Rent-a-Girlfriend – 32 – The Sad Reality

After a week off, RAG chooses to start up with the strangest scene: Mini buying snacks at the store with an extremely focused face you could even call troubled. The next we see her she’s back to her normal self as she’s come to celebrate Kazuya losing his virginity to Chizuru. Is that what that face was about…does she have feelings for him?

In any case, Kazuya doesn’t let her in, because no virginity was lost. As she and Mini continue whispering, they’re interrupted by Chizuru, who scolds them for being discourteous to their neighbors. Then Ruka shows up, shoos Mini and Chizuru off, and pulls Kazuya into his apartment to “shower with him” (not happening). While watching her laundry, Chizuru softly utters Kazuya’s name, then blushes and chastens herself.

After getting approval from the hospital, Chizuru takes Granny Sayuri out to see the theater where her film will be shown to a crowd of 200. Why exactly she takes this risk so close to the actual showing is beyond me, but even the empty theater brings tears to Sayuri’s eyes as she imagines Chizuru up there.

After seeing Sayuri’s intense reaction, Chizuru excuses herself so she can have one of her own, flashing one of her biggest smiles in the whole run. It’s the smile of someone who was able to achieve her dream and make her granny—and late gramps—proud.

While alone with Sayuri, Kazuya continues to be troubled by the fact he and Chizuru are lying about being a couple. But rather than say anything it’s not entirely his place to say, Kazuya simply tells Sayuri that Chizuru is “more important” to him than labels like girlfriend. He wants to remain by her side no matter what, even if he isn’t her girlfriend.

His words don’t give up the ghost, but do remind Sayuri of her departed husband. Specifically, she remembers yelling at him for getting Chizuru’s hopes up. But Katsuhito is as stubborn as Kazuya: dreams do come true, and he believed until the end that they would for Chizuru. Now that it’s come to pass, Sayuri admits she was wrong to doubt it.

Chizuru stops Kazuya outside the bathrooms and once again thanks him for everything he’s done, and how happy it made her granny. They go to grab some coffee, but find that Sayuri, whom they left alone, has collapsed and fallen out of her wheelchair. As they drop their coffees to rush to her, Kazuya sees a face of abject panic in Chizuru that he’s never seen before.

At the hospital, Chizuru tells Kazuya that the doctors don’t expect Sayuri to recover, and that tonight will be “make or break.” Chizuru adopts a stiff upper lip and “oh well” attitude, a brave face that makes Kazuya’s heart hurt. He wipes away his own tears, because this is not about him, but in trying to put Chizuru’s feelings first and foremost, he brings up an uncomfortable topic: telling Granny Sayuri the truth about them.

Chizuru remains of the mind that hurting her granny with the truth in her final moments accomplishes nothing. But Kazuya is thinking of the future, when Chizuru may come to regret never coming clean about the lie, because after Sayuri dies she’ll never be able to. Still, Chizuru remains firm: to hell with “the sad reality.”

As Chizuru heads back in, Kazuya laments that there’s nothing more he can do for her. But then he gets a text from the editor, no doubt reporting the completion (or near-completion) of the film. If Granny Sayuri wakes up, and if he can obtain a copy to play in her room, the dream isn’t dead yet.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Author: sesameacrylic

Zane Kalish is a staff writer for RABUJOI.