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Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Arashi Narukami. She had short, golden hair and a smile so bright that not even the sun could rival it. She was a cheerful girl, a self-proclaimed "big sister" who was always there if you needed a shoulder to cry on. She always wore a blue dress with a white apron around her waist, along with a large white bow on her head.
One day, Narukami got lost. She had gone on a walk in the woods to pick berries, but lost track of time. Before she knew it, it was dark, and she'd lost her way home. Frightened, Narukami tried to find shelter from the creatures of the night. It was then that she stumbled upon a cottage, hidden from the world.
The cottage was an average, two-story building. Nothing was odd about the exterior. Narukami went up to the wooden door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Silence. Narukami tried again.
Knock, knock, knock.
Silence again. Narukami, desperate to get away from the darkness, tried the door handle. It was unlocked.
Narukami stepped inside. Surely the residents wouldn't mind if she stayed a bit? Narukami smelled something appetizing from the kitchen. The blonde clutched her grumbling stomach, realizing she hadn't eaten in a while. She entered the kitchen, placed her basket of berries on the wooden table, and surveyed the sources of the smell.
On the table were three wooden bowls of porridge, all of varying sizes. Narukami placed a hand on her stomach again, trying to keep the hungry beast at bay. She picked up a wooden spoon and positioned herself in front of the largest bowl, picking up a spoon of porridge from it. Surely the residents wouldn't mind if she took a bite or two? She was quite hungry. Narukami opened her mouth and ate the porridge.
Narukami spat out the porridge into a tissue. The porridge was blazing hot, like someone had placed a campfire in the bowl before dumping the food in. The blonde could barely feel her taste buds, which had been burnt away by the ridiculously hot food. Somehow, Narukami tasted an odd texture in the porridge. She leaned near the steaming wooden bowl and sniffed.
Was that… protein powder? Did someone actually put protein powder in their porridge? Narukami wasn’t a bodybuilder, but even she knew that this wasn’t the proper use of the powder. Confused, Narukami pushed the protein bowl away from her and moved to the next bowl. The second bowl was smaller than the first one and wasn't steaming on the top, so Narukami assumed it wouldn’t burn her tongue off. There wasn’t any weird odour coming from it either. Narukami’s stomach grumbled again, so she decided to trust her observations and picked up another spoon of porridge from the second bowl.
Or at least, she tried to. When Narukami’s spoon hit the porridge, the wooden utensil was stopped by a hard surface. Narukami hit her spoon against the porridge a couple more times, but none of her attempts allowed her to break the surface of the meal. Narukami placed the bowl upside down and smacked her spoon against its bottom multiple times. When she flipped the bowl over, the porridge’s appearance hadn’t changed. The porridge was frozen.
Sighing, Narukami placed the bowl back down right-side-up. How long had it been in the fridge? How long had it been out of the fridge? Why would you even freeze porridge? Just what kind of household did she walk into? Narukami didn’t want to deal with all these questions today, so she moved onto the last bowl.
The last bowl was the smallest of the three. Unlike the last two bowls, this one was painted with small, yellow suns. Narukami chuckled at the cute bowl, and picked up a spoonful of the porridge from the small bowl. Thoroughly checking it for any abnormalities, Narukami ate the porridge.
The porridge was warm, but not blazing hot. There weren't any weird ingredients in it, and it was edible. It was perfect. Narukami couldn’t stop herself after the first bite and devoured the grain-filled mixture. The small bowl was soon empty, and Narukami’s stomach had finally stopped rumbling. Wanting to be polite (or as polite as she could be after devouring a stranger's meal), Narukami washed her used spoon and the empty porridge bowl.
Narukami looked outside as she dried her hands. She could still hear the wolves howling into the night. Not wanting to take any chances, she decided to stay inside the cottage for a little while longer. Picking up her basket of berries once again, she left the kitchen and walked into what she believed was the living room. In the living room were three chairs of varying sizes, all facing a table in the middle of the room. Narukami’s legs felt heavy from all her earlier berry picking, so she decided to rest her legs on one of the chairs. The residents wouldn’t mind, right?
Narukami sat down on the first chair. It was huge! She was a whole head smaller than the backrest. Narukami hopped off the ridiculously large chair and sat on the second one. The chair was smaller than the first one, but it was still too large for Narukami’s liking. Why were these chairs so big anyways? Did she accidentally stumble upon the house of giants? Narukami shook her head away from those thoughts and made her way to the last chair. The chair was the perfect size for her; she could rest her arms AND her head comfortably.
As Narukami placed her basket of berries beside her, she noticed something next to the chair. There was a pile of various magazines, the topics ranging from beauty, to sports, to celebrity gossip. Narukami picked up a magazine talking about the latest fashion trends, made herself comfy on the chair, and started reading the magazines; occasionally eating a couple of berries from her basket.
Half an hour had passed. Narukami yawned as she closed the magazine she was reading. The blonde looked out a nearby window. It had started raining! Narukami definitely wasn't going out in that weather. This dress was brand new! Another yawn escaped the girl's lips, perhaps she could take a nap until the storm passed. The residents wouldn’t mind, right? Placing the magazines back next to the chair, Narukami made her way up the stairs to the sleeping quarters.
There were three doors located on the left side of the hallway. Narukami opened the first door and examined the room. The room was… basic, to say the least. There were no decorations on the walls or around the room, like someone had just moved into it and had yet to unpack. The only "non-standard" thing Narukami saw were a few dumbbells littering the floor. Narukami was pretty sure that was a safety hazard, but it wasn't her problem, so she ignored it. The girl stepped over a stray dumbbell and made her way to the bed.
The bed was also basic. White sheets and pillows accompanied by a deep purple blanket. Narukami went to fluff one of the pillows before lying down. The pillow was as hard as a rock! Narukami tried fluffing the other pillows and was greeted by the same stiff material. Narukami lifted the blanket and laid down on the bed. The mattress was as stiff as a board! Narukami definitely wasn't going to be able to sleep on this bed. Narukami fixed the bed to cover up her tracks and left the room.
The second room wasn't as bland as the first one. Various cowboy hats were hung on the wall, accompanied by stickers of Sheriff stars. There was a bookshelf filled with various figurines of motorcycles, and a violin leaning against the wall in a corner. Narukami made her way towards the bed. The blanket was basil green, decorated with little… guns? Narukami was pretty sure those were guns. A plush bison sat in the middle of the bed, a large smile sewn onto its face.
Narukami went to fluff one of the pillows. It was as soft as a cloud! Narukami lifted the blanket and laid down on the bed, careful not to disturb the plush bison. The mattress was like a pile of angel feathers, Narukami could feel herself sinking into the soft bed. Literally, Narukami could feel her butt touching the bottom of the bed frame. At this rate, she was going to be swallowed by the mattress! Narukami scrambled out of the bed, fixed the blankets (an attempt to cover the very obvious indent she made in the mattress), and left the room.
The third room was very colourful. The walls were a pale orange, decorated with posters of no specific theme. There was a desk littered with various small toys and… a packaged loaf of bread? God, just how much more odd could this house get? Choosing to (once again) ignore the odd decoration, Narukami made her way to the bed. The blanket was orange and decorated with little brown bear heads. A plush baguette was laying peacefully on the bed. At this point, Narukami was too tired to care about the small details.
The blonde fluffed one of the pillows. Not too hard or too soft. Narukami lifted the orange blanket and laid down. The mattress was not too hard, not too soft. Ah, it was just right. Narukami felt her eyelids droop, and her consciousness was soon lost to the warm, welcoming bed.
~ 🐻 ~
“Captain, did you forget to lock the door again?”
The purple-haired bear looked back at the other two bears behind him, his hand resting on the unlocked doorknob of their shared home.
“Oh! So thaaaat’s what I forgot to do! ”
The ginger bear chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, his ears slightly drooping in an apologetic manner. The small, brown-haired bear let go of the ginger bear’s hand and dashed inside.
“Ado-chan-senpai! Mike-chan-senpai! Look! ”
The purple bear and the ginger bear followed the young bear’s voice into the kitchen. There were two bowls on the table, which was weird considering how they left three bowls out before leaving.
“It looks like someone has eaten my porridge.” The purple-haired bear noted the change in appearance in his food.
“Someone’s been messing with my food too!” The ginger bear grazed his fingers over the top of his porridge, taking notice of the spoon groves that weren’t there before. “It’s a good thing I froze it before leaving!”
“I still don’t understand your reasoning for doing that, Captain.”
“For saaafety, Adonis-san!”
“Someone ate my porridge too!” The youngest bear interrupted, shoving his empty bowl into the purple bear’s face. “They ate so much it disappeared!”
“At least they were polite enough to wash the dish after eating,” the purple bear said, petting the shorter bear’s hair in sympathy. “I’ll make you another bowl later.”
That promise made the young bear perk up. The trio of bears took their leave from the kitchen and went to inspect the living room.
“Someone has sat in my seat.” The purple bear sniffed his nose, confirming his suspicions.
"Someone sat in my seat too!" The ginger bear exclaimed.
"Someone sat in my chair too!" The small brown bear picked up a basket that was next to the chair. "They left this basket here too. It smells like berries! "
"Awww, they could’ve at least left us some" The ginger bear pouted playfully.
The purple bear started climbing up the stairs to inspect the bedrooms. The other two bears followed soon after.
"Someone’s slept in my bed." The purple bear straightened and tucked his bedsheets. They weren't this messy when he left.
"Someone’s slept in my bed too!" The ginger bear picked up the plush bison that sat on the bed.
"Ado-chan-senpai! Mike-chan-senpai! Look! "
The small brown bear grabbed the purple bear and ginger bear's hands and led them to his room.
"Someone slept in my bed," the small bear said, pointing to the mattress, "and they're still there!"
A blonde girl was sleeping peacefully on the orange bed. She was quietly snoring while hugging the plush baguette in her arms. The three bears glanced at each other, unsure how to approach the situation. Being the eldest, the ginger bear moved forward and gently shook the blonde's body.
"Heyyyy! Rise and shiiiine!" The ginger bear grinned cheerfully as the girl awoke.
The girl rubbed her eyes, taking a moment to register her surroundings. When she realized her situation, she sprang up from the bed.
"I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to stay so long! I'll be taking my leave now! Thank you! " The words came out in a flurry as the girl ran past the bears. The youngest bear reached out to stop her, but was stopped by the purple bear.
"We'll frighten her even more if we chase her." The purple bear moved towards the window and watched as the blonde girl ran away, her light blue dress flowing behind her.
"Welp, nothing we can do now!" The ginger bear hooked his arms around the other two bears. "Now, how about we cook up some food? I'm staaarving!"
~ 🐻 ~
Narukami hesitated in front of the familiar wooden door. She was lucky it wasn't too far from her usual berry-picking path. Narukami gripped her basket of baked goods tightly as she fixed her apron and hair. Taking a deep breath, Narukami straightened her posture and knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
This time, the door opened. Narukami stood in front of the purple bear from two days ago. His purple ears twitched as he looked at her.
"You're the one from before." The purple bear recognized her immediately. "What're you-"
The bear was interrupted as Narukami began her apology. "I'm very sorry for intruding into your house without your permission! And I also apologize for running away without explaining myself. Please take this basket I made as an apology."
Good, it came out just as she rehearsed. Narukami gently shoved the basket of treats into the bear's hands and bowed in apology. The bear stared for a second, formulating a response in his head.
"Ah, thank you." The bear responded, "Both for the basket and for the apology. You didn't steal anything important, so please don't be scared of us."
Narukami breathed out a sigh of relief. She still broke in and ate their food, but at least they weren't too mad. Narukami was about to take her leave when she heard another voice behind the purple bear.
"Ooooh, is that the burglar girl from before?" The ginger bear appeared next to the purple bear. "Hey, do you want to join us for lunch? I accidentally made toooo much meat, so it'd really help if you joined us! "
"Captain, don't pressure her." The purple bear lightly scolded the ginger bear, receiving a whine from the other. Narukami giggled, quickly mulling over her schedule before speaking.
"I'd love to join you, if you wouldn't mind." The blonde smiled at the two bears.
"Yahoo! Another friend!" Another new voice said. The young, brown bear grabbed Narukami’s hand and dragged her into the house.
"What's your name, miss?" The little bear asked, a large smile plastered on his face.
Narukami smiled back. She could hear the purple bear scolding the little brown bear from afar.
"Narukami, Arashi Narukami," the blonde responded. The little bear's grin grew wider as he called the other two bears into the kitchen.
Maybe breaking and entering into a random house wasn't as bad of a choice as she thought.