Introduction (1 nov 2020)

Update 24 jan 2021: After re-evaluation, it felt like this chapter was still missing something, mostly in Kazuya's thinking, before making a decision about Ruka. Because this chapter, and the first one, are the start and 'heart' of the series, I want to make it the best it can be, and felt these changes make the characters act a bit more natural. I aim to keep re-writes to a minimum, but in this case it felt like it would really make a (subtle but important enough) difference. I hope you feel the same.

So, the previous version of chapter 2 has now been replaced with this jan 2021 updated version. Now let's continue with the original chapter introduction text:

Well, with the decision to split the first chapter in two separate parts, suddenly also a new intro was needed for part 2. Creating the first half of the story was easy enough, I just needed to cut out the part after the cliffhanger, when Kazuya gets the phone call, and leave it there. As well as update the introduction for part 1. But preparing part 2 would take a bit more effort, since I also wanted to make it more 'in character' and tone down the drama a little bit. I hope it came out right, and the story has become better from this.

I hope you will enjoy reading this, and I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of it.

If you do want to comment on this story, or any of my other stories, you're welcome to leave a review, preferably as registered member, as this allows much more interaction between writer and reviewer. I'm eager to hear your feedback as well, since praise is always nice, and can confirm being on the right track, criticism is often what helps more to improve.

Story Prologue:

After Ruka unexpectedly breaking up the 'trial girlfriend' arrangement, and running off, Kazuya had received a phone call from the hospital, telling him that Ruka had collapsed and had been brought there. Will Kazuya go see her, and be by her side, even though she is no longer his 'trial girlfriend'?

Matters of the Heart – part 2

"T-That was the h-hospital. Ruka collapsed on the street!" Kazuya said with a flustered voice.

"Oh no! What happened!? How is she doing right now?" Chizuru asked, on a worried tone.

"I-I don't know. They didn't tell, but it sounded real urgent," Kazuya continued. "They couldn't reach her parents, and since I'm listed in her phone's contacts as her boyfriend, they called me instead."

"Ok, I'll see you there then," Chizuru said on a firm tone.

"Huh?" Kazuya wondered, "…shouldn't I just keep trying to reach her parents instead? She doesn't need a fake boyfriend, who took her for granted way too often. She needs someone who really cares for her..." he added, as his eyes started to burn a little, "…I feel she deserves that!"

"Stop being such an idiot and dig a little deeper! And then tell me how you are really feeling about all this right now!? What does your heart tell you to do!?" Chizuru shouted.

"Wh-what did you say?" Kazuya replied, baffled by Chizuru's choice of words.

"You heard me perfectly fine the first time!" Chizuru yelled, before starting to explain on a much softer voice; "Didn't I tell you when Ruka first confessed to you, that love is a bare necessity when it comes down to relationships? But just like I did notice at some point you started to become more attached to me than you should be to rental girlfriend, I can now hear in your voice you are feeling way more for Ruka than just guilt for mistreating her often! So stop acting like you don't care at all!"

"Mizuhara…" was all Kazuya could say.

"So, what do you really want, Kazuya!?" Chizuru continued. "Do you want to keep trying to reach Ruka's parents, and come over to my place… or be with your 'girlfriend' right now!?"

'Something's got her fired up alright…' was Kazuya's first thought. 'But… she does have a point…' he hesitatingly admitted to himself. Before that call from the hospital, all he had wanted was to be with Chizuru, yet now all he could think about, was Ruka… 'It's all about feelings and love and "What does your heart tell you?" that's what Mizuhara had just said. Ruka had been using similar words, before breaking up our 'trial girlfriend' agreement…' Kazuya pondered in his mind; 'What do I feel right now? Wait! Could it be I was wrong about this all along…? I really need to find out!'

"Right! I'm going to the hospital!" Kazuya said with a resolute voice, "Can you come over too?"

"Ok, good... I have to make a few calls first, but after that I'll try to get over there as soon as possible," Chizuru replied, "You take care!"

Kazuya raced to the hospital as fast as he could. 'I hope Ruka is ok…' he kept thinking, as he counted the busstops that still remained before he'd be at the hospital. Once there, he ran inside to the front desk, to ask where they had taken Ruka. A friendly nurse took him to the fourth floor. 'Cardiology' it read on the sign that was above the entrance of the wing they entered. Ruka's room was just a bit further down the hallway, and with his heart pounding in his chest, Kazuya slowly opened the door…

Ruka was lying down in a bed, hooked up to various different medical devices. A mask covered part of her face, likely to help her breathe. Another device with a large display made a slow and irregular beeping sound. 'Is that her heart rate?' Kazuya wondered, as he saw the large numbers on the right side of the screen jump between values in the range between forty and fifty. 'Her heart does seem to beat a little slow though. And her face is so pale!' Kazuya thought. Even the skin on her arms seemed far more pale than usual, making Kazuya feel worried. 'What is wrong with you, Ruka?'

"Excuse me, but I understand you are the boyfriend?" a voice behind Kazuya spoke.

"No. Ehm, sorry, I mean yes..." Kazuya corrected himself, even though after the sudden 'breakup' this morning, technically Ruka was no longer his 'trial girlfriend'. He turned around, and saw a man in a white lab coat, apparently Ruka's doctor; "Please sir, can you tell me what's wrong with Ruka?"

"Miss Sarashina was born with a heart condition that causes her heart to beat much slower than is considered to be normal," the doctor explained. "The past few years her heart rate seemed to have stabilized and during all her regular checkups until now she had been totally fine. Even better than usual, actually. So we don't know what caused this sudden relapse," he continued. "She's resting now. We've been giving her some extra medicine and her heart rate is still a bit low, but we expect her to make a full recovery, with time. That mask is just to give her extra oxygen. It needs to stay on for now, but it's nothing to be too worried about," the doctor added, with a reassuring voice.

"Oh… I didn't know… Glad to hear she's going to be ok," Kazuya "replied, with a sigh of relief.

The doctor put his hand on Kazuya's shoulder, then continued: "If you want, you can stay with her a little longer. She may not be able to hear you, but perhaps the presence of someone she loves, can still do some good and may even speed up her recovery. Meanwhile we will keep trying to reach her parents. And if you need anything, all you have to do is just press this red button over here. We will be close by, monitoring her vital signs."

"Ok, thanks…" Kazuya said, after which the doctor silently left the room.

'Oh, Ruka… why did you never tell me about this?' Kazuya thought. It seemed like just a few minutes ago, that they had been having their talk, which had resulted in Ruka unexpectedly breaking up their 'trial girlfriend' agreement.

Thinking about that; 'Ruka had not been her usual self earlier today. Could her current condition have anything to do with what she said this morning, just before she ran away?' Kazuya wondered. 'Even though we've been in this trial relationship for so long, I never took the effort to really get to know you much better. Otherwise, this would probably never have happened! It's all my fault!'

Images of the moments he had spent with Ruka the past years of their 'trial relationship' flashed before his eyes. How they had literally bumped into each other when they first met. How Ruka had confessed to him, just outside of his apartment, before she was reduced to tears as he initially had rejected the idea to let her be his 'trial girlfriend'. The 'sleepover', when she had been cooking for him and then could no longer go home, because of the extremely bad weather. Their first kiss, back at his parents' house. Ruka helping with making Chizuru's first movie. And going swimming for Ruka's 17th birthday, when he hadn't even brought a gift for her. But in the end she had been so happy with the 'present' of being allowed to use his first name since then, without adding the honorifics suffix.

'She sure knows how to push a guy's buttons at times… never a dull moment when Ruka is around me' Kazuya thought, with a brief smile on his face, as he was reliving these events. 'What was it again, that she said?' Kazuya tried to remember…

Then it came to mind again: "I have no regrets…"

'Yeah, that was it!' And looking back, despite the sometimes awkward moments, Kazuya realized he pretty much felt the same about the time they had spent together. 'Ruka, I also don't regret that you were my 'trial girlfriend', and… I'm not sure if I really want this to be over just yet…'

"Ruka…" Kazuya broke the silence, talking with a soft voice, "I know you probably can't hear me right now, but there is something I really need to tell you. I should have told you this much earlier, but it was only until now, that I started to realize it…"

Kazuya looked closer at Ruka, hoping to see some reaction, anything, but she remained motionless and still looked very pale, just like when he had first entered the room.

"To be honest, sometimes you really freak me out, when you come on too strong, trying so hard to prove you are my girlfriend..." Kazuya continued, "…you're always pushing boundaries, yours, and mine as well."

Kazuya paused a few seconds, then bowed down his head and went on: "I know I told you once that I felt Mizuhara is the best girlfriend, and during our 'trial relationship' I must often have made you feel like coming in second place, always behind her. But I was chasing a dream, she isn't perfect. Yet I've been pushing you to the edge to compete with her… I'm so sorry for that, and for what it's worth, I am sure now that any guy would be so happy to have you as 'trial girlfriend'… or for real."

Kazuya stopped talking again, thinking he may have heard something, and looked briefly at the door. Strangely enough it wasn't fully closed, even though he remembered the doctor had shut the door behind him when he had left the room earlier. 'Doesn't matter though…' he thought, as he continued 'talking' with Ruka.

"Maybe I could be really happy being with you, Ruka…" Kazuya added, "…and I've been such a fool for not seeing this so much sooner. I really regret having put you through all this for so long…"

Kazuya carefully took Ruka's hand and held it. Her hand was still as soft as ever, but the skin felt colder, so very different from the times they had held hands, when they were on a 'date'.

'Normally Ruka would grip my hand as tightly as a piranha, as if she would never want to let go of it ever again…' Kazuya thought. It made seeing and feeling her be like this even more unsettling…

"Ruka…" Kazuya carried on, thinking out loud, "… right now I would do just about anything to see you make one more of those wild moves of yours, like an unexpected kiss, or one of those other crazy spontaneous things you did… These things you do, simply because you love me…"

Kazuya thought about the incredible endurance and tenacity Ruka had shown towards him, over the past years. 'When that girl knows what she wants, she really keeps going for it, no matter how many times I turned her down…'

Which made it even more painful to see the contrast between Ruka being her usual extremely lively self, and her now lying down here motionless, in this hospital bed, so vulnerable…

Little did Kazuya know that Chizuru was right outside the door of Ruka's room, and could clearly hear everything he had been saying…

Being in a hospital reminded Chizuru of the passing of her grandma, now roughly about a year ago. She couldn't help herself becoming emotional, seeing and hearing all this, and quickly wiped a few tears from her face. 'Get your act together, girl! This isn't about me!' she said to herself, while she pressed her hands together and bowed slightly forward, as if saying a prayer for Ruka and Kazuya.

Kazuya sighed deeply, before speaking again: "Ruka… please wake up…ok? Then we can talk about what happened this morning." he added, as he looked down, while some tears started forming in the corners of his eyes. Suddenly he felt Ruka's hand moving a little and she slowly opened up her eyes!

"Wh-Where am I? And what are you doing here, Kazuya-kun?" Ruka whispered, after removing the oxygen mask. "Wait, am I in hospital? How did I get here?"

"You collapsed on the street, not too long after we had our talk earlier this morning," Kazuya explained, relieved to see Ruka awake again.

"Oh? I don't think I remember anything after I left you…" Ruka said, as she tried really hard to recall what had happened.

"Btw, why didn't you tell me before about your heart condition?" Kazuya asked, with a more serious look on his face.

"So… you know now? I guess you had to find out someday. Do you remember how I once said to you that I wanted you to like me for real?" Ruka asked, to which Kazuya nodded agreeingly; "If I had told you about my health, you might have started to feel sorry for me, and then decide to make it official between us for all the wrong reasons," Ruka further explained; "I wouldn't want that…"

"Ruka, I…" Kazuya tried to interrupt her.

"Please, let me finish first…" Ruka continued, "… besides, ever since I met you, my heart rate has been doing really fine anyway."

"Wait, is that why you've been so busy with your phone ever so often, each time we were together on a date?" Kazuya wondered.

"Busted…" Ruka replied, with a smile, slightly blushing; "… btw, it's really nice that you came here to visit me," she added.

"Isn't that what a boyfriend is supposed to do?" Kazuya said.

"Huh? Kazuya-kun? But we're no longer…?" Ruka started, feeling confused.

"Well, first of all, you never gave me a chance to respond to what you said this morning, as you ran away right after that and told me not to follow you…" Kazuya explained; "And sure, at times you can be clingy, even downright annoying, and pushing buttons I don't always like getting pushed…"

"Hey, that's no way to talk to a patient, you know," Ruka objected; "If you are trying to make me feel better, it's not working…"

"Ruka, please hear me out…" Kazuya continued; "Even when you are all that, hearing about you getting rushed to the hospital and seeing you here, well…"

Kazuya briefly paused, to compose his thoughts, while he tried to hide wiping away the last traces of the tears he had felt coming up, just before Ruka had woken up again.

"… It made me realize that my life would probably be pretty boring without you…" he added, with Ruka now intensively listening to every word he said. Kazuya took a deep breath, and looked right into Ruka's eyes…

"So, I'm going to do what I should have been doing a long time ago; I want to give it a try and make it official between us!"

Now Ruka's eyes opened up wide. 'If this is all a dream, please let it last a little longer!' she thought.

"K-Kazuya-kun…? Are you really serious about this?" Ruka asked, still not sure if she wasn't dreaming.

"Yes, I am. And please just call me 'Kazuya', without the honorifics. It feels really weird hearing you call me 'Kazuya-kun' again…" Kazuya said, "…after all, you are my girlfriend now, right? Unless you no longer want to be, that is…"

Ruka's heart rate went up at least ten points, hearing Kazuya say 'my girlfriend' to her. The doctor and a nurse came barging in, as removing the breathing mask had triggered a silent alarm in the monitoring room.

"What's going on in here!?" the doctor stated with a firm voice; "And why is that oxygen mask no longer in position!?"

"Oh, hello Mr. Hayato," Ruka greeted her regular doctor, and now starting to sound even more like her usual self again.

"Well, look who's back," the doctor said, with a smile; "You gave us quite a scare, Miss Sarashina."

"Uh? I did? Well, last thing I remember was running away from Kazuya-ku… eh, Kazuya," Ruka quickly corrected herself, "… I do vaguely recall passing the subway station… and then I woke up here."

"It's simply a miracle that you have bounced back so suddenly," the doctor stated, "…your boyfriend must love you very much," he added, with a smile on his face.

"Oh… uh, I…" Ruka stuttered nervously, slightly blushing, while first looking at her feet, then lifting her head up again to face Kazuya, still a bit unsure about what he would say to this.

"It's ok," Kazuya confirmed, while putting both his hands around Ruka's hand, making her blush even more than she was already doing.

"I g-guess he does," Ruka said, as a cheerful smile appeared on Ruka's now beaming face, while the heart rate monitor started beeping faster, for a short moment even spiking at 99bpm.

"That sounds like a pretty healthy heart to me, right doctor?" the nurse said, laughing.

"I would be inclined to agree," Doctor Hayato said, still smiling; "If I remember well, that value is actually a new personal record for miss Sarashina, isn't it, young lady?"

"Eh… I s-suppose it is…" Ruka stuttered, feeling a bit shy because her emotions were now all too obvious to everyone present in the room.

"Well, this again proves that love sure is the strongest cure I know," the doctor commented. "But I would still like to run a few tests, just to make sure everything is ok. Could you please wait in the hallway for a while?" he added, addressing Kazuya.

"Don't you go escaping through a window, ok?" Ruka said to Kazuya, still smiling.

'Don't worry, this time I won't…" Kazuya laughed, "…besides, we're on the fourth floor."

"Huh, what was that all about?" Mr. Hayato wondered.

"Oh, that's just something from our past," Ruka explained with a smile, while winking at Kazuya.

"Seems like you must have shared some pretty special moments together," the doctor commented.

"Trust me, you have no idea…" Kazuya said, looking straight into Ruka's eyes, both now blushing.

He let go of Ruka's hand and stood up to leave the room, to allow the doctor to do the tests he had mentioned. Kazuya went outside, where he found Chizuru waiting. She was looking down at the floor, her arms crossed over her chest, as if she felt sad, embarrassed or possibly both, to be there.

"Thanks a lot for being here…" Kazuya greeted Chizuru. "It means a lot to me that you did..." he added, then trying to read her mood; "So eh… how you're holding up, well you know… being in a hospital again?"

"Not too great… but I'll manage…" Chizuru replied, as she turned her head aside, to hide a single remaining tear. "Anyway, I'm just happy Ruka seems to be feeling much better now."

"Yeah, me too," Kazuya said, while smiling, glad that Chizuru had changed the subject. Then on a more serious tone, he hesitatingly asked: "You… you've been here long?"

Chizuru nodded briefly, then turned around and started walking to a spot a little further down the hallway, where a coffee machine, a table and a few chairs were present, to accommodate visitors.

"So… then you heard me talking to Ruka…?" Kazuya further inquired, as he followed Chizuru there.

"Uh-huh," Chizuru confirmed, still having her back turned towards Kazuya, even though they had now reached the waiting area.

"S-Sorry for what I said about you not being perfect and all…" Kazuya started to apologize.

"Stop!" Chizuru decidedly stated, as she turned around and looked back up, straight at Kazuya's face. "You don't have to be sorry at all, if anything, you should be proud!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kazuya wondered.

"The way you are acting right now, that is by far the best result a rental girlfriend could ever hope to achieve." Chizuru started to explain. "It shows how much you have grown since we first met, and that you too have finally progressed…"

Chizuru continued: "You're finally starting to take matters regarding relationships in your own hands now, instead of doing what you feel I, or anyone else, would like you to do. So you're no longer just doing things to please me, and following my advice. You didn't come here because I wanted you to go, or because Ruka had asked you to. You felt in your heart that you should come here! You wanted to be here, right!?"

Kazuya silently nodded, as he was listening closely.

"Look, at first I thought you were the only one who needed guidance, you were such a hopeless case when you started 'dating' me. That's why I agreed to keep meeting you, to be there for you, to help you, but then things got more complicated, with our families, and feelings that started to get in the way," Chizuru further explained.

"But you know, spending time with you and Ruka has taught me a lot of things about myself as well and that I need to make some changes too. I got a couple of offers in for making commercials, so I no longer need the money from the rental girlfriend business anyway. And maybe that movie script you showed me yesterday, will turn into something big too. So it's decided, I am finally going to quit the rental girlfriend business. Then, when I meet someone who's just as nice as you have become, I can simply follow my heart and my dreams, without ever having to worry about all the complications of being a rental girlfriend…" Chizuru said, then pausing briefly as she closed her eyes.

"Mizuhara…" Kazuya said, impressed by her words and resolve.

"So, while I am a bit sad that this means the end of our 'not-always-so-rental-anymore' relationship, I am really glad for Ruka and you." Chizuru briefly paused; "And I hope that if I have a question about movie scripts or so, I can still count upon you for some advice, or just a listening ear…" she concluded her 'speech'.

"I've promised to help you wherever I can, and I will keep doing that," Kazuya replied, "… but I will have to be more considerate towards Ruka from now on, naturally."

"Glad to hear that, and you should definitely no longer take Ruka for granted. After all, she is really going to be your girlfriend from now on, right?" Chizuru said, smiling; "Oh, and one more thing… I'm definitely counting on you sending me some wedding pictures," Chizuru added, winking at Kazuya.

"Eh…sure…" Kazuya stuttered, blushing a little, then regaining himself a bit. "But if Ruka and I ever do end up getting married, it won't be soon. I first want to date her properly, not as 'trial' but for real."

"Who are you, and what have you done to Kazuya?" Chizuru joked, as she gave him a friendly push.

"Ehm, I dunno, it just feels like the right way to do, to have a fresh start with Ruka and do this right for once," Kazuya replied, while nervously rubbing the back of his head. "I feel she deserves that much from me, after how I've been treating her sometimes."

Kazuya paused for a moment, then continued, with a smile on his face: "And as for sending those wedding pictures, only on the condition that you promise to get us some front row seats when your next blockbuster movie has its premiere screening."

"I can do that…," Chizuru replied, "…but that might take a while, so don't hold your breath, ok?" she added, smiling. "Now, would half a dozen tickets be enough by then? Or do you need more?"

"Half a do…? Hey, what exactly are you getting at? I do think about other things than doing that, you know!" Kazuya objected, trying to sound deeply offended.

Then both started laughing out loud, but quickly stopped, realizing they were still in a hospital. Their eyes met, and for a few seconds Chizuru and Kazuya embraced…

"Go follow your dream…" Kazuya said, with a friendly smile on his face, after they had let go of each other again, and Chizuru had turned around, to walk away.

"I will, if you keep listening to your heart…" Chizuru softly replied, looking over her shoulder, smiling back at Kazuya with a genuine smile, and not her 'girlfriend-mode' one. Before she turned her head forward again, and disappeared behind one of the doors at the end of the hallway…

(To be continued…)

Epilogue (1 nov 2020)

Update 24 jan 2021: Well, I'm hoping this latest (partial) re-write turned out ok. Again, it wasn't that easy at timess, to be going 'back in time' and get back into the vibe of the story at that moment. But so far, it feels like the chapter is better now.

I also found a few small mistakes, hopefully didn't add too many new ones in return. Your comments will hopefully tell if you like the changes or not. And now let's continue with the original epilogue text:

Stories with multiple love interests are also definitely much harder to get it to feel 'right', especially if one of the characters has such a large fandom as Chizuru Mizuhara has. I ended up doing a lot of 'fine-tuning' and hope this story will show the respect for the characters that I tried to put into it.

Disclaimer

Please let me know what you think of this story and leave some feedback in the form of a review. If you are logged in on , and post a review as registered member, I can even reply to your comments. Looking forward to some more interaction with the people who read my fanfics!

Btw, since I am not a native speaker, there will likely be some silly mistakes in this story. And in punctuation, maybe I made the same mistakes as in previous stories, or even made new mistakes. Hope you can bear with me and see through that. Helpful tips and suggestions are welcome.

Stay safe, and maybe until soon!