Solving Cases is My Daily Life Now: Volume 3

Chapter 12

    "I suppose I owe you a bit of an apology." Masaru said as Rina approached him, "I shouldn't have lost my temper with you yesterday."

"You really shouldn't have." Rina said, trying her best to appear her usual self, "But I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have come over when you asked me not to."

Rina and Masaru stared at each other for a few moments in silence, until he spoke up.

"You want to walk around a bit?" He asked, looking off into the distance.

"It's pretty late..." Rina said, looking back at her house.

"So? We're both up anyway." He replied.

Rina looked back at him with a frown.

"Fine, let's go." She conceded.

They both began to walk, and Rina glanced over at him. He had slicked his hair back again this time, likely because he knew he was seeing her, but as usual it didn't go all the way back. He wasn't wearing his trench coat however, simply a collared shirt. Luckily he seemed too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice her staring at him, and she looked away with a warm face as she realized for herself.

"Where are we going?" Rina asked him.

"Nowhere in particular. I simply thought it would be less awkward than standing around if we walked." He replied in a dull tone.

"You're probably right." She said with a nod.

Despite their words, the two of them continued to walk in an uncomfortable silence for a time. Eventually Rina decided to simply get it over with.

"I talked to Momo today." She said, looking at the ground in front of her, "About you."

"Is that so?" Masaru asked, his tone and expression not making it clear how he felt about it.

"Yeah. She told me you used to be a little different. Happier, and more open." She said, "Around the time she said you changed matches up to when Emiko..."

"Is that such a surprise?" He asked, his gaze remaining forward, "Wouldn't it stand to reason that I would be changed by something serious?"

"You're right." Rina said, "What I can't figure out is why you would keep something so serious from me."

"It was easier this way." Masaru replied simply.

"Easier?" Rina looked over at him with a furrowed brow, "How could this possibly be easier? All this time..."

"All this time you were none the wiser." He said, "You laughed, you had fun. We all did things together. All without even considering any negative feeling I might have. It's better that way. I'd rather you and Suzu didn't have to hurt because of me."

"You're so stupid." Rina said, scowling at him, "Did it not occur to you that finding out later would only hurt us more?"

"In an ideal situation, you wouldn't have found out at all." Masaru replied.

"With the amount of time we spend together, it was bound to happen eventually." Rina argues.

"Maybe so." He said simply.

"So why did you stop hanging out with Momo?" She asked, deciding to change the subject for now.

"It became...difficult." Masaru said, looking at the ground, "Doing things I did when Emiko was alive was hard for me. Before you say anything, I know that it was unfair to her. I've never been known for being a good friend."

"But...she was still your friend. I'm sure if you had been honest with her, things would have worked out." Rina argued.

She didn't know why she was sticking up for Momoka, if she and Masaru hadn't stopped spending time together, it was likely that Rina wouldn't have met him.