Solving Cases is My Daily Life Now: Volume 1

Chapter 19

    It wasn't a surprise to Rina when the first half of the day went by in a blur, and she suddenly found herself sitting at lunch with Yua and Suzu. Yua was being loud as usual, enthusiastically describing something to Suzu. But Rina wasn't listening, she was spacing out, not thinking about anything in particular. She was brought back into reality when Yua slapped her on the shoulder.
"Right, Rina?!" She asked loudly, likely assuming that Rina had been listening.
"Gah! Y-yeah..." Rina mumbled, pretending that she had been listening.
She looked over at Suzu, who was looking back at her. The look on her face told Rina that she wasn't fooled. But Yua didn't pick up on it at all, continuing on with whatever it was she had been saying. When she calmed down and stopped talking, Suzu changed the subject.
"Y-y-you tired today, Rina?" She asked, looking over at her.
Rina looked down at her bento. It wasn't that she was especially tired, she simply had a lot on her mind. But she didn't want to worry her friends, so she smiled at Suzu.
"Yeah...I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, sorry." She said.
Yua looked over at Rina, then to Suzu.
"Rina's always tired, though." She said with a full mouth, oblivious to the week's previous events.
Rina nodded with a weak smile, looking back down and remaining mostly silent for the rest of lunch. When lunch was over, she hurried into the hall to head to the club room, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"U-Um, Rina?" Suzu began, looking nervous, "I...I c-could be wrong, but it looked like s-s-something was bothering you today..."
Rina looked at Suzu, and despite how down she was feeling, she smiled. It was nice to have someone concerned about her, she had to admit. But it was a feeling she was ashamed of, and she wished that she didn't worry people she cared about.
"I'm ok...it's nothing major." Rina said with a fake smile, "Just feeling a little under the weather."
Suzu frowned, taking a step closer.
"Y-y-you know you can talk to me, r-right? After all you've d-done for me, I'd be g-gl-glad to help you too." She said, then smiled softly at Rina.
Rina looked away, she wanted to tell Suzu how she was feeling, but the truth was that she didn't know herself. She didn't want to shut Suzu out entirely though, so she decided on her response with a smile.
"I'm...feeling a bit conflicted at the moment. Once I have a better idea on what this feeling is, I'll talk to you about it." She said, tilting her head in a happier way, "So don't worry about me, I'll be ok."
Suzu tilted her head as well, not fully satisfied with the response she received. But she seemed to accept it, nodding her head and smiling back at Rina.
"Ok...I'm t-trusting you to d-d-do that!" She said, before turning on her heels and returning to the classroom.
Rina at least felt a little better about her current situation, though she still couldn't help but feel troubled. When she entered the club room, Masaru was sitting alone, already chewing on a pocky stick and looking at his phone. He looked up at Rina as she set her school bag on her desk.
"Hey. We're just waiting on Fuyuko." He said, before looking back down at his phone.
Rina looked around, trying to think of something to make herself useful and also keep her mind occupied.
"You...want some coffee?" She asked, walking over to the coffee machine.
Masaru looked up with an expression that said he had been hoping she'd offer, but he quickly calmed himself.
"Sure, thanks." He said, before putting his phone away.
Rina turned her back to Masaru to make the coffee, trying to think of something to talk about. When her thoughts came up short, Masaru spoke up.
"Fuyuko has you bothered, huh?" He asked bluntly.
Rina grit her teeth, how did he figure it out? She thought Fuyuko must have said something. Though his guess wasn't entirely accurate...
"Not Fuyuko herself, so much. Something she said..." Rina said, avoiding his eyes as she handed him the coffee mug.
"What did she say?" Masaru asked, taking a sip of the coffee.
Rina thought about confiding in him, but decided against it, considering he was the subject of the argument.
"If she didn't tell you, I'm not going to tell you." She said, sitting down across from him.
"Suit yourself." Masaru said with a shrug, leaning back in his chair, "But if Fuyuko is giving you too many problems, I can tell her to steer clear of the club room."
Rina gripped the hem on her skirt, and she unintentionally lost her temper at him.
"Why is that your go to solution? Tomorrow is my last day in the club, so why are you so worried about keeping the peace?" She asked him, genuinely wondering what his answer would be.
Masaru was silent, and the look on his face told her that he didn't have an answer to her questions. Thankfully they didn't have to sit in awkward silence for too long before Fuyuko opened the door and came inside, skipping to Masaru's desk.
"Helloooo, Masu!" She said with a grin, leaning on the side of his desk with her hands.
"You're later than usual." Masaru said casually, taking a bite of his pocky stick.
"Sorry, I was talking to Jun about how we're going by the club today. Oh, but don't worry, he won't say anything about your plans to Natsuno!" Fuyuko replied with a big smile, tilting her head.
Rina frowned, it seemed Fuyuko had grown accustomed to pretending she was ok. It bothered Rina to know that, even though she had essentially been doing the same thing. She pushed it to the back of her mind and tried to focus on the case.
"Good. It wouldn't help us much if he knew what we were up to." Masaru said, taking a sip of his coffee and leaning forward.
Fuyuko and Rina briefly shared a look before Masaru spoke again.
"You two ready to go?" He asked, standing up.
Rina nodded and stood up as well, holding her notepad and a pen.
"Mhm!" Fuyuko said with a smile, standing up and grabbing Masaru's coffee, taking a swig of it, "Let's go!"
Masaru took the mug from her and put it back down on the desk, giving her a light flick on the nose before walking to the door. Fuyuko whined, rubbing her nose as she followed him, with Rina in the back as the three of them left the room.

"So what's the plan again?" Fuyuko asked, walking backwards a little bit ahead of Masaru.
"We're gonna wait for Natsuno to go to the room he's been hanging around in, then head there ourselves and confront him. Rina saw the room yesterday, she can lead us there." Masaru said in a dull tone, his eyes remaining forward.
Fuyuko turned forward, her hands behind her back as she walked.
"What do you think Natsuno's up to in that room?" She asked, looking out the window.
"I couldn't say. But he's making a point of keeping it secret. That alone is enough to raise suspicion." Masaru said, stopping in front of the Gardening Club room door.
All three of them looked at it for a moment, before Masaru turned to them.
"You ready?" He asked, putting a pocky stick into his mouth.
Both girls nodded, and he opened the door and stepped inside, with them behind him.

Nobody looked over when they entered, it seemed the club expected them at this point. Masaru looked around and walked up to Hina like he did the day before. She looked up at him, a bored expression on her face.
"Still hanging around? Haven't you solved the case yet? I thought it was your specialty." She said in a dull tone.
Her deadpan jab left Masaru unfazed, and he looked across the room at Natsuno.
"I've just about got it figured out. If all goes well, you'll know where your tools are before the day is done." He said, taking a bite of his pocky stick.
Hina made a sound to indicate she understood and looked back down at the paper she was writing on, effectively ignoring them from that point on. Not long after that, Natsuno stood up, grabbing his bag and leaving the room. Masaru turned to look at Rina, locking eyes with her.
"Let's give it a few moments, let him get to the room. Then we'll head over." He said, his expression not betraying what his exact plan was.
Rina nodded, deciding to let him do his thing. Fuyuko teetered on her heels, whistling idly as she waited for the time to pass. Once it had been around a minute, Masaru began to walk to the door.
"Ok, let's go." He said, putting his hand on Fuyuko's head as he passed.
Fuyuko smiled and put her hands on her cheeks, skipping after him. Rina walked behind them, following the two of them out into the hallway.

Masaru stopped after a few feet and turned to look at Rina once again.
"Ok, lead the way. Where'd he go?" He asked.
Rina looked in the direction Natsuno walked in the day before, and nodded her head that way.
"He went this way." She said, before walking down the hall.
Masaru followed her, with Fuyuko trailing in the back.
"So my perfect disguise worked yesterday, after all." Masaru said, and Rina could hear the smirk on his face.
"Disguise? Is that what the glasses were all about yesterday?" Fuyuko asked, walking a bit faster to keep up.
"Masaru's idea of making me look like a different person. It worked out better than expected, so Natsuno must be an idiot." Rina said, causing Masaru to let out an amused sigh.
"From what Jun's said, he's pretty oblivious to his surroundings..." Fuyuko said, offering some insight.
"We're here." Rina said, feeling a bit like Masaru as she stopped in front of the door Natsuno went into the day before.
All three of them looked at the door for a moment, before Masaru took the lead and put his hand on the knob.
"All right, let's wrap this case up." He said, opening the door.

The room was rather dark when they entered, and as Rina had deduced there was some paper covering the window. Masaru, not seeming to care much about what the situation might be, turned the lights on as he passed the doorway and entered the room.
Natsuno was standing in the middle of the room, hunched over something. But he turned to look at them when the lights came on.
"What are you doing here?!" He asked, clearly not happy about their presence.
"What are YOU doing here?" Masaru shot back, taking a few more steps forward, "We're conducting an investigation on missing tools, and you've been seen leaving the club room to come here in secret. It stands to reason that we'd come see what you're doing."
Natsuno stood in front of whatever he had been doing, looking between the three of them.
"I told you, it's not what you're thinking..." he said, finally settling on looking at Masaru.
"What is it, then? Enlighten me." Masaru said, stepping closer still and trying to peek over Natsuno's shoulder.
Natsuno turned around, looking down at something, before sighing and turning back to them.
"Ok, ok..." Natsuno said, moving out of the way.
Sitting on a desk under a lamp, was a single rose in a flower pot.
"A rose?" Fuyuko wondered aloud, walking closer to look at it.
"You've been doing your own gardening in secret." Masaru decided, walking up to Natsuno, "But why?"
Natsuno looked at Rina for a moment, before looking away from all of them.
"I mentioned that the club was getting too crowded...so for a while
I thought maybe my love for gardening was gone." He said, before his eyes wandered to the rose, "But then I found this rose, growing alone under a tree on the school grounds."
Fuyuko looked at the rose, then to Natsuno, and then left the room. Rina wondered where she might have been going, but Masaru didn't seem to pay it any mind.
"Why didn't you just tell them, instead of taking the tools and leaving them without any?" Masaru asked, leaning in to view the rose closer.
"It's hard...they all resent me for not helping them out, so I felt I had no right to take them for myself." Natsuno replied, obviously a bit embarrassed.
Masaru looked at the rose in silence for a moment, then looked at Rina, looking her up and down.
"...what?" Rina asked, confused by his actions.
Masaru simply looked at her for a moment, then back at the rose, before turning back to Natsuno.
"They were your tools in the first place. Surely if anybody has the right to use them, it'd be you?" He asked, putting his hands into his pockets.
"That's..." Natsuno didn't finish the sentence, he clenched his fist instead.
It seemed to Rina that he wasn't fully sure how he felt, a concept she had become all too familiar with. Rina decided maybe it was time for her to step in.
"You know, I'm sure if you explained everything to your club mates, then they would understand." Rina said, looking over at Natsuno, "Just be honest about everything, even your uncertainty."
Natsuno looked over at Rina, his face indicated to her that he was still upset.
"If it was that easy, I would have done it already!" He said, looking away from them again.
"I didn't say it would be easy. I know it's difficult to be vulnerable with people...but you joined a club together to share a little part of your lives together. I think you owe them honesty, if nothing else." Rina said, looking over at Masaru, though she wasn't sure why.
Masaru looked back at her, equally confused, before Natsuno replied.
"How do I say that to them, though? It's not that I dislike any of them, I just don't do very well with big groups." Natsuno said, looking back at Rina, "I thought maybe I would just quit the club, but then I saw the rose, and..."
"You don't have to explain, we heard you just now." A voice said from the doorway.
All three of them turned to see Hina standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.
"So it's just a problem with big groups, then? We should be able to handle that." She said, walking into the room.
Behind her came the rest of the club, apparently also having heard the discussion. Natsuno looked shocked, and embarrassed that they had heard him.
"You guys? How...did you..?" He stammered as he spoke.
Fuyuko peeked her head around the corner into the doorway, giving a wink and sticking her tongue out.
"I went to go get them, I figured you'd end up saying things they'd want to hear." She said, walking over and standing considerably close to Masaru.
"You guys..." Natsuno looked at them, seeming unsure of what exactly to say.
"You don't need to say anything. We understand how you're feeling." Kuromi said, smiling softly and tilting her head at him.
"You can get to know everyone individually maybe, and then the group could be easier?" Yuki suggested, putting a finger to her chin.
"The truth is, we suspected you were the one taking the tools. We just figured that you were slowly leaving the club. If it was what you truly wanted, we weren't going to stop you." Hina said, walking up to Natsuno, "But I'm glad you don't want to leave."
Natsuno looked away from them, it looked to Rina like he became a bit emotional.
"I'm sorry, you guys. I'll try harder, to be ok with the group. Maybe Yuki's idea will work, and I'll become friends with all of you first." He said, turning back with a smile after wiping his eyes.
"Don't force yourself, but I think we'd like that." Jun said with a smile.
"I think our work here is done." Masaru said quietly, turning to Rina.
Rina nodded and Masaru tapped Fuyuko's shoulder. The three of them tried to leave silently, but Natsuno noticed as they reached the door.
"Wait!" He called out, causing Masaru, who was in the front, to stop and turn around.
Rina and Fuyuko stopped as well. Natsuno was smiling at them, and looked between all three individually before settling on Fuyuko,
"Thank you."
Fuyuko stammered, she likely was even less used to being thanked than Masaru and Rina.
"Don't mention it." Masaru said for her, putting his hand on Fuyuko's shoulder.
With that, the three of them left the room, and began to head back to their club room.

"Well, that wasn't really much of a case at all." Masaru said in a dull tone, his hands in his pockets as he walked.
"Maybe not, but we certainly helped them." Fuyuko said with a big grin, her hands behind her head.
Rina smiled, she was glad at least that she could help someone in her last week in the club. And it warmed her heart a bit that Fuyuko felt the same way, even if she didn't like Rina.
"You did a lot of that yourself, Fuyuko." Rina said, walking faster to walk beside them.
Fuyuko looked at Rina, likely surprised that her one sided rival would say something like that.
"She's right. You did a good job. I'm...well, you did good." Masaru said, patting Fuyuko on the head.
Fuyuko looked down, a blush forming on her face. But despite that, she had a smile on her face. They walked in relative silence for the rest of the time, and when they got back to the club room Masaru sat down and began writing on the open folder.

Rina sat down across from him, leaning on the desk. Fuyuko hesitated, before sitting down next to Rina.
"So what do we do now?" Fuyuko asked, not having been around before when a case was closed.
"Not much. I'm just marking this case closed, and then we'll be done for the day." Masaru said, looking up at Fuyuko for a moment, and then looking back down.
"That's all? Why do you like doing this so much?" Fuyuko asked, leaning back in her chair.
"There's a few reasons." Masaru said, putting the folder in a drawer, "I like analyzing things and solving problems, and..."
He trailed off, looking over at Rina.
"Sorry, it seems like your last day here won't be very eventful." He said, looking as stoic as ever before he took a sip of the coffee he'd left there.
Rina looked away as she frowned, not wanting either of them to see. Her stomach sank whenever he mentioned it being her last week, but she still couldn't find the words to say. She honestly figured Masaru wanted her gone, considering he'd mentioned it so many times.
"So, does this mean I can be in the club now?!" Fuyuko asked with excitement, standing up.
"No." Masaru said simply, ignoring the whine Fuyuko made, "However, if you want to come visit from time to time, that's fine."
Fuyuko pouted, though she didn't seem surprised by this answer. After a few moments, she accepted the answer and smiled at Masaru.
"Anything that will get you closer to loving me, Masu!" She said with a grin.
Masaru made a noise that indicated that he had heard her before Rina stood up, walking over to her desk.
"I'll be heading out, then." She said, her back facing the two of them.
"Ok, you can just come by after school, I guess." Masaru said, not seeming to pick up on the fact that she was upset.
Rina walked over to the door, going out into the hallway.

She only made it a few steps before she heard a voice call out to her.
"Rina, wait!" Fuyuko said, closing the door behind her and walking up.
Rina looked down at the tiny girl, wondering what she could possibly have to say.
"I...I wanted to say I'm sorry for yesterday. About what I said to you in the club room..." She said, looking ashamed of herself, "I know it isn't your fault that Masaru has taken a liking to you, and-"
"I think you're wrong there." Rina cut her off, "Masaru doesn't seem to care much about me at all."
Fuyuko perked up, looking up at Rina with a concerned expression.
"And you don't have to apologize. You were right. There really isn't anything special about me. All these experiences...all Masaru has done for me, whether he meant to or not. Pure chance, I didn't do anything to deserve it." Rina said with a weak smile, one that faded when she turned her back to Fuyuko.
"But Rina, that's not-" Fuyuko was cut off again.
"Like I said, you don't need to worry about me." Rina said, before walking away.
"Stop interrupting me!" Fuyuko shouted after her in mild frustration.
"Sorry! But I really don't want to talk about this." Rina said with a faux smile as she continued down the hall.
She was being honest, thinking about it was painful for her. She left the school, and she honestly didn't want the next day to come, for her time in the club to come to an end. But she sighed, knowing it was going to be time whether she wanted it to be or not. So she resigned to her fate, walking home and preparing herself for whatever emotions the next day might bring.