Date Her Instead Vol. 7 (Final Volume)

Chapter Four: I Don't Understand, But...

"Hey, hey Kana-chin! Morning!" A cheery Katsumi said. "G-Good morning, Kat-chan," Kanako said warily. This exchange, while not sounding unusual, put Kanako on edge for several reasons. The first was that Katsumi had confessed to her only yesterday. The second was that Kanako was being greeted right at the door to her classroom, and the third was that a very annoyed Haruna stood right behind her.

"Get out of the way," Haruna said briskly. "Oh, of course Endo-san," Katsumi said elegantly. "Please go ahead. Ah, but do be sure to leave this adorable girl with me. I'll take good care of her." "Not on your life," Haruna growled, then she grabbed Kanako by the hand and pulled her into the room. She took Kanako all the way to her seat, then picked her up and sat her down in her chair. "There," Haruna said, continuing to stand next to Kanako's desk.

After a brief moment of confusion, Kanako looked up at Haruna. "U-Um," she said. "W-Why are you just standing there?" "I'm guarding you," Haruna said promptly. "Who knows what that girlfriend thief will try if I leave you alone." "She's not really a thief though since she didn't take me," Kanako pointed out, but Haruna just gave a little "hmph" in response.

"Y'know Endo-san, it's almost time for class to start. Why don't you take your seat?" Katsumi said. "Funny, I could say the same thing to you," Haruna said, smiling, but a vein starting to bulge on her forehead. Looking up at the both of them, Kanako could swear she saw sparks flying. "This... might be bad..." she thought.

"It's so unfair you get to walk with Kana-chin all the time," Katsumi sighed. "How is it unfair?" Haruna asked. "I'm her girlfriend. Of course I'd walk with her." "But why does such a pretty flower have to be next to a brute like you?" Katsumi lamented. "Kat-chan," Kanako said suddenly as she gave off a scary aura. "You should really be nicer." "R-Right..." Katsumi said, backing away a bit. "But still, I should get to walk with you too! We go way back, don't we?" "I've known Kanako longer than you," Haruna flatly pointed out. "Ugh, whatever. That's not the point," Katsumi grumbled.

"My passionate love for Kana-chin is definitely superior to yours. In fact, the only reason I didn't go back with her yesterday was because the principal held me back." "Wow, getting in trouble already?" Haruna snickered. "What a model student." "More of a model than you," Katsumi shot back.

Luckily, the teacher came in at that moment and told everyone to be seated. However, that did little to dampen the stoked flames that had formed between Katsumi and Haruna. The two of them kept glaring at each other, and while they didn't know it, they were thinking the exact same thing.

"I really hate her."

*****

It was after school on Thursday that Michi found herself sitting alone on a bench. With it only being about mid to late April, the air was still cold, but Michi wanted to sit outside anyways. At the very least, it beat sitting in her empty apartment. That option may have kept her body warm, but in another way, it felt colder. So, she opted for a bench not far from school as she thought about what had happened earlier.

"She really did just announce to the whole class she's only into girls..." Michi thought, remembering back to Katsumi's introduction. Initially, Michi had been so shocked that she hadn't really tried too hard to process it. Then, for the rest of the day, she tried to strike up conversation with Chiyo, but kept failing miserably. For the most part, it was Michi's fault for not speaking up, but even on the few times she managed to do so, Chiyo got pulled away for something else, whether it was helping someone, getting yelled at for something, or doing something with Katsumi.

"Why did she keep going over to Ikehara-san?" Michi wondered. To her, it looked like Chiyo was annoyed every time she spoke to Katsumi. "If that's the case, then why did she keep doing it?" she thought, but of course, Michi could get no answer without asking the gal involved. Which brought her back to original dilemma.