Date Her Instead Vol. 2

Chapter Four: Knife And Pan

"I think Kana-chan's parents will be here any minute," Akio said. Just as he said that, a silverish-grey car pulled up to the gate. The man driving waved the group over as he and the woman with him got out. "Hello Akio-kun, Haruna-chan," the man said. "Hello," Akio said in response. The people that had arrived were of course Kanako's parents, and after they had exchanged pleasantries with the kids they already knew, they turned their attention to the one they didn't.

"You must be Chiyo," Kanako's mother said with a smile once they got close enough. "Yup, that's me! I'm Chiyo Wakabayashi! Nice to meet'cha Kana-mom!" the gal said happily. "Kana-mom?" Haruna repeated. "Well, Kana-chan is Kana-chan, so that makes her mom Kana-mom!" Chiyo explained as if it were obvious. "Oh my, so full of energy. And you're just as beautiful as Kanako described you," Kanako's mother said. "Aw geez, you're making me blush," Chiyo said, pretending to act shy.

After a bit more conversation, the group got back in the car. Sitting in the back was Chiyo, then Akio in the middle and then Haruna. As Haruna went to get in though, she had a brief moment of panic. "Wait, I have to sit next to Miyashita-kun the whole way to Sapporo? Will I be okay? Will my heart?" As she freaked out, Akio stared at her. "Haruna-chan, you getting in or what?" he asked. "Huh? Oh, y-yeah, sure," Haruna answered, sliding into the final seat.

With everyone tucked into the car, the drive to Hokkaido's capital began. Haruna meanwhile was continuing to panic. "God, I don't know if I'll be alright. I mean, Miyashita-kun is sure to hear my heart racing, right? There's no way he won't... notice..." Haruna's thought trailed off as she noticed something. "...Huh?"

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her heart beat was normal. "Nothing? No reaction?" Haruna thought as she looked at Akio, who was looking at something through the window on Chiyo's side. "I used to get all nervous around him and my heart would go nuts, but now..." Haruna didn't understand what it could mean. "Am I just used to him now or something? No, that's not it. I've known Miyashita-kun for so long already. So what's causing this? What's causing me to feel nothing toward Miyashita-kun?"

Then Haruna had a realization. "Am I... not in love with him anymore?" A thought like that was hard for Haruna to come to terms with. "No, no, no. That can't be it. It took me years to even figure out my feelings for him, and now so shortly after figuring it all out, I don't have those feelings anymore? That doesn't even make sense!"

Haruna audibly sighed at her own frustration, gaining the attention of Akio and Chiyo. "Whoa girl, it hasn't even been 15 minutes and you're already sighing like that?" Chiyo said. "Is something wrong?" Akio asked. "It's nothing..." Haruna muttered.

"Ah, Haruna-chan, I just remembered I never thanked you for the other night," Kanako's mother said. "Huh? What're you talking about?" Haruna asked. "You let Kanako sleep at your place when we were out late, didn't you?" Kanako's mother said. "Oh. Right. That. Sure. Whatever," Haruna replied curtly. "Wait, Kana-chan slept at Haruna-chan's house?" Akio whispered to Chiyo. "Yeah I think so. Didn't I tell you about that?" "No, you didn't!"

"Hey. What are you two whispering about?" Haruna asked, looking annoyed. "Oh, nothing, nothing!" Chiyo said with a wave of her hand. Haruna wasn't convinced, but she decided to let it go. Of course, she also had no idea that Chiyo had agreed to help Akio with his goal of getting Haruna and Kanako to date each other for real, and that part of that agreement meant spying for him.

The drive to Sapporo went on. Kanako's parents talked about the occasional random topic and sometimes Chiyo pointed out something that would catch her attention, but for the most part the ride was quiet, at least on the outside. Inside Haruna's head, she was still trying to understand what it meant for her now that there was the possibility she wasn't in love with Akio anymore. But, for as much thought as she gave it, Haruna still felt like something was missing. Primarily, the reason why something like that would happen. "Feelings don't just disappear overnight. So what the hell happened to me?"