Date Her Instead Vol. 7 (Final Volume)

Final Chapter: Let The Bells Ring

"All that matters is that you made it," Haruna said. Hearing her voice, Jasmine turned in her direction, her eyes going wide. "Wow..." she let out. "You really look beautiful, Haru-chi." "Thanks," Haruna said shyly. "Chiyo helped with a lot of it." "Sorry I couldn't be the one to do you up," Jasmine said, but Haruna shook her head. "It's fine. I know you're pretty busy being a stylist."

In the two years that had passed, Jasmine had not only managed to get through beauty school, but she even joined a well-known salon in Fujioka, quickly becoming one of the most-requested stylists there. The gal's original plan for getting to the wedding was to just take a couple of days off, but that had proved impossible, then what followed was the storm of chaos she had only recently gotten through. Luckily, the venue wasn't too far from Fujioka, so it all worked out.

"Hey, isn't there supposed to be another bridesmaid?" Jasmine asked, looking around the room. "Hinami-chan is helping Kana-chan right now," Chiyo explained. Then Jasmine got a wry look on her face. "Hey Haru-chi," she said. "Is it killin' ya to not know what Kana-chan is gonna look like?"

During the planning stages of the wedding, Kanako had insisted on the custom of not seeing each other before the start of the ceremony. In fact, she had taken it so far that Haruna didn't even know what Kanako's dress looked like (though Haruna showed her own to Kanako, which she loved). Because of this, along with the normal nerves one gets before a wedding, Haruna was even more anxious with anticipation.

She shook a little from the nerves, but then she took a deep breath then let it out. "I'm sure whatever she wears, it'll look amazing," Haruna said. "I swear Kanako's getting prettier and prettier every day." "Aw, look who's gushing about their soon-to-be-wife," Chiyo teased, but Haruna shot her a look. "Like you're one to talk. How often do you call me to tell me about something Fukuhara-san did?" "I don't call that often!" Chiyo insisted. "You literally called me twice yesterday," Haruna said flatly.

"I can't help it, okay?!" Chiyo whined. "She's just so cute, I gotta tell everyone!" "You've been dating for two years, tone it down a little!" Haruna shouted back. "Yeah, but it's not like we've been in the same place that whole time..." Chiyo said, sounding a little sad. "I'm sure you'll be back together soon," Jasmine added in.

"Fukuhara-san is here, right?" Haruna asked, to which Chiyo nodded. "Yep! She looks absolutely adorbs in her dress too!" "Remind me, who's in Kana-chan's party again?" Jasmine asked. "Mi-chan, Mayu-chan and Itsuki-chan!" Chiyo said. "Oh, and speaking of Mayu-chan, any progress Jas-chin?"

"What kind of progress?" Jasmine asked dubiously. "Ya know what I'm askin' about!" Chiyo exclaimed. "Are ya dating yet or not?" "Uh, w-well..." Jasmine said, avoiding eye contact. "It's... complicated." "You always say that..." Chiyo sighed.

"Everybody moves at their own pace," Haruna said. "There's no point in trying to rush them together." "I guess so," Chiyo said. "Do your best, Jas-chin!" "Sure..." the other gal said.

Then, the door opened again, and standing there was a girl in the same dress as Chiyo and Jasmine. Her hair, once cut in a black bob style, was now long past her shoulders, though at the moment it was done up in a tight bun. "U-Um," she said. "S-Sorry that took so long."

"No problem," Haruna said back with a smile. "Are you ready, Hinami-chan?" "Y-Yes!" the girl said louder than she meant to, causing the other three to laugh.

Shortly after that, a woman showed up. "Endo-san, are you ready? The ceremony is about to begin." "Right..." Haruna said quietly. "Here we go." Gathering herself, she followed the woman out the door, down the hall, and into a large, open space.

Walking in, there were rows of chairs on either side. The crowd wasn't huge on either, but there were still quite a few people present, both from Haruna and Kanako's high school days and from the two years since. Within that crowd were familiar faces, such as Izumi, Sara and Hayashi-san, along with ones one would expect, such as friends and family members. To Haruna's surprise, despite his reluctance and resistance, her father had also made an appearance, sitting in the front row.