Date Her Instead Vol. 7 (Final Volume)

Chapter Twelve: I'm Such A Liar

"Y'know, ya should've seen the look on my parents' faces when I first came out of the bathroom with my hair dyed," Chiyo said. "It was like they had been frozen in ice or something." She laughed as she recalled the memory. "My big sis was pretty surprised too, but she just ended up shrugging it off." "Chitose really didn't care?" Michi asked. "Not really," Chiyo said.

Hearing about her hair suddenly made Michi think of another question. "Wait, then what color did your hair used to be?" "Hmm?" Chiyo hummed. "Ya wanna know?" "Not if you're going to make some game out of it," Michi said, slightly annoyed by Chiyo's tone. "Aw, c'mon, don't be like that Mi-chan. Just take a guess." "...Alright," Michi said. "Was it black?" For a moment, Chiyo's eyes went wide, but then she switched to a very pleased smile. "Yep," she said. "It was totes black, just like Haru-chi's."

"That's hard to imagine," Michi said. After all, she had only known Chiyo as a gal with gold and auburn hair. Picturing having something as plain as black hair was certainly a challenge. "I might have a pic. Hold on," Chiyo said, searching through her phone. "Oh, here's one! This was actually right before I dyed my hair. I wanted a before and after."

Hopping over to Michi's side of the table, Chiyo showed the girl her phone screen. Sure enough, there was a girl with straight black hair in the picture, but it looked nothing like Chiyo. "No dye, no earrings, no make-up..." Michi muttered as she made a list of differences. "Pretty crazy transformation, right?" Chiyo said with a grin.

"But why did you become a gyaru in the first place?" Michi asked, but as soon as she did, she wished she hadn't. Immediately, the smile from Chiyo's face morphed into a less believable one. "Ah..." she let out as she made her way back to her seat. After she sat down, it seemed like she couldn't look Michi in the eyes.

"I guess you could say... it wasn't for the best reasons..." Chiyo finally answered. That response though was enough for Michi. "It probably has to do with her past..." she thought. "But if that's the case..." Looking straight ahead, Michi called out to the gal across from her. "Chiyo, if looking like that reminds you of bad times then-"

"It doesn't," Chiyo said, cutting Michi off. She took a moment to compose herself, but when she faced Michi again, she seemed to be more like her usual self. "It's true that my appearance mostly resulted from the girls I hung out with, but it's not like it was against my will. Even if bad times are with it, there were good times too. Besides, I've really come to enjoy all of this stuff. The makeup, the accessories, the clothes. It's fun." Chiyo appeared to be telling the truth as far as Michi could tell. "Well, I guess if she's having fun, it's alright..." she thought.

"But, to answer your first question," Chiyo said, getting Michi's attention. "When I first moved up here, I thought about it." "...Really?" Michi said, somewhat surprised. Chiyo nodded. "Yup. I mean, this is far from Tokyo, y'know? In big cities, I might catch someone's eye, but they'll probably just keep walkin'. Here in Iwanai, it was like I became a local celebrity. I got stopped all the time by people to ask me all sorts of things." "Like if you were available?" Michi asked, sounding a little bitter. "Yeah," Chiyo admitted. "And at the time, well..." "I know," Michi said, not wanting to hear the rest of what Chiyo was implying.

It was quiet for a moment until Michi pressed the conversation forward. "If that was the case, then why stay like that?" "It was def a lot of attention," Chiyo said. "But it wasn't all bad either. A lot of older folks would give me free stuff, and every now and then someone would want me to model for them." "You've lived quite a life here already, I see," Michi commented, causing Chiyo to let out a small laugh. "Yeah, guess I have."

Another moment of silence fell between them before Chiyo was the next one to speak. "Hey, Mi-chan. Do you... want me to stop?"

If Michi had been asked this question a year ago, it would've been a resounding yes. Even six months ago, she probably wouldn't have minded. But now... Michi could only shyly look away as she spoke.