As the final full day passed by, it turned out to be rather uneventful. Perhaps it was due to all of the drama from the night before plus the morning, or maybe it was just because everyone was tired from all of the things they had done over the course of the past three days. From cleaning to swimming to people fighting, there had been no shortage of excitement. So, seemingly having enough of that, most of the girls saw fit to simply relax.
Jasmine had decided to sit out by the creek and keep her feet in the water, Chiyo was laying on the porch, and Haruna was still trying to understand the recipe from earlier while Kanako was trying to explain it. Michi had holed up in her own room shortly after breakfast, and Itsuki had decided to continue exploring. She had tried to drag Mayu along with her, but Jasmine had advised against it. While Mayu was responsive, you could hardly call her grounded at the moment.
Sighing, Jasmine stared up at the sky. "What a trip this has been," she thought. "Seriously, when Chiyo suggested this, I didn't think it'd be any fun at all." However, defying her assumptions, the camping trip had turned out to be rather entertaining to Jasmine so far. It wasn't as if she was the kind of girl that enjoyed drama. She just wanted the things around her to be interesting. Having one girl like another who was clueless, her friend who isn't acting like a friend at all, and another friend finding out a big secret had all combined to create a very intriguing situation to Jasmine.
Thinking back, she remembered when Haruna had first told her about the deal she had agreed to. Jasmine hadn't said it out loud, but she really had thought it was ridiculous. As someone who had dated a lot of different guys, it made more sense to her to just move on and find someone else. But seeing how Haruna's interactions with Kanako changed over time, along with Haruna's feelings, Jasmine had begun to wonder if maybe Akio had been onto something when he had proposed the deal that he did. And now, after getting to see the whole situation up close and personal for the last few days, Jasmine was finding herself becoming more and more invested.
"I really thought Haru-chi had lost it when she told us what she did, but now..." Jasmine thought. "I wonder, did Haru-chi really agree just to try to get with Miyashita-san?" Just as she asked that question to herself, Jasmine felt a weight flop onto her back. "Ow! God, what the hell?" Jasmine said, turning enough to see it was Chiyo. "Hiya Jas-chin!" the gal said, beaming. "What do you want? And get off me," Jasmine said. "Ah, so cold! But maybe that's refreshing in this heat!" Chiyo said with a wink. "That's a horrible pick-up line girl," Jasmine sighed. "So, what'cha doin'?" Chiyo asked. Jasmine looked at her and then looked out at the woods. "Why do you think Haru-chi agreed to Miyashita-san's deal?"
��Huh? That came out of nowhere," Chiyo said, surprised by the question. "I was just thinking about it," Jasmine said. Chiyo thought for a moment. "Isn't it just because Haru-chi used to like Akio-kun?" "C'mon, do you really think that's all it was?" Jasmine asked. "You don't?" Chiyo said back. "I just get the feeling that it wasn't that simple," Jasmine explained. Chiyo gave her a smile, the kind that always seemed to indicate Chiyo knew more than she let on. "Who really knows?" she said. Jasmine stared at her, doubt painted on her face. "I know that look. You've got it all figured out don't you?" Chiyo laughed as she sat down next to Jasmine. "Hee hee! Maybe I do, maybe I don't!" Jasmine just rolled her eyes in response.
"But," Chiyo went on, "Does it really matter? I mean, in the end, Haru-chi fell for Kana-chan. Who cares what her reasons were for agreeing? Besides, even if there really was more, I doubt even Haru-chi realized it herself." Jasmine smiled. "Yeah, you're probably right." "What made you ask anyways?" Chiyo said. "I don't know," Jasmine said with a shrug. "Maybe it was just on my mind because I envy them or something." "Huh? Jealous? You, Jas-chin?" Chiyo said. "Hmm. I don't know if that's exactly it. I mean, it's not like Haru-chi and Kana-chan are actually dating or anything. It's just..."
"...when I see how strongly Haru-chi feels about Kana-chan and the way she's willing to pursue that, I guess that's just something I wish I had." "Goes to show quality is more important than quantity when it comes to love," Chiyo said smugly. "Like you're one to talk," Jasmine shot back. "Hey, y'know Jas-chin, if none of those boys you find can make you happy, I'm always available," Chiyo said with another wink. "Thanks, but no thanks. You'd probably give me cooties or something," Jasmine said. "Why does everyone seem to think I have some sort of disease?!" Chiyo whined while Jasmine laughed.
*****
As the day passed, Michi continued to stay locked away upstairs. All she was doing was lying on the floor, staring up at the phone she was holding in front of her face. On the display was a picture of her and Kanako from two years ago, when they went to a show they had wanted to see in Sapporo. "We both look so happy..." Michi muttered.
Rolling onto her side, Michi stared at the smiling faces in the picture. "When was the last time we really had fun like this?" she wondered. Truthfully, it felt like with each passing day, it was becoming harder and harder for Michi to remember. The only memories that kept coming to her were bad ones, filled with arguing and words spoken that she wished she hadn't said. Then of course there was the fact that a very unwanted person had entered the picture. "That stupid Endo-san. Why is she even around anyways?" Michi thought grumpily. Ever since the previous night, that was a question that Michi had found herself repeating. She almost wanted to track down Haruna and ask the girl herself, but there was also a slight fear that she'd set Haruna off somehow. Considering Haruna had gone to hit her, Michi was a little scared to face her (even if Michi didn't want to admit it).
As she continued to think about various things within her own circumstance, Michi found that her thoughts kept drifting back to Kanako one way or another. Whether they were positive or negative hinged entirely on what the memory was about, but Kanako kept coming back to her mind regardless. Michi sighed. "I should probably actually make an effort to make up with her." Honestly, Michi still wanted to be friends with Kanako, but due to her own stubbornness, Michi also found it impossible to give up on what she believed and how she believed she was right. So instead, she compromised.
"All I have to do is tell her I'm sorry and it'll all be okay right? I'm sure that's all Kanako wants to hear," Michi told herself. It was certainly a low way to go about it. There'd be no sincerity in Michi's voice, but she'd do her best to sound convincing. "It's not like I'm tricking her. I do feel kind of bad," Michi thought. Her head was a mess. If Michi could've put her own mind in front of a mirror, there was a high likelihood that she wouldn't even have recognized it as her own. Michi's mind had become twisted by jealousy, anger and doubt, leading to her conclusions and decisions that she arrived at to be twisted as well. As long as what Michi came up with fit into her own logic, then that was what had become good enough.
Of course, regardless of her thought process, Michi knew that in order to do anything, she'd first have to leave her room and find Kanako. So, putting away her phone and standing up, Michi set out to find the girl she called her best friend.
It didn't take long, as Kanako was still in the kitchen. However, it appeared that Haruna had given up on any efforts to learn, as currently she was nowhere to be found. "Perfect," Michi thought. She began to walk over to Kanako, wheels turning in her head to find the perfect words. But, before she could reach her destination, Haruna came out of nowhere. "Kya!" Michi accidentally shrieked. It had turned out that Haruna had simply been crouching. With counters in Michi's line of sight, she had no way of knowing that Haruna had been there. It had been quiet too, so not even conversation could've been used as a factor.
At Michi's noise, both girls in the kitchen turned. "M-Mi-chan?" Kanako said, surprised. "What does she want?" Haruna said in a low growl. Michi regained her composure. "Hmph! All I wanted was to talk to my friend, but if a brute like you is here, then I guess there's no chance for having a decent conversation." "Mi-chan!" Kanako exclaimed in a pleading tone. "Tch. I should've hit you when I had the chance," Haruna said back. "H-Haruna! Come on, don't fight you two!" Kanako begged. "Well this could all be solved easily if Kana-chan would come with me for a minute," Michi said. "O-Okay-" Kanako was about to agree. "Hold on," Haruna interrupted. "Kanako's busy helping me. Why don't go anywhere other than here?"
Michi's cheeks puffed out and her hands curled into balls. "You make it sound like you own her! I wasn't asking for your permission!" "That's not even what I said you idiot!" Haruna shot back. "Who's the idiot?!" Michi yelled. "You are, obviously!" Haruna yelled back. Meanwhile, Kanako's attention kept flitting between the two, trying to figure out how she could stop the scene unfolding before her. "U-Umm... H-Hey..." she tried weakly, but to no avail.
"What are you even doing that's so important anyways?" Michi asked. "I-I'm helping Haruna with her cooking so she won't struggle so much in culinary class. This seemed like a good opportunity since there's some nice equipment here and w-we didn't have anything planned for today," Kanako explained nervously. "Huh? I heard that you suck at cooking Endo-san. Don't you just burn everything and drag your group members down with you?" Michi fired off. "I doubt Kana-chan can fix that."
Suddenly, Haruna launched a wet rag at Michi. "Hey, what's with all the yell- oof!" a voice said from behind Michi. As it had turned out, during the argument, Itsuki had come back inside. Due to the height difference between her and Michi, the rag had ended up sailing right past the intended target and smacking right onto Itsuki's face. "Bleh..." Itsuki moaned as she peeled the rag off. "Endo-san, why were you throwing this at Mi-chan?" "Sorry Itsuki-chan..." was all Haruna said in response. However, Michi wasn't so quiet.
"Did you seriously just throw that thing at me?!" she exclaimed, jamming her index finger in the direction of the rag Itsuki was holding. "What are you, an animal?! See Kana-chan?! This is why-" While Michi had begun her rant, Itsuki had read the mood of the room. The most prominent thing being said by it was from Kanako, who was begging Itsuki for help with her eyes. Taking the hint, Itsuki cut Michi off and started to push her toward the stairs. "Okay Mi-chan, we get it! Now why don't you just come with me to relax? I know I could use a breather after all that hiking!" "H-Hey, wait! Itsuki-chan, I'm not finished yet!" But Michi's pleas fell on deaf eyes as Itsuki continued to send Michi back upstairs.
Once they were out of range, Haruna roughly leaned back against the counters. "What is that bitch's problem with me?! I wasn't even doing anything to her!" Haruna huffed. "W-Well, I think that maybe you were both at fault..." Kanako said meekly. "Like hell I was!" Haruna shouted back. "Honestly, why do you even bother with her Kanako? Fukuhara-san is..." Haruna was about to berate the girl, but then she stopped. "...is not too far off from what I used to be only a few months ago..." Haruna suddenly thought to herself. "Mi-chan is what Haruna?" Kanako asked. "Never mind. Forget it," Haruna mumbled. "O-Okay..." Kanako said.
*****
"Itsuki-chan, can you stop pushing me already? I'm not going to turn around and go after Endo-san," Michi huffed once they were on the second floor. "Oh, sure," Itsuki said, letting go. "I'm going back in my room," Michi said shortly. Itsuki sighed as the door slammed shut. "When did she get so mean?" she said to no one.
When Michi got into her room, she stood still for a moment just a few steps away from the doorway. Despite what she had said, a part of her was still tempted to run back downstairs and give Haruna a piece of her mind. Michi's fists remained clenched tightly at each of her sides and she felt her teeth gritting harder and harder together. "I can't stand this..." she growled. "Why is it always her? Why is she always around?" The more Michi muttered, the angrier she found herself getting. "All I wanted to do was say sorry to Kana-chan, but Endo-san just had to get in the way... Then again, she's always in the way, isn't she? Over... and over... and over again!"
Without even realizing it, Michi suddenly saw her fist firmly planted on the wall behind her. Pulling it away revealed that the side of her hand had turned red from the impact. Then Michi heard some thumping coming down the hall before the door flew open. "Mi-chan, are you okay?!" Itsuki yelled as she burst into the room. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," Michi said with hardly any emotion. "R-Really, because you don't look so fine," Itsuki said, worried. "I said I'm fine. Why did you even run in here like a lunatic anyways?" Michi said with some bite. "Well, I heard a loud thud, so I thought maybe you had gotten hurt," Itsuki explained. "What makes you think that?" Michi said, sounding aggravated. "I mean, well... You haven't really been actin' like yourself Mi-chan, so I thought..." Itsuki trailed off. "What, did you think I passed out or something?" Michi said, glaring daggers. "Why do you even care anyways? You've been so busy screwing around out in the woods, you'd probably never know if I did actually get hurt." "Mi-chan-" Itsuki began. "Get out," Michi said sharply. "But, Mi-chan, I just-"
"GET OUT!"
At her scream, Itsuki took several steps back. Despite her tomboy appearance, Itsuki was still more on the fragile side. A big part of that meant that she really didn't like conflict. In earlier fights, others had been around to diffuse the situation, but now it was just her. And now, seeing her own friend, someone she thought she was close with, look at her with such rage in her eyes... Itsuki found herself to be truly frightened.
Unable to find any words to say, Itsuki ran away.
Once she had left, Michi slammed the door behind her, breathing heavily from her overwhelming flood of emotions. "Not acting like myself... what does she know? I'm not any different... There's no way I'm any different." But as Michi continued to think, it didn't take her long to circle back to Haruna. "All of this has to be her fault... she's a poison. Nobody else can see it, but I can. If that's the case, then I guess I'll have to take care of it myself."
*****
When dinnertime came around, the tension in the air was so thick you could feel it. The kitchen had an uneasy air surrounding it as Kanako, Mayu, Michi and Itsuki worked together to make the dishes. "There's a pretty eerie feeling comin' from the kitchen," Jasmine commented as she, Chiyo and Haruna watched from a distance. "I know what'cha mean. Something's ain't right," Chiyo said, folding her arms. Haruna simply stared. "Y'know, earlier, I thought I saw Itsuki-chan crying," Jasmine said. "What?! When?" Chiyo exclaimed. "Hmm. Maybe like, a couple hours ago?" Jasmine said. "Now that you mention it, I can even tell from here that her eyes are a little puffy," Chiyo observed.
While the two gals continued their conversation, Haruna thought to herself. "I think Kanako and Fukuhara-san are fighting, so that'd explain that weirdness, and Kawaguchi-san still seems a little unnerved from this morning... but what's the deal with Itsuki-chan? She always seems so happy. It's hard to imagine her crying..."
"Haru-chi, you listenin'?" Chiyo said, snapping Haruna out of her thoughts. "Huh?" Haruna said. "Geez girl. No one likes to be ignored y'know!" Chiyo said with a pout, then grinned. "Dinner's ready, by the way!" "I just hope it's edible," Jasmine commented quietly. "I doubt people giving off a vibe like that can cook well..." "It'll be fine Jas-chin!" Chiyo said optimistically. "Those girls are in the cooking club after all! If they couldn't handle a few feelings, they wouldn't be very good chefs would they?" "I guess?" Jasmine agreed uncertainly.
All the girls went to sit down at the table, but when they did, a couple of them wondered what exactly was being served. "Is that... supposed to be a salad?" Jasmine asked, poking something green with her chopsticks. "I'm afraid to even ask what this is," Haruna said, pointing toward a bowl of chopped meat with several different colored sauces mixed in. "U-Um, girls? I totally hate to question your skills, but like... what is this?" Chiyo asked nervously.
The four of them collectively gave a "Huh?" before looking around and across the table. "O-Oh... oh dear..." Mayu said. "T-This is terrible!" Kanako exclaimed. "Wow..." Michi said with both surprise and disgust. "What a disaster," Itsuki said. It appeared that not a single one of them had realized how poorly everything had been going in the kitchen. "Is this going to be okay?" Mayu asked, more to herself than anyone else. "It's a little late to ask that Mayu-chan," Jasmine said. However, due to the lack of ingredients, it was nearly impossible to make anything else. So the seven girls steeled both their minds and stomachs and went to work on the "food" before them.
It took only about five minutes for most of them to give up. "This is awful!" Itsuki cried. "I'm not sure what I'm tasting, but I'm pretty sure it's not too far off from how a shoe would taste," Michi said as she chewed something. "I didn't think food could taste this bad..." Jasmine muttered, looking a little green. "Kinda reminds you of when my big sis tried to cook for us huh?" Chiyo said. "Making me remember that just makes me feel worse," Jasmine said. "I-I'm so sorry everyone," Kanako said, looking depressed. "You don't have to apologize Kana-chan. It's not as if the blame lies solely with you," Mayu said in her attempt to comfort Kanako. "Yeah, we all screwed this up," Itsuki said. "Who would've thought it would be this gross," Michi mumbled.
Kanako looked at Haruna, who had been silently eating the whole time. "H-Haruna?" she began. "Do you not think the food tastes bad?" "It tashtes awfull," Haruna said through a mouthful, then swallowed. "But if we don't eat, then we'll just be starving all night. Besides, if you only chew a little and then swallow and drink water, it's not too bad." The others all stared at Haruna. "W-What?" Chiyo, who was sitting next to Haruna, gave her a little nudge. "That's pretty slick y'know? Eating the bad food your crush made. It's a like a manga!" she whispered. Haruna's face went red. "T-That's not why! I'm just hungry and this is all we've got!"
Everyone else at the table eventually decided that Haruna was right and did their best to choke down what food there was. Once no one could take anymore, the table was cleared and Itsuki and Mayu went to wash the dishes. Haruna was about to go upstairs along with Chiyo and Jasmine, but before she could, she felt someone grab her arm. Haruna sighed in exasperation. "What do you want?" she asked. Michi stared back intently. "Come with me," she said. "Why the hell would I go anywhere with you?" Haruna asked. "Just do it! Or else I'll make a scene!" Michi threatened. "God, as if you couldn't get any more annoying..." Haruna muttered. "Fine, whatever. Let's get this over with."
As Michi dragged Haruna over to the door, Chiyo stood at the top of the stairs. "Haru-" she began, but before she could finish, she felt a tug on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Jasmine. "Have a little faith in our girl, 'kay?" Jasmine said with a small smile, seeing the concern on Chiyo's face. "Yeah, I guess I should," Chiyo said. "I just hope nothing else happens between those two..."
Haruna and Michi stepped outside, only coming down a little ways off the porch before Michi turned to face Haruna. "I hate you," she said flatly. "Same here," Haruna shot back. "So is that it?" "Of course not. Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once: I swear upon my very life that I'm going to free Kana-chan from you!"
"...Huh?" Haruna said, completely in disbelief at what she was hearing. "Free?" she wondered. "What the hell does that mean?" Figuring she should probably find out, Haruna asked. "It means I'm going to get Kana-chan away from you! You're clearly the bad influence on her that's been making her miserable! Just look at her! Look at how Kana-chan's been acting! She was fine until you showed up, and now she's depressed and difficult all the time! IT'S CLEARLY YOUR FAULT!" Michi finished by jabbing her index finger in Haruna's direction.
"Wait a minute. Let me get this straight. You think I'm making Kanako depressed and I'm responsible for every action she's taken?" Haruna asked. "W-Well not every action, b-but you're definitely still a bad influence!" Michi said back, standing on less solid ground than she was a moment ago. "You've got to be kidding me," Haruna sighed, putting her hand to her forehead. "This is just like the time you tried to blackmail me..."
Michi was silent for a moment, her face looking darker than her surroundings. "You're taking her from me..." she muttered. "What?" Haruna said. "Kana-chan is mine... and she's fine the way she is. So stop changing her!" Michi shouted. Haruna's eyes went wide for a moment before transitioning into a scowl. "That's some declaration," she said. "So since you've said yours, I guess I'll say one too."
"Honestly, I don't get what Kanako sees in you. The way you talk about her like she's some possession... It's sickening, really. I can't stand you, and I know for a fact that if anyone's bad for Kanako, it's you, Fukuhara-san. So I swear upon my very life, I'm going to do everything in my power to keep her away from you."
The wind blew, carrying both Haruna's jet-black hair and Michi's golden strands along with it. It had already become evening, and with northern winds, the air felt cold. However, if someone would've been standing between the two girls, they would've found a particularly cold chill in that spot. They glared as hard as they could at each other, being sure to make their points with their eyes as well as their words. Neither wanted to relent first.
Finally, Haruna turned around, heading back to the cabin. Michi didn't say a word, only continuing to stare down Haruna's back as she walked away. "I'm going to save her," Michi muttered. "No matter what." Then she began to walk back as well, with her emotions in a bigger mess than they had been before. She hadn't expected Haruna to say something back like what she had. "Keep me away from Kana-chan? How will she even do that anyways? It's not like she can be around Kana-chan all the time." But then Michi remembered, while she may have school, Haruna had home. "Kana-chan did tell me they were next-door neighbors... damn it, this may be harder than I thought."
Deciding to worry about it once she was home, Michi arrived back inside the cabin to find Chiyo trying to convince a few others to go stargazing. "C'mon, we haven't done that yet! It's our last night here! Let's do something together!" "Chiyo, if you drive like, five minutes outside of Iwanai you can see the stars," Jasmine pointed out. "But it's not the saaaamee!" Chiyo whined. "I think I'd rather turn in for the night," Mayu said. "Same here," Haruna agreed. And sure enough, everyone else thought the same.
One by one, all the girls made their way up the stairs and into their rooms. Chiyo still tried to change their minds the whole way, but none of them did, leaving her to sulk and leaving Kanako to comfort her. While she did, Haruna and Itsuki made it to their room and Haruna shut the door behind her. Slowly and silently, Itsuki laid out her futon and then crawled into it. Her motions had looked less than life-like, appearing more robotic than anything, and it made Haruna wonder what was going on. "It's the same feeling from when she was cooking," Haruna thought. After thinking about it for a moment, Haruna decided to ask.
"Hey, um, Itsuki-chan? Is everything... okay?" Haruna asked hesitantly. In response, Itsuki pulled up her covers further, leaving only her short black hair sticking out. "I'm fine..." she mumbled. "You don't seem fine," Haruna said. Itsuki went quiet. "...It's just... Mi-chan was pretty mean earlier," she said. "Of course she was," Haruna thought, then aloud, "Is that why you were crying before?" Itsuki turned to look up at Haruna. "You saw?" she said, looking like a sad puppy. "Not really. Chiyo was the one who pointed it out," Haruna explained. "Oh," was all Itsuki said before laying back down. "Y'know Endo-san? You're actually pretty nice, aren't you?" "W-What? How?" Haruna asked, surprised by the comment. "Well, you wanted to know if I was okay. And, this whole trip, you've been standing up for Kana-chan. I get why... she's sees you as such a good friend..." Those were the final words Itsuki spoke as she drifted off to sleep, leaving Haruna feeling both a little happy for the compliment, but also a little pained by the phrasing.
"Good friends, huh...?" Haruna repeated. She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I've already made up my mind. I'll get Kanako to see just how much I love her, no matter what." With her resolved reinforced, Haruna got out her own futon and went to sleep as well.
End of Chapter Twenty-Two.