Date Her Instead Vol. 7 (Final Volume)

Chapter Twenty-Four: Can You Really Still Lie To Yourself?

Throughout most of her life, Michi Fukuhara never had many friends. Thanks to her blunt personality, there were plenty that avoided her, and even the few that did try to get closer eventually gave up. It wasn't so much because they found her to be too mean, but rather, because she expected too much of them.

When it came to friendships, Michi wanted one thing above all else: loyalty. It wasn't as if she expected all of her friends to serve her, but she wanted at least one of them to stick by her side no matter what. Yet, in every attempt, the ones that claimed to be her friends would leave her, often telling her "you're being ridiculous."

And perhaps they were right. It was precisely because of this expectation that Michi had such a failing social life. But, just as she was beginning to believe she'd never find the friend she was looking for, she found Kanako. The two of them got along so well that it seemed like a dream to Michi. They would have their little spats like any other friends, but ultimately, Kanako was always on Michi's side. While she wasn't the fierce defender that Michi maybe would've desired, Kanako still supported Michi, and that was enough for her.

So when that friendship suddenly fell apart before her eyes, Michi felt extremely hurt. Of course, a big reason why it all went wrong was because of Michi herself, but she kept being stubborn, refusing to accept any of the blame. That stubbornness only served to further worsen the issue, until eventually, her friendship with Kanako, once so dependable, was nearing a point at which it would no longer be salvageable.

Having such an important relationship stripped from Michi made her more bitter than she had been before, and because of that attitude change, her other friends, Mayu and Itsuki, also began to distance themselves from her. If one only looked at the previously unified group of four, they'd think that Michi was well on her way to being left all alone.

Except, by a weird twist of fate, she wasn't. Chiyo Wakabayashi, a girl classified as a gyaru and the type of girl Michi hated the most, somehow ended up being the one to fill in the gap that was slowly growing larger as Kanako departed from Michi. She was still in pain, and would be for a while, but before she knew it, she began accepting the gal into her life.

Michi never wanted to openly admit it, but it was nice having her around. Sure, Chiyo could be annoying, and loud, and a tease, but when it really counted, she was perhaps the most reliable person Michi had ever met. Having been through her own past problems, Chiyo was sensitive to the pain Michi felt. Slowly but surely, Michi started to enjoy the comfort that the gal was providing her.

They opened up to one another, cried to one another, and while they occasionally fought (with it often being Michi's fault), the two somehow made up in the end. Understanding now how much trouble she had been causing Chiyo, Michi was somewhat amazed that the gal had even stuck around that long.

Although, perhaps it wasn't that amazing at all. When Michi really thought about it, thought about everything that had happened, it was nearly impossible to come to a certain conclusion. However, being as stubborn as she was, Michi refused to accept it as truth. To some degree, she still just couldn't accept love between two girls.

But, even if her mind couldn't accept it, her heart already had. It was that dependable organ, the one that constantly leapt in Chiyo's direction, that told her what her true feelings were. Unfortunately, stubbornness prevailed on this front too, and so Michi was left in a purgatory state. Even so, her heart could not be denied, and as if to demonstrate this fact, it had reacted in the most violent of ways upon seeing the sight it had only two days ago.

That kiss.

A part of Michi was put off by simply seeing two girls kiss, but that feeling was practically irrelevant when compared to how the rest of her felt. She felt betrayed. Ignored. Rejected. It felt like everything she had with Chiyo had just been shattered by one action. Even if Chiyo had completely valid reasons, Michi wasn't sure if she'd even be able to accept them.