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.