Date Her Instead Vol. 5

Chapter Eleven: Difficult Girls

"Thanks for coming by!"

"You should come more often!"

"Enjoy the rest of the festival!"

After Haruna had separated from Kanako, she had gone to see her old club, the Girls Snowboarding and Skiing Club. Thanks to what turned out to be a career-ending injury suffered last term, Haruna had had to come to terms with not being able to do the sport she enjoyed so much anymore. With Kanako and club president Izumi Komatsu's help, she had managed to accept the reality of her situation. However, ever since then, she hadn't been back to the club room.

Haruna knew she was welcome there, but just because she had accepted her situation, that didn't mean it was any easier. Going to the club room meant being reminded of all the things she couldn't do anymore, so it was hard for her to actually want to go back. But, with the cultural festival now here, she felt like it was the perfect time to try. After all, the club would surely be doing some sort of presentation (just like the previous year), and if somehow things didn't go well for Haruna while visiting, she could always distract herself with the other festivities.

When she had arrived at the club room, her welcome had been quite energetic, with all of the members present being really excited to see her. They told her how much they had missed her, and they showed her their new trophies too. That part stung a little bit, but Haruna did her best to ignore that feeling. She was hoping to be able to come by more often, so getting used to moments like these was going to be necessary.

After that, they had talked for a bit and the members explained what they were doing for the festival. Apparently, Izumi was planning on mimicking a snowboard run using some ramps. When Haruna visited, it turned out that the reason Izumi wasn't there was because she was out preparing. "Too bad she's not here," Haruna had thought. Despite her feelings about Izumi as a person, Haruna had a lot of respect for her as an athlete, so she had been hoping to see her. "I guess my last chance will be graduation." With Izumi being a third-year, it was nearly time for her to leave Iwanai High. For most students, that would mean entrance exams, but Izumi's prowess as an athlete had guaranteed her a recommendation to any school of her choice. However, she still ended up being plenty busy, and with attendance being optional at this point, it was rare for Haruna to even see her in the halls. Although, considering how involved she still was as a third-year, some of the club members joked that Izumi would never leave.

Not too long after, it was nearly time for the club members to go join Izumi, so Haruna had decided to leave, which resulted in her getting serenaded with goodbyes. As she left, she admittedly felt a little lighter. "It's good that I went to see them," she thought with a smile. Haruna had thought that the experience would end up being awkward and painful, but it ended up feeling like she had never left. Satisfied with her visit, Haruna decided the next thing she would do would be to find Chiyo.

With neither of them having anything to do, Chiyo had gone to see if she could help out Jasmine's class, so Haruna started heading in that direction. However, it didn't take long for her to find the gal she was looking for. "Haru-chiiii...." Chiyo cried. "Huh? What's wrong?" Haruna asked, surprised to see the usually-energetic girl looking so down. "Jas-chin shooed me away..." "That's what you're so depressed about?" Haruna asked, now wishing she hadn't bothered being concerned. "But she was so mean this time! She told me I'd just mess something up somehow! Isn't that totally awful? I mean like, I taught her half the stuff she knows about hair!" Chiyo whined. "Yeah, I'm not really seeing a problem here," Haruna said mercilessly. "Jasmine-chan's always like that with you. Plus, it's her class anyways, so it's not like they really need your help." "Well, I guess you're right, but like, they sure had a lot of people there in line," Chiyo said. "Not to mention she seemed kinda worried about something." "Really?" Haruna asked, curious. Chiyo nodded.