Solving Cases is My Daily Life Now: Volume 5

Chapter 3

Rina awoke with a start, apparently having had some kind of nightmare. She sat up quickly in bed, before looking around and realizing where she was. It was just a dream, she thought to herself, even if it did feel real. It was a repeat of a dream she had before, with some twists that applied more to her modern situation. She would arrive to school, and no one would recognize her. Miss Miyake kicks her out of class, thinking she's not one of her students, and she'd be forced to wander alone. By the end of the dream, even Yua didn't know who she was, and that was around the time she woke up. But recently, it was Suzu and Masaru, and in this dream in particular the entire Detective Club! They continued their duties as always, and didn't even seem to realize that they were missing a person.
Rina hugged her knees, reminding herself again that it was only a dream. Her friends would never forget her...so why was she so scared? She pushed the thought out of her mind and got up, beginning her daily routine of getting ready for the day.

"Are y-you ok, Rina?" Suzu asked when they met up on the way to school, "You look a b-b-bit...exhausted."
"I just had a bad dream is all." Rina said, deciding to be honest but intentionally not elaborating further.
"Oh." Suzu frowned, "Was it sc-scary?"
"Yeah." Rina admitted, "But I'll be ok."
"My poor R-R-Rina, having a scary nightmare!" Suzu said, rubbing her warm cheeks, "But I'm sure when you w-woke up, Masaru was there with you to h-h-hold you in a tight embrace!"
"Masaru has never been in my bed." Rina said, her face warming up, "We...don't do things like that."
"I know. A-After all, you two haven't even k-k-kissed yet." Suzu teased.
"Yes we have." Rina said, looking away.
"The f-f-forehead and cheek don't c-count!" Suzu said playfully.
Rina growled quietly, but calmed down when Fuyuko and Katsuo came into view.
"Good morning!" Fuyuko said enthusiastically when they walked by them.
"You always have s-s-so much energy in the morning, F-Fuyo!" Suzu said.
"Must be why she's always asleep during club time." Rina said.
Fuyuko frowned as she followed them.
"I'm not always asleep!" She insisted, "Just sometimes."
"You snooze in the club room pretty often." Katsuo agreed, "It's a wonder Masaru hasn't given you an earful yet."
Fuyuko whined and stomped her foot.
"Stop ganging up on me!" She said, tears forming in her eyes.
"Relax." Katsuo said, ruffling her hair, "We're just teasing you."
Fuyuko immediately relaxed and let out a coo, and Rina and Suzu smiled at each other.
"Why doesn't Masaru ever walk with you to school?" Katsuo asked, "Isn't that what a boyfriend is supposed to do?"
"I...don't really know actually." Rina said, "I've seen him in the morning a couple of times. But I don't know what he does in the morning."
"What about you, Suzu?" Katsuo asked, "Do you know?"
"I th-think he uses the t-t-time to investigate and c-call in favors to help with the c-case." Suzu said, "I r-remember he did that with b-b-both of my cases."
"So he's working instead of spending time with his girl." Katsuo said, "Sounds about right."
"Hey! He's just dedicated, and passionate about what he does." Fuyuko argued.
"She's right." Rina agreed, "And besides, Masaru and I spend plenty of time together."
Katsuo groaned and didn't push the issue further, likely finding it to be too much of a headache. Not long after that, they reached their classroom and parted ways.

At lunch Suzu and Rina sat together and simply waited for their friends to arrive.
"I wonder if Masaru has any news for us." Rina said, "We left off yesterday without a lot to go on."
"I'm s-sure he does." Suzu said, as optimistic as ever.
As if on queue, Masaru entered the room almost immediately after that, pulling up a chair and sitting down.
"Hey." Rina said with a smile, handing him his bento.
"Hey." He said simply as he took it from her and opened it.
"Did you learn anything?" She asked, unable to hold the question for any longer.
Masaru sat silently for a moment, taking a bite of his food.
"Not much, I'm afraid." He eventually said, "Though I did find a good place to start with our investigation into the missing sheet music."
"Who even uses sheet music anymore?" Fuyuko asked, apparently having slipped in without them noticing, "Wouldn't they keep it on their computer or something?"
"A remnant of Yuzuki's time with the band club, I suppose." Masaru replied as Katsuo, who of course entered with Fuyuko, pulled up a chair for himself and his sister.
"Why would someone steal her music anyway?" Katsuo asked, "It's not like she can't make more copies."
"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Masaru said, "It could be to send a message, and just make everyone aware that someone has an issue with the talent show."
"Then w-w-why would they keep doing it?" Suzu asked.
"Because no one listened." Masaru said, "What began as a warning turned into an active attempt to stop the talent show completely."
"But what did they expect?" Fuyuko asked after she sat down, "They really thought people would just give up because a light fell or some music went missing?"
"I don't presume to know the culprit's entire plan." Masaru said, "It's simply a theory."
"That Kotone girl seemed a bit suspicious." Rina chimed in, "She was rude, like she wanted to get rid of us."
"If you recall, just about everyone in the Film Club was like that." Masaru reminded her, "It could easily be chalked up to working in show business."
"I guess I don't like show business very much, then." Rina concluded.
Masaru exhaled through his nose as he ate in response.
"K-K-Katsuo..." Suzu said, "D-Did you check out that sweets shop that op-opened a few months ago?"
"Sweets shop?" Katsuo grunted, raising an eyebrow at her, "No, I'm not really into sweets."
"Oh..." Suzu said quietly, "I g-guess it can't be helped, th-th-then."
Rina looked between the two of them, and saw a chance to help her friend out.
"Katsuo, I don't think Suzu's been there yet." She said, "Why don't you guys check it out after school?"
"Eh?" Katsuo made an unintentionally obnoxious sound, "Why don't we all go?"
"...Masaru and I have plans already." Rina lied, looking over at Masaru.
"Do we?" Masaru asked, looking over at her as well.
"Yeah, there was that movie I wanted to see." She said, "It only has a couple of days before it's out of theaters."
The two of them stared at each other for a moment, and it was clear that Masaru wasn't picking up on what she was trying to do. Rina would have to think fast!
"Did you really forget? You promised we could go!" She said, pretending to be annoyed.
Masaru blinked a few times, before looking forward, genuinely trying to remember.
"I did?" He asked, putting a hand to his chin.
Rina punched his arm, getting a brief flashback of the times when she was new to the club.
"Yes. You did." She insisted.
Masaru looked at her again and shrugged.
"All right, fine." He conceded, "We'll go see your movie."
Rina nodded, satisfied with the outcome. Though now she had to figure out which movie she would force him to see...
"Fine, what about you Fuyo?" Katsuo asked, looking down at his sister.
Rina perked up, she had forgotten about Fuyuko!
"Sure, I'll go!" Fuyuko said with a grin, "But I feel like we went there before..."
Rina glanced at Suzu, expecting to see a disappointed look on her face. But the bespectacled girl was smiling brightly, a light blush on her face. Maybe she didn't mind if Fuyuko went along...
Rina didn't have much time to consider it before the bell rang, and everyone returned to their seats or classrooms.