Date Her Instead Vol. 2

Chapter Five: The Fight

Kanako Nakatomi.

It was the girl she had known most of her life. They had played together a lot over the years and had become pretty close friends. At least, that's what Haruna had thought. However, recently, it had seemed to her like a distance had been forming between them, and no matter what Haruna did, nothing made it any better. "Am I just imagining things?" she wondered as she got ready for the day.

As the routine always went, Haruna got dressed, went downstairs and then had breakfast. It was after that that she'd leave the house and wait outside for the girl next door. Usually she ran a little late, but Haruna didn't mind. Honestly, she just enjoyed being able to walk to school with her best friend. Even with the unease that had been building within her, Haruna hoped that if she gave it enough time, it would pass and she could go back to being happy with Kanako.

"I'm sorrrryyyy!" the girl cried as she ran out the door. Haruna smiled. "It's okay," she said. "Let's just hurry." So the two of them rushed to school, with Haruna pulling Kanako along. This scene essentially summed up how nearly every school day had gone for them ever since they had to walk themselves there. Eventually, Haruna and Kanako made it just barely on time (and with only one stop along the way to catch their breath).

"I'm so lucky we're friends Haruna," Kanako said as they changed shoes. "Huh? That's random," Haruna said. "Well, it's just that without you, I get the feeling I'd be late all the time," Kanako said with a weak smile. "Sure, whatever," Haruna said, not really knowing how else to respond.

In their final year of middle school, the two girls had been lucky enough to be placed in the same class. But fortune only goes so far, so while they were in the same room, they were on completely opposite sides. Haruna was on the side wall near the doors, and Kanako was next to the windows. When they both walked in, they split off for their seats. Here though, was where Haruna had begun to notice that things had changed.

For so long, it had been that they'd walk to and from school, along with eating lunch together. Sometimes, the boy they both grew up with, Akio Miyashita, would join them as well. It wasn't often, mostly because as of late Haruna had begun to tell Akio to stay away from her when there were lots of people around because she didn't want to deal with rumors that they might be a couple. However, even though she said stuff like that, Haruna had noticed that she kept getting a feeling she didn't understand when she was with Akio, especially when it was just the two of them.

But now, with Akio in a different class and making some new friends, neither Haruna nor Kanako had seen much of him recently. That should've meant it'd just be the two girls for lunch, but that had changed too. Not too long into the school year, Kanako had started talking with a couple of other girls in class. Soon enough, that had led to Kanako being invited to eat with them. At first, Haruna joined them (mostly upon Kanako's insistence), but after a few times, she stopped. It didn't take an expert to see that Haruna made those girls uncomfortable for some reason.

While the ones Kanako talked to were cheerful and loud, Haruna was mostly the opposite. It wasn't that she had some terrible personality, but she also understood that trying to be friends with someone like her took time and she could be labelled as an "acquired taste." That was how Kanako had described Haruna to her once anyways. Regardless, it was clear the personalities wouldn't mesh well, so Haruna gave up. It didn't bother her too much. After all, it's not like everyone was alone in class. It was only natural to make new friends. As long as Haruna got to spend time with Kanako, it was fine.

But it didn't stay that way.

Quickly, but also little by little, Kanako began to drift away and out of Haruna's reach. She'd offer to go out and Kanako would say she was going out with her other friends. Haruna would see if Kanako wanted to spend the night, but she was doing that somewhere else. Perhaps a certain amount of these instances could be chalked up to mere coincidence or just poor timing, but the frequency in which it was happening made Haruna doubt that. It almost felt like the universe itself was trying to pull Kanako away from her.