Rent a Girlfriend: Heritage of the Ninja (short story) Part 5
Characters:
Kazuya Kinoshita
Chizuru Mizuhara
Mami Nanami
Ruka Sarashina
Sumi Sakurasawa
Nagomi Kinoshita
Yoshiaki Kibe
Shun Kuribayashi
Sayuri Ichinose
Harumi and Kazuo Kinoshita
Mimi Yaemori
Umi Nakano
Some Truths are Reveled:
With Chizuru being insistent, Kazuya tried to relax enough to actually rest in her Apartment on her bed. He had been released from the Hospital just this morning and she had insisted that she would take care of him while he healed. They had a long talk yesterday, one that lasted almost all day. She had told him all about how her Father had abandoned her and her Mother. How they had moved in with her Grandparents and soon after her Mother had passed away from an illness. But she always believed it was caused by a broken heart. How her Grandfather had been in a traffic accident and died from it. She even told him about her Grandmother. So, he fully understood why she was concerned and scared about losing him too. At most he could only promise that he planned on being with her forever. That seemed to placate her somewhat. He still could not tell her about him being a Ninja from a family of Ninjas. In time he would. But not right now. He sat up as she was sitting nearby reading and rereading a Script. "How about we go out and get something to eat?" He suggested hoping that she would at least let him do something other than resting. She scowled somewhat and then nodded.
"Just don't overdo it." Chizuru stated as she closed the script and stood up. Coming over to offer her hand to help him up as well. He inhaled softly.
"It is barely a flesh wound. I can get up myself." Kazuya said but still reached up with his right hand to clasp hers. She smiled coyly and helped him stand. Within a few minutes they were outside and held hands as they walked.
"Are you going to be able to go to class tomorrow?" Chizuru asked and Kazuya nodded.
"Yeah. I have a lecture that I cannot miss. The Prof is a real stickler even being shot does not count as a valid excuse in his book." Kazuya said with a hint of humor. Chizuru smiled and shook her head. As they continued to walk, she kept looking over at him. She wanted to ask him so many things. To her it was odd that some random mugger would try to mug him. From all appearances he looked like an average College age boy. Which meant he looked broke. From all the crime shows she had seen it indicated that no rational mugger would bother trying to rob a normal college student. Then shoot him. It did not make sense to her. "Something on your mind?" He asked and Chizuru lightly shook her head.
"No. Not really. I was just thinking about how I can escort you to your class and be in time for my own." Chizuru said with a convenient excuse.
"You don't have to. I am more than healthy enough to walk to my class by myself." Kazuya said knowing that Chizuru did not believe that. Earlier and back at the Apartment, he had to be adamant that he could go to the bathroom by himself. For she had offered to help him. Going as far as offering to pull down his zipper and taking out his katana. That he did not allow and refused to let her do that.
"I am going to." Chizuru stated firmly and Kazuya decided to not argue against it. He had lost the argument that morning when she informed him that he would be staying at her Apartment until he was fully healed. So, she could take care of him while he recovered. He tried to convince her that he could take care of himself, but lost the debate when she gave him that look that would cause any sane man from not pressing the issue. The one that told him that if he tried, she would make him regret it. He had seen other guys succumb to that look from their significant others and thought it was funny how wiped they were. Now as he was subjected to it, he did not find it amusing anymore. At the Cafe, they sat and since his left arm was in a sling. He found it difficult to do much. Removing his arm from it, he was able to gingerly open the menu. "The Doctor told you not to overdo it. To keep your Arm in that Sling for at least three days." She said pouting slightly and he had to chuckle.
"I can do this much without it being a problem. Also, the Doctor only recommended I wear the Sling for that long." Kazuya said back and Chizuru continued to pout. With an exhaled sigh, he put his arm back in his sling. "There...Happy." She smiled with a sense of satisfaction.
"Yes. Thank you." Chizuru said as they both once again looked over the Menu to decide what they both wanted. Waiting for the Waitress to come take it. The problem was that the Cafe was extremely busy. All three of the Waitresses were buzzing about as they tried to keep up with the number of patrons that were in the Cafe. "This place is really popular." She commented noticing that most of the patrons were like them. A boy and a girl. Which meant that couples tended to come there on a date. Though she also noticed that one of the girls was someone that they both knew. Along with the boy that the girl was with. Kazuya looked over and noticed the same thing. But he did not know that Ruka was a Rental Girlfriend. He did know the boy though. It was Shun Kuribayashi a childhood friend. At that moment Kuri looked over and saw them and immediately came over. Bringing Ruka with him. Then within minutes it was decided that he and Chizuru would be going on a double date.
The Double Date:
"I am not letting Kazuya do that!" Chizuru declared sternly with her hands on her hips as she glared menacingly at Kuri. The latter paled and seemed to shrink behind Ruka. "He just got out of the Hospital...What three days ago and you want him to climb on those. Not happening." As she continued to berate Kuri and again the other seemed to want to hide behind his date.
"I thought it would be fine, since it is just bouldering. It does not take that much effort to climb the walls, and Kazuya did say he could do it." Kuri quickly said slightly behind Ruka and continued to look like he was about to faint from the stern glare from Chizuru.
"I do not care if he says he can do it. I am not letting him. Plain and simple. As his girlfriend I have no intention of letting him strain himself or harm himself. Not with that wound he has." Chizuru said glaring now over at Kazuya to make sure he was not about to protest. He knew better and simply smiled. It felt really nice to have someone care about him so much. To love him enough to make sure he did not do something stupid. Such as try to do anything too strenuous. With that Kuri quickly retreated and took Ruka with him. Ruka kept looking over at Chizuru and Kazuya as they left.
"It is kind of strange...I wonder how they met? How Kuri who has no luck with girls somehow got Ruka to go out with him?" Kazuya asked and Chizuru chuckled lightly and shook her head. She knew the answer but was not about to disclose that Ruka was a Rental Girlfriend like her. She knew that because Ruka had asked her about being a Rental Girlfriend and about the details on how to become one as well. In a way Chizuru taught Ruka how to be an effective Rental Girlfriend. Though the way Kuri kept acting so smug, she was tempted to tell all. "Though I can understand, I somehow got a Girlfriend that is so beautiful and attractive and way out of my league." She smiled and shook her head again. Reaching over and plunked him in the forehead with her right index finger.
"Don't say things like that. I liked the sappy stuff but don't ever say that I am out of your league or that you are not good enough for me. I do not like it." Chizuru said about to plunk him again, instead because there were not too many other patrons around and no one was even looking in their direction. She leaned closer and lightly kissed him. Only Ruka saw them, and she scowled. She liked Kazuya and had a hard time watching the Chizuru and Kazuya being all lovey dovey. She had fallen for Kazuya the moment that he had saved her from the thugs that were trying to feel her up. Only contacting Chizuru to become a Rental Girlfriend because she discovered that was what Chizuru did as a Job. It had interested her, but there was another reason. She wanted to find out if Kazuya and Chizuru were truly a couple or was, he is renting Chizuru to pretend to be his Girlfriend. Then seeing them doing PDA, it really bothered her.
"Something wrong Ruka?" Kuri asked noticing that Ruka was scowling. He looked over to see Chizuru kissing Kazuya and he chuckled. "Oh. Yeah, I get it. Those two need to cut down on the PDA. It is really annoying to see him so happy. Makes me jealous and envious."
"Yes, it is." Ruka stated and let out a sigh. She leaned closer so that no one could overhear her. "There is only about a half hour left. Unless you want to extend...We should end the date soon." She whispered and Kuri nodded with understanding. He had paid for two hours and unless he wanted to shell out another seven thousand yen, it was almost time for the Rental Date to end. There was no way he wanted Kazuya or Chizuru to see him or learn that he was paying Ruka to go out with him. It would be the height of embarrassment.
"Okay. Let's go tell the Love Birds over there that it is almost time to leave." Kuri whispered back and with Ruka they walked over to join Chizuru and Kazuya.
Holding Chizuru's left hand in his right with their fingers intertwined, Kazuya walked towards the Train Station with Kuri and Ruka just ahead of them. They too were holding hands, but to Kazuya it did not seem quite right. There was the appearance of it being just a formality in a way. Sure, he was not an expert when it came to being in a relationship. But he could tell that there was something different with Kuri and Ruka. As they neared the Train Station, Kuri released Ruka's hand and turned back towards them. "Ruka has to go that way, and I need to go the other. See you guys later...I have...I got to get going." Kuri announced and the two gave a pleasant goodbye to each other. With that Ruka started down the Steps as Kuri walked away. Leaving Kazuya still perplexed over his friend's relationship with Ruka. Chizuru easily noticed his expression and pulled him along.
"Each relationship is different. It might be the two of them are not up to our level yet." Chizuru explained and it seemed to placate Kazuya somewhat.
"Guess you are right and with Kuri...It probably will take some time for them to...He is not...Well he has had some trouble relating to girls." Kazuya was not about to tell Chizuru that his friend was a huge pervert. If anyone ever got access to Kuri's computer, they would find over half of it dedicated to Porn Sites and a whole slew of downloaded videos.
"Enough of worrying about Kuri. The double date is over...But I still want to spend some time with my Boyfriend before we head back home." Chizuru said drawing Kazuya closer as they walked over to catch their own Train. Though they would take their time actually going back to the Apartment Building. "Oh, by the way. You are still staying at my place."
00000
It had taken his Lawyer a good twenty-four hours to get him released and for that he had to provide information to the Police about his Father's dealings. Otherwise, Umi suspected he would still be in that interview room or a holding cell. Of course, he divulged all he knew, which was quite a lot. All to gain clemency from prosecution. That was the deal. Now back at his Apartment, he sat behind his Laptop transferring Money from different accounts. Accounts that his Father had given him access to. These same accounts were not exactly legal and were mostly used for shady or under the table dealings. Such as for bribes and for hiring thugs or enforcers to force others to comply. He was not taking all the Money, only a couple hundred thousand yen from each account and moving it to another. Then after a bit he transferred that money to another. While he was transferring some of the funds, he noticed that someone else was doing the same and he suspected he knew who it was. His Mother was also doing the same. Ensuring when his Father gets prosecuted and all of the money is frozen or taken, that she would have a nest egg to fall back on. Perhaps even leave the Country and never come back. He actually considered doing the same if it came down to it. He had always wanted to go to the Caribbean. It would be nice to live a life of leisure without any concerns other than who he would sleep with that night. Though he would not mind taking Chizuru with him if he did do that. He had yet to give up on her and knew given time he could win her over. That is until he saw her three days later and at that moment, he discovered that he might as well give up on her.
The Moment:
Once at the steps, Kazuya started to go up them and after a few he noticed that Chizuru was not walking up the steps. She had stopped at the bottom of the steps and was staring up at him. He was about to ask her if there was something wrong, but before he could she said something that almost made him stumble on the next step. "Kazuya...I think we should get married." Chizuru said and then noticed his stunned expression. "What I am saying is...Is that...I am asking you to marry me."
Six Months Later:
Standing on a rope that was strung about twenty feet between two Trees and being a good ten feet off the ground. Chizuru followed Kazuya step for step. Concentrating on keeping her balance as she walked the tightrope. What frustrated her was that Kazuya was walking backwards and did not even seem to have to concentrate as he walked. As she had too, while walking towards and following him. "That's it. Take one step at a time and keep your balance. You are doing great Chizuru." He said as they continued. At the end, he did a perfect flip and landed on the ground. Hers was not so perfect, but this time she did not fall on her butt, like she had a couple of times before. She shook her head in disappointment.
"My landing still needs work and I almost fell twice on the tightrope." Chizuru said as she removed the hood from her head. Then taking a towel wiped the sweat off her face. Then noticed when Kazuya took his hood off, that he was not even sweating.
"You will get there. Remember, I am training you not to go on missions. It is just a family thing that is not mandatory. So, if you do not want to...You don't have to be trained. Like I told you...Us getting married does not mean you have to become a Ninja." Kazuya said to her and Chizuru took a deep breath and smiled.
"I want to be. Just remember...I am a little uncomfortable with heights and anything more than twenty feet is a bit...Hard on me." Chizuru told him and Kazuya never would have guessed that Chizuru had such a weakness. He had remembered when they had gone on a Ferris Wheel while on a date and she made no sign of being afraid of heights. He suppressed a chuckle; he moved over to untie the rope from the Trees. Rolling it up and he stuffed it in a bag.
"Do you want to walk or run back to the Road?" Kazuya asked as he slung the bag onto his Shoulder.
"It is what...three miles? Let's run. I want to work on my Biofeedback a bit. See if I can do it or not." Chizuru replied and after stretching a bit, they both started to run. It annoyed her that after about a mile, she just could not control her breathing as effectively as Kazuya was. Nearing the road, they stopped long enough to change out of the black attire into regular clothing. Then packed the black attire and hoods into the same bag as the rope. There waiting was Grandma Nagomi who was smiling as she leaned back against the Car that was parked there.
"How did she do today?" Nagomi asked and Chizuru smiled slightly as she went over to hug her future grandmother.
"Better than the other day. I did not fall off the rope or land on my butt when I flipped and landed." Chizuru replied as Nagomi returned the hug and after a moment or so they got into the Car. Nagomi drove them back to the Apartment building and dropped them off. Thankfully unlike the other times, the elder woman did not ask when the two were going to set a wedding date. Though they did have to promise to come by for dinner on another day. They both guessed that was when they would be pestered by not only Nagomi but his parents as well. At that time, they would again tell them that it would be after they both graduated College. Unless something came up that accelerated their plans. Chizuru though had already decided not only was she going to become a Kinoshita Ninja, but she also was not going to wait until after they graduate to get Kazuya to marry her.
The continuation of the Kinoshita Clan continues: End
This will be the last short story I write. Thank you for reading my stories. May the Force be with you.