Date Her Instead Vol. 2

Chapter Twenty-Four: Changing

Haruna sighed. "Why is love so hard and complicated?"

*****

Next door, Kanako had conflicted emotions as well. However, while they did have to do with love, they weren't about Haruna. Instead, Kanako was thinking about Akio. Specifically, about the deal that she had with him.

Throughout the summer and over the course of the trip, there had been one particular thing that had been weighing on Kanako's mind. It was a question that she had found herself asking over and over again: because of the changes around her, should she look to make a change as well? At first, this had been a simple enough question. But, due to Kanako's feelings of people changing, she had begun to feel like she was being left behind and that she'd end up alone. However, after her night in the woods with Haruna, she had come to realize something. She realized that she wasn't alone at all. There were plenty of people around her who were just simply her friends.

Having this knowledge had helped to rebuild the slowly-corroding confidence of Kanako's. And, through that reinvigorated confidence, Kanako had decided that she didn't have to make a bunch of changes to herself. But, that didn't mean nothing should change. For a while, Kanako had only wondered about the deal she had made with Akio, without much consideration for the idea of if there was any way around it. She had tried scheming, but had quickly found she didn't feel too good about it, so Kanako had just lived with the terms of her agreement.

However, there had always been one thing that Kanako could never get used to, and that was the fact that Akio would have to choose between the two girls. Kanako hated the idea that even if she was chosen, it would hurt Haruna. And if Kanako didn't get chosen, she'd be hurt, even if she tried to convince herself otherwise. Then, Akio might be stuck dating a girl that isn't entirely happy with the result. "Nobody really wins, do they?" Kanako sighed.

So after considering everything, Kanako had found herself wondering if it might be for the best if she ended the deal she had with Akio. "I'm sure if I explained everything, he'd understand," Kanako thought. It just didn't feel fair to her that someone had to be hurt in the process and pursuit of love. "Maybe that's being naïve, but I want to believe that we can all be happy."

Somehow, Kanako wanted to find a way that everyone could have what they wanted. That she could be with Akio, that Akio wouldn't have to hurt or reject Haruna's feelings, and that Haruna could... "Could what?" Kanako wondered. "What does Haruna get out of that?" Thinking about it more, Kanako found herself arriving at the same conclusion that she had before. "Mnnn..." Kanako moaned out of annoyance. She was thinking hard, but at the moment no perfect solution was coming to mind. She thought about a plan that involved her giving up her own feelings, but that got quickly discarded. "It may be selfish, but I just can't do that. I've been in love with Akio-kun for too long to just do that."

That thought caused Kanako to remember something Michi had told her. "Mi-chan keeps telling me Akio-kun is manipulating me somehow... That can't really be true, right?" Loathe as Kanako may have been to admit it, part of the reason she had begun to consider ending the deal with Akio more seriously was partly because of the doubt that had been forming in her mind. Her feelings hadn't been weakened, but knowing she could be a part of some mental game didn't make Kanako too happy. She wanted her love to blossom and grow and happen the old-fashioned way, not get it twisted like it may currently be.

Kanako didn't want to believe it, but the fact that Michi was so insistent on the idea of Kanako being manipulated did make her wonder if there was any truth to it. "I know our situation is pretty unusual, but would Akio-kun really go that far? He's never been the type to do something like that..." These were points Kanako had made to herself repeatedly already, but it seemed like no matter how many times she told herself stuff like that, she just couldn't shake the doubt from her mind.