Date Her Instead Vol. 2

Chapter Ten: A Night And A New Divide

"S-So... where are your parents?" Kanako asked, who had fully expected Michi's mother and/or father to be the ones to give her a ride. "My dad's out of town for some work trip, and mom had to go to some social event I guess, so they decided to just rent a ride for us," Michi explained. The way she spoke made it sound like she was annoyed by the whole ordeal, but Kanako was still more focused on the fact that she was going to be driven in such a nice car. "Come on. We shouldn't keep the driver waiting," Michi said as she walked to the car. "R-Right," Kanako said, following.

Handing over her luggage and climbing in, Kanako found out that the reason the car had looked long was so the passengers could have more leg room. The inside itself was a matte black interior with dark grey leather seats, and with so much space available, Kanako felt like she could really relax. "I know Mi-chan said she's not rich, but it's hard to imagine you can get this kind of luxury just from managing your money well..." Kanako thought, glancing over at the girl next to her.

Kanako had known Michi for several years now, but thinking about it, Michi had never really revealed a whole lot about her personal life. All Kanako really knew was that both of Michi's parents had important-sounding jobs, and that allowed Michi to live on her own in a nice apartment Kanako had been to a handful of times. She had also met Michi's parents a couple of times as well, but due to the family not being all under one roof, it was usually only at school events when Kanako really saw them.

Continuing to look at Michi, it seemed like she was in a little bit of a bad mood. "Then again, these days it feels like she's always like this..." Kanako thought sadly. In a way, it reminded her of Haruna, pre-reconcile. Always on edge, always ready to say something mean. Kanako shook her head. "No, this is still better than that was. At least Mi-chan likes me."

The ride to Mayu's house occurred mostly in silence, though that wasn't a big deal. By car, their destination was only 10 minutes away. However, being a smaller town, it didn't take long for them to reach the city limits of Iwanai and go into a bit more of a country setting. Fields began to line the roads and the houses became far and fewer between. It was then that a question came to Kanako. "Hey, doesn't Mayu-chan usually walk to school with you and Itsuki-chan? This seems pretty far..." "I think she usually just walks to Itsuki-chan's house and then someone comes to pick her up," Michi answered while staring out the window.

"Actually, I don't think I've ever been to Mayu-chan's house..." Kanako realized. She knew she had been to Itsuki's a couple of times, and of course Michi, but never Mayu for some reason. "Although, if it's this far from my house, then that's probably why."

While Kanako thought, the driver made one final turn before pulling up to a closed-off driveway. "We've arrived ladies," he announced. Looking out the window, Kanako could see nothing but wooden fencing that blocked off any view from the outside. The two girls got out of the car and the driver joined them, grabbing their things out of the trunk. Then the group walked up to the gate and pressed a buzzer. On the intercom, a woman answered.

"Hello? Who is it?" she asked. "U-Um, I'm Kanako Nakatomi and this is Michi Fukuhara. W-we're friends of Mayu-chan," Kanako said nervously. "Ah, yes, of course. Please come in." With another buzz, the gate in front of them clicked open and the group walked inside.

Once through the entryway, Kanako had to stare. It wasn't like she had entered into some sort of complex or anything. More so, it was the traditional scene before her that made her stop. The house was completely wooden on the outside, with only different types of wood providing any change of color. The length of the building was a little longer than the typical single-story house, and a veranda wrapped around it, complete with slanted roofing and smoothly-carved wooden rails. Surrounding the house was a fair amount of landscaping, with various types and sizes of trees lining the fence and taking up a few spaces in the middle of the yard.