Solving Cases is My Daily Life Now: Volume 5

Chapter 2

    Dinner at Masaru's proved to be just what Rina needed to get an extra bit of energy the next morning. Though when she thought back on it, it had been a while since she felt particularly sluggish on her way to school. She chalked it up to Masaru and the club and smiled to herself as she walked to school, her mind not focused on anything in particular.
"M-Masaru's mom is so nice!" Suzu said, "I'm k-k-kind of jealous that you'll call her mom one d-day!"
"Don't say things like that." Rina said, puffing her cheeks out as her face began to burn, "Especially not around Masaru."
"Oh, I won't!" Suzu said, "Don't want to em-embarrass him, after all."
Rina frowned at the implication, but decided to shrug it off.
"I'm a bit anxious about helping with the talent show." She admitted, "I'm not used to be involved in such a big event."
"It'll be f-fine." Suzu said, "It's n-not like you have to p-p-participate or anything."
"That's true." Rina said, "I guess I'm just...nervous."
"Nervous about wh-what?" Suzu said.
"...I don't like the way Yuzuki acts around Masaru." Rina said, "I'm wondering if there's an ulterior motive she has."
"Even if there is, d-d-do you think it'll even work on M-Masaru?" Suzu asked, "He c-couldn't even tell when you l-liked him! And b-besides, he's v-v-very happy with you."
"I know." Rina said, "But he's also oblivious to other girl's physical affection. Look at all the times he let Fuyuko hang off of him."
"But he's p-pushed her away, too!" Suzu pointed out, "And...it's d-d-different where Fuyo is c-concerned."
"I know you're right." Rina said, "But I still can't shake the feeling."
Suzu giggled, but before Rina could ask why, Katsuo and Fuyuko approached them as they reached the school entrance. Fuyuko had on large pink earmuffs, likely because of the cold weather.
"You guys are talking about Yuzuki?" Katsuo grunted, walking with them alongside Fuyuko.
"What?!" Fuyuko asked, but was ignored.
"Yeah...R-Rina doesn't like her." Suzu said, "And I d-don't really either, but...h-h-helping people is our job!"
"Suzu's right." Fuyuko said loudly with a firm nod, "It's our duty to help Masu however we can!"
"Katsuo, you're in her class." Rina said, "What do you know about her?"
"She definitely has a lot of energy." Katsuo said, "And she's really passionate about this whole punk rock thing."
"Well, we know that much." Rina said with a frown, "What else?"
"Well, she seems to be friends with everyone, or tries to be at least." He said, "Not sure how genuine she is, though."
"W-What do you mean?" Suzu asked, tilting her head.
"I'm not sure exactly. Something about her seems like an act to me." Katsuo said, "But maybe I'm just being cynical."
"You are a pretty negative person, big brother." Fuyuko chimed in.
"You don't have to tell me that." Katsuo said, putting his palm on his face and shaking his head.
"Either way, you guys have dealt with worse before." Fuyuko said, "That Yuzuki is no match for the Detective Club!"
Rina smiled, even though it sounded like Fuyuko was declaring war, her words still managed to comfort her some more.
It wasn't long after that when they reached Rina and Suzu's classroom, and they parted ways.

Masaru seemed to be more awake than he had been the day before when he entered their classroom at lunch. He slid a chair over and sat down, taking his bento from Rina without a word.
"Masaru..." Rina said, a thought from earlier still on her mind, "Will you tell me more about Yuzuki?"
"Didn't we have this discussion yesterday?" He asked, opening his bento and beginning to eat from it.
"Kind of, but you didn't tell me very much." Rina said, "What was she like when you were classmates?"
Masaru looked at the ceiling as he tried to remember.
"A lot like she is now, I suppose." He eventually said, "But she looks considerably different."
"How did she look before?" Rina asked.
"She had dark hair, I think. And she didn't wear any of those bracelets." Masaru said, "She looked pretty average, but her personality was pretty out there."
"Sounds like Y-Y-Yua..." Suzu said.
Rina scowled, the comparison not doing much to make her feel better.
"You two talked pretty often?" Rina asked.
"Sometimes. I actually met Momoka through her." Masaru said, "She was in a different class back then, though.
"Momoka..." Rina repeated quietly.
That was another person she preferred not to think about.
"Yeah, they had a falling out, though." Masaru continued, "They both joined the band club, but had different views about it. Yuzuki left the club, and as far as I know they never spoke again."
"And you never talked to her after your first year?" Rina asked.
"Maybe once or twice, but not really." Masaru said, "I never gave it much thought until now."
"You always seem t-to make friends with g-g-girls, Masaru." Suzu pointed out.
"I guess you're right." Masaru replied, "I wonder why that is."
Rina had a pretty good idea of why it was, and was silently grumpy about it as the door opened again, and Fuyuko and Katsuo entered the room.
"Masu!" Fuyuko cried out happily, running over to him as Katsuo grabbed them both some seats.
"Hello, Fuyuko." Masaru said calmly, glancing over at her.
Fuyuko rubbed her cheek against his before sitting down, and Masaru's expression remained as stoic as ever.
"I think the girls are worried about Yuzuki." Katsuo said as he sat down.
"I noticed." Masaru said simply, looking back down at his bento, "But everything will be fine."
"I wish I had your confidence..." Rina said quietly.
"Well I for one believe in Masu!" Fuyuko said, "He can do anything!"
"I'll ch-choose to trust in him t-too." Suzu said, "Although I st-st-still think something is off about h-her..."
Katsuo simply grunted, and Rina let out a small groan.
"Fine, I can see that I'm outnumbered here." She said, and decided to let it go.
"We'll take good care of the club room while you're gone!" Fuyuko said, "Don't you worry!"
"I wasn't worried until you said that." Masaru said in a dull tone.
Suzu giggled, and they continued the small talk and joking around until lunch was over.

Once class was over, Suzu and Rina left the classroom together.
"Suzu...there's something I wanted to ask you." Rina said quietly.
"Hm?" Suzu looked over at her friend.
"You've been acting a bit different lately. At least when we're at school." Rina said, "I was thinking that...maybe there's someone you like at school?"
"H-Huh?" Suzu perked up, a blush overtaking her face, "Oh, c-come on, now! You know that y-you and Masaru are the only ones for m-m-me!"
"Are you sure?" Rina asked, "There's no one that...makes you feel differently? In a good way?"
"N-No!" Suzu said, "You're imagining th-things..."
Rina sighed, and held her school bag in front of her.
"Suzu...when I realized I liked Masaru, you were the first person I told." She said, "You're my best friend. I want to be able to root for you, like you did for me."
Suzu looked over at Rina, stopping in front of the club room door. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and she pulled Rina into an embrace.
"You're s-s-such a good friend!" Suzu cried out, "I'm so l-lucky to have you!"
"There, there. It's ok." Rina said, "Hey! Where are you grabbing? That's my-"
"Ok, you were r-right." Suzu said, breaking the hug, "There is...s-s-someone I like. In...the way that you l-like Masaru."
"I knew it!" Rina said, "Who is it?"
"W-well..." Suzu looked around to make sure that no one else was looking, "It's...K-K-K-"
Suzu was cut off when the door swung open behind her.
"What are you two doing out here?!" Fuyuko asked, "You're making a racket!"
Rina briefly considered the irony of who was talking, but something else quickly grabbed her attention. The force of the door caused Suzu's skirt to fly up, and though Rina didn't see anything, it was clear from the look on Fuyuko's face that the other side of her exposed enough...
"Sorry..." Fuyuko said quietly, before running back to her seat, "Sorry!"
Suzu slowly turned around, and the two of them entered the room.

"F-F-Fuyo..." Suzu said, "You s-saw?"
"I'm sorry!" Fuyuko cried out, putting her hands together, "Please forgive me!"
Suzu rubbed her warm cheeks and looked over at Katsuo.
"Katsuo...d-d-did you see?" She asked.
Katsuo, who had been looking out the window, glanced over at Suzu.
"See what?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"N-Nothing." Suzu said with a sigh of relief, "What about you, M-M-Masaru?"
Masaru stared down at a piece of paper, his expression not changing.
"Masaru?" Rina asked, taking a few steps closer.
"No." He said simply, his eyes still on the paper, "I didn't see."
"You d-d-did!" Suzu cried out, covering her face, "That m-makes three times!"
"Three times?!" Fuyuko cried out, standing up and putting her hands on her desk.
"Masaru, you've seen...?" Katsuo began to ask, but trailed off.
"Rina." Masaru said, standing up, "We should head to the drama club room."
"Right." Rina said, setting her school bag on her desk and following him to the door, equally eager to end the discussion.
The idea of Masaru seeing another girl's panties more times than hers made her a bit angry. Even though Masaru had never seen them when they were on her in the first place, and the only time he saw them at all was in her drawer, and she wasn't even sure if that had actually happened...
Rina shook her head, it wasn't as though she wanted him to see them! Just that she didn't want him to see any other girl's, either.
"This isn't over!" Fuyuko said, pointing dramatically at them as they reached the door.
"M-M-Masaru..." Suzu mumbled through her hands, the heat from her face practically flowing through them.
Katsuo simply stood there in silence, likely still trying to comprehend the entire situation.
"Let's go." Masaru said to Rina, and they both quickly left the room.

"The club is becoming a bit too eventful for my tastes." Masaru said in an annoyed tone, putting a pocky stick into his mouth as they walked down the hall.
"I don't think it's so bad." Rina said, "If you don't count today, that is."
"Maybe so." He replied, "It's a bit tiring to consider seriously."
"Oh, Suzu confirmed it." She said, "She does have a crush on someone."
Rina did feel a temporary pang of guilt, but decided that telling Suzu's other best friend wouldn't hurt anything.
"Oh yeah?" Masaru asked, "Who is it?"
"I don't know." Rina admitted, "Before she could tell me that...incident happened."
"Right." He replied simply.
Rina frowned, deciding to simply ask him the question that had been on her mind.
"Did you seem them?" She asked, "Suzu's...you know."
Masaru remained quiet for a moment, seeming to weigh the pros and cons of answering honestly.
"Just for a moment." He eventually said.
Rina puffed out her cheeks, she wasn't exactly mad at anyone, but the idea alone was frustrating for her.
"Let's focus on the case, ok?" Masaru asked, putting a pocky stick into his mouth.
"Fine." Rina agreed, though the thought of the case wasn't much better for her.
"This is the drama room." He said, stopping in front of a door, "We were here together once before, remember?"
"Oh yeah." Rina nodded, "When we did that fake case for Iwamoto."
Masaru sighed and out his hand on the knob, glancing over at her.
"Ready?" He asked.
Rina nodded again, and they both entered the room.

The room was much more lively this time around, considering there were actually people in it. Nobody even really noticed the two of them walking in, they simply continued what they were doing, whether it be argue or calmly discuss the talent show. Masaru scanned the room and spotted Yuzuki, then began to walk over to her. She was talking to someone else, but stopped when she noticed him approaching.
"Oh, great!" She said, grabbing his sleeve, "You're here!"
"Well it is my...job, for lack of a better word." Masaru replied in a dull tone.
Rina scowled at Yuzuki, standing closely behind Masaru. Yuzuki giggled, clearly not noticing, and began to pull him over to a podium.
"I'll let everyone know what you're here for, so they can help you!" She said.
"Yuzuki, that's not exactly how I-" Masaru attempted to protest, but Yuzuki was having none of it.
"Everyone, let me have your attention!" She shouted, making everyone look at her, "This is Masaru Fukuhara, my old friend and the school's resident detective. I brought him here to help us find out who the saboteur might be!"
Yuzuki took a step back after her explanation to allow Masaru to speak. He looked out into the crowd with the same neutral expression he always wore, and took a bite of his pocky stick before speaking.
"Allow me to make one thing clear. This will all go very smoothly if you simply cooperate with us." He explained, "As of now, everyone is a suspect. So it would be in your best interest to help us feel otherwise about you."
People looked as though they had questions, but it appeared that Masaru wasn't interested, as he simply walked away from the podium and over to Rina. Rina was a bit jealous of his ability to speak in front of a crowd without much effort, even as the group chattered quietly about him.
"Good job, Fukuhara!" Yuzuki said, walking up and giving him a pat on the back.
"Do you have any suggestions on who to start with?" Masaru asked, cutting to the chase.
Yuzuki put a finger to her chin in an exaggerated manner and looked out into the group.
"You could start with Akinari, he's the head of the committee." She suggested, "If anyone is acting strangely, he'll know about it."
"Thanks for the help." Masaru said, walking over to him.
Rina hesitated for a moment, watching Yuzuki, who was keeping her eyes on Masaru. She considered saying something, but didn't want to appear overbearing or embarrass Masaru.
"Rina." Masaru said when he noticed she wasn't following him.
"Coming." Rina replied, perking up and following him over to Akinari.
Akinari wasn't much shorter than Masaru, leading Rina to believe that he was also a third year student. He had pale light blue hair that spiked up in the front but nowhere else, and he glanced over at Masaru and Rina as they approached.
"Yo. Fukuhara, right?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to remember.
"That's right, but just Masaru is fine." Masaru replied, "You're Akinari, then?"
"Yep. That's me." Akinari said as the group around him dispersed, "I'm leading the planning of this talent show."
"I see." Masaru said, "Maybe we should start at the beginning. When did you notice that strange things were happening?"
"The second day we started planning, a light from the top of the stage almost fell on someone's head." Akinari said, "We thought it was an unfortunate coincidence at first, but the day after every copy of Yuzuki's music for her band went missing. And similar things have been happening every day since."
"When did you start planning for this show?" Rina asked, trying to be helpful.
"It's been about a month." Akinari explained.
"And you're just now getting help?" Masaru asked, raising an eyebrow, "Why the delay?"
"I've been very busy planning this thing, much less worrying about bringing another person in to investigate." Akinari said dismissively, "Yuzuki offered to take care of it, so I let her."
Masaru looked around the room at the various people.
"Has anyone been behaving strangely?" He asked.
"Tensions are high around here, so everyone is." Akinari said, "Although the person in charge of lighting, Fumie, has been a lot more on edge since the lights fell. Maybe you could talk to her."
"Which one is she?" Masaru asked.
Akinari looked around the room, and stopped when he saw a girl with short dark red hair standing by herself near the stage.
"That's her over there." He said.
Masaru looked at her for a moment, before glancing back at Akinari.
"Thanks for your help. We'll let you know if we need anything else." Masaru said, and walked off after Akinari nodded in response.
Rina quickly followed him, and looked around the room.
"He said tensions were high, but everyone looks pretty calm." She pointed out.
"It could be that they've gotten proficient at managing and hiding their stress." Masaru said, "Or perhaps Akinari isn't telling us everything."
"I don't like this..." Rina said, "We've never tackled anything this big before."
"I don't either, but we'll manage." Masaru said, "With the size of our club now, it's the perfect time to aim bigger."
Rina smiled, she never thought she'd hear that kind of thing from him. It did do her a small comfort, so when they approached Fumie she was feeling more confident.
"Fumie?" Masaru asked when they stopped next to her.
The short girl, rivaling Fuyuko with how petite she was, jumped slightly and looked over at them.
"Hi." She said softly, "Can I...help you?"
Masaru looked down at Fumie for a moment, raising his eyebrows.
"Masaru?" Rina asked, "You ok?"
Fumie began fidgeting, clearly a bit nervous.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
Rina tugged on Masaru's coat, and he shook his head.
"Sorry." He said, "Could we ask you some questions?"
"About...the lights?" Fumie asked quietly.
"Sort of." Masaru said, "What happened that day that the lights fell down?"
Fumie held her arms close to herself and turned to the side.
"I...don't really know." She said, "I checked all the lights, and they seemed fine...but then that one fell and everyone got mad at me..."
"It's ok." Rina said, "We're not angry. We're just trying to figure out who messed with your lights."
Fumie's stance relaxed a bit, and she turned back to them.
"Did you see anyone up near the lights that day?" Masaru asked.
"Nobody that shouldn't have been." Fumie said, "We only let certain people up there."
"What certain people?" Rina asked.
"...anyone with experience on a stage." Fumie replied, "So pretty much that group over there."
She pointed a dainty hand towards a group of people that were gathered around discussing something. There was a lime green haired girl with a ponytail that looked almost like a drill standing in the middle, holding a piece of paper that they were all looking at.
"Understood." Masaru said, "Thank you for your help."
He began to walk away, and Rina gave Fumie a quick, friendly wave before following him.
They wasted no time approaching the group, and at first none of them seemed to notice them. Masaru cleared his throat loudly, and they all stopped and looked at the two of them. Some of the students closer to them moved to make a path to the girl standing in the center.
"Hard at work, I see." Masaru said, stepping into the group.
Rina remained outside, watching the interaction. The girl looked Masaru up and down, and crossed her arms.
"You need something?" She asked, seemingly already out of patience.
"I heard you guys are some of the people that have access to the lights." Masaru said, briefly glancing up at said lights.
"Yeah, so?" The girl asked as she raised an eyebrow.
"Let's start at the beginning. I'm Masaru, and you are...?" He got the ball rolling with some introductions.
"Kotone..." The girl said after some silence, "I'm representing the Drama Club for the talent show."
"So you're the club leader?" Rina asked, tilting her head.
Kotone growled and a muscle in her forehead twitched.
"No. I'm just acting as the leader for those of us in the talent show." She clarified.
"So you're only participating." Masaru said, "You're not helping with the prep work?"
"We do here and there." Kotone said, "But mostly yes, we're just participating."
"Have you noticed anything...strange, going on near the lights?" Masaru asked.
"Strange how?" Kotone asked, becoming agitated again.
"Let's rewind. Were you all here on the day that the light fell?" He asked.
Most of the students nodded, but Kotone crossed her arms.
"No, I was sick that day." She said, "So I can't be of much help to you."
Masaru and Kotone made eye contact for a moment, before Masaru looked around the group.
"Did any of you notice anything off that day?" He asked, "It doesn't have to be about the lights. Anything at all that might have been different."
Most of the students shook their heads, but there was one boy that seemed uncertain.
"Well..." He began, "I remember Yuzuki had been complaining during her rehearsal that the spotlight shining on her was too bright."
"Let me guess." Masaru said, "It was the very same one that fell?"
"That's right." The boy said with a nod.
Masaru finished his pocky stick, and took one last look at the group.
"Thank you for your time." He said, before walking away with Rina behind him.
Masaru eventually stopped at an empty area without people around it, and turned to face Rina.
"What are you thinking?" She asked, looking up at him.
"I'm thinking that something is definitely off." Masaru said, "Nobody seems to be too concerned about the sabotage, and they don't seem to be too thrilled that we're here."
"What do you want to do next?" Rina asked.
"Today we focused on the issue with the light." Masaru said, "I'll do some more digging, and tomorrow we'll focus on the second instance, the theft of Yuzuki's music."
"Ok." Rina said, glancing over at Yuzuki, "So...we're done here for the day?"
"I think so, yes." Masaru said, "Let me just speak to Yuzuki for a moment."
Rina let out a light groan that Masaru clearly didn't hear as he walked over to Yuzuki. She didn't want to be clingy, so she remained where she was and watched them from a distance. Masaru's expression remained blank as he spoke to Yuzuki, though the punk girl appeared to be hanging off of his every word. He motioned towards Rina with his head and Yuzuki nodded, taking a step closer to him. She took a hold of his jacket and straightened it for him, before tilting her head and waving. Masaru closed his eyes for a moment, before walking back over to Rina.
"What was that all about?" Rina asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"I told her we were heading out, and she said she'd see us tomorrow." Masaru explained.
"That's not what I meant." She said with a scowl.
"What did you mean?" He asked, looking down at her.
Rina looked into his eyes, and it became clear to her that he didn't think anything of his interaction with Yuzuki. That was enough for now, but she knew that this one sided flirting couldn't continue.
"Don't worry about it." She eventually said, "Let's get out of here."
"Agreed." Masaru said, and they walked towards the door and left together.

"Everyone seemed to be hard at work." Rina said, looking back at the door as they walked down the hallway.
"Did they?" Masaru asked, "It didn't look that way to me."
"But everyone was gathered around and planning, and that kind of thing." She pointed out.
"Planning? Sure, I saw that as well." He said, "But was anyone actually doing anything?"
"Hm. I...guess not." Rina realized, "But what does that mean?"
"I'm not sure yet." Masaru admitted, "But it's something to keep in mind."
Rina took Masaru's hand as they walked, and glanced over at him.
"Do you want to go somewhere when we're done with the club today?" She asked.
"I have to run some errands for my mother." He said lazily, "You could come with me, if you want."
"Sure!" Rina said, "You know...I love you, Masaru."
"I love you too." Masaru said simply.
"Just me, right?" She asked quietly, "No one else?"
"Hm." He put his free hand to his chin, "No one comes to mind."
"That's not really the answer I was hoping for." Rina said, puffing her cheeks out and digging her nails into his palm.
Masaru chuckled softly, a rare display for him, and looked at her. She looked at him as well, but they were both brought out of their thoughts when they reached the club room. Without another word, they both entered the club room.

Suzu was still cleaning when they entered the room, and Katsuo was leaning against a wall and looking out the window. Fuyuko has fallen asleep, her head was on her desk and she was snoring loudly.
"W-Welcome back!" Suzu said, looking over at them.
Katsuo looked at them as well, as they walked over to their desks.
"Did you learn anything?" He asked.
"Nothing conclusive." Masaru said, leaning back in his chair when he sat down, "Mostly just the details of what's been going on."
"I'm sure y-y-you'll figure it out!" Suzu said, "You always d-do."
"Your confidence is staggering." Masaru said in a dull tone, making Rina giggle.
She looked over at Masaru, who was writing something down on his desk. She felt she truly loved him, as even seeing him do that made her heart flutter. In her peripheral vision she could see Suzu, who was on her tip toes struggling to reach a higher spot. Suddenly Rina was reminded of their earlier discussion, when Suzu almost told her who he crush was. Rina remembered that it began with a K, and began to think of the people she knew that had that a name like that.
"You need help?" Katsuo asked as he walked into Rina's view, taking the feather duster from Suzu.
Rina only half payed attention as he stood close to her and cleaned the spot she was struggling with, but the interaction quickly drew her attention when she saw the look on Suzu's face. Her eyes were glued to Katsuo, and she had a faint blush on her face. Rina was sure it was the same expression she had made towards Masaru just a few minutes before. And in that moment, she knew exactly who Suzu's crush was.