Date Her Instead Vol. 7 (Final Volume)

Chapter Eight: A Date With Consequences

Haruna gently placed her hand on Kanako's over the table. "If you wanna keep working for my aunt and learn stuff, I think that's a good thing. You should do it." "A-Are you not worried about not getting to spend as much time together as we do now?" Kanako asked, but Haruna just shook her head. "It's true that it would kinda suck to lose some of my time with you, but it's also not like we're going to always be together. When we're both working adults, we'll both have jobs to do, so we'll only see each other when we're not working anyways." "That makes it sound like we might not ever see each other..." Kanako muttered.

Hearing that, Haruna gave a light smile. "You're always telling me to believe in our love, Kanako," she said. "So believe in it for the future too. Believe that no matter what, we'll see each other plenty." "Y-You really think so?" Kanako asked. "Normally I'd be the one asking you that," Haruna laughed. "But yeah, I do." "Then I guess I will too," Kanako said, now smiling as well. "I'll tell Mori-san I'll take the job tomorrow."

"In the meantime..." Haruna said, looking back down at her sheet. "I still need two more options..." "You should just write, 'Kanako's wife,'" Kanako said. "As much as I'd like to, I don't think the teachers will be okay with that..." Haruna sighed. "O-Oh..." Kanako said, a little caught off-guard at Haruna's casual response. "I really thought she might get flustered by being called my wife... Instead I'm the one who's feeling red in the face," Kanako thought.

Thinking of marriage was something Kanako could spend hours on, but she did her best to focus instead. "Just one more option..."

*****

The next day after school, Kanako needed to speak with her club president, Rina Takano. A girl with glossy black hair usually tied into thin twintails with white and red ribbons, she had been made the president of the cooking club after Naomi Akiyama had graduated. Now in her third year as well, it wouldn't be long until Rina would need to make the same decision.

"Let's see..." she muttered to herself while leaning over a counter in the kitchen that served as her clubroom. "We managed to get a few first-years, but only one second-year. That means if I choose one of them, it'd be between the new girl and Saki... Neither of those are good options..."

"T-Takano-san?" Kanako said as she approached the girl.

"Would a first-year be better? They'd have longer to be president, so they'd get better experience..."

"Takano-san?"

"Then again, that can sometimes feel like a lot of pressure..."

"President Takano-san!"

"Uwaaah!"

Rina jumped at Kanako's sudden shout. "W-What's the big idea?!" she exclaimed. "You don't need to yell!" "I tried calling out to you normally, but you wouldn't respond," Kanako explained. "O-Oh..." Rina said, a little embarrassed. Then she cleared her throat and continued. "Fine. What do you want, Kana-chan?" "Um, I just thought I'd let you know that I'm going to be working from now on, so I'll probably only be at club now and then," Kanako said. "Working?" Rina repeated. "Where?" "At a cafe near the middle of town," Kanako said. "It's kind of hard to find, but it's pretty nice." "Well congrats, I suppose," Rina said. "I guess that means I shouldn't include you for any competitions then?" "P-Probably not, sorry," Kanako said, but Rina just waved her hand. "It's fine. You're doing more than most of us. You've got a job at a restaurant and a girlfriend. I'm almost jealous."

The two of them talked for a bit more, but as Kanako and Rina didn't really have much more than a business-type relationship, Kanako soon left the room. However, she was surprised to find someone waiting for her. "Kat-chan?" she said, staring at the girl who was leaning against the wall next to the door. "Hey, Kana-chin," she said calmly. "Ready to go home?" "A-Are you going to walk with me?" Kanako asked. "Of course!" Katsumi said happily. "Especially since I heard Endo-san was busy and had to go home right away." "Urgh..." Kanako groaned internally. "I knew I should've made sure Kat-chan wasn't nearby to overhear that..."