Date Her Instead Vol. 7 (Final Volume)

Chapter One: Home

(Sorry for the delay. Cover took longer than expected. Here's Volume Seven.)

In the slowly warming spring air, two girls walked out of an inn. The first was Haruna Endo, a tall girl with a slim figure and long, jet-black hair that flowed down her back. The one next to her was Kanako Nakatomi, a girl on the shorter side with her brown hair tied up in a ponytail, as per usual. Hand in hand, and wearing the same sailor-style uniform of their school, they made their way down the path that led to the street.

"Haruna, when we get back, let's have a talk with your parents, okay?" Kanako suggested. "Right..." Haruna said, the dread of her reunion rising inside her. Just what should she say to her mother and father upon her return? Most likely an apology would be due, but beyond that, it was hard to say. Just how much differently would this time go compared to last? "Will anything change?" Haruna wondered. "If I were them, I think I'd be more mad at my kid for running away rather than feeling bad about my own actions..."

Unconsciously, she squeezed Kanako's hand tighter, drawing the girl's attention. She looked up at Haruna, surprised for a moment, but then she relaxed and spoke. "It'll be fine," she said gently. "You're acting like you know what I'm thinking," Haruna said. "Well of course I do," Kanako said proudly. "I am your girlfriend after all. It's my job to know things like that." "It's a little scary that that sounds believable," Haruna commented.

As they talked, they reached the road ahead of them, on which was parked a car familiar to Haruna. "Huh? Your mom came to pick us up?" Kanako nodded. "Mhm. I told her I could just call a taxi or something, b-but she insisted, so here she is." Though that was what Kanako said, inside she was thinking something else. "I'm sure she wants to see if we 'did' anything last night..." Of course, depending on how one looked at it, the two girls did engage in some level of newfound intimacy, but it certainly wasn't to the degree that Kanako's mother was most likely expecting.

Reaching the car, they both got into the back seat. "Good morning girls," Kanako's mom said. "G-Good morning Nakatomi-san," Haruna said nervously. "Thanks for picking us up." "No problem," she said easily. "But, before we go..." Turning around, she stared at Kanako. "You did listen to what I told you, right?"

In other words, "You two didn't do anything dirty. did you?"

Kanako wasn't sure how to answer. All they had done was kiss. It was a long, passionate kiss, but that was all. As soon as Kanako had tried to go further, she realized she had no idea what she was supposed to do nect, so she had stopped. But now, the question was, did that qualify as not listening?

"Y-Yeah, sure did mom," Kanako said, unfortunately sounding unconvincing. "Kanako..." her mother sighed. "I know you'll be an adult soon, but this is too much..." "Whatever you're imagine, stop!" Kanako cried. "W-We just... um... well..." When it came time to explain, Kanako found herself faltering. It was just too embarrassing to tell her own mother that she had had her first kiss with her girlfriend last night.

"Hmmm?" Kanako's mom hummed, her stare growing more intense as it shifted over to Haruna. "Oh Haruna-chan? Would you care to enlighten me on what happened between you two last night?" "Ah..." Haruna let out, finally understanding what was going on. "Uhh... we... slept?"

The mother's eyes jumped from one girl to the other and back again. Both were sweating quite a bit, but it was clear neither wanted to give away the details. "Haah... fine. But you two better not be going too far!" Kanako's mother said, giving up on getting them to talk. Simultaneously, Haruna and Kanako breathed out.

The ride home was relatively uneventful, although Kanako's mother was sure to throw her two cents in on Haruna's decision to run away. "I don't know the details, but running away like that definitely isn't going to make it better," she had said. "Whatever happened between you and your parents, you need to make sure to properly explain. You're almost an adult you know? You have to start thinking stuff like this through now."