Date Her Instead Vol. 6

Chapter Twenty: Running Once More

The night of Haruna running away.

"Haa... haa..."

The breath exhaled from Haruna's mouth formed clouds of steam as she ran. The air, still plenty cold for nighttime, was beginning to numb her ears. Down below, her ankle throbbed as it was again put through abuse it was not suppose to endure anymore. Running down dark streets, making random turns, and putting as much distance between herself and her parents as possible was Haruna's number one priority.

In hindsight, perhaps this was expected. After all, considering some of the strict guidelines her own parents had set for her at times, in what world had she ever thought they'd allow her to date another girl? All telling them about her new relationship had done was cause a potentially irreparable rift between her, her mother and her father.

"I should've known better," she thought as she dashed ahead. "I should've known telling them was a horrible idea!" Regret coursed through her, but not much later, another feeling took over. Unable to take the beating any longer, Haruna's ankle gave. Her foot landed awkwardly on the pavement beneath her, and she tumbled down.

"Ow..." she groaned. Having gone out with the minimum, only a shirt and pants could protect her from her fall, leaving her to get small scrapes on her hands and one on her elbow. "God, my ankle is killing me..." she complained, but as she started to regain her bearings, she looked around. "Where... am I?"

Haruna's surroundings were mostly unfamiliar to her. Because she had run southwest of her home, she had gone into the farmland properties of the area. This was a portion of Iwanai she didn't know very well because she was never here. Now though, with only a yellowed streetlight to illuminate the space, she could see nothing she knew.

"Well whatever, I'll just go back and- ouch!" Trying to stand up, Haruna's ankle immediately faltered, causing her to drop again. "Great..." she sighed. "I guess I'll have to call someone- ah..." Reaching for her phone, she realized she had left it behind. "This just keeps getting worse..." Haruna muttered. "Achoo!" Finally, the cold air was starting to get to her as well. "At this rate, I'll catch a cold out here," she thought. "But what am I supposed to do? I can't even walk, and there's no way I can call someone. There aren't even any houses close enough to call out to..."

Just as Haruna was left wondering what she was going to do, she saw a car driving her way. As it approached, it slowed, and for a moment, Haruna feared the worst. "Did my parents come after me? Don't tell me they somehow knew where I'd go?" But as the car got closer, she saw it wasn't one she recognized. Haruna considered it being someone else she might know, but that made even less sense, so all she could do was wait. When the car came to a complete stop, the door opened.

Stepping out was an elderly woman. She had a slightly hunch in her back, but her movements seemed to indicate that she was in fine physical shape for the most part. Her hair was grey, tied into a bun close to the top of her head, and she wore a thick, grey coat that came down to her knees.

Slowly, she approached Haruna, who looked up at her in confusion. "Are you alright, dear?" the lady asked. "...I... hurt my ankle..." Haruna said, not sure of what else to say at the moment. "Oh my," the lady said. "Well that's certainly not good. If you'd like, perhaps I can give you a ride to the clinic? I think they're still open." "N-No!" Haruna suddenly exclaimed. If she got taken to a clinic, they most likely would call her parents. "I absolutely don't want to see them right now..." she thought.

"Hmm... no clinic, hm? Then should I take you home?" the lady asked, but Haruna quickly shook her head to that idea too. "My, my," the lady sighed. "Aren't you a troublesome one?" Haruna had no response, so she just looked down at the ground. "Achoo!" she sneezed again. "Not the clinic and not home," the lady said. "I certainly can't just leave you here, so I suppose you'll have to come with me." "...eh?" Haruna let out, looking up again. The lady gently smiled down at her. "I'll help you to the car."