" I've always hated Mizuhara Chizuru".
About 16 months ago ,
" Mizuhara Chizuru-san ? " , Ruka asked .
A girl with medium length dark hair, nodded enthusiastically , waved her phone in Ruka's face and repeated ,
" This is Chizuru-san " .
Ruka glanced at the person in front of her who was one of her closest friends at her high-school, Akari . Akari and Ruka's friendship went beyond a normal one because they both shared a huge secret. They were both rental girlfriends. However they worked at different agencies and Akari just happened to be working at the Diamond agency.
Ruka finally looked at the photo Akari was showing her.. and the second she did , her breath was taken away . The photo showed Akari, beaming, standing next to a tall brunette who was simply...
" Gorgeous " , Ruka breathed aloud .
" Isn't she ? " , Akari gushed
" And it's not just her looks. She's got an amazing personality. She's the most popular amateur at our agency. And she's really kind and helpful and always willing to give the rest of us advice and ... "
It wasn't just at her school, even at Ruka's agency , rumors began to spread about a stunning rental girlfriend who worked at the Diamond agency. A couple of girls who had switched there from Diamond provided more information about this mysterious beauty. That she had just started working there three months back and was already climbing the ladder . That she was a first year college student but was mature enough to pass off as someone in her mid-twenties and had the looks , fashion sense and body to back it up.
Ruka heard it all and couldn't help feeling a green eyed monster of jealousy baring its teeth in her. She was incredibly competitive. She had to be . She always pushed her heart to its extremities. And now she couldn't stop thinking about this Chizuru-san.
" Till now I've only gone out with guys my age ,but now I'll start accepting college student clients " , Ruka decided .
" I'll prove that I'm better than this person" .
4 Months later ,
Ruka walked down the street chatting animatedly with her client , a twenty year old college student. Her quest to nab college student clients was a huge success . Her company advertised her as "The cute little sister" type of girlfriend and the guys clicked on her profile quicker than you could say "date" .
" I hope you won't mind me inviting my friend and his girlfriend " , the client asked.
" Not at all , Shun-kun . I'm glad to meet your friend " .
After they waited near the gym for a few minutes, Shun-kun suddenly spotted his friends and pointed them out to Ruka .
Ruka focused her eyes on the spot and was immediately frozen in shock. There walking towards her was that brown haired beauty herself, accompanied by a guy with orange hair.
Immediately after the shock, Ruka suddenly felt a wave of excitement and that competitive fire suddenly burst into life.
" This is my chance" , she thought to herself.
" I'll prove that I'm the better rental girlfriend " .
She quickly pulled out her phone and checked her heartbeat. It was high ,by her usual standards but still a little way off the normal.
Ruka put it away and tried to compose and focus herself. Her gaze fell on the orange haired guy this time and a thought popped into her head.
" Wait , two friends are both renting girlfriends to impress each other. How pathetic is that ? " she thought, suppressing a snigger, as the two reached them
As they were exchanging pleasantries, Orange-hair whose name was Kazuya identified himself as the pervert who had knocked her down and seen her underwear. Ruka was a bit flustered and irritated at that revelation but carried herself well otherwise. She had to admit begrudgingly that even with just a few words spoken , Chizuru-san was on an entirely different level . The way she carried herself, her expression, her dazzling smile, her confidence , it was all impeccable. But Ruka had no intention of giving up
As they turned to go inside , Ruka and Shun in front , she resolved
" Chizuru-san might be really good ,but I'm still going to beat her " .
Suddenly something struck her. Her mind flashed back to the moment Kazuya-kun had admitted bumping into her. But her mind didn't focus on him ,instead it zoomed past him and onto Chizuru-san's face .
Just for a micro second , a little break in her expression, a little frown, a little unhappiness, a little ... jealousy?
" I've seen looks of jealousy a hundred times before but why would she ... ? " , she wondered and then instinctively glanced back at the couple behind them .
Once again Ruka was shocked. The dazzling smile had gone from Chizuru-san's face ,replaced by what could only be described as a normal expression. That wasn't what shocked Ruka though . She herself had done that many times . Dropped the rental act when the client wasn't looking . But this was different. Because Kazuya-san wasn't just looking. He was talking to her and she was listening with a raised eyebrow .
Astonished, Ruka began to wonder,
" What is happening? Why would she stop the rental act in front of her client ? Why is she chatting normally with him the second we turned away? It's almost like .. like we were the clients. Like she put on the act for our sake . But does that mean that the two of them are...for real ? "
About an hour later , Ruka watched , gritting her teeth as Chizuru scaled the wall with apparent ease , far quicker and far higher than anyone else . She had watched her carefully. Any time either Shun-kun or Ruka herself was around them , Chizuru-san would be in full rental wonder but the second it was only the two of them, she would revert to normalcy and the two would maintain this weird natural , casual vibe. And Ruka had caught Kazuya-san staring hard at Chizuru-san's body every time she climbed the wall
" Obviously he's attracted to her but what about her ? . They just seem so comfortable together, almost like they've known each a long time but it doesn't seem like a full blown romance . But it's clearly more than a regular rental relationship " .
The green eyed monster provided an answer for her confusion , one she gleefully accepted.
" That's it . Chizuru-san is crossing the line with her clients. That's why she's popular and successful, not because she's any good . She's cheating. She probably lets this pervert get to at least first base . Well , I'll expose her for the the fraud that she is " .
Half an hour later, Ruka stared at the bathroom mirror in frustration. She knew that she had rattled Chizuru-san's cage by asking her if she was a rental. Then she had asked them to kiss to prove their relationship. Ruka had her phone ready to take a picture of them kissing which would be the knockout blow, but Chizuru-san had managed to avoid that .
" It doesn't matter " , Ruka spoke out aloud.
" I know that you're a fraud and that I'm better than you " .
Ruka went out again and saw the three of them talking to each other. She joined the conversation and talked normally as if nothing had happened.
Suddenly Shun-kun got very excited and started telling Ruka a story . A story that left her mouth hanging open , unable to speak. Beyond astonished, beyond understanding. Once the story was complete, she turned and glared at the two of them . Chizuru-san stared defiantly back at her while Kazuya-san glanced away . The guilt , however, was written across their faces .
The story was of Chizuru-san falling into the ocean . And Kazuya-san jumping off a ferry to save her .
Ruka could barely collect her thoughts at that point.
" Why would this guy.. risk his life ... for someone like that? Who is he ? Why ... "
Ruka felt something welling up in her , a feeling she had never genuinely felt before, a feeling she did not understand .
The next evening,
Ruka sat on the road , crying her heart out . She felt like a thousand glass shards had broken inside her and was cutting her up from the inside. The last day and a half had been a whirlwind. Kazuya-san begging her to keep Chizuru-san's secret .Ending things with Shun-kun, confessing to Kazuya-san, realizing that he and Chizuru-san were a lot closer than she realized and now this. Her confession rejected and the two of them kneeling on the road together, whispering something amongst themselves. For the first time in her life, her heart had beaten normally and even gone a little further. She didn't understand how or why but being with Kazuya-san mad her heart like this. But now that was all over . She felt broken once again .
For an instance the world quietened around them and the whispered words of Chizuru made their way to Ruka's ears .
" Just go out with her " .
Ruka watched as bewildered as Kazuya-san was . She could make out that he was vehemently protesting . But an expression of determination on Chizuru-san's face ended his protests . He crawled over to her and asked,
" Ruka-chan, do you... "
Over the next few months Ruka tried to make her relationship with Kazuya grow . And it did. Once Kazuya told her the truth behind their relationship and after seeing his Grandma with Chizuru, Ruka thought that it was primarily because of his Grandma and that Kazuya's attraction was mainly because Chizuru had been his only , option. So Ruka struggled and strived and finally, he nearly confessed to her, only to be interrupted. After that she waited with bated breath for him to revisit this incident , but he never did . That forced her to make a plan , stay over night at his place and have sex with him.
However he refused her advances but Ruka wasn't upset. Because he admitted to being attracted to her. That's why as she left his apartment she screamed about how Kazuya had shown her a good time, before leaving with a smug expression on her face .
And so , a couple of days later, Ruka waited impatiently at their workplace.
" Kazuya-kun admitted to liking me " , she justified to herself, ignoring the pang of guilt .
" The only thing stopping him was loyalty to Chizuru-san but now I've taken care of that . I might have had to lie but she's no longer a problem . And now he'll run straight into my arms " .
But it was not meant to be . Kazuya nonchalantly explained how Chizuru-san chose to trust him . Ruka was left once again not knowing what to think .
" Trust ? What the hell is that? If the situation was reversed and I heard Chizuru-san coming out of his apartment, saying stuff like that, I would never believe them " , she thought bitterly.
Then a few more months later , at Kazuya's birthday party . Ruka glared hatedly at Chizuru-san who had destroyed the progress that she had made before hand . She watched with jealousy bursting in her heart as she watched Chizuru-san perfectly play the role of granddaughter, daughter and girlfriend seamlessly transitioning between her roles . It was like she had a place in this family and Ruka hates that .
She suddenly turned to Kazuya and saw him engrossed in Chizuru-san. Blissfully unaware of anything else, lost in her. That look on his face ,in his eyes . A look of intense longing. That was when she realized.
" It's not because of his grandmother at all. This guy is head over heels for her ".
Ruka glanced at the cup of orange juice that she was drinking and then looked at the glasses of sake in Kazuya's and Chizuru's hands . She felt the difference between herself and Chizuru-san. An impetuous child and a mature adult.
For an instant she flashed back to Chizuru telling Kazuya to date her and that word which Kazuya had told her . Trust .
That day Ruka realized that she had glimpsed something beyond her. A world out of her reach. But one where Kazuya and Chizuru resided and shared comfortably.
Out of sheer desperation ,she forced herself on Kazuya, once again to no avail . And then Grandma offered the engagement ring to Chizuru which nearly broke Ruka's already shattered heart . But thankfully Kazuya made Grandma take it back , leaving the littlest sign of hope for Ruka .
A few weeks later , she caught Chizuru coming out of Kazuya's room . After bursting into tears and screaming at them ,they told her about the movie plan . Ruka immediately inserted herself into it, determined to not let them spend more time by themselves. As she walked back home , she pondered why Chizuru had told Kazuya about her private life and why he had instantaneously jumped in to help her .
" How much more are they hiding from me ? " , she wondered .
Once again she had glimpsed that unreachable world.
As the movie production began , Ruka was determined to seduce Kazuya once and for all . She had the distinct feeling that she was running out of time and so she performed to her best as an extra in the movie . She also took advantage of Kazuya being the producer to get him pay attention to her .
But as the production stretched on , Ruka could see that her efforts were futile . She could see how Kazuya's eyes were always on Chizuru making sure that she had everything she needed . And over and over again, Ruka could see them in their own world. Little glances , eye contact , indiscernable nods and shakes . That was enough for entire conversations between them . Something as simple as Chizuru-san making eye contact with him and then glancing at one of the camera crew and Kazuya would realize that they were unhappy about something and he would take care of it . Ruka tried her best to interrupt them, to get Kazuya to focus on her but it was all utterly futile . No matter how much she struggled, Ruka couldn't reach their world .
Ruka kicked the dirt , frustrated as she walked a little away from the rest of the crew . She felt despair flooding through her and not for the first time , she wondered to herself,
" Should I give up ? "
She dwelled on that for a few minutes and then regained her usual determination .
" No , I can't give up . No matter how hopeless it seems, I still have a chance. Kazuya-kun might be in love with her but I still have a chance. Chizuru-san doesn't see him like that , so I still .."
Ruka's train of thought was interrupted by the shrill cry of cicada . And not just Ruka . The entire crew stopped as they couldn't film with the sound of the cicada .
And then Kazuya suddenly got that look in his eyes and ran to the bridge . Everyone could see what he was trying to do and immediately tried to dissuade him but he ignored them .
Ruka screamed, " Don't try this. You'll get hurt " .
It had no effect on him and he continued. Ruka desperately turned to Chizuru knowing that she could stop him but there was that look on her face again. The look that meant that she understood him perfectly and that he won't stop no matter what.
As Kazuya dangled off the bridge , everyone stood in silence, anticipating what was going to happen. And of course it did . Kazuya lost his balance and fell off . Ruka screamed in fright and so did almost everyone else . Thankfully he fell in the river and Ruka ran to help him up . As she did , she glanced back at Chizuru who was standing motionless with an unchanged expression. Anger flared up in Ruka as she saw her like that.
" Doesn't she care at least a little about what happens to him ? You don't deserve him " , she thought to herself.
The rest of the crew hustled to film the last scene of the day. It was the emotional climax . Chizuru would have to sit on the river bank in the fading twilight and cry . While everyone was busy with that, Ruka hurriedly brought Kazuya who was smiling broadly , a couple of towels.
As he dried himself off , Ruka could see him glancing at Chizuru, making sure that she had everything she needed.
" Why are you concerned only about her, even now, " , she screamed internally .
Finally the scene was ready. Chizuru was just a few feet away from Kazuya and Ruka , preparing herself. Kazuya finally looked away as he buried his head in the towel , furiously drying himself.
It was like an intervention of Fate . Ruka felt a force suddenly compelling her to look up Chizuru and she did . As she watched , Chizuru slowly turned towards them and looked straight at Kazuya .
And then Ruka saw it . It only lasted for the shortest time-span possible. But it happened. That unshakable , unbreakable expression of Chizuru cracked only for one-hundredth of a second. Her lips quivered and her eyes suddenly had a shine in them, like they were filing with something . And then, in an instant, it disappeared. Like it was a trained reflex , all those changes vanished .
" No , not vanished " , Ruka realized.
" She's holding them back " .
Suddenly a vision flashed into Ruka's mind. And she knew instinctively that it was the same vision in Chizuru's mind . Like they were sharing a telepathic connection. A connection born of fear and worry and... something deeper for the same person .
Ruka saw in her mind's eye , Kazuya once again dangling off the bridge, once again falling off . But this time he didn't fall harmlessly into the river . Instead , with a sickening crack , he fell onto the riverbank and lay there unmoving , blood pooling around him .
Tears fell from Ruka's eyes , unable to process what she had just seen .
The director signaled for the scene to begin and Kazuya looked up . For a second, time stood still and then Ruka saw Chizuru's expression cracked again, but this time , she didn't stop it. Instead the tears flowed as she cried and wailed , sitting on the riverbank , clutching a teddybear tight against her chest . Everyone stared at Chizuru in awe and admiration of her acting skills .
" No , it's not " , Ruka thought to herself.
" That's not acting . That's real" .
Chizuru then buried her head in her hands and continued crying but from Ruka's side-on position , she could see her lips moving silently . She couldn't hear her but once again , she understood what Chizuru was saying .
" You ... idiot . Why ... " .
Ruka stood in shock, realizing the truth.
" I was wrong all along. All this time , Chizuru-san was also ... But why hasn't she made a move ? I have to . Before she does...
After tossing and turning all night, Ruka finally decided
I have no other option. Chizuru-san's grandmother is coming for the movie premiere . I'll tell her then that I'm Kazuya's real girlfriend " .
Unfortunately Sayuri passed away before that and soon Kazuya stood in front of Ruka , telling her that he was going to cheer up Chizuru-san and asking her permission.
" I don't want to " , Ruka thought bitterly .
" But even if I don't, he'll go through with it . This is probably the end for me " .
But it wasn't. For whatever reason, Kazuya and Chizuru still hadn't become a couple . Even though he wouldn't talk about what happened that day , Ruka knew that they weren't together. She knew Kazuya well enough to know that he would tell her if he starting dating Chizuru-san.
But it was fast becoming a question of when and not if
Present,
Ruka found herself in tears as she reflected on the past .
" The last few weeks have been worse . Every day he moves further away from me . At least in the beginning he used to think about me . Maybe after, Chizuru-san but I was there. Now it's like I'm an afterthought. He's always thinking about her . He's consumed by her . And I..
I'm nowhere closer to reaching their world "
A fear that had always been at the back of Ruka's mind surfaced.
" I've always assumed that I could win. But now I'm afraid that even if he starts dating me , even if we have sex , the one closest to him , the one who understands him the best will always be Chizuru-san " .
A mixture of rage and jealousy burned in Ruka as she thought about Chizuru.
"Yes , it's true. I've always hated Chizuru-san. I've always hated her because she always had whatever I wanted . First it was her beauty, her hair, her style, her popularity, her success. And then it was Kazuya. But it didn't matter what it was, she's always had them "
Ruka buried her head in her hands , the tears streaming down her cheeks.
" I've got to do something " , she sobbed.
Author Note : Honestly the most difficult chapter for me to write so far . Picking and choosing which Ruka events to elaborate/change , which to skim through and which to ignore. Also trying my best to not make her completely hated
Hope you have a good read
A little teaser - Next weeks chapter will be huge . Don't miss it .
Cheers and till next week.
Next time : Chizuru is... angry ?