defense, not offense.”

What Chiaki had failed to mention in his text was that this “practice” meeting was to be held at Asahi’s house via a soccer video game. Asahi was already suspicious when Chiaki said he would meet him at his apartment, but it wasn’t until he’d arrived and brought up the idea of playing video games that Asahi knew his suspicions were absolutely founded.

“Oh well, I don’t really mind playing this, anyways,” Asahi muttered as he shifted his attention back to the television.

The match was already pretty advanced. On one hand, Asahi owned the console, and it had initially given him a slight advantage. On the other hand, Chiaki was the one who owned the game. It was obvious enough from the score that he had played this game before.

“Oof. I’m already three-nil up on you, and we’re only in the first half. At this rate, I’m worried about what’ll happen to you during the real deal, dude,” Chiaki taunted.

“Your concerns would make sense if we were actually playing soccer instead of wasting our time doing this.”

“But this is practice... in a way.”

“If getting better at using my controller is considered ‘practice,’ then you’re definitely on the right track.”

They bickered back and forth, their conversation laced with sarcasm as Chiaki continued to score goal after goal with his overpowered players. At some point, Chiaki stopped being a “tryhard,” but he still wiped the floor with Asahi. He was just too skilled at the game, and Asahi could do little but concede that he had been utterly beaten.

“Oh, right—is the widdle nose-bleeding baby okay now? Does it still hurt?”

“I’m fine now. But if that was you trying to be funny, you gotta do better than that.”

“Apparently, the girls also had all sorts of mishaps during their PE session.”

Upon hearing his friend, Asahi’s grip on the controller inadvertently loosened. This led to Chiaki scoring another goal, giving him a five point lead. At this point, Asahi no longer cared about the score, however—he was far more interested in the new conversation topic. Instead of stewing over his inevitable defeat, he turned to his friend and clarified, “It happened while the girls were practicing basketball. You won’t believe who got injured.”

“Himuro.”

“Right on the money... Wait, you knew?”

“If anything happens to her, news about it spreads around the school right away.”

Asahi only knew about it because of the time they spent together in the infirmary when they were injured, but he’d kept it a secret just in case—Fuyuka already had enough rumors surrounding her as it was. But, as it turned out, due to her status as the fabled “Ice Queen,” everyone at school was already aware of her injury by the time the period was over.

“Is it true that she really messed up her dominant hand?” Asahi asked. He figured it would be best to feign ignorance so his friend wouldn’t be suspicious of him.

“Yeah, seems like it. I mean, her wrist was completely bandaged up, so she definitely screwed it up pretty bad,” Chiaki answered.

“Is there any chance she can take part in the Sports Festival?”

“I don’t think so. It sucks for her, but I’m almost positive that injury won’t be completely healed in a week.”

Chiaki was right, and there was also the fact that her recovery would take longer than usual because of her circumstances—like Asahi, she was living alone in her apartment. It would be virtually impossible to perform household chores and the like without using her dominant hand, so she wouldn’t be able to rest it. It was certainly a difficult situation.

Is she gonna be alright? Asahi thought to himself as Chiaki continued to blabber on.

Asahi was more worried about the likelihood that she would be unable to compete versus the injury itself. He recalled her crestfallen face back at the infirmary; it had stuck with him. Even if she was forced to sit out, he knew her well enough to know that—while she’d put on her usual, aloof front—she’d be struggling internally. That was something he was hoping to avoid if possible.

“Okay, that’s enough of whooping your ass for the day. According to our promise, you gotta make me some dinner now,” Chiaki piped up.

“I never promised that... Wait, let me guess—you just came here so I could cook for you, didn’t you?”

“Whoops, you got me. I just felt like eating some of your tasty cooking for a change.”

“You’re really something, you know that?”

As Chiaki tried to placate his friend, Asahi finally noticed that the match ended 7-0 in Chiaki’s favor.

When did he score those two extra goals? he pondered. He still couldn’t understand it; he was certainly better at video games. Then again, Chiaki was better at soccer than he was—was that why he’d defeated him?

“Very well, Jeeves... or should I say, chef Asahi? I require your finest beef stew.”

“Beef stew? Do you have any idea how much beef costs?”

“We can split the bill... or I’ll just cover it all, okay?! Jeez, dude, don’t look at me like that.”

Although he lacked some of the ingredients, and the preparations would take some time, it wasn’t like the dish was impossible to make. Sure, he pretended to be annoyed, but Asahi was secretly pleased that Chiaki loved his food. That was why he didn’t mind indulging his friend whenever he made such requests. It was nice to have someone who enjoyed his cooking, and it provided culinary practice. Plus, it was common courtesy to personally prepare food for one’s guests.

“Please, chef Asahi! I beg of you!”

“Hmm, I don’t know...”

“I implore you!”

Asahi was just messing with him at this point—he’d had no objections from the start, but his fake hesitation was his way of getting revenge for the humiliating defeat he’d faced in their bout earlier.

“Fine, I guess I don’t have a choice.”

“Hell yeah!” Chiaki whooped enthusiastically before making a peace sign and doing a little celebratory dance.

With Chiaki goofing off, Asahi contemplated the quickest way to get his hands on some beef. At first, he considered going next door to ask Fuyuka if she could help. He quickly scrapped that idea, though—it would’ve been too bothersome for her, and he was more than aware of how much he’d meddled into her private affairs up until now.

*

Because Asahi lived by himself, he was completely dependent on the monthly allowance he received from his parents. They always sent him enough to ensure he lived a comfortable life—he was never forced to worry about skimping on food or missing out on things he wanted. Still, he was purposefully frugal with his spending as a way to show appreciation for what his parents did for him. He was always making sure not to splurge on any unnecessary costs.

It was Sunday, the day after Chiaki had come over. Unfortunately, it had been raining cats and dogs all day. That limited his options for the day’s groceries—if he bought any sort of meat or vegetables, they’d get wet on the way home and quickly spoil in the refrigerator. He’d have to omit those from his shopping list for the day. That, in addition to the heavy torrent outside, made him reluctant to leave his apartment complex. There was a special sale going on at the supermarket, though, and no way was he letting such an opportunity pass him by.

He grabbed a large umbrella and went outside, resolute in his quest for thriftiness. The deluge thoroughly soaked his shoes and the cuffs of his pants, but not even that could deter him from his journey. He soon happened across a familiar face.

“Hey, what are you doing over there?” he called out.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m sheltering myself from the rain,” Fuyuka answered in her usual cold tone.

By the look of things, she had been walking back home from the market and been caught off-guard by the sudden downpour. She was gripping her bag of groceries in her “good” hand and nothing in the other. Even if she had brought an umbrella, Asahi realized her other hand still hadn’t improved enough for her to use it. She likely would have ended up in this exact situation regardless.

“You think your wrist will heal up in time?” he asked.

“That would require a miracle.”

Judging by her answer, it was as Asahi had feared the day before—she’d been using her injured wrist on a regular basis, seeing as she had no one else at home. The bandaging was fairly loose, allowing for a reasonable amount of mobility. This, regrettably, also made for a longer recovery time.

“You can return with me if you want. I mean, I do have a pretty large umbrella. The rain’s going to stop eventually, but you could end up catching another cold if you stay out here.”

Asahi knew that if she declined his offer this time, he would have to refrain from insisting. Unfortunately, the forecast had called for heavy rain all day, so his earlier statement wasn’t entirely accurate. At any rate, she could easily make her way over to a store and take shelter inside if she was so averse to joining him, so Asahi wasn’t especially concerned about leaving her outside if she did refuse to join him.

“Very well, I’ll humor your offer,” she assented.

Wait a sec, she accepted? That’s unexpected, he thought. “Wow, a straight ‘yes'? That’s rare coming from you.”

“I’d planned to call a taxi as a last resort, so I’d rather avoid that if possible.”

“Who do you even think I am?”

“Someone who takes great pleasure meddling in his neighbors’ business.”

Asahi couldn’t really offer a retort—she had hit the nail on the head. If he conceded on that point, he’d be stuck listening to her complaints. It wasn’t his fault they happened to live next to each other; that was sheer coincidence. While he could see how he was most likely overstepping boundaries, the truth of the matter was that they were next-door neighbors, and he simply wished to help out in any way he could.

“That doesn’t exactly sound like a glowing review,” he joked.

“It’s not, in case you haven’t realized.”

So this is the thanks I get for offering to escort her back home? Why’d she even accept if she’s just gonna trash talk me the entire time? Not gonna lie, it stings, he complained to himself.

All he could do against her verbal abuse was to smile and nod.

*

Once Asahi had bought what he needed, he and Fuyuka exited the supermarket and gazed up at the rainfall. It was still pouring down in thick sheets, and heavy, gray clouds completely blanketed the sky. There wasn’t the slightest hint of sunshine present. Needless to say, the rain wouldn’t be letting up any time soon.

“Let’s just get going,” Asahi finally uttered.

“Yes, let’s.”

As they started to head home, Asahi tried to conjure up a more romantic scenario where he shared an umbrella with Fuyuka in his head. Reality soon brought those images crashing down, though, because the truth of the matter was that it was quite cumbersome and awkward—he didn’t have much room under there to maneuver properly.

“Were you purposefully trying to place me on the right side?” she asked with a piercing gaze.

“Uh, yeah. Your right wrist is still injured, isn’t it? I didn’t want you to be on the left side—your groceries would get soaked. You got a problem with that?” he answered.

“I’ve heard that when a man and a woman share an umbrella in this manner, it means they wish for love to bloom between them.”

“And you think that’s why I offered to help you? Because I wanted to set up that convoluted scenario of yours?”

“No, I don’t. I think you were simply looking to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong as usual. I doubt you have any feelings for me.”

“Then don’t just randomly bring up weird shit like that,” he grumbled.

Asahi had figured that they’d be walking home in silence, but it wasn’t exactly shocking for her to introduce such topics into conversations. It was pretty obvious at this point that her opinion of him wasn’t the greatest, to say the least. He was used to her suspecting an ulterior motive whenever he’d tried to help her so far, regardless of his true intentions. Although he had always approached her out of the kindness of his heart, he was painfully aware of how wary she was of him. Still, he couldn’t blame her reasoning, as she’d had a fair share of guys who approached her solely because of her attractiveness. She had been partially correct, though—Asahi didn’t have any feelings toward her. He had simply offered his umbrella as a gesture of good will, and nothing more.

“You never would’ve set foot in my place to begin with if you thought I was looking for more than just help with studying, so...” he trailed off.

“Indeed. Thank goodness you’re simply annoying because you’re a good person.”

“Yep, that’s nice.”

“That was quite the automatic response.”

“I’m not really a fan of you throwing insults my way, so I just reply without thinking when it happens.”

He didn’t particularly mind being called annoying due to his kind disposition. Actually, it described him to a T. Plus, getting to have a conversation with Fuyuka more than made up for it.

As they continued home, he started to ponder the reason behind her barrier. Why did she behave so frigidly around others? Did she think others would harm her and used her iciness as a defense mechanism? Perhaps that was going too far, but something had definitely happened in her past that resulted in her current behavior. He couldn’t ask her about it, either way—they hadn’t grown close enough yet, and all of their exchanges so far had been superficial.

They both remained silent for a while.

Asahi looked over at Fuyuka’s hand. Something within him urged to request if he could carry her bags, but she had already denied him once. It would have been wasted effort even if she had accepted anyway, as both his hands were currently occupied with the umbrella and his own groceries.

“Okay. I’ve got the side dishes, the ready-made meal, and...” Fuyuka mumbled to herself.

“What are you on about?”

“Nothing,” she snapped back with an unpleasant expression. Asahi instinctually averted his eyes. She quickly continued, “I’ve been making my own meals as of late. I was just looking over the items that are necessary to make myself a balanced dinner. Although I always try to mind what I eat, it seems a bit futile considering the state of my hand. Maybe it’s pointless to do anything today... or for the near future.”

Asahi hadn’t even brought up the issue, but she must have felt insecure about her cooking skills if she’d just unloaded so much information at once. She was right, however—it would be nigh-on impossible for her to cook considering the state of her hand.

“Want me to cook for you today, then?” he asked.

“Excuse me?” she answered after a brief pause. Her eyes widened in surprise.

He was aware that he was butting in again, but he couldn’t exactly help himself. She would definitely strike down his offer and then remind him of all the times she’d done the exact same thing when he’d stuck his nose where it didn’t belong. Before she could get another word in, though, he continued, “I said I could make dinner for you, as well. You said you wanted to have something nice and healthy, didn’t you?”

“I did, but...”

“You may have a pouch with a ready-made meal and some microwavable side dishes, but you’d still have to use your main hand to wash the plates and everything else. If you really wanna participate in next week’s event, it’d be best for you to rest your hand as much as possible.”

“There you go again with your meddling,” she muttered after another pause.

“Yeah,” answered Asahi with a nod. This time, his interference wasn’t merely out of the kindness of his heart, however.

As much as he enjoyed helping those in need, he knew when to rein himself in and back off. He’d never go to such extremes for anyone else—Fuyuka was the exception. She was intriguing to him. Although she constantly encased herself in an icy shell, it was much thinner than she’d initially let on. Asahi had realized that, after each of their interactions, he was beginning to see cracks forming in that shell. That was enough to compel him to continue helping her... or attempt to, at least. He’d never felt this way about anyone else before.

“I don’t know what to say... You never relent in your crusade to assist others, do you?” Fuyuka replied with a sigh, not even bothering to hide her amazement.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Asahi agreed. Fuyuka didn’t quip back in her usual way, though—she cast her eyes down and fell silent.

Asahi wasn’t sure why she’d gone quiet all of a sudden, so he waited for some time for her to say something. The only other sound was the soothing shower of rain that surrounded them. His patience was in vain, however, because she did not utter a single word until they arrived at the apartment complex. As they passed through the gate and headed toward their respective rooms, Fuyuka suddenly blurted out, “Very well. If you’re fine with it, I’ll accept your offer. I do have one condition, however—allow me to pay for my share of the meal, at least.”

Her unforeseen acceptance startled Asahi, breaking through the peaceful pattering of the rain.