Date Her Instead Vol. 1

Chapter Seven: So You Remember?

"Haru-chi, that was, like, totally overboard," Chiyo said in a stern voice. Snapping out of her shock caused by Kanako, Haruna responded. "Tch, who cares? You know what? I'm glad she quit. That means I don't have to deal with her anymore!" Chiyo stared at her friend. "So you'll give up on Akio-kun too?" Haruna flinched. "G-give up? Don't be ridiculous. I don't need that mouse or the deal to get Miyashita-kun to pick me!" "Um, Haru-chi?" "What?" Chiyo pointed in front of her. Following her trajectory, Haruna saw Akio still standing in the doorway. All he did was shake his head in disappointment, then turned around and disappeared into the stairway.

While Haruna dealt with the realization that Akio had seen and possibly heard everything, Kanako kept running. Down the flights of stairs, through the hallways and all the way out the front doors she ran. She didn't stop to get her stuff or tell anyone where she was going. Kanako just wanted to hide from the world.

In the moment, it had been easy for her to put on a brave face in front of Haruna. After all, everything she had said she meant. But now that the words Kanako had spoken were sinking in, she felt nothing but pain. "I can't be with Akio-kun..." Over and over she thought about it, until her sadness began to warp into anger. "It's her fault... It's all Haruna's fault! If she hadn't been such a jerk, we could've pulled it off!"

Kanako suddenly stopped. "No, that's not right. I shouldn't throw around blame. But still... If we could've made it a year, I think... I could've been happy for Haruna if Akio-kun picked her instead of me..." As she came to grips with her actions, Kanako trudged the rest of the way home. Walking in and not even stopping to take off her shoes, she went straight up the stairs and into her room.

Time passed slowly as she laid on her bed. The clock on her phone read 1:12 p.m. "I shouldn't have left school like that..." Kanako regretted. "I'm going to be in so much trouble." Abruptly putting the end to the silence in the Nakatomi house was the shrill ring of their doorbell. "Who could that be?" Kanako wondered. Getting up and making her way down to the first floor, Kanako stopped just short of actually opening the door.

"What if it's Akio-kun?" she thought, remembering she had ran past him. "Oh geez, he definitely saw me crying too..." Her hand hovered above the handle, uncertain of whether or not to grant entry to whoever was on the other side. "If it's him, what'll I do? I really don't want to see him right now..." Then, another thought crossed Kanako's mind. "W-what if it's Haruna...?" Her worry was quickly dispersed though. Kanako knew there was no way that would happen. "Then who...?"

Knowing there was only one way to find out, Kanako turned the doorknob and opened the door carefully, allowing just enough space so she could see who it was that was there. To her surprise, it was a girl with blonde hair, tied back in two small buns with two long strands rebelliously hanging loose. Her uniform matched Kanako's overall, but the girl's had become rather untidy. She also appeared to be out of breath. "M-mi-chan?" Kanako stuttered.

"U-um, h-hey... Kana-chan..." Michi said nervously between breaths. "So... can I come in?" "Huh? Oh, um, sure, I guess..." Kanako was confused. Wasn't Michi mad at her? A couple steps forward and the girl in question was inside. Shutting the door behind her, Kanako stared at her friend. "Why are you here, Mi-chan?" Kanako asked in a more mellow tone, her initial shock wearing off. "Why? Because I saw you sprint past our classroom in tears, that's why!" Michi exclaimed, flabbergasted by the question. "She saw me?" Kanako thought to herself. Thinking back, it was true she had ran by her classroom. Kanako's face went red from embarrassment.

Michi's expression switched from annoyed to worried, and she got closer to Kanako. "What's wrong, Kana-chan?" she asked. Kanako wasn't sure what to say. "Well, it's, um..." she struggled to find the right words. "Does it have to do with Endo-san?" Michi guessed correctly. Kanako's acknowledgement was a simple nod. "I knew it. I knew she'd cause nothing but grief for you. Come on, we're going to go back to Iwanai Municipal and giving the girl a piece of both our minds!" Michi went to pull Kanako with her, but instead it was the other way around. "...Kana-chan?"