Date Her Instead Vol. 5

Chapter One: Full Speed Ahead

Standing in front of a mirror, the girl looked herself over one last time. She had just gotten home and changed, part of her preparations for a new resolution she had just created. The calendar read January 1 after all, so there was no better time to act on one.

Her outfit was nothing fancy. Without the assistance of a certain local gal, it was impossible for her to do anything extravagant. Regardless, she still had enough fashion sense to put together something nice. Wearing a white but slim sweater that helped to emphasis her modest breasts and jeans that were a slightly lighter blue than average, the girl finished the ensemble off by adding a pair of medium-sized hoop earrings, a bold touch for one such as herself. With her hair tied in a classic ponytail (which had gotten a bit of styling done for this occasion), the girl nodded once to herself before beginning to march out down the stairs and to her front door.

Kanako Nakatomi, a second-year student at Iwanai Municipal High School, was preparing to do something she had never once done before. Twice in her life she had fallen in love, and in both instances, both people had come to her. She had just been able to sit back and let them do the hard work. Now however, her mindset had changed, and for the first time, Kanako was going on the offense for love.

"Here we go," she thought to herself as her hand reached for the handle. For so long, it had felt like lingering worries and doubts had plagued her. Along the way, she had continuously tripped over her own feet, ultimately causing her own problems. All of that damage done had led to a terrible misunderstanding. Haruna believed she had been rejected by Kanako, but the girl herself had been planning on doing nothing of the sort.

Kanako had been so shocked by that failure that she had been able to do nothing and had nearly given up on even trying to love. Thanks to Hinami, that didn't happen, and now Kanako was armed with a new mindset and felt more determined than ever.

"Hm? Kanako, are you going out again?" her mother asked just before she opened the door. "Yeah, I'm going to go see Haruna," Kanako answered. "So you'll get dressed well enough to see a friend but not a shrine visit?" her mother asked idly, but she didn't expect an answer. Earlier, Kanako had gone out in the bare minimum required to be socially acceptable when going to a shrine, but now she was dressed in a much more presentable fashion. "Well, at least you seem to be in a better mood. Looks like getting some fresh air did you some good after all," her mother said, nodding to herself, apparently satisfied.

Truthfully, Kanako's mother wasn't entirely wrong. Going out had done Kanako some good, but it wasn't so much being out in the fresh air that had helped as much as it had been what had happened. Although, Kanako didn't find the need to point that out. "I'm going," she said, then with a click, the door opened and she stepped outside once more.

It felt vastly different than only a couple of hours ago. Of course, the temperature had risen, so it was technically warmer, but to Kanako, she could hardly feel the cold at all. Her head felt so much clearer than it had over the last week, and perhaps even further back than that. With one step forward and then two, she felt light.

Was she being too optimistic? Possibly. The thought did cross Kanako's mind. She wondered if she'd actually succeed on the first try. Considering how her last interaction with Haruna had gone, it seemed unlikely. To go from assuming you're being rejected to accepting a person's feelings seemed like too big of a switch at the moment. But, the way Kanako saw it, it didn't matter if this first try succeeded or not. All that mattered was that she was actually trying.

If Kanako could at least get Haruna to talk to her, that'd be a step in the right direction. They didn't have to become a couple right this minute. If that happened, then Kanako would be all the happier, but chances were that it wouldn't be that easy.