Solving Cases is My Daily Life Now: Volume 3

Chapter 17

    Remembering the promise she had made the night before, Rina forced herself out of bed Tuesday morning and made her way to school, having managed to get a couple of hours of sleep. She even put on some light make up that day, hoping to make up for her ragged appearance the day before. It wasn't as though Masaru seemed to notice, but she didn't want to risk that image sticking into his brain. Rina stared at her feet, she almost felt embarrassed to be there, as if everyone was watching her. It was of course, an irrational thought, as no one payed much attention to her anyway. But she couldn't stop herself from feeling ashamed, and feeling like everyone else thought the same. Rina didn't look up until she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, and was unsurprised to see that it was Suzu standing there, having been waiting for her.
"H-H-Hi, Rina." Suzu said with a soft smile.
"Hey." Rina said, "Sorry I disappeared for a bit."
"It's ok." Suzu said, "M-M-Masaru told me what happened, I'm s-sure it was painful for you."
"It was probably worse for Yua." Rina pointed out with a frown, beginning to walk again.
"M-maybe." Suzu said as she followed her, "But I bet th-th-things will work out in the end! Just g-give it time."
"I'm not so sure about that." Rina replied quietly.
Suzu gave Rina a reassuring pat on the back, one that honestly did make her feel a bit supported.
"B-b-by the way...are you wearing m-makeup?" Suzu asked, tilting her head.
Rina almost felt embarrassed, before she remembered who she was talking to.
"Yeah." She said, "Do you think Masaru will notice?"
"Defin-finitely. It'd be impossible to miss how c-c-cute you look!" Suzu said, rubbing her cheeks.
Rina smiled at the thought, she was hoping he would at least notice. He didn't have to say anything, she knew him better than to expect that. But if he at least noticed, it would make her happy.
"Wow, you miss school for two days and come back with makeup?" Rina heard a rough voice say, "Did someone replace Rina with a clone?"
"That's ins-insensitive, Katsuo." Suzu said with a pout and putting her hands on her hips.
"Sorry, sorry." Katsuo said, pushing himself off of the wall and following them when Rina walked past, "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine." Rina asked, choosing not to think about the obvious for the time being.
"Gotcha." Katsuo responded, clearly not intent on prying, which Rina was thankful for, "You look good, by the way. With the make up, I mean."
"Thanks." Rina said simply, looking back at him and smiling.
She figured that Katsuo was simply being nice, but it was appreciated all the same.
"I was thinking I might come by the club room today." Katsuo grunted, "Just to hang out."
"Me t-t-too." Suzu added.
"We'll be working on a case today..." Rina said, "But you're still welcome to come."
"Sounds good." Katsuo said, "What's the case?"
Rina fell silent for a moment.
"It'd be easier to tell you later." She concluded.
"Tch." He made a sound after a short pause.
Not long after that, they reached the classroom.
"I'll see you girls after class." Katsuo said, giving a short wave and walking off. Rina and Suzu waved as well as he walked away.
"You know, K-K-Katsuo's pretty nice." Suzu said.
"Yeah." Rina said with a smile.
They entered the classroom, and Rina avoided looking over at Yua's desk as she sat down. Suzu sat as well, and the bell rang not long after.

    When lunch began, Suzu slid her desk over to Rina. They both noticed out of the corner of their eyes that Yua got up and left the room for lunch, likely going to spend it with her boyfriend.
"It'll b-be ok, Rina." Suzu said softly.
"What about you, Suzu?" Rina asked, "Yua was your friend too."
Suzu looked down at her bento.
"It d-does make me sad..." She admitted, "But as l-l-long as I have you and M-Masaru, I'll be ok!"
"How are you always so optimistic?" Rina asked, feeling envious.
Suzu put a finger to her chin in thought.
"I d-don't know..." She concluded, "I just always f-f-feel like things will work out!"
Rina looked up at Suzu, and couldn't help but smile. Suzu always had a way of making her feel better, that was for sure.
Suddenly the door opened, and Masaru stepped inside.
"Hey, M-Masaru!" Suzu said, "Rina came b-b-back!"
"So she did." Masaru said, looking over at her with a blank expression, "Welcome back."
"Thanks." Rina said simply, taking out her bento and handing it to him.
"R-R-Rina told me you guys have a case?" Suzu asked.
Masaru glanced over at her.
"Yeah, we'll be pursuing a lead today." He said, probably being intentionally vague.
"I'm g-glad you guys are getting cases ag-again." Suzu said with a smile.
"Yeah." Masaru said simply, before giving a short wave, "See you two after school."
"Wait." Suzu said, "W-why not eat with us? Y-Y-Yua's not here anymore, and if feels l-like there's an empty space..."
Masaru looked over at Rina, who stared at him for a moment before nodding.
"All right, if you insist." He said, taking an empty desk near him and sliding it over.
Suzu smiled and put her hands together, and Rina smiled as well. Having him there made her feel even better, though she couldn't shake her guilty feeling. Masaru opened his bento and looked down at it for a moment, before beginning to eat from it.
"I'm p-planning on coming to the c-c-club with you guys today." Suzu said, "And K-K-Katsuo might be, t-too."
"Is that so?" Masaru asked without looking up.
Suzu smiled and nodded.
"Is the c-case going to take you guys very l-long?" She asked, "I was hoping m-m-maybe we could all hang out!"
"It will require a lot of travel, so we might be a while." Masaru said simply.
"Then we could c-c-come with you." Suzu suggested.
"Well, that's all up to Rina." He said, glancing over at Rina, "She is the client, so she has the final say."
"Huh?" Suzu looked over at Rina, eyes slightly widened, "Y-you're the client?"
Rina looked down at her desk, her face warming up slightly.
"It's...embarrassing to talk about with so many people around." She admitted, "I'll tell you in the club room."
"Ok." Suzu said simply, continuing to eat from her bento, "D-d-do you normally eat lunch alone, M-Masaru?"
"Yeah, usually in the club room." He replied casually.
"Well...you don't have to do that anymore." Rina said, "You can eat with us now."
Masaru's eyes traveled over to her, but he didn't speak. He simply continued eating, before his eyes slowly drifted back down to his bento. Rina and Suzu shared a look, and Suzu took the queue to bring up conversation.
"How's the k-k-kitten doing?" She asked Masaru.
"She's good. She likes that toy you got her." He replied.
"You told her about Koko?" Rina asked.
"Yeah. Now she asks for pictures of her all the time." Masaru said with a sigh.
"I can't h-help it! I love c-c-cute things!" Suzu said, rubbing her cheeks.
"You and Rina have that in common, then." He said with a smirk.
"Shut up." Rina said, puffing her cheeks out.
Suzu giggled, and the rest of lunch went on with them making conversation and generally having a good time. When the bell rang, Masaru left with a quick goodbye and the girls returned to their seats.