Chapter Six: They Both Look Ahead, But Only One Looks At The Other

The following Tuesday at school, it seemed as though Katsumi's intensity was increasing. "Kanaaa-chin!" she said happily, scooting into the bit of free space left on Kanako's chair. "K-Kat-chan, this is a bit too much…" Kanako said as she saw Haruna glaring at them. "Huh? But I like being this close," Katsumi said breezily. "Doesn't it feel cozy?" "I-It's too cramped!" Kanako protested.

"She obviously doesn't like it, so why don't you leave her alone?" Haruna said sternly. Katsumi turned to her, a disinterested expression on her face. "Huh? Last I checked, you don't know what Kana-chin feels because you're not her. Maybe she actually really likes it." Then she turned back to Kanako. "Don't you wanna be close with me again, Kana-chin?" "W-Well, I guess so, but-" "See, there's no problem."

"God, just go to your own seat already!" Haruna yelled. "Why does this bother you so much? Are you that worried about me sitting with your girlfriend?" Katsumi said mockingly. "I guess I get it. After all, compared to a beauty like me, you really fall short." "Kat-chan…" Kanako grumbled, but Katsumi just waved her hand. "I know, I know. Sorry Kana-chin. I just can't help it. When I put me and Endo-san side by side, there's just such a difference." Anyone near Haruna could practically see the vein throbbing on her forehead.

"C'mon guys, let's just relax," Chiyo said from the front. "Haru-chi, both you and Ikehara-san have your good points." "Yeah, but mine are kinda better," Katsumi said. "That's totally not helping Ikehara-san," Chiyo said. "Well no one asked for your help Waka- what was it again?" Katsumi said. "Wakabayashi," Chiyo said with a glare. "Geez, that really is a mouthful," Katsumi said, unbothered from annoying yet another person.

The air in the room was getting tenser by the minute, but fortunately, the teacher arrived to get class started. Although, his arrival did little to actually relieve the tension. While they weren't talking to each other, Haruna and Chiyo both kept glaring at Katsumi, who seemed to not have a care in the world as she stared starry-eyed at Kanako.

*****

Gym class wasn't any better. While they changed, Haruna kept catching Katsumi stealing glances of Kanako. Chiyo had a locker next to Katsumi, so she did her best to keep Katsumi's eyes focused elsewhere, but it wasn't like she could stop the girl completely. On top of that, it didn't help that Michi was also in their class, so Chiyo occasionally got distracted as well.

The activity scheduled was volleyball, and because of the potential high impacts to her ankle, Haruna had to sit out. This was something that had become the norm for her ever since her injury, but it was still boring. Every now and then the class would do something that Haruna could participate in, but for the most part she just spent her time sitting on the sidelines, occasionally talking with anybody else who sat out.

However, ever since Katsumi's arrival, that time had become both boring and frustrating, as all Haruna could do was watch as Katsumi flirted as much as she could (or tried to before Chiyo interfered). "This sucks," Haruna thought bitterly as the teams were chosen. Even worse was the fact that Katsumi and Kanako ended up on the same team.

And as she sat there grinding her teeth, Katsumi looked over and smirked. "This is totally killing her," she thought as she took in Haruna's irritation. While Katsumi's primary goal was to get Kanako to go out with her instead, she was admittedly beginning to take pleasure in tormenting Haruna as well. "And trying to take Kana-chin from her kills two birds with one stone," she thought, pleased.

So, for every point they scored, Katsumi made sure to either high-five or hug Kanako, and whenever the girl did something, Katsumi was extra loud with her cheers. In response, Haruna would toss in her own praise as well, hoping to drown out Katsumi. But in the end, all getting loudly cheered on by two people did was make Kanako feel embarrassed.

Unlike Kanako though, Katsumi was rather pleased with her progress so far. After forcing her way into walking home with Kanako again, she was all smiles as she made her way to her house. "At this rate, there's no way Kana-chin won't take notice of me," she thought. "Then it's just a matter of time…"

To Kanako, Katsumi was more like a returning friend from years past. But to Katsumi, reuniting with Kanako was like being rewarded for her patience. Ever since she had moved, she had kept her feelings for Kanako alive, waiting for the day when she would one day be able to see her again. "I waited for so long…" she thought. "And now, it feels like every day I'm getting one step closer to what I want."

Maybe it was obnoxious. Maybe it was annoying. Maybe it was wrong. Katsumi didn't care. After all that time, she finally had her chance, and she knew she wasn't going to waste it. "Kana-chin… I'm back now, so please… remember how it was back then…"

*****

When Katsumi started school in the Iwanai Municipal School System, it didn't take her long to become popular. Even as a child, she was constantly surrounded by other kids, and it seemed like she got along with anyone. Katsumi had no problems with teachers, hardly ever got into arguments with classmates, and seemingly excelled in every activity she was a part of.

To most, she seemed like the perfect girl, but on the inside, there was one thing that Katsumi was aware of that she was lacking. Genuine connection. While she got along with everybody well, there wasn't really anybody that she could call a good friend. She went to people's houses or apartments, hung out and played, but it seemed like no matter what she did, Katsumi couldn't manage to connect with the other kids her age on a deeper level.

"This… isn't very fun…" she thought around her fifth year of primary school. "I just want some friends who I can really talk to…" Taking a casual glance around the room, Katsumi's eyes soon landed on a girl who was unfamiliar to her. "Huh? Who is that?" she wondered. "Have I seen her before?"

The girl was average in most things, and her brown hair was tied up in a ponytail, giving a clear view of her face. That was average as well, but when Katsumi saw it, something happened within her. "That girl… is pretty cute," she thought. "Her. I'm gonna make her my friend!" But, little did Katsumi know that what she wanted was already more than friends.

Luckily, it didn't take her long to figure that out. Being as young as she was, it was a little hard to understand feelings like love, but being so young also helped her to accept herself more easily. "So I like girls…?" she thought. At the moment, she only liked Kanako, but Katsumi couldn't deny she had looked at other girls before and thought they were pretty too. Given, most of them were just the models in commercials or magazines, but she still felt like that was sufficient evidence. On top of that, she had never once felt anything when it came to boys. Putting all of that together told Katsumi that most likely, she only liked girls, and at that time, the girl she liked in particular was Kanako.

And after getting to know her, she liked her even more. "Kana-chin really is the best," Katsumi thought. "She's so nice and pretty… I really think we'll be together for a long time."

"Hey Kana-chin!" Katsumi said, greeting her one morning. "Oh, h-hi Kat-chan…" Kanako said, seeming down. "Huh? What wrong?" Katsumi asked. Kanako looked hesitant to say, but after a moment, she spoke. "Haruna… might be mad at me…" "Haruna? You mean Endo-san?" Katsumi asked, and Kanako nodded. "We haven't been hanging out as much lately, and when I tried talking to her yesterday, she seemed like she was in a bad mood…"

For some reason, it bothered Katsumi whenever she heard Kanako talk about Haruna. Lately, it felt like that had been all she had been talking about, as Kanako noticed Haruna becoming more and more distant. Although, in Katsumi's opinion, that was a good thing. The less time Kanako spent with Haruna was more time she could spend with Katsumi instead. "And if Haruna stops being her friend, then wouldn't that mean I'd get Kanako all to myself?" Katsumi thought. It wasn't as if Kanako didn't have any other friends, but nobody had been as close to her as Haruna. Now that she was getting distant, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for Katsumi to get what she wanted.

It didn't take long for Katsumi to figure out that Haruna didn't like seeing her with Kanako. Once she realized that, Katsumi made sure to take advantage of that at every opportunity. She'd latch onto Kanako in front of Haruna all the time. She'd talk about how she and Kanako were such good friends (and loudly, at that). Most of all, she wanted Haruna to understand just what she was missing out on.

As time went on, Katsumi saw that her efforts were having an effect on Haruna and Kanako's friendship. Whether or not she was the sole cause, she couldn't say (though she hoped that was the case). "Don't you see Kana-chin?" she thought. "I'll be better for you than Endo-san ever was."

By the time they got close to the end of their time in primary school, Katsumi was beginning to feel like she had successfully cemented her position as Kanako's new best friend. They were hanging out a lot and even had a few sleepovers. They also talked about some deeper stuff too. All in all, things were going well, and because of that, Katsumi decided it was time to take things to the next level.

As it turned out though, her timing couldn't have been worse. It had been decided that she would be moving, a decision that was made quite suddenly. The move was set to happen right after primary school graduation, which left Katsumi with very little time left with Kanako. "I don't want to leave without telling her how I feel," Katsumi thought.

So, she came up with a plan. "One day, I'll come back for her," she thought. "But until that day, I'll make a promise with her to hold on to. That way, once I'm back, we can pick up right where we left off."

And so that was what Katsumi did. At graduation, she made a promise to Kanako, and then she left.

*****

In middle school, Katsumi turned out to be just as popular, quickly making friends. However, just like in primary school, she didn't really feel like she had any genuine friends. Worse yet, she now had an additional problem. Being the beauty she was, Katsumi naturally attracted a lot of guys. This made a lot of the girls jealous, which also made her a target.

It seemed like for every confession she got, something bad would happen. If she got called behind the school, she'd find her shoes had been thrown outside into the bushes. If she went to meet a guy in an empty classroom, she'd find a couple of written comments on her desk. And if the confession was in front of people, Katsumi was met with nothing but vitriol.

It didn't take long for Katsumi to have enough. She was tired of getting attacked, she was tired of all the girls hating her, and she was definitely tired of all the confessions. After only a month in middle school, Katsumi had been confessed to nine times. "I'm so sick of this," she thought. "Why do all these guys keep asking me out? Isn't it obviously I'm not interested in any of them?"

Then a thought occurred to her. "Hang on. Maybe it's not as obvious as I think. If that's the case, then… I guess I better tell everyone exactly how it is."

So, the next day at the planned morning assembly, Katsumi decided she'd let everyone know what she wanted. That way, she'd stop getting so many confessions. Brazenly, she ran up to the stage, ripped the mic out of the hand of the boy doing the announcements, and yelled the following:

"MY NAME IS KATSUMI IKEHARA AND I ONLY LIKE GIRLS!!!"

It was possible to hear a pin drop after she did that, and in the days that followed, the number of confessions and love letters she had been getting plummeted. In fact, it was zero. "Finally," she thought. "Those guys won't be bothering me anymore." But while she basked in her victory, what came next was completely unexpected.

There was a group that wanted nothing to do with Katsumi, but they were easy enough to ignore. Then there were the guys, who now just had to live with only being friends with Katsumi and nothing more. But then, there was a new group. A group that came out of the woodwork thanks to Katsumi's confession.

As it turned out, her beauty didn't just influence the guys around her. It also had an effect on the girls. Even a few of the girls who had hated her before because they felt like she was taking all the guys, now suddenly seemed to be all fidgety around her. If Katsumi even looked at them, they'd get flustered and look away, red in their cheeks.

This soon morphed into getting love letters and confessions from some of those girls. While it wasn't as frequent as the boys, it still happened enough that Katsumi was starting to get annoyed again. "Do I need to make another announcement or something?" she thought after turning down the third girl in the span of two months.

However, about halfway through her first year, Katsumi experienced something she hadn't felt in a while. She saw a girl in the library after school one day, and she happened to catch Katsumi's eye. This girl's appearance was completely basic, with mid-length black hair, glasses over her green eyes, and her uniform worn perfectly (which was one of the blazer variety).

The next day, Katsumi started talking to her, and it didn't take long for her to realize that the thing she had felt was most likely love. "I guess that makes sense," she thought. "If I like girls, it's not like Kana-chin would be the only one I'm attracted to." Still though, it gave her mixed feelings. She wanted to remain completely faithful to her feelings for Kanako, but at the same time, she couldn't deny that she had feelings for this girl as well.

The girl's name was Yumi Mikawa, and after talking with her for a couple of weeks, Katsumi asked her out. Yumi said yes.

Katsumi still had conflicted feelings, but she justified her new relationship by calling it a test run. "This is all to make sure I can properly date a girl and make Kana-chin comfortable," she told herself. Thinking that way was hardly fair to Yumi, but Katsumi just brushed it off as a necessary evil and moved on.

The two of them dated for about six months, and during that time, Katsumi was always thinking about Kanako. At one point, her conscience got the better of her and she even told Yumi about her feelings. To her surprise, Yumi didn't seem to mind. Her response had simply been, "You're mine right now, so that's all that matters."

In all honesty, that sort of response just made Katsumi feel worse. "I can't keep doing this to her," she thought. "I should just end things. It would be better for both of us." So, that's what she did, and yet again, she was surprised. After saying she thought they should break up, Yumi had simply smiled. "That's okay," she said. "I know we'll meet again like this."

"Huh? How can you know something like that?" Katsumi asked. "Because," Yumi said. "Just as you believe this Kana-chin girl is your fated person, I believe you are mine. It's okay if you don't feel that way now, because I know one day you will." "T-That's a pretty strong belief…" Katsumi said, stunned, but Yumi never wavered. "Until we meet again," she said, and then she left.

After that, the two didn't interact anymore. A part of Katsumi was sad about it. She missed the days she'd spend with Yumi, and she found that she occasionally wished the girl was by her side when she felt lonely. However, a bigger part of Katsumi knew she was dedicated to Kanako, and she employed that part to silence the rest. "Sorry Yumi-chan," she thought. "But my heart will only ever belong to Kana-chin."

That was the first and last relationship Katsumi had. Through the rest of middle school, she continued to turn down confessions until she gained a reputation for rejections. Then, in high school, she had to repeat the process. She made just as bold of an announcement to her classmates as she had in middle school (though for high school, she did it right away). Then, she continued to reject confessions, focusing on her studies and waiting for the day she'd get to see Kanako again.

That day, as it turned out, came sooner than expected, as her parents informed her they'd be moving back to Iwanai. The news had been such a shock to Katsumi that she was speechless for a good couple of hours. Once she recovered, she immediately demanded that she get to go to Iwanai Municipal High School. She had no idea if Kanako was still there, but something told her she would be. "I just know she's there, waiting for me like I've been for her," Katsumi thought.

For a moment, she remembered her past relationship with Yumi. "I think...I'll keep that a secret from Kanako. After all, it was just a test run anyways, so it's not like it counts as cheating or anything." Using that justification, Katsumi put that relationship completely behind her, not giving it a second thought as she was now entirely focused on reuniting with Kanako.

*****

"And now, I've found her again," Katsumi thought as she walked back home. She had just split off from Kanako (quite reluctantly and much to Haruna's pleasure), and was now thinking back on everything that had happened. "I knew it was right to keep believing I'd see her again," she thought happily. "And day by day, I'm getting closer."

From Kanako's perspective, she had thought that allowing Katsumi to hang around her would let her see that she couldn't come between her and Haruna. However, that was actually having the opposite effect. To Katsumi, the fact that Kanako kept allowing her to be so close with her meant that she wasn't 100 percent opposed. "I just know that little by little, she's starting to see my charms and how I'm a much better fit than that brute she calls a girlfriend," Katsumi thought.

*****

A couple of days later, Kanako found herself having quite the dilemma. She was currently having a problem, but she wasn't really sure what to do about it. Or, to be more specific, she knew what she could do, but was a little afraid to actually do it. Kanako had gone back and forth many times and had tried to work up the nerve, but it seemed like no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't do it.

To put it simply, her problem was finding out how two girls have sex.

Kanako knew she could just look it up on the internet, but she was kind of afraid of what she might find. Every time she went to do so, she found that she just couldn't type in the words. "W-What if it's something really…" she would think, not even bothering to finish the thought. "But, I also want to know… ugh, what am I going to do?"

It was thoughts like these that Kanako went back and forth with. As she laid on her bed with phone in hand, she kept staring at the screen. "S-Should I do it?" she wondered. "I probably should, right? I mean, how else am I supposed to know? A-And I don't want me or Haruna to get hurt…" Of course, she had thought things like this already too, but this time she was really trying to work up the courage.

"...I'll do it," she thought. Slowly, she typed in the words into the search bar. "How… do… two girls… have… s-sex…" she said to herself. "And… search…" Almost instantly, a list of results appeared. "W-Which one should I look at?" Kanako wondered. "Maybe this one?" Pressing the first result, Kanako scrolled down a bit. "Hmm…" she let out. "I don't know… just reading about it isn't very helpful… I-I don't even know what half of these terms mean…"

Closing that page, Kanako went back to the search results. "S-Should I… look at videos?" she wondered, swallowing hard. "L-Let's… see if those are any more help…" Switching to video results, she selected the first one she saw.

"Ahn~!"

"Kyaaa!"

As soon as the sound came out of her speakers, Kanako shrieked and fumbled her phone. As fast as she could, she picked it back up and closed everything. After taking a few deep breaths, she collected her thoughts. "T-T-That scared me… b-but… is it really like that?" Already getting a little curious again, she glanced at the device in her hands. "M-Maybe… one more look wouldn't hurt…"

Before she knew it, she was stuck in a cycle of panicking and then watching videos through her fingers. "S-Some of these positions are so embarrassing!" she thought. "And how does that girl bend that way? I didn't think it was possible to be that flexible…" As she kept watching, she also began to think about Haruna. "I wonder… if Haruna's been thinking about stuff like this too? I hope so… I don't want to be the only lewd one in our relationship…"

As she was thinking that, there was a knock at Kanako's door. "Kanako, dinner's just about ready," her mother called. At the same time, Kanako let out a short "kya!" Considering what she was watching, it was only natural she'd panic upon hearing her mother. "Huh? Kanako, is everything alright in there?" "E-Everything's fine!" Kanako called back. "Really? Should I come in?" her mother asked. "N-NO! D-Don't come in here!" Kanako exclaimed. "Hmm," her mother let out. "That's sounds suspicious. You're not doing naughty things with your girlfriend in there are you?" "O-Of course not!" Kanako shouted. There was a brief pause until Kanako heard a sigh from the other side. "Alright, I'll believe you. Just come down for dinner," her mom said before walking away.

Once Kanako knew she was clear, she let out the breath she had been holding. "Haaah… thank goodness," she said to herself. "If she had walked in and seen what I was looking at, it would've felt like my life was ending…" Even though she was looking on her phone, Kanako had been so engrossed by her… researching that had her mother simply walked in instead of knocking, there was a decent chance she would've seen what was on Kanako's screen.

Having survived this near-heart attack inducing experience, Kanako made her way downstairs as requested. When she arrived, she got a questioning look from her mom, which Kanako only responded to with an embarrassed look and quickly went to get her food.

"...Are you sure Haruna-chan isn't hiding in your blankets up there?" she asked. "S-She isn't!" Kanako cried. "I wouldn't just leave Haruna in my room while I eat!" "I guess that's true," her mother said. "Still… just what were you doing in there?" "Ah… u-um...w-well… it's a secret?" "...Kanako," her mother said, almost sounding disappointed with that answer. "You're free to keep secrets, but you're acting awfully suspicious." "I-It's nothing, really," Kanako insisted. It seemed like her mother didn't really want to let it go, but she decided to anyways. "Well fine. But it better not be anything bad." "I-It isn't," Kanako said, then silently added to herself, "at least, I don't think it is…"

After dinner, Kanako went back to doing a little more research, but she realized that if she really wanted to know how sex worked, there were two people in her life that were perfect to ask.

*****

"So what's up, Kana-chan?" Chiyo asked.

"What do you need to talk about that you need both of us?" Jasmine asked.

"U-Um, well, the thing is…" Kanako sputtered. "I want you two… to tell me about sex!"

The silence between the three girls in the end of the hall was so quiet that it was as if time had frozen. Chiyo and Jasmine just stared at Kanako, their jaws hanging open as they processed what Kanako had just asked them. After they finally did, Chiyo spoke first.

"Hang on," she said. "Why do you want us to tell you about sex? Didn't ya like, pay attention in health class?" "I don't really know what more we could tell you," Jasmine added. "I was hoping," Kanako said. "That maybe… y-you two might be able to tell me… about how to do it… with a girl… and what it's like…"

"Hate to kill your hopes girl, but I don't know anything about that," Chiyo said. "I don't either," Jasmine added. "I never really had any interest in girls like that." "Well, I did kiss a few of them, but that's not really sex," Chiyo said. "So like, we could tell ya what it's like being on the girl's side of things, but I think doing it with another girl is probably pretty different compared to doing it with a guy."

Kanako sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right." "Although, maybe we could do a demonstration," Chiyo suggested, eyeing Jasmine. "C'mon Jas-chin, whaddya say? Wanna experiment a little?" Chiyo leaned in a bit to act like she'd kiss her fellow gal, only to be met with a hand clamping down on her lips. "Absolutely not," she said. "Aw, what's the harm? It's all to teach our little Kana-chan," Chiyo teased.

"First of all, I bet I would catch something doing it with you."

"How rude!"

"Secondly, wouldn't it be awful if your first time with a girl wasn't with Fukuhara-san?"

"…! T-That's, um… r-right… good point, Jas-chin…"

After having that pointed out to her, Chiyo's teasing quickly died out, leaving nothing but a blushing gal standing in front of them as she was most likely imagining what a night like that would be like. "Anyways," Jasmine said, ignoring her. "I don't think we can really help. Sorry Kana-chan." "I-It's fine," Kanako said. "I know it was a really weird question to ask." But when she said that, she saw Jasmine shake her head. "It's not weird at all. There's nothing wrong with wanting to know how to please your partner."

"Kana-chan," she continued. "You should remember you're both like, totally inexperienced in this area. Neither of you have ever even been in a relationship before, much less done the stuff me and Chiyo have. Instead of rushing along and trying to get everything right, just let things happen as they happen. That way, you'll both be experiencing it all together."

"Hiraoka-san…" Kanako said in admiration. "T-Thank you…" Getting thanks made Jasmine realize how she had sounded, so she got a little embarrassed. "Don't mention it…" she said shyly. Next to her, it seemed Chiyo had recovered, as she chimed in as well. "So, what're you gonna do now, Kana-chan? Gonna put the moves on Haru-chi?"

"W-Well, I think Hiraoka-san is right," Kanako said. "I should probably just let it occur naturally. If things start to move too quickly, it could be bad for our relationship." "Yeah, that's probs the right answer," Chiyo said with a satisfied nod. "And don't worry, I'm sure Haru-chi will be wanting to do all kinds of things when the time comes!" "Is that supposed to be encouraging?" Jasmine asked. "What, you don't think it is?" Chiyo asked back, only getting a sigh out of Jasmine.

Then, just as they were wrapping up their conversation, Kanako heard her name being called. "Kana-chinnnn!" the voice said. Hearing that, Chiyo let out a groan. "Great, it's the resident gnat," she remarked. Kanako was a little surprised to hear Chiyo say something like that, and the gal noticed her expression. "Sorry," she said. "I know it's not nice, but… I'm just worried about the effect she'll have on you and Haru-chi." "Don't worry," Kanako said with confidence. "There's no way Kat-chan could get between me and Haruna." Then, hearing her name called again, Kanako headed off.

"If that's true, then why go to her when she calls?" Chiyo muttered. She wasn't mad at Kanako, but she was also concerned that she might not understand her situation. "I really need to be more involved. If I don't do anything, who knows what'll happen to those two," she thought.

Little did any of the girls know that the actions they took would soon bring disastrous results.

End of Chapter Six.