Chapter 1 | The Polar Bear of the 3LDK

Hey everyone, it’s Munakata Asahi, nice to see you all!

It’s August on the calendar. Japanese students are in the thick of enjoying their summer break nationwide.

And that includes me, a fifth-grader, but…

“Ugh… it’s so hot. Why’d the AC have to break on a day like this? This is the worst!”

Today’s temperature hit a scorching 38 degrees, the hottest this summer.

Even with every window in the house flung wide open, it feels like a sauna in here. The repair guy seems swamped, too—it’s been five hours since we called, and still no sign of him.

Looks like I’m stuck savoring this tropical vibe until the AC gets fixed.

I can’t stop sweating, and if I don’t keep chugging water, I’m pretty sure I’ll get heatstroke. My glass of barley tea is empty, so I head to the kitchen for a refill.

As I step out of my room into the hallway…

“What’s that on the floor?”

On my way to the kitchen, I spot a lumpy, brown, rag-like furball sprawled in the hallway.

It’s Piroshki, our tabby cat, lying face-down with all four limbs splayed out limply.

“And he’s, like, melting from the heat… so stretched out!”

This cat is long. Abnormally long.

Compared to the usual Piroshki I know, his body looks at least three times longer.

Probably stretching out like that to shed as much body heat as possible. Talk about adapting to the environment—what a transformation!

I mean, this elongated thing barely even looks like a cat anymore… more like a dachshund?

I scoop him up under his armpits, and his limp body droops and stretches even further.

A cat’s torso that just keeps stretching and stretching.

“…Is this Turkish ice cream or something?”

Not a hint of resistance against gravity—I got a little nervous about how far he’d stretch, so I set him back down quick.

“Piroshki~! You gotta drink your water, buddy~!”

I grab the water bowl from his cat room and set it beside him in the hallway.

But this former stray, who’s been our pet for five months, ignores it completely. Instead, he flips over with a thud, exposing his fluffy white belly to the ceiling.

Piroshki’s panting hard, his belly rising and falling at a frantic pace. When our eyes meet, he lets out a big, human-like huff of a sigh.

His extra-lazy, almost sulky attitude feels like a silent demand to fix the AC already.

“Ugh, I know it’s hot~! I wish the repair guy would hurry up…”

Just looking at Piroshki’s melted state makes me feel even hotter, so I leave him be and head to the kitchen.

And there, on the dining-kitchen floor, I spot something else sprawled out.

A petite girl in just her underwear, collapsed on the hardwood in the exact same pose as Piroshki. Or rather, sprawled out.

It’s like something out of a supernatural battle manga, like she got crushed by a gravity-based attack.

“Hey, Anya… I know it’s hot, but what’s a girl doing lying around half-naked like that?”

This is Anya, aka Anna Gratskaya, sixteen years old. She’s my super-complicated housemate.

Apparently, she used to be a top-tier assassin for some secret Russian crime syndicate, but looking at her sprawled out like this, you’d never guess it.

She just looks like a sloppy, half-naked high school girl who’s hit rock bottom.

“Ugh… I was trying to escape the heat by staying as low to the ground as possible, like a cat…”

Her weak voice barely reaches me. She’s face-down, so I can only see the back of her head, but I can imagine the look on her face.

“So this is a Japanese summer… it’s like being boiled alive in a cauldron of hell…”

Anya’s voice sounds like she’s on the verge of death in her collapsed state.

Growing up in the cold, dry Siberian wilderness, Anya’s probably not used to temperatures soaring past 35 degrees. Add in the stifling, humid air unique to Japanese summers, and it’s no wonder she can’t cope.

But still…

“At least put some clothes on! It’s not like I’m thrilled to see you in your underwear.”

I give Anya’s butt a sharp smack. Her small, toned, yet soft cheeks jiggle like jelly.

“Come on~! Get up, get up~!”

The springy feel is kinda nice, so I start playfully smacking her hips with both hands.

It’s starting to feel like I’m playing a rhythm game, and I’m actually having fun.

But Anya stays sprawled on the floor, showing no signs of getting up. All I get in response to my smacks are lazy groans like “Ugh~” or “Ngh~” timed to each hit.

“…This feels familiar somehow. This Anya.”

Trying to place the déjà vu, I check the news on my phone. Soon, I figure it out.

“That’s it! She’s just like that polar bear!”

A news article about a polar bear at the zoo, exhausted by the intense heatwave. In the attached video, the bear dives into a pool, looking super refreshed.

With her silver hair and pale skin, Anya sprawled on the kitchen floor looks like a tiny polar bear. Maybe a dip in some water would perk her up like that bear?

I head to the bathroom and turn on the blue tap for cold water.

I let the tub fill up, creating a cold bath, and toss in a bunch of ice blocks from the freezer for good measure.

“Alright, here we go… Come on, polar bear, you gotta move a little yourself!”

I grab Anya’s arms and drag her limp body across the floor to the bathroom.

She’s about my size, but her total lack of resistance makes her feel insanely heavy. It’s like dragging a corpse.

“Ugh~! So sweaty and sticky~!”

By the time I finally haul her to the bathroom, I’m drenched in sweat myself.

“Here we go… Hup!”

I slide under Anya, hoist her thighs onto my shoulders, and use the momentum of standing to lift her up. Her body slides down my back like a rail, and I successfully toss her into the tub.

Splash!

Anya plunges headfirst into the ice-filled bath.

Her legs stick up out of the water, like that famous scene from some old movie. What was it called… Sukeban? No, Sukekiyo, right?

“—Pwah!”

The icy bath finally snaps Anya out of her daze.

She pops her head out of the water, blinking her blue eyes in confusion. Less polar bear now, more like a baby seal.

“Pfft, hahaha! How’s that? Cold? Feels good, right?”

“Ugh… I’m alive again in an instant. It’s like going from hell to heaven…”

Anya’s face, eyes closed in a blissful daze, looks utterly content.

“Alright, I’m jumping in too!”

I get the urge to try the ice bath myself and dive into the tub with a splash.

“Eek! It’s freezing!”

The icy water engulfs me from head to toe. When I dunk my head under, my foggy mind clears in an instant. I pop back up to see Anya staring at me, puzzled.

“Asahi… you’re still wearing your clothes?”

“Taking them off seemed like too much hassle. I’m already soaked with sweat, so who cares?”

Oh, this feels amazing. It was a tropical nightmare before, but now it’s like a cool mountain retreat.

A Japanese summer without AC? There’s a way to make it work…

—Ding-dong!

“Sorry for the wait! I’m here to fix the air conditioner!”

Just as I’m basking in paradise, the repair guy’s voice comes through the intercom.

“Oh, crap. This is a low-key emergency.”

Soaked to the bone, clothes and all, I snap back to reality in a heartbeat.

And so.

Our house’s AC was finally fixed, restoring coolness and peace to our 3LDK.

Piroshki’s back on his comfy couch, sprawled out contentedly.

He’s no longer the freakishly stretched-out Turkish ice cream cat but back to his usual plump, round self. Yup, that’s the standard cat vibe.

Under the long-awaited cool air, Piroshki’s fast asleep, eyes rolled back (well, technically it’s his nictitating membrane, not his whites) with a weird pispis breathing sound from his nose, twitching his paws now and then like he’s dreaming something happy.

Anya and I are in the kitchen, eating the ice cream we bought earlier.

“Hey, that’s got the same name as you, Anya!”

“…Shirokuma.”

It’s a snowy-white shaved ice dessert loaded with condensed milk, mixed with fruits and black beans like anmitsu. Apparently, it’s a specialty from Kyushu, but now you can grab it at any convenience store nationwide.

“Mmm, it’s sweet and delicious… I was bracing myself, thinking it might actually taste like bear.”

“What kind of ice cream would that even be?”

“But honestly, it’s almost scary. Eating cold sweets in a perfectly air-conditioned room during the peak of a heatwave… I thought that kind of decadent pleasure was reserved for mafia bosses or something.”

“Pfft, mafia bosses? What’s with that comparison? That’s hilarious!”

Anya’s totally off-the-wall comment cracks me up, and I burst out laughing.

Just then, I catch a glimpse of Anya’s profile. She’s staring out the window at the summer sky, her expression completely serious.

The dazzling silver of her hair catches the light, and her blue eyes match the sky she’s gazing at.

But those two blues aren’t the same shade at all.

Her dark blue eyes, like a lonely, cold Siberian lake, seem to reflect a distant scene, far removed from the vibrant, open indigo of the midsummer sky. It’s a deep, dark blue, worlds apart.

Seeing Anya’s profile like that, a tiny pang of pain tugs at my chest. It’s the sting of a bittersweet thought.

Is Anya still trapped by the violent, bloody times of her past?

The Anya who was a killing machine—she’s gone now.

She’s supposed to belong to this free, peaceful, cat-like daily life now. Even I can see how much she’s changed since we first met.

But hearts don’t switch gears like a machine. They’re not that simple.

I think back to a month ago, when Anya faced off against Pam blade-san in the dead of night, deep in the mountains.

“Are people who’ve been hurt, people who’ve sinned, never allowed to live in peace? I want to believe that’s not true… If it is, what’s the point of living?”

Those words, I think, were Anya’s heart crying out. That’s what she truly wants, deep down.

But maybe she’s not quite there yet.

The confidence to let go of past wounds and sins, to live with a calm heart—she might not have found that yet.

And… maybe that’s why she wanted to show that same hope she clings to, to someone else trapped by their past.

Will there come a day when Anya can truly let go of her past and find happiness?

What can I do to help her get there?

The more I think about it, the tighter my chest feels.

Unable to stand it, I look up to see Anya clutching her forehead, trembling.

“…!”

“What’s wrong, Anya?”

“A sudden, sharp headache… I was just eating something cold. Why is this happening?”

“…Pfft!”

I can’t help but burst out laughing.

All my heavy thoughts vanish in the face of this overwhelming reality.

Because Anya’s just so normal, so adorable like this.

“Pfft… hahaha!”

She’s going to be okay. Anya’s definitely going to find her happiness.

I don’t say it out loud, but my eyes tell her so.

I don’t want to see Anya staring at the sky with those lonely eyes anymore.

I believe one day she’ll shake off the last bits of darkness and step into the bright, sunlit warmth.

Until that day, I’ll be right by her side, closer than anyone.

Always.

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