144 Chapter Ten: A Date Without Joy

The clock hung on the wall, and as the seconds ticked by, it felt like the sound only got louder the longer Michi sat in silence. It was well-past the end of school, and the sun was just beginning to set, casting the empty classroom into a fading yellow light. At her desk, Michi only stared at the door. Briefly, she glanced up at the clock. The time read 6:30.

"Even the sports clubs will be wrapping up by now…" Michi thought. To make it more obvious, she couldn't even hear the calls for a pass or play from any of the students outside. "Maybe they've all already left…"

She looked at the door. Then the clock. The door. The clock. The window for a few seconds. The clock. The door.

"Haaaaah… What the hell am I doing…?"

No one was around to answer her question, leaving Michi to only guess. "She said she'd be back… what a liar…" she thought. When Michi had last spoken to Chiyo, that was what the gal had told her. But then classes passed, and breaks went by, and even clubs met and then went home. Through all of it, Chiyo was nowhere to be found. And yet, for some reason, Michi had stayed. She wanted to come up with some sort of excuse for her actions, but really there was none. Only one explanation fit the situation she found herself in, and it was that Michi had decided to wait for Chiyo.

"She even left her bag…" Michi thought, staring down at the blue school bag covered in glitter, fake jewels and several mascot keychains. "...she really does make all of her stuff her own." Thinking back on it, Chiyo had always had that sort of style as far as Michi knew. Big, flashy hairstyles, a variety of make-up, and alterations to her uniform that never flew with the student disciplinary committee. More recently, Chiyo's uniform had become more normal than it used to be, but she still made sure to pull the collar down low and bring the skirt up high.

"Back then, I never would've imagined I'd spend hours in a classroom just waiting for her…" Michi thought. "If past me saw this, she'd think it was an illusion or something." So much for Michi was different than what it had been, and it all seemed to revolve around this one gal.

"I said I need to change, but… I guess I've already changed a lot, haven't I?"

Standing up, she reached down to grab Chiyo's bag. The gal had started to come over more often in the mornings, so Michi figured she could just give Chiyo her bag then. "But I'm definitely going to let her hear it for being a liar," she thought, miffed.

But, just as she made the decision to leave and reached the door, Michi heard the equivalent of a stampede coming down the hall. "Who… ah…" Michi said, spotting the source. Sure enough, there was Chiyo, tearing down the hall. However, as soon as she saw Michi, she practically skidded to a stop.

"M-Mi-chan?!" she exclaimed. "What're ya still doin' here?!" "Um… I just… ugh, here!" Michi said, thrusting the gal's bag to her chest. "This is why you came back in such a rush, right?" "Yeah, that's right," Chiyo said. "Gotta make sure I get my homework done. Oh, and this bag has like, some of my make-up and stuff in it too."

As Chiyo explained, she suddenly fell quiet. Holding her bag close to her, she nervously looked at Michi. "Hey, um, Mi-chan?" "What?" Michi said back. "Ya didn't, y'know… look through my bag or anything, did ya?" Chiyo asked. A perplexed expression crossed Michi's face. "Why would I look through your bag?" she asked, confused. "Oh, n-no reason!" Chiyo said, quickly turning around. "Anyways, let's go home!"

The two girls walked in a bit of an awkward silence, but as they did, Michi wondered why Chiyo asked what she had. "Is there something in her bag she doesn't want me to see?" Michi thought. "Is it something bad, or is it…" The rest of that thought would've been "something about me," but Michi shook her head. "No way. Why would Chiyo even have something about me in there?"

As they approached the front doors, Chiyo stopped. "Mi-chan," she said. Standing next to her, Michi just looked up. "Thanks for waitin' for me," the gal said, looking back down at Michi with a warm smile. The sight made Michi flustered, and she swiftly turned the other direction. "W-Whatever. I just didn't have anything better to do." "Hmm? You're tellin' me ya had nothing better to do than to sit around and wait for lil' ol' me?" Chiyo teased, leaning down to be at face level with Michi. Turning to respond, Michi was met with Chiyo's face right in front of hers.

"C-Close!" she exclaimed mentally. But, before she had time to think about anything else, Chiyo leaned in. For a moment, Michi froze. "I-Is she going to kiss my cheek again?!" she panicked inside, but just as she could feel Chiyo's breath on her face, Michi noticed the gal suddenly pull away. It was as if at the last second, Chiyo changed her mind.

"Uh…huh?" Michi let slip, her tone almost sounding disappointed. Hearing that, Chiyo stared a little wide-eyed at the girl next to her. Then, seemingly not knowing what else to do, the gal just turned away. "Guess we should head home, huh?" she said. "C'mon Mi-chan."

But as Chiyo walked away, she left Michi standing there in the hall just before the front doors, a slightly dumbfounded expression on her face.

"...Chiyo…?"

*****

It was Saturday, the day before Kanako's dreaded date with Katsumi. Lying on the couch in the living room, Kanako stared up at the ceiling. "...Tomorrow I have to go out with Kat-chan…" she thought. "If we were just going as friends, I wouldn't mind, but…"

But of course, that was far from what was happening. Katsumi had demanded a date, and a date was what Kanako knew she was going to get. The question was just how much of an event it was going to be. "Knowing Kat-chan, it could end up being pretty big," Kanako thought. "Or… she might try to go the opposite way…" Meaning that Katsumi might try to keep the date small, cozy, and intimate. "If she tries to go too far though, I'll have to put my foot down."

It sounded a little ridiculous trying to put boundaries on a date Kanako didn't even want, but the girl was afraid that if she didn't at least indulge Katsumi a little, she'd fall back on her blackmail material. "It's easier to just let her do what she wants instead of her threatening me," Kanako thought, though she knew how sad that sounded. "Ugh… why did this have to happen? Is this karma for me being a little naughty at the hot springs?"

All Kanako had wanted was a nice, fun date with Haruna. Up until Katsumi showed up, that's exactly what it had been too. However, as soon as Kanako had tried to go a step further, everything turned upside-down. It wasn't surprising that it felt like bad karma for making a move when she had been told not to.

"Haaah…" Kanako sighed, drawing the attention of her mother. "Is something wrong sweetheart?" she asked. Naturally, something was wrong, but how was Kanako supposed to convey that? "It's not like I can really tell her I'm being blackmailed into a date…" she thought.

"Hey, mom," Kanako began. "Have you… ever been made to do something you didn't want to do, and you had no choice but to do it?" "Huh? her mother said. "That's a bit of an odd question… Well, I suppose it felt like that when I had to do chores though…" "What about something more serious than chores?" Kanako asked, getting a look from her mother that made it feel like she was getting a tad suspicious. "Something more serious?" she repeated. Kanako nodded. "Hmm," her mother said. "Let me think… There was a time when I was in the volleyball club in middle school, and this one girl and I didn't get along. We both liked playing, but I guess she must've been more passionate about it than me. One day she told me that I needed to do what she said, or she'd find some way to get me kicked off the team."

"Did you listen to her?" Kanako asked, but her mom just shook her head. "No, I didn't. In fact, I told the coach, but she didn't believe me. So, I figured if she wanted to find a way to get me kicked out, she was probably going to do it whether I listened to her or not. It's no fun playing with people like that, so I just quit. I'm a little sad I didn't get to keep playing competitively, but me and my friends had fun on our own, so it all worked out in the end."

Kanako's mother's story was somewhat different from what Kanako was going through at the moment, but she got the general gist. "Basically, if someone is willing to go so far against you, it doesn't matter what you do, because they'll probably go that far anyways?"

A message like that felt like one to take into consideration. "Maybe… I've been too lenient with Kat-chan…" she thought. "But, it's not like I knew she'd try to blackmail me…" Although, perhaps that was a weak excuse. Even if that hadn't happened, it didn't change the fact that Kanako had let Katsumi sit quite close to her, play with her, walk home with her, and do all sorts of other things. Things that friends at a normal distance wouldn't do. "I can't really say no to this date at this point, but… from now on, I should be more stern with Kat-chan," Kanako decided.

*****

It was a little bit later in the day when a surprise visitor stopped by. "Heya Kana-chan!" Chiyo said happily, standing at the Nakatomi's front door. "C-Chiyo?" Kanako said. "W-What are you doing here?" "What, I can't just come by to hang out?" Chiyo said, pretending to pout. "I-I mean, you can, but-" Kanako sputtered, but Chiyo just laughed. "Relax Kana-chan! Honestly, I just wanted to talk to ya about a couple of things." "Talk?" Kanako repeated.

Kanako let Chiyo in, and as she did, Kanako's mother came into the room. "Oh, it's Chiyo!" she exclaimed. "I haven't seen you over here in a while." "Hi Kana-mama!" Chiyo said. "I see you're looking good as always!" "Oh my," Kanako's mother let out, blushing a bit. "H-Hey!" Kanako whispered. "Are you h-hitting on my mom?" "She is cute," Chiyo whispered back. "Whaddya say Kana-chan? Give me your mama?" "N-No way!" Kanako cried, which just made Chiyo laugh. "Ahahaha! I'm just teasin'!" Meanwhile, Kanako's mother could only watch with a confused smile.

After making tea and grabbing some snacks, the two girls went up to Kanako's room. Closing the door behind her, Kanako set the tray she was carrying down on her desk. "S-So what did you want to talk about?" Kanako asked nervously. Chiyo flopped down on the bed and then spoke. "I wanna talk about you and Haru-chi," she said bluntly. Sitting up, she faced Kanako with a serious expression. "I'll just ask ya Kana-chan. You're not really okay with this, are ya?"

This, meaning the impending date. Hearing that, Kanako frowned. "Of course not," she said with a sigh, pouring a cup of tea and handing it to Chiyo. "But it's not like I have a choice. I'll just do it and that'll be that." "Knowing Ikehara-san, I doubt it," Chiyo said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she tries something on you."

"About that," Kanako said. "I decided that if she does go too far, I'll stop her. In fact, I'm going to be more strict with Kat-chan from now on." "Well that's good to hear," Chiyo said with a bit of relief. "She won't listen to any of us, so it's up to you, y'know." "Right…"

It was silent for a moment before Chiyo spoke again. "Just make sure Haru-chi doesn't get hurt anymore in all this." "I know…" was all Kanako could say. She felt horrible that Haruna was a part of the whole blackmail problem. "But there's nothing I can do about it…" Kanako thought sadly.

The two girls sat silently for a few minutes, but when Chiyo next spoke, she surprised Kanako. "Do ya think… Mi-chan will ever look at me the way I want her to?" The question was so abrupt that Kanako wasn't sure how to respond at first, but given a moment to think, she took her best shot at an answer.

"I-I don't really know, Chiyo," she said. "I know Mi-chan has said that she's against relationships like what I have with Haruna, but… I think Mi-chan also has a big heart. It's not quite like yours, but she shows she cares in her own way. She may be stubborn, but it's because she feels so much that it can be hard for her. T-That's how I always felt about it."

"I agree that Mi-chan has a big heart. A lot of people don't see it, but I do. I know that she's really kind… but… it might be because of that kindness that she might not ever bring herself to see me romantically. Like, she might think that we should just always be friends, so that way neither of us can get hurt or anything… I don't know, I probably don't know what I'm talking about…"

She faded out with a small laugh, but it was pretty obvious that Chiyo was bothered by Michi's view of her. "Did something happen, Chiyo?" Kanako asked. The gal looked away a bit, but she still answered. "The other day… Mi-chan was waiting for me. It was hours after school had gotten out. I know it's probably stupid, but I just can't help but get my hopes up from seeing that, y'know? Like, the girl I have a crush on waited for me. That's pretty great. I was so happy about it that I went to kiss her on the cheek, but…"

"When I leaned in, I was suddenly reminded of all the stuff that had happened between us recently. Our fight, our previous closeness, Mi-chan saying we'll be friends… It just made me wonder how much can I push the boundaries of our relationship before it actually breaks? I already took it too far once, but it also feels like I can't help it. My heart will burst if I don't show Mi-chan my feelings somehow, y'know?"

"Sometimes it feels like we can be like how we were before, but other times, I'm just not sure…" Chiyo looked down, the expression on her face full of doubt. "I just… don't know what I should be doing anymore…"

Kanako stared at her, and as she did, she realized this was probably the most helpless that she had ever seen Chiyo look. To Kanako, Chiyo was someone who was capable of anything. She wore her heart on her sleeve, talked about what she wanted to, and was more experienced than Kanako in several ways. This was a girl that had helped Kanako more times than she could count at this point, and she knew that'd be even more true for Haruna.

All of that made it easy to forget that, in the end, Chiyo was a girl just like her. She had her own problems and worries, and love wasn't any easier for her than it was for Kanako or anyone else. Right now, the girl who always looked so confident, so indomitable, looked small, lost, and almost meek. So the question was, what were the right words for this situation?

Usually being on the receiving end, it wasn't easy for Kanako to come up with a good response. She wanted to be helpful to Chiyo, but she didn't want to come off as seeming generic either. "What can I tell her… to make her feel better?" Kanako wondered. Then, finally, after searching her mind and heart, Kanako came up with something.

"Love… is scary Chiyo," she said. "When I was little, I knew I loved Akio-kun, but it wasn't like I never had doubts or fears about what kind of results those feelings might bring. Then, when I fell in love with Haruna, the entire experience was so new that I had no idea what to do. I had never even fallen in love with another person other than Akio-kun before, let alone another girl. It felt like everything I had ever known was getting flipped upside-down."

"Even now that we're dating, I still get worried. What if Haruna finds someone else? What if she decides she doesn't want to date a girl anymore? What if I really screw something up? I have feelings like that every now and then as I'm trying to fall asleep."

Kanako looked at Chiyo, causing the gal to look up at her. Giving a small smile, she continued. "I may still be a kid, but I've been familiar with love for a long time. If there's anything I've learned, it's that there's nothing certain. Your feelings, their feelings, the actions you should take. None of it has a 'right' answer or comes with a guarantee. And honestly, I think love is supposed to be like that. It's like, a test of your feelings, o-or something. It proves that you can overcome all of those obstacles to be with the one you love."

"I… can't tell you what to do Chiyo. It wouldn't be fair to you or Mi-chan. But, what I can say is that I understand how much you love her. So I think, even though it sounds kinda cheesy, if you follow your heart, you'll find the answers you're looking for."

Chiyo stared blankly at Kanako before she smiled herself. "Y'know, you've come a long way from the girl I first met." "I-I haven't changed that much," Kanako tried to insist, but Chiyo shook her head. "You have," she said. "Ya totally would've never been able to give me advice like that before. Thanks, Kana-chan." "S-Sure," Kanako said.

"Alright!" Chiyo exclaimed, suddenly standing up. "I guess I'll just do what I feel like!" "Um, that's the spirit?" Kanako said, not sure if that was quite the right translation from what she had said. "Okay Kana-chan," Chiyo said. "Make sure you don't let Ikehara-san try anything. Oh, and make sure she deletes that damn pic." "Right," Kanako said with a nod. And with that, Chiyo left.

Once the gal was gone, Kanako went back to laying on the couch, though she found that she felt better than she had before. "I guess helping others can help you help yourself too," she thought.

*****

The fateful day had finally arrived. Not wanting to make a point of it, Kanako dressed as simply as she could, wearing a basic yellow t-shirt, a black jacket and a pair of jeans. Katsumi had texted her saying that they'd meet at 11 on the main road through downtown. Checking the clock, Kanako saw it was about time for her to go.

She did her best to keep her mind empty as she went, wanting to feel as little as possible about the date. Kanako knew it was a cold approach, but it was something she felt like she had to do. "If I don't stand my ground here, there might not ever be an end to all of this," she thought.

After a bit of time, Kanako arrived, spotting Katsumi. The girl was wearing a bright red, long sleeve shirt that matched her hair, a thin, white skirt that came halfway down her thigh, and a pair of black tights underneath. As for her face, she had put on her usual amount of makeup, but also added a pair of small diamond earrings, and her hair was taken out of a ponytail, instead down in a wavy, flowing look.

"Kana-chin!" Katsumi said excitedly, running up to the girl. "You're right on time!" "H-Hi, Kat-chan," Kanako said, actually doing her best to show some disinterest. Of course, with how much Katsumi liked Kanako, she picked up on that right away. Pouting a little, she said, "You know, I don't wanna have to pull this card all day, but…" Pulling her phone out of the small black bag she had, Katsumi waved it around a little. "Don't forget the situation you're in, Kana-chin."

Kanako winced. "So she won't be satisfied unless I also act interested?" she thought. Looking at Katsumi, she sighed. "Fine," she said. "Great," Katsumi said back. "So, how do I look?" "Y-You look… nice…" Kanako managed to say. Though forced, the compliment still seemed to make Katsumi happy. "Thanks," she said. "I dressed up a bit just for you."

"Okay, are you hungry?" Katsumi asked. "I-I guess so," Kanako said. "But it still feels a little early for lunch." "Alright, then maybe we should go somewhere else first," Katsumi said. "Let's look around. It's been forever since I last lived here, and I still haven't had the chance to see what's changed." Kanako agreed, so she was about to start walking, but Katsumi stopped her.

"Kana-chin, aren't you forgetting something?" she asked. Kanako looked at her, confused. To answer the unspoken question, Katsumi held out her hand. "This is a date, so we have to hold hands, right?"

The first thing that came to mind was wondering if holding hands was going too far. "Well, then again, it's not like girls don't hold hands if they're not a couple," Kanako thought. However, knowing that and actually acting were two separate things. The truth was, Kanako didn't want to hold Katsumi's hand. That right was reserved for Haruna. Although Kanako thought it was possible Katsumi was thinking along those same lines, which was why she even made such a request. "She probably wants to do the same things Haruna does…" she thought.

"Do I… have to?" Kanako asked. Katsumi frowned. "Yes. You have to," she said strongly. "Now, hand." "Alright…" Kanako said, very reluctantly holding out her hand. Grabbing it, Katsumi brought Kanako's hand into her own. When she slid her fingers in between, Kanako had to resist the urge to tear her hand away. "Kat-chin's hand is a different size than Haruna's," she thought. "It doesn't fit as well either… I really don't like this…"

Hand in hand, they walked around for a while, Katsumi pointing to things as they went.

"Hey, didn't that used to be a restaurant?"

"Maybe…"

"And I'm pretty sure that place wasn't there when I was here last either."

"It's kind of new…"

"I wonder if that one thing is still over there?"

"I'm not sure…"

Hearing all of Kanako's lacking responses irritated Katsumi, but she knew she had to be a little lenient. "I already made her compliment me and hold my hand. If I keep pushing in that direction, of course she'd have a bad time," Katsumi thought. "We should do something we can both enjoy, regardless of how we got here."

Looking around, Katsumi soon spotted the perfect solution. "Let's go in there Kana-chin!" Katsumi said, pulling Kanako along. The girl glanced up, seeing that the sign on the outside of the building was for a clothing store. "Does she want to try stuff on?" Kanako wondered.

The inside of the store itself was nothing special, with typical white walls and racks full of various choices of tops, bottoms and everything in between. Continuing inside, Katsumi took Kanako over to a section with clothes that appeared to be put out for the spring season (and even a few summer ones). "Wanna try something on?" Katsumi asked. "Or I could pick something for you!" "I-I'm not really in the mood to do that…" Kanako said. Really, she didn't want to have to entertain Kat-chin. "I just want this to be done so I can go back to Haruna…" Kanako thought.

Katsumi didn't seem pleased, but she decided that she'd go with a different approach. "Alright, then how about you pick something out for me?" Katsumi suggested. "I look good in anything, so whatever you pick will be fine." "Well… okay…" Kanako agreed. It was better than her having to try on the clothes herself, she figured.

Going through the racks, Kanako soon decided on an outfit and handed it to Katsumi. "This huh?" Katsumi said, sounding intrigued. "Okay, I'll go put it on. Wait outside the changing rooms, 'kay?" "Sure…" Kanako said. Watching Katsumi as she entered the room, Kanako sighed. "She seemed happy that I picked something, but…"

But was that really okay? It was true that Kanako had been the one dragged into this "date" but doing something like picking out an outfit and seeing Katsumi happy because of it gave Kanako the feeling like she was leading her on. Even just the thought of such a thing made Kanako feel awful as it caused her to remember the pain she had felt when Akio had done the same thing to her.

While thinking such things, Katsumi came out from behind the curtain. "Hey Kana-chin," she said. "How does it look?" Wearing a pair of navy blue jeans that hugged her legs tightly, and a dark green shirt that cut low on her chest, Katsumi gave a little twirl, seeming rather pleased. "Fits pretty good right? I know I look good, but what do you think?"

"That would look good on Haruna."

It was the first thought that came to mind, and without realizing it, those very words slipped out of Kanako's mouth. A second later, Kanako understood what had just happened, but it was too late. In front of her, Katsumi was scowling. "It'd look good on Endo-san…" she muttered, clearly irritated. "I doubt that, considering I'm better looking than she is anyways." Then, before Kanako could respond, Katsumi went back into the changing room, switched back to her original clothes, and then took Kanako's hand as she pulled her along.

The whole time, Katsumi said nothing, and there was nothing Kanako could say either. "I know I said I wanted to just get this over with, but it's not like I want to be intentionally cruel…" Hearing the person you like say something you're wearing would look good on the person they like would hurt anybody. And now, because Katsumi was hurt, Kanako was worried about what the girl might do next.

Stopping a short distance away from the exit of the shop, Katsumi let go of Kanako's hand and turned around so they were facing each other. "Kana-chin," she said. "Is this date really that bad for you?" It was such a blunt question that Kanako didn't know how to respond at first. "W-Well…" she sputtered. "I… can't say I really wanted to do this…"

"Would you be more willing if I deleted the picture?"

"...eh?"

Kanako stared at her, wide-eyed. Seeing that, Katsumi sighed. "Look Kana-chin," she began. "It's not like I wanted to blackmail you. And I especially don't wanna keep a picture of the girl I like being naked and on top of the girl I hate. The only reason I did it was because I knew you'd never give me a chance otherwise. I wanted you to be able to see how good I can be for you, even if I had to take extreme measures to do it. But… I'm not stupid, Kana-chin. I know blackmailing you won't make you fall in love with me. It was just a means, that's all. So if this picture hanging over your head is what's stopping you from enjoying your time with me, I'll delete it. And in case you're worried about me lying, I don't have any backups or anything, promise."

"If you don't believe me, I'll let you check everything. I'll show you everything, Kana-chin. I really love you, and I'm willing to do anything to get you to understand that."

Kanako was almost amazed at the sincerity behind Katsumi's words. "S-So you'd really… get rid of the only thing you have to make me do things… just because you want me to enjoy myself?" "More or less, yeah," Katsumi said simply.

"I wonder… if I could do something like that if I was Kat-chan…" Kanako thought. It was true her methods were wrong, but the determination and resolve she carried with her feelings were stronger than anything Kanako had ever seen. In that one point at least, Kanako could admire Katsumi.

"Then… p-please delete the picture."

"Alright."

Pulling out her phone, Katsumi showed her screen to Kanako, selected the photo, and then hit DELETE. "There," she said, putting her phone away. "I promise I won't use that ever again." "T-Thank you…" Kanako said in relief.

Suddenly, Katsumi got a little closer. "Now will you look at me?" she said quietly to Kanako. "U-Um…" Kanako let out. "Kat-chan, y-you know I can't… look at you like that…" Katsumi pulled away, but she appeared to be unfazed. "That's okay. You will one day," she said. "Come on, let's get something to eat."

Yet again, that determination showed through. "How can she be so confident?" Kanako wondered. "Is it like my belief in my feelings for Haruna?" Obviously, Kanako knew that she'd never fall for someone else as long as she had Haruna, but did Katsumi have a similar point of view? "Does her confidence in her feelings for me allow her to keep trying to win my heart?" Kanako thought.

"Let's eat here," Katsumi said. Being brought back to reality, Kanako looked up at the sign. "Ah…" she let out. As it so happened, it was the same restaurant Haruna had taken Kanako to on their first "date." It had been about a year or so since Kanako had been there, but of course, nothing had changed. It was still a restaurant full of one of the few foods Kanako didn't like: sushi.

Katsumi was about to go in, but she noticed Kanako not following her. "Kana-chin?" she said. "What's wrong? Do you not like this place?" "It's just that I don't have good memories here… Haruna took me here once, and I don't like sushi, but she insisted we stay, so we did…"

"Then let's go somewhere else," Katsumi said. "Unlike that brute, I won't make you do things you don't want to do." "But you made me go on a date with you…" Kanako thought, though she decided to keep that to herself. Although, she was grateful that Katsumi was being considerate. As if reading her mind, Katsumi smirked. "Not making you go eat something you hate makes me a little better than Endo-san, doesn't it?" Kanako didn't know what to say to that, so she just looked away.

In the end, the two girls went to a nearby family restaurant. Nothing much happened there, with Katsumi making most of the conversation. It was true that Kanako felt less worried now that the blackmail was gone, but she still didn't want to show much interest. "I need to make it clear that I can't see Kat-chan that way," she thought again.

Once they were done eating, they had to decide what to do next. "It's a nice day out," Katsumi said. "Wanna go to a park?" "I guess that's fine," Kanako said. She still wished the date would end, but without the blackmail holding her hostage, it felt more like she was hanging out with a friend. "But this isn't what this actually is," Kanako reminded herself.

Katsumi had said they'd go to a park, but in reality, it was more like a small playground, with a sand box, swing set and small playset with a slide. "I haven't been over here in a while," Kanako said. "You don't remember?" Katsumi said. "We used to play here together." "S-Sorry," Kanako admitted. "That's alright. It was a long time ago," Katsumi said as she climbed up the playset. Then she sat down on the top of the slide, looking down at Kanako.

"Hey, come up here with me," she randomly suggested. "H-Huh?" Kanako said. "But you're already up there and sitting down." "What if I said I was too scared to slide by myself?" Katsumi joked. However, that comment caused Kanako to remember something. She recalled a time when she and Katsumi played on this exact playground, and back then, Katsumi had insisted she couldn't slide by herself. Kanako had never been able to figure out if she was telling the truth or not, but it was also true Kanako never saw Katsumi slide alone.

"Did you have a fear of slides when we were kids?" Kanako asked. Katsumi froze, but then she turned a shy look to Kanako. "Can I tell you something embarrassing?" she asked. Kanako only stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "The truth is, I was, and… still am. I'm not sure what it is about these things that freak me out, but I just can never seem to have any fun on them on my own."

"Y'know Kana-chin," Katsumi went on. "If you don't come up here, I'll just be stuck. You don't wanna be responsible for me being trapped up here, do you?" "Y-You could just go back the way you came," Kanako pointed out. "Nope, I can't," Katsumi said with a shake of her head. "I'm stuck on this slide, and the only way I can get down is to slide down with you." "S-seriously?" Kanako whimpered. "Seriously," Katsumi said.

Kanako's shoulders dropped. "She'll just stay up there until I join her?" she thought. "That's pretty childish…" But, Kanako knew Katsumi meant what she said, so very reluctantly, Kanako climbed up. Once she got up to the slide, Katsumi scooted over. "Sit between my legs." "W-What? N-No, Kat-chan, I can't-" "I'll sit here until you do," Katsumi said, cutting Kanako off. "...fine…" Kanako said, moving in and taking a seat right between Katsumi's legs.

Immediately, Katsumi wrapped her arms around Kanako's waist. "H-Hey, Kat-chan!" Kanako protested, but Katsumi ignored her. "Okay, three, two, one, here we gooo!" Admittedly, the slide was pretty short, but Katsumi was sure to make the ride into a full experience, even exclaiming a brief "Wheee!" as they slid down. When they reached the bottom, Kanako went to stand up, but she found she was still caught by Katsumi.

"K-Kat-chan, let go," Kanako said. At this point, she had had enough of indulging Katsumi. She had held her hand all day, picked out clothes for her, ate with her, and now this. Figuring they'd slide and that'd be the end of it had apparently been a naive assumption of Kanako's, and she was beginning to lose patience.

"I wish I could always hold you like this…" Katsumi whispered right into Kanako's ear. "Just think about it, Kana-chin. If we were together, we could spend all of our days like this. Well, maybe not always on the playground, but you know what I mean." "Kat-chan, seriously, let go of me," Kanako insisted, trying to wriggle free. "No way. I wanna enjoy this moment for as long as I can," Katsumi said softly, burying her face in Kanako's neck. "Kana-chin…"

Suddenly, Kanako felt something slightly wet touch her skin. Katsumi had given her a small kiss on the side of her neck.

With as much force as she could muster, Kanako tore herself away from Katsumi's grasp. "IKEHARA-SAN!" she shouted formally. "THAT'S NOT OKAY!" "It's fine, isn't it?" Katsumi said, seemingly unbothered. "It's just a little kiss." "IT'S NOT JUST A KISS!" Kanako insisted. "You keep saying you're in love with me! Obviously a kiss on my neck means a lot more from you than just some friend messing around!" "Alright, alright," Katsumi said calmly. "Sorry Kana-chin. I guess you're right. Kisses between us should be more special."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

In a word, Kanako was furious. This was a girl who, in a way, loved love. She loved the romanticism, the fairy tale-likeness of it all, and the intimate moments. And to Kanako, all of that should be done with the one person she loved. Right now, that person for her was Haruna, so having Katsumi suddenly cross that line was practically an offense to Kanako's beliefs.

"I held your hand! I complimented you! I even kept going on this stupid date with you after you deleted that picture because I didn't want to be mean! But kissing me like that? What's wrong with you Kat-chan?! I have a girlfriend! I love HARUNA, and I have no desire to do stuff like that with you!"

"Kana-chin, don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" Katsumi said. "I get you have a girlfriend, but that's also why I'm so aggressive. If I don't push the boundaries, how will you ever see me as a potential girlfriend, one that's better than what you have right now?"

"...Unbelievable," Kanako uttered. "I'm going home. We're done." "H-Hang on, Kana-chin!" Katsumi cried. "I'm only doing this because I love you, y'know?"

"And I'm leaving because I love Haruna," Kanako stated. With that, she turned and walked away, leaving a stunned Katsumi behind.

However, her stunned state didn't last for long. After Kanako was out of sight, Katsumi thought about what had just happened. "She seemed pretty mad about a kiss. But you'd only get that mad if it affected you in some way right? Plus, she did stick around even after I got rid of the blackmail. She just did it to not be mean? Seems like it's more than that to me."

"Little by little, I think Kana-chin is becoming more aware of me." Although, while Katsumi believed that, it was also clear Kanako was mad. "I'll have to make it up to her somehow," she thought. Then, Katsumi got up off the bottom of the slide, straightened her clothes a bit, and began to make her way home, having completely missed the point of Kanako's anger.

End of Chapter Ten.