Chapter 22

Chapter 22 is the twenty-second chapter of the Girl Friends manga. It takes place primarily from Akko's point of view.
==Chapter information==
Mari makes her way to the station platform to meet with Akko. When Akko spots her, she smiles brightly; Mari, however, does not smile back, and realizes that it's possible to cry from happiness.
At school, Akko presents the group with a travel guide to Kyushu, where the second-year students will travel for a class trip next month. Kuno dejectedly points out that they have to get through midterms and the sports festival first, prompting Taguchi to tease her about her lack of athleticism. While Kuno and Taguchi begin arguing, Akko and Mari begin looking through the travel guide and discussing shrines in Fukuoka they might want to visit. 
Akko suggests to Mari that they should visit a shrine that's dedicated to the god of love, but Taguchi and Kuno quickly pull Akko away, pointing out that Mari had only just broken up with Harada and likely wasn't ready to be finding someone new yet. Akko initially starts to tell Taguchi and Kuno that Mari is fine, but quickly realizes that would mean outing herself and Mari to them, so she whispers to Mari that they can go together if they're in the same group. Mari, confused, asks Akko whether she's okay with being in the same group; this in turn confuses Akko, who tells Mari that she wants to spend time with her. Mari apologizes for asking a weird question, leaving Akko baffled.
In gym class, the students begin practicing the dance for the sports festival. Kuno throws a fit, wailing that the dance is stupid and that she hates it, but is so loud that the teacher calls her up to lead the class in the dance. Meanwhile, Akko muses to Mari about how busy the second term is and that the teachers overwork them. Mari giggles and says that she remembers Akko saying the same thing last year, before the two were friends, but that she agreed with her even then. Akko, caught off-guard and blushing heavily, abruptly says she doesn't remember, turns, and jogs away to practice the dance.
At home, Mari thinks about how Akko kissed her in the karaoke booth. It becomes clear that she thinks Akko only kissed her as a friend to show that she forgives Mari, and Mari resolves to continue acting normally for fear of losing her friendship with Akko. Akko, on the other hand, is frustrated with herself for acting weird during school: she has fully acknowledged her feelings for Mari, and thinks to herself that she was acting weird because she was resisting the urge to kiss Mari.
When Akko leaves the bath, her mother tells her that her phone was ringing, and Akko realizes that she left it in her room. She doesn't recognize who texted her, but then remembers that Sugiyama had previously given her phone number to a guy who was interested in her. The unknown guy suggested that, if Akko doesn't have a boyfriend, the two of them go out; Akko replies that she's already going out with someone, and then proceeds to squeal in excitement that she finally admitted it to somebody. Though she is tempted to text Mari and tell her, she holds back, and instead thinks about how excited she is to see Mari again.
Category:Chapters