How to Melt the Ice Queen’s Heart

Playing in the Snow with The Ice Queen It was the day just after Christmas. Asahi, who had just been awoken by his alarm clock, quickly hopped out of bed and flung open his curtains. “What a view...” he murmured to himself. Everywhere he looked, it was a world of white. It appeared as though it had snowed all throughout the night, as everything was blanketed by a thick layer of white. The peaks of snow outside glittered under the rays of the sun, forming a breathtaking kaleidoscope that shimmered faintly through his window. “Guess I’ll go outside to check it out,” he decided. The cold outside was piercing—enough to make anyone reconsider leaving the comfort of their home. In the end, however, Asahi’s curiosity in regards to the snow prevailed. He ate a light breakfast, put on his coat, and opened the door to his apartment with excitement. “God, it’s cold...” “It’s so cold...” Two voices overlapped. Asahi turned in the direction of the sound and was met by the all-too-familiar curtain of jet black hair—it was Fuyuka. “Ah...” “Oh...” They stared blankly at each other for a brief moment, but soon recognized each other and smiled. “Good morning,” she greeted him. “Morning,” he replied. Fuyuka trotted toward Asashi after they had exchanged greetings. Her long, black hair was partially tucked into her coat and covered by a scarf. What wasn’t hidden rippled in soft waves around her ears. She also wore earmuffs, a pair of gloves, and a fur-trimmed duffle coat. Everything she had on was the definition of fluffy; it gave her the appearance of a small, adorable animal. “Did you... come out to see the snow, as well?” she asked. “Yup. It’s been a while since it’s snowed this much. I’m psyched.” “I feel the same. It’s very exciting in a way,” she said. She fell silent, appearing to be pondering something, before she spoke up once more. “Well, since we’re both here, would you like to play in the snow together?” “Sounds great! Let’s go make a snowman in the nearby park!” he exclaimed nearly a nanosecond after the invitation had left her lips. “Agreed! Let’s make it a huge one!” Asahi and Fuyuka left the apartment complex. The winter sky above them was clear and crisp, and the road ahead of them was elegantly garnished in white. The snow underneath their boots played a symphony, letting out a satisfying squeak with every step they took. Their duet of lively conversation added another musical quality to their environment. “Whoa, look at the clear trail of footsteps we’re leaving behind,” Fuyuka marveled. “The snow’s so fresh that we could probably make some snow angels.” “Shall we make some?” she suggested. “Wait, wait, wait, hold up. That might sound like a good idea at first, but you’ll regret it once you get drenched,” he admonished. As they made their way to the park, Fuyuka flashed an innocent, childlike smile every now and then. Asahi was delighted, as well—the mound of snow had rekindled a youthful spark and enthusiasm that called back to the little boy he once was. By the time they had reached their destination, they could barely contain their enthusiasm to play around in the snow. “Now then, how big should our snowman be?” Asahi asked. “What if we made it my height?” Fuyuka suggested after a pause. “For real?” “Of course not. That was just a joke,” she said with a mischievous grin. “Phew, good. You sounded pretty serious there...” he said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I was only half serious.” “I knew it,” he replied, cracking a mischievous smile of his own. Fuyuka bashfully looked away from him. As a result of their conversation, they settled on the very ambiguous objective of making it as large as they possibly could. And so the two of them set out to find a spot that had enough snow to achieve the task. “I’m going to focus on making its upper half. Can I count on you to take care of the bottom half, Asahi?” “Okaaaay,” he agreed. With his new role established, he squatted down. He began to gather any nearby snow with both hands, bringing in large heaps at a time, and morphed them into spherical lumps. He repeated the process several times, resulting in a number of medium-sized snowballs. After he had finished making them, he took the balls and rolled them around on the ground to make them even bigger. “It’s picking up a lot of snow,” he commented. “We’ll be done in no time if we keep it up.” “The snow here has a lot of moisture in it, so it sticks together more easily,” she explained. “Wow, aren’t you well-informed.” “I looked it up before I went outside.” “I knew you were excited, but not this excited,” he said, admiring the amount of trivia Fuyuka retained about making snowmen. He continued to roll the snowballs until they were about up to knee height. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t get much larger—it seemed that as the surface area of the snowballs increased, so did the amount of snow required to make it bigger. “You know what? I take it back. This looks like it’s gonna take a while. And all this bending over is making my back hurt,” he complained. “You sound like an old man.” “Do I now? Hmm, you don’t sound tired at all.” “Yes. I’m still a highschool student, after all.” “But I’m a highschool student, too...” old man Asahi grumbled as he took a much-needed rest to stretch his back. Fuyuka, on the other hand, was still brimming with energy. She continued to roll the head and torso around until they were the perfect size. “I think that’s more than enough, don’t you think?” Asahi asked. “Indeed. I think we just need to properly shape them, and then we’ll be done,” Fuyuka surmised as she scraped off excess snow. Asahi continued to roll his portion of the snowman around, but exhaustion quickly crept up on him. It was no wonder—he was doing physical work in an awkward position he wasn’t exactly used to, to say nothing of the chilly conditions. “I’ll help you,” Fuyuka offered. Her bright voice spurred him on and encouraged him to continue. “You’re a lifesaver,” he thanked her as he scooted over to the side to make room for her. “This is the homestretch, so let’s do our best!” she exclaimed with a faint smile. She pushed the snowball forward, and Asahi followed suit with everything he had. Their hands were practically on the verge of touching, and their eyes would meet every once in a while. “This is quite fun,” she said. “Sure is.” Fuyuka was wearing the most dazzling smile, and it made Asahi’s lips curl up into a grin. Despite the chill, the sun’s rays pierced through the thick gray winter clouds and allowed the Earth to bask in its relative warmth. * “Our snowman is finished!” she shouted with a joyous voice. Her excitement rang across the otherwise silent park. There was only one thing that could catch her eye at that moment—the finished snowman that they had both worked so hard to build. “Looks good to me. Very good,” Asahi added. “Indeed. I’m quite satisfied with how it turned out,” she agreed. They had used some buttons that Fuyuka had brought from her place to serve for the snowman’s eyes and nose. As for its mouth and arms, they had made use of some branches they had picked up around the park. It had been worth all the time and effort Fuyuka had spent fussing over the smaller details—the final result was perfect, pure and simple. “So what are you gonna do with it now?” Asahi asked. “I wonder... I would’ve loved it if I could take it home with me...” she replied with a hint of remorse. “Uh...huh... Unfortunately, I doubt that’ll happen anytime soon.” Fuyuka stood in place, seriously contemplating the logistics of making a miniature snowman that could fit into her freezer. Her train of thought was soon interrupted by a noisy set of footsteps that approached them. Eventually, the ones responsible for the din appeared right in front them. It seemed that a group of kids who lived in the neighborhood had come out to play—three lively young boys surrounded the snowman and admired it. “Wow, it’s a snowman!” “Whoaaaa, it looks AMAZING!” “Let’s make one ourselves!” “Hey, hey! Did you guys make this?” one of the children asked the pair. “You bet. We just finished it a second ago!” Asahi exclaimed with vigor. “Can I touch it? Maybe punch it too?!” another one exclaimed. “L-Let’s be nice to Mr. Snowman, okay?” Fuyuka pleaded. Asahi was surprised—he had imagined the children would be more wary of strangers, but these three had warmed up to him and Fuyuka in no time at all. It seemed that making such a large snowman had impressed the children, and Asahi and Fuyuka were like heroes in their eyes. The boisterous boys informed them that they were waiting on a friend. Before long, they could hear an extra set of footsteps getting closer. As the girl came into vision, Asahi felt a sudden pang of recognition. “Hm? Wait... Isn’t this the same kid who...?” he muttered—mostly to himself—under his breath. Asahi waved at her. The girl looked to have recognized him as well, because she quickly trotted over to him after she’d finished talking to her friends. “You’re the ribbon guy, right?” the girl asked. Asahi responded with a wry smile and a nod. Fuyuka was confused by their exchange at first, but it appeared to have clicked after she’d heard the word “ribbon.” The girl also sighted the blue ribbon tied around Fuyuka’s silken black hair and heaved a sigh of relief. Fuyuka squatted down to the girl’s eye level and asked, “Were you the one who picked up my ribbon?” Her trick must’ve worked, as the child grew visibly more relaxed. “U-Uh-huh...” she mumbled. “Sorry I took it when it wasn’t mine.” “No need to apologize. If anything, I’m grateful that you found it,” Fuyuka assured her. “So you’re not mad at me?” “Of course not. It was my fault for losing it in the first place. Besides...” Fuyuka trailed off as she stood up again and gave Asahi a fond glance, “‘The ribbon guy’ was here to save the day.” Fuyuka’s bright smile and kind words spawned a feeling of warmth within Asahi. The girl seemed to have noticed that there was something special between them, because she asked in a sing-song voice, “Are you two dating or something?” “Wha?!” “Huh?!” The dreaded question. It was so unexpected that they both looked at each other in complete shock and disarray. Their faces were beet red, and they ended up turning away in embarrassment. “Nonono! We’re not dating or anything. You see, we’re just friends...” Asahi panicked as he turned his attention back to the young girl. “I-I-Indeed! It’s just as he says. There’s nothing special between us...” Fuyuka frantically denied. The children seemed to be genuinely disappointed by their response, but—fortunately for the two friends—they left their queries at that. Asahi and Fuyuka left their snowman and exited the park. “I suppose we look like lovers to other people,” Fuyuka remarked. “Seems that way, yeah,” he replied. He inadvertently began to walk faster to match the pace of his pounding heart. It had been an eventful few months—Asahi had had to endure Chiaki’s suspicions, Hinami’s distrust, Kazuaki’s assumptions, Touko’s teasing, and, finally, the children’s misunderstanding. His relationship with Fuyuka had only gained an official title just recently, and it seemed like it would be a while yet before they turned into anything more. However, none of that seemed to matter when he looked over at the beautiful girl stood next to him. One glance was all it took for him to be overly-conscious of her. “Lovers, huh...” Asahi whispered as he came to a standstill. Fuyuka noticed that he had stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. The radiant sunlight was growing stronger, melting the snow and ice around them. When she spoke, her breath came out in a white fog that mingled and combined with his. “Hehe... Maybe we could be called that someday,” she let out a playful chuckle. Much like her name suggested, she was a charming and elegant flower who had finally bloomed beautifully in the winter.