Chapter Fifteen: What Are We?

"Damn it..." was all Haruna could say as she leaned against the cold stone wall. "I can't believe I actually lost to that stupid girl, and in such a dumb way too." Haruna had felt both mad and embarrassed when she had tripped on the track, but after finding out she had come in second, all that really remained was anger. "What a joke...huh?"

Looking fully up from her shoes, Haruna saw a ponytail-clad girl coming her way. "Oh you've got to be kidding me," Haruna thought. Closer and closer the girl got, until finally she was standing in front of Haruna. "What do you want?" Haruna spat. "W-Well, I... I was hoping-" Kanako began to say.

"Hey, you two!" a teacher coming out of the school suddenly yelled. Looking in the direction the voice came from, they saw it was Mr. Sugiwara. "If you have time to be lollygagging, then help me out with this stuff!" Haruna and Kanako were both confused at first, but then they saw the pile of metal rods clutched in Mr. Sugiwara's arms. "I gotta go help with the pole-toppling event, so I need you two to take these to the storage shed." "Seriously? Why do we have to do it?" Haruna complained. "Because you were the first two I saw! Besides, they're not even that heavy! A child could do this, so quit yer complaining and do it!"

For as fierce as Haruna could be, even she knew not to pick too much of a fight with Mr. Sugiwara, who was practically the living embodiment of muscle. Gym teacher, track coach and all-around tough guy, he was the one teacher every student feared to one degree or another. "Fine, whatever..." Haruna mumbled as she stood up straight and started shuffling over to the rods that Mr. Sugiwara put down.

Kanako followed suit and the two girls both pick up ten rods each. "This sucks," Haruna said. "The shed's all the way on the other end of the school." Kanako didn't have a response. It wasn't like she wanted to do what they were doing either, but at the same time, being forced to do a task together meant that Kanako had a window of opportunity. Unfortunately, she was still pretty tired from running as hard as she could, so she struggled to even keep up with Haruna as they walked.

While they made their way across campus, Kanako tried to think of different ways to start the conversation and how it should go. "Should I start with an apology? Or maybe make small talk first? No, that would just be weird..." She jumped from idea to idea, but before she could decide on an approach, they arrived at the storage shed.

The shed itself was certainly nothing impressive. It sat in the back corner of the school's property and in a totally inconvenient spot for all of the clubs and teams that used it. There had been plenty of complaints to the school about its positioning, but no one ever did anything about it, so the shed remained where it did. Overall, it wasn't in bad shape. Its gray metal walls were sturdy and the tin roof on top remained well-sealed. There were a couple small windows that lined the top, but they were kind of pointless, as only a tall person standing on a box could see out of them.

When they arrived, Haruna set down her cargo and pulled the on the pad lock. "I guess it was already unlocked," she commented after feeling no resistance. Taking the lock off and then leaving it hanging on one of the doors, Haruna slid the door open and picked her rods back up.

Once both girls were inside, they stood still. "Where the hell are we even supposed to put these things?" Haruna wondered aloud. "M-Maybe in the back?" Kanako suggested, earning herself a glare from Haruna. "Sure, whatever," she said. So the two of them went to the back of the shed and behind some shelves.

While they were putting the metal rods down, they suddenly heard the door slide shut and then a clicking sound. "Wait a minute... don't tell me..." Haruna muttered before quickly moving to the door. It was now shut, and after a few tries of the handle, Haruna's worst suspicions had been confirmed: They were locked in. "Talk about cliché..." Haruna said under her breath.

"I-Is it locked?" a small voice asked behind Haruna. "Oh, no, of course it's not. I just thought I'd tug on the handle for fun," Haruna answered sarcastically. "Really?" Kanako asked, somewhat believing her. "No you idiot!" Haruna yelled. "Why the hell would I do that? Being stuck in here with you is the last thing I want!" While Haruna went back to banging on the door trying to get anyone's attention from outside, Kanako began to realize the situation she was in.

"I'm alone... with Haruna..." she thought. "This is the perfect opportunity. Who knows when I'll ever get another chance like this? I have to tell her." Making up her mind to take advantage of the situation, Kanako made sure she stood up straight as she gathered her courage. "I know she's in a doubly foul mood now, but still..."

"H...Haruna!"

The tall girl stopped her efforts for freedom when she heard her name. "What?" she asked without turning around, to Kanako's dismay. "C-Can you look at me please?" Kanako requested. With an audible sigh, Haruna turned to face her. "I... wanted to talk to you..." Kanako began. Haruna continued to stare at her with piercing eyes. "S-So, um, things have been, y'know, kind of rocky lately, and I, um... w-wanted to fix it..." "Fix it?" Haruna repeated. "Y-Yeah... It's just... I, well..."

Then with a sudden bow: "I'm sorry!"

The action took Haruna by surprise. "What are you sorry for?" she asked. "I never meant to say I hated you!" Kanako shouted, then stood upright again. "I didn't mean it. I was just so angry and confused, all my emotions bubbled over and it just flew out. But I don't hate you! I never have!"

The response was enough to leave Haruna speechless. "I could never hate you Haruna... no matter how much you insult me or get mad at me or say you hate me yourself. You're just too precious to me..."

"U-Umm..." was all Haruna could say, but inside, her thoughts were a whirlwind. "She doesn't hate me? She couldn't ever hate me? I'm... precious to her?" Haruna had no idea how to respond to any of what Kanako had said. It didn't make any sense to her, and yet, at the same time, it made her strangely happy. When Kanako had first screamed at her that she hated her, Haruna had felt genuine pain. But now, with that pain alleviated, all that was left was a void slowly being filled in by much more positive feelings.

"...Hey, Haruna, are you okay? Your face looks kind of red," Kanako said. "Huh?" Haruna said. "Come on, let's sit down over there," Kanako suggested, guiding Haruna over to a stack of large mats that had been placed against the wall. Once the two sat down, Haruna came back to her senses, but that didn't prevent a tremendously awkward silence from ensuing. Both girls sat somewhat uncomfortably on the mats, waiting for the other to say something.

At last, the one to break the silence was Haruna. "I'm sorry too," she said suddenly. Now it was Kanako's turn to be surprised. "I've... really been pretty crappy to you..." Haruna continued. "And I don't just mean recently. I mean for a while now." "Haruna..." Kanako said softly. "But, I just don't think I can feel the same way you do," Haruna said. "There's just too much of me that has a problem with you. And then, on top of that, we both like the same guy..."

Haruna finally looked at Kanako when she finished speaking. She expected to see her look sad or at least a little hurt, but instead, she was smiling. It wasn't a flashy smile, but rather it held an incredible amount of understanding and gentleness. Basked in the warm glow from the window-given sunlight overhead, Kanako appeared to be radiant in Haruna's eyes.

"I know," she said, standing up and taking a couple steps forward. "I still wish that you'd actually tell me what it is that's been bothering you for all this time, but I also understand that it's hard for you, and probably not something easily resolved. So, until you figure that out..."

"...I'll wait. I'll wait for as long as it takes, because you're dear to me Haruna. You always have been."

Haruna's eyes went wide. "How can you be... so kind...?" she wondered, dazzled by the girl standing ahead of her. "If I could learn to be like that... would everything be different? Would I actually be able to stand next her again?" Reaching out a hand as if to try and grasp what she was searching for, a singular question ran through Haruna's mind:

"What exactly... do I want?"

"Hm? Haruna, w-what are you doing?" Kanako asked, seeing Haruna's outstretched hand. "N-Nothing!" she exclaimed, quickly putting her hand down, then mumbled: "...stupid..." Kanako sighed, before sitting back down next to an embarrassed Haruna. "Hey, do you remember when we got into a similar mess like this?" she asked. "What're you talking about?" Haruna asked, regaining her harsh composure. "It was a while ago now, but I still remember it pretty well. The time we got stuck in that tree."

Haruna thought back and it finally came back to her. "Oh yeah. We got trapped up there for hours because of that dumb cat." "Hey, it wasn't dumb! It needed our help!" Kanako pouted. "Right, and we did so much good for it. So much in fact that it jumped down as soon as we got to it," Haruna said with exasperation and annoyance at the memory.

When the two girls were both kids, they had been playing in a nearby park one day when Kanako had heard meowing. She looked all over for the source, until eventually a small, striped cat appeared in her vision. It was high up in a tree, clinging to a branch. Once Kanako had spotted it, she pointed it out to Haruna, who had said it was probably better to leave it alone or call for a professional. But Kanako didn't listen. Instead, she started climbing up the tree. Haruna had quickly followed after her, yelling at her that it was dangerous and that Kanako needed to get down, all the while going higher and higher. They had nearly gotten to the branch the cat was on when it saw them. Apparently, the sight of two children coming for it was enough to scare the creature into escape. So, as nimbly as a cat could be, it dashed along the branch and scurried down the trunk before running away into the neighborhood.

That course of events had left Kanako and Haruna stuck in the tree, as they had both been too scared to climb down. The wind had begun to pick up too, making Kanako chilly. Haruna had tried her best to keep both of them warm, but it hadn't really worked. Ultimately, they ended up being in the tree for hours before their parents found them and got them down.

"None of that would've happened if you hadn't been such a stubborn brat," Haruna commented. "No one said you had to follow me..." Kanako muttered. "What you say?!" Haruna yelled. "You're acting like it's only my fault! If you had stayed on the ground, you could've just caught me or something!" Kanako shouted. "Are you kidding me?! We were both kids! In what universe would I have enough strength to catch you without hurting myself in the process?!"

The two girls stared at each other for a moment, trying to pierce the other with their daggers. However, within seconds, they both found themselves busting up laughing. If anyone from school had seen the two of them, the scene would've looked very odd. In all the time Haruna and Kanako had attended both junior high and high school, no student had certainly seen them having a good time together.

When the laughing subsided, the girls were left in silence again. "I wonder how long it's been since we laughed like that together," Kanako mused as she wiped a tear from her eye. "It feels like it's been forever..." Haruna said softly. Then the quiet returned once more, with neither of them sure of what to say.

The mood that Haruna had been in before had been all but dissipated. Instead she just felt... "What am I feeling right now?" she wondered. It certainly wasn't anything negative. Instead, it was more like... contentment? Peace? "When was the last time I felt like this around Kanako?" Haruna had no burning desire to push her away or to berate her. She didn't feel disgusted or annoyed. All she felt was calm. A calm that, for a fleeting moment, Haruna didn't want to end.

But as nothing lasts forever, it wasn't long before Kanako changed Haruna's mood from pleasant to quizzical. "So, I've been wondering... What exactly are we?" she asked. Haruna was confused by the question. "Um... human beings?" she answered, feeling like she had just been asked a really stupid question. "T-That's not what I meant..." Kanako said, then clarified: "I mean, what's our relationship? Are we only fake girlfriends for Akio-kun's deal? Are we..." Kanako hesitated to finish her sentence. "...f-friends again?"

Haruna had gotten an odd sensation when she had heard Kanako say "girlfriends," but it had quickly disappeared when the word "friends" had been mentioned. "Well we're definitely not friends," Haruna said sharply. Kanako's shoulders slumped a little. "But... things have changed, haven't they? O-Or... am I just imagining it?" Haruna sighed. Deep down, she knew Kanako was right. The volatile feelings that she had had for Kanako weren't nearly as strong as they used to be. However, it wasn't enough to say they were suddenly friends again.

"Would acquaintances be right?" Haruna said quietly. "That sounds kind of bulky..." Kanako said. "What about love rivals?" Haruna thought about the suggestion. "Love rivals would be accurate..." she agreed, but for some reason, she didn't like the sound of it. "Why does it feel like...Miyashita-kun is a bigger rival to me than Kanako? Shouldn't that be the other way around?"

Haruna's mind began to wander. "Miyashita-kun's the one I want to date. Kanako wants that too. So why the hell does that feel wrong? Isn't Miyashita-kun the one I have feelings for? He has to be... doesn't he? ...What if-"

Haruna's line of thinking was cut off. "Hey, did you hear me?" Kanako asked with a slight pout. "Oh, um, yeah..." Haruna said a bit absentmindedly. "Sorry, I don't like love rivals either." Kanako tried coming up with anything else, but ultimately landed on what they had been already. "So we're just fake girlfriends?" Haruna felt her face get a little hot. "I-I don't know what else we could be," she said.

However, after giving it some more thought, Haruna realized both of them had been doing very little recently to keep their deal afloat. She also knew that a lot of that had been her fault. "If I'm going to stand any chance at winning Miyashita-kun, I need to bend a little..."

"So about our deal..." Haruna began. "W-What about it?" Kanako asked nervously. "I guess... it wouldn't be so bad if we acted more couple-like, at least in front of Miyashita-kun... Y'know, for the sake of both of us having a shot at being with him..." Haruna could feel a blush taking over her whole face. "S-So does that mean we can walk to school together and home together?" Kanako asked hopefully. "Y-Yeah..." Haruna confirmed. "And we're going to h-h-hold h-hands?" "Y-Yes..."

When Haruna looked at Kanako, she saw she was smiling. "I'm so happy," she said. "It feels like we'll both be able to really take on Akio-kun's challenge now. Let's both do our best, okay?" Haruna stared before finally saying, "A-Alright."

While Haruna had agreed to all the changes in their agreement, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. It had felt more to her that she had agreed not so she could further her chances with Akio, but because she wanted to spend more time with Kanako. "...Wait what?" Haruna suddenly thought. "Spending... more time with Kanako? Why would I..." Haruna was beginning to feel more and more confused. "This is so I can be with Miyashita-kun. Who would want to spend time with..." But for some reason, Haruna couldn't even bring herself to finish that thought. She wasn't fully aware of it yet, but the ice she had kept over heart toward Kanako had already been melting.

*****

About a 1 1/2 hours later, the two girls were still stuck in the storage shed. "Is anyone ever going to come looking for us?" Haruna wondered. "Maybe we should just try getting out ourselves..." Looking up at the windows though, that wasn't much of an option. They really weren't that wide. Kanako noticed what Haruna was doing and seemed to quickly pick up on what she was thinking. "That'd probably be a tight fit," she commented. "Yeah..." Haruna agreed. "Not to mention the fall down," Kanako pointed out. "Yeah," Haruna agreed again. "Although..." Kanako said, shifting her gaze. When Haruna followed, she realized Kanako was staring right at her chest. "Oi," she said, figuring out that Kanako was measuring whether the flat-chested Haruna could squeeze through. "W-What?" Kanako asked, trying to play it off.

Haruna was beginning to feel rather annoyed. She had never been one to put much stock in her looks, but that didn't mean she hadn't wished for a bigger chest. Having that fact pointed out by Kanako also just made it worse. But when Haruna looked back up at the window, she had to admit that if she sucked in a little, she could probably squeeze her upper half through at least. Considering no one had heard her banging on the door, maybe someone would notice if they saw half a person hanging out the window. So, with an aggravated sigh, Haruna stood up.

"Think you can hold me up?" she asked Kanako. "Huh?" Kanako said, confused. "I'm going to try the window, but I can't reach it on my own," Haruna explained. Kanako looked surprised, mostly because she didn't think Haruna would actually try. "U-Um, maybe?" Kanako answered hesitantly. She wasn't sure if she really had enough strength to lift someone. "Well whatever. Just squat down so I can get on your shoulders," Haruna said.

Listening to the order, Kanako got down low, then Haruna put her legs over Kanako's shoulders. "Alright, I think I'm set," she said. "O-Okay," Kanako said. Then, with all her might, she tried standing up. At first she went nowhere, straining under the weight of another person. "What, am I heavy?" Haruna said, feeling a little smug about her being the cause of Kanako's struggles. "O-Of c-course... not..." Kanako denied, pushing harder and harder. "Come on, if you can't do it, just admit it," Haruna taunted. "I told you... I... can... do it!!" Kanako yelled, suddenly launching upwards. The two girls' combined height was enough to reach the ceiling, which put Haruna's head right into it.

"Ow!" Haruna shouted from the pain of the collision. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?!" "I-I did not! J-Just... hurry up!" Kanako said. "Hurry up my ass! I outta hit you in the head and see if you're in any rush to be helpful!" Haruna yelled. "This isn't the time for this!!!" Kanako whined, beginning to feel her strength already leaving her. So as quickly as she could, Kanako moved several steps over to the nearest window, allowing Haruna to catch herself against the wall and undo the window lock.

Once that was done, Haruna slid the window open and was immediately hit with a rush of spring air. After being stuck in the shed for so long, the cool air felt very refreshing. Haruna took a moment to take it in, but she was quickly brought back to task by another complaint from Kanako. "Harunaaaa, come on! I can't... go much longer!" "Yeah, yeah, I'm going, I'm going," Haruna said, beginning to see how much of herself she could fit through the window.

First she slid her arms through, then her head followed. Next came the rest of her upper body. It was a little tight, but she still fit through nonetheless. Despite feeling rather dejected by that discovery, Haruna kept wriggling her way through, until finally she had gotten up to her waist and was standing on Kanako's shoulders. "Owwie!" Kanako whimpered. "H-Haruna, is anyone nearby?!"

Taking a good look around, it appeared that everybody was well out of range. The crowds were still engrossed in the day's events, and there wasn't really any reason for a student or teacher to come all the way over to the part of campus they were on. "Of course no one is over here..." Haruna thought. "How long are we going to be stuck... hm?"

Just before she could truly start spiraling into despair, Haruna saw something very familiar. In the gleam of the afternoon sun, auburn and gold hair shimmered. "Is that...?" Haruna thought. "Ch...Chiyo!" she shouted. Suddenly the hair stopped, along with the girl herself. "Huh?" she said, looking all around for the source. "Over here!" Haruna called frantically. "Where... Oh my God, Haru-chi!!!" Chiyo exclaimed when she suddenly saw her best friend dangling out of a window. When she went to run over to the shed, that revealed that she wasn't alone. Trailing close behind was a girl with blond hair and two strands of it flowing behind her as she ran.

"What are you doing Endo-san?!" the other girl yelled. "It's not like I want to be doing this! Just get us out!" Haruna yelled back. "Us?" Chiyo repeated. "Oh...oh! Is Kana-chan in there with you?!" "I-I'm...here!" a small voice cried out. "Kana-chan's in there too?!" Michi shouted. "Yes! Now would you hurry up and get someone to unlock the door?!" Haruna yelled, starting to feel pain spreading through her abdomen from leaning over the window sill. "But who would have a key?" Chiyo wondered. "Mr. Sugiwara! Try Mr. Sugiwara!" Haruna said, her voice faltering from her airflow gradually being cut off. "Okay, I'll go find him!" Michi said, then headed back toward the school building.

"Haru-chi, you're not looking so hot," Chiyo commented. Knowing she needed to get down, Haruna turned back to Kanako. "Hey, help me get out of this window!" "O-Okay, but how?" Kanako asked. "Just back up and I'll slide out!" "A-Alright!" With a new set of instructions, Kanako began to take a step at a time backwards. However, she only got one step in before slipping. "Ah!" she exclaimed, losing her balance. Kanako fell. Haruna didn't.

Instead, she was left hanging half in and half out on the window sill, with her diaphragm being crushed. "Kanako... get me... down..." Haruna wheezed. "Oh no! I'm sorry Haruna!" Kanako scrambled to get up and grabbed Haruna's legs to start pulling. But, at the same time, Chiyo had also noticed something was wrong.

"Haru-chi, your face is starting to look kinda blue. Are you okay?" Chiyo asked. "Not...really..." Haruna managed to say. "Alright, then it looks like it's up to me to save you girl! Here goes!" Chiyo proudly proclaimed, grabbing Haruna's arms. "W-Wait... Chiyo... don't-" Before Haruna could say "pull," she found herself playing the role of the rope in a game of tug of war. With Kanako pulling down on one side and Chiyo on the other, Haruna felt any air she had left quickly being squeezed out of her body. "G-Guys... I'm... begging you... stop..." she said, but it was too quiet to hear.

"Man, you're really jammed in there!" Chiyo said as she tugged even harder.

"H-Haruna, come on! I can't do this on my own!" Kanako yelled.

"Can't... breathe..." Haruna mumbled.

By the time Michi and Mr. Sugiwara came into view, Haruna was on the brink of consciousness. Both Chiyo and Kanako kept pulling in opposite directions, putting more and more strain on Haruna. "I'm... going to... pass out..." she thought. And then, she did. Her body went limp, causing Kanako and Chiyo to stop what they were doing. "H-Haruna?" Kanako asked tentatively. "H-Hey, Haru-chi?" Chiyo tried too. No response.

*****

The next time Haruna opened her eyes, she felt very confused. "Where... am I?" she wondered. Looking around, it was clear she wasn't in the storage shed anymore. Instead, she was surrounded by white walls and a sea-green curtain to her left. Not too far from her were a couple of cabinets filled with various bags and bottles. To her right was a wall with a large window. "Is this... the nurse's office?" Haruna pieced it together. Looking over herself, she saw that she was under a blanket. When she lifted it, she saw that her uniform top had been removed, replaced by bandages wrapped around her stomach.

Haruna tried sitting up, but she winced from the pain and fell back flat on the bed. "Mmm?" a voice moaned, then: "Haruna?" The girl on the bed looked back to her right and saw Kanako sitting in a chair and waking up. "You're... awake? Oh... oh, Haruna, I'm so sorry!" Kanako suddenly leapt from her seat and onto Haruna. "I'm sorry!" Kanako repeated. "It's all my fault!" Haruna was confused. "Your fault?" she asked weakly. "Y-Yes! If I hadn't *sniffle* suggested the window, y-you wouldn't have *sniff* gotten hurt!" Kanako cried.

Haruna was stunned. "Were you... worried about me?" Kanako jolted up from Haruna's chest, her face drenched in tears. "Of course I was worried!" she practically screamed. "You just suddenly passed out! It scared me so much! I was useless!" "Useless?" Haruna repeated. "Yes... I kept panicking because I didn't know what to do. Luckily, Mr. Sugiwara showed up just in time. After he unlocked the door, he got you down and carried you here," Kanako explained. "I see..."

Kanako clenched her hands tight on the blanket covering Haruna. "Don't... scare me like that..." she said, new tears forming. "I was terrified... that something really bad had happened!" Haruna could feel her face getting hot. "She was this concerned? About me?" she thought. "S-Sorry..." Haruna said sheepishly. Kanako simply nodded.

Then another question came to mind. "Hey, who undressed me?" Haruna asked. "Huh? W-Well, the nurse wasn't here, so I, um, did... and I put the bandages on. S-Sorry if they're not on well..." Kanako said. Hearing that sent Haruna's shade from pink to beet red. "S-S-She saw me n-naked...!" she screamed inside. "I mean, we're both girls, so it's not like it's that big of a deal. And my skirt is still on, so I'm not really naked... Besides, it's not like there's much to see... but... but...!" Haruna threw her hands up to cover her face. "But why am I so embarrasseddddd!!!!!"

"Whoa, Haruna, do you have a fever now too?!" Kanako panicked. "Here, let me check." Haruna's hands came down from her face and Kanako leaned in closer... and closer... until their foreheads were touching. "What are you..." Haruna said softly. "This is how my mom does it," Kanako explained. "Hmm, you do feel a little hot."

"That's because... you're so close..." Haruna whispered.

"Oh, sorry," Kanako said, backing away. "I guess my body heat could be factoring in too." "That's not it..." Haruna thought as her heart pounded away in her chest. "It started with one thump, then two... now it races when she gets close... what's going on?"

Before she could give much more thought to it, two more girls burst into the room. Thudding footsteps echoed off the walls of the small office as they ran over to Haruna's bed. "Oh thank God! Haru-chi, you seriously had me thinking you'd bit the dust!" Chiyo said loudly. "Would you relax already?! No one dies from something like this!" Michi yelled at her.

"Why are you two together?" Haruna asked bluntly. "Tch. It's not like I wanted to be around her," Michi said harshly. "I was wondering where you two went, so I asked Mi-chan if she knew, but she didn't, so we looked together!" Chiyo said happily. "Anyways, I'm glad you're alright Haru-chi."

The four girls continued talking for a while, but it wasn't long before the nurse came back and began to shoo them out. Chiyo and Michi left fairly easily, but Kanako insisted on staying. There was a bit of an argument, but after realizing that there was no changing her mind, the nurse gave up and decided to go back down to the sports festival to see if there were any students needing tending to after the last event.

The festival was officially over. "In the end, it was pretty eventful, even if it wasn't how I imagined," Kanako thought. "Hey," Haruna suddenly said. "You didn't have to stay. I'm fine on my own." Kanako stared at Haruna. "...I stayed because I wanted to. Besides..." Kanako's voice got smaller. "Even if it's fake, we're d-dating aren't we? What kind of g-girlfriend would I be if I just left you by yourself...?" Hearing it put like that made Haruna blush a little. "W-Whatever. I'm going to sleep."

Turning on her side and pulling the blanket up to her ears, Haruna felt oddly happy. For so long, she had hated the deal she had with Akio. She had never understood why he had proposed it and why he couldn't just choose right away. But, after being so mad about it, over the course of the last few weeks, Haruna had begun to notice a change in herself. She wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but she did know that instead of wishing to be anywhere other than where Kanako was, she was thinking something else entirely now as she drifted off to sleep: "Maybe... this whole fake girlfriend thing... isn't so bad..."

End of Chapter Fifteen.