Date Her Instead Vol. 6

Chapter Fifteen: Just How Much Damage Can A Gal Take?

"Haaah... Chi, if ya keep pacin' like that, you're gonna wear a hole in the floor," Chitose sighed as she watched her little sister go back and forth. For about the past hour, Chiyo had been doing just that, seemingly deep in thought and agonizing over something. Of course, knowing her sister as well as she did, Chitose was pretty sure she knew why. "If you're that worried, why don't ya just go talk to her?"

Those words got Chiyo to stop for a moment. "If it was that easy, I would've done that already," she muttered before she resumed pacing. During the time that Mayu had been dealing with her mother's threat of transfer, Chiyo had been spending her weekend worrying. It was the morning of Saturday, April 10, and Michi had skipped nearly the entire last week of school.

Caring for her as much as she did, Chiyo wanted to go check on Michi, but just as she said, it wasn't that easy. The last time they had spoken, Chiyo had struck her, and knowing Michi, Chiyo had a feeling the girl had been doing nothing but stewing away in her apartment, thinking about that exact moment. "Even if I saw her," Chiyo thought. "What could I possibly say?"

She had hurt Michi. There was no denying that. But, there was also no denying Chiyo had been hurt too. Was it right for her to ignore that in the pursuit of trying to fix things with Michi? It was yet another question added to her growing list of worries.

Chiyo was naturally the kind of person that sacrificed for others. Unfortunately, that also meant sacrificing too much most of the time, leading to forced smiles and fake happiness. But, in this case, Chiyo thought it might be necessary. Her feelings for Michi were stronger than anything else she felt. This wasn't just simply a case of love; this was a case of need. Michi had already done so much for Chiyo. Just the girl's presence in Chiyo's life had dramatically changed things for her. If that presence faded, if it disappeared entirely... would Chiyo fall back into her old habits?

She wanted to believe the answer to that would be no, but there was no way to know for sure. That's why it was better if she could have Michi around. That, and the fact that she just loved Michi. Even her stubbornness could be cute when it wasn't being destructive. So, if Chiyo wanted all of that back in her life, she needed to be willing to put her own feelings aside.

Certainly, she had plenty to be mad about. However, if the gal let her anger take over, she'd never be able to recover what she wanted, what she longed for. In just one short year, Chiyo had come to need Michi, above all else. Any anger she felt would have to be put away.

It was far from healthy behavior. Chiyo understood that. And, thanks to Michi constantly calling her out on her fake smiles when something was actually bothering her, Chiyo had become even more aware of her sacrificial nature. But, if she had to choose between her feelings and her love, she'd choose love.

Over and over again Chiyo had reiterated this sentiment to herself. She needed to in order to justify herself. Surely her unhealthy behavior would become healthy once everything worked out. If she could just get Michi to listen, and if Chiyo could just explain, then maybe...

Unfortunately, this was Michi. It wasn't some simple girl with an open mind. This was a girl who was stubborn beyond belief and vehemently opposed to change. Chiyo could come up with all of the fancy speeches she wanted, but if Michi wasn't even willing to lend an ear, then it was all wasted effort. It was this reason why Chiyo continued to pace. She needed some way to get Michi to hear her out. They were beyond a case of basic stubbornness. Something was gnawing at Michi from the inside, and Chiyo had a feeling that whatever that was, it was the cause of all of Michi's volatile behavior recently.

For a brief moment, Chiyo had considered the impossible. What if the reason Michi was acting so strangely was because she was denying new feelings? Could it be possible that Michi was just trying to hold back things she wasn't willing to accept?