Date Her Instead Vol. 1

Chapter Nine: Words Unspoken Until Now

Haruna's face went red as a beet. "W-W-W-Wife?!" Practically shaking with rage after her initial shock, Haruna was silent before screaming: "LIKE HELL SHE'S MY WIFE!!!" and slammed her fist onto the top of the gal's head.

*****

Haruna fumed the rest of the day because of that comment. It wasn't really so much the comment itself that had made her so mad. It had more to do with the fact that that particular sentence had made Haruna remember something she was trying to forget: Her heart skipping a beat when she saw Kanako arrive for their "date."

"Seriously, why did it do that? I don't even have friendly feelings toward that girl, let alone romantic ones like I have for Miyashita-kun. It was definitely just surprise. That's it... surprise..." As Haruna kept thinking that, she could've sworn she felt the slightest of pangs in her heart. "Is that why this feels different?" Haruna wondered. It had been a long time since she had felt a pain in her heart. She had forgotten what it was like. And, a pain like that isn't easily pushed aside.

Haruna had already made the decision to herself that she would talk to Kanako after school to try to resolve the latest conflict between them. "Stay calm. Speak clearly. Stay calm. Speak clearly," Haruna continued to repeat as she made her way to the cooking club kitchens once classes had let out.

However, when Haruna arrived at the clubroom, she was stopped by a girl who was heading inside. "You're Endo-san, right?" she asked in an accusatory tone. The girl was shorter than Haruna, with her blond hair being tied into two buns with a noticeable long strand hanging from the bottom of each. "I think I've seen her with Kanako before..." Haruna thought, trying to remember if she even knew this girl's name or not.

"Look," the girl continued with a huff. "I don't know what your deal is with Kana-chan, but you should leave her alone." "Huh? What the hell? That's none of your business," Haruna said, finding herself suddenly on the defensive. "It is my business. She's my best friend after all," the girl said with a weird sense of pride, then followed that up with the point of her index finger practically at Haruna's face. "Just know that if you don't listen to my warning, I'll make you regret it." With that, the girl walked away, leaving Haruna feeling both confused and angry.

Knowing that marching in and demanding to speak to Kanako anyways would probably just cause more problems, Haruna decided that she'd call it quits for the day. As she walked back the way she came, she thought she heard raised voices coming from a side hall.

Getting closer to the source, Haruna could make out what the voices were saying:

"Hey Nakatomi-san, is it true that you went on a date with that brute Endo-san?"

"Oh my God, for real? That's totally gross!"

"Can't believe we go to school with a couple of lesbos now,"

"Wait a minute..." Haruna thought. "Naka...tomi-san?" Kanako. Whoever those girls were, they were talking to Kanako. Haruna swiftly but quietly made her way closer to the turn for the hallway to the side. Sure enough, there were three of them, all bearing down on the smaller girl pinned in the corner. She looked sad and helpless, at least to Haruna.

"I... It's not... I mean..." Kanako stammered, trying to defend herself. "Aw, look! She can't even deny it! That's hilarious!" one of the girls said mockingly. "B-But it's not like that..." Kanako finally managed to say. One of the other girls got more serious. "Not like that? Come on. Someone saw you two holding hands and doing date stuff. Sounds like a date to me." "But it wasn't!" Kanako cried. "Oh shut up. Hmm... y'know what? Why don't you get down on your knees?" the same girl said with a sneer. "W-Why?" Kanako asked, afraid of the answer. "Seriously? I have to spell it out for you?"