Date Her Instead Vol. 6

Chapter Six: When Rumors Become Truth

Waking up on Monday morning, Haruna got out of bed with a groan. The short break between school years was officially over, meaning it was time for routine to return. Getting up, Haruna grabbed her uniform off the hanger and began putting it on. Sliding on the white sleeves and making sure the back portion was attached correctly, it all felt rather normal.

That is, except for the ribbon Haruna was tying. Once finished, she stared at herself in the mirror, her eyes landing on the lavender-colored fabric now hanging at her chest. "The third year..." she muttered. "This really is the last one." With the start literally only about an hour away, the beginning of the end of her high school career was setting in for Haruna.

A part of her wanted to take a moment and think about all of the possibilities for herself once school was done, but she decided against it. Aside from not wanting to jinx herself, there was also the fact that outside of wanting to be with Kanako, there wasn't really anything in particular that Haruna wanted to do. With her third year now having arrived, that was most likely going to need to change. "Finding something I want to do..." she thought.

When they had filled out career path forms, Haruna's answers had been fairly lackluster. There just hadn't been anything she felt a desire to pursue. Fast forward several months, and that was still true. Was there anything at all? Snowboarding was out due to her injury, although she had never planned to pursue the sport seriously. Trying to think of other talents, Haruna found herself drawing a blank.

She already didn't care much about school, so going to college wasn't going to happen. "Wait," she thought. "What if Kanako goes to college?" Haruna considered the idea for a moment. If Kanako went to college and Haruna didn't, that would most likely mean that they'd be separated. That was something Haruna definitely didn't want. So, she thought that she might try to go to the same school, but she quickly threw that idea out too. "Even if we got to go to the same school, it's not like that would miraculously give me something I want to do for a career," she thought.

Continuing to think about this during breakfast, Haruna munched on a piece of toast as her mother spoke to her. "Are you excited?" she asked. "Not really," Haruna said back, not paying much attention. "Haruna dear, you could at least pretend," her mother sighed. "Personally, I think it's very exciting. You'll graduate high school and then finally join the world of adults." "That's supposed to be exciting?" Haruna asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

She was tempted to ask her mother if she thought Haruna should go to college, but Haruna decided against it. It was only the first day of the new school year. That wasn't a conversation she had to have right away. "Let's just try to make it through the assembly speeches without falling asleep," Haruna thought.

*****

While one girl just hoped to stay awake, another was full of energy. "Third year!" Chiyo declared as she flew out of her room and through the hallway. "Chi, slow down! You're gonna run into somethin'!" Chitose yelled after her. "I'm just like, so totally excited!" Chiyo said back. "Why?" Chitose asked, honestly not understanding. "Because!" Chiyo said. "Being third-years means you only have to attend a certain amount of days. Having more days free means more free time, and having more free time means more time I can spend with Mi-chan!" "So that's why..." Chitose sighed. "You do realize she hasn't talked to you since she came over here right?"

That comment seemed to damper Chiyo's mood a little. "Yeah, I know," she said quieter. "But sometimes that's just how Mi-chan is. Plus, she probably just has things to do, y'know? It's not like doesn't have any hobbies or anything."

Watching her little sister almost desperately trying to come up with reasons why Michi had been ignoring her hurt Chitose's heart. "Oh Chi..." she said softly. A part of her wanted to tell Chiyo what Michi had said, but she also knew it wouldn't do any good. Whether Chiyo knew or not, Michi was going to do what she was going to do, and there was nothing Chitose could do about it. All she could do was hope that somehow it worked out.