Rent A Girlfriend: The Past Hurts

Part Three: A Suprise Visit

Leaning across the railing of her balcony, Chizura was staring at the divider which was placed between her and Kazuya's room.
' I can't believe that he's been my neighbor all this time...'
Earlier that day, she had confronted Kazuya at the university she was attending, and had made him promise to pretend as if they have never seen each other before. He accepted those terms, so Chizuru had found no other reason to feel stressed about anything until she got home. Seeing Kazuya climbing up the steps to her apartment, she had started to accuse him of being a stalker but calmed down a bit after he claimed that he was living in the room right next to her. Reminding him that he needed to tell his grandmother that they had broken up, she walked past him and entered her room without another word.
Kazuya had the door to his balcony open, so Chizuru could hear what he was doing from where she was. She was confused as she could make out the sound of him running quickly around his room. " She's coming... I have to clean fast." she could hear him say, and she assumed he was talking about his grandma. Grabbing one of the magazines from off the ground, she started to check out the dresses that were offered but stopped when she felt her phone buzz. She pulled it out and saw that it was a text from one of her friends. She already knew what it was probably for, and hesitantly clicked on it.
Umi- Kun:
I'm sorry but it seems that the director had already chosen an actor beforehand. You didn't get the role. However, there are still many roles being offered to please don't feel discouraged.

Staring at the screen for a while, Chizuru gave him a 'ok' before turning her phone off. She gave a sad sigh as she stood up straight.
'...I'm sorry grandpa. I guess... I didn't do good enough. Maybe the next role will be the one.'
Then, the doorbell to Kazuya's room rang, snapping her out of her thoughts, and Chizuru could hear him walking up to the door.
' Well, looks like now is as good of a time to tell his grandma the truth.'
" Hey Kazuya- Kun!"
' Who's that..?' She thought as she moved closer to the divider to hear more clearly, listening intently to Kazuya's next words.
" H-Hey...Mami-chan."
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" Can I come?" Kazuya moved out of the way as Mami walked into his room. He could see her move her head around the room. He only had a few minutes to clean before she had arrived, so he was hoping that he had cleaned it well enough.
Eventually she stopped and took a seat by his table. She placed her backpack on her lap as she began to take out what she needed: pencils, tape, paper and cardboard pieces. After she was done, she looked up at Kazuya, who was still standing by the door.
" Well then, shall we start?" she asked in her normal cheerful tone. He gave her a nod and he hesitantly walked up to the table as he took a seat besides her.
Earlier that day, her science professor had assigned her with the task of designing a robot which can help clean the oceans. Kazuya was unsure why she had asked him to help out regarding the fact that she had many other friends who she could've gone to. But he wasn't going to refuse, especially after seeing her cute smile.
' Plus, this is normal right... for friends to help each other out.' he thought as she scooted closer to the table to reach for another piece of paper. ' But does that go the same for friends who have dated before? I don't even know how she feels being here...I hope she doesn't feel uncomfortable.'
Handing him the paper, Mami started looking at her notebook, and he could see that the pages were filled with notes.
" Hmm..." she started as she flipped through it, " I'm not really sure what to do... Any ideas?"
Kazuya pondered on the question for a while, trying to come up with the best idea he possibly could when it came to him. Taking the pencil in his hand, he started to draw a mediocre design of a small robot with an antenna on its head.
" How about a robot that is remote-controlled.." Then he drew the bot holding a net. " With a net. When it sees a piece of garbage or whatever, they can make it pick it up with the net!"
He glanced at Mami as she looked over his paper. Wondering if she didn't seem to like the idea, Kazuya started to brace himself for the worst until he heard her giggle.
" It's cute. I like it." Using her own pencil, she leaned closer to him as she started to add a box on the back of the robot. "... And when he picks up the garbage, it could put it all in here. Oh, and also..." As she kept adding more details to the drawing, Kazuya sweated more and more every second she stayed close to him, and her cute smile wasn't helping. He couldn't focus on what she was saying, and when she finished, he had expected her to back off. So he was surprised as she turned her head, and they were both facing each other.
" You see...that's why I wanted your help. You always come up with silliest, but efficient ideas.." She continued to stare at him, and Kazuya could feel his back now dripping with sweat.
" A-Any time."
" Kazuya-Kun... what have you been up to since we stopped dating?" she asked him, still with her same smile plastered across her face. He was stunned that she would ask him that, let alone bring that up with him considering how she was the one who had replaced him.
" Well... " he said as he turned his head slightly from her, "I've been okay, I guess. H-How about you?"
Finally backing away from him, she placed her hands on the back of her head as she puffed up her chest.
" Great! I'm doing well in my classes, and I've met a lot of new people." she said proudly. Kazuya stared at her for a moment before he remembered something from the past: 'I found someone new!' He remembered her smile as she told him that, the same she had on right now in front of him. Now that she was with him alone, he wanted to ask something that he's been wanting to ever since that day. Although it might be an answer he wouldn't like, he still needed to know.
" Mami-chan..." As she turned to him again, Kazuya lowered his gaze as he gave her his question. " W-why did ... Did you break up with me? I mean, what made you decide to leave?
Still looking down, he waited patiently for her response. He couldn't face her right now...if he did he knew he might cry.
" Well, that's easy." she said calmly. " I'm not gonna lie Kazuya-kun. You aren't very attractive. I mean... Look at you."
Raising his head slowly, he could see that she still had the same smile on her face. Fighting some tears back, he continued to listen to what she had to say.
" Your hair is messy, and you usually wear the same thing practically everyday, so I could tell that you aren't rich. Plus you took me to the same exact restaurants every weekend, which isn't romantic at all. You try so hard to please others, but the truth is that it can get tiring after a while. You're not that strong, both mentally and physically. In fact..." On all fours now, Mami crawled up to Kazuya, pushing him back into a wall. He was a bit scared as she leaned close to his face. "... I can see the tears begging to come out. Your pathetic Kazuya-kun. A pathetic loser who can't stand up for himself. A pathetic loser who always tries to be the nice guy, and just like any other nice guy... gets crushed by girls like me."
Kazuya couldn't even look at her anymore, tears flowing down from his cheeks. He wanted to stop himself, but he just was unable to. In his heart, he believed every word she told him, and that made the tears keep on coming. As he was sobbing, he felt Mami place her hand on his chin, and she had turned him towards her face. He could see that she didn't seem to be fazed by what she had said, keeping the same calm expression, almost as though she was a lifeless statue. Still holding his chin, she carried on.
" Listen Kazuya-kun, as your ex and as your friend... I can guarantee that no girl will ever be happy to call themselves your girlfriend. That's the sad reality."
She then stood up and went to go retrieve her stuff, leaving Kazuya to cry as he leaned across the wall from where he sat. She had confirmed to him what he had always thought, and that hurt. He closed his eyes and he could remember what someone special had told him once.
' I know you'll meet a girl one day that will be the one for you. And I know you'll make her the happiest in the world'. He shook his head as he pulled his knees towards him.
"I-Im sorry mom..." he said quietly through his sobs, and didn't notice when Mami had kneeled in front of him, with her backpack over her shoulder.
" I'm leaving. I think I can handle the project from-" She was interrupted by the sound of someone opening the door to his room. Curious, Kazuya raised his head to see who it was and was surprised to see-
" M-Mizuhara?" he said weakly. Mami looked at Kazuya, then at Mizuhara, and back at him. It seems that she was as shocked as he was. She was wearing a flashy dress, and she seemed to have done her make-up, even though Kazuya didn't think that it made a difference at all. She was perfect in his eyes.
" Kazuya-kun... You know her?" she asked. Kazuya, who now stopped crying, was able to say something before the brown, haired girl spoke up.
" Yes he does... I'm his girlfriend, Chizuru Mizuhara." she said as she walked up to her, who couldn't believe that this gorgeous girl was dating Kazuya. Mami stood up as she gave a light chuckle.
" Really? She asked as Mizuhara was now standing a few inches away from her. She pointed at Kazuya, who was still sitting down and wondering what was going on. " Am I to believe that someone like you is dating someone like-"
" Yes I am. Now can you please leave. I'm afraid you are no longer needed here." Mami glared down at Mizuhara, who was glaring back at her. Realizing that she wasn't kidding, Mami decided to leave. She grabbed her backpack and without another word walked through the door, closing it behind her as she left Mizuhara and Kazuya by themselves. Kazuya held his knees close as she kneeled in front of him.
"...Are you okay?" she asked in a worried tone, and Kazuya simply gave her a nod. He wasn't in the mood to talk.
" I was able to hear everything... so that's your ex?" He nodded again. " You sure know how to pick them." She tried to make him laugh, and he admired her for trying, but he just wanted to be left alone....just like how he's always been.
" T-thank you, Mizuhara... Y-you can go.. Go back if you want..." he said weakly. He moved his head a little so he could look at her directly, and he saw that she had a stern expression on her face.
" ... Fine." Standing up, she walked towards the door, but stopped after placing a hand on the door handle. She turned around, and Kazuya stared at her as he wondered why she didn't leave.
" That girl is wrong, you know... I mean, even though I've known you for about three days.. You seem to have a good heart. I know that you're going to find someone right for you in the future." Smiling at him, she opened the door, and looked back again once more. " Oh, and don't forget to tell your grandma, okay? How are you going to introduce your real girlfriend to her if you don't say anything about us?" She waved goodbye to him as she closed the door behind her, leaving him as he thought to himself.
///////////////
" Woah what a hottie... you think she's single?"
" I don't know dude. Ask her!"
" Hey, are you dat-"
"...Get out of my sight."
The pair nodded at her as they ran away. Mami stared at them with hatred for while before continuing on her walk. She still couldn't believe that Kazuya out of all people would be dating such a beautiful girl. Especially after she had dumped him, which made her angry.
'That guy... he thinks that he can replace me that easy. Does he think that he's a "player" or something? I'll show him...I'll expose the real pathetic guy he is to her, and the we'll see how much that b***h truly feels about him...'
As she thought more about Kazuya, she started to feel her anger being replaced by an emotion she wasn't used to: jealousy. The thought of him kissing that girl made her feel sad, and she didn't know why.
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' I wish she didn't leave. I should've told her to stay... but I couldn't waste any more of her time. Then why...' Kazuya placed a hand over his chest, 'Why is my heart disagreeing with me?' Her words then pop up in his head as his heart beats faster.
' How are you going to introduce your real girlfriend to her if you don't say anything about us?'
He then remembers how she smiled at him when she said that. How her brown eyes sparkled as her vibrant hair shone as the moonlight reflected upon it.
' Mizuhara... why does my heart beat faster everytime I think about her... Wait, it can't be... please don't tell me that.. that I...' Still squeezing his chest, he stared at the wall separating his room from hers. ' ... I like Mizuhara..?'
Instantly standing up, he started to get ready to sleep, trying to ignore the nagging thoughts. He wanted to tell himself that he was wrong, that we was just being stupid. But every image of Mizuhara that flashed in his head caused his heart to beat as his face grew red.
' She's just a rental, you idiot. You're not allowed to like her, let alone love her. Plus, she keeps telling you to tell grandma that we've broken up.'
He went into the bathroom and started to wash his face, making sure that there were no tear marks visible anymore. After taking a pill, he laid down in his futon, and he faced the direction of the wall of where her room was located. Not being able to stop his thoughts, he let them flow in his mind, memory and memory passing through his head like a movie, and he finally admitted to himself what he didn't want to accept.
" I like Mizuhara..."
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After brushing her teeth, Chizuru laid in her futon. Pulling the sheets up to her chest, she turned to face the wall dividing her and Kazuya's room. She was still taking in what had happened before. She wasn't really sure why she had decided to do what she did, but after hearing all those things that Mami had said about Kazuya, she put on a so-so dress and rushed over.
' Even though I don't know him that much... nobody shouldn't be treated like that. Well... ' she started to remember the incident at the aquarium not so long ago. 'I did hurt him as well. I wonder why he started acting like that... I mean I did push and yelled at him, but why was he angry at himself. He had also said that to 'not yell at her anymore'... was he thinking about that girl.' And what was up with those pills?' Before she had left, she spotted a bottle of pills on Kazuya's kitchen counter. She was curious as to why he needed them , but she decided that they were probably allergy pills, so she dismissed them for the time being.
Realizing that it was past her bedtime, she turned the other way, and tried to go to sleep.
'Well, I guess that I wouldn't mind being his fake girlfriend for a while... I mean, how much longer would we keep this up? For sure by the end of the week it should be over...'

To be continued....