Chapter Four: Knife And Pan

Over the course of the next couple of days, several things happened. Firstly, Haruna officially decided that she would be going to the competition to watch Kanako. Second, Chiyo heard about the competition and decided she wanted to go too. Lastly, it was found out by Haruna that Akio would also be going. When asked about it, he simply answered, "Of course I'd go. Kana-chan's my friend after all." That was what he had said, but Haruna got the feeling there was more to it than that.

Finally, the day of competition had arrived and the cooking club had left for the place it was being hosted at. While they made their way there, Haruna and Chiyo sat on the roof eating lunch like always. "I'm surprised they left so early. I know she said it would take all day, but still," Haruna commented. "Hm? Haru-chi, you know it's not here in Iwanai right?" Chiyo said. "Huh?"

"It's in Sapporo."

"SAPPORO?!" Haruna shouted. "Kana-chan didn't tell you?" Chiyo asked. "No, that was a detail she failed to mention..." Haruna said through gritted teeth. Chiyo laughed. "An hour and a half in the car with you and Akio-kun. This should be fun!" Haruna sighed. "I don't know what will be fun about that..."

When it had been determined who was going, transportation had been arranged as follows: Kanako and her fellow cooking club members would be driven to the competition by Miss Yuki-nin with a school-provided rental car. However, students were free to go home with their parents after the competition ended. With Kanako at least having a ride there, it was decided that since Akio, Chiyo and Haruna were all going, they could just ride together with Kanako's parents. Haruna hadn't particularly wanted to go with that plan, but with no other viable options available, she had reluctantly agreed.

If it had just been her and Chiyo, it probably would've been fine, but Haruna had her concerns about Akio. "I feel like he's going to try to get under my skin somehow," she thought. There was another worry as well. "Will I be okay being that close to the boy I like for that long?" Haruna wondered. Being trapped in a car with your crush was bound to make things uncomfortable somehow.

Knowing there was nothing that could be done about it, Haruna resigned herself to her fate and continued eating her lunch. When the bell rang, Chiyo and Haruna began heading back to class, but it was then that a thought occurred to her. "Hey, if we have to go all the way to Sapporo, won't the competition practically be over?" Haruna asked. "Hmmm. I don't know! I asked Mi-chan about it, and it sounded like it lasts alllll day and night, so it'll probs be fine!" Chiyo answered. Haruna remembered Kanako saying something similar before, then: "Wait, Fukuhara-san actually talked to you?" she said with some disbelief. "Mhm! Well, I guess it was more like, she answered me to get rid of me, but that's progress!" Chiyo said optimistically. "I don't understand why you want to be friends with her," Haruna scoffed. Chiyo smiled. "I think... I kinda relate to her..." "What's that supposed to mean?" Haruna asked, but Chiyo skipped ahead. "Don't wanna be laaaate!" "...Weirdo."

The rest of the day flew by, and before Haruna knew it, the clock read 3:00 p.m. By the time she'd get to the competition, it would probably be past 4:30. Grabbing her things, Haruna and Chiyo made their way to the front gate to wait for Kanako's parents to pick them up. Already standing there was a boy they were both familiar with.

"Hey there," he said with a smile and a wave. "H-Hey, Miyashita-kun," Haruna said. "Hiya!" Chiyo greeted him happily.

The boy before them was none other than Akio Miyashita, the person indirectly responsible for a lot of the turmoil that had occurred in Haruna's life recently. He was of average height and had slightly messy brown hair, along with hazel-colored eyes. There was nothing exactly handsome about him, but he was by no means ugly either. Currently, he was wearing the school uniform, which for him meant wearing light grey dress pants with a white shirt. To indicate he was a second year student just like Haruna and Chiyo, he was wearing a green tie, though out of all the guys in the school, he fell into the minority for putting it on, as, unlike the bow for girls, wearing the tie was optional.

"I think Kana-chan's parents will be here any minute," Akio said. Just as he said that, a silverish-grey car pulled up to the gate. The man driving waved the group over as he and the woman with him got out. "Hello Akio-kun, Haruna-chan," the man said. "Hello," Akio said in response. The people that had arrived were of course Kanako's parents, and after they had exchanged pleasantries with the kids they already knew, they turned their attention to the one they didn't.

"You must be Chiyo," Kanako's mother said with a smile once they got close enough. "Yup, that's me! I'm Chiyo Wakabayashi! Nice to meet'cha Kana-mom!" the gal said happily. "Kana-mom?" Haruna repeated. "Well, Kana-chan is Kana-chan, so that makes her mom Kana-mom!" Chiyo explained as if it were obvious. "Oh my, so full of energy. And you're just as beautiful as Kanako described you," Kanako's mother said. "Aw geez, you're making me blush," Chiyo said, pretending to act shy.

After a bit more conversation, the group got back in the car. Sitting in the back was Chiyo, then Akio in the middle and then Haruna. As Haruna went to get in though, she had a brief moment of panic. "Wait, I have to sit next to Miyashita-kun the whole way to Sapporo? Will I be okay? Will my heart?" As she freaked out, Akio stared at her. "Haruna-chan, you getting in or what?" he asked. "Huh? Oh, y-yeah, sure," Haruna answered, sliding into the final seat.

With everyone tucked into the car, the drive to Hokkaido's capital began. Haruna meanwhile was continuing to panic. "God, I don't know if I'll be alright. I mean, Miyashita-kun is sure to hear my heart racing, right? There's no way he won't... notice..." Haruna's thought trailed off as she noticed something. "...Huh?"

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her heart beat was normal. "Nothing? No reaction?" Haruna thought as she looked at Akio, who was looking at something through the window on Chiyo's side. "I used to get all nervous around him and my heart would go nuts, but now..." Haruna didn't understand what it could mean. "Am I just used to him now or something? No, that's not it. I've known Miyashita-kun for so long already. So what's causing this? What's causing me to feel nothing toward Miyashita-kun?"

Then Haruna had a realization. "Am I... not in love with him anymore?" A thought like that was hard for Haruna to come to terms with. "No, no, no. That can't be it. It took me years to even figure out my feelings for him, and now so shortly after figuring it all out, I don't have those feelings anymore? That doesn't even make sense!"

Haruna audibly sighed at her own frustration, gaining the attention of Akio and Chiyo. "Whoa girl, it hasn't even been 15 minutes and you're already sighing like that?" Chiyo said. "Is something wrong?" Akio asked. "It's nothing..." Haruna muttered.

"Ah, Haruna-chan, I just remembered I never thanked you for the other night," Kanako's mother said. "Huh? What're you talking about?" Haruna asked. "You let Kanako sleep at your place when we were out late, didn't you?" Kanako's mother said. "Oh. Right. That. Sure. Whatever," Haruna replied curtly. "Wait, Kana-chan slept at Haruna-chan's house?" Akio whispered to Chiyo. "Yeah I think so. Didn't I tell you about that?" "No, you didn't!��

"Hey. What are you two whispering about?" Haruna asked, looking annoyed. "Oh, nothing, nothing!" Chiyo said with a wave of her hand. Haruna wasn't convinced, but she decided to let it go. Of course, she also had no idea that Chiyo had agreed to help Akio with his goal of getting Haruna and Kanako to date each other for real, and that part of that agreement meant spying for him.

The drive to Sapporo went on. Kanako's parents talked about the occasional random topic and sometimes Chiyo pointed out something that would catch her attention, but for the most part the ride was quiet, at least on the outside. Inside Haruna's head, she was still trying to understand what it meant for her now that there was the possibility she wasn't in love with Akio anymore. But, for as much thought as she gave it, Haruna still felt like something was missing. Primarily, the reason why something like that would happen. "Feelings don't just disappear overnight. So what the hell happened to me?"

Interrupting her train of thought, Akio leaned over and began speaking to Haruna in a soft tone. "So about tonight," he began. "What about it?" Haruna asked, already wanting him to get to the point. "Our deal is still in effect. I expect you to be just like a real girlfriend to Kana-chan," Akio said. "Are you nuts?! Kanako's parents will be there with us! There's no way I can do that!" Haruna whisper-shouted. "You've already been holding hands in front of the whole school, so how is this any different?" Akio asked. Haruna felt like she was being toyed with. "Look, I'll do what I can, but I'm not getting any closer than I have to alright?"

While Haruna debated Akio, another thought occurred to her. "If I don't actually love Miyashita-kun anymore, then what's the point in continuing this deal?" It was something Haruna considered, but ultimately there were two things that stopped her from quitting. The first reason was that she wasn't sure if she had truly lost her feelings or not. If it turned out she did still have a crush on Akio, then quitting was obviously the wrong move, not to mention it would feel like Haruna was letting Kanako have him, which didn't sit well with her.

However, the other reason was one that Haruna didn't quite understand. There was a part of her, a small part, that told her she wanted to be there. Not for the deal she had made with Akio, not for some way to watch Kanako fail and make fun of her for it and not even just because there was going to be free food (although that was definitely an incentive to go). Really, it simply came down to Haruna wanting to support Kanako.

It was odd. Haruna had spent years berating, insulting and picking fights with the girl she had grown up with. She had even gone as far as to call Kanako anything but her actual name. And yet, within such a short amount of time, so much had changed. It had all happened so fast that Haruna was still playing catch up.

"Am I ever going to really understand my own feelings?" Haruna wondered. She had never really been the emotional type, but lately it had felt like she was getting overwhelmed by them. "Especially when I'm with Kanako..." Haruna thought. "Wait. With... Kanako?" That alone made Haruna feel like she was on the verge of something. "It's like the answer I'm looking for is right in front of me. So why don't I actually know what it is?"

Haruna's frustration began to build, but before it could get any further, an announcement was made. "We're finally here!" Kanako's father proudly proclaimed. Looking out the windows, Haruna saw a large, rounded building passing by them as the car headed toward the parking lot. Connected to it was more of a straight line of windows and walls that led into another, more normal shaped building. To be honest, the outside wasn't much to look at. If it hadn't been for the huge number of cars and buses parked around it, there would've definitely been a possibility of just driving past the complex known as the Sapporo Convention Center.

"Wow, it's been a while since I was last here," Akio said. "Looks exactly the same." "You've been here Akio-kun?" Chiyo asked. "Yeah, once for an event my parents had to go to. My brother and sister came too," Akio said. "I didn't know you had siblings! What're their names?" Chiyo asked excitedly. Akio laughed. "My younger brother's name is Taichi, and my older sister's name is Natsuki." Akio went on to tell Chiyo a little bit more about them as the group got out of the car after parking.

When they got closer to the main entrance, the aromas of different cuisines began to fill their noses. "Mmmm, that smells sooo gooood!" Chiyo said, practically drooling. "Let's hurry up and get inside already!" "Hang on. I think we have to get a ticket," Haruna said, grabbing Chiyo by the collar and pointing toward a booth. In it were two older women taking money and giving slips of paper. "Whaaat? I thought it was free?" Chiyo whined. "I guess you still have to pay to get in," Haruna said. "It's alright kids. We'll get your tickets," Kanako's father said. "Are you sure?" Akio asked. "Of course. Besides, they're pretty cheap," Kanako's father said, pointing to the sign above the booth. It read: Admission 500 yen.

Once the tickets had been purchased and everyone was admitted, they headed over to a guide board that had all of the participating schools listed and which rooms they were in. "Looks like they're in one of the meeting rooms," Kanako's father said, following the line that read Iwanai Municipal High School to a location listed. "I wonder if the individual competition is over?" Akio asked. "How do you know about that?" Haruna asked. "I figured I'd do a little research before coming. I've never been to this, so I wanted to know how it worked," Akio explained.

Making their way to the meeting room, they passed all sorts of people. "I can't believe how many schools are here. I've never even heard of some of them," Chiyo remarked. "I know. Some of them I've competed against in the Snowboard Club, but I definitely don't recognize all of them," Haruna said. "I think some of them might not even be in the prefecture," Akio commented.

Finally, the group made it to the room they were looking for. When they walked in, they saw two different schools. One was one none of them had heard of, and the other was Iwanai High. "Miiii-chaaaan!" Chiyo yelled, dashing over to the surprised girl. "Gah! No! Why're you here?!" Michi screamed as she avoided Chiyo. "Mom! Dad!" Kanako said, noticing them through Chiyo's outburst. Kanako ran to hug her parents, then greeted the others. "H-Hi Akio-kun," she said nervously. Haruna looked away, finding herself feeling annoyed. "Hi Kana-chan," he said back, then Akio elbowed Haruna. "Ow! What the hell!" she yelled at him, then noticed him nodding toward Kanako. "...Hey," Haruna muttered. "Glad you came," Kanako said with a half-smile. "S-Sure. Whatever..." Haruna said, feeling her face getting a little red. "It's definitely from all the heat these people are giving off," she thought.

Walking over to the table the cooking club had set up, the ones who had arrived greeted the other members of the club.

First there was Naomi Akiyama, president of the club and known by all her fellow club mates as Naomi-senpai because she was the only third-year. Her hair was a deep brown color, and it always seemed to be kept in a tight and complex braid that made her look professional. Her love of cooking wasn't limited to just the club level either, as she was aspiring to become a professional chef someday.

Next was Rina Takano. Physically, her looks were pretty similar to Kanako's, at least in terms of chest size and height. However, pretty much everything else differed. Her hair was a glossy black and kept in long, thin twin tails tied up with fanciful red and white colored ribbons. Rina's personality fell into the category most people would describe as tsundere.

After her was Saki Uchida, the only first year. She was a short, fluffy type of girl with small, puffy green pigtails and a bunny-like face. She was extremely sweet and nice, and for some reason, Rina had taken a liking to her. The only major problem was that Saki was an airhead, so a lot of what she tried to cook ended up burning. However, when she did successfully make something, it tended to be the best-tasting dish any of the club members had had.

Beyond those girls were two of Kanako's closest friends, Mayu Kawaguchi and Itsuki Yukimura. Mayu was a simple girl in both appearance and personality, keeping her navy blue hair in two long braids that hung over her shoulders and perfectly circular glasses on her face. She was almost always calm and understanding, along with exuding kindness and pleasantness.

Itsuki on the other hand was basically the opposite. A classic tomboy, with her pixie-cut black hair and tanned skin, and of course a boisterous personality to match. She was also in the track club, so out of the seven club members, she was there the least, as track was her first commitment. However, because this was a club competition and track was only practicing the day of, Itsuki was able to participate.

Rounding out the club were Michi, who was fending off Chiyo, and Kanako, who had begun to explain what had happened so far in the day. It turned out that the individual competitions were already over, with Naomi not even placing in the top 100. Now what had been designated as the team stage was going on, but it was only in the first round. "We won't go until the third round," Kanako finished explaining. "I see. Well it certainly seems pretty busy," Kanako's father said. "Yes, and so much of the food looks so good too!" Kanako's mother said. "You're more than welcome to try the food that's available," Naomi said, coming back over to Kanako's parents after setting something up. "In fact, it's encouraged so that the food doesn't go to waste." "Well then what're we waiting for? Let's eat!" Chiyo yelled.

A group of Haruna, Chiyo, Kanako, her parents and Akio all began wandering through the halls. At each booth lining both the hallways and filling the rooms were various schools. Not all of them had dishes out as a lot of them had yet to compete, but those that did were calling out to the people walking by.

Each school's booth appeared to be equipped with plates and plastic-ware as people lined up here and there. "What should we try first?" Chiyo asked excitedly. "I heard that there was a school in the main hall that had made some pretty good taiyaki," Kanako suggested. Deciding that would be their first stop, the group headed in that direction. However, it didn't take long for each of them to get distracted by other booths. Before they had even reached the one they were going for, the size of the group had dwindled down to just Haruna, Kanako and Akio.

"I hope they don't get lost..." Kanako said, worried. "They'll be fine. There are maps posted everywhere in here. Although, Chiyo does seem like the type to lose her way easily," Akio said with a laugh. "Are we almost there yet?" Haruna said abruptly. "Actually, this is it," Kanako said, stopping in front of an entryway. There was a sign in front of it reading "Main Hall."

The room itself was large, with seats filling the back half and tables filling the front. On them were so many dishes of all sorts from different regions. There was a bit of a line, but it seemed to wind through all of the booths, so Haruna, Kanako and Akio all joined it. "This place is pretty nice," Akio observed. "I thought you said you had been here before," Haruna said. "Yeah, but I didn't really get to appreciate it like I can now."

The size of the space was definitely big, but it seemed even bigger due to its mostly bare white walls. Aside from a few select pieces of art hanging up and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, it appeared that the one thing the people who built the convention center wanted others to see was how spacious the Main Hall could be. "It wouldn't kill them to decorate a little more," Haruna thought. She was no expert in interior decorating herself, considering her own walls were fairly lacking and her floor was a mess, but even she could tell the Main Hall could've used a little more. Of course, with all of the people and food inside, no one was really paying much attention to the design anyways.

After making their way through the line and grabbing things that caught their eye, the three went to sit down at the provided seats. "So much of that looked so good. I think I might have overdone it," Akio said, looking at his overflowing plate. "I know what you mean. I just want to try it all," Kanako said, her plate looking much the same. The three began eating, but it wasn't long before Akio started up a conversation.

"So, how's fake dating going?" he asked, causing Kanako to jump and Haruna to cough like she swallowed wrong. "W-W-Why do you ask?" Kanako stuttered. "Are we seriously going to talk about that here?!" Haruna said in a low but harsh tone. "Come on, what's the harm? It's not like anyone here knows you," Akio said. "Besides, I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to check up on you. Not that I haven't been watching." He finished with a wink, causing Haruna to feel a little disgusted.

"I-I think it's been going well..." Kanako said quietly. "I've been doing my best." "That's good to hear. I must say, finding out you spent the night at Haruna's was a shock," Akio said. "O-Oh, yeah... Well, I needed somewhere to sleep, and luckily Haruna was there to rescue me," Kanako said. "I didn't rescue you," Haruna said. "Sure, sure. You know, if things keep going like this, it's going to be a hard decision to pick which one of you I want to go out with," Akio said wryly. "Whatever. It's not like it matters anyways," Haruna said.

"Huh?"

"Oh?"

Kanako and Akio were both surprised, and Haruna quickly realized what she had just said. "Why did I just say that?!" she screamed inside. "You don't care about being the one Akio-kun picks Haruna?" Kanako asked, looking both worried and confused. "O-Of course I care! But it's not like he won't like someone else a year from now. It might not be either of us, so why does it matter?" Haruna said in a panic. However, that was a point Kanako hadn't considered, nor had Haruna until she blurted it out.

"If Miyashita-kun falls in love with someone else, how would I feel about it?" Haruna wondered. Weirdly enough, she didn't seem to mind the thought as much as she thought she would, which led her back to the question she had had in the car. "Am I really not in love with him anymore? Something like that should bother me if I was right?"

"I don't think you have to worry about that. My heart's not that fickle," Akio said cryptically as he stood up. "We should probably be getting back." Then he walked away. "What do you think he meant?" Kanako asked Haruna. "How am I supposed to know?! Just get moving," Haruna shot back.

The three of them headed toward the room Iwanai's club was in, meeting back up with Kanako's parents and Chiyo, who had a mountain of food. "Are you seriously going to be able to eat all of that?" Haruna asked doubtfully. "Hmmmm. Y'know, I'm not sure! But I'm so gonna try! And if I can't, I'll just bring it back with me. I saw some to-go boxes, so it's all good!" Chiyo said as she picked up a kebab on her plate. "You're going to get fat," Haruna said. "Hey! You don't have to say that!"

Time went on and soon enough, the third round of the team stage was about to begin. The cooking club was in a flurry of activity, with each of them going to the stations set up for the competition. Rina and Saki paired up on one, while Mayu and Itsuki took another. Kanako, Michi and Naomi each had their own. The way the competition would work was that the team score would comprise of the top four best individual scores in each club.

As the girls began to make their dishes, Haruna watched. Specifically, she kept watching Kanako. She had no idea what the girl was making, but for some reason she found herself really wanting to try it. "I bet it'll be really good," Haruna thought, gaining anticipation for trying whatever Kanako made.

The clock kept ticking and various things happened. For one, Naomi was the first one done, presenting a plate with fish and some collard greens. While she explained her dish to a judge, Rina had to stop Saki from burning her food. Mayu and Itsuki seemed to be cooking more for fun than to be competitive, and Michi and Kanako appeared to be very focused.

In the end, the scores that were totaled came from Naomi, Michi, Kanako and Mayu. None of the girls not picked seemed to mind. Itsuki was just happy to have fun with everyone, and Rina was just thankful she had prevented Saki from burning the whole place down.

There were still five more rounds to go, but the girls spent their time immediately after they finished cleaning their area. While they did that, the ones who had been watching went to try the new dishes that had been placed before them.

"They all look amazing," Kanako's mother said. Haruna stared at the food and wondered which one was Kanako's. Luckily, instead of just having to guess, Chiyo asked Kanako. "Mine's the one on the end," she answered. Looking in that direction, Haruna saw a plate of some type of pasta. Grabbing a bit for herself, Haruna put some on her fork and brought it to her lips.

"This is delicious!" she thought.

"Wow Kana-chan, this is great!" Chiyo exclaimed. "Y-You really think so?" Kanako said, a bit embarrassed. "She's right Kanako, this is very good," her mother said. Kanako laughed a little. "Well I'm glad you all like it so much." Then her eyes turned to Haruna. It felt like she was expecting Haruna to say something. "W-What they said..." Haruna mumbled. Kanako smiled.

After several hours later, the competition was finally coming to a close. It was announced that the results would be revealed next week. With that being said, the big banquet portion of the event began, much to everyone's delight. There was plenty of food to go around thanks to the participants and the hosts. However, there was one person that wasn't able to enjoy it. Chiyo had eaten so much earlier that she ended up getting sick.

"This has been so much fun," Mayu said as the club members, Haruna and Chiyo all sat at the same table. "I know! I'm so happy coach let me come!" Itsuki said. "It looks like everyone is really enjoying themselves, right Rina?" Saki looked to the girl next to her. "R-Right. Well, at least nothing went wrong today," Rina said. "Of course it didn't! I have the utmost faith in my cooking club girls!" Naomi said proudly. "Saying it like that makes us sound a little scandalous," Michi said. "I'm just glad it's over," Kanako said with relief.

While the cooking club members continued to go over the events of the day, Haruna glanced over at Chiyo. "You're looking a little green Chiyo," Haruna jabbed. "S-Shut up... hrk... ugh, I so shouldn't have gone for another crab roll..."

The night was coming to an end. One by one, school groups cleaned up their areas and began to head home. Gradually, the convention center thinned out until Iwanai was one of the last schools left. Realizing this to be the case, they started to quickly clean up themselves, gathering all of the pots and pans they had brought with them, along with any unused ingredients.

"Come to think of it, I never got to see your teacher Kanako," Kanako's mother said to her. "Oh, that's because as soon as she dropped us off, she had to do something else. Honestly, it was a little unnerving at first because none of us knew what to do. It was a good thing we didn't need our advisor for anything..." Kanako sighed. "But didn't she drive all of you here? How will you get home?" her mom asked. "My parents were already here, so I'm riding with them," Naomi answered. "Saki is riding with me," Rina said. "I'm spending the night at Mayu's house, so she's my ride!" Itsuki said. "Well I guess that just leaves you and your group," Michi said, looking at Kanako.

"Hey guys. Are we heading out?" Akio said as he walked over. "Where have you been?" Haruna asked. "Well, at first I was trying a bunch of food at different tables, and then I got roped into helping school after school clean up. It was such a mess. I'm exhausted," Akio explained. "So what were you talking about?" "We need to figure out who's riding with who now that we have an extra person," Kanako's father said. "I think it's safe to say we'll be taking Kanako and Haruna-chan, considering where we all live."

Michi frowned, but before she could voice her displeasure, Akio spoke. "Then should I ride with you too?" he asked. Michi was on him in a flash, grabbing him by the arm. "No way! You're coming with me!" she yelled as she dragged him away. "What was that about?" Haruna wondered. "Maybe she wants to keep Miyashita-kun away from Kanako?"

While Haruna contemplated that, Kanako's mother was comforting Chiyo. "Chiyo dear, are you sure you're okay?" she asked in a tone of motherly concern. "I think... I'll be good. Just... try not to hit any bumps..." Chiyo groaned. "Well if you say so..." And with that, Kanako, Haruna and Chiyo followed Kanako's parents out of the building and to the car, where the girls piled into the back. Because she was the smallest, Kanako ended up in the middle. By the time they hit the road, it was a little past 10 p.m.

"Thank God we don't have school tomorrow," Haruna said. "I know. I'm sooo tired," Chiyo said. "Same here..." Kanako said with a yawn. With the three of them tucked together in the back and the car's relaxing hum, it wasn't long before one of the girls began to drift to sleep.

"Aww, look! Kana-chan's sleepy," Chiyo said quietly, then looked up at Haruna smugly. "Are you hoping she'll fall asleep on your shoulder?" "W-Wha- No! Why would I?!" Haruna whisper-yelled. "But if she does, you can proudly tell Akio-kun how you were a good girlfriend for letting little Kana-chan use you as a pillow!" Chiyo joked. "Keep talking like that and I'll punch you in the stomach," Haruna threatened, putting an end to Chiyo's banter.

However, even though she had been joking, it wasn't long before Kanako did drift off to sleep. Not only that, but she began swaying a little, back and forth between Haruna and Chiyo. Eventually, her head landed on Haruna's shoulder. "Wha..." Haruna gasped, looking at the girl now resting on her. "It actually happened..." she thought. "Wait, was I hoping it would?" Quickly, Haruna turned to look at Chiyo, but the gal had also fallen asleep, leaning her head on the window next to her. Turning her attention back to Kanako, Haruna wasn't sure what to do. "Should I just push her off?" she thought.

The longer she stared, the more Haruna began to notice something.

Ba-thump. Ba-Thump. BA-THUMP.

Louder and faster her heart beat got, making Haruna confused. "Why..." she wondered. "Why does it race for you?" She wanted to ask Kanako, but considering she didn't even know the answer herself, Haruna figured there was no way she could put voice to that question. On top of that, she found that having Kanako in the position she was in didn't feel uncomfortable at all. In fact, it felt... nice.

Thinking back on all that had happened recently, Haruna finally came to a decision. "I need to understand what's going on with me and what these feelings mean. And to do that... I have to face my past." It was time, Haruna decided, for her to revisit that fateful day. The day that changed everything.

The day that Kanako and Haruna's friendship came to an end.

End of Chapter Four.