Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

Disclaimer: I don't own Rent a Girlfriend, or any of its characters...

*Ring! Ring! Ring!*

Kazuya Kinoshita quickly sprang out of bed the moment he heard the sound of his alarm clock ringing in his ears, his eyes darting towards the calendar hanging on the wall afterwards. If this was some kind of movie, it almost seemed like he was a robot set on automatic mode.

The teen got off his bed and walked towards the calendar, where a huge smile broke out on his face when he noticed today's date.

June 17.

Feeling a burst of energy course through his body despite feeling a bit sleepy, Kazuya pumped his fist in the air victoriously.

"It's been one month ever since Mami-chan started going out with me and everything's been going well so far!"

A month ago, he asked a cute and beautiful blonde-haired girl by the name Mami Nanami if she would like to go out him, someone whom he had been attracted for quite some time. After repeated encouragement from his friends and a few internal monologues about girlfriends and relationships, Kazuya mustered up the courage to ask her out.

By the end of the day, Kazuya acted like as if he won the lottery and claimed the jackpot prize for himself, which wasn't far off in a metaphorical sense.

After Mami had told him yes, Kazuya didn't want to waste time and took her out on a date the following day. While he imagined his first date to not involve a few screw-ups on his part, Mami didn't seem to mind them and even looked amused somehow.

Therefore, he treated the date as a success in the end.

Not wanting to look like a terrible boyfriend, Kazuya did his best to text and call the girl on a regular basis, asking Mami how she is and engaging in some short but delightful conversations with her every now and then. He also sent her two gifts in the past month; a necklace and a white hairband, both of which she accepted with a smile.

Sadly, that move cost him almost three months of his allowance which would take considerable time to get back.

And now, it was officially a month since that day.

"Yosh! I gotta prepare for our date! I cannot screw this up!"

The couple had agreed to meet up today for a date to commemorate a successful month of their relationship.

Well, in truth, it was more of Kazuya's idea to do this because it was [his] first serious relationship and [he] wanted it to be something he can remember fondly.

When he told Mami about it a week before today, albeit in an embarrassed state, she only giggled at his expression before agreeing with his plan.

Needless to say, Kazuya went home a happy man that night and it was all leading up to this day.

After fetching his towel, Kazuya rushed towards the bathroom to take a refreshing bath. After that, he would have a quick breakfast to fill his stomach before heading out to meet his girlfriend.

Kazuya Kinoshita felt like the happiest person on Earth and there isn't anything that can make him feel otherwise!

"I'm sorry, Kazu-kun! I can't go out with you anymore. Let's break up, okay?"

"…Huh…?"

Standing outside out of the mall, Mami clapped her hands together before facing her boyfriend with a strained smile, seemingly looking uncomfortable at the moment.

Kazuya never imagined that those would be the last words he'd hear from Mami Nanami as his girlfriend, nor that they would come out on this day, no less.

The date was going well up until now, starting when Kazuya took Mami to the theater where they watched a movie together. Afterwards, they headed to the department store where he bought her a shirt of her choice, something that took nearly two hours because girls. Lastly, they ate snacks at a burger joint and simply enjoyed each other's company until they were finished.

That's why Kazuya couldn't believe what he just heard.

It couldn't be… right?

He wanted to tell himself that he was just dreaming and none of those words were true, but that was not possible. Kazuya knew what he heard and because of that, he slowly felt something inside him shatter into pieces.

The young man looked down, his long orange hair shadowing over his eyes.

Does this mean… every smile, giggle, and laugh that she sent his way wasn't true?

Was it all a lie, then?

Unwilling to even face her after those words, Kazuya simply turned his head and started to walk away, leaving Mami where she stood. If he had stayed for a few more seconds, he wouldn't be able to keep his emotions in check and his tears would have started falling then and there.

However, as soon as he was walking away, the weird-looking smile on Mami's face suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a look of worry, although she didn't make any move to stop Kazuya in his tracks.

With that, Kazuya Kinoshita had hit rock bottom and there doesn't seem to be anything that can make him feel better after this.

"Why… Why did this have to happen…?"

Sitting on the bed while leaning against the wall was Kazuya, and he didn't look entirely good at the moment. He was hugging his knees and burying his face into his arms, crying his eyes out as though he lost a beloved pet or something.

Normally, a boy would be considered a 'crybaby' of he was seen in this state by anyone else, but it's not like there was another person here…

Kazuya had spent the last two hours bawling his eyes over what happened between him and Mami, replaying it over and over in his mind with the slightest hope that there was some kind of mistake and he heard wrong, only to be reminded again and again that there's no denying what happened.

To put it simply, he got dumped.

"I tried my hardest to be the best boyfriend I could be… wasn't that enough? Wasn't that enough for you, Mami-chan?! Huh?! Answer me!"

He spoke in a sorrowful tone at first, only for his voice to heighten at the end of it out of sudden anger which surprised even himself.

Kazuya threw his head up as a result, his eyes wide at what he just said. He quickly shook his head, however, removing any thought of it before curiosity can take over.

Just before he could bury his face into his arms to drown in his own misery once again, he felt his phone vibrating beside him.

*Bzzzzttt… Bzzzzzttt…*

Kazuya weakly turned his head to see who was calling him now, of all times.

It was Mami.

After feeling surprised for a few seconds, Kazuya quickly frowned in confusion afterwards.

Why was she calling him now, right after she dumped him? Didn't she already end things between them? Didn't she want to break up with him? Now that they weren't together anymore, there should be no reason for her to call him!

What, does she want to drive the nail even further and insult him?! The moment he'll answer that call, she'll tell him how pathetic he is and that no one will actually fall for someone like him?!

Just why was she calling him now?! Right after dumping him?!

...

...

And yet, despite all of this, there was a small part of Kazuya's mind that had hope, not just for himself but also his feelings for Mami that recently got crushed earlier. Somehow, there was still a part of him that held on to his feelings for the girl because she was the first one whom he had a genuine relationship with.

A relationship that he cherished while it lasted, at least.

"Does she… Does she want me back?" he asked himself slowly, a hopeful glint in his eye.

Upon saying those words, he felt a powerful urge to stop his crying, run out the door and reunite with Mami. However, he was able to keep himself calm and instead chose to weigh his options.

Kazuya's gaze shifted between the green and red buttons alternately.

If he chose to answer this call, he would have to listen to everything that his ex-girlfriend wanted to say to him, no matter what it may be.

On the other hand, if he turns her down, he would be cutting her off from his life completely. It'd be just like what Mami wanted in the first place, for them to be separated, right?

Well, all he needed to do was press one button and he'll be out of her life!

It was a hard decision to make in Kazuya's case, but he knew that he had to make up his mind because the call might not last any longer.

He eventually let out a deep sigh.

"I'm done with this…"

Ultimately, Kazuya chose to press decline before quickly shutting his phone off right after. Mami might try to call him again after that, and Kazuya didn't want to deal with that. He didn't feel like answering any other calls for the rest of the day, either.

All of a sudden, Kazuya didn't feel like he had any more tears left to shed after Mami's attempted call. With this, he removed himself from the bed and walked over towards the nearest chair, dropping himself on it without a care that its legs might break.

He leaned back, staring blankly at the ceiling with dead eyes.

"How did it come to this? Was there something I did wrong?"

Kazuya tried his hardest to think back to the times he spent with Mami, to see if there was an instance where he did something wrong, and if it was bad enough for her to just break up with him.

Unfortunately, he came up empty with possible suggestions.

"Argh, not good enough! Come on, there's gotta be a time where I did something wrong! Mami-chan wouldn't have left me if there wasn't any problem!"

He shouted to himself out of frustration, scratching the top of his head furiously. It seemed like Kazuya was more furious with himself than with Mami, thinking that he was the reason why she left him in the first place.

He messed up his own relationship, and he needed to find out what exactly caused it to fall apart.

"I guess there were a few times that I messed up and tried to hide it by acting stupid but she was also laughing along when they happened, so… I didn't think anything was wrong…" he recounted, thinking back to the early days of their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend.

However, while it was more of Kazuya's inexperience that caused him to screw up a few times when he spent time with her, Mami never seemed to hold it against him.

In fact, he can clearly remember her giggling and just laughing at him trying to do his best to please her as a normal boyfriend.

Unless… that was just a way to hide her true intentions or something? Maybe she was making fun of him under that smile?

Kazuya sighed before covering his face with his hands, as though he was hiding himself from the world.

"Seriously, I can't think of anything I did wrong. Maybe Mami-chan just didn't like me from the start?" he hypothesized, thinking of that possible scenario.

That would make a lot more sense if it was true, because Kazuya couldn't think of an instance where he screwed up so bad he ended up making her angry. As a matter of fact, he never saw Mami angry even once since she was always smiling.

Perhaps Mami never really liked him and Kazuya was ready to believe that… but there was one thing that confused him if it was true.

"Huh… if she didn't really like me, then why would she even spend one month as my girlfriend? She could've dumped me way earlier and I wouldn't go through this! It would've hurt less!…wait, no, it would've still hurt badly because it's my first real relationship, damn it!"

Kazuya exclaimed, feeling something tugging on his chest at the possibility that he had been played all this time, while he didn't even notice.

He gritted his teeth for a few moments out of anger, before his eyes widened in surprise. He then took a deep breath in order to calm himself.

This wasn't right.

What's done is done.

There's no need to be angry at someone who threw you out of their life. He had no idea why Mami called him earlier, but the least he can do is return the favor and keep her out of his life as well.

But not now.

Wanting to clear his mind from Mami and the whole issue at hand, Kazuya took an apple from the fridge and started to eat while leaning against the wall.

"You know what? I guess I'm just not ready to be in a relationship yet. This is so complicated…" he remarked in a sarcastic way, making fun of his own situation in a roundabout way.

Unfortunately for him, his weak attempt to make himself laugh or even chuckle was unsuccessful. All it did was cause the young man to feel troubled once again but this time, it wasn't about his relationship with his ex-girlfriend.

"…What do I do now? I can't just stay here and lock myself forever just because I got dumped…"

Kazuya asked himself with a pleading tone, as if he was truly confused and had no idea what to do at this moment. He would kneel and beg to anyone if it meant getting the answer to his problem. However, his eyes quickly widened within a few moments later, having an internal realization regarding his own words just now.

"Wait a second… that's right… I can't stay here… because I won't!"

For what seemed like the first time in forever, a smile appeared on Kazuya's face as he pumped his fist in the air in determination. It may have caused him to drop his apple in the process, but the young man didn't care right now.

He had something more important in mind.

Because of what happened in his relationship with his ex-girlfriend, it would be better if he forgets about those things for a good while.

What happened in the whole month that he had been dating Mami Nanami?

Sure, he may have enjoyed the time they spent together as a couple but by the end of it, Mami broke things off between them. It's almost like everything he worked hard for was for nothing!

And she had the gall to call him after breaking his heart?

Much to his own surprise, Kazuya scowled at that thought, compared to his earlier demeanor.

Yeah, his time was wasted, his money got spent for nothing, and his happiness became a fluke all for his desire to have a girlfriend.

But Kazuya won't let this continue to haunt him any longer.

Because he knew what to do now.

"From now on, I'm putting my foot down. I'm not going to give any girl special time or anything like that anymore. I'm done. No more relationships and all that. It's time for me to grow up and look in a mirror. I'm supposed to be old enough to take care of myself, aren't I?"

He asked himself in a rhetorical manner, as Kazuya found himself agreeing to this plan more and more. While it strayed him away from his old goal of having a girlfriend, it was something that can benefit him more and it would even take his mind off of his ex for a while.

Kazuya began to laugh, before he picked up the apple he dropped and threw it into the trash.

"What was I even doing? Crying? That's not how a person solves his problems, and I'm not going to be like that anymore. I'm going to be better, someone who deals with their problems head-on, and not someone who runs away."

He promised himself with a serious look, showing off his newfound resolve before his thoughts drifted to a certain person, one whom he pictured sitting at a liquor shop at this very moment.

"Sorry, Grandma… I can't fulfill your wish of seeing me have a girlfriend anytime soon, but I can make you proud of me when I become a better man than what I am now."

And so, Kazuya Kinoshita decided that he would no longer remain the weak-willed and cowardly person that he was now, because he wanted to be someone better.

Decided to make this for my buddies in Discord. We've talked about this multiple times already and I think it's time that someone writes it. Your eyes aren't deceiving you, by the way. Kazuya is ACTUALLY receiving development! I won't let him be a terrible MC any longer. Time for Rent-a-Girlfriend archive to feel the presence of the Ace of Gotoubun! :D

MINASAN, YONDE KURETE ARIGATŌ! AISHITEMAAAAASUUUUU! *starts playing air guitar*

-Lance