Date Her Instead Vol. 7 (Final Volume)

Final Chapter: Let The Bells Ring

Two years later...

In a small dressing room, a woman was getting ready. Standing in front of a mirror attached to the top of a small table, she looked herself over. Her long, jet-black hair was completely tied up, woven together into an intricate design with a bit of volume to it, and her face had the perfect styling of makeup on it, with some mascara on her lashes and a slightly dark shade of red on her lips.

On her ears were two small, diamond-like earrings, each long enough to dangle just a bit, and around her neck was a thin, silver chain ending in a glass-like bead. All of this led into the feature of the woman's appearance, a white, strapless dress that held close to her frame and giving the appearance that it was as if it were wrapped around her. The length of the dress came down to her ankles, with the bottom half loosening and flaying out a bit to allow for better movement. Finishing the look were a pair of white heels, open on both sides and held on by a wide strap near the toes.

This woman, Haruna Endo, currently stood ready in her dressing room as she awaited the call for her wedding to begin.

With her was Chiyo, dressed in a deep blue dress that stopped just above her knees and (with a slight modification) it cut somewhat low down her chest. Contrary to her usual appearance, her hairstyle was different for the occasion, wearing it down and having given it a fair amount of volume and a bit of waviness.

"You really do look beautiful, Haru-chi," Chiyo said, sounding pleased. "And you look a little more like you're ready to go to a club than a wedding," Haruna pointed out. "Hey, you said I could wear whatever I wanted!" Chiyo protested. "And Kana-chan said it was fine too!" Hearing her defense, Haruna laughed. "It's fine. I really don't mind. It's just nice to see that in two years, your style really hasn't changed much."

"I can't believe it's already been that long," Chiyo said. "So much has happened in all of our lives." "That's true," Haruna agreed. "And nearly all of us have left Iwanai." "I forgot how nice it was to live in a city with so much convenience," Chiyo said. "If I need something, there's almost always a store for it nearby."

"But speaking of things happening," the gal continued. "I still can't believe you were the one to propose!" "W-Why is that so hard for you to believe?!" Haruna exclaimed. "Haru-chi, do ya not remember how much of a romantic wreck ya were in high school?" Chiyo pointed out, drawing an "ugh..." out of Haruna. "Besides," Chiyo went on. "Knowing the two of ya, I would've thought Kana-chan would be the one proposin'." "I found out after she said yes that she was actually thinking of doing it in the next couple of months," Haruna said. "She actually told me she had wanted to get married basically as soon as we graduated, but we both got so busy with our schooling and opening a business that we couldn't have any sort of ceremony until now anyways."

"How is that business going anyways?" Chiyo asked. "We're getting things together, but it'll probably be at least another year until we're even close to opening," Haruna sighed. "It's a lot of work." "Well, no sense in worryin' about all that right now," Chiyo said. "It's your wedding down, Haru-chi! Today's a day to party with all your friends! Ah, speaking of which."

At the same time as Chiyo was speaking, the door nearly flew open, revealing a girl in a blue dress identical to Chiyo's. Her hair was also done quite similarly, though there were two main differences. The first was that it was pink, and the second was that it was quite a bit longer than what it had been in her high school days.

"Sorry... I'm late..." Jasmine said through breaths. "What took ya so long girl?" Chiyo asked. Standing back upright, Jasmine gathered herself as she closed the door. "It was a big mess getting here. I had several last-minute clients to take care of, and then my flight got delayed, and then I almost couldn't find the venue..."