Rent-a-Girlfriend (彼女、お借りします)

I should pull the trigger,

ask her out, make the lie the truth.

That's it!

Let's put an end to this together.

All of the lies gone for good.

Kazu's a menace, and I'll save you.

What will I do?

A three-day, two-night stay at the Hawaiians Spa Resort.

Why!

All I want is for you to live a happy life.

I'm sorry if I kept you waiting.

I'd never do anything to ruin--

What if I told you there was a way to be his girlfriend,

like, for real?

As in--

Look at that.

It's all catching up to you.

So I never gave myself the chance--

Now you've taken too long and blown your chance.

Let's put an end to this right here, right now.

You don't have to be all reserved and weird.

Thanks for the invite, really.

Tell me the truth.

Is Kazu just one of your clients or something more?

-Do you love him? -Uh...

We're gonna settle this problem.

Give that ring back and tell Granny Nagomi everything.

I'll be right there with you.

Whoa!

Hold it right there.

I can't.

Huh?

I'LL BE IN THE LOBBY

What if I told you to do this as a client,

this is your last-chance ticket to freedom?

I want to rent you out, Chizuru.

You won't say no, right?

[sora amamiya, "non scenario etude"]

PLACE YOUR FINGER HERE

RENT-A-GIRLFRIEND

People are low-key obsessed with the idea of love.

If I want to keep a conversation going at a party,

all I have to do is mention hot guys,

clingy partners, or diets.

Just go online or walk past a magazine rack,

and you'll see it.

Look, I'm not saying it's a bad thing.

People are free to try to find their soulmates

or rent them out.

I mean, you do you.

The truth is, life is all about killing time

until we die anyway.

The first time my parents threw away something that I loved,

I was only four years old.

There was Berta, staring at me from inside

of an enormous garbage bag headed for the curb.

I remember his face more clearly

than my maternal grandma, who died that year.

Class comes from upbringing.

That's what Dad always said, at least.

So whenever we kids messed up,

he would take it out on our mom.

That was the norm, unfortunately--

the stereotypical controlling father.

He was staunch in his beliefs.

He made sure we weren't exposed to any ideas that

didn't line up with his own.

The first time I met the Hakuba boy, I was nine years old.

Go on.

Why don't you say hi to our new guest?

It's nice to finally meet you, Mami.

It's nice to meet you, too.

I had no idea my parents were scheming behind my back.

I read nothing into the frequent dinners

we had with their friends, who were

a good family, as they'd say.

They were just dinners to me.

And he was just some boy who was slightly older than me.

Nothing more.

I went to a combined middle and high school,

your classic rich-girl academy.

Thinking back, my father's saying was basically

its mission statement.

The rules were super strict.

And since it was an all-girls school,

there were almost no interactions with boys.

Also, I didn't learn this until after I'd graduated,

but my dad had influence over the teachers,

and even the principal as well.

I'd come home after school every day

to find that my room had been thoroughly cleaned.

Cold is more accurate.

There'd be photos and books missing.

Anything that failed to meet my dad's standards

would get thrown away.

I guess he got what he wanted.

I mean, I was the picture of a perfect, classy daughter

who did exactly what she was told.

Who wouldn't want an obedient pet like that?

Something was budding inside, but I didn't know it.

I didn't think much about where my life was headed.

After all, this was how things had been since I was born.

Thanks to my mom's hand-me-down smartphone,

I was able to have some semblance of a social life.

Wow, a triple combo!

It's hard to know you're a flower about to bloom

when you're busy tapping red and yellow smileys.

It wasn't just me, though.

My dad didn't realize that even pets can have

that burning desire to be set free.

Mm-- mm-hmm.

Seriously?

Woo, hoo, hoo!

Heck yeah!

You might want to cool it with the celebration, OK?

He was a boy from the next high school over.

He was bright, sincere, and sweet,

and he cared about his family.

I'd seen him at the station a bunch of times before,

but we didn't officially meet until some mutual friends

introduced us.

We hit it off talking about the same game we played.

And three weeks later, we were dating.

His name was Taro.

When I asked him what his family name was,

he said Urashima, just like in the folktale.

No cap.

I didn't tell my parents, of course.

My father wouldn't be happy about the fact

that he wasn't going to a prep school.

And when I told Taro about my circumstances,

he said we could take all the time we needed.

It was wonderful.

We were the kind of couple you'd see at any high school.

We went on your standard dates,

giggled about the silliest things,

fought over stuff that didn't matter,

had normal boring meals,

dreamed of our future life together,

and made naive promises we could never keep.

Hanging out with him gave me a taste of something

I had never experienced.

I was walking a tightrope between a sickeningly

sweet romance and the daily gamble

of potentially getting caught.

Looking back on it now, the whole affair was quite a rush.

I promise, I'm gonna make you happy.

I'll be super successful.

And I'll convince your dad, too.

We'll find our happily ever after.

OK.

Before long, a fog lifted inside me,

and I could see clearly.

WHEN CAN I SEE YOU NEXT?

My whole life, I had followed my parents' every word

and stayed on the tracks they laid out for me.

But now, after getting derailed for the first time ever,

I could see the light.

And it was enough to illuminate

the feeling that was blooming inside me.

I wanted to lay my own tracks in life,

cherish the things I held dear, and spend my future with him.

Finally, I had desires of my own.

That feeling intensified over time

until, eventually, it sparked a revolution within me.

Are you all right?

Are you sure about this?

I'd spent 15 years living in darkness.

But now there was a ray of hope shining ahead,

like a beacon leading me to freedom.

I am.

It took me a while to sneak out.

Why!

Why should I break up with Taro?

Because you're going to marry Hakuba.

What!

It's my freaking life.

Why do you get to decide that for me?

Mami.

Young lady, don't you care about what

happens to the family your grandfather and I built up?

What?

Really?

Don't you sit there and guilt trip me.

Please, what kind of father treats

his kids like pawns in a game?

What the hell gives you the right

to tell me who I'll marry?

What would a child like you know?

People bow before power and authority.

Love and passion don't stand a chance in that fight.

They never have.

They act mighty, but that doesn't change the fact

that their hands are tied.

Are you Urashima?

Huh?

Ultimately, when life gets rough, they bend the knee.

SORRY, I MET SOMEONE. LET'S BREAK UP.