Solving Cases is My Daily Life Now: Volume 5

Chapter 1

     It seemed that it had snowed overnight, as the pathway to Rina Akamine's high school was bright and cold at the same time when she walked that morning. She was dressed for the weather, a heavy jacket over her winter uniform and a light blue scarf around her neck. Her dark navy hair rested over the scarf, stopping around her shoulders, and if she could see her blue eyes she would have immediately noticed them sparkling with the fallen snowflakes reflected in them. She let out a sigh, looking at the fog that her breath created and frowning. She really hated the cold weather...even if it did signify the end of the school year. Indeed, this day marked the beginning of the last month of school, and with it a lot of bittersweet feelings for Rina. On the one hand she wouldn't have to worry about school, tests, or homework. On the other hand...
"G-G-Good morning, Rina!" A familiar stuttering voice behind her said.
Rina turned around to see Suzu Hirabayashi, her best friend, and a fellow club member of hers. Suzu's green hair was covered with a lighter green wool hat, flattening her bob a little bit. Her red glasses were a bit fogged up, making it difficult for Rina to see her gray eyes.
"Good morning." Rina said with a smile as she walked with her friend, "You look cute in that hat."
Suzu blushed and rubbed her thighs together as she registered Rina's compliment.
"Th-Thanks!" She finally said, "I like that sc-scarf on you!"
"Thank you." Rina said with a smile, tugging at it slightly, "I got a matching one for Masaru. I wonder if he wore it today..."
"You two are so c-c-cute!" Suzu said, "You're kind of l-like the perfect c-couple!"
Rina blushed as she thought about it. It had been a couple of months since she and her boyfriend got together, but considering how close they were before that, it felt as though they'd been together longer. But it still embarrassed her to talk about intimate encounters with others...
"I wouldn't go that far..." Rina said quietly.
Suzu simply hummed in response as they walked, and it didn't take them too long to reach the school entrance. Normally two of their other friends would be there waiting for them, but Rina was surprised to see her boyfriend and club leader Masaru Fukuhara waiting for them. She recognized his poorly slicked back pale orange hair immediately, and his light brown eyes turned to look at her as she approached. He was wearing a winter uniform, just like them...with his classic trench coat on top of it. Around his neck was a maroon scarf, the one that Rina had mentioned just moments before.
"Hey." He said, giving both girls a quick wave.
"Hello!" Suzu said, enthusiastically waving back.
"What are you doing here?" Rina asked, tilting her head.
Normally she didn't see him until lunch time, and it worried her a bit.
"Just thought I'd say hey." Masaru replied, "That, and I thought I'd let you know not to wait for Fuyuko and Katsuo."
"Wh-Where are they?" Suzu asked, looking around.
Rina continued to walk, and Masaru and Suzu followed behind her.
"Fuyuko was following a lead about a new case." Masaru explained, "I think it has something to do with the end of the year talent show. And Katsuo went with her because...he always does."
"That's true." Rina said, "They've become pretty inseparable since they reunited."
"It's so s-s-sweet to see Fuyo like that!" Suzu said, running her cheeks, "She's the c-c-cutest!"
"Right..." Masaru said, perhaps a bit patronizingly.
"At least she's doing her best for the club." Rina pointed out, "I'm kind of proud of her, to be honest."
"Who knew she had it in her?" Masaru asked in a dull tone.
"And K-Katsuo, too!" Suzu added, a bit of a blush on her face, "He's been p-pretty involved with the club, t-t-too!"
"Yeah." Rina agreed, "It definitely makes the club room more lively."
"For better or worse." Masaru said.
"You s-seem a bit aloof today, M-M-Masaru." Suzu said.
"More than he usually is, you mean?" Rina asked with a teasing smirk.
"I'm just a bit tired today." Masaru said, ignoring her jab and rubbing his eye, "It might be because of the cold weather."
Rina looked over at him as they stopped in front of her and Suzu's classroom. He looked pretty cute when he was tired...but there was no way she could say that!
"I'll...see you at lunch." She said quickly, keeping her warm face down.
"Sure." He replied, "See you both."
"Y-Yeah!" Suzu said, giving Masaru a wave as he walked away.
Rina looked back up and watched him walk away, smiling softly to herself as she did. After a few seconds she looked over at Suzu to see her staring right at her!
"What..?" Rina asked.
"Oh, n-nothing!" Suzu said teasingly, making Rina puff her cheeks out as they entered their classroom.
They managed to get to their seats before the bell rang, and class began.

It had practically become a tradition for Suzu to slide her desk over to Rina's when lunch began, so Rina wasn't surprised when her friend did just that once the lunch bell rang.
"Class is becoming even more boring than usual." Rina commented, "We're just going over stuff we already learned.
"Miss M-M-Miyake is prepping us for the exams." Suzu said, "She's t-trying to make sure we remember ev-everything."
"I get that." Rina said, "But still."
Both girls took their bentos out, and began to eat. Rina found her mind wandering to their discussion of a potential case that morning.
"Hey, what do you know about the talent show?" She asked Suzu, "I've never really paid attention to it before."
"I d-don't know much about it, either." Suzu admitted, "I had n-n-no friends before you guys, and no r-real talents to speak of..."
"That's not true." Rina tried to reassure her as the door to their classroom opened.
"Hello." Masaru said lazily as he pulled a free desk up to them and sat down as well.
"Hey, Masaru." Rina said with a warm smile, handing him his bento, "We were just talking about the talent show. Do you know anything about it?"
"Hm." Masaru opened his bento and thought for a moment, "Not really. I've never had a reason to know about it.
"That's what I thought you'd say." Rina said with a sigh, "Did you hear from Fuyuko? Are we going to be helping with it?"
"I don't know yet." Masaru admitted, "She should be letting us know when we get here."
"M-M-Masaru, I was thinking..." Suzu began, "Could I come see K-Koko today? It's been a l-l-little while..."
Rina tilted her head, she had almost forgotten about Koko! Koko was a white kitten that Rina and Masaru had found a few months prior, and he had decided to keep.
"Sure." Masaru said, "I think she's getting lonely anyway."
"Could I come too?" Rina asking, realizing it had been a while since she had seen the cat as well.
That and it was an excuse to spend time with Masaru...not that she needed one.
"Of course." Masaru said, "Just don't tell Fuyuko. I'm worried she might be a bit too...intense for her."
Rina and Suzu nodded in agreement as the door opened once again, and two people walked in this time. One of them was Fuyuko Kinoshita, a very slim and short girl with peach colored hair, a length in between Rina and Suzu's and very wavy. Her orange eyes lit up when she saw Masaru, and she ran over to him.
"Good morning, Masu!" She said enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Behind her was Katsuo Okazaki, her older brother. His blonde hair was almost perfectly slicked back, and his green eyes scanned the room for two free desks. He finally found some, and slid them over to the group that Rina and the others had formed. Masaru let out a light groan, and pulled Fuyuko's arms off of him. Katsuo sat down next to Suzu, and Fuyuko took a seat between him and Masaru.
"You look tired today." Katsuo grunted, looking over at Masaru.
"I am." Masaru said, "It's been a lazy morning."
"Same here." Katsuo said, "Must be all the snow."
The two of them nodded in agreement, and the girls of the group all looked at each other and smiled. There was a time when Masaru and Katsuo couldn't speak to each other without arguing or getting angry. But since Katsuo joined the Detective Club, they had mellowed towards each other considerably.
"Oh yeah, what happened with the talent show?" Masaru asked, looking over at Fuyuko.
"Oh, right!" Fuyuko perked up and smiled, "They said they want our help with something. They weren't very specific, but I told them to come by the club room after school to talk to you about it."
"Sounds good." Masaru said simply.
"Hopefully they don't want you guys to participate." Katsuo said, "I don't think solving cases would be very entertaining onstage."
"Oh, hush." Fuyuko said, "The people planning it seemed pretty concerned. I could tell it was very important to them."
Rina glanced at Masaru, his expression didn't change and his eyes remained on his bento, but she could tell that he would definitely help them. His biggest weakness was for people with passion.
"We'll see what they want." He said simply, and didn't touch on the subject further.
The rest of lunch went on casually, and eventually the bell rang, and everyone but Rina and Suzu left.

When class was over, Rina and Suzu left the classroom together to head to their club room.
"I haven't s-s-seen Yua in a while." Suzu pointed out, "D-Do you think she changed c-c-classes?"
"Maybe." Rina said, "I haven't thought about it that much."
She frowned, in truth remembering Yua Sato was painful for her. They used to be best friends, but had a falling out due to Rina's involvement in the club.
"I h-hope she's ok..." Suzu said.
"Yeah." Rina replied shortly.
"So what are you g-g-going to do for the talent show?!" Suzu asked.
"I'm probably going to be helping Masaru investigate." Rina said, "I have no real talents to speak of, at least not any I could do on a stage."
"It seems like w-we're all that way..." Suzu said, "Maybe Fuyo could m-model! She's so c-c-cute, they would love her!"
"Is being cute a talent?" Rina asked, raising an eyebrow.
"If it isn't, it d-d-definitely should be." Suzu said with a firm nod.
"Does anybody even go to the talent show?" Rina asked, not remembering going to it the year prior.
"I d-don't know." Suzu said, "B-But I've heard a lot of ch-ch-chatter about it, so I guess there will be a c-crowd."
"Hm." Rina put a hand to her chest, the idea of being in front of so many people making her anxious, even though she wouldn't be doing it.
"I bet it'll be f-f-fun!" Suzu said happily, not picking up on her friend's worries.
They reached the club room after that, and walked inside.

Masaru was already sitting at his desk when they walked in, looking at his phone. Fuyuko, being the club secretary, was sitting at her desk next to the door and looking at some papers. She looked up briefly to see who entered the room, and returned to what she was doing when she realized it was them. Katsuo was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, gazing out the window.
"The Detective Club is hard at work, I see." Rina said, walking over to her desk next to Masaru's and setting her bag down before walking over to the coffee machine.
"Right now we're just waiting for the people involved with the talent show to come by." Masaru explained, leaning back in his chair and looking at the ceiling.
Rina began to make some coffee, and she heard the door open and close, assuming that it was Suzu going to change clothes. Katsuo let out a loud groan.
"This case had better be exciting." He said roughly, "The few I've been involved with here have been boring."
"Most of the cases are." Masaru said, "Not too many students are willing to try anything crazy."
"Thank goodness for that!" Fuyuko said, "I don't want big brother OR my precious Masu to be in harm's way!"
Both boys ignored her comment as Rina brought a mug of coffee over to Masaru.
"I'll admit, I also hope it's a little exciting." She said before sitting down.
"I guess we'll see." Masaru said, taking a sip of his coffee.
It wasn't too long after that when Suzu returned to the room, wearing a maid costume. She had left her glasses on Masaru's desk, like she always did, and if the others hadn't seen her in the outfit so many times, she would have looked like a completely different person. Rina watched as Suzu picked up a feather duster and began to idly clean the room, and out of the corner of her eye it almost seemed like Katsuo was specifically keeping his gaze away.
"How d-does this room get so d-d-dirty over the weekend?" Suzu wondered aloud, "Nobody's even h-here to make a m-mess!"
None of them got a chance to answer her rhetorical question before the door opened again, and someone else walked in.
"Hello, do you have an appointment?" Fuyuko asked, looking up.
Rina looked over as well, and both of her eyebrows raised when she got a good look at the person standing by the door. It was a girl, likely a third year judging by her stature, with her long hair pulled into pigtails. But that wasn't the eye catching part. One half of her hair was pink, the other light blue, and Rina couldn't figure out which side was natural, if either of them even were. She also had heavy eye makeup on, and lipstick. She had what appeared to be a punk rock jacket on over her uniform, and when she turned to look at Fuyuko, her many bracelets jingled slightly.
"Yes, I think it was you that I talked to earlier?" The girl said, looking down at Fuyuko.
"Oh, right!" Fuyuko said, before looking over at Masaru, "Masu, there's someone here to see you!"
"Send them over." Masaru said, keeping his eyes forward and sipping from his coffee again.
Though his eyes were staring at nothing in particular, everyone else's were on the attention grabbing girl as she walked over to his desk and sat down across from him.
"I didn't realize you had Okazaki in your club." She said, looking back at Katsuo, "Hey!"
"Yo." Katsuo replied casually, pushing himself off of the wall, "I didn't know you were planning the talent show this year."
"Yeah, my band is actually supposed to be the closing act." The girl said.
Katsuo walked over and sat down next to her, and Suzu watched them both closely.
"Let's get down to business." Masaru said, "I'm Masaru Fukuhara, what do you need from us?"
The girl looked at Masaru and raised an eyebrow.
"Do you really not remember me, Fukuhara?" She asked.
Masaru looked her up and down, as if only then realizing how different she looked.
"Am I supposed to?" He asked.
"It's me! Yuzuki?" The girl said, tilting her head at him, "We were in the same first year class!"
Masaru looked her up and down, before a spark of recognition went over his face.
"Right..." He said, "You changed your hair."
"Well, I DID always want to be a punk rocker!" Yuzuki said, sticking her tongue out, "And I remember you loved detectives, so I guess we're both achieving our goals!"
"Just how well did you two know each other?" Rina asked, narrowing her eyes and gripping her pen tightly.
"We were acquaintances." Masaru said, "Friendly acquaintances, I suppose."
"We talked sometimes." Yuzuki said, "Mostly I did the talking. Fukuhara was always too busy worrying about his sister! How is she, by the way?"
"...what's your business here, Yuzuki?" Masaru asked, cutting to the chase.
Yuzuki leaned back in her seat, making herself comfortable.
"It looks like you already know I'm helping plan the talent show." She said, "I'm here because we think someone is trying to sabotage it."
"Sabotaged?" Masaru repeated, leaning forward, "Why would someone sabotage a high school talent show?"
"We don't know." Yuzuki said, "But everything seems to be going wrong with the production. Things are getting broken, other things are going missing...at first we thought we just had clumsy people helping us, but it's getting out of hand!"
"Is there anyone that you think might have a motive?" Masaru asked, picking up his coffee cup and looking into it idly.
"Not that I can think of." Yuzuki said, "This is supposed to be a positive event, where people can let their talents shine!"
"Ok." Masaru replied in a dull tone before sitting his mug back down, "Where is your committee planning the show from?"
"We've been using the drama room, since it has a stage." Yuzuki said casually.
Masaru put a hand to his chin, clearly thinking about something.
"Ok Yuzuki." He said, "We'll help you out. Rina and I will come to the drama room tomorrow after school and look around."
"You can't come now?" Yuzuki asked, tilting her head.
"We need time to prepare, and get an idea of what we're looking for." Masaru explained, "And besides, I'm sure some of the members have left by now."
"I guess that's a good point..." Yuzuki said, before standing up, "Thank you, Fukuhara!"
"Don't mention it." Masaru replied casually, "I assume you're aware of my fee?"
"Yeah, pocky sticks or something." Yuzuki confirmed, "I'll get you some, but if it's ok with you I'm going to pretend you're doing this for old time's sake."
"If that's what you want." Masaru replied simply, taking another sip of his coffee.
"Thanks!" She said, giving Masaru a smile and a wink.
Masaru didn't respond, but that didn't stop a fire from burning in Rina's chest.
"See you tomorrow, Okazaki!" Yuzuki said to Katsuo with a wave, before walking for the door.
"Yep." Katsuo said noncommittally as she stopped in front of the door.
Fuyuko gave her a piece of paper she'd been writing on, and Yuzuki left the room. The club fell silent as they looked at the door she left through, most of them still comprehending the details of what had just happened.
"...I don't like her." Rina concluded with a scowl.
"Me n-n-neither." Suzu said, to the surprise of everyone, "How d-do you know her, K-K-Katsuo?"
"We're in the same class." Katsuo explained, "We talk sometimes. I think that being seen with someone like me helps with the kind of image she wants."
"And what's YOUR history with her?" Rina asked, looking over at Masaru.
"Exactly that. Ancient history." Masaru said before finishing his coffee, "We spoke a handful of times. In truth, I had forgotten about her."
Rina was satisfied with that answer, but she definitely was not satisfied with that girl's flirtatious behavior.
"Just be careful around her." Rina said.
"Y-you too, Katsuo." Suzu said.
Both boys appeared confused, but didn't dwell too much on it. Fuyuko let out a loud yawn and threw herself onto her desk.
"I'm tired." She whined, "Are we done yet?"
"Yes, we should be done for the day." Masaru said, "You can head out."
"Let me g-go change." Suzu said, picking up her glasses and leaving the room.
Fuyuko gathered her things and walked over to the door, and Katsuo stood up and did the same.
"Are you not coming, Masu?" Fuyuko asked, looking over at him.
"I still have some things to take care of." Masaru said, writing something down.
"What about you, Rina?" Katsuo asked.
"I'm...going to wait for Suzu." Rina said, thinking of an excuse that wouldn't give them away.
The siblings looked at each other, before shrugging.
"Ok." Katsuo said, and they both left the room.
Rina and Masaru were alone now, and after a few moments of silence she looked over at him.
"I love you." She said softly, and with a smile.
"You know, when you said that you'd say that to me every day, I didn't expect it to be so literal." He replied without looking up.
"Does it bother you?" Rina asked.
"Not especially." Masaru said.
"Then I'll keep doing it." She said, laying her head on his shoulder, "Because I want to."
"I can't argue with that, I suppose." He said, before setting his pen down.
It wasn't too long after that when the door opened and Suzu stepped in, back in her uniform and wearing her winter clothes as well.
"Ok, let's go p-pet a cute kitty!" She said with a grin.
Rina stood up and took her scarf out of her school bag, wrapping it around her neck. Masaru, who had his on the back of his seat, did the same as he stood up. When the two of them walked over to Suzu, she giggled.
"What?" Rina asked.
"You t-two are such a cute c-couple!" Suzu said.
"You've been saying that about a lot of things lately." Masaru said, "Calling them cute."
"D-Do I?" Suzu asked, blushing faintly, "I g-guess I've just come to realize how c-c-cute the world is!"
Rina smiled, and Masaru gave Suzu a pat on the head when they walked by. Suzu appeared confused, but followed them happily out the door all the same.

"Is that you, Masaru?" The voice of Masaru's mother called out when they walked into his apartment.
"Yeah." He called back, "I brought company."
Masaru's mother turned the corner, her hair was tied into a ponytail and she had an apron on.
"Oh hello, Rina!" She said, smiling widely when she saw her, "And...Suzu, right?"
"Th-that's right!" Suzu said, returning the smile, "It's n-nice to be here ag-again!"
Masaru's mother looked around the corner and put a hand to her cheek.
"I'm sorry, I was just cleaning, so excuse the mess!" She said.
"Do you n-n-need help?" Suzu asked, "C-Cleaning is kind of a sp-specialty of mine!"
"Oh, no." His mother said politely, "I couldn't possibly ask that of you!"
"It's really n-no trouble!" Suzu insisted, "I just want to see K-K-Koko, and then I can h-help you!"
"Well...ok." Masaru's mother decided, "I'll be in the kitchen. Will you two be staying for dinner?"
"Sure!" Suzu said.
"I guess I could." Rina said with a soft smile.
"Great!" His mother said, "It's nice to have company, sometimes I feel that Masaru must get so lonely."
"Mother..." Masaru said in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Right, right. I've said too much!" She said with a chuckle, before disappearing back behind the corner.
Masaru led the way to his room, and Rina and Suzu followed him.

When they entered his room, Rina quickly began to scan it for signs of a white kitten.
"Where is she?" She finally asked.
Masaru took his trench coat off and sat it on his desk, and then the jacket under that, before sitting down on his floor next to his bed. He rubbed his hands together, before holding one out in the direction of the bed. A few seconds passed, and a white cat emerged from under the bed, rubbing it's head against his hand.
"She's g-gotten so big!" Suzu said, kneeling down and petting her.
"Yeah." Rina agreed, "Even since the last time I saw her."
Koko purred when Suzu pet her, before looking over at Rina. She walked over to her and began to rub herself against her leg.
"Aw, she r-r-remembers you!" Suzu said.
She squealed into her hands as Rina knelt down as well and scratched Koko's ear.
"Do you ever let her out of this room?" Rina asked.
"I try to. I've left the door open a few times, and she'll explore a bit." Masaru explained, "But she usually doesn't like to leave the room."
Koko looked over at Masaru, and walked over to him, curling up into a ball in his lap and laying down. Rina's face warmed up, the sight of it was almost too much for her! Maybe this was what Suzu meant about the world being cute, she thought.
"I'm going to g-go help your mom now." Suzu said, "Don't d-d-do anything too crazy! At least not without t-telling me..."
Neither of them acknowledged her comment as she left the room, leaving the two of them alone with Koko. They sat silently for a time, the only sound being the cat's purring, and eventually Rina sat down on Masaru's bed.
"Has Suzu been acting...differently to you?" Masaru asked.
"Different?" Rina asked, "How do you mean?"
"She doesn't make as many lewd comments as she used to." He said, "At least not when the whole club's together.
"That's a bad thing?" Rina asked, looking over at him.
"It can be a bit much at times." Masaru said, "But it's part of who she is. It'd be a shame if she changed from who she is now."
"You're right. I like the way she is." Rina said, laying back on his bed and staring at the ceiling, "I think maybe she has a crush on someone."
"Why do you think that?" Masaru asked.
"When we talked to Namine a while back, she asked Suzu if she liked anyone." She said, "But she didn't answer."
"That doesn't necessarily mean anything." He pointed out.
"It was just...the way she did it." Rina said quietly, "Maybe I'm just imagining things."
"Who knows." Masaru said in a dull tone, "If she really wants us to know, she'll tell us."
"You're right." She said, frowning when she thought of something, "How come you're always right?"
"I'm not, really." He said, laying his head back on the bed, "You just always believe me."
Rina smiled, that was probably true. But she liked believing him.
"Maybe we should see if your mom needs any help." She said.
"Good idea." He said, gently moving Koko and standing up.
Rina sat up, looking at her boyfriend. He was staring at the door, his mind seemingly occupied with something else. She smiled and stood up, taking his arm and holding it for a moment. It was embarrassing, sure, but she simply wanted to be near him. Masaru briefly glanced at her, and they walked over to the door together.
"All right, let's go." He said, putting his hand on the doorknob.
"Yeah." Rina said, her heart pounding, but not in a bad way.
With that, Masaru turned the handle, and opened the door.