Chapter Eleven: A Study Of The Heart

It was a couple weeks later when a dreaded announcement was made to all of the students of Iwanai Municipal High School: the following week, Monday, June 3rd to Friday the 7th would be midterms. Groans, worry and panic sounded off in every classroom, filling the hallways with a very dampered mood.

However, while some students felt confident in their abilities and others wondered how they would squeeze a half-term's worth of information into a few days of study, Chiyo's mind was somewhere else entirely. It had only been recently that she had been able to have a thorough conversation with Akio, to which she had had every single one of her questions answered. Once her curiosity had been sated and she understood Akio's true motivations, Chiyo was more than happy to help in his efforts to get Kanako and Haruna to not just fake it, but to actually date.

The only condition that had been placed upon Chiyo was that she wasn't allowed to tell anyone about the real reasons for Akio's deal with Kanako and Haruna. As long as she didn't say, she had free rein to do anything she thought would help move things along.

It was certainly a situation that Chiyo had never found herself in before. In the past, it hadn't been uncommon for girls to ask her to set up mixers or to introduce one of them to some guy she knew. Chiyo had enjoyed her little role of matchmaker, so she had been looking forward to high school so she could continue her efforts. Unfortunately, it was during junior high that Chiyo quickly gained a reputation as someone who would sleep around, so by the time high school came around, the only true friends Chiyo had were Haruna and Jasmine.

It wasn't like this reputation that she had garnered was anything new to her. In fact, Chiyo's sex life ended up being one of the main reasons she was dragged from her hometown of Tokyo all the way up to Iwanai.

Chiyo had known that Iwanai (and Hokkaido as a whole) was much, much smaller than Tokyo, but she hadn't quite grasped how different they'd be until she was living there. While living in the big city, it was near the end of her middle school days that she had been tasked setting other girls up with guys due to her social skills. Through those times, Chiyo discovered how much she enjoyed sex from some of the guys she left with. When some other girls at her old school found out about her actions, they called her names and tried to bully her. Chiyo's other friends didn't do much to help her out either, and it didn't take long before the situation in Tokyo escalated so much that Chiyo's parents were called. When they found out what was going on, they were furious, and immediately had Chiyo sent as far away from Tokyo as they were capable of. And that, happened to be Iwanai.

She had tried to do some of the same things that she had done in Tokyo, but it was within weeks that Chiyo found herself isolated from all of her other classmates. There was no having fun and going out together and there certainly were no mixers with her involved.

But now, she had finally been given a chance to help bring two people together, and not just any two people. Two girls. It was a type of relationship Chiyo had never really given much thought to, but she didn't find any problems with it. And in the case of Haruna and Kanako, it just made sense to her after hearing Akio's full explanation.

There was one problem though: the two girls weren't even on speaking terms. It was a similar situation to what they had been in before, but it used to be that whenever they ran into each other, an argument would burst out. Now, whenever Haruna and Kanako even saw each other, they just went different ways, and if that wasn't an option, they avoided each other's gaze entirely. "I understand Kana-chan's actions, but who would've thought Haru-chi would act so tame?" Chiyo thought.

It seemed to Chiyo that after Kanako had told Haruna she hated her, it was as if a switch had flipped inside Haruna. Sure, she still was insulting toward Kanako, but they lacked the same bite that they used to have and certainly lacked frequency. On top of that, it almost felt like Haruna was fixated on trying to find some way to mend the damage that had been caused. Chiyo had asked her about it recently, but Haruna insisted it was only so she could restore her chances with Akio.

Of course, it wasn't only Haruna's chances that were in danger. There had been one other piece of information that Akio had told Chiyo before their conversation had ended. He had pretty much figured out what was going on between the two girls and had made a decision: if they couldn't make up before the end of the month, the deal would be officially off.

Chiyo hadn't told Haruna or Kanako about that detail upon Akio's insistence. After thinking about it herself, she had come to the same conclusion. Telling them wouldn't make things any better. In fact, it stood to potentially make things worse.

So over these past couple of weeks, Chiyo had been trying in her best efforts to get the two girls back on the same page. To start, she had opted to talk to Kanako, and it went like this:

*****

"Hey Kana-chan!" Chiyo called. Kanako had just walked inside the school. "H-hey Chiyo," she answered nervously. "Why so shy? C'mere!" Chiyo bounded over to the smaller girl and wrapped her up in her arms. "Mmph! Chi-o, I c-can't breave!" Kanako's muffled voice shouted. "Oh, sorry! My bad!" Chiyo said as she let go.

"So, I was wondering," she began. "Do you wanna, like, hang out or something?" Kanako stared for a moment. "U-Um, hang out? What does that-?" "Kana-chan! Come on!" a stern voice suddenly called. When Chiyo peered over Kanako's shoulder, she saw it was Michi Fukuhara. "Ah, s-sorry. I should go before she gets really mad," Kanako said apologetically, then trotted away. While Michi waited on her friend, she gave Chiyo a glare.

"Well that bombed..." Chiyo thought. "I guess I'll just try later." However, when she tried again during lunch, Michi stonewalled her again. Even after school, it seemed like it was impossible to reach Kanako as long as the blond-haired girl was around. "Haru-chi wasn't kiddin'. She really does make it hard."

The next day, Chiyo caught a lucky break. Michi had to run errands for a teacher as soon as she showed up, so Kanako was alone. "Alright, attempt number two!" Chiyo thought to pump herself up. But, before she could even get a word out, things got awkward. The way everything had timed up that morning resulted in Haruna, Chiyo and Kanako all being at the lockers at the same time. When the two girls saw each other, Kanako looked away and Haruna gave a brief scowl before also turning away. "Is it just me, or are things somehow getting worse between them?" Chiyo wondered.

Regardless, due to that interaction Chiyo wasn't able to put her plan in motion. She had been hoping that if she could convince Kanako to go out with her somewhere, then bring Haruna along, the two would have to at least talk to each other. After seeing Haruna and Kanako like that though, it was clear to Chiyo that her plan was going to be much harder to initiate.

For the next couple of days Chiyo tried to talk to Kanako, but no matter what she did, something or someone always got in her way. Michi was the biggest culprit, but teachers, her other friends accidentally, Haruna and even Akio once were offenders too. Chiyo was starting to wonder if it would even be possible, but that was when she got an idea.

She could just flip the plan, telling Haruna to meet her somewhere, then on the weekend, she could grab Kanako from her house and have them meet up! "Although... I feel like Kana-chan might get angry if I do that..." Chiyo thought, then shivered. She had seen Kanako mad before and it made her understand how it always seemed to render Haruna speechless. Who would've thought that such a small and quiet girl would pack so much force into her words when put in a bad mood?

But, even if that was a possibility, Chiyo knew she had to try. It's not like she had a whole lot of options after all. So when lunch came that day, Chiyo set to work on her best friend.

"Sorry, but I actually have plans this weekend," Haruna said. Chiyo was practically knocked down to her face from the impact. "Aw man..." she sighed. "Huh? Is it really that big of a deal? Oh wait. Don't tell me there's some sale you're trying to drag me to. Last time I ended up carrying most of your bags. There's no way in hell I'm doing that again!" Haruna said, her volume rising. "N-No, no, of course not! I just, like, felt like hanging out with my bestie, that's all! Haha!" Chiyo answered nervously. It wasn't like that was entirely a lie. She did want to spend time with Haruna. It was just that it wouldn't be just the two of them.

"You're acting weirder than usual," Haruna said with a raised eyebrow. "Really? I don't think so!" Chiyo said happily, but then: "Hey, wait a minute! Whaddya mean weirder than usual?! Haru-chi, that's mean!" Haruna gave something of a half-laugh, half-scoff. "Well it's true." After a few moments of silence, Chiyo asked: "So, what are you doing this weekend?"

Haruna set down her chopsticks, then answered. "You know Komatsu-senpai right?" Chiyo nodded vigorously. "Of course I know her! She's the miracle girl!" "Just because she doesn't trip over her hair doesn't make her a 'miracle girl,'" Haruna sighed.

Izumi Komatsu. She was the current president of the Girls Snowboarding and Skiing Club, and was known for two things. The first was that she was one of the best skiers in all of Japan. Last year, she had made it to nationals and scouts for the Olympic team said she was so good that they could see her joining the team with a couple more years of experience. Her specialty was half-pipe. The way she flew through the air would practically put people in a trance. People from school would always come out to watch her, so she held a mild school idol effect.

The second thing she was known for though was her hair. It was a deep blue, and it was long. Izumi wasn't tall by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, she was one of the shortest girls in the whole school, which meant that long hair on an average sized girl came down to Izumi's feet. Her luscious locks would always drag just behind her, but there was a question that had been floating around the school for a while now: How does she not trip over it?

No matter how she moved, Izumi's hair never got tangled between her legs or caught under her feet. It was like every strand was in perfect sync with her. Even when she skied, her hair seemed like it was flying wildly in the air, and the crowd was always sure that Izumi would land on it. Any yet, she proved them wrong every time. Izumi's hair was so well-known that there was even a running betting pool among the student body about when the fateful day would arrive that she would fall over.

According to Chiyo, Izumi's ability to not trip over her own hair was some sort of miracle, leading to the personal nickname of 'miracle girl.'

"I don't know, she seems pretty miraculous to me," Chiyo commented. "Well whatever. That's not the point." Haruna said. "What is, is that she decided everybody in the club was required to attend an event this weekend to welcome our new members. I told her I didn't want to go but then she practically threatened me and told me that if I didn't at least make an appearance, she'd bar me from competing! Can you believe that?! She's a demon."

Chiyo laughed. "I don't think she's a demon, Haru-chi." "Well she's definitely not as nice as some people think she is. That happy-go-lucky front makes me sick sometimes. But still, at least she has the skill to back up anything she says or does. In that way I can respect her... I guess..." Haruna muttered, causing Chiyo to laugh again.

However, while Chiyo's outside was giddy, the inside was thinking hard. Without Haruna being available, there was no point in talking to Kanako. There was always the option of crashing Haruna's club's party. Chiyo figured it would probably be fine. The only danger was in bringing Kanako. "Knowing about what Haru-chi has told me about Komatsu-senpai, she'd probably bombard Kana-chan and try to strong-arm her into joining," Chiyo thought. "Kana-chan would probably end up running away..."

"Um, Chiyo? What're doing with your face? It looks hideous," Haruna said bluntly. Chiyo hadn't realized it, but thinking as hard as she was had been causing her face to scrunch up. When she figured it out, Chiyo released the tension in her face, then said: "Y'know Haru-chi, it's not nice to call a girl's face hideous." "Well it was."

The two girls continued to chat on, with the main focal point of conversation becoming about Jasmine's constant behavior of putting her current boyfriend and her relationship with him before either of them. But by the time they finished complaining, they both agreed upon the same conclusion: just like all the others, it was bound to end sooner rather than later.

When the bell rang to signal that lunch had ended, Chiyo and Haruna both picked up their things and began making their way back. Along the way, Chiyo noticed Kanako coming out of the bathroom, but before she could call out to her, a much harsher voice filled the air.

"What're you staring at stupid? Get lost," Haruna said, causing Kanako to flinch. It wasn't so much the words themselves that had startled Kanako, but rather the fact that Haruna had bothered to say anything to her at all. Ever since their last argument, (which had ended with Kanako telling Haruna she hated her) Haruna had said a lot fewer insults to the other girl, and most of what she had said that wasn't demeaning was in an effort to try to restore their deal with Akio.

Defying Chiyo's expectations of Kanako deciding to run away, the smaller of the two girls stood firm. "I'm just staring at a brute who doesn't know how to speak to others," she said confidently. "Where's this Kana-chan been?" Chiyo wondered. It wasn't like it was unusual for anyone to see Haruna and Kanako arguing when they crossed paths. In fact, up until recently, it would happen all the time. However, those arguments normally went more along the lines of Haruna hurling insults and Kanako defending herself. Anybody in the vicinity would've been surprised to hear something like that come from Kanako.

"What did you say?" Haruna growled, coming down the rest of the stairs she'd had been standing on. "Y-You heard me," Kanako said, faltering at the sight of a charging Haruna. "Say it again, I dare you," Haruna said, now practically in the face of Kanako. "I said..." she began. "You're. A. Brute!" Kanako shouted, slamming her forehead into Haruna's (although whether or not it was intentional was hard to tell).

The action caused both girls to stumble backwards. Kanako fell over, holding a hand to her forehead, while Haruna managed to maintain her balance. When Chiyo reached her best friend, she saw a nasty bruise already forming. "Come on, let's get you to the nurse," she told Haruna. When Chiyo looked back to check on Kanako, she saw a couple of people already surrounding her and asking if she was okay.

When Chiyo and Haruna arrived at the nurse's office, no one was there, so Chiyo decided it'd be okay to lie the injured girl down on one of the beds. "Man, my head is throbbing," Haruna moaned. "I can't believe she did that..." "I don't think it was on purpose," Chiyo said, although she had her doubts. It had almost seemed like the force of Kanako's words had been what pushed her forward like that, but it also could've just been her lunging.

While Chiyo tended to her friend, she wondered how she could ever make things better between them. It seemed like the more time that passed, the worse the situation was going to get. For the most part, it had all been peaceful (or as peaceful as it could be). But with Haruna going out of her way to look for a fight, it was like Kanako and Haruna's relationship was going back to how it had been.

So, over the course of the next few days, Chiyo kept racking her brain, trying to come up with anything that could help. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, it was a fruitless endeavor. Every plan Chiyo came up with was either unrealistic, unlikely or simply impossible. Whether it was just trying to talk to Kanako or scheme up a way to get the two girls even in the same room, nothing came to mind that would work.

*****

Before anyone knew it, midterms were nearly upon the students of Iwanai High. Chiyo's thoughts had returned to the present, and she found that going through her memories hadn't helped her to come up with anything knew. But as luck would have it, something happened to get Chiyo's gears turning.

"How are midterms already here? I'm so not ready for them."

"I know, I'm going to have to study my butt off to even have a chance at passing."

It was a simple exchange between two students. Those were things they'd say all the time when tests came up. There was always a weighty dread in the air. Part of that was due to people just not wanting to take tests. However, the other part was because there were some students that didn't really pay attention in class, and because of that, they'd have to study a lot in preparation.

"Study..." Chiyo thought, when suddenly, a truly good idea finally came to mind. "I've got it!"

*****

"...Are you serious Chiyo?" Haruna asked in a dumbfounded tone. "You bet I'm serious! I think it'd be great!" Chiyo answered happily. "But a study session with both Kanako and Fukuhara-san? There's no way that'll go well," Haruna said. "No way to know unless we try!" Chiyo exclaimed. "Well what if I say no?" Haruna asked. Chiyo got dead serious. "You're going Haru-chi. Over my dead body you're not." "O-Okay, geez..."

Once that was settled, the next part was to get the other two on board. So once school was out for the day, Chiyo went off to track down Kanako and Michi. Of course, it wasn't a difficult task. With them both in a club, it was easy to know where they'd be. And, just like always, when Chiyo came up to them both, it was Michi that did her best to shoo Chiyo away.

"What do you want?" Michi asked rudely. "Welllll, I'm actually here to talk to both of you," Chiyo began. "Huh? Both of us?" Michi repeated. "Yep! I was hoping that you two would join me for a study session," Chiyo said. "What? Why would either of us help you study?" Michi asked. "Come on, studying with friends is always better, and Kana-chan's my friend, right?" Chiyo said. "R-Right," Kanako answered nervously. "Aaaand, Fukuhara-san is one of the smartest people in the school!" Chiyo beamed. "Flattery will get you nowhere," Michi said flatly. "I-I don't know, I think it could be fun..." Kanako mumbled. "Can't we Mi-chan?"

"Oooooh, Mi-chan! I like that!" Chiyo said, seeming pleased by this new information. "Don't call me that! Only my friends can! And I'm not studying with you!" Michi shouted. Without warning, Chiyo glomped onto Michi and started rubbing her face against the other girl's, like a cat. "Aw, come on Mi-chan! It'd be so much more fun with you there! Don't you want Kana-chan to pass? Hm? Hmmmm? Come on Mi-chan, you know you want to," Chiyo kept prodding, until finally. "Alright, I'll do it! Just get off me! And stop calling me Mi-chan!"

Chiyo did as she was told, then smiled. "No go on the Mi-chan huh? Hmmm. Then should I just call you Michi?" Michi's face went red across her nose and cheeks. "I-...I-" Then Michi sucked in and let out a long breath. "Whatever. Mi-chan's fine."

"Great!" Chiyo said as she clapped her hands together. "Does tomorrow work for our study sesh?" "Sure," Michi said, exhausted by Chiyo's bombardment. "T-That works for me too," Kanako said. "Then I'll see you girls tomorrow in the library!" Chiyo announced, then began walking away. However, it was as she did that that a thought occurred to Kanako.

"U-Um, Chiyo!" Kanako called. The gal stopped. "I-Is, um... Is Haruna going to be there?" Chiyo gave a wry smile. "If I told you she would be, would you run away?" she asked. Kanako had no response. So on that note, the gal continued on her way, until she was finally out of sight.

"Kana-chan, are you sure about this? I mean, if Endo-san is there..." Michi said in a concerned voice. "It'll be fine," Kanako said. "Chiyo's right. I've ran away a lot from Haruna recently. Maybe this will be a good opportunity to mend the bridge a little bit. Or at least what's left of it..." Kanako sighed on that last part, making Michi wonder if it really would be alright.

When Kanako got home that night, she spent a lot of time thinking about what would come the next day. "I know what Chiyo's doing," she said to herself. "Me and Haruna will at least have to sit together with something like this. I don't know if we'll even talk though..." Kanako rolled over on her bed. "Well, being in the library will make it hard for us to argue... Maybe..."

Kanako was at a loss. She wanted to make up with Haruna, but things were different than they had been before. For the longest time, the conflict had been mostly one-sided. Sure, Kanako would defend herself and maybe even fight back a little sometimes, but most of the damage was done by Haruna and her horrendous habit of hurling insults and being seemingly incapable of saying anything that could be perceived as 'nice.'

But now, Kanako had not only been mean back to Haruna, but she had told her she hated her, even though it wasn't true. "What do I do?" Kanako wondered, hugging her pillow. "It's all so awkward between us now..." Then Kanako remembered something. "Ugh, and I even head-butted her! What's wrong with me?!" she yelled as she rolled back and forth.

When she came to a stop, Kanako laid still. "I mean, it wasn't on purpose, but I feel like Haruna might not see it that way..." Suddenly, Kanako's phone started ringing, causing the girl to jump. When she answered, she heard a faint and soft "Hello?"

"M-Mayu-chan?" Kanako asked. "Yeah, it's me. How are you?" Mayu asked gently. "I guess I'm fine. What about you?" "I'm good..." There was a long and uncomfortable pause, then: "Hey, Kana-chan? Mi-chan told me about your study session tomorrow, including that Endo-san might be there, along with Wakabayashi-san. She sounded worried about you."

Kanako was silent for a moment. To be honest, she had her doubts about tomorrow too. What if it went terribly wrong? What if Haruna was worse than before to her? What if... "I'm overthinking this, aren't I?" Kanako thought, then told Mayu: "Yeah, I guess she's a little on edge because she knows about my history with Haruna." "Do you think it will be okay?" "I..."

"Do you think it will be okay?" It was a question that echoed in Kanako's mind. Several years ago, just after Haruna and Kanako's big fight, one of Kanako's old friends asked that very same question. At the time, Kanako had believed that it would still be possible for them to be friends. However, over the course of the next several months following that event, Haruna put her stubborn foot down at every attempt to make amends, eventually leading to the situation they found themselves in now.

"I... hope so..." Kanako finally answered. "I think it will be," Mayu said optimistically. "Oh, by the way, Mi-chan invited me to join too. I hope that's okay." "O-Oh, uh, yeah, of course it is," Kanako said. "I have to admit, I'm a little nervous. I've never really talked to either Endo-san or Wakabayashi-san," Mayu said. "Waka- I mean, Chiyo is really nice. She's kinda like a big sister!" Kanako explained. "Oh really? I wouldn't have guessed just based off of what I've heard about her," Mayu commented. "Well..." Kanako trailed off, then continued. "As for Haruna... you should probably just try to avoid her if you can." "Are you sure? I'd hate to hurt her feelings," Mayu said. "Ha! That brute? What feelings? She's like a mean stone!" Kanako exclaimed. "That's not very nice Kana-chan..." Mayu said. "Yeah, I know..." Kanako sighed.

The two girls continued to talk some more before Mayu had to hang up. When she did, Kanako found herself left in the silence of her thoughts again. "Will it really be okay?" she asked to no one. To try and give herself some peace of mind, Kanako tried looking something up on her phone:

Search: How to make up with someone after telling them you hate them?

As Kanako scrolled through the results, she came across one that sounded promising. At first. The article began with saying that the first step is to feel remorse for your actions and to want to make up. "Well that's easy," Kanako thought. Then, it went on to say that the next step should be to take action. Some of the suggestions were to offer to hang out and talk or to do something nice for them. If worse came to worse, buying something for the person was an option too.

Kanako tried going through all of those scenarios in her head, but for each one she reached the same conclusion: no matter what she did, it would probably end with Haruna yelling. Suddenly snapping Kanako out of her thoughts was a buzz of her phone. "Why am I so popular tonight?" she wondered. When she checked, she saw it was a number she didn't know, but once she read the text, it was easy enough to figure out who it was.

From: ?

"Heya Kana-chan! I hope you're looking forward to tomorrow ;P. I bet it'll be tonsa fun!

P.S. "Don't worry about Haru-chi. I promise she'll be on her best behavior!"

P.S.S "Oh yeah, I also had to like totes drag your number out of her, so hope that's okay!!! LOL

Kanako laughed. "Chiyo, you really are something else." Just before she closed her phone, Kanako flipped to her contacts list to make a new addition. When she did, she was reminded of the most recent new addition. The name of the listing simply read: Haruna.

Seeing that made Kanako remember that Haruna had let it slip that she had kept Kanako's phone number for years. Then, another memory came to mind. It was Chiyo's analogy. "But, she's kinda like one of those candy suckers with a sweet center." "A sweet center, huh..." Kanako repeated, finding herself lost in thought. If Haruna was sweet, she sure had a funny way of showing it, at least that's what Kanako thought.

Looking at her alarm clock, Kanako saw it read 11:08 p.m. "Oh geez! It's so late! If I don't get some sleep, I'll be exhausted for tomorrow!" So with that in mind, Kanako quickly went through her bedtime routine before hopping back into the bed itself. But unfortunately, sleep did not come easily. No matter what Kanako seemed to tell herself, her mind wouldn't stop racing with worry. Many more what if's kept coming to mind, sending Kanako into a bit of a downward spiral. She thought about calling Chiyo for some reassurance, but decided against it for two reason. For one, she was probably already asleep, like most people. But then there was reason number two: relying on Chiyo like that felt selfish. "This is something that I should figure out on my own," Kanako thought. With that, the girl finally began to drift off, although it was still a restless slumber.

*****

The next morning, as some got up ready to go and others were weary from a worrisome sleep, Haruna found herself waking up with a more-than-usual amount of dread sitting atop her head. It had become somewhat normal for her to feel this way right off the bat over the past 1 ½ to 2 months. Between the "deal" she had made with Akio that she knew had to be on very thin ice by now, and Kanako saying to her face that she hated her, Haruna found both her patience and emotions being stretched rather thin.

"Why is Chiyo so hell-bent on me showing up to some stupid study session?" Haruna asked to herself as she put on her uniform. "I know in order to keep my chances alive with Miyashita-kun I need to make up with Kanako, but still..."

She continued to go through her usual routine, went on to meet up with Chiyo, and everything seemed perfectly normal. Chiyo talked about whatever came to mind and Haruna didn't even see Kanako along the way. But even with all of those factors, Haruna found it impossible to actually enjoy her morning.

When the two girls arrived at school, a baffling sight surprised her. Michi Fukuhara was set up right in front of Haruna's locker. "Took you long enough to get here," she said in a way that made her sound both annoyed and disappointed. "What the hell? We're still early, for your information," Haruna snarled. "Now now Haru-chi, no need to get upset," Chiyo said in an unusually mature tone. "After all, I'm sure Mi-chan was just trying to make sure we made it today." "I told you-" Michi began to say, wanting to correct Chiyo on her choice of address for her, but then remembered the ordeal from yesterday. Sighing, she said: "Just don't be late," then walked away with a sort of I'm-better-than-you air.

"Chiyo..." Haruna said in a low tone. "Yes, Haru-chi dear?" Chiyo said cheerily. "This study group thing..." Haruna went on. "Hmmm?" Chiyo crowed. "...might have been... THE WORST IDEA YOU'VE EVER HAD!" Haruna screamed, causing Chiyo to leaning backward from the impact of the words. "This is going to be a damn mess! Fukuhara-san hates my guts and the feelings are mutual. On top of that, Kanako being there will probably just make things worse! Why the hell did you think this would help anyooonnneee!" Haruna yelled as she began shaking Chiyo by the shoulders.

"Haru. Chi. If. You'd. Stop. Shaking. Me. I. Could. Explain." Chiyo managed to say between shakes. Haruna stopped and Chiyo fixed her hair a little before speaking. "You're still in with love Miyashita-kun, aren't you?" Chiyo said bluntly, taking Haruna aback. "I... I am..." the other girl answered sheepishly. "Well at this rate, you might as well kiss those feelings bye-bye, at least as long as you and Kana-chan aren't on good terms." "I know that," Haruna said, regaining her usual annoyed composure. "Wellll, if Kana-chan keeps running away, you can't ever get back on track, and if you have to be in the same room as her, like a library, then you two can't make a scene either. It's a perfect plan!" Chiyo said proudly.

Haruna thought it over. It made sense. Kanako couldn't just up and run away if Haruna tried to talk to her, and on the flip side, she couldn't start yelling at Kanako without getting scolded by the librarian. That particular thought caused her to shiver. Last year, a very similar incident had taken place in the library. Haruna and Kanako both had had the same idea for an assignment, so they had both went for the same book they needed. When that happened, the two of them naturally started arguing and volume levels began to escalate. What put an end to it was not a calm resolution, but rather the old librarian coming over to them and smacking them both on the head with rulers. After that, she dragged them both off into her office, which was followed by a 90 minute lecture on library etiquette.

That was definitely an experience that Haruna would prefer to avoid repeating, so she made a mental note to herself to do just that. After mulling over Chiyo's line of logic for a few more seconds, Haruna was regretfully inclined to agree. It really seemed like the school's library would probably be the only place anything could get resolved.

So as they day went on and Haruna wondered how everything would play out, the bell rang before she knew it, signaling the end of classes and the beginning of after-school activities. "Ready to go Haru-chi?" Chiyo asked as she stood up. Haruna was tempted to try one more time to make and argument against going, but then thought better of it. If she tried, she knew Chiyo would probably just drag her by the collar to the library if that was what it took. So with a heavy sigh, Haruna finished packing her things and followed behind her friend.

When they reached the doors, they found that Michi Fukuhara and another girl were already there. She was someone that Haruna didn't recognize, and based on Chiyo's reaction, she didn't know her either. "Hey, who's this?" Chiyo asked. "Hello. My name is Mayu Kawaguchi. It's a pleasure to meet you," the other girl answered pleasantly. "Awww! How adorable! You're the cutest thing!" Chiyo squealed as she pulled Mayu into her embrace. "Um, thank you," Mayu said uncertainly. When Chiyo pulled away, she kept her grip on Mayu's shoulders and introduced herself. "I'm Chiyo! Chiyo Wakabayashi! Just call me Chiyo!" "Okay Chiyo," Mayu said nicely.

"So where's Kanako?" Haruna asked in a suspicious tone. "She said she had to go to the bathroom," Michi said in a tone that made it seem like it was obvious. Haruna huffed, then just stood in place, waiting. However, that didn't last long, as a girl wearing a ponytail that swayed with every step she took began to approach. "There's Kana-chan," Mayu said. When Kanako reached the group, Michi took charge: "Let's go in."

When the first three girls of Michi, Mayu and Chiyo walked into the library, they were met with a kind greeting of hello from an older woman, perhaps in her 60s or so. The girls responded in a similar fashion and continued to make way for the other members of their group to enter. But, when Haruna and Kanako came into the woman's view, her nice demeanor instantly switched to one of a more stern composition.

"You two," she said harshly, causing both Haruna and Kanako to stop and look at the woman who filled the position of librarian. "You'd better behave yourselves. I'd hate to have to take the time out of my day to remind the both of you what this place is supposed to be for." Feeling both uneasy and defensive, Haruna and Kanako both responded with a resigned: "Yes ma'am."

The group of five made their way toward the back of the library where a gathering of tables were. They chose one of the ones closest to the large windows, and sat three to one side and two to the other. The seating arrangement went Kanako, Michi and Mayu, with Chiyo sitting across from Michi and Haruna across from Kanako. The two girls shared a glance that was more of a glare from Haruna, but neither said a word, prompting Michi to unconsciously breathe out in relief.

"Okay, so let's start with the subjects." Michi said. "Who struggles with math and/or science?" Chiyo's hand shot up. "That'd be me!" she announced. "Then you'll work with Mayu," Michi instructed. "Great! Let's do this thing!" Chiyo said to Mayu, who smiled back and nodded. "Alright, so that leaves us three," Michi said, referring to herself, Haruna and Kanako. "Is there anything you don't understand Kana-chan?" Kanako thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I think I know most of it. If I have any questions, I'll ask."

Then Michi turned to Haruna. "What about you?" she asked in a rougher tone. "Tch. Like I'd need help from you," Haruna scoffed. There was a sudden thud under the table, resulting in Haruna letting out a grunt of pain. "Chiyo, did you just-" Haruna began to say, but Chiyo had already went back to talking with Mayu. "She totally just kicked me... God, that kinda hurt."

"I'll let you know if I need anything..." Haruna decided to say begrudgingly. So with that being said, everyone went to work on their studies. Mayu had to help Chiyo with math as soon as the gal sat down closer to her, but the other three looked over their notes and final homework assignments before midterms quietly. Haruna had decided to go over history first, but it didn't take long for her eyes to begin to drift.

Taking a look around, the library itself was really nothing special. Its walls were a plain, textured beige, but they were also mostly covered by various bulletin boards and cheesy posters. There was also the front desk right next to the entryway with an office behind it. And of course, lining the walls and filling in plenty of the open space were bookshelves full of various books. The library wasn't big (Chiyo had once told Haruna the ones in Tokyo were way bigger), but there was still a fair selection to choose from, anything from classics to encyclopedias and even school yearbooks.

As a staple in any school library, there were spots for people to sit and read or study. In Iwanai High's, there were two designated areas for that. The first was a grouping of tables in the front of the library, and the second was near the back with a section of the wall largely made up of windows, where Haruna and the other girls were sitting. Naturally, they weren't alone. One reason was the obvious one of other students studying for midterms. However, the other reason was that a lot of students preferred to sit in the back so they would be less likely to get yelled at by the librarian.

Even with it being that time of year though, there still weren't that many students in the library. It seemed that most had either gone home to study (if that was really what they were doing) or they had made other arrangements. For Haruna, a scene like this was unusual for her. She had normally fallen into the camp that crammed all through the night just before the tests, so in a way, she was thankful that Chiyo had had this idea. It certainly saved her a lot of headache.

But just because this helped Haruna out as a student, it didn't mean she was fully grateful as a regular person. After all, she was now trapped in a room with several other people she really wanted nothing to do with. Firstly, there was the new girl, Mayu. Overall she seemed nice enough and genuine, so Haruna couldn't really find much reason to have anything against her. The fact that she was handling Chiyo without getting the least bit flustered was impressive enough as it was. Next though was Michi, a girl who seemed to have it out for Haruna constantly. She understood why. Kanako had probably told Michi about a lot of their history, and from Kanako's perspective, she'd be the victim. Michi wanting to defend her and ward off people she deemed to be bad like Haruna made sense.

It was still frustrating though. Why did Michi appear to so badly want to protect Kanako? "She just gets in the way more than anything," Haruna thought. "Always hanging around Kanako like some sort of guard dog..." Haruna's thoughts trailed off. "I guess she's better at it than I was..." Before Haruna's mind could drift further into the past, she shook her head, then turned her attention to the last girl.

For what had felt like forever, Haruna had felt nothing but anger, hatred and annoyance toward Kanako Nakatomi. Every chance she got, she wanted to use those feelings to put her down. For years, it seemed like it had worked, until that fateful day that they both showed up at the same time to confess to Akio. Haruna felt like ever since then, Kanako had begun to change. She fought back a little harder and surprised Haruna more often than she used to. All of that made Haruna's blood boil and as she stared at the girl across from her, she glared, hoping Kanako would look up and get even a little frightened.

But she never did. Instead, she kept her face turned down to her notes. As Haruna kept glaring, she felt her own gaze begin to soften. The longer and longer Haruna stared, the more she began to fully take in the girl in front of her.

The first thing that struck her was the glow that Kanako's hair gave off. It was generally a simple, light brown color, but in the light coming through the window next to them, the hair gave off a shine akin to polished bronze. Following that down, the next feature Haruna noticed were Kanako's eyelashes. With the girl looking down, the lashes became accentuated even more, boasting a lush, natural thickness that could only be labeled as a blessing. Under those lashes were of course the girl's eyes, but they gave off a different air than usual. In fact, Haruna had never noticed anything coming from them before, but now it felt as though she could get lost in them as they studiously looked over material, flicking and shimmering in the light that danced across each blue iris.

Past Kanako's small nose, Haruna's attention was caught by the girl's lips. They were thin and a very faded color of pink, but that didn't make them any less enamoring to Haruna. She stared as she watched the lips vaguely form word after word as Kanako poured over the text laid in front of her.

Going even further down led to the body of Kanako. Her slim shoulders were somewhat tense as they sat in a position ready to write and turn pages, but they still curved in a way that still appeared to be gentle. In the middle was her collarbone, which seemed to have been positioned perfectly by her own physiology. Any lower and Haruna knew what would come next. She knew she shouldn't stare either, and yet, her eyes still found their way to Kanako's breasts.

In comparison to a lot of other girls' chests, Kanako's wasn't sizeable by any means. However, there was still enough there to draw attention. As Haruna kept staring, she noticed a faint color hidden within the top of Kanako's uniform. With the sunlight still shining across the girl, Haruna made out which color it was. "Green..." she noted. A very light green.

Any lower would simply result in Haruna's line of sight hitting the table, so she began to make her way back up. As she did that, taking in everything she had observed for a second time, there was a sudden (and yet somehow familiar) throb in her chest.

BA-THUMP

"..."

Then again: BA-THUMP

"...huh?" Haruna thought in a daze. She had felt this exact same feeling before. It had happened when the two of them had gone on their fake date. At the time, Haruna had made excuses and brushed it off as just being surprised by Kanako's outward appearance, but now... There was no way around it. Haruna had seen Kanako in this exact same uniform and in plenty of similar settings for well over a year now. Never once had Haruna ever felt this way, and yet, sitting across from the girl that she once called her childhood friend, there was an unexplainable feeling in her heart.

"What...-" Haruna began to wonder, but before she could even finish the thought, Kanako finally looked up and saw that Haruna had been staring at her. With a rosy color entering her cheeks, Kanako asked: "W-Why are you looking at me like that?"

It was a statement that finally snapped Haruna out of the bewitchment she had been put under by the girl who spoke, but that didn't prevent a shade of blush rising onto Haruna's face. "I-! I wasn't staring! Who'd want to gawk at a mousy girl like you?" Haruna fired back, though the tone of her voice betrayed the aggressiveness she tried to put out. However, it was no sooner that the words had left Haruna's mouth than a sudden impact landed on her head.

"Ouch!"

"Owwie!"

Both Haruna and Kanako cried, finding the source of their assault to be the librarian wearing a fearsome expression. "That is your warning. The next time will be much more severe," she stated, then went back to her desk.

"Wait to go. You got Kana-chan in trouble," Michi accused. "W-Well..." Haruna tried to form a comeback, but nothing came to mind. She was still recovering from the shock her own heart had given her. The feeling was something she just didn't understand. "Since when did Kanako... look like that...?" Haruna wondered.

End of Chapter Eleven.