Sumi Sakurasawa/Relationships

## Kazuya Kinoshita

Initially, Kazuya started off as a client to Sumi, having been asked by Chizuru to help train her. On her first date with Kazuya, as with all her dates, Sumi was at first incredibly anxious and soft-spoken. However, due to his friendly demeanor and patience, she was able to slowly unwind. He later protected her after she was being catcalled by three men at a bowling alley. By the end of their first date, she was content, and, inspired by Kazuya's kind words of inspiration, and joyfully exclaimed that she would like to see him again soon.

Sometime after this, Sumi spots Kazuya attending one of Chizuru's plays and tries to say something to him, but ultimately remains silent.

Kazuya ends up calling Sumi for a second date, this time to gain information on what Chizuru might want for her birthday. Sumi helps to the best of her ability, and the two scour an entire shopping mall. When Kazuya is still unable to find a gift for Chizuru, Sumi takes him to a second, nearby shopping mall where Chizuru is performing in a play. After this, Sumi explains through her notepad that gifts are all about what emotion the giver is trying to convey, rather than their materialistic value. Before Kazuya leaves, Sumi asks when his birthday is. Not long after this date, Sumi gifts him a fashionable beanie.

--SPOILERS FOR ANIME ONLY WATCHERS--

After the death of Chizuru's grandmother, Sumi asks to hang out with Kazuya in order to cheer him up.

Different from any other Rental Girlfriends of Kazuya, Sumi does not view her and Kazuya's time as a rental date, but rather as two friends hanging out. She appears to have romantic feelings for him, but suppresses them. She even admits her love for Kazuya at a dolphin show, though Kazuya could not hear her.

## Chizuru Ichinose

Chizuru acts as a mentor and friend for Sumi within the agency. Sumi greatly admires Chizuru for her professionalism and aspires to be as great as her in the business. In order to help her gain experience as a rental girlfriend, Chizuru asks Kazuya to go on a date with Sumi.

## Mami Nanami

During their rental date, Sumi and Kazuya were unknowingly being trailed by Mami. To his surprise, Kazuya walks into Mami conversating with Sumi while he was away. While Kazuya was flustered with the situation, he believes Sumi interprets Mami's actions as hostile and doubles down her affection as Kazuya's girlfriend. Unfortunately, this ends up only causing more distress for Kazuya. She ends up leaving the two to talk alone, but only after Kazuya gives her the okay.

In the fifth chapter of the spin-off series *Kanojo, Hitomishirimasu*, Sumi's first encounter with Mami is at a cafe. Sumi observes from a distance how Mami handles men quite skillfully, getting them to do favors for her at their expense. In Chapter 8, later during her practice date with Kazuya, Mami approaches her while she's at the table alone.

Following up in Chapter 9, Mami's sudden introduction causes Sumi to panic internally. Sumi thinks she may have seen her before, but fails to remember. When Kazuya returns and introduces Sumi to Mami, Sumi notices Kazuya is nervous and misinterprets that he must be anxious about introducing her as a girlfriend. As a result, she cuddles up to his arm. When she is met with silence, she panics again internally, thinking she didn't broadcast her affection enough, then goes for Kazuya's hand. Afterwards, she is asked to give them a moment to talk. While in the restroom, Sumi is worried that she read the air wrong, and considers quitting because she feels like she failed at being a professional girlfriend.. However, Kazuya's encouraging words at the end of their date gives her the will to continue.