Date Her Instead Vol. 2

Chapter Twenty-One: Awkward Encounters

Kanako's shoulders sank. "I'm beginning to feel like a broken record," she said out loud. It felt like the same questions just kept circling in her head. "Maybe I should just go eat breakfast. It sounds like I hear a few people talking downstairs." So, deciding to put off anymore thinking, Kanako went out of her temporary room and headed down the stairs.

Just as she was reaching the bottom, she saw Mayu, Jasmine, Haruna and Chiyo all standing together. "Now remember, it's a secret, alright?" Chiyo said to Mayu. The girl nodded, her two braids swaying with the motion. "W-What's a secret?" Kanako asked nervously. She felt like she had just walked in on something important. "K-K-Kana-chan! Uh, um, n-no, nothing! W-We were just, u-um-!" Kanako was truly amazed at the amount of stuttering Mayu was doing. "Wait, do I sound like that when someone surprises me?" she wondered.

"Breathe Mayu-chan, geez," Jasmine said, looking at her with an eyebrow raised. "S-Sorry..." Mayu said meekly. "Don't worry Kana-chan! It's nothing scandalous," Chiyo said with a wink. "I-I didn't think it was!" Kanako yelled back, feeling flustered. "Why do you always have to make things more complicated?" Haruna sighed.

As most of the girls conversed, one remained relatively silent. "I still have no idea what to think of this..." Mayu thought. "And I have to keep it a secret..." Mayu really felt lost. Ever since she had become friends with Kanako and Michi, she couldn't recall a time when she had been asked to keep a secret as serious as this one. Even Itsuki, whom Mayu had known for longer, had never once told Mayu that something MUST be kept secret. "Although, part of that is probably because Itsuki-chan isn't a very good secret-keeper either," Mayu thought. Aside from surprises or bad grades though, Mayu couldn't remember a time that she had been tasked with the mess she now found herself a part of.

It was baffling. Mayu tried to live her life as simply as possible. It wasn't for any particular reason really. Her family had no tradition or upbringing that told people that had to be minimalists or that they had to follow some sort of set path. But, due to the nature of her family's views, Mayu had just always considered simple to be best. Plain hairstyle, completely normal glasses, a way of speaking that included a touch of formality, and doing her very best to stay calm and content. For 16 years of her life, that had always worked for Mayu. Until now, when she felt like she had been hit with a tidal wave-sized piece of information: Haruna is in love with Kanako.

Honestly, Mayu wasn't even sure where to begin to start processing that. The idea of a girl liking another girl was so foreign to her that it was almost hard to believe such a concept could even exist. Trying to wrap her head around it just made her feel dizzy. It didn't make sense, and when put up against everything she had been taught and raised to think and know, the idea completely clashed with that prior knowledge. The harder Mayu tried to understand, the more her mind spun.

"Mayu-chan, you alright? You're lookin' a little pale," Jasmine said. "Huh? O-Oh, I'm fine. I don't mean to worry anyone," Mayu said weakly. "Let's get you some water. Maybe that'll help," Jasmine suggested. "S-Sure," Mayu agreed, following behind the gal.

As the two of them went over to the sink, Chiyo looked over and up at the stairs. "I think I'll go check on Mi-chan," she said. Kanako was about to say something, but then she stopped. "There's really... nothing I can say that would change anything right now, is there?" she thought sadly. Kanako wanted to offer to check on Michi with Chiyo, or even offer to do it herself, but it was clear to her that if she tried, it'd all be in vain.

While Kanako stayed put, Chiyo made her way up to Michi's (or really her own) room. Arriving at the door, she knocked. "Mi-chan? It's morning. Why don't you come get something to eat? We were just about to get breakfast going." At first, there was only silence, but after a moment, a clicking sound rang out. "Hm? Was that..." Chiyo guessed, moving to grab the doorknob. Slowly, she turned it and it went all the way. Then Chiyo fully opened the door.