I am now at the top of this archive, HAHAHA! You know why? It's because I am the fucking Ace, and no one can deny it!

Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

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

Kazuya and Chizuru were able to sneak out of the hospital room easily, since Nagomi was being kept at bay by the boy's parents and she was unable to see the two teenagers leaving. By the time she'll notice, they'll be out of sight already.

While the two were walking through the hallway, Chizuru snuck a glance at her companion while looking slightly worried about what's going to happen between them now.

Despite what Kazuya told her back at the department store about staying quiet and keeping herself from telling lies, she still went ahead and tried to make it look like they were a real couple yet again. This time, it wasn't even in front of a stranger but rather, his own family.

At the very least, Kazuya was able to successfully convince his parents and grandmother that they weren't involved with each other romantically, but that didn't solve her current problem.

"It's too late for an apology, now…"

Of course, she wasn't thinking she was innocent and if anything, Chizuru knew that whatever Kazuya decides to do, she brought it to herself.

"Aren't you mad with me…?" she asked slowly, mustering up the courage to ask Kazuya what he had in his mind right now.

Chizuru knew that she did something wrong but unlike other people, she wasn't going to avoid it. Unfortunately for her, things weren't going to play out the way she hoped when Kazuya gave her an answer that she wasn't expecting.

"About what?" he asked, turning towards her while raising an eyebrow.

The girl looked at him weirdly, wondering if he was messing with her or not. Was he really going to ask that, despite warning her just earlier this afternoon? Did he really forget about it that quickly?

She quickly shook her head, a wave of nervousness hitting her again. She needed to get this over with before it drags on for any longer.

"Uhm… you know? Because I told your family that… I was your girlfriend… even though you told me not to," she trailed off at the end of her words, turning her gaze elsewhere as she couldn't look at him straight in the eye right now.

Kazuya stared at her for a few moments out of surprise and thought about what she said more deeply, before he shook his head afterwards.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I told them the truth before they misunderstood the situation. Why did you tell them that, though?"

The young man spoke in a surprisingly calm tone, causing Chizuru to stare at him with her mouth agape.

Did he really just choose to forget what happened like it was nothing? What happened to warning her not to lie about being a couple, then? Was it just water under the bridge now?

While these were all questions that occupied her mind at the moment, the girl chose to focus on what he asked her just now before anything else.

"Well… your parents were saying things about you not being able to get a girlfriend of your own," she explained, causing Kazuya to quirk an eyebrow in response. "I don't know, I think I just… I didn't want you to look stupid in front of them and I thought I should lend you hand. You've always been helping me until now, so I thought I could return the favor somehow. Since I was still acting as your rental girlfriend, I thought I could make it seem like you were already in a relationship."

Kazuya observed her closely as she spoke, trying to see if there was any hint of a lie in her tone in the very slight chance that Chizuru would make something up, but he didn't notice anything. Chizuru looked genuine and that she truly wanted to help like what she said, causing the young man to sigh.

"I appreciate the thought, but you didn't have to. I was planning to tell them the truth the whole time, anyway," he spoke whilst letting out a big sigh. After hearing her explanation, he couldn't blame her for what happened which meant that the whole thing was just a big misunderstanding from the start.

"Oh," she muttered, before throwing him a look of confusion. "B-But if that's the case, then why didn't you say something sooner?"

"I was actually about to tell them the moment my grandmother asked. You just beat me to it."

Upon hearing those words from him, Chizuru could only hang her head in shame, with no one to blame for how she felt right now but herself…

She could've saved herself from having to go through this, if she just kept her mouth shut! But no, she just had to get involved with something that didn't even concern her! She was just a rental girlfriend and Kazuya didn't even rent her in the first place!

Perhaps she was taking this thing too seriously, which was mind-boggling considering her status as one of the best in the agency!.

...

...

...

A moment of silence erupted between the two of them for the next few moments, with Chizuru being unable to bring herself to even look at her companion out of shame, while Kazuya was only focused on getting home.

After being stressed out from his friends playing a stupid prank on him, he then had to go with Chizuru on a stupid date because she wanted him to take Kuri's place as her 'boyfriend', even though he had nothing to do with renting her!

Honestly, why was that even a rule? What exactly was that agency thinking? Did they think that every guy out there would kill for the chance to rent a girlfriend?

Kazuya Kinoshita wasn't one of them.

Meanwhile, things were going differently for the girl with him, who kept her head low while walking beside Kazuya at a steady pace. While she was drowning in her embarrassment over what happened, there was something that caught Chizuru's attention while they were at his grandmother's hospital room… something that made her curious due to how weird it sounded.

She wanted to ask Kazuya what it meant, but she didn't think it would be a good idea, considering she was already on thin ice with him.

Okay, he may have forgiven her for the blunder she did back in his grandma's hospital room, but she didn't want to risk that again! Who knows what would happen if she asked him?! He might lash out on her again and she would have no one to blame but herself.

...

...

...

Ah, what the hell? She already embarrassed herself several times today that one simple question wasn't going to shake her.

"M-Mind if I ask you something?"

Chizuru's voice was filled with uncertaintly, because she had no idea if he was even listening but fortunately, he took a glance at her when he heard what she said. She took this as a sign that he wanted to hear what she had in mind, so she continued on with her words.

"What did your grandmother mean when she said that the next time you two meet, you have to bring a girlfriend? Was she hoping you'd bring someone with you today?"

Kazuya halted in his tracks upon hearing her words and shifted his gaze downwards as a result, feeling stupid all of a sudden.

He should've seen this coming, but he didn't and now it caught him off guard. Chizuru was there with him while he was talking with his grandmother. Of course she'd hear what his grandma said about bring a girlfriend with him.

Should he tell her?

There's no need for him to mention his ex-girlfriend and he was sure that Chizuru heard the entire conversation that he had with his grandmother, which was probably how she got curious in the first place. Plus, there was also the fact that they thought Chizuru was his girlfriend…

It's not like he was going to tell her the full story, by the way. There's no way he was going to bring up his ex again, especially in front of Chizuru. Plus, he saw this girl as a friend and while he was angry with her earlier for pretending he was her boyfriend, he wasn't the type of person to hold a grudge. Oh, and most of all, Kaji taught him about opening up to other people about his problems.

Meanwhile, Chizuru was already panicking on the inside, because she knew that she screwed up. The moment she asked him that question, he suddenly froze as if she struck a nerve within him and she quickly deduced that she did something wrong.

"Kazuya-kun, did I say something wrong?" she asked, already preparing herself for the worst because the young man looked like he was thinking deeply about something, and it likely involved her…

Finally, Kazuya released a sigh of defeat before walking over to the nearest bench where he took a glance at her before nudging his head towards the furniture.

"Take a seat. Might as well spend the last few minutes of your time as my 'girlfriend' telling you this."

While she was relieved that Kazuya was completely fine, Chizuru still blushed at the way he blatantly referred to her as his girlfriend as she sat down on the nearest bench.

Didn't he tell her that he didn't want other people to think they were a couple? What the hell was he doing then?

Ugh, and here it is again. She was doing perfectly fine earlier while pretending to be his rental girlfriend but now she was faltering! So what if he called her his girlfriend?! She was just putting on an act and they weren't a couple!

Chizuru slapped herself in order to get rid of the blush that remained on her face, which only came back when he took a seat beside her. The red hue on her cheeks flared up again and it caused her to turn her gaze away from him to hide her flustered look, at least until she heard Kazuya beginning to speak.

"My family runs a liquor store that was created by my grandfather and as of now, my parents are in line to inherit it. After my grandpa died, my grandmother borrowed some money to keep the shop alive. She wanted to protect what he made by herself."

Pushing back her embarrassment for now, the girl couldn't help but keep her attention towards him as a result, because she could tell that this was a serious situation. To do anything less than listen to his every word would be disrespectful and Chizuru wasn't like that.

"Your grandmother must be very strong," she smiled, earning one from Kazuya in return.

"You're not wrong. I spent a lot of time with my grandmother while growing up. I look up to her so much that I worry every time something bad happens to her. This is actually the third time she's been admitted to the hospital now and during all the times before, she was confined for a longer time."

Unbeknownst to Kazuya, Chizuru actually had a family member of her own who was also confined in this place, so she understood what he felt somehow. It was never an easy feeling, watching someone close to you become weak despite doing all you can to help them.

On the brighter side of things, Nagomi didn't seem like she was weak at all and after seeing the tantrums she threw in her room earlier, she was in good hands.

"I'm so sorry," Chizuru muttered, feeling tempted to place a hand on his shoulder but stopped herself before she could do so.

Kazuya quickly waved her apology off.

"Anyway, I promised her back then that before she passes away, I would have a girlfriend and at the same time, she'll have another grandkid she can spoil. I wanted her to be proud of me and I didn't want to let her down, but you already saw what happened earlier."

Chizuru started to understand what Kazuya's grandmother was talking about earlier, and how it connected to her companion's words right now.

"And now you don't want to be in any relationship because you're taking of yourself before anything else?"

The young man only nodded before looking up at the ceiling.

Chizuru stared at him in both confusion and wonder. Of course, she wasn't going to judge him for what he wanted to do with his life, but she couldn't help but be curious why he didn't want to be in a relationship. As far as she knew and from what she's seen, every boy out there would love to be in a relationship and have a girlfriend of their own.

Was this the reason why he was very adamant in showing that they were not a couple in any way?

"But why? I'm sure any girl would be lucky to be your girlfriend, with how much of a good guy you are."

Ignoring what she said about him, Kazuya only shook his head as a frown appeared on his face.

"It's none of your business. Just leave it be."

He didn't want to mention Mami in front of her and Chizuru didn't need to know anything about the breakup he went through. There was a limit to what he can reveal to her and hopefully, she won't bother him about it.

"Oh," she mumbled, hanging her head in shame once again. "I see…"

Chizuru had to resist the urge to facepalm at her own stupidity. It's obvious he wouldn't tell her something like that! What was she thinking?! It was a private matter and Kazuya obviously didn't want to share it with anyone else! The only thing she can do is respect his wish and stay out of it.

But damn it, why did she have to be so dumb to not think about that? Chizuru only embarrassed herself even further!

Kazuya quickly noticed the distraught expression on her face and he assumed that she was feeling bad about asking him, causing him to wince.

Well... this was on him.

He didn't really want to upset her or anything, so he should do something about this…

"Alright, that's enough of that. Come on, I'll take us home."

The young man stood up from the bench and gave his companion a small grin, just as Chizuru's expression changed from ashamed into confused. She raised her head to look up at him weirdly, wondering what he meant.

What the hell was he talking about?

"B-But why? I'm not your rental girlfriend anymore," she explained before chuckling in amusement, showing him the time on her phone. "In case you don't know, our time has run out while we were talking a while ago. I'm not your rental girlfriend anymore so you don't have to bother."

"Are you stupid? Do you really need to be a rental girlfriend for me to take you home?" he deadpanned.

Chizuru stared at him for a few moments, as if she was having a hard time understanding what he just said. Eventually, she just let out a cute giggle at realizing her mistake.

"I guess not."

Kazuya laughed along as well, before shooting her a serious glance.

"Well, get up already. I'm gonna take a long nap when I get home because I feel tired and sleepy. Do you need me to drop you off somewhere?"

Chizuru stood up and shook her head in amusement, as the two began to walk side-by-side once again. She didn't look gloomy anymore, causing Kazuya to feel relieved. Heh, it's a good thing he acted quickly to raise her spirits, then.

"Not really. Your friend was supposed to be my last reservation for the day and you know what happened to that, so I just want to go home like you. Taking a long nap sounds like a good idea, by the way."

"Ugh, don't remind me… I'm still going to kick his ass when I see him again," he groaned.

"Mind if I take a crack at him? I don't appreciate people who waste my time," she asked, winking at him mischievously.

Kazuya snorted.

"Wouldn't that give away who you really are?"

"Not if you do it first and I just follow your lead."

Sharing a laugh to themselves, the pair headed to the hospital parking lot, especially Chizuru. The girl felt that she had grown somehow closer to the young man beside her after today's events, despite the obvious blunders on her part. While she regretted making him angry, Kazuya didn't look like he held a grudge against her or anything, which made her relieved.

Well, at least her mistakes would help teach her to become a better rental girlfriend, because she definitely didn't want to look like an idiot again…

It's fun to write Chizuru being the idiot while Kazuya's the chill dude. Of course, he's a gentleman, so he won't slap her or hit her like what the Canon Chizuru does to him, hahahaha! It's obvious that she's falling for him, and it's only a matter of time before she realizes and accepts it! So far, she's doing good so she might even get a headstart ahead of the other girls!

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

-Lance