Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

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

"Oh, Chizuru-san. You're heading to school too?" he asked, regaining his composure after a few seconds. While he was caught off guard with her current look, he wasn't too surprised with her presence as he closed his door and made sure it was locked.

"W-W-What's that supposed to mean? Just because I'm a rental girlfriend, I don't go to school? I'm still a student, you know!" she quickly fired back despite her embarrassed state before she let out a big sigh, adjusting her glasses slightly. "And please don't do that again, because you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I was just asking," he shrugged, pocketing his house key before he took further notice of her new appearance. If he had to be honest, the new look fitted her well and she looked just as beautiful as she was before. "By the way, did you just braid your hair into twin pigtails?"

Chizuru blushed even deeper upon being caught in the act, although she did expect this to happen because there is no way that Kazuya wouldn't notice her new appearance. However, she found herself struggling to come up with an answer at the moment, probably because of how quickly Kazuya had seen through her.

"I-I was…"

"And why are you wearing glasses?" he continued, cutting her off from her words as a look of worry appeared on his face. "Are you having problems seeing all this time?"

The girl let out a loud groan before a tick mark appeared on her head as a sign of her growing annoyance. Looks like Kazuya did notice her new appearance, but he can't understand why she was dressed like this…

"Ugh, because I'm not supposed to go to school while I'm in my normal look, idiot! Do you have any idea what would happen if I go there while looking like the one you've been seeing the past few days?"

She told him with a deep frown on her face, indicating that she was serious. Kazuya blinked a few times, trying to think of an answer he could give her before his eyes lit up, remembering a certain conversation he had with Chizuru two days ago.

"People would figure out you're a rental girlfriend?" he asked.

"Exactly! You managed to figure it out just by looking at a picture of me, but what about other people? There's no telling if they can, but it's better to be safe. Nobody recognizes me whenever I'm like this, and my classmates think I've looked like this ever since I started working as a rental girlfriend, so there's nothing to worry about while I'm at school," she explained before letting out a deep breath, calming down after her initial outburst.

Kazuya took another glance at her overall appearance; a black long-sleeved shirt, dark grey pants and a pair of black sandals, which all went well with her hair and the glasses. It made her look kind of nerdy in a cute way.

He nodded with a smile. "I agree. You look like a completely different person now. Plus, that hairstyle fits you and I think the glasses makes you cute."

Chizuru stared at him with her eyes wide, her face becoming deep red too as she began stuttering in embarrassment.

"W-What? W-W-What did you just say…?"

The boy only smiled and buried his hands into his pockets in a cocky pose. Somehow, he found himself being amused from the sight of Chizuru being embarrassed and flustered because she didn't feel like she was a rental girlfriend one bit.

Her expressions felt genuine and it wasn't an act like the smile he saw from her back at the club, which hid her true feelings that time.

"I said that your hairstyle right now suits you and the glasses makes you cute."

Chizuru's blush deepened to the point that her entire face could be likened to a tomato, before she turned her head away as she couldn't look at him straight in the eyes without embarrassing herself further.

"Uhm… thank you…" she mumbled, rubbing her arm up and down furiously before she shook her head and tried to sound serious once more. "A-Anyway, you better remember your promise, alright? I won't forgive you if you tell it to anyone else…"

She frowned, pointing at him in a threatening manner although she couldn't really be taken seriously with the obvious blush on her face. Regardless, Kazuya nodded to show that he understood what she said.

"I remember it as clear as daylight, Chizuru-san."

Satisfied with his answer, the girl huffed afterwards to regain her composure. She straightened her posture and began to walk past him so she could be on her way, but not before saying a few more words to her neighbor.

"W-Well then… goodbye! I'll… see you at school, I guess…?"

Her voice gradually became softer by the end of her words, since she had nothing left to say. Before she could truly walk away though, Kazuya turned around and sent her a thoughtful look.

"Do you want me to give you a ride a school?" he offered in the most casual of ways, as if he didn't see anything wrong if he did such a thing.

Chizuru stopped in her tracks almost immediately before turning towards the young man in shock, wondering if she heard him right. Once the implications of his words sunk into her mind, she shook her head rapidly and prepared to shoot his idea down.

"T-That… no, thank you! I can get to my school without any help! You don't need to take me there!" she quickly sputtered before turning away, her voice becoming more quiet that almost no one would hear. "B-Besides, I'm sure you don't know where it is, anyway…"

Kazuya raised an eyebrow, becoming curious on what school she went to. If she's saying that he may not know where it was located, then maybe she was going somewhere far from their apartment, or perhaps even a couple of districts away. However, he was pretty sure that he can get there since he had a ride to make things easier...

"Oh, really? Where do you go?"

"N-Nerima University."

The curious look on Kazuya's face swiftly turned into smug expression when he heard her answer.

That's gotta be the easiest destination ever.

"Would you look at that? We go to the same school," he smirked, causing Chizuru's jaw to drop in shock. Kazuya then chuckled as he walked past the girl and motioned for her to follow him. "Come on then, it'll be easier for you to take a ride."

"Fuck! I just jinxed myself!" Chizuru shouted in her mind as she slapped her hand against her face in frustration.

Why, yes you did, Chizuru!

While she didn't think that it would be a good idea to go to school on his bike, the way she was saying that Kazuya probably didn't know where her school was made her sound like she wanted to be taken there.

Well done, Chizuru, well done!

You earned yourself a free ride to the university!

...

...

...

"I just had to say those things, huh?"

Chizuru sighed to herself with a deadpan look before finally continuing on her way. She noticed that Kazuya was nowhere to be seen, so she looked over the balcony where she saw him bringing his bike out of the compound. This caused her mind to conjure up a particular scenario while she was making her way downstairs…

Kazuya taking the both of them to school, making a grand entrance in front of everyone else there and after which he would offer her his hand and he'd escort her to classroom—

HOLD IT!

"Okay, okay, calm down, Chizuru! That's obviously not going to happen because one, we're not a couple and two, it only happens in movies!"

She shook her head frantically in an attempt to be rid of that thought, but it was easier said than done. Fortunately for her, she was able to walk down the stairs without anything bad happening to her, and simply continued towards the gate.

However, her thoughts were continuing to betray her for some reason…

"Just forget it, alright?! This isn't some cliché anime scenario where I fall for a guy after some goo-goo ga-ga moments between us, alright?! I don't want to think about this again, especially not while I'm in front of Kazuya-kun!"

After shamelessly arguing with herself, Chizuru ventured out into the road and closed the gate behind her. She then turned around to see Kazuya standing next to his bike with a smile on his face.

Welp, better hope that her inner thoughts will behave while she's dealing with this…

"After you, Chizuru-san," Kazuya spoke as he gestured for the girl to get on the vehicle, while holding out the helmet she used a few nights ago.

"Uh, you're the one with the bike, so shouldn't you be the first one to take a seat?" she asked, confused.

He shrugged, releasing a hearty laugh before he put on his own helmet.

"I was raised a gentleman."

Chizuru had to keep herself from blushing again from hearing that remark and to her expense, she managed to keep herself calm for now. However, she was still feeling nervous about this and hesitated to do anything further.

Seriously, damn her big mouth for not staying shut! Now she was embarrassing herself once again in front of him!

Uhhh, maybe she can just tell him that this is silly and he should just forget about giving her a ride? Hehe, because it is…?

...

...

...

"Uhm… haha… uh, can't I just walk? I just don't think this is a good idea…" she laughed nervously, trying her best to sound convincing, but she was failing horribly.

"Why?" Kazuya asked, thinking that there wasn't anything wrong gave her a ride to their school.

He was just being considerate and thought it would save her time and energy if he takes her on his bike the whole way.

"Uh… that's because, I…"

Meanwhile, Chizuru tried to think of a good reason why she should just take the long way and walk towards Nerima, but she couldn't come up with anything. After thinking over it for a good minute, the girl rolled her eyes inwardly and groaned to herself in defeat.

"You know what? I don't care anymore. Let's just accept the ride and everything will be back to normal! Besides, Kazuya-kun's just taking us to school! What could possibly go wrong?"

Of course, deep down, she wanted to ride on his bike again but she won't admit that.

"Oh, for the love of— give me that helmet."

Kazuya blinked as Chizuru snatched the helmet from his hands like a cat hunting for food and took her seat on the bike, before putting it on.

"I give up. Take us to school or whatever, let's just get this over with," she huffed with a cute pout on her face, clearly angry with herself for some reason.

"Alright then," Kazuya chuckled as he carried his bag on front of him and took his seat, before kicking the vehicle to life. "Remember to hang on!"

Upon hearing those words from Kazuya, Chizuru quickly wrapped her arms around him and relaxed against his back as the young man drove off.

Chizuru didn't really plan to go to school while riding a bike but oh well, she could at least enjoy the few minutes that she had embracing this young man whom she was unknowingly growing fond of.

At Nerima University

"How much longer do we have to wait, man…? Kazuya normally gets here so much earlier than us ever since a few weeks ago!"

"I know, right?! I still have to tell him about what's going to happen later!"

"Heh, don't tell me he's gone back to his usual habits after he said that he was gonna change…" Kibe said with a smirk, feeling the big urge to mess with his friend once he arrives.

"Nah, I don't think so. Maybe he just needed to drop by somewhere before heading here," Kuri replied while shaking his head.

The two friends kept their eyes directed towards the main entrance of the school for any guy with orange hair, but there wasn't anyone who fitted the description.

However, a certain something did gain their attention in the midst of waiting for their friend, and it was something that wasn't seen in the school very often.

The roar of a motorcycle engine filled the atmosphere around, as every student nearby turned their heads towards the main entrance, where they were all treated to the sight of someone driving a sleek black Yamaha X-MAX with another sitting right behind him.

The identity of the driver was concealed, due to the fact that he was wearing a helmet and a jacket. It could either be a student or a teacher behind that! On the other hand, the person behind him was clearly a student since everyone can see her face, and it was a girl.

They rode towards the parking lot and under his helmet, the driver grinned upon seeing the several empty spots that were available. He chose to stop and park at the area beside the grey Toyota Mirai as he turned towards his companion, who quickly knew what to do.

Various students followed them to the parking lot, including Kibe and Kuri, to see who this mysterious driver was. Their anticipation built up when the girl with him got off the bike and took off her helmet, revealing who she was to everyone else.

"That's Chizuru!"

"Oh my god, you're right! It is her!"

"She was riding with a guy…?"

"Is that her boyfriend?!"

"She scored a boyfriend?! Oh, I am so jealous!"

Many gasps could be heard from the students around them and Chizuru couldn't stop herself from blushing deeply as a result. She felt some of their gazes on her, especially those green with envy and jealousy, but she did her best to ignore them and focus on herself instead.

"Here," she told her companion, handing over her helmet to him.

"You look like you've enjoyed the ride," he remarked, getting off his bike before he took back the helmet and placed it back in the top box.

"I guess I did," she giggled, not bothering to hide her inner thoughts anymore.

"Even if a lot of other people are staring at us right now?" The driver took off his jacket, before neatly folding it and then placing it inside his bag.

Chizuru smirked and placed her hand on her hip smugly.

"Don't worry about me, I'm used to this feeling already, and you know why. What about you?"

Her companion looked at the other students around them, with some of them looking embarrassed that they were caught staring at something they shouldn't have, leading to them walking off and leaving the two alone. However, there were also a few who didn't want to leave and waited anxiously for the rider to take off his helmet and reveal who he was.

"Honestly? It's pretty weird, since I'm used to being ignored by everyone else and I was starting to like being left alone. Gives me a bigger window to focus on myself."

"Well, that's pretty bad. One of the important things about being popular, is that it will never go as long as you keep on doing all sorts of things that get attention. Driving a bike to school happens to be one of them."

After those words, the driver finally took off his helmet and hung it on the left mirror, revealing one Kazuya Kinoshita standing there with a smile on his face.

"Is that... Kinoshita-san?"

"Why is that guy with Chizuru...?"

"Since when did that loser get a bike?"

"I don't know, but it makes him look cool!"

Many gasps were heard from the students who were around them, especially Kibe, Kuri, and those who happened to be classmates of both teenagers. Just what was happening here? Why were those two together? Were they a couple or something?

The two then continued on their way side-by-side, ignoring the crowd of students who were all taken aback from seeing them together. Most of them were too shocked to do anything else but there were some, who were thinking otherwise.

Kibe nudged Kuri on the shoulder to get the other's attention, before he nodded his head in Kazuya and Chizuru's direction. Kuri understood what he meant and nodded as well, before they quickly ran after their friend to figure out what was going on.

"Guess I'll have to get used to it, then. So, do you want me to take you home too?" he casually offered with a smile.

"N-No need… I have a few things to do after school. Maybe some other time?"

She quickly answered to keep a blush from forming on her face, before she gave him a gentle smile at the end of her words.

He nodded. "Sure thing."

They continued to walk together for about a minute before Chizuru suddenly stopped in her tracks, causing him to halt as well. He was about to ask if something was wrong, but the girl beat him to it when she looked up at him happily.

"Seriously though, thanks for the lift. It was really fun getting to ride this again. After the first time, I really wanted to get on this thing again without being nervous like a kid trying out new stuff."

"It was no trouble," he shrugged, before sending the girl a smirk of his own. "But what's this? I thought you didn't want to take the offer earlier? You even told me that it was a bad idea. Did you change your mind that quick?"

"Maybe," Chizuru said, giggling for a few moments before she simply smiled at him afterwards. Kazuya was unsure of what to do now since Chizuru was plainly staring at him, so he just returned the gesture and closed his eyes to save himself from the awkward situation that may happem.

However, her next action then caused his eyes to snap wide open.

Taking a step forward, Chizuru wrapped her arms around Kazuya and buried the side of her face into his chest, tightening her grip a few seconds later. The young man stiffened as he looked down at the girl in surprise, but he couldn't do anything for a few moments.

Just when he was about to move away and ask Chizuru what's gotten into her, she pulled away with a bright smile forming across her features.

"See you later, Kazuya-kun."

With that, the girl walked away without looking back, leaving Kazuya standing in his place with a mix of confusion and shock on his face.

"Uh… see you around," he mumbled, wondering why Chizuru just hugged him out of nowhere.

Also, that was just a friendly hug… right?

Kazuya doesn't know how smooth he is, lol. Again, that's what happens if he uses his brain! Chadzuya will start to become more popular now too, lol. Starting from here, we're finally going to start the canon events, starting from the first time Kazuya rents Chizuru. But how will that happen? Doesn't he hate rental girlfriends?

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

-Lance