Date Her Instead Vol. 7 (Final Volume)

Chapter Six: They Both Look Ahead, But Only One Looks At The Other

The following Tuesday at school, it seemed as though Katsumi's intensity was increasing. "Kanaaa-chin!" she said happily, scooting into the bit of free space left on Kanako's chair. "K-Kat-chan, this is a bit too much..." Kanako said as she saw Haruna glaring at them. "Huh? But I like being this close," Katsumi said breezily. "Doesn't it feel cozy?" "I-It's too cramped!" Kanako protested.

"She obviously doesn't like it, so why don't you leave her alone?" Haruna said sternly. Katsumi turned to her, a disinterested expression on her face. "Huh? Last I checked, you don't know what Kana-chin feels because you're not her. Maybe she actually really likes it." Then she turned back to Kanako. "Don't you wanna be close with me again, Kana-chin?" "W-Well, I guess so, but-" "See, there's no problem."

"God, just go to your own seat already!" Haruna yelled. "Why does this bother you so much? Are you that worried about me sitting with your girlfriend?" Katsumi said mockingly. "I guess I get it. After all, compared to a beauty like me, you really fall short." "Kat-chan..." Kanako grumbled, but Katsumi just waved her hand. "I know, I know. Sorry Kana-chin. I just can't help it. When I put me and Endo-san side by side, there's just such a difference." Anyone near Haruna could practically see the vein throbbing on her forehead.

"C'mon guys, let's just relax," Chiyo said from the front. "Haru-chi, both you and Ikehara-san have your good points." "Yeah, but mine are kinda better," Katsumi said. "That's totally not helping Ikehara-san," Chiyo said. "Well no one asked for your help Waka- what was it again?" Katsumi said. "Wakabayashi," Chiyo said with a glare. "Geez, that really is a mouthful," Katsumi said, unbothered from annoying yet another person.

The air in the room was getting tenser by the minute, but fortunately, the teacher arrived to get class started. Although, his arrival did little to actually relieve the tension. While they weren't talking to each other, Haruna and Chiyo both kept glaring at Katsumi, who seemed to not have a care in the world as she stared starry-eyed at Kanako.

*****

Gym class wasn't any better. While they changed, Haruna kept catching Katsumi stealing glances of Kanako. Chiyo had a locker next to Katsumi, so she did her best to keep Katsumi's eyes focused elsewhere, but it wasn't like she could stop the girl completely. On top of that, it didn't help that Michi was also in their class, so Chiyo occasionally got distracted as well.

The activity scheduled was volleyball, and because of the potential high impacts to her ankle, Haruna had to sit out. This was something that had become the norm for her ever since her injury, but it was still boring. Every now and then the class would do something that Haruna could participate in, but for the most part she just spent her time sitting on the sidelines, occasionally talking with anybody else who sat out.

However, ever since Katsumi's arrival, that time had become both boring and frustrating, as all Haruna could do was watch as Katsumi flirted as much as she could (or tried to before Chiyo interfered). "This sucks," Haruna thought bitterly as the teams were chosen. Even worse was the fact that Katsumi and Kanako ended up on the same team.

And as she sat there grinding her teeth, Katsumi looked over and smirked. "This is totally killing her," she thought as she took in Haruna's irritation. While Katsumi's primary goal was to get Kanako to go out with her instead, she was admittedly beginning to take pleasure in tormenting Haruna as well. "And trying to take Kana-chin from her kills two birds with one stone," she thought, pleased.

So, for every point they scored, Katsumi made sure to either high-five or hug Kanako, and whenever the girl did something, Katsumi was extra loud with her cheers. In response, Haruna would toss in her own praise as well, hoping to drown out Katsumi. But in the end, all getting loudly cheered on by two people did was make Kanako feel embarrassed.