Hey, guys! New Rent-a-Girlfriend story by me. I gained the idea upon watching the finale of season two of the anime. Hope you like. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rent-a-Girlfriend.

Man, I'm so beat... Kazuya thought wearily. Work was so tough today…

The brunette boy's shoulder's sagged as he ragged his feet along the sidewalk. He was feeling exhausted after such a difficult day at the karaoke bar - which wasn't helped by Ruka constantly demanding him for attention. It felt so good to leave it behind and head back towards the campus of his college, even if the day was now over.

Lifting his heavy head, Kazuyra gazed up towards where the sun was looming. It was sinking slowly from the sky, leaving it behind in a deep shade of orange.

Guess I won't be doing much when I get back to my dorm, he thought. I couldn't even book a date with Mizuhara. She said she had to go somewhere this evening, so it looks like I won't be seeing her tonight.

Kazuya smiled as he imagined the face of the pretty young lady he was always renting out to act as his girlfriend. He pictured her within the sun, smiling down at him in all her beauty.

Oh, Mizuhara, how my heart always races whenever I see you, Kazuya thought. The way your smile forms on your face, the way your hair blows in the breeze, the way you stand in my path-HUH?

Kazuya's thoughts about the rental girlfriend were cut off - as his eyes widened to see her in front of him.

There ahead of him, standing a few yards away, was Chizuru. She was gazing up at something with her back to the boy. She had not seemed to notice his presence, but even with her face turned away from his, Kazuya knew for sure it was her.

Kazuya squeaked nervously. He was afraid if Chizuru noticed him, she would accuse him of stalking her. He didn't want to bother the young actress he caused so much trouble for. Quickly, he ducked into a nearby alleyway, hiding himself within the shadows - but unable to help peering out towards the beautiful lady.

What's she doing? Kazuya wondered, staring curiously towards Chizuru - before realising where she was.

She was standing at the foot of a staircase - which led all the way up to a shrine.

Kazuya's eyes widened. He directed them towards the sacred building on the hill. Having an idea of why Chizuru was there that evening, he averted his gaze back to her - just as she proved his prediction correct.

"I miss you, Grandma..."

Chizuru whispered the soft words as she held her hands in front of each other. Her hazel eyes were shining as she peered up towards the shrine. It was a sight which she had visited for a very long time. She had seen it more frequently in the weeks that had gone by - since the passing of her beloved grandmother.

As he watched her from his hiding place, Kazuya let off a small, stunned gasp.

So that's why I couldn't book Mizuhara this evening, he thought. She's come to pray for her gran.

"I know I've been constantly coming here these past few weeks ... but I just can't help it. I always want to be able to talk to you."

Kazuya's heart went heavy when he heard Chizuru praying aloud. He could tell she was struggling to come to terms with the passing of Sayuri. It was perfectly understandable to him. He would feel the same if he were to lose his own grandmother. Even though Nagomi was a constant source of teasing and belittling which always went his way, he would be broken-hearted if she were to pass away.

"I'm sure you and Grandpa are very happy to be back together up there..."

Chizuru's eyes sparkled even more as she directed them towards the even sky. Her lips trembled as she curled them up into a smile. She thought about how her grandparents were hopefully reunited somewhere beyond the clouds - leaving her by herself on Earth.

Chizuru's shoulders shook. She had visited this shrine a lot upon losing her grandfather as a child - and now she would be praying to her grandmother here from now on. The two people who had raised her into the young woman she had come had both gone.

She was all alone. She had nobody now.

"I love you..."

A single tear escaped from Chizuru's eye to run down her cheek. It was accompanied by a sob which was made from all the agony she was in. Her hands in front of her moved to her chest, pressing against it to numb how much her heart hurt.

From his hiding place, Kazuya watched with a desolate expression. He could tell just how badly Chizuru was taking the passing of her grandmother. Only a few weeks had gone by since Sayuri died - and yet, the pain that her granddaughter was in after losing her was still raw.

I gotta go up to her, Kazuya thought determinedly. What kind of a man would I be to see this beautiful girl crying her heart out over losing her grandma - and not do anything about it.

Taking a deep breath, Kazura emerged from the alley and approached the young lady. He was detirmined to offer her some comfort in her time of mourning. He couldn't help feeling a little nervous about what she may say; Chizuru would usually gt annoyed with him if he popped up into her presense when she was least expecting.

He had to push his fear aside. Seeing the girl he liked in tears was something he could not walk away from.

Kazuya stopped behind Chizuru, his eyes fixed heavily onto the actress who was weeping to herself. He watched her silently for a moment before finding his voice to let her know of his presense.

"Hey, Mizuhara."

Mizuhara stopped sobbing at once. Her watery eyes widened at the sound of the voice who had spoken to her. She knew who it belonged to before even turning to look at him. Swinging around, the rental girlfriend found herself face-to-face with the client who was always hiring her out - and dragging her into a lot of the chaos he caused through their fake relationship.

"You!" Chizuru exclaimed, quickly wiping her tears from her face. "What are you doing here? I told you that you couldn't rent me out tonight!"

"I know." Kazuya nodded. "You did."

"So why are you here?" Chizuru demanded with an accusing frown. "Are you stalking me?"

"No. I was on my way home from work." Kazuya pointed to the uniform he'd put on for his shift at the karaoke bar. "I happened to be making my way back to the college dorm when I spotted you here."

Chizuru glanced at her attire which the boy was working. Knowing he only wore such clothes when he had to work, she understood at once that he wouldn't have put it on go after her. As crazy as it was to believe, their chance encounter this evening was yet another complete coincidence.

"I see," she uttered, quickly turning away. "I suppose you managed to hear all I was saying just now?"

"I won't lie, I heard every word." Kazuya stared up towards the building on the hill. "So this is why I couldn't rent you out this evening? You were coming here to the shrine?"

Chizuru glanced up at the shrine again before lowering her gaze - trying to conceal all the sadness in her face from the boy behind her.

"Yeah... I came to pray for my grandma..."

Kazuya looked back towards the girl before him again. He could tell right away that she was trying to keep her emotions bottled up from him. He had always admired how she had always seemed so brave and strong in difficult times which he would have always found tough to handle - but he was beginning to wonder if such strength from the rental girlfriend had been merely an act.

He wasn't going to let her pretend all was well for her tonight. Just as much as he wasn't willing to let her face this hard time for her all alone.

"If you're trying to comfort me, don't bother," Chizuru mumbled. "I'm gonna be fine."

"Mizuhara..."

"I'm serious. Just leave me alone. I can handle this on my own..." The girl paused, seeming to have trouble getting her voice to utter what she had to say. "After all, I'm on my own from now on."

"No you're not!"

Chizuru blinked to hear Kazuya speaking to her in such a determined tone. It was a way she had never heard the him talk in before. With surprise filling her face, she turned to direct her gaze onto the boy. Her teary eyes widened to see the solemn expression he was giving her. It was something she wasn't used to seeing on her accident-prone, troublesome client.

"You're not alone, Mizuhara! I'm here for you!" Kazuya declared. "You don't have to face getting through the passing of your grandmother by yourself."

As he declared his sincere words, Kazuya thought back to one of the last conversations he'd had with Sayuri at her bedside in the city hospital. The sweet, kind-hearted old lady had made it clear she was aware that her days were numbered - which was why she was entrusting him to take care of her granddaughter when she passed away.

Kazuya's eyes narrowed at Chizuru. He was determined to fulfil the promise he had made to her grandmother.

"I may be just a client who rents you out to pretend to be my girlfriend, but I am not going to just stand back and let you deal with losing your grandmother on your own. I will be here for you every step of the way. Whether you need comfort, support or just simply someone to talk about her without, you can come to me any time. You don't even have to come to the shrine by yourself. If you want, I can come with you and will stay with you for however long it takes for you to pray. You will not have to come here alone anymore."

The assuring vows Kazuya was making brought a great warmth to Chizuru's heart. It melted away the pain which had been there for weeks as she stared at him. She was greatly moved by how he was swearing to be there for her during her time of need. He was sounding far less like the boy who was always renting her out - and instead sounded more like a man.

"You don't have to do that-" she began, sniffling.

"I do and I will!" Kazuya insisted stubbornly. "You're not alone, Mizuhara. I am here for you!"

Unable to help herself, Chizuru smiled brightly - before throwing herself at Kazuya. She brought a surprised yelp out of him as she wrapped her arms around him. For once, she did not care about the rules and regulations rental girlfriends had to follow when with their clients. She simply hugged him tightly in all her gratitude for his kindness.

"Dummy..." she murmured, knowing for certain she was never going to shake this particular customer off as her tears fell - in all her happiness for having him enter her life. "Thank you."

For a moment, Kazuya's jaw hung open over the surprise affection he was receiving from Chizuru. Then his lips curved into a grin as he embraced her back comfortingly. He was determined to help her every step of the way of getting through the passing of her grandmother. He would give her all the attention and support she needed. Nothing would stop him from making it very clear to her that she was not alone

The pair didn't realize that their embrace in the evening light was being witnessed. Somebody else had stumbled onto the scene and had hidden inside the alleyway. She had listened in on the boy's heartfelt promise to be there for the girl - which brought a warm gaze to her sweet face.

Hang in there, Chizuru, everything will be okay for you, Sumi thought, smiling as she watched the two. Kazuya is such a good, kind guy. He will absolutely, most definitely be there for you.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed this. Sorry if it was bad. ^^;

Roll on season three! XD