Solving Cases is My Daily Life Now: Volume 3

Chapter 9

Rina woke up the next morning on the couch, briefly forgetting why she was there. She quickly remembered however, when she heard her father shuffling around behind her.

"Dad...?" She sat up and rubbed her head.

"Hey you." He said with a smile, "I saw you laying here when I got home, but I figured you must be pretty tired to pass out on the couch, so I let you be."

"Thanks." Rina grumbled, though more out of sluggishness than annoyance.

"So how was the trip? Tell me all about it." He said as he walked around gathering things.

Rina put her feet up on the couch and hugged her knees.

"It was fun. We swam a lot, saw some fireworks, roasted marshmallows and..." She paused for a moment, "Made a new friend."

"That's excellent, sweetheart." Her dad said with a massive smile, "Now I know it sucks that you have to go back to school so soon, but I know you're a strong girl. You can get through it."

"So soon?" Rina repeated, tilting her head, "What do you mean?"

Her dad stopped and looked at her, blinking a few times.

"Well...your first day back at school is today." He said calmly.

Rina's eyes widened and she jumped up off of the couch.

"Oh crap!" She said, running towards the stairs.

Rina had felt like her summer didn't really begin until she left with her friends, she had forgotten that it was actually the end of the break!

"Love you!" Her dad called up to her with a chuckle, before leaving for work.

Rina rushed upstairs and put her uniform on, and ran into the bathroom to get ready. She took a look at her phone, she could make it on time if she hurried. So she brushed her teeth much more aggressively than usual, made minimal effort to fix her hair, and ran downstairs, grabbing her bag and rushing out the door. She didn't have time to make lunches for her or Masaru, but she figured he would understand.

As she walked to school quickly, she rubbed her forehead. All of that rushing so soon after waking up gave her a headache. She only moved her hand when she felt a soft pat on her shoulder.

"Are y-y-you ok, Rina?" Suzu asked, walking up next to her.

"Hi Suzu." Rina said with a short wave, "I had a bit of a rough morning."

"Did something h-h-happen with Masaru?" Suzu asked, putting a finger to her chin.

"No..." Rina said, looking down at her hands, "Well, yes. He seemed off when he left my house."

"He w-w-went to your house?!" Suzu exclaimed, putting her hands on her pink cheeks.

"He didn't come inside, he just walked me home." Rina said quickly before Suzu could make any less suggestions, "I forgot my umbrella."

"St-still, that's the kind of thing th-th-that-" Suzu cut herself off and stared forward.

Rina looked over at her, then followed her gaze over to where she was staring. Standing near the school entrance, seemingly waiting for them, was Katsuo Okazaki. He was about the same height as Masaru, but had a tad more muscle, and blonde hair slicked completely back. He was leaning against a wall, and tilted his head back when he looked at them.

"Hey." He said casually.

"Hello." Rina said, walking up to him.

They looked at each other for a moment, then he looked down at her legs.