Don't Rent A Girlfriend: School Days

Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I do not own Rent A Girlfriend.

Chizuru felt stressed for the first time on a date with Kazuya. It wasn't their usual date where they would meet outside a cafe where she would ask for her payment and instantly switch on her girlfriend mode.

For one, she didn't ask for money but the formality was taken care of by him. In fact it was the first thing he had done today and she couldn't pinpoint why, but she felt bad. It wasn't like him at all.

'Well, this is a job. I should try my best.' She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. As they walked, she finally spoke up with her usual perfect girlfriend voice.

"Hey Kazuya-kun, where are we going?" She put up her perfect smile as she walked beside him.

"You can stop that. That's not why I invited you."

She stopped on her track and glared at him.

"This is what a rental girlfriend does, did you forget that-"

"No, your terms and conditions says you are meant to do what we ask you to do as long as they don't break the dos and don't." He looked at her and sighed. She was practically shaking with anger and he could tell the only thing stopping her to jump him were those dumb terms and conditions of her job.

"You should already know where we are going." He pointed towards the hospital where his and her grandmother were admitted.

"Oh." She had been so engrossed with complicated thoughts that she never paid attention to where they were going.

Then it hit her. Why were there here? Wasn't it meant to be their final date? He is still doing this?

"I can't believe you... sigh." She groaned.

Kazuya looked at her sadly before continuing their journey.

(Scene Change)

"Ahhh! Chizuru-hime!"

Kazuya watched how happy his grandmother seemed once they entered their room as the perfect couple. He wanted her to always smile and be happy like that. The sight of such a lovely scene made him feel extremely fatigued from all the internal conflict that brought upon him.

"Is there something you want to tell us, Kazuya?" It was Sayuri who had spoken, sensing the distressed look on his face which was usually that of joy.

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Chizuru's grandmother.

"Huh? Kazuya? What do you want?" His grandmother groaned.

Sayuri shook her head and told her friend to shut up and let him speak.

Chizuru, who was finally free from her hug and got much needed air, looked at him with confusion.

The silence was what he needed to speak and he was glad. He took a deep breath before he looked at them confidently. He had made his decision.

"Grandmother... and Sayuri-san. There are two things I would like to say today. This... is something you should know." His voice began to break down and the confidence in his eyes vanished soon after when he thought of the disappointment in their face.

"Kazuya, you can tell us anything. What's wrong child?" Sayuri's reassurance only made it harder but it made him more sure about his choices. It had to be done.

"I… I am sorry… this has to come to this. Sayuri-san, grandmother… I… I have been lying to you for the past six months." He looked down, ashamed and scared. "I am not dating your granddaughter. It was all an act from the very beginning."

Chizuru gasped. "W-what are you saying? Stop joking." She began but she stopped when Sayuri pulled her hand.

"Let him speak."

"But..." She nodded after seeing the serious look on her face.

"Kazuya. What is the meaning of this?" His grandmother asked.

He looked at her sadly. "I am really sorry... I really wanted to make you happy and for the first time when you saw Mizuhara with me... I wanted to do everything in my power to protect that happiness." He gritted his teeth, disappointed in himself as he saw her crestfallen face. "But I was wrong. I messed up and dragged Mizuhara into it... and then the lies just kept on growing. I can't take it anymore." He looked at them, apologizing.

"Two... Mizuhara has no fault in all this. Sayuri-san, please don't misunderstand your granddaughter." He let out a genuine smile as he continued. "She is the kindest person I ever met and somehow down the line I began to take advantage of that for my own selfish reasons. I am sorry."

The silence in the room was heavy, none of them spoke for a while. Chizuru just looked at him, dumbfounded. She was lost, completely. Why was he saying all this? Why? Didn't they agree to keep this a secret for their sake? Why is he suddenly bringing his moral compass after all these months? More importantly, why was he doing this to her? What did she do...

Then it hit her. The events from last week hit her like a truck. She had slapped him and said mean stuff to him.

"Sigh... I knew it was too good to be true. I had thought you somehow conned her into believing you were a decent guy." His grandmother spoke. It didn't hurt him as he smiled at her.

"Wait Nagomi!" Sayuri protested.

"However, I am glad you grew some balls and told us the truth." She continued with a smile. "I guess it's partially our fault to assume stuff but you are an adult. You shouldn't have made her go through this just to make us happy. I am disappointed in you."

Chizuru wanted to say how wrong she was and that she was equally mistaken but words seemed to have stuck in her throat. Her mind went blank as she just stared at him.

"I take full responsibility." Kazuya spoke.

...

"Ah... what a mess. Get out for now. We will talk later." His grandmother spoke and all he could do was nod as he left the room.

Chizuru stood there silently, she felt lost.

"Chizuru, are you sure about this?" Sayuri finally spoke to her once he was gone.

She looked at her sadly, not having the words to speak or the mind to understand her question.

"It's not her fault, Sayuri." Kazuya's grandmother spoke. "My good-for-nothing grandson is an idiot."

"I'm going to ask again, are you sure about this, Chizuru?" Sayuri asked.

She looked at her as tears began to blur her vision. "I am sorry, I must go." She ran out of the room, to find Kazuya.

...

They both sighed.

"Why were you so harsh with him? We both knew that they were pretending." Sayuri asked her friend.

"I am not mad at him. To be honest, I am mad at Chizuru-chan." She explained. "But I shouldn't be petty. He has to learn to live his life through ups and downs."

Sayuri nodded. "I am sorry for her. If you can forgive her-"

"I said I was mad at her, not hate her. Can't hate such a beautiful girl!"

...

(Scene Change)

"K-Kazuya!" She gasped for air, finally catching up with him. He was surprised to see her but half expected her to come and kick the shit out of him.

"Kazuya? It's Kazuya-san, we are still under contract." He joked.

She looked at him fiercely and he gasped when he saw tears in her eyes.

"Why are you doing this to me?!" She demanded. "Is it because of the slap? I am sorry, okay? I was mad and you were acting weird and I didn't know what to do and it just happened."

He looked at her concerned face and felt terrible for making her feel this way. But he felt even worse feeling attracted to her amidst all this. The way her eyes sparked with tears, her pink lips that parted apart as she gasped for air, her...

'I must stop.' It took all his willpower to hide his feelings and think practically. He wasn't going to go back to his pathetic self and sabotage all his efforts to set her free. To set him free.

"I don't know what you are saying. This has nothing to do with what happened that night." He lied. "We had to stop this lie at some point. It took me a long time to realize this. Today just happened to be the right time." He lied.

"Bullshit! You are lying! Kazuya, I am really sorry for that night. Please-"

"NO!" He yelled, making her shut up instantly in shock.

"What do you think this is? Do you even understand what you are asking?" He asked. "You are a rental girlfriend." He pointed at her. "I am a loser who hired you because of how pathetic my life is." He pointed at his chest. "That is where our relationship ends."

"W-What are you saying?"

He let out a mocking laugh. "Me? That's what you said. 'There is no relationship between us. There will be no relationship between us.' Your exact words."

"I am sorry I wasn't-"

"Angry? This doesn't change what you said. People don't lie when they are angry, in fact they speak the truth. That's exactly what you did." He wanted to stop but he had no control over his words. He felt pathetic to lash out at her when she wasn't at fault. It was all his delusional hope of attaining her love to fulfill his fantasy. A perfect picture of having a perfect girlfriend whom he could be with. He didn't think of how she felt and only projected his own desires onto her. He was mad at himself. Disappointed.

"I am sorry it had to end this way. This is me being petty for my own shortcomings." He took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "I have been living a dream since the day I met you. Thanks for the slap, it truly woke me up." He looked at her with a sad smile. "Thanks for being there for me. I truly mean it. Thanks for being there for me, Mizuhara."

The alarm on her mobile resonated in the empty area soon after.

"Well, that ends our final date." He turned around from her while she stood there silently.

'Mizuhara Chizuru, was a dream. A really nice dream.' He thought as he walked away from her.

...

...

Chizuru fell on her knees as her tears dried up. She didn't know what to feel. What to think. She just wanted this unknown ache in her heart to stop.

'What should I do...'

To be continued...