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

10:06 PM

It took no less than five more minutes for the pair to reach a closed compound that housed an apartment and strangely enough, Kazuya recognized the place as soon as he saw it. Several questions started to pop in his mind as a result, and all of them were about this girl choosing to get off at the exact place where he lives.

"You can stop now. I can take it from here," Chizuru spoke, looking at the apartment herself.

Kazuya pulled over and turned back to face the girl, a look of genuine curiosity plastered on his face. He was starting to wonder if they actually lived in the same apartment and if that was true, it would definitely be the biggest surprise for him today.

"Are you sure this is the place?" he asked as though he was doubting her sense of direction.

Chizuru narrowed her eyes at him as she got off the bike and removed her helmet. "Are you trying to say that I have no idea where I live?"

"Just making sure that you get home safe, is all…" he answered in an innocent tone before he took back the helmet and got off his seat so he can return it inside the top box. His thoughts were on a different boat however, because Kazuya never thought that he would be living in the same place as the rental girlfriend whom he saved. "Huh… who would've thought that she lives in the same apartment as me? I suppose that makes my job easier because I can eat something right after then finally get some sleep."

After returning the helmet, Chizuru turned around and was about to continue into the compound, but she stopped herself while glancing behind her.

She couldn't just leave without saying goodbye, not after Kazuya did so much for her in the small span of an hour. It was more than what any guy had done for her, even as a rental girlfriend who spends almost half her day going out with various boys. It wasn't fair for him if she just leaves him here without saying anything.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around to face him while doing her best not to blush or she would only make a fool of herself.

"Uhm… I just want to say thanks… for everything you did today. You really didn't have to do what you did back in that club, but… you still helped me. And you were right about me feeling uncomfortable too, I just didn't say anything because I didn't want to embarrass myself. I didn't really like being there, so… thank you for helping me out there too. And you had to take a leave because of me…"

Kazuya simply stared at her as she said all of those things, remaining quiet the whole time until she was done. After she was finished, he shook his head before removing his helmet then letting it hang on his bike's left mirror.

"Ichinose-san, I already told you. I was only doing my job. You needed help, so I stepped in. It doesn't matter that I had to take the rest of the night off, because what matters is that you get home safe. Besides, I'll just work harder tomorrow. It's not a big deal."

Chizuru hung her head, feeling as though everything she told him just now was for nothing.

"Jeez, here I am, thanking you for everything you did while you're just going to turn it down? The least you could do is say 'you're welcome' in return!" she complained with a big pout.

"I guess I'm just not that kind of guy, Ichinose-san. I don't want to take credit for simply doing the right thing. Sorry about that," laughed Kazuya, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

She shook her head rapidly.

"Just call me Chizuru. Uhm… I… you deserve it for everything you did for me today," she said shyly, now unable to stop a deep blush from forming on her cheeks.

Ugh, why was this was really hard to do?! She never had difficulty in speaking with different clients whenever she's working as a rental girlfriend! At any situation, she knew what to say and can pull it off without mistake.

Right now, this was just one guy standing before her, so what's the difference?! Why can't she just act like how she usually does around him?!

Meanwhile, Kazuya blinked in surprise.

He didn't expect her to say that out of the blue, but he knew that he somehow had to give a response.

"Uh… I really don't think what I did was a big thing since I was only doing my job but sure, if that's what you want, Chizuru-san," he smiled.

Chizuru nodded and kept her head low, hiding her red face from sight. Ugh, she felt horrible for not being able to look at him straight in the eyes while he was acting like any respectful human being. When she agreed to herself that she wouldn't be able to continue talking to him without looking embarrassed or something, she simply decided to end things here.

Damn her for thinking Kazuya was cute! Now she can't stop herself from blushing just by looking at him!

"Well… goodbye, then! Have a good night!" she exclaimed, before she turned and started to walk away. If looked upon closely, one could see that Chizuru was walking quickly as if she didn't want to be here any longer.

She really wanted to get home more than anything else.

"Same to you!" he replied with a friendly wave, before he started pushing his bike all the way into the compound, which made it look like he was following the girl from behind.

Kazuya kept his eye on the rental girlfriend who was walking in front of him for a few moments, before retreating into his own thoughts.

"For a rental girlfriend, she's not good acting like one. Maybe she just shows it when she's with a customer or something… because she seems like a good person. I wonder why she's been acting nervous since we left the club… is it because of me?"

Maybe he was a bit of an idiot in the past, but Kazuya wasn't like that anymore. He could clearly notice how Chizuru remained nervous and uncomfortable even after they left the nightclub, although her eyes didn't seem like they were screaming for help. At first, Kazuya thought that he was making her uncomfortable but he threw that thought out of the window when Chizuru seemed to have no problem talking to him like a normal person.

But then again, she still appeared to be pretty nervous while talking to him and Kazuya also noticed that she couldn't talk to him without her face turning into a steaming tomato.

"Maybe something like this hasn't happened to her until today and she doesn't know what to do?" he mused to himself, parking his bike near the gate and putting its key into his pocket.

In the end, Kazuya only shrugged and let the issue be, since he didn't know much about Chizuru to know what was bothering her. After closing the gate (which the girl forgot to do because she was too focused in walking), Kazuya took off his jacket and slung it over his shoulder before he started heading back to his apartment.

Meanwhile, Chizuru let out a massive sigh of relief when she looked at her phone for a brief moment to check the time.

"There… I finally got home… and it's all thanks to Kazuya-san taking me back here. It's not even that late too. I think can relax a little before getting some sleep. Heh, looks like taking a ride on that bike wasn't for nothing. I think I want do it again and the next I do, I won't be nervous and maybe, I can even enjoy it."

Chizuru placed her phone back in her pocket as a sudden realization hit her afterwards, hitting her like a ton of bricks stacked together.

She won't be able to ride that bike again, because Kazuya was already gone and he's likely on his way home by now. There's no use going after him since she had no idea where he was heading to nor did she know where he lived, which meant that this was the first and last time she would see him.

"Oh… that's right, I… won't be able to see him again…" she muttered to herself, almost as if she didn't want such a thing to happen.

She stopped in her tracks, thinking about the teenage boy whom she met no less than an hour ago and right off the bat, he already made his mark on her that she couldn't stop thinking of him ever since the incident back at the club. Chizuru couldn't get her mind off him even more now that he was gone, with no concrete chance of them getting to meet again.

Chizuru sighed, feeling deeply conflicted regarding a boy, something that no one would think possible for a rental girlfriend, especially one who was as professional as her.

"Why did he have to be such a good guy? He didn't have to help me, but he did and he even took a leave just to get me home! No one else has done something like that for me, not even my past clients! I don't think anyone else would do what he did, but it doesn't matter because now, I'll never get to see him again… or his cute face…"

Chizuru blushed deeply when she thought of him as 'cute' but instead of denying it like she had been doing since earlier, she just shook her head and continued on her way. It doesn't matter what she thought of him, because he wasn't even around anymore.

"It's not like I can go back to that club just to see him too… I don't know if I can go there on my own and I still feel uncomfortable in that place. I only know his name, but I don't know where he lives or his other contact information!"

She argued with herself regarding her growing wish to see Kazuya again, but she couldn't think of a way to make that happen. She didn't want to go back to that nightclub for obvious reasons and it's not like he gave her a way to contact him, nor did she ask for it.

All of a sudden however, her eyes widened when she realized something she could use to find him.

"Wait… maybe he has a LINE account! I could add him as a friend and we could call each other then! Argh, no, I need his ID or his number for that to happen and I can't ask him those things since he's gone! Mou, this is gonna be harder than I thought…"

Chizuru groaned loudly at her idea being proven useless as soon as she thought of it. Just when she was about to start thinking of another way she can possibly contact Kazuya, she heard some footsteps behind her.

Turning her head ever so slightly, she tried to see who was walking behind her only for her eyes to widen considerably when she was met with the sight of the very person who was the object of her thoughts.

"H-He's still here…? Why is he here with me?!"

Chizuru cried in her mind as she turned her head away and tried her hardest to focus on walking. However, she couldn't stop herself from thinking of a reason why he was still with her. She thought that he had already gone home and that they won't meet again, but it looks like she was wrong on that end.

"Wait… is he following me? I already told him that I'm already fine on my own, didn't I?" she asked herself, thinking of that as the only possible reason why Kazuya was still here.

Chizuru didn't think Kazuya had any good reason to be here. He was supposed to go home by now because they already said farewell to one another! Does he think she can't make it home safely on her own?!

Seriously, he shouldn't be here anymore unless—!

Her eyes widened, not because of shock like all the other times in the past hour, but because of fear. Her mind had settled on the only other reason why Kazuya was still here, and was right behind her back.

"No… it can't be… Kazuya-san's not like that…" she whispered to herself, not wanting to believe such a thing.

At least that's what she was telling herself.

There was just no way. Kazuya can't be here for her. He was a good guy, and he was the one who helped her! He wouldn't drive her all the way here if he had malicious intentions.

The girl continued to reassure herself that Kazuya Kinoshita was someone she could trust but her own faith couldn't last long against reality.

Upon reaching the second floor where she lived, she began to feel nervous when she saw that Kazuya was still following her closely and it's like with every step he took, her trust in him was slowly disappearing.

There wasn't any reason for him to be here unless he was after her all this time, but she just couldn't get herself to believe that the person who saved her from a drunk client was putting up an act to get under her skin and earn her trust, just to catch her off guard in the end.

Finally, when she was literally outside her door, Chizuru took one last look behind her and she felt completely betrayed upon seeing Kazuya continue to walk after her until now.

Chizuru felt the strange urge to cry as something in her chest began to hurt.

"I was wrong! Kazuya-san wasn't a decent guy, after all! He's just like that damned Motohiro-san! I should've known he was after me all this time because that's just how boys are! Ugh, and I thought he was cute too!"

Boys will always be boys, huh?

"Alright, that's enough!"

Kazuya had stopped walking right in front of his apartment unit and he was about to open the door when he heard Chizuru's voice, which caused him to turn towards her in confusion.

What he saw was a sight that confused him like no other.

Chizuru Ichinose was glaring at him, almost as if she was trying to tear into him with just her gaze. She also looked like she was about to cry and before he knew what was happening, Chizuru stomped over to where he was and jabbed her finger into his chest over and over.

Kazuya wasn't affected from her actions at all but what truly confused him and nearly caused his mind to go haywire.

"You're following me, aren't you?! You did all of these things just so you could corner me right here in my home, didn't you?! I thought you were a good guy, but you've been lying to me all along, Kazuya-san! You're no different than Motohiro-san!" she cried, feeling her eyes prickling with a few tears.

In return, Kazuya could only give her a deadpan look as he didn't look phased by her accusations at all. Was she serious? She can't be that slow, right?

"Uh... I have no idea what you're trying to imply here, Chizuru-san, but this is where I live," he said in an unamused tone.

The angry look on her face disappeared almost instantly, as her eyes shrunk into mere pupils.

"W-What…?" she stuttered, losing the fire in her voice when she heard his answer.

Welp.

She didn't see this coming.

Chizuru was already panicking and she wanted to apologize right away before locking herself in her room out of shame, especially for her own sanity. Internally, she was already regretting what she just did and she even felt like the dumbest person in the world for making an unnecessary outburst.

Kazuya sighed before pulling out his house key and opened his door with it. He sent her an 'I told you so' look before pushing it open, letting the girl see what was inside.

The girl's face was filled with fear as she slowly backed away, her whole body shaking from the way she embarrassed herself, in front of Kazuya, no less! A while ago, she was accusing him for following her around and having the same intentions as Motohiro, but now she was completely silenced.

On the other hand, the young man didn't appear to be offended from the things that Chizuru said about him and if anything, he somehow looked amused with how she immediately shut up when he showed her that he lived here.

"I… I… t-t-this is a misunderstanding…! Forget about what I said!"

The girl wailed, turning around before she began fidgeting nervously. Sweat began pouring from her forehead as Chizuru looked like she just made the biggest mistake of her life.

"What have I done?! Gosh, I'm so stupid! I knew that he wouldn't do something like stalking me, so why would I even be convinced he was?!"

Chizuru was completely out of it that she didn't know she was speaking out loud, causing Kazuya to hear everything she was saying.

"Wait, you actually thought I was stalking you?" he asked, almost tempted to laugh at that particular notion but he didn't want to make things even harder for Chizuru after what she just did to herself, so he remained silent.

"I told you, it's just a misunderstanding! How was I supposed to know that you lived here?!" she shot back despite her blushing face, which only made her look somehow cute instead of serious.

"Point taken. I didn't tell you anything but to be fair, I didn't want to look like I was hitting on you so I just left you alone."

The blush that was already on her face became deeper, realizing that what she did only made her look stupider after considering his words about not telling her anything.

"L-Let's just take it that we're even, alright?" she asked shakily, slowly raising a finger as though she was asking for a truce.

Chizuru wasn't sure if she could take much more embarrassment after how she wrongly accused Kazuya of being a stalker… in fact, she may as well faint right now without a care in the world.

Screw her damn reputation!

"That's fair," he shrugged while chuckling in amusement. "I never thought that we were actually neighbors because I've never seen you around when I'm here."

"Yeah… f-funny coincidence, right? I've never seen you around either… maybe it's because we've always left at separate times!" she laughed nervously, trying her best to forget her earlier blunder but she sadly found it very difficult to do so.

"Maybe, so I guess that makes the two of us at fault. Anyway, you look like you really need to get some rest, Chizuru-san, so I'll just take my leave for the night. It was nice meeting you!"

"W-Wait, I—!"

Sending her one last smile, Kazuya went inside his apartment unit and closed the door, cutting off Chizuru from what she wanted say, which left her pouting in her place.

"Mou, I didn't even get to apologize for what I did… Kazuya-san deserves that much after I thought he was no different than Motohiro-san… I guess I'll do that tomorrow, then…"

Releasing a deep sigh from her lips, Chizuru proceeded to open her own apartment and went inside. She used her foot to kick the door and close it before she dumped herself on her couch, stomach-first.

"Uuuggghhh… that's gotta be the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me…" she groaned despite her voice being muffled, desperately wanting to burn the memory of it from her mind already.

Never mind what happened to her in the club, because what she did just a few minutes ago takes the cake.

Yep, wrongly accusing a guy of being a stalker was worse than being nearly assaulted by a drunk idiot who happened to be a client of hers.

"I need to take a shower…" Chizuru sighed, lifting herself off the couch before she made a slow tread towards the bathroom, hanging her head low the whole way.

Chizuru could only hope that she can still sleep well tonight, because she'll definitely do something to make it up to Kazuya tomorrow…

Well, this one's gonna haunt Chizuru forever, lol. Kazuya isn't the type of person to do something as bad as stalk a girl, but Chizuru had a moment of stupidity. She better make it up to him, though! You can't make him fall for you this way!

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

-Lance