Date Her Instead Vol. 1

Chapter Five: A Painful Past Seeps Into The Present

While both girls had very different topics on their minds, they both reached the same finale: "It's not fair!"

"Okay class, quiet down please," Miss Hasegawa said. Her full name was Yuki Hasegawa. She was around her late-twenties, though she wouldn't say what her exact age was. She was also very cinnamon-roll-like because she was so sweet (and adorable too). Putting that all together, none of the students really understood why she was still single (of course, the only reason they knew that was because they dragged it out of her one day last year). Regardless, no one could resist her sweetness, so despite appearing like she'd be a pushover, all of the students actually thought pretty highly of her and respected her.

Buuut, there was one thing that Miss Hasegawa couldn't seem to get the students to stop doing. "Hey, what are we making today Miss Yuki-nin?" a student asked. "Please, I've asked you all to call me by my proper name!" Miss Yuki-nin protested. When she did though, it just made her more adorable, so no one really wanted to stop.

After a short sigh, Miss Yuki-nin continued. "I'd like you all to please get in your groups now." As the students obeyed, Kanako and Haruna went to their typical opposite ends of the room. Last year, they were both in the same class too. At the beginning, everyone had to group together. Mayu and Itsuki were also there last year as well, but they got scooped up by a couple other people, so Kanako was too nervous to approach anyone else. On the other side, Haruna already had something of a reputation, so people were hesitant to group up with her. Because of all that, naturally the leftovers were thrown together, putting Haruna and Kanako into the same group.

That only lasted for a couple of weeks due to the constant bickering that resulted between the two. At one point, Haruna even threw an egg at Kanako, causing it to crack and spill open onto her uniform. After that, Miss Yuki-nin made it a point to keep them as far away from each other as possible. Luckily for Kanako, this year Mayu and Itsuki were also in her class and she got to be together with them.

The whole class began to make what was planned for the day, and it didn't take long before the group filled with Cooking Club members finished. "Oh, that looks wonderful girls!" Miss Yuki-nin complimented. "If only others had the same skill..." Looking around the room, there were a few groups struggling, one of which was Haruna's.

"U-um, Endo-san, I think you're cooking that a little too long," a girl tried to help. "It's fine," Haruna said roughly. "I don't know, that doesn't look right," a boy in her group pointed out. "I said it's fine!" Haruna shouted. "Hey, is something burning?" the last girl in her group commented. Looking down at the pan, Haruna was greeted by plumes of black smoke. "Oh no! Quick, turn off the heat before it catches fire!" Miss Yuki-nin called, rushing over to the group.

Kanako stared at them, specifically Haruna. She actually didn't look mad. In fact, it seemed more like... disappointment? It was an odd expression for Kanako to see Haruna make. "I didn't think she really cared that much..." she thought.

The rest of the day passed by without any further interaction between Kanako and Haruna. Soon enough, it was time for Kanako to head to club. "I can cook in peace there," she thought happily. When she arrived, she was met by Naomi, Rina and Saki. "Hello everyone!' Kanako said cheerfully. "What's put you in such a good mood?" Rina asked wryly. "Nothing! Just happy to be here!" Kanako answered with a smile. "It warms my heart to see the younger generations filled with the joy of cooking!" Naomi said proudly. "Younger generations? You're only a year older than us Naomi-senpai," Rina pointed out. They all laughed, but Kanako's high began to quickly sink to a low.

"I have to walk home with Haruna after this..." she thought. While Kanako dreaded that, she decided it wouldn't do any good to dwell on it. Once Michi and Mayu had arrived (Itsuki had to go to track practice), Naomi declared it was time to start. "Let's get cooking!"