Date Her Instead Vol. 4

Chapter Twenty-One: Warm

For Michi Fukuhara, the holidays were not a special time. The first few years of her life had been nothing out of the ordinary. Just like any other family, Michi's parents had spent Christmas with their daughter, and for New Year's they would go see other family. Truthfully, Michi had few memories of this time.

When she got older, she had just gotten to the age that she was able to look forward to such occasions, but that changed quickly. Her parents told her they had both gotten new jobs and now would be traveling a lot. They said that it was going to be for the best, because they'd have more money and be able to do more things. Explaining that to a child was difficult, but Michi came to accept it. If her parents getting new jobs meant they could be a better family, then that was a good thing. That was the conclusion Michi had drawn.

Of course, that conclusion quickly turned out to be wrong. Before she knew it, Michi's parents were gone for months at a time with hardly a word. On the rare times they did come home, her mother and father spent more time with each other than their own daughter. It wasn't as if they didn't care about Michi. Rather, they just simply treasured each other more.

So, if treasuring the person you chose was apparently more important than being with your own blood, Michi decided she'd follow that. If it worked for her parents, then it must be able to work for her too. Besides, she was tired of being alone. The every day was bad enough, but the holidays... those were especially painful. Sitting by herself in an empty apartment felt awful.

A few years later, Michi's parents moved her into her own apartment. There hadn't been much of an explanation, but Michi hadn't really asked for one either. It wasn't like she was attached to where she was. She hardly had any friends nearby, and she wasn't close with them. Most of her family was far away too, so that wasn't much of a factor either. Although, if Michi did have one complaint, it would've been that she was simply moving from one lonely apartment to another.

Starting at Iwanai Municipal Junior High School, Michi at first was very quiet. However, it only took weeks for her to find her first real friend, which was then followed by a couple more. Soon enough, she was spending her time with Kanako, Mayu and Itsuki like they had been friends for years. It was nice. It was something she hadn't had much of before. Now that she did though, Michi never wanted to let it go.

Naturally (and despite her best efforts), things changed, and Michi had found herself alone again. At least, that's what she believed at first, but looking around, Michi saw that it was different than when she was a child. If nothing else, there was one particularly flashy girl that wouldn't leave her alone no matter how much Michi told her to.

But while on the school trip, unexpectedly, Michi had made new friends. They were different from Kanako, Mayu and Itsuki, but they weren't bad either. Recently, she had been spending quite a bit of time with them, and she found she didn't mind it. Michi had fun with them.

Going into this holiday season, Michi had thought she was going to be alone again. With so much distance between her and her old friends, there was no way she could expect to go to a Christmas party with them like they had in the past. Knowing that hurt Michi's heart. She loved those parties, but thanks to her own stubbornness, it wasn't going to happen. She knew it was her own fault that things had gotten to be how they were. It almost felt fitting that she'd be by herself.

To her surprise, Michi had gotten a last-minute text inviting her out to another Christmas party instead. It was from her new friends, who all had seemed to take a liking to her for some reason. For a moment, she considered not going, but eventually Michi decided that spending time with someone was better than being alone in an apartment.

So, dressing for the occasion, Michi had gone out. It was a long walk, and felt even longer thanks to the cold, but Michi endured it. Something about the prospect of being invited had done a great deal of good for her souring mood. When she arrived, she was greeted warmly, and overall, the party had gone quite well.