Rent a Girlfriend: Caught and Desperation (Short Story) Part 1

Characters:

Kazuya Kinoshita

Chizuru Mizuhara

Mami Nanami

Ruka Sarashina

Sumi Sakurasawa

Nagomi Kinoshita

Yoshiaki Kibe

Shun Kuribayashi

Sayuri Ichinose

Making a Decision:

With Ruka's help, she and her basically dragged the unconscious Kazuya into her Apartment. Before that Chizuru tried a couple of times to awaken him to no avail. So she decided to bring him inside, rather then leave him outside her door. Which would have drawn unwanted attention. Now inside and after thanking Ruka, who left. She sat on the floor with his head on her lap. While he was there, she thought about her options. She could easily inform him that what he had heard was her just wanting to get the conversation she was having with Ruka over. Telling the other girl exactly what would keep Ruka from divulging about her being a Rental. "No I cannot do that to him." She whispered, knowing that it would probably devastate him and doing so would hurt him immensely. "I love him and I do not ever want to hurt him that way." She smiled and began to idly run her left hand fingers through his hair. "I have fallen in love with him. Even though it really deviates from my plan. I never wanted to have a Boyfriend...Well a real one anyhow." She chuckled and shook her head. "That is the thing isn't it...You are going to be my Boyfriend no matter what the consequences. That is what you get Kazuya...For making me fall in love with you. You have to take responsibility for that happening. Which means you are going to be my Boyfriend." She said and then laughed again at the thought of her actually having a real Boyfriend. It felt weird in a way. Mainly due to she never had one before. Only clients that rented her and then she had to pretend to be their Girlfriend. Though the difference between that and with Kazuya. She was in love with Kazuya.

Beginning to awaken, Kazuya at first wondered what he had heard on his Cellphone had been real and as he replayed what Chizuru had said. That she had fallen in love with him and that had caused him to loose consciousness. It had shocked him so badly and made him so happy that he had passed out. He had fainted. Then it dawned on him. His head was resting on something and from what he could tell it felt wonderful. Opening his eyes and after a few seconds his vision cleared enough to see Chizuru right above him. He was about to sit up, but she placed her hand on his chest. "No...You stay right there." She ordered him with a small intent smile. "You and me have a lot to talk about and...and I do not want you to even think about leaving until we do." She had a distinct feeling that if she let him get up. He would sputter some nonsense and try to leave. Pretend what he had heard was not real or it was a misunderstanding. Expecting that she in fact would probably downplay what she had said. "First and foremost...What you heard..." She noticed immediately he winced expecting the worse.

"Yes?" Kazuya asked and she let out a deep sigh.

"Is true...I have fallen in love with you." Chizuru said and his eyes widened in disbelief. He then blinked a couple of times.

"Can you repeat that? I think I might still be unconscious." Kazuya asked and Chizuru chuckled.

"You heard me...I said I have fallen in love with you...I love you Kazuya and I know for a fact that...You are in love with me." Chizuru declared and somewhat feared he would deny the latter part of what she had said. "You are...Right?" She asked him and he swallowed heavily then nodded.

"Yes I am. I...Have been for quite awhile." Kazuya replied and Chizuru chuckled again.

"I know that as well. So this is how it is going to be...Even though it really deviates from my plans. We are now a couple. You are my Boyfriend...My real one and I am your Real Girlfriend." Chizuru told him sternly and Kazuya simply nodded. "By the way...You do not know this...But I am...The possessive jealous type. To make it clear...You are now mine. Mine alone. You ever even think of cheating on me...I will make you suffer immensely." She declared and again Kazuya nodded.

"Can I get up now?" Kazuya asked and Chizuru looked at him oddly.

"What you do not like this?" Chizuru asked him and what could he say.

"No I am not saying that. Though my butt is starting to...The floor is really uncomfortable." Kazuya said and Chizuru chuckled again.

"I bet it is especially since you have been unconscious for about an hour now. So I guess it would be alright for you to get up. Though we do have a lot more to talk about. Like the fact that I need to continue being a Rental for a little while longer." Chizuru said and Kazuya shrugged.

"I am fine with that. I know it is so you can fulfill your dream of becoming an Actress." Kazuya said and Chizuru reached down taking his right hand in hers.

"I want to make sure you know this...any time I am Rented it is a Job. That is it. I am not cheating on you. They mean nothing to me. You are going to be it." Chizuru said and Kazuya knew he was going to regret what he was about to ask. But he had to know.

"Are you sure that you...Chizuru you are absolutely beautiful and you are so incredible. So way out of my league it is ridiculous. Are you sure you really want me to be your Boyfriend? Your real one." Kazuya asked and Chizuru reached up and plunked him again in the forehead.

"You are such an idiot." Chizuru declared and then she shook her head. "Though I think Mami is even a bigger idiot. Listen Kazuya and also think. Why do you think Ruka liked you so much? Why do you think that...I fell in love with you. Sumi sort of confirmed it for me when you went on that practice date with her. She had told me all about it and how you helped her. You should know she still is over the moon about that date." She was not about to tell him about how a few weeks after that, Sumi had asked her about perhaps going out with Kazuya again. Though that time would be a Real Date and not a Rented or Practice Date. She was still conflicted about her feelings for Kazuya and did not need another Girl being interested in him to add to the mix. Ruka was bad enough, having Sumi also interested in him would have really made the situation unbearable. Frowning slightly and she was tempted to plunk him again for good measure. "As per that...I think you need to take me out on a Real Date." She told him and what choice did he have but to do so.

When Something Goes Awry:

It being Tuesday, Chizuru of course had a Booked Rental with one of her usual Clients. Though this one, she had only seen for the past two months and he had only rented her three times since meeting her. His name is Shoto Kenji and it being Wednesday tomorrow. All she could think about was her Date with Kazuya. She knew why that was and as much as she tried to fight it. She had fallen for that adorable idiot and she knew for a fact that he had fallen for her. It was obvious. Especially after Ruka had tricked her into actually admitting she was in love with him. Now they were a real couple and she could not be happier. "Why did it take me so long to not be an idiot" She asked herself as she halfway listened to Shoto about whatever he was going on about. She had right from the start discovered why Shoto had trouble with keeping a Real Girlfriend. The guy was exceedingly boring. He continually talked about his job which involved him comparing expenditures and dividends. "Try to show interest Girl...I know he is boring...But pay attention. Oh no he is going on about how to calculate fixed rates again." She smiled at him pleasantly and fell back on her acting skills to pretend she was fascinated with what Shoto was talking about. Almost wishing instead she was out with her Boyfriend Kazuya. Once more replying to Shoto's inquiry, she suddenly noticed someone across the street and internally panicked. It was Kazuya's Grandmother Nagomi Kinoshita and it was one of those that she hoped never see her doing her job as a Rental Girlfriend. Or to the elder Woman to believe that she was cheating on Kazuya. "OH SHIT!" She blurted out and could easily see that Nagomi was frowning at her with disappointment. She turned towards Shoto. "We need to end this early...Sorry about that. I will refund you the hour more...But I...there is something personal that I need to deal with." She quickly said to Shoto and thrust the Money at him. Then hurried across the street towards the Elder Woman and before she could say anything.

"Don't fret Chizuru...I had a feeling this might happen someday." Nagomi said with a hint of sadness in her tone. "That you would eventually get tired of him and seek someone more suited for you." Chizuru shook her head.

"No Grandma...That is not what that was. I am...I am not cheating on Kazuya." Chizuru quickly said and Nagomi slowly smiled, shaking her head.

"It is alright dear. You do not have to lie for him...I fully understand if you did seek someone else other then him. I...I was just hoping that...Well it is not to be. It is a shame though." Nagomi reaffirmed herself fully ready to blame Kazuya for not being good enough to keep Chizuru happy enough to remain with him.

"I am not lying Grandma...Kazuya is my Boyfriend and I...I...Love him." Chizuru stated firmly only hesitating somewhat for she still was getting used to saying those last two words. She gestured towards the departing Shoto Kenji. "All he was...He just got dumped by his Girlfriend and I was...consoling him." She knew that was only a partial lie. Shoto had been dumped, but that was weeks ago and she was trying to help him. But she just could not get the boring man to stop talking about his job in Accounting and she suspected that was the reason he did so poorly with Girls. Nagomi rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Oh come on...I saw you with him. That was not anything other then you...being on a date with him." Nagomi stated and Chizuru was left with no other option. She did not want Kazuya's Grandmother telling her own that she was cheating on Kazuya or that they were no longer together. So that left her only one way out of this. To tell the truth or an abridged version.

"Come with me...I want to tell you something." Chizuru grabbed Nagomi's hand and took her to a nearby Cafe. Inside she maneuvered the elder woman to a booth in the back away from prying eyes. Once seated, she felt immensely nervous and at the same time terrified. "Before I tell you this or what I am about to tell you...You have to swear never to tell my Grandmother." She said and Nagomi swore and looked at her curiously. "Now do not take what I am going to tell you against Kazuya." She felt sweat begin to form and it took her several seconds to calm herself enough to disclose what she was about to do so. She took her Cellphone out of her Pocket and brought up her Rental Girlfriend Profile. Then showed it to Nagomi who stared at it in utter shock. "That is my Job...I am a Rental Girlfriend." She then told the elder woman the whole story. Right up to the point where she had fallen in love with Kazuya for real. Nagomi stared at the Small Screen of Chizuru's Cellphone.

"So you are telling me...That for the past year...Kazuya lied to me." Nagomi said and Chizuru slowly nodded.

"I did as well and I...I am sorry. But I did not want my Grandma to find out and it sort of snowballed." Chizuru told Nagomi trying to negate some of the blame onto her. Not wanting it to fall completely onto Kazuya.

"Yes but Kazuya lied to me. He let me believe that...You were his Girlfriend. Compiling that lie for so long and dragging you into it." Nagomi was pissed and Chizuru could tell.

"No he did not drag me into anything. It took me some time to...Sort out my feelings for him. I do love him Grandma and we are a couple now." Chizuru declared and Nagomi looked at her oddly.

"For real or is this an act to reduce my...disappointment towards him?" Nagomi asked and Chizuru shook her head. Smiling.

"No. I do love him for real." Chizuru repeated again.

"Is he okay with you...Being a Rental Girlfriend?" Nagomi asked and Chizuru nodded.

"Yes. He fully understands that this is just my Job. I have no feelings towards any of the Men that Rent me to pretend to be their Girlfriends. I do not do anything inappropriate." Chizuru did not mention that she had done a couple of things that were inappropriate with Kazuya. Such as she kissed him several times and last night she had him spend the night in her Apartment. Not that they had sex. Only slept together. She did not want Nagomi to get the wrong idea. "I should let you know I am not going to do this much longer because it takes everything I have to not think that I am cheating on him. Also I am hoping that I might land some better Acting Jobs so I won't have to do this anymore." She clarified and Nagomi finally smiled.

"I still do not like the fact that Kazuya lied to me. But if you and him are really together then I do not have to inflict too much punishment onto him. Can I ask you something?" Nagomi asked and Chizuru nodded. "I would like to know why he rented you in the first place. If you don't know then I will ask him."

"That is easy Grandma...He had just broken up with a Girl...His first ever Girlfriend and felt lonely. Then by some trick of fate which I am now thankful for...He rented me. Form there it sort of just...Everything seemed to just happen." Chizuru told her and she could tell Nagomi was curious about this other girl. "Trust me when I tell you...He dodged a huge bullet when it comes to that Girl. She is a total...Bitc...Never mind what I think she is. But she would have made Kazuya miserable if they stayed together. In fact she tried on multiple occasions to make his life miserable even after she broke up with him." Thinking about that, Chizuru still wanted to confront Mami and tell the other girl to stay away from her Kazuya. To stop trying to hurt him anymore just because Mami wanted to make him miserable.

"It was not that Ruka was it?" Nagomi asked and Chizuru shook her head.

"No. Ruka ended up being a really good friend to me and to him. Though I should tell you that...She really is not a Pathologically Liar. Actually she had a huge crush on Kazuya for a while and if it was not for her...It would have taken me and Kazuya longer to get together for real." Chizuru said and Nagomi again looked at her oddly.

"Are you saying that there was really another Girl interested in him?" Nagomi asked in shock that there was an equally pretty Girl interested in Kazuya. Chizuru smiled coyly.

"Of course there was. In fact...I know of another that...Let's say was showing a lot of interest in him. Her name is Sumi and after he went on one single date with her...She was so over the Moon over that date. She wanted to quit being a Rental and go out with him for real. Thankfully she had not mustered the courage to actually do that." Chizuru then explained all about Sumi and how shy the girl was. That in essence Kazuya had helped Sumi with a lot of her shyness.

"It is hard for me to believe that there was other Girls interested in him." Nagomi said and Chizuru sighed.

"Well there was and let me tell you...It took me some time to find out that I really did not like it." Chizuru said and Nagomi laughed.

"You were jealous." Nagomi declared still laughing at Chizuru's reaction.

"Yes I was and...That was a first for me. So like I said it took me some time to discover exactly what I was feeling." Chizuru did not like that feeling and when Kazuya was being fawned over once by Ruka. It had really bothered her. Almost to the point of doing some brash. Such as yell down from where she was at Ruka to get her hands off her boyfriend. Right there in front of her two friends. Which would have been a huge disaster in more ways then one. They both sipped their tea and after a few minutes.

"I will not tell Sayuri about your job...But can I at least tell her the good news that you two are moving your relationship to a whole new level?" Nagomi asked with a slight gleam in her eye and Chizuru looked at her slightly confused.

"What new level? At most all it is...Is that we are no longer pretending to be a couple. We are a real one now and it does not really change anything but us not lying anymore." Chizuru said and Nagomi smirked.

"Ah but there is a huge change...Now me and Sayuri can expect you two to...to get Married soon right?" Nagomi laughed again as Chizuru stared at her in shock. Then slowly smiled.

"I guess you can. That is if I can get Kazuya to ask me. Right now I have a hard enough time getting him to...He almost spazzes out when we..." Chizuru blushed a deep shade of red, lowering her gaze down at the table with embarrassment and Nagomi chuckled shaking her head. Chizuru's Cellphone chimed and she looked at it. There was a text from Kazuya asking what she would like for Dinner tonight since she was coming over to his Apartment after her Rental Date. She smiled at the screen and showed it to Nagomi who smiled as well. "Want to come? I am sure he would be okay with it."

"Yes...That way I can really punish him now for lying to me for so long." Nagomi said and Chizuru sent a text informing Kazuya that his Grandmother would be coming as well. In route, she called him so she could warn him that his Grandmother now knew about the past year. Of course he freaked out.

The Date:

Walking with her boyfriend, Chizuru held Kazuya's hand in hers. Tonight they were gong on a date and unlike a couple of weeks ago. This one was a real one. She had clarified to him that she expected some PDA sometime during their date. That those Rental Girlfriend Rules did not apply to him anymore. Actually the date was more of a celebration, since she had just landed a role on a series of commercials and it marked an end of her having to be a Rental Girlfriend anymore. In fact she had just had quit this morning and closed her Account. She was nice enough to leave a thank you recording for her Clients. "So where do you want to go?" Kazuya asked her and Chizuru shrugged.

"Not really." Chizuru replied then saw something further on and she smiled broadly. "Hey how about that?" She pointed to the large building down the street and he smiled.

"Why not? It was the first place we went on our first date." Kazuya said as they walked towards the same Aquarium that they had gone to before. As they walked along looking at the various fish.

"We should come here every year to mark the first time we actually met." Chizuru suggested and Kazuya smiled.

"Sounds good to me...Though could we also go to the Beach...Or rather the Ferry. That was the moment I sort of fell in love with you." Kazuya suggested back and Chizuru turned to look at him. Remembering back then when he had jumped off the Ferry to save her. Something none of her other Clients would have done. She blushed slightly.

"Uhm...That was actually the moment I started to feel differently about you as well. I am not saying I fell in love with you...But I did...Start to feel a certain...stirring within me." Chizuru blushed some more and it piqued Kazuya's interest.

"So when did you actually fall in love with me?" Kazuya asked as they both looked at several Corydoras leopardus (Leopard Cory Catfish) swimming around. Chizuru bit her bottom lip and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Remember back when...When Ruka showed up on New Years and caused a commotion. Well I confronted her about showing up and asked me if I did not want it to end because I had fallen for you. Truth was she was right now that I think about it. I had." She almost wished she had not fought against it so hard. How things would have been different if she had at least admitted it to herself and sooner admitted it to him. Rather then having Ruka trick her into admitting it. They moved along and after looking at all the Fish they left. Nearing a Diner, she gestured to it. "Let's get something to eat." She said and after they ate they made their way back home. Outside their Apartments, Kazuya and Chizuru stood there for several minutes and she began to wonder what was wrong. He had not said much on the way from the Diner. She knew something was on his mind due to his hand that she held was sweating. "Is there something wrong Kazuya?" She finally asked him. He swallowed heavily and he paled.

"Chizuru I know we just...I know it might be a little too soon...But I have been thinking about this for about a week now." Kazuya felt faint though he needed to continue otherwise he would regret it. She stood there patiently while he rambled on. She found it cute how he stammered when he was nervous. "Chizuru I love you...Will you marry me?" He blurted out and started to weave a bit. She started to laugh and cry at the same time. Then plunked him in the forehead with her finger.

"It is about time you asked me and yes I will." Chizuru said and then lunged at him, kissing him passionately.

To be continued or not.