Date Her Instead Vol. 3

Chapter Two: Miracle, Girl

A dreadful groan greeted the day as Haruna Endo slapped her hand down on her alarm. It was the first day of the new term, but she had mixed feelings about it. She certainly looked forward to the chances she'd get to be with Kanako, but on the other hand, Haruna also wondered if those moments would be as lovely as they were in her head. Letting out a long sigh and heaving herself upward, Haruna stared up at her ceiling. "I bet it won't be that easy..." she muttered before beginning to get ready for the day.

Putting on her uniform and having a quick breakfast, Haruna left her house and went to the house next to hers. Of course, that house belonged to the Nakatomis and coming with it was none other than Kanako. Being next-door neighbors had made it easy to grow up together and be friends, but several years ago, the two girls had had a massive fight, leading to a lot of (mostly one-sided) resentment. However, those issues had been resolved, leading Haruna to her current situation.

As part of the deal she had made with Akio, she and Kanako were required to look like a couple as much as possible. This meant doing all of the typical couple-like activities, such as holding hands, eating lunch together, and going to and from school together. At first, Haruna had been quite averse to the idea of spending that much time with someone she claimed to hate, but as time had gone on, the process had somehow become routine.

As Haruna walked up to the front door, she laughed a little to herself. "Things sure have changed," she thought. Bringing her hand up to knock, her knuckles nearly hit the wood before it was suddenly pulled away. Instead, Haruna found her hand colliding with something, or rather someone, else entirely.

"Whoops."

"Owwie!"

Standing in front of Haruna, rubbing the spot that her head had just been hit, was Kanako. Completely clad in identical uniform to the taller girl, Kanako looked up with a sad face. "W-Why'd you hit me?" she squeaked. "I didn't do it on purpose. You're the one that flung the door open," Haruna retorted. "W-Well, that's true, b-but..." Kanako sulked. "C'mon, it's not like it hurt that bad," Haruna said. "Should I kiss it and make it better?" "Huh? What was that?" Kanako asked. "N-Nothing! I didn't say anything, stupid! Come on, we'll be late if we don't leave!" Haruna said in a huff, feeling overwhelmingly embarrassed at saying a line that not only was embarrassing in and of itself, but also went completely unheard. "Maybe it's better she didn't hear..." Haruna sighed internally.

Like it was second-nature, the two girls linked their hands together as they started heading to school. "Hey, how were you ready by that time I got to your house? Normally you're still asleep," Haruna pointed out. Between the two of them, Haruna had always gotten to school a few minutes before, while Kanako was typically late. When they had first started going together, Kanako's lateness had been a concern for Haruna, so she had tried every method of waking the poor girl each morning. However, after realizing her feelings, Haruna's wake-up calls had become much more gentle.

"Geez, you make me sound so lazy..." Kanako pouted. "But, the reason I was ready was because it's a new term!" she finished excitedly. "So you're making the effort to be on time?" Haruna asked. "Not only that, but I'm even going for the early start to the day!" Kanako said, clearly pumped up about her decision and success on Day One. "I can't wait to see how long that'll last," Haruna said, a bit of mocking in her tone. "H-Hey! You don't believe me do you?!" Kanako whined. Haruna laughed.

While they continued walking, both of them happened to notice something strange. "I'm surprised Chiyo isn't here yet," Haruna commented. Usually, the gal would join the two girls along the way. "Yeah, I wonder where she is... D-Do you think she caught a cold?" Kanako asked. "Isn't there a saying that says idiots can't catch colds?" Haruna said thoughtfully. "That's not very nice," Kanako said quietly. "Oh come on Kanako, you know I'm not actually insulting her," Haruna said, a little annoyed. "B-But what if she's actually in trouble? I bet you'd feel pretty guilty for saying such mean things," Kanako said, trying to sound pressuring. "Fine, fine," Haruna said. "Anyways, I doubt she's in any trouble. Plus, I can actually say that in the time I've known Chiyo, she's never once been sick."