Chapter Twelve: Out Of Reach

On the same day as Haruna's outing with Jasmine, Kanako received a surprise guest. She had just been sitting on her back porch with the door open when she heard the front doorbell ring. With it still being early afternoon, Kanako was still the only one home, so she got up and went to see who it was.

When she opened the door, it was none other than Akio. "A-Akio-kun?!" Kanako shouted. "What are you doing here?" "Well, I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd come see if you were home. It's been so long since we've hung out together, so I was thinking maybe we could go do something." Akio had only phrased it as "hanging out," but Kanako heard "hanging out with a boy, which means it's a date." Blushing at the thought, Kanako struggled to find words. "I, um, well... yeah, I'd love to," she said, finally getting her bearings. "Just give me a little time to get ready." "Sure," Akio said with a smile. Being invited in for the wait, he went to sit on the couch in the living room as Kanako changed her outfit.

As she quickly sorted through her clothes, Kanako eventually settled on an ensemble of a red t-shirt and a white skirt. Putting it on, she took a look in the mirror before deciding she was satisfied with what she had picked. The shirt was a little tighter than Kanako would've liked, but she liked the outfit too much to change, so she stuck with it. Once Kanako had grabbed her phone and purse, she ran back downstairs to find Akio exactly where she had left him.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Kanako said happily. "Great," Akio said before making a nervous face. "So listen. I was hoping to have you pick out where we went, but I just got a text saying I have to pick up a couple of things. I hope you don't mind running errands with me." Kanako shook her head. "T-That's fine," she said, simply content with being able to spend time with her crush. Akio breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright. Well first we'll need to go to the pharmacy." The pair then went out the door and began walking in the direction of downtown.

While they headed toward their destination, Akio started up a conversation. "You know, it really does feel like it's been forever since we did anything like this." "Y-Yeah. I think the last time might've been before the school year started," Kanako said. "Things have just been so crazy..." Akio laughed. "I bet. But hey, at least we get to do this now right? Better late than never." Kanako blushed a little. "Y-You're right..."

To Akio, the day had simply turned into errand-running, but to Kanako, the atmosphere still felt very date-like. "I know it's not technically a date, but... maybe I can kind of turn it into one," Kanako thought. It certainly wasn't what she had imagined for a first date, but it would have to do. If it wasn't official, it's not a like a little nudging couldn't hurt, right?

So while they continued on their way, with Akio talking about an earlier summer experience he had, Kanako began to think up ways she could get what she wanted. Ultimately, all she really wanted was to gain Akio's favor. With her deal in place, Kanako knew there was no way Akio would pick one girl over the other just because she batted her eyes at him. But, a plan was beginning to form. Maybe, if Kanako could act more girlfriend-like toward Akio instead of trying to convince him she was dating Haruna, it would have the same or an even better effect. "After all, it's Akio-kun I want to be with. Why shouldn't I take advantage of this?"

It was very out of character for Kanako to act the way she was. She typically wasn't one to try out plans on people, but this situation was unique. It had been quite some time since Kanako and Akio had been alone together, so having a chance presented in front of her like that just seemed like too much to pass up. Of course, part of her felt like it was wrong. It felt unfair to Haruna, who was also in the running. But as the saying goes, love is blind, so Kanako ultimately went with plotting over fairness.

How to go about making herself seem like a good girlfriend in Akio's eyes though was something else entirely. In the time Kanako had known the boy, he had never once seemed to express any interest in any other girl. It was hard to know what it would take to get him to take notice her in a more romantic lens, but Kanako was determined to try.

However, before the girl could really try anything, they arrived at their first stop, which was the pharmacy. Overall, the storefront was nothing fancy. Just a window display and a sign hung above it that said what the business was. Walking in, it was more of the same. The space itself was no bigger than the living room of an average house, with standard white walls and a plain tile floor. In fact, the shelves took up most of the area, but even with a lack of space, the variety of medicines available was more than Kanako had expected. There were pills, syrups, creams and other health-related products, and they were all grouped together by what they did or what they were used for.

"I don't know if I've ever been here before," Kanako said. "I'm sure you have. It's pretty common for parents to come to this place because of their specialization in children's medicine," Akio said. "I'd guess that your mom or dad probably would've brought you along at least once." Kanako thought back. Vaguely, she could recall going to a place that wasn't a doctor's office when she was sick. "Maybe you're right..." she said. As she tried to remember, Akio walked up to the front desk, where an elderly lady was standing.

"I'm here to pick up a prescription. My mother called for it. It should be under the name Miyashita," Akio said kindly. The elderly lady nodded before shuffling back through a doorway behind her. A few minutes later, she came back out holding a bag with a label on it. "Here you are," she said. Akio thanked her, then paid for the order before leaving with Kanako in tow.

"So why did you need to get medicine?" Kanako asked. "My little brother Taichi has a summer cold. It happens every year," Akio explained. "Ohh, right, I remember that," Kanako said. "There were a couple of summer when I saw him in bed not looking so good." "Yeah, I think you were there a couple of times when it's happened. I've always thought it's really weird though. Taichi doesn't get sick at all during winter, but then when summer comes, it's practically a guarantee," Akio went on. "His cold is never anything bad, but he's always stuck inside in his room instead of being able to hang out with his friends. That's something he always complains about."

Once the two had left the pharmacy, Akio turned to Kanako. "So what do you want to do now?" he asked. "Huh? I thought we were just running errands you were asked to do," Kanako said, confused. "Honestly, I can get everything else I need at the convenience store, so we have some time," Akio said. Happy to know Akio was willing to spend more time with her, Kanako quickly tried to think of something she wanted to do. As she thought and looked around, a sight caught her eye. "What's going on over there?" she asked, pointing to a gathering crowd in the distance. "I'm not sure. Want to check it out?" Akio asked. Kanako nodded, so the two of them went to see what the commotion was about.

When they got closer and somewhat made their way through the crowd, Kanako and Akio saw that a booth had been set up outside of a store. As it turned out, this impromptu event was being held to showcase some new cutlery that the store had recently gotten. There was a table covered with a cloth that was decorated with the store's logo, and being put on display was one set of knives to look at, and another to demonstrate with. The display had only just begun, so the person behind the booth dressed in white chef's gear was finishing up putting out the last of his tools and ingredients.

After giving a brief introduction about himself and the product, he started to cut up some vegetables. Watching it all unfold was like seeing an infomercial in action. Akio had taken some interest in the show, but it was the girl standing next to him that seemed to be really taken by it. Kanako stared in awe as she watched the chef's knife-work. "Do you see that Akio-kun?" she asked excitedly. "He's so good!" On top of baseline demonstration, the chef was also working in a fair amount of flashiness, doing anything from chopping rapidly to tossing things into the air and cutting them. It drew plenty of oohs and aahs from the crowd.

"I wish I could do that," Kanako said as she watched. Akio smiled. "You look like you're really enjoying this." "I am!" Kanako said happily, then thought to herself: "I get to see some great culinary skills and I'm getting to do it with the boy I like. This is like a dream!"

The show didn't last for much longer, with it wrapping up with a rehearsed line about the product, but the chef did mention that if people came back 30 minutes later, he'd be handing out samples. So, with the show over, the crowd parted, leaving Kanako and Akio to figure out what they'd do next. "Is there anything else you can think of?" Akio asked. "Hmm. Not really," Kanako said. "What? You don't want to shop for clothes or something? I would've thought you'd suggest something like that," Akio teased. "N-No! I mean, I wouldn't mind, b-but I would hate to drag you around to places you didn't want to go to..." Kanako trailed off. Akio gave a slight laugh. "Maybe some other time then."

With nothing else coming to mind, the two of them decided to head to the convenience store so Akio could get the last of what he needed. While they walked, it was quiet. "I feel like I should say something, but I have no idea what," Kanako wondered. "I could ask him about how his summer break has been so far. No, wait, he already told me something about that didn't he? Mmmm... What about if he's gone on any dates?"

As soon as that thought crossed Kanako's mind, she regretted it. "Why did I think of something like that...?" she sighed. "Now I'm just worried that he did go on a date with some other girl. What if he did? What if he really likes her?"

Kanako took a breath. "No, I'm spiraling over this aren't I? I don't even know if he did go on a date. The answer to that is probably no anyways. Besides, isn't he choosing between me and Haruna at the end of our deal? Why would he make his own choice more difficult?"

Thinking back on that fateful day, Kanako wondered what Akio was feeling back then. Was he happy two girls were confessing to him at once? Was he surprised they were the girls he had grown up with? "Actually, probably not. That's the oldest story in the book," Kanako thought. But even still, there were other things to consider, such as how he would've reacted if it had only been one of the two girls instead of both. "I wonder... if only I had confessed, would Akio-kun be my boyfriend right now?" Asking that to herself made Kanako consider the opposite as well. "What if only Haruna had confessed? Would they... be a couple?"

It was questions like these that tended to come to Kanako's mind ever since she and Haruna made the deal they did with Akio. However, for as much thought as she could put toward those questions, there was still one in particular that Kanako believed needed to be answered.

Why?

Why propose such a deal in the first place? Sure, Akio had given his reasons at the moment, but the more Kanako thought about it, the more she felt like there was more to it. It was as if there was some underlying, secret reason why Akio wanted Kanako and Haruna to pretend to date. His original explanation had been that neither of the girls would be good girlfriends because they couldn't get along when they used to be so close. Now though, Kanako kept finding herself wanting the answer to her biggest question more and more.

The girl shook her head to clear away those worries. "It doesn't matter right now. I'm on a date with Akio-kun. It may not be official, but I'm going to make the most of it!" After giving herself a brief pep talk, Kanako went back to trying to come up with ways she could get Akio to look at her more romantically. "Maybe I should try to do something that people usually do on dates," Kanako thought. Cycling through the possible answers, there was one that stood out to her.

Slowly, Kanako began to reach out her hand. She stretched out her fingers, bringing them closer and closer to Akio's as they walked side by side. Little by little, Kanako moved in, until finally her hand brushed against Akio's. And then, just as she was about to try and interlock their fingers, Akio rapidly pulled his hand away.

"What... are you doing?" he asked. When Kanako looked up at him, she saw a face she wasn't expecting. "Is Akio-kun... upset?" she thought. It was an expression that could best be described as a mix of anger, confusion and... pain? "What sort of reaction is that?" Kanako wondered. "S-Sorry, I just thought... that it might be nice if we h-held hands..." Kanako said meekly.

"You shouldn't do that. It's not like this is a date or anything."

"...oh." It was all Kanako could say. After all, it felt like her heart had just been crushed. Sure, she knew it wasn't actually a date, but to hear it put so bluntly, especially after being rejected when she tried to hold hands with the boy, it all combined to form a very painful sting. "Did I really do something that wrong?" Kanako wondered.

The rest of the walk to the convenience store was incredibly awkward. Looking at Akio, it was hard to tell exactly what he was feeling, but Kanako knew it wasn't anything positive. His face showed that much. Akio was clearly doing his best to hide his initial reaction, but the extreme he had gone to was still leaking out around the edges. A weak smile. Eyes that refused to look at another. They were all little things, but to Kanako, they spoke volumes.

It all made her wish that she hadn't even tried. "Why did I bother? I should've known trying something like that wouldn't work," Kanako chastised herself. But even through her own self-loathing and pity, there was a part of her that was also getting upset. Although, her reasons were different from what Akio's were.

As she began to fume, the two of them reached the entryway to the convenience store. But, just as they were about to walk in, two boys walked out and stopped, recognition streaking across their faces. "Oh, hey Akio! Funny seeing you here!" one of them said. "What a coincidence," the other remarked. Kanako wasn't particularly familiar with these boys, but she was pretty sure she had seen one if not both of them hanging around Akio in the past.

The one that had spoken first was Eiji Bando. He was known in school to be very energetic, a personality trait that matched his fiery red hair and often unkempt appearance. Even in summer, he was wearing just black athletic shorts and a t-shirt that appeared to be for a famous movie.

The other boy was Souta Yoshinaga. In contrast to Eiji, his appearance was much more basic. He wore a very simple pair of glasses and his hair was buzzed so short it was just barely visible. In school, Souta often made sure his uniform was in proper uniform, tie and all, but now he looked a little more casual, opting for a pair of tan khakis and white polo. Both Souta and Eiji were Akio's two closest friends in school.

"Hey guys. It's been a while," Akio said with a friendly wave as he walked up to them. "Whoa, who's that with you?" Eiji asked curiously when he spotted Kanako. "Oh, this is Kanako Nakatomi. We've been friends since childhood," Akio said. "H-Hello. It's nice to meet you," Kanako said with a slight bow. "What's up? I'm Eiji Bando, star of the basketball team!" "More like star of the bench," Souta snarked, drawing a "Hey!" from Eiji, but it was ignored. "I'm Souta Yoshinaga," the boy said, returning the bow. "So, Akio," Eiji began in a wry tone. "You two on a date?"

At the suggestion of them being on a date, Kanako started to feel flustered. She was about to frantically explain what was going on when Akio spoke up instead. "No, no, nothing like that. There's no way this is a date." As soon as Kanako heard those words, her heart sank. "Right... Akio-kun just said something similar to me a moment ago... But still... that... really hurts to hear..." She had been briefly distracted by introductions, but now that Kanako had been brought back to her previous line of thought, she found herself getting upset again.

"I know it was probably kind of weird of me to try to hold his hand, but he didn't have to react the way he did either," Kanako thought. "Would it really be so wrong if I tried to get closer to him?" Kanako looked over at Akio as he was talking with his friends, then she looked away. "...Maybe I shouldn't. After all, the way he pulled away from me..."

However, even with Kanako thinking something like that, she knew her feelings were strong enough to the point that being indirectly rejected wouldn't be enough to make her give up completely. Even still, that didn't change the fact that her feelings had been hurt, and whether or not she wanted to admit it, a dent had been put into her love. Oddly enough, Kanako found that her final thoughts on the matter weren't about Akio being a jerk or hating herself for making a move. Instead, it was about someone else. "...Haruna wouldn't have pulled away like that."

It was a weird comparison to make in Kanako's mind. It wasn't as if she saw Haruna and Akio in the same way, but with holding hands (or trying to) being the commonality between them, the comparison just naturally occurred. But, even though it made sense in that regard, Kanako still wasn't sure what to make of it.

She wasn't given much longer to think as the conversation next to her wrapped up. "Well we've gotta get goin', so see ya later Akio! And it was good to meet you Nakatomi-san!" Eiji said as he and Souta began to walk away. Once they were far enough, Akio's smile dropped. "We should probably get home soon ourselves," he said. "Yeah..." Kanako said with little energy. So the two of them proceeded to go into the convenience store and Akio bought the items that he had been asked to get. After completing his purchases, the two of them headed back outside.

Akio looked at Kanako. "Hey Kana-chan, are you okay? You look kind of out of it." Kanako looked back at him. "I think... I'm just tired..." she lied. "Should I call a cab? It might take a little bit to get here though," Akio said. "That's fine," Kanako said, going to sit down on a nearby bench. Part of her wanted to get home as soon as possible, but because she felt the way she did about Akio, Kanako also still wanted to spend as much time with him as she could, despite how she had been hurt.

While Akio called the cab company in town, Kanako thought on her feelings. "I don't think I've ever felt this way when I've been with Akio-kun... But this feeling is definitely painful. I never thought I'd want something like this, but right now, I kind of wish I could forget my feelings for him."

It wasn't long until a cab showed up to take Akio and Kanako home. They got in and the driver started heading to the address given to him. While he drove, the two passengers sat in silence. Kanako stared out the window and watched as the buildings passed by. She didn't think about anything, but that was mostly by design. Kanako had decided that if she couldn't forget her feelings, she'd just shut off her mind instead. At least that way she didn't feel as bad.

When the cab arrived at Kanako's house, the girl got out, but as she did she heard another door open and shut. Looking behind her, she saw Akio getting out of the vehicle as well. "Huh? Aren't you going to take the cab home too?" Kanako asked. "Nah. I feel like walking tonight," Akio said. With its passengers gone and doors closed, the cab drove away, leaving Akio and Kanako alone on the sidewalk.

For a moment, it was quiet between them. "So... about earlier," Akio said awkwardly. "I think I owe you an apology. I know how you feel about me, and I completely insulted those feelings with what I said." "...it's okay," Kanako said, though it was obvious it wasn't for her. Akio was about to say something else when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

A girl wearing a light-blue t-shirt decorated with an abstract white stitch design and black shorts had appeared. There was still plenty of light to the day, but the angle of the sun had prevented both Akio and Kanako from noticing her walking up.

"Oh, hey Haruna-chan," Akio said, causing Kanako to whip around in surprise. "H-Haruna?!" she exclaimed. "Um, hey," Haruna said uncertainly. "Wow, first Eiji-kun and Souta-kun and now you Haruna-chan. I just keep running into people I know today," Akio said. "Right..." was all Haruna could say. She was still focused on the fact that she had just found Kanako and Akio together. "Seriously, why are they together right now? What's going on?" Haruna wondered.

Before she got the chance to ask, Akio started saying his goodbyes. "Well, I should really be heading home now. I'm sure my mother is wondering where her stuff is at. So it was nice seeing you Haruna-chan, and thanks for coming out with me today Kana-chan." When he said that last part, Haruna could've sworn she saw Akio give her a look that implied something along the lines of "That's right. I got to hang out with Kana-chan today and you didn't. How does that make you feel?" Haruna wanted to ask if that was what she had really just seen, but she wasn't able to, as Akio started walking away. As he did, both the girls watched him go.

Once Akio was out of range, Kanako turned back to Haruna. "Well, good night," Haruna said as she went to go toward her front door. "W-Wait!" Kanako called. Haruna stopped. "What?" "U-Um, well, you see..." Now that Kanako had Haruna's attention, she wasn't sure how to proceed. The awkwardness that had happened between them previously resurfaced in Kanako's mind, making it difficult to come up with the right words. Regardless, Kanako knew that she had to say what she was trying to say. "I feel bad about trying to get in the lead over her with Akio-kun, even though it completely backfired anyways."

"I, um... I just wanted you to know that nothing happened between me and Akio-kun today!" Kanako finally managed to say. Haruna looked briefly surprised, but then settled back into her usual moody demeanor. "What? You didn't start thinking, 'We're alone, so this is a date right?'" Haruna fired off, still feeling annoyed by finding the boy and girl together. "It was not a date!" Kanako yelled back, but then continued more quietly, grabbing her left arm with her right hand as she spoke. "Akio-kun... was very clear about that..."

Haruna stared at Kanako, noticing tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "What the hell did he say to her?" Haruna wondered, now getting mad for a different reason. Kanako continued to stand in place, not saying a word. Unsure of what to do, Haruna said the first thing that came to mind.

"So, um... do you wanna, like, come in for some tea... or something?" she asked awkwardly. Kanako's face brightened a bit. "Really?" she asked. "W-Well, I mean, it probably won't be good, but... yeah..." Haruna said. "Then how about I make the tea?" Kanako suggested, now with a pleasant expression on her face. "Works for me," Haruna said with a shrug. So the two girls went to Haruna's house, where Kanako prepared the drinks and even whipped up a small snack to go with it.

From there, they both sat at the kitchen table, each sipping the cups they had and eating the food in front of them. In between those actions, they talked to each other. Kanako told Haruna about her sleepover at Mayu's house (minus the not-so-fun parts) and Haruna told Kanako about her day with Jasmine (minus the talk about Kanako).

For hours the two girls talked. Their topics drifted from what they had done recently to other stories to memories of the past, but the whole time the air between them remained very comfortable. If someone had been watching the scene, they would've thought that there had never once been a fight between Haruna and Kanako. And that night, there was no arguing. No yelling. No drama. Just conversation between two girls that had grown up together. It was as if the previous problems between them all just melted away.

By the time Kanako was about to go home, it was late at night. "I guess it's a good thing I live next door. Otherwise I think my parents would be pretty mad at me for being out so late," Kanako said with a laugh. "Yeah, you're probably right," Haruna agreed. When she opened the door, Kanako walked out, but before she left completely, she had one more thing to say. "Thanks Haruna. I'm happy we could talk like this. It was nice."

Haruna wasn't sure what to say. "Oh, uh, sure," she stumbled, but then she settled on something more. "Me too." Haruna smiled gently, leaving Kanako speechless. "What a pretty smile..." she thought as she blushed a little. "Good night," Kanako said, not knowing what else to say. "Night," Haruna responded shortly. Then Kanako completely left the Endo residence and started heading back across the property line.

As she did, Kanako found herself wondering about something. Really, it was more of a passing thought than anything, but she couldn't help but notice that when Haruna had smiled at her, Kanako had felt her face feel a little hotter than usual. A concern for a fever arose, but that disappeared as quickly as it had surfaced. Instead, Kanako went with some other explanation.

"...It was probably just the tea."

End of Chapter Twelve.