It's been a while, but once again it's rentin' time! This time with Sumi-chan! And while she trips in her typical cute and klutzy fashion, she's super happy to be able to see Kazuya again! And so pumped to be able to help him
!
And she's still a sweetheart who cries plenty after finding out about Chizuru's situation...and willing to take the lead on getting Kazuya through this funk of trying to figure out what to do about Chizuru. By basically dragging him all the way to the beach! She says it's just as "friends" but it also just feels like they're on a romantic trip for two
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I love how Kazuya can more or less "speak" Sumi at this point
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I can't believe the most Mami screentime we've gotten this season is her telling us about the "match game." They really brought in Aoi Yuki just to do this
?
Unfortunately we don't get to see Sumi in a swimsuit (outside Kazuya's imagination), but we do get to see her undeterred as she takes Kazuya up to the Enoshima Sea Candle! Walking all the way up the stairs with her conviction giving her all the stamina she needs! Meanwhile Kazuya gets a flash of her panties and runs ahead. Quite the gentleman
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Sumi just standing there looking through binoculars and fulfilling the distracted boyfriend meme with very little effort. I feel bad for those other girls
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Sumi has the cutest (non)yell
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Sumi's legs! All the better so she can wade into the ocean and splash for some fun with Kazuya! Said fun leaving him all wet, but the entire day of fun with Sumi really cheered him up and made him realize that, whatever their relationship is, he can be there to cheer Sumi up. Just like Sumi is cheered up whenever she's with Kazuya
.
Ruka has enough empathy to feel for what Chizuru is going for and tell Kazuya that any girl would appreciate getting cheered up...until she realizes she's helping her rival and totally takes it back, but she can't dissuade Kazuya this time around no matter how hard she tries. Though I guess if she gets an amusement park date out of it it's not a complete loss
.
I'm guessing the manager does not have a sugary romance with his wife the way he thinks of Ruka as "his" and wishes someone would cheer him up. Felt bad for him when Ruka joked about taking him on a date
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Chizuru is such a professional that she's back at work as a rental girlfriend despite probably still being in grief. And Kazuya might be the only one who realizes it
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All those 10-hour shifts were worth it to book Chizuru for an entire day! This is it, the final date of the season to cheer her up! Go get 'er Kazuya
!